President Joe Biden on  Jun 22 defended his harsh public comments on China, including calling President Xi Jinping a dictator, saying his words would have no negative impact on US-China relations and that he still expects to meet with Xi sometime soon.

The remarks, which drew a formal protest from China, opened a new rift just days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a visit to Beijing that was meant as a step toward stabilizing ties and improving communications.

But Biden was undeterred.

His latest rebuff to China came on the same afternoon he welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House in an alliance-strengthening move against their shared rival, China.

At a campaign fundraiser on Jun 20, Biden had called the Chinese president a dictator, depicted him as out-of-touch during last winter’s tumult over a Chinese spy balloon, and dismissed China as having “real economic difficulties.”

China and the US in recent years have been cycling in and out of diplomatic flare-ups. China has used measures ranging from cutting diplomatic ties to staging military manoeuvres off Taiwan to show its displeasure.

The United Nations put Russian forces on its annual blacklist of countries that violate children’s rights in conflict for killing boys and girls and attacking schools and hospitals in Ukraine.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the report to the Security Council that he is “appalled” by the high number of “grave violations” against children in Ukraine in 2022, “shocked” at the number of attacks on schools and hospitals, “concerned” by the detention of children, and “troubled” that some Ukrainian children have been transferred to Russia.

The U.N. chief did not put Israel on the blacklist for grave violations against 1,139 Palestinian children, including 54 killings last year — as supporters had hoped.

Instead, he welcomed Israel’s engagement with the U.N. special envoy for children in armed conflict, Virginia Gamba and its “identification of practical measures including those proposed by the U.N." to protect children.

Guterres said the spread of conflicts to new areas contributed to a 140% increase in grave violations in Myanmar and a 135% increase in South Sudan. An upsurge in activity by armed groups, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State, also caused a severe deterioration of the situation in the central Sahel, particularly in Burkina Faso, leading to an 85% increase in grave violations.

Violations also increased in Colombia, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan and Syria, the secretary-general said.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on  Jun 22 barred media and entertainment firm Eros International Media, its promoters, managing director Sunil Arjan Lulla and CEO Pradeep Kumar Dwivedi from the securities markets for accounting irregularities.

In addition, Lulla and Dwivedi have been prohibited from holding the position of a director or key managerial personnel in any listed company, including Eros International or its subsidiaries until further orders, according to an interim order.

Fitch Ratings on Jun 22  raised its growth outlook for India to 6.3% for FY24 from its earlier projection of 6% on the back of robust credit growth and auto sales in recent months.  The rating agency also expects the Reserve Bank of India to continue with its pause on interest rate hike and go for rate cut early next year. It is to be noted that earlier, the global rating agency had said that the apex bank would go for at least another 0.25% hike in interest rates.

Meanwhile, the rating agency also raised global GDP growth forecasts for 2023 to 2.4% from 2% projected in March. However Fitch cautioned against the global slowdown. The ratings agency said the Indian economy will be affected by slowing global trade.

India will open their campaign against Canada in the FIH Junior Women's Hockey World Cup, scheduled to be held in Chilean capital Santiago from November 29 to December 10.

The Indian team has been grouped in Pool C along with Belgium, Canada, and Germany.

India will open their campaign against Canada on November 29 before taking on Germany and Belgium on December 1 and 2 respectively, as per the pools and schedule announced.

FIH also revealed the new junior women's world rankings as per which India are ranked sixth, while the Netherlands are ranked first.

Meanwhile, Argentina, Germany, England and the United States are ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Having won the women's junior Asia Cup in Japan earlier this month, the India team will enter the World Cup high on confidence and will aim to clinch the elusive trophy for the first time in the history of the tournament.

India came close to winning the bronze medal in the last edition of the World Cup but couldn't as they lost to England 2(0)-2(3) in the 3/4th place match.

Q1. Name the Iranian player who is the highest Asian goal scorer in international football with 109 goals from 149 matches ?

1. Ali Daei
2. Mehdi Taremi
3. Ali Karimi
4. Sardar Azmoun
5. None of These

Q2. India will open their campaign against Canada in the FIH Junior Women's Hockey World Cup, scheduled to be held in

1. Tokyo
2. Frankfurt
3. Santiago
4. Tehran
5. None of These

Q3. The Fitch Ratings on Jun 22  raised its growth outlook for India  in FY24 to

1. 6 %
2. 6.3%
3. 6.6%                              
4. 7.3%
5. None of These

Q4. Name the field with which Florence Nightingale Awards is associated ?

1. Film
2. Literature
3. Sports
4. Nursing
5. None of These

Q5. This is the second time that the prime minister   Narendra Modi has addressed the US Congress, the first time being in

1. 2014
2. 2016
3. 2018
4. 2020
5. None of These

Answers

1--------------------------1   Ali Daei

2---------------------------3   Santiago

3----------------------------2  6.3%

4----------------------------4  Nursing

5----------------------------2  2016

Two soldiers were injured when unknown gunmen opened “unprovoked” fire in Manipur on Jun 22.

Defence authorities said the injured soldiers were stable and they would join their colleagues in the company operating base soon.

One INSAS light machine gun was recovered from the site. The army said additional columns were inducted and operations were in progress.

This is the third incident in which a soldier was either killed or injured in firing by miscreants and militants.

On June 6, a Border Security Force jawan was killed while two Assam Rifles personnel were injured in a gunbattle with the militants at Serou in Kakching district of Imphal valley.

On June 19, an army soldier had sustained gunshot wounds when miscreants resorted to unprovoked fire at Kanto Sabal in Imphal West district. Over 35,000 army and paramilitary personnel are deployed in the state.

A joint team of the Assam Rifles and the Manipur police recovered a mortar bomb during a combing operation in Imphal East district on Jun 22.

The combing operations were launched recently to recover looted weapons. In the early days of the violence which broke out on May 3, mobs looted over 4,000 weapons and lakhs of bullets. Nearly 1,000 weapons were either surrendered or recovered later.

Three persons, including two minors, were injured on  Jun 21 evening when a suspected IED, planted in an SUV that was parked on a culvert, exploded on the Imphal-Churachandpur road near Kwakta in Bishnupur district.

A tribal organisation alleged the miscreants had made an attempt to cut off the road to Churachandpur, which is a Kuki-majority district in the hills, and flare up the sentiments of the local “neutral” community. Muslims are in a large majority in Kwakta.

Two days after former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi led Hindustani Awam Morcha Secular (HAM(S)) withdrew its support to the grand alliance government, the party's chief Santosh Kumar Suman announced in New Delhi  that it would contest both 2024 Lok Sabha and 2025 assembly polls in the state as part of BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The announcement came soon after HAM patron Manjhi along with his son and former minister Santosh Kumar Suman met union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. Suman had resigned from Nitish Kumar cabinet on June 13 on the plea that he was pressurised by Nitish to merge HAM with JD(U). He was ST/ST Welfare department minister, the post was later allotted to JD(U) MLA Ranteshwar Sada. HAM has four MLAs in the Bihar Legislative Assembly.

With HAM joining NDA fold, the formation of old NDA is slowly getting its shape in the state ahead of next year's Lok Sabha election. Former minister Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal is also likely to join NDA soon. Kushwaha has already given indications about him joining NDA.

Two other leaders—Chirag Paswan and Mukesh Sahani—have soft a corner for BJP. While Chirag had campaigned for BJP candidates in by-polls in Kurhani and Gopalganj assembly seats, Sahani has recently been provided 'Y' plus category security cover by the central government.

Political analysts said that BJP is making efforts to unite smaller (regional) parties in its favour to counter the grand alliance in both Lok Sabha and assembly elections. HAM joining on is a case in point, they added.