Briefly

CHINA

Li vows to boost ties with New Zealand

Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday sent a congratulatory message to Chris Hipkins on his taking office as New Zealand's prime minister. In his message, Li said China and New Zealand are important countries in the Asia-Pacific region and each other's important cooperative partner. Noting that the bilateral relationship has spanned 50 years, Li called on the two sides to work together to carry forward the spirit of striving to be the first, strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, expand exchanges and advance cooperation, so as to continuously push forward the China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership.

INDIA

Adani's market losses snowball to $100b

Under-fire tycoon Gautam Adani's empire has lost more than $100 billion in value over the past week as shares in several firms plunged again on Thursday, a day after the group canceled a multibillion-dollar public offering. Adani's conglomerate has been thrown into turmoil following explosive allegations of accounting fraud on Jan 24 by US short-seller Hindenburg Research. Flagship firm Adani Enterprises dived 14 percent — having lost almost 30 percent on Wednesday — and has now halved in value since the start of the year.

UNITED STATES

No classified docs found at beach house

The Justice Department did not find documents with classified markings during a search of President Joe Biden's beach house on Wednesday in Rehoboth, Delaware, but did take some materials for further review, Biden's attorney said. The morning search by FBI agents appeared to represent an expansion of the probe into Biden's handling of classified documents. Materials were previously found at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and at a Washington office he used during the time between his service as vice-president under Barack Obama.

IRAN

Israel blamed for Isfahan drone attack

Iran's envoy to the United Nations said Israel was "responsible" for a drone attack on a Defense Ministry site in Isfahan Province, Iranian media reported on Thursday. Preliminary probes showed that Israel "is responsible for the terrorist attack on the Defense Ministry workshop complex", ISNA news agency quoted Amir Saeid Iravani as saying in a letter to UN chief Antonio Guterres.

China Daily - Agencies