Indian Sub-continent

New Delhi, Apr 25 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday agreed to launch an EU-India trade and technology council to address the challenges of ensuring trusted technology and security in the wake of rapid geopolitical changes.

The decision was taken during talks between Modi and von der Leyen.

25 April 2022; MEMO: Libya's Fathi Bashagha, who was appointed prime minister by the eastern-based parliament last month, has called on the residents of the Oil Crescent region to resume oil exports.

Bashagha yesterday met with representatives of the Oil Crescent Region, which extends from Tobruk in the east to the Gulf of Sidra west, and includes the largest oil fields as well as ports.

Mumbai, Apr 25 (PTI) The rupee declined 23 paise to 76.65 against the US dollar in the opening trade on Monday tracking the strength of the dollar in the overseas market.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened on a muted note at 76.58 against the American dollar, then fell and touched an early low of 76.65 in initial deals, registering a fall of 23 paise over its previous close.

New Delhi, Apr 25 (PTI) The Punjab government will replicate Delhi's education model in the state where students from all economic backgrounds will get quality education, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said on Monday.

Mann, who is on a two-day visit to Delhi along with his senior officers, toured health institutes and schools in the national capital to understand the "Delhi model" and replicate it in the state.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia accompanied Mann to a Delhi government school in Chirag Enclave.

Pune, Apr 25 (PTI) Former Union home secretary Madhav Godbole died due to cardiac failure at his residence in Maharashtra's Pune city on Monday, family sources said.

He was 85.

Before taking voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Service in March 1993, Godbole served as the Union home secretary.

He had also worked as the secretary of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Urban Development Departments at the Centre, and principal finance secretary of the Maharashtra government.

Kokrajhar (Assam), Apr 25 (PTI) Independent MLA from Gujarat Jignesh Mevani was granted bail on Monday by a Kokrajhar Court in a case related to a tweet by him against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kokrajhar First Class Judicial Magistrate Bhavna Kakoty granted him bail with several conditions, details of which are awaited.

Mevani was taken back to the Kokrajhar Jail after the hearing, and his lawyers said they are working on the formalities related to the bail bond.

ISLAMABAD, Apr 25 (APP): Pakistan Sunday rejected Indian Prime Minister’s staged visit to Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on 24 April 2022 as yet another ploy to project fake ‘normalcy’ in the occupied territory.

In a statement, the Foreign Office Spokesperson said since 5 August 2019, the international community had witnessed many such desperate attempts by India to divert attention from the actual underlying issues in IIOJK including Indian state-sponsored terrorism as well as widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

NEW DELHI, Apr 24 (NNN-PTI) – India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 43,057,545 today, after 2,593 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry’s latest data.

This is the fifth consecutive day when the number of daily new cases has surpassed the 2,000-mark, after lower tallies were reported in recent weeks.

Besides, 44 deaths due to the pandemic recorded since yesterday morning, took the death toll to 522,193.

COLOMBO, Apr 24 (NNN-XINHUA) – Sri Lanka will appoint advisers to help with its debt restructuring in the next 20 days, Finance Minister, Ali Sabry said.

The minister told local media yesterday from Washington, via video link that, restructuring the country’s unsustainable external debt is a major condition, to obtain financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Sabry said, the discussions he started with IMF officials in Washington would end today, and that there are a lot more discussions to be held ahead.

KABUL, Apr 24 (NNN-ANA) – Acting Deputy Prime Minister of the Afghan caretaker government, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, chaired a meeting yesterday, to review issues related to the private sector, amid continued increase in poverty and unemployment, Baradar’s office said today.

The Economic Commission, headed by Baradar, “after a detailed discussion on all issues in which the private sector is ready to invest, prioritised power generation,” it wrote on the social media platform Twitter.