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Seven Indian sailors, held hostage by Somali pirates for 2 years, appeal for help

[email protected] (NDTV)
October 6, 2012
Indian_Sailors

New Delhi, October 6: Seven Indian sailors, who have been held hostage by Somali pirates for the last two years, have appealed to the PM, the President, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and opposition leader Sushma Swaraj for help.

The sailors have narrated their ordeal in a video message uploaded on YouTube and have sought immediate intervention of the government. "Our condition is very bad. I don't know what action the government is taking. We have been here for a very long time now. We are fed up and mentally tensed. Our health is not good. So we are requesting the honourable President of India, honourable Prime Minister, UPA President Mrs Sonia Gandhi and opposition leader Mrs Sushma Swaraj to please save us. Save our life. We want our release. Please help us," appeals a sailor, Bahadur Singh, in the message. The video was reportedly uploaded on the web 45 days ago, but was accessed by the family of one of the hostages yesterday.

One of the sailors, the vessel's Second Officer Bhaskaran Nair Unnikrishnan, is reportedly a diabetic patient and is said to be in urgent need of medicines.

The sailors were taken hostage on September 28, 2010 when their ship, MT Asphalt, was hijacked by Somali pirates. The vessel and eight of its crew members were released on April 15, 2011after the intervention of the Mumbai-based shipping company. But these seven sailors were held back as hostages.

The hijackers have demanded that the Indian government release 100 Somali pirates in exchange for the release of these seven sailors. But sources say the government is unwilling to release them.

The Director General of shipping has reportedly time and again written to the owners of the ship to negotiate with the pirates. But the talks have not moved forward as the shipping company is reportedly unwilling to intervene in the matter as its ship has been released, sources add.

A total of 43 Indians are currently in the custody of Somali pirates. Of these, 15 have spent over two years as hostages.


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News Network
February 18,2020

New Delhi, Feb 18: Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot is the richest minister in the AAP government, according to a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Monday.

In a statement, the NGO said, Delhi Election Watch and ADR have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all the seven-party leaders including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

According to the statement, the minister with the lowest declared total assets is Gopal Rai with assets worth Rs 90.01 lakh.

"The minister with the highest declared total assets is Kailash Gahlot from Najafgarh constituency with assets worth Rs 46.07 crore," it stated.

The report by ADR comes on the day Kejriwal and his six ministers took charge after the formation of the new AAP government.

Chief Minister Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues took charge of their respective offices on Monday and asserted that they would work to fulfil the promises made in the "guarantee card", released during the poll campaign, including reduction in pollution and expansion of metro network.

Members of his Cabinet are -- Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Rajendra Pal Gautam, Imran Hussain, Gopal Rai and Kailash Gahlot.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

New Delhi, Jul 30: India's gold demand in 2020 is expected to fall to the lowest level in 26 years with domestic bullion prices hitting a record high and as falling disposable incomes could curtail retail purchases, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday.

Lower demand by the world's second-biggest bullion consumer could limit a rally in global prices, which hit a record high earlier this month, although it could also reduce India's trade deficit and support the ailing rupee.

"Fast rising gold prices could act as headwinds," said Somasundaram PR, the managing director of WGC's Indian operations.

Local gold futures have jumped 35% so far this year after rising a quarter in 2019.

India's gold consumption in the first half of 2020 plunged 56% on-year to 165.6 tonnes. Meanwhile, the coronavirus-triggered lockdown also slashed demand by 70% in the June quarter to 63.7 tonnes, the lowest in more than a decade, the WGC said in a report published on Thursday.

Millions of Indians have lost their jobs or taken a pay cut after the country imposed a lockdown on its 1.3 billion people to curb the spread of the virus that has infected more than 1.5 million Indians.

Consumption is generally high during the June quarter due to weddings and key festivals such as Akshaya Tritiya, but lockdown restrictions kept shoppers indoors this year.

The weak demand in the first half could drag down India's gold consumption in 2020 to the lowest since 1994, when demand stood at 415 tonnes, Somasundaram said, adding that it is still difficult to provide an estimate for full-year demand as the coronavirus crisis is still unfolding.

"Indian demand has previously jumped as much as 300 tonnes in a quarter. Latent demand could come out in the second half," Somasundaram said.

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News Network
June 24,2020

Kolkata, Jun 24: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Tamonash Ghosh, who had tested positive for Covid-19 in May, died at a hospital here on Wednesday, party sources said.

He was 60.

The three-time MLA from the Falta assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas district was admitted to a hospital after he tested positive for the disease, they said.

He had several complications related to the heart and the kidney, the sources said.

"Very, very sad. Tamonash Ghosh, 3-time MLA from Falta & party treasurer since 1998 had to leave us today. Been with us for over 35 years, he was dedicated to the cause of the people & party. He contributed much through his social work," West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee tweeted.

"He has left a void that will be difficult to fill. On behalf of all of us, heartfelt condolences to his wife Jharna, his two daughters, friends and well-wishers," she added.

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