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Modi-Putin discuss privileged strategic, economic ties

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Modi-Putin discuss privileged strategic, economic ties

Both leaders discuss bilateral and international issues during informal talks

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held informal talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi and discussed privileged strategic partnership with special focus on economic cooperation.

“Russia is India’s old-time friend. We share long-standing historical ties, and Mr. President is my personal friend and a friend of India,” Modi said at the meeting.

“For the past four years, you and I stood side by side in the bilateral format and on the international stage… I am very glad that it was so,” Modi told Putin.

The Russian president reciprocated with similar sentiments, stressing the important role the two countries play in maintaining global stability. “Last year, our trade saw a significant increase, adding another 17 percent since the beginning of this year,” Putin said. The major international issues were the focus of the talks between the two leaders, report said.

According to Russian official TASS news agency, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the economic cooperation was in focus during the two leaders meeting. “They discussed the entire spectrum of our privileged strategic partnership. Special attention was focused on economic cooperation. They noted stable growth in bilateral trade,” he said.

Russian top diplomat cited official statistics demonstrating a 20-percent growth in Russian-Indian trade in 2017 and a 40-percent growth in the first months of the current year.

Read More: Russia expect inking S-400 missile contract with India in 2018

The two leaders discussed possible steps to be taken to ensure the economic component of an upcoming summit to be held in India in early October. “In this context, they hailed the successful work of a joint group of priority projects and the activities of relevant government structures working out a new mechanism, as well as a strategy of actions on trade-and-economic and investment cooperation,” Lavrov said.

According to reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at least seven times in his opening remarks during his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to underline the strong ties between the two “strategic partners”. Vajpayee was the prime minister when Putin became Russian President for the first time in 2000.

Read More: India hosts Foreign Ministers of Russia, China for RIC dialogue

Modi quoted Vajpayee as saying during Putin’s visit to India in 2000, “Being a friend of Russia for a long time, we want to see Russia as a strong and confident country having an important role in the multi-polar world.”

Modi said the strategic partnership between India and Russia has now been elevated into a “special privileged strategic partnership” which is a “very big achievement”.

TASS reports that Putin and Modi have come out for non-bloc architecture of security in the Asia-Pacific Region. Lavrov said, “A great deal was said about the trends we observe in the Asia-Pacific Region. Both President Putin and Prime Minister Modi were adamant a new architecture of security and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region should be based on non-bloc principles, openness, and equitable and indivisible security. The trends that can be observed in the Eurasian continent were mentioned precisely in this fashion.”

In Lavrov’s opinion all these processes match well the current developments within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the relations developing between our countries and the ASEAN member-states.

“It is a major Eurasian project, as President Putin once described it. It is an imperative of the course of life. It does not shut the door to anyone and remains open to all countries, which in this fast geopolitical space can cooperate to mutual benefit,” he said.

Read More: India to be Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member: Putin

Lavrov went on to say that Russia and India had discussed other aspects of cooperation in international affairs, including that in the United Nations, the troika Russia-India-China, the BRICS group and the SCO.

“Preparations were discussed for the forthcoming SCO summit, due in China’s Qingdao in early June,” he said. Russia and India would pay special attention to the program for action in the struggle against extremism, separatism and terrorism. Lavrov said that Russia had reaffirmed its support for the Indian initiative, being discussed in the United Nations for a comprehensive convention on struggle against terrorism. “We fully support this initiative,” Lavrov said.

At the end of the one day visit, in a rare gesture, Russian President Vladimir Putin saw PM Modi off at the Sochi airport.

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World Earth Day 2024: Google Doodle showcases aerial view of planet’s natural beauty

Google celebrated Earth Day 2024 with a special doodle featuring an aerial view of our planet’s biodiversity.

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Google shared a doodle today to celebrate World Earth Day 2024, which showcased aerial photos of the planet’s biodiversity and natural beauty. Google reminded us of the importance of protecting planet earth for future generations with the help of this doodle.

The Google letters depict specific locations across the globe where people, communities, and governments work every day to help protect the planet’s natural beauty, biodiversity, and resources, according to the explanation of the annual Earth Day 2024 doodle on their website.

It said, these examples remind us that there’s much more to do to address the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, but also offer the promise of hope and optimism.

The islands of Turks and Caicos are represented by the letter “G.” The islands’ conservation efforts are concentrated on protecting important regions for biodiversity and addressing persistent environmental problems.

The largest reef in the southern Gulf of Mexico and a UNESCO biosphere reserve, Scorpion Reef National Park, is represented by the letter “O” in the Mexican flag.

The letter “O” features Iceland’s Vatnajokull National Park, which was designated as a national park in 2008 following decades of advocacy. The ecology within and surrounding the biggest glacier in Europe is safeguarded by this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The letter “G” has the Jau National Park in Brazil on it. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the biggest forest reserves in South America.

The Great Green Wall of Nigeria is represented by the letter “L,”  and the Pilbara Islands Nature Reserves of Australia are represented by the letter “E.”

Meanwhile, Earth Day is a worldwide event that promotes protection of the environment every year. April 22 serves as a reminder of the importance of conservation efforts and sustainable practices to guarantee a healthier world and a brighter future.

The occasion inspires people across the world to come together and take action to protect the environment, strengthening our bonds with nature and promoting good change.

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Bigg Boss 14 contestant Rahul Vaidya struggles walking in knee deep water, compares Dubai rains with Mumbai floods

Singer and TV personality Rahul Vaidya was recently stranded in the Dubai rains.

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Rahul Vaidya, who was in Dubai ahead of his show which was scheduled to take place today, left the country due to heavy rains and reached Kolkata. The artist shared on social media his encounters in the UAE city, including challenges like walking through knee-deep water. Rahul provided an update regarding the heavy rainfall in Dubai on his Instagram profile.

The Bigg Boss 14 contestant revealed that he was in Kolkata and prepared to do an evening performance. Recalling the terrifying period he went through, Vaidya said there was a lot of confusion and panic in Dubai. The situation was similar to that when heavy floods hit Mumbai in 2005.

Vaiday also posted seval other images and videos of cars that were underwater and flooded roadways. The Bigg Boss 14 contestant, who shared his ordeal, claimed that even though it had just rained for two hours, the situation was dire.

In one of the video, which went viral he can be seen struggling in walking in knee-deep water. He can be also seen holding his sneakers in one hand and with other hand he was seen managing other things.

This is the result of the two hours of rain that it had, he can be heard saying in the video. Vidya also said he dosen’t believe Dubai is accustomed to a lot of rain. Everything had stopped working, he remarked.

After taking part in the first season of the singing reality show Indian Idol, Rahul Vaidya gained widespread recognition. In addition to Bigg Boss, he took part in Khatron Ke Khiladi 11.

Meanwhile, heavy rains that triggered flooding in the UAE and Bahrain, which left 18 people dead in Oman on Sunday and Monday, have paralyzed the financial hub of the Middle East, Dubai.

A lot of incoming flights were diverted from Dubai’s international airport because of the rain. At 7:26 p.m., the busiest airport in the world for foreign visitors stopped accepting new arrivals; a gradual resumption was announced for more than two hours later.

Images of planes navigating flooded tarmacs are making the rounds on social media.

According to pictures shared on social media, the flagship malls Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates both experienced heavy floods, while at least one Dubai Metro station had water up to the ankles.

There were several road collapses, severe flooding in residential areas, and numerous reports of leaks from windows, doors, and roofs.

Due to the unfavourable weather, schools around the United Arab Emirates were forced to close, and as more storms are predicted, the closures are anticipated to last until Wednesday. The government of Dubai allowed its staff to work remotely till this Wednesday.

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Dubai sky turns green during storm in UAE, video goes viral

The UAE witnessed record-breaking rainfall on Tuesday and the National Centre of Meteorology recorded 254 mm of rainfall in less than 24 hrs in the Khatm Al Shakla area in Al Ain.

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1 person was killed in UAE as it witnessed heavy rainfall on Tuesday, stranding commuters, flooding roads, disrupting trains and flights and resulting in water leakage from mall ceilings. The UAE witnessed record-breaking rainfall on Tuesday and the National Centre of Meteorology recorded 254 mm of rainfall in less than 24 hrs in the Khatm Al Shakla area in Al Ain. It is being said that the rainfall was the highest documented since the start of data collection in 1949.

The heavy rainfall in UAE came days after a similar situation in neighbouring Oman, where 13 people were killed in flash floods. Many parts of Oman saw torrential rains, which caused students to be trapped in buses and swept away motorists and trapped people in their homes.

Videos from Dubai circulating on social media showed widespread waterlogging on roads in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other important cities. This left daily commuters in cars and other vehicles struggling to get back home. Dubai metro station too was seen flooded and closed.

One such video circulating on social media shows the aerial view of the city of Dubai from the top of a building. In the video the stormy winds are seen blowing over the city of Dubai. As the storm intensifies the Dubai sky turns green and ultimately gets covered by heavy rainfall. The video has gone viral on social media with more than 1.1 million views.

Another video showed water leakage from the ceilings of shopping malls, flooding the floors and destroying goods. A video which was shot in the famous Mall of the Emirates, showed pieces of ceiling falling as the rainwater gushed inside. Videos from many outlets of the Deira City Centre mall chain showed escalators being rendered unusable. Majid Al Futtaim, the company which owns the Mall of Emirates, said that the shopping complexes have been kept open and the customers are being sent away from the flooded areas. 

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