MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin will not congratulate his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on Monday’s U.S. Independence Day because of Washington’s “unfriendly” actions towards Moscow, the Kremlin said. “Congratulations this year can hardly be considered appropriate,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. “The United States’ unfriendly policies are the reason.”

 

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LONDON (Guardian) -- Boris Johnson is facing a backlash over the promotion of his ally Chris Pincher, as a group of Conservative parliamentary staffers accused the prime minister of a “failure to act on warnings” of sexual misconduct by his MPs. As new claims emerged about Pincher, who resigned as deputy chief whip over allegations that he groped two men in a London club, No 10 continued to insist that Johnson was unaware of any “specific” warnings until last week. But a whips’ office source acknowledged on Sunday that a “matter” relating to Pincher had in fact been reported to them during the February reshuffle. The source had previously denied receiving any complaints or warnings – formal or informal – about his conduct. Johnson is likely to face questions in parliament this week about what he knew about allegations concerning Pincher, after five further reports of alleged misconduct emerged over the weekend, including groping Tory MPs. Pincher denies all the allegations against him.

 

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VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -- Pope Francis has dismissed reports that he plans to resign in the near future, saying he is on track to visit Canada this month and hopes to be able to go to Moscow and Kyiv as soon as possible after that. In an exclusive interview in his Vatican residence, Francis also denied rumors that he had cancer, joking that his doctors “didn’t tell me anything about it”, and for the first time gave details of the knee condition that has prevented him carrying out some duties. In a 90-minute conversation on Saturday afternoon, conducted in Italian, with no aides present, the 85-year-old pontiff also repeated his condemnation of abortion following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month.

 

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 NEW YORK (AFP) – Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has criticized President Joe Biden for calling on oil companies to lower sky-high gasoline prices, prompting the White House to come to the U.S. leader’s defense. Bezos said Biden’s remarks amounted to “either straight ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics.” “Ouch. Inflation is far too important a problem for the White House to keep making statements like this,” the US billionaire tweeted Saturday. Gasoline prices at the pump have become a symbol of broader price rises in the United States, and they are sapping Biden’s approval rating ahead of legislative elections in November. Biden has regularly attacked oil companies, saying they only care about profits and not the well-being of the average consumer. 

 

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Washington (AFP) – More parents are questioning the necessity of routine vaccinations for young children. Adults are skipping shots as well, even for vaccines with a long safety record. The trend comes amid a wave of misinformation and disinformation about Covid-19 and the vaccines that helped to stem pandemic deaths. Politicization of the Covid-19 shots has bolstered the anti-vaccine movement, contributing to the decline in routine immunizations for measles, polio and other dangerous diseases. The anti-vaccine movement has mushroomed as its messages on social media are amplified by conservative political figures as well as foreign influence operations, whose vaccine disinformation efforts pre-date the pandemic. With routine immunization rates falling, concerns are growing about a resurgence of diseases which had largely been eradicated in many parts of the world. In the United States, the percentage of kindergarten children with recommended immunizations fell a percentage point to 94 percent in the 2020-21 school year, representing some 35,000 children unvaccinated. 

 

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TOKYO (Reuters) -- Japan’s ruling coalition is headed for victory in a July 10 upper house election, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling party likely to extend the number of seats it holds on its own, according to an opinion poll published on Monday. A total of 125 seats are being contested, making 63 a simple. majority. Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is projected to win about 60 seats on its own, up from the 55 seats it currently holds, according to a Nikkei business daily poll which was conducted at the weekend. The Nikkei poll results run counter to recent public opinion surveys which have shown support for his government slipping due to surging prices and higher fuel costs in the wake of the Ukraine conflict.