WORLD
US to end combat mission in Iraq by end of year
"Our role in Iraq will be... continue to train, to assist, to help and to deal with ISIS (Islamic State) as it rises, but we're not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat mission," Biden said at the beginning of a meeting in the Oval Office with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Xinhua reported.
Afghanistan asks Human Rights Council to probe Taliban's crimes against humanity
"The reports by verified independent resources and media indicate that the Taliban forces perpetrate in areas under their control unpardonable and prosecutable crimes, including illegal arrests, arbitral killings, torturing civilians, forced marriages, and violation of basic human rights, particularly women's rights," the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.
Militant groups may target Chinese assets in Pakistan more frequently
The deep-rooted fear that the Chinese have of such incidents being repeated has led them to discuss the issue with Pakistan Foreign Minister Mahmood Kureshi and ISI chief Faiz Hameed, who visited China on July 23. Besides a number of issues discussed by both the sides, the safety and security of Chinese workers dominated the meeting.
Tokyo's Covid-19 cases exceed 1,000 for 7th consecutive day
Due to the recent resurgence of Covid-19 infections, the cumulative tally of cases in Tokyo has exceeded 200,000. Moreover, people are highly concerned about the spread of the Delta variant of the virus in Japan, especially with the Olympics underway, the Xinhua news agency reported.
By 2025, Covid will have cost world between $16 trillion and $35 trillion
The world is unlikely to ever reach global herd immunity, but it can contain the virus with a combination of vaccines, improved testing, and smarter quarantining, based on known outbreaks, rather than large, blunt lockdowns, McKinsey said in a report. Obstacles to worldwide vaccination remain huge: while 49.6 per cent of inhabitants of high-income countries had received at least one dose of the vaccine as of July 14.
Anthony Fauci says US going in 'wrong direction' on Covid-19 cases
"So it really is, as (Rochelle) Walensky (Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has said many times and I have said, it is really a pandemic among the unvaccinated, so this is an issue predominantly among the unvaccinated, which is the reason why we're out there, practically pleading with the unvaccinated people to go out and get vaccinated," said the chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden.
Afghan airstrikes kill over 35 Taliban militants
In a statement on Sunday, the Defence Ministry said that fighter jets targeted taliban hideouts and positions in parts of Helmand's Nad Ali and Sangin districts, reports Xinhua news agency. A weapon cache of the militant group was also destroyed during the attacks, the statement added. The Taliban controls at least six districts in Helmand province. Meanwhile in Badakhshan province, the fighter planes struck a Taliban gathering in Argo district, according to an army statement.
Chinese firm DJI's drones still a national security threat: US
"Existing DOD policy and practices associated with the use of these systems by US government entities and forces working with US military services remain unchanged contrary to any written reports not approved for release by the DOD," the department said in a statement.
Global Covid-19 caseload tops 194 million
In its latest update on Monday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload, death toll and the total number of vaccine doses administered stood at 194,092,488, 4,158,316 and 3,841,936,983, respectively. The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 34,443,064 and 610,891, respectively, according to the CSSE.
US asks Pakistan, India to work towards stable relationship
Blinken is scheduled to visit India and other countries between July 26-29 in what is being said is an important tour in reference to the developing situation and increasing Afghan Taliban control in Afghanistan. As per Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Affairs Dean Thompson, Blinken would be discussing different options for what he called a "negotiated settlement" in Afghanistan.
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