BEIJING (AP) — Satellite images show China has built mock-ups of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier and destroyer in its northwestern desert, possibly for practice for a future naval clash as tensions rise between the nations.

China has massively upgraded its military in recent years, and its capability and intentions are increasingly concerning to the United States as tensions rise over the South China Sea, Taiwan and military supremacy in the Indo-Pacific.

08 Nov 2021; MEMO: Iran says the United States should provide guarantees that it will not abandon the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers if talks to revive the agreement succeed, Reuters reports.

08 Nov 2021; MEMO: Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi said yesterday that he knows who attacked his home with drones in order to assassinate him, pledging to punish them, Anadolu reported.

"We will pursue those who committed yesterday's crime," he pledged. "We know them well, and we will expose them," he stressed.

08 Nov 2021; MEMO: The Egyptian Network for Human Rights has documented details of the arrest and violations against female political prisoner Tawqa Abdel Basser Abdullah.

Tawqa, 24, was arrested inside Helwan metro station on 9 June 2019 and then forcibly disappeared for 17 days.

A student at Cairo University, Tawqa was seen at the Supreme State Security Prosecution on 26 June 2019 and charged with being part of the "Coalition of Hope".

WASHINGTON, Nov 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States reopens its land and air borders Monday to foreign visitors fully vaccinated against Covid-19, ending 20 months of restrictions on travel from around the globe that
separated families, hobbled tourism and strained diplomatic ties.

   The ban, imposed by former president Donald Trump in early 2020 and upheld by his successor Joe Biden, has been widely criticized and become emblematic of the upheavals caused by the pandemic.

SAN JOSE, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Daniel Ortega easily secured a fourth consecutive term as Nicaragua's president, early results showed on Monday, after the former guerrilla fighter suppressed political rivals in a vote critics said was rigged but which won Russian recognition.

Nicaragua's Supreme Electoral Council said that with roughly half the ballots counted, a preliminary tally gave Ortega's Sandinista alliance about 75% of votes.

The European Union rejected the results, saying the elections "complete the conversion of Nicaragua into an autocratic regime."

CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT, France (AP) — The U.S. lifted restrictions Monday on travel from a long list of countries including Mexico, Canada and most of Europe, setting the stage for emotional reunions nearly two years in the making and providing a boost for the airline and tourism industries decimated by the pandemic.

Wives will hug husbands for the first time in months. Grandmas will coo over grandsons who have doubled in age since they last saw them. Aunts and uncles and cousins will snuggle babies they haven’t met yet.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s coronavirus infection rate climbed to its highest recorded level yet on Monday as what officials have called a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” gathers pace.

The national disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute, said the country has seen 201.1 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days. That was above the previous record of 197.6 from Dec. 22 last year. While it’s still a lower rate than in several other European countries, it has set alarm bells ringing.

NEW YORK, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. federal government's efforts to encourage widespread vaccination against COVID-19 have been challenged by some officials and experts, particularly since its vaccine mandate was formally introduced to large-scale businesses on Thursday.

The vaccination rule came as many communities are still struggling with limited health care staff and resources to help those who are currently battling COVID-19. The White House insisted the measures mean common good for the country and will be upheld no matter what the costs will be.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is encouraging local school districts to host clinics to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to kids — and information to parents on the benefits of the shots — as the White House looks to speedily provide vaccines to those ages 5 to 11.

First lady Jill Biden and Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy are set to visit the Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Virginia, on Monday to launch a nationwide campaign to promote child vaccinations. The school was the first to administer the polio vaccine in 1954.

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — A man who suffered a severe arm injury when he was shot by Kyle Rittenhouse during a night of protests against racial injustice is expected to testify this week as prosecutors near the end of their case in Rittenhouse’s murder trial.

BAGHDAD, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The failed assassination attempt against Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Sunday complicated the political scene in the country, as the attack ramped up the tension sparked by followers of parties rejecting the results of the Oct. 10 early election.

The assassination attempt took place before dawn when a booby-trapped drone landed on the residence of al-Kadhimi in the heavily fortified Green Zone in the center of the capital, but the prime minister escaped unhurt.