Washington, June 30,2023: The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank approved Thursday a $1.5 billion loan, guaranteed by the Japanese government, for Ukraine to address the needs of displaced people and support reforms to “enhance the transparency and accountability of public resources expenditures.”
“The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved the $1.5 billion Ukraine Relief and Recovery Development Policy Loan (DPL). This loan is guaranteed by the Government of Japan under the Advancing Needed Credit Enhancement for Ukraine Trust Fund (ADVANCE Ukraine) and forms an integral part of the international support package for Ukraine to meet its financing needs in 2023,” the World Bank said in a statement on the website.
The loan will help to address the needs of “the newly poor and displaced because of the war by providing relief to households,” support reforms “to enhance the transparency and accountability of public resources expenditures” and help markets to function better during and after Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and contribute to economic recovery through reforms, the statement read.
Chennai, June 30,2023: In a late night development, Tamil Nadu Governor T.N.Ravi withdrew the dismissal order of Minister without portfolio V.Senthilbalaji, arrested by the Ed and in judicial custody, from the State Cabinet and sent message to Chief Minister M.K.Stalin.
Media reports said “Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi, on June 29, withdrew his earlier order dismissing the arrested Minister Senthilbalaji”.
However, there was no official confirmation from the Raj Bhavan. Mr. Ravi conveyed his message to the Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. In a late night communication to the Chief Minister, the Governor said he would consult the attorney general and seek his legal opinion about the move.
The order to dismiss SenthilBalaji from the Council of Ministers has been kept in abeyance by the Governor until further communication, sources said.
Earlier in the day, in an unprecedented action, Mr Ravi “dismissed” Senthilbalaji from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect.
Mr. Senthilbalaji was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged money laundering case recently.
A communique from the Raj Bhavan said, there were “reasonable apprehensions that continuation of
Thiru V.Senthilbalaji in the Council of Ministers will adversely impact the due process of law including fair investigation that may eventually lead to breakdown of the Constitutional machinery in the State.”
The Governor, had earlier, “disagreed” with Mr Stalin’s decision to retain Mr. Senthilbalaji as a Minister without portfolio, while reallocating his portfolios to two other senior Ministers.
Bengaluru (Karnataka), June 29,2023: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday declined to dismiss the FIR against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, and Supriya Shrinate over alleged “unauthorised” use of music from Kannada film KGF Chapter 2 during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
A single-judge panel led by Justice M Nagaprasanna rejected the plea. “The petitioner appears to have tampered with the source code without permission, and this undoubtedly constitutes a violation of the company’s copyright,” the High Court said.
The Bengaluru Police had registered a case against Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders following a complaint filed by the MRT music label for the alleged unauthorised use of music from Kannada film KGF Chapter 2 during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in November 2022.
The complaint alleged that the party had posted two videos during the Bharat Jodo Yatra with songs from the movie without permission, in violation of the Copyright Act.
The FIR was registered in the Yashwanthpur police station under the provisions of the Copyright Act, the Information Technology Act, and the Indian Penal Code against Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, and Supriya of the Congress.
WUHAN, June 29,2023: A China Southern Airlines flight flew from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, in the capital city of central China’s Hubei Province, to Dubai on Thursday, marking the resumption of the passenger air route linking the two cities.
This is the first international passenger air route from Wuhan to the Middle East after a hiatus of over three years due to COVID-19.
Operated by a Boeing 787 aircraft, the route will see three round-trip flights every week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
By August, Wuhan will resume five more air routes to international metropolises including Sydney, Tokyo and London, as well as some tourist destinations, such as Boracay in the Philippines and Phuket in Thailand.
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), June 28,2023: Madhya Pradesh Government on Wednesday decided to open new medical colleges in six districts namely Khargone, Dhar, Bhind, Balaghat, Tikamgarh and Sidhi.
The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan held at Mantralaya in the state capital.
After the meeting, State Home Minister Narottam Mishra briefed mediapersons about the various decisions taken by the council of ministers.
“During the meeting, the cabinet approved the proposal to open new medical colleges in six districts of the state which include, Khargone, Dhar, Bhind, Balaghat, Tikamgarh and Sidhi. The council of ministers also approved the proposal of Rs 1335.20 crore for the construction of 33 new innovative CM Rise schools,” Mishra said.
The home minister further said that the council of ministers approved Rs 24000 crores for electricity subsidy. Exemption in destitute fee for procurement of summer moong and urad crops on Minimum Support Price (MSP).
Besides, the cabinet approved Rs 1700 crore for two years in the fourth phase of Chief Minister’s Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme. Rs 190 crore approved for Seep Amber Complex Irrigation Project Phase 2 in Sehore’s Bherunda. Irrigation will be done in 13,457 hectare area and 24 villages of Bherunda tehsil will be benefited with it, the minister added.
New Delhi, June 28,2023: The Delhi government has released a Rs 100 crore fund to its 12 colleges under Delhi University, a minister said on Wednesday.
State Education Minister Atishi told a press conference here that funds allocated to these 12 Delhi government funded colleges have been increased by three times in eight years.
In the year 2014-15, the allocation was Rs 132 crore and 2023-24 the amount has gone up to Rs 400 crore.
New Delhi , June 27,2023: The Tibetan troops recruited by the Chinese Army for helping them in high-altitude areas are now visible as part of the People’s Liberation Army border defence patrols along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, according to the sources.
Soon after the aggression along the LAC in 2020, China started recruiting these soldiers to help them sustain in high-altitude areas as part of their long-term deployment plans there.
“The Tibetan soldiers are now visible as part of the patrols of their border defence troops but the majority continue to be the mainland Chinese soldiers,” sources in security forces said.
The Chinese have faced issues with their regular mainland troops to sustain themselves in high altitude areas and also have seen how the Indian Special Frontier Force troops including many Tibetan troops performed during the capture of high peaks in the Kailash ranges by the Indian Army, sources said.
As per reports, China had issued instructions to their senior commanders to induct at least one soldier from each Tibetan family and turn them loyal towards the country as well as keeping a check on their families.
However, sources said the move by China has seen a lot of resentment from the affected families.
India and China have been in a military standoff since April-May 2020 and deployed heavily in the border areas.
India has also deployed an almost equal number of troops along the Eastern Ladakh sector to counter any possible misadventure by the Chinese in the future.
The Army has also reoriented its focus towards the northern borders and deployed new formations along with dual tasking some of them for facing the two-front threat scenario.
Moscow, June 26,2023: Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said on Monday that at least 15 NATO member countries were expected to support Kiev’s possible accession to the alliance during the Vilnius summit scheduled for July 11-12.
“If we judge by a 30-point scale or by a 31-point scale, there are at least 15 points from those countries which understand the need for such a decision. This is not a question of whether they support Ukraine or not — all countries support Ukraine, all countries have made unprecedented historical and political decisions,” Stefanishyna was quoted as saying by Ukrainian newspaper Dzerkalo Tyzhnia.
She added that “the overwhelming majority” of European NATO member states backed Ukraine’s possible membership in the alliance because the move was “a security guarantee.”
Last week, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said that the allies in the run-up to the Vilnius summit were not talking about sending a formal invitation to Ukraine to join the bloc of 31-nations. The NATO chief reiterated that it was impossible to give a precise date for when Ukraine would join the alliance, with Kiev’s membership not to be discussed until the military conflict with Russia was over.
The allies agreed at the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest that Ukraine would become a NATO member in future, but they have repeatedly refused to offer it a timeline with specific dates by which it can join the alliance, despite pleas from Kiev. Ukraine applied for accelerated NATO membership in September 2022 following the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.
Tokyo, June 24,2023: The first case of human death from the tick-borne Oz virus has been officially confirmed in Japan, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) said on Saturday.
The Oz virus was discovered in Japan in 2018; it has not been found outside of the country.
The first fatal case among humans occurred in the summer of 2022, when a woman in her 70s died in Japan’s Ibaraki prefecture after contracting the virus, according to NIID data released on Friday.
The woman exhibited symptoms including fever and fatigue after getting bitten by a tick.
She was hospitalized with pneumonia and died nearly a month later of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, NIID said.