The municipal government of South Korean capital Seoul on Thursday formally notified the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of its bid to co-host the 2032 Games with North Korea's Pyongyang, Yonhap news agency reported.

The IOC said in February that Brisbane was its preferred candidate to host the Games, adding it would enter "targeted dialogue" with the Australian bid organizers.

But the Seoul municipal government Thursday urged them to reconsider the bid for the two Koreas to co-host the Games, agreed to at a summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in September 2018.

Yonhap reported Seoul's bid emphasized the peace-building potential of the co-hosting, as well as a "combination of cutting-edge technologies and Korean culture."

North Korea has not publicly commented on the bid, which comes amid markedly frosty relations between Seoul and Pyongyang.

The two have not held formal talks in over two years, and last week saw North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's influential sister slam the South's president as "a parrot raised by America" after he criticized a missile test by Pyongyang.

South Korea last hosted the Olympics in 2018, during which the two Koreas' teams marched under a united flag. North Korea has never hosted the Olympics.

Dialogue between "all sides" in Myanmar must be quickly carried out in order to avert further bloodshed and civil unrest, the recently-seated president of the UN Security Council said Thursday.

Speaking after formally assuming the council presidency for the month of April, Vietnam's UN envoy Dang Dinh Quy condemned the use of violence perpetrated against pro-democracy demonstrators by the junta, further calling "on all sides to sit down and talk, to seek any possibility to sit down and talk."

Challenged by a reporter about whether there are two equal sides that need to negotiate an end to the brutal bloodletting, Dang said "at the time being, we think that the only way is to engage with everyone."

"If we make any side inside Myanmar feel that they are not engaged, or they feel that they are isolated, it could be worse. So your question is right, but what is the alternative?" he asked. "It is very hard to say about other alternatives.”

At least 543 people have been killed in the ongoing crackdown on protesters following the military's Feb. 1 power grab, according to an independent non-profit organization founded by former Myanmar political prisoners living in exile.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' special envoy on Myanmar warned on Wednesday that the country is on the precipice of all-out civil war as armed ethnic groups have progressively been "taking clear stances of opposition" to the military's "cruelty."

Christine Schraner Burgener warned the Security Council that a "bloodbath is imminent."

"The most serious international crimes and violations of international law appear to be happening in plain sight. I fear this trend will become bloodier as the Commander-in-Chief seems determined to solidify his unlawful grip on power by force," she said. "This council must consider potentially significant action that can reverse the course of events in Myanmar."/aa

NASA on Thursday pushed back the launch of the Ingenuity helicopter's first flight on the surface of Mars.

"Takeoff is now slated for no earlier than April 11, with data arriving on Earth on April 12," NASA-owned Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), managed by the California Institute of Technology, said on Twitter.

The Ingenuity helicopter, which is attached to the Perseverance rover, was originally planned for a flight on April 8.

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter remains attached to Perseverance that landed on the red planet on Feb. 18 and is currently in transit to an airfield where it will attempt to fly./aa

Iraq, Libya, Palestine, Jordan and Yemen reported more coronavirus infections and deaths Thursday as efforts continued to contain the disease.

Iraq

Another 37 people in Iraq died in the past 24 hours, pushing nationwide fatalities to 14,360, according to the Health Ministry.

With 6,015 new infections, the caseload rose to 856,939. A total of 764,069 recoveries have been recorded so far.

Libya

Libya’s National Center for Disease Control reported 13 deaths over the past 24 hours.

The center said 1,023 people tested positive for COVID-19 and 717 recovered.

The new figures pushed Libya’s count to 159,980 confirmed cases, including 2,680 fatalities and 147,882 recoveries.

Palestine

Palestinian health authorities registered 20 new fatalities and 2,353 infections from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Health Ministry said 1,211 cases were recorded in the West Bank, 1,081 cases were reported in the Gaza Strip, while 61 infections were confirmed in East Jerusalem.

Palestine has recorded 273,231 coronavirus cases, including 2,901 deaths, since the first case of COVID-19 was detected last year, according to the Health Ministry.

Jordan

Health officials in Jordan confirmed 82 new fatalities and 6,482 additional infections from the coronavirus on Thursday.

The virus tally stands at 618,059 cases and 6,940 deaths.

A total of 520,498 patients have won their battle against the virus.

Yemen

Yemeni health officials confirmed 18 new coronavirus fatalities and 174 additional infections in the past 24 hours.

The virus tally has reached 4,531 cases, including 906 fatalities, the National Committee for the Fight Against the Coronavirus said in a statement.

A total of 1,682 patients have won the battle against the virus, it said.

The figures relate to regions under government control since April 10 when the first case was detected.

Worldwide

Since it was first detected in China in December 2019, the coronavirus has claimed over 2.81 million lives in 192 countries and regions.

More than 129 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries now over 73.2 million, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University./aa

Turkey has been a strong healthcare champion in 2021, the World Health Organization chief said on Thursday, and added when the country produces a vaccine, it will help address "vaccine equity."

WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus was speaking at a twice-weekly COVID-19 webinar also addressed by Tukey's Health Minister Dr. Fahrettin Koca; and Carl Bildt, former Swedish prime minister and recently named as a WHO Special Envoy.

Both Tedros and Koca agreed on enabling vaccine production globally without making intellectual property rights an issue.

"We believe that we will soon produce our own vaccine. Rest assured that your call upon vaccine-producing countries will be met with a clear response in Turkey,” Koca said.

"Our vaccine will definitely be offered for the use of the whole humanity. Right now, 100 countries do not have access to a COVID-19 vaccine which is why the vaccine to be produced in Turkey will be offered for the whole of humanity," he added.

Tedros, for his part, said: "I fully agree, local production is very, very important and WHO is ready to help countries. I think going forward, that vaccine equity could be addressed by increasing local and regional capacity in production.

"And we have also been calling for intellectual property waiver to help expand the production capacity significantly," said the WHO chief.

At the World Trade Organization, India and South Africa have called for a waiver of Trade and Intellectual Property Rules (TRIPS) for COVID-19 vaccines but have not yet achieved consensus in the world trade body.

Tedros and Koca also spoke in solidarity with healthcare workers.

"This is the year of the health and care worker. And we know that even before the pandemic, there was a shortfall of at least 18 million health workers, and as we work to end the pandemic and recover together, health and care workers must come first.

"We must ensure that they are trained, protected, and supported to do their job safely and effectively."/aa

Civil disobedience and opposition in Myanmar to the military junta is growing and the political crisis is deepening, according to a recent report by the Arakan Rohingya Union (ARU).

“The political crisis in Burma is deepening as the civil disobedience movement and opposition to military rule intensifies,” the report said, using another name for Myanmar.

“While the situation in most parts of Arakan/Rakhine State remains relatively stable, new developments are emerging on the ground,” it said.

It went on to say that as public opposition to the military coup escalates throughout the country, the outcry against the Rohingya genocide continues to grow.

According to the report, Win Myat Aye, the minister of social welfare, relief and resettlement under the former National League for Democracy-led government, issued a statement acknowledging the military oppression and apologizing to Rohingya Muslims.

The report also said that 16 organizations have issued statements in the past two weeks regarding the Myanmar military's treatment of the Rohingya.

Lobby activities of junta

The report noted that the military had hired Ari Ben-Menashe, a Canadian-Israeli lobbyist, and his firm to represent the junta internationally.

“Ben-Menashe reportedly said he was tasked with contacting Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to get support for a plan to repatriate Rohingya refugees from camps in Bangladesh,” the report said.

- Refugee camp fire, $14 million in UN aid

A fire that broke out earlier this month in a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh killed at least 11 people and around 400 others remain missing while 45,000 refugees were displaced, the report said, adding the UN allocated $14 million in emergency funds to help those who were left homeless.

The ARU said in the report that at least six cases of fire incidents were reported within a week and it was concerning that the evidence pointed to arson.

The report said the tripartite deal signed by Myanmar, China and Bangladesh should be implemented in a timely manner, conducive conditions should be created in the respective townships and villages of potential Rohingya returnees, all remaining mosques in Arakan should be allowed to reopen and Rohingya victims of trafficking should be released from detention centers and returned to their places of origin.

Prospects for a quick recovery in world trade have improved amid an expansion more rapid than expected in the second half of last year, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Wednesday estimating that trade would increase by 8% this year after falling by 5.3% in 2020.

The strong rebound since mid-last year has helped soften the pandemic's blow for people, businesses and economies, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo‑Iweala said at a press conference in which she called for ramped-up production of vaccines against COVID-19.

"Keeping international markets open will be essential for economies to recover from this crisis, and a rapid, global and equitable vaccine roll-out is a prerequisite for the strong and sustained recovery we all need," said Ngozi.

She forecast that trade growth should slow to 4% in 2022 and that the effects of the pandemic would continue as this pace of expansion would still leave trade below pre-pandemic trends.

However, the relatively positive short-term outlook for global trade is marred by regional disparities, continued weakness in services trade, and lagging vaccination timetables, particularly in developing countries.

Ngozi warned that COVID-19 continued to be the greatest threat to the trade outlook as new waves of infection could easily undermine any hoped-for recovery.

"In this context, a rise in protectionism would be damaging, not just to the global economic growth, but to vaccine production as well," said Ngozi. She added that manufacturing vaccines required inputs from many countries.

She said a leading COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer had said its doses need 280 components sourced from 19 different countries.

"You can see how complicated the supply chain still is," said the WTO chief.

Ngozi said the WTO was planning a meeting in two weeks to include leading vaccine makers to examine supply chain problems relating to export restrictions or other bureaucracy or trade-facilitation issues.

At the WTO, India and South Africa have called for a waiver of Trade and Intellectual Property Rules (TRIPS) for COVID-19 vaccines, but have not yet achieved consensus in the world trade body.

"One of the main objectives of the conference is to have the manufacturers look at the issue of expanding manufacturing capacity for the short, short-to-medium term, and the long term.

"How can we turn existing capacity in emerging markets in developed countries, but also in emerging markets in developing countries, to producing COVID-19 vaccines," said Ngozi, underlining that better distribution of manufacturing facilities in the world was needed.

"And we have to start now," she said.

Ngozi said the world needs a framework for the future of handling the issue of the TRIPS treaty and its waiver.

It needs to reach this goal to "allow developing countries the access they need to vaccines, but also manufacturing capacity, whilst also incentivizing research and development."/aa

The Turkish Coast Guard rescued 37 irregular migrants late Wednesday off Turkey's western coast.

The asylum seekers were rescued near Cesme district in Izmir province after being pushed back by Greek coastal authorities.

After routine checks, they were taken to the provincial migration authority.

Turkey has repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.

Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution./aa

Turkey's Treasury will repay debts worth 141.1 billion Turkish liras (over $17 billion) in April-June.

It will repay 19.3 billion Turkish liras ($2.3 billion) in external debts with 8.2 billion liras ($1 billion) in interest payments, the Treasury and Finance Ministry announced Wednesday.

In the next three months, 121.9 billion Turkish liras (around $15 billion) of domestic debt redemption is also projected – with 22.8 billion liras ($2.8 billion) in interest payments and the rest in principal payment.

According to the ministry's borrowing strategy, the treasury will borrow 130.8 billion Turkish liras ($15.9 billion) from domestic markets between April and June.

It has projected to hold 23 bond auctions and a direct sale of lease certificates – no planned external borrowing – during this period./aa

France's interior minister on Wednesday criticized two legal amendments adopted by lawmakers prohibiting parents from wearing visible religious symbols while accompanying their children on school trips and allowing public swimming pools to ban "burkini" swimwear.

Gerald Darmanin said the measures, approved by senators on Tuesday, amounted to "suppression of religious expression."

The "Republican values" bill is currently being discussed in the upper house, which also approved a third amendment preventing minor girls from concealing their faces or wearing religious symbols in public areas.

Though the text of the bill does not expressly mention the Islamic veil, the contentious issue of prohibiting mothers who voluntarily accompany their children's school trips from wearing the garment had previously been raised in the Senate on three occasions since 2019 and rejected every time.

Senator Max Brisson of the right wing Les Republicains tabled the amendment, arguing that school trips are educational and that neutrality must be imposed on all who participate in them, including parents.

Representing the government, Darmanin warned the house to "beware of this excess measure which would tip [Muslims] to the wrong side."

"I find it quite paradoxical that we absolutely want to suppress all religious expression of parents," he said, backed by Socialist Party Senator Didier Marie, who said the amendment would be "dangerous" for suggesting a causal link between the veil, political Islam, radicalism, separatism, and even terrorism.

Laurent Lafon, chairman of the Committee on Culture and Education, questioned whether the bill was "misleading the target."

Darmanin also opposed the text to prohibit burkini. "We cannot in principle deprive the expression of a religious opinion. Neutrality is not imposed on users of the public service," he said, adding: "Are we going to ban tomorrow the wearing of religious symbols in a bus, which is a public space?"

The proposal on parents accompanying on school trips was accepted with majority of votes – 177 in favor and 141 against, while the one allowing swimming pools and public bathing areas to prohibit burkinis received wider support.

The Senate will continue to discuss the bill until April 8, after which it will be tabled before a joint committee where the amendments opposed by the interior minister can be excluded from the final text.

The bill has been widely condemned for indiscriminately targeting the French Muslim community on the grounds of curbing extremism and radicalization./agen