ECHOING ISRAEL, US HINTS AT FORCE IF IRAN DIPLOMACY FAILS

US President Joe Biden's administration hinted Wednesday it could resort to force if diplomacy fails on Iran's nuclear program, rallying more closely than ever behind warnings by Israel.

Amid a standstill in negotiations with Iran, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced growing frustration as he held three-way talks with the top diplomats of Israel and the United Arab Emirates, US allies that established relations last year amid shared alarm about Tehran.

"We continue to believe that diplomacy is the most effective way," Blinken told a joint news conference.

"We are prepared to turn to other options if Iran doesn't change course," he warned.

Lapid was more explicit, saying that both he and Blinken, as sons of Holocaust survivors, "know there are moments when nations must use force to protect the world from evil."

"Israel reserves the right to act at any given moment in any way. That is not only our right; it is also our responsibility."

PAKISTAN PM IMRAN KHAN, ARMY CHIEF FACE OFF OVER APPOINTMENT OF NEW ISI CHIEF

Even as the Pakistan government says the process to appoint the new director general of spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is underway, reports suggest that Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa are having disagreements on the choice of the new spy chief.

On October 6, the Inter-Services Public Relations, which is the media arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces, announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmed Anjum as the new director general (DG) of ISI.

However, PM Imran Khan has reportedly refused to ratify the appointment. According to law, only the prime minister has the legal right to appoint DG ISI.

Reportedly, Imran Khan wants Lt General Faiz Hameed to continue as DG ISI till the situation in Afghanistan stabilizes for at least a couple of months.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leaders say the Army has to send a list of candidates for the post of DG ISI to the PM for selection. But some defense experts have argued that the Corps Commanders and the Army Chief decide on DG ISI.

"The consultations between the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff on the appointment of a new DG ISI have been completed and the process for a new appointment has begun," Chaudhry said.

"The civil-military leadership has once again proven that all institutions are united for the country's stability, integrity and progress," he said in another tweet.

Though there is an attempt to show all is well after the late Monday meeting between PM Imran Khan and General Bajwa, the battle lines are clearly drawn.

KONGSBERG: FIVE DEAD IN NORWAY BOW AND ARROW ATTACK

Five people have been killed and two more injured in Norway after a man used a bow and arrow to attack them.

Police first received word of an attack in the town of Kongsberg, south-west of the capital Oslo, at 18:13 local time (16:13 GMT).

A Danish man aged 37 has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out the attack.

Police believe he acted alone, and will investigate whether it was an act of terrorism, a spokesman said.

Prime Minister Erna Solberg said reports of the incident had been "horrifying".

"I understand that many people are afraid, but it's important to emphasise that the police are now in control," she told a news conference.

There was reportedly a confrontation with police before the man was eventually detained at 18:47 local time, 34 minutes after the attack began.

GLOBAL DEBT HAS RISEN TO $226 TRILLION: IMF

Due to the Covid and policies put in place to respond to it, the global debt has jumped to a new high of USD 226 trillion with India’s dues projected to rise to 90.6 per cent in 2021, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday.

Advanced economies and China contributed more than 90 per cent to the accumulation of worldwide debt in 2020. The remaining emerging economies and low-income developing countries contributed only around seven per cent.

“Because of Covid, and of policies put in place to respond to it, debt levels increased fast and reached high levels. High and rising levels of public and private debt are associated with risks to financial stability and public finances,” IMF Director of Fiscal Affairs Department Vitor Gaspar told the media during a release of the 2021 Fiscal Monitor Report.

“The debt of governments, households and non-financial corporations added up to USD 226 trillion in 2020 – USD 27 trillion above 2019. This increase is, by far, the largest on record,” he said.

This figure includes both public and non-financial private sector debt.

US TO REOPEN BORDERS FOR FULLY JABBED IN NOV

The US will reopen its land borders to non-essential travel next month, ending a 19-month freeze due to the Covid pandemic as the country moves to require all international visitors to be vaccinated against the virus.

Vehicle, rail and ferry travel between the US and Canada and Mexico has been largely restricted to essential travel, such as trade, since the earliest days of the pandemic.

The new rules will allow fully vaccinated foreign nationals to enter the US regardless of the reason for travel starting in early November, when a similar easing of restrictions is set to kick in for air travel into the country. By mid-January, even essential travellers seeking to enter the US such as truck drivers will need to be fully vaccinated.

Senior administrative officials previewed the new policy on late Tuesday on the condition of anonymity to speak ahead of the formal announcement.

TALIBAN WARN U.S., E.U. OF REFUGEE INFLUX IF THE SANCTIONS CONTINUE

The new Taliban government in Afghanistan has warned the U.S. and European envoys that continued attempts to pressure them through sanctions will undermine security and could trigger a wave of economic refugees.

Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told Western diplomats at talks in Doha that “weakening the Afghan government is not in the interest of anyone because its negative effects will directly affect the world in (the) security sector and economic migration from the country,” according to a statement published late on Tuesday.

According to the statement from his spokesman, Muttaqi told the Doha meeting: “We urge world countries to end existing sanctions and let banks operate normally so that charity groups, organisations and the government can pay salaries to their staff with their own reserves and international financial assistance.”

European nations, in particular, are concerned that if the Afghan economy collapses, large numbers of migrants will set off for the continent, piling pressure on neighbouring states such as Pakistan and Iran and eventually on EU borders.

CLIMATE CHANGE: CARBON EMISSIONS FROM RICH COUNTRIES ROSE RAPIDLY IN 2021

Carbon emissions are rebounding strongly and are rising across the world's 20 richest nations, according to a new study.

The Climate Transparency Report says that CO2 will go up by 4% across the G20 group this year, having dropped 6% in 2020 due to the pandemic.

China, India, Argentina are set to exceed their 2019 emissions levels.

The authors say that the continued use of fossil fuels is undermining efforts to rein in temperatures.

With just two weeks left until the critical COP26 climate conference opens in Glasgow, the task facing negotiators is stark.

One of the key goals of the gathering is to take steps to keep the important 1.5C temperature threshold alive and within reach.

With the world currently around 1.1C warmer than pre-industrial times, limiting future incremental increases is extremely challenging.

If Glasgow is going to succeed on this question, then the countries that create the most carbon will have to put ambitious policies into place.

The evidence from this new report is that it isn't happening fast enough.

WHO NAMES NEW TEAM TO STUDY ORIGINS OF CORONAVIRUS

The WHO said on Wednesday its newly formed advisory group on dangerous pathogens may be “our last chance” to determine the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and called for cooperation from China. The WHO on Wednesday named the 26 proposed members of its Scientific Advisory Group on the Origins of Novel Pathogens. The group includes Chinese animal health expert Yang Yungui, who took part in the joint investigation in Wuhan.

Maria van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead on Covid, voiced hope that there would be further WHO-led international missions to China which would engage the country’s cooperation. She said “over three dozen recommended studies” still needed to be carried out to determine how the virus crossed from the animal species to humans. Reported Chinese tests for antibodies present in Wuhan residents in 2019 will be “absolutely critical” to understanding the virus's origins, she said.

INDONESIA COVID: SLOW START AS BALI RE-OPENS TO FOREIGN TOURISTS

The much anticipated re-opening of Indonesia's famed tourist island Bali has seen a slow start, with no international flights scheduled.

As of Thursday, fully vaccinated travellers from 19 countries including China, India, and France can enter Bali. The UK is not on the list.

But visitors must first serve a five-day quarantine in a hotel.

Officials had closed the international airport in April last year to stop the coronavirus from spreading.

In July, Indonesia became the epicentre of Covid in Asia, but daily cases have since reduced significantly.

Now the tourism sector is hoping that some of the 6 million foreigners who visited the island in 2019, before the pandemic hit, will return.

HARVARD PROGRAMME MOVES FROM BEIJING TO TAIPEI

An intensive summer language programme hosted by Harvard University in Beijing will relocate to Taiwan in summer of 2022, as the U.S.-China relationship remains strained.

The programme is moving to Taipei and will kick off next summer with about 60 students who will take eight weeks of classes, National Taiwan University confirmed on Wednesday.

The decision was in part “due to a perceived lack of friendliness from the host institution” in Beijing, according to Harvard’s student paper the Crimson, which first reported the move.

CASES OF ‘HAVANA SYNDROME’ AT US’ COLOMBIA MISSION

The US state department is investigating new complaints of brain injuries linked to the so-called Havana syndrome at the US embassy in Colombia, a senior administration official said on Tuesday, a week before secretary of state Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit the country. It was not clear how many people at the embassy in Bogota, the Colombian capital, might have been afflicted by the mysterious illness. State department spokesperson Ned Price said officials would ensure that employees “get the prompt care they need.” The senior administration official confirmed the complaints, which were reported earlier by Wall Street Journal, and said that it appeared that at least two embassy employees had reported the symptoms. President Ivan Duque of Colombia said his country was aware of the reports.