Afghanistan world’s unhappiest country

Kabul: Afghanistan is the unhappiest country in the world — even before the Taliban swept to power last August. That’s according to a so-called World Happiness report released ahead of the UN-designated International Day of Happiness on Sunday. The annual report ranked Afghanistan as last among 149 countries surveyed, with a happiness rate of just 2.5. Lebanon was the world’s second saddest country, with Botswana, Rwanda and Zimbabwe rounding out the bottom five. Finland ranked first for the fourth year running with a 7.8 score, followed by Denmark and Switzerland. PTI

Puneet Talwar US envoy to Morocco

Washington: US President Joe Biden has announced to nominate Indian-origin diplomat Puneet Talwar as the country’s ambassador to Morocco, the second such nomination of an Indian-American in a week. Talwar, who is currently a senior advisor at the State Department. He previously served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director at the National Security Council, and as a Senior Professional Staff Member at the Committee on Foreign Relations in the United States Senate. PTI

Heavy snow hits Beijing, triggers alerts

Beijing:  Beijing was hit by heavy snow, with blizzards in part of the Chinese capital, the local meteorological authorities said. The snowfall is expected to linger and visibility in most of the city could drop below 1,000 metres, said the Beijing Meteorological Service. As of 6 pm Friday, the city had issued a blue alert for heavy snow, and yellow alerts for road icing and thick fog, reports Xinhua news agency.IANS

Baptised women can head Vatican depts   

Vatican City: Pope Francis on Saturday issued a new constitution for the Vatican’s central administration, known as the Curia, stating that any baptized lay Catholic, including women, can head Vatican departments. Most Vatican departments have been headed by male clerics, usually cardinals. The new, 54-page constitution, called Praedicate Evangelium (Preach the Gospel), took more than nine years to complete. It will take effect on June 5, replacing one approved in 1988 by Pope John Paul II. Reuters