<p>French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that he is aware of people's anger over raising the retirement age of 62 to 64. Macron, however, justified last Saturday's&nbsp;enactment of the new pension law&nbsp; by suggesting that these changes were needed to guarantee everyone's freedom.</p>

<p>"Gradually working more is also producing more wealth for our whole country," Macron said in a&nbsp;televised address to the nation.</p>

<h2><strong>Macron April 18&nbsp;address: French opposition 'won't listen to him'</strong></h2>

<p>The French president is facing major challenges to his leadership after protests broke out across the country over his government's pension reforms. Macron is seemingly trying to repair the damage done to his public image and politics by ensuring the enactment of France's new pension law.</p>

<p>Macron's Monday address was preceded by calls from the French opposition parties for people to bang pots and pans during president's speech as a mark of protest against country's newly enacted pension law.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;France: Protests against pension law continue</strong></p>

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<p>Opponents of the unpopular pension plan also called for people to gather in front of city halls to make loud noises during the address, with the rallying cry: "Macron won’t listen to us? We won’t listen to him!"</p>

<h2><strong>Macron's pension reforms: What else is on French president's agenda?</strong></h2>

<p>President Emmanuel Macron's government is now working on a proposed law aimed at improving working conditions of employees across France. The proposed law is also meant to bring unemployment rate down to around 5 per cent, one of Macron's political commitments to his electorate.</p>

<p>The unemployment rate in the country recently reached 7.2 per cent, its lowest rate since 2008.</p>

<h2><strong>Emmanuel Macron: Declining political fortunes amid protests</strong></h2>

<p>The retirement changes made by President Macron's government picked at France's cherished social safety net. Macron's centrist alliance lost its absolute majority in the legislative elections last year. The new proposed law for improving working conditions of French workers is likely to face resistance in the parliament amid uproarious climate of protests.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/explained-france-pension-reforms-what-exactly-is-being-decided-vy-constitutional-council-582143">France pension reforms: What exactly has been decided by Constitutional Council</a></strong></p>

<p>Opinion polls show Macron's&nbsp;popularity has plunged to its lowest level in four years.</p>

<p>Labor unions that have been at the forefront of protests, mobilising millions of marchers in 12 days of nationwide demonstrations and strikes since January, are vowing to fight on. They called for another mass protest on May 1, which is International Workers’ Day.</p>

<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE</strong></p>

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French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that he is aware of people's anger over raising the retirement age of 62 to 64. Macron, however, justified last Saturday's enactment of the new pension law by suggesting that these changes were needed to guarantee everyone's freedom.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that he is aware of people's anger over raising the retirement age of 62 to 64. Macron, however, justified last Saturday's enactment of the new pension law by suggesting that these changes were needed to guarantee everyone's freedom. "Gradually working more is also producing more wealth for our whole country," Macron said in a televised address to the nation. Macron April 18 address: French opposition 'won't listen to him' The French president is facing major challenges to his leadership after protests broke out across the country over his government's pension reforms. Macron is seemingly trying to repair the damage done to his public image and politics by ensuring the enactment of France's new pension law. Macron's Monday address was preceded by calls from the French opposition parties for people to bang pots and pans during president's speech as a mark of protest against country's newly enacted pension law. ALSO READ | France: Protests against pension law continue × Opponents of the unpopular pension plan also called for people to gather in front of city halls to make loud noises during the address, with the rallying cry: "Macron won’t listen to us? We won’t listen to him!" Macron's pension reforms: What else is on French president's agenda? President Emmanuel Macron's government is now working on a proposed law aimed at improving working conditions of employees across France. The proposed law is also meant to bring unemployment rate down to around 5 per cent, one of Macron's political commitments to his electorate. The unemployment rate in the country recently reached 7.2 per cent, its lowest rate since 2008. Emmanuel Macron: Declining political fortunes amid protests The retirement changes made by President Macron's government picked at France's cherished social safety net. Macron's centrist alliance lost its absolute majority in the legislative elections last year. The new proposed law for improving working conditions of French workers is likely to face resistance in the parliament amid uproarious climate of protests. ALSO READ | France pension reforms: What exactly has been decided by Constitutional Council Opinion polls show Macron's popularity has plunged to its lowest level in four years. Labor unions that have been at the forefront of protests, mobilising millions of marchers in 12 days of nationwide demonstrations and strikes since January, are vowing to fight on. They called for another mass protest on May 1, which is International Workers’ Day. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Macron defends pension reforms as opposition asks people to bang pots and pans

<p>Canada's public broadcaster CBC and its French-language version Radio-Canada said on Monday that they were quitting Twitter over a new government-funded label, that it deems to be questioning&nbsp;its editorial independence. The Canadian public broadcaster's Twitter exit comes days after the US radio NPR quit the platform over a similar label.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In a statement, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada said Twitter had added a "government-funded media" label to its account. This, the Canadian state broadcaster added, branded it similar to the major media outlets in countries such as Russia and China.</p>

<p>"In the case of CBC/Radio-Canada this labeling is untrue and deceptive," the statement said.</p>

<p>While the broadcaster is publicly funded, it said its editorial independence is protected under Canadian broadcasting law.</p>

<p>"Twitter can be a powerful tool for our journalists to communicate with Canadians, but it undermines the accuracy and professionalism of the work they do to allow our independence to be falsely described in this way," it said.</p>

<p>"Consequently, we will be pausing our activity on our corporate Twitter account and all CBC and Radio-Canada news-related accounts."</p>

<p>The broadcaster instead urged Canadians to follow it on other social media.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/npr-quits-twitter-over-state-affiliated-media-label-row-first-news-organisation-to-do-so-581793">NPR quits Twitter over ‘state-affiliated media’ label row, first news organisation to do so</a></strong></p>

<p>CBC/Radio-Canada's Twitter exit follows that of National Public Radio (NPR) in the United States over the tag, which has also been applied to Britain's BBC. But soon after, BBC's 'government-funded media' label on Twitter was changed to 'publicly-funded media'.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The NPR had a total of 52 official Twitter feeds and became the first major news organisation to completely quit Twitter.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;Social media giant Twitter labels BBC as 'government-funded media'</strong></p>

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<h2><strong>CBC News quits Twitter: Political row erupts in Canada</strong></h2>

<p>Meanwhile, the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Conservative rival Pierre Poilievre of enlisting U.S. billionaires to attack Canada's public broadcaster. Trudeau's comments came shortly after Poilievre prodded Twitter owner Elon Musk to label the CBC "government-funded."</p>

<p data-testid="paragraph-1">Poilievre said on Twitter last week that he had written to Musk to request that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation be labeled "accurately". Hours later, CBC's Twitter accounts were labeled 'government-funded'.</p>

<p>Since Elon Musk bought Twitter last November, the social media&nbsp;company has liberalised&nbsp;the moderation of content on the network.</p>

<p>Musk also trimmed Twitter's workforce from 7,500 to fewer than 2,000 employees expanding the post-pandemic layoff spree in the Silicon Valley.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>

<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE</strong></p>

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Canada's public broadcaster CBC and its French-language version Radio-Canada said on Monday that they were quitting Twitter over a new government-funded label, that it deems to be questioning its editorial independence.

Canada's public broadcaster CBC and its French-language version Radio-Canada said on Monday that they were quitting Twitter over a new government-funded label, that it deems to be questioning its editorial independence. The Canadian public broadcaster's Twitter exit comes days after the US radio NPR quit the platform over a similar label. In a statement, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada said Twitter had added a "government-funded media" label to its account. This, the Canadian state broadcaster added, branded it similar to the major media outlets in countries such as Russia and China. "In the case of CBC/Radio-Canada this labeling is untrue and deceptive," the statement said. While the broadcaster is publicly funded, it said its editorial independence is protected under Canadian broadcasting law. "Twitter can be a powerful tool for our journalists to communicate with Canadians, but it undermines the accuracy and professionalism of the work they do to allow our independence to be falsely described in this way," it said. "Consequently, we will be pausing our activity on our corporate Twitter account and all CBC and Radio-Canada news-related accounts." The broadcaster instead urged Canadians to follow it on other social media. ALSO READ | NPR quits Twitter over ‘state-affiliated media’ label row, first news organisation to do so CBC/Radio-Canada's Twitter exit follows that of National Public Radio (NPR) in the United States over the tag, which has also been applied to Britain's BBC. But soon after, BBC's 'government-funded media' label on Twitter was changed to 'publicly-funded media'. The NPR had a total of 52 official Twitter feeds and became the first major news organisation to completely quit Twitter. ALSO WATCH | Social media giant Twitter labels BBC as 'government-funded media' × CBC News quits Twitter: Political row erupts in Canada Meanwhile, the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Conservative rival Pierre Poilievre of enlisting U.S. billionaires to attack Canada's public broadcaster. Trudeau's comments came shortly after Poilievre prodded Twitter owner Elon Musk to label the CBC "government-funded." Poilievre said on Twitter last week that he had written to Musk to request that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation be labeled "accurately". Hours later, CBC's Twitter accounts were labeled 'government-funded'. Since Elon Musk bought Twitter last November, the social media company has liberalised the moderation of content on the network. Musk also trimmed Twitter's workforce from 7,500 to fewer than 2,000 employees expanding the post-pandemic layoff spree in the Silicon Valley. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

After NPR, Canada's CBC News quits Twitter over platform's 'government-funded' label

The U.S. leaked files have now targeted Taiwan and criticised its defence against Chinese attacks. Will Taiwan lash back at the U.S.? Will China see this as U.S. having a soft corner for the nation? Molly Gambhir reports.

Gravitas: US' leaked files judge Taiwan's defence

<p>Hello and Welcome. This is The Capitals. Your weekly round-up of news and views from the corridors of power all over the world.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This week, the capitals of Sudan, Yemen, India, Northern Ireland, United States, Ghana and Japan witnessed among the most significant of all events of reckoning.</p>

<h2><strong>Khartoum, Sudan</strong></h2>

<p><img alt="Khartoum | AFP" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="bb6eef7a-af00-47fc-ae61-4ac58c4f2124" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design_187.jpg" /></p>

<p><em>Smoke billows above residential buildings in Khartoum on April 16, 2023, as fighting in Sudan raged for a second day in battles between rival generals | AFP</em></p>

<p>Sudanese capital's uneasy calm was wrecked by gunfire and shelling this week as a deadly power struggle broke out between the erstwhile power-sharers, Sudan's army and a paramilitary group. The Rapid Support Force (RSF) is the paramilitary group infamous for many human rights violations in the country located at the crossroads of Sub-Saharan Africa and West Asia.&nbsp;</p>

<p>So far at least 56 civilians are reported to be dead in the deadly fight between the Sudanese army and the RSF.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here is a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/explained-whats-happening-in-sudan-what-caused-the-clashes-583043">WION&nbsp;explainer</a> to&nbsp;what all is happening in Sudan, and the exact genesis of the ongoing battle between the two warring armed factions of contested authorities.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Sana'a, Yemen</strong></h2>

<p><img alt="Yemen prisoners' exchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5129fea7-62c8-42c1-b5b1-e41ef467e0a9" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%281%29_229.jpg" /></p>

<p><em>Prisoners formerly held by Yemen's Houthi rebels board an aircraft of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) before it takes off from Sana'a International Airport on April 16, 2023 | AFP</em></p>

<p>The Yemeni capital saw boosted hopes of the end to its civil war, as <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/times-of-truce-major-prisoner-swap-underway-in-yemen-icrc-582486">a three-day exchange of nearly 900 prisoners</a> between Yemen's Houthi rebels and government forces concluded on Sunday.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It is still not known how many prisoners the both sides have.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But both the rebels and government forces are still honouring a ceasefire that expired in October 2022 after a seven-month period. The current exchange of prisoners is being seen as a measure that West Asia watchers expect to formalise into an end to the war.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>New Delhi, India</strong></h2>

<p><img alt="Narendra Modi Cabinet Committee on Security" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2df8790a-a3c1-49aa-994b-fec8a1f7c70f" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%282%29_177.jpg" /></p>

<p><em>File photo of India's Prime Minister&nbsp;Narendra Modi chairing a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security | @PMOIndia/Twitter</em></p>

<p>In New Delhi, India's big space dreams were unveiled in the form of the Indian Space Policy 2023, a formal expansion of space sector reforms India launched in 2020. While the 2020 reforms allowed private sector firms to perform end-to-end space activities, this week's policy release is aimed at providing greater clarity on the specific activities that private firms can carry out, Sidharth MP, WION correspondent covering Space and Defence sectors told The Capitals.</p>

<p>"The Space Policy is said to be a stepping stone to a Space Activities Bill and a Space Activities Law in India, which will codify the roles and responsibilities of the government and private sector in greater detail," Sidharth pointed out.&nbsp;</p>

<p>India aims to constitute at least a tenth of $360 billion global space economy by the end of the decade.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Belfast, Northern Ireland</strong></h2>

<p><img alt="Joe Biden" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="10d2400f-9ff6-4861-93c4-08149a317f08" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%283%29_148.jpg" /></p>

<p><em>US President Joe Biden delivered a speech on business development at Ulster University in Belfast on April 12, 2023 | AFP</em></p>

<p>US President Joe Biden went down the lane of his Irish ancestory in Northern Ireland's capital Belfast this week. He <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/joe-biden-lands-in-northern-ireland-to-mark-25-years-of-good-friday-agreement-581514">commemorated 25 years of Good Friday peace agreement</a>, a 1998 agreement between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland which ultimately&nbsp;diluted the previously concentrated calls for Northern Ireland's separation from Britain.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The four-day visit to Ireland was marked by pomp as Biden was seen acting on behalf of his British allies to strengthen Northern Ireland's union with Britain. "Northern Ireland will not go back [to violence]," Biden said at the Ulster University campus in Belfast while referring to pre-1998 calls for separation.</p>

<h2><strong>Washington&nbsp;D.C., United States of America</strong></h2>

<p><img alt="White House" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="74a0d9af-933f-40e4-8518-fbed6e52d751" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%284%29_131.jpg" /></p>

<p><em>File photo of the White House in Washington D.C. superimposed with the images of Jack Teixeira, 21, arrested in classified document leak row this week | Reuters</em></p>

<p>The world's most powerful corridor of power was marred by the most explosive document leak of the decade. This time, it wasn't a Snowden or Assange but a 21-year-old newly minted member of the US Air Force, who unleashed a diplomatic storm of embarrassment over White House. Why embarrassment? Well, for one, the leak of highly classified US military documents revealed how Washington spies on countries it calls its allies and partners. Two, it exposed gaps in Ukrainian air defences amid its ongoing war in Ukraine.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here is a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/explained-what-jack-teixeiras-game-of-pentagon-declassifieds-means-for-internet-surveillance-582483">WION explainer</a>, detailing upon Jack Teixeira, the young man arrested this week, who has been charged with unauthorised removal of classified national defence information.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Accra, Ghana</strong></h2>

<p><img alt="Representative image for children's Malaria vaccination | Reuters" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9fbb17e7-ae65-4c70-827a-6f627c4e7cc0" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%285%29_95.jpg" /></p>

<p><em>Representative image for children's Malaria vaccination | Reuters</em></p>

<p>This week, the Ghanaian capital <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-ghana-approves-oxfords-new-malaria-vaccine-582251">approved</a> the use of Oxford University-Serum Institute of India's&nbsp;anti-malaria vaccine Mosquirix developed by the British drugmaker GSK. Children under the age of three will be inoculated with the anti-malaria vaccine while the exact timeline of the rollout has not been revealed.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Annually, about 600,000 people die due to Malaria, most of them in Africa. Children under the age of three, for whom the anti-malaria vaccine with <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/oxford-university-serum-institute-of-india-tie-up-delivers-high-efficacy-malaria-vaccine-582185">77 per cent efficacy</a> has been approved, remain most vulnerable to the disease.</p>

<h2><strong>Tokyo, Japan&nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p><img alt="Haruki  Murakami" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9608964e-93a9-4172-a748-c68b7e993f3f" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%283%29_11.png" /></p>

<p><em>People line up to purchase the fresh copies of Japanese writer Haruki Murakami's new book&nbsp;'The City and Its Uncertain Walls'&nbsp;at a book store in Shinjuku district of Tokyo early on April 13, 2023 | AFP</em></p>

<p>Legendary Japanese writer Haruki Murakami's first novel in six years, 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' hit the shelves in Tokyo this week. A Murakami novel is often considered 'an Olympic event' in Japan. While Japanese language readers can score through the 661-page novel, Murakami admirers worldwide will have to wait for some time more for the English translation of the novel.&nbsp;</p>

<p>My colleague Tashneem Chaudhury dissects her 'eternal love story' with Japanese author's works in this piece. '<a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/how-i-fell-for-the-murakami-magic-582618">How I fell for the Haruki Murakami magic: My eternal love story</a>'.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE</strong></p>

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<p>You can <strong>now write for wionews.com</strong> and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us <strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.</strong></p>


Hello and Welcome. This is The Capitals. Your weekly round-up of news and views from the corridors of power all over the world. This week, the capitals of Sudan, Yemen, India, Northern Ireland, United States, Ghana and Japan witnessed among the most significant of all events of reckoning.

Hello and Welcome. This is The Capitals. Your weekly round-up of news and views from the corridors of power all over the world. This week, the capitals of Sudan, Yemen, India, Northern Ireland, United States, Ghana and Japan witnessed among the most significant of all events of reckoning. Khartoum, Sudan Smoke billows above residential buildings in Khartoum on April 16, 2023, as fighting in Sudan raged for a second day in battles between rival generals | AFP Sudanese capital's uneasy calm was wrecked by gunfire and shelling this week as a deadly power struggle broke out between the erstwhile power-sharers, Sudan's army and a paramilitary group. The Rapid Support Force (RSF) is the paramilitary group infamous for many human rights violations in the country located at the crossroads of Sub-Saharan Africa and West Asia. So far at least 56 civilians are reported to be dead in the deadly fight between the Sudanese army and the RSF. Here is a WION explainer to what all is happening in Sudan, and the exact genesis of the ongoing battle between the two warring armed factions of contested authorities. Sana'a, Yemen Prisoners formerly held by Yemen's Houthi rebels board an aircraft of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) before it takes off from Sana'a International Airport on April 16, 2023 | AFP The Yemeni capital saw boosted hopes of the end to its civil war, as a three-day exchange of nearly 900 prisoners between Yemen's Houthi rebels and government forces concluded on Sunday. It is still not known how many prisoners the both sides have. But both the rebels and government forces are still honouring a ceasefire that expired in October 2022 after a seven-month period. The current exchange of prisoners is being seen as a measure that West Asia watchers expect to formalise into an end to the war. New Delhi, India File photo of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairing a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security | @PMOIndia/Twitter In New Delhi, India's big space dreams were unveiled in the form of the Indian Space Policy 2023, a formal expansion of space sector reforms India launched in 2020. While the 2020 reforms allowed private sector firms to perform end-to-end space activities, this week's policy release is aimed at providing greater clarity on the specific activities that private firms can carry out, Sidharth MP, WION correspondent covering Space and Defence sectors told The Capitals. "The Space Policy is said to be a stepping stone to a Space Activities Bill and a Space Activities Law in India, which will codify the roles and responsibilities of the government and private sector in greater detail," Sidharth pointed out. India aims to constitute at least a tenth of $360 billion global space economy by the end of the decade. Belfast, Northern Ireland US President Joe Biden delivered a speech on business development at Ulster University in Belfast on April 12, 2023 | AFP US President Joe Biden went down the lane of his Irish ancestory in Northern Ireland's capital Belfast this week. He commemorated 25 years of Good Friday peace agreement, a 1998 agreement between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland which ultimately diluted the previously concentrated calls for Northern Ireland's separation from Britain. The four-day visit to Ireland was marked by pomp as Biden was seen acting on behalf of his British allies to strengthen Northern Ireland's union with Britain. "Northern Ireland will not go back [to violence]," Biden said at the Ulster University campus in Belfast while referring to pre-1998 calls for separation. Washington D.C., United States of America File photo of the White House in Washington D.C. superimposed with the images of Jack Teixeira, 21, arrested in classified document leak row this week | Reuters The world's most powerful corridor of power was marred by the most explosive document leak of the decade. This time, it wasn't a Snowden or Assange but a 21-year-old newly minted member of the US Air Force, who unleashed a diplomatic storm of embarrassment over White House. Why embarrassment? Well, for one, the leak of highly classified US military documents revealed how Washington spies on countries it calls its allies and partners. Two, it exposed gaps in Ukrainian air defences amid its ongoing war in Ukraine. Here is a WION explainer, detailing upon Jack Teixeira, the young man arrested this week, who has been charged with unauthorised removal of classified national defence information. Accra, Ghana Representative image for children's Malaria vaccination | Reuters This week, the Ghanaian capital approved the use of Oxford University-Serum Institute of India's anti-malaria vaccine Mosquirix developed by the British drugmaker GSK. Children under the age of three will be inoculated with the anti-malaria vaccine while the exact timeline of the rollout has not been revealed. Annually, about 600,000 people die due to Malaria, most of them in Africa. Children under the age of three, for whom the anti-malaria vaccine with 77 per cent efficacy has been approved, remain most vulnerable to the disease. Tokyo, Japan People line up to purchase the fresh copies of Japanese writer Haruki Murakami's new book 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' at a book store in Shinjuku district of Tokyo early on April 13, 2023 | AFP Legendary Japanese writer Haruki Murakami's first novel in six years, 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' hit the shelves in Tokyo this week. A Murakami novel is often considered 'an Olympic event' in Japan. While Japanese language readers can score through the 661-page novel, Murakami admirers worldwide will have to wait for some time more for the English translation of the novel. My colleague Tashneem Chaudhury dissects her 'eternal love story' with Japanese author's works in this piece. 'How I fell for the Haruki Murakami magic: My eternal love story'. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

The Capitals: Sudan's Khartoum a battleground for power, New Delhi's big space dreams, and more

<p>Kristalina Georgieva,&nbsp;the International Monetary Fund's managing director said on Thursday that countries must do more to avert the costly consequences of growing global trade fragmentation and help avert a "second Cold War."</p>

<p>Georgieva's comments came&nbsp;during a press conference at the official start of the World Bank and IMF's spring meetings.</p>

<p>"I don't want to see that repeating," she said, adding that the world should "rationally accept there will be some cost, there will be some fragmentation, but keep these costs low."</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/brics-common-currency-soon-india-china-step-up-to-counter-us-dollars-dominance-578660">BRICS common currency soon? India, China step up to counter US dollar's dominance</a></strong></p>

<p>She said that multilateral institutions like the World Bank and IMF have an important role to play in preventing the world from dividing&nbsp;into different blocs with severe economic consequences.</p>

<p>An IMF report earlier this week predicted that growing trade fragmentation resulting from events like Brexit, the US-China trade war and the Russa-Ukraine war could make the global economy as much as seven per cent smaller than it otherwise would have been.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/brazils-president-lula-assents-to-common-brics-currency-to-counter-us-dollars-dominance-582289">Brazil's President Lula assents to common BRICS currency to counter US dollar's dominance</a></strong></p>

<p>Policymakers had a crucial role to play to "defend the interests" of their citizens, Georgieva said.</p>

<p>"If we fail to be more rational, then people everywhere will be worse off," she said. &nbsp;</p>

<p>Meanwhile, the French President Emmanuel Macron will host a summit in June which will deliberate upon building a "new financial framework," the country's finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, told reporters at the IMF early Thursday.</p>

<p>The Bank's outgoing president, David Malpass, said earlier that progress has been made on a number of key issues for the World Bank and IMF.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;Gravitas: China, Russia ditch dollar for gas trade</strong></p>

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<p>Member states agreed on several steps to boost the World Bank's financial capacity, he said, freeing it up to lend "as much as $50 billion of new financing" over the next decade.</p>

<p>Progress was also made during a debt roundtable discussion on Wednesday, Malpass said. For the first time, these talks included not only creditor countries but also the private sector, and representatives from Zambia, Ghana, Ethiopia and Sri Lanka, which are all facing debt challenges.</p>

<p>India currently holds the presidency of the G-20 group of countries, and co-chaired Wednesday's meeting. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Thursday that she expected a resolution for "many" debtor countries "at the earliest" opportunity.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>

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Kristalina Georgieva, the International Monetary Fund's managing director said on Thursday that countries must do more to avert the costly consequences of growing global trade fragmentation and help avert a "second Cold War.

Kristalina Georgieva, the International Monetary Fund's managing director said on Thursday that countries must do more to avert the costly consequences of growing global trade fragmentation and help avert a "second Cold War." Georgieva's comments came during a press conference at the official start of the World Bank and IMF's spring meetings. "I don't want to see that repeating," she said, adding that the world should "rationally accept there will be some cost, there will be some fragmentation, but keep these costs low." ALSO READ | BRICS common currency soon? India, China step up to counter US dollar's dominance She said that multilateral institutions like the World Bank and IMF have an important role to play in preventing the world from dividing into different blocs with severe economic consequences. An IMF report earlier this week predicted that growing trade fragmentation resulting from events like Brexit, the US-China trade war and the Russa-Ukraine war could make the global economy as much as seven per cent smaller than it otherwise would have been. ALSO READ | Brazil's President Lula assents to common BRICS currency to counter US dollar's dominance Policymakers had a crucial role to play to "defend the interests" of their citizens, Georgieva said. "If we fail to be more rational, then people everywhere will be worse off," she said. Meanwhile, the French President Emmanuel Macron will host a summit in June which will deliberate upon building a "new financial framework," the country's finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, told reporters at the IMF early Thursday. The Bank's outgoing president, David Malpass, said earlier that progress has been made on a number of key issues for the World Bank and IMF. ALSO WATCH | Gravitas: China, Russia ditch dollar for gas trade × Member states agreed on several steps to boost the World Bank's financial capacity, he said, freeing it up to lend "as much as $50 billion of new financing" over the next decade. Progress was also made during a debt roundtable discussion on Wednesday, Malpass said. For the first time, these talks included not only creditor countries but also the private sector, and representatives from Zambia, Ghana, Ethiopia and Sri Lanka, which are all facing debt challenges. India currently holds the presidency of the G-20 group of countries, and co-chaired Wednesday's meeting. Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Thursday that she expected a resolution for "many" debtor countries "at the earliest" opportunity. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

IMF chief warns against 'second cold war' amid BRICS' challenge to USD, China-US trade tensions

<p>Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made an impassioned call to his BRICS counterparts Russia, India, China and South Africa to replace the US dollar with their own currencies for trading among the countries. Lula's comments come amid efforts by India, China and Russia to set up streams for trade in their own currencies and expanding calls amongst BRICS nations to launch a potential common currency mechanism for trade.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The BRICS bloc has a combined GDP that's slightly more than that of the US. The five major economies constitute 41 per cent of world population, 24 per cent of the world GDP and 16 per cent of global trade flows.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/brics-common-currency-soon-india-china-step-up-to-counter-us-dollars-dominance-578660">BRICS common currency soon? India, China step up to counter US dollar's dominance</a></strong></p>

<p>"Every night I ask myself why all countries have to base their trade on the dollar," Lula said at the New Development Bank in Shanghai, also called the BRICS bank.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"Why can't we do trade based on our own currencies," he added. A crowd of Brazilian and Chinese dignitaries applauded the Brazilian president's call in Shanghai on Thursday (April 13).</p>

<p>"Who decided that our currencies were weak, that they didn't have value in other countries?," Lula asked.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"Why can't a bank like that of the BRICS have a currency to finance trade relations between Brazil and China, between Brazil and other countries? It's difficult because we are unaccustomed [to the idea]. Everyone depends on just one currency," Lula said, adding Brazil's voice to calls for a common BRICS currency.</p>

<p>WION first reported on April 3, that as India and China step up to counter US dollar's dominance, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/brics-common-currency-soon-india-china-step-up-to-counter-us-dollars-dominance-578660">a common BRICS currency</a> for trade between the countries forming the bloc may very well be on the way. Lula's comments add another note of consensus among&nbsp;the BRICS nations towards a common currency to counter the dominance of the US dollar.&nbsp;</p>

<p>At the forthcoming BRICS summit in South Africa, a new financial arrangement, seen with a potential to translate into a common BRICS currency, is expected to be announced.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>BRICS common currency: Why calls for de-dollarisation?</strong></h2>

<p>According to Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements, approximately half of global trade is invoiced in US dollars despite the United States accounting for just over a tenth of global trade.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;Brazil and Argentina's initiave for common currency receives push from Venezuela</strong></p>

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<p>The greenback’s dominance in global trade means the burden of dollar-denominated debt for other nations rises and falls with the exchange rate. This destabilises the economies of the countries with US monetary policy often playing a defining role than its own domestic decisions. At the same time, the economic culture in the United States of imposing financial sanctions on countries Washington deems unfriendly, is often seen as a source of economic instability.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Apart from Russia and its ruble, countries in the developing world, therefore, spearheaded by China and India, are ramping up efforts to respectively set up trade streams based on Chinese renminbi and Indian rupee respectively. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, banded together in BRICS, will meet in South Africa in August 2023 where de-dollarisation is expected to lead the agenda of the bloc.&nbsp;</p>

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Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made an impassioned call to his BRICS counterparts Russia, India, China and South Africa to replace the US dollar with their own currencies for trading among the countries.

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made an impassioned call to his BRICS counterparts Russia, India, China and South Africa to replace the US dollar with their own currencies for trading among the countries. Lula's comments come amid efforts by India, China and Russia to set up streams for trade in their own currencies and expanding calls amongst BRICS nations to launch a potential common currency mechanism for trade. The BRICS bloc has a combined GDP that's slightly more than that of the US. The five major economies constitute 41 per cent of world population, 24 per cent of the world GDP and 16 per cent of global trade flows. ALSO READ | BRICS common currency soon? India, China step up to counter US dollar's dominance "Every night I ask myself why all countries have to base their trade on the dollar," Lula said at the New Development Bank in Shanghai, also called the BRICS bank. "Why can't we do trade based on our own currencies," he added. A crowd of Brazilian and Chinese dignitaries applauded the Brazilian president's call in Shanghai on Thursday (April 13). "Who decided that our currencies were weak, that they didn't have value in other countries?," Lula asked. "Why can't a bank like that of the BRICS have a currency to finance trade relations between Brazil and China, between Brazil and other countries? It's difficult because we are unaccustomed [to the idea]. Everyone depends on just one currency," Lula said, adding Brazil's voice to calls for a common BRICS currency. WION first reported on April 3, that as India and China step up to counter US dollar's dominance, a common BRICS currency for trade between the countries forming the bloc may very well be on the way. Lula's comments add another note of consensus among the BRICS nations towards a common currency to counter the dominance of the US dollar. At the forthcoming BRICS summit in South Africa, a new financial arrangement, seen with a potential to translate into a common BRICS currency, is expected to be announced. BRICS common currency: Why calls for de-dollarisation? According to Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements, approximately half of global trade is invoiced in US dollars despite the United States accounting for just over a tenth of global trade. ALSO WATCH | Brazil and Argentina's initiave for common currency receives push from Venezuela × The greenback’s dominance in global trade means the burden of dollar-denominated debt for other nations rises and falls with the exchange rate. This destabilises the economies of the countries with US monetary policy often playing a defining role than its own domestic decisions. At the same time, the economic culture in the United States of imposing financial sanctions on countries Washington deems unfriendly, is often seen as a source of economic instability. Apart from Russia and its ruble, countries in the developing world, therefore, spearheaded by China and India, are ramping up efforts to respectively set up trade streams based on Chinese renminbi and Indian rupee respectively. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, banded together in BRICS, will meet in South Africa in August 2023 where de-dollarisation is expected to lead the agenda of the bloc. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Brazil's President Lula seeks common BRICS currency to counter US dollar's dominance

<p>Britain's biggest rollercoaster 'broke down' this week following which the petrified adventure-lovers walked down the steep slope.&nbsp;The rollercoaster, called 'The Big One', is located at Pleasure Beach ground of Blackpool, about 450 km northwest of London.</p>

<h2><strong>The Big Rollercoaster halt: When did it happen?</strong></h2>

<p>The Big One at Blackpool's Pleasure Beach ground to a halt on Tuesday (April 11) at around 2.50 pm. The halt was attributed by the authorities to bad weather conditions. The ride was then closed for the rest of the day, reportedly due to high winds.</p>

<p>A photo taken by a person present at the spot&nbsp;shows a queue of people making their way down the narrow steps which run alongside the track.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/watch-teen-collides-with-a-seagull-on-a-roller-coaster-ride-400889">Teen collides with a seagull on a roller coaster ride</a></strong></p>

<p>A spokesperson for Blackpool Pleasure Beach said: "At 2.50pm on Tuesday 11th April, Blackpool Pleasure Beach stopped the Big One train on the ride’s lift hill due to sudden changes in weather conditions. Guests on the ride were reassured and escorted from the ride by Blackpool Pleasure Beach staff. Due to high gusts of wind the Big One rollercoaster closed for the remainder of the day."</p>

<h2><strong>About 'The Big One' Rollercoaster</strong></h2>

<p>The Big One, formerly known as the Pepsi Max Big One, is 235ft high and first opened to the public nearly three decades ago&nbsp;in 1994. In May last year, the ride&nbsp;broke down for around 20 minutes. Drone footage released then showed staff climbing the steps of the lift hill to reassure passengers.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;India: Rotating drop tower ride comes crashing down at a fair in Mohali, accident leaves 50 hurt</strong></p>

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<p>The ride was then able to restart and came back down to the station.</p>

<p>At the time of its launch in 1994, the ride was the tallest and steepest in the world, with a drop angle of 65 degrees. The Big One kept the record until&nbsp;when Fujiyama opened in Japan.</p>

<p>The Big One cost £12 million to build and was sponsored by Pepsi until 2011, Daily Mirror reported.&nbsp;</p>

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Britain's biggest rollercoaster 'broke down' this week following which the petrified adventure-lovers walked down the steep slope. The rollercoaster, called 'The Big One', is located at Pleasure Beach ground of Blackpool, about 450 km northwest of London.

Britain's biggest rollercoaster 'broke down' this week following which the petrified adventure-lovers walked down the steep slope. The rollercoaster, called 'The Big One', is located at Pleasure Beach ground of Blackpool, about 450 km northwest of London. The Big Rollercoaster halt: When did it happen? The Big One at Blackpool's Pleasure Beach ground to a halt on Tuesday (April 11) at around 2.50 pm. The halt was attributed by the authorities to bad weather conditions. The ride was then closed for the rest of the day, reportedly due to high winds. A photo taken by a person present at the spot shows a queue of people making their way down the narrow steps which run alongside the track. ALSO READ | Teen collides with a seagull on a roller coaster ride A spokesperson for Blackpool Pleasure Beach said: "At 2.50pm on Tuesday 11th April, Blackpool Pleasure Beach stopped the Big One train on the ride’s lift hill due to sudden changes in weather conditions. Guests on the ride were reassured and escorted from the ride by Blackpool Pleasure Beach staff. Due to high gusts of wind the Big One rollercoaster closed for the remainder of the day." About 'The Big One' Rollercoaster The Big One, formerly known as the Pepsi Max Big One, is 235ft high and first opened to the public nearly three decades ago in 1994. In May last year, the ride broke down for around 20 minutes. Drone footage released then showed staff climbing the steps of the lift hill to reassure passengers. ALSO WATCH | India: Rotating drop tower ride comes crashing down at a fair in Mohali, accident leaves 50 hurt × The ride was then able to restart and came back down to the station. At the time of its launch in 1994, the ride was the tallest and steepest in the world, with a drop angle of 65 degrees. The Big One kept the record until when Fujiyama opened in Japan. The Big One cost £12 million to build and was sponsored by Pepsi until 2011, Daily Mirror reported. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Britain's biggest rollercoaster 'breaks down', riders walk down steep slope

<p>The 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a newly minted member of the U.S. Air Force, is now the global face of the most explosive document leak of the decade. The suspected leaker of hundreds of photographs of highly classified U.S. military documents, Teixeira comes from a family of US defence veterans. So far, the leaks have revealed secrets about gaps in Ukrainian air defences amid its war with Russia. The leaks are also a damning exposé&nbsp;of the United States as it revealed how Washington D.C. spies on countries it officially deems as its allies and partners.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Following the leaks, the Biden administration will reportedly overhaul the way it surveils the internet.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Texeira's youth can be understood from the fact that the boy was born just two years before Mark Zuckerberg released Facebook in 2004, and has been raised through a period when the internet's becoming a global town square has defined elections, pop cultures and geopolitics all over the world.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/jack-teixeira-the-young-charismatic-air-national-guardsman-suspected-of-leaking-secret-us-documents-582242">Who is Jack Teixeira, the 'young, charismatic' Air National guardsman arrested in US documents leak case?</a></strong></p>

<p>The young man of boyish looks was assigned the task to manage and troubleshoot computers and communications systems for the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base, according to the US Air Force. Teixeira has been charged with unauthorised removal of classified national defence information.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The footage captured by news helicopters circling over Teixeira's family home in Dighton, Massachussettes, showed him holding his hands behind his head as he was led away by law enforcement authorities.</p>

<h2><strong>Jack Teixeira: Devout Catholic who had racist outbursts</strong></h2>

<p>A friend of Jack Teixeira's widely cited in the US media, described him as patriotic.&nbsp;In the videos of Teixeira on a Discord server, he is seen &nbsp;shouting racist and antisemitic slurs before firing a rifle.</p>

<p>The friend said he met Teixeira before 2020 on a Discord server where they talked about guns and libertarian politics, and bonded over their shared interest in Glock handguns and Catholicism.</p>

<p>Later, the friend joined a new Discord server that Teixeira started called Thug Shaker Central, which became home to a group of about two dozen people, including many teenagers.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;Pentagon Intel Leak: Ukrainian air defence in peril</strong></p>

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<p>Teixeira has been described as a "pretty normal guy" outside the server.</p>

<p>He had a "slight temper" and was "more of a mentor than a leader," the friend is quoted as saying by the Washington Post.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Jack Teixeira and war in Ukraine</strong></h2>

<p>Teixeira reportedly started sharing classified documents on the Discord server around February 2022, at the beginning of the war in Ukraine. He saw it as a "depressing" battle between "two countries that should have more in common than keeping them apart," reports in the US media say.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Sharing the classified documents was meant "to educate people who he thought were his friends and could be trusted" free from the contested information on the internet, Teixeira's friend cited in the U.S. media said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"It was pretty obnoxious to see kids who grew up in the suburbs argue about a conflict an ocean away," he added.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Teixeira played a game of (de)classifieds</strong></h2>

<p>Photographs of some of the documents first appeared on Discord app channels focused on the Minecraft computer game and followers of a minor YouTube celebrity, known as wow_mao, according to Bellingcat.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The photographed documents then eventually made their way to the image board 4Chan, then pro-Russian Telegram channels and Twitter. The New York Times first reported on the documents last week.</p>

<h2><strong>What next?</strong></h2>

<p>The Biden administration is now looking at expanding how it monitors social media sites and chatrooms after U.S. intelligence agencies failed to spot classified Pentagon documents, allegedly originating from Jack Teixeira's Discord server, circulating online for weeks. &nbsp;according to a senior administration official and a congressional official briefed on the matter.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"Nobody is happy about this," a senior official in the Biden administration was quoted as saying by NBC News.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The U.S. intelligence is now looking at finding new ways to scrub platforms like Discord in search of relevant material to avoid a similar leak in the future, a congressional official is cited as saying by the news outlet.</p>

<p>The U.S. deems monitoring and watching a public chatroom as fair game of intelligence gathering. However, law enforcement agencies don’t have the legal authority to monitor a private online chatroom without probable cause.</p>

<p>At the same time, the US law enforcement authorities balance national security with civil liberties.</p>

<p>Jack Teixeira joined the Air National Guard in September 2019 and worked as a cybersecurity systems journeyman, a position in which he held the highest level security clearance granted by the federal government for top secret information. He is due to appear in a Boston federal courtroom on Friday, April 14.</p>

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The 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a newly minted member of the U.S. Air Force, is now the global face of the most explosive document leak of the decade. The suspected leaker of hundreds of photographs of highly classified U.

The 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a newly minted member of the U.S. Air Force, is now the global face of the most explosive document leak of the decade. The suspected leaker of hundreds of photographs of highly classified U.S. military documents, Teixeira comes from a family of US defence veterans. So far, the leaks have revealed secrets about gaps in Ukrainian air defences amid its war with Russia. The leaks are also a damning exposé of the United States as it revealed how Washington D.C. spies on countries it officially deems as its allies and partners. Following the leaks, the Biden administration will reportedly overhaul the way it surveils the internet. Texeira's youth can be understood from the fact that the boy was born just two years before Mark Zuckerberg released Facebook in 2004, and has been raised through a period when the internet's becoming a global town square has defined elections, pop cultures and geopolitics all over the world. ALSO READ | Who is Jack Teixeira, the 'young, charismatic' Air National guardsman arrested in US documents leak case? The young man of boyish looks was assigned the task to manage and troubleshoot computers and communications systems for the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base, according to the US Air Force. Teixeira has been charged with unauthorised removal of classified national defence information. The footage captured by news helicopters circling over Teixeira's family home in Dighton, Massachussettes, showed him holding his hands behind his head as he was led away by law enforcement authorities. Jack Teixeira: Devout Catholic who had racist outbursts A friend of Jack Teixeira's widely cited in the US media, described him as patriotic. In the videos of Teixeira on a Discord server, he is seen shouting racist and antisemitic slurs before firing a rifle. The friend said he met Teixeira before 2020 on a Discord server where they talked about guns and libertarian politics, and bonded over their shared interest in Glock handguns and Catholicism. Later, the friend joined a new Discord server that Teixeira started called Thug Shaker Central, which became home to a group of about two dozen people, including many teenagers. ALSO WATCH | Pentagon Intel Leak: Ukrainian air defence in peril × Teixeira has been described as a "pretty normal guy" outside the server. He had a "slight temper" and was "more of a mentor than a leader," the friend is quoted as saying by the Washington Post. Jack Teixeira and war in Ukraine Teixeira reportedly started sharing classified documents on the Discord server around February 2022, at the beginning of the war in Ukraine. He saw it as a "depressing" battle between "two countries that should have more in common than keeping them apart," reports in the US media say. Sharing the classified documents was meant "to educate people who he thought were his friends and could be trusted" free from the contested information on the internet, Teixeira's friend cited in the U.S. media said. "It was pretty obnoxious to see kids who grew up in the suburbs argue about a conflict an ocean away," he added. Teixeira played a game of (de)classifieds Photographs of some of the documents first appeared on Discord app channels focused on the Minecraft computer game and followers of a minor YouTube celebrity, known as wow_mao, according to Bellingcat. The photographed documents then eventually made their way to the image board 4Chan, then pro-Russian Telegram channels and Twitter. The New York Times first reported on the documents last week. What next? The Biden administration is now looking at expanding how it monitors social media sites and chatrooms after U.S. intelligence agencies failed to spot classified Pentagon documents, allegedly originating from Jack Teixeira's Discord server, circulating online for weeks. according to a senior administration official and a congressional official briefed on the matter. "Nobody is happy about this," a senior official in the Biden administration was quoted as saying by NBC News. The U.S. intelligence is now looking at finding new ways to scrub platforms like Discord in search of relevant material to avoid a similar leak in the future, a congressional official is cited as saying by the news outlet. The U.S. deems monitoring and watching a public chatroom as fair game of intelligence gathering. However, law enforcement agencies don’t have the legal authority to monitor a private online chatroom without probable cause. At the same time, the US law enforcement authorities balance national security with civil liberties. Jack Teixeira joined the Air National Guard in September 2019 and worked as a cybersecurity systems journeyman, a position in which he held the highest level security clearance granted by the federal government for top secret information. He is due to appear in a Boston federal courtroom on Friday, April 14. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Explained | What Jack Teixeira's game of Pentagon (de)classifieds means for internet surveillance

<p>A senior Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force commander, who was arrested by the Chinese Communist Party, received a death sentence for "serious economic corruption". The air force commander, General Liu Yazhou, has expressed disagreements in past about China's policy of military belligerence around Taiwan, said a report in Ming Pao, a Hong Kong newspaper known for reporting on Chinese Communist Party.</p>

<p>Ming Pao has a mixed track record when it comes to the veracity of the information it cites. But this must be seen with respect to the disinformation spread by the CCP elements as part of their information warfare.</p>

<h2><strong>Opposing Xi means death in China?</strong></h2>

<p>Earlier, in&nbsp;February 2022, writer Bi Ruxie, who lives in the United States, said that Liu could be given a heavy sentence based on his opposition to Xi.</p>

<p>According to Bi, who cited information from party insiders, Liu Yazhou had been criticised by Xi in a 40-minute secret speech; Xi supposedly said that Liu was not only guilty of "economic problems" but also spearheaded factionalism within CCP to cater to his leadership ambitions.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/unprecedented-campaign-of-repression-china-is-worlds-biggest-captor-of-journalists-435127">'Unprecedented campaign of repression': China is world's biggest captor of journalists</a></strong></p>

<p>According to Bi, "Party princelings do not believe that Liu had established [factional] strongholds. The princelings noted that early reports of the investigation into Liu only found him to have ‘economic problems,’ engaged in promiscuous relations, and offended Xi Jinping with ‘a lot of strange political talk," SinoInsider reported.</p>

<h2><strong>Liu Yazhou: From arrest to potential death sentence&nbsp;— A Timeline</strong></h2>

<p>Liu Yazhou's arrest became a public knowledge&nbsp;in December 2021. In February 2022, China hand Michael Pillsbury told Radio Free Asia that the CCP’s Central Military Commission had placed Liu in detention in late 2021 over "economic crimes and political problems."</p>

<p>Now it is being reported by China watchers that Liu has been put on death row by Beijing.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;Gravitas | Beijing: Video shows rare protest against Xi Jinping</strong></p>

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<p>Ming Pao’s latest report comes after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s trip to the United States.</p>

<p>"Beijing’s more measured approach to the matter of Taiwan 'reunification' opens Xi Jinping up to criticism from the more hawkish elements in the CCP elite and his remaining factional rivals,"&nbsp;SinoInsider reads.</p>

<p>"To silence his critics, Xi would have to signal to the Party elite that disagreements over his current Taiwan strategy will not be tolerated,"&nbsp;which could have promoted leaks of information about Liu Yazhou’s case to Ming Pao.<br />
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A senior Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force commander, who was arrested by the Chinese Communist Party, received a death sentence for "serious economic corruption".

A senior Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force commander, who was arrested by the Chinese Communist Party, received a death sentence for "serious economic corruption". The air force commander, General Liu Yazhou, has expressed disagreements in past about China's policy of military belligerence around Taiwan, said a report in Ming Pao, a Hong Kong newspaper known for reporting on Chinese Communist Party. Ming Pao has a mixed track record when it comes to the veracity of the information it cites. But this must be seen with respect to the disinformation spread by the CCP elements as part of their information warfare. Opposing Xi means death in China? Earlier, in February 2022, writer Bi Ruxie, who lives in the United States, said that Liu could be given a heavy sentence based on his opposition to Xi. According to Bi, who cited information from party insiders, Liu Yazhou had been criticised by Xi in a 40-minute secret speech; Xi supposedly said that Liu was not only guilty of "economic problems" but also spearheaded factionalism within CCP to cater to his leadership ambitions. ALSO READ | 'Unprecedented campaign of repression': China is world's biggest captor of journalists According to Bi, "Party princelings do not believe that Liu had established [factional] strongholds. The princelings noted that early reports of the investigation into Liu only found him to have ‘economic problems,’ engaged in promiscuous relations, and offended Xi Jinping with ‘a lot of strange political talk," SinoInsider reported. Liu Yazhou: From arrest to potential death sentence — A Timeline Liu Yazhou's arrest became a public knowledge in December 2021. In February 2022, China hand Michael Pillsbury told Radio Free Asia that the CCP’s Central Military Commission had placed Liu in detention in late 2021 over "economic crimes and political problems." Now it is being reported by China watchers that Liu has been put on death row by Beijing. ALSO WATCH | Gravitas | Beijing: Video shows rare protest against Xi Jinping × Ming Pao’s latest report comes after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s trip to the United States. "Beijing’s more measured approach to the matter of Taiwan 'reunification' opens Xi Jinping up to criticism from the more hawkish elements in the CCP elite and his remaining factional rivals," SinoInsider reads. "To silence his critics, Xi would have to signal to the Party elite that disagreements over his current Taiwan strategy will not be tolerated," which could have promoted leaks of information about Liu Yazhou’s case to Ming Pao. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Chinese air force officer who opposed Xi Jinping’s Taiwan policy faces death sentence

<p>UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, by his own account, is a 'proud British Hindu'. Sunak has expressly embraced his Indian and Hindu heritage. At the same time, Sunak's moment of reckoning as a person of darker skin tone residing and working in 10, Downing Street – a former powerhouse of colonialism – has been widely celebrated by the people of former British colonies, in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The UK Prime Minister also holds a unique cross-sectional attribute as British person of colour of 'double-migrant' heritage, whose ancestors came to Britain from imperial India via Africa.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The exhibition and celebration of one's heritage, such as lighting diyas on Diwali or visiting temples, is an obvious attribute of cultural rootedness. But an absolute absence of addressal of some tough questions on the same heritage, such as 'Who caused the Jallianwala Bagh massacre?', reflects a perilous state of imperial ignorance in Sunak’s leadership.</p>

<p>That it were the British who committed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre from inception to nadir is a fact rather than a contested assertion. That an official count of dead, widely held false, from that bloodied Amritsar ground showed 379 Indians killed, is a fact at the face of brutish smugness of the Raj.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO WATCH&nbsp;</strong>|&nbsp;<strong>Britain refuses to apologise for Jallianwala Bagh massacre</strong></p>

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<p>As my colleague Prisha details <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/explained-what-happened-to-general-dyer-the-butcher-of-jallianwala-bagh-581900">here</a>, General Reginald Dyer, the British Army officer who ordered the massacre, had 'made up [his] mind that [he] would shoot all men to death if they were going to continue the meeting at Jallianwala Bagh', located a short walk away from holiest Sikh shrine of Golden Temple in Amritsar in North India.</p>

<p>If Sunak, as a person of colour in the Downing Street himself, cannot issue a clear and unequivocal apology for a British imperial crime as staggeringly monumental as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the case for British 'historical amnesia' remains a proven one.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Why apologise now, since so much time has passed?</strong></h2>

<p>On a&nbsp;hot noon of 13th April, the Lee-Enfield rifles of General Dyer’s troops penetrated the Indian psyche to the point that even 104 years later, the colonial wounds from that tragedy have not become scars, which often&nbsp;fade away with passage of time. Sunak, with an apologetic atonement, can attempt to initiate the making of India’s Jalllianwala Bagh wound, an imperial scar of history.</p>

<p>Every day, over 150,000 people visit the Golden Temple shrine, passing through the site of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. An apology would not undo the generational trauma hundreds of thousands Indians encounter in Amritsar every day. But it will definitely have a cleansing effect on the collective Indian psyche which continues to face colonial horrors of the past in the remnants of British loot, signs of subjugation, racism and killings scattered all over the country every day.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It would constitute a step towards atonement against a nation's colonial crimes. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre symbolises two centuries of horrors Indians faced under British rule. A British Prime Minister of colour showing moral courage to deliver an unequivocal apology for the same would go a long way for over a billion people still overcoming generational trauma of colonialism.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)</em></p>

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UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, by his own account, is a 'proud British Hindu'. Sunak has expressly embraced his Indian and Hindu heritage. At the same time, Sunak's moment of reckoning as a person of darker skin tone residing and working in 10, Downing Street – a former powerhouse of colonialism – has been widely celebrated by the people of former British colonies, in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, by his own account, is a 'proud British Hindu'. Sunak has expressly embraced his Indian and Hindu heritage. At the same time, Sunak's moment of reckoning as a person of darker skin tone residing and working in 10, Downing Street – a former powerhouse of colonialism – has been widely celebrated by the people of former British colonies, in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. The UK Prime Minister also holds a unique cross-sectional attribute as British person of colour of 'double-migrant' heritage, whose ancestors came to Britain from imperial India via Africa. The exhibition and celebration of one's heritage, such as lighting diyas on Diwali or visiting temples, is an obvious attribute of cultural rootedness. But an absolute absence of addressal of some tough questions on the same heritage, such as 'Who caused the Jallianwala Bagh massacre?', reflects a perilous state of imperial ignorance in Sunak’s leadership. That it were the British who committed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre from inception to nadir is a fact rather than a contested assertion. That an official count of dead, widely held false, from that bloodied Amritsar ground showed 379 Indians killed, is a fact at the face of brutish smugness of the Raj. ALSO WATCH | Britain refuses to apologise for Jallianwala Bagh massacre × As my colleague Prisha details here, General Reginald Dyer, the British Army officer who ordered the massacre, had 'made up [his] mind that [he] would shoot all men to death if they were going to continue the meeting at Jallianwala Bagh', located a short walk away from holiest Sikh shrine of Golden Temple in Amritsar in North India. If Sunak, as a person of colour in the Downing Street himself, cannot issue a clear and unequivocal apology for a British imperial crime as staggeringly monumental as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the case for British 'historical amnesia' remains a proven one. Why apologise now, since so much time has passed? On a hot noon of 13th April, the Lee-Enfield rifles of General Dyer’s troops penetrated the Indian psyche to the point that even 104 years later, the colonial wounds from that tragedy have not become scars, which often fade away with passage of time. Sunak, with an apologetic atonement, can attempt to initiate the making of India’s Jalllianwala Bagh wound, an imperial scar of history. Every day, over 150,000 people visit the Golden Temple shrine, passing through the site of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. An apology would not undo the generational trauma hundreds of thousands Indians encounter in Amritsar every day. But it will definitely have a cleansing effect on the collective Indian psyche which continues to face colonial horrors of the past in the remnants of British loot, signs of subjugation, racism and killings scattered all over the country every day. It would constitute a step towards atonement against a nation's colonial crimes. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre symbolises two centuries of horrors Indians faced under British rule. A British Prime Minister of colour showing moral courage to deliver an unequivocal apology for the same would go a long way for over a billion people still overcoming generational trauma of colonialism. (Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Rishi Sunak, the 'proud British', are you sorry for Jallianwala Bagh massacre?

<p>India's spike in Covid cases continue despite reduced fatality due to record vaccinations. The world's fifth largest economy on Thursday reported 10,158 new Covid cases, according to the country's health ministry data.</p>

<p>The&nbsp;active Covid caseload currently stands at 44,998 in India.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Meanwhile, top health ministry officials said that Covid-19 is moving towards an endemic stage in India.</p>

<h2><strong>Covid's endemic moment: What does it mean?</strong></h2>

<p>Endemic refers to a disease outbreak which is consistently present but is limited to a particular region which makes it more predictable and manageable.&nbsp;</p>

<p>According to officials, even though Covid cases are increasing, hospitalisation remains low and it is expected to remain low due to maximalist vaccination in most parts of the country.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-expert-issues-warning-over-xbb116-variant-as-nation-records-7830-new-cases-581560">COVID-19: Expert issues warning over XBB1.16 variant as India records 7,830 new cases in 24 hours</a></strong></p>

<p>Health ministry officials said cases may keep rising for the next 10-12 days after which they will begin to subside. As the virus becomes endemic, it generates a large number of variants.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;India@75: How India helped world during Covid pandemic</strong></p>

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<p>Omicron, which was first detected in 2021, has been assigned over 1,000 sub-lineages since its detection, including XBB.1.16 and XBB.1.5. Dr N K Arora, co-chair of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), said XBB.1.16 is causing a surge in cases but hospitalisations haven’t gone up and even the deaths being attributed to the disease are mostly among people who have serious comorbidities.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Until January, only about 120 to 140 new cases were being reported daily.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But on Thursday, the country's daily Covid case-count crossed the mark of 10,000 for the first time in months.&nbsp;</p>

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India's spike in Covid cases continue despite reduced fatality due to record vaccinations. The world's fifth largest economy on Thursday reported 10,158 new Covid cases, according to the country's health ministry data.

India's spike in Covid cases continue despite reduced fatality due to record vaccinations. The world's fifth largest economy on Thursday reported 10,158 new Covid cases, according to the country's health ministry data. The active Covid caseload currently stands at 44,998 in India. Meanwhile, top health ministry officials said that Covid-19 is moving towards an endemic stage in India. Covid's endemic moment: What does it mean? Endemic refers to a disease outbreak which is consistently present but is limited to a particular region which makes it more predictable and manageable. According to officials, even though Covid cases are increasing, hospitalisation remains low and it is expected to remain low due to maximalist vaccination in most parts of the country. ALSO READ | COVID-19: Expert issues warning over XBB1.16 variant as India records 7,830 new cases in 24 hours Health ministry officials said cases may keep rising for the next 10-12 days after which they will begin to subside. As the virus becomes endemic, it generates a large number of variants. ALSO WATCH | India@75: How India helped world during Covid pandemic × Omicron, which was first detected in 2021, has been assigned over 1,000 sub-lineages since its detection, including XBB.1.16 and XBB.1.5. Dr N K Arora, co-chair of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), said XBB.1.16 is causing a surge in cases but hospitalisations haven’t gone up and even the deaths being attributed to the disease are mostly among people who have serious comorbidities. Until January, only about 120 to 140 new cases were being reported daily. But on Thursday, the country's daily Covid case-count crossed the mark of 10,000 for the first time in months. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

India records over 10,000 daily Covid cases for first time in months

<p>Police in the US state of Kentucky released audio of anxious emergency calls made during a mass shooting earlier this week that left at least five dead at a bank. The released emergency calls also include a call from shooter's mother.</p>

<p>Eight people, including two policemen, were also wounded in Monday's shooting incident at a Kentucky bank.</p>

<h2><strong>Kentucky mass shooting: What did shooter's mother say?</strong></h2>

<p>The shooter's mother is heard telling an emergency call respondent that her son "currently has a gun" but "he's a really good kid."</p>

<p>In about 30 minutes of 911 calls released by Louisville police on Wednesday, the shooter's&nbsp;mother says her son is "non-violent" and "doesn't own any guns".</p>

<p>"He has never hurt anyone," she says, adding: "Please don't punish him."</p>

<p><b>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/kentucky-bank-shooting-gunman-live-streamed-attack-which-killed-five-in-louisville-581211">Kentucky bank shooting: Gunman live-streamed attack which killed five in Louisville</a></b></p>

<p>She adds that she received a tip-off from his roommate, who was "very concerned".</p>

<p>"We don't even own guns," she says. "I don't know where he would have gotten a gun."</p>

<p>The gunman's mother asks if she can go to the bank. However, the emergency respondent tells&nbsp;her to stay away because police were already responding to a "dangerous" situation there.</p>

<p>Another&nbsp;included a call from a woman who reportedly hid in a closet during the shooting incident.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Kentucky mass shooting: Other panic calls from the site</strong></h2>

<p>In a different 911 call, another woman is heard quietly telling the emergency respondent that she is "in a closet hiding".</p>

<p>"He works with us," she whispers as gunshots are heard in the background.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;Kentucky bank shooting: Bodycam video shows police under fire</strong></p>

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<p>The gunman, Connor Sturgeon, used a legally purchased AR-15 semi-automatic rifle to kill five colleagues, while live-streaming the attack on Instagram.</p>

<p>His family released a statement late on Tuesday saying they had been addressing his mental health challenges.</p>

<p>Till the end of March, in just three months into 2023,&nbsp;the gun violence in United States has killed about&nbsp;9,870 people, translating into 114 gun violence-related deaths per day. The statistics&nbsp;also includes&nbsp;the number of individuals who died by suicide due to self-inflicted gun wounds.&nbsp;</p>

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Police in the US state of Kentucky released audio of anxious emergency calls made during a mass shooting earlier this week that left at least five dead at a bank.

Police in the US state of Kentucky released audio of anxious emergency calls made during a mass shooting earlier this week that left at least five dead at a bank. The released emergency calls also include a call from shooter's mother. Eight people, including two policemen, were also wounded in Monday's shooting incident at a Kentucky bank. Kentucky mass shooting: What did shooter's mother say? The shooter's mother is heard telling an emergency call respondent that her son "currently has a gun" but "he's a really good kid." In about 30 minutes of 911 calls released by Louisville police on Wednesday, the shooter's mother says her son is "non-violent" and "doesn't own any guns". "He has never hurt anyone," she says, adding: "Please don't punish him." ALSO READ | Kentucky bank shooting: Gunman live-streamed attack which killed five in Louisville She adds that she received a tip-off from his roommate, who was "very concerned". "We don't even own guns," she says. "I don't know where he would have gotten a gun." The gunman's mother asks if she can go to the bank. However, the emergency respondent tells her to stay away because police were already responding to a "dangerous" situation there. Another included a call from a woman who reportedly hid in a closet during the shooting incident. Kentucky mass shooting: Other panic calls from the site In a different 911 call, another woman is heard quietly telling the emergency respondent that she is "in a closet hiding". "He works with us," she whispers as gunshots are heard in the background. ALSO WATCH | Kentucky bank shooting: Bodycam video shows police under fire × The gunman, Connor Sturgeon, used a legally purchased AR-15 semi-automatic rifle to kill five colleagues, while live-streaming the attack on Instagram. His family released a statement late on Tuesday saying they had been addressing his mental health challenges. Till the end of March, in just three months into 2023, the gun violence in United States has killed about 9,870 people, translating into 114 gun violence-related deaths per day. The statistics also includes the number of individuals who died by suicide due to self-inflicted gun wounds. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

'Please don't punish him': Kentucky shooter's mother pleads, moments before Police shoots her son down

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