'People of Indian origin in Israel to get OCI card despite their army training'

Agencies
July 6, 2017

Tel Aviv, Jul 6: People of Indian origin in Israel will get the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards even if they have undergone the compulsory army service here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced tonight.modi3

Addressing the Indian diaspora here at an event which was also attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Modi also said that direct flights would be launched between Delhi, Mumbai and Tel Aviv to encourage people-to-people contacts.

He said an Indian cultural centre would also be opened in Israel, fulfilling a long-pending demand of the Indian diaspora here.

He said he had heard about problems being faced by the people of Indian origin in getting the OCI cards.

The Indian government has simplified the rules and even those who have undergone the compulsory military service in Israel will get the OCI cards, the prime minister said to the cheering by the crowd.

Modi said the Jewish nation had links with India dating back to centuries but the fact that no Indian prime minister had travelled here in 70 years "raises questions", an apparent swipe at the previous governments of India.

"For the first time in 70 years, an Indian prime minister has landed here to seek your blessings," he said amid chants of "Modi, Modi".

Describing Netanyahu as "my friend", Modi said the kind of welcome extended to him since his arrival here yesterday cannot be forgotten by anyone.

Hailing Israel, particularly its innovations and scientific advancements, he said the country has demonstrated that the number and size does not matter but it is the spirit that matters.

Modi said there were about 600 Indian students in Israel who can contribute to the future of the relationship.

He remembered former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres, saying he had worked tirelessly for the humanity.

Referring to Moshe Holtzberg, an 11-year-old Israeli who was saved by an Indian nanny during the Mumbai terror attack of 2008, Modi said it had shown how life succeeds over terrorism. He had met Moshe earlier in the day.

Modi also recalled the contribution of the Indian army in liberation of Jerusalem and Haifa during the World War-I. He will be travelling to Haifa tomorrow to pay his tributes to them.

In his 60-minute speech, Modi talked about various programmes initiated by his government and said these were aimed at the betterment of the common people.

Netanyahu, who spoke before Modi said the partnership between India and Israel was "made in heaven and was happening here now."

He said he and Modi had decided on a vast programme and the Indian diaspora was "a bridge". "We love you," he added.

"We have decided to cooperate in so many areas.... We are building this future today, between two democracies," the Israeli prime minister said.

Comments

Raees
 - 
Sunday, 9 Jul 2017

Where is the proof that ram born in ayodhya. Those who have born and death is not god.
Tomm they will say. The first cow on earth was born in kankanady.

What if ram was born in Japan. Will they attack japan.

ali
 - 
Saturday, 8 Jul 2017

why procession for terrorist ???? only his terrorist mates will do that...

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News Network
July 26,2020

Seoul, Jul 26: North Korean authorities have imposed a lockdown on the border city of Kaesong after discovering what they called the country's first suspected case of the novel coronavirus, state media reported Sunday.

Leader Kim Jong Un convened an emergency politburo meeting on Saturday to implement a "maximum emergency system and issue a top-class alert" to contain the virus, official news agency KCNA said.

If confirmed, it would be the first officially recognised COVID-19 case in the North where medical infrastructure is seen as woefully inadequate for dealing with any epidemic.

KCNA said a defector who had left for the South three years ago returned on July 19 after "illegally crossing" the heavily fortified border dividing the countries.

But there have been no reports in the South of anyone leaving through what is one of the world's most secure borders, replete with minefields and guard posts.

Pyongyang has previously insisted not a single case of the coronavirus had been seen in the North despite the illness having swept the globe, and the country's borders remain closed.

The patient was found in Kaesong City, which borders the South, and "was put under strict quarantine", as would anybody who had come in close contact, state media said.

It was a "dangerous situation... that may lead to a deadly and destructive disaster", the media outlet added.

Kim was quoted as saying "the vicious virus could be said to have entered the country", and officials on Friday took the "preemptive measure of totally blocking Kaesong City".

The nuclear-armed North closed its borders in late January as the virus spread in neighbouring China and imposed tough restrictions that put thousands of its people into isolation, but analysts say the North is unlikely to have avoided the contagion.

South Korea is currently recording around 40 to 60 cases a day.

Earlier this month Kim warned against any "hasty" relaxation of anti-coronavirus measures, indicating the country will keep its borders closed for the foreseeable future.

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Agencies
June 6,2020

Seoul, Jun 6: South Korea on Saturday reported 51 new cases of COVID-19, mostly in the densely populated capital region, as authorities scramble to stem transmissions among low-income workers who can't afford to stay home.

The figures announced by South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brought national totals to 11,719 workers and 273 deaths.

At least 34 of the new coronavirus cases were linked to door-to-door sellers hired by Richway, a Seoul-based health product provider.

Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said the spread of the virus among Richway sellers was particularly alarming as most of them are in their 60s and 70s. He called for officials to strengthen their efforts to find and examine workplaces vulnerable to infections.

More than 120 infections have also been linked to a massive warehouse operated by Coupang, a local e-commerce giant, which has been accused of failing to properly implement preventive measures and having employees work even when sick.

South Korea was reporting around 500 new cases per day in early March due to a massive outbreak surrounding the southern city of Daegu, before officials managed to stabilize the situation with aggressive tracking and testing.

But the recent resurgence of COVID-19 in the greater capital area, where about half of South Korea's 51 million people live, is now threatening to erase some of the country's hard-won gains. It has also led to second-guessing whether officials were too quick to ease social distancing and reopen schools.

Health authorities and hospital officials on Friday participated in a table-top exercise for sharing hospital capacities between Seoul and nearby cities and ensure swift transports of patients so that a spike of cases in one area doesn't overwhelm its hospital system. 

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Agencies
January 16,2020

Moscow, Jan 16: Russia's government resigned in a shock announcement on Wednesday after President Vladimir Putin proposed a series of constitutional reforms.

In a televised meeting with the Russian president, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the proposals would make significant changes to the country's balance of power and so "the government in its current form has resigned".

"We should provide the president of our country with the possibility to take all the necessary measures" to carry out the changes, Medvedev said.

"All further decisions will be taken by the president." Putin asked Medvedev, his longtime ally, to continue as head of government until a new government has been appointed.

"I want to thank you for everything that has been done, to express satisfaction with the results that have been achieved," Putin said.

"Not everything worked out, but everything never works out." He also proposed creating the post of deputy head of the Security Council, suggesting that Medvedev take on the position.

Earlier Wednesday Putin proposed a referendum on a package of reforms to Russia's constitution that would strengthen the role of parliament.

The changes would include giving parliament the power to choose the prime minister and senior cabinet members, instead of the president as in the current system.

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