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Modi on historic visit to Mongolia; offers $1 bn credit

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Mongolia-Narendra Modi

Ulan Bator: India and Mongolia on Sunday elevated their 60-year-old diplomatic ties to a strategic partnership as Narendra Modi became the first Indian prime minister to visit the landlocked northeast Asian nation, which has declared India as its “third neighbour and spiritual neighbour”.

The two countries inked 13 agreements, including in the sphere of air services and cyber security.

Modi, who was accorded a ceremonial welcome in the morning and held talks with Mongolian Prime Minister Chimed Saikhanbileg, also visited the Gandan Monastery and presented a sapling of the revered Mahabodhi tree to the head abbot Hamba Lama of the monastery.

More than half the population of Mongolia, which is sandwiched between China and Russia and shares frosty ties with both, follows Buddhism.

Saikhanbileg, in his media statement after the talks at the State Palace, said Mongolia “firmly regards India as our third neighbour and our spiritual neighbour”.

Modi announced a $1 billion line of credit to Mongolia for its infrastructure projects. He said: “Mongolia is an integral part of India’s Act East Policy. The destinies of India and Mongolia are closely linked with the future of Asia Pacific Region.”

Modi thanked Mongolia for its “strong support” for India’s bid for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.

A joint statement issued here said India and Mongolia have agreed to offer reciprocal support for their bids for a non-permanent seat in the UNSC for the terms 2021-2022 and 2023-2024 respectively.

The government of India also confirmed its support to Mongolia’s candidacy to the UN Human Rights Council for the term 2016-2018.

“In a reflection of our commitment to further deepen our relationship, we have decided to upgrade our Comprehensive Partnership to ‘Strategic Partnership’. We also agreed to renew our Treaty of Friendly Relations and Cooperation,” he said.

Modi said India and Mongolia can boost cooperation in the field of civil nuclear as Mongolia is rich in uranium and in mineral resources. “I hope that location will not be a constraint on Mongolia’s right to choose its partners.”

In his address at the Mongolian parliament, or Great Hural, which was convened on Sunday as a special gesture in honour for the Indian prime minister, Modi said Mongolia terming India as its spiritual neighbour is a high form of honour.

There are “no bonds more sacred than this. We in India are honoured that you think of us this way”.

On terrorism, the joint statement said both prime ministers “noted that the nature and spread of international terrorism in recent years poses a threat to all humanity and requires global resolve and cooperative measures of the international community without double standards or selectivity”.

Both agreed to direct their officials to work together for the adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

The two prime ministers “expressed hope that all safe havens and sanctuaries for terrorists will be wiped out without delay”.

In the field of defence, both sides agreed to continue to work towards further intensifying bilateral defence and security cooperation through exchanges of high and mid-level visits, regular consultations, military personnel exchanges and capacity building among other things.

Among the memoranda of understanding (MoUs) is one for setting up a Cyber Security Training Centre in Mongolia’s defence ministry, as part of which India will train Mongolian personnel in cyber security.

The national security councils of both countries are to hold consultations on traditional and non-traditional security issues, counter-terrorism, intelligence cooperation and exchange.

Both sides also inked an MoU on enhancing cooperation between their border guarding forces in capacity building, exchange of best practices, conduct of joint exercises, technologies for border guarding, surveillance and policing.

Modi later handed over Bhabhatron, a telecobalt machine developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for cancer treatment, at Mongolia’s National Cancer Centre here.

He also laid the foundation stone of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Centre for Excellence in Information Technology & Communication and Outsourcing.

Modi met Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, who gifted him a morin khuur, a traditional two-stringed fiddle.

Modi presented Elbegdorj with a specially commissioned reproduction of a rare 13th century manuscript on the history of Mongols from the Rampur Raza Library, Rampur.

(IANS)

Aruna Shanbaug dies, 42 years after brutal rape in Mumbai, that left her in coma

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Aruna Shanbaug

Mumbai: Aruna Shanbaug, a nurse who was raped in 1973 by a staff member at the hospital she worked in, has died after being in a coma for 42 years. She was 68.

Ms Shanbaug was in the Intensive Care unit of Mumbai’s state-run King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital, where she had worked and was raped. Doctors had said a few days ago that Ms Shanbaug was suffering from pneumonia and was on ventilator support.

She was 26 years old and a junior nurse at the hospital when Ms Shanbaug was brutally assaulted and raped by a ward boy and cleaner named Sohanlal Bharta Valmiki. Her attacker also strangled her with a dog chain, which cut supply of oxygen to her brain resulting in irreversible damage.

She was discovered in the hospital’s basement, the iron chain around her neck, 11 hours after she had been sodomized and strangled.
Valmiki, who the young nurse had reportedly scolded for stealing food that was meant for stray animals adopted by the hospital, was not tried for robbery, not rape.

In 2011, the Supreme Court rejected a petition by author Pinki Virani to stop force feeding the Ms Shanbaug. Ms Virani, who had authored a book titled ‘Aruna’s Story,’ had argued for euthanasia.

But former and present staff members and nurses at KEM Hospital, who looked after her all these years, strongly opposed euthanasia.

Nurses who cared for her all these years ensured that despite being bed-ridden for four decades, Ms Shanbaug did not even get bed sores. They changed her diapers, fed her and calmed her when she got restless. There were always more than a few people in her ground floor room at the hospital.

Aruna Shanbaug hailed from Haldipur village in Honnavar taluk of Uttar Kannada district in Karnataka.

(Agencies)

5.5 magnitude aftershock in Nepal, minor tremors felt in Bihar, Bengal

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nepal-earthquake

Patna: Minor tremors were felt in several parts of Bihar and West Bengal after an aftershock measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale hit Nepal this evening.

The tremors were also reported from capital Patna, Siwan, Munger, Darbhanga and Purnea in Bihar. In West Bengal, tremors triggered fresh panic among residents in Siliguri, Malda and elsewhere in north Bengal besides Kolkata.

There are reports of many people running out of their offices and houses on to the streets after the tremors.

The epicenter of today’s aftershock was at a depth of about 10 kilometres in Nepal’s Dolkha, which lies in the same faultzone that has been experiencing several aftershocks since April 25, when a massive earthquake of 7.9 magnitude struck the Himalayan nation, killing over 8000 people there and 50 in Bihar.

Just four days ago, on Tuesday, Nepal experienced another quake measuring 7.3 on the Richer scale, which killed 15 people in Bihar.

AAP government again at loggerheads with Lieutenant Governor over Chief Secretary appointment

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Najeeb Jung Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: The Delhi government, headed by Arvind Kejriwal, has landed in fresh controversy by taking on Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung. Today, in a press release, the government accused Mr Jung of bypassing it and unconstitutionally appointing senior bureaucrat Shakuntala Gamlin as the acting Chief Secretary of the Delhi Government. The Governor has defended his decision.

Chief Secretary KK Sharma in currently on leave and Mr Jung made the appointment today after Ms Gamlin wrote a scathing letter to Jung claiming that she was pressurised by a senior bureaucrat in CM’s office not to be in race for the post due to her alleged proximity to BSES discoms, reported news agency Press Trust of India.

In its statement, the government said there were reservations about Ms Gamlin. “She was perceived to be extremely close to electricity companies in Delhi and was lobbying for their interests within the Government,” read the release from the Directorate of Information and Publicity.

But the Lieutenant Governor, it went on to add, appointed Ms Gamlin “in a completely unconstitutional manner”.

Within hours, Mr Jung’s office responded, saying the LG was authorised by the Constitution to make appointments in consultation with the Chief Minister.

In this case, the Governor approved the name of Ms Gamlin against the name proposed by the Chief Minister as “she was senior and has a proven track record”, said the statement.

The file containing the Governor’s advice was pending in the Chief Minister’s office for 36 hours, after which the appointment was made “since the office of the Chief Secretary cannot be left inordinately vacant,” the statement read.

The fresh controversy comes days as the party puts behind a month-long internal feud that ended with the expulsion of founder members Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav. The acrimony had been bitter and public, marked by comments on social media and media conferences from both sides.

“Mr Kejriwal and his colleagues need to understand that there is a constitutional mandate by which a government runs,” said BJP leader Nalin Kohli.

(Agencies)

Agreements worth $22bn inked in India-China business forum

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Modi_china_CEO

Shanghai: As many as 26 business agreements worth over USD 22 billion were signed today between Indian firms — including Adani group, Bharti Airtel and Welspun — and thier Chinese counterparts on the last day of Narendra Modi’s three-day visit to China.

These MoU and agreements span a wide range of industries, including renewable, energy, power infrastructure, steel and small & medium industries.

Among major agreements is Bharti Airtel’s tie-up for credit facility of USD 2.5 billion with China Development Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

The Adani Group also inked an agreement with Golden Concord Holdings to establish an integrated photovoltaic industrial park in Mundra SEZ and to explore investments in gas power generation and natural gas sector.

In another pact, Adani Ports & SEZ and Guangzhou Port Authority agreed to establish “sister port relationship” between Mundra Port and Guangzhou Port.
Welspun Energy entered into a memorandum of understanding with Trina Solar of China to jointly set up a PV industry park for production of 500 MW of Photovoltaic (PV) cell and 500 MW of PV solar module in India.

“(These) are a reflection of the strong interest of Chinese companies to invest in India and contribute towards ‘Make in India’ initiative,” an official statement said.
It further said the agreements would also facilitate cooperation between Indian and Chinese companies in the film and entertainment industry and “will help in making more Chinese friends/audiences aware of India’s strength in this area.”

The other significant MoUs include, IL&FS and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC); IL&FS Energy Development Co and China Huaneng Group for 4,000 MW Nana Layja Thermal Power (Coal) project; and Jindal Steel and Power and ICBC on development of potential projects.

Technology major Infosys also entered into an MoU with People’s Government of Qiannan Autonomous Prefecture to jointly build ‘China India Information Service Industry Corridor’ in Qinnan.

Bhushan Power and Steel too signed a pact with China National Technical Import and Export Corporation for an integrated steel project in Gujarat.

Speaking at the India China Business Forum, Modi had reached out to Chinese investors asking them to take advantage of the “winds of change” in India with a much more transparent, responsive and stable regulatory regime.

(PTI)

Egypt sentences ex-leader Mohammed Morsi to death

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Verdict against former president referred to the Grand Mufti for confirmation.

(AFP/File)

(AFP/File)

by Al Jazeera

An Egypt court sentences former President Mohammed Morsi to death for passing state secrets for mass prison break, the Associated Press agency said.

The court ruled on Saturday that the sentencing of Morsi and 105 others will be referred to the Grand Mufti for confirmation.

US court sentences Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death

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Jury decides Tsarnaev should be executed for his role in 2013 marathon bombing after 14 hours of deliberations.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

by Al Jazeera

A US jury has decided Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should die for his role in the Boston marathon bombing in April 2013.

The sentence on Friday came after 14 hours of deliberations on whether Tsarnaev, who was a teenager when he carried out the attacks with his elder brother Tamerlan, should be imprisoned for the rest of his life or be executed.

The 21-year-old did not react when the sentence was read out, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Tsarnaev was convicted last month of all 30 federal charges against him, 17 of which carried the possibility of the death penalty.

Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured when two pressure-cooker bombs packed with shrapnel exploded near the marathon finish line on April 15, 2013. Dzhokar and Tamerlan also killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer days later.

Tsarnaev’s lawyer, Judy Clarke, admitted from the beginning that he participated in the bombings, bluntly telling jurors in her opening statement: “It was him.”

But the defence sought to show that most of the blame for the attack fell on his older brother, who wanted to punish the US for its actions in Muslim countries. They said Dzhokhar was an impressionable 19-year-old who fell under the influence of a brother he admired.

Prosecutors portrayed Tsarnaev as an equal partner in the attack, saying he was so heartless he put a bomb behind a group of children, killing an 8-year-old boy.

Carmen Ortiz, prosecutor for Massachusetts, commended the jurors, saying the verdict was “fair and just”.

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said that he hoped “the verdict will bring with it a significant level of comfort and solace to all hurt”.

“Regardless of how you feel about the death penalty, today was also about sending a message. And, the message sent is one that says terrorism in our city will not be tolerated,” Evans added.

“Our thoughts and prayers remain with families of [victims] Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell, Lingzi Lu and MIT Police Officer Sean Collier.”

Siddaramaiah cracks whip on Bengaluru civic officials

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siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday warned officials of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) of stern action if they don’t improve the city’s civic amenities and complete the various infrastructure projects.

“I told the BBMP administration to take up cleaning the filth on a war-footing, clear garbage dumps piling up in almost every ward, fill pot holes, check storm water drainage and repair damaged footpaths to improver the city’s image,” Siddaramaiah told reporters after going through the city and inspecting civic works in progress.

In view of the ensuing monsoon and civic body elections in 198 wards across the extended city in July, as directed by the Supreme Court on May 5, the chief minister has decided to make surprise visits and inspect civic works for their timely execution.

“No official, however big or small, will be spared from action if they neglect duty to maintain the city of 10 million people, affected by civic woes and inadequate infrastructure facilities. They must not keep any project pending for want of clearances or funds, as both are made available,” he said.

The BBMP was expanded in 2007 by including seven city municipal councils and one town municipal council and 111 surrounding villages to increase civic wards to 198 from 100.

The ruling Congress not only superceded the civic body on April 18, four days before its five-year term was to lapse on April 22, but also passed an amendment bill to the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act 2015 in the state legislative assembly on April 20 to trifurcate the civic behemoth for managing the city.

The bill has been referred to a select committee of the state legislative council.

During his whirlwind tour of the city, Siddaramaiah visited state-run Bowring Hospital in Shivajinagar, inspected road and pavement works on St Mark’s Road in the central business district, Okalipuram area near the main railway station and metro project on Mysuru road in south-west suburb.

The chief minister’s trip across the city with Home Minister K.J. George and city in-charge minister Ramalinga Reddy with dozen officials in an entourage led to traffic snarls, as their convoy blocked vehicular movement on a working day and caused hardship to thousands of commuters.

IPL: Kohli, Gayle help RCB climb second on the table

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kohli

Hyderabad: Virat Kohli’s late blitz of 44 runs from 19 balls and Chris Gayle’s cameo helped Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in a rain-curtailed Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Friday.

Gayle smashed a 10 ball 35 and helped his side climb to second spot on the league table with 15 points from 13 games, while the Sunrisers drop to the fifth spot with 14 points from 13 matches.

Chasing a revised target of 81 runs from six over, the Challengers got over the line with a ball to spare and with six wickets in hand.

It was a tailor-made situation for the hefty Jamaican who relishes such challenges as he plundered 41 in the first two overs with Dale Steyn giving away 17 and Bhuvneshwar Kumar being belted for 24 runs.

However, it was all-rounder Moises Henriques for SRH who got the hosts back into the contest as Gayle pulled one of his slower deliveries into the hands of the man at deep mid-wicket. South African skipper followed AB de Villiers fell off the very next delivery after lofting one to long on. The over produced just three as the visitors were reduced to 44/2 after three overs.

But it was Kohli who swung the pendulum in favour of RCB again belting Karn Sharma for 14 and then getting 10 of a Praveen Kumar over.

Needing 13 of the last over, it was Kohli who hit the winning runs lofting Bhuvneshwar for a straight six.

Earlier in the day, even though the hosts lost swashbuckling opener Shikhar Dhawan (8) early, David Warner and Moises Henriques kept on the pressure on the RCB bowlers clubbing them to the ropes frequently.

Yuzvendra Chahal was hit for 17 in the 5th over which brought up the team’s 50.

The next over from pacer Ashok Dinda yielded 18 runs as some wayward bowling helped Henriques put the leather into the stands.

Henriques went berserk against Harshal Patel, after being dropped in the opening delivery of the seventh over. 20 runs came off the over.

SRH reached the triple figure mark with three overs to spare as Warner kept playing second fiddle and giving the strike to his partner at the end who was having a gala time in the middle.

But Henriques soon fell after completing his half-century edging one to the wicket-keeper.

RCB pulled things back in the last few over but by then the damage had been done.

(IANS)

Petrol price hiked by Rs 3.13, diesel by Rs 2.71 per litre

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petrol-price-oil

New Delhi: Transport fuel prices were hiked effective Friday midnight by Rs.3.13 per litre for petrol and by Rs.2.71 a litre for diesel, including state levies, state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) said on Friday.

The rates were last increased on May 1 by Rs.3.96 per litre for petrol and by Rs.2.37 a litre for diesel.

“Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has decided to effect the price changes midnight of 15th-16th May,” IOC said in statement.

According to IOC, it had to hike prices due to volatility in the rupee value and hardening of international motor spirit (MS) and diesel prices in the international market.

“Since the last price change, there has been a steep increase in international prices of both petrol and diesel. Rupee-dollar exchange rate has also depreciated quite significantly during this period,” the statement said.

The three state-run OMCs review prices of diesel and petrol every fortnight depending on global oil prices and currency movements.

Petrol price has been market-linked since June 2010, while diesel prices were fully deregulated from Oct 18 2014. Both the fuel prices are revised periodically depending on the international crude oil price.

Currently, the government fully subsidises sensitive products like LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinders and kerosene.

Allowing for local taxes, the prices per litre of petrol will be Rs.66.29 in Delhi, Rs.73.76 in Kolkata, Rs.74.12 in Mumbai and Rs.69.45 in Chennai.

After adjusting the upward revision, diesel will cost be Rs.52.28 in Delhi, Rs.56.85 in Kolkata, Rs.59.86 in Mumbai and Rs.55.74 in Chennai.

(IANS)

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