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SpaceX paid $250,000 to settle sexual harassment claim against Elon Musk: Report

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UK: SpaceX paid an employee $250,000 in a bid settle a claim she was sexually harassed by Elon Musk in 2016, according to a report from Insider.

The closely held rocket launch company, of which Musk is founder and chief executive officer, made the payment in 2018 to an unidentified flight attendant who worked as a contract employee on a SpaceX corporate jet, the online news provider said, citing interviews and documents, including a declaration signed by a friend of the attendant and made in support of her claim. (Bloomberg)

Sri Lanka appoints nine new cabinet members

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Colombo: Sri Lanka appointed nine new cabinet members on Friday, among them ministers for the critical portfolios of health, trade and tourism, as the island nation battles its worst economic crisis in history.

“Nine cabinet ministers of the new all-party government took their oaths before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa,” a presidential news statement said.

Veteran politician Ranil Wickremesinghe took over as prime minister this month to form a new cabinet after the president’s elder brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, resigned from the job. (Reuters)

Russian invasion of Ukraine sparks global food crisis: UN

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UK: The United Nations has warned the Russian invasion of Ukraine has sparked a global food crisis that could risk tens of millions of people and last for years.

United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that he is in “intense contact” with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the United States and the European Union in an effort to restore Ukrainian grain export amid the worsening global food crisis.

“It threatens to tip tens of millions of people over the edge into food insecurity, followed by malnutrition, mass hunger and famine, in a crisis that could last for years,” Mr Guterres said.

Sri Lankan police arrets ruling party’s MPs

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Colombo: Sri Lankan police arrested two ruling party MPs on Wednesday for allegedly instigating mob violence that led the island nation into days of unrest and left nine people dead last week.

The members of parliament from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s party were questioned by criminal investigators on Tuesday evening and detained overnight, according to a police official.

Sanath Nishantha and Milan Jayathilake were among 22 politicians–including former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his son Namal–whose passports were seized last week following allegations that they instigated the violence.

On May 9, thousands of ruling party supporters who were bussed into the capital attacked a peaceful demonstration by anti-government protesters.

India appoints Naveen Srivastava as its new envoy to Nepal

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Kathmandu: Naveen Srivastava has been named India’s next ambassador to Nepal.

Srivastava’s appointment was announced by the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday, a day after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s daylong visit to Lumbini. Srivastava, an assistant secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs who oversees the East Asia desk, succeeds Vinay Kumar Kwatra, who finished his Nepal assignment in April after being appointed foreign secretary.

Srivastava is renowned as a strong China hand who was present at a conference of India-China military chiefs in May last year to diffuse the situation following border clashes in the Galwan region.

Srivastava is anticipated to start his new job in Kathmandu soon, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

Mexico officially registers more than 100,000 people as missing or dissapeared

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America: Mexico has officially registered more than 100,000 people as missing or disappeared, the data from the Interior Ministry’s National Registry of Missing People states.

From 1964 to date, the country has officially registered more than 100,023 people missing. Among the missing, more than 24,700 are women, more than 74,700 are men, and 516 people are of unknown gender.
According to the data, the number has increased by more than 20,000 people in the past two years alone, which was met with public outrage and demands for better systems for search and rescue.

Taliban dissolve Human Rights Commission in Afghanistan Kabul 

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Afghanistan: The Taliban have dissolved the Human Rights Commission amid growing concerns over the grave human rights situation in Afghanistan, media reports said. Rights activists condemned this decision saying that this institution abolished by the Taliban was not perfect but it mattered enormously to have a place to demand justice. 

“Let’s take moment to remember an Afghanistan which had a human rights commission. It was not perfect–these institutions never are–but it mattered enormously to have somewhere to go, to ask for help and to demand justice. Shocking to see a country go backwards in this way,” said Heather Barr, Associate women’s rights director and former senior Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW). 

“The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions had 120 member countries in April, but they will need to remove Afghanistan now,” she added. This meeting comes against the backdrop of a range of issues affecting Afghanistan. In the past few weeks, dozens of countries have expressed deep disappointment about escalating restrictions on the human rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. 

Last week, the G7 Foreign Ministers had deplored the Taliban’s recent decree enforcing hijab on Afghan women and new punishments for family members to enforce compliance with these restrictions. They had condemned the imposition of increasingly restrictive measures that severely limit half the population’s ability to fully, equally, and meaningfully participate in society. 

“We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union express our strongest opposition and deplore the increasing restrictions imposed on the rights and freedoms of women and girls in Afghanistan by the Taliban,” the G7 Foreign Ministers’ said on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. RSS

Sri Lanka down to last day of petrol, Prime Minister tells crisis-hit nation

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Colombo: Sri Lanka’s new prime minister said on Monday the crisis-hit nation was down to its last day of petrol, as the country’s power minister told citizens not to join the lengthy fuel queues that have galvanized weeks of anti-government protests.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, appointed prime minister on Thursday, said in an address to the nation the country urgently needed $75 million in foreign exchange to pay for essential imports.

“At the moment, we only have petrol stocks for a single day. The next couple of months will be the most difficult ones of our lives,” he said.

“We must prepare ourselves to make some sacrifices and face the challenges of this period.”

Two shipments of petrol and two shipments of diesel using an Indian credit line could provide relief in the next few days, he added — but the country is also facing a shortage of 14 essential medicines.

Sri Lanka currently faces a budget deficit of $6.8 billion (2.4 trillion Sri Lankan rupees), or 13% of their GDP.

The crisis led to widespread protests against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family, culminating in the resignation of his elder brother Mahinda as prime minister last week after fighting between government supporters and protesters killed nine people and wounded 300.

In response to the crisis, Wickremesignhe said the country will print more money and propose to privatize Sri Lanka’s flagship airline to keep the economy afloat — though he conceded that inflation may worsen in the short term.

In his address on Thursday, he vowed to “build a nation without queues for kerosene, gas, and fuel … a nation with plentiful resources.” Read more at CNN 

 

 

Indian couple sue only son for not giving them grandchildren

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New Delhi (CNN): A couple in India are suing their son and daughter-in-law — for not giving them grandchildren after six years of marriage. Sadhana and Sanjeev Prasad, who live in Haridwar, a city in northern Uttarakhand state, filed a petition this month seeking 50 million Indian rupees (about $643,000) in damages from their son, 35, and his wife, 31.

In the petition, viewed by CNN, the couple claim they spent about 20 million Indian rupees (about $257,000) raising their son, who is an only child. “They raised him, educated him, made him capable, made him a pilot — which was expensive,” said the couple’s legal representative, Arvind Srivastava, on Monday. 

“They see people in their neighborhood playing with their grandchildren and feel like they should also have one. “They said they didn’t marry (their son and daughter-in-law) off so that they can live alone … So they said that in the next year, either give us a grandchild or give us compensation.” Families are at war over a wedding tradition India banned decades ago.

Families are at war over a wedding tradition India banned decades ago Srivastava said that as the couple ages, “there is no-one to take care of them,” and that “all parents wish to be grandparents one day.” CNN has not been able to contact the couple’s son and daughter-in-law, and it’s not clear if they have secured legal representation. 

A procedural hearing for the case is scheduled for Tuesday. According to the petition, the Prasads also bought a car for their son and daughter-in-law, and paid for their honeymoon. The lawsuit primarily targets the son and daughter-in-law — but the petition also lists complaints against the daughter-in-law’s family. Though this kind of lawsuit is rare, the topic of familial obligation has long been controversial in India, where carrying on the family line and caring for elderly parents and in-laws is often seen as a filial duty. 

It’s also sometimes a legal duty: parents can claim a monthly allowance from their adult children under a federal law that seeks to protect parents and senior citizens who may not be able to take care of themselves. A number of related cases have made headlines in India in recent years, such as a family dispute over monthly allowances in 2020 that culminated in a Supreme Court judge telling the sons involved, “Don’t forget, you are everything because of (your father).” Source: CNN 

Modi’s Lumbini Visit: Nepal requests India to provide additional air routes

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Lumbini: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has urged India to provide additional air routes from Mahendranagar, Nepalgunj and Janakpur. 

In delegation-level talks held with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi here today, Prime Minister Deuba requested for additional air routes in order to facilitate connectivity and travel between the two countries in the context where Gautam Buddha International Airport has come into commercial operation in Bhairahawa. 

On the occasion, the Prime Minister also proposed long-term power trade between the two countries for mutual interest, as both sides expressed satisfaction over the progress in Arun-III hydropower project, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the meeting, both the Prime Ministers stressed on the importance of hydropower for clean energy, with abundant possibilities for collaboration in the hydro-electricity sector between the two countries. 

Prime Minister Deuba on the occasion called for investment proposals from companies interested in India to develop the West Seti Hydropower Project. Both the Prime Ministers also agreed to move ahead with priority the Pancheswar Project, says a press statement issued by the Ministry following the talks. 

During the meeting, both sides prioritized increasing cooperation in the expansion of connectivity and timely supply of fertilizer as well as reviewed the trade agreement. The two leaders also discussed the issue of hydropower production, the development of Buddhist and Ramayan circuit, educational support and collaborating at regional and multilateral forum on the issue of mutual interest. 

Likewise, issues including construction of dry port, establishing integrated check post at Chandani Dodhara, and construction of bridge linking Purnagirimai of Uttarakhanda of India and Parshudham of Dadeldhura were also discussed. On the occasion, Prime Minister Deuba extended gratitude towards PM Modi for India’s support in the post-Gorkha earthquake reconstruction and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
RSS

Indian PM in Buddha’s birthplace in Nepal: Here is what he said

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Lumbini: While addressing the Buddhya Jayanti celebration in Lumbini, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extolled the Buddha’s teachings, appreciated age-old Nepal-India relations and said that Lord Ram is incomplete without Nepal.

“Relationship between India and Nepal are as old and unshakeable as the Himalayas,” he said while mentioning that the construction of the Lumbini Museum in Nepal is an example of Indo-Nepal Cooperation. “We also decided to establish Dr Ambedkar Chair for Buddhist Studies in Lumbini Buddhist University,” the Indian PM announced.

Modi expressed the hope that youths of Nepal and India will spread the teachings of the Buddha across the world. “I’m confident of the role India and Nepal’s youth will play in taking the teachings of Buddha to the world,” he said.

The Indian PM said that Sarnath, Bodhgaya and Kushinagar in India and Lumbini in Nepal are the holy places and a symbol of common heritage and shared values between Nepal and India.

The Indian PM mentioned that Buddha is embodiment of the collective understanding of humanity. At the same time, he also said Lord Buddha is a symbol of unity. “The growing and strengthening friendship between India and Nepal will work for the benefit of entire humanity amid the kind of global situation that is emerging today,” he announced. “The devotion to Lord Buddha binds us together, makes us members of one family.”

Modi said that people of Nepal are happy with the fact that a grand temple of Lord Ram is being built in India. “Without Nepal, our Lord Ram is incomplete,” he said.

The energy of the place where Lord Buddha was born, gives a different feeling, he said. “I was happy to see that the Mahabodhi sapling I had gifted in 2014 for this place, is now growing into a tree.” Source: Nepal Live Today

Nepal, India sign six Memorandums of Understanding (with list)

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Kathmandu: Nepal and India have signed six Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) following a bilateral talk between the Prime Minister of both the countries.

Here is the list of MoUs signed:

  1. Memorandum of Understanding between Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Lumbini Buddhist University on the establishment of Dr Ambedkar Chair for Buddhist Studies
  2. Memorandum of Understanding between Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) and CNAS, Tribhuvan University on the establishment of ICCR Chair of Indian Studies
  3. Memorandum of Understanding between Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Kathmandu University (KU) on the establishment of the ICCR Chair of Indian Studies
  4. Memorandum of Understanding [in collaboration] between Kathmandu University (KU), Nepal and Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M), India
  5. Letter of Agreement (LoA) between Kathmandu University (KU), Nepal and Indian Institute of Technology (IITM), India [ For Joint degree program at Master’s level]
  6. Agreement between SJVN Ltd and Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) for the Development and implementation of Arun 4 Project Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba holds bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Earlier today, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered worship at the Mayadevi Temple here. The Buddhist monks chanted the hymns in praise of Buddha as the prime ministers of the two countries paid homage at the Temple. He arrived in Lumbini today morning on an official visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. Read more at Nepal Live Today

US, Europe race to improve food supply chains after India bans wheat exports

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PARIS — The United States and the European Union are looking at how to improve food supply chains with export restrictions from India and other nations accentuating global problems, the EU’s trade chief told CNBC.

G-7 foreign ministers warned over the weekend that the war in Ukraine is increasing the risk of a global hunger crisis. This is because Ukraine has been unable to export grains, fertilizers and vegetable oil, while the conflict is also destroying crop fields and preventing a normal planting season.

This has increased the reliance on nations from other parts of the world for these products. But some of these countries, concerned about supplies for their own citizens, have imposed restrictions on exports. This is the case in India, for example, which announced Saturday a ban on wheat sales “to manage the overall food security of the country.” Read more at cnbc. 

 

North Korea reports 8 deaths as Kim laments Covid response

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North Korea on Monday reported 8 new deaths and 392,920 more people with fever symptoms amid a growing Covid-19 outbreak as leader Kim Jong Un blasted officials over delays in medicine deliveries and ordered his military to get involved in the pandemic response in the country’s capital, Pyongyang.

The North’s emergency anti-virus headquarters said more than 1.2 million people fell ill amid a rapid spread of fever since late April and about 564,860 are currently under quarantine. The eight new deaths reported in the 24 hours through 6 p.m. Sunday brought its death toll to 50.

State media didn’t specify how many of the fever cases and deaths were confirmed as Covid-19 cases. Experts say North Korea likely lacks testing supplies and equipment to confirm coronavirus infections in large numbers and is mostly relying on isolating people with symptoms at shelters.

Experts say the failure to slow the virus could have dire consequences for North Korea, considering its poor health care system. Its population of 26 million people are believed to be mostly unvaccinated after their government had shunned millions of shots offered by the U.N.-backed COVAX distribution program, likely over concerns related to international monitoring requirements. Read full news at Hindustan Times. 

 

Indian PM is landing in Nepal: What will he do?

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Kathmandu: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is arriving in Lumbini Monday morning—his fifth visit to Nepal as the Prime Minister of India. He is scheduled to attend the special ceremony on the auspicious occasion of Buddha Jayanti.

According to the departure statement issued by the Office of the Indian PM, Modi will offer prayers at the Mayadevi Temple on the auspicious occasion of Buddha Jayanti. “I am honoured to follow in the footsteps of millions of Indians to pay reverence at the sacred site of Lord Buddha’s birth,” says the Indian PM in the statement.

He is also going to meet his Nepali counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba.

“Apart from visiting the holy Mayadevi Temple, I will be participating in “Shilanyas” ceremony of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage in the Lumbini Monastic Zone. I will also be attending celebrations to mark the occasion of Buddha Jayanti organised by the Government of Nepal,” according to PM Modi.

The Indian PM has upheld the bilateral relations between India and Nepal in his statement. “Our ties with Nepal are unparalleled. The civilisational and people-to-people contacts between India and Nepal form the enduring edifice of our close relationship. My visit is intended to celebrate and further deepen these time-honoured linkages that have been fostered through centuries and recorded in our long history of inter-mingling,” he has written.

While the visit by the Indian PM to Lumbini of Nepal, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, is highly significant in terms of boosting Nepal-India cultural and religious tourism apart from enhancing cultural and religious bonding between the two countries, the report that he is avoiding using Gautam Buddha International Airport has raised some concerns in Kathmandu.

We need to ask Indian PM Modiji, who is on a trip not to promote our Lumbini but Kushinagar of India, to land in Lumbini via wide-body jet not via helicopter, wrote Dr Devendra Raj Panday, civil society leader and former finance minister of Nepal on his May 4 tweet.

According to Indian media, Modi is deliberately not using Gautam Buddha International Airport, the successful operation of which is going to depend on when and whether the Indian authorities will grant air entry permits to Nepal.

“Modi will bypass a newly constructed China-made Gautam Buddha International Airport during his Nepal visit,” The Hindustan Times reported on Saturday.

Gautam Buddha airport, however, is not funded by China. It has been constructed with loan assistance from Asian Development Bank. Construction work was awarded to China’s Northwest Civil Aviation Airport Construction Group through competitive bidding.

Interestingly, while the Indian PM is set to inaugurate the Kushinagar International Airport, some 75 KMs away from Lumbini, before flying by helicopter to Lumbini to meet Deuba, Deuba is also scheduled to inaugurate Gautam Buddha airport before meeting his Indian counterpart.

Following the meeting with Nepal PM, a high-level diplomatic meeting between the two countries is also expected to take place in Lumbini. The Indian PM is scheduled to return home around the evening.

Source: Nepal Live Today

Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds dies in a car crash

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Former veteran Australian cricketer and two-time World Cup winner Andrew Symonds died in a car crash on Saturday night.

The 46-year-old was the sole passenger in the crash just outside of Townsville in his home state of Queensland.

“Early information indicates, shortly after 11pm the car was being driven on Hervey Range Road, near Alice River Bridge when it left the roadway and rolled,” the police statement confirmed.