Luxembourg (AFP) – Ministers for European Affairs from the European Union’s 27 member states meet in Luxembourg for a General Affairs Council. The ministers plan to discuss preparations for the European Summit on June 29 and 30, and the council’s programme for the coming months. IMAGES
West Manggarai (Indonesia) (AFP) – Last May, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) wore special shirts with the mata manuk woven fabric at the bloc’s summit, raising hopes for more orders.
Colombo (AFP) – Heart-wrenching images of revered elephants and cattle eating plastic in Sri Lanka have prompted politicians to toughen pollution laws, but sceptical conservationists warn past bans were repeatedly ignored.
Yuya Motomura, a 45-year-old mahjong parlour manager in Japan, is one of a handful of Japanese men who have joined Ukrainians battling the Russian invasion, bucking a decades-long national principle of pacifism and their government’s own warnings. “People in this town (in Japan) probably see me as a punk, someone rogue, but I’ve always felt that I’m someone who is more socially conscious than other people realise,” he says.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang slams efforts in the West to “de-risk” their economies as a “false proposition”, hitting back against US and EU policy aimed at reducing their reliance on China in a speech delivered at the World Economic Forum in the port city of Tianjin.
Maebashi (Japan) (AFP) – Yuya Motomura, a 45-year-old mahjong parlour manager in Japan, is one of a handful of Japanese men who have joined Ukrainians battling the Russian invasion, bucking a decades-long national principle of pacifism and their government’s own warnings. “People in this town (in Japan) probably see me as a punk, someone rogue, but I’ve always felt that I’m someone who is more socially conscious than other people realise,” he says.
Moscow (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin says that “from the start of the events, on my direct orders, steps were taken to avoid large-scale bloodshed”. Speaking during a televised address, Putin blames Kyiv and the western countries for wanting “precisely this fratricide” and Russian soldiers “killing each other”.
Exmouth (United Kingdom) (AFP) – In the southern British town of Exmouth, a leisure centre has been using the heat generated by computers to maintain its swimming pool water at the right temperature. Under this system, the swimming pool is heated at a considerably lower cost, while the data centre uses the pool to cool its computers, immersed in an inert oil, for free.
Tehran (AFP) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani says that his country hopes that indirect talks with the United States will soon lead to an exchange of prisoners, months after a circulating rumour on a clandestine deal between the two foes.
Da Nang (Vietnam) (AFP) – The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier makes a port call in Vietnam. It comes as the United States and Vietnam celebrate the 10th anniversary of their “comprehensive partnership. This is the third visit by a US aircraft carrier to Vietnam after a historic port call by the USS Carl Vinson in 2018, the first time such a ship had arrived in the country since the end of the war.
Vilnius (AFP) – German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius says Germany is prepared to station 4,000 troops in Lithuania after the Baltic nation called on NATO to strengthen its eastern flank.
Beijing (AFP) – Beijing pledges its support for Russia’s efforts in maintaining “national stability” following a short-lived armed uprising led by the head of the Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin. “China and Russia maintain close, good communication at all levels,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning tells a regular press briefing, without giving information on whether a talk occurred between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.
