International News Digest: Billionaires under scanner, Syria activates air defence, and more
Here is your daily round-up of all that is making news across the world.
FollowHere is your daily round-up of all that is making news across the world.
China Parliament opposes US bill on tech threat
China's parliament expressed 'strong indignation and resolute opposition' to a bill passed by the US Senate which aims to counter an innovation and technology threat from the country. The National People's Congress foreign affairs committee said that the bill exhibits a Cold War mentality and smears China's domestic and foreign policies along with interfering in its internal affairs. The bill authorises about $190 billion to be invested in US technology and research and an extra $54 billion to increase US production and research into semiconductors and telecommunications.
Biden embarks on 8-Day Europe trip, G7 to be the first stop
US President Joe Biden departed for the United Kingdom on Wednesday for his first trip abroad since occupying the office. The trip's main aim to rebuild transatlantic ties that were strained under the Trump presidency. Biden's meeting with Vladimir Putin on June 16 will deal with the growing concerns of the US about the ransomware attacks that originate in Russia, Moscow's aggression against Ukraine and other issues. Biden's first stop will be the G7 summit in Cornwall, which is expected to discuss issues like vaccine diplomacy, climate, trade and rebuilding infrastructure in the developing world. Biden will also call on Queen Elizabeth before travelling to Brussels to hold a talk with NATO leaders and European Union leaders of the EU. He will wind up his trip after a meeting with Putin in Geneva.
France starts relaxing Covid-19 curbs
People in France can now enjoy indoor dining and staying out till 11 pm under new relaxation rules as cases fall and vaccination rates rise. Diners will be able to visit cafes and restaurants. Terrace dining had already resumed on May 19. The night curfew will begin from 11 pm instead of 9 pm, and if cases continue to fall, France may remove the night curfew altogether.
Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, other billionaires avoided tax?
Media outlet ProPublica has reported citing US Internal Revenue Service records that several of the world's most prominent billionaires did not pay income tax and those who did pay minimal amounts. ProPublica claimed that the world's wealthiest person and the owner of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, did not pay any federal income tax in 2007 and 2011. Similarly, according to ProPublica, Tesla CEO Elon Musk did not pay any federal tax in 2018. The media outlet claimed that the data was provided to them anonymously after it published a series of articles examining the IRS. IRS Commissioner Charle Rettig said at a Senate Finance Committee hearing that his agency would be investigating the source of information.
Indian-Americans regularly encounter discrimination: Survey
The Indian-American Attitudes Survey conducted by John Hopkins University, University of Pennsylvania and Carnegie with the polling group YouGov found that US-born Indian Americans are more likely to complain of discrimination than those born outside, mostly in India. One in two have reported experiencing some form of discrimination in the US over the course of a 12 month period, mostly over the colour of their skin, gender, religion, country of origin and caste. The survey is based on a poll conducted among 1200 individuals, including citizens, green card residents and NRIs.
10 HALO Trust staff killed in Northern Afghanistan
An Afghan interior ministry official has said that gunmen killed ten people and wounded 14 in an attack on the HALO Trust de-mining organisation in Afghanistan. Spokesman Tariq Arian blamed the Taliban for the attack on Tuesday night on a camp in the Baghlan Markazi district of the northern Baghlan province. However, the Taliban denied any connection to the attack. The HALO Trust is one of the several de-mining organisations in Afghanistan that are trying to protect civilians by clearing unexploded mines.
Australia: WTO should punish Chinese economic coercion
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said that the World Trade Organisation should penalise bad behaviour when it occurs ahead of the G7 meeting in Britain, where he is hoping to garner support in a trade dispute against China. He said that his country would be working with others to buttress the role of the World Trade Organisation and to modernise its rulebook where necessary. Relations between Australia and China have been further strained due to the former's demand for an independent inquiry into the origins of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Mongolians vote for President amid biggest virus outbreak
Mongolia will choose its sixth democratically elected president, with the ruling Mongolian People's Party on the cusp of consolidating its power following a campaign affected by Covid restrictions. The vote is the first since the constitutional amendments stripped the office of some powers and limited the holders to a six-year term. Campaign events and rallies in Ulaanbaatar have been kept to a minimum as the pandemic surges, and the daily infections hit a record over last week, and the deaths stand at 325.
Nepal: No ban on Patanjali's Coronil kits
Nepal's health ministry spokesperson Dr Krishna Prasad Poudyal has denied media reports that his country had not issued any formal ban against Patanjali's Ayurveda-based Coronil. He said that any type of medicine for the general public needs to be registered at the Department of Drug Administration under the Ministry of Health and Population first. Anonymously, according to another Health Ministry official, there is no proof that Coronil can cure the disease. Last month, the Indian Medical Association asked the company to withdraw a 'misleading' advertisement that claimed that a Coronil kit could be effective in curing the disease.
Syria activates air defence against Israel aggression
According to the Syrian news agency Sana, Israeli aircraft arrived from the Lebanese air space and targeted Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said violent explosions were felt in Damascus and around the city following Israeli strikes on military positions of the Syrian army. According to the report, airstrikes also took place in the south of the Homs province. The strikes have claimed lives, and rescue teams have been dispatched. According to Observatory chief Rami Abdul Rahman, these are the first Israeli strikes in Syria since the recent war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
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