China’s president said on Friday there was a “need to deepen cooperation” between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union.

Xi Jinping said: “We (also) need to support the innovative development of the digital economy, jointly tackle global climate change, and promote social and economic development in the region.”

Through a video link, he was addressing the 6th Eastern Economic Forum that runs from Thursday to Saturday, the Chinese daily Global Times reported.

The forum was established by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2015 to “prioritize economic and multi-sector development in Russia’s Asia-Pacific region via new opportunities for domestic investment.”

The Belt and Road Initiative, also known as One Belt One Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 70 countries and international organizations.

Xi said China and Russia need to “intensify cooperation in vaccine research, development and production, and firmly reject the politicization of COVID-19 vaccines and origins-tracing.”

Western capitals have led a campaign to hold the second round of probe into the origins of COVID-19, with its first cases reported from the central Chinese city Wuhan in December 2019.

Beijing has pushed back what it called “a vilification campaign aimed at achieving political ends.”

Zhang Hanhui, China’s ambassador to Russia, said at the forum on Thursday that Beijing wants to boost trade and economic cooperation with Russia’s Far East.

“China places great value on the forum’s role as this is a bridge for cooperation in the whole region.

“We are ready to work with the Russian Federation for expansion of cooperation on the whole territory of the Far East, contribute to the recovery of the region’s economy, its sustainable development, and recovery after the pandemic,” he also noted.

Zhang added: “China is ready to encourage any enterprises that may invest in the Far East, as well as expand bilateral cooperation with Russia in various fields.”/agencies

New Zealand police shot and killed a man on Friday after he stabbed and wounded at least six people in a shopping mall in the city of Auckland, state-run media said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called the knife attack a terrorist act, saying it was carried out by a violent extremist.

The man obtained a knife after entering a West Auckland supermarket and stabbed six people, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) reported.

According to the prime minister, the attacker was a Sri Lankan national who arrived in New Zealand in Oct. 2011, adding that the terrorist had been inspired by Daesh terrorist organization, also known as ISIS.

The killed terrorist, 32, had been on the police's radar for several years and was considered a threat to public safety after twice buying large hunting knives and being found to possess Daesh/ISIS videos. He had only recently been released from prison and was under constant surveillance by police, including an armed tactical team, and national security agencies, according to local media.

"What happened today was despicable. It was carried out by an individual," RNZ quoted the premier as saying.

She said it would be wrong to direct any frustration at anyone other than the individual perpetrator of the attack.

The individual was under constant monitoring and heavy surveillance and he was shot and killed within 60 seconds of the attack, according to the prime minister.

"I acknowledge that this situation raises questions about whether police could have done more, whether police could have intervened more quickly. I'm satisfied based on the information available to me that the staff involved did not only what we expect they would do in this situation, but did it with great courage," she added.

This was the second attack at a Countdown chain supermarket this year. On May 10, at least four people had been wounded in another attack./agencies

Italy’s prime minister said Thursday that the recent evacuations from Afghanistan once again revealed the inadequacy of the European Union in handling the migration issue. 

“The EU, united in many principles, cannot face this problem, and this is a problem with the Union’s existence,” Mario Draghi said during a news conference.

Recalling incidents that took place during the evacuations from Afghanistan, he said: “There are countries that say ‘we don’t want immigrants’ in the face of this terrible tragedy. I don’t know if you remember, but how are you going to do that?”

As the term president of the G20 summit in 2021, Draghi noted that he continues to consider holding an extraordinary summit specifically on Afghanistan and maintains contacts for this purpose.

In a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Marseilles on Thursday evening, the leaders will discuss issues related to Afghanistan, bilateral relations, the EU and Libya, Draghi said.

Deadly blasts outside Kabul airport last Thursday killed at least 170 people, including 13 US soldiers, and wounded dozens of others.

Daesh/ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the attacks, according to a statement by the group.

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan on Aug. 15, forcing President Ashraf Ghani and other top officials to flee the country.

The group is in the process of forming an Afghan government, which they are expected to formally announce on Friday.

Ethnic minorities in the Netherlands still face discrimination in various walks of life, a UN committee said in a report on Thursday.

The report on racism in the Netherlands by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) said minorities encounter racism in education, health, business, and social services, while it is most widespread in encounters with the police.

It underlined that political debate over migrants and minority groups also play a role in rising racial discrimination.

The Netherlands showed progress in fighting racism, and the number of expressions involving racism and hate speeches on online platforms has fallen, the report added.

More improvements are needed as concerns about ethnic profiling continue, said the report.

The UN committee advised the Dutch government to increase the visibility of ethnic minorities in the public sphere and enact laws to prevent ethnic profiling.

Australia has amended a law to empower its police to “disrupt and delete” online data if it is found offensive, triggering concern about the privacy of social media users.

In changes hurriedly passed last week to legislation from 1979 and 2004, the new law enables the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission to “disrupt data by modifying, adding, copying or deleting data in order to frustrate the commission of serious offences online.”

A statement by the Australian federal parliament said the move will “make minor technical corrections.”

It will also empower the federal police and the commission to “collect intelligence on serious criminal activity by permitting access to the devices and networks used to facilitate criminal activity.”

Under the law, the federal police and the commission can also “take over a person’s online account for the purposes of gathering evidence to further a criminal investigation.”

The bill was introduced last December, and taken up for debate and passage on Aug. 24 and 25.

In early August, a joint parliamentary committee on intelligence and security made a series of recommendations to improve oversight and safeguards under the amendments meant to empower the police.

Esra Sezgin, an Australian social media user, told Anadolu Agency: “Governments have been collecting our data for years, decades without much pushback. The amount of online psyop/disinformation campaigns are troubling and need to be addressed without sacrificing privacy.”

​​​​​​​She added: “I don’t think social scores are the solution.”

US President Joe Biden voiced support Thursday for victims of Hurricane Ida that swept through the northeast, wreaking havoc in major cities.

"My message to everyone affected is we’re all in this together. The nation is here to help," Biden said in an address from the White House. "That’s the message I’ve been making clear to the mayors, governors, energy and utility leaders in the region who my administration has been working closely with over the last few days.”

The storm and heavy flooding caused at least 14 deaths as it ripped through the states of New York and New Jersey late Wednesday into early Thursday.

Heavy rain swept away vehicles and flooding submerged subways and flights were grounded, according to multiple reports.

New York City’s transit system has been affected by flooding on Wednesday, causing disruption.

"We’ll be working around the clock until the critical needs of the region are fully met. We will meet them," the president added.

Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday as a devastating Category 4 hurricane, bringing with it mass flooding and damage that devastated wide swathes of the state.

Damages are expected to cost tens of billions of dollars.

Biden will travel to New Orleans on Friday "to survey storm damage from Hurricane Ida and meet with State and local leaders from impacted communities," the White House announced in a statement./agencies

A double dose of a vaccine is most likely to halve the likelihood of long-term COVID-19 effects for adults, according to a study released on Thursday.

Research conducted by a team from King’s College London showed that double-jabbed people who contract the virus were 73% less likely to be admitted to a hospital, while severe symptoms were reduced by almost a third.

“We found that the odds of having symptoms for 28 days or more after post-vaccination infection were approximately halved by having two vaccine doses,” read the study published in scientific journal The Lancet.

“This result suggests that the risk of long COVID is reduced in individuals who have received double vaccination, when additionally considering the already documented reduced risk of infection overall.”

The team analyzed data from more than 2 million people who logged their symptoms, tests, and vaccination status on the UK’s COVID Symptom Study app from last December to this July.

A total of 6,030 of them tested positive for the virus within at least two weeks of their first dose, while only 2,370 users tested positive at least a week after receiving their second jab.

People who were fully vaccinated reported milder and less frequent symptoms of the virus than those who were not inoculated, the study said.

Additionally, double-jabbed adults aged over 60 were more likely to have no symptoms when compared to those not vaccinated, showing the efficacy of the jabs in protecting the elderly and most vulnerable.

178 deaths, over 38,000 new cases in UK

The UK reported 38,154 new cases on Thursday, raising the number between Aug. 27 and Sept. 2 to 236,152.

The figure represents a decrease of 1% compared to the previous week, according to the government’s daily report.

At least 178 more people succumbed to the virus after having tested positive within the past 28 days – a 0.9% rise from the previous week.

As of Sept. 1, over 48 million people had received a first vaccine dose in the UK, while more than 43 million got two doses, meaning 64.1% of the population has now been fully vaccinated./agencies

Russia said on Thursday that it ponders sending humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters in Moscow that the prices on food, fuel and essential goods are rising amid uncertainty in the war-torn country after the Taliban takeover.

She called on the international community to prevent a humanitarian crisis that may erupt.

"We are particularly concerned about the growing social and economic tension in Afghanistan, which is associated with the suspension of financial and technical assistance from traditional Western donors. There is still uncertainty about the resumption of work of state institutions and banks," she said.

A spike in consumer costs provoked discontent with the Taliban, particularly in the capital Kabul and other big cities, she added.

"In Kabul and other major cities, there is dissatisfaction with the policy of the Taliban movement against the background of rising prices on essential goods, food and fuel. In this regard, we call on the international community to take effective measures to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. For our part, we are working on the possibility of delivering Russian humanitarian aid to Kabul," she said.

Zakharova blamed the Western countries for the recent developments in Afghanistan, saying they are responsible for "a negative effect on the well-being of the whole country" brought by their "spontaneous withdrawal".

Asked about possible recognition of the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate authority, Zakharova said this question will be put on the agenda after the formation of an inclusive government in the country.

"We are in favor of forming an inclusive coalition government in Afghanistan with the participation of all ethnic and political forces of the country, including national minorities, so the issue of official recognition of the authorities will become relevant after the completion of this process," she said.

The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan after taking the control of Kabul on Aug. 15, forcing the president and other top officials to leave the country./agencies

US tech giant Apple on Thursday announced an App Store update as part of a deal dodging a probe by the Japan Fair Trade Commission.

Under the deal with the competition watchdog, developers’ reader-type apps – including such giants as Spotify, Netflix and Kindle – will be able provide a link to their website to help users set up or manage their account.

Before the change goes into effect in early 2022, Apple will update its guidelines, it said./aa

More than 55 million people worldwide are living with dementia, which is currently incurable and often neglected, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday, warning the number might swell to 78 million by 2030.

The WHO released its global status report on the public health response to dementia, looking at the progress made toward the 2025 global targets for dementia laid out by the WHO's Global Dementia Action Plan of 2017.

“Dementia robs millions of people of their memories, independence, and dignity, but it also robs the rest of us of the people we know and love,” said Tedros Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general.

“The world is failing people with dementia, and that hurts all of us. Four years ago, governments agreed on a clear set of targets to improve dementia care.”

Dementia is caused by different diseases and injuries that affect the brain such as Alzheimer's disease or strokes, said the WHO, adding more than 60% of those with dementia live in low- and middle-income countries.

By 2030, the number of people living with dementia is expected to increase to 78 million.

“Dementia mainly affects older people, but it is not a normal or inevitable part of biological aging. That's a message we want to send very strongly,” said Katrin Seeher of the WHO's Mental Health and Substance Use Department.

Dementia can also attack people under 65

“It can also happen in people who are younger than 65. In that case, we speak of young-onset dementia. And that proportion is roughly 10% of all dementia cases. So, it is not only a problem of the older population."

Tarun Dua, unit head of the WHO's Department of Mental Health and Substance Use, said that while there is no cure for dementia yet, measures can help prevent it.

She cited tobacco use or harmful alcohol use as factors that can contribute to dementia and said managing conditions like hypertension, diabetes, depression, and social isolation could help stem it.

"What you think about as being good for your heart is also good for your brain. And we should incorporate those healthy lifestyles to decrease those risk factors, and thus, we can decrease the risk of having dementia," said Dua.

According to the WHO report, only a quarter of countries worldwide have a national policy or plan for supporting people with dementia and their families.

Half of these countries are in WHO's European region, with the remainder split between the other regions.

At the same time, the number of people living with dementia is growing, and the WHO estimates that 8.1% of women and 5.4% of men over 65 years are living with dementia. This number is estimated to rise to 78 million by 2030 and 139 million by 2050./aa