Nikolay Azarov described the agreement as another information pretext for the Ukrainian mass media aimed at «convincing Ukrainians to continue dying for the interests of Zelensky and the US»

The government’s approval rating stands at 53.2%

According to Maria Zakharova, the West has been aiming at this «for a long time, not only in the 21st century»

The MOEX shares had slowed down the decline and traded at 236.99 rubles per share

At the same time, the yuan decreased by 0.55 kopecks to 12.21 rubles

There have been six multiannual financial frameworks (MFFs) to date, including 2021-2027. The Treaty of Lisbon transformed the MFF from an interinstitutional agreement into a regulation. Established for a period of at least five years, an MFF is there to ensure that the EU’s expenditure develops in an orderly manner and within the limits of its own resources. It sets out provisions with which the annual budget of the EU must comply. The MFF Regulation sets expenditure ceilings for broad categories of spending called headings. After its initial proposals of 2 May 2018 and in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, on 27 May 2020 the Commission proposed a recovery plan (NextGenerationEU) that included revised proposals for the MFF 2021-2027 and own resources, and the setting up of a recovery instrument worth EUR 750 billion (in 2018 prices). The package was adopted on 16 December 2020 following interinstitutional negotiations. In the light of new developments, the MFF was revised in December 2022 and then again more substantially in February 2024. Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Medicines and medical devices are subject to the rules of the single market and have a direct impact on people’s health. A robust legal framework is in place to protect public health and guarantee the safety of these products. Access to affordable medicines, the fight against antimicrobial resistance, the ethical conduct of clinical trials, the use of artificial intelligence in medical devices and incentives for research and development are just some of the key issues the EU deals with in this field. Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Taxation is a prerogative of the Member States, the EU having only limited competences. As EU tax policy is geared towards the smooth running of the single market, the harmonisation of indirect taxation was addressed before that of direct taxation. Efforts to combat the problem of tax evasion and tax avoidance then followed. EU tax legislation must be adopted unanimously by the Member States. The European Parliament has the right to be consulted on tax matters; for budgetary-related issues it is even co-legislator. Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

This report investigates how the EU should deal with shockflation - inflation unleashed by shocks to systemically significant prices such as energy and food. We argue that the ECB’s monetary policy is not an adequate instrument to deal with this kind of inflation. Therefore, the EU currently lacks adequate governance structures. The EU should develop a new inflation governance framework that targets shocks to systemically significant prices directly, before they are propagated through the economy. This document was provided/prepared by the Economic Governance and EMU Scrutiny Unit at the request of the ECON Committee. Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

People from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds face discrimination and its consequences on a daily basis. However, the exact scale of the problem is hard to gauge, owing to a lack of data and general under reporting of racist incidents. Although the European Union (EU) has been introducing legislation to combat racial and xenophobic discrimination since 2000, the problem persists. The global Black Lives Matter protests highlighted the need for new measures, while the COVID 19 pandemic saw a major increase in reports of racist and xenophobic incidents, and the crisis it triggered had a disproportionately large negative effect on racial and ethnic minority groups, in the form of higher death and infection rates. Studies point to the cost of racial discrimination not only for the individuals concerned, but also for society as a whole. For instance, a 2018 EPRS report argued that the loss in earnings caused by racial and ethnic discrimination for both individuals and societies amounts to billions of euros annually. EU citizens also acknowledge this problem: a 2019 survey found that over half of Europeans believe racial or ethnic discrimination to be widespread in their country. To address racial discrimination and the inequalities it engenders, the European Commission has put forward a number of equality strategies and actions. The European Parliament, meanwhile, has long demanded an end to racial discrimination. In recent resolutions, Parliament has called for an end to structural racism, discrimination, racial profiling and police brutality; for protection of the right to protest peacefully; for an enhanced role for culture, education, media and sport in the fight against racism; and for authorities to take an intersectional approach. On 20 and 21 March 2024, Members of the European Parliament from the Anti Racism and Diversity Intergroup (ARDI) co hosted the third EU Anti Racism and Diversity Week. This updates a briefing from March 2023. Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

The US will supply not just F-16s, but also other types of aircraft to Ukraine under the new security deal, Vladimir Zelensky has said Read Full Article at RT.com

RIYADH:Ten investors have been convicted of violating the Kingdom’s Capital Market Law and ordered to pay the government a total of $27.1 million in fines and compensation for losses, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday. The Appeal Committee for Resolution of Securities Disputes, or ACRSD, sentenced one of the individuals to imprisonment, the SPA report said. The “final decision” was issued by the ACRSD on Dec. 24, 2023.

RIYADH: Saudi aid agency KSrelief has delivered 25 tonnes of dates to the World Food Programme’s office in Guinea, reported the Saudi Press Agency. The dates were delivered in the presence of Saudi Ambassador Fahd bin Eid Al-Rashidi and representatives of the aid agency at WFP headquarters in Conakry, the country’s capital. The WFP delegate in Conakry, Hyoung-Joon Lim, received the shipment on Thursday.

The Reform UK leader told an ITV general election debate that 'we should encourage people to have children', while he also backed greater tax relief for married couples.

One of Hansen's former sides, Liverpool, took to their social media channels to announce the news on Sunday afternoon, sending their best wishes to the former defender and his family.

Wes Streeting and me. We go back a long way. We go back nearly fifteen years, me and Wes, so we do. We have never met yet still here we are trapped as one.

SINGAPORE — Travellers using the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints over the Hari Raya Haji long weekend are advised to factor more time for immigration clearance, Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on June 14. This is because traffic at these land checkpoints is expected to «remain very heavy» during this period, it said in a Facebook post. ICA added that more than 510,000 travellers cleared the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints on June 13. Hari Raya Haji falls on June 17, and within the June school holiday period between May 25 and June 23. In a statement on May 20, ICA said heavy traffic is expected within this period. During the Good Friday long weekend from March 28 to April 1, almost 2.3 million travellers crossed the two land checkpoints connecting Singapore and Malaysia, marking more than 455,000 crossings daily.

[New Times] The national consultative forum of political organizations (NFPO) says that preparations for next month's presidential and parliamentary elections are advanced, with the forum providing financial and civil assistance to all political parties under its umbrella.

SINGAPORE — From July 1, virtually all SMSes sent by government agencies in Singapore will have a single sender ID, as part of efforts to make it easier for the public to identify authentic government text messages. Such SMSes will show «gov.sg» as the sender ID instead of individual government agencies, such as «MOH» for the Ministry of Health or «Iras» for the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. Besides the gov.sg sender ID, every text message will begin with the full name of the agency that sent it and end with a note stating that it is an automated message sent by the Singapore Government, to indicate that recipients should not reply to it. Over a two-week period beginning on June 18, government agencies will gradually begin to send messages using the gov.sg sender ID, with all messages displaying the new ID from July 1. There are exceptions, though: Text messages from the Defence and Home Affairs ministries about national service matters and emergency services will have different sender IDs.

Soilbuild Construction Group has clinched a $647.5 million contract for the construction of a development at the upcoming Tuas mega port. This brings the group's order books beyond $1.2 billion for the first time in history. Known for their construction, development and management of residential and Green Mark certified commercial properties, Soilbuild's construction of Port + Hub at Tuas Terminal will consist of warehouse buildings, gate buildings, a main intake substation and ancillary buildings. It will be built to achieve Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy - an eco-sustainable rating for a building under the Building & Construction Authority's Green Mark Certification Scheme. This rating recognises best-in-class Green Mark Buildings that achieve at least 60 per cent energy savings. Executive Director of Soilbuild Construction Group Lim Han Ren shared that the project in Tuas mega port is «one of the most prominent private sector industrial projects in Singapore awarded to date» and «the largest construction project won by the group».

Stop transferring money to me — that is the plea from Lions goalkeeper Hassan Sunny, who was dubbed a hero by Chinese football fans after his performance during Singapore's World Cup qualifier match against Thailand on Tuesday (June 11). Fans have attributed China's progress to the final round of Asia's qualifiers to the 40-year-old's 11 saves during the game. Chinese fans in Singapore flocked to his nasi padang stall in Tampines, Dapur Hassan. Many fans, including those in China, also sent him money through the stall's QR code –which accepts Alipay and WeChat pay and was circulating on social media – to show their appreciation. In an Instagram post written in Chinese on Thursday (June 13), Hassan thanked the fans for their outpouring of support, but urged them to «support him rationally» and not to send any more money. He warned that some scammers had been taking advantage of the situation by circulating fake QR codes. 

India’s military has received a first batch of indigenous kamikaze drones Read Full Article at RT.com

[allAfrica]

The Seychelles' Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday discussed the island nation's proposed positions in the forthcoming European Union and Eastern Southern Africa negotiations on the liberalisation of the provision of certain services. Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe and Madagascar signed the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Eastern and Southern Africa in August 2009, and applied provisionally in May 2012. Comoros signed the agreement in 2017 after the consent of the European Parliament in 2013. Vice President Ahmed Afif said in a press briefing on Thursday, that the agreement «makes provision for the five countries to export their products and services via the EU to other markets with favourable conditions. Like Seychelles, we export canned tuna and we get favourable conditions such as we do not pay taxes on entry and there is no quota on the quantity we are bringing in.» Afif said that on the other hand, as a country, Seychelles has to encourage exportation towards its destination for almost the same condition that the EU is offering. «This comes with some difficulties among certain countries for certain products coming into the country without paying taxes. This will impact our revenue, so we decided to discuss with them what is permissible under the agreement that can sustain us. We are not on the same level as them and we would not be able to do the same as them in everything,» he explained. Afif added that Seychelles needs to agree with them on what the country «needs to protect and what can be done under the agreement but for others we will make concessions and compromise. This is the discussion that we have agreed upon.» He gave examples of items like fuel and transport on which there will always be taxes on them and they have accepted this. «There will always be VAT (Value Added Tax) on most products entering the country but they can say that there are certain areas Seychelles can agree on making concessions for example on dairy products that we are not producing. We can review the conditions under which they are entering the country. Also certain pharmaceutical products but we cannot offer equally what they are offering,» said Afif. 

Japanese citizens have been left outraged after Kanye West's wife Bianca Censori put on another shocking display during a shopping trip in Tokyo this week.

The Leader of the House of Commons pushed Conservative claims that voting for Reform UK on 4 July would make it easier for Sir Keir Starmer to become PM.

Kate Rackham, who was diagnosed with incurable oestrogen-receptive breast cancer at the age of 39, tweeted: 'If you're reading this, I have died but do not cry for me.'

Republican Michael McCaul and a bipartisan US delegation, including Nancy Pelosi, will visit the Dalai Lama in India. The visit to Dharamsala precedes the Dalai Lama's US trip for medical treatment. This could strain US-China relations, as Beijing views the Dalai Lama as a separatist.

Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the US state department, stressed that the decision regarding electoral matters lies solely with the people of India. He further highlighted the US's appreciation for the election that occurred in India, characterizing it as «the largest exercise of electoral franchise in any country in history.»

Union minister Suresh Gopi praised the external affairs ministry's coordination in aiding Indians injured in the Kuwait fire that claimed 49 lives. He cancelled plans to receive Malayalee victims' bodies. Kerala's revenue minister outlined arrangements for receiving and transporting bodies, with support from health and NORKA departments. Officials confirmed 42 Indian casualties among 49 total in the Al-Mangaf building fire.

[DW] The attack in eastern Congo was blamed on Islamic State-linked rebels. It echoed a similar attack last week in the same province, where at least 80 people were killed.

The B.C. SPCA is caring for a young dog who was surrendered last week with her tail severely injured and her mouth duct-taped shut in a «homemade muzzle.»

The City of Toronto exposed developer Tridel's banking information to the public, city officials have confirmed.