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MEA says Jaishankar's Malaysia visit gave opportunities to develop ESP

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's visit to Malaysia and his meetings with the country's top leadership presented an opportunity to reiterate commitment to further develop the bilateral Enhanced Strategic Partnership, an official statement said on Thursday. Jaishankar was in Kuala Lumpur from March 27 to 28 as part of the last leg of his three-nation tour to Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia. He called on Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Bin Ibrahim and thanked him for his support in deepening bilateral ties under the India-Malaysia Enhanced Strategic Partnership, India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. Jaishankar's visit to Malaysia provided an opportunity to reiterate commitment to further develop the Enhanced Strategic Partnership, it said. Anwar gave his commitment to facilitate the establishment of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) branch campus in Malaysia, the official Bernama news agency reported. The Prime Minister also expressed appreciation to his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, for assisting Malaysia when the country was hit by a rice shortage and hoped for further facilitation on importing agricultural produce from India. "May the Malaysian-Indian relationship continue to grow and blossom for the benefit of the people of both friendly countries," Anwar said. Jaishankar also held a bilateral meeting with his Malaysian counterpart Mohamad Bin Haji Hasan and held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral cooperation, including political, trade and economic, defence, digital, cultural and education. The two foreign ministers also exchanged views on regional and global interest issues, according to the MEA. Jaishankar also met the Minister of Digital Gobind Singh Deo. During his visit, Jaishankar held a round-table meeting with the CEOs and leaders of the industry. He also interacted with members of the Indian diaspora in Malaysia and praised their contribution towards India-Malaysia ties. Malaysia is a key partner for India in ASEAN and its Act East Policy, the MEA said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

28 March,2024 10:51 AM IST | Kuala Lumpur | PTI
Representational Image. Pic Courtesy/iStock

Earthquake of magnitude 4.2 hits Afghanistan

An earthquake of magnitude 4.2 jolted Afghanistan on Thursday, as per National Centre for Seismology data. According to the NCS, the tremors were felt at around 5:44 am on Thursday. The epicentre of the quake was found to be at latitude 36.36 and longitude 71.18 at a depth of 124 km, as per the NCS data. "Earthquake of Magnitude:4.2, Occurred on 28-03-2024, 05:44:02 IST, Lat: 36.36 & Long: 71.18, Depth: 124 Km ,Location: Afghanistan," the NCS posted on social media X. Earlier this month, an earthquake of magnitude 4.5 on the Richter scale struck Afghanistan, the National Centre for Seismology said. The earthquake took place at 19:59:23 IST at a depth of 169 km. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

28 March,2024 08:08 AM IST | Kabul (Afghanistan) | ANI
Donald Trump. Pic/AFP

Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in New York hush-money case

Donald Trump lashed out on Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order ahead of his April 15 hush-money criminal trial, suggesting without evidence that the veteran jurist was kowtowing to his daughter's interests as a Democratic political consultant. The former president objected in particular to what he said was her specious social media photo showing him behind bars. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, posted on social media that the gag order issued on Tuesday was "illegal, un-American, unConstitutional". He said Judge Juan M. Merchan was "wrongfully attempting to deprive me of my First Amendment Right to speak out against the Weaponisation of Law Enforcement" by Democratic rivals and urged him to step aside from the case. The gag order, which was requested by the prosecution, bars Trump from either making or directing other people to make public statements on his behalf about jurors and potential witnesses in the hush-money trial, such as his lawyer turned nemesis Michael Cohen and porn star Stormy Daniels. It also prohibits any statements meant to interfere with or harass the court's staff, prosecution team or their families. It does not bar comments about Merchan or his family, nor does it prohibit criticism of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the elected Democrat whose office is prosecuting Trump. Merchan's daughter, whose firm has worked on campaigns for President Joe Biden and other Democrats, "makes money by working to Get Trump'" and recently posted a fake photo on social media depicting her "obvious goal" of seeing him behind bars, Trump said. He argued those circumstances make it "completely impossible for me to get a fair trial". Trump did not link to the purported photo, but an account appearing to belong to Loren Merchan on X, formerly known as Twitter, showed a photo illustration of an imprisoned Trump as its profile picture Wednesday morning. It was later changed. Loren Merchan's consulting firm had linked to that same account in a previous social media post. "So, let me get this straight," Trump wrote on Truth Social, "the Judge's daughter is allowed to post pictures of her dream' of putting me in jail ... but I am not allowed to talk about the attacks against me, and the Lunatics trying to destroy my life and prevent me from winning the 2024 Presidential Election, which I am dominating?" "Maybe the Judge is such a hater because his daughter makes money by working to Get Trump' and when he rules against me over and over again, he is making her company, and her, richer and richer," Trump continued. "How can this be allowed?" Messages seeking comment were left with Merchan, his daughter, and a spokesperson for New York's state court system. Bragg's office declined to comment. Trump's three-part Truth Social post was his first reaction to the gag order. His focus on Merchan's daughter and her ties to Democratic politics echoed his lawyers' arguments last year when they urged the judge to exit the case. The judge had also made several small donations totalling USD 35 to Democratic causes during the 2020 campaign, including USD 15 to Biden. Merchan said then that a state court ethics panel found that Loren Merchan's work had no bearing on his impartiality. The judge said in a ruling last September that he was certain of his "ability to be fair and impartial" and that Trump's lawyers had "failed to demonstrate that there exists concrete, or even realistic reasons for recusal to be appropriate, much less required on these grounds." "The Judge has to recuse himself immediately, and right the wrong committed by not doing so last year," Trump wrote Wednesday. "If the Biased and Conflicted Judge is allowed to stay on this Sham Case,' it will be another sad example of our Country becoming a Banana Republic, not the America we used to know and love." In a recent interview, Merchan told The Associated Press, that he and his staff were working diligently to prepare for the historic first trial of a former president. "There's no agenda here," Merchan said. "We want to follow the law. We want justice to be done." Trump's hush-money case, set to be the first of his four criminal cases to go to trial, centres on allegations that he falsely logged payments to Cohen as legal fees in his company's books when they were for Cohen's work during the 2016 campaign covering up negative stories about Trump. That included USD 130,000 Cohen paid Daniels on Trump's behalf so she wouldn't publicise her claim of a sexual encounter with him years earlier. Trump pleaded not guilty last April to 34 counts of falsifying business records, a felony punishable by up to four years in prison, though there is no guarantee that a conviction would result in jail time. He denies having sex with Daniels and his lawyers have said that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses, not part of any coverup. In issuing the gag order, Merchan cited Trump's history of "threatening, inflammatory, denigrating" remarks about people involved in his legal cases. A violation could result in Trump being held in contempt of court, fined or even jailed. Though not covered by the restrictions, Merchan referenced Trump's various comments about him as an example of his rhetoric. The gag order mirrors one imposed and largely upheld by a federal appeals court panel in Trump's Washington, D.C., election interference criminal case. Trump's lawyers fought a gag order, warning it would amount to unconstitutional and unlawful prior restraint on his free speech rights. Merchan had long resisted imposing one, recognizing Trump's "special" status as a former president and current candidate and not wanting to trample his ability to defend himself publicly. But, he said, as the trial nears, he found that his obligation to ensuring the integrity of the case outweighs First Amendment concerns. He said Trump's statements have induced fear and necessitated added security measures to protect his targets and investigate threats. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

28 March,2024 08:05 AM IST | New York | AP
Representational Image. Pic Courtesy/iStock

Four killed, seven wounded in northern Illinois stabbings, a suspect in custody

Four people were killed and seven hurt in stabbings in northern Illinois on Wednesday, authorities said. A 22-year-old man is in police custody and was being questioned Wednesday afternoon, according to Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd. She said one of the people who was wounded remained in critical condition. "My heart goes out to the families right now that are suffering a loss," Redd told reporters. She said the Rockford Police received a medical call at 1.14 pm, followed by additional calls for police and paramedics. "We don't believe there's any other suspects that are on the run or at large at this particular time," Redd said. "Right now, we don't have a clear motive as to what caused this individual to commit such a heinous crime." Not all of the victims found at multiple addresses in the city had stab wounds and none were shot, according to Redd. Rockford Police initially said five people had been injured. Cori Hilliard, a public information officer with the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office, told AP Wednesday evening that two more victims were among those hurt. Three people died at the scenes. The fourth died at a hospital. Police later identified those victims as a 15-year-old girl, a 63-year-old woman, a 49-year-old man and a 22-year-old man. Their names were not released. Redd said residents in the area were being asked to review their home surveillance camera footage for anything related to the attacks. Rockford's population is about 150,000 and it's 144.84 kilometres northwest of Chicago. The violence Wednesday came days after a teenage employee of a Walmart in Rockford was stabbed and killed inside the store. "Today, we are shocked by another horrific act of violence against innocent members of our community," Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara said. Now that the suspect is in custody, he continued, "Our primary concern is ensuring that our community members directly impacted by this violence are supported throughout their healing and recovery." The mayor wrote on the city's Facebook page that "multiple jurisdictions" are "working on multiple crime scenes to develop an understanding of what transpired in an effort to prevent this from happening again". The suspect was arrested by a Winnebago County sheriff's deputy after they were called to a reported home invasion, Sheriff Gary Caruana said. "The young lady ran from him," Caruana said of one of the survivors. "She got some stab wounds in her hands and her face. She is in serious condition. One of the good Samaritans stopped to help her out. He did get some stab wounds. He is being checked out." Resident Eric Patterson said he was struggling to make sense of the violence on his street. "You can't rationalise this," Patterson told the Rockford Register Star. "It's almost like playing a video game, but it's reality. It makes no sense. It's like Grand Theft Auto. 'I'm going to run over the mailman here. I'm going to stab a couple people there. I am going to go in this house over here.'" Another resident, Vanessa Hy, told WREX-TV in Rockford that the experience of witnessing the arrest was unreal, "like a movie". "All of the sudden, we heard police run up on both sides of the house screaming 'Stop! Get down!'" Hy told the station. "Then they ran into the backyard and after a few minutes we saw them bringing the suspect down the driveway in handcuffs and he was very bloody." Cassandra Hernandez, another neighbour, told the Rockford paper that she is friends with one of the victims. "You never expect this here," Hernandez said. "We have such great neighbours." This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

28 March,2024 08:00 AM IST | Rockford (Illinois) | AP
A French-made CAESAR self-propelled howitzer being fired during military drills. File pic/AFP

France to send 78 howitzers to aid Ukraine

France will soon be able to deliver 78 Caesar howitzers to Ukraine and will boost its supply of shells to meet Kyiv’s urgent needs for ammunition to fight Russia’s full-scale invasion, the defense minister said. Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said at a news conference that an agreement was reached among France, Ukraine and Denmark to finance the Caesar self-propelled 155 mm howitzers, which will enable France to “quickly deliver” them. France has also set a goal to deliver 80,000 shells for 155 mm guns to Ukraine this year — up from 30,000 delivered since the beginning of the war on Feb. 24, 2022, he said. In addition, Lecornu said, France is participating in an effort to identify available stocks of gunpowder and ammunition that could be bought from countries outside the European Union, a plan initiated by the Czech Republic to further support Kyiv. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

28 March,2024 07:48 AM IST | Paris | Agencies
A satellite image of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was struck by container ship Dali early Tuesday. Pic/AP

Companies scrambling to reroute cargo

The stunning collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge is diverting shipping and trucking around one of the busiest ports on America’s East Coast, creating delays and raising costs in the latest disruption to global supply chains.  After the container ship Dali hit the bridge and brought it down early Tuesday, ship traffic entering and leaving the Port of Baltimore was suspended indefinitely. That will require rerouting vessels or their cargo to other ports, potentially causing congestion and delays for importers, said Judah Levine, head of research for the global freight booking platform Freightos. “People right now are figuring out where are they going and what are their options,’’ Ami Daniel, CEO of the maritime intelligence company Windward in Tel Aviv, Israel, said. The Dali was the only container vessel in the port at the time of the collision, but seven others were scheduled to arrive in Baltimore through Saturday, Levine said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

28 March,2024 07:45 AM IST | Baltimore | Agencies
The vehicle carrying the Chinese nationals plunged into a deep ravine after the attack. Pic/AP

Pakistan to test DNA of suicide bomber who killed Chinese

Pakistani authorities will perform DNA testing on the remains of the suicide bomber who rammed his explosive-laden car into a vehicle in the country’s northwest, killing five Chinese nationals and their local driver, officials said Wednesday. The attack occurred in Shangla, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where thousands of Chinese nationals work on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which includes a multitude of megaprojects such as road construction, power plants and agriculture. The CPEC is a lifeline for Pakistan’s cash-strapped government, currently facing one of its worst economic crises. The five were engineers and laborers heading Tuesday to the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in Pakistan, where they worked. Their remains were transported to the capital, Islamabad, local police official Altaf Khan said, adding that the deceased had a police escort when the attack happened. Pakistani officials said they shared the latest investigation developments with their Chinese counterparts.  China is expected to send its own experts Wednesday to the attack site to conduct an independent investigation while collaborating with Pakistani authorities. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

28 March,2024 07:43 AM IST | Peshawar | Agencies
Palestinians check the rubble of destroyed buildings. Pic/AP

Jihadist confirms terror groups using Shifa hosp

Israeli soldiers continued operations against Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists holed up in Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital and in Khan Yunis, the Israel Defence Forces said on Wednesday morning. Israel returned to the hospital, Gaza’s largest, after receiving intelligence that senior Hamas figures were inside the compound planning attacks. On Tuesday, the IDF released footage of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative confirming to his interrogator how Hamas and PIJ used hospitals to plan and launch attacks. “Shifa, or schools and places like that, are our shelter,” Nabeel Rajab Abed Shteiwi, who said he has been involved in PIJ’s missile production since 2012. Shteiwi said he had been living in Shifa for three months. When asked about the location of the terror group’s headquarters in Shifa, Shteiwi said that PIJ “does not have specific headquarters. They are in all the buildings, scattered everywhere”. In the last 24 hours, soldiers eliminated terrorists and located terror infrastructure and weapons inside the hospital compound. Since entering the compound Israel has killed over 180 terrorists. 500No. of Hamas members held from Shifa Israel, Hamas dig in as pressure builds Netanyahu has said Israel can only dismantle Hamas and returning scores of hostages if it expands its ground offensive to Rafah, where over half of Gaza’s population has sought refuge. Meanwhile, Hamas says it will hold onto the hostages until Israel agrees to a more permanent ceasefire, withdraws from Gaza and releases Palestinian prisoners, including top militants. It said that it rejected a recent proposal that fell short of those demands, which would allow it to claim victory. 8 killed along Lebanon border An Israeli airstrike on a paramedics center linked to a Lebanese Sunni Muslim group in south Lebanon killed seven of its members early Wednesday and triggered a rocket attack from Lebanon that killed one person in northern Israel, officials said. The strike on the village of Hebbariye came after a day of airstrikes and rocket attacks between Israel’s military and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group along the Lebanon-Israel border, raising concerns of further escalation along the frontier that has been active for the past five months. Hezbollah fires more rockets Around 30 rockets were launched from Lebanon toward northern Israel on Wednesday morning, according to the Israeli military. Hezbollah took responsibility for the launches and said they were in response to an Israeli airstrike on a paramedic centre linked to a Lebanese Sunni Muslim group in south Lebanon that killed seven of its members overnight. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

28 March,2024 07:38 AM IST | Tel Aviv | Agencies
The pair of Tuo Chiang class corvettes. Pic/AP

2 Taipei ships launched amid Chinese threat

Taiwan has commissioned two new navy ships as a safeguard against the rising threat from China, which has been ratcheting up its naval and air force missions around the island that it claims as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary. The pair of Tuo Chiang class corvettes completes the first order of six of the domestically produced catamarans with stealth capabilities. The ships are relatively small, capable of carrying just 41 sailors and officers, but are fast and highly maneuverable and carry a range of missiles and deck guns aimed at countering larger Chinese vessels and rocketry. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

28 March,2024 05:54 AM IST | Taipei | Agencies
PM Modi during his recent Bhutan visit. Pic/X

India releases second tranche of Rs 500 crore to Bhutan

India has released the second tranche of Rs 500 crore to Bhutan for the development of infrastructure related to the GyalSung Project. This comes less than a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 23 concluded a fruitful two-day state visit to Bhutan during which he assured Thimphu of New Delhi's firm support in its quest for development and agreed to provide Rs 10,000 crore to the Himalayan nation over the next five years. The second tranche was handed over by India's Ambassador to Bhutan Sudhakar Dalela to Bhutan's Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Lyonpo D N Dhungyel. The first tranche of Rs 500 crore was released on January 28 earlier this year. "India is privileged to partner with Bhutan on a landmark initiative of His Majesty the King of Bhutan, which puts the youth and skilling at the heart of nation-building endeavours," a statement from the Indian Embassy here said on Tuesday. With this, the Government of India has released a total of Rs 1,000 crore to the Government of Bhutan under the Memorandum of Understanding on the concessionary financing arrangements for the GyalSung Infrastructure Project, the statement said. The MoU, signed in January 2024, provides a framework for the disbursal of Rs 1,500 crore as concessionary financing to the Government of Bhutan for infrastructure development related to the GyalSung academies. "This financing arrangement is in addition to the Government of India's Plan Assistance to the Government of Bhutan," it added.  This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.

27 March,2024 05:11 PM IST | Thimpu | PTI
Joe Biden

Biden lauds Indian crew members, says personnel 'undoubtedly saved lives'

US President Joe Biden lauded the prompt action by personnel on board the cargo ship 'Dali', which struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore causing the bridge to plunge into the river below sending several people and vehicles into the water. Shipping company Synergy Maritime Group which managed the Singapore-flagged freight ship in a statement on Tuesday said the entire 22-member crew of the vessel are Indians. Personnel on board the ship were able to alert the Maryland Department of Transportation that they had lost control of their vessel prompting the local authorities to close the bridge to traffic before the catastrophic impact, a move which "undoubtedly" saved lives, President Biden on Wednesday said during his comments at the White House regarding the Baltimore bridge collapse. Biden said, "Everything so far indicates that this was a terrible accident. At this time, we have no other indication - no other reason to believe there was any intentional act here." Six people who were missing after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed have been presumed dead, said The Maryland state police. "Officials at the scene estimate eight people were unaccounted for still -- not still, were unaccounted for. That number might change. Two have been rescued -- one without injury, one in critical condition. And the search-and-rescue operation is continuing for all those remaining as we speak," the US President said. Biden also noted that the Port of Baltimore is one of the nation's largest shipping hubs. "It handled a record amount of cargo last year. It's also the top port in America for both imports and exports of automobiles and light trucks. Around 850,000 vehicles go through that port every single year, and we're going to get it up and running again as soon as possible." Two Guatemalan construction workers are among the missing individuals following the bridge collapse in Baltimore, CNN reported, citing, a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued late Tuesday. The missing workers have been identified as a 26-year-old from San Luis, Peten, and a 35-year-old from Camotan, Chiquimula, the statement confirmed. Both individuals were reportedly part of a team tasked with repairing the asphalt on the bridge at the time of the accident. Although the statement did not disclose the names of the missing workers, it mentioned that the consul general of Guatemala in Maryland has reached out to the families of those affected, aiming to provide support to the brothers of the missing individuals. Furthermore, the consulate has affirmed its ongoing communication with local authorities in Maryland, reiterating that two of the missing individuals were of Guatemalan descent, CNN reported.  This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

27 March,2024 10:34 AM IST | Washington DC | ANI
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