US President Trump and North Korean leader Kim hold talks

Agencies
June 12, 2018

Singapore, Jun 12: US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met for the first time and shook hands here on Tuesday, kicking off their history-making summit aimed at normalising bilateral ties and complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Trump and Kim met at Capella Singapore hotel in Singapore's Sentosa island after months of diplomatic twists and turns.

The two men walked towards each other, stood face to face for the first time and shared a 12-second handshake against a backdrop of American and North Korean flags. They then appeared to share a few light-hearted words as they walked down a corridor to the hotel's library.

Trump and Kim are the first leaders of their respective countries to meet, marking the culmination of months of diplomatic wrangling and negotiations.

In brief remarks to the media before the start of their meeting, Trump expressed hope that the historic summit would be "tremendously successful."

Sitting next to the North Korean leader, the US President said, "We will have a terrific relationship ahead."

"I feel really great. It's gonna be a great discussion and I think tremendous success. I think it's gonna be really successful and I think we will have a terrific relationship, I have no doubt," Trump responded when asked how he felt in the first minute.

Kim then said there were a number of "obstacles" to the meeting taking place in Singapore today.

"We overcame all of them and we are here today," he told reporters through a translator.

Trump then said, "Thank you very much".

At 9:06 AM (local time), they entered the room where they held their one-on-one meeting for around 45-minutes with just translators present.

According to North Korean media, Kim actually arrived at the venue 7 minutes earlier than Trump to show respect as it's cultural, the young one should arrive earlier than the elder one. The red tie that Trump wears may also show some respect to Kim as well, it's the colour that North Koreans like.

At 9:50 AM (local time), they emerged from their one-on-one meeting and headed into an expanded bilateral meeting.

When asked how the discussion went, Trump said: "Very, very good. Excellent relationship."

Kim was asked at least three times if he'd give up his nukes. In response, he just smiled.

At 9:53 AM (local time), American and North Korean officials were seated across a long table for the expanded bilateral.

Both Trump and Kim made brief remarks.

Trump said he believed he and Kim will "solve a big problem, a big dilemma" and that by working together, "we will get it taken care of".

"There will be challenges ahead but we will work with Trump. We overcame all kinds of scepticism and speculations about this summit and I believe that this is good for the peace," Kim responded.

Fourteen reporters are participating in the tight pool, seven each from the US and North Korea.

On the agenda is North Korea's nuclear capabilities, which Trump is hoping to convince them to abandon in exchange for economic assistance.

On the eve of the summit, the US offered "unique" security guarantees to North Korea in return for a "complete, verifiable and irreversible" denuclearisation.

The summit at Sentosa - the first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader - will mark a turnaround of relations between Trump, 71, and Kim, 34, after a long-running exchange of threats and insults.

Sentosa is a popular tourist island a few hundred metres off the main island of Singapore.

The US insists it will accept nothing less than complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

The official North Korean news agency said on Sunday that Kim was ready to talk about "denuclearisation" and a "durable peace" at a summit held "for the first time in history under the great attention and expectation of the whole world."

Trump said on Saturday that Kim has a "one-time shot" to make history.

"I feel that Kim Jong-un wants to do something great for his people," he had said.

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Agencies
February 18,2020

British lawmaker Debbie Abrahams' e-Business visa was revoked as she was involved in anti-India activities and the cancellation was conveyed to her on February 14, government sources said on Tuesday.

Asserting that the grant, rejection or revocation of a visa or electronic travel authorisation is the sovereign right of a country, the sources said Abrahams was issued an e-Business visa on October 7 last year which was valid till October 5, 2020 for attending business meetings.

"Her e-Business visa was revoked on February 14, 2020 on account of her indulging in activities which went against India's national interest. The rejection of the e-Business visa was intimated to her on February 14," a source said.

Abrahams, who chairs a British parliamentary group on Kashmir, was denied entry into India upon her arrival at the New Delhi airport on Monday.

Government officials had said on Monday also that she was informed in advance that her e-visa had been cancelled.

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News Network
July 2,2020

Naypyitaw, Jul 2: A landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar has killed at least 113 people, officials say, warning the death toll is likely to rise further.

The incident took place early on Thursday in the jade-rich Hpakant area of Kachin state after a bout of heavy rainfall, the Myanmar Fire Services Department said on Facebook.

"The jade miners were smothered by a wave of mud," the statement said. "A total of 113 bodies have been found so far," it added, raising the death toll from at least 50.

Photos posted on the Facebook page showed a search and rescue team wading through a valley apparently flooded by the mudslide.

'No one could help them'

Maung Khaing, a 38-year-old miner from the area, said he saw a towering pile of waste that looked on the verge of collapse and was about to take a picture when people began shouting "run, run!"

"Within a minute, all the people at the bottom [of the hill] just disappeared," he told Reuters news agency by phone.

"I feel empty in my heart. I still have goosebumps ... There were people stuck in the mud shouting for help, but no one could help them."

Tar Lin Maung, a local official with the information ministry, said authorities had recovered more than 100 bodies.

"Other bodies are in the mud. The numbers are going to rise," he told Reuters.

Fatal landslides are common in the poorly regulated mines of Hpakant, the victims often from impoverished communities who risk their lives hunting the translucent green gemstone.

The government of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi pledged to clean up the industry when it took power in 2016, but activists say little has changed.

Official sales of jade in Myanmar were worth $750.4m in 2016-2017, according to data published by the government as part of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

But experts believe the true value of the industry, which mainly exports to China, is much larger.

Northern Myanmar's abundant natural resources - including jade, timber, gold and amber - have also helped finance both sides of a decades-long conflict between ethnic Kachin and the military.

The fight to control the mines and the revenues they bring frequently traps local civilians in the middle.

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News Network
July 2,2020

Washington, Jul 2: Former US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, on Wednesday (local time) hailed India's action to ban 59 apps linked to Chinese firms including Tik Tok and said New Delhi is continuing to show it will not back down from China's aggression.

"Good to see India banning 59 popular apps owned by Chinese firms, including TikTok, which counts India as one of its largest markets. India is continuing to show it won't back down from China's aggression," Haley tweeted.

The Indian government on Monday announced that it had decided to block 59 apps in view of the information available that "they are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order".

Information Technology Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the government has banned the apps for the safety, security, defense, sovereignty, and integrity of India.

Haley'='s remarks come after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed India''s ban on the Chinese apps and stressed that the move would "boost India''s integrity and national security".

"We welcome India''s ban on certain mobile apps. India''s clean app approach will boost India's sovereignty and boost integrity and national security," Pompeo said.

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