China has decided to suspend all its activities under the Strategic Economic Dialogue with Australia, a move that is likely to exacerbate the tense diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“China indefinitely suspends all activities under the framework of the #China-#Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue held by the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission and relevant Australian ministries,” China Global Television Network (CGTN) said in a tweet. This decision comes a few weeks after Australia scraped the controversial Belt and Road (BRI) agreement with China citing the deal as against its national interest.

Last month, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said that the BRI deal has been canceled under the Commonwealth’s new foreign veto laws. The cancellation could also mean an end to further Sino-Australian cooperation in the fields of industrial production, biotechnology and agriculture, reported DW.

Meanwhile, China had said that Australia’s decision to cancel agreements between Beijing’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative and the state of Victoria was among several “negative moves” that had hurt bilateral relations.

According to South China Morning Post, China’s top diplomat who is in Canberra currently, blamed Australia for deteriorating ties between the nations, accusing it of economic coercion and “provocations” in a wide-ranging speech that painted Beijing as a victim.

Sino-Australian relations have been in a downward spiral since April last year when Canberra infuriated Beijing by proposing an independent international inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canberra has been locked in an ongoing trade war with Beijing for several months as China has slapped sanctions on various Australian products.

The Japanese government will set up a no-fly zone over Olympic venues from July 21 to September 5 as part of anti-terrorism measures during the summer games in Tokyo, the transport ministry said on Thursday.

According to the ministry, the no-fly zone will be set up two hours before the start of the competition or ceremony and lifted an hour after. The zone will cover about a 3-kilometer (1.8 miles) radius from venues during competitions and extended to a 46-kilometer radius from the National Stadium during ceremonies. Similar measures will also be applied to the Olympic events, such as marathons, held outside of Tokyo. However, departing or arriving flights at the Tokyo International Airport will not be affected.

Earlier this month, Japanese media reported that starting July 13, ships will be advised to avoid six areas in the Tokyo Port close to coastal territories where the athletes’ village, the beach volleyball competition site, and other Olympics facilities are located. According to the Japan Coast Guard, such safety measures are aimed at preventing terrorist attacks during the games.

The Summer Olympics in Tokyo were initially scheduled for 2020 but were postponed in the spring of last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. The games are to take place this summer, from July 23 until August 8.

Because of COVID-19, the Japanese government has decided to hold the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics without foreign spectators. According to the organizers of the games, all Olympic and Paralympic participants will be required to pass two COVID-19 tests before departure to Japan and undergo daily testing for the first three days after arrival.

Earlier, the US had relented after continuous pressure from developing countries led by India and South Africa, also the Biden administration witnessed domestic pressure as more than 100 lawmakers urged the US President to support the waiver.

Amid the acute shortage of vaccines, India has announced its phase three vaccination drive which entitles every citizen above 18 to get a jab.

India as if now have two major vaccine developers Serum institute and Bharat biotech, Russian vaccine Sputnik has also entered but they will only be able to scale up production by later this year. It will now be counting on more global manufacturers to fulfill the requirement and US support to waiver is certainly a piece of welcome news for India.

The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday said that she is ready to discuss solutions to help increase the production of COVID-19 vaccines for global vaccination.

“Our priority is to ramp up production to achieve global vaccination. At the same time we are open to discuss any other effective and pragmatic solution. In this context we are ready to assess how the US proposal could help achieve that objective,” the EU chief tweeted. “In the short run, however, we call upon all vaccine producing countries to allow export immediately and to avoid measures that disrupt the supply chains,” she added.

EU chief’s remark comes hours after US trade representative Ambassador Katherine Tai issued a statement saying the extraordinary circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic required extraordinary measures to respond and that the waiving of intellectual property protections on vaccines was needed to help end the pandemic.

According to the statement, the United States would participate in World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations to support the temporary waiving of protections, and work with the private sector and other partners to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also welcomed the commitment shown by Joe Biden’s administration to support the temporary waiver of intellectual property on COVID-19 vaccines.

“This is a monumental moment in the fight against COVID-19. The commitment by the President of the United States Joe Biden and Ambassador Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative, to support the waiver of IP protections on vaccines is a powerful example of American leadership to address global health challenges,” said Dr Tedros. In October last year, India and South Africa, along with 57 members of WTO proposed a waiver from certain provisions of the TRIPS agreement for prevention, containment, and treatment of COVID-19.

Taliban have launched a new wave of offensive in several Afghan cities and are resorting to bombings and heavy weapons after the United States missed May 1 deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.

Several cities around Afghanistan are witnessing the wrath of the Taliban’s attacks. The Afghan forces have suffered heavy casualties in the past few days as they fought back the terror group offensive. At least 11 Afghan security forces members were killed in terrorists’ attacks in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday night, authorities confirmed on Thursday.

Afghan security forces had launched airstrikes and deployed elite commando forces to the area. The insurgents had been pushed back but fighting was continuing on Tuesday and hundreds of families had been displaced, he added. “There was a thunderstorm of heavy weapons and blasts in the city and the sound of small arms was like someone was making popcorn,” The News International quoted Mulah Jan, a resident of a suburb of Helmand provincial capital Lashkar Gah, as saying.

“I took all my family members to the corner of the room, hearing the heavy blasts and bursts of gunfire as if it was happening behind our walls,” he said. Families that could afford to leave had fled, but he had been unable to go, waiting with his family in fear before the Taliban were pushed back.

Attaullah Afghan, the head of Helmand’s provincial council, said the Taliban had launched their huge offensive on Monday from multiple directions, attacking checkpoints around the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, taking over some of them.

US forces missed the May 1 deadline to withdraw troops. The May 1 deadline for US troops to pull out was agreed to last year under former President Donald Trump.

US President Joe Biden announced last month the decision to withdraw troops from the country starting on that May 1 deadline, with the aim of completely withdrawing from Afghanistan by September 11, which would mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that sparked the war in Afghanistan, the longest conflict in American history.

The Taliban rejected President Joe Biden’s announcement that troops would stay on past the deadline but withdraw over the next four and a half months.

Last week on Thursday, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the US has begun pulling out its forces from Afghanistan.

On Monday, at least seven Afghan military personnel were killed when the Taliban set off explosives smuggled through a tunnel the group had dug into an army outpost in southwestern Farah province.

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, two people were apprehended in Delhi including an ambulance driver and an emergency medical technician for their alleged involvement in black marketing oxygen cylinders on Thursday, the police said.

As the national capital witnessed a continuous rise in Covid-19 cases, the demand for life-saving medical equipment including medical oxygen increased significantly. According to the police, ambulance driver Shambhu Yadav, 244, used to refill his oxygen cylinders for the ambulance and then sold them to patients in need at exorbitant prices. 22-year-old Anoop Kumar, the emergency medical technician, was his associate in finding the people who were in dire need of oxygen. A case has been registered against the two accused under the Essential Commodities Act, section 3 of Epidemic Diseases Act, and section 51 of Disaster Management Act at Neb Sarai police station. One filled oxygen cylinder with a capacity of 50 litres has been recovered from their possession. -Correspondent

 WITH ANI INPUTS 

An FIR will be registered against families hiding information about Covid-infected patients in Himachal Pradesh’s Solang district, according to the office of Gram Panchayat, Solang.

The Gram Panchayat Secretary ordered that shopkeepers found without masks and gloves will be fined Rs 500 in view of Corona curfew from midnight of May 6. It has been mandatory to wear masks at all public places in the village.

People who will be travelling from outside to the village will have to undergo a seven-day quarantine, said the secretary.

Meanwhile, families of Covid patients have to also undergo a 14-day home quarantine.

As per the Union Health Ministry, Himachal Pradesh has 25,902 active Covid cases. In the last 24 hours, the state recorded 2,330 new cases and 32 related deaths.

 WITH ANI INPUTS