World News Roundup: Afghanistan to start issuing passports again after months of delays; Taiwan says it needs to be alert to 'over the top' military activities by China and more

Leaving the European Union, followed by the chaos of the biggest public health crisis in a century, has plunged the world's fifth-largest economy into a sudden attempt to kick its addiction to cheap imported labour. Pandora Papers: Rich and powerful deny wrongdoing after dump of purported secrets The Czech prime minister, the king of Jordan and the chairman of a well-known Indian conglomerate were among global figures denying wrongdoing on Monday after the leak of what major news outlets called a secret trove of documents about offshore finance.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Afghanistan to start issuing passports again after months of delays

Afghanistan will start issuing passports to its citizens again on Tuesday, a senior official said, following months of delays that hampered attempts by those trying to flee the country after the Taliban seized control in August. The process, which had slowed even before the Islamist militants' return to power following the withdrawal of U.S. forces, will provide applicants with documents physically identical to those issued by the previous government, the official said.

Taiwan says it needs to be alert to 'over the top' military activities by China

Taiwan needs to be on alert for China's "over the top" military activities, the premier said on Tuesday, after a record 56 Chinese aircraft flew into Taiwan's air defense zone, while the president said the island would do what it took to defend itself. Taiwan has reported 148 Chinese air force planes in the southern and southwestern part of its air defense zone over a four-day period beginning on Friday, the same day China marked a key patriotic holiday, National Day.

Analysis-In Czech election, the prize is one of EU's fastest-growing debt burdens

The Czech government has ditched a long tradition of frugality over the last few years by piling tax cuts and wage hikes on top of pandemic spending, putting the country's debt on course to hit critical levels much faster than anyone expected. That leaves an unenviable challenge for whichever party wins this weekend's national election in the Czech Republic.

Analysis-Quest for more leverage drives Iran's nuclear stalling tactic, analysts say

Western powers have been trying for weeks to get Tehran's answer to one question - when will the Islamic Republic return to nuclear talks that have been on hold since June. Iran's response has been vague and simple: "soon". Behind Tehran's stalling is an attempt to gain leverage to extract more concessions when negotiations do eventually resume, officials and analysts said, including by advancing its uranium enrichment program, a possible pathway to a nuclear bomb.

U.S.' Blinken talks European security cooperation with France's Macron

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday discussed a French push for more security cooperation among European nations, a U.S. official said, during a visit to try to repair a rift with Paris. The top U.S. diplomat is in Paris seeking to rebuild ties after a security pact between the United States, Australia, and Britain resulted in Canberra scuttling a defense contract, initially valued at $40 billion, for French submarines.

French clergy sexually abused over 200,000 children since 1950, report finds

French clergy sexually abused more than 200,000 children over the past 70 years, a major investigation released on Tuesday found, and its authors said the Catholic Church had turned a blind eye to the 'scourge' for too long. The church had shown "deep, total and even cruel indifference for years," protecting itself rather than the victims of what was systemic abuse, said Jean-Marc Sauve, head of the commission that compiled the report.

Japan signals more active role on China's tough stand on Taiwan

Japan's new government signaled on Tuesday a more assertive position on China's aggressive posture towards self-ruled Taiwan, suggesting it would consider options and prepare for "various scenarios", while reaffirming close U.S. ties. Taiwan and broader relations with China are likely to dominate security policies and foreign relations from the outset of new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's administration.

Global player? EU summit to seek answers on China, U.S. strategy

The European Union's 27 leaders will seek a new approach to China on Tuesday in their first summit on Sino-European strategy since the bloc imposed sanctions on Beijing in March and faced retaliation, jeopardizing a new investment pact. Leaders will also discuss the idea of setting up an EU gas reserve and decoupling electricity prices from gas prices, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday, although it will only be the first debate.

Brexit cold turkey: UK tries to kick 25-year imported labour habit

The United Kingdom's 25-year-old model of importing cheap labor has been upended by Brexit and COVID-19, sowing the seeds for a 1970s-style winter of discontent complete with worker shortages, spiraling wage demands, and price rises. Leaving the European Union, followed by the chaos of the biggest public health crisis in a century, has plunged the world's fifth-largest economy into a sudden attempt to kick its addiction to cheap imported labor.

Pandora Papers: Rich and powerful deny wrongdoing after dump of purported secrets

The Czech prime minister, the king of Jordan and the chairman of a well-known Indian conglomerate were among global figures denying wrongdoing on Monday after the leak of what major news outlets called a secret trove of documents about offshore finance. India said it would investigate cases linked to the data dump, known collectively as the "Pandora Papers", while Pakistani Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said officials named in the documents would be investigated - including himself.

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