International

U.S President-elect Biden to end travel ban on Muslim countries on Inauguration day

Published

9 months ago

January 18, 2021

Washington, Jan 18: US President-elect Joe Biden will be signing several executive orders, including rejoining the Paris climate accord, extending pandemic-related limits on evictions and ending the travel ban on predominantly Muslim countries on his first day of office.

According to a report by The New York Times, on his first day in the office alone, Biden intends a flurry of executive orders that will be partly substantive and partly symbolic including rescinding the travel ban on several predominantly Muslim countries, rejoining the Paris climate change accord, extending pandemic-related limits on evictions and student loan payments, issuing a mask mandate for federal property and interstate travel and ordering agencies to figure out how to reunite children separated from families after crossing the border.

List of countries

It may be mentioned that the ban restricts travel from

Iran

Libya

Syria

Yemen

Somalia

Venezuela

North Korea

Except Venezuela and North Korea, all are Muslim countries.

‘In order to highlight the actions the president-elect is taking, we are spreading these initial executive actions over a ten-day period,’ Ron Klain, Biden’s incoming White House chief of staff, said in an official statement.

Four crises

On Inauguration Day, Biden will sign roughly a dozen actions to combat the four crises, restore humanity to the immigration system, and make government function for the people, he said.

‘On the day after the inauguration, Biden will be signing several executive orders to aggressively change the COVID-19 situation in the country and safely re-open schools and businesses, including by taking action to mitigate spread through expanding testing, protecting workers, and establishing clear public health standards.’

According to a Sputnik report, in his first days in office, Biden is also expected to launch a ‘100 Day Masking Challenge’ by issuing a mask mandate on federal property and inter-state travel to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the US.

The inauguration ceremony of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be taking place on January 20.

International

Afghanistan: 37 killed, over 70 injured as blast hits Shia mosque in Kandahar

Published

6 days ago

October 15, 2021

Agencies

(Asian News Hub) – Suicide bombers assaulted a Shiite mosque in southern Afghanistan that was packed with worshippers attending weekly Friday prayers, killing at least 37 people and wounding more than 70, Associated Press reported quoting hospital official and an eyewitness.

The attack on the Imam Barga mosque came a week after a bombing claimed by a local Islamic State affiliate killed 46 people at a Shiite mosque in northern Afghanistan.

Also Read: Amit Shah warns Pakistan, refers to surgical strike

Murtaza, an eye-witness who like many Afghans goes by one name, said four suicide bombers attacked the mosque. Two detonated their explosives at a security gate, allowing the other two to run inside and strike the congregation of worshippers.

Speaking to The Associated Press by phone, he said Friday prayers are typically attended by around 500 people.

Eyewitnesses said three back-to-back explosions hit Imam Bargah mosque in Kandahar, one of the biggest mosques in the city, causing high casualties.#TOLOnews pic.twitter.com/Z2owaWzxrF
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) October 15, 2021

International

At least 20 killed, over 300 injured in an earthquake in Pakistan

Published

2 weeks ago

October 7, 2021

Agencies

(Asian News Hub) – At least 20 people were killed and over 300 others injured after a powerful 5.9 earthquake struck Pakistan’s Balochistan province early on Thursday, October 7, 2021, according to PTI quoting media reports.

Disaster management officials said the death toll may increase, Geo News reported.

According to the seismological centre, the epicentre was located near Harnai at a depth of 15 km.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said many of the dead were women and children.

The quake affected Quetta, Sibi, Harnai, Pishin, Qila Saifullah, Chaman, Ziarat and Zhob in Balochistan.

Images on social media showed people in the city of Quetta out on the streets in the aftermath of the quake, Dawn newspaper reported.

Aftershocks are still being felt in different areas. The earliest tremors were felt at 3:20 am after which panicked citizens rushed out of their houses reciting verses from the holy Quran. Relief and rescue activities are underway, with an emergency declared in all hospitals.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Harnai Sohail Anwar Hashmi, several people have been rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

He said that several buildings in Harnai have been damaged. Many people were left buried under the rubble.

The power supply to the area has been suspended, he said.

According to the rescue sources, more than 70 houses were reported damaged in Harnai.

International

World surpasses 5M COVID-19 deaths

Published

3 weeks ago

October 3, 2021

Agencies

(Asian News Hub) – The coronavirus death toll around the world surpassed 5 million on Friday, according to Reuters’s tally.

Around the world, an average of 8,000 deaths a day were reported, according to the outlet. However, it noted that the global death rate has slowed in recent weeks.

Reuters reported that it took over a year to accumulate 2.5 million deaths, but it took under eight months to accumulate the second 2.5 million deaths.