KFC has appointed Sabir Sami, a graduate of the Institute of Business Administration Karachi, as CEO of the global division. Sabir will take over the position from Tony Lowings, who is stepping down at the end of 2021. Sami will take on global responsibility for the direction and performance of KFC’s brand strategy.
Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said on Tuesday that four Taliban border guards were arrested for removing the Pakistani flag from the truck. The truck had been delivering humanitarian aid to Afghanistan on Sunday. Mujahid stated that the Taliban condemns what happened and is making efforts to prevent occurrences of such incidents in the future.
The US military confessed to killing 10 civilians and targeting the wrong vehicle. A Pentagon review revealed Friday that only civilians were killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan last month. The Pentagon had defended the attack last month, claiming Islamic State extremists were killed. The top general in the US Central Command, General Frank McKenzie, announced it at the Pentagon.
Afghan deputy prime minister Abdul Ghani Baradar, the co-founder of the Taliban, has been named one of Time’s “100 Most Influential People” of 2021. Taliban leader Mullah Baradar led negotiations with the US during the peace agreement. Baradar is considered to be a secretive, quiet man who rarely makes public statements. He represents one of the more moderate Taliban factions.
A SpaceX Inspiration4 mission carried the first-ever all-citizen crew into orbit on Wednesday from Florida. The mission was led by Jared Isaacman, CEO of Shift4 Payments, launched from Cape Canaveral’s Kennedy Space Center. Moreover, it has been reported that all three other members are less-wealthy private citizens. It is the first crewed mission to orbit without a professional astronaut.
The Iranian government is a month away from having enough nuclear fuel to build a single nuclear bomb to secure a nuclear agreement with the US and its allies intensify. The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Iran has never been closer to bomb-grade levels since the 2015 nuclear deal. It is not clear in how much detail the country has produced nuclear fuel.
The UAE economy minister says his country hopes to increase its economic exchanges with Israel to $1 trillion within 10 years. He added that his country would like to cooperate with Israel on issues such as healthcare and energy. Over the past year, Bahrain has signed dozens of memorandums of understanding with its new ally.
An unemployed 31-year-old Abu Dhabi resident received the most “memorable gift” on his 31st birthday when he heard he won a million dirhams in last week’s Mahzooz live draw. Raja, a Pakistani national, became the 14th winner of the 40th weekly live Mahzooz draw. Raha became a millionaire after matching five of the six winning numbers (12, 26, 33, 38, 47, and 49).
El Salvador became the world’s first country to accept bitcoin as legal tender. President Nayib Bukele’s government says the move will allow many Salvadorans to access bank services for the first time. The process eliminates remittance fees by some $400 million each year. El Salvador had bought its first 400 bitcoins, in two tranches of 200 each, and promised more would follow.
Israel on Monday night targeted Gaza with airstrikes, claiming that the Hamas launched incendiary balloons from the Palestinian enclave. Israeli army said it had targeted locations belonging to the group that controls the Gaza Strip. However, the witnesses said that the army had also fired artillery at the north of Gaza. The reports said that no one was killed in the Palestinian enclave.