MLRIT Chairman Marri Laxman Reddy was felicitated by Australian Minister for Corrections, Youth Justice and Victim Support Enver Erdogan for his remarkable services to education as well as sports and games
Updated On – 11:04 PM, Tue – 12 September 23
Hyderabad: MLR Institute of Technology Chairman Marri Laxman Reddy was felicitated by Australian Minister for Corrections, Youth Justice and Victim Support Enver Erdogan for his remarkable services to education as well as sports and games.
MLRIT Secretary Marri Rajashekhar Reddy expressed his happiness as the MLRIT chairman received the honour and felicitation in Australia.
These five Iranian nationals that have been released by the US authorities in the prisoner swap are Mehrdad Moin Ansari, Kambiz Attar Kashani, Reza Sarhangpour Kafrani, Amin Hasanzadeh, Kaveh Lotfollah Afrasiabi.
Iran has said that it has done the prisoner swap to release its own prisoners illegally held in the United States. As per the prisoner swap, Washington had agreed to release five Iranian nationals held illegally in its prisoners.
According to the Iranian UN mission, some of the Iranian nationals will return home while others will stay in the United States.
President Joe Biden was wrapping up a visit to Vietnam on Monday, meeting with Vietnamese government officials and business leaders and spotlighting new deals and partnerships between the two countries
Published Date – 01:20 PM, Mon – 11 September 23
U.S. President Joe Biden participates in a State Luncheon with Vietnam President Vo Van Thuong in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023. (AP Photo)
Hanoi: President Joe Biden was wrapping up a visit to Vietnam on Monday, meeting with Vietnamese government officials and business leaders and spotlighting new deals and partnerships between the two countries.
He’ll also visit a Hanoi memorial honouring his late friend and colleague Sen. John McCain, who was held for more than five years as a prisoner during the Vietnam War.
Biden met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính, who also accompanied Biden to a quick drop by at a meeting of business leaders. Biden also sat down with President Võ Van Thuong, who hosted the US president for a formal state luncheon. Biden spoke about strengthening Vietnam’s semiconductor industry and his administration’s commitment to an open Pacific. | “My message today is quite simple. Let’s keep it up,” Biden told the CEOs. “We need to develop and drive our collaboration, We need to forge new partnerships.” The prime minister also stressed the need to improve cooperation and said “the sky is the limit” for the expanding US-Vietnam relationship.
“We truly wish to receive strong political commitment from the US government including you, Mr President, who has had great affection for Vietnam,” the prime minister said.
Highlights of the major deals announced by the White House during Biden’s first-ever visit to Vietnam include US-based Boeing’s USD 7.5 billion deal with Vietnam Airlines to buy about 50 aircraft and Arizona-based Amkor Technology’s plans for a USD 1.6 billion factory in Bac Ninh Province.
The White House also said the administration would help “build Vietnamese capacity to fight regional and international transnational crime,” including targeting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
China has been locked in long-running territorial conflicts with Vietnam, along with the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, as Beijing claims waters in the other nations’ exclusive economic zone.
Biden arrived in Vietnam on Sunday and met with Nguyen Phú Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Trong formally announced Vietnam had elevated the US to its highest diplomatic status, comprehensive strategic partner.
Biden said the shift demonstrated how far bilateral relations had evolved from the “bitter past” of the Vietnam War.
At the same time, Biden insisted that his roughly 24-hour visit was not about trying to start a “cold war” with China but was part of a broader effort to improve global stability by building relationships throughout Asia, including with Vietnam, at a time of tensions with Beijing.
Biden was ending the trip at the John Sidney McCain III Memorial near where, as a 31-year-old Navy lieutenant commander, his Skyhawk dive bomber was shot down by the North Vietnamese.
McCain parachuted out of the plane and landed in a lake in Hanoi, North Vietnam. He broke both arms and a leg in the fall, was dragged from the water by an angry crowd, and was beaten and bayoneted.
The harrowing 1967 incident began a more than five-year ordeal that became the defining moment for the future Republican senator from Arizona and two-time presidential candidate.
After six weeks in the hospital, McCain, who had lost about one-third of his weight, was transferred to a prison cell. After a brief time with cellmates, McCain, the son and grandson of four-star admirals, began two years in solitary confinement in a 10-by-10 foot (3-by-3 metre) room.
At one point, McCain’s captors asked if he wanted to go home, but it was a trick question.
The US military’s code of conduct required prisoners to be released in the order they were detained. The North Vietnamese wanted to make a show of releasing McCain early as his father assumed command over the Pacific. McCain refused.
For four days after he refused release, McCain was beaten every two to three hours by 10 guards. Filled with thoughts of suicide, McCain broke and agreed to sign an anti-US propaganda statement confessing to “black crimes.” He later wrote: “I had learned what we all learned over there: Every man has his breaking point. I had reached mine.” It was the last time McCain would break. He refused to sign any other statements or meet with visiting American anti-war activists. Eventually, McCain was removed from solitary confinement and mingled with other US prisoners of war. He was released on March 14, 1973.
McCain returned home, retired from the Navy in 1981, moved to Arizona and launched a political career. He was elected to the House in 1982 and to the Senate in 1986, where he and Biden were colleagues.
Despite his experience in Vietnam, McCain became was a strong advocate of restoring diplomatic relations with the country that had so badly mistreated him. He sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2000 and 2008, failing to capture it both times. He died of brain cancer in 2018. Biden delivered an emotional eulogy at McCain’s funeral in Arizona.
On the way back to Washington, Biden was stopping at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, to address service members, first responders and their families to mark the 22nd anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
The ministry said that an advisor to French nationals in Niger had been arrested by Niger security forces on September 8, according to Reuters.
“From day one, our embassy has worked to guarantee consular protection to our compatriot,” it said.
The official is a “conseiller des Français de l’étranger” (adviser to French citizens abroad), who is an elected official who represents French expatriates and works closely with the country’s embassies and consulates.
According to the foreign ministry website, there are 442 such advisers worldwide. Their role is to help French expats with issues relating to work, schools, social security and other issues. They are elected for six-year terms.
Niger’s ruling junta last month ordered police to expel France’s ambassador, in a move marking a further downturn in relations between France and its former colony. Paris has said that the army officers who seized power in Niamey in late July had no authority to expel the French ambassador.
Indian Air Force on Monday highlighted that the Exercise Bright Star-23 has moved to its last phase
Published Date – 02:00 PM, Mon – 11 September 23
ANI Photo
Cairo: The Indian Air Force on Monday highlighted that the Exercise Bright Star-23 has moved to its last phase. The last phase will involve assets of all participating forces and followed a build up to more complex joint missions.
Taking to their social media ‘X’, the Indian Air Force stated, “Exercise #BrightStar 23 moves on to its culmination phase. The last phase follows a build up to more complex joint missions and will involve assets of all participating forces. @indembcairo #DiplomatsInFlightSuits.”
The Indian Navy Ship (INS) Sumedha arrived at Port Alexandria, Egypt on September 6 to participate in ‘Exercise Bright Star- 23’. This edition of the multinational Tri-Services military exercise will see participation from 34 countries.
This multinational Tri-Services military exercise marks a historic occasion, with 34 countries participating, making it the largest joint military exercise ever held in the Middle East and North Africa region.
This is the maiden participation of the Indian Navy in Ex Bright Star, which will also saw the participation of Naval ships from other Friendly Foreign Navies.
The exercises will span over two weeks with intense operations and training, aimed at reaffirming the ability of the participating navies to operate together as an integrated force and to highlight their shared commitment to maritime security and global stability through collaborative training and mutual understanding.
According to the Indian Navy, Ex Bright Star 23 is scheduled to be conducted in two phases. The Harbour Phase involves wide-ranging activities such as cross-deck visits, professional exchanges, sports fixtures and interactions for planning and conduct of the Sea Phase.
The Sea Phase will include complex and high-intensity exercises encompassing cross-deck flying, anti-surface and anti-air exercises including live weapon firing drills. The exercise provides an opportunity for the Indian Navy to enhance and demonstrate interoperability and also gain from the best practices in maritime security operations from its partner nations.
The meeting was held with the participation of all three defendants in the case, their defense lawyers and a number of people who have sued the defendants on Tuesday in Shiraz city’s Revolutionary court-branch 1.
In response to the question of judge, the prime suspect, Rahmatollah Nowruzof said that the ringleader, who he was in contact with through messenger on the virtual space, supplied money to them on several occasions and used to pay the costs, including the house rent, directly.
The prime suspect continued that he was supposed to continue the attack until he was dead, adding that no one expected him to be arrested.
On August 13, Rahmatollah Nowruzof went on a shooting spree at the Shah Cheragh holy shrine, killing two people and injuring several others.
The ISIL terrorist group claimed responsibility for the deadly assault.
The Shah Cheragh shrine in Shiraz was the scene of a similar attack by armed terrorists last year. On October 26, 2022, an armed terrorist barged into the shrine, killing 15 pilgrims, including women and children, and injuring dozens more before he was shot and injured by security forces.
The plane, reported by Anchorage residents as a Piper PA-18 Super Cub, entered closed airspace over the Anchorage Bowl about 11:50 a.m., said US Air Force and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson spokesman Staff Sgt. Michael Pfeiffer. The jet escorted it to a nearby airport, the statement said.
The airport wasn’t named, and many details about the incident remained unclear late Monday. Military officials and others didn’t immediately respond to additional questions about what happened.
“During this event, the fighter aircraft dispensed flares — that may have been visible to the public — to gain attention from the pilot,” Pfeiffer wrote in a statement. “Flares were employed with the highest regard for safety of the intercepted aircraft and people on the ground.”
One or more fighter jets were seen and heard by people all over the city while Biden arrived at JBER and spoke on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The president stopped in Alaska while returning from a trip to Asia.
Your dedication is truly out of this world, Frank! NASA chief Bill Nelson said via X, formerly known as Twitter
Published Date – 09:06 PM, Tue – 12 September 23
San Francisco: NASA astronaut Frank Rubio now holds the record for the longest US spaceflight.
Rubio surpassed the US space endurance record of 355 days on Monday at the International Space Station. He arrived at the outpost last September with two Russians for a routine six months. But their stay was doubled after their Soyuz capsule developed a coolant leak while parked at the space station.
The trio will return to Earth on Sept. 27 in a replacement capsule that was sent up empty for the ride home. By then, Rubio will have spent 371 days in space, more than two weeks longer than Mark Vande Hei, the previous US record holder for a single spaceflight, Russia holds the world record of 437 days, set in the mid-1990s.
“Your dedication is truly out of this world, Frank!” NASA chief Bill Nelson said via X, formerly known as Twitter.
A replacement crew of two Russians and an American is set to launch to the station from Kazakhstan on Friday.
President Ebrahim Raeisi has voiced Iran’s readiness to send relief aid and provide medical assistance and supplies to Libya over the deadly flood in the North African country.
“The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran expresses its readiness to send relief aid and dispatch medical assistance and supplies to [flood-] stricken areas,” Raeisi wrote in a message addressed to Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah on Tuesday, while offering condolences to the Libyan nation.
The storm and devastating flooding in vast parts of the country, which left a number of people dead, injured or missing, has been deeply touching and saddening, Raeisi said.
On behalf of the people and government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, he also sympathized with the bereaved families.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also sympathized with the Libyan government and the nation over the deadly storm and flooding.
Amir-Abdollahian expressed compassion over the death and injury of thousands of people in Libya following the storm and flooding. Iran’s top diplomat wrote on X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, that he too personally offered his condolences.
Meanwhile, the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society (IRCS) also wrote a message to Omar Agouda, the president of Libyan Red Crescent Society, offering to help the flood-hit country.
“In this difficult situation, on behalf of the IRCS and myself, I would like to express my condolences to you and your colleagues in the Libyan Red Crescent and announce our readiness to send humanitarian relief aid, relief items as well as dispatch medical and relief teams to assist the flood-affected people and [help with] the humanitarian operation in Libya,” Pir-Hossein Kolivand said.
Authorities in eastern Libya say as many as 2,300 people have been killed and thousands more gone missing after a raging flood ripped through the city of Derna following a heavy storm and rain and the collapse of two dams.
The head of Libya’s Emergency and Ambulance authority, Osama Aly, explained that after the two dams burst “all of the water headed to an area near Derna, which is a mountainous coastal area.”
According to Aly, residences situated in valleys were swept away by forceful muddy currents that carried vehicles and debris.
Ahmed Mismari, the spokesperson for the Libyan National Army (LNA) that controls eastern Libya, claimed that 5,000 to 6,000 had gone missing.
Meanwhile, countries worldwide are sending humanitarian aid to Libya, where rescue teams are working diligently to locate survivors amidst the debris and rubble.
“The United Nations in Libya is closely following the emergency caused by severe weather conditions in the eastern region of the country,” stated the United Nations Support Mission in Libya in a post on X.
The rain experienced over the weekend is attributed to the residual effects of a strong low-pressure system, officially named Storm Daniel by the national meteorological services in southeastern Europe.
This storm caused severe flooding in Greece before moving into a tropical cyclone, causing dangerous conditions in the Mediterranean Sea and coastal regions.
The remnants of this storm are currently impacting northern Libya and are expected to move eastward towards northern Egypt gradually.
The anticipated rainfall for the next two days could exceed 50 mm, a significant increase from the average of less than 10 mm recorded in this region throughout September.
In a note written on “The fight against colonialism and the end of the domination of the West” Alexey Dedov addressed the domination of the West over the countries of the world, as well as the role of Iran and Russia in the fight against colonialism and exploitation.
Referring to the decreasing trend of trust in the West by the people of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, he wrote that today, unique circumstances have emerged that make international investment possible.
The power of the West is being destroyed due to continued interference in the internal affairs of other countries, military interventions, imposing sanctions and other illegitimate measures to gain unilateral advantages, he further wrote.
Pointing to BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he added that in Asian, African, and Latin American countries, there is a growing trust in their own opportunities for successful development.
Stating that Russia and Iran share the same position in the fight against colonialism, he added that, “With our joint efforts, it is possible to remove the elements of the global domination of the US and the influence of unfriendly countries in the international arena.”
