Moscow's relations with Helsinki and Stockholm would go sour if they join NATO: Putin
BJP's National Executive Meeting to be held in Hyderabad on Saturday and Sunday
Budget Session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha adjourned sine die
Environment Ministry organises a meeting with Municipal Commissioners from 82 cities over elimination of Single Use Plastic
Interest rates on Small Savings Schemes unchanged for July-September
Government authorises SBI to issue and encash Electoral Bonds from tomorrow
Eknath Shinde takes oath as the new CM of Maharashtra; BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis also sworn-in as Deputy CM
Core Industries Output posts a robust growth of 18.1 per cent in May this year against 16.4 last year
PM Modi launches several schemes and programmes at Udyami Bharat Programme in New Delhi; Gives away National MSME Awards
Ladakh: SSC extends the window for date for Application Form Correction upto 5th of July
NAMASKAR! A warm welcome to 'World News: an Indian perspective on All India Radio.This is VAIBHAV JYOTSANA SRIVASTAVA and with me is V.C PRAMOD bringing glimpses of the major developments of the day from across the globe. Over the next half an hour, we shall bring you the latest from the world of politics, economy, sports, entertainment and more.
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THE HEADLINES::
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, bio-economy grown from ten billion dollars to 80 billion dollars in last eight years; Inaugurates Biotech Startup Expo - 2022 in New Delhi.
India to host Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting on 16th and 17th of June.
India conveys its protest to Pakistan over vandalisation of Hindu temple in Karachi.
Asian Development Bank approves a 250-million US Dollar policy-based loan to support social protection programmes in Bangladesh.
WTO Director General warns of global food crisis.
In Badminton, India's ace shuttler P. V. Sindhu storms into quarter final at Indonesia Masters Tournament in Jakarta.
Cricket, South Africa defeats India by 7 wickets in first T-20 Match at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
PM-BIOTECH
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the country's bio-economy has grown eight times in the last eight years and it has grown from ten billion dollars to 80 billion dollars.
Inaugurating the Biotech Startup Expo - 2022 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on Thursday,Mr Modi said, India is not too far from reaching the league of top ten countries in the Global Ecosystem of Biotech.
Mr. Modi said, in the last eight years, the number of start-ups in the country has increased from a few hundred to 70 thousand in about 60 different industries. He added that out of this over five thousand start-ups are linked to the biotech sector.
Speaking on the occasion, Science and Technology Minister of India Dr Jitendra Singh said the government is working for the next level of start ups which are sustainable start ups.
RAJNATH- VIETNAM
India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday handed over 12 High Speed Guard Boats to Vietnam during his visit to Hong Ha Shipyard in Hai Phong. The boats have been constructed under the Government’s hundred million US dollar Defence Line of Credit to Vietnam.
On the occasion, Mr. Singh said that the project is a glowing example of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ as envisioned by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He asserted that the Indian defence industry has substantially increased its capabilities under the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
The Minister invited Vietnam to become a part of India’s defence industrial transformation through enhanced cooperation. He exuded confidence that the project will be a precursor to many more cooperative defence projects between India and Vietnam in future.
The Defence Minister is on a three-day official visit to Vietnam.
INDIA - BICYCLES DONATION
India has donated 15 thousand bicycles to Madagascar on the occasion of World Bicycle day.
The Indian Ambassador to Madagascar Abhay Kumar on Thursday called on Prime Minister Christian Ntsay and reviewed the progress made in the bilateral ties between India and Madagascar. He said that India will also be donating 5,000 metric tonnes of rice to the Island Nation.
Foreign Minister of Madagascar Richard Randriamandrato visited India to attend the Raisina Dialogue held in April this year and had a bilateral meeting with the External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar.
Hotspot
In our HOTSPOT section today, AIR News has a special feature on "8 years of Service,Good Governance and Welfare of the Poor-Tech Powered India"
IRAN FOREIGN MINISTER
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi warmly recalled the long-standing civilizational and cultural links between India and Iran, that mutually benefited both countries and promoted regional security and prosperity. He conveyed this when the Foreign Minister of Iran Hossein Amirabdollahian, who is on an official visit to India, called on him on Wednesday.
Mr Modi requested the Iran Foreign Minister to also convey his greetings to President Ebrahim Raisi and looked forward to meeting the President of Iran sooner.
Earlier, India's External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar held wide ranging discussion with his Iranian counterpart in New Delhi. They reviewed the bilateral cooperation, including trade, connectivity, health and people to people ties.
Dr. Hossein is also scheduled to visit Mumbai and Hyderabad.
MEA-INDIA-ASEAN
India will host the Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting on 16th and 17th of this month. Briefing media in New Delhi on Thursday, India's External Affairs Spokesman Arindam Bagchi said, this will be the first meeting hosted by India in New Delhi and it will be accompanied by 12th Edition of Delhi Dialogue. He said, the theme of Delhi Dialogue is,Building Bridges in the Indo-Pacific. The Ministerial Session will be attended by India's External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and ASEAN's Ministers.
Terming the ASEAN, central to India’s Act East Policy, Mr. Bagchi said, ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting will mark the 30th Anniversary of dialogue relations and the 10th Anniversary of strategic partnership with ASEAN. He said, 2022 has been designated as the ASEAN-India friendship year.
WTO-WHEAT SUPPLY
WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said that a food crisis kicked off by the Ukraine conflict could last for years without intervention. He added that African countries could be hit especially hard by wheat and fertilizer shortages.
Ms. Okonjo-Iweala said wheat prices had risen 59 percent compared to last year, sunflower oil was up 30 percent, while maize was 23 percent higher.
Ukraine is a major global exporter of wheat and sunflower oil.
Because of gridlock along the coast, huge quantity of wheat is stuck in Ukraine while global grain prices spiral upwards.
The United Nations is trying to establish a grain corridor with a Turkish naval escort for tankers leaving Odessa and other Ukrainian ports. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said, Ukraine needs to clear mines from its Black Sea ports.
MEA-PAKISTAN
India has conveyed its protest to the Pakistan Government over the incident of vandalisation of Hindu temple in Karachi in Pakistan. Briefing media in New Delhi on Thursday, India's External Affairs Ministry Spokesman Arindam Bagchi said, the recent incident of vandalisation of a Hindu temple in Karachi is another act of systemic persecution of religious minorities. He said, India has conveyed its protest to the Pakistan Government and urged them to ensure safety, security and well-being of its minority communities.
IRAN-IAEA RESOLUTION
The UN nuclear watchdog, IAEA's 35-nation board of governors passed a resolution on Wednesday criticizing Iran for failing to explain uranium traces at undeclared sites.
The resolution was submitted by the UK, France, Germany and the US to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and was backed by 30 countries. Only Russia and China opposed the move.
The motion is the first to chide Iran over its nuclear ambitions since 2020. It comes as talks to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) remain stalled.
SRI LANKA-MP RESIGN
In Srilanka, Former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa resigned from his seat in Parliament on Thursday. Mr. Rajapaksa met Parliament Secretary General Dammika Dassanayake and handed over the resignation.
In a statement Mr. Basil said he is now no more needed in Parliament and refused to take the blame for the economic crisis in Sri Lanka.
US- WEAPONS LEGISLATION
In USA, the House of Representatives has voted to raise the nationwide age limit for buying semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21. Local media reports, the measure would also ban the sale of ammunition magazines which can carry more than 15 rounds.
The legislation passed the Democratic-majority House by a vote of 223-204.
The package is unlikely to be adopted in the Senate, which is split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans. Legislation requires at least 60 votes to pass the upper chamber.
The move follows string of deadly mass shootings taking place in the country. US President Joe Biden has advocated a ban on assault weapons, among other measures, to curb gun violence.
SOUTH KOREA- DEATH
In South Korea, seven people have been killed in a suspected arson attack at a law firm in the city of Daegu. According to media, at least 46 people were injured in the fiery explosion in an office building near the city's District Court on Thursday morning. A team from the National Forensic Services was also deployed to the site. Police said they were investigating the cause of the attack and believed it may have been an act of arson. Most of the injured were taken to hospital with afflictions linked to smoke inhalation.
BEIJING - NEW DELHI- TALKS
China on Thursday said that Beijing and New Delhi have the will and capability to properly resolve the border issue through talks as it criticized the scathing remarks by a top US Military Commander who questioned China’s intent in terms of its alarming infrastructure build-up at the Sino-India border in eastern Ladakh. China-India border issue in eastern Ladakh has entered its third year and China is not ready to restore the status-quo of April 2020 even after 15 rounds of talks, resulting only in a partial disengagement in eastern Ladakh border.
Indian side has many a times said that onus lies with China to resolve the long-drawn border standoff at the LAC in eastern Ladakh as it was caused by the violation of all the previous bilateral border agreements by China. At a regular media briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian said, the border issue is between China and India and the two sides have the will and capability to properly resolve the issue through talks.
BANGLADESH- ADB
The Asian Development Bank on Thursday approved a 250-million US Dollar policy-based loan to support social protection programmes in Bangladesh. The loan is designed to protect vulnerable populations against socio-economic challenges.
ADB Principal Social Sector Specialist for South Asia Hiroko Uchimura-Shiroishi said that this sub-programme continues ADB’s support to improve the coverage and efficiency of social protection programmes in Bangladesh. It will help build resilience of the disadvantaged and support an inclusive recovery.
ADB’s active portfolio in the country stands at around 11 billion US Dollars with 50 projects as of April 2022.
INDIA-SA - T20 SERIES
In the first Twenty-20 International Cricket match at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Thursday night, South Africa defeated India by 7 wickets.
Chasing the target of 212 runs set by India, South Africa made 212 for 3 in 19.1 overs. For South Africa, Rassie van der Dussen with unbeaten 75 was the top scorer while David Miller also made quick fire 64.
Earlier, Proteus won the toss and elected to field, batting first, hosts amassed a formidable 211 for the loss of four wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. For India opener Ishan Kishan made a quick fire 76.
The two teams will play subsequent matches in Cuttack on 12th, Visakhapatnam on 14th,
Rajkot on 17th and the last one in Bengaluru on 19th of this month.
BADMINTON-INDONESIA MASTERS
In Indonesia Masters Badminton Tournament in Jakarta, India's ace shuttler P. V. Sindhu stormed into the women's singles quarter-final beating Indonesian Gregoria Mariska Tunjung by 23-21, 20-22, 21-11.
Earlier, India's ace shuttler Lakshya Sen has also entered the men's singles quarter-final. He defeated Rasmus Gemke of Denmark 21-18, 21-15 Thursday morning.
In mixed doubles event, Indian duo of B. Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwani Ponnappa went down to Zheng Si Wei, Huang Ya Qiong by 18-21, 13-21.
AFGHANISTAN-MODEL ARREST
In Afghanistan, the Taliban have arrested a well-known Afghan fashion model and three of his colleagues, accusing them of disrespecting of Islam.
The model Ajmal Haqiqi known for his fashion shows, YouTube clips and modeling events.
The families of the arrested models could also not immediately be reached for comment.
Since Taliban seized power last August in Afghanistan restrictions have been imposed curbing rights of citizens.
Now a report from the business world-
The Sensex climbed 428 points, or 0.78 per cent to close at 55,320 while the Nifty added 122 points, or 0.74 per cent to finish at 16,478.
At global stock markets, Asian stocks fell, U.S. bond yields edged up and a surging dollar pushed to a two-decade high against the yen as investors worried about the impact of rate rises ahead of a European Central Bank meeting later in the day. China’s Shanghai Composite index lost 0.8 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.7 per cent and Singapore’s Straits Times fell half a per cent. Japan's NIKKEI-225 and South Korea’s KOSPI, both ended almost flat. European shares were also down in intra-day trade.
The Brent crude oil prices slipped marginally but remained above 123 dollars par barrel level. In intra-day trade, Brent crude was trading at around 123 dollars and 50 cents per barrel.
And In the forex market, the rupee weakened three paise against the US dollar. The rupee closed at 77 rupees and 76 paise against the US currency. Nishit Kumar for World News,
All India Radio.
PETROL-DIESEL CARS BAN
Members of the European Parliament have voted to ban the sale of of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035. The move aims to step up the fight against climate change through faster development of electric vehicles.
The voting was held on an amendment that would have allowed some auto emissions from new vehicles after 2035, which was rejected by Members of Parliament.
The European Union assembly voted in Strasbourg, France to require automakers to cut carbon-dioxide emissions by 100 per cent by the middle of the next decade. The mandate would amount to a prohibition on the sale in the 27-nation EU of new cars powered by gasoline or diesel.
Members of European Parliament still have to negotiate the final law with ministers from the EU’s 27 national governments. Yesterday's vote has however increased the pressure on governments for a clear end to the internal combustion engine in the EU single market of 447 million people. Negotiations to determine the final shape of the law are set for later this year.
If an agreement is reached, it effectively spells the end of the combustion-engine car in Europe, marking a radical overhaul of a form of transport.
FPR 09 JUNE
Now let us take a look at the major developments around the world, as reported in the Foreign Press.
First we have a look at the press reports on China-
Prasar Bharati Beijing reports China on Wednesday commended Indian government’s efforts in helping Sri Lanka to pull through its worst financial crisis even as it tried to correct the image that China is hesitant in announcing big financial assistance for Sri Lanka despite being a major investor in the country. Sri Lankan President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said in an interview on June 6 that Sri Lanka couldn’t tap a 1.5 billion dollar credit line from China and has yet to hear back on the request to China for a 1 billion dollar loan.
The Guardian reports Record-breaking rains that have battered parts of China and east Asia in the last week are expected to worsen, with authorities warning of an increased risk of floods. In the first week of China’s flood season, extreme rainfalls have caused floods and landslides, destroyed roads and infrastructure, and led to the deaths of at least 15 people.
Now let's have a look at the press reports on Nepal-
The Himalayan Times in its editorial writes that in the 51st meeting of the Investment Board Nepal (IBN), chaired by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, has decided to develop 750 MW West Seti and 308 MW Seti River-6 through direct negotiations with the Indian Government Enterprise, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd. The Nepal government is planning to develop both the projects as cascade projects in the far-western region, where no major hydropower projects have been developed so far.
Now let's have a look at the press reports on Pakistan-
A QUICK LOOK AT THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN –