WORLD
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.
Global Covid-19 caseload tops 176.5mn
In its latest update on Wednesday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 176,559,700 and 3,819,109, respectively. The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 33,485,557 and 600,265, respectively, according to the CSSE.
Israel strikes in Gaza after arson attacks
Explosions were heard in Gaza City in the early hours of Wednesday. Several balloons were sent from Gaza into Israel earlier on Tuesday, which caused multiple fires, according to the Israeli fire service, the BBC reported. It is the first major flare-up since 11 days of fighting between the two sides ended in a ceasefire on 21 May. It followed a march by Jewish nationalists in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday, which had drawn threats from Hamas, the militant group that runs Gaza.
US Covid-19 deaths top 600,000: Johns Hopkins University
With the national case count topping 33.4 million, the death toll across the US rose to 600,012 as of 12:22 p.m. local time (1622 GMT), according to the CSSE data. California topped the national death toll list, standing at 63,191. New York reported the country's second largest deaths of 53,558, followed by Texas with 51,940 deaths and Florida with 37,265 deaths, the CSSE tally showed.
UK to investigate Apple, Google's 'effective duopoly'
Alongside its existing examination of Apple over the App Store, the CMA has begun investigating whether the dominant iOS and Android platforms represent unfair competition, AppleInsider reported on Tuesday. "Apple and Google control the major gateways through which people download apps or browse the web on their mobiles whether they want to shop, play games, stream music or watch TV," CMA Chief Executive Andrea Coscelli said.
No-confidence motion against Suga's Cabinet voted down
The motion was filed after the ruling coalition turned down the opposition camp's request that the conclusion of the current parliamentary session should be pushed back by three months to allow time for more debate on matters related to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Tokyo Olympics, reports Xinhua news agency.
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