Junior Digest

New Delhi, June 26,2024: NDA candidate and three-time BJP MP Om Birla was on Wednesday re-elected as Lok Sabha Speaker by voice vote, marking a rare contest between the Treasury and Opposition benches for the Chair.

Soon after Birla’s election as Speaker for a second successive 5-year term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi congratulated him and escorted him to the Speaker’s Chair.

PM Modi addressed the House and highlighted Birla’s achievements as Speaker and MP.

New Delhi, June 21,2024: President Droupadi Murmu on Friday greeted the entire global community, especially the citizens of India, on the occasion of International Day of Yoga and said that yoga is a way to physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
“Greetings to the entire global community, especially the fellow citizens of India on International Yoga Day! Yoga is India’s unique gift to humanity. In view of rising lifestyle-related problems, Yoga has become far more important today. Yoga is a way to physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Let us resolve to adopt yoga as an integral part of our day-to-day living,” the President posted on X.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people of the country to make yoga a part of their daily lives as the world celebrated the 10th International Day of Yoga on Friday.
PM Modi performed Yoga at Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar today.
“As we mark the 10th International Day of Yoga, I urge everyone to make it a part of their daily lives. Yoga fosters strength, good health and wellness. Wonderful to join this year’s programme in Srinagar,” the Prime Minister posted on social media platform X.
He congratulated all the people of the country and those doing Yoga in every corner of the world and said the world is witnessing a new Yoga economy going forward for the last 10 years.
Speaking at the event in Srinagar, the Prime Minister said that India’s proposal regarding the celebration of International Yoga Day at the United Nations was supported by 177 nations.
“Today, from the land of Kashmir, I congratulate everyone around the world on International Yoga Day! Ten years ago, I proposed the celebration of International Yoga Day at the United Nations. India’s proposal was supported by 177 nations, which is a record in itself. In 2015, on Kartavyapath in Delhi, 35,000 people performed Yogasanas together,” he said.
“On International Yoga Day, I have had the privilege of coming to Kashmir, the land of yoga and meditation. In Srinagar, we are feeling the power that yoga gives us. I congratulate all the people of the country and those doing Yoga in every corner of the world on International Yoga Day from the land of Kashmir,” PM Modi said.
He said that in the last 10 years, the expansion of Yoga has changed the perception related to Yoga adding that the world is seeing a new Yoga economy going forward.
“In the last 10 years, the expansion of Yoga has changed the perception related to Yoga. Today, the world is seeing a new Yoga economy going forward. From Rishikesh and Kashi to Kerala, we can witness a new trend of Yoga Tourism emerging in India. People from all over the world are coming to India in pursuit of learning authentic yoga. Accordingly, sectors related to hospitality, tourism, apparel, etc. are booming from the huge inflow of people. This is creating new avenues for employment opportunities for youth,” PM Modi said.
This year’s theme, “Yoga for Self and Society,” emphasizes yoga’s vital role in fostering both individual well-being and societal harmony.
Since 2015, the Prime Minister has led the International Day of Yoga (IDY) celebrations at various iconic locations, including Kartavya Path in Delhi, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Ranchi, Lucknow, Mysuru and even the United Nations Headquarters in New York

June 13,2024:French President Emmanuel Macron has called on moderate politicians to unite against the far right and far left.
The French leader said on Wednesday that he wants “our compatriots and political leaders who do not recognise themselves in the extremist fever” to join together. He made the call as he faces a challenge from the far-right in snap elections on June 30 and July 7.
Macron was speaking for the first time since Sunday when the poor performance of his centrist Renaissance party in European Union elections led him to announce a surprise dissolution of parliament and national elections.

During Wednesday’s press conference, he called on “men and women of goodwill who were able to say ‘no’ to extremes to join together to be able to build a joint project” to best serve France.

Voters in France dealt a huge blow to the president in the elections for the European Parliament last week. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally secured more than twice the ballots won by the president’s party, which finished second, trailed by the centre left.
The president’s call for unity among democratic forces followed an announcement by Eric Ciotti, leader of the conservative Republican Party, of plans to form an alliance with Le Pen.

Left-wing parties are also mobilising despite divisions. The Greens, Socialists, Communists and far-left France Unbowed agreed on Monday to form an alliance.
Macron said on Wednesday that Ciotti had made “a pact with the devil” and criticised alliances on both the left and right.
“We have unnatural alliances at both extremes who agree on nothing except the jobs to be shared and who will not be able to implement any programme,” the president said.

He called on the “centrist, progressive, democratic and republican” bloc to unite and counter those alliances, either before or after the elections.

Ciotti, meanwhile, has faced a storm of criticism from inside the Republican Party for “betrayal” of its legacy.

UNITED NATIONS, June 11,2024: The United Nations Security Council on Monday backed a proposal outlined by President Joe Biden for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and urged the Palestinian militants to accept the deal aimed at ending the eight-month-long war.

Hamas welcomed the adoption of the U.S.-drafted resolution and said in a statement that it is ready to cooperate with mediators over implementing the principles of the plan “that are consistent with the demands of our people and resistance.”

Russia abstained from the U.N. vote, while the remaining 14 Security Council members voted in favor of the resolution supporting a three-phase ceasefire plan laid out by Biden on May 31 that he described as an Israeli initiative.

The resolution welcomes the new ceasefire proposal, states that Israel has accepted it, calls on Hamas to agree to it and “urges both parties to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.”

Algeria, the only Arab member of the council, supported the resolution because “we believe it can represent a step forward toward an immediate and lasting ceasefire,” Algeria’s U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama told the council.

“It offers a glimmer of hope to the Palestinians,” he said. “It’s time to halt the killing.”

The resolution also goes into detail about the proposal, and spells out that “if the negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one, the ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue.”

Washington, June 21,2024: Former President Donald Trump said in an interview with the All-In podcast that the possibility of NATO expanding to Russia’s border has always been understood to be off the table and such rhetoric now is provocative.

“They don’t want to have it, it’s always been understood, and that’s even before Putin,” Trump said in the podcast that aired on Thursday. “It’s always been understood that was a no-no… that was very provocative, and now it’s even more provocative.”

Trump said that it’s understandable that Russia would be bothered by NATO troops on its border, adding that NATO’s eastward expansion is a key reason for the conflict and that President Biden’s rhetoric about envisioning Ukraine eventually joining NATO is even more provocative.

“Biden was saying all of the wrong things and one of the wrong things he was saying: ‘Ukraine will go into NATO,’…Biden, he was saying the opposite of what in my opinion you had to say…and he’s still saying it,” Trump said.

In addition, Trump vowed to not put US troops on the ground in Ukraine if he returns to the White House.

BRUSSELS, June 13,2024: In a rare reference to the Western nuclear arsenal, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday highlighted the alliance’s efforts to adapt its capabilities to current security threats, taking note of Russia latest nuclear rhetoric and drills.

Talking to reporters before a two-day NATO defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels that will include a gathering of the alliance’s nuclear planning group, he called nuclear weapons NATO’s “ultimate security guarantee” and a means to preserve peace.

While it is well known that the U.S. has deployed nuclear bombs to several locations in Europe, NATO rarely talks about these weapons publicly.

Discussing what he called “the ongoing adaptation” of NATO’s nuclear arsenal, Stoltenberg said the Netherlands in June declared the first F-35 fighter jets ready to carry nuclear arms and said the U.S. was modernising its nuclear weapons in Europe.

He described increasing Russian activity around its nuclear capabilities. “What we have seen over the last years and months is a dangerous nuclear rhetoric from the Russian side…. We also see some more exercises, nuclear exercises on the Russian side,” he said.

On Tuesday, Russia said its troops had started the second stage of drills to practise the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons alongside Belarusian troops after what Moscow said were threats from Western powers.

Since sending thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said Moscow could use nuclear weapons to defend itself in extreme situations.

Russia accuses the U.S. and its European allies of pushing the world to the brink of nuclear confrontation by giving Ukraine billions of dollars worth of weapons, some of which are being used against Russian territory.

Stoltenberg also referred also to the modernisation of China’s nuclear weapons, saying Beijing was expected to boost the number of nuclear missiles within a few years and many of them would be able to reach NATO territory.

Washington DC [US], June 22,2024: The US Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that applications are open for USD 850 million in federal funding for projects that will help monitor, measure, quantify, and reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sectors as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.
Oil and natural gas facilities are the nation’s largest industrial source of methane, a climate “super pollutant” that is many times more potent than carbon dioxide and is responsible for approximately one-third of the warming from greenhouse gases occurring today.
The funding opportunity announced today is a part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy to reduce harmful methane emissions across economic sectors, as outlined in the US Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan.

New Delhi, June 12,2024: The government announced on Tuesday the appointment of Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi as the next Chief of the Army Staff.

Dwivedi will succeed the present Chief of the Army Staff, General Manoj C Pande who demits office on June 30, 2024.

Born on July 1, 1964, Lieutenant General Dwivedi was commissioned into the Infantry (Jammu & Kashmir Rifles) of the Indian Army on December 15, 1984. During his long and distinguished service spanning nearly 40 years, he has served in a variety of Command, Staff, Instructional and Foreign appointments.

The Command appointments of Lt Gen Dwivedi include Command of Regiment (18 Jammu & Kashmir Rifles), Brigade (26 Sector Assam Rifles), Inspector General, Assam Rifles (East) and 9 Corps.

An alumnus of the Sainik School Rewa, National Defence College and US Army War College, Dwivedi has also undergone courses at the DSSC Wellington and Army War College, Mhow. He was conferred ‘Distinguished Fellow’ in the coveted NDC equivalent course at USAWC, Carlisle, USA. Dwivedi has an M Phil in Defence & Management Studies and two Master’s Degrees in Strategic Studies and Military Science.

New Delhi , June20,2024: Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram on Wednesday said that the Centre has kept an overall 7.5 per cent of the budget for the tribal community of India.
He said the government has initiated various schemes for the tribal community which has significantly brought a change in their lives.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, the Union Minister on tribal budget said, “We have a budget of more than Rs 5 lakh crores for the tribal community that can be spent on their welfare projects. Also, each Ministry has its tribal component. So, in total, we have an overall 7.5 per cent allocation of budget for tribal communities.”
Speaking about the projects for the tribal community, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram asserted, “We are working on the Eklavya Model Mission Schools. We are working on constituting 740 Eklavya Model schools. During the reign of Atal Ji, the targeted mission of schools was 100 from which we had constituted 84. But when the Congress party came into the rule, the mission became relatively slow. But after Narendra Modi Ji came into power, the speed of the project is revamped and now, we have funds of more than Rs 1.50 lakh crores available for the project.”
On the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) – Aajeevika he said, “Along with it, we are working on the livelihood scheme. In the livelihood scheme, we have provided MSPs on more than 87 products which has increased the income of tribes, as, initially the middlemen used to purchase those items at lower rates.”
“We have made 3,958 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra operational. We have built various storage godowns. We are providing marketing support to tribes for the non-timber forest products, which has brought a significant change in their life,” said Jual Oram on other welfare schemes of tribes.
Non-timber forest products are any products or services that come from forests but are not timber
He further stated, “One of the most important aspects was the constitution of the National Education Society (NEST) for tribal students which is very similar to Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs). Recruitment is continued for NEST.”
In the meanwhile, preparation for the upcoming Union Budget 2024-25 commenced in Delhi on June 13. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has directed officials to initiate the budget preparation process, emphasizing the need for meticulous planning and comprehensive analysis.
This early start aims to ensure a well-structured budget that effectively addresses the country’s economic priorities and challenges. The collaborative efforts of the ministry’s team are expected to contribute to a robust and strategic financial plan for the upcoming fiscal year.
According to sources, the Union Budget for 2024-25 is likely to be tabled in Parliament by the third week of July. Earlier, on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the interim budget for 2024-2025 in Parliament due to the election year.

New Delhi, June 20,2024: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated the new campus of Nalanda University near Rajgir, Bihar, located close to the site of the ancient ruins of Nalanda.

Nalanda University, established by an Act of the Parliament of India, aims to revive the ancient glory of the historic Nalanda as an international institution for pursuit of intellectual, philosophical, historical, and spiritual studies.

In a post on X, the PM said: “Today, we are inaugurating the new campus of Nalanda University. It is a reiteration of our commitment to encourage learning, research and innovation. It is also an effort to draw the best scholars from the world to come and pursue their education in our country.”

Speaking at the inauguration, the PM said: “Nalanda is a symbol of India’s academic heritage and vibrant cultural exchange. It is not just a renaissance of India’s past, but the heritage of many countries are linked to this place,” he said.

“Our government is working towards making the country’s higher education system more advanced and research-oriented. I am confident that our youth will provide leadership to the entire world in the future,” Modi said.

He said education is an important tool for the development and prosperity of any country.

“To achieve the goal of a developed nation by 2047, educational institutions are being upgraded to global standards across the country,” the Prime Minister said, adding that all developed countries achieved the present status only due to their rich educational facilities.

Modi said the ancient Nalanda University was ruined by invaders and set ablaze with its rich library.

The Prime Minister said his government was committed to provide all assistance to the newly revived Nalanda University to develop it as a global centre of quality education and wisdom once again.

The government had already announced creation of research fund of Rs 1 lakh crores.

Modi said ten years back, only nine educational institutions had found their place among the top educational institutions in the world, which has now increased to 46. One university was being opened every week, while one ITI was being opened every day in the country, he added.

Modi said an IIT Delhi campus has been opened in Abu Dhabi, and similarly, a campus of IIT Madras has opened in Tanzania, adding that it was expected that the campus of the revived Nalanda University would also be opened in important cities across the globe in the days ahead.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, while addressing the function, said then President APJ Abdul Kalam was the one who suggested the ancient Nalanda University be revived. On his suggestion, with the initiative of the Bihar government and the active cooperation of the Centre, ancient Nalanda University was revived.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also recalled the fame of the ancient Nalanda University as the seat of knowledge. He expressed his happiness that several countries had expressed their interest in the revival and development of Nalanda University as a world-class educational institution again.

The PM also planted a sapling of the Bodhi tree – an enduring symbol of Buddhist heritage and Indian spirituality, at the campus.

Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, MoS for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita and Chancellor of the University, Prof. Aravind Panagariya were among the dignitaries present on this occasion.

The Nalanda University Act provides the basis for implementing the decisions arrived at the 2nd East Asia Summit (EAS) (Philippines, 2007) for establishment of NU and at the 4th East Asia Summit (Thailand, 2009). While the Nalanda University Act was passed by Parliament in 2010, construction of the present university began in 2017.

The University adds meaning to India’s ‘Act East’ Policy.

Along with India, there are 17 Participating Countries in this endeavour – Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. Ambassadors of these countries travelled to Nalanda to participate in the inaugural ceremony, a statement said.

The design and architectural elements of the new 455-acre campus are inspired by the original monasteries and buildings at the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara.

The new campus is also a ‘Net Zero Green Campus’ and includes over 100 acres of water bodies (Kamal Sagar ponds), an on-grid solar plant, a domestic and drinking water treatment plant, and a water recycling plant for reusing wastewater as well as over 100 acres of green cover. The University also has a 250-capacity Yoga Center, a state-of -the-art auditorium, library, an archival centre and a fully equipped sports complex.

The University places emphasis on higher education and research, and offers Post Graduate and Doctoral programs in Buddhist studies, philosophy and comparative religions; languages and literature; ecology and environmental studies; sustainable development and environment; and, international relations and peace studies. At present, students from over 20 countries, including India, are enrolled in various courses at the University.

Srinagar, June 21,2024: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the world is looking at yoga as a powerful agent of global good.

Modi was addressing an event while leading celebrations of International Day of Yoga at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) on the banks of Dal Lake.

The Yoga celebration was disrupted due to rain and the event was shifted indoors at SKICC. The event was originally slated to be held in the lawns of SKICC.

“The theme of this year’s International Yoga day is ‘Yoga for Self and Society’. The world is looking at Yoga as a powerful agent of global good. Yoga helps us live in the present moment without baggage of the past,” Modi said while addressing the participant.

“Yoga helps us realise that our welfare is related to the welfare of the world around us. When we are peaceful within, we can also make a positive impact on the world.”

The Prime Minister said the expansion of yoga has created employment and said the tourists across the globe were visiting India to learn authentic Yoga.

“People from all over the world are coming to India in pursuit of learning authentic yoga. And as a result of this, sectors related to hospitality, tourism, apparel, etc. are booming from the huge inflow of people. This is creating new avenues for employment opportunities for youth,” Modi said.

Modi said he proposed the celebration of International Yoga Day at the United Nations in 2014 and the proposal was supported by 177 nations, which was a record in itself.

“Yoga is now being celebrated all over the world,” he said.

He said the attraction towards Yoga in entire Jammu and Kashmir has given a new impetus to the tourism sector.

Modi arrived in Srinagar on Thursday for his first visit to the union territory after being sworn in as Prime Minister for the third time.

New Delhi, June 20,2024: In a move that would give boost to wind energy, the Government on Wednesday approved the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme for offshore wind energy projects at a total outlay of Rs 7,453 crore.

This includes an outlay of Rs 6,853 crore for installation and commissioning of 1 GW of offshore wind energy projects (500 MW each off the coast of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu), and grant of Rs 600 crore for upgradation of two ports to meet logistics requirements for offshore wind energy projects, an official statement after Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

The VGF scheme is a major step towards implementation of the National Offshore Wind Energy Policy notified in 2015 with an aim to exploit the vast offshore wind energy potential that exists within the exclusive economic zone of India.

The VGF support from the Government will reduce the cost of power from offshore wind projects and make them viable for purchase by DISCOMs. While the projects will be established by private developers selected though a transparent bidding process, the power excavation infrastructure, including the offshore substations, will be constructed by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL).

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, as the nodal ministry, will coordinate with various Ministries/Departments to ensure successful implementation of the scheme.

Construction of offshore wind energy projects and its operations also require specific port infrastructure, which can handle storage and movement of heavy and large dimension equipment. Under the scheme, two ports in the country will be supported by Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways to meet the requirements of offshore wind development.

Offshore wind is a source of renewable energy which offers several advantages over onshore wind and solar projects, such as higher adequacy and reliability, lower storage requirement and higher employment potential.

Development of offshore wind sector will lead to economy-wide benefits by attracting investments, development of indigenous manufacturing capabilities, creation of employment opportunities across the value chain and technology development for offshore wind in the country. This will also contribute towards achieving India’s energy transition targets.

The successful commissioning of 1 GW offshore wind projects will produce renewable electricity of about 3.72 billion units annually, which will result in annual reduction of 2.98 million ton of CO2 equivalent emission for a period of 25 years.

Further, this scheme will not only kick start the offshore wind energy development in India but also lead to creation of required ecosystem in the country to supplement its ocean based economic activities. This ecosystem will support the development of initial 37 GW of offshore wind energy at an investment of about Rs 4,50,000 crore.

June 14,2024: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has denounced an agreement by Western countries to provide Ukraine with a loan package using frozen Russian assets and pledged retaliation.

Speaking at a meeting on Friday with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Putin said leaders in the West were trying to come up with “some kind of legal basis” for the asset freezes, “but despite all the trickery, theft is still theft and will not go unpunished”.

He added that Moscow’s treatment was proof that “anyone” could be next and punished by an asset freeze.

Putin’s comments came after the Group of Seven (G7) members agreed on an outline deal for a $50bn loan package for Ukraine using interest from Russian sovereign assets frozen after Putin sent his troops into the neighbouring country in February 2022.

The G7 comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union also participates in all discussions.

Following the announcement at the G7 annual summit in Italy, US President Joe Biden said the frozen assets agreement was a “significant outcome” and “another reminder to Putin that we’re not backing down”.

The details of the agreement are expected to be finalised in the coming weeks, and the money is expected to reach Ukraine by the end of the year.

However, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed the deal on Friday, saying it was “just pieces of paper”.

“These agreements are about nothing. They do not have legal force,” Zakharova was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying.

Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), June 12,2024: Telgugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo N Chandrababu Naidu took oath as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday.
The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Amit Shah, JP Nadda, and Nitin Gadkari among others.
After taking oath as Chief Minister Naidu shared a hug with PM Modi on stage.
This is the fourth time that Naidu is assuming charge as Andhra Chief Minister and the second time after the bi-furcation in 2014.
Naidu became chief minister first in 1995, before the Andhra bifurcation and he led the state until 2004 for nine consecutive years. The TDP supremo returned as the chief minister of the bifurcated Andhra in 2014 and served until 2019
Andhra governor S Abdul Nazeer, former Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundarajan were present at the swearing-in.
Naidu’s son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh, Union Minister Rammohan Naidu, actors Chiranjeevi, Rajnikanth, Nandamuri Balakrishna were also present on occasion.
Naidu had led the TDP- BJP-Janasena National Democratic Alliance to a landslide victory in the Assembly as well as parliamentary elections.
TDP holds the majority in Andhra Pradesh 175-member assembly with 135 MLAs, while its allies, the Janasena Party, has 21 and BJP has eight. The opposition YSR Congress Party has 11 legislators.
The Cabinet have 21 MLAs from the TDP, three from the Janasena Party and one from the BJP.

SYDNEY/WASHINGTON, June 25, 2024: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is due to plead guilty on Wednesday to violating U.S. espionage law, in a deal that will set him free after a 14-year British legal odyssey and allow his return home to Australia.

Assange, 52, has agreed to plead guilty to a single criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. national defence documents, according to filings in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.

The deal marks the end of a legal saga that has seen Assange spend more than five years in a British high-security jail and seven holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London as he fought accusations of sex crimes in Sweden and battled extradition to the U.S., where he faced 18 criminal charges.

The U.S. government viewed him as a reckless villain who had endangered the lives of agents through WikiLeaks’ mass release of secret U.S. documents – the largest security breaches of their kind in U.S. military history.

But to free press advocates and his supporters, which includes world leaders, celebrities and some prominent journalists, he is a hero for exposing wrongdoing and alleged war crimes, and was persecuted for embarrassing U.S. authorities.

On Wednesday, Assange is due to be sentenced to 62 months of time already served at a hearing in Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, at 9 a.m. local time (2300 GMT Tuesday).

The U.S. territory in the Pacific was chosen due to Assange’s opposition to travelling to the mainland U.S. and for its proximity to Australia, prosecutors said.

Australian-born Assange left Belmarsh maximum security jail in the early hours of Monday, before being bailed by the London High Court and later boarding a flight, his wife, Stella Assange said. He was currently on a stopover in Bangkok, she said.

“I feel elated,” Stella, who flew to Australia from London on Sunday with the couple’s two children, told Reuters.

“I also feel worried … Until it’s fully signed off, I worry, but it looks like we’ve got there.”

A video posted on X by Wikileaks showed Assange dressed in a blue shirt and jeans signing a document before boarding a private jet. After the hearing in Saipan, Assange will fly to Canberra where he will arrive on Wednesday, his wife said.

He had recently won permission to appeal against the approval of his U.S. extradition and the case was due to be heard at London’s High Court next month, a factor that Stella Assange said helped galvanise talks over a deal.

BONN, June 13,2024: With just five months to go before this year’s U.N. climate summit, countries cannot agree on the size of a global funding bill to help the developing world fight climate change – let alone how to split it.

The decision is set to dominate the COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan in November, where nearly 200 countries need to agree on a new annual financing target for helping poorer countries cut their emissions and protect their societies in a harsher, hotter world.

The new target will replace the yearly $100 billion that rich countries had pledged in climate finance from 2020. That goal was met two years late.

But preliminary talks this week in Bonn, Germany, have yielded no major breakthroughs. Instead, the talks ending on Thursday have again exposed the unyielding rifts among the world’s biggest economies over who should be paying most to fight climate change – and how much.

Representatives from climate-vulnerable nations said it was hard watching wealthy nations fall late with past payments of climate finance while quickly approving new funds for military responses to war or spending billions subsidising CO2-emitting energy sources.

“It seems like money is always there when it’s a more ‘real’ national priority for the country,” Michai Robertson, negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States, told Reuters.

“It’s really tough to see that,” he said.
GETTING THE NUMBER RIGHT

The new financing target is the core tool that global climate talks can deliver to fund projects that reduce planet-warming emissions – such as renewable energy or low-carbon transport.

With all countries due to update their national climate targets next year, negotiators fear failure could lead to weaker efforts.

“How are you going to move forward if there’s no financing?” said South African climate negotiator Pemy Gasela. Her country is among many developing nations warning they cannot afford to cut emissions faster without more financial support – in South Africa’s case, to swap a heavy reliance on CO2-emitting coal for clean energy.

Yet wealthy countries are wary of setting a target too high and risking it going unmet. The missed $100 billion target became politically symbolic in recent U.N. climate talks, stoking mistrust between nations as developing countries argued the world’s economic powers were abandoning them.

Diplomats in Bonn have circled the issue of how much money to put on the table.

While countries agree $100 billion is too low, there is little chance they would agree to summon the $2.4 trillion per year that the U.N. climate chief in February said was needed to keep the world’s climate goals within reach.

Neither the European Union or the U.S. have suggested a number for the goal, although both acknowledged this week that it must exceed $100 billion. The 27-country EU is currently the biggest provider of climate finance.

The elephant in the negotiation rooms, some diplomats told Reuters, was the upcoming U.S. presidential election, in which Donald Trump is seeking to return to office.

The previous Trump administration pulled the world’s biggest economy out of the Paris climate agreement. Negotiators said they worry a future Trump administration could halt U.S. climate finance payments, leaving it to other wealthy nations to meet the annual pledge.

But some countries in Bonn have made suggestions.

India, and a group of Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, have said the overall financing target should exceed $1 trillion per year, to reflect the spiralling needs of poorer countries as climate change worsens.

The Arab countries propose that rich nations provide $441 billion in public funding per year in grants, to leverage a total $1.1 trillion per year from broader sources.

Small island countries vulnerable to climate change have also pushed for stricter rules on what counts toward the target, suggesting preventing loans with interest rates above 1%, to avoid adding to poor nations’ already-high debts.

Most public climate funds provided by developed nations are loans, according to the OECD.
DECIDING WHO SHOULD PAY

Countries are also at odds over who should contribute.

There are about two dozen, long-industrialized countries currently obliged to contribute to U.N. climate finance. That list was decided during U.N. climate talks in 1992, when China’s economy was still smaller than Italy’s.

The EU wants China – now the world’s biggest CO2 emitter and second biggest economy – and high wealth-per-capita Middle Eastern countries to contribute for the new goal. The U.S. has also argued for adding more countries in the donor base.

However, the Arab countries and China firmly opposed this idea, with Beijing reiterating China’s status as a “developing country” under the U.N. climate convention.

“We, the developing countries, have no intention to make your number look good or be part of your responsibility, as we are doing all we can do to save the world,” China’s negotiator told other diplomats during negotiations on the finance target in Bonn on Tuesday.

Neither camp of countries has compromised on who should pay, said Joe Thwaites, who tracks climate finance negotiations for the non-profit Natural Resources Defense Council.

“Negotiations were difficult and things are moving slowly,” he said.

As talks continue beyond Bonn, some negotiators said government ministers could raise the issue at higher level meetings such as G20 ministers’ gatherings in Brazil ahead of COP29.

Bhubaneswar,June 12,2024: Four-time MLA Mohan Charan Majhi, a tribal, was named next chief minister of Odisha by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). BJP leader Mohan Charan Majhi took oath as the Chief Minister of Odisha, in Bhubaneswar. Governor Raghubar Das administered him the oath to office.

Majhi, who represents tribal-reserved Keonjhar assembly seat, is a graduate and is known for his non-controversial and vocal nature. He has risen through the ranks, starting his career as a sarpanch in 1997-2000.

Majhi has worked as secretary of State Advasi Morcha (BJP). A native of Raikala village under Keonjhar Sadar police station in Keonjhar district, Majhi belongs to Santhal tribe, mostly distributed in Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.
After a meeting of BJP MLAs, Union minister Rajnath Singh announced Majhi’s name.

Odisha will also have two deputy CMs: KV Singh Deo and Pravati Parida.

SEOUL, June 20,2024: North Korea and Russia agreed to provide immediate military assistance if either faced armed aggression, under a pact their leaders signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s first visit in 24 years.

The pledge is seen as the revival of a mutual defence agreement under a 1961 treaty adopted by the Cold War allies that was annulled in 1990 when the Soviet Union established diplomatic ties with South Korea.

The agreement for a “comprehensive strategic partnership” signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday is one of the highest-profile moves in Asia by Moscow in years.

“If either side faces an armed invasion and is in a state of war, the other side will immediately use all available means to provide military and other assistance in accordance with Article 51 of the U.N. Charter and the laws of each country,” Article 4 of the agreement says.

Article 51 of the U.N. Charter provides for the right of a member country to take individual or collective self-defence actions.

The pledge by the leaders of the two countries, which are facing increasing international isolation, comes amid growing concern among the United States and its Asian allies over how much Russia would support North Korea, the only country to have tested a nuclear weapon this century.

Kim echoed Putin’s statement explicitly linking their deepening ties to fighting the “hegemonic and imperialist” policies of the West and the United State in particular, including its support for Ukraine.

The agreement also said neither side would sign any treaty with a third country that infringes on the interests of the other and will not allow its territory to be used by any country to harm the other’s security and sovereignty, KCNA said.

The two countries will take joint actions aimed at “strengthening defence capabilities to prevent war and ensure regional and international peace and security”, it said.

South Korea and the White House did not immediately have comment on the reported content of the agreement.

Japan expressed “grave concerns” about Putin’s vow not to rule out cooperation with Pyongyang on military technology.

The reaction from China, the North’s main political and economic benefactor, has been muted.

Washington and Seoul have been increasingly alarmed by deepening military cooperation between Russia and the North, and have accused the two of violating international laws by trading in arms for use in Moscow’s war against Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have said they have found North Korean missile debris inside their country.

Russia and North Korea deny any arms trade.

Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said Russia, a U.N. Security Council permanent member, has allowed “the most brazen nullification” of all sanctions imposed on North Korea to stop its weapons development.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the pact showed authoritarian powers are aligning.

On his first visit to Pyongyang since 2000, Putin thanked Kim for the support for Russian policy, and Kim reaffirmed “unconditional” and unwavering support for “all of Russia’s policies” including Putin’s war with Ukraine.

KCNA on Thursday released the full text of the agreement, which also included cooperation on nuclear energy, space exploration, food and energy security.

Cha Du Hyeogn, a former South Korean government official who is now a fellow at Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, said the mutual defence pledge is similar to the one in the 1961 treaty between the North and the Soviet Union.

But the reference to the U.N. Charter and each country’s laws is open for interpretation and it was not clear whether the agreement would constitute an alliance, he said.

“It comes from Kim wanting to put everything in for this agreement, while Putin is being reluctant to do so,” Cha said.