World News Roundup: China kindergarten attack kills six, sparks safety worries; Analysis-Yellen's China trip yields long meetings, 'cordial' tone, but no consensus and more

"The plane has found a large boat with some 200 people on board, 71 miles to the south of Gran Canaria," a spokesperson for the service told Reuters, adding it was "possible" that it was the missing vessel. Fresh spending showdown looms as US Congress returns to Washington The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives and the Democratic-led Senate this week will start to seek the upper hand in a spending showdown that could trigger a government shutdown just months after Congress narrowly avoided default.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 10-07-2023 18:56 IST | Created: 10-07-2023 18:29 IST
World News Roundup: China kindergarten attack kills six, sparks safety worries; Analysis-Yellen's China trip yields long meetings, 'cordial' tone, but no consensus and more
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Image Credit: ANI

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

China kindergarten attack kills six, sparks safety worries

A 25-year-old man was suspected of attacking a kindergarten in China's Guangdong province on Monday, killing six people and injuring one, triggering an outpouring of concern about violence against children at school. Media reported the attack in Lianjiang county in the southern province was a stabbing. The suspect, with the surname Wu and from Lianjiang, had been detained, police said, adding they were investigating.

Spain possibly locates missing boat carrying 200 migrants, sends help

A Spanish reconnaissance plane has found what could be a fishing vessel from Senegal with about 200 migrants on board that has been missing for nearly two weeks, the maritime rescue service said on Monday. "The plane has found a large boat with some 200 people on board, 71 miles to the south of Gran Canaria," a spokesperson for the service told Reuters, adding it was "possible" that it was the missing vessel.

Fresh spending showdown looms as US Congress returns to Washington

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives and the Democratic-led Senate this week will start to seek the upper hand in a spending showdown that could trigger a government shutdown just months after Congress narrowly avoided default. Hardline Republicans are pushing their leader, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, to cut budgets below the levels he and Democratic President Joe Biden agreed to a little more than a month ago. But Senate appropriators are aiming for bipartisan deals -- all of which point to difficult negotiations ahead -- as Congress returns from a two-week July 4 recess.

Ukraine says its troops advance in east and south, make gains near Bakhmut

Ukraine said on Monday its troops were advancing in the east and south of the country, and signalled they were tightening the noose around Russian troops occupying the eastern city of Bakhmut. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv's troops had taken back 10.2 square km (3.9 sq miles) of territory in the south and four sq km in the east in the past week of a counteroffensive against Russian forces.

Analysis-Yellen's China trip yields long meetings, 'cordial' tone, but no consensus

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen went to Beijing with no expectations that meetings with China's new top economic officials would immediately ease tensions between the world's two largest economies. There was no breakthrough. And it's far from clear whether the 10 hours of meetings, covering issues ranging from U.S. technology export controls to China's new "anti-espionage" law and other punitive actions against U.S. firms, will do anything to change the relationship's trajectory.

Biden meets King Charles and PM Sunak ahead of NATO summit

U.S. President Joe Biden met Britain's King Charles on Monday to discuss how to tackle climate change after earlier dropping in to see Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and hail the "rock-solid" friendship with a close ally. Biden is in Britain at the start of a three-nation trip including the NATO summit in Lithuania, at which allies aim to show solidarity with Ukraine against Russia's invasion while not yet accepting Kyiv as an alliance member.

Western allies fine-tune security assurances for Ukraine as NATO meets

Ukraine's largest Western allies are still finalising a joint framework that would pave the way for long-term security assurances for Kyiv, and may wait until the end of a NATO summit this week to announce them, European diplomats say. The 31-member NATO alliance meets in Lithuania on Tuesday, aiming above all to give Ukraine some kind of path to membership, but still divided over how far to go.

Analysis-U.S. military deals not enough to wean India off Russian arms yet

India’s multi-billion-dollar purchases of U.S. arms are less about shifting its reliance on Russian defence equipment and moving towards the West - it's more about developing its own domestic weapons industry, security officials and analysts say. India is the world's biggest arms importer but almost all of its major weapons purchases now include provisions for joint manufacture or technology transfer, irrespective of which country it is dealing with.

Israel Knesset set to vote on new Supreme Court bill

Israel's parliament was scheduled on Monday to hold a first vote on a bill that limits some Supreme Court power, part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rebooted judicial overhaul that has plunged the country into deep political crisis. The drive to change the justice system by Netanyahu's ruling coalition of nationalist and religious parties has sparked unprecedented protests, stirred concern for Israel's democratic health among its Western allies and bruised the economy.

World's war on greenhouse gas emissions has a military blind spot

When it comes to taking stock of global emissions, there's an elephant in the room: the world's armed forces. As temperatures hit new highs, scientists and environmental groups are stepping up pressure on the U.N. to force armies to disclose all their emissions and end a long-standing exemption that has kept some of their climate pollution off the books.

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