N. Korea says it tested new solid-fuel long-range missile

SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA), APR 14 (AP):

island it claims as its own territory.

In February, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US had intelligence suggesting China was considering providing arms and ammunition to Russia — and warned that such involvement in the Kremlin’s war effort would be a “serious problem.”

In recent days, European leaders have issued similar warnings, even as they visited China, and the European Union’s foreign policy chief lashed out at Beijing, saying its support of Russia during the invasion was “a blatant violation” of its United Nations commitments. In her remarks, Baerbock also referred to China’s role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, saying it bore a special responsibility for helping end the conflict.

“But I have to wonder why the Chinese positioning so far does not include a

World Bank President Malpass praises India for empowering women

WASHINGTON, APR 14 (PTI): The world is leapfrogging in women’s empowerment, World Bank President David Malpass has said and praised India’s efforts, especially that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is “deeply interested and concerned.”

Participating in a panel discussion on “Empowering Women as Entrepreneurs and Leaders” organised by the World Bank on the sidelines of its spring meetings here on Thursday, Malpass and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, along with other panelists, discussed the development and empowerment of women in India and the world.

“We should continue all that we are doing now for women,” Sitharaman said in response to a question as she explained in detail the steps the Modi Government has undertaken for the economic empowerment of women in India.

Malpass commended the efforts of Prime Minister Modi in India, where the World Bank has a massive programme.

The prime minister, he said, is “deeply interested and concerned and pushing on this issue.”

The world is leapfrogging in empowerment, the World Bank president said. For women to be able to communicate, to have digital transactions without having to go to the bank where there might be a male clerk, that doesn’t really receive them well, is hugely empowering, he

China’s Xi, Brazil’s Lula meet in Beijing to boost ties

said. “And also just the source of information that women can get on how other women are operating in other parts of the world, that’s huge. And so, I think we should push that along as fast as we can,” Malpass said.

“I’ll give you the example of skilling programmes, which are happening in India wherein, I don’t know what I can make out of this. If a hundred people are trained and they’re trained in such skills which are useful for employment, immediate recruitment potential, 68 per cent of all those who have been recruited are women.

“It just says a lot more about how women are ready once they have the skills in their hands to get going,” Sitharaman said. “So, we have to invest in skilling women and legislative support is something which is very important for countries like India.

call for the aggressor, Russia, to stop the war,” she said.

“We all know that President (Vladimir) Putin would have the opportunity to do so at any time, and the people in Ukraine would like nothing more than to finally be able to live in peace again.”

A visit to Moscow last month by Chinese leader Xi Jinping underscored how Beijing is increasingly becoming the senior partner in the relationship as it provides Russia with an economic lifeline and political cover. China announced Friday that Defence Minister Gen. Li Shangfu would visit Russia next week for meetings with counterpart Sergei Shoigu and other military officials. On both Ukraine and Taiwan, Qin articulated well-worn defenses of Chinese policies that underscore Beijing’s rejection of criticisms from the West, particularly the US.

Russia trained Belarusian pilots in nuclear weapons

MOSCOW, APR 14 (AP): Belarusian air force crews have completed their training for using tactical nuclear weapons as part of Russia’s plan to deploy the weapons to its ally Belarus amid the fighting in neighbouring Ukraine, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Friday.

The ministry released a video in which a Belarusian pilot said that the training course in Russia had given the crews of the Belarusian air force’s Su-25 ground attack jets the necessary skills for using the weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared last month that Moscow planned to put some of its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

It was another attempt by the Kremlin leader to dangle the nuclear threat to discourage the West from supporting Ukraine.

North Korea said on Friday it flight-tested a solidfuel intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time, a possible breakthrough in its efforts to acquire a more powerful, harder-to-detect weapon targeting the continental United States.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency issued the report a day after the country’s neighbours detected a launch of a long-range missile from near Pyongyang, which extended a run of weapons displays involving more than 100 missiles fired into the sea since the start of 2022.

Thursday’s test did not appear to demonstrate the weapon’s full capacity, and it remains unclear how far North Korea has come in mastering technologies to ensure the warhead would withstand atmospheric reentry and accurately strike targets.

Still, analysts said the test was likely a meaningful

The test-launch of Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday, April 13, 2023 at an undisclosed location, N. Korea. (AP) advance in North Korea’s goal to build a nuclear arsenal that could directly threaten the United States.

KCNA said the launch was supervised on site by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who described the missile — named Hwasong-18 — as the most powerful weapon of his nuclear forces that would enhance counterattack abilities in the face of external threats created by the military activities of the United States and its regional allies.

Kim pledged to further expand his nuclear arsenal to “constantly strike extreme uneasiness and horror” in his rivals and make them feel regret for their wrong choices. North Korea has justified its weapons demonstrations as a response to the expanding military exercises between the United States and South Korea, which the North condemns as invasion rehearsals while using them as a pretext to push further its own weapons development.

France’s Constitutional Council approves higher pension age

PARIS, APR 14 (AP):

France’s Constitutional Council on Friday approved an unpopular plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, in a victory for President Emmanuel Macron after three months of mass protests over the legislation that have damaged his leadership. The move threatened to enrage unions and other critics of the pension plan, including protesters gathered in spots around France on Friday evening as the decision came down.

Macron’s political opponents vowed to maintain pressure on the government to withdraw the bill.

The council rejected some other measures in the pension bill, but the higher age was central to Macron’s plan and the target of protesters’ anger. Macron can enact the bill within 15 days.

In a separate but related decision, the council rejected a request by left-

Germany bids farewell to its last nuclear plants, eyes hydrogen future

LINGEN,

Germany

, APR 14 (AP): For 35 years, the Emsland nuclear power plant in northwestern Germany has reliably provided millions of homes with electricity and many with well-paid jobs in what was once an agricultural backwater.

BEIJING, APR 14 (AP):

Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with visiting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday as part of a push to boost ties between two of the world’s largest developing nations.

The meeting came on the second day of Lula’s visit to China, his country’s most important trading partner and key ally in his bid to challenge Western-dominated economic institutions.

Lula was greeted with full military honours, including a 21-gun salute, at the Great Hall of the People adjacent to Tiananmen Square in the heart of the Chinese capital. Their talks focused largely on trade ties and other forms of cooperation, but also touched on the conflict in Ukraine, with the leaders agreeing on the need for a negotiated settlement, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. “As comprehensive strategic partners, China and Brazil share extensive common interests,” Xi said, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. “China ... sees the relationship as a high priority on its diplomatic agenda,” he said.

The leaders then oversaw the signing of agreements in areas ranging from agriculture to aeronautics. That underscored the improvement in relations since Lula took over in January from right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro, who showed little interest in foreign travel and under whom relations with China were often tense.

Lula’s visit included the swearing in on Thursday of former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff as head of the Chinese-backed New Development Bank, which is funding infrastructure projects in Brazil and elsewhere in the developing world. The bank portrays itself as an alternative to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which often impose loan conditions that developing nations criticise as punitive.

Now, it and the country’s two other remaining nuclear plants are being shut down. Germany long ago decided to phase out both fossil fuels and nuclear power over concerns that neither is a sustainable source of energy. The final countdown Saturday -- delayed for several months over feared energy shortages because of the Ukraine war -is seen with relief by Germans who have campaigned against nuclear power.

Yet with energy prices stubbornly high and climate change a growing concern, some in the country and abroad are branding the move reckless. As Germany closes nuclear stations, other governments in Europe have announced plans to build new ones or have backtracked on commitments to shut down existing plants.

“The Emsland nuclear power plant has indeed contributed significantly to the economic development of this region,” says Albert Stegemann, a dairy farmer and lawmaker for the op-

Water vapor rises from the RWE nuclear power plant Emsland in Lingen, western Germany, March 18, 2022. (AP) position Christian Democrats who represents the nearby town of Lingen and surrounding areas in the federal parliament. wing lawmakers to allow for a possible referendum on enshrining 62 as the maximum official retirement age. The council will rule on a similar request next month.

Unlike some of his conservative colleagues, Stegemann isn’t worried the lights will go out in Germany when the three reactors — Emsland, Neckarwestheim II and Isar II — are switched off for good. The closure of three other plants in late 2021 reduced nuclear’s share of electricity produced in Germany to about 5% but didn’t result in any blackouts.

The 47-year-old is also realistic about the lack of support the technology has among German voters, though he insists the vast majority of people in Lingen supported the plant.

“In the long term, nuclear power is certainly not the technology of the future.

Security forces stood behind a metal fence erected in front of the heavily guarded Constitutional Council.

As tensions mounted hours before the decision, Macron invited labour unions to meet with him on Tuesday “whatever the decision by the Constitutional Council,” his office said.

The president did not grant a request last month by unions for a meeting. Unions have been the organisers of 12 nationwide protests since January and have a criticial role in trying to tamp down excessive reactions by protesters.

“The doors of the Elysee (presidential palace) will remain open, without condition, for this dia - logue,” Macron’s office said. There was no immediate response from unions to the invitation.

The plan to increase the retirement age was meant to be Macron’s showcase measure in his second term.

The council decision caps months of tumultuous debates in parliament and fervour in the streets.

Spontaneous demonstrations were held around France ahead of the ninemember council’s ruling. Opponents of the pension reform blockaded entry points into some cities, including Rouen in the west or Marseille in the south, slowing or stopping traffic.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne was interrupted while visiting a supermarket outside Paris by a group of people chanting “We don’t want it,” referring to the way she skirted the vote by lawmakers to advance the pension reform.

But at this time it would have been good to be able to rely on it,” he said.

Against the backdrop of the Russian attack on Ukraine and the challenges of climate change “it would have been wise to think about (delaying the shutdown) another one, two or three years,” Stegemann said.

“Politicians need to adjust to changed circumstances,” he added. “And I accuse the government of not doing that at all.”

Similar concerns have been raised in other quarters. “Right now, existing nuclear plants are a critical source of carbon-free baseload energy,” said Peter FoxPenner, previously a senior official at the U.S. Department of Energy and now with the Boston University Institute for Sustainable Energy.

DP-1612/23

OFFICe OF the yIKhUM stUDents’ UnIOn

WOKha : naGaLanD

FeLICItatIOn

With immense pride and reverence, we the Yikhum Students’ Union convey our heartiest congratulations to Mr. Jeniren Kyong, S/o. Rev. K Chumben Kyong and Mrs. Thungjano Kyong, for bringing laurels to our union in completion of MBA from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM Calcutta) and placed in Vedanta Ltd. As part of Vedanta Leadership Development Program.

The Union further extends prayers and wishes that our Almighty God continue to bless him with good health, wisdom and success in all his endeavours.

Longshithung Kithan Chumthungo Kikon President, YSU Gen. Secy., YSU WC-82/23

GratItUDe

The Government High School New Market Kohima express our profound gratitude to the 1st Assam Rifle, Kohima for graciously allowing the School to use their establishment and providing all the necessary materials needed for the success of the School Annual Sports Meet.

The attentive and ever-ready spirit shown towards the students' welfare is highly admirable and appreciated. The School wishes them God's blessings and protection in their future endeavours.

With regards students and staff Upper section, Ghs new Market Kohima.