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Muslim's world's priority

Iran’s president is calling on Muslim nations to remain united and refrain from divisions. Raeisi was making his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of an international conference on Islamic unity that started in Tehran just hours ago. He says Palestine is the most pressing issue of the Muslim world, and should not be sidelined. The president believes the ongoing conference is an ideal opportunity to further promote Islamic awakening. Raeisi also urged the Muslim world to stand up to terrorist groups such as Daesh. He says corruption, poverty and terrorism should be eradicated from the Islamic world. President Raeisi also encouraged closer scientific, cultural and media cooperation among Muslim nations. The conference will last six days.

Korean peninsula tensions

South Korea’s military says North Korea has fired at least one submarine-launched ballistic missile into waters off its east coast. The North has not officially confirmed the launch, but it comes shortly after US and South Korean envoys met in Washington to discuss their standoff with the North on Monday. Spy chiefs from the US, South Korea, and Japan were reported to be meeting in Seoul on Tuesday as well. Meanwhile, US special representative for the North, Sung Kim, said Washington seeks diplomacy and has no hostile intent toward Pyongyang. The US and some of its regional allies have condemned North’s missile launches. The North says, however, that its nuclear and ballistic missile programs are essential to defend the country against a US invasion. Talks aimed at denuclearizing the North collapsed in 2019 after Washington failed to lift sanctions. 

COVID pandemic in Europe

Europe seems to be having a hard time keeping the COVID pandemic in check, with both infections and fatalities growing in several countries. Over 1,000 new deaths in Russia, setting a record single-day toll since the pandemic started. Ukraine comes second with a record daily high of near 540 fatalities. Its death toll is already above 6,100. Elsewhere, Bulgaria has logged its highest daily infections since March, with nearly 5,000 new cases. Also, the Czech Republic has registered over 2,500 new infections in a single day; that’s the country’s highest tally since April. And, Poland is witnessing an 85% rise in daily cases, compared to the previous week. It had over 3,900 new infections in the past 24 hours alone. 

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