PM Modi Returns To India After Landmark Visits To US Egypt

Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to India Sunday night after his six-day visit to the US and Egypt during which several landmark agreements were signed.

PM Modi was received at the Delhi airport by Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi and BJP chief J P Nadda. BJP leaders and party MPs from Delhi such as Harsh Vardhan, Hans Raj Hans and Gautam Gambhir were also present.

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns to Delhi after concluding his state visits to US and Egypt, received by BJP chief JP Nadda and other party leaders pic.twitter.com/H0FsEyzRqz

— ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2023

The prime minister had embarked on his visit to the US on June 20 and in New York, he led a historic event at the UN Headquarters to commemorate the 9th International Day of Yoga on June 21.

Later, in Washington DC, he was given a red-carpet welcome at the White House by President Biden. The two leaders held a historic summit on Thursday, followed by PM Modi's address to Congress and a State Dinner hosted at the White House by the Bidens in his honour.

The visit was marked by several major deals to boost cooperation in key areas such as defence, space and trade.

PM Modi arrived in Cairo on Saturday after concluding his high-profile state visit to the US and was received at the airport by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

He concluded his first-ever visit to Egypt this evening. During the visit, he held talks with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and was conferred the Arab country's highest honour 'Order of the Nile'.

PM Modi held talks with Sisi on Sunday and discussed ways to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries with a focus on improving trade and investments, energy ties and people-to-people ties. The two countries elevated their relationship to a "Strategic Partnership".

President El-Sisi conferred PM Modi the 'Order of the Nile' award - Egypt's highest state honour. This is the 13th highest state honour conferred upon Prime Minister Modi.

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US Toddler Dies After Mom Leaves Her Home Alone For 10 Days

An Ohio mother is charged with the murder of her 16-month-old toddler after the child was left unattended for about 10 days while she went on vacation. Kristel Candelario, 31, was arrested in connection with the death of her baby girl, Jailyn.

The toddler was found unconscious at home on June 16, according to a statement by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office. The statement further said that the baby had no signs of trauma but was pronounced dead at the scene. 

According to a police affidavit obtained by NBC News states, Ms Candelario was on a trip to Puerto Rico and Detroit while the baby was left on her own inside the home.

The mother later admitted that Jailyn was "at home, all alone and unattended."

The mother called 911 after arriving at her home and found her daughter dehydrated. At the scene, the officials found bedding soiled with urine and faeces.

A neighbour told WEWS that this wasn't the first time Candelario left her baby alone in the home.

"We keep telling her not to leave her by herself, not just me, my friend across the street too, but she always leave her by herself," the neighbour said.

Ms Candelario is currently being held on a $1m bond. She is expected to appear in court again on 28 June.

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Pak Law In The Making That May Pave Way For Nawaz Sharif's Return

Pakistan's National Assembly on Sunday passed a bill to limit the lifetime disqualification of lawmakers to five years, possibly paving the way for the return of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from London to resume active politics ahead of general elections this year.

Mr Sharif, 73, was disqualified for life in 2017 by the Supreme Court and later convicted in corruption cases by the accountability courts.

In 2018, the three-time former premier became ineligible to hold public office for life after a Supreme Court verdict in the Panama Papers case.

The Elections (Amendment) Bill 2023 apart from reducing the period of disqualification also aims to empower the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to announce election dates unilaterally without having to consult the president.

On the time period of disqualification for lawmakers, the bill included an amendment to Section 232 (Disqualification on account of offences) of the Election Act, 2017.

The bill was already approved by the Senate on June 16.

The amendments also empower the ECP to announce election dates unilaterally without having to consult the president. To become a law, the bill should be endorsed by the president.

With Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed President Arif Alvi out of the country to perform Hajj, Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani has taken charge as the acting president and possibly he would endorse the bill without wasting any time, reported Geo News.

It is believed that after becoming the law, the lifelong disqualification of Mr Sharif would end, paving the way for his return to the country and rejoin active politics ahead of general elections, likely in October.

But before joining active politics, Mr Sharif would still need to get decisions of two anti-corruption cases against him overturned.

Nawaz Sharif, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader, has been living in self-exile in the United Kingdom since November 2019.

Before his departure to London on a four-wheel bail by the Lahore High Court on medical grounds, Mr Sharif was serving a seven-year jail term in the Al-Azizia Mills corruption case.

The PML-N says its supreme leader will return to Pakistan once the date of the general elections is announced.

Elections in the country are due in October as the tenure of the incumbent government ends on August 13.

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"Will Fight In Court": Wrestlers Announce End To #MeToo Protest

Five months after some of India's top women wrestlers accused their politically powerful federation chief of sexual harassment and sparked a nationwide protest movement, they announced on Sunday that they were moving their campaign to the court now.

Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia posted identical tweets saying that the government has fulfilled its promise of filing a chargesheet against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a member of parliament of the ruling BJP.

"In this case, the wresters' protest will continue until we get justice, but it (fight) will be in court and not on the road," the statement on Twitter read.

"Regarding the reform in WFI (Wrestling Federation of India), the election process, as promised, has begun. We will wait for the fulfilment of promises made by the government regarding the July 11 elections," they added.

A few minutes after posting the statement, Ms Phogat and Ms Malik tweeted that they are taking a break from social media.

The move came after the police filed charges of sexual harassment, criminal intimidation and stalking against Mr Singh earlier this month, following complaints by several female wrestlers and the delay triggering an international furore.

Mr Singh, who has been relieved of administrative duties, has rejected all allegations against him. If convicted, he faces up to three years in jail. One of his aides said the lawmaker "will continue to cooperate with police and will respect the court's decision".

But on Saturday, in a live address on social media following a controversy about them being exempted from Asian Games trials, the three wrestlers spearheading the protest had asserted that their fight against Mr Singh will continue.

They said they are deliberating how to continue the campaign after evaluating the chargesheet filed against him.

In their police complaint, seven wrestlers have accused 66-year-old Mr Singh of groping them on several occasions and demanding sexual favours.

The wrestlers, including several Olympic and Asian Games medallists, began a sit-in protest against Mr Singh in January and then returned with a demonstration in April against the lack of action. They were briefly detained by police in New Delhi as they cleared the site the following month.

Images of the athletes being dragged away and carried off in buses went viral, sparking criticism from top athletes and opposition politicians.

The wrestlers also threatened to throw their medals into the Ganges - India's holiest river - before agreeing to meet Home Minister Amit Shah and later Sports Minister Anurag Thakur.

Amid mounting outrage, the wrestlers suspended their protest after Mr Thakur promised a June 15 deadline to conclude the probe into Mr Singh.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Silence Cloaks The Kremlin After Russian Mutiny Against Putin

An eerie calm fell on Russia after the dramatic end to an armed uprising that posed the greatest threat to Vladimir Putin's almost quarter-century rule.

The man who led the insurrection has gone uncharacteristically quiet. The president hasn't been seen in public since denouncing the mutiny as "treason" and threatening "harsh" punishment that never transpired.

In a bewildering 24 hours, a transfixed international audience watched troops loyal to Russian mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin advance hundreds of miles toward Moscow at breakneck speed only for him to suddenly call off the assault and agree to go into exile with all charges dropped in a late-night deal.

The rapid chain of events left the US and Europe puzzling over the political implications of a rebellion that shattered Vladimir Putin's invincible image as Russia's leader. The crisis unfolded amid bitter divisions in Russia over the faltering war in Ukraine that's the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II, as a Ukrainian counteroffensive continues to try to push Russian forces out of occupied territories.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Wagner mercenary group's revolt was a "direct challenge" to President Putin's authority and "raises profound questions," in an interview Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation. "We can't speculate or know exactly where that's going to go. We do know that Putin has a lot more to answer for in the weeks and months ahead."

The US had intelligence several days ago that Prigozhin was plotting to take armed action against Russian defense officials, according to a person familiar with the matter.

In China, which has boosted ties with President Putin and refused to join US-led sanctions over the war, Foreign Minister Qin Gang met Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko in Beijing on Sunday to discuss international and regional issues of common interest, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

China's Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu also met Rudenko on Sunday, vowing to defend the two countries' common interests under the "complex and grim" international environment. Chinese state media had covered the uprising in Russia, while the Global Times published an article by former editor-in-chief Hu Xijin analyzing potential scenarios including regime change.

The Chinese side expressed support for the Russian leadership's efforts to stabilize the situation in the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a website statement.

Even North Korea appeared concerned. Vice Foreign Minister Im Chon Il "expressed firm belief that the recent armed rebellion in Russia would be successfully put down" at a meeting with the Russian ambassador, North Korea's Central News Agency reported.

'Security Guarantees'

Vladimir Putin, 70, hasn't commented on the deal brokered by his ally Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that ended Prigozhin's revolt. The Kremlin said President Putin guaranteed to let the Wagner leader travel to Belarus and to drop criminal mutiny charges against him and fighters involved in the rebellion.

"Putin had to make concessions and actually surrender, and instead of defeating Prigozhin, he had to negotiate with him and give security guarantees, demonstrating in public his vulnerability," said Kirill Rogov, a former Russian government advisor who now heads Re:Russia, a Vienna-based think tank. "Previously, Putin absolutely didn't allow anyone to talk to him in the language of public ultimatums."

Prigozhin's whereabouts are unknown and he hasn't commented since announcing his forces were withdrawing to avoid bloodshed late Saturday in an audio message on Telegram. Video on social media showed crowds cheering him and shaking his hand as he was driven away from a military installation in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don that Wagner had taken over early in the mutiny.

President Putin thanked Lukashenko in a phone call late Saturday for conducting the negotiations and reaching the deal, Belarus's state-run Belta news service reported.

Russia began lifting emergency restrictions to try to quickly restore a sense of normality. Hastily-installed roadblocks were dismantled on Sunday on highways leading into Moscow, though the authorities said Monday will remain a non-working day announced by Mayor Sergei Sobyanin after the imposition of a "counter-terrorist regime" in the capital.

Trading on the Moscow Exchange will go ahead as normal on Monday, the Bank of Russia said in a statement

Regional officials in Rostov-on-Don, Voronezh and Lipetsk reported that Wagner troops had left their territories and were heading to their field bases.

Wagner Calls Back Advance 

The agreement was announced only hours after Vladimir Putin told Russians on state TV that those taking part in the rebellion had "betrayed Russia and will answer for it." The decision not to prosecute Prigozhin and his men for treason stood in stark contrast to the zeal with which the authorities have given long jail sentences to people for even minor peaceful protests against the war.

Wagner Chief Marches on Moscow in Mutiny Challenging Putin

The Wagner founder has for months attacked Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and top army officials in Moscow over the conduct of the war, alleging they failed to adequately support Wagner troops fighting in Ukraine and particularly during battles for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

He has also repeatedly called for the Kremlin to introduce tougher measures including full mobilization and martial law, warning that Russia risked defeat in the war without them.

What Is Russia's Wagner Group and Why Was It Accused of Mutiny?

Tensions erupted Friday when Prigozhin, 62, posted audio messages on Telegram vowing to "punish" the Defense Ministry for what he alleged was a missile attack on a Wagner base and the losses of "tens of thousands" of Russian troops in the war. He accused Sergei Shoigu of attempting to "destroy" Wagner. The Defense Ministry denied Prigozhin's claims about a strike.

The showdown had echoes in Russian history, where leaders including Tsar Nicholas II and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev were ousted after military misadventures. President Putin himself, in his televised address, drew a comparison with divisions in Russia during World War I that led to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and civil war.

In Voronezh, a city of 1 million, shocked residents sought to come to terms with the turmoil. "What seemed impossible only yesterday, today is suddenly in your life," said Petr, 46, a local car dealer who asked not to be identified out of concern for his security.

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India-US Drone Deal Will Bring Nations To India's Doorstep: Ex-Bureaucrat

Describing the defence agreements signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's US visit as "historic", former defence secretary Ajay Kumar said several countries using 'Predator' drones are likely to come to India for maintenance and overhauling.

India and the US inked a USD3 billion deal for 31 High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAVs, of which the Navy will get 15 SeaGuardian drones, while the Army and the Indian Air Force will get eight each of the land version - SkyGuardian.

A joint statement by the two countries affirmed that these cutting-edge drones would be assembled in India, significantly augmenting the intelligence, surveillance, and target acquisition capabilities of the Indian armed forces.

"When the US sells such advanced equipment, they never agree to any manufacturing outside the country. But in this particular case, it has said that the Predator drones will be assembled here and a full MRO hub for these drones will be set up as well," Kumar said.

A full Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) means throughout the entire life cycle of these drones, their maintenance will be done in India, he added.

Emphasizing the significance of the General Atomics MQ-9B High-Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAVs, Kumar said countries such as the UK, France, Italy, Japan, Australia and Spain operate the MQ-9 system.

"Since Predators are a platform which other countries are also using, we can expect that in the future, some of the Predators from other countries will come for maintenance, repair and overhaul to India," he said.

On an MoU between General Electric and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the GE414 fighter jet engines, the former secretary said the production of aero engines has been an area of deficiency for India and this agreement will prove to be a significant milestone towards the country's goal of developing its own jet engines.

"As regards the GE414 engines being manufactured in India with large-scale value addition, I think this is a historic moment. Aero-engine is one area where India has had a deficiency in the past and this is a major landmark in our journey to create our own aero engines and I think this is therefore, truly historic," Kumar said. 

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56-Year-Old Millionaire Fails China's Toughest Exam For 27th Time

After failing to achieve a high enough score on China's dreaded college entry exam for the 27th time, 56-year-old Liang Shi is beginning to wonder if he will ever make it to his dream university.

Mr Shi, a self-made millionaire, has taken the gruelling "gaokao" exam dozens of times over the past four decades, hoping to earn a place at top-tier Sichuan University and fulfil his ambition of becoming "an intellectual".

By most measures, Liang has had a successful life -- he worked his way up from a menial job on a factory floor to establishing his own construction materials business, making millions of yuan in the process, but his university dreams have so far eluded him.

In his quest for a prestigious higher education, he has put in 12-hour study days, abstained from drinking and playing mahjong, and endured the media mocking him as the "gaokao holdout", as well as online suspicion that it is all a publicity stunt.

But despite months of living like "an ascetic monk", this year Liang was 34 points short of the provincial baseline for getting into any university.

"Before I got the result, I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to get a high enough score to enter an elite university," he told AFP.

"But I didn't expect to not make it into the ordinary ones."

Shortly before 10 pm Friday -- along with hundreds of thousands of high-school students across southwestern Sichuan province -- the grey-haired businessman carefully typed in his exam identification information and nervously waited to find out how he'd done.

Several local media reporters live streaming the scene were also avidly checking for updates -- and from their disappointed expressions, Liang knew before he even saw the screen himself that the result was not ideal.

"It's all done for again this year," he said to himself. "It's very regrettable."

In the past, Liang's repeated misses failed to deter him.

Every time he fell short, he vowed to try again the next year.

Now, for the first time in decades, he is wondering if his hard work will ever lead to anything.

"If I truly can't see much hope for improvement, there is no point doing it again. I really did work very hard every day," he said tiredly.

"It's hard to say whether I will keep on preparing for the gaokao next year," he admitted.

But a life without gaokao preparation is almost unthinkable to him.

"It's a hard decision to make. I am not willing to give up either," he mused.

"(If I were to) stop taking the gaokao, every cup of tea I drank for the rest of my life would taste of regret."

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