Summit on Afghanistan
Just ahead of a meeting of Afghan neighbors hosted by China, Iran’s foreign minister says Afghanistan deserves more attention from the international community. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says Tehran and Beijing support independence, national unity and the rights of the Afghan people. According to the minister, Iran and China are hoping to see a stable and developed Afghanistan that interacts with its neighbors. Amir-Abdollahian is set to meet with his counterparts from Russia, Indonesia, Turkmenistan and Pakistan as well as the Uzbek foreign minister and prime minister during his visit to China. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will host the third foreign ministers meeting of Afghanistan's neighboring countries in Tunxi, in the eastern Anhui Province.
'Response to Israeli crimes'
Resistance movements are heaping their praises on a young Palestinian man who lost his life after killing several Israelis, in an operation near Tel Aviv, as part of the struggle against occupation. Hamas says the attack was a heroic operation in response to the crimes and acts of terror committed by the Israeli regime. And, the Islamic Jihad has described it as the price the Israeli regime must pay for its brutalities and terrorist acts. Meanwhile, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has pointed to the operation as proof of a collective Palestinian commitment to resistance. The Al-Aqsa Brigades has also reacted, by calling the attack a natural response to Israeli crimes. The 26-year-old Palestinian shot and killed at least five Israelis, including a military officer, in the suburbs of Tel Aviv, and was fatally shot by Israeli forces, late on Tuesday.
China Covid lockdown
China’s biggest city and financial hubو Shanghai, locks down millions of people as the city records some of the highest numbers of daily Covid cases since the pandemic began. Home to 26 million people, the city has logged more than 300 new cases. And now it is going through a two-phase lockdown. While residents in the east have been locked down since Monday, those in the west are scheduled to start a four-day lockdown on Friday. Public transport is suspended and authorities have begun disinfecting places such as office buildings and schools. Over nine million people have been tested since Monday. China is experiencing its worst outbreak in two years, despite adhering to a zero-Covid strategy. There have been over 1,600 infections in the past 24 hours.