Month: April 2022

Days after some Pakistanis were found to be involved in the abduction of four Nepal citizens in Istanbul, Turkey has decided to tighten its visa policy for nationals from Pakistan, local media reported on Thursday.

This comes after four Nepal citizens were kidnapped “at gunpoint” from Taksim Square by a group of six Pakistan nationals. As per the reports, the Nepalis were also subjected to torture by these Pakistanis after being abducted.
“The Turkish government has tightened the visa policy for Pakistanis after crimes reportedly involving Pakistanis,” reported Arab News quoting Pakistani media outlet, Aaj News.

“The government has also stopped issuing temporary residence permit for Pakistanis,” it added.

As per the media reports, the abductors also demanded a ransom of 10,000 euros. Later on, the police conducted a raid against the kidnappers and they were successfully nabbed and arrested.

In another incident earlier, some Pakistani nationals were also detained by the Turkish authorities for protesting the ouster of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan from power. However, after the intervention from Pakistani diplomats the arrested protesters were released.

Notably, a significant number of Pakistanis live and work in Istanbul, Ankara and other major cities across Turkey. In addition, every month hundreds of Pakistani citizens visit the transcontinental country, reported Arab News. (ANI)

The Chinese side has expressed its willingness to consider facilitating the return of Indian students to China on a need-assessed basis, said the Indian Embassy in China on Friday.

This comes after the meeting of External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar with the State Councilor and Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi on 25 March.
Notably, the Indian students pursuing medicine from Chinese Universities are unable to return to China to attend classes. In order to facilitate this, the Indian Embassy intends to prepare a list of such students which will be shared with the Chinese side for their consideration, said the Embassy in its statement.

The Embassy also directed the Indian students to provide the necessary information by filling up a Google Form by May 8, 2022.

“Once the collated information is shared with the Chinese side, they would consult relevant Chinese departments to verify the list and indicate whether the identified students can travel to China to complete the course. This coordination process would be carried out in a time-bound manner,” read the statement.

As per the Embassy, the Chinese side has also conveyed that eligible students should unconditionally abide by the Covid-19 prevention measures, and has agreed to bear all expenses related to Covid-19 prevention measures by themselves.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said that it has been regularly raising the issue of Indian students pursuing medicine from Chinese Universities being unable to return to China to attend classes, but has not gotten any positive response from the other side.

The remarks were made by MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in response to questions citing reports according to which China is facilitating the return of students from countries like Sri Lanka.

“I have seen some reports, but I don’t want to speculate here that some students are going back. We are concerned about students in India and on that, we don’t have any movement yet… so if the Chinese are looking at options on how they can get students in, I sincerely hope, that Indian students would also benefit from that mechanism,” Bagchi said.

“As regards the issue of students, yes, this is something which has come up a couple of times. We have discussed, I think even on this forum we have responded. During the visit of Chinese FM Wang Yi, I think the EAM himself mentioned that we had taken it up,” the MEA spokesperson added. (ANI)

American troops left behind USD 7.12 billion worth of military hardware in Afghanistan after they pulled out from the war-ravaged country, in August last year, the US Department of Defense said.

The US provided a sum of USD 18.6 billion in military hardware to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) for 16 years. Out of them, equipment worth USD 7.12 billion consisting of air-to-ground munitions, aircraft, military vehicles, weapons, and other military gear remained in Afghanistan, after the US’s withdrawal from the country, the CNN reported citing the DoD.

Putting an end to the tedious evacuation process, the US military had has confirmed that they will not return to the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan either to destroy or to retrieve the equipment.

The hefty amount of equipment left behind in Afghanistan will serve to refocus attention on the chaotic departure of the US from the war-torn country which has been widely condemned by politicians of both parties. As per the report issued by the DoD, almost all of the equipment that remained in Afghanistan required special maintenance.

Rob Lodewick, army major of the US Defence Department assured, that all the equipment left in the Afghan territory belonged to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). He added that the military supplies that the U.S. military used in the war were either destroyed or retrograded before the US departed from the Afghan lands. The amount of USD 7.12 billion was not a part of the figure, reported CNN.

Further, aircraft worth USD 923.3 million which was left behind in Afghanistan were demilitarized and rendered inoperable before the departure of the US. Apart from air-to-ground munitions, valued at USD 6.54 million, and about 40,000 military vehicles, other equipment which were left behind included night vision, surveillance, “biometric and positioning equipment” and explosive ordinance disposal and demining equipment.

Earlier, on August 31, the final few US military planes left Afghanistan after they concluded their chaotic mission of evacuating American citizens, helpless Afghan civilians, and third-country nationals from the unprovoked war and seizure of Afghanistan by the Taliban. (ANI)

NBA star Dwight Howard has hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reforming the holy city of Varanasi, after making a visit to the place recently for a ‘spiritual journey’ that ‘rejuvenated his soul’.

“At peace with myself and the world after a visit to Varanasi. A spiritual journey that has rejuvenated the soul. Congratulations @narendramodi for the magical reformation of the holy city. Varanasi has inspired so many legends, I am humbled. I am sure the reincarnation of this sacred city will inspire many more. @pixstoryapp,” posted Howard on Instagram.

The Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department also acknowledged the visit of the basketball player.

“World-renowned basketball player and NBA champion @DwightHoward

traveled to #Varanasi. He enjoyed witnessing the transcendental Ganga Aarti and shared his experience on his visit to this ancient city of spirituality & culture. #UPNahiDekhaTohIndiaNahiDekha,” tweeted UP Tourism.

Howard currently plays as a Centre-Forward for Los Angles Lakers in National Basketball Association (NBA), the North American professional basketball league. (ANI)

Border Security Force (BSF) on Friday shot down a drone along the India-Pakistan border in the area near village – Dhanoe Kalan of Amritsar Sector.

A senior BSF officer said that personnel on night patrolling near the international border heard a humming sound during the early hours on Friday.
“Personnel illuminated the area by firing para bombs to aim at the object and fired several shots towards it,” he said.

During the morning hours, an extensive search operation was launched and a quadcopter was recovered in the fields near IB.

“The quadcopter was coming from the Pakistani side was shot down by its troops in Ram Tirath area of Amritsar sector,” he said.

The BSF, in a statement, said, “An intensive search of the depth area was carried out and at about 6:15 am, the troops recovered a black coloured Quadcopter, “Made in China”, Model-DJI Matrice – 300″ near Dhanoe Kalan.” (ANI)

US President Joe Biden said on Friday Washington will not let Russia intimidate or blackmail their way out of sanctions.

This comes after Russian energy giant Gazprom cut natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday after they refused to pay for gas in rubles.

“Yesterday, Russia threatened two of our allies with a cut off of energy supplies. Let me be clear: We will not let Russia intimidate or blackmail their way out of sanctions. And we will not allow them to use their oil to avoid consequences for their aggression,” Biden said in a tweet.

The US President said that Washington is working with other nations to help their “European allies threatened by Russia with gas blackmail.”

“We are working with other nations — like South Korea, Japan, and Qatar — that support our effort to help our European allies threatened by Russia with gas blackmail meet their energy needs in other ways. Aggression will not win. Threats will not win,” he said in another tweet.

On March 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree stipulating that all contracts for gas supplies with companies registered in “unfriendly” countries be settled in rubles.

Media reports said some European gas buyers have already paid for supplies in rubles as Russia demanded.

On Wednesday, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Russian energy giant Gazprom’s decision to suspend gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland is yet another attempt at blackmail.

“The announcement by Gazprom that it is unilaterally stopping delivery of gas to customers in Europe is yet another attempt by Russia to use gas as an instrument of blackmail. This is unjustified and unacceptable. And it shows once again the unreliability of Russia as a gas supplier,” von der Leyen had said in a statement. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday informed that he will be hosting a Sikh delegation at his residence on Friday.

The Prime Minister will also address the gathering at 5:30 pm today.
Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, “This evening, I will be hosting a Sikh delegation at my residence. The group includes people from different walks of life. I will also be addressing the gathering at around 5:30 PM. Do watch…”

Earlier in the month of March, Prime Minister met a group of eminent Sikh personalities and intellectuals which the Sikh delegation described as “like a hug” to the community.

The interaction between PM Modi and the Sikh delegation was held on diverse topics like farmer welfare, youth empowerment, drug-free society, National Educational Policy, skilling, employment, technology, and Punjab’s overall development trajectory. (ANI)

Himveers of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) participated in a Yoga session at a height of 15,000 feet in snow conditions in Uttarakhand Himalayas ahead of International Yoga Day.

“Himveers of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) participate in a Yoga session at 15,000 feet in snow conditions in Uttarakhand Himalayas under the aegis of the forthcoming International Day of Yoga 2022,” ITBP informed.

With the celebration of ‘Yog Utsav’ at Red Fort organised by the Ministry of AYUSH on April 7, the countdown began for the International Yoga Day which is celebrated every year on June 21 since 2015. (ANI)

Samsung, one of the leading smartphones and electronics brands, has shifted its research wing to a new address to a new state of the art campus, on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, a company statement said on Friday.

The design of the building is inspired by the India Gate and the SRI-N and SDD office is built to deliver breakthrough innovations and new-age solutions. The latest workspace reinforces Samsung’s commitment to its vision of #PoweringDigitalIndia by empowering the next generation with its innovations.

Workstations have been designed in a way to access natural sunlight, with better ergonomics, as well as standing desks. The workspace follows the hot desking concept, allowing people to choose where they want to sit, choosing their seats for a week through an in-house app.

Infused with biophilic design principles, the interior of the office built around a human-centred approach that ensures improved air quality and well-being through natural elements. As part of this principle, biophilia or indoor plants in planters are spread across the office. The work floors are also equipped with Indoor Air Quality sensors.

The lush green campus has an IGBC LEED Platinum rating and has been awarded 5 stars by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). The new office uses technology like occupancy sensors and maximizes the use of natural light for energy savings.

“We are thrilled to announce the new location for Samsung R&D Institute, Noida. The new office space is an effort to create a safe and inclusive workplace that empowers every individual to innovate and create… in line with our core values of people, excellence and co-prosperity,” said Samsung R&D MD KY Roo.

To ensure the maximum comfort and convenience for employees, the campus is also equipped with a multi-format experiential cafeteria, training hub, crèche, gymnasium, wellness centre, daycare, banks/ATMs, cafes, restaurants, various recreational amenities as well as EV charging stations.

Samsung R&D unit has developed global solutions that are focused on GenZ to enrich customer experience. These include features such as AltZ Life, Chat Over Video and Auto Data Switching solution.