UiTV Connect

  Seoul, Sep 29 (UiTV/IANS)  – US Vice President Kamala Harris will arrive in South Korea on Thursday just a day after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles amid an escalation of Pyongyang’s continued nuke testing. Harris, who is travelling to South Korea from Japan, will make her first visit to the country as Vice President, reports Yonhap News Agency. The last time a US Vice President visited South Korea was in February 2018, when Mike Pence led a delegation to the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. Harris is scheduled to meet President Yoon Suk-yeol shortly after her arrival in Seoul. On Wednesday night, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea in apparent protest of an ongoing South Korea-US military exercise involving an American aircraft carrier. The North had also conducted a similar short-range ballistic missile test on Sunday. During her day-long trip, Harris will underscore Washington’s commitment to the defence of its ally, a senio

  Moscow, Sep 28 ((UiTV/IANS) – IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia could harvest a record 150 million ton of grain this year. “To date, 138.7 million tons of grain have already been threshed. This is approximately a third more than (that) during the same period last year,” the Kremlin reported on Tuesday, citing the Russian leader at a meeting on the progress of seasonal field work. “According to experts, the total grain harvest may reach 150 million ton,” Putin said, noting that the harvest would fully cover domestic demand and increase exports. The President warned that Western sanctions imposed on Russia’s grain and fertilisers pose a growing threat to global food security, adding that the West should be held accountable for the deteriorating situation, Xinhua news agency reported. Read More :-  https://www.uitvconnect.com/world/russias-total-grain-harvest-may-reach-record-150-mn-ton-this-year-putin/

  Stockholm, Sep 27 (UiTV/IANS)   Andreas Norlen was reelected as the Speaker of the Swedish parliament. The speaker of the parliament is second only to the King in terms of formal rank. Norlen, who comes from the Moderate party, had been nominated by the opposition blue block that narrowly won the election on September 11. “I would like to thank the parties that acted differently than they usually do in Speaker elections,” local media quoted Norlen as saying on Monday, referring to both blocs’ support for his nomination. Gunilla Carlsson, a member of parliament for the Social Democratic Party, said that they supported Norlen’s election as he was “a Speaker who can unite and not divide”. Norlen, a member of parliament since 2006 and during 2014-2018 Chairman of the Committee on the Constitution, was first elected Speaker following the 2018 election, Xinhua news agency reported. Then, it took 134 days to form a new government following the 2018 election, but Norlen has said that this ye

  Los Angeles, Sep 24 (UiTV/IANS)  Actor Kevin Bacon was forbidden by wife Kyra Sedgwick from “dancing to ‘Footloose’ dressed as a giant peanut” for a commercial. Married to the 57-year-old actress since 1988, the 64-year-old actor revealed that she “doesn’t like it when food talks”, reports aceshowbiz.com. “It is true that I had to turn down dancing to ‘Footloose’ dressed as a giant peanut M&M for a commercial, because my wife doesn’t like it when food talks,” shared Bacon, who starred in the 1984 musical drama film ‘Footloose’. “It’s just a thing she has. If she sees a talking grape, it freaks her out. When there was the possibility I might be a talking M&M, she just said, ‘No, that’s too far’.” Despite this, Kevin has starred in lots of adverts for the UK mobile network operator EE over the last decade. The Hollywood star has actually enjoyed filming the light-hearted adverts, because he’s always struggled to land comedic roles in the movie industry. He told the Guardian new

  Jerusalem, Sep 23 (UiTV/IANS)  Israel and the US concluded a joint navy drill in the Red Sea to exercise the use of artificial intelligence during naval combat, Israel’s military said in a statement. Taking place in the gulf of Eilat in southern Israel, the “Digital Shield” exercise involved soldiers and officers from the Israeli Navy and the US Fifth Fleet, a naval US force in the Middle East, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the statement. “Manned vessels of the Israeli Navy, troops from the 915th Fleet and the ‘Snapir’ Unit operated alongside unmanned vessels of the US Fifth Fleet’s Task Force 59,” the military said on Thursday. The purpose of the exercise was to strengthen “cooperation between the militaries and constructing a shared understanding of the maritime domain as well as using artificial intelligence as part of the operational toolbox,” the military said. Read More :- https://uitvconnect.com/world/israel-us-conclude-joint-naval-drill-in-red-sea/

  United Nations, Sep 22 (UiTV/IANS)  US President Joe Biden took his attack on Russia to the UN General Assembly’s high-level meeting accusing it of making nuclear threats while waging a “brutal war” against Ukraine. Focusing on Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, he said on Wednesday that it’s “a brutal, needless war – a war chosen by one man, to be very blunt”. “A permanent member of the United Nations Security Council invaded its neighbour, attempted to erase a sovereign state from the map,” he said. “Just today, President Putin has made overt nuclear threats against Europe and a reckless disregard for the responsibilities of the non-proliferation regime,” he said. To ensure that no country can “seize a nation’s territory by force”, Biden said “each of us in this body who is determined to uphold the principles and beliefs we pledge to defend as members of the United Nations a” must be clear, firm, and unwavering in our resolve”. “We will stand in solidarity with Ukraine. We will sta

  Jerusalem, Sep 21 (UiTV/IANS)  Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and King Abdullah II of Jordan met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and discussed the tensions in the Middle East region. The two on Tuesday discussed the recent escalation of clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians in the West Bank, Xinhua news agency reported. Lapid spoke with the Jordanian king about the need for calming the situation on the ground and “halting terrorism ahead of the upcoming Jewish holidays”, Lapid’s office said in a statement. They also discussed advancing economic and civilian cooperation between the two countries, which signed a peace treaty in 1994. It was the leaders’ second meeting since July, when they met at the Jordanian monarch’s palace in Amman. Lapid flew to New York on Monday to address the UN General Assembly. He has scheduled meetings with several leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and British Prime Minister Liz Truss.

  Beirut, Sep 20 (UiTVIANS)  The Lebanese pound sank to a new historic low against the US dollar on the parallel market as the country continues to suffer from a steep financial crisis and a political deadlock. On Monday, the exchange rate of the Lebanese pound declined to 39,000 against the dollar, down from the previous record low of 36,600 on September 13, Elnashra news website reported. Mounir Younes, an economist, attributed the further collapse of the Lebanese currency to the delay in the formation of a new cabinet and fears of a presidential deadlock upon the end of the term of incumbent President Michel Aoun on October 31. According to Younes, Lebanese merchants have recently increased their imports to secure big quantities of products ahead of the rise in the customs dollar rate. “This is why the demand for US dollar increased, which led to a further collapse of the Lebanese pound,” he said. In May this year, the Lebanese pound sank to a new historic low when the exchange rate

  San Juan, Sep 19 (UiTV/IANS)  – Puerto Rico has suffered a massive power outage following the arrival of the powerful hurricane Fiona, the media reported on Monday. The Caribbean island’s electricity operator Luma Energy said on Sunday that the system lost power as winds reached 140 km per hour, the BBC reported. As Puerto Rico is a US territory, President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency for the island, allowing authorities to provide disaster relief as forecasters have warned of as much as 2 ft of rain and catastrophic flooding due to the hurricane. Ports have been closed and flights out of the island’s main airport have been cancelled. “These rains will producing life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding,” said the National Hurricane Center. Puerto Rico’s Governor Pedro Pierluisi said public schools and government agencies would remain closed on Monday and urged residents to seek shelter as soon as possible. Hurricane Fiona made downfall in Puerto Rico five years

United Nations, Sep 16 (UiTVIANS)  UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and Americas, Miroslav Jenca, has stressed the need for a peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. The international community must remain fully committed to a peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan and spare no effort to de-escalate the current tensions, bring the parties back to the negotiating table and help them achieve peace and stability in the region, said Jenca on Thursday. In the immediate term, the parties must abide by their obligations to fully implement the November 2020 cease-fire brokered by Russia, he told the Security Council in a briefing as quoted by Xinhua news agency report. “We urge them to return to the negotiating table and take steps toward the signing of a lasting peace treaty. It will be important that a similar unified message come from the Security Council for the parties to focus on a diplomatic solution,” he added. On Monday evening, the a

  Paris, Sep 15 (UiTV/IANS)  French national railway company SNCF has said that the electricity bill for passenger trains will rise by nearly 1.7 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in 2023 due to the rise of electricity price. Speaking to the Senate, Jean-Pierre Farandou, CEO of the SNCF, on Wednesday added that despite the fact that the SNCF Voyageurs (passenger trains section) buys most of its electricity at a non-market-price, the electricity bill for 2022 will still double, reaching 600 million euros. “With the price of the moment, we would have at this stage an additional cost for electricity alone of 1.6 to 1.7 billion euros,” he said. “If we passed on directly (extra cost) to the price of the ticket, we would have to increase the TGV ticket prices by 10 per cent,” the CEO said, adding that “we have not yet decided what we are going to do”. But he promised that the national company will not “pass on 100 per cent of the costs to the customers”. As French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne d

  Moscow, Sep 14 (UiTV/IANS)  – The Kremlin has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will discuss the Ukraine war and other “current international problems” at this week’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. In a statement on Tuesday, Kremlin foreign policy spokesman Yury Ushakov said: “Bearing in mind the specifics of the current international situation, this meeting, naturally, has a special importance… The leaders are planned to discuss both the bilateral agenda and key regional and international topics.” According to Ushakov, the meeting between Xi and Putin is a “long-awaited personal contact”, the second one over the period of the Covid-19 pandemic, reports TASS News Agency. The first personal meeting between the two leaders took place in Beijing, when Putin attended the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games in February this year. The spokesman anticipated that Putin and Xi “will give a

  Prague, Sep 13 (UiTV/IANS)  Former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis stood trial here over his alleged involvement in the European Union (EU) subsidy fraud. At issue in the case is whether Babis and his former advisor Jana Nagyova unlawfully received about 50 million Czech crowns ($2 million) in EU subsidies over a decade ago to build a conference centre, known as the Stork’s Nest, near Prague, reports Xinhua news agency. During the hearing in Prague’s Municipal Court, Babis denied any wrongdoing and said that the money in question was returned to the EU. He further explained that the criminal proceedings arose after he entered politics, arguing that the allegations against him were “politically motivated”. The trial that began on Monday follows a long-standing criminal investigation in which the defendants are accused of receiving EU funds earmarked for small and medium-sized businesses. Local media reported that prosecutors had asked for suspended sentences and fines for Babis and

  Kiev, Sep 12 (UiTV/IANS)  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has blamed Russia of “depriving people of light and heat” by causing power cuts across the eastern part of the war-torn nation to seek revenge for a counter-offensive launched by Kiev. Blackouts have reportedly affected around nine million people in eastern regions including Kharkiv, Donetsk, Poltava, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk. It comes after Ukraine said it had retaken over 3,000 sq.km during the rapid counter-offensive in the east, reports the BBC. Taking to social media on Sunday night, the President said: “Even through the impenetrable darkness, Ukraine and the civilized world clearly see these terrorist acts. “Deliberate and cynical missile strikes on civilian critical infrastructure. No military facilities. Kharkiv and Donetsk regions were cut off. In Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Sumy there are partial problems with power supply.” He further said that “cold, hunger, darkness and thirst are not as terrible and dea

  London, Sep 9 (UITV/IANS)  Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland on Friday offered tributes to Queen Elizabeth II, who died the previous day aged 96, describing her an extraordinary person who lived an extraordinary life and her devotion to duty was only matched by her skill as Head of the Commonwealth of Nations. In a tribute, Scotland said: “It is with the greatest sorrow and sadness that we mourn the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. After a long life of faith, duty and service, a great light has gone out. “Her Majesty was an extraordinary person, who lived an extraordinary life: a constant presence and example for each of us, guiding and serving us all for as long as any of us can remember. “Throughout her reign, and seven decades of extraordinary change and challenge, Her Majesty was the epitome of duty, stability, wisdom and grace. “Her Majesty loved the Commonwealth, and the Commonwealth loved her. During her reign she travelled more than any monarch in his

  Moscow, Sep 8 (UiTV/IANS)  – Traditional reserve currencies like the US dollar and the euro have lost their credibility as a basis for international settlements, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “Western countries have undermined the foundations of the global economic system. There is a loss of confidence in the dollar, the euro and the pound sterling as currencies in which to conduct transactions, hold assets and reserves,” RT reported citing the President as saying at the seventh annual Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Wednesday. He also noted that this tendency pushes Russia and many other nations to switch to other currencies, most notably the Chinese yuan. “Step by step we are moving away from the use of these unreliable, compromised currencies. And by the way, even US allies are gradually reducing their savings and payments in dollars, according to statistics… I will note that yesterday Gazprom and its Chinese partners agreed to pay for gas in rubles and yuan in a

  Sonipat, Sep 7 (UiTV/IANS)  – New agreements between the University of Sydney and O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) will give business students the opportunity to divide their studies between Australia and India. Students studying for a Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons), a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) or a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Finance and Entrepreneurship at JGU in Sonipat will spend two years at the Indian institution before travelling to Australia for another two years to complete the University of Sydney Business School’s undergraduate commerce degree. Students will be awarded a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Sydney on successful completion and may also apply to be awarded their degree from JGU. On completion of two years of study at the University of Sydney, participating students may be eligible to take advantage of the Australian Government’s Post-Study Work stream visa to remain in Australia and undertake paid employment for a further two years. The a

Washington, Sep 6 (UiTV/IANS)  – Former US President Donald Trump literally breathed fire, calling the “FBI and DoJ as vicious monsters” even as the Department of Justice (DoJ) sat on the horns of a dilemma on whether to launch criminal prosecution against Trump before the election authorities enforce the 60-day deadline during which no legal action can be taken against candidates on the ballot. This would be tantamount to influencing the elections, legal experts said. So, the DoJ may not be able to do this overtly but nothing prevented them from continuing an ongoing investigation internally like speaking to people around Trump to get at corroborating evidence on the FBI raid, media reports said. “The FBI and the Justice Department have become vicious monsters, controlled by radical left scoundrels, lawyers and the media, who tell them what to do,” said Trump in reference to the search that took place last month. He was speaking at a huge election rally in Wilkes-Barre, Penn, in suppo