Junior Digest

Manila, Apr 2,2021: The death toll in the rail accident at Taiwan’s Hualien County has soared to 54 while the number of injured have risen to 156, local media reported on Friday.

The accident, which is being termed as the deadliest rail tragedy in decades, took place at 0928 hrs local time (01:28 GMT), when a train ferrying 490 passengers derailed inside a tunnel after apparently hitting a truck in Taiwan’s Hualien County.

The rescue operations are being conducted on war footing. The accident has disrupted entire eastern trunk line of the Taiwan Railways.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s office said she had ordered hospitals to prepare for a mass casualty event. “We will continue to do everything we can to ensure their safety in the wake of this heartbreaking incident,” she wrote on Twitter.

The train, which met with the unfortunate accident, is one of the fastest deployed on a network that is generally considered safe. It can reach speeds of 130km/h (80mph).

Mexico City, Mar 26,2021: The number of people, who have died of the coronavirus in Mexico, has risen by 584 to 200,211 within the past 24 hours, the national Ministry of Health said.

The number of confirmed cases has increased by 5,787 to 2,409,459 within the same period of time.

The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020. To date, more than 125.38 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 2.75 million fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Mar 28,2021:The defence chiefs of 12 countries have condemned the Myanmar military for its deadly crackdown on demonstrators, as people across the Southeast Asian country mourned those who lost their lives in the bloodiest day since the February 1 coup.

The United States, United Kingdom, Japan and South Korea signed onto Sunday’s joint statement.

“A professional military follows international standards for conduct and is responsible for protecting – not harming – the people it serves,” the defence chiefs said. “We urge the Myanmar armed forces to cease violence and work to restore respect and credibility with the people of Myanmar that it has lost through its actions.”

The other countries that signed the statement were Australia, Canada, Germany, Greece, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.

The rare joint condemnation came as security forces killed at least 114 people on Saturday, Myanmar’s Armed Forces Day, in a crackdown that a United Nations investigator called “mass murder”.

Several children were among those killed.

The General Strike Committee of Nationalities (GSCN), one of the main protest groups, paid tribute to those who died, saying in a Facebook post: “We salute our heroes who sacrificed lives during this revolution”. It added, “We Must Win This REVOLUTION.”

Saturday also brought some of the heaviest fighting since the coup between the army and the ethnic armed groups that control swaths of the country. Military jets killed at least three people in a raid on a village controlled by an armed group from the Karen minority, a civil society group said on Sunday, after the Karen National Union faction earlier said it had overrun an army post near the Thai border, killing 10 people.

The air raids sent villagers fleeing into the jungle.

There was no immediate comment from the Myanmar military.

New Delhi, March 28,2021: India reported 62,714 new COVID-19 cases, 28,739 discharges and 312 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the Union Health Ministry on Sunday.
The cumulative cases reached 1,19,71,624 including 1,13,23,762 recoveries, 4,86,310 active infections. The death toll reached 1,61,552.
With 3,04,809 active cases, Maharashtra remains the worst affected state. As many as 23,14,579 recovered from the disease while the state recorded 54,073 deaths.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the total number of samples tested up to March 27 is 24,09,50,842 including 11,81,289 samples tested yesterday.
A total of 6,02,69,782 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far in the country.

Mar 30,2021: A top health official in the United States has warned of “impending doom” amid rising cases of COVID-19, even as the country continues to outpace expectations on vaccine distribution.

During a news conference on Monday, Dr Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said she was “going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom”.

“We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are, and so much reason for hope, but right now, I’m scared,” she told reporters.

The US is averaging 63,000 new cases a day as of March 29, according to data from Johns Hopkins University – a rise that comes after a recent plateau in new infections.

Meanwhile, an average of 2.7 million vaccine jabs have been administered across the country per day during the last week, CNBC reported.

The CDC says more than 145.8 million vaccine doses have been administered as of Monday since the country’s vaccination drive began late last year, while 73 percent of seniors have received their first dose, according to the White House.
President Joe Biden said on Monday that 90 percent of all US adults will be eligible for the vaccine by April 19.

“For the vast, vast majority of adults, you won’t have to wait until May 1. You’ll be eligible for your shot on April 19,” Biden said during a news conference on Monday.

Andy Slavitt, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the announcement was “good news”, but warned that Americans need to continue to follow public health guidelines.

“We’re headed in the right direction. But we can’t slow down. Millions remain unvaccinated and at risk,” Slavitt said.

Some officials have criticised scaled-back mitigation measures as contributing to the increase in new cases.

Some states, such as Texas and Mississippi, have lifted restrictions and mask mandates in spite of CDC recommendations. Businesses are still able to enforce the restrictions.

White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr Anthony Fauci told CBS on Sunday that the rise in cases could be attributed to “things like spring break and pulling back on the mitigation methods”.

Meanwhile, some have weighed the possibility of the US government issuing “vaccination passports” to allow those fully vaccinated to work and travel freely.

But White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday the Biden administration would not issue a federal mandate for vaccine passports. “We believe it will be driven by the private sector,” Psaki said.

The US has reported more than 30.2 million COVID-19 cases and more than 549,000 coronavirus-related deaths as of Monday, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally.

Rome [Italy], March 30,2021: Italy on Monday reported 12,916 new COVID-19 infections as over half of its 20 regions turned into red zones, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Health.
The country’s death toll rose by 417 to 108,350, while the recoveries increased by 19,725 to over 2.87 million, according to the ministry.
Health Minister Roberto Speranza signed a March 26 order designating which regions fall into which color-coded zone, with the new rules going into effect on Monday and lasting through April 6.
In a bid to contain the new wave of the pandemic, the Italian government late last year divided the country into three color-coded areas — yellow or low risk, orange or medium risk, and red or high risk — with varying restrictions according to the level of transmission of the virus.
The new orders moved the regions of Calabria, Tuscany and Valle d’Aosta into the red zone, where they joined Campania, Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Lombardy, Marche, Piedmont, Puglia, Veneto and the Autonomous Province of Trento.

Joondalup [Australia], March 26,2021: The findings of new research by Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found that despite having the best intentions, within the first month, most people give up on their New Year resolutions.
The study also revealed that approximately half the people surveyed had the same, or nearly the same, resolution as in the previous year, and more than half of the resolutions listed focused on either diet or exercise.
The research, led by ECU Associate Professor Joanne Dickson, investigated personal goal factors that predicted greater wellbeing and sticking with one’s most important New Year resolution over time. Around 180 Australian and UK participants took part in an online survey over a two-month period. The average age of participants was 37 years and ranged from 18 to 77 years.
Key findings:
– Two-thirds of participants gave up on their New Year resolutions within the first month.
– Just over half the participants pursued the same (or similar) resolution as in the previous year.
– More than half of the resolutions focused on either diet (29 per cent) or exercise (24 per cent).
– Approximately two-thirds (64 per cent) of the listed resolutions were described as ‘general’. A general resolution referred to an overly general or vague resolution (e.g. to get fit).
– Flexibility around achieving goals significantly predicted greater wellbeing over time.
– Goal tenacity (being persistent) did not predict wellbeing over time, nor the ability to stick to one’s most important New Year resolution.

-No significant gender or age or country differences were seen.
Set specific resolutions
Despite participants reporting a strong commitment to their most important New Year resolution and a belief that they would succeed, about two-thirds of participants gave up within one month.
Professor Dickson said this might be because many of the participants set general resolutions like they wanted ‘to get fit’ or ‘exercise regularly’ rather than setting specific resolutions and plans.
“An example of a specific resolution might be — to go for a 40-minute walk around the lake with my friend Sam on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings,” Professor Dickson said.
“Previous research has shown that setting specific goals that include a time, place, and/or people provide the mental cues to assist people to stick to their resolution goals.
“General goals or resolutions also require more thinking time, making them harder to stick to than goal resolutions that have a plan.”
Flexibility is the key to wellbeing
Professor Dickson said it was possible that people gave up pursuing their New Year resolutions because they were not associated with more meaningful underlying goals and values.
“The resolution to lose five kilos will more likely endure in the face of obstacles, difficulties or other competing resolutions if it’s linked to higher personal values, such as beliefs about one’s health or appearance,” Dickson said.
“Our study also found that the ability to flexibly adapt one’s resolutions in response to changing situations or obstacles was positively associated with increased mental wellbeing. Whereas the ability to stick to a goal did not increase mental wellbeing or sustained resolution pursuit.”

Brussels, Mar 29,2021: European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has condemned Saturday’s crackdown by Myanmar’s security forces’ on protestors that reportedly left dozens of people dead.

Borrell said in a statement on Sunday

“I am following the worrying events in Myanmar. The escalation of violence with more than 100 civilian killings perpetrated by the military against its own people on its ‘Armed Forces Day’ is unacceptable. Far from celebrating, the Myanmar military has made yesterday a day of horror and of shame,”

Calling for an end to violence in Myanmar he said that the EU is making efforts to start a political process in the country.

“We will continue to use the EU’s mechanisms, including sanctions, to target the perpetrators of this violence, and those responsible for turning back the clock on Myanmar’s path of democracy and peace,” Borrell said.

The Pentagon on Saturday released a joint statement from the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley, and the defense chiefs of Australia,

Germany, Greece, Canada, Italy, Japan, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea and the UK, condemning the use of force against protesters in Myanmar.

US President Joe Biden described the violence at Myanmar protests as “terrible.”

“It’s terrible, it’s absolutely outrageous, and based on the reporting I’ve got an awful lot of people have been killed totally unnecessarily,” Biden told reporters on Sunday, as broadcast by MSNBC.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) in Myanmar, over 90 people, including children, were killed during Saturday protests against the military rule in Myanmar. Fatalities were reported in the cities of Yangon, Bago, Mandalay and surrounding regions.

Washington , March 29,2021: Scientists during a recent study found that Odontoblasts, the cells that form a tooth’s dentin function to sense cold, which can trigger a toothache. They also found a way to block the pathway to cold-sensitive teeth.
Researchers report in Science Advances that they have uncovered a new function for odontoblasts, the cells that form dentin, the shell beneath the tooth’s enamel that encases the soft dental pulp containing nerves and blood vessels. “We found that odontoblasts, which support the shape of the tooth, are also responsible for sensing cold,” says pathologist Jochen Lennerz, MD, PhD, one of the paper’s senior authors and medical director of the Center for Integrated Diagnostics at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). “This research contributes a new function to this cell, which is exciting from a basic-science standpoint. But we now also know how to interfere with this cold-sensing function to inhibit dental pain.”
Teeth that hurt from exposure to cold can occur for many reasons. Many people have experienced intense pain from cold when they have a hole in a tooth from an untreated cavity, for example. But teeth can also become very sensitive to cold from gum erosion due to aging. Some cancer patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapies have extreme cold sensitivity all over their bodies. “A breeze on the face registers as extreme pain in the teeth, which may even cause some patients to stop therapy,” says Lennerz.
Tooth pain has been notoriously difficult to study. A tooth’s hardness makes it a challenging tissue to study and inducing tooth pain in humans requires opening the tooth. The team of researchers, therefore, conducted experiments on mice whose molars were drilled under anesthesia. Mice with dental injuries manifest pain with their behavior; they drink up to 300% more sugar water than their litter mates without dental injuries, for example. In previous research, the team of investigators had discovered TRCP5, a protein encoded by the TRCP5 gene that is expressed in nerves in many parts of the body. Their earlier discovery allowed the researchers to zero in on TRCP5 as a mediator of pain from cold.

By studying genetically altered mice that did not have the TRCP5 gene, the researchers found that the mice with injured teeth did not manifest the increased drinking behavior and behaved like mice without dental injuries.
“We now have definitive proof that the temperature sensor TRCP5 transmits cold via the odontoblast and triggers nerves to fire, creating pain and cold hypersensitivity,” says Lennerz. “This cold sensitivity may be the body’s way to protect a damaged tooth from additional injury.”
Specifically, in response to cold, the TRCP5 protein opens channels in the membrane of odontoblasts, enabling other molecules, such as calcium, to enter and interact with the cell. If the tooth’s pulp is inflamed from a deep cavity, for example, TRCP5 is overabundant, causing increased electrical signaling via the nerves emerging from the root of the tooth and running to the brain, where pain is perceived. When gums recede from aging, teeth can become hypersensitive because the odontoblasts are sensing cold in a newly exposed region of the tooth. “Most cells and tissues slow their metabolism in the presence of cold, which is why donor organs are put on ice,” says Lennerz. “But TRPC5 makes cells more active in cold, and the odontoblasts’ ability to sense cold via TRPC5 makes this discovery so exciting.”
Lennerz confirmed the presence of the TRPCS protein in extracted human teeth, which was a technical tour de force. “Our teeth aren’t meant to be cut into ultra-thin layers so they can be studied under the microscope,” says Lennerz, who first had to decalcify the teeth and put them in epoxy resin before slicing them and identifying the TRPC5 channels in the odontoblasts.
The research team also identified a pharmacological target for minimizing tooth sensitivity to cold. For centuries, the oil of cloves has been used as a remedy for tooth pain. The active agent in oil of cloves is eugenol, which happens to block TRCP5. Toothpastes containing eugenol are already on the market, but the findings of this study may lead to more potent applications to treat teeth that are hypersensitive to cold. And there may be novel applications for eugenol, such as treating patients systemically for extreme cold sensitivity from chemotherapy. “I’m excited to see how other researchers will apply our findings,” says Lennerz.

Beijing [China], March 25,2021: China has extended another Spratly Islands reef in the disputed South China Sea, satellite images have showed.
Photographs taken by American space Technology Company Maxar showed that Subi Reef – which is also claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam – had new land added to it that had not been visible in a satellite photo taken on February 20, reported South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Kristin Huang, writing in SCMP, reported that the new rectangle of land, about 2.85 hectares (seven acres) in size, had been added to the southern edge of the ring-shaped coral atoll, which encloses a lagoon and has a channel for vessels to enter and leave.
Collin Koh, a research fellow from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said the new construction could be used for many purposes.
It comes amid a dispute over nearby Whitsun Reef, with a reported 200 Chinese vessels being labelled ‘maritime militia’ by the Philippines, said Kristin.

The new construction is latest of the efforts by China, the Philippines and Vietnam to strengthen their overlapping claims in the South China Sea, where each has built up facilities.
China has been dredging and building artificial islands in the Spratlys since 2013, with some equipped with radar, runways and surface-to-air missiles.
Subi Reef is one of six artificial islands Beijing has claimed and developed in the South China Sea. It is 26km (16 miles) from Thitu Island, known as Pagasa by the Philippines, which has occupied it and built a beaching ramp.
Vietnam has installed emplacements for air and coastal defence systems on most of its bases in the Spratlys, with the most significant upgrades being at West Reef and Sin Cowe Island, according to a report last month by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies’ Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.
Tensions have flared in the Spratlys this month over the continued presence of reported 200-plus Chinese vessels near the Beijing-controlled Whitsun Reef, amid complaints that China was turning it into another outpost, reported SCMP.

Cairo, Mar 28,2021: 321 ships are waiting to pass through the Suez Canal, confirmed the waterway authority on Saturday.
A 1,300-feet-long container ship ‘Ever Given’ has been stuck at the passageway since Tuesday.
Efforts are on to move the ship and the it budged a little on Friday, reported Israeli media.
Head of the Waterway Authority, Osama Rabie told the media at a Press Conference on Saturday
“At the moment, 321 ships are waiting for their turn to pass through the Suez Canal due to the situation,”
He said that relentless efforts to refloat the “megaship” are ongoing without a break and added that the situation is complicated by the size of the ship and the number of containers aboard.
Rabie assured that the operation is bearing results but added that it is premature to say when it would end.

Tehran, Iran,Mar 28,2021: Iran and China have signed a long-gestating 25-year cooperation accord as both countries remain under Unites States sanctions.

The agreement was signed in Tehran on Saturday by Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Wang, who touched down in Tehran on Friday for a two-day visit as part of his Middle East trip, also met with President Hassan Rouhani, and Ali Larijani, a representative of the Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei who is said to have been the point person on the 25-year accord.

The agreement is said to have been in the works since Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Iran in 2016, also agreeing to increase bilateral trade more than 10-fold to $600bn in the next decade.

No details of the agreement have yet to be officially published, but it is expected to be a sweeping “strategic accord” that includes significant Chinese investments in Iran’s key sectors such as energy and infrastructure, in addition to military cooperation.

It comes as both Iran and China are under different levels of sanctions imposed by the US.

After unilaterally abandoning Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers – that also included China – former US President Donald Trump imposed harsh sanctions on Iran that have blacklisted its entire financial system.

While saying he wants to restore the deal, President Joe Biden has so far refused to lift any sanctions, saying Iran must first act to fulfil commitments it scaled back in response to US sanctions.

China and Russia have called on the US to restore the deal by lifting sanctions, while traders and analysts say Iran’s oil exports to China have significantly increased in March despite US warnings.

Rouhani thanked Wang on Saturday for China’s stance on the nuclear deal and standing up to “American unilateralism”.

“The two countries’ cooperation to implement the JCPOA and implementing commitments by European countries is very important and can change the current situation,” he said in reference to the formal name of the nuclear deal.

The president also said Iran and China can work together to fight “terrorism and extremism in the region” in addition to economic and trade cooperation.

Wang was quoted by the president’s website as saying that maintaining the nuclear deal would mean preserving multilateralism.

“The new US administration wants to rethink its policy and return to the JCPOA. China welcomes that,” he reportedly said.

As China and Iran are approaching 50 years of official diplomatic ties, an exhibition of diplomatic documents and achievements between the two countries was opened at the foreign ministry building in Tehran on Saturday.

But the cooperation pact has also been a subject of contention inside Iran, where a discussion on its objectives and merits has divided people and officials alike.

Proponents of the deal say Iran will benefit from turning east as the US and the West adopt an increasingly hostile approach, while critics say Iran may be giving up too much in its quest to boost ties with China.

Iran and China have also cooperated on COVID-19 during the pandemic, with China donating 250,000 doses of its Sinopharm vaccine to Iran last month.

New Delhi, March 26,2021: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the apex child rights body, has asked poll authorities in four states and one Union Territory to prohibit the use of children during the election campaign in any form, taking “serious view” on the usage of minors in various activities such as sloganeering, distributing pamphlets and participation in rallies.
In an advisory to the poll authorities in West Bengal, Puducherry, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala on Thursday, the NCPCR said it has been receiving numerous complaints about usage of children during election campaigns in multifarious activities, which are in derogation and violation of rights of children.
“After perusing such complaints, the commission has observed that during elections children are being used for sloganeering, circulation of pamphlets, election campaigns, etc. The Commission, accordingly, has taken a serious view on the usage of children in such activities and has taken cognizance upon these complaints in the past for seeking action in these matters,” the right body said.

The apex child rights body has asked poll authorities to prohibit the use of children during the election campaign in any form whatsoever, either for distribution of posters/pamphlets, pasting posters or to participate in slogan shouting, campaign rallies and election meetings, including pasting posters, hanging banners, distributing pamphlets and even participating in campaign rallies.
It also recommended that such advisory prohibiting the use of children during elections may also be included in the model code of conduct for future elections, as to prevent such instances of the use of children in election campaigns.
Assembly polls in four states and Puducherry will start from March 27. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

New Delhi, Mar 26,2021: National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Bill, 2021 has got Parliament’s nod after Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed it by voice vote.

The Lok Sabha has already passed the Bill.

The Bill provides for setting up of a National Infrastructure Finance Development Bank, which would provide funding for long-term infrastructure projects.

Replying to the debate, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Upper House that for the operation of the bank a board will be constituted which in turn, will appoint a Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director.

“The bank would be Rs one lakh crore of equity which will be shared by the Government and other stakeholders. Later, the central government’s stake will be reduced to 26 percent”, she said.

Initially, the Government will have 100 percent share and the Bank with initial funding of the Rs 5000 crore, will be able to get funding from RBI, commercial banks, Asian Development Bank and from the World Bank too.

Ms Sitharaman further said that the infrastructural development sector has been very risky one and commercial banks are not ready to take this risk for long term. Therefore, a separate institute was needed to speed up infrastructural development and reduce the risk, she added.

“This bank will be set up under the supervision of the Reserve Bank and it will do financial management for infrastructure development. This will increase competition and speed up development projects”, she said.

Ms Sitharaman also said that with the formation of this bank, long term finance facility will be available for the infrastructural projects at cheaper rates. With the setting up of this bank, the participation of Government and private sector in the infrastructural development will be ensured, she added.

Mar 27,2021: Voting for the first phase of the assembly election in West Bengal began on Saturday morning in 30 of the state’s 294 constituencies amid elaborate security arrangements.

The polling is being held in 30 constituencies across five districts include Purulia, Paschim Medinipur Part I, Bankura Part I, Purba Medinipur Part I and Jhargram parts of which form the tribal-dominated Jangalmahal region, once the hotbed of Maoist extremists that has witnessed prolonged bloodbath and power struggle among the key political forces.
In the first phase, about 73 lakh voters that includes 37.5 lakh male, and 36.2 lakh female electorates will decide fate of 191 candidates in which 21(11%) are female candidates.
Voting for the 47 seats of the Assam assembly seats across 12 districts in the first phase commenced at 0700 hrs on Saturday maintaining COVID-19 protocol.

According to the Election Commission, 81,09,815 voters including 40,77,210 males and 40,32,481 females are eligible to cast their votes at 1,1537 polling stations in the first phase.
Assam
Voting for the 47 seats of the Assam assembly seats across 12 districts in the first phase commenced at 0700 hrs on Saturday maintaining COVID-19 protocol.

The Assam assembly election 2021 will be held in three phases starting from March 27.

Meanwhile, polling will be extended for an hour in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said.

The fate of some of the important politicians of the state will be decided today including Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal who is contesting from Majuli.

Assam Congress President Ripun Bora is fighting from Gohpur.

Taipei [Taiwan], March 30,2021: Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr has chided China’s carrot and sticks approach which Beijing uses to undermine Taiwan’s diplomatic alliances, saying the technique is ‘counter-productive’.
On Sunday, Palauan President Whipps Jr. arrived in Taiwan to kick off a new travel bubble between Taiwan and Palau, with the first flight slated for April 1.
Joining Whipps’ delegation is Ambassador to Palau John Hennessey-Niland, the first U.S. ambassador to visit Taiwan in an official capacity since former President Jimmy Carter cut ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing in 1979, Taiwan News reported.
Palau, one of the 15 nations with which Taiwan has diplomatic relations, is an archipelago of over 500 islands in the western Pacific Ocean and is home to just over 18,000 people.
“The relationship developed with a carrot and stick approach is counter-productive,” Whipps said at a press conference Monday in response to a question on Beijing’s use of the strategy to lure Palau and if Palauan nationals could be tempted to desert Taiwan.
Whipps admitted that carrots can sway people’s opinions and revealed that Beijing had told him that the “sky is the limit” on the benefits Beijing could offer should Palau sever formal ties with Taiwan.
“But like I said, if you give me carrots, don’t tell me that I cannot see other persons, because we all believe in peace and prosperity for everybody,” he stressed, adding that there are protocols to be followed in international engagement.

Asked by reporters the significance of Hennessey-Niland being part of his delegation, Whipps said it showed the close partnership between Palau and the U.S. in many areas, such as law enforcement, anti-illegal fishing and national security.
“As a small nation, we can easily be infiltrated. We depend on our partners to protect us and give us security,” Whipps said, without naming any countries.
Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.
Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing.
China has threatened that “Taiwan’s independence” means war.
Wu Qian, spokesperson of China’s Ministry of National Defence, on January 28 “warned” the people wanting “Taiwan independence” and had said that “those who play with fire will set themselves on fire, and seeking ‘Taiwan independence’ means nothing but war”.
According to an article by The Global Times, a Chinese state media, Taiwan’s “mainland affairs council” has warned that any of the mainland’s words and deeds that deliberately provoke Taiwan’s bottom line may cause far-reaching effects that the mainland cannot bear.

New Delhi, Mar 30,2021: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Monday said he had a discussion on Chabahar with Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, just a day ahead of the 9th ‘Heart of Asia’ conference.

The Chabahar port, which is Iran’s closest and best access point to the Indian Ocean, holds a significant importance in terms of trade.

“Began my Heart of Asia engagements with a meeting with Iranian FM Javad Zarif. A warm conversation that underlined our convergences. Also discussed our bilateral cooperation, including Chabahar,” Dr Jaishankar tweeted.

The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process is a regional initiative of Afghanistan and the Republic of Turkey, which was launched on November 2, 2011 in Istanbul. The process aims to promote regional security, economic and political cooperation centered on Afghanistan through dialogue and confidence building measures (CBMs).

Dr Jaishankar, after touching down in Dushanbe, informed that he visited the Dushanbe-Chortut Highway Project site. “Good work being done by @BROindia under our grant assistance. The 8-lane highway will decongest Dushanbe,” the Foreign Minister wrote on Twitter.

The Minister had earlier visited Dushanbe in June 2019 to attend the 5th Summit of ‘Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia’.

This visit is in continuation of the frequent high-level exchanges between the two countries that will further strengthen the close strategic partnership between India and Tajikistan.

Dhaka [Bangladesh], March 26,2021: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he arrived at Dhaka Airport on Friday to take part in the Mujib Borsho and National Day celebrations.
“A special visit begins with a special gesture. PM Sheikh Hasina welcomes PM @narendramodi at Dhaka airport,” tweeted Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Hasina welcomed PM Modi by giving him a bouquet of flowers. Prime Minister Modi was given a guard of honour at the airport.
The Prime Minister is set to attend an event at the National Martyr’s Memorial to commemorate the lives lost during the 1971 Liberation War.
Thereafter, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen will call on Prime Minister Modi at 3:15 pm. Later, he will attend the National Day Programme at 3:45 pm and then inaugurate Bapu Bangabandhu Digital Video Exhibition at 7:45 pm.
PM Modi will call on Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid during the visit. He will hold restricted delegation-level talks with his counterpart Hasina.
This is PM Modi’s first foreign visit since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two nations are celebrating Mujib Borsho or the birth centenary of Bangladesh’s father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, 50 years of diplomatic ties and 50 years of Bangladesh’s war of liberation.

Mar 31,2021: A college science professor and an aerospace data analyst were named on Tuesday to round out a four-member crew for a SpaceX launch into orbit planned later this year billed as the first all-civilian spaceflight in history.

The two latest citizen astronauts were introduced at a news briefing livestreamed from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida by SpaceX human spaceflight chief Benji Reed and billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, who conceived the mission in part as a charity drive.

Isaacman, founder and CEO of e-commerce firm Shift4 Payments, is forking over an unspecified but presumably exorbitant sum to fellow billionaire and SpaceX owner Elon Musk to fly himself and three others into orbit aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.

The flight, scheduled for no earlier than Sept. 15, is expected to last three to four days from launch to splashdown.

“When this mission is complete, people are going to look at it and say this was the first time that everyday people could go to space,” Isaacman, 38, told reporters.

Dubbed Inspiration4, the mission is designed primarily to raise awareness and support for one of Isaacman’s favorite causes, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a leading pediatric cancer center. He has pledged $100 million personally to the institute.

Assuming the role of mission “commander,” Isaacman in February designated St. Jude physician’s assistant Haley Arceneaux, 29, a bone cancer survivor and onetime patient at the Tennessee-based hospital, as his first crewmate.

Announced on Tuesday, Chris Sembroski, 41, a Seattle-area aerospace industry employee and U.S. Air Force veteran, was selected through a sweepstakes that drew 72,000 applicants and has raised $113 million in St. Jude donations.

Sian Proctor, 51, a geoscience professor at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona, and entrepreneur who was once a NASA astronaut candidate, was chosen separately through an online business contest run by Shift4 Payments.

All four will undergo extensive training modeled after the curriculum NASA astronauts use to prepare for SpaceX missions.

The Inspiration4 mission may mark a new era in spaceflight, but it is not the only all-civilian crewed rocket launch in the works.

British billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic enterprise is developing a spaceplane to carry paying customers on suborbital excursions.

SpaceX plans a separate launch, possibly next year, of a retired NASA astronaut, a former Israeli fighter pilot and two other people in conjunction with Houston-based private spaceflight company Axiom Space.

Musk also intends to fly Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the moon in 2023. Fees charged for those flights will help finance the development of Musk’s new, heavy-lift Starship rocket for missions to the moon and Mars.

Inspiration4 is about more than a billionaire’s joyride through space, organizers say, promising the crew will conduct a number of as-yet undetermined science experiments during its brief voyage.