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India, China, Russia refrain from seeking East Jerusalem as Palestine capital

Agencies
December 12, 2017

New Delhi, Dec 12: India, Russia and China on Monday refrained from seeking East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine after a meeting of foreign ministers from the three countries met in New Delhi.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj hosted her Russian and Chinese counterparts Sergey Lavrov and Wang Yi for the 15th annual meeting of the Russia-India-China (RIC) in New Delhi.

The joint statement issued after the meeting called for "negotiations aimed at creating an independent, viable, territorially contiguous Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security with Israel within mutually agreed and internationally recognised borders". It, however, did not have any reference to East Jerusalem.

The last RIC joint statement issued after the 14th meeting of the foreign ministers of the three nations in Moscow in April 2016 had categorically called for East Jerusalem to be the capital of the future state of Palestine.

The move by Russia, India and China to drop the reference to East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine came just days after US President Donald Trump formally recognised the ancient holy city as the capital of Israel.

The US move evoked sharp criticism not only from Arab world, but also from Europe and many other nations. Trump also set in motion a plan to shift the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Moscow has expressed concern over the US move. Russia's ambassador to Israel, Alexander Shein, however, was quoted saying that Moscow had recognised West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in April this year. He, however, also said that Russia could consider shifting its embassy from Tel Aviv to West Jerusalem after the "Palestinians and the Israelis agree on all issues of the final status" of the territories of Palestine.

China, however, reiterated its support to establishment of an independent sovereign Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital as recently as last week. "The status of Jerusalem must be determined through dialogue and negotiation on the basis of UN resolutions, and the two-state solution remains a viable, fundamental solution to the Palestinian issue," Wang said in Beijing after the US recognised the ancient city as the capital of Israel.

New Delhi declined to toe the US line on recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and stated that its position on Palestine was "independent and consistent" and shaped by its "views and interests, and not determined by any third country". India, however, refrained from reiterating its long-held view that eastern part of the holy city should be the capital of Palestine.

India in fact stopped calling for East Jerusalem to be the capital of Palestine this year. Hosting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in New Delhi in May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did call for "a sovereign, independent, united and viable Palestine, co-existing peacefully with Israel", but avoided supporting the demand for East Jerusalem to be the capital of Palestine. He carefully avoided referring to it during his visit to Israel in July – the first by a Prime Minister of India, although the two countries had established formal diplomatic relations in 1992. His message on the occasion of International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People on November 25 last or India's statement to UN General Assembly on November 29 last too did not refer to the call for East Jerusalem to be the capital of Palestine.

The leaders of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) too refrained from calling for East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine when they issued a joint statement after the summit of the five-nation bloc at Xiamen in China in September. The statement issued after the BRICS summit in Goa in October 2016 had reiterated the call for East Jerusalem to be the capital of Palestine.

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News Network
May 20,2020

Washington, May 20: The United States recorded another 1,536 coronavirus deaths over the past 24 hours, the Johns Hopkins University tracker said.

That figure, tallied as of 8:30 pm (0030 GMT), raises to 91,845 the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the US.

The US tops the global rankings both for the highest death toll and the highest number of infections, with more than 1.5 million cases.

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April 9,2020

Washington, Apr 9: At least 11 Indians have died of COVID-19 in the United States with another 16 testing positive for the infection which has claimed more than 14,000 lives and afflicted more than four lakh people in the US.

All Indian citizens who have succumbed to the deadly infection in the US are male, with ten of them from New York and New Jersey area. Four of the victims are said to be taxi drivers in New York City.

New York City has emerged as the US epicentre for COVID-19 spurt, accounting for more than 6,000 deaths and over 1,38,000 cases of infections. New Jersey accounts for 1,500 fatalities and nearly 48,000 infections.

One Indian national reportedly died in Florida because of coronavirus. Authorities are also ascertaining the nationality of some other Indian origin people in the States of California and Texas.

All 16 Indians, including four females, who have tested positive for coronavirus are in self-quarantine. Coming from diverse background, eight of them are from New York, three from New Jersey and rest from other states like Texas and California. They hail from Indian states like Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

Indian Embassy and consulates across the United States are working closely with local authorities and Indian-American organizations to provide necessary assistance to Indian nationals and students affected with COVID-19.

Because of the strict travel restrictions and regulations to prevent the spread of the deadly virus, local city officials have been performing the last rites of the deceased and in many cases are not allowing even their immediate family members to attend their cremations, officials said.

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News Network
January 28,2020

Nagpur, Jan 28: A 19-year-old woman was allegedly raped and an iron rod was inserted in her private parts by a man in the Pardi area here, police said on Monday.

The gruesome incident took place on January 21 and the accused, Yogilal Rahangdale (52), was arrested from Gondia district, they said.

The accused was working as a supervisor in a spinning mill where the woman was employed as a labourer, the police said.

The woman, her brother, the accused and another girl lived in rented accommodations in Pardi.

Inspector Sunil Chavan of the Pardi police station said that the woman's brother and her female friend had gone to their village on January 21 for some work.

As the woman was alone at home, Rahangdale attempted to rape her in the night. When she resisted, he stuffed a piece of cloth in her mouth, he said.

When she fell unconscious, the accused raped her and inserted an iron rod in her private parts, Chavan said, quoting from the complaint filed by the victim.

She narrated the incident to her brother on January 24 and they subsequently lodged a complaint with the police.

An offence was registered against the accused at the Pardi police station.

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