Chinese military exercise is set to start on Saturday amid simmering tensions over Taiwan. China considers Taiwan as a breakaway province which it has vowed to seize by force if necessary. In another, Zardari was speaking to WION’s Anas Mallick in Tashkent after the conclusion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers Meeting. When asked about engagement with India, the Pakistani foreign minister said that “India is our neighbour, unfortunately, you can not change your neighbour. You can choose a lot of other things in life but not your neighbour.”
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Ahead of Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, China to begin military drills in Taiwan Strait
Ahead of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s proposed visit, China said it would hold live-fire military drills in the Taiwan Strait. Reports claimed USS Roland Reagan aircraft carrier sailed near the Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea close to Chinese warships with the Chinese navy reportedly monitoring the activities of the US warship.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday (July 29), spoke exclusively to WION in Tashkent and said that there is no substance to former PM Imran Khan’s claim that current government’s foreign policy vis-a-vis America lacked substance. Bhutto Zardari said that the focus of the government is on enhancing economic co-operation with all the countries.
Spain reports second monkeypox-related death within 24 hours as cases continue to rise
The monkeypox cases continue to grow in Europe as Spain reported its second death in Spain, one day after the country experienced the first fatality linked to the outbreak. It was regarded as the first monkeypox-related death in Europe and second overall after a person died in Brazil. “Among the 3,750 patients… 120 have been hospitalised and two have died,” the Spanish health ministry said in a report, according to AFP. Although the exact time of death was not announced, the authorities said that the victims were “two young men” and they are gathering “epidemiologic information”.
Pope refers to abuse of indigenous people in Canada as ‘genocide’
Pope Francis said that he needs to cut down his pace of travel and may even quit as he returned from a six-day trip, calling the decades-long abuse of Indigenous youngsters in Canada “genocide.” The 85-year-old pope extended a historic apology to the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people for what he called the “evil” carried out at Catholic-run residential schools during his “penitential pilgrimage” across Canada this week.
Protesters storm Iraqi parliament for second time in a week amid growing unrest
The Iraqi parliament was breached for the second time in a week as supporters of cleric Moqtada Sadr held demonstrations in protest of the newly formed government. In the elections which were held last year, Al-Sadr’s bloc was the biggest faction in the parliament, but fell short of securing majority and the uncertainty over a stable government was finally resolved with a vote scheduled to elect Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as the Prime Minister. However, the protesters were not happy with the pro-Iran Coordination Framework’s pick and the demonstrations were an immediate result.
Russia halts gas supply to Latvia following deadly prison attack
A day after a prison housing Ukrainian prisoners of war was attacked, the Russian energy giant Gazprom on Saturday stopped supplying gas to Latvia, leaving scores of people dead. On Wednesday, Gazprom sharply reduced gas deliveries to Europe through the Nord Stream pipeline to around 20 per cent of its capacity. In June, it repeatedly cut gas deliveries to Europe.
US House passes bill to ban assault-style weapons
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that seeks to ban assault-style weapons, which have most widely been used in mass shootings. However, the legislation would most likely not advance in the Senate.
Ship carrying ‘stolen’ Ukrainian grain intercepted by Lebanon
A Syrian-flagged ship that had moored at a port in the north with a cargo of Ukrainian grain on board that Kyiv‘s embassy in Beirut claimed was “illegal” was seized on Saturday by a Lebanese prosecutor. According to a judicial official, prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat ordered police to look into the Laodicea, which docked in Tripoli earlier this week.
Weightlifter Sanket Sargar brought an end to the wait for India’s first medal at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 202 on Saturday (July 30) as he went on to bag a silver medal in the men’s 55kg category. Sargar opened India’s medal tally at the Birmingham Games by lifting a total of 248 kg in the final.
Jack Ma owned Alibaba added to the delisting watchlist by SEC
USA’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has tightened the noose around Chinese tech behemoth Alibaba Group Holding Limited. Reportedly, Alibaba, on Friday, became the latest entrant into the list of Chinese companies that might be delisted by the Commission.
