WORLD

Israel said Friday it will transfer around 1 million doses of soon-to-expire coronavirus vaccines to the Palestinian Authority in exchange for a similar number of doses the Palestinians expect to receive later this year.

Israel, which has reopened after vaccinating some 85% of its adult population, has faced criticism for not sharing its vaccines with the 4.5 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

The agreement was announced by the new Israeli government that was sworn in on Sunday. It said it would transfer Pfizer vaccines that will expire soon, and that the PA would transfer a similar number of vaccines when it receives them from the pharmaceutical company In September or October.

Israel has carried out one of the most successful vaccination programs in the world, allowing it to fully reopen businesses and schools. This week, authorities lifted the requirement to wear masks in public, one of the last remaining restrictions.

The government is understood to have not renewed a long-term agreement (LTA) for supplying iron ore to Japanese steel mills and South Korean major Posco after upon its March expiry, apparently in view of the uncertainty over investment plans of steel mills from these countries in India. Shortage of the key raw material for steel-making in India is also seen to be a reason for the decision.

Iron ore supply agreements with Korea and Japan have been in existence for around six decades; these got renewed uninterruptedly as New Delhi’s goodwill gesture to the two Asian countries.

The Union cabinet last renewed the contract on April 25, 2018; the contract was effective till March 31, 2021.

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin met at Geneva for the much-awaited summit talks on Wednesday. 

After meeting for over three and half hours, the two leaders addressed a press conference separately.

The Russian president was the first to address reporters as he informed that a possible prisoner swap with the US was possible and it was discussed with President Biden and that "compromises" may be possible.

The Russian president informed that the two leaders had agreed their ambassadors should return to their respective positions in each other's capital although he added that the timeline is yet to be decided.

India will help finance the new parliament building of Eswatini with the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) extending a line of credit of $108.28 million. Eswatini is a landlocked country in Southern Africa and has Mozambique and South Africa as its neighbours. The country was earlier known by the name Swaziland.

The line of credit (LoC) agreement for this was signed between the General Manager of Exim Bank, Nirmit Ved, and the Finance minister of  Eswatini, Neal H Rijkenberg.

All in all, the number of LoC extended by EXIM bank to Africa's smallest country now stands at four, with a total value of $176.58 million. The MoUs cover the building of an Information Technology park and agricultural development.

Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at G7 Outreach "inspiring as well as ironic", Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday said the Modi government should "practise in India what it preaches to the world".

Taking to Twitter, Chidambaram said, "PM Modi's speech at the G7 Outreach meeting is inspiring as well as ironic. The Modi government should practise in India what it preaches to the world."

The former Union finance minister also highlighted that PM Modi was the only guest not physically present at the G7 Outreach meeting. "It is sad that PM Modi was the only guest not physically present at the Outreach meeting. Ask yourself why? Because India is an outlier as far as the fight against Covid 19 is concerned. We are the most infected and least vaccinated country (as a proportion of the population)," he said.