Month: April 2022

Stating that he has discussed the issue of the global food shortage with US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that India is ready to supply food stock to the world.

PM Modi said that India can supply food stock if the World Trade Organisation (WTO) comes on board.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated the hostel and education complex at “Shree Annapurna Dham” via video conferencing.

“Food stock in different parts of the world is dwindling due to the war (in Ukraine). The world is facing a new problem now, with the food stock of the world getting empty. I was talking to the US President, and he also raised this issue. I suggested that if WTO gives permission, India is ready to supply food stock to the world from tomorrow,” PM Narendra Modi said.

He said that India already has enough food stock for the people in the country but “our farmers seem to have made arrangements to feed the world”. However, we have to work according to the laws of the world, so I don’t know when WTO will give permission and we can supply food to the world, PM Modi added.

“The development of Gujarat is necessary for the development of India,” said PM Narendra Modi after inaugurating the hostel and education complex of “Shri Annapurnadham Trust” at Adalaj.

Further speaking on the Annapurnadham Trust, Narendra Modi said, “In the field of education, nutrition and health, Gujarat has always contributed to society. The Patidar community has also been part of it.”

“Bhumipujan (ground-breaking ceremony)” of the “Hiramani Arogya Dham” will also take place. While speaking about the Arogya Dham, the PM said, “The Central Government’s free dialysis facility in government hospitals will boost the purpose of Arogya Dham. A large number of people will be able to get dialysis treatment at the same time in the Arogya Dham. There will be 24 hours blood supply. This Arogya Dham will serve mankind.”

PM Narendra Modi added, “Idol of Mother Annapurna Mata was stolen from Kashi decades ago and transported abroad. We brought back the idol of Mother Annapurna from Canada to Kashi a few months back. Dozens of such cultural symbols have been brought back from abroad in the last seven-eight years.” (ANI)

Amid the economic crisis in the country, the Sri Lanka government has temporarily suspended the payment of its foreign debts.

According to an interim policy released by the Finance Ministry regarding the servicing of the country’s external public debt, the government has announced that it would default on its USD 51 billion external debt pending a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The ministry has announced that the creditors, including foreign governments that had given loans to the island nation, were free to capitalize any interest payments due to them from Tuesday afternoon or opt for payback in Sri Lankan rupees.

Sri Lanka is battling a severe economic crisis with food and fuel scarcity affecting a large number of the people in the island nation resulting in massive protests over the government’s handling of the situation.

The economy has been in a free-fall since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic following the crash of the tourism sector.

Sri Lanka is also facing a foreign exchange shortage, which has affected its capacity to import food and fuel. The shortage of essential goods forced Sri Lanka to seek assistance from friendly countries.

Meanwhile, amid massive protests Sri Lanka Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday requested people to remain patient in order to enable the government to resolve the situation. (ANI)

As Tibetans continue to face the human rights violations under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s policies, they feel that there is no other option left to deal with the situation but resort to self-immolation, according to a report.

The year 2022 has been rocked by three reported incidents of self-immolations by Tibetans inside Chinese occupied Tibet, signalling a return to the self-immolations as a tool of protest, Tibet Rights Collective said in its report.
According to the report, over the years, especially under Xi Jinping, China has undertaken brutal tactics that are aimed at the “Sinicization (mainstreaming to Chinese culture)” of Tibetan Buddhists and building what Beijing claims to be a “modern, socialist and culturally advanced Tibet”.

The end result of such tactics has been that Tibetans have been at the receiving end of “gross human rights violations that are taking Tibetans’ culture, language, identity, traditions and religion”.

As these gross human rights violations continue and in fact, keep rising with every day passing, it would not be an understatement to say that Tibetans are hurting, the report said.

The report said that any sort of “free speech or expression is prohibited in Occupied Tibet, Tibetans cannot hold a peaceful protest, you will land in jail for hanging a picture of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, you will ‘vanish’ if you share any incriminating post against China or its actions in Tibet and your children will be sent to special Chinese Boarding Schools that will make sure that they learn the Chinese language, sing Chinese nationalistic songs and take part in brutal military drills under the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at a tender age of 6.”

“And not to forget, Tibetan nomads are being displaced for illegal mining purposes and the Tibetan Plateau’s precious water tower is being overtaken by Beijing in a hegemonic manner. And lastly, Xi securitizing Tibet by deploying heavy military and bringing into effect new Border Laws, is putting the final nail in the coffin for Tibetans,” the report added.

As the angst grows at such haranguing, Tibetans are “yet again turning to self-immolations as a tool of protest”.

According to the Tibet Rights Collective’s report, “every human has a breaking point. For Tibetans, it is self-immolation. Xi’s policies have pushed certain Tibetans to such a point that they feel that there is no other option left but self-immolation. Horrifying as it is to imagine, it would certainly be a crime if we blame Tibetans for taking it up. The only blame that should lie is on China and Xi Jinping.”

Chinese troops occupied Tibet in 1950 and later annexed it. The 1959 Tibetan uprising saw violent clashes between Tibetan residents and Chinese forces. (ANI)

Singer Britney Spears is expecting a child with fiance Sam Asghari.

On Tuesday, Britney took to Instagram and shared the good news with her fans and followers.

” So I got a pregnancy test … and uhhhhh well … I am having a baby,” she wrote.

However, Britney confused fans as she mentioned in her caption that she was ‘a little food pregnant’ and had taken a pregnancy test after noticing that she had gained weight while on vacation.

“I lost so much weight to go on my Maui trip only to gain it back… I thought ‘Geez … what happened to my stomach ???’ My husband said ‘No you’re food pregnant silly,” she quipped.

She also informed that she “won’t be going out as much” so the paparazzi cannot take photos of her for money.

“It’s growing !!! If 2 are in there … I might just lose it… I obviously won’t be going out as much due to the paps getting their money..shot of me…like they unfortunately already have,” Britney added.

The ‘Stranger’ hitmaker, who is already mother to two teen sons, Sean and Jayden, with her ex-husband Kevin Federline, also said the pregnancy would likely be “hard” as she had previously experienced perinatal depression.

“it’s hard because when I was pregnant I had perinatal depression … I have to say it is absolutely horrible … women didn’t talk about it back then … some people considered it dangerous if a woman complained like that with a baby inside her … but now women talk about it everyday … thank Jesus we don’t have to keep that pain a reserved proper secret… This time I will be doing yoga every day !!! Spreading lots of joy and love,” she concluded.

Britney met Asghari in 2016 when they co-starred in a music video for her single ‘Slumber Party.’ (ANI)

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann who is in the national capital will meet Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday to discuss the scheme of providing free electricity in Punjab for up to 300 units, informed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) sources.

Sources also said that the Punjab Chief Minister is also scheduled to meet President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi today.
“AAP leader and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann to meet President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu today, followed by Aam Admi Party chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, in Delhi. He will hold a discussion over the free electricity scheme with Delhi CM, today,” sources said.

It further said, “Bhagwant Mann will hold discussions with party chief Arvind Kejriwal over the implementation of 300 units of free electricity in Punjab as he comes to Delhi.”

Providing free electricity to every household for up to 300 units, reducing youth unemployment and financial assistance of Rs 1,000 for every woman are some of the major promises made by AAP in Punjab in the Assembly elections concluded last month.

Meanwhile, the Punjab CM also assured all stakeholders, including farmers, of smooth, prompt and hassle-free wheat procurement in the state.

He also listed the facilities in the mandis for farmers including arrangements of potable drinking water, lights, sitting arrangements and toilets etc. (ANI)

India and the United States have reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific following the fourth India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue held in Washington.

India and the US held the 2+2 ministerial meeting in Washington with the Indian side led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the American side led by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday.
In a joint statement on the fourth India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, the ministers recalled the inaugural virtual Quad Leaders’ Summit in March 2021, the in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit in September 2021 in Washington, and the February 2022 Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Melbourne.

Both sides stated that they are “looking forward to the next Quad Leaders’ Summit in Tokyo in 2022”.

“The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific in which the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states are respected, and countries are free from military, economic, and political coercion,” underlined the joint statement.

They further reaffirmed their dedication to promoting regional stability and prosperity, with an inclusive regional architecture, abiding by the rule of law, the freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, and ASEAN centrality.

The ministers also reiterated the importance of adherence to international law to meet challenges to the rules-based order, including in the South China Sea, the statement said.

The Ministers welcomed the progress made in the last year on developing a “positive and constructive agenda” for the Quad to deliver peace and prosperity to the region in pursuance of their shared vision for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

“The Ministers reiterated their commitment to take forward the initiatives announced by the Leaders, to empower the Quad as a force for global good for the Indo-Pacific region and welcomed ongoing discussions in the Quad Working Groups on vaccines, climate change, infrastructure, space, cyber security, and critical and emerging technologies for delivering practical and tangible benefits to the region,” the statement said.

Welcoming the remarkable progress made under the Quad Vaccine Partnership to augment the manufacturing capacity of the Biological E facility in India, supported by the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Ministers committed to expedite the delivery of the first batch of vaccines to countries of the Indo-Pacific and beyond and to diversify the basket of vaccines in the context of changes in the global demand and supply landscape, the statement added. (ANI)

In a major shift in its tone on India’s energy imports from Russia, the United States on Monday (local time) said that energy imports are not banned from Russia and New Delhi is not violating US sanctions.

This comes shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a virtual meeting with United States President Joe Biden wherein both the leaders exchanged views on several regional and global issues.

During Monday’s news conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the call between the two leaders was “constructive and direct”.

“This was a constructive call, it was a productive call. It’s a relationship that is vitally important to the United States and to the president. I would not see it as an adversarial call,” The White House spokesperson added.

Answering a question on whether Biden pushed India to limit Russian energy, Psaki said, “Energy imports are not banned and they don’t violate our sanctions. We certainly recognise that every country is going to take a step in their interest.”

However, Psaki during a press briefing, said Biden told PM Modi that it’s not in India’s interest to increase every import from Russia.

“Beyond that, I’d let Indian leaders speak for themselves,” said the White House Press Secretary on if US President was seeking a promise from PM Modi that he wouldn’t look to increase oil purchases from Russia.

On the question, if Biden was seeking a promise from PM Modi that he wouldn’t look to increase oil purchases from Russia, Psaki reiterated, “I will let Prime Minister Modi and Indians speak on that. It’s only 1-2 per cent at this point in time, they export 10 per cent from the United States. It is no violation of any sanctions or anything along those lines.”

Psaki further said Biden conveyed that the US is here to help them diversify their means of importing oil. “Imports from the US are already significant, much bigger than they get from Russia.”

Following Western sanctions on Russian entities in the wake of the Ukraine war, India purchased at least 13 million barrels of Russian crude oil at a discounted rate. This marked a sharp uptick from last year when India imported around 16 million barrels in 2021.

India, the world’s third-largest oil consumer and importer, imports 80 per cent of its oil, but only about 2 per cent to 3 per cent of those purchases come from Russia.

Monday’s virtual talks, which preceded a “US-India 2+2 Ministerial” meeting later on Monday, included US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

During the press conference today, Psaki said the US has seen India speak out more forcefully against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, particularly “as it relates to the horrific photos that we saw around Bucha”.

“We have seen them to take steps to provide humanitarian assistance and a range of assistance, but it is something we always encourage leaders to do – to speak out, to be vocal, to ensure they are on the right side of history,” she said (ANI)

Delhi on Monday reported 137 new COVID-19 cases. The daily positivity rate was 2.70 per cent, the highest in the last two months. Earlier, on February 5, the positivity rate was 2.87 per cent.

As per the Delhi government’s COVID-19 bulletin, the national capital has 601 active cases.

The national capital has so far recorded 18,66,380 positive cases of COVID-19. The cumulative positivity rate is 4.98 per cent.

As many as 144 people recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours and the total recoveries have gone up to 18,39,622. The death toll is 26,157 and the case fatality rate is 1.4 per cent.

As per government data, Delhi has 741 containment zones. During the last 24 hours, a total of 5,079 tests were conducted in the national capital.

In the ongoing vaccination drive against COVID-19, 2,856 beneficiaries were vaccinated in the last 24 hours. Of these, 448 took their first dose and 1,884 took their second dose.

The number of beneficiaries in the 15 to 17 age group who were vaccinated in the last 24 hours is 136. The cumulative number of children in this age group is 17,38,492.

India reported fresh 861 COVID cases in the last 24 hours with a daily case positivity rate of 0.32 per cent. (ANI)