20 killed across Pakistan in violence over ‘anti-Islam' film

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.

Islamabad, Jul 3: The US embassy here in a statement on Friday said the Trump administration through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) “donated a shipment of 100 brand-new, state-of-the-art ventilators” to Pakistan.

The ventilators arrived in Karachi on July 2 and will be sent to hospitals across Pakistan.

“This donation delivers on President Donald Trump’s generous offer of these critically-needed supplies and supports Pakistan’s urgent response to the pandemic,” the embassy said.

Made in America, the ventilators are valued at about $3 million and reflect the latest in cutting-edge medical design and technology, it said.

They are compact, easily deployable, and will enable Pakistan to more effectively treat patients suffering from Covid-19.

The US-Pakistan health partnership to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus is helping to improve and expand laboratory testing, disease monitoring, case tracking, infection prevention and control and patient care, the embassy said.

The US has contributed nearly $27 million in new funding so far to this vital partnership that is growing every day. "We are also thankful for Pakistan's contribution of medical supplies to help fight coronavirus in the US," the embassy said in the statement.

Ambassador Paul Jones said, “The US stands with Pakistan in its fight against the coronavirus. These American-made ventilators will help Pakistani patients in the most acute need of medical care."

The announcement comes days after Pakistan said it had started producing locally designed ventilators.

Pakistan reported 78 more deaths from the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, raising virus-related fatalities to 4,551 while the total number of confirmed cases has increased to 221,896.

On Friday, the health authorities said 1,13,623 persons have recovered from the coronavirus, surpassing the number of active Covid-19 infections in the country for the first time.

Washington, May 20: Once dubbed as historic by him, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he now feels ‘differently’ about the trade deal he signed with China earlier this year.

He said this while once again venting out his frustration with the Beijing leadership, accusing it of letting coronavirus spread.

Till Tuesday, over 92,000 Americans have died and 1.5 million tested positive for coronavirus that has globally killed around 320,000 people.

The US and China had signed a deal in January to end their 22-month-long trade war during which the two countries slapped tit-for-tat tariff hikes on products worth nearly half a trillion USD.

Under it, Beijing agreed to increase its purchase of US goods by USD 200 billion in 2020-2021.

“I feel differently now about that deal than I did three months ago,” Trump told reporters during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

“We will see what all happens, but it's been a very disappointing situation. A very disappointing thing happened with China because the plague flowed in and that wasn't supposed to happen and it could have been stopped," he said.

Trump said he was very excited when the trade deal with China was signed.

“But once the virus came in, once the plague, as I called it, came in, I said how did they let that happen? And how come it didn't go into other sections of China? Why did they block it from leaving Wuhan? But they didn't block it from going to the rest of the world, including the United States. Why is that? Beijing doesn't have it. Other places don't have it,” he said.

Trump did not respond to questions on retaliation against China.

Meanwhile, top American senators continued to press the administration that rules of engagement with China needs to change post-coronavirus.

“As we know, they unleashed this virus on America and the world with their classic communist cover-up, deception, continued propaganda campaign, costing now over 90,000 American lives, 35 million Americans losing their jobs so far,” Senator Martha McSally said during a Congressional hearing.

“We don’t know who patient zero is, they destroyed samples, they silenced doctors, they kicked out journalists, they impacted international travel to seed this and their reckless behaviour continues to be the root of all this,” she said.

As a result of coronavirus, the American economy has been thrown into recession; more than 36 million people have lost their job – the worst ever after last century’s great depression.

Many of the US states have now started opening up, after taking necessary precautions.

By conservative estimates, it will take several quarters for the economy to be back on track.

Trump in the last a few weeks has exuded confidence that the economy will be back on track next year.