WORLD
Public confidence in Italy's vax rollout hindered by AstraZeneca fears
Giovanni Pavesi, director-general of the Lombardy Region Welfare Department, said on Saturday that reports of health concerns tied to the AstraZeneca vaccine have resulted in people turning it down, reports Xinhua news agency. "This is a more serious problem than we anticipated," Pavesi said, adding the hesitation over AstraZeneca is having an impact on the broader rollout in his region and elsewhere.
Iran says 'good' progress made on nuclear talks
Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian media that "good discussions" had been held among the delegations from Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany, DPA news agency reported. "It seems that a new understanding is emerging and there is no common ground ... on the final goal," Araghchi was quoted as saying by state television.
Russia expels Ukrainian diplomat for 'spying'
In a statement on Saturday, the Ministry said it had summoned Ukraine's Charge d'Affaires Vasily Pokotilo after the Federal Security Service intelligence agency briefly detained Ukrainian consul Aleksandr Sosonyuk in St. Petersburg on Friday for obtaining classified information about Russian law enforcement agencies, reports Xinhua news agency.
Global Covid-19 caseload tops 140.6mn
In its latest update on Sunday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 140,433,831 and 3,008,043, respectively. The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 31,627,701 and 566,893, respectively, according to the CSSE.
5 killed in Bangladesh police firing in Chinese joint venture
More than fifteen workers, all protesting for payment of dues, have also been injured. The angry workers, who resented the non-payment of dues attacked the power plant after a meeting between the management and their leaders failed to resolve the crisis.
Russia sends warships for manoeuvres amid Ukraine tension
It was not initially said how long the exercises would last, DPA news agency reported. The US had previously cancelled the deployment of two warships to the Black Sea following complaints from Russia. On Friday, the Russian Defence Ministry declared that certain sea areas in Crimea would be closed off for months because of the manoeuvres.
Edward Snowden's NFT artwork sells for over $5.4 mn
The artwork titled "Stay Free combines the entirety of a landmark US court decision ruling the National Security Agency's (NSA) mass surveillance violated the law, with the iconic portrait of the whistleblower. The funds will benefit the Freedom of the Press Foundation, where Snowden is the president.
Sri Lankans file over a dozen cases against China-backed Colombo Port City
The legislation Colombo Port City Economic Commission�relates to the China-backed $1.4 billion Port City in Colombo and is a legal framework for setting up a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) within the Colombo Port City. The Supreme Court has appointed a five-member bench to hear petitions next week.
No major trading partner manipulates currency: US Treasury
In its semi-annual Report on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the US, the Department on Friday concluded that Vietnam, Switzerland and Taiwan met all three criteria for enhanced currency analysis under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 during the four quarters through December 2020, reports Xinhua news agency.
EU-UK trade plunges after Brexit
In the first two months of 2021, exports from the bloc to the UK fell 20.2 per cent compared to last year, while the EU's imports from the UK recorded an even sharper decrease of 47 per cent, the figures published on Friday revealed.
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