WORLD
Biden and Putin praise Geneva summit talks but discord remains
Disagreements were stated, said US President Joe Biden, but not in a hyperbolic way, and he said Russia did not want a new Cold War, the BBC reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Biden was an experienced statesman and the two "spoke the same language". Biden said that they did not need to spend more time talking and there was now a genuine prospect to improve relations with Russia.
Big Tech critic Lina Khan begins stint as Biden's FTC chief
At 32, Khan is said to be the youngest chair in Federal Trade Commission (FTC) history. Wednesday was Khan's first full day in her new role. Her term runs until September 25, 2024. Khan was sworn in as chair of the FTC after the Senate confirmed her via a 69-28 vote. Khan will now be one of three FTC Democratic commissioners. While still a law student at Yale, Khan cranked out a 96 page zinger titled "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox,".
UK reports highest daily increase of Covid cases since Feb
The total number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 4,589,814, the Xinhua news agency reported. The country also recorded another nine coronavirus-related death. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 127,926. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test. More than 42 million people have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine.
Putin lashes out at US after meeting with Biden
"As for the general assessment, I believe there was no hostility at all," Putin said during his solo press briefing, adding that the meeting, the first of its kind since Biden took office in January, was "open" and with "no pressure of the parties on each other." Putin said that the two sides "differ in many respects" but "showed willingness to understand each other and seek ways to bring the positions closer."
Pak-linked charities collected funds in the name of helping India during Covid crisis
After collecting millions of dollars, few of them came together and sent peanuts in the name of help. All of them claimed the credits so that their donors would think that money was well spent, according to the report by DisinfoLab. "The money collected could go from terror finance to Pakistan army to Islamists to Hamas - apart from the pocket money to the charities," DisinfoLab said in its disclosure.
Biden, Putin set for highly anticipated summit in Geneva
The talks come at a time when both sides describe the ties between the two countries as being at the rock bottom. The summit is expected to cover a wide range of topics, including arms control, sanctions and US allegations of Russian cyber-attacks and election interference, the BBC reported. However, no major breakthroughs are expected, even as there are hopes of finding small areas of agreement.
'Record number' of Chinese jets in Taiwan's air defence zone
Fighters and nuclear-capable bombers were among those in the so-called air defence identification zone (ADIZ), the BBC reported. The incident comes after Nato leaders on Monday warned of the military challenge posed by China. While democratic Taiwan sees itself as a sovereign state, Beijing views the island as a breakaway province.
NATO follows G7 footsteps on China, says Beijing's 'assertive behaviour' presents systemic challenges
The stand of NATO on China gained further prominence as it came a day after the Group of Seven (G7) summit communique condemned Beijing and its policies around the world. The G7 scolded China on alleged violation of human rights against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, deteriorating ties with Hong Kong and Taiwan along with other economic policies of the country.
US CDC reclassifies Delta Covid-19 strain 'variant of concern'
The CDC's classifications define three classes of variants of COVID-19 -- variants of interest, variants of concern, and variants of high consequence. Other variants, circulating in the US, classified by CDC as variants of concern include the B117 (Alpha), B1351 (Beta), P1 (Gamma), B1427 (Epsilon), B1429 (Epsilon), and B16172 (Delta). CDC and SARS-CoV-2 Interagency Group continually review the available scientific evidence and the genomic surveillance data to assess the classification of variants.
Moderna, protein-based Covid jabs safe for use in kids
The study by a team of scientists at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian reported that both the vaccines elicited strong neutralising antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing Covid-19, in 16 baby rhesus macaques. The antibody responses persisted for 22 weeks. The research, published in the journal Science Immunology, suggests that vaccines for young children are likely important, safe tools to curtail the pandemic.
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