WORLD
US vax rate remains low despite ample vaccine supply
The Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao published a report on Monday which was initially carried by The New York Times, Xinhua news agency reported. Only 57 percent of Americans have been fully vaccinated, according to data tracked by The New York Times, even though the country has more vaccine stocks than it needs. Resistance to vaccination in the United States remains high, even among police and firefighters. As a result, the United States now lags behind dozens of countries in pursuing universal vaccination.
Iran says nuclear talks to resume by end of November
"We had a very serious and constructive dialogue with Enrique Mora on the essential elements for successful negotiations," wrote Bagheri Kani, also Iran's deputy foreign minister, Xinhua news agency reported. "We agreed to start negotiations before the end of November. The exact date would be announced next week," he added. Enrique Mora, deputy secretary-general of the European External Action Service, visited Tehran earlier this month and held "good and constructive" talks with Bagheri Kani, as the Iranian Foreign Ministry commented.
28 UN civilian staff killed, 24 abducted in latest 18-month tally
Of the 28 fatalities, seven were as a result of acts of violence, and 21 were due to safety-related incidents, shows the UN secretary-general's latest report, "Safety and Security of Humanitarian Personnel and Protection of UN Personnel." The number of abductions of UN personnel drastically increased to 17 in 2020, from six in 2019. Another seven personnel were abducted in the first six months of 2021, Xinhua news agency reported.
Taliban military strategist, Mullah Yaqub Omar makes first appearance
Mullah Yaqub, who heads the Taliban military commission, recently moved to Kabul from Kandahar and has close family members as his personal guards, the report said. He is said to be the driving force behind the capture of the entire country by the Taliban after the US announced the withdrawal of its forces.
China's Kuaizhou-1A rocket launches satellite
The Jilin-1 Gaofen 02F satellite was launched by a Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) carrier rocket at 2:19 p.m. (Beijing Time) and entered the planned orbit, Xinhua news agency reported. It is an optical remote sensing satellite that can provide high resolution images and high-speed data transmission. Kuaizhou-1A, which is Chinese for fast ship, is a low-cost small solid-fuel carrier rocket that has a short preparation period.
Taliban keep Afghan Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani's face out of camera's view
In his first public appearance since he was named the Taliban's interior minister in early September, Haqqani on October 19 praised suicide bombers and promised money and land to a packed house of their surviving family members. In an official photo of the event at Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel, the target of deadly Taliban attacks in 2011 and 2018.
Saudi Arabia agrees to revive financial support to Pakistan
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had visited the kingdom this week for agreement in this regard, as per reports and sources of Dawn. Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry later confirmed Saudi's assistance to Pakistan in a midnight tweet. The tweet said that Saudi Arabia has announced support to Pakistan with 3 billion US dollars as a deposit in Pakistan central bank, in addition to financing refined petroleum products worth 1.2 billion US dollars during the year.
Huge disruption for Chinese projects in Sudan amid coup
The companies have summoned the workers to the office bases amidst the uncertain risks of the coup. The intensity of risk escalates gravely after the internet service and mobile network cut-offs experienced in the country. A backlog of containers at Port Sudan was also reported and according to the analysts, the potential disruption to Chinese businesses could be big.
US Senators urge Biden administration to waive sanctions against India for purchase of Russian arms
in the case of this current S-400 transaction involving India, "we believe that the application of CAATSA sanctions could have a deleterious effect on a strategic partnership with India, while at the same time, not achieve the intended purpose of deterring Russian arms sales," the US Senators wrote in the letter to Biden.
'Developed countries fail to meet climate goals, while India exceeds targets
"When the developed world is exhibiting shortfall in actions with just 14.8 per cent (greenhouse gas emission) emission reduction against the target of 18 per cent reduction in the pre-2020 period, India is overachieving its voluntary target of emission reduction," he told the General Assembly's high level meeting on climate action on Tuesday.
Don't Miss
Advertisement