NAMASKAR! A warm welcome to 'World News: an Indian perspective on All India Radio. This is R.S RAGHU and with me is NIPUNIKA SHAHID bringing glimpses of the major developments of the day from across the globe. Over the next half an hour, we shall bring you the latest from the world of politics, economy, sports, entertainment and more.

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THE HEADLINES::

•  Prime Minister to visit Lumbini in Nepal on the occasion of Buddha Purnima on Monday.  

• President Ram Nath Kovind to embark on the state visit to Jamaica and St. Vincent & Grenadines from tomorrow.

•  Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal says Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to significantly open doors to a plethora of markets across the globe; Inaugurates India-UAE Economic Partnership Summit in Mumbai.

•  Indian Embassy in Ukraine to resume its operation in Kyiv from 17th of this month.

•  Merchandise exports register 30 per cent growth in April while service exports increase of 53 per cent compared to same period last year.

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PM-NEPAL VISIT

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay an official visit to Lumbini in Nepal on Monday on the occasion of Buddha Purnima. He is visiting the Himalayan nation at the invitation of his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba. This will be the Prime Minister’s fifth visit to Nepal since 2014 and his first visit to Lumbini.

Giving details about the visit of Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said in New Delhi that the visit reaffirms India's commitment and demonstrates the priority it attaches to the neighbourhood. He said, at Lumbini, the Prime Minister will visit the sacred Mayadevi temple to offer prayers. He will also deliver an address at a Buddha Jayanti event organized by the Lumbini Development Trust.

During his visit, Mr Modi will also participate in the 'Shilanyas' ceremony for the construction of a Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage, in a plot belonging to the International Buddhist Confederation, New Delhi within the Lumbini Monastic Zone. Both the Prime Ministers will hold a bilateral meeting.

Prime Minister Modi’s visit continues the tradition of regular high level exchanges between India and Nepal in furtherance of India's Neighbourhood First Policy. It underscores the shared civilizational heritage of the people of both countries.

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PM-ZAYED

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief over the passing away of United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed. In a tweet today, Mr. Modi said, Shaikh Zayed was a great statesman and visionary leader under whom India-UAE relations prospered. He said, the heartfelt condolences of the people of India are with the people of UAE.

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PRESIDENT-CARIBBEAN VISIT

President Ram Nath Kovind will be on a state visit to Jamaica and St. Vincent & Grenadines starting tomorrow. This will be the first ever visit by an Indian Head of State to these Caribbean nations.

The President will be in Jamaica from 15th to 18th of this month where he will hold delegation level talks with his counterpart, the Governor General of Jamaica Sir Patrick Allen. He will also meet Prime Minister Andrew Holness and other dignitaries. During the visit, the President will address the Joint Sitting of the two houses of Jamaican Parliament.

While addressing the media, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs Saurabh Kumar said that the visit will help strengthen the bond between the nations.

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EVE INDIA-UAE START-UP

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Economy Minister of United Arab Emirates Abdullah Bin Touq Al Marri inaugurated India-UAE Economic Partnership Summit in Mumbai today. Both leaders also launched India-UAE start-up bridge to boost the economy. This summit was organised by Confederation of Indian Industry.

Speaking at the inaugural session, Mr Piyush Goyal said, India and UAE have huge potential to work together and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will significantly open the doors to a plethora of markets across the globe and help in building a future ready, more robust and resilient bilateral partnership.

The Minister said, the India-UAE partnership is best defined by its tagline ‘Openness, Opportunity and Growth’ and asserted that the trade between the two countries is expected to grow to at least 100 billion dollars in the near future. Now, entrepreneurs and stakeholders from both countries will have access to know about the start-up ecosystem. It will help in capacity building of incubators, incubation opportunities for start-up, he said.

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MERCHANDISE-EXPORTS

Country's overall exports including merchandise and services scaled a new high in last month. Overall imports exhibited a growth of around 39 per cent in comparison to corresponding period of last year. Country's exports are estimated to be 67.79 billion US dollars in last month.

Merchandise exports crossed 40 billion US dollar mark and service sector reached 27.60 billion US dollar in last month. Merchandise exports registered 30 per cent growth wherein service export registered an increase of 53 per cent in last month in comparison to corresponding period of previous year.

The Commerce and Industry Ministry said, petroleum products, electronic goods, processed food, leather products lead the way with significant increase in exports. Non-petroleum, non-gems and jewellery exports were 28.46 billion US dollar registering a positive growth of 19.89 per cent over the corresponding period of previous year.

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RAJAPAKSHA-COURT BAN

A court in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo imposed a ban on former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and several of his key allies from leaving the country on Thursday. According to media reports, the travel ban has also been imposed on  Rajapaksa’s son and former Minister Namal Rajapaksa, Johnston Fernando, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, C. B. Rathnayake, Sanath Nishantha, and Sanjeewa Edirimanna, among others.

Mahinda stepped doas prime minister on Monday following weeks of intense anti-government protests amid an ongoing financial and economic crisis. Sri Lanka is currently suffering its worst economic crisis since its independence in 1948.

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HOTSPOT

In today’s hotspot section, we bring you a discussion on developments in Sri Lanka and its impact. In conversation are Veena Sikri, Former Diplomat and Manish Anand, Journalist.

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UKRAINE-EMBASSY

The Indian Embassy in Ukraine will resume its operation in Kyiv, Ukraine from 17th of this month. External Affairs Ministry said, Indian Embassy was temporarily relocated to Warsaw on 13th of March this year.

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BANGLADESH-Former Army Chief

A Dhaka court sentenced former Army Chief of Bangladesh Harun-Ar- Rashid and 46 officials of the Destiny-2000 company to varying jail terms yesterday on charges of money laundering. The case relates to the embezzlement of huge sum of money from more than 8.5 lakh investors for the project.

Destiny 2000 Managing Director Mohammad Rafiqul Amin was sentenced to 12 years. Former Army Chief Harun-Ar-Rashi was sentenced to 4 years jail. Destiny-2000 chairman Mohammad Hossain was sentenced to 10 years. 39 of the convicted people are absconding and were sentenced in absentia.

The Destiny 2000 scam is considered to be the worst multi-level marketing scam in Bangladesh. It came to light in 2012 after the country’s central Bank of Bangladesh noticed the huge irregularities in the scheme launched in 2008.

The judge in his verdict declared that the assets of the company will be liquidated to compensate the shareholders and investors of  the scheme.

Harun-Ar-Rashid is a retired Bangladesh Army general.

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DHAKA-NUCLEAR ENERGY

The two-day Indo-Bangladesh Joint Committee Meeting on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy concluded last evening. The two sides expressed satisfaction at the ongoing collaboration on the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project. They  discussed avenues to further enhance bilateral cooperation in the field of Science and Technology.

The Bangladesh side expressed appreciation for the services being rendered by the Indian experts currently deployed at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. Both sides also stated their desire for collaboration in societal applications of radiation technologies in areas such as cancer care, nuclear medicine and food preservation.

The meeting was fruitful and covered the entire gamut of our bilateral cooperation in peaceful uses of Nuclear Energy applications  in the field of health, agriculture, water purification including capacity building, training among others, said a press release issued by the High Commission of India in Bangladesh yesterday.

The Indian delegation was led by Ranajit Kumar, Chairman of Advisory Council, Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) and Head of Nuclear Controls and Planning Wing (NCPW) in the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Bangladesh delegation was led by Md. Ali Hossain, Additional Secretary (Nuclear Power) in Ministry of Science and Technology of Bangladesh. 

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PUERTO RICO- DEATH

At least 11 people are dead and dozens were rescued after a boat capsized on yesterday off the coast of Puerto Rico. The U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement, the vessel, which was suspected of taking part in an illegal voyage overturned.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft spotted the capsized vessel and people in the water about 11 miles north of Desecheo Island. The Coast Guard launched multiple helicopters from Air Station Borinquen and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Tezanos as part of the rescue operation.

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NORTH KOREA-COVID DEATH

North Korea has confirmed its first death from Covid-19. Local media reported today that six people died after suffering fever with one testing positive for Omicron.

State media reports that tens of thousands more are experiencing fever symptoms. The official KCNA news agency reported that the outbreak extended beyond the capital.

North Korea had rejected offers from the international community to supply millions of AstraZeneca and Chinese-made jabs last year. Instead, it claimed it had controlled Covid by sealing its borders early in January 2020.

Meanwhile, South Korea has said it offered humanitarian aid, however Pyongyang is yet to respond.

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BADMINTON-THOMAS  CUP

In Thomas Cup Badminton Tournament in Bangkok, the deciding match of the semifinal tie between Indian star shuttler HS Prannoy and Denmark's Rasmus Gemke is now underway after Danish pair Anders Skaruup Rasmussen and Frederik Sogaard defeated Indian duo Vishnuvardhan Panjala and Krishna Garaga in the fourth match to make it 2-2. The danish pair defeated Indian duo 21-14, 21-13 at the Impact Arena in Thailand today.

Earlier, India's ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth registered a thumping win against Anders Anderson by 20-18, 12-21, 21-15. Indian duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won against Kim Astrup and Mathias Christiansen 21-18, 21-23, 22-20.  

Olympic Champion Denmark's Axelsen beat Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen 21-13, 21-13.  

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FPR

Now let us take a look at the major developments around the world, as reported in the Foreign Press.

Now let's have a look at the press reports on Nepal.

⦁ The Kathmandu Post writes, as many as 150 climbers reached the summit of Everest, the world’s tallest peak, on Thursday morning, with a Nepali woman climber smashing her oprevious record.

⦁ The Himalayan Times writes, she had earlier climbed Mt Annapurna without using supplemental oxygen, and has also become the youngest female in the world to do so at the age of 29.

Now let's have a look at the press reports on Pakistan.

⦁ The Express Tribune reports, a special court central judge summoned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz by May 14 to frame charges against them despite Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) earlier decision not to prosecute the alleged money laundering case against them.

Now let's have a look at the press reports on CHINA.

⦁ Prasar Bharati Beijing reports that 9th Meeting of SCO Transport Ministers was held on Thursday. At the meeting, India said Connectivity with SCO countries is a priority for it. India’s representative from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said, Connectivity efforts must be based on economic viability and financial responsibility. It should promote economic activity and not create debt burdens.

⦁ Prasar Bharati Beijing reports India’s Ambassador to China Pradeep K Rawat met with Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the China’s Foreign Ministry Liu Jinsong. They discussed matters related to China-India relations and international and regional issues of common concern.

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REPEAT HEADLINES

• Prime Minister to visit Lumbini in Nepal on the occasion of Buddha Purnima on Monday.  

• President Ram Nath Kovind to embark on the state visit to Jamaica and St. Vincent & Grenadines from tomorrow.

• Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal says Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to significantly open doors to a plethora of markets across the globe; Inaugurates India-UAE Economic Partnership Summit in Mumbai.

• Indian Embassy in Ukraine to resume its operation in Kyiv from 17th of this month.

•  Merchandise exports register 30 per cent growth in April while service exports increase of 53 per cent compared to same period last year.

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And now, before we end, let us listen to Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajan Vaishnav Jan, by artists from NEPAL.

AND WITH THAT, WE END THIS BULLETIN. WE'LL BE BACK AT THE SAME TIME TOMORROW WITH THE NEXT EDITION OF WORLD NEWS.

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