Briefly

AFGHANISTAN

Fighting escalates for provincial capitals

Afghan forces battled on Monday to stop a first provincial city from falling to the Taliban following weekend offensives from the insurgents on urban centers in a major escalation in fighting. Taliban fighters assaulted at least three provincial capitals overnight－Lashkar Gah, Kandahar and Herat－after a weekend of heavy fighting that saw thousands of civilians flee the advancing militants. Fighting has intensified since early May, with the Taliban capitalizing on the final stages of the withdrawal of Western forces after almost 20 years.

AUSTRALIA

Twitter boss buys startup for $29 billion

US digital payment platform Square unveiled a record $29 billion deal to snap up Australia's fast-growing buy-now, pay-later firm Afterpay, in a major bet on the burgeoning sector, sending its share price soaring on Monday. The Australian fintech was founded six years ago and allows consumers to buy everything from laptops to flights in staggered payments without interest. "Square and Afterpay have a shared purpose," said Square CEO Jack Dorsey－who made his billions through Twitter－announcing the deal on Sunday. Afterpay makes money by taking a commission from retailers and charging fees to late-paying customers. It currently boasts 16 million customers.

EUROPEAN UNION

Pfizer, Moderna raise prices for COVID-19 jabs

Pfizer and Moderna have raised the prices of their COVID-19 vaccines in their latest European Union supply contracts, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The new price for the Pfizer shot was 19.50 euros ($23.15) against 15.50 euros previously, the newspaper said, citing portions of the contracts. The price of a Moderna vaccine was $25.50 a dose, the contracts show, up from about 19 euros in the first procurement deal but lower than the previously agreed $28.50 because the order had grown, the report said, citing one official close to the matter. The two companies haven't commented on the contracts.

FRANCE

700 people rescued at sea over weekend

Rescue ships picked up more than 700 people trying to cross the Mediterranean in makeshift vessels last weekend, mainly off the coasts of Libya and Malta, a migrant aid group said on Sunday. The latest figures came as UN migration officials repeated their calls for a fairer mechanism to share out the responsibility of caring for them, rather than leaving it to the Mediterranean countries. SOS Mediterranee said that its vessel, the Ocean Viking, had carried out six separate operations in international waters since Saturday.

Agencies - Xinhua