UK minister Priti Patel receives Pravasi Bharatiya Samman

March 28, 2017

London, Mar 28: Priti Patel, Britain's senior-most Indian-origin minister, has vowed to champion the interests of the Indian Diaspora and work for strengthening the Indo-UK ties as she received her 'Pravasi Bharatiya Samman' at a ceremony here.

priti

The minister for international development had been conferred the honour by President Pranab Mukherjee in January.

The award is the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians and Patel has been awarded for her "exceptional contribution to national and international politics, her role in strengthening UK-India relations, and for supporting the Indian Diaspora in the UK".

"It is a tremendous honour and privilege to be given the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award. This is one of the highest honours a member of the Indian Diaspora can receive and I am humbled and grateful to have been given this award," Patel said while receiving the award from Indian High Commissioner to the UK Y K Sinha at the Indian High Commission here.

"I have had the pleasure of working closely with so many members of the diaspora here in the UK and with the Indian government over a number of years. The relationship between our two great countries is getting stronger by the day as we trade more and share more cultural ties," the 44-year-old Conservative leader said.

"The Indian Diaspora in the UK are fantastic at keeping this relationship strong and work hard every day to support the UK and India reach our potential," she noted.

Patel expressed her "personal gratitude" to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, describing her as a "remarkable lady" who is very supportive of the Diaspora.

"This great award serves as an inspiration to me to carry on standing up and championing the interests of the Diaspora and working to strengthen the UK's relationship with India," said Patel, who also credited former British Prime Minister David Cameron for appointing her as the first-ever Indian Diaspora Champion in the previous UK Cabinet.

The Indian high commissioner described the Conservative party MP as an "important friend" of India.

"We are very proud that someone of Indian-origin has achieved the eminence that she has in the UK," Sinha said.

The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman is presented annually at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, held in Bengaluru this year.

Other 2017 awardees included Nisha Desai Biswal, the former US Assistant Secretary of State, and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Luis Santos da Costa.

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Agencies
February 10,2020

Hubei, Feb 10: The death toll in the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China and other parts of the world has reached 904, CNN reported citing Chinese authorities on Monday.

The number of infected people globally has now hit the 40,000 mark.

According to the country's health officials, the number of people, who died from coronavirus in the Hubei Province, has risen to 871.

"As of 24:00 on February 9, Hubei Province reported a total of 29,631 cases of new coronavirus pneumonia, including 16,902 cases in Wuhan. 22,160 patients are still being treated in hospitals. 73,127 people remain under medical observation," read the statement from the Chinese Regional Health Committee.

The novel coronavirus was first detected in China's Wuhan city in late December and has since spread to more than 25 countries.

On Sunday, the new coronavirus even surpassed the fatalities caused by the SARS epidemic in 2003.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared a global health emergency in the wake of the outbreak.

Meanwhile, WHO's international expert mission led by Dr Bruce Aylward embarked for China.

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Agencies
January 4,2020

Tel Aviv, Jan 4: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday came out in the support of Trump administration for carrying out the strike near Baghdad's international airport which led to the killing of Iran's elite IRGC Qassem Soleimani, saying that "The US has the right of self-defence."

"Just as Israel has the right of self-defence, the United States has exactly the same right. Qassem Soleimani is responsible for the death of American citizens and many other innocent people. He was planning more such attacks," PM Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on Twitter.

In another tweet, Netanyahu also credited US President Donald Trump for acting decisively in the operation of Iraq that led to the killing of Qassem Soleimani -- a US-designated terrorist, along with six others.

"President Donald Trump deserves all the credit for acting swiftly, forcefully and decisively. Israel stands with the United States in its just struggle for peace, security and self-defence," he added.

Meanwhile, Iran on Friday vowed to take a "vigorous revenge" over the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite IRGC.

The US had accused Soleimani of orchestrating several attacks on coalition bases in Iraq including the December 27 attack in which American and Iraqi personnel were killed. 

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News Network
May 29,2020

Karachi, May 29: Investigators and rescue officials have found around Rs 3 crore in cash in the wreckage of the Pakistan International Airlines' aircraft that crashed wth 99 people on board, killing 97 people, including nine children.

Flight PK-8303 from Lahore to Karachi crashed in a residential area near Karachi International Airport on Friday, with only two passengers miraculously surviving the crash.

Investigators and rescue officials have found currencies of different countries and denominations worth around Rs 30 million from the aircraft's wreckage, an official said on Thursday.

"An investigation has been ordered into how such a huge amount of cash got through airport security and baggage scanners and found its way into the ill-fated flight," the official said.

He said that the amount was recovered from two bags in the wreckage.

"The process of identifying the bodies and their luggage which will be handed over to their families and relatives is going on," he said.

A total of 97 people including the aircraft crew died in the crash, one of the most catastrophic aviation disasters in Pakistan's history.

A government official said on Thursday that the identification of 47 bodies had been completed, while 43 bodies were handed over for burial.

Friday's accident was the first major aircraft crash in Pakistan after December 7, 2016 when a PIA ATR-42 aircraft from Chitral to Islamabad crashed midway. The crash claimed the lives of all 48 passengers and crew, including singer-cum-evangelist Junaid Jamshed.

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