Top foreign stories at 2005 hrs

FGN32 SCO-SUMMIT-PUTIN Putin warns against politicising COVID-19 vaccine issue Moscow: Two Russian vaccines against COVID-19 are "effective" and "safe" and a third one is in the pipeline, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday, as he warned against politicising the coronavirus jab issue. FGN31 SCO-SUMMIT-XI Xi says SCO member states should resolve disputes, differences through dialogue Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday said that members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) should deepen mutual trust and resolve disputes and differences through dialogue and consultations, while firmly dealing with terrorist, separatist and extremist forces. By K J M Varma FGN37 UK-INDIA-TRADE India, UK ministers review trade deal progress in virtual meeting London: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State Hardeep Singh Puri have held a virtual dialogue with their UK counterparts to review the progress towards a post-Brexit Enhanced Trade Partnership with Britain, which could lead to a free trade agreement in the future. By Aditi Khanna FGN34 MALDIVES-INDIA-LD SHRINGLA Foreign Secretary Shringla holds bilateral meetings with Maldivian leadership Male: Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Tuesday held a series of meetings with the Maldivian leadership and the Opposition and discussed ways to further strengthen India's relations with the island nation, and reviewed the progress of key infrastructure projects under the USD 1.3 billion bilateral package

FGN26 VIRUS-UK-INDIA-INVESTMENT UK firms invested GBP 140mn in India during pandemic-hit months: Report London: The reforms introduced by the Indian government such as revising the labour laws, planned single window clearance for licence applications and other incentives have helped British firms stay bullish on investing in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report released this week. By Aditi Khanna FGN22 UK-PFIZER-JOHNSON-REAX UK PM cautiously welcomes ‘loud toot’ of vaccine bugle London: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has cautiously welcomed the promising results from the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and warned people not to rely on this news as a solution as it is still "very, very early days". By Aditi Khanna FGN36 UK-INDIA-COOKING-FUEL India's clean fuel transition slowed by cooks’ belief firewood better: Study London: India's transition to clean cooking fuels may be hampered by the users' belief that using firewood is better for their families' well being than switching to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), a new study has found. By Aditi Khanna FGN21 US-ELECTION-LD POLITICS Trump campaign says presidential election far from over; Biden moves forward with his transition plans Washington: As President-elect Joe Biden is gearing up for administering the country, the defiant Trump campaign has asserted that the 2020 US presidential election is far from over and indicated that it will explore all possible options to obtain "an accurate and honest vote count." By Lalit K Jha FGN15 US-HARRIS-ECONOMY Ready to write next chapter in US history: Kamala Harris Washington: Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has said that she and President-elect Joe Biden are ready to write the "next chapter" in American history and from day one they would start building an economy that benefits the working families. By Lalit K Jha FGN33 PAK-SAFDAR-OFFICIALS Security officials, who arrested Nawaz Sharif's son-in-law, suspended for acting "overzealously" Islamabad: The Pakistan Army on Tuesday said the security officials who arrested deposed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law, Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar, from a hotel room in Karachi last month have been suspended for acting "overzealously." By Sajjad Hussain FGN28 UK-BREXIT-BILL UK govt defiant after House of Lords rejects Brexit bill London: The British government is refusing to withdraw legislation that breaks a legally binding Brexit treaty, despite a resounding rejection of the bill by the upper house of Parliament.