Erdogan skips climate summit in security dispute

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan has cancelled plans to attend the COP26 climate conference after Britain failed to meet Ankara's demands on security arrangements, two Turkish officials told Reuters yesterday. Erdogan returned to Turkey from a G20 summit in Rome instead of travelling to the climate summit in Glasgow, the state-owned Anadolu agency said. The Turkish presidency gave no reason for his unscheduled return. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were protocol issues over the president's planned attendance at the meeting. Another Turkish official said British authorities had not met Turkey's requests over protocol and security.

S Korea, US quietly hold joint air exercises

South Korea and the United States kicked off joint aerial drills yesterday, a military official in Seoul said, amid tensions over North Korea's recent missile tests and calls for a restart of denuclearisation talks. The exercises, previously called Vigilant Ace, once mobilized tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of cutting-edge fighter jets, bombers and other warplanes. But the programme has been scaled back since 2017 to facilitate talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes in return for US sanctions relief. The allies began the drills, which will last five days, without announcing or naming them.

Biden tests Covid negative after spokeswoman's positive report

US President Joe Biden has tested negative for Covid-19 in the wake of his chief spokeswoman testing positive, the White House said yesterday. The "president was tested as well, a PCR test yesterday, and he tested negative," Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One, on the way to the UN climate summit in Glasgow. Jean-Pierre said Biden's test on Sunday was not in response to news of the positive result for Press Secretary Jen Psaki, but was done "independently" and was "required for entering the UK."

Thailand, Australia, Israel ease travel curbs

Thailand, Australia and Israel eased international border restrictions significantly yesterday for the first time in 18 months, offering a broad test of demand for travel worldwide amid the coronavirus pandemic. The relaxation contrasts with tightening lockdowns elsewhere, notably in eastern Europe where infections have hit record numbers, and in parts of China, which has taken a zero-tolerance approach to the pandemic despite relatively few cases. Britain yesterday removed the last seven countries on its coronavirus "red list", which required newly arrived travellers to spend 10 days in hotel quarantine. The United States will lift international travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers on Nov 8.