Neera Tanden, whose bid to be White House budget chief was derailed by opposition, was named White House staff secretary, putting her in a key behind-the-scenes role. The appointment, which does not require Senate confirmation, was announced during a morning staff call, a White House official said. The staff secretary job manages the paper flow, circulates documents among senior staff for comment as part of the decision-making process and is often known as the “nerve centre” of the White House. It is a job once held by current Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was staff secretary for Republican George W Bush’s White House. Jessica Hertz has held the position in the Biden White House until now. Tanden will report to White House chief of staff Ron Klain. Tanden, previously an adviser to former US President Obama and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, had been serving as president of the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank, until she became a senior adviser to President Joe Biden in May.
Six killed in clash between Rohingya groups
At least six people were killed and 10 others injured in a violent attack after two groups of Rohingya refugees clashed at a religious school in a Rohingya camp in Ukhiya area of Bangladesh's Cox Bazar, a police official said. The attackers, carrying guns, killed three teachers, two volunteers and a student in the world's largest refugee settlement. The violence erupted when one of the groups opened fire, killing four people at the scene, Police superintendent Shihab Kaiser Khan said. Two others succumbed to their injuries in the hospital. "A drive is underway to arrest those responsible for the incident," Khan said. One Rohingya man with weapons and ammunition had been taken into custody, he said.
Toon row in Pak: 4 die as rally turns violent
Violent clashes erupted between Pakistan’s security forces and radical Islamists in Lahore, leaving four people dead, including two policemen, and 15 others injured, police said. The radical Islamists - Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) workers - had launched a rally from Lahore to Islamabad demanding that the Pakistan government release their leader Saad Rizvi, who was arrested in April this year for demonstrations against France over caricatures of Prophet Muhammad published in a French magazine. Security forces tried to thwart the rally-goers from proceeding towards Islamabad by firing tear gas shells at the TLP workers, following which the protests turned violent. “Over 2,500 tear gas shells were fired at the TLP workers,” a Punjab police official said. “Two policemen lost their lives in the clashes with TLP workers,” a police spokesman said.
Melbourne opens after 262 days
Five million people in Melbourne celebrated their freedom as the world’s longest lockdown at 262 days ended last week. The curbs were lifted after the second largest city in Australia crossed 70% double vaccination rate. People hit the beaches and bars at midnight while crowds making beelines at pubs, starting their day with champagne. In one of the suburbs, Southbank, hundreds took to their balconies to chant “We are finally out”. The lockdown was the world’s longest and also among the harshest with people allowed to leave the house only for grocery, exercise, medical needs, caregiver responsibilities and vaccination. Curfew was on after 9 pm. People were barred from venturing farther than 5km from home. The world’s second longest lockdown is reported to be in Buenos Aires where people lived with mobility restrictions for 234 days.
Merkel given big sendoff
Angela Merkel is still Germany's Chancellor, and might be still when European Union leaders meet again, yet they gave her a big farewell party at EU summit. Even Barack Obama made a cameo video appearance. Attending her 107th summit, Merkel was feted by friend and foe alike in an informal ceremony behind closed doors, where they called her anything from a “compromise machine” to the EU's Eiffel Tower. Merkel has been the embodiment of the drive for a stronger united Europe for years since she attended her first meeting of EU leaders 16 years ago, at a time when Jacques Chirac was still the French president and Tony Blair the British prime minister.
Trump announces own online platform
Nine months after being expelled from social media for his role in inciting the January 6 Capitol insurrection, former President Donald Trump said he’s launching a new media company with its own social media platform. Trump says his goal in launching the Trump Media & Technology Group and its “Truth Social” app is to create a rival to the Big Tech companies that have shut him out and denied him the megaphone that was paramount to his national rise. “We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American President has been silenced,” he said in a statement. “This is unacceptable”. “I created TRUTH Social and TMTG to stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech.”
US envoy for Af steps down
The US special envoy for Afghanistan is stepping down following the chaotic American withdrawal from the country, the state department said. Zalmay Khalilzad will leave the post this week after more than three years on the job. He had been criticised for not pressing the Taliban hard enough in peace talks begun while Trump was president but secretary of state Antony Blinken thanked him for his work. “I extend my gratitude for his decades of service to the American people,” Blinken said. Khalilzad had initially planned to leave the job in May after Biden’s announcement that the US withdrawal would be completed before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. However, he was asked to stay on and did so. Khalilzad had served as the special envoy for Afghan reconciliation under both the Trump and Biden administrations since September 2018.
Surgeons attach pig kidney to human
Surgeons in New York have successfully attached a kidney grown in a genetically altered pig to a human patient and found that the organ worked normally, a scientific breakthrough that one day may yield a vast new supply of organs for severely ill patients. Although many questions remain to be answered about the long-term consequences of the transplant, which involved a brain-dead patient followed only for 54 hours, experts in the field said the procedure represented a milestone. “We need to know more about the longevity of the organ,” said Dr. Dorry Segev, professor of transplant surgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine who was not involved in the research. Nevertheless, he said: “This is a huge breakthrough. It’s a big, big deal.” Researchers have long sought to grow organs in pigs suitable for transplantation into humans.
N Korea ‘tests’ submarine missile
North Korea on Tuesday fired at least one ballistic missile, which South Korea’s military said was likely designed to be launched from a submarine, in what is possibly the most significant demonstration of the North’s military might since US President Joe Biden took office. The launch of the missile into the sea came hours after the US reaffirmed an offer to resume talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme. South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said in a statement it detected that North Korea fired one short-range missile it believed was a submarine-launched ballistic missile from waters near the port of Sinpo. Japan’s military said its initial analysis suggested North fired two ballistic missiles. PM Kishida ordered his government to start revising Japan’s national security strategy to adapt to North Korean threats.
G20 urged to hike climate pledges
Denmark, Costa Rica, the Marshall Islands and six other countries urged the world’s biggest economies to hike their climate pledges, warning that their actions would set the tone for the upcoming COP26 summit in Scotland. Extreme weather events and increasingly urgent calls from scientists to curb global warming are cranking up pressure on lawmakers who will meet in Glasgow later this month to discuss action to reduce their carbon emissions. “The window for taking decisive climate action is rapidly closing,” said the letter, which was sent to PM Mario Draghi of Italy, the current president of the G20 club of rich nations. G20 leaders will gather in Italy on October 30-31 for a summit. Climate change will be high on the agenda.
Blast kills one, injures 3 in Kampala
An explosion in Uganda’s capital Kampala, that killed one person and injured three others, was “a terrorist act”, according to police and President Yoweri Museveni, who promised to hunt down those responsible. A bomb packed with nails and shrapnel exploded at a popular street-side restaurant in Kawempe division in Kampala, according to police. The explosion killed a 20-year-old waitress and injured three people, two of whom were in critical condition, police said, adding all indications suggest an “act of domestic terror”. The ISIL (ISIS) armed group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted in an affiliated Telegram channel. It said some of its members detonated an explosive device in a bar where “members and spies of the Crusader Ugandan government were gathering” in Kampala.
NZ passes world’s first climate law
New Zealand become the first country in the world to pass a law that will ensure financial organisations to disclose and act on climate-related risks and opportunities, the government announced. The Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Bill has now passed its third reading. Once in effect, it is expected to make a significant contribution to New Zealand achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, reports Xinhua news agency. “Financial services and markets play an important role in New Zealand’s transition to a clean, green and carbon-neutral future,” Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark said. Several foreign firms that meet the NZ$1 billion threshold - including Australia’s four largest banks: Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group - will also come under the legislation.
US will defend Taiwan: Biden
US President Joe Biden said that Washington was committed to coming to Taiwan’s defence if it comes under attack from China - a stance that seems in opposition to America’s stated policy of “strategic ambiguity.” Asked if US would protect Taiwan in case China attacked, Biden said it would. “Yes, we have a commitment to do that,” he said. Biden has made similar statements in the past, only to have the White House say longstanding US policy had not changed toward the island. The US provides Taiwan defensive weapons, but has remained intentionally ambiguous on whether it would intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.
Israel PM to meet Putin in Sochi
For the first time after taking office earlier this year, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett departed for Sochi where he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bennett will pay a one-day visit to the seaside resort city of Sochi and has only one scheduled meeting, his office said in a statement. Before his departure, Bennett told reporters at the airport that “the ties between Russia and Israel are a significant element in the foreign policy of the State of Israel” due to Moscow’s regional and international role, and to the Russian-speakers in Israel who constitute “a bridge between the two countries.” Earlier this week, Bennett’s office said that the two leaders will discuss political, security and economic issues involving both countries.
France storm: 250,000 houses in dark
A violent storm that lashed northern France for over 24 hours caused damages and left some 250,000 households without electricity, Enedis, the country’s public power distribution system, said. According to France Bleu radio, the regions most affected by the storm Aurore include Brittany, Normandy, and Paris, reports Xinhua news agency. In Normandy, all rail traffic was interrupted due to falling trees on the tracks. Due to damages on roads and railways, some 783 km of traffic jam was estimated across France. Some 15 departments in east France are still on yellow alert.
