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Buddhist monk entrusted with protecting the Dalai Lama and foretelling his people's future is concerned. The Dalai Lama turns 89 on Saturday and China insists it will choose his successor as Tibet's chief spiritual leader. That has the Medium of Tibet's Chief State Oracle contemplating what might come next. «His Holiness is the fourteenth Dalai Lama, then there will be a fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth,» the medium, known as the Nechung, said. «In countries, leaders change, and then that story is over. But in Tibet it works differently.»

Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran's runoff presidential election Saturday, besting hard-liner Saeed Jalili by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country's mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic. Pezeshkian promised no radical changes to Iran's Shiite theocracy in his campaign and long has held Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the final arbiter of all matters of state in the country. But even Pezeshkian's modest aims will be challenged by an Iranian government still largely held by hard-liners, the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, and Western fears over Tehran enriching uranium to near-weapons-grade levels.

Shohei Ohtani remained the top-selling jersey during the first half of the season, followed by Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge

NATO alliance and friendly countries across the world, in particular those in the Indo-Pacific region, the White House said on Monday, on the eve of the crucial NATO summit here. Leaders from 38 different countries have gathered in Washington for a historic summit to mark the 75th anniversary of the first NATO summit. This includes the leaders of all NATO allies as well as NATO partners, including Ukraine, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea. «The president has also strongly encouraged greater partnerships between the NATO alliance and friendly nations around the world, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, as you will see. The president knows that the global threats and challenges that we all face, including from authoritarian actors and terrorist organisations, are inextricably linked,» John Kirby, White House National Security Communications Advisor, told reporters at a news conference here. «He has also encouraged our NATO allies to join him in making significant investments in our mutual defence and deterrence capabilities. When the Biden-Harris administration took office, only nine NATO allies were spending at least 2 per cent of their gross domestic product on defence — 2 per cent was the Wales pledge,» he said.

Iran will not respond to pressure, President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian said in a statement published on Saturday, in which he also highlighted his country's friendship with China and Russia. Pezeshkian, a relative moderate who beat a hardline rival in elections, also reiterated that Iran does not seek nuclear weapons, adding that Tehran would expand ties with neighbours and engage with Europe. «The United States...needs to recognise the reality and understand, once and for all, that Iran does not — and will not — respond to pressure (and) that Iran's defence doctrine does not include nuclear weapons,» Pezeshkian said in the statement, titled «My message to the new world» and published in the daily Tehran Times.

Comments suggesting that Iran's reformist presidential candidate could increase government-set gasoline prices have raised fears of a repeat of nationwide protests

presidential vote on Friday, an Iranian source told Reuters. «The vote counting has ended and the rival candidates have been informed about the result. Pezeshkian is around three million votes ahead of his hardline rival Saeed Jalili,» said the source, who asked not to be named. Earlier, the interior ministry said that Pezeshkian was leading the race in early results, adding that the initial reports showed turnout was around 50%, higher than the first round.

parliamentary elections that could see the country's first far-right government since the World War II Nazi occupation — or no majority emerging at all.

Georgia arrived at Euro 2024 with no expectations, manager Willy Sagnol said, having already celebrated what they thought would be their biggest achievement in just qualifying. Sagnol's men upended Portugal — a team ranked 68 places above them — 2-0 on Wednesday to roar into the knock-out round in their major tournament debut, thanks to goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze. There are benefits to being tournament underdogs, Sagnol said.

Officials say a passenger train derailment in northern Russia has killed three people and injured dozens

Also Read: JPMorgan on track to include India in emerging market debt index from June; How will it impact Indian bonds and yields?The index weighting of India bonds is expected to reach a maximum weight of 10% in GBI-EM Global Diversified Index, 8.7% in the GBI-EM Global Index and 14.59% in the GBI-EM Global Diversified IG 15% Cap Index.Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) area is estimated to see the largest regional hit to index weight. EMEA EM's aggregate weight is expected to drop to 26.2% by March when India's inclusion is complete compared to around 32% at the start of this month, Reuters reported.With India’s addition, Asia’s weight is estimated to increase to 47.6% in the index, HSBC Plc said in a note.

The German government has resumed selling off its seized Bitcoin assets amidst a recent dip in the cryptocurrency’s price.

Edi Rama’s best friend during the World Cup summer of 1982 just so happened to be the one person he knew who owned a color television. So every evening, Rama would find himself crammed into his kitchen with countless others, desperately hoping that the fuzzy, flickering signal would hold. Albania was an island back then, under the repressive, conspiracist rule of Enver Hoxha. Foreign travel was banned for all but a select few insiders. Even communication with the outside world, particularly the West, was limited. Rama and his friends could only follow that World Cup through what he has subsequently called a “dark network” operated by RAI, the Italian state broadcaster. In a recent interview with Italy’s Tuttosport, he said that he still remembers that month warmly. Italy served as Albania’s avatar for the tournament; the two countries, in Rama’s estimation, are “a people divided by the sea, but united in everything else, similar as two drops of water.” When Dino Zoff, the Italian captain, eventually lifted the trophy in Madrid, it felt like victory in Tirana, too. “We saw it in his hands, as if it were also in ours,” Rama said.

GRSE) Ltd on saturday signed an agreement with Carsten Rehder Schiffsmakler and Reederei GmbH and Co. KG, a Germany-based shipping company, for the construction and delivery of four multi-purpose cargo vessels. This contract, valued at around $54 million, is set to be completed within 33 months. The official statement from GRSE indicated that there is an option for building an additional four ships in the future. These vessels will each measure 120 meters in length and 17 meters in width, capable of carrying 7,500 metric tonnes of cargo.

Louisiana is known for bringing in various changes in the education policy of its state but this the first time in the United States, the Ten Commandments of Moses will be displayed in all classrooms of public schools across Louisiana, says a USA Today report. Louisiana's Republican Governor Jeff Landry recently signed this new law on Wednesday, compelling every public school to follow suit and display the Commandments, which in bible, is often claimed as the 'laws of God'.

fighter jets carried out complex missions along with F-16 and F-15 combat aircraft at a multi-nation mega military exercise in Alaska in the US. The key takeaways from participating in the Red Flag exercise for the IAF included insight on interoperability with international partners and a collaborative understanding of missions in a multinational environment, the defence ministry said on Sunday. The IAF contingent participated in the exercise from June 4 to 14. Besides the Indian Air Force (IAF), the exercise witnessed the participation of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF), the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF), the German Luftwaffe, and the US Air Force (USAF).

parliament re-elected the African National Congress's President Cyril Ramaphosa as president on Friday during the first sitting of the National Assembly of the 7th Parliament. In a post on X, the ruling party of South Africa, the ANC, disclosed that Ramaphosa has been re -elected as president.

Michelle Obama planning to contest the upcoming US Presidential Elections in November by replacing President Joe Biden as a candidate of the Democratic Party? Andy Ogles who is a representative from the state of Tennessee in the US House of Representatives suggested that following the recent conviction of Hunter Biden in a criminal case, it could create an opportunity for Obama to throw her hat into the ring and replace Biden as the Democratic party candidate. Michelle Obama had earlier clarified that she is not seeking to return to the White House.

LPL has bolstered its advisory presence further in Illinois as a veteran pair from Stifel embark on a long-planned journey of professional independence.

Haldia Petrochemicals Limited (HPL) on Thursday announced an agreement with QatarEnergy to secure long-term naphtha supply. QatarEnergy will supply a total of up to 2 million tons of naphtha to HPL through its 100% subsidiary, HPL Global Pte Limited, Singapore over the next ten years. The deal will come into effect from the second quarter of 2024, HPL said in a press release.

Congress Working Committee on Saturday said the result was not just a political loss but a personal and moral defeat of the prime minister who sought a mandate in his name. People decisively rejected the type of governance witnessed over the past decade, it said.