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JAKARTA, June 21 (Reuters) - After not securing a COVID-19 vaccination at home, Indonesian Muhammad Risqy Putra booked a trip to the United States to get inoculated there on his first overseas trip since the pandemic.

With rich nations like the United States rolling out vaccinations far more quickly, wealthier residents in developing countries - from Indonesia to Thailand to Mexico - are prepared to head abroad to get a shot more quickly.

TEL AVIV, June 21 (Reuters) - Israel's top diplomat will travel to the United Arab Emirates next week in the first official visit by an Israeli minister to the Gulf state since the two countries established diplomatic relations last year.

Yair Lapid, who was sworn in last week under a new government, will be hosted by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan from June 29-30, the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Minister Lapid will inaugurate the Israeli Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of Israel in Dubai."

HONG KONG, June 21 (Reuters) - Hong Kong pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily will be forced to shut "in a matter of days" after authorities froze the company's assets under a national security law, an adviser to jailed owner Jimmy Lai told Reuters on Monday.

The closure of Apple Daily would undermine the former British colony's reputation as an open and free society and send a warning to other companies that could be accused of colluding with a foreign country, media advocacy groups said.

VIENNA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Talks on restoring the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), showed positive signal of finalizing the agreement and finding solutions to the Iranian nuclear issue, officials said on Sunday.

During a meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission wrapped up on Sunday, representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and Iran agreed on many important issues concerning the revival of the JCPOA.

BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The China-Europe freight-train service has recorded more than 40,000 trips, with the transported goods valued at over 200 billion U.S. dollars, official data shows.

Since the first China-Europe freight train left southwest China's Chongqing Municipality in March 2011, the service has reached more than 160 cities in 22 European countries, according to a work conference of the office of the leading group on advancing Belt and Road development.

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 20 (PTI) The Kerala government has approached the Centre to put in place a moratorium on repayment of loans till December 31 in order to provide relief to individuals in the unorganised sector, MSMEs, agriculture and others adversely affected by COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown.

Kerala has sought a moratorium of loans without accrual of interest and penal interest during the moratorium period.

19 June 2021; MEMO: Head of the General Federation of Trade Unions Sami Al-Amasi has confirmed that 20 factories were destroyed during the last offensive on Gaza, and 5,000 workers had lost their jobs.

19 June 2021; MEMO: French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Friday welcomed what he described as the end of verbal altercations between Paris and Ankara, and demanded in return real initiatives from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a series of contentious issues.

Le Drian told BFM TV: "There is a truce in verbal attacks. It is a good thing, but it is not enough," considering that the bilateral ties between the two sides are "in a stage of recovery".

19 June 2021; MEMO: The Saudi minister confirmed that the world has become a mobile media outlet.

Saudi acting Media Minister Majid Bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi announced the formation of a working group to develop a unified media vision with Egypt, stressing that there is an urgent need to unify the two countries' media horizons.

New Delhi, Jun 18 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "without doubt" lost the moral authority to rule for not standing with people in need of medical aid during the second wave of COVID-19 and instead focussing on political one-upmanship in polls.

In an interview with PTI, the former union minister launched a hard-hitting attack on the prime minister saying the lack of a credible political alternative did not mean that he should stop discharging his duties believing that his political fortunes are secure.