Karine Jean-Pierre served as former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki’s principal deputy until Psaki’s resignation on Friday.
Karine Jean-Pierre held her first briefing as White House press secretary on Monday, observing that her ascension to the role of President Joe Biden’s chief spokesperson broke race and sexual-orientation barriers.
“I am obviously acutely aware that my presence at this podium represents a few firsts,” Jean-Pierre told reporters. “I am a Black gay immigrant woman, the first of all three of those to hold this position.”
Jean-Pierre, 47, is both the first Black person and openly LGBTQ person to hold the position. The daughter of Haitian parents, she was born in Martinique and raised in New York.
Jean-Pierre served as former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki’s principal deputy until Psaki’s resignation on Friday.
“I would not be here today if it were not for generations of barrier-breaking people before me. I stand on their shoulders,” she said, adding, “representation does matter.”
Jean-Pierre will be the seventh woman to hold the post. Dee Dee Myers, President Bill Clinton’s first press secretary, was the first woman to serve in the job.
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Amid Covid outbreak, North Korea’s Kim deploys army to battle ‘fever’: 5 points
North Korea has deployed its army as the isolated nation battles a suspicious ‘fever,’ days after announcing its ‘first’ Covid-19 case. Even senior members of the ruling Workers’ Party’s powerful politburo were on the ground, visiting pharmacies and medicine management offices, after leader Kim Jong Un criticised ‘ineffective distribution’ of drugs, the state Korean Central News Agency said in a report on Tuesday. Overall, 663,910 citizens were under medical treatment.
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6 more die of ‘fever’ in North Korea amid reports of Covid outbreak
North Korea on Tuesday reported six additional deaths from “fever,” days after announcing its first Covid case, and said it was ramping up the military distribution of medicines. Since the country announced its first Covid case last Thursday, leader Kim Jong Un has put himself front and centre of North Korea’s disease response, overseeing near-daily emergency Politburo meetings on the outbreak, which he has said is causing “great upheaval” in the country.
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Taliban dissolve Afghanistan’s human rights body, other key agencies
Taliban authorities in Afghanistan dissolved five key departments of the former U.S.-backed government, including the country’s Human Rights Commission, deeming them unnecessary in the face of a financial crunch, an official said on Monday. Dissolved was the High Council for National Reconciliation, the once high-powered National Security Council, and the commission for overseeing the implementation of the Afghan constitution. After taking over last year, the Taliban assured the world they would be more moderate.
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Turkey ‘will not allow’ Sweden, Finland joining NATO: Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he won’t allow Sweden and Finland to join NATO because of their stances on Kurdish militants, throwing a wrench into plans to strengthen the western military alliance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At a press conference in Ankara late Monday, Erdogan poured cold water on expectations that Turkish opposition to the enlargement plan could be easily resolved.
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Sri Lanka down to last day of petrol, PM says ‘next few months most difficult’
Sri Lanka’s new prime minister said on Monday the crisis-hit nation was down to its last day of petrol, as the country’s power minister told citizens not to join the lengthy fuel queues that have galvanised weeks of anti-government protests. Appointed prime minister on Thursday, Ranil Wickremesinghe, said in an address to the nation the country urgently needed $75 million in foreign exchange to pay for essential imports.