The move came hours after Israel freed two Syrian shepherds as part of the swap deal…reports Asian Lite News
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office revealed late on Thursday that an Israeli citizen who crossed the Syrian border has been exchanged under a Russia-brokered swap deal.
The move came hours after Israel freed two Syrian shepherds as part of the swap deal. Netanyahu thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin in a tweet on Friday for facilitating the exchange, the Xinhua news reported.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "Several days ago, a young Israeli woman crossed the border to Syria. I spoke twice with my friend Russian President Vladimir Putin. I requested his assistance in returning her, and he acted. pic.twitter.com/fXrpx9Qmhy
Earlier this week, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported that the Israeli woman accidentally entered Syria’s Quneitra region after crossing from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.
Israel and Syria have a border along the Golan Heights, which the Jewish state seized from Syria during the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981.
If the human trials with the mRNA vaccine are successful, Thai company Bionet Asia will manufacture a range of one to five million doses of the vaccine by the end of this year, Kiat said….reports Asian Lite News
The Covid-19 vaccine developed by Chulalongkorn University of Thailand, is ready to enter the first stage of human trials soon, according to a university official.
In Thursday’s press conference, Kiat Ruxrungtham, who is in charge of the University’s vaccine development project, confirmed the
mRNA vaccine ChulaCov19 will be put on trial with humans in late April or early May, following satisfactory results of earlier trials with rats and macaques, Kiat Ruxrungtham who is in charge of the University’s vaccine development project confirmed.
If the human trials with the mRNA vaccine are successful, Thai company Bionet Asia will manufacture a range of one to five million doses of the vaccine by the end of this year, Kiat said.
The university is still working on an updated version of the vaccine to fight against new coronavirus variants, he added.
China highly commends its efforts and expects the government to accelerate internal integration, smoothly carry out its work, and get ready to participate in the comprehensive political process…reports Asian Lite News
A Chinese envoy on Thursday asked for efforts to boost the political process and relieve the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
The Yemeni government has tried its best to provide services for people’s livelihood under very difficult circumstances Since its return to Aden.
China highly commends its efforts and expects the government to accelerate internal integration, smoothly carry out its work, and get ready to participate in the comprehensive political process, said Geng Shuang, China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.
The escalation of conflict in northern Yemen has caused civilian casualties and undermined mutual trust between the government and the Houthis, threatening the political mediation efforts.
China urges all parties to the conflict to heed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ appeal for a cease-fire, put down their guns, exercise restraint, and refrain from any actions that may increase tension so as to create a safe environment for the peace process, he told the Security Council.
China welcomes the US move to revoke its designation of the Houthis as terrorists and the appointment of a US special envoy to promote the political process in Yemen. “We hope the US will adopt more measures conducive to the peace process in Yemen and commit itself to maintaining peace and stability in the Gulf region.”
China appreciates the recent shuttle diplomacy carried out by UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths and hopes all the parties can seize this positive momentum to meet each other halfway and create conditions for lasting peace in Yemen, he said.
The settlement of the issues in the Gulf region needs both the joint efforts of regional countries and the constructive role of key powers. China welcomes the recent visit to Iran by Griffiths and hopes that the exchanges will bring about positive impact on the political settlement of the Yemeni issue, he said.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has proposed a multilateral platform for dialogue in the Gulf region. China is ready to conduct consultations with countries that have similar ideas to advance the forging of new consensus on maintaining peace and stability in the region, said Geng.
He also called on the international community to increase assistance to Yemen in order to alleviate the humanitarian situation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Yoav Dudkevitch/JINI via Xinhua/IANS)
Arrow-4 will be “the next generation” of Israel’s multi-layered defence doctrine to intercept missiles in the atmosphere and space…reports Asian Lite News
Israel has started manufactruing a long-range ballistic missile interceptor, named Arrow-4, together with the US.
“The Israel Missile Defense Organization, in the Directorate of Defense Research and Development of the Defense Ministry, and the US Missile Defense Agency, have commenced the development of the Arrow-4 system,” a spokesperson with the defence ministry said in a statement.
Arrow-4 will be “the next generation” of Israel’s multi-layered defence doctrine to intercept missiles in the atmosphere and space,
The defence ministry said Arrow-4 will be an advanced and innovative anti-missile system with enhanced capabilities to “address a wide range of evolving threats in the region and will replace the Arrow-2 interceptors over the next decades.”
John Hill, director of the US Missile Defense Agency, said in the statement that the cooperative program between the two countries “illustrates US commitment to assisting the government of Israel in upgrading its national missile defence capability to defend the State of Israel from emerging threats.”
The first batch of doses will be shipped to Hong Kong soon and the government will launch the rollout as soon as possible after necessary quality inspection….reports Asian Lite News
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Thursday approved emergency use of the Sinovac vaccine produced by Sinovac Biotech.
The decision came two days after a panel of experts recommended the vaccine to the authorities.
Secretary for Food and Health of the HKSAR government Sophia Chan announced the decision in a statement, making Sinovac’s vaccine the second allowed to be administered in Hong Kong following the mRNA vaccine developed by Fosun Pharma and BioNTech, the Xinhua news agency reported.
After taking the advice of the panel as a reference, Chan believes that the approval is necessary and in line with public interests, according to the statement.
The first batch of doses will be shipped to Hong Kong soon and the government will launch the rollout as soon as possible after necessary quality inspection.
Hong Kong’s advisory panel on Covid-19 vaccines decided Tuesday to recommend Sinovac’s vaccine as experts agreed that the use of the vaccine can bring more benefits than risks.
Sisi and Qureshi discussed bolstering ties between Egypt and Pakistan “especially in terms of security and economic cooperation, and trade and investment exchange”…reports Asian Lite News
Egyptian presidency said in a statement that Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi held talks with visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on stepping up security and economic ties between the two countries.
Sisi and Qureshi discussed boosting ties between Egypt and Pakistan “especially in terms of security and economic cooperation, and trade and investment exchange”, the Xinhua news reported on Thursday.
They also agreed to enhance coordination and consultation on issues of mutual concern, including combating terrorism, “which is considered one of the most serious challenges facing the two countries,” according to the statement.
“We’ve agreed to intensify cooperation in the coming stage to completely obliterate this phenomenon (of terrorism), whose confrontation requires consolidating international efforts,” Shoukry told reporter in a joint press conference with Qureshi following their talks.
The meeting was attended by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who held talks later with his Pakistani counterpart.
For his part, the Pakistani diplomat hailed bilateral relations between Islamabad and Cairo, emphasizing his country’s keenness on enhancing cooperation with Egypt in various areas.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani reiterated that the Islamic Republic’s “definite” determination not to produce or store weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), including nuclear weapons, official news agency IRNA reported.
“As we have said many times, in our country’s defence program, there is no place for weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, and this is a definite decision of the system,” he said in a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Rouhani said this is not a new or recent decision, because Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and late Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani underlined nearly 30 years ago that Iran will not pursue nuclear weapons.
However, Iran has ever since intended to develop “peaceful nuclear technologies” as it is right as a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and signatory to a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), he added.
A demilitarized, commercial launch of the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces R-36 ICBM; also known by the NATO reporting name: SS-18 Satan. Upon its first fielding in the late 1960s, the SS-18 remains the single highest throw weight missile delivery system ever built. (Wikipedia)
Iran’s president also reiterated that Tehran will not accept any changes in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreed in 2015 after intensive works between Iran and six world powers, neither will negotiate its national defence program.
Meanwhile, Rouhani said that Iran vowed to return to compliance with the JCPOA “in a few hours” after sanctions against Iran are lifted, whether this is done step by step by both the U.S. and Iran, or in full and at once.
Regarding Iran’s stated plan to stop the implementation of the IAEA’s Additional Protocol next week, Rouhani said the IAEA inspections will continue on the basis of safeguards agreement, noting the IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has made a request to travel to Iran.
People wearing face masks walk on a street in Rasht, Iran. Iran’s health ministry warned of the spread of a new Covid-19 variant in the country.
In January, Iran launched 20-percent uranium enrichment process as part of Iran’s Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions, which was approved by parliament in December 2020.
In response to the US withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 and re-imposition of sanctions, Iran has suspended implementing parts of its obligations under the agreement.
Munir Akram, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations
Akram stressed that progress in the reform process can be made only through consultations, mutual accommodation, and innovative compromise and not through bullying and coercion….reports Asian Lite News
Pakistan has objected to the addition of new permanent members to the UN Security Council (UNSC).
Pakistan has also warned that addition may result in Council’s inequality and dysfunctionality, Radio Pakistan reported Wednesday.
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Munir Akram said this while addressing a meeting of the Inter-Governmental Negotiations Framework, geo tv reported.
Akram stressed that progress in the reform process can be made only through consultations, mutual accommodation, and innovative compromise and not through bullying and coercion.
He reiterated Pakistan’s principled stance on restructuring the Security Council by expansion in the non-permanent category so that the ideal of a comprehensive reform can be met.
Around 40,000 medical workers will receive the first jabs, double the number initially planned, with 12 of around 800 workers at the medical centre in the capital first to be vaccinated on Wednesday and reporting no immediate side effects…reports Asian Lite News
Japan on Wednesday began its Covid-19 vaccination drive in which frontline workers will be among the first to get Covid -19 vaccines.
Officials said that the first inoculations will use the vaccine developed by the US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer and the German partner BioNTech taking place at the National Hospital Organisation Tokyo Medical Centre.
Around 40,000 medical workers will receive the first jabs, double the number initially planned, with 12 of around 800 workers at the medical centre in the capital first to be vaccinated on Wednesday and reporting no immediate side effects, Xinhua reported.
Of the 40,000 medical workers at 100 facilities nationwide, 20,000 doctors and nurses will be asked to maintain records on a daily basis for seven weeks after taking the first of two shots which will be administered three weeks apart.
The survey is in a bid to determine if there are any adverse effects from the jabs and other related information.
Head of the National Hospital Organization Tokyo Medical Center Kazuhiro Araki said he hopes those participating in the study will “help both staff and patients prevent infections.”
Araki himself was the first person to receive the vaccine.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, meanwhile, told a parliamentary committee meeting that the vaccines were essential in the nation’s bid to tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“The vaccines will be the decisive factor in fighting the coronavirus,” Suga said, adding that he would continue to push forward with the rollout while keeping the public informed.
Following the initial round of medical workers being inoculated, in March, around 3.7 million health workers will also begin receiving the vaccine, followed by 36 million people aged 65 or older from April.
A second shipment of the Pfizer vaccine is scheduled to arrive from Europe next week, Japan’s minister in charge of vaccination efforts Taro Kono said the previous day, to ensure there are enough doses to vaccinate the elderly in Japan’s rapidly aging society.
Following the elderly, those with preexisting conditions and those working at elderly care facilities will be next in line to be vaccinated, followed by the rest of the population.
A batch of around 400,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived last Friday at Narita airport near Tokyo from Brussels, with a health ministry panel green-lighting the use of the vaccine amid the ongoing pandemic here, which is weighing heavily on the country’s medical system.
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, thereafter, fast-tracked and formally approved the country’s first vaccine on Sunday for people aged 16 or older.
“I hope many people will take the vaccine with an understanding of the benefits and risks,” Kono said.
“After 20 years of a NZDF presence in Afghanistan, it is now time to conclude our deployment,” Ardern said in a statement….reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday that New Zealand will conclude its deployment of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) to Afghanistan by May 2021.
“After 20 years of a NZDF presence in Afghanistan, it is now time to conclude our deployment,” Ardern said in a statement.
“The deployments to Afghanistan have been one of the longest running in our history, and I wish to acknowledge the 10 New Zealanders who lost their lives in the line of duty, and the more than 3,500 NZDF and other agency personnel, whose commitment to replace conflict with peace will always be remembered,” Ardern said.
NEWS 📢 We will complete our commitments and proceed with the withdrawal of personnel from Afghanistan following the Government’s announcement today that the deployment will conclude this year.#Force4NZhttps://t.co/lVuuDa3SRQ
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said that although the environment remains complex, the intra-Afghan peace process affords Afghanistan the best prospect of an enduring political solution, Xinhua reported.
“New Zealand’s decision to conclude its deployment to Afghanistan in 2021 has been discussed with our key partners, with whom we have cooperated closely over the last 20 years,” Mahuta said.
Defence Minister Peeni Henare said the current deployment consists of six NZDF personnel – three deployed to the Afghanistan National Army Officer Academy, and three deployed to the NATO Resolute Support Mission Headquarters.
