NAMASKAR! A warm welcome to 'World News: an Indian perspective on All India Radio. This is RENUKA 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 announces Foreign Trade Policy 2023; Aims to achieve country's exports to two trillion dollars by 2030.

• Deliberations revolve around Disaster Resilient Infrastructure during First G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group Meeting in Gujarat.  

• Second G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting to begin in Siliguri on Saturday.

• Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi to visit China; To meet his Chinese counterpart.

• Donald Trump becomes first ex-US president to face criminal charges.

• Turkey approves Finland Nato membership bid.

• PV Sindhu enters Semi final of Madrid Spain Masters Badminton tournament.

• And, in cricket, Sri Lanka fail to secure direct World Cup qualification after 2-0 loss to New Zealand.

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FTP-GOYAL

India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal launched the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 in New Delhi on Friday. In his address, Mr Goyal said, the policy is dynamic and has been kept open ended to accommodate the emerging needs of the time. He said, the policy has been formulated after multiple stakeholder consultations. The Minister said, India's overall exports including services and merchandise exports have already crossed 750 Billion dollars and it is expected to cross 760 Billion dollars this year. He said, FTP seeks to take India's exports to two trillion dollars by 2030.

The Key Approach to the Foreign Trade policy is based on 4 pillars, Incentive to Remission, Export promotion through collaboration, Ease of doing business and Emerging Areas.

We spoke to Economic Analyst, T K Arun on Foreign Trade Policy announced on Friday:

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G20-DISASTER MEETING

Now we move on to our segment, G20 in India.

The second day of the first Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group Meeting under India's G20 Presidency on Friday witnessed discussions primarily focused on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, Financing for Disaster Risk Reduction and Post Disaster Response, Recovery, and “Build Back Better”. Five priority areas have been identified for discussion which include early warning for all, disaster resilient infrastructure and stronger National financial frameworks. The three day meeting is being held at Gandhinagar in Gujarat in which around 100 delegates including from G20 countries and invitee countries are participating. More from our correspondent:

ANAND KUMAR

During the meeting, the participants explored potential financing models, policy frameworks and principles for resilient infrastructure. India's strong commitment towards Disaster Risk Reduction efforts was demonstrated through the hosting of this meeting. The deliberations on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and Financing for Disaster Risk Reduction highlighted the need for increased investments and innovative financing mechanism to reduce the impact of disasters. The Working Group meeting has enabled G20 countries to share best practices, discuss challenges and identify opportunities to collaborate towards achieving the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction Goals. Anand Kumar for World News, Gandhinagar.

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CHANDIGARH-G-20

The third and final day of the second Agricultural Deputies Meeting was held on Friday in Chandigarh. The day started with a discussion on the outcome document.

Two consecutive sessions focused on drafting the Communiqué by the member countries of G20. Delegates from other invited countries and international organizations also put forth their viewpoints during the session and contributed towards an inclusive discussion on the Communiqué drafting exercise.

After the session, Secretary of Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Manoj Ahuja briefed the media and said that he hopes discussion on the Draft Communiqué and the deliberations will pave way for agreement on focus areas, which include food security and nutrition, climate smart agriculture, inclusive agriculture value chains and food systems, and digitalization for agricultural transformation, keeping the spirit of One Earth, One Family and One Future.

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KERALA-G-20 JT. SEC

Joint Secretary in the G20 Secretariat Nagaraj Naidu has said that G20 countries should work for a new initiative and try to build a capacity building network so that the benefits of India's  successful implementation of Digital Public Infrastructure can be shared with the rest of the world.

Mr Naidu said it is very difficult to convince G20 countries about the importance of Digital Public Infrastructure and its benefits. Noting that many developing countries fail to understand the importance of quality data, which he said, if properly used,  would result in transformational output. He said with India taking over the G20 Presidency, the issues facing the global south have been brought into focus.

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G-20 SHERPA MEETING

Delegates participating in the G20 Sherpa meet at Kumarakom on Friday stressed the need for accelerated efforts to return to the path of resilient growth and recovery taking everyone along. They also appreciated the focus provided by India's G20 Presidency, its successful implementation of Digital Public Infrastructure and the need to bridge digital divide. A report from our Kochi Correspondent:

 RAJMOHAN

The first day of the plenary session of the G20 Sherpa meet today had sessions focussing on Technological Transformation,  Accelerated Inclusive and Resilient Growth and Women-led Development. The Sherpas also took stock of the progress made by various Sherpa track working groups like Digital Economy, Health, Education, Tourism, Culture and Employment among others. They proposed actionable deliverables and suggested the way forward on important deliberations. The Sherpas  participated in discussions held on a houseboat on the backwaters, as part of the attempt to take forward the agenda of G20. The country's G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant also held productive bilateral discussions with his counterparts. The first formal day of meetings concluded with a cultural evening and dinner attended by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Raj Mohan, AIR News,Kumarakom.

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G20 MEETING-SILIGURI  

The Second tourism Working Group meeting of G20 will begin in Siliguri on Saturday. Union Tourism Secretary Arvind Singh said envoys of 8 countries including Mexico, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Oman and South Korea will be attending the 3 day meet.

He said this destination has been chosen to showcase India’s geographical diversity and rich cultural heritage.

Mr. Rakesh Kumar Verma additional secretary, ministry of tourism said, there will be about 130 participants from the member Nations, invited countries and international organizations along with tourism industry partners, state tourism officials and local tour operators.

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HOTSPOT

In today's hotspot section we bring you a Discussion on Shanghai Cooperation Organisation National Security Advisors' Meet: Threats and Challenges. The participants are Former Diplomat Ashok Sajjanhar and Journalist Simran Sodhi.

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JAPAN FM VISIT TO CHINA

Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi will be on a two day visit of China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan confirmed on Friday. Hayashi, who is all set to visit Beijing for the first time in over three years will kickstart his trip on Saturday. He will meet with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang.

The visit of Japanese Foreign Minister comes at a time when ties between the two nations remain tense over issues including Beijing's recent detention of a Japanese businessman and a territorial row.

Hayashi's visit to China follows talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Bangkok in November.

China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said that China sees Hayashi's visit as important and in the interests of good ties.

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TRUMP INDICTED

Former US President Donald Trump was indicted in New York on charges involving payments to a porn star made during his 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter. A New York grand jury voted to indict Trump for the payments made to a porn star, making him the first-ever former US president to face criminal charges. According to multiple reports, Trump is expected to turn himself in next week,  as the details of surrender are being worked out. The office of New York prosecutor Alvin Bragg, who got a grand jury to indict Trump, confirmed that the Republican's lawyers have been contacted to coordinate his surrender for arraignment.

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US-H-1B VISA

In a big relief to foreign workers in the US technology sector, a judge ruled that spouses of H-1B visa holders can now work in the United States.

The decision was made as US District Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed a lawsuit filed by Save Jobs USA, which had approached the court to revoke the Obama-era regulation that gave employment authorisation cards to spouses of certain categories of H-1B visa holders.

Save Jobs USA is an organisation comprising IT workers who claim they lost their jobs to H-1B workers. Tech giants such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft had opposed the lawsuit. The US has so far issued nearly 1,00,000 work authorisations to spouses of H-1B workers.

While Save Jobs USA said it plans to appeal against the court ruling.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

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UK-TRADE PACT

The UK has signed a deal to join a trade pact with 11 Asia and Pacific nations, three years after it officially left the European Union. The government said, joining the group will boost UK exports by cutting tariffs on goods. However, the government's own estimates show being in the bloc will only add 0.08 per cent to the size of the UK's economy. The trade area covers a market of around 500 million people.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was established in 2018, and includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Membership of the CPTPP loosens restrictions on trade between members and reduces tariffs, a form of border tax, on goods.

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FINLAND-NATO

Finland is all set to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, after it cleared the last significant hurdle as Turkey’s parliament approved the Nordic country’s accession to the western military alliance. The Turkish Parliament on Thursday voted unanimously in favour of Finland's application to join NATO.

The Turkish General Assembly, controlled by a coalition led by president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development party, voted to ratify the move just before midnight making Turkey the last of the 30 Nato countries to back Finland’s membership. Turkey was the last NATO member to approve Finland's accession. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto thanked all 30 NATO members for their support and added that his country is ready to join the military alliance. On the other hand, neighbouring Sweden is still waiting for Turkey and Hungary to approve its NATO bid.

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PAKISTAN-FACT SHEET

In Pakistan, a Human Rights Observer 2023 fact sheet has underscored the increase in religious content against minorities in curriculum and textbooks during the year 2022. The Centre for Social Justice on Thursday issued the "Human Rights Observer 2023", an annual fact sheet. The report covers five key issues impacting religious minorities including discrimination in the education system, the prevalence of forced faith conversions, abuse of blasphemy laws, the establishment of the National Commission for Minorities and jail remissions for minority prisoners.

The fact sheet showed that as many as 171 people were accused under the blasphemy laws.

Furthermore, 124 reported incidents of forced faith conversions involving girls and women from minority communities were analysed which included 81 Hindu, 42 Christian, and one Sikh. Only 12 per cent of the victims were adults.

The fact sheet stated that no progress was made regarding providing remission to minority prisoners during 2022, despite the fact that this concession had been available for Muslim prisoners since 1978. It further stated that the establishment of the statutory National Commission for Minorities remained pending.

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE

Russia on Friday said that a ceasefire in Ukraine would not enable it to achieve the goals of its special military operation at the moment. The Kremlin was reacting after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko called for an immediate ceasefire, without preconditions, and for both Moscow and Kyiv to start negotiations on a lasting peace settlement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia had noted Lukashenko's comments and that President Vladimir Putin would discuss it with him next week. But he said Russia's goals in Ukraine could not be achieved at the moment through a halt in fighting.

Earlier, Russia said it is open for peace but has made clear this would only be on its terms. It says Kyiv must accept the new realities on the ground.

However, Ukraine has said Russia must withdraw its troops as a precursor to any peace deal, and says any temporary ceasefire would only allow Russia to regroup for future military action.

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WORLD NEWS CAPSULE

The Key domestic share markets on Friday closed with gains of more than one and a half percent. The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange closed near 59,000 points while the Nifty at the National Stock Exchange ended above 17,300 points. Both indices climbed amid positive global cues. A report from the business desk-  

 WN BUSINSS CAPSULE

The Sensex rose 1031 points, or 1.8 percent, to finish at 58,992. The Nifty also settled 279 points, or 1.6 percent, up at 17,360.

Asian stocks advanced on the last session of March quarter. South Korea’s KOSPI rose up by 0.96 percent and Japan's NIKKEI-225 accelerated 0.9 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up by half a percent and  China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.35 percent. Singapore's Strait Times added marginally by 0.05 percent. European shares were positive in intra-day trade.

Oil price were stable ahead of key US inflation data which could give clues on future interest rate moves. In intra-day trade, Brent crude was trading at around 79 dollars and 30 cents per barrel.

Back home, the Gold price at Multi Commodity Exchange for April contracts was trading at around 59,436 rupees per 10 gram. Silver was trading at around 71,989 rupees per kilogram for May Contracts.

In the forex market, the rupee today rose up by 16 paise to close at 82 rupees and 18 paise against the US dollar. Arjun Chodhary for World News, All India Radio.

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MADRID OPEN

In Madrid Spain Masters Badminton tournament, PV Sindhu entered the semi finals beating Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt 21-14, 21-17 in the quarterfinal on Friday. She will take on YEO Jia Min of Singapore in the Semi final on Saturday.

However, Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the tournament, losing to Kenta Nishimoto of Japan 18-21, 15-21 in the quarterfinal.

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SL-ICC WORLD CUP 2023

Sri Lanka has failed to directly qualify for the ICC ODI World Cup following another defeat at Hamilton in New Zealand on Friday. With the series defeat, Sri Lanka has been eliminated from finishing in the top eight of the ICC Super League in which the top eight teams have direct qualification for the world cup.

Sri Lanka will now be required to play in the ICC World Cup qualifiers which will be held in Zimbabwe in the month of June and July in which the top two teams will qualify for the ICC ODI World Cup.

The ICC World Cup hosted by India will commence on the 5th of October this year. The teams that have qualified for the tournament are New Zealand, England, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia, Afghanistan and West Indies.

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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 Guardian writes Wimbledon allows Russian and Belarusian players back into tournament.

The New York Times  reports Eurozone Inflation continues to fall, as Energy Prices Ease.

Le Monde writes France President Emmanuel Macron unveils plan to save water amid climate change toll.

The Straits Times reports, Singapore and China elevate ties following meeting between Prime Minister Lee and President Xi Jinping.

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REPEAT HEADLINES

• India announces Foreign Trade Policy 2023; Aims to achieve country's exports to two trillion dollars by 2030.

• Deliberations revolve around Disaster Resilient Infrastructure during First G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group Meeting in Gujarat.  

• Second G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting to begin in Siliguri on Saturday.

• Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi to visit China; To meet his Chinese counterpart.

• Donald Trump becomes first ex-US president to face criminal charges.

• Turkey approves Finland Nato membership bid.

• PV Sindhu enters Semi final of Madrid Spain Masters Badminton tournament.

• And, in cricket, Sri Lanka fail to secure direct World Cup qualification after 2-0 loss to New Zealand.

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And now, before we end, let us listen to Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajanVaishnav Jan, by artists from BULGARIA.

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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