IN BRIEF (Page 11)

India

3rd phase of national election starts

Indians voted on Tuesday in the third phase of the country's general election, amid campaigning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party and opposition parties that has been marred by bitter accusations and acrimony. The voting for 117 parliamentary seats in 13 states and two Union Territories on Tuesday means polls are half finished overall for 543 seats in India's lower house of Parliament. The voting over seven phases ends May 19, with counting scheduled to begin May 23. The election is seen as a referendum on Modi's five-year rule. He has adopted a nationalist pitch in trying to win votes from the country's Hindu majority by projecting a tough stance against Pakistan. The opposition is challenging him, pointing to a high unemployment rate of 6.1 percent and farmers' distress aggravated by low crop prices.

United Kingdom

Trump to make state visit in June

US President Donald Trump has accepted Queen Elizabeth's invitation to make a state visit to the United Kingdom in June, Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday. Trump and his wife Melania will make the trip during June 3-5, the palace said, adding that further details would be announced in due course. Trump will hold a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May in Downing Street and the trip also coincides with events to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings during World War II. "The UK and United States have a deep and enduring partnership that is rooted in our common history and shared interests," May said in a statement. Trump and his wife will then travel to France on June 6, where Trump will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron.

United States

71 new measles cases reported last week

The United States recorded 71 new measles cases last week, a 13 percent week-on-week increase as the country faces its second-worst outbreak of the disease in almost two decades, federal health officials said on Monday. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had recorded 626 cases of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly disease in 22 states as of April 19, the highest rate of infection in five years. The CDC had previously reported 555 cases in 20 states between Jan 1 and April 11. The current outbreak will likely surpass the 2014 outbreak in number of cases, the CDC said on Monday.

France

Homeless activists demand 'a roof too'

Dozens of public housing advocates protested outside the gutted Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Monday, demanding that France's poorest be remembered after donors pledged $1 billion to rebuild the church and its destroyed roof. Around 50 people from a French homeless association gathered with placards reading "1 billion in 24 hours". They chanted slogans directed at Bernard Arnault, the CEO of luxury group LVMH, who last week pledged 200 million euros ($226 million). Some chanted "Notre Dame needs a roof, we need a roof too!" Paris police monitored the peaceful protest on the central Paris island on which Notre Dame is located but didn't intervene, and the protest dispersed after several hours.

AP - Reuters - AFP

(China Daily 04/24/2019 page11)