International
French President heads to Germany for rare state visit
Berlin, May 26 (IANS/DPA) Emmanuel Macron begins the first state visit to Germany by a French President in 24 years on Sunday, a pomp-filled three-day trip described as a tribute to the Franco-German friendship.
Macron is due to arrive in Berlin at 2 pm (1200 GMT). He will head first to the government district, where the “Democracy Festival” celebrating 75 years of Germany’s Basic Law – the democratic constitution adopted in West Germany after World War II – will be held.
At the time, West Germany was under occupation by the victorious Western Allies, which included France, Britain and the United States.
Macron and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will engage in an on-onstage discussion at the festival. The French leader will then travel to Steinmeier’s nearby official residence, the Bellevue Palace, where he will be greeted with military honours. A joint press conference by the two presidents will follow in the late afternoon.
A walk through the Brandenburg Gate with Berlin Mayor Kai Wagner and a state banquet at Bellevue Palace is scheduled for the evening.
Sunday’s visit comes ahead of European elections to decide the next European Parliament. Far-right EU parties have seen a surge in support in recent years – including in France and Germany – and are expected to do well in the June 6-9 polls.
The relationship between Paris and Berlin has long been seen as the driving force of European policymaking. But frictions began to emerge in 2022, after Angela Merkel left the German political scene, although Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have recently made efforts to improve cooperation.
The agreement has been found on several issues, including reform of the EU’s debt and deficit rules, but other points of contention remain, notably on the type of military aid for Ukraine and the EU’s economic policy responses to protectionist measures by China and the United States.
These thorny questions and others will discussed at a meeting of French and German ministers on Tuesday.
Macron and his wife Brigitte will be travelling to Dresden on Monday. There, he will give a speech on European policy in front of the Frauenkirche, a monumental domed church and a symbol of post-war reconciliation.
On Tuesday, they will travel to Munster, where Macron will be awarded the Peace of Westphalia Prize.
Macron came to power in France seven years ago and cannot run for a third term in the 2027 presidential election.
The official state visit is the first by a French president to Germany since 2000, although leaders from both countries regularly meet and visit in less formal ways. Macron had planned to make the state visit last July.
However, the trip was postponed due to nationwide unrest in France following the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old that shocked the nation.
–IANS/DPA
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International
Japan hopes Iran's new President will play 'constructive role' in stabilising situation in Middle East
Tokyo, July 6 (IANS) The Japanese government on Saturday hoped that Iran, under its newly-elected President Masoud Pezeshkian, will play a “constructive role” in easing tensions and stabilising the situation in the Middle East.
Pezeshkian emerged winner in the runoff of the presidential election held on Friday and was elected as the next President of the country.
“We hope that Iran, under President-elect Pezechkian, will play a constructive role in easing tensions and stabilizing the situation in the Middle East,” said the Japanese Foreign Ministry on Saturday.
“Based on our traditionally friendly relations with Iran, Japan will continue to make proactive diplomatic efforts toward easing tensions and stabilising the situation in the Middle East, and will also strengthen dialogue with the new Iranian government under President-elect Pezechkian,” it added.
In April, Tokyo had “strongly condemned” the escalation in the region following Iran’s attacks against Israel using drones and missiles citing that the peace and stability of the Middle East region remains of paramount importance to Japan.
–IANS
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International
Iran, Hungary urge for refrainment from tension escalation in West Asia
Tehran, July 6 (IANS) Iran and Hungary highlighted the necessity to refrain from the escalation of tension in the West Asia region.
In a phone call, Iranian caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto exchanged views on Friday about regional issues of common interest and bilateral ties, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, reports Xinhua news agency.
Bagheri Kani stressed the need to enhance stability and refrain from the escalation of tension in West Asia, noting that the continuation of Israeli “crimes” against Palestinians and the recent escalations between Israel and Lebanon had placed the region in a new situation.
He warned that any new move to cause further tension in the region would work to the detriment of the “warmongers”.
Pointing to bilateral ties, Bagheri Kani said Iran and Hungary had always had good relations with each other, and the ties had been reflecting a positive and growing trend.
The Hungarian Foreign Minister, for his part, stressed the need to step up efforts to prevent the intensification of the conflicts in the region.
He stressed the importance of diplomacy in bilateral relations and the international arena, welcoming the strengthening of the bilateral ties with Iran.
The Israeli army has been waging a large-scale offensive on Gaza since October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on the Israeli towns adjacent to the strip, killing nearly 1,200 people.
The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks in the enclave has risen to 38,011, with 87,445 people injured, as updated by the health authorities in Gaza on Thursday.
Tension has mounted between Lebanon and Israel since October 8, 2023, after Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Israel in support of the Hamas attacks on Israel, prompting Israel to respond by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.
–IANS
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International
Masoud Pezeshkian elected Iran's president (lead)
Tehran, July 6 (IANS) Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s former Health Minister, won the country’s 14th presidential election, Iran’s election headquarters Spokesperson Mohsen Eslami said on Saturday
Eslami announced this while disclosing the results of the presidential runoff held on Friday between reformist Pezeshkian and principlist Saeed Jalili, Iran’s former chief negotiator in the nuclear talks with world powers.
Masoud Pezeshkian, 69, is a cardiac surgeon and a lawmaker in the country’s Parliament. He was the Parliament’s first Deputy Speaker from 2016 to 2020 and Health Minister between 2001 and 2005 in the government of former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami.
He ran for President in 2013 but withdrew, and failed to qualify for the presidential race in his second attempt at the presidency in 2021.
Pezeshkian managed to secure 10,415,991 votes, more than 42 per cent of the total, in the first round of the presidential election.
The total number of votes cast in the runoff was 30,530,157, adding that according to the number of the used ballots, which stood at 30,573,931, the turnout reached 49.8 per cent.
Of all the votes, Pezeshkian secured 16,384,403, whereas Jalili garnered 13,538,179, said Eslami.
The runoff began at 8 a.m. local time at nearly 59,000 polling stations nationwide and abroad. It was scheduled to end at 6 p.m. local time but was extended thrice, each lasting two hours.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei cast his ballot at a polling station in Tehran immediately after the voting began and made a brief speech, calling the election “an important political affair of the country”.
Saeed Jalili, 58, is currently a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council.
He was the secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council from 2007 to 2013 and was a chief negotiator in the nuclear talks between Iran and world powers.
He was a candidate in Iran’s 11th presidential election in June 2013 but finished in third place. He also ran for president in 2021 but withdrew in favour of late President Ebrahim Raisi before the election.
Jalili managed to garner 9,473,298 or more than 38 per cent of the votes in the first round of the presidential election.
–IANS
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International
4.2 mn Malawians face hunger: Report
Lilongwe, July 6 (IANS) Up to 4.2 million people in Malawi are expected to experience high levels of acute food insecurity between June and September, according to a report released on Saturday by the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee, a government-led multi-agency body.
According to the report, the landlocked country, bordering Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania, experienced El Nino weather early in the year that caused drought and floods in 23 out of 28 districts, leading to a 17 per cent output drop in agricultural production, reports Xinhua news agency.
In 2023, Malawi produced 3.5 million metric tonnes of maize, the country’s staple food, but the output dropped to 2.9 million metric tonnes in the 2024 harvest season.
The report indicated that the situation is bound to worsen by October when the food-insecure population is estimated to increase to 5.7 million, 28 per cent of the population, as the country reaches the seasonal lean period.
The report further calls for the immediate distribution of more than 261,500 metric tonnes of maize to vulnerable households in the affected districts across Malawi.
The country’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs Spokesperson Chipiliro Khamula told the local media on Wednesday that the department is working on a response plan and the mobilisation of resources.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) is targeting 2.5 million people of the affected population with food assistance, said Simon Denhere, the organisation’s deputy country director.
The WFP country Chief told local media that the response programme requires $80 million but the organisation had only raised $20 million in anticipation of the food situation.
“We’re still engaging with our partners to mobilise the remaining funds and the response, so far, is positive,” Denhere, told the local media.
The World Bank estimates that about 72 per cent of Malawians will face poverty this year following the weather shocks as inflation is expected to average 27 per cent.
–IANS
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International
Japan's Kawasaki Heavy, Maritime Self-Defence force face bribery scandal
Tokyo, July 6 (IANS) Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries has been implicated in a scandal for allegedly using slush funds to purchase goods for the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) submarine crew members, according to local media reports.
The company, responsible for constructing and maintaining parts of the JMSDF submarine fleet, allegedly manipulated subcontractors to fabricate false transactions, securing billions of yen in secret funds used to bribe submarine crew members, reports Xinhua news agency on Friday.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries has admitted to the Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau that its Kobe Shipyard’s maintenance division has been directing subcontractors to create fictitious transactions for the past 20 years.
The funds obtained were transferred to subcontractor accounts as secret funds, used to purchase personal items for submarine crew members or for entertainment expenses.
JMSDF submarines submitted lists of needed items to Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ maintenance division, Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported, noting that the maintenance division then instructed subcontractors to use the secret funds to buy the items, which were subsequently handed over to the respective submarine personnel.
The Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau is investigating Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
Japan’s Defence Minister Minoru Kihara on Friday announced that a special investigation into the matter has been launched, besides the current investigation conducted by the Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau.
Tetsuo Maeda, a local commentator, criticised the use of taxpayer money, which was meant for enhancing defence capabilities, being misappropriated by the JMSDF.
“The misuse of funds, originating from the Defence Ministry and submarine construction and maintenance budgets, is intolerable for taxpayers,” Maeda said.
–IANS
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