Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Daily News Brief

*)US to assess its ties with Pakistan over Afghanistan's future The US will be looking at its ties with Pakistan to formulate the role Islamabad can play in Afghanistan's future, State Secretary Antony Blinken has said. At a Congress hearing on Afghanistan, Blinken said some of Pakistan's interests – such as harbouring Taliban members – conflict with the US even as it cooperated on counterterrorism. Blinken told lawmakers the Biden administration will be reassessing its relationship with Pakistan. *) Israeli PM Bennett meets President Sisi in Egypt Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi in the resort town of Sharm el Sheikh. This is the first official trip by an Israeli head of government to Egypt in a decade. The two discussed bilateral relations and efforts to revive the peace process. Bennett described the meeting as "very good.” *) Biden visits a burning western US ahead of California election stop US President Joe Biden is on a two-day visit across three Western states to survey the damage caused by wildfires. He's calling for protection of the environment and mitigation of the damage caused by natural disasters. Biden's trip aims to highlight his multitrillion-dollar legislation focused on renewing failing infrastructure, so the US is better able to cope with the changing climate. *) South Korean antitrust agency fines Google $177M South Korea's antitrust regulator has fined Alphabet Inc's Google 207 billion won (wahn), or 176.6 million dollars. The regulator says Google abused its dominant market position to restrict competition in the mobile operating system market. The Korea Fair Trade Commission investigated Google for allegedly preventing local smartphone makers from customising its Android OS. The fine is the latest antitrust setback for Google in South Korea. And finally... *) Global Witness report says record number of activists killed A record number of environmental and land rights activists were murdered last year, according to a report by the campaign group Global Witness. At least 227 activists were killed around the world – the highest number recorded for a second consecutive year. The report called the victims "environmental defenders" killed for protecting natural resources. Since the Paris Agreement on climate change was signed in 2015, the organisation says on average four activists have been killed each week.