WORLD
US House passes funding bills to avoid potential govt shutdown
The House on Thursday passed the package in a 219-208 vote along party lines that would provide around $617 billion to fund the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Interior, Labour, Transportation, Treasury, and other agencies, reports Xinhua news agency. "With these bills, we are reversing these trends and investing in the American people," DeLauro said.
Palestine condemns 'Israeli killing of 2 Palestinians in West Bank'
"It condemns the endless Israeli crimes against the Palestinians in the West Bank without posing any danger to the soldiers," Xinhua news agency quoted the statement issued on Thursday as saying. The statement referred to the killing of a 41-year-old Palestinian near the village of Beita in northern West Bank on Tuesday, and the killing of an 11-year-old boy near the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Wednesday.
Climate already changing in UK: Met Office
Year 2020 was the third warmest, fifth wettest and eighth sunniest on record for the country, said the 'State of the UK Climate', an annual publication providing an up-to-date assessment of Britain's climate published on Thursday. No other year had ranked in the top 10 for all three variables for the UK. The Met Office report warned that the country has warmed at a broadly consistent but slightly higher rate.
Washington D.C. reinstates indoor mask mandate
Starting at 5 a.m. on Saturday, all D.C. residents over the age of two, regardless of their vaccination status, will be required to wear masks while in indoor public spaces, according to the new mandate. "Things have changed throughout the course of (the pandemic), and we have to adapt, too," Xinhua news agency quoted Bowser as saying at a news conference on Thursday.
Israel inspects NSO Group offices after Pegasus revelations
Officials from the Defence Ministry visited the company's offices near Tel Aviv on Wednesday, at the same time when Defence Minister Benny Gantz arrived in Paris for a pre-arranged visit, in which he discussed the Pegasus revelations with his French counterpart. French President Emmanuel Macron is one of the highest profile figures whose phone numbers appeared on a leaked database.
Taliban will not be accepted by international community if atrocities persist: UN envoy
Lyons said at the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) meet in Kabul that the world has now recognised that the Taliban must be a partner in Afghanistan's transition to self-reliance. International donors have signaled their willingness to continue to support Afghanistan after a peace agreement is reached.
Danish Siddiqui was brutally murdered by Taliban: Report
Local Afghan authorities say that Siddiqui had travelled with an Afghan National Army team to the Spin Boldak region to cover the clash between Afghan forces and the Taliban to control the lucrative border crossing with Pakistan. When they got to within one-third of a mile of the customs post, a Taliban attack split the team, with the commander and a few men separated from Siddiqui, who remained with three other Afghan troops.
US Senate votes to advance bipartisan infrastructure bill
In a key procedural vote on Wednesday night, senators voted 67-32 to push the bill forward, meeting the 60-vote threshold, reports Xinhua news agency. All 50 Democrats and 17 Republicans voted in favour. The vote starts the process to debate and amend the proposal, and the final version still needs approval from both chambers. The agreement was reached after months of strenuous negotiations between Senate Democrats and Republicans.
Pedro Castillo sworn in as Peru's new President
"It is the first time that our country will be governed by a peasant, a person who, like many Peruvians, belongs to the sectors oppressed for so many centuries," Castillo said in his first speech as President on Wednesday after he was sworn in. A former Marxist village schoolteacher, he announced a series of reforms, including drafting a new Constitution, after receiving the presidential sash from the highest authority in parliament.
Unfortunate to blame Pak for Afghanistan's situation: Imran
Speaking to journalists and Afghan in Islamabad, Khan said Pakistan is not the spokesperson for the Taliban nor does it have anything to do with what the militant group is doing in Afghanistan. "What the Taliban are doing or not doing has nothing to do with us and we are not responsible, neither are we the spokesperson of the Taliban," he said, adding that "Pakistan has always desired for peace in Afghanistan".
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