NAMASKAR! A warm welcome to 'World News: an Indian perspective on All India Radio. This is RENU KATARIA and with me is R.S RAGHU 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 chairs eighth meeting of heads of  border services of  member states of Shanghai Cooperation Organization today.

• Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav says, India striving towards achieving national commitment of Land Degradation Neutrality and restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.

• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal terms World Trade Organisation’s meeting in Geneva as successful says India receives 100 per cent success.

• Pakistan High Commission issues 495 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to attend annual death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh.

• Chinese President Xi Jinping to host the 14th BRICS Summit in Beijing on 23rd of June.

• And, Prime Minister Narendra Modi to launch torch relay for 44th Chess Olympiad on 19th June.

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SCO-INDIA

The eighth meeting of heads of border services of member states of Shanghai Cooperation Organization was held in New Delhi today under the chairmanship of India.

It was attended by representatives of the border services of India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The participants exchanged information reflecting assessments of the situation on the state borders of the SCO member states, trends and forecasts of its development. The Plan for the preparation and conduct of the Joint Border Operation Friendship Border 2022 was reviewed and approved. Member States supported the initiative of China to conduct a joint border operation of the border services of the competent authorities of the SCO member states Solidarity 2023 next year under its organizing role. They approved the work plan of the group of experts of the Border Services of the SCO member states for 2023.

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YADAV - DESERTIFICATION DAY

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav has said, India is striving towards achieving the national commitment of Land Degradation Neutrality and restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. This focusses on sustainable and optimum utilisation of land resources. He said, public participation will play a crucial role in achieving this feat as India is building the future road map for combating desertification.

Addressing the Desertification and Drought Day-2022 being organised by the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry in New Delhi today, the Minister highlighted that India has been at the forefront of bringing the issue of land degradation to the core of relevant International alliances for protection and conservation of environment.

The Ministry commemorates this day every year with an aim to generate large-scale awareness for understanding the key role of land in all environmental and economic concerns that world, as well as India is facing nowadays. Theme of this year's Desertification and Drought Day is 'Rising Up from Drought Together.'

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GOYAL-WTO

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has termed World Trade Organisation’s 12th Ministerial Conference in Geneva as successful saying that India has received 100 per cent success. Addressing the media in Geneva after the conclusion of the Ministerial Conference, the Minister said, India has emerged as a credible and strong voice for the developing and least developed countries. He said, India has proven unequivocally its ability at constructing consensus for the larger good as a global leader.

Mr. Goyal said, this will be the first Ministerial Conference when India sets the agenda. He said, India put forth its position very boldly and became the voice of the developing world. He said, India has strongly raised its voice to protect the interest of farmers, fishermen and poor. He said, the world is facing multiple challenges and there were questions being raised about multilateral forums. He said, this conference has once again strengthened multilateralism.

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HOTSPOT

In today's HOTSPOT section, we bring you a discussion on WTO Deliberations and the Road Ahead. In conversation are Shashank, Former, Foreign Secretary and Simran Sodhi, Journalist.

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SIKH PILGRIMS

Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has issued 495 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to attend the annual  death aniversajry of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, scheduled to be held in Pakistan from 21st to 30th of this month.

During the visit, the pilgrims would, inter alia, go to Panja Sahib, Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur Sahib. They would enter Pakistan on 21st June   and return back to India on 30th June.

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JAISHANKAR - DELHI DIALOGUE

External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar has said that the global scenario highlights the need for countries of the Indo-Pacific to enhance cooperation and stand together.

Speaking at the Ministerial Session of the Delhi Dialogue -12 in New Delhi yesterday. Dr Jaishankar said, the conflict in Ukraine is exacerbating concerns over food, fertilizer and fuel security.

The Minister said, India and ASEAN contribute to the ongoing rebalancing of the global order.

Dr Jaishankar asserted that the development of India-China ties has to be based on mutual respect, sensitivity and interests. He said that the state of the border will be reflected on the state of the relationship.

The Minister said, like the rest of the world, India and ASEAN are also recovering from the Covid. He said, a key take away is to be better prepared for future health emergencies. India and ASEAN have stood by each other during this pandemic.

He said, India and ASEAN have already initiated cooperation in Renewable Energy in Wind and Solar energy and Smart Grids through the ASEAN-India Green Fund. The Minister said, the International Solar Alliance is a particularly useful platform, in this regard.

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INDIA-CHINA-MAKKI

Government sources in New Delhi have termed China's decision to put on hold India-US proposal to list Abdul Rehman Makki under the United Nations Security Council's sanctions as unfortunate. Sources said, this decision by China is extremely unfortunate given the overwhelming evidence against Makki.

The sources said, China should reflect on its response that signals double standards on combating terrorism. Sources also said, protecting well knoterrorists from sanctioning in this manner will only undermine its credibility and risk exposing even itself more to the growing threat of terrorism. It runs counter to China’s claims of combating terrorism and this is not the first time that China has placed hurdles for the listing of knoterrorists. In the past, it had repeatedly blocked proposals to designate Maulana Masood Azhar, Chief of Pakistan-based and UN proscribed terrorist entity Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

India and the US jointly proposed to list Pakistan-based terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki under the United Nations Security Council’s Al-Qaeda and ISIL Sanctions Committee. Both India and the US have already listed Makki as a terrorist under their domestic laws. Yesterday, China placed a technical hold on the proposal. Makki has been involved in raising funds, recruiting and radicalizing youth to violence and planning attacks in India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.

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BEIJING - BRICS SUMMIT

Chinese President Xi Jinping will host the 14th BRICS Summit in Beijing on 23rd of June. The summit will be held in virtual format under the theme of 'Foster High-quality BRICS Partnership, Usher in a New Era for Global Development'. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying announced it today. The announcement posted on Chinese Foreign Ministry website said, President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum in virtual format on 22nd of June and deliver a keynote speech. China is the chair of the 14th BRICS Summit happening this year which assumes importance as this will be the first BRICS Summit after Russia-Ukraine war began and Russia is currently under severe economic sanction by the west led by the US.

President Xi Jinping will also host the High-level Dialogue on Global Development in Beijing on 24th of June. The Dialogue will be held in virtual format under the theme of 'Foster a Global Development Partnership for the New Era to Jointly Implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'. BRICS leaders and leaders of relevant emerging markets and developing countries will attend the event, the announcement said.

China and Russia have also expressed their willingness to discuss the expansion of BRICS group which at present comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. According to the joint statement released after the BRICS Foreign Ministers in May, they supported promoting discussions among BRICS members on the expansion process and they agreed to further clarify the guiding principles, the standards, criteria and procedures for this expansion process.

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INDIA - BANGLADESH

The volume of imported and exported cargoes at the Akhaura, Sonamasjid and Tamabil Border Crossing Points (BCP) will increase  by 50 per cent by 2027 after the implementation of the trade facilitation loan of 143 million US dollars provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), said its Country Director Edimon Ginting.

He was speaking on the occasion of the signing of a policy-based loan agreement between ADB and the Government of Bangladesh, to improve volume, efficiency, predictability and security of cross-border trade.

Mr Ginting further said that the average customs clearance and cargo transshipment time will also be reduced by half on these BCPs. The three BCPs will have an E-payment facility, with their capacity increased to handle five lakh 20 thousand tonnes per year of international transit cargoes.

The the ADB loan of has two components. The 90-million US dollar policy-based loan will support reforms in the legal framework of the country's customs processes and improve cargo clearance capacity among others.

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BANGLADESH-FLOOD

In Bangladesh, army has been deployed for relief and rescue operations as the flood situation in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts  deteriorated sharply.  Official news agency BSS reports that  the District Administration has sought the support of the Navy for relief operations in the district today  in view of the worsening flood situation.  20 upazilas and two municipalities of Sylhet city have been flooded due to continuous rain in the catchment area.

The army officials have said that relief and rescue operations have been started in 3 upazilas of Sylhet and 5 upazilas of Sunamganj.  

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has suspended activities at the Osmani International Airport in Sylhet for three days as water reached near the landing area.

Electricity supply is also likely to be affected as water has entered the Kumargaon power plant in Sylhet.

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UKRAINE-EUROPE LEADERS

European leaders expressed their support for Ukraine  while meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday. The visiting leaders vowed to back Kyiv’s candidacy to eventually join the European Union.  

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Premier Mario Draghi addressed a news conference jointly with Zelenskyy.

Amid Ukrainian fears that Western resolve could wane, the visit carried heavy symbolism. France, Germany and Italy have all faced criticism for continuing to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

They also expressed concern about millions of tons of grain backed up in Black Sea ports by the conflict saying it could bring worldwide catastrophe.

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bills-stringent gun control

New York state legislators overwhelmingly passed several bills today to tighten the gun laws, including a bill raising minimum age to buy a semi-automatic assault rifle to 21 years. The lawmakers also passed a bill that would ban civilians from purchasing bullet-resistant vests, unless the individuals work in law enforcement or other specific professions. Another bill passed by the lawmakers would broaden the "red flag" law, expanding the list of people who can file for extreme risk protection orders, which allow courts to temporarily seize firearms from anyone believed to be a danger to themselves or others. Even as the United States is divided on enforcing gun laws, it was easy to pass these measures in the New York legislature as it's a Democrat-controlled state Senate and Assembly.

The new measures announced by Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, has signalled that she will sign the bills today.

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PM CHESS OLYMPIAD

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the historic torch relay for the 44th Chess Olympiad on 19th June at 5 PM at Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi.

This year, for the very first time, the International Chess Body, FIDE, has instituted the Chess Olympiad Torch that is part of Olympic tradition, but was never done in the Chess Olympiad. India will be the first-ever country to have the Chess Olympiad Torch Relay. Notably, taking the Indian roots of Chess to a greater height, this tradition of Torch Relay for the Chess Olympiad will henceforth always begin in India and travel across all continents before reaching the host country.

FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich will hand over the torch to Prime Minister, who in turn will hand it over to Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand. This torch will then be taken to 75 cities in a span of 40 days before the final culmination at Mahabalipuram near Chennai. At every location, chess grandmasters of the state will receive the torch.

The 44th Chess Olympiad will be held in Chennai from July 28th to August 10th this year.

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INDIA-SA-T20

In cricket, India levelled five-match T20I series 2-2 by defeating South Africa in the fourth match tonight. India beat South Africa by 82 runs at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot. Chasing a victory target of 170, South Africa were all out for just 87 with 19 balls to spare. Avesh Khan picked up 4 wickets for the hosts by giving away only 18 runs while Rassie van der Dussen scored highest 20 for the visitors. Earlier put into bat, hosts made 169 for 6 in stipulated 20 overs. Dinesh Karthik contributed quick 55 off 27 balls and Hardik Pandya scored 46 off 31 balls.

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WORLD NEWS CAPSULE

And, now a report from the business World.

The Sensex lost 135 points or 0.26 per cent to finish at 51,360. The Nifty also fell 67 points or 0.44 per cent to end at 15,294.

At global stock markets, Asian share markets traded mixed. Japan's NIKKEI-225 plunged 1.8 percent and South Korea’s KOSPI slipped 0.4 percent. Singapore’s Straits Times was trading almost flat. On the other hand, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 1.1 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite index gained one percent. European shares were up in intra-day trade.

Oil prices edged lower and were on track for a weekly decline as interest rate hikes from major central banks fuelled worries about a sharp economic slowdown. Global crude oil prices fell around half a percent. In intra-day trade, Brent crude was trading at 119 dollars and 30 cents per barrel.

Back Home, Gold prices rose marginally by 20 rupees at Multi Commodity Exchange for August contracts. The precious metal was trading at 51,610 rupees per 10 gram. Silver prices also gained 30 rupees to 61,560 rupees per kilogram for July Contracts when reports last came in.

And... In the forex market, the rupee was steady against the US dollar. The rupee closed at 78 rupees and eight paise against the US currency. Arjun Chaudhary for World News, All India Radio.

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FPR

Now let us take a look at the major developments around the world, as reported in the Foreign Press.

Now let's have a look at the press reports on Bangladesh.

⦁ Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sought support of Japan in making Bangladesh a developed country by 2041, reports Financial Express. She said that the Japan Bangladesh Comprehensive Partnership has been launched to take the friendly ties between the two countries to a new height of a strategic partnership.

Now let's have a look at the press reports on Nepal.

⦁ My Republica writes that Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand has said that Nepal will not be involved in the United States’ State Partnership Program (SPP). Responding to queries raised by the lawmakers on the budget appropriated for the Ministry of Defense, Khand on Thursday said, “Nepal is not involved in the SPP and has no intention of being involved.

Now let's have a look at the press reports from Pakistan.

⦁ As per GEO news, PTI Chairman Imran Khan Thursday called on the masses to hold demonstrations across the country against the “imported” government this Sunday, as he hopes to launch a fresh round of protests after halting them last month.

⦁ The Express Tribune reports that in Pakistan, at least one dead and over a dozen injured in armed clashes between political workers of rival parties - PSP, MQM-P and TLP - during the by-election in Karachi’s NA-240 constituency on Thursday.

⦁ The Frontier Post reports that, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the government was acutely aware of the impact caused by the hike in fuel prices, adding that the government was left with no choice but to raise the prices due to the deal which the PTI government had signed with the IMF.

⦁ As per GEO news, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell to their lowest levels since November 2019, reaching 14,943 million, dollars data from the central bank showed on Thursday.

⦁ The Express Tribune writes that, the federal government has given a green signal to ailing former military ruler General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, who has been living in Dubai since 2016, to return to Pakistan as soon as the legal requirements are fulfilled.

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REPEAT HEADLINES

• India chairs eighth meeting of heads of  border services of  member states of Shanghai Cooperation Organization today.

•  Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav says, India striving towards achieving national commitment of Land Degradation Neutrality and restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.

• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal terms World Trade Organisation’s in Geneva as successful says India receives 100 per cent success.

• Pakistan High Commission issues 495 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to attend annual death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh.Chinese President Xi Jinping to host the 14th BRICS Summit in Beijing on 23rd of June.

• And, Prime Minister Narendra Modi to launch torch relay for 44th Chess Olympiad on 19th June.

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And now, before we end, let us listen to Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajan Vaishnav Jan, by artists from iceland on their National Day.

AND WITH THAT, WE END THIS BULLETIN. WE'LL BE BACK AT THE SAME TIME TOMORROW WITH THE NEXT EDITION OF WORLD NEWS.

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