WORLD

Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates will meet President Xi Jinping on Friday, after his foundation pledged $50 million to help Chinese efforts to battle disease.

Gates -- one of the world's richest men -- is one of a number of Western business leaders to visit China since the country ended strict Covid controls that saw it largely closed off from the world for almost three years.

One of the world's richest men and most prominent philanthropists, the visit is his first to the country in four years.

An Australian lawmaker on Thursday detailed allegations that she had been sexually "assaulted" in parliament, stating the building was "not a safe place" for women to work. In a tearful Senate address, independent Lidia Thorpe said she had been subjected to "sexual comments", cornered in a stairwell, "inappropriately touched" and "propositioned" by "powerful men".

Thorpe had on Wednesday accused a fellow senator of "sexually assaulting" her, before being forced to withdraw the remark under threat of parliamentary sanction.

Seoul's spy agency on Wednesday revealed that North Korea, in an attempt to gather South Koreans' personal data, replicated the country's largest internet portal Naver in real-time.  

This was part of a sophisticated phishing attack designed by Pyongyang to steal user information through several fake versions of the Naver website.

The agency further urged the residents to be cautious about wrong web addresses.

The Indian Railways has decided to temporarily suspend two trains - the Maitree Express and the Bandhan Express, connecting India and Bangladesh. The Kolkata-Dhaka-Kolkata Maitree Express (13109/13110), the Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka Maitri Express (13129/13130) and the Kolkata-Khulna-Kolkata Bandhan Express (13129/13130) have been temporarily cancelled as Bangladesh is celebrating Eid-ul-Adha.

These trains will not be operational between June 23 and July 3. Passengers who need to commute between India and Bangladesh are facing a problem due to the temporary suspension of train services. 

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has died at 86 on Monday (June 12), according to reports in the Italian media. In April, he was treated for a lung infection linked to a previously undisclosed case of chronic leukaemia, BBC reported.

Known for numerous controversies surrounding his personal wealth, tax fraud charges and one conviction for soliciting sex from a minor girl and more, Berlusconi was at the helm in Italy for several terms: (1994, 2001–06, and 2008–11). He dominated both politics and business, with the ownership of several media channels and the football club AC Milan, and the leadership of Forza Italia, a centre-right party.