Briefly

AFGHANISTAN

China aid distributed among 6,000 families

Afghan authorities have distributed China-donated humanitarian aid to 6,000 needy families in the western province of Herat, Mohammad Hashim Khalid, provincial director for Natural Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs, said on Tuesday. "In the provincial capital Herat city we started distribution of China-donated aid to 6,000 destitute families on Monday, and the aid package includes two bags of rice," Khalid said. In addition to China-donated aid, the needy families also received wheat, biscuits, noodles and bottles of fruit jam provided by Iran and Turkmenistan, Khalid said.

NETHERLANDS

PM apologizes for 250 years of slavery

The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has officially apologized for 250 years of the Netherlands' involvement in slavery, calling it a "crime against humanity". The apology comes almost 150 years after the end of slavery in the country's overseas colonies, which included Suriname in South America, Indonesia in the east and Caribbean islands such as Curacao and Aruba. In the first of the former Dutch colonies to react, Aruba's Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes accepted the apology, but others deplored a lack of concrete action or dialogue.

UNITED STATES

Supreme Court puts migrant policy on hold

The US Supreme Court has halted the imminent scrapping of a key policy used since Donald Trump's administration to block migrants at the southwestern border, amid worries over a surge in undocumented immigrants. An order signed by Chief Justice John Roberts placed an emergency stay on the removal planned for Wednesday of Title 42, which allowed the government to use COVID-19 safety protocols to summarily block the entry of millions of migrants. Roberts placed the policy on temporary hold in response to a last-minute petition from 20 states.

IRAN

Nuclear negotiators meet in Jordan

Iran's foreign minister and top nuclear negotiator met the European Union foreign policy chief and the EU official coordinating nuclear talks with Iran in Jordan on Tuesday, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported. Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani met EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and nuclear talks coordinator Enrique Mora ahead of a regional conference. IRNA gave no further details about the meeting. On Monday, UN nuclear watchdog officials left Iran after talks with the head of its nuclear energy organization.

Agencies - Xinhua