South Asia

The primary event will mark the 24th commemoration of the victory at Kargil War Memorial in Dras from July 25 to 26.

The commemoration will be attended by a large number of dignitaries of the Army and civil administration as well as gallantry award winners of the conflict and families of many martyrs.

The commemoration is a meaningful and earnest attempt by the Indian Army to pay solemn tributes to its fallen heroes and to remind the country of sacrifice made by the soldiers to protect the sovereignty of their territory.

“The sterling deeds of those soldiers will be recounted with pride and will inspire future generations of our youth to live up to such exemplary conduct. The heroes of the Kargil war will be remembered for upholding the hallowed traditions of the Indian Army,” an official statement by the Army said.

As a run-up to the event, a large number of competitions and events have been planned for the local population of the area, who supported the operations whole heartedly risking their lives.

A marathon race, painting, archery, cricket and polo matches have been planned till July 23.

This event will culminate on July 24 with a prize distribution ceremony and will be followed by commemorations at Kargil War Memorial on July 25 and 26.

--IANS

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Speaking to IANS, Chowdhury said, "Sonia Gandhi asked Modi that there should be a detailed discussion on Manipur in Parliament."

He said that on the request of Sonia Gandhi, the Prime Minister replied that he will look into it.

Sonia Gandhi made the demand during her brief conversation with the prime minister in the Lok Sabha on the first day of the Monsoon session. Just before the House met for the day, PM Modi took a round to greet various leaders. It is customary for leaders to greet each other on the first day of the Parliament session.

As the Prime Minister reached the bench of opposition leaders, he had a brief conversation with the former Congress president.

The Parliament's Monsoon Session began on Thursday and will continue till August 11.

The Congress and the other opposition parties have been demanding a detailed discussion over the violence in Manipur and also the parading of two women in the northeastern state by a mob.

The video of the incident of May 4 went viral on Wednesday sparking outrage across the country and led to widespread condemnation of the incident.

Earlier in the day, Modi expressed his pain and anger over the Manipur incident and said the gruesome incident with the women in the northeastern state is very shameful, and can never be forgiven.

"Today, my heart is filled with pain and anger. The incident of Manipur which has surfaced, for any civilised society, this is a very shameful incident," Modi told reporters in the Parliament House Complex ahead of the beginning of the Monsoon Session, referring to the horrific video which went viral on social media, of two women being paraded naked in Manipur.

He said, "This incident is an insult for the entire nation as it has shamed 140 crore countrymen. The incident which happened with the women in Manipur can never be forgiven. I assure the countrymen that no one will be spared."

--IANS

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Langer will replace Andy Flower, whose two-year contract with the franchise came to an end after the IPL 2023 season.

"Lucknow Super Giants are on the journey of building a great story in the IPL. We all have a role to play in that journey and I am excited to be a part of the team moving forward," said Langer in a statement issued by the franchise.

The 52-year old Langer has rich experience of coaching in T20 cricket, but he will be coaching in the IPL for the first time. He coached Perth Scorchers to three Big Bash League titles, apart from being at the helm when Australia won the Men’s T20 World Cup title in 2021 in the UAE.

Franchise owner Dr Sanjiv Goenka revealed that team mentor Gautam Gambhir had recommended Langer's name to him as new head coach of LSG.

Notably, Gambhir in 2015 had trained extensively under Langer in Perth, in a bid to revive his international career, which briefly led to him returning to the Indian Test team in 2016 in the home series against England.

"I have enjoyed my interactions with Justin Langer. He seems to bring in a huge amount of aggression and a lot of clarity. His name was suggested to me by Gautam Gambhir and when I interacted with Justin, I was very impressed. I am very happy that he is a part of LSG," Goenka said.

Langer was appointed as the coach of Australia men's team in May 2018, in the aftermath of the sandpaper scandal in Cape Town involving Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.

During Langer’s coaching tenure, Australia retained the Ashes in England in 2019, before capturing the urn by winning 4-0 at home, apart from a semi-final finish in 2019 ODI World Cup, before stepping down from the role in February 2022.

On the other hand, under Flower's coaching, LSG had reached the playoffs after finishing third in points table twice, before crashing out in the eliminator in IPL 2022 and 2023.

"Dear Andy, Today it’s farewell, but it’ll never be goodbye because you’ll always be one of our own. Thank you for everything!," wrote LSG on their twitter handle.

Flower worked as assistant coach for Punjab Kings in the IPL for two seasons before joining the newly-created Lucknow franchise. He also served as head coach of Gulf Giants in UAE's ILT20 competition and of Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) earlier this year, apart from coaching Trent Rockets to the Men's Hundred title last year.

More recently, Flower had joined the Australian camp ahead of the World Test Championship final against India and for the ongoing Ashes in England in a consultancy role, apart from commentating on the Men's ODI World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.

Since his international cricket playing days with Zimbabwe came to an end, Flower has made a name for himself in the coaching circuit. He guided England to Ashes wins in 2009 and 2013 at home, and more importantly, in Australia in 2010-11.

Flower was also the head coach of England winning the 2010 Men's T20 World Cup title in the West Indies, before stepping down from the role in 2014. He moved towards working in England's pathway systems for next five years, before moving on to coach in various franchise leagues.

--IANS

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As reported by Daily Mail, while appearing on 'The One Show' with her co-star America Ferrera on Thursday, Margot told how she introduced a series of fun on-set games during filming.

She then explained that she introduced a dress codes among her co-stars and also hosted a huge, flashy and over-the-top sleepover party in a hotel for her fellow Barbie actresses.

'The Suicide Squad' actress said that she got all members of the cast and crew to wear pink on Wednesdays, in an ode to both Barbie and Regina George's dress code in smash hit movie 'Mean Girls'.

"When host Roman Kemp asked her about the rumoured on-set dress code, Margot said: "Some people were reluctant at first, so on Wednesdays we wore pink was the game and if you didn't wear pink there was an optional fine that would be donated to charity.

"I'd say the grippes were the most resistant. Then I decorated the truck for them since they weren't getting into the pink spirit. I snuck off and covered the whole thing in pink streamers and glitter and everything, they got on board after that."

Speaking about the movie, Margot Robbie who also produced the movie said: "We didn't know exactly what the storyline was going to be, and Barbie doesn't have a certain narrative unlike adapting a book or comic book even. I knew that I wanted Greta Gerwig to write and direct it.

"We were so lucky we knew that we wanted to honour the 60+ year legacy but also acknowledge the things that have been controversial about Barbie through the years.

"Regardless, it's the first time she's been seen on the big screen in a live action film before and it was just crazy to me that that hadn't been done and it felt like a big, exciting opportunity and Greta - what she's done with this film is just insane."

'Barbie' will hit theatres on July 21, 2023.

--IANS

anv/pgh

Jaishankar, who met Joly on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers meeting in Jakarta, tweeted: "Met Canadian Foreign Minister in Jakarta. Discussed the Indo-Pacific and our economic cooperation. Underlined the importance of ensuring the security of our diplomats and the need to firmly combat incitement to violence."

The meeting between the two leaders took place just days after Khalistani elements displayed posters in Canada, with photographs of the Indian High Commissioner in Canada and other diplomats posted there and messages holding Indian diplomats responsible for the killing of separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar last month and held death threats against them.

India had in June also summoned the Canadian High Commissioner and lodged it's protest in the matter. Jaishankar had earlier said that Canada giving space to separatist elements was probably driven by "votebank politics".

--IANS

ans/vd

Langer will replace Andy Flower, whose two-year contract with the franchise came to an end after the IPL 2023 season.

"Lucknow Super Giants are on the journey of building a great story in the IPL. We all have a role to play in that journey and I am excited to be a part of the team moving forward," said Langer in a statement issued by the franchise.

The 52-year old Langer has rich experience of coaching in T20 cricket, but he will be coaching in the IPL for the first time. He coached Perth Scorchers to three Big Bash League titles, apart from being at the helm when Australia won the Men’s T20 World Cup title in 2021 in the UAE.

He was appointed as the coach of Australia men's team in May 2018, in the aftermath of the sandpaper scandal in Cape Town involving Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.

During Langer’s coaching tenure, Australia retained the Ashes in England in 2019, before capturing the urn by winning 4-0 at home, apart from a semi-final finish in 2019 ODI World Cup, before stepping down from the role in February 2022.

On the other hand, under Flower's coaching, LSG had reached the playoffs after finishing third in points table twice, before crashing out in the eliminator in IPL 2022 and 2023.

"Dear Andy, Today it’s farewell, but it’ll never be goodbye because you’ll always be one of our own. Thank you for everything!," wrote LSG on their twitter handle.

Flower worked as assistant coach for Punjab Kings in the IPL for two seasons before joining the newly-created Lucknow franchise. He also served as head coach of Gulf Giants in UAE's ILT20 competition and of Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) earlier this year, apart from coaching Trent Rockets to the Men's Hundred title last year.

More recently, Flower had joined the Australian camp ahead of the World Test Championship final against India and for the ongoing Ashes in England in a consultancy role, apart from commentating on the Men's ODI World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.

Since his international cricket playing days with Zimbabwe came to an end, Flower has made a name for himself in the coaching circuit. He guided England to Ashes wins in 2009 and 2013 at home, and more importantly, in Australia in 2010-11.

Flower was also the head coach of England winning the 2010 Men's T20 World Cup title in the West Indies, before stepping down from the role in 2014. He moved towards working in England's pathway systems for next five years, before moving on to coach in various franchise leagues.

--IANS

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Themed “Make in India with Japan for the Globe,” the Summit featured prominent speakers who opined that there were several industry verticals such as defence, aerospace, manufacturing, information technology and chemical industry where both countries could collaborate to further trade and investments.

In his keynote address, Tsutomu Nakane, Consul General of Japan in Bengaluru, said: “Through this summit we aim to explore the abundant range of opportunities in both nations, enabling businesses to flourish and grow. As of October 2022, 228 companies have set up 537 offices all over Karnataka and the number of Japanese companies expanding into Karnataka is also steadily increasing.

“Cooperation between Japan and Karnataka portrays that business is not only important for the development of bilateral relations but is also of great importance to the world. By investing in or setting up industry in India, Japanese companies can expand their exports to Middle East countries and Africa through India.

“Japan-India business cooperation will bring synergy to both economies by combining Japanese manufacturing know-how with India’s information technology capabilities and its abundant talented workforce. To promote such cooperation, it is necessary for Japan to recognize available business opportunities and for India to further improve amenities and infrastructure in and around industrial parks.”

In her keynote address, Geetanjali Kirloskar, Chairperson and MD, Kirloskar Systems Pvt. Ltd and Chairperson, Toyota Tsusho Insurance Broker India Pvt. Ltd, Bengaluru, said, “India has a relatively stable economy, which represents huge growth potential for Japanese companies to set up a very strong, competitive manufacturing supply chain.

“There is a huge potential for the two countries to develop lighthouse projects in industries which present potential for collaboration such as the chemical industry, which is a multi-billion-dollar opportunity. The defence and aero industry which is looking to indigenize sub-assemblies with newer and more autonomous manufacturing processes is another big opportunity.

“Also, Japanese startups are now looking at Bengaluru very seriously. However, there are two challenges, namely the need to develop a quality vendor in India and the need for quality skilling. We still have a lot of hard work to do in improving the skill quality of the workforce.”

Delivering the Inaugural address, Dr L Ravindran, President BCIC said: “Both Japan and India, characterized by their stability and resilience as economies, need to leverage their economic cooperation to foster broader regional growth. The bond between the two countries serves as a remarkable model, rooted in shared values, mutual respect, and a vision for a prosperous future, not only for their nations but for the global community.

“Through joint research and development initiatives, India and Japan can unlock vast potential and propel their economies to unprecedented levels of success. With Japan’s commitment to invest five trillion dollars in India as announced by their former Prime Minister in 2022 there is a huge potential for small and medium enterprises in Japan to collaborate and conduct business with similar enterprises in India.

“It is essential to prioritize specific sectors such as infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, global mobility, information technology and healthcare as they play a pivotal role in shaping their collective future and achieving investment targets.

“BCIC has set up an office in Japan with a three-pronged strategy to promote Karnataka as an investment destination, take a delegation of industrialists from Karnataka to Japan and host a delegation of industrialists from Japan to Karnataka.” he added.

Mukesh Agarwal, Partner, PwC India, said: “Global economic trends position India uniquely for new investments which is essentially driven by India’s enhanced ease of doing business, attractive industrial policies and incentives, production-based incentives to boost manufacturing ecosystem, favourable cost of doing business and India’s highly talented workforce.

“India is witnessing continued interest from Japanese companies and there is a huge potential for collaboration which is much larger than what we see today. Japanese companies can leverage the opportunities emerging in sunrise sectors which are enabling the growth of new investments in India.”

“Setting the context of the summit, A Murali, Advisor, BCIC and Vice President, Toyota Tsusho India Private Limited, said: “The diplomatic relationship between Government of India and Government of Japan is of very high order. This summit offers a unique platform for business leaders, policy makers and academicians to come together and discuss various aspects of economic ties between the two countries and share best business practices. The summit aims to explore new areas of collaboration between the two nations and facilitate exchange of thoughts and people to people contact.”

Thematic sessions at the summit included panel discussions on Unlocking the Secrets of Japanese Manufacturing Excellence, Revolutionizing Global Mobility and Electronics Manufacturing: Collaborative Strategies for India and Japan, Building World-Class Infrastructure for Make in India: A Collaborative Effort between India and Japan and Unleashing India's Talent Pool in IT, Healthcare, and Technology for Japan. The day-long summit was attended by over 200 delegates representing government, Industry, and academia.

--IANS

mka/dan

In the last 48 hours, 40 sorties have been carried out in which 126 people have been rescued and 17 tonnes of relief materials have been distributed in various areas, an official said.

In the last 24 hours, major operations have been carried out towards flood-affected areas of Haryana. Villages of Nihara, Allaudin Majra, Bishangarh, Segta, Bhunni, Mumni, Segti and Jansui were provided with relief materials consisting of rations, tarpaulin sheets, fresh food and water bottles by M-17 helicopters, a statement by the IAF said.

An official said that air-warriors and all requisite assets such as M-17 and Chinook Helicopters and An-32 and C-130 Transport Aircraft remain on standby to undertake required operations.

Regarding the evacuation of stranded tourists from the snow-marooned Chandertal, a lake surrounded by Himalayan mountains in Lahaul-Spiti district, the IAF said requisition was received by headquarters of the Western Command on July 11 for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and casualty evacuation stranded from various locations in Himachal Pradesh.

One Mi-17 V5 was launched and the aircraft landed at Bhuntar airfield at 11.40 a.m.

The first priority was of seven critical personnel stranded at Chandertal in Barashingri Glacier at an elevation of 4.3 km.

The casualty evacuation was carried out at 5.30 p.m. on July 11.

The pickup zone was in a glacier with no landing place and loose snow.

Due to sloping terrain, and to ensure wheels do not sink, the rescue was carried out with one wheel touching on snow and rest two wheels in air.

The rescued personnel were received by the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister at Bhuntar.

Due to treacherous terrain, no communication with ground, no wind indication and no place to land, the pickup zone was extremely challenging for any kind of landing or winching operations, said the IAF in a statement.

"Because of this being a mercy mission and to save civilian lives, a one-time operation was successfully undertaken," it said.

--IANS

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Both the leaders followed up on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US last month and also exchanged views on the Ukraine conflict and other issues of mutual geopolitical interest.

"Pleasure to meet @SecBlinken. Followed up on PM @narendramodi's recent visit to the US. Also exchanged views on Ukraine, Myanmar and Indo-Pacific," Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting.

The foreign minister also met Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, on the sidelines of the ARF meeting.

"Appreciate the conversation today with EU High Representative @JosepBorrellF on the sidelines of the ARF meetings. Had a detailed discussion on the Ukraine conflict and the situation in Myanmar," Jaishankar said in a tweet.

Fontelles, on his part, said that he had a stimulating discussion with the Indian foreign minister.

"Stimulating discussion with External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar on #India's G20 Presidency, upcoming EU-India summit and good momentum in our bilateral relations. In addition, we focused on Russia's war against Ukraine as well as on Myanmar and Afghanistan," Fontelles tweeted.

Jaishankar is in Jakarta to participate in the Foreign Ministers' Meetings under the ASEAN framework in the format -- ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum, scheduled from July 13-14.

After Jakarta, he will travel to Bangkok, Thailand to participate in the 12th Foreign Ministers' Meeting of Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Mechanism on July 16.

MGC, one of the oldest mechanisms of the lower Mekong region, is guided by India's Act East Policy. In Bangkok, Jaishankar will also attend the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' Retreat on July 17.

BIMSTEC is an economic and technical initiative which brings together the countries of the Bay of Bengal for multifaceted cooperation.

The retreat would discuss ways to further deepen the BIMSTEC agenda and strengthen the organisation.

--IANS

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Propelled by an LVM3-M4 rocket, the Chandrayaan-3 mission lifted off at 2:35 pm from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Sharing a tweet by ISRO, Modi tweeted: “Chandrayaan-3 scripts a new chapter in India’s space odyssey. It soars high, elevating the dreams and ambitions of every Indian. This momentous achievement is a testament to our scientists’ relentless dedication. I salute their spirit and ingenuity!”

Earlier today through a series of tweets, the Prime Minister, who is currently on a two-day visit to France, had sent his best wishes to the third lunar mission of ISRO.

“Best wishes for Chandrayaan-3 mission! I urge you all to know more about this Mission and the strides we have made in space, science and innovation. It will make you all very proud,” the prime minister had tweeted.

“14th July 2023 will always be etched in golden letters as far as India’s space sector is concerned. Chandrayaan-3, our third lunar mission, will embark on its journey. This remarkable mission will carry the hopes and dreams of our nation,” Modi said.

--IANS

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