Biden picks first black general as Pentagon chief

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COURTESY BY: https://www.dawn.com/ WASHINGTON: President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Lloyd Austin, who led US troops into Baghdad in 2003 and rose to head the US Central Command, as the first African-American secretary of defence, US media reported on Monday. A veteran of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the retired four-star army general, 67, beat out the favourite for the job, former under-secretary of defence Michele Flournoy, amid pressure on Biden to nominate more minority members for positions in his cabinet. CNN, Politico and The New York Times cited unnamed sources familiar with the decision,…

Saudi Arabia, Iraq reopen border after 30 years

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COURTESY BY: https://www.dawn.com/ BAGHDAD: Iraq and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday reopened their land border for the first time in 30 years, with closer trade ties between the two countries irking allies of Riyadh’s rival, Tehran. Top officials including Iraq’s interior minister and the head of its border commission travelled from Baghdad to formally open the Arar crossing. They met a delegation who had joined them from Riyadh, all in masks, and cut a red ribbon at the border crossing as a line of cargo trucks waited behind them. Arar will…