Trump softens tone over Iran, says he is ready to meet President Rouhani

Agencies
July 31, 2018

Washington, Jul 31: Softening his tone, US President Donald Trump today said that he is ready to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani without preconditions to craft a new deal over its nuclear programme after threatening Tehran of grave consequences.

Trump in May pulled the US out of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement struck by the Obama administration by calling it the "the worst" deal ever negotiated.

An Olive branch from Trump to Iran marks an abrupt shift in his tone.

Trump had lashed out at Rouhani a week ago in a tweet, saying "Never, ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before."

The White House, however, said that Trump's potential willingness to meet with his Iranian counterpart does not change his administration's intent to ratchet up sanctions against Tehran with the stated goal of "seeking changes in the Iranian government's behaviour."

"I believe in meeting, I would certainly meet with Iran if they wanted to meet," Trump said at a White House joint news conference with visiting Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

"I don't know that they're ready yet, they're having a hard time right now. I ended the Iran deal, it was a ridiculous deal. I do believe that they will probably end up wanting to meet, and I'm ready to meet anytime they want to," he said.

Trump highlighted the benefits of diplomacy, saying he would "meet with anybody".

"I don't do that from strength or from weakness, I think it's an appropriate thing to do. If we could work something out that's meaningful, not the waste of paper that the other deal was, I would certainly be willing to meet," Trump said.

Responding to another question, he said he would meet without any precondition. "No preconditions. If they want to meet, I'll meet anytime they want, anytime they want. Good for the country, good for them, good for us and good for the world. No preconditions. If they want to meet, I'll meet," said the US president.

Iran was one of the topics of discussion between Trump and Conte. "The Prime Minister and I agree that the brutal regime in Iran must never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon, never," he said.

"We encourage all nations to pressure Iran to end the full range of its maligned activities. The United States welcomes the partnership of Italy in these vital efforts," Trump said.

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Agencies
July 7,2020

India's COVID-19 tally raced past the seven lakh-mark with 22,252 fresh infections on Tuesday, five days after crossing the six lakh post, while the death toll climbed to 20,160 as 467 more people succumbed to the disease, according to the Union health ministry.

With this, the country has recorded over 20,000 cases of the infection for the fifth consecutive day.

India's coronavirus infection caseload stands at 7,19,665, the ministry's data updated at 8 am showed.

With a steady rise, the number of recoveries stands at 4,39,947, while there are 2,59,557 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country.

"Thus, around 61.13 % of patients have recovered so far," an official said.

The total number of confirmed cases also includes foreigners.

Of the 467 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, 204 are from Maharashtra, 61 from Tamil Nadu, 48 from Delhi, 29 from Karnataka, 24 from Uttar Pradesh, 22 from West Bengal, 17 from Gujarat.

Telangana and Haryana reported 11 deaths each; Madhya Pradesh nine; Andhra Pradesh seven; Jammu and Kashmir six; Rajasthan and Punjab five each; Bihar, Kerala and Odisha two each; and Arunachal Pradesh and Jharkhand one each.

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News Network
June 22,2020

The Hague, Jun 22: Finding inner peace is crucial for the armed forces and yoga is a beautiful way to find the balance, Dutch Defence Minister Ank Bijleveld has said, thanking India for the "wonderful gift" to the world.

Yoga has been gaining global popularity in recent years for the many benefits it has on one's physiology, psychology and spirituality.

Bijleveld participated in the online International Yoga Day celebrations organised by the Indian Embassy here on Sunday.

"The minister thanked India for the wonderful gift of yoga to the world," a statement issued by the embassy said on Monday.

She said finding inner peace is crucial for a man and woman in uniform and yoga is a beautiful way to find the balance, it noted.

Bijleveld said yoga has formed a part of the training for the Dutch armed forces for the last 15 years and there are 130 yoga instructors.

The representatives of the Dutch Army joined by the Dutch Police personnel demonstrated their yoga skills as part of the online celebrations, the statement said.

The sixth International Yoga Day celebrations was streamed to 145,000 followers of the embassy's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channels as well as on its website. It was also streamed on the website of the non-profit foundation Stichting International Yoga Day.

Ambassador of India to The Netherlands Venu Rajamony inaugurated the celebrations. This was followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video message and 3D animated videos of yoga with him.

The event was participated by a host of prominent Dutch and Indian personalities, including Ambassadors of various countries based in The Hague.

Dutch actress Afke Reijenga, extreme sportsman Wim Hof -- popularly known as 'The Iceman' and singers Charlie Dee and Anouk Maas were amongst the Dutch celebrities who participated in the event, the statement said.

Messages and artistic contributions by spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, internationally acclaimed flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, violin maestro L Subramaniam, playback singers Kavita Krishnamurthy and Vijay Prakash, chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand and film stars Raadhika, Sarathkumar and Bhumika Chawla featured in the programme.

Cricketer Suresh Raina, tennis stars Ramesh Krishnan and Rohan Bopanna, yoga guru and artist Bharat Thakur, Olympic ice skater Vishwaraj Jadeja and Michelin star chef Vikas Khanna also featured in the event.

The programme included a Kathak recital on 'Ayush' choreographed by Dutch choreographer Leo Spreksel and performed by eminent Kathak dancers Hari and Chetna with Sirisha.

It also showcased Hollywood and Bollywood celebrities who have made yoga a part of their lives.

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News Network
April 22,2020

London, Apr 22: The toll from coronavirus in the United Kingdom has jumped above 18,000 after 759 more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, the Department of Health and Social Care announced in a statistical bulletin on Wednesday.

In total, 18,100 people have died in the UK hospitals after contracting COVID-19 as of 16:00 GMT on Tuesday.

A further 4,451 new cases of the disease were reported over the preceding 24 hours up to 08:00 GMT on Wednesday, the ministry said. The total number of cases reported since the start of the outbreak now stands at 1,33,495.

On Tuesday, the Office of National Statistics published a report stating that the coronavirus disease death toll as of April 10, when accounting for deaths in care homes and private residences, was 41 per cent higher than the government's figures.

In parliament on Wednesday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock stated that the United Kingdom has reached the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak, praising the social distancing measures enforced in the country.

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