ANONYMOUS - OUR VOICE

Elon Musk Visits Germany, Meets State Leaders Over "Gigafactory"

<div class="ins_instory_dv">
<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Elon Musk Visits Germany, Meets State Leaders Over 'Gigafactory'" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-08/rqdsf1h_elon-musk_625x300_09_August_21.jpg" title="Elon Musk Visits Germany, Meets State Leaders Over 'Gigafactory'" /></div>
Tesla has already pushed back the expected opening to late 2021 (File)
</div>
Frankfurt:
Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday evening met with the leadership of Brandenburg, the German state where the group's 5.8 billion euro ($6.9 billion) European gigafactory is being built, its Economy Minister Joerg Steinbach said on Twitter.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sehr entspanntes abendliches Treffen mit <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elonmusk</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DWoidke?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DWoidke</a> und mir, sowie Mitarbeitern auf beiden Seiten. Wir haben uns vertrauensvoll über die noch anstehenden Aufgaben ausgetauscht. Danke für den Besuch der ganzen Familie, Elon! <a href="https://twitter.com/Stk_Brandenburg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Stk_Brandenburg</a><a href="https://t.co/gk8AFKpSVQ">pic.twitter.com/gk8AFKpSVQ</a>
— Jörg Steinbach (@joergstb) <a href="https://twitter.com/joergstb/status/1425538767876722690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 11, 2021</a></blockquote>
Steinbach, who posted a picture of Musk along with the tweet, said the meeting was also attended by Brandenburg's state premier Dietmar Woidke.
"Very relaxed evening meeting with @elonmusk, D. Woidke, co-workers on both sides and myself. In an atmosphere of mutual trust we discussed the remaining tasks. Thanks to you and your great family for this visit, Elon!," Steinbach said.
Steinbach's comments come after public flight data had earlier shown the arrival of Musk's jet in Germany, where Tesla is facing delays in trying to bring the new manufacturing site on stream.
Armin Laschet, the conservative candidate to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor, is scheduled to visit Tesla's site, located in Gruenheide near Berlin, on Friday to meet with local staff as part of his election campaign.
Due to environmental resistance and red tape, it remains unclear when the first vehicles will roll off the production line at the site.
Tesla has already pushed back the expected opening to late 2021. The environmental agency in Brandenburg has yet to give final approval - meaning a further delay cannot be ruled out, even into 2022.
Musk has regularly travelled to Germany to check on the plant's progress and during a visit in May criticised Germany's bureaucracy.
"It's gonna be awesome," Musk said on Twitter on Wednesday in response to a tweet that cited an article saying that public opposition to the plant was declining.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/elon-musk-visits-germany-meets-state-leaders-over-gigafactory-2508423">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/elon-musk-visits-germany-meets-state-leaders-over-gigafactory-2508423</a>

news world Elon Musk Visits Germany, Meets State Leaders Over "Gigafactory"

Tesla has already pushed back the expected opening to late 2021 (File) Frankfurt: Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday evening met with the...

Canada Planning Covid Vaccine Passport For International Travel

<div class="ins_instory_dv">
<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Canada Planning Covid Vaccine Passport For International Travel" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2020-04/3lp335v_canada-coronavirus-afp_625x300_01_April_20.jpg" title="Canada Planning Covid Vaccine Passport For International Travel" /></div>
Canada has one of the best inoculation records in the world (File)
</div>
Ottawa:
Canada is working to create a digital vaccine passport that would allow citizens to travel abroad and it should be available in the next few months, government officials said on Wednesday.
Before the passport can be created Ottawa needs to agree on a common approach with the 10 provinces and three northern territories, which are responsible for inoculations against COVID-19.
It "is a key step forward in ensuring Canadians will have the documents they need once it is safe to travel again," Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino told reporters.
The European Union has a vaccine passport system that allows people to travel freely within the region. A number of other countries are working on vaccine passports for both domestic use and international travel.
Canada has one of the best inoculation records in the world. As of July 31, 81% people aged 12 and over had received one shot and 68% had been given two.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/canada-planning-covid-vaccine-passport-for-international-travel-2508417">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/canada-planning-covid-vaccine-passport-for-international-travel-2508417</a>

news world Canada Planning Covid Vaccine Passport For International Travel

Canada has one of the best inoculation records in the world (File) Ottawa: Canada is working to create a digital vaccine passport that ...

Taliban Could Take Afghan Capital In 90 Days, Says US Intelligence: Report

<div class="ins_instory_dv">
<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Taliban Could Take Afghan Capital In 90 Days, Says US Intelligence: Report" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-08/hpe872c_taliban_650x400_11_August_21.jpg" title="Taliban Could Take Afghan Capital In 90 Days, Says US Intelligence: Report" /></div>
The Taliban have captured districts bordering Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan and China (file)
</div>
Washington/Kabul:
Taliban fighters could isolate Afghanistan's capital in 30 days and possibly take it over in 90, a US defence official cited US intelligence as saying, as the resurgent militants made more advances across the country.
The official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity on Wednesday, said the new assessment of how long Kabul could stand was a result of the Taliban's rapid gains as US-led foreign forces leave.
"But this is not a foregone conclusion," the official added, saying that the Afghan security forces could reverse the momentum by putting up more resistance.
The Islamists now control 65% of Afghanistan and have taken or threaten to take 11 provincial capitals, a senior EU official said on Tuesday. Faizabad, in the northeastern province of Badakhshan, on Wednesday became the eighth provincial capital to be seized by the Taliban.
A doctor based in southern Kandahar said the city was receiving scores of bodies of Afghan forces, and some injured Taliban fighters were also seeking medical support. The fighting was extremely intense in Kandahar city, he said, with constant rocket attacks.
All gateways to Kabul, which lies in a valley surrounded by mountains, were choked with civilians entering the city and fleeing violence elsewhere, a Western security source there said. It was hard to tell whether Taliban fighters were also getting through, the source said.
"The fear is of suicide bombers entering the diplomatic quarters to scare, attack and ensure everyone leaves at the earliest opportunity," he said.
Foreign countries are trying to ensure their staff leave Kabul quickly, five foreign security officials told Reuters. One said international airlines were also being asked to evacuate staff.
The Taliban want to defeat the US-backed government and reimpose strict Islamic law. The speed of their advance has shocked the government and its allies.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the attacks were against the spirit of a 2020 agreement.
The Taliban committed to talks on a peace accord that would lead to a "permanent and comprehensive ceasefire," Price said on Wednesday. "All indications at least suggest the Taliban are instead pursuing a battlefield victory."
"Attacking provincial capitals and targeting civilians is inconsistent with the spirit of the agreement," he said.
The Taliban deny targeting civilians.
Price said the United States was working to forge an international consensus behind the need for a peace accord.
He spoke as envoys from the United States, China, Russia and other countries met in Doha with Taliban and Afghan government negotiators in a bid to break a months-long deadlock in peace talks.
The loss of Faizabad was the latest setback for the government of President Ashraf Ghani, who flew to Mazar-i-Sharif to rally old warlords to the defence of the biggest city in the north as Taliban forces closed in.
Jawad Mujadidi, a provincial council member from Badakhshan, said the Taliban had laid siege to Faizabad before launching its offensive on Tuesday.
"With the fall of Faizabad, the whole of the northeast has come under Taliban control," Mujadidi told Reuters.
HOMELAND
US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he did not regret his decision to withdraw and urged Afghan leaders to fight for their homeland.
Washington had spent more than $1 trillion over 20 years and lost thousands of US troops, and continued to provide significant air support, food, equipment and salaries to Afghan forces, he said.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to comment about assessments that Kabul could be overtaken by the Taliban in 90 days, which were first reported by the Washington Post.
"We are closely watching the deteriorating security conditions in parts of the country, but no particular outcome, in our view, is inevitable," she said.
Psaki said the plan to withdraw troops by Aug 31 held and reiterated the administration's view that Afghan forces have the US support they need to fight back.
The Afghans "need to determine ... if they have the political will to fight back and if they have the ability to unite as leaders to fight back," she said.
But the head of the Afghan reconciliation committee said it was clear the Taliban did not believe in a political solution, Al Jazeera reported on Twitter.
"We support reaching a political solution through negotiation and appointing a mediator or mediators to organize the negotiations," Abdullah Abdullah said.
REGIONAL APPEAL
The Taliban advances have raised fears of a return to power of the hardline militants who formed in 1994 from the chaos of civil war. They controlled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, when they were ousted by a US-led campaign for harbouring al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
A new generation of Afghans, who have come of age since 2001, fears the progress made in areas such as women's rights and media freedom will be squandered.
Afghan officials have appealed for pressure on Pakistan to stop Taliban reinforcements and supplies flowing over the border. Pakistan denies backing the Taliban.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said Taliban leaders told him earlier this year that they will not negotiate with the Afghan government as long as Ghani remains president.
Ghani is appealing for help from the regional warlords he spent years sidelining as he tried to project the authority of his central government over wayward provinces.
The Taliban have captured districts bordering Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan and China, heightening regional security concerns.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/taliban-could-take-afghan-capital-in-90-days-says-us-intelligence-report-2508414">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/taliban-could-take-afghan-capital-in-90-days-says-us-intelligence-report-2508414</a>

news world Taliban Could Take Afghan Capital In 90 Days, Says US Intelligence: Report

The Taliban have captured districts bordering Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan and China (file) Washington/Kabul: Taliban fighter...

Algeria Mourns 69 Dead As Mediterranean Wildfires Spread

<div class="ins_instory_dv">
<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Algeria Mourns 69 Dead As Mediterranean Wildfires Spread" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-08/vqsddqr4_algeria-650_625x300_11_August_21.jpg" title="Algeria Mourns 69 Dead As Mediterranean Wildfires Spread" /></div>
Most of the fires and 16 of the deaths were recorded in Tizi Ouzou district
</div>
Tizi Ouzou:
The death count climbed to at least 69 as firefighters, soldiers and civilian volunteers battled blazes in forests across northern Algeria on Wednesday, in the latest wildfires to sweep the Mediterranean.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune declared three days of national mourning starting from Thursday, and authorities say they suspect widespread arson after so many fires erupted in such a short space of time.
In an update, state-run news agency APS said the rash of more than 50 fires that broke out Tuesday had claimed four more lives, in addition to state television's tally of 65 dead, including 28 soldiers deployed to help overstretched emergency services.
Several arrests have been announced, but the identities or suspected motives of those detained have not been disclosed.
Images of trapped villagers, terrified livestock and forested hillsides reduced to blackened stumps were shared on social media, many of them accompanied by pleas for help.
AFP journalists saw villagers desperately trying to put out the spreading fires with makeshift brooms in an effort to save their homes.
- 'Alarming' -
High winds fuelled the rapid spread of the flames in tinder-dry conditions created by a heatwave across North Africa and the wider Mediterranean, fire official Youcef Ould Mohamed told APS.
Scores of separate wildfires remained active Wednesday, spread across 17 provinces, emergency services spokesman Nassim Barnaoui told reporters.
Most of the fires and 16 of the deaths were recorded in Tizi Ouzou district, in the mainly Berber region of Kabylie, east of the capital Algiers.
"I left all my stock in my village and fled to Tizi Ouzou with my wife and three children," said Abdelhamid Boudraren, a shopkeeper from the village of Beni Yeni.
The situation was "alarming", Letreche Hakim, the head of civil protection in Bejaia, the second biggest city in Kabylie, told APS.
There have been mounting calls for aid convoys to be sent to the worst-hit districts with food and medicine from the capital.
On Wednesday, an AFP correspondent saw several lorries headed to Tizi Ouzou with aid donated by the public.
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter that France would send two Canadair firefighting planes and a command aircraft to the Kabylie region on Thursday to help.
Neighbouring Morocco, with whom Algeria has long had strained ties over the Western Sahara, also expressed a readiness to help.
Rabat offered two Canadair planes "if the Algerian authorities agree", a Moroccan foreign ministry statement said.
Algeria is also chartering two firefighting planes from the EU, aircraft recently being used to stop fires in Greece.
Meteorologists expect the heatwave across North Africa to continue until the end of the week, with temperatures in Algeria reaching 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Fires in Tunisia -
In Algeria's neighbour Tunisia, the temperature in the capital Tunis hit an all-time record of 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday.
The Tunisian emergency services reported 15 fires across the north and northwest, but no casualties.
On the northern shores of the Mediterranean, Turkey reported eight deaths and Greece three from wildfires that have raged for the past two weeks.
Each summer, Algeria endures seasonal wildfires, but rarely anything approaching this year's disaster.
In 2020, nearly 440 square kilometres (170 square miles) of forest were destroyed by fire.
On Monday, the UN released a major report showing how the threat from global warming is even more acute than previously thought.
It highlighted how scientists are quantifying the extent to which human-induced warming increases the intensity and/or likelihood of a specific extreme weather event, such as a heatwave or a wildfire.
Climate change amplifies droughts, creating ideal conditions for wildfires to spread out of control and inflict unprecedented material and environmental damage.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/algeria-mourns-69-dead-as-mediterranean-wildfires-spread-2508408">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/algeria-mourns-69-dead-as-mediterranean-wildfires-spread-2508408</a>

news world Algeria Mourns 69 Dead As Mediterranean Wildfires Spread

Most of the fires and 16 of the deaths were recorded in Tizi Ouzou district Tizi Ouzou: The death count climbed to at least 69 as firef...

US Finds Pakistan Useful Only To Clean Up Mess In Afghanistan: Imran Khan

<div class="ins_instory_dv">
<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="US Finds Pakistan Useful Only To Clean Up Mess In Afghanistan: Imran Khan" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-07/fik2ckq_imran-khan_625x300_26_July_21.jpg" title="US Finds Pakistan Useful Only To Clean Up Mess In Afghanistan: Imran Khan" /></div>
Imran Khan said Islamabad was not taking sides in Afghanistan (File)
</div>
Islamabad:
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan accused the United States of seeing his country as useful only in the context of the "mess" it is leaving behind in Afghanistan after 20 years of fighting.
Washington has been pressing Pakistan to use its influence over the Taliban to broker an elusive peace deal as negotiations between the insurgents and Afghan government have stalled, and violence in Afghanistan has escalated sharply.
"Pakistan is just considered only to be useful in the context of somehow settling this mess which has been left behind after 20 years of trying to find a military solution when there was not one," Khan told foreign journalists at his home in Islamabad.
The United States will pull out its military by Aug 31, 20 years after toppling the Taliban government in 2001. But, as the United States leaves, the Taliban today controls more territory than at any point since then.
Kabul and several Western governments say Pakistan's support for the insurgent group allowed it to weather the war.
The charge of supporting the Taliban despite being a US ally has long been a sore point between Washington and Islamabad. Pakistan denies supporting the Taliban.
Khan said Islamabad was not taking sides in Afghanistan.
"I think that the Americans have decided that India is their strategic partner now, and I think that's why there's a different way of treating Pakistan now," Khan said.
A political settlement in Afghanistan was looking difficult under current conditions, Khan added.
He said he tried to persuade Taliban leaders when they were visiting Pakistan to reach a settlement.
"The condition is that as long as Ashraf Ghani is there, we (Taliban) are not going to talk to the Afghan government," Khan said, quoting the Taliban leaders as telling him.
Peace talks between the Taliban, who view Ghani and his government as US puppets, and a team of Kabul-nominated Afghan negotiators started last September but have made no substantive progress.
Representatives of a number of countries, including the United States, are currently in the Qatari capital of Doha talking to both sides in a last-ditch push for a ceasefire.
US forces have continued to use air strikes to support Afghan forces against Taliban advances, but it remains unclear if such support will continue after Aug 31.
Khan said Pakistan had "made it very clear" that it does not want any American military bases in Pakistan after US forces exit Afghanistan.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-finds-pakistan-useful-only-to-clean-up-mess-in-afghanistan-imran-khan-2508404">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-finds-pakistan-useful-only-to-clean-up-mess-in-afghanistan-imran-khan-2508404</a>

news world US Finds Pakistan Useful Only To Clean Up Mess In Afghanistan: Imran Khan

Imran Khan said Islamabad was not taking sides in Afghanistan (File) Islamabad: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan accused the United ...

International Youth Day 2021: Date, Significance, History And This Year's Theme

<div class="ins_instory_dv">
<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="International Youth Day 2021: Date, Significance, History And This Year's Theme" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2020-08/odfakmdo_youth-day-650_625x300_12_August_20.jpg" title="International Youth Day 2021: Date, Significance, History And This Year's Theme" /></div>
Youth Day 2021: In 1999, the UN decided to commemorate it every year on August 12 (File)
</div>
Every year, International Youth Day is observed on August 12. On this day, governments and citizens across the world come together to recognise and bring attention to the problems faced by the youth. In 1999, the United Nations decided to commemorate International Youth Day every year on August 12. It was based on a recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth in Lisbon to the UN General Assembly. The day is celebrated through various awareness campaigns, community concerts, and events to bring to notice the socio-economic and socio-political issues that the youth in every nation face.
Theme For International Youth Day 2021
Each year, the United Nations decides a theme that is relevant to all global communities and citizens. This year's theme is "Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health". According to the United Nations, this year's theme highlights the crucial need for "inclusive support mechanisms that ensure youth continue to amplify efforts collectively and individually to restore the planet and protect life while integrating biodiversity in the transformation of food systems." Along with this, other challenges -- climate change, healthcare, social inclusion, and conservation of biodiversity -- will also be addressed.
UN Secretary-General's message for International Youth Day 2021
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that youngsters were on the "frontlines of the struggle to build a better future for all". In a video message, he said that the highlight of this year's International Youth Day will be on "solutions developed by young innovators to address challenges to our food systems". Mr Guterres, however, added that "young people cannot do it on their own. They need allies to make sure they are engaged, included and understood." Before ending his message, he urged everyone "to guarantee young people a seat at the table as we build a world based on inclusive, fair, and sustainable development for all".
Watch the video here:
[embedded content]
<a href="https://www.un.org/en/observances/youth-day">On its website, the United Nations also stated,</a> "Through youth education, engagement, innovation, and entrepreneurial solutions, this year's International Youth Day aims to provide a platform for young people to continue the momentum from the ECOSOC Youth Forum in the lead up to the high-level Food Systems Summit."
The theme for last year's International Youth Day was 'Youth Engagement for Global Action'. The main areas highlighted in last year's theme were engagement at the community level, engagement at the national level (formulation of laws and policies along with their implementation), and engagement at the global level.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/international-youth-day-2021-date-significance-history-and-this-years-theme-2507914">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/international-youth-day-2021-date-significance-history-and-this-years-theme-2507914</a>

news world International Youth Day 2021: Date, Significance, History And This Year's Theme

Youth Day 2021: In 1999, the UN decided to commemorate it every year on August 12 (File) Every year, International Youth Day is observed...