NEW YORK, May 06 (APP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mishandling of the deadly coronavirus pandemic is an “embarrassing” setback for India, leaving “in tatters” his hyper-nationalistic domestic agenda that includes the ambition of making the country a “Vishwaguru” (or master to the world), according to an article in Foreign Policy, a prestigious American magazine.

MOSCOW, May 6. /TASS/: A one-component COVID-19 vaccine dubbed Sputnik Light has been registered in Russia, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) informs.

"The Russian Ministry of Health, the Gamaleya Research Center and RDIF announce the registration of the one-component vaccine Sputnik Light against the novel coronavirus infection. Sputnik Light is the first component of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine," the message says.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — On the frontlines of the battle against Russia-backed separatists and in the halls of government in Kyiv, Ukrainians hold strong hopes for Thursday’s visit of the U.S. Secretary of State — increased military aid and strong support for NATO membership among them.

By visiting so early in his tenure, before any trip to Russia, Antony Blinken is signaling that Ukraine is a high foreign-policy priority for President Joe Biden’s administration. But what he can, or will, deliver in the meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is unclear.

MOSCOW, May 6 (NNN-Xinhua) — A Russian MiG-31 fighter intercepted a US reconnaissance plane above the Chukchi Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

Russian radars detected an air target approaching Russian borders over the Chukchi Sea, and a MiG-31 of the Russian Pacific Fleet took off in response, the ministry said.

The crew of the Russian jet identified the air target as a US Air Force RC-135 strategic reconnaissance aircraft and then escorted it over the sea.

(Reuters) --- Japan’s capital will seek to extend until May 31 its state of emergency aimed at curbing coronavirus infections, Governor Yuriko Koike said on Thursday, a move that could spark more questions about its ability to host the Olympics.

Japan had hoped a "short and powerful" emergency would contain a fourth wave of infections just under three months before Tokyo is set to host the Olympic Games from July 23.

(Reuters) --- Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong will face an additional 10 months in jail for participating in an unauthorised assembly on June 4 last year to commemorate the 1989 crackdown on protesters in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

It was the first time the vigil was banned in the global financial hub, with police citing coronavirus restrictions on group gatherings, as it did for all demonstrations last year. It is expected to face a similar fate this year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top U.S general for Africa is warning that a growing threat from China may come not just from the waters of the Pacific, but from the Atlantic as well.

06 May 2021; MEMO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said yesterday that Moscow supports defusing tension between Israel and the Palestinians in the occupied city of Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, Anadolu reported.

06 May 2021; MEMO: Ahmed Haroun, former Sudanese interior minister and first deputy of ousted President Omar Al-Bashir, announced on Tuesday that he would prefer to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, rather than be tried in his country.

06 May 2021; MEMO: Around 300 top officials have attended a 90-minute-long virtual workshop titled Effective Communications and was aimed at helping them “create a positive image of the government”.

06 May 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia is considering barring overseas pilgrims from the annual Hajj pilgrimage for the second year in a row, Reuters reported yesterday.

Quoting two sources, the agency said that Riyadh was "worried" after a "global rise in the COVID-19 cases". "There has been no final decision on whether to pursue the ban," the sources stressed.

(Reuters) --- China condemned on Thursday a joint statement by G7 foreign ministers that expressed support for Chinese-claimed Taiwan and cast Beijing as a bully, saying it was a gross interference in China’s internal affairs.

G7 foreign ministers said in a communique after a London summit that China was guilty of human rights abuses and of using “coercive economic policies”, which the G7 would use collective efforts to stop.