Top foreign stories at 1710 hrs

By Lalit K Jha FGN15 VIRUS-US-VACCINATION US achieves important milestone of administering 50 million COVID-19 vaccine shots Washington The US has reached an important milestone of administering COVID-19 vaccines to a record 50 million people as part of its efforts to fight the deadly coronavirus pandemic, with President Joe Biden asserting that the country is on its way to taking the figure to 100 million within the first 100 days of his administration.

FGN22 WHO-MODI-VACCINE 'Hope other countries follow your example': WHO chief Ghebreyesus lauds India, PM Modi Geneva: WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment for supporting vaccine equity and sharing COVID-19 vaccines with over 60 countries across the world, hoping that other nations will follow his example. FGN21 VIRUS-LANKA-CREMATION Sri Lanka ends forced cremations of COVID-19 victims Colombo: Amidst mounting international criticism, Sri Lanka has revised a controversial mandatory order to cremate the bodies of COVID-19 victims, which denied minority communities, including Muslims, their religious rights.

FGN23 VIRUS-UK-QUEEN-VACCINE COVID-19 vaccine didn't hurt at all and helps others, says Britain’s Queen London: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has said that receiving her vaccine to protect against COVID-19 ''didn't hurt at all'' and encouraged those hesitant about getting jabbed to think about how it would help others in preventing the spread of the deadly virus. By Aditi Khanna FGN18 US-BIDEN-SAUDI-KING President Biden speaks over phone with Saudi King Washington: President Joe Biden spoke over phone with King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia and discussed regional security issues and affirmed the importance the US places on universal human rights and the rule of law, according to the White House. By Lalit K Jha FGN15 VIRUS-US-VACCINATION US achieves important milestone of administering 50 million COVID-19 vaccine shots Washington: The US has reached an important milestone of administering COVID-19 vaccines to a record 50 million people as part of its efforts to fight the deadly coronavirus pandemic, with President Joe Biden asserting that the country is on its way to taking the figure to 100 million within the first 100 days of his administration. By Lalit K Jha FGN19 US-INDIA-GSP-USTR 'Question on GSP in India is very high on my radar': USTR nominee Washington: The Biden administration has indicated that the issue of restoring the GSP status to India is on top of its radar, as several lawmakers have raised the issue of retaliatory tariffs imposed by New Delhi on American agricultural products after the previous Trump regime terminated it. By Lalit K Jha FGN17 US-TANDEN White House expects Neera Tanden to have high bar of civility and engagement Washington: The White House has said that it expects Neera Tanden to have a high bar of civility and engagement when the Indian-American policy expert joins the Biden administration, as it backed her nomination to lead the Office of Management and Budget. By Lalit K Jha FGN13 UN-INDIAN-APPOINTMENT Guterres appoints Indian economist Ligia Noronha as Assistant SG & Head of UNEP NY Office United Nations: UN chief Antonio Guterres has appointed leading Indian economist Ligia Noronha as Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). By Yoshita Singh FGN25 PAK-FATF No possibility of Pakistan being blacklisted by FATF: Minister Islamabad: There was no possibility of Pakistan being blacklisted by the FATF as it has made ''significant progress'', a senior minister claimed on Friday, a day after the global anti-money laundering watchdog retained the country on its ''Grey List'', citing ''serious deficiencies'' on its part in checking terror-financing. By Sajjad Hussain IND IND