News Analysis India

Tag: Outlet

  • French President Macron Takes The Heat After Adviser Meets With Far-right Leader’s Niece

    Several members of French President Emmanuel Macron’s party have expressed concerns over a meeting between one of the Élysée Palace aides and Marion Maréchal, who is the niece of the prominent far-right politician Marine Le Pen. While the reported meeting between Bruno Roger-Petit and Marion took place in a private room at the Paris brasserie in October, the French President, however, is now facing accusations of appealing to extreme-right supporters.

    As per reports, Marion had left the far-right National Rally party back in 2017 after Le Pen’s second-round loss to Macron. She had also dropped Le Pen from her family name in 2018. She is the granddaughter of Front National party’s founder, Jean Marie Le Pen, and she was the French republic’s youngest ever MP. While speaking to a local French media outlet Le Monde, Élysée Palace’s senior advisor said that the meeting was set up on a personal initiative and that the goal was to survey Marion’s political opinions. 

  • Prince Harry And Meghan Planning To Extend Royal Exit Deal By 12 Months: Report

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are planning to extend their deal with the royal family to continue as non-working members in California, or the ‘Megxit deal’, The Sun reported on December 27 citing its sources. Following the couple’s deals with Netflix and Spotify, sources of the media outlet have reportedly said that their roles remain on the negotiating table in the family as they seek a more permanent agreement after they exited the royal family in January this year. However, their 12-month ‘royal exit deal’ with the Buckingham Palace is set to expire on March 31, 2021.

    As per the report, the couple is expected to negotiate their plans with the senior royals in January 2021 before Prince Harry travels to England on the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. The sources of the media outlet also said that the talks are said to be “less confrontational” than the ones that had taken place during the family’s Sandringham summit in January 2020. Moreover, both Harry and Meghan are reportedly prioritising to keep tier royal patronages.

    It was previously widely also reported that Prince Harry was ‘devasted’ to give up his military titles as the part of the couple’s initial royal exit deal. The roles that he used to hold, have been kept vacant since then. A top aide had reportedly said of the situation that, “Harry regrets losing those titles and keeping them open for as long as possible keeps that olive branch out…Don’t be surprised if they are not filled even after March 31.”

  • Wuhan Scientist Welcomes ‘any Kind Of Visit’ To Probe COVID-19 Origin: Report

    As a team of at least ten international scientists is set to travel to the Chinese city of Wuhan in January to investigate the origins of COVID-19, a Wuhan scientist has reportedly said that she ‘welcomes’ any kind of visit to rule out the baseless claims of coronavirus being leaked from her laboratory. In an exclusive statement given to BBC, Professor Shi Zhengli noted the major scientific controversy budded from the three deaths back in 2012 due to mystery illness, about the origins of the novel coronavirus or if it came from nature or from a laboratory.

    As per the media outlet, the reporters had to face several attempts of Chinese authorities to stop them from reaching the site in the remote district of Tongguan, in China’s south-western province of Yunnan. According to the report, the obstacles ‘are a sign of how hard China is working to control the narrative’. The scientific field study in the jungle-covered hills in Yunnan is led by Zhengli from the Wuhan Insitute of Virology (WIV).

  • PM Hun Sen Blasts Beijing Over COVID-19 Vaccine Trials

    Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in a marathon speech lashed out on China by saying that Phnom Penh is “not a dustbin” for Beijing when it comes to vaccine trial. On December 15, Sen said that the first batch for COVID-19 will arrive in Cambodia from the United Nations’ (UN’s) COVAX program adding that the only doses he will trust as well as accept will be the ones approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO), reported ANI citing another media outlet.

    As per media reports, Sen’s remarks came as the Cambodian government has till now collected $48 million in donations from the business tycoons allied to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). These funds will be reportedly directed to the much-needed $200 million essential to purchase the vaccine doses for the population. Meanwhile, as Cambodian PM refused to carry out vaccine trials for China-developed COVID-19 vaccine candidates, Indonesia has already received the first batch of ‘Sinovac’ vaccine by a Chinese firm, Sinopharm. However, there is still no word from Chian if it sent any inoculations to its “ironclad friend” that is, Cambodia even though Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in August said that the mainland Southeast Asian states would be prioritised. 

  • Australia Accuses China Of Breaching Trade Rules; Slams ‘discriminatory’ Coal Ban

    Amid the rising tensions between Beijing and Canberra, Australian PM Scott Morrison on December 15 accused China of breaching international trade rules through its reported ban on Australian coal imports. Morrison’s remarks come in response to a report in Chinese state media outlet Global Times confirming that Beijing was restricting imports of coal only from Australia and prioritising imports from Mongolia, Indonesia and Russia. The Australian PM, along with Trade Minister Simon Birmingham, accused China of breaching its agreement with Australia and further said that the government is seeking clarification from Beijing about the reported ban. 

    According to The Guardian, Morrison said that if the coal ban was in a place that would “obviously be in breach of WTO rules” and “obviously in breach of our own free trade agreement”. While speaking about the souring relationship between the two countries, he argued that it was correct to stand up for liberal democratic values, Australia’s sovereignty and to push for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19. Further, Morrison also hoped that he would have a “direct” conversation with his Chinese counterpart in 2021, saying there was “no barrier to that occurring on the Australian side”.