Biden warns Putin
US President Joe Biden is in Britain on his first trip abroad since taking office, an eight-day mission to rebuild trans-Atlantic ties strained during the Trump era and to reframe relations with Russia. His summit with President Putin next Wednesday in Geneva is the capstone of the trip. The BBC quotes him telling US troops based at Royal Air Force Mildenhall base, he would “let him know what I want him to know”. Biden will today participate in the G7 summit, where he is expected to announce that the United States will buy and donate 500 million Pfizer coronavirus vaccine doses to low-income countries.
EC opens infringement procedure against Germany
Le Soir reports the European Commission has opened an infringement procedure against Germany for violation of the primacy of EU law, as well as respect for the jurisdiction of the European Court. The case eminates after the German Constitutional Court, on 5 May 2020, declared the securities purchase programme “ultra vires”. According to Brussels, the German court “deprived a ruling of the EU Court of Justice of its legal effects in Germany”.
Moscow court outlaws Navalny’s organisations
Moscow Times quotes lawyers for jailed Kremlin activist Alexei Navalny saying they would appeal against a court ruling that banned his political organisations. Judges classified the organisations as estremists. Activists will risk prison sentences if they continue their work, and anyone who publicly supports Navalny’s political network would be barred from running for public office.
COVID cases rise again in the UK
The Daily Mail reports the UK yesterday recorded its highest daily coronavirus cases since late February suggesting the Delta variant, which was first detected in India, was spreading widely across the country. Records showed 7,540 new cases and 123 people hospitalised with symptoms related to the virus, taking the total to 1,024. The number of people dying after testing positive for COVID-19 rose by six to 127,860 confirmed deaths.
Child labour swells
According to The New York Times, a UN report has signified that the number of children around the world who are working has risen to 160 million – an increase of 8.4 million in four years. In a joint report, the International Labour Organisation and the UN children’s agency UNICEF said the coronavirus crisis threatens to push millions more youngsters, aged 11 or younger, toward the same fate.
Oxford University students remove Queen’s portrait
The Guardian says that students of the prestigious Magdalen College in Oxford have voted to remove the portrait of Queen Elizabeth from their common room, as it was considered a symbol of “colonial rule”. The college was founded in 1458, and is one of the most traditional and richest in the English university city. College President Dinah Rose defended the vote after Education Minister Gavin Williamson called the initiative “absurd”.
Holy See conducts audit of Rome diocese
The Holy See is conducting an audit of the Diocese of Rome for the first time ever. The audit, which has not been officially announced by the Vatican or by the Vicariate of Rome but was confirmed by Catholic agency Aci Prensa, started in April. It is examining the diocese’s budget, its investments and management of human resources.
