NEW DELHI, June 14 (Xinhua) -- More than 47,000 people have been shifted to shelter homes in India's western state of Gujarat, as the catastrophic cyclone "Biparjoy" approaches the country's western coastal areas, said government officials on Wednesday.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Thursday.

A senior official of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Mohsen Shahidi told media persons that the process of evacuation of people from the coastal areas had been underway for the past two days.

MOSCOW, June 14. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday will be length and will be followed by a discussion, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

"The President is preparing to take part in the plenary session of the SPIEF, which will be held on Friday. At the moment, the session is scheduled for 14:00. There will be a lengthy speech by the president, then a discussion," he said.

WASHINGTON, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday pleaded not guilty in an indictment against him, in which he faces 37 federal charges for mishandling classified documents.

The indictment alleges that Trump was involved in unlawfully retaining government secrets as he left the White House in 2021 and conspired to obstruct justice.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police on Tuesday arrested a man who allegedly spray-painted graffiti on the wall and gate of the U.S. Consulate, according to media reports and the police.

Photos from local media including the South China Morning Post showed the English word “hegemony” and the Chinese words for “double standards” painted in white on the gate and a nearby wall.

The vandalism comes amid a deterioration in US-Chinese relations as the nations clash over trade issues and tensions over Taiwan, a self-governed island that China claims is part of its territory.

12 June 2023; MEMO: The United States has notified the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) of its intention to rejoin the international body nearly six years after withdrawing from the membership, Axios reported today. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay informed ambassadors of the member states that the US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, Richard Verma, submitted a letter last week formalising the plan to rejoin.

12 June 2023; MEMO: United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said on Monday he is concerned that Russia will, on 17 July, quit a deal allowing the safe wartime export of grain and fertilisers from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, Reuters reports.

12 June 2023; MEMO: The United States has sent military reinforcements to its bases in Syria's northeastern Al-Hasakah province, Anadolu news agency reported citing local sources yesterday.

A military convoy of 40 vehicles arrived in the province after crossing into Syria through Al-Waleed border terminal with Iraq on Sunday, the sources said.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom sparred with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday night, insisting President Joe Biden is physically fit for a second term as president while refusing to say whether supporters have urged him to run against Biden on the 2024 ballot.

Asked if he believes Biden is “cognitively strong enough to be president,” Newsom said yes, adding that he talks with the president “all the time” and has traveled with him aboard Air Force One.

LONDON (AP) — Artificial intelligence has been used to extract John Lennon’s voice from an old demo to create “the last Beatles record,” Paul McCartney said Tuesday.

McCartney, 80, told the BBC that the technology was used to separate the Beatles’ voices from background sounds during the making of director Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary series, “The Beatles: Get Back.” The new song is set to be released later this year, he said.

WASHINGTON, June 13 (Reuters) - A vast majority of Republicans believe federal criminal charges against Donald Trump are politically motivated, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday that also showed him far ahead of his nearest rival in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

13 June 2023; MEMO: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on Monday for the UN peacekeeping forces in his country to put pressure on Israel to stop its violations of Lebanon's sovereignty, and stop its ongoing groundworks using armoured bulldozers within Lebanese territory.

13 June 2023; MEMO: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev today welcomed his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan with an official ceremony in the capital Baku.

Erdogan arrived in Azerbaijan yesterday after his visit to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as part of his first foreign tour following his 28 May reelection.