Akashvani , National news, All India Radio News

NAMASKAR! A warm welcome to 'World News: an Indian perspective on All India Radio. This is ANITA ANAND and with me is NAVNEET SINGH bringing glimpses of the major developments of the day from across the globe. Over the next half an hour, we shall bring to you the latest from the world of politics, economy, sports, entertainment and more.

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THE HEADLINES:

• India calls for a free, open and inclusive order in the Indo-Pacific region, says Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at 9th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting in Cambodia.

• India has said, it will continue to support all national, regional and international efforts for strengthening maritime security.

• In central China, massive protests have been reported at an iPhone factory in Zhengzhou province.

• Former US President Donald Trump loses a legal bid to prevent release of his tax returns to a Congressional committee.

• Rescue and search operations continue amid aftershocks of the Monday earthquake in Indonesia that left over 260 people dead.

• At least seven people are dead after a gunman opened fire at a Walmart supermarket in Chesapeake, in the US state of Virginia, officials say.

• UNICEF and India join hands to promote films on child rights at IFFI in Goa.

• In FIFA World Cup, in yet another upset, Japan beat Germany 2-1 in group stage match.

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RAJNATH-ASEAN

India has called for a free, open and inclusive order in the Indo-Pacific based upon respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations. Addressing the 9th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting at Siem Reap in Cambodia on Wednesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, New Delhi is concerned about complicating actions and incidents that have eroded trust and confidence and undermined peace and stability in the region. He added that India stands for the freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful settlement of maritime disputes and adherence to international law.

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INDIA-UNSC

India has said, it will continue to support all national, regional and international efforts for strengthening maritime security. Speaking at the UN Security Council meeting on peace and security in Africa on Tuesday, India's Representative R Ravindra said, New Delhi has been engaged with countries in the region, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea, on maritime matters.

Maritime security has been one of the key priorities for India in the UN Security Council. During India's presidency of the Security Council last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting on maritime security.

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IPRD-NAVY

The three-day apex-level regional strategic dialogue of the Indian Navy, the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue 2022 began in New Delhi Wednesday. This is an annual international conference that seeks to foster exchange of ideas and promote deliberations on maritime issues relevant to the Indo-Pacific.

Speaking on this occasion, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said, India is well prepared to tackle threats in the maritime domain. He emphasised the need to increase the country's maritime capabilities, sustainable management of the nation’s oceanic resources and boosting military capabilities. Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral R Hari Kumar outlined the Indian Navy’s outreach in terms of fostering maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

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JAISHANKAR-IRAN

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Bagheri Kani in New Delhi Wednesday. During the meeting, both the sides discussed bilateral cooperation, regional issues and Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

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US-TRUMP

Former US President Donald Trump has lost a legal bid to prevent the release of his tax returns to a Congressional committee.

The US Supreme Court denied Trump's emergency application seeking to prevent the Treasury Department from releasing six years of tax returns.

Earlier, as a President, Trump broke precedence by refusing to make his tax records public. During his presidential term, the Treasury Department refused to release the records.

However, the Biden administration had argued that under federal law, the Congressional committee has the right to peruse taxpayer returns, including those of the president.

Tuesday's court ruling is Donald Trump's second Supreme Court defeat in the past two months. In October, he asked the court to intervene in his legal battle over classified documents that were seized at his residence on 8th of August. The request was denied by the court.

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ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE CONFERENCE

Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar will participate in the 'Third Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance' to be held in Muscat, Oman on 24th and 25th of this month.

She will deliver India's national statement during the opening session of the conference for the heads of the delegation. During the conference, Dr Pawar will also have extensive discussions with other leaders, policymakers, key global experts, representatives from the private sector, civil society, research institutions and multilateral organizations on antimicrobial resistance, AMR. It is one of the greatest threats to global public health preventing the treatment of bacterial diseases using antibiotics.

The conference under the theme 'The AMR Pandemic: From Policy to One Health Action' will enhance international cooperation to tackle AMR and build on the success of the two previous high-level ministerial conferences held in the Netherlands in 2014 and 2019. The conference is also expected to pave the way for nations to come out with bold and specific political commitments in the 2024 UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR.

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DHAKA- IORA

Minister of State for External Affairs and Education Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday to attend the 22nd meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) in Dhaka on Wednesday.

The  22nd IORA Council of Ministers (COM) meeting Chaired by Bangladesh will be held on Thursday, 24 November in Dhaka.    

The Council of Ministers Meeting  was preceded by the 24th Meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) held on 22-23 November. The 23 Member States of IORA and 10 Dialogue Partners are expected to join the Ministerial and Senior Official Meetings.

Earlier, addressing the inaugural session of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Business Forum Leadership Summit on Sunday, Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen described IORA as a key driving force to ensure development, peace and stability in the region.

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CHINA-PROTEST

In central China, massive protests have been reported at an iPhone factory in Zhengzhou province. According to media reports, the protest started Tuesday night over unpaid wages, contract disputes and fears of rising COVID infections.

Zhengzhou iPhone plant, run by Taiwan based Foxconn, is the world’s largest iPhone factory, with around 200 thousand workers. Last month, a massive exodus of Foxconn workers was seen at this plant as they complained about inadequate anti-virus protection and poor working conditions. Such massive disruptions have hit the Apple’s critical supply chain in China.

Foxconn and the local government had promised high wages and better working conditions to attract new workers to the factory. But, Wednesday’s protests again reflected a build-up of tensions since the lockdown began in October.

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UN & IRAN PROTEST

The UN human rights office has warned the situation in Iran is "critical" and criticised authorities for apparently not releasing protesters' bodies.

A hardening of the response by security forces to the anti-government unrest was resulting in a rising number of deaths, spokesman Jeremy Laurence said.

He put the toll at more than 300. He also expressed concern at reports that bodies were being held unless families stayed silent or gave false statements on the cause of death.

Sources close to the families of several people shot dead at protests over the past nine weeks have alleged that when they went to mortuaries to retrieve their bodies they came under pressure from security officials to go along with state media reports that they were bystanders or militiamen killed by "rioters".

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JAISHANKAR-MILLET

A pre-launch celebration of International Year of Millets will be held on Thursday in New Delhi. External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will attend the event. During the event, both the Ministers will share the vision of the government for successful celebration of International Year of Millets 2023. High Commissioners and Ambassadors to India from more than 60 countries are expected to attend the pre-launch celebration. The key objective is to spread awareness about Indian millets and engage with other nations for a successful global celebration of International Year of Millets 2023.

Recently in G20 summit in Bali, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the benefits of millets saying that millets can solve the global malnutrition and hunger problem. He has also highlighted that India is promoting natural farming and re-popularising nutritious and traditional foodgrains like millets for sustainable food security. He had urged all to celebrate the International Year of Millets with great enthusiasm next year.

The year 2023 will be celebrated as International Year of Millets. The primary aim of this initiative is to increase the awareness of millets’ health benefits among the public.

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HOME SECRETARY-DRDO

Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Chairman of Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) Dr Samir V Kamat on Wednesday released Compendium of Low Intensity Conflict Products developed by DRDO.

The compendium consists of more than 100 technologies, systems and products developed by DRDO for Low Intensity Conflict operations which will be a valuable repository of information for the central security forces. The compendium also provides information about the industries engaged in manufacturing the products.

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HOTSPOT

In today's Hotspot Section, we bring you a News Commentary - India at COP-27 pitched for Hard Bargains to Help the South.

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BRAZIL PREZ.- VOTES

The far-right party of Brazil's outgoing president, Jair Bolsonaro, has challenged some votes in October's election that saw him lose narrowly to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The Liberal Party asked the electoral court to reject ballots from certain voting machines, which it claims were compromised during the second round.

The court has now given the party 24 hours to amend its petition, to include the first round of voting.

The same machines were used both times. Mr Bolsonaro's party performed better than expected in the first round. The party has not presented proof for its allegation of machine errors.

Lula's victory - with 50.9% to Mr Bolsonaro's 49.1% - has been ratified by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), so the challenge may not get very far.

It concerns some 280,000 voting machines which were models deployed before 2020. Mr Bolsonaro has previously claimed that Brazil's electronic voting system is not fraud-proof.

Mr Bolsonaro, while not conceding defeat, has given the go-ahead for a presidential transition. He has stepped away from the public gaze since losing the election on 30 October.

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INDONESIA- EARTHQUAKE

In Indonesia, rescuers are battling dozens of aftershocks's at West Java region as the search for earthquake survivors reaches its third day.

West Java governor Ridwan Kamil told a news channel  that the region had experienced around 140 shocks since Monday's quake.

At least 268 people, including many children, have  killed  so far. Around 151 people remain missing and more than 1,000 are injured.

Hundreds of responders have been sent to Cianjur, where the quake struck.

The 5.6 magnitude earthquake wreaked damage across a wide area in Cianjur, West Java on Monday. But their efforts have been hampered by torn-up roads and continuing tremors in the area. 

PAKISTAN-NEW COMMANDER

Pakistan’s nuclear-armed army will soon have a new commander,  with the prime minister’s office confirming that it had received a list of names of six senior generals for arguably the most powerful post in the country.

The current chief of army staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, is to step down on November 29 after serving for six years.The office of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted on Wednesday that it had received the names for the positions of army chief as well as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee. The tweet noted that Prime Minister will take a decision on the appointments as per the laid down procedure. Bajwa took charge of the 600,000-strong army for three years in November 2016. He was granted an extension in August 2019 by then-Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The confirmation from the prime minister’s office followed confusion, claims and counter-claims on Tuesday night that played out in the news as well as on social media, triggering speculation of strained ties between the government and the military.

The military is considered to be Pakistan’s most powerful institution and has ruled the country for more than three decades of the 75 years since it gained independence in 1947, and also imposed martial law thrice.

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WALMART- SHOOTING

At least seven people are dead after a gunman opened fire at a Walmart supermarket in Chesapeake, in the US state of Virginia, officials say.

A man, believed to be the store manager, opened fire then turned the gun on himself, and is now dead.

Multiple others were injured in the shooting. The attacker's motive remains unclear.

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FIFA WORLD CUP FOOTBALL 2022

In FIFA WORLD CUP Football 2022 on Wednesday,Japan beat  four times champions Germany by 2-1 in a Group-E encounter at Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar.

lkay Gundogan opened the scoring for Germany in the 33rd minutes of the first half through Penalty after David Raum was brought down in 18-yard box by the Japan goalkeeper.

Japan's Doan equalised the score in the 75 minutes of the second half while Asano scored the all important goal in the 83rd minute of the second half.

Earlier, Morocco held 2018 World Cup runners-up Croatia to a goalless draw at Al Bayt Stadium. While Croatia held possession for significant part in the match, but didn't create any threat apart from a first half effort by Nikola Vlasic. The Morocco players showd attacking intent and fought till the last minutes to eke out a draw.  

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IFFI-CHILDREN'S FILM

UNICEF and National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) have joined hands to promote films with a child rights perspective at the ongoing 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. A special section for films that highlight children's and adolescents' issues and rights have been created at the IFFI for the first time. Six films curated jointly by NFDC and UNICEF are being screened during the festival.  

These films depict the real issues faced by children and raise awareness on their rights. These films will also reflect on the dynamic forces that shape childhood and its socio-economic contexts.

Along with the screenings of these  films, IFFI will also be engaging with the leading filmmakers on the role of creative cinema in promoting rights of children. This will be done through UNICEF Knowledge sessions and panel discussions at the festival.

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Ethiopia- conflict

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken to Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed about the implementation of the ceasefire deal between government troops and Tigray forces in the north.

In a readout of his phone call to the Ethiopian leader, Mr Blinken stressed the need to immediately implement the deal “including withdrawal of all foreign forces and concurrent disarmament of the Tigrayan forces”.

Mr Abiy has already reiterated his government's commitment to the peace deal.

The secretary of state said the US was committed to support the African Union-led process including its monitoring and verification mechanism of the peace agreement.

Mr Blinken recognised ongoing efforts by the Ethiopian government "to work towards unhindered humanitarian assistance and restoration of basic services" in Tigray and neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions.

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Chadian soldiers

At least 10 Chadian soldiers were killed and others wounded when Boko Haram attacked a military unit in western Chad on Tuesday, the government has said, but media reports suggest the fatalities may be much higher.

The attack took place near Ngouboua in the Lake Chad area, a vast marshy region shared by Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria that has been battered by Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) armed group.

The unit had been sent to help set up an advance position on Bouka-Toullorom island when it was “attacked by elements from the Boko Haram sect,” presidential spokesman Brah Mahamat said in a statement on Tuesday.

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NEPAL-ELECTION COUNTING

In Nepal, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was elected on Wednesday for the 7th consecutive time from his home district of Dhankuta.

The counting of votes continues for parliamentary and provincial elections in the country.

Senior Nepali Congress leader, Mr. Deuba defeated an independent candidate Sagar Dhakal by a margin of over 12 thousand votes.

The parliamentary and provincial elections were held on the 20th of this month. It was the second general election since the promulgation of the Constitution in 2015.

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EUROPEAN-PARLIAMENT

The European Parliament has declared Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, saying Moscow’s deliberate attacks and atrocities in Ukraine violate human rights and international humanitarian laws.

European lawmakers passed the resolution on Wednesday with 494 members voting in favour, 58 against and 44 abstaining.

The resolution said deliberate attacks and atrocities carried out by the Russian Federation against the civilian population of Ukraine, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and other serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law amount to acts of terror.

However, the move is largely symbolic as the European Union has no legal framework to back it up.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the vote, saying, “Russia must be isolated at all levels and held accountable.”

Zelenskyy urged the United States and other countries to follow suit as he accused Moscow of targeting civilians, an allegation Russia denies.

The EU, US and United Kingdom have already imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine.

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GARUDA SHAKTI

A contingent of Indian Special Forces troops are currently engaged in a bilateral joint training Exercise GARUDA SHAKTI with Indonesian Special Forces at Sangga Buana Training Area,in  Karawang. The Exercise is the eighth edition of the series of bilateral exercises under this banner.  and this is a part of military-to-military exchange programs.

The exercise which commenced on 21st  November 2022 aims at enhancing understanding, cooperation and interoperability between the Special Forces of both armies.

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WORLD NEWS CAPSULE

The Sensex and the Nifty today witnessed modest gains. Both stock indices rose amid positive cues from global share markets. The Sensex closed above the 61,500 mark while the Nifty settled above 18,250 level. A report from the business desk-  

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FPR  

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

• The Financial Times reports Supreme Court clears the way for lawmakers to access Trump tax records.

• The Guardian writes that Sierra Leone’s president defends a large education budget as a ‘necessary risk.

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REPEAT HEADLINES

• India calls for a free, open and inclusive order in the Indo-Pacific region, says Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at 9th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting in Cambodia.

• India has said, it will continue to support all national, regional and international efforts for strengthening maritime security.

• In central China, massive protests have been reported at an iPhone factory in Zhengzhou province.

• Former US President Donald Trump loses a legal bid to prevent release of his tax returns to a Congressional committee.

• Rescue and search operations continue amid aftershocks of the Monday earthquake in Indonesia that left over 260 people dead.

• At least seven people are dead after a gunman opened fire at a Walmart supermarket in Chesapeake, in the US state of Virginia, officials say.

• UNICEF and India join hands to promote films on child rights at IFFI in Goa.

• In FIFA World Cup, in yet another upset, Japan beat Germany 2-1 in group stage match.

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Before we end, let us listen to Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajanVaishnav Jan, by artist from latvia.

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