New UN report reveals impact of COVID on human trafficking 
Oil mixed amid U.S. inventories draw, OPEC+ impasse 
Covid Deaths Reach 4 Million as India Eclipses U.S., U.K. 
WHO pledges to advance women’s empowerment and health 
CCP buys media influence by paying millions to US dailies, magazines: report How Iran Expands Its Influence in Iraq: By Building Shrines
Iraq’s government grants religious projects special privileges, including tax exemptions on imports of Iranian cement, steel and other materials
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COVID-19 worsening gender-based violence, trafficking risk, for women and girls
With the COVID-19 pandemic heightening the dangers of gender-based violence and human trafficking, action on these two fronts is needed now more than ever, the head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said on Monday.
First COVID-19 vaccine in the world approved! UK approves Pfizer-BioNTech Corona vaccine
The British regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), says the jab, which claims to offer up to 95 per cent protection against COVID-19 illness, is safe for roll out.
As Mosul Recovers From ISIS Rule, a Native of the City Is Fighting to Recover Its Jewish Past
Jews had lived in Iraq since biblical times, until they were driven out by the anti-Zionist government in the early 1950s. Omar Mohammed is devoted to maintaining their memory in the city from which they were erased
Is China’s BRI becoming a fault line within the SCO?
India has said it cannot accept the project, which includes the China Pakistan Economic Corridor passing through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, as it ignores concerns on territorial integrity
COVID-19: Testing still vital even as vaccines roll out
Testing will still be a critical tool against COVID-19, even as vaccines are deployed against the disease, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday during his regular briefing on the crisis.
How close is Iran to producing a nuclear bomb?
The accord’s restrictions on Iran’s atomic work had one objective: to extend the “breakout time” for Tehran to produce enough fissile material for a bomb, if it decided to make one, to at least a year from about two to three months.
China to build a major dam on Brahmaputra river: Official
Yan Zhiyong, chairman of the Power Construction Corp of China, said China will “implement hydropower exploitation in the downstream of the Yarlung Zangbo River” (the Tibetan name for Brahmaputra) and the project could serve to maintain water resources and domestic security, the Global Times reported.
US sanctions Chinese, Russian firms over aiding Iran’s missile program
The Trump administration has shown its determination in sanctioning any foreign country that deals with Iran
Suspected Iranian nuclear mastermind Mohsen Fakhrizadeh assassinated near Tehran
The military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to strike against the killers of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who died of injuries in hospital after armed assassins fired on his car, state media reported.