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PM Modi meets Theresa May for bilateral talks on immigration, counter-terrorism

Agencies
April 18, 2018

London, Apr 18; Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday arrived at 10 Downing Street for a breakfast meeting with his British counterpart Theresa May during which the two leaders are expected to discuss wide range of issues of mutual interest, including cross-border terrorism, visas and immigration.

Modi was greeted with the customary handshake by May.

"Very welcome to London, Prime Minister," May said as she greeted Modi, who arrived in a Tata Motors' Range Rover.

The two leaders will hold talks over a breakfast meeting on a wide range of issues of mutual interest, including cross-border terrorism, visas and immigration.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the return of illegal immigrants, which had expired in 2014, will be officially renewed to take into account biometric and other developments in the field, along with a range of nearly a dozen MoUs across different sectors.

"A slew of agreements will be signed between India and the UK during the bilateral leg of the visit today. This is a relationship that cuts across all sectors and has reached a very mature level. The prime minister's visit is about what more we can do to build on that," a senior Indian official said.

A "flash mob" of sari-clad women from Indian Ladies in UK, accompanied by dhols, had gathered outside Downing Street to welcome the Indian PM with banners such as "In India, Peace is always in Fashion".

Modi had landed in Britain from Stockholm overnight for bilateral engagements as well as multilateral discussions as part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

He was received at the airport by UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson, who said he was "excited" that India-UK bilateral trade is growing at 15 per cent a year and the visit will help build on "huge economic advantages". Both leaders held a late night meeting at Heathrow airport.

"A real pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UK. Lots to discuss on UK-India bilateral issues - tech collaboration, trade, healthcare opportunities and more," Johnson said.

"Another chapter in modern partnership bound by strong historical ties," added the ministry of external affairs (MEA).

Modi is set for a packed day of official engagements today.

After his meeting with the British PM, he arrives at the Science Museum in London to explore the '5000 Years of Science and Innovation' exhibition and interact with Indian-origin and other scientists and innovators based in the UK.

The event, hosted by Prince Charles, will include the launch of a new Ayurvedic Centre of Excellence, aimed at creating a first-of-its-kind global network for evidence-based research on yoga and Ayurveda.

A brief stop to garland the Basaveshwara statue on the banks of the river Thames, which Modi had inaugurated during his last visit to the UK in 2015, will be followed by his second meeting with Theresa May at an event hosted by the British prime minister at the Francis Crick Institute.

Following an interaction with Indian-origin scientists working on cancer research, malaria and other tropical diseases, both leaders will initiate the India-UK CEOs Forum. An India-UK Tech Alliance is also expected to be among the announcements during the day.

Modi is scheduled for a private audience with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace before the Bharat Ki Baat, Sabke Saath diaspora event, to be telecast live from the iconic Central Hall Westminster in London.

The event, billed as the centrepiece of the "Living Bridge" theme of the India-UK bilateral visit, will involve the PM addressing questions from across the world which have already been received via social media.

An estimated 1,700 people, mostly from the Indian diaspora in the UK, successful in a ballot of free online registrations will attend the event organised by the Europe India Forum.

"It will be a no-holds-barred interaction with Prime Minister Modi, in a manner and format never witnessed before," said Vijay Chauthaiwale, in charge of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Foreign Affairs Department.

At the end of the live telecast, Modi will join Heads of Government from 52 other Commonwealth countries at a dinner hosted by May as a formal welcome to the CHOGM.

According to official estimates, India-UK bilateral trade stands at USD 13 billion, with the UK among the largest G20 investors into India. Modi's UK visit this week will have a particular focus on the India-UK technological partnership as well as an enhanced role in the Commonwealth.

A series of demonstrations, including a silent protest to condemn the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, have been planned by various groups at Parliament Square here his visit.

Comments

rameeztk
 - 
Thursday, 19 Apr 2018

Hamare pyaare PM ji...   What kind of terrorism are you going to counter? end?  End the terrorism from OUR OWN GOONS in India.  

Bring some laws so that....

 

 

01. Let’s think of saving our mothers, sisters and daughters from OUR OWN GOONS.  

 

 

02. Let’s create a safe environment for our mother sisters and daughters.

 

 

03. Put the criminals behind the bar and punish them. 

 

 

04. According to me Politician is a respected word/degree/profession (In actual it’s not at present scenario) Choose candidates with some degree in political science, economy etc. to become MLA MP. Don’t let criminals enter the politics.

 

 

05. We are on high performance rate when it comes to voting, we start visiting each and every homes, constituencies to meet and greet the people. Hope using same method/strategy we can reach each and every common man when it comes to his/her safety issues.

 

 

06. Let’s derive some good methods to counter the terrorism within our own country by OUR OWN GOONS.

 

 

07. For rapists, bring a strict law (Hang to death) to punish them.

 

 

As a law abiding citizen of India I’m ready to cooperate with you Mr. Pyaare PM.

You still have one year time to do all these stuffs.

 

 

Don’t work for NAME and FAME,

 

We may have to face SHAME..

 

I don’t want anyone to BLAME,

 

Taking our Indian PM NAME..

 

 

JAI HO… JAI HIND..

 

 

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Agencies
July 28,2020

Kuala Lumpur, Jul 28: Malaysia's ex-leader Najib Razak was found guilty Tuesday in his first trial over the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal, two years after the fraud contributed to the downfall of his long-ruling government.

The former prime minister could now face decades in jail after being convicted on all charges in the case related to the looting of sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

Billions of dollars were stolen from the investment vehicle and spent on everything from high-end real estate to pricey art, while investment bank Goldman Sachs also became embroiled in the scandal.

Anger at the looting played a large part in the shock loss of Najib's long-ruling coalition in elections in 2018, and he was arrested and hit with dozens of charges following his defeat.

The verdict was a test of Malaysia's rule of law. It comes about five months after Najib's scandal-plagued party returned to power as part of a coalition, development observers had feared could affect the outcome of the case.

About 16 months after it began, the Kuala Lumpur High Court delivered the verdict in Najib's first trial, which centred on the transfer of 42 million ringgit ($9.9 million) from a former 1MDB unit, SRC International, into his accounts.

Najib had vehemently denied wrongdoing.

But Judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali took apart all the arguments put forward by his defence, and found him guilty on the seven charges he faced.

"In conclusion, after considering all the evidence in this trial, I find the prosecution has successfully proven the case," the judge told the court.

The charges were one of abuse of power, three of criminal breach of trust and three of money-laundering.

The counts of abuse of power and criminal breach of trust are punishable by up to 20 years in jail each, while the money-laundering charges are punishable by up to 15 years each.

Sentencing was not handed down straight away. The 67-year-old will likely appeal and he may not be sent to jail immediately. If his conviction is upheld, he will also be barred from political office for several years.

Najib had insisted he was ignorant of the transactions.

The defence team portrayed Najib as a victim and instead sought to paint financier Low Taek Jho, a key figure in the scandal who has been charged in the US and Malaysia, as the mastermind.

Low, whose whereabouts are unknown, maintains his innocence.

Prosecutors insisted Najib was in control of the 1MDB unit, SRC International.

The return of Najib's party to power as part of a coalition in March followed the collapse of Mahathir Mohamad's reformist administration.

Since then, 1MDB-linked charges were unexpectedly dropped against the ex-leader's stepson Riza Aziz, a producer of Hollywood movie "The Wolf of Wall Street", in exchange for him agreeing to return assets to Malaysia.

Prosecutors also dropped dozens of charges against Najib ally Musa Aman, the former leader of Sabah state.

The amounts involved in Najib's first case are small compared to those in his second and most significant trial, which centres on allegations he illicitly obtained more than $500 million.

Malaysia had charged Goldman Sachs and some current and former staff, claiming large amounts were stolen when the bank arranged bond issues for 1MDB.

But the two sides agreed to a $3.9 billion settlement last week in exchange for charges being dropped.

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News Network
May 12,2020

May 12: Gunmen stormed a hospital on Tuesday in an ongoing attack in the Afghan capital Kabul, as a suicide blast killed 15 people at a funeral in the country's restive east.

Special forces rescued 80 people including mothers and babies from the Kabul hospital after three gunmen launched a morning assault, killing at least four people, the interior ministry said in a statement.

Heavily armed forces were seen carrying babies wrapped in blankets away from the scene, as the clearance operation continued.

The facility, which has a large maternity ward, is located in the west of the city, home to the capital's minority Shiite Hazara community -- a frequent target of Sunni militants from the Islamic State group.

The flare-up in violence comes as Afghanistan grapples with myriad crises including a rise in militant operations across the country and a surge in coronavirus infections.

A paediatrician who fled the hospital told AFP he heard a loud explosion at the entrance of the building.

"The hospital was full of patients and doctors, there was total panic inside," he said, asking not to be named.

The maternity services at the hospital are supported by humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

"Hospitals and health workers must not be attacked. We call on all sides to stop attacking hospitals and health workers," said deputy health minister in the city, Waheed Majroh.

Around an hour later, a suicide bomber killed at least 15 people at the funeral of a local police commander in the country's eastern Nangarhar province, according to provincial spokesman Ataullah Khogyani.

The attacker detonated his explosives in the middle of the ceremony.

Zaher Adel, spokesman for the government hospital in Jalalabad, earlier said 12 bodies had arrived from the blast site and more than 50 people were being treated for injuries.

Amir Mohammad, who was wounded in the blast, said thousands of people had gathered for the funeral, an event which often draws huge crowds in Afghanistan.

The violence comes just a day after four roadside bombs exploded in a northern district of Kabul, wounding four civilians including a child.

The bombings were later claimed by the Islamic State group, according to the SITE intelligence group.

They were just the latest in a string of IS attacks on the capital.

In March, at least 25 people were killed by a gunman at a Sikh temple in Kabul, which was later claimed by the group.

IS is also responsible for an infamous attack in March 2017 on one of the country's largest hospitals, when gunmen disguised as doctors stormed the Kabul building and killed dozens.

In recent months, the jihadist group has suffered mounting setbacks after being hunted by US and Afghan forces as well as Taliban offensives targeting their fighters, but it still retains the ability to launch major assaults on urban centres.

The Taliban have largely refrained from launching large attacks on Afghan cities since February when they signed a landmark withdrawal deal with the US meant to pave the way for peace talks with the Kabul government.

Under the agreement, the Taliban promised not to target forces from the US-led coalition, but made no such pledge toward Afghan troops and have stepped up attacks in the provinces.

The Taliban have denied involvement in both of Tuesday's attacks.

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News Network
March 30,2020

Geneva, Mar 30: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has reached 634,835, among them 29,957 fatalities, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday.

Over the past 24 hours, 63,159 people were confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus and 3,464 people died, the WHO said.

According to the latest situation report, the majority of the confirmed cases - more than 361,000 - are presently concentrated in Europe, with Italy leading the tally with over 92,000 cases, followed by Spain with over 72,000 cases, and Germany with over 52,000 cases.

Italy and Spain are also the countries that top the worldwide death toll from COVID-19, with 10,023 and 5,690 fatalities, respectively.

The second most affected region is currently the Americas with over 120,000 verified COVID-19 cases, of which the majority - over 103,000 - have been found in the United States. The US is also the country with the highest single tally of COVID-19 cases at the moment.
The WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11.

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