October 20, 2021

Daily News Brief

*) Brazil's president accused of homicide in Covid response probe The senator leading a probe into Brazil's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic has recommended that President Jair Bolsonaro be charged with homicide over government errors that led to the deaths of thousands. Bolsonaro has dismissed the probe as politically motivated. The document accuses Bolsonaro of turning down early offers to purchase vaccines, delaying Brazil's inoculation drive and costing an estimated 95,000 lives. *) US says Taliban won't get access to Afghan central bank reserves The Taliban will not be allowed to access Afghanistan's central bank reserves, which are largely held in the US. US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told Senate it was "essential to maintain sanctions against the Taliban" but at the same time find ways for humanitarian assistance to get to the Afghan people. The Taliban has called for the US to allow access to more than $9 billion of Afghan central bank reserves as the government struggles to contain a deepening economic crisis. *) At least 46 dead after heavy rains, landslides in northern India At least 46 people have died and several are missing after floods triggered by heavy rains hit northern India. Uttarakhand state has seen incessant rains for the past three days, flooding roads, destroying bridges and causing landslides. India's Met Department says rains are likely to recede in Uttarakhand on Wednesday but warns of heavy downpours in the northeast and south. *) Turkey criticises EU report on its membership process Turkey has criticised a European Commission report on Ankara's EU membership process, saying it once again reflects double standards towards the country. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the report overlooked the EU's responsibilities towards Turkey at a time when Ankara has revived high-level dialogue with the bloc. Turkey also rejected the inclusion of "inconsistent and biased" Greek and Greek Cypriot arguments in the report. The EU report said Ankara's bid to join the bloc had "come to a standstill". And finally… *) Facebook plans to change its name Social media giant Facebook Inc is planning to rebrand the company with a new name that focuses on the metaverse. The name change will be announced next week, The Verge reported, citing a source with direct knowledge of the matter. Facebook did not immediately respond to the report.