The Covid outbreak has been surging again in Pakistan with over 600 cases and nearly a dozen fatalities reported almost on a daily basis. “National positivity of Covid cases was 2.37%. This is the highest positivity rate in more than 50 days,” minister for planning and development Asad Umar tweeted. “The average number of Covid deaths during the first four days of this week was 11 per day, the highest since the week of August 10. Unmistakable signs of the rise of corona,” he said.
Security forces kill 170 Taliban terrorists
A total of 170 Taliban terrorists have been killed in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand after government forces moved to retake territories following the movement's days-long offensive in the region, the provincial police chief said. Earlier, the Taliban launched a series of attacks in Helmand's Nad-e-Ali district and Babaji area, pushing back Afghan security forces. "Supply forces have arrived in Helmand and retaliatory strikes have been launched to retake areas recaptured from the Taliban. Some 170 Taliban terrorists have been killed and several others wounded in ground operations and airstrikes," Khalil Ul Rahman Jawad said. Amid heavy clashes in the area, locals have fled to the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah. According to the Helmand Department for Refugee Affairs, "in the last two days, 4,500 people have been displaced from Babaji and Nad-e-Ali and are in need of first aid." Along with the fall of some areas in Nad-e-Ali and Babaji area, the Taliban have also seized several sections of Helmand-Kandahar highway, hindering traffic. Against this backdrop, US forces in Afghanistan have hit the Taliban with airstrikes to support Afghan forces.
9 soldiers killed as two Afghan helicopters collide
Two Afghan army helicopters collided while transporting wounded soldiers amid renewed fighting against Taliban militants in the southern Helmand province, killing nine Afghan service members, the country’s Defense Ministry said. The two Soviet-era Mi-17 helicopters crashed due to technical problems while taking off in Nawa district, the Afghan Defense Ministry statement said. The nine dead were all Afghan crew and soldiers on board the two aircraft. The crash came amid a new wave of fighting in Helmand province between the Afghan military and Taliban insurgents. The Taliban control roughly 80% of Helmand, and in the past year have waged several attacks on the capital of Lashkar Gah only to be repulsed by Afghan security forces, whose control is largely restricted to district centers. The helicopters that crashed were carrying wounded soldiers.
Dhaka won’t co-fund vaccine trial by China co
Bangladesh will not co-fund a late-stage domestic trial of a potential coronavirus vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech, the country’s health minister Zahid Maleque said. His comments come weeks after Sinovac asked the Bangladesh government to co-fund the domestic trials. “We are not co-funding the trial. That was not in the agreement,” Maleque said. “As per agreement, they’ll bear all expenses of the trial, they’ll give us 110,000 free vaccines and they’ll share the technology.” Sinovac did not respond to a request for comment.
Chinese firm offers vaccine to students going abroad
A Chinese drug developer is offering an experimental vaccine to students going abroad in a strategy experts say raises safety and ethical concerns. China National Biotech Group’s vaccine is already being given to medical workers and employees of companies being sent abroad under an emergency authorisation. Now, CNBG says it will provide the vaccine for free to Chinese students who study abroad. Over 168,000 people signed up to receive the vaccine via an online survey and over 91,000 are being considered, CNBG said on its website. That page had been removed later. CNBG did not respond to a request for comment.
Saudi Arabia restarts prayers at Mecca
Saudi Arabia opened Islam's holiest site for prayers for the first time in seven months, and expanded the umrah pilgrimage to accommodate 15,000 worshippers as it relaxed coronavirus curbs. Mask-clad Saudi citizens and residents of the kingdom were allowed to pray inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca, amid what authorities called extensive health precautions. "Citizens and residents have performed Salat Al-Fajr (dawn prayers) at the Grand Mosque today as (authorities) start implementing the second phase of the gradual resumption of umrah," the official Saudi Press Agency reported. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia allowed up to 6,000 citizens and residents per day to perform the umrah - a Muslim pilgrimage that can be undertaken at any time - after it was suspended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Under the second stage that began on Sunday, the number of umrah pilgrims was increased to 15,000 per day.
Finland PM trolled for 'modelling' in low-cut jacket
Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin came under attack from sexist trolls who objected to a recent photoshoot of the 34-year-old in a "low cut" jacket. A rigorous women's rights activist and leader of Finland's Centre-left Social Democratic Party, Marin recently appeared on the cover of Trendi magazine in which she was dressed in a slick blazer and a cute necklace. "Prime Minister Sanna Marin has a leading position as an example, a role model, a change of things, and an influencer. The work is high-pressure, but good sleep and iron nerves help," the magazine wrote on its Instagram page while sharing the image. No sooner did the photo appear on social media, self-appointed moral police of women's clothes took to Instagram to comment on how the jacket was inappropriate. "The role of the Prime Minister is to act as a leader and not as a fashion model," one user wrote, adding that by indulging in such photoshoots, Marin was bringing down her own image and credibility in international politics as well as the public eye.
Finnair to sell plane food in shops
Finnish carrier Finnair will start selling business class airplane food in supermarkets in a move to keep its catering staff employed and to offer a taste of the airline experience to those missing flying in the Covid-19 times. The state-controlled airline said that in a pilot scheme the handmade meals, called “Taste of Finnair,” would initially be offered at one store. The ready-made dishes include options like reindeer meatballs, Arctic char and Japanese-style teriyaki beef and are suited for Nordic and Asian palates and would cost about 10 euros ($12) to 13 euros, Finnair Kitchen said. Finnair is one of the main airlines flying between Europe and Asia, and several Asian chefs and cooks work at its catering unit.
US spacecraft attempts to land on asteroid
After almost two years circling an ancient asteroid hundreds of millions of miles away, a Nasa spacecraft this week will attempt to descend to the treacherous, boulder-packed surface and snatch a handful of rubble. The drama will unfold as the US takes its first crack at collecting asteroid samples for return to Earth, a feat accomplished so far only by Japan. With names inspired by Egyptian mythology, the Osiris-Rex mission is looking to bring back at least 60 gm worth of asteroid Bennu, the biggest otherworldly haul from beyond the moon. The spacecraft is aiming for the relatively flat middle of a tennis court-sized crater named Nightingale.
Teacher beheaded in Paris subrub
A history teacher beheaded in a Paris suburb had been the target of online threats for showing pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in class, France's anti-terror prosecutor said. The father of a schoolgirl had sought 47-year-old teacher Samuel Paty's dismissal and launched an online call for "mobilisation" against him after the lesson on freedom of expression, Jean-Francois Ricard said in a news conference. Paty was decapitated outside his school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, northwest of the capital, and the killer was fatally wounded by police. The suspect was Abdullakh Anzorov, whose family had arrived in France from Russia when he was six. The schoolgirl's father and a known Islamist militant are among 10 people arrested. Ricard said the school received threats after the class in early October, which featured the controversial caricatures. The girl and her father lodged a criminal complaint against the teacher, who in turn filed a complaint of defamation, said Ricard.
Japan to make it easier for men to take childcare leave
Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga said he would take measures to make it easier for men to take time off to take care of new-born babies, as the country’s population ages and shrinks rapidly. Suga also told a meeting on social security reforms that he planned to unveil steps by the end of the year towards realising insurance coverage for fertility treatment.
French court fines activist who pinches colonial relics
A French court convicted Congolese activist Mwazulu Diyabanza of aggravated robbery and fined him 1,000 euros ($1,176) after he snatched a 19th century central African funerary post from a Paris museum in June. Diyabanza, who has lived in France for 20 years, belongs to a pan-African movement that is pressing France to return thousands of art works removed from its African colonies and make reparations for acts of slavery.
Belarus prez told to quit by Oct 25 or face strikes
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya set an October 25 deadline for President Alexander Lukashenko to quit or face nationwide strikes that would paralyse the country. The ultimatum came after authorities intensified the crackdown on anti-government rallies, resorting to water cannon, tear gas and flare guns. Cops threatened to use combat weapons. Unless Lukashenko announces his resignation, halts violence and releases political prisoners, “on October 26, all enterprises will begin a strike, roads will be blocked, state-owned stores will no longer have sales,” Tsikhanouskaya said.
Princeton to pay $1.2m to female professors as compensation
Princeton has agreed to pay nearly $1 million in back wages to female professors after a review found disparities in compensation between male and female professors, the US department of labour said. The review, which started in 2014 and focused on the wages of female full professors from 2012-14, found that 106 women had been paid less than their male counterparts, according to a statement last week from the labour department. The varsity did not admit any wrongdoing, but it agreed to an early resolution conciliation deal on September 30 to “avoid lengthy and costly litigation and its impact on the faculty and the university,” said a university’s spokesman.
Russia green lights 2nd vaccine before Ph-3 trials
Russian health authorities approved a Covid-19 vaccine created by a former biological weapons research laboratory for public use, marking the second time the Kremlin has bypassed accepted scientific protocol. A vaccine developed by the Vector State Virology and Biotechnology Centre in Siberia has been registered, President Putin said in televised comments. “We need to increase production of our first and now our second vaccine, first of all we should supply the domestic market,” Putin said, adding that Russia will also work with foreign partners to make the inoculations. Vector’s drug was registered before completing Phase 3 trials, two months after Putin announced approval of Sputnik V as the world’s first coronavirus vaccine. Even so, deputy PM Tatyana Golikova said it is safe and the first 60,000 doses will be produced soon. She told Putin she had already tried the vaccine and not suffered any side effects.
Korean boy band faces uproar over war comments
Chinese nationalists erupted in anger at South Korean boy band BTS after its leader thanked Korean War veterans for their sacrifices. The singer, who goes by RM, made the remark in a recorded acceptance speech for an award from the Korea Society for promoting US-Korean ties. “We will always remember the history of pain that our two nations shared together and the sacrifices of countless men and women,” RM said in the speech, which included no mention of China. Chinese internet users and state media took RM’s comments as a slap at China, whose soldiers fought alongside North Korean forces in the 1950-53 war.
Berlin pulls advert giving the finger to the mask-less
German capital pulled an advert that had featured an elderly woman wearing a face mask showing the middle finger to those who do not follow rules aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus after a storm of protest. Marcel Luthe, a member of the Berlin senate, said he had made a police complaint about the ad, saying it incited hatred against those who cannot wear a mask, like children and those with hearing or other health issues.
