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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz plans to invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as special guest to a Group of Seven leaders’ summit next month as part of an effort to forge a broader international alliance against Russia. Germany, which currently holds the rotating G-7 presidency, will also welcome the leaders of Indonesia, South Africa and Senegal to the gathering in the Bavarian Alps June 26 to June 28, said people with knowledge of the matter. The decision could be announced as early as Monday, when Scholz welcomes Modi for talks in Berlin and a joint German-Indian cabinet meeting. Scholz was undecided on Modi’s invitation until a few weeks ago given the prime minister’s reluctance to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a jump in fossil fuel deliveries to India from Russia.  But Scholz has decided the G-7 should court India, with its growing population and long democratic tradition, as a potentially valuable partner in efforts to isolate Russia, according to the people, ...

Wellington: New Zealand reported its first case of Omicron BA.4 variant at the border amid 12,699 community cases during the weekend, said the Ministry of Health on Sunday. A person who has traveled from overseas to New Zealand has been confirmed as having the BA.4 variant of Omicron. This is the first known detection of the variant in New Zealand, the ministry said in a statement. Two other sub-variants of Omicron, the BA.2.12.1 and the BA 2.12.2, have also been detected in two returnees for the first time in New Zealand from travelers arriving in April, said the ministry. Meanwhile, the country reported the deaths of 13 people with COVID-19 amid the new community cases in the past two days. In addition, there were 138 new cases of COVID-19 detected at the New Zealand border during the weekend, according to the ministry.   The country has reported 933,464 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. New Zealand is currently under the orange settings of the COVI...