Modi reunites Nepalese youth with parents after 16 years

Kathmandu, Aug 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday personally handed over a Nepalese youth to his parents here having nurtured him for 16 years. 26-year-old Jeet Bahadur, who is currently pursuing BBA in Ahmedabad, had come to India in 1998 along with his brother looking for work .

Bahadur came in contact with Mr. Modi in Ahmedabad over a decade back and was since looked after by him. He travelled with the Prime Minister to Kathmandu to be personally handed over to his mother and elder brother.

At the hotel where the Indian delegation is staying, Prime Minister Modi met Bahadur's family members who have moved here from their native place Kawasoti in Nawalparasi district in western Nepal where they live in a slum area. His family members include his mother Khagisara, elder brother Dasharath, his wife and younger sister Prem Kumari. “Bringing a family together! @PMOIndia 1st engagement in Nepal was to bring together Jeet Bahadur's family,” Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Syed Akbaruddin tweeted along with a photograph of the Prime Minister with Bahadur's family.

After coming to India with his elder brother, Bahadur worked in Rajasthan for a brief period. However, after sometime he decided to return to Nepal as he was unhappy with his job. While leaving Rajasthan, he mistakenly boarded an Ahmedabad-bound train instead of one going to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, which borders Nepal.

On arriving in Ahmedabad, a woman took him to the house of Mr. Modi who had till then not become the Chief Minister. Since then, Bahadur had been in Mr. Modi's care. However, after Mr. Modi became the Prime Minister and moved to Delhi, Bahadur shifted to the university hostel. Indian Embassy officials in Kathmandu earlier visited Bahadur's family in Kawasoti and informed them about Mr. Modi's visit and his desire to meet them.

On the eve of his two-day trip on Saturday, Mr. Modi had tweeted, “On a personal note, my Nepal visit is very special...Some personal emotions are also attached to this visit.”

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Spain blocks arms ship from India to Israel amid ongoing Gaza genocide

News Network

May 18,2024

In a humanitarian move, Spain has refused entry to a ship carrying arms from India’s Chennai to Israel to dock at one of its ports, its Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has said.

The Denmark-flagged cargo ship Marianne Danica sailed from Chennai on April 8 when people in Gaza were observing Ramadan fasting, and was headed to the port of Haifa in Israel, according to maritime tracking portals and Spanish media.

Spain has been extremely critical of the rising civilian casualties due to the Israeli offensive in Gaza and, along with Belgium, has suspended arms exports licenses to Tel Aviv.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal, at the weekly press conference, only said that they have seen the report of the ship and will revert with more information.

Meanwhile, a source said, “Investigation will reveal if the items on board were cleared for export and if the end user is the same as reported by The Guardian because there are items that are not banned for exports.”

Speaking to reporters in Brussels on Thursday on the issue, Mr. Albares had said, “This is the first time we have done this because it is the first time we have detected a ship carrying a shipment of arms to Israel that wants to call at a Spanish port.”

“This will be a consistent policy with any ship carrying arms to Israel that wants to call at Spanish ports. The Foreign Ministry will systematically reject such stopovers for one obvious reason: the Middle East does not need more weapons, it needs more peace,” he stated.

The ship was carrying 27 tonnes of explosives according to local reports. It was to make a port call at Cartegena in Spain.
In February, Mr. Albares said that they had suspended arms export licences to Israel since October 7, which he said made them “realise” the importance of a “fair and lasting solution” to the Palestinian cause.

The incident comes amid an ongoing row between Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s party and his coalition partners over another ship, Borkum, that was due to dock at Cartegena port on Friday over allegations that it was carrying arms meant for Israel. However, the Spanish government has said that the arms it is ferrying are meant for the Czech Republic.

Belgium had suspended two arms export licences to Israel.

“We welcome the decision of the Spanish government to deny the transit authorisation of the vessel Marianne Danica, in accordance with Tratado (treaty) on Arms Trade and Spanish law,” Amnesty International Spain said on social media platform ‘X’.

The timing also coincides with the Israeli ground offensive inside Rafah. According to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) at least 6,30,000 Palestinians have been forced out of Rafah since the launch of the incursion on May 7.

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