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THE BIG STORY
Biden set to speak with Xi on Russian invasion
United States President Joe Biden is set to reach out to Chinese President Xi Jinping today, as Washington seeks to increase international pressure on Russia to halt its Ukraine invasion. The call comes a day after Mr Biden condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "war criminal".
THE BIG STORY
Covid-19 cases on the rise again globally
Cases of Covid-19 are once again rising globally, alarming the World Health Organisation (WHO). After falling for weeks, reported coronavirus cases rose globally by 8 per cent last week, with more than 11 million cases and over 43,000 new deaths registered, the WHO said on Wednesday.
Shops that sell knives, swords and controlled weapons said that crimes involving weapons cast a bad light on such businesses and are a cause of concern for them, as none of them wants to be associated with illegal activities. They said there are strict guidelines to ensure accountability of those who buy such items but there is still no guarantee that buyers would not misuse them.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates and signalled hikes at all six remaining meetings this year, launching an aggressive campaign to tackle the fastest inflation in four decades. The rise to a range of 0.25 to 0.5 per cent follows two years of holding borrowing costs near zero to insulate the economy from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Umno is considering changing the party's constitution to delay its internal polls until after Malaysia's next general election. The move would allow current president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to retain his position against ambitious vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who is Malaysia's Prime Minister.
Nasa's next-generation moon rocket, the Space Launch System rocket (above), was due yesterday to make a highly anticipated, slow-motion journey from an assembly plant to its launch pad in Florida for a final round of tests in the coming weeks. The mega rocket is taller than the Statue of Liberty.