Rajapaksa orders release of Indian fishermen after UN vote

March 28, 2014

Indian_fishermenColombo, Mar 28: President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered the release of all Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan custody, hours after India abstained from backing a resolution against Colombo at the UN.

Just over 100 Indian fishermen remain in Sri Lankan custody after some 170 others were freed last week, reports Xinhua.

The President's Office said on Friday that Rajapaksa ordered all remaining Indian fishermen to be set free as a goodwill gesture.

The Indian government on Thursday made a surprise decision to abstain from voting at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and criticized the US sponsored draft resolution saying it was inconsistent and impractical.

There was strong speculation that India would back the resolution, especially with political parties in Tamil Nadu raising the pitch against the Sri Lankan government.

But India's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, Dilip Sinha, said it was New Delhi's firm belief that adopting an intrusive approach that undermined national sovereignty and institutions was counter-productive.

The resolution was, however, passed by a majority vote with 23 countries in the 47-member council voting for it and 12 against. A total of 12 countries abstained.

China, Russia, Pakistan and Cuba were among the countries that voted against the resolution. Japan also abstained.

The resolution calls for an international investigation over alleged human rights abuses during the war in Sri Lanka. Colombo says it will not agree to an international probe.

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Agencies
May 4,2020

Mumbai, May 4: Days after Facebook, private equity firm Silver Lake said it will invest 56.56 billion rupees ($746.74 million) in Reliance Industries's digital arm, giving it a valuation of 4.90 trillion rupees. Silver Lake on Monday agreed to pay Rs 5,655.75 crore to buy 1.15 per cent stake in the firm that houses billionaire Mukesh Ambani's telecom arm Jio.

The investment in Jio Platforms comes within days of Facebook investing USD 5.7 billion to buy a 9.99 per cent stake in Jio Platforms. The investment is at a premium of 12.5 per cent to the Facebook deal.

"This investment values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.90 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.15 lakh crore and represents a 12.5 per cent premium to the equity valuation of the Facebook investment announced on April 22, 2020," Reliance said in a statement.

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News Network
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Moody's Investors Service downgrading India's sovereign rating to the lowest investment rate and said that the global rating agency has rated his handling of the country's economy "a step above junk".

"Moody's has rated Modi's handling of India's economy a step above JUNK. Lack of support to the poor and the MSME sector means the worst is yet to come," the Congress leader tweeted citing a media report on Moody's downgrading the nation.

On Monday, Moody's downgraded the country's rating to "Baa3" from "Baa2". This comes at a time when the government is facing criticism from the Opposition over its handling of the COVID-19 situation and measures to boost the economy.

The government has already announced a stimulus package of Rs 20 lakh crore to deal with the situation.

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News Network
April 30,2020

Hyderabad, Apr 30: A 45-day-old baby boy, who tested positive for COVID-19 when he was 20-days-old, was discharged from a state-run hospital here on Wednesday after his full recovery.

The baby from Mahabubnagar, who contracted the infection from his father, was 20-days-old at the time of admission (on April 4), a COVID-19 bulletin said.

He was discharged after being cured, it said. The baby, probably the youngest to contract the infection in the country, was treated at the state-run Gandhi hospital in the city.

State Health Minister E Rajender expressed happiness over the baby being discharged after recovery.

An official release said 35 people were discharged today and 13 of them were children.

Those who were discharged thanked the doctors and medical personnel of the hospital and the minister has lauded the doctors and other medical staff for their efforts, it said.

Among those undergoing treatment at the hospital, 10 are being treated in the ICU.

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