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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to talk LAC during China visit on June 25-26

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to talk LAC during China visit on June 25-26

New Indian Express17 hours ago

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Defence Ministers Meeting (SCO-DMM) in Qingdao, China.
Notably, Singh and Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif will be attending the SCO meeting, marking the first such occasion since Operation Sindoor. However, no bilateral meeting is planned with Asif.
Coincidentally, Sikkim Governor Om Prakash Mathur, on Friday, flagged off the first batch of Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims since the 2020 India-China border standoff on
Sikkim. It is seen as a step to ameliorate the bilateral situation. Ten batches plan to visit Kailash Mansarovar from Nathu la this year.
Singh is expected to hold bilateral meetings, including talks with his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun, and Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov.
The Defence Minister last met the Admiral at the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus forum in Vientiane, in November last year.
The meeting is expected to add to the relationship normalisation process between India and China which continue to jointly deploy more than one lakh soldiers with equipment and armaments along the 832-km Eastern Ladakh since May 2020. The news was first reported by TNIE.

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Belarus frees jailed opposition leader Sergei Tikhanovsky after appeal from US
Belarus frees jailed opposition leader Sergei Tikhanovsky after appeal from US

Hindustan Times

time26 minutes ago

  • Hindustan Times

Belarus frees jailed opposition leader Sergei Tikhanovsky after appeal from US

Belarus freed top opposition figure Sergei Tikhanovsky and over a dozen other political prisoners Saturday following an appeal from the White House, Minsk said, a sign of warming ties between Washington and Belarus-ally Moscow. Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya hugs her husband Sergei Tikhanovsky in unnamed place in Lithuania. (AFP) The release came just hours after US special envoy Keith Kellogg met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, the highest-profile visit of a US official to the authoritarian state in years. Tikhanovsky's wife Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who took the mantle of the opposition movement after her husband's jailing, thanked US President Donald Trump directly for brokering the deal. European politicians and members of Belarus's exiled opposition also welcomed the news. The European Union hailed Tikhanovsky's release as a "symbol of hope" and a leading activist calling it an "important moment". Tikhanovsky, 46, had been imprisoned for more than five years. The popular Youtuber had planned to run against Lukashenko in the August 2020 presidential election, but was arrested and detained weeks before the vote. He was sentenced in 2021 to 18 years in prison for "organising riots" and "inciting hatred", then to another 18 months for "insubordination". Svetlana -- a political novice at the time of his arrest -- ran against Lukashenko in her husband's place but lost after what the opposition described as widespread falsification. She later fled Belarus. "It's hard to describe the joy in my heart," she said in a post on X following her husband's release. Transferred to Lithuania Among the 13 others freed were Radio Liberty journalist Igor Karnei, arrested in 2023 and jailed for participating in an "extremist" organisation. They have now been transferred from Belarus to Lithuania, where they were receiving "proper care", Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said. Swedish-Belarusian citizen Galina Krasnyanskaya, arrested in 2023 for allegedly supporting Ukraine, was also freed, said Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Belarus, ruled by Lukashenko since 1994, has outlawed all genuine opposition parties. It is the only European country to retain the death penalty as a punishment. The eastern European country still holds more than 1,000 political prisoners in its jails, according to local human rights group Viasna. 'Sincerest joy' Lukashenko's spokeswoman said the Belarusian leader ordered the release of the prisoners on Trump's "request", Russian state media reported. There was no immediate comment from the White House. Since taking office, Trump has engaged in direct talks with Vladimir Putin, ending his predecessor's policy of isolating the Russian president. The two nuclear powers have since worked to normalise diplomatic ties, which have for years lingered at their lowest point since the Cold War. Tikhanovsky was for years held incommunicado, and in 2023 his wife was told that he had "died". In a video published by Viasna on Saturday, he appeared almost unrecognisable, his head shaven and face emaciated. A charismatic activist, Tikhanovsky drew the ire of authorities for describing Lukashenko as a "cockroach" and his campaign slogan was "Stop the cockroach." Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory in the 2020 election, a result that sparked massive opposition protests which authorities violently suppressed. The Belarusian autocrat claimed a record seventh term in elections earlier this year that observers dismissed as a farce. Fellow Belarusian political activists and foreign politicians welcomed the release of the 14 on Saturday. Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski expressed his "sincerest joy", while Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics called Tikhanovsky's freedom a "much awaited and long overdue moment". Pavel Latushko, a former culture minister in Belarus who supported the 2020 protests against Lukashenko, said all those released had been jailed illegally. He hailed Tikhanovsky's release as an "important moment". European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen also welcomed Tikhanovsky's release. "This is fantastic news and a powerful symbol of hope for all the political prisoners suffering under the brutal Lukashenka regime," she said on X. Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Tikhanovsky's release was "fantastically good news", in a post to X. "At the same time, we must not forget the many other prisoners in Belarus. Lukashenko must finally release them," he added. bur-cad/jj X

HP High Court Raps HPU for withholding Associate Professor's Salary
HP High Court Raps HPU for withholding Associate Professor's Salary

United News of India

time2 hours ago

  • United News of India

HP High Court Raps HPU for withholding Associate Professor's Salary

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Congress MP Randhawa slams J-K CM Omar Abdullah over remarks on Indus waters
Congress MP Randhawa slams J-K CM Omar Abdullah over remarks on Indus waters

India Gazette

time2 hours ago

  • India Gazette

Congress MP Randhawa slams J-K CM Omar Abdullah over remarks on Indus waters

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], June 21 (ANI): Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa strongly rebuked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for his opposition to a proposed 113-km canal to divert surplus water from the Indus river system to Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, emphasising Punjab's historical and agricultural significance. He recalled the challenges Punjab faced during Operation Sindoor, asserting that there wasn't as much 'Pakistani attack in J&K as there was in Punjab.' Speaking in to ANI, Randhawa said, 'One should not make statements that cast doubt on patriotism. Punjabis have never done that. And even during Operation Sindoor, there wasn't as much Pakistani attack in J&K as there was in Punjab. Punjab was turned into a battlefield. The patriotism of Punjab, the strength of Punjab, and the strength of its agriculture -- as long as Punjab remains strong, India remains strong.' Randhawa said he was 'sad' and 'hurt' by the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister's recent comments. 'I don't know in what context Mr. Abdullah made his statement, but I'm sad. Considering the relationships his grandfather, father, and himself have had with Punjabis and with Punjab, and the faith his father and grandfather had in Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple), I am hurt by his statement.' He directly replied to CM Abdullah's remarks: 'Punjab should be given water because when India gained Independence, we used to beg to the world for (food) grain.' The Congress MP underscored the historic significance of Punjab's irrigation system, recalling the legacy of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. 'It is because of this water, and the three dams built there, and if they have even a little knowledge of history, they would know that the best canal system existed during Maharaja Ranjit Singh's time. From Khyber Pass, where the Mughals used to enter and loot India, Maharaja Ranjit Singh blocked that route and stopped the Mughals from entering, turning the country into a capable and independent state. He ruled over Jammu & Kashmir for over 40 years.' He stated that Punjab's border regions, including areas right up to the no-man's-land where farming continues today, are not only symbols of the state's resilience but crucial contributors to national food supplies. 'That water is Punjab's lifeline,' he said. Randhawa's remarks come in response to CM Abdullah's June 20 statement in Jammu, where he rejected the canal, citing Jammu's drought-like conditions and questioning Punjab's past support asking 'Did they give us water when we needed it?' (ANI)

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