MUMBAI (Reuters) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi passed the first big political test of his third term on Wednesday as a ruling party candidate was elected speaker of the lower house of parliament, defeating an opposition lawmaker by a voice vote. Om Birla, from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who was speaker in the …
India’s Modi wins test of strength in parliament with election of speaker Read More »
VIENNA (Reuters) – The Taliban-ordered crash in opium production in Afghanistan, long the world’s dominant supplier, could drive up overdose deaths as heroin users switch to synthetic opioids already proving deadly in Europe, a U.N. report said on Wednesday. The cultivation of opium, from which heroin is made, fell by 95% in Afghanistan last year …
UN warns of overdose deaths after Afghan opium production plummets Read More »
(Reuters) – Russia will resume direct passenger rail service with North Korea in July after a four-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the news agency Interfax reported on Wednesday. Citing the governor of the Russian far eastern region of Primorsky Krai bordering North Korea, Oleg Kozhemyako, Interfax reported that the trains will run from …
Russia to resume direct passenger trains to North Korea in July, Interfax says Read More »
By Andrew Silver SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A cancer cell therapy from CSPC Pharmaceutical Group that uses synthetic messenger RNA (mRNA) technology has received regulatory clearance in China for human clinical trial, the Chinese drugmaker said late on Tuesday. CSPC and several other Chinese drugmakers have researched synthetic mRNA to develop vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic …
China approves CSPC Pharma mRNA cancer therapy for clinical trials Read More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore faces greater money laundering and terrorism financing risks than other countries because it is an international finance and business hub, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Wednesday told a meeting of a global financial crime body. “But we are determined to do what is needed to respond to these risks and safeguard …
Singapore says determined to respond to financial crime risks Read More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s King Charles welcomed Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and his wife to London at a Buckingham Palace banquet on Tuesday, celebrating economic, diplomatic and cultural ties on the first day of a three-day state visit. “Our governments are working together to provide a stable world for future generations,” said Charles, flanked by Queen …
UK’s King Charles welcomes Japan’s Emperor Naruhito for state visit Read More »
By Simon Lewis and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. welcomed Vietnam’s planning and investment minister on Tuesday for talks on enhancing economic cooperation, and said ties were stronger than ever, days after Hanoi upset Washington by hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin. The State Department said this week’s dialogue would cover economic security, semiconductors, …
US welcomes Vietnam minister for economic talks days after Putin visits Hanoi Read More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China hopes the European side will pursue a “rational and pragmatic” policy towards the country, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a phone call with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on Tuesday. China hoped the EU would uphold an open stance, and move in the same direction as China to ensure the …
By Hyunsu Yim and Daewoung Kim HWASEONG, South Korea (Reuters) – In tears, Chae Sung-bum rushed to a battery factory on the outskirts of South Korea’s capital on Tuesday hoping to find the body of his daughter, or at least the necklace that would identify her, after a deadly blaze there killed her and 22 …
Deadly battery plant fire highlights risks for South Korea’s migrant workers Read More »
By Hyonhee Shin SEOUL (Reuters) -Seventy-four years after the Korean War began, North Korean troops are building new fortifications, occasionally inviting warning shots from South Korean counterparts across a border that has been frozen in a state of war. In recent weeks, North Korea has deployed a large squad of soldiers to build what appeared …
Decades after war, North Korea still builds borders, draws warning shots Read More »
