June 2023

President Xi Jinping has urged China’s border forces to build a “great wall of steel” along the country’s borders by improving their border defence and control capabilities, according to official media on Friday. Xi, the 69-year-old leader of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and the country’s Central Military Commission (CMC), the high command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), visited the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Wednesday to inspect border management and control operations and the development of frontier troops.

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned as a legislator on June 9 after being told he would be sanctioned for deceiving Parliament. Mr. Johnson resigned after learning the findings of a legislative probe into false comments he made to Parliament regarding “partygate,” a series of rule-breaking government parties during the pandemic.

The Pentagon expects Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s June visit to the United States to set new milestones for bilateral ties, with major announcements on defence industry collaboration and strengthening India’s indigenous military foundation. Prime Minister Modi will make his first state visit to the United States this month, at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. During his four-day visit, which begins on June 21, the president and first lady of the United States will host Modi for a state dinner on June 22.

According to the presidency, French President Emmanuel Macron will pay a visit to the victims of the knife attack in the French Alps.“Following yesterday’s attack, the president of the republic and his spouse will pay a visit today to the victims and their families, as well as everyone in Annecy who has contributed in helping and supporting them,” the statement added. On Thursday, a man armed with a knife stabbed four preschool children and two adults at a playground and public park in the generally peaceful lakeside town of Annecy.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will kick off a two-day outreach programme on June 8 as part of the Delhi BJP’s month-long effort to highlight the Modi administration’s accomplishments over the last nine years. “Jaishankar will meet Sikh refugees from Afghanistan who fled after the Taliban took over the country,” the Delhi BJP stated in a statement. “The Union Minister, accompanied by West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma, will also meet a family affected by the 1984 anti-Sikh riots at Tilak Vihar,” it added.

Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey who was defeated by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential primaries, announced Tuesday that he will run for the Republican nomination in 2024, setting up a rematch with the former president and broadening the field of GOP candidates. Christie, 60, has positioned himself as the person most eager to attack both Trump, his longtime buddy turned opponent, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been in second place in nearly every major Republican primary poll for months. Christie’s presence in the race may be uncomfortable for DeSantis, who believes that every additional...

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared Monday that his plan to “stop the boats” of illegal migrants arriving in the UK is working, as he unveiled plans to lodge them aboard ships to relieve demand on taxpayer-funded hotels. Sunak told a press conference in the Kent border town of Dover that the first such ship will be ready later this month, followed by two others to accommodate a further 1,000 refugees.

On Tuesday, British Security Minister Tom Tugendhat stated that China had shuttered reported “police service stations” at locations throughout the UK, and that an inquiry had uncovered no criminal activity by the Chinese state at these locations. “The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office has told the Chinese Embassy that any functions related to such ‘police service stations’ in the UK are unacceptable and that they must not operate in any form,” Tugendhat stated in a written statement to parliament.

Ingrid Newkirk, founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), recently amended her will with a number of requests designed to continue her animal rights campaign after her death.According to a PETA statement, in her last will and testament, which was drafted 20 years ago but updated this week, PETA’s founder bequeathed a piece of her neck to King Charles, some of her bare skin to the Ministry of Defence, and one of her broken legs to be displayed during the Grand National, among other body parts to be sent off in various directions when the time comes.

On Tuesday, Prince Harry came at London’s High Court to testify in his lawsuit against the publisher of the British tabloid the Daily Mirror, whom he accuses of phone hacking and other illegal activities.Harry, King Charles’ younger son, did not appear in court on Monday as planned, but will do so on Tuesday, becoming the first senior British royal to testify in court in 130 years. He is one of more than a hundred high-profile individuals suing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People, for alleged wrongdoing between 1991 and 2011.