HUIZHOU, China — A Chinese poet and current affairs commentator committed suicide in Guangdong province following “unbearable” surveillance under the tenure of President Xi Jinping. Li Huizhi, 62, was a vocal critic of Xi Jinping’s policies. He breathed his last in a hospital in Guangdong’s Huizhou city. His friend Li Xuewen said that the poet had posted a suicide note online before taking his own life. “After he had posted his suicide note online, he turned off his phone,” Xuewen said. “He took the pesticide, and was taken to hospital after that.” The note read that Huizhi had found the increased surveillance under the…
Author: zenger.news
An optical illusion made Austrian firemen think a spectacular World Heritage Benedictine abbey was on fire after being struck by lightning on July 25. The volunteer fire crew in the Austrian town of Paudorf received several emergency calls shortly before 10 p.m., reporting the roof of the Gottweig Abbey, located near the town of Krems, was ablaze. Several photos shared by Facebook users made it look like the abbey — which served as an inspiration and location for Italian novelist Umberto Eco’s 1980 debut novel, “The Name of the Rose” — was on fire. Firefighters rushed to the abbey, but…
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has announced that the fencing work along the Afghan border would be completed by Aug. 14, 2021, amid fears of a new refugee crisis due to the large-scale violence in Afghanistan. Pakistan has already ruled out taking any more refugees due to the ongoing refugee crisis at the Afghan border. This comes as the United Nations (UN) has said it is witnessing “very intensive movements” of internally displaced Afghans towards the country’s borders as violence escalates. Earlier this month, UN Deputy Special Representative Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov said that intensive movements of the population are being…
KUTCH, India — Dholavira, a Harappan-era city located in western Indian state Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch, has been added to the list of World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). With this nomination, India has 40 world heritage properties overall, including 32 cultural, seven natural, and one mixed property, a statement from India’s Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Development G. Kishan Reddy read. Italy, Spain, China, Germany, and France are the only countries with 40 or more World Heritage sites. “Dholavira: A Harappan City, in #India, just inscribed on the @UNESCO #WorldHeritage List. Congratulations!” UNESCO tweeted on July 27. Reddy took to Twitter to…
NEW DELHI — Indian budget airline IndiGo said on July 27 that its net loss in the first quarter of FY22 widened to INR 3,174 crore ($426.8 Million) from INR 2,844 crore ($382.4 million) in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. The company’s first-quarter ended on June 30. The airline industry faced subdued air traffic due to the Covid-19 pandemic, rising oil prices, and depreciation of the Indian rupee. The financial results were severely impacted by the second Covid-19 wave as the number of passengers traveling declined sharply in May and June, said Indigo Chief Executive Officer Ronojoy Dutta.…
NEW DELHI — The Indian Medical Association is working with the Indian Resuscitation Council to teach Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills to the people of the country. The association is reaching out to more than one million people for creating awareness on Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) — a lifesaving technique that is useful at times when the breathing or heartbeat of a person has stopped. The association said that they need to reach out to low-income families as they need to be made aware of the medical importance of Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Building awareness on Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) amongst people, especially auto drivers, police, teachers, and…
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean Multinational Conglomerate Shinsegae Group will acquire an additional stake in Starbucks Coffee Korea and become its largest shareholder. Shinsegae Group’s E-Mart said that it will acquire an additional 17.5 percent of Starbucks Coffee Korea’s 50 percent stake held by Starbucks Coffee International. The remaining 32.5 percent stake of Starbucks Coffee International will be acquired by the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, from a long-term investment perspective. The acquisition is 700,000 shares, and the acquisition amount is 474.25 billion won ($409.82 million). After the acquisition, Shinsegae Group will have a 67.5 percent stake…
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (Burma) — Human Rights Watch, the international research and advocacy organization for human rights, has called upon Myanmar’s military junta to stop prosecuting journalists and end its assault on independent media on July 27. “Myanmar’s junta has made the mass arrest of journalists and control over the media a key component of its seizure of power from a democratically elected government,” said Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director of the Human Rights Watch. “The junta’s intensifying surveillance, harassment, and detention of journalists are rapidly turning Myanmar into one of the region’s most dangerous places to be a journalist.” The organization…
WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on July 27 revised India’s growth to 9.5 percent for the current financial year from 12.5 percent estimated earlier in April. India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth projection is at 9.5 percent for 2021-22, as per the World Economic Outlook (WEO) report released by International Monetary Fund on July 27. International Monetary Fund also revised the Gross Domestic Product growth for India in FY 2022-23 to 8.5 percent. The International Monetary Fund has projected the global economy to grow at 6 percent in 2021 and 4.9 percent in 2022. “The International Monetary Fund projects the global economy…
WASHINGTON — Referring to the arrival of United States State Secretary Antony Blinken on his two-day visit to India, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that America is excited to expand the strong and growing India-United States partnership. “Secretary Blinken is wheels down in New Delhi for meetings with our Indian partners,” Price tweeted. “We’re excited to expand the strong and growing US-India partnership.” “The United States and India are working together on so many of the most important challenges of our time and ones that are having a profound impact on the lives of our citizens,” Blinken said. “The partnership between the United States…