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Archives for September 2018

Imran Khan seeks to re-start bilateral talks with Modi

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Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Imran Khan has written a letter to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, the Foreign Office said here Thursday, seeking to re-start the bilateral talks on key issues “challenging the relationship” including on terrorism and Kashmir.

In the letter dated September 14, the cricketer-turned-politician, who became the prime minister last month, proposed a meeting between Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this month.

“Building on the mutual desire for peace between our two countries, I wish to propose a meeting between Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, before the informal meeting of the SAARC foreign ministers at the sidelines of the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York,” Khan wrote.

Pakistan and India have an “undeniably challenging relationship”, he said, while responding to Modi’s letter to him on August 18. In the letter to Khan, Modi conveyed India’s commitment to pursue “meaningful” and “constructive” engagement with Pakistan and emphasising the need to work for a terror-free South Asia.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said on Twitter: “PM (Imran Khan) has responded to PM Modi, in a positive spirit, reciprocating his sentiments. Let’s talk and resolve all issues. We await formal response from India”.

In the letter to Modi, Khan wrote: “We, however, owe it to our peoples, especially the future generations, to peacefully resolve all outstanding issues, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, to bridge differences and achieve a mutually beneficial outcome”. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief thanked Prime Minister Modi for his “warm greetings” and best wishes on his assumption of charge as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

The two ministers (Qureshi and Swaraj) could explore the way forward, Khan said, adding that the SAARC Summit in Islamabad “will offer an opportunity for you to visit Pakistan and for us to re-start the stalled dialogue process”.

Ties between India and Pakistan nose-dived following a spate of terror attacks on Indian military bases by Pakistan based terror groups since January 2016. Following the strikes, India announced it will not engage in talks with Pakistan, saying terror and talks cannot go hand-in-hand.

Amid heightened tension with Pakistan over Uri terror attack in which 18 soldiers were killed, India had pulled out of the SAARC Summit to be held in Islamabad in November, 2016. The summit was called off after Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan also declined to participate in the meet.

PTI

Kohli, Mirabai named for Khel Ratna

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The Sports Ministry on Thursday approved the names of Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and ace weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu for the country’s highest sporting honour — Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna — ard, which will be given away by President Ram Nath Kovind at a specially organised function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Tuesday.

Both Kohli and Chanu will be presented a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh each apart from a medal and a citation.

The ministry also released the names of 20 Arjuna awardees for the year which includes star woman cricketer Smriti Mandhana, sprinter Hima Das, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and table tennis star Manika Batra, among others.

Apart from these four, the others are Indian hockey stars Manpreet Singh and Savita Punia, long distance runner Jinson Johnson, shuttler N.Sikki Reddy, boxer Satish Kumar, golfer Shubhankar Sharma, Ravi Rathore (Polo), shooters Rahi Sarnobat, Ankur Mittal, Shreyasi Singh, paddler G.Sathiyan, tennis star Rohan Bopanna, wrestler Sumit and Pooja Kadian (Wushu).

Para athletes Ankur Dhama and Manoj Sarkar will also be awarded the Arjuna award, that includes a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each.

Among the winners of the Dronacharya awards are boxing coach Chenanda Achaiah Kuttappa, Vijay Sharma (Weightlifting), A. Srinivasa Rao (TT) and Sukhdev Singh Pannu (Athletics).

The ministry also named Clarence Lobo (Hockey), Tarak Sinha (Cricket), Jiwan Kumar Sharma (Judo) and V.R. Beedu (Athletics) for the Dronacharya Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Satyadev Prasad (Archery), Bharat Kumar Chetri (Hockey), Bobby Aloysius (Athletics) and Chougale Dadu Dattatray (Wrestling) have been named for the Dhyan Chand Award.

(IANS)

Karnataka CM to meet public once a month

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Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy would meet the public at his home-office in the city centre only once in a month, instead every week, an official said on Thursday.

“Doctors have advised him to meet people once a month,” an official from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) told IANS here.

Kumaraswamy, 58, who underwent a heart surgery in 2017, was meeting at least 3,000 people every week during the ‘Janata Darshan’ (public interface) to listen to their grievances.

“The Chief Minister was developing fever and respiratory issues after the meetings which last over 12 hours and the doctors have advised him to hold them once a month,” the official added.

Besides the Janata Darshan, started on September 1, at least 150 people are lining up outside the Chief Minister’s home-office every morning since he took office on May 23, seeking his intervention on various issues.

In July, about 250 unemployed youth from across the state were offered jobs after a special team from the CMO tied up with various companies to provide employment on Kumaraswamy’s directions.

Several poor people also come to the Chief Minister seeking help with housing, pension and other benefits from the state.

(IANS)

North, South Korea agree to jointly bid for 2032 Olympics

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North and South Korea on Wednesday agreed to prepare a joint bid for hosting the 2032 Summer Olympics, as part of agreements reached during the third inter-Korean summit of the year.

The proposal, presented during the meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, was first put forward by the South Korean Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan during a visit to Tokyo on September 12 and could mean a joint hosting of events by Seoul and Pyongyang, reports Efe.

“The two Koreas agreed to jointly take part in international competitions, including the 2020 Summer Olympics, and to seek to jointly host the 2032 Summer Olympics,” said the joint declaration signed by the two leaders on the second day of the three-day summit.

Sports have been symbolic of the diplomatic thaw between the two countries this year, starting with Kim’s New Year address, in which he announced that his country was ready to participate and send a delegation to the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Both the Koreas participated in the event under the same unification flag, a first since Turin 2006 Winter Olympics, and later repeated the gesture at the Asian Games, held in Indonesia in August.

The two Koreas reiterated on Wednesday that they would keep sending joint teams to sports events as was done in the Jakarta 2018 and the Pyeongchang 2018 games.

IANS

Asia Cup: India restrict Pakistan to low total

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Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and part-time off-spinner Kedar Jadhav took three wickets each as India restricted Pakistan to a paltry 162 in their Group A clash of the Asia Cup cricket tournament here on Wednesday.

The lynchpins of a strong Indian bowling performance, Bhuvneshwar returned figures of 3/15 while Jadhav got 3/23.

Jadhav removed Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed (6) around the halfway mark of the first innings before accounting for Asif Ali (9) and Shadab Khan (8) as Pakistan, who were relatively comfortably placed at 85/2 at one point, collapsed to 121/7.

Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav triggered Pakistan’s slide with a brilliantly executed wrong un’ that outfoxed Pakistan’s best batsman Babar Azam (47) when he was looking good along with Shoaib Malik (43).

The pair had stitched together a 82-run stand for the third wicket after openers Imam Ul Haq (2) and Fakhar Zaman (0) departed early with fit-again Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/15) sending them back.

From then on, Pakistan could never recover as Mohammed Amir (18 not out) and Faheem Ashraf (21) joined hands for a 37-run partnership towards the end before Jasprit Bumrah (2/23) dismissed Ashraf and Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah got rid of Hasan Ali (1) and Usman Khan (0) respectively.

Electing to bat first, Pakistan got off to a slow start and could only manage 25/2 in the first 10 overs, losing two wickets.

Malik and Azam then got going well and negotiated the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal, who went wicketless, and Kuldeep well.

Malik hit the first six of the innings in the 13h over off Kuldeep and three overs later got a reprieve when Mahendra Singh Dhoni dropped him behind the stumps off Hardik Pandya

Moments later, Pandya had to be stretchered off after suffering what turned out to be a lower back injury during his follow through. Pandya clutched the floor and could not get up, needing attention from the medical team.

Just when the partnership seemed to be growing, Kuldeep once again underlined why he is a wily customer and can be unplayable at times with a ripper of a googly that pitched on middle and turned away from the batsman at the last moment to knock over his off-stump.

Malik then was dropped again at deep midwicket off Kuldeep as Bhuvneshwar failed to read a slog sweep in which the ball went high up in the air with the pacer misjuding the direction and over-running.

Captain Sarfraz, who had joined Malik at the crease, did not stay long as Manish Pandey took a superb catch at wide long-on off Jadhav.

Malik was run out soon after, failing to convert his start into a big one as the slide started for Pakistan.

Jadhav then added to his rivals’ misery by picking up the wickets of Asif Ali and Shadab Khan as Pakistan failed to string together partnerships.

Amir and Ashraf tried hard to get important runs towards the end but could not bat out the full 50 overs.

Brief scores:

Pakistan: 162 in 43.1 overs (Babar Azam 47, Shoaib Malik 43; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 47, Kedar Jadhav 3/23) vs India.

(IANS)

India, Pakistan foreign ministers to meet in New York

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Breaking the ice in ties, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will meet her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) session that begins later this month — the first such high-level interaction between the neighbours after three years.

“I can confirm that on the request from the Pakistani side a meeting between the two foreign ministers will take place on the sidelines of the UNGA at a mutually convenient date and time.

“We have just agreed to the meeting. The Permanent Missions of both India and Pakistan will together work out the details. Till then, what will be discussed in the meeting, we will have to wait till the meeting takes place,” External Affairs Ministry (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told the weekly media briefing here.

Replying to questions, Kumar suggested that the coming meeting was not resumption of the dialogue process.

This follows a letter written by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking resumption of dialogue and suggesting a meeting between the two foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UNGA, and a letter written by Qureshi to Sushma Swaraj.

When pressed further, Kumar said this is just a meeting and there is nothing much to be read into this at this stage.

Kumar also revealed that India has confirmed that it would attend a meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) foreign ministers.

“The existing policy on the Saarc process will continue. I don’t think there is any change in it,” said the MEA spokesperson.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had met the then Pakistan’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz in Islamabad in 2015 and two decided to resume the comprehensive dialogue process.

This was followed by an unscheduled visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lahore on the Christmas Day. But the bilateral ties took a severe beating after the terror attack on the Pathankot airbase on January 2, 2016.

Asked whether the foreign ministers meeting in New York is the beginning of a dialogue process, he merely repeated that they requested for a meeting and we have not discussed details.

On reports of brutality on a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan who was killed in firing from the Pakistani side, he said it was a barbaric incident and the BSF has written a strong communication to its counterparts in Pakistan.

“It is a serious issue and we will take it up Pakistan.”

(IANS)

India successfully test fires Prahaar missile

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India successfully test fired the surface-to-surface short-range tactical ballistic missile Prahaar from the Odisha coast amid a heavy downpour on Thursday.

The missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was test fired from launching complex-III of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Balasore at about 1.35 p.m.

The missile was launched from a road-mobile launcher, defence sources said.

The Prahaar missile has a strike range of 150 km. Fuelled by solid propellant, it is about 7.32 meters long and its diameter is 420 mm. Its launch weight is about 1.28 tonne and it can carry a payload of 200 kg.

Prior to the launch of the missile, people from hamlets in close proximity of ITR were shifted to temporary shelters.

(IANS)

RSS won’t accept Muslims: Mayawati

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The RSS would never accept the Muslims even if they agreed to build not just the Ram temple in Ayodhya but many other temples, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati said on Thursday.

She also slammed the Narendra Modi government’s move on the ‘triple talaq’ ordinance, calling it “politically motivated”.

Reacting to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat’s observation on Wednesday that if the Muslims themselves build the Ram temple in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh it would help mitigate the animosity between the Hindus and Muslims, she said she did not agree with this.

“We don’t agree with this logic. Even if the Muslims make many more temples the narrow-minded Hindus will never mend fences with the Muslims because their basic mentality is anti-Muslim, anti-Dalit and anti-minorities,” Mayawati said in a statement.

Warning people to guard against the RSS and BJP leaders’ efforts to divide society on religious lines, the Dalit leader said that “they say one thing and do another”.

She alleged that the RSS’ “communal and casteist” face had come to the fore after the BJP came to power at the Centre and in many states.

The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said that Bhagwat’s three-day outreach programme was a ploy to distract public attention from the burning issues of poverty, hunger, price rise, unemployment and corruption.

“The RSS has put everything at stake for the BJP. Now that the discontent against the Narendra Modi government is at its peak, the RSS is also jittery,” the Dalit leader said.

She said that had the Sangh’s ideology been so humane, pro-people and respecting the Constitution of India, the organisation would not have faced a ban thrice after Independence.

On the ‘triple talaq’ ordinance cleared by the Union Cabinet, Mayawati said: “The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is doing politics on such sensitive issues to deflect public attention from its failures. Had it not been a politically motivated move, the government would have agreed to send the triple talaq bill pending in the Rajya Sabha to a Select Committee for comprehensive discussion.”

(IANS)

Defence Minister must go for “misleading” on Rafale: Congress

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The Congress on Thursday demanded Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s resignation accusing her of “misleading” the country after former HAL chief T.S. Raju refuted her claim that the defence undertaking did not have the capability to build Rafale fighter jets.

Leading the charge, Congress President Rahul Gandhi earlier in the day tweeted: “The RM (Rafale Minister) tasked with defending corruption has been caught lying again.

“The former HAL chief, T.S. Raju, has nailed her lie that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited didn’t have the capability to build the Rafale. Her position is untenable and she must resign.”

Subsequently former Union Minister Manish Tewari citing Raju’s assertions made to a national daily, reiterated the demand for the Defence Minister’s resignation.

He said the Modi government’s “web of lies” surrounding the controversial defence deal has been demolished.

Besides asserting that the Bengaluru-headquartered Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) capability of building the French fighter jets, Raju also claimed that Dassault and the state-owned aerospace and a defence company had signed a mutual work-share contract and given it to the government.

“Raju, who retired on September 1, has absolutely demolished the entire case that the Modi government has tried to build in the last few months.

“He has not only asserted HAL’s capability but also revealed about the signing of a mutual work-share contract with Dassault Aviation (the French aircraft manufacturer of the fighter jet at the centre of the controversy).

“In the light of clear and unequivocal statement of facts by the former head of HAL, we demand the resignation of the Defence Minister on the charge of misleading the people of the country,” Tewari told the media here.

He also endorsed Raju’s call for the Modi government to make public the files concerning the deal.

Targeting both Prime Minister Modi and Sitharaman, Tewari reiterated the Congress’ demand for a Joint Parliamentary Probe into the deal announced in 2015.

The fresh attack against the Modi government came a day after the Congress on Wednesday approached Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Rajiv Mehrishi seeking a special and forensic audit into the deal which has caused “loss” to the exchequer and “endangered” national security.

IANS

5 envoys present credentials to President Kovind

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Ambassadors of Iceland, the Netherlands, Guinea, Lithuania and Luxembourg presented their credentials to President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday.

The envoys who presented their credentials are Iceland Ambassador Gudmundur Arni Stefansson; the Netherlands Ambassador Marten van den Berg; Guinea Ambassador Fatoumata Balde; Lithuania Ambassador Julius Pranevicius; and Luxembourg Ambassador Jean Claude Kugener.

(IANS)

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