Akashvani , National news, All India Radio News

NAMASKAR! A warm welcome to 'World News: an Indian perspective on AKASHVANI. This is ABHINEET SHUKLA bringing glimpses of the major developments of the day from across the globe. Over the next half an hour, we shall bring to you the latest from the world of politics, economy, sports, entertainment and more.

⦁Prime Minister receives SENGOL from the Adheenams of Tamil Nadu, shares a video of the New Parliament Building to be inaugurated with hashtag MyParliamentMyPride.  

⦁Nepalese Prime Minister to embark on an official visit to India next week.

⦁Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to attend the swearing ceremony of Nigeria's President-elect.

⦁Drone attack on a Russian oil pipeline facility, speculated to be a counteroffensive of Ukraine.

⦁In Jammu and Kashmir Hizbul Mujahiddin activists arrested by CRPF and local police in Kishtwar district.

⦁Deputy National Security Advisor chairs a meeting to ensure India's rights under Indus Water Treaty.

⦁In Malaysia Masters Badminton semifinals at Kuala Lumpur, ace shuttler HS Prannoy reaches men's singles final.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate the newly constructed Parliament Building to the Nation on Sunday. The new building symbolises the spirit of self-reliant India. The newly constructed Parliament building has been built in record time with quality construction. The building, which will work to further enrich India's glorious democratic traditions and constitutional values is also equipped with state-of-the-art facilities which will help the Members to perform their functions in a better way. In the present building of the Parliament, there is a provision for the sitting of 543 Members in the Lok Sabha and 250 in the Rajya Sabha. Keeping in view the future requirements, arrangements have been made for a sitting of 888 members in the Lok Sabha and 384 members in the Rajya Sabha in the newly constructed building. The joint session of both Houses will be held in Lok Sabha Chamber.

The present building of the Parliament was completed in 1927, which is now going to be almost 100 years old. The lack of space was being experienced in this building as per the present requirements. In both Houses, there was also a lack of convenient arrangements for the sitting of the MPs which was affecting the efficiency of work of the Members. Considering it, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha passed resolutions urging the government to construct a new building for the Parliament. Consequently, on 10 December 2020, the foundation stone of the new building of Parliament was laid by the Prime Minister.

To mark the inauguration of the new Parliament building, Mr Modi will launch a 75 rupees denomination coin on Sunday. The obverse face of the coin will bear the Lion Capital of ‘Ashoka Pillar’ in the centre with the legend ‘Satyamev Jayate’ inscribed below. The Ashoka Pillar will be flanked by the word ‘Bharat’ in Devnagri script on the left periphery and the word ‘India’ in English on the right periphery.

Ahead of the inauguration ceremony of New Parliament Building, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the Adheenams at his residence this evening and took their blessings. The Adheenams hand over the Sengol (Sceptre) to Mr Modi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shared the video of the new Parliament with a voice-over carried out by citizens conveying their thoughts as requested by him. In a tweet, the Prime Minister expressed his delight over the overwhelming response to the forthcoming new Parliament. He noted that this new symbol of democracy will continue working diligently to fulfill the aspirations of the people with more vigour. Sharing a tweet by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Mr Modi emphasized the importance of this institution in strengthening India's development trajectory and empowering millions of its citizens. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and dedicate the newly constructed Parliament Building to the Nation on Sunday.

The Assistant High Commission of India in Kandy celebrated a momentous occasion on Friday, as it launched a special logo commemorating its 100th anniversary. High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay, virtually inaugurated the logo during the event. The winning logo was chosen through a competition organized by MyGov, attracting 470 participants. Mr Rayees Ahmad Bhat's design stood out, incorporating the vibrant colours of both the Indian and Sri Lankan national flags, along with their respective national symbols.

Expressing gratitude, Mr Baglay acknowledged the continuous support provided by the Sri Lankan authorities to AHCI over the past century. He highlighted the significance of 2023, which not only marks the centenary of AHCI's establishment in Kandy but also commemorates 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Sri Lanka. The High Commissioner reaffirmed India's commitment to collaborate with Sri Lanka for the mutual well-being of their respective populations.

The Yoga Mahotsav will be held on Sunday morning at NCC Parade Grounds in Secunderabad to mark the 25 days countdown to the International Yoga Day. Moraji Desai National Institute of Yoga, under the Ministry of Ayush, is organising the Yoga Mahotsav. Governor of Telangana Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan will grace the occasion as Chief Guest. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal announced this at a press conference on Saturday. He said that the Yoga Mahotsav at Secunderabad will set the stage for a grand International Day of Yoga to be celebrated at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh on 21st of the next month. The union minister also announced the theme of this year’s International Yoga Day is ‘YOGA FOR VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBKAM’. He also highlighted how elaborate plans are being prepared and drawn to celebrate the International Day of Yoga this year. He informed that an Ocean Ring of Yoga will be created on June 21st when with the help of the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. Yoga demonstrations at many ports, on many ships will take place as many countries are also likely to join this programme. The Minister also said that Yoga demonstrations will also take place from Arctic to Antarctica- countries falling on or near the Prime Meridian line will join the Yoga demonstration.

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will embark on an official visit to India from the 31st of May to the 3rd of June this year at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This visit marks the first bilateral visit abroad by the Nepalese Prime Minister since assuming the office in December 2022. During the visit, Prime Minister Prachanda will call on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar. He will also hold extensive discussions with Mr Modi focusing on various aspects of the bilateral partnership between India and Nepal. In addition to the official engagements, the Prime Minister of Nepal will also be visiting Ujjain and Indore as part of his itinerary.

Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh will visit Nigeria from the 28th to the 30th of May to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the President-elect of the West African nation Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Mr. Rajnath Singh will attend the swearing-in ceremony at Eagle Square in Abuja on the 29th of May. He will also meet the outgoing Nigerian President Mr Muhammadu Buhari during a reception hosted by him on the 28th of May.  This will be the first-ever visit of any Indian Defence Minister to Nigeria. The Defence Minister's visit will be an important landmark in building the strong bonds of friendship between the two countries. Considering the growing defence cooperation between India & Nigeria, senior officers of the Ministry of Defence and the top leadership of important Defence PSUs will accompany Mr. Rajnath Singh. They will hold meetings with the representatives from the Nigerian industry and the Armed Forces to identify the equipment and platforms, through which the Indian defence industry can support the country’s requirements. Nigeria is home to an estimated 50,000 members of the Indian community. The Defence Minister  will address the Indian diaspora at Abuja during the visit.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the Police along with a team of 17 RR & 52 battalions of CRPF arrested one of the most active associates of the Hizbul Mujahidin (HM) outfit from the Cherji area of Kishtwar district on Friday. Our Jammu Correspondent reports that acting on specific inputs, the Police along with Army & CRPF arrested one Mohd Yousaf Chouhan of the Cherji area in terror-related activities. On his disclosure, one Chinese Grenade was recovered from the Cherji area. However, a major search operation has been launched by the security forces in Cherji, Chicha & Padyarna areas, so that active terrorists of the district are nabbed and further leads into the case are developed. Pertinent to mention, SSP Kishtwar Khalil Poswal warned the youths, not to fall prey to the evil designs of terrorist originations. He also requested locals to inform the Police about the movement of terrorists, so that immediate counter-action is taken against them.

Deputy National Security Advisor, Vikram Misri, on Saturday chaired the second meeting of the Task Force to ensure the exercise of India's rights under the Indus Waters Treaty. The meeting was attended by the Principal Secretary, Power Development Department J&K and officials of the concerned executing agencies besides officials from the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Vikram Misri, who was on two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, took stock of progress made on various Hydro Power Projects in the Union Territory. He emphasized upon the concerned officers to ensure that works on all the Indus Basin projects are completed in a time-bound manner to enable better utilization of India's rights under the Indus Waters Treaty. During his two-day visit, Deputy NSA also called on Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha and apprised him of ongoing steps towards monitoring of implementation of Hydro Power Projects in the Indus Basin on directions of the Prime Minister's Office. Vikram Misri also met the top military and security officials in the Union Territory and was briefed on the prevailing situation in the valley of Kashmir. He appreciated the role of all stakeholders in the successful conduct of G-20 working group meeting on Tourism held in Srinagar recently.

After talks about Iran's water rights did not give any fruitful conclusion, tensions rose between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Taliban on Saturday. Earlier on Thursday, Iran’s president had warned Afghanistan's Taliban rulers not to violate the water rights of the Iranian people over their shared Helmand River, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. While Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency acknowledged the fighting on the border of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan provinces and the Afghan province of Nimroz, saying its forces inflicted heavy casualties and serious damage, Taliban-controlled media in Afghanistan did not acknowledge the fighting.

The advocacy group HalVash, quoted residents in the area describing the fighting as starting Saturday morning. The group put the fighting near the Kang district of Nimroz, saying some people in the area had fled the violence. Online videos posted purportedly from the area, included the crackle of machine gun fire in the distance.  

The apparent clash comes in the wake of the incident when Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had recently warned the Taliban not to violate Iran’s water rights to the Helmand River.

Raisi’s remarks represented some of the strongest yet over long-running concerns about water in Iran. Iran has been facing serious drought issues for some 30 years, but that worsened over the past decade, according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization. The Iran Meteorological Organization says that an estimated 97% of the country now faces some level of drought.

Earlier on Saturday, the Taliban’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with an Iranian envoy to Afghanistan to discuss the Helmand River water rights, according to tweets from Afghan Foreign Ministry official Zia Ahmad. IRNA acknowledged the meeting, saying that issues between the two countries will be better resolved through dialogue. But tensions have otherwise been rising.

According to media reports, two drones attacked on a station that serves the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline, one of the world's largest oil pipelines.

Local media reported that it is speculated that this is the counteroffensive of Ukraine. However, Ukraine has not publicly acknowledged launching attacks against targets inside Russia.

The past week saw a host of meetings across the country. The most important among them was the 3rd tourism Working Group Meeting  at Srinagar. It came out as a big opportunity to showcase India's tourism prowess to the world. It showcased the beauty of Kashmir for the world. Let us take a look at the developments this week.

India’s ace shuttler HS Prannoy made the men’s singles final at the Malaysia Masters 2023 while PV Sindhu’s women’s singles campaign at the BWF World Tour Super 500 event ended after a loss in the semi-final on Saturday. World Number Nine HS Prannoy received a walkover in his semi-final clash after Indonesia’s Christian Adinata pulled out with an injury towards the end of the first game. Prannoy will face either Lin Chu Yi of Chinese Taipei or China’s Weng Hong Yang in the title clash. Meanwhile, PV Sindhu was defeated by Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 21-14, 21-17 in the Malaysia Masters 2023 semifinals at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur.

In IPL Cricket, Gujarat Titans will face Chennai Super Kings in the summit clash at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday evening. Gujarat Titans stormed into the final defeating Mumbai Indians by 62 runs in the second Qualifier match on Friday. Chasing 234 for victory, Mumbai Indians were all out for 171 in 18.2 overs.

⦁ The Wall Street Journal reports, Europe Rebuffs China’s Efforts to Split the West in Pushing Ukraine Cease-Fire.

⦁ The Guardian writes, Sudan army calls on former soldiers to re-enlist as fighting persists through ceasefire.

⦁ Le Monde reports, Macron, sociologists and the middle class: A secret Elysée luncheon.

⦁ The Japan Times reports, Last-minute climate deal hiccups expose EU concerns over political costs.

⦁ Washington Post reports, Russians snitch on Russians who oppose war with Soviet-style denunciations.

⦁ South China Morning Post writes, Joe Biden says ‘hopeful’ on US debt deal within hours.

⦁ Khabarhub writes, We jumped into the war against corruption, don’t know when we will be ambushed : PM Dahal.

⦁ The Globe and Mail writes, Former Conservative leader informed he is being targeted by Chinese government.

⦁Prime Minister receives SENGOL from the Adheenams of Tamil Nadu, shares a video of the New Parliament Building to be inaugurated with hashtag MyParliamentMyPride.