Trump upbeat after conversation with Mexican President

January 28, 2017

Washington, Jan 28: US President Donald Trump said he had a “very good” telephonic conversation with his Mexican counterpart Enrique Peña Nieto amid a diplomatic spat over Washington's plans for a border wall. During a joint press conference with visiting British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday, Trump confirmed that he and the Mexican president spoke for nearly an hour, Efe news reported. “It was a very, very friendly call,” Trump said. “We are going to be working on a fair relationship, a new relationship,” the US president said. “We are going to be renegotiating our trade deals.”

The conversation came a day after Peña Nieto cancelled a planned visit to Washington in response to Trump's signing an executive order to initiate his promised border wall and insisting again that Mexico would ultimately pay for the barrier. Peña Nieto's office issued a statement on Friday confirming the phone call and saying that the two presidents agreed to resolve their differences over the wall as part comprehensive discussions about all aspects of the bilateral relationship.

Trump and Peña Nieto also resolved to instruct their respective staffs not to make any further public comments about the issue of the wall, according to the Mexican government statement. On Wednesday, the US president signed several executive orders affecting immigration, including one that assigns federal funds for the construction of the border wall.

In an interview with ABC News later that day, Trump said that while the US government would pay the initial construction costs, Mexico would ultimately reimburse Washington. Peña Nieto has repeatedly insisted that Mexico will not foot the bill for the wall and did so again on Wednesday. In a series of tweets on Thursday, Trump said Mexico should pay for the wall because it had long benefited from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) at Americans' expense.

Citing the persistent US trade deficit with its southern neighbor, he said it would be better to cancel his January 31 meeting with Peña Nieto if Mexico refused to defray the cost of the wall. Within hours of Trump's tweets, Peña Nieto announced that he would not be travelling to Washington, though the US leader described the cancellation as a mutual decision.

“The president of Mexico and myself have agreed to cancel our planned meeting scheduled for next week,” Trump said Thursday during a gathering with congressional Republicans in Philadelphia. “Unless Mexico is going to treat the US fairly, with respect, such a meeting would be fruitless and I want to go a different route. We have no choice,” the president said.

Later Thursday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that Trump intended to impose a 20 per cent tax on imports from Mexico to cover the cost of the wall. The tax, however, cannot be immediately levied because of NAFTA, the 1994 accord linking the US, Canada and Mexico that the president has repeatedly criticized as a destroyer of American jobs.

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5 facts about 24-year-old Indian student shot dead inside his Audi in Canada

News Network

April 14,2024

New Delhi: A 24-year-old student from India was shot dead inside a car in Canada's South Vancouver, the local police have said. The Vancouver Police in a statement said Chirag Antil, 24, was found dead inside a vehicle in the area after neighbours reported hearing gunshots.

"Officers were called to East 55th Avenue and Main Street around 11 pm on April 12 after residents heard the sound of gunshots. Chirag Antil, 24, was found deceased inside a vehicle in the area. No arrests have been made, and the investigation remains ongoing," the police said.

Chirag Antil's brother Ronit told reporters that Chirag seemed happy when they spoke on the phone in morning. Chirag later took out his Audi to go somewhere. That was when he was shot dead.

The Congress students' wing National Students' Union of India chief Varun Choudhary in a post on X tagging the Ministry of External Affairs requested for assistance to the student's family.

"Urgent attention regarding the murder of Chirag Antil, an Indian student in Vancouver, Canada. We urge the Ministry of External Affairs to closely monitor the progress of the investigation and ensure that justice is swiftly served," Mr Choudhary said.

"Additionally, we request the ministry to extend all necessary support and assistance to the family of the deceased during this difficult time," he said.

Chirag Antil's family is raising money through the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe to repatriate his body to India, local media reported.

Haryana resident Romit Antil, the brother of Chirag Antil, told CityNews that he was a kind-hearted person.

"My brother and I had a great relationship. We used to talk every day, day and night. I spoke to him last before the accident happened. He was kind of happy, he never had any issues or fights with anyone, ever. He was an extremely polite person," Romit Antil told CityNews.

Chirag Antil came to Vancouver in September 2022. He just finished MBA at University Canada West, and recently got his work permit.

Here are 5 facts about Chirag Antil

1.   Chirag Antil was a resident of Sonipat, Haryana.
2.   He was the youngest son of Mahavir Antil, a retired employee of the Sugar Mill Department of the Haryana Government.
3.   Chirag moved to Vancouver in 2022 to pursue higher studies at the University Canada West (UCW), in British Columbia.
4.   After completing his MBA, he started working at a company in Canada after getting a work permit.
5.   Chirag's brother Ronit shared in an interview that his younger sibling was a "kind-hearted" person. "I spoke to him last before the accident happened," he said and added that Chirag sounded "happy".

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