WORLD
Voting for Japan's general election underway as PM seeks mandate
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komeito aim to keep a majority in the House of Representatives, the powerful lower chamber of Parliament, reports Xinhua news agency. The result of the general election depends on the constituencies where ruling coalition candidates were in close race with those from opposition parties, which have also formed coalition in a bid to take the reins of government.
PM Modi meets Singapore counterpart, discusses climate change, Covid
The two leaders also discussed ongoing efforts to contain the Covid-19 pandemic through expedited vaccination efforts and ensuring supply of critical medicines, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said. In this context, PM Modi appreciated Singapore's outreach to provide Covid assistance to India during the second wave. Prime Minister Lee congratulated the Indian Prime Minister for the rapid vaccination drive in India, the release said.
Paris 2024: Countdown begin; Abhinav Bindra shares '1000 days to go' pic
The French capital will stage the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games on July 26, 2024, and is celebrating the milestone with a mass-participation marathon. According to Olympics.com, the host city of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, Paris, is celebrating a big milestone. "To mark the occasion, double Olympic champion, world record holder, and sub-two-hour marathoner Eliud Kipchoge is taking part in a mass marathon with 2000 members of the public on the streets of Paris on Sunday.
Taliban manual discourages people from helping, befriending infidels
Taliban officials in Afghanistan's provinces are using a manual that imposes rules harsher than the abusive policies announced by their leaders in Kabul. And Taliban authorities often do not comply with the rights protections that the manual, from the Taliban's Ministry of Vice and Virtue, sets out, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.
Russia tracks US destroyer in Black Sea amid NATO drills
The US Sixth Fleet tweeted on Friday that USS Porter began its northbound transit to the Black Sea to operate with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies and partners in the region, Xinhua news agency reported. The fleet headquartered in Italy's Naples, and Naval Striking and Support Forces of NATO staff began operations in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea on Friday to demonstrate "NATO's commitment to maintaining freedom of navigation in international waters."
Budget deficits in developed economies cause global inflation: Putin
"I would like to note that the United States takes 40 per cent of the budget deficits of all G20 countries for 2020-2021," Putin said via video link at the first session of the 16th Group of 20 (G20) Leaders' Summit, Xinhua news agency rerported. The persistent use of serious budget deficits creates a risk of high global inflation in the medium term, which decreases business activity and aggravates inequality, he warned.
Modi holds bilateral meet with French President Macron
Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit, the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the state of the wide-ranging India-France Strategic Partnership, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said in New Delhi. Prime Minister Modi also welcomed the European Union's Indo-Pacific Strategy, released in September 2021, and thanked the French President for France's leadership role in the same.
Xi Jinping's lack of foreign travel signals a turn inward for China
The ostensible reason for Xi's lack of foreign travel is Covid-19, though officials have not said so explicitly. It is also a calculation that has reinforced a deeper shift in China's foreign and domestic policy", the report added. China, under Xi, no longer feels compelled to cooperate - or at least be seen as cooperating - with the US and its allies on anything other than its own terms.
US FDA authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for kids aged 5-11
The authorization was based on the FDA's thorough and transparent evaluation of the data that included input from independent advisory committee experts who overwhelmingly voted in favour of making the vaccine available to children in this age group, the agency said in a statement late Friday.
China's latest Covid resurgence spreads to 14 provinces
The pandemic prevention and control situation is grim and complicated as infections are still spreading rapidly, Xinhua news agency quoted Mi Feng, a spokesperson for the National Health Commission (NHC), as saying to reporters here. China's top epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan, however, said on Saturday that the country will be able to effectively contain the latest resurgence within a month.
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