PM Modi conferred with The King Hamad Order of the Renaissance in Bahrain

Agencies
August 25, 2019

Manama, Aug 25: King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa received Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday in Gudaibiya Palace, in the presence of Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa and Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, who arrived on a two-day visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The two leaders reviewed deep-rooted historic relations of friendship binding the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of India.

This was an Indian PM's first visit to the Kingdom.

The two sides also highlighted aspects of joint cooperation in the investment, economic, commercial, health, scientific and technological sectors, in adding to the sector of energy.

The King bestowed the Bahrain Order - First Class on Modi in recognition of his efforts to strengthen bilateral relations with the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Commenting on the honour, Modi said:

'I feel very honoured and fortunate to be awarded The King Hamad Order of the Renaissance. I am equally honoured by Your Majesty's friendship for me and for my country.

I humbly accept this prestigious honour on behalf of 1.3 billion Indians. It is an honour for entire India. This is a recognition of the close and friendly relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and India. These relations go back thousands of years.'

Bahrain's King hailed the memorandum of understanding on the program of cultural exchange, to strengthen the deep-rooted cultural relations, the declaration of intent in the field of space technology on the application of a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, and a declaration of intent on the Kingdom of Bahrain's accession to the International Solar Coalition, and a memorandum of understanding between The National Electronic Payments Network (BENEFIT) and the Indian National Payments Corporation (NPCI) to discuss cooperation and link payment systems to facilitate payments between the two countries.

HM the King and the Indian Premier discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern, stressing both countries' support to regional and global efforts aimed to bolster the pillars of security and stability in the region and the world.

Speeches

King Hamad:

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Your Excellency the Honourable Prime Minister of the Republic India,

Your Highnesses and Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,

It is a pleasure at the outset to welcome you to the Kingdom of Bahrain, and to extend our appreciation for this kind visit, in light of our close and friendly ties with India which date back some seven thousand years of relations between our peoples, through civilisational and cultural interactions and commercial cooperation. We express our pride in the civilisational commonalities and ancient heritage between our countries, and their place in the memory of human history.

We underline here our great interest in strengthening our bilateral relations, as two friendly countries working for global peace and prosperity. We recall with much pride our last visit to your friendly country in 2014, and our constructive discussions and consultations which further enhanced our cooperation and resulted in the signing of many agreements that have been put into effect to raise the levels of our joint work in the political, commercial and industrial fields.

As we are brought together on this auspicious occasion, we renew our appreciation for the important and outstanding role of the Indian community in Bahrain, which contributes to enriching our national development process. The establishment of the Hindu temple more than two hundred years ago in Manama, as the oldest in the region, is a clear testament to the depth of the ties that link us together, and the civilised qualities of peaceful co-existence and freedom of belief and religion that have characterized Bahrain throughout its history.

Your Excellency, Honourable Prime Minister,
The Kingdom of Bahrain is fully convinced of the pioneering role of India at the international level, given its strategic weight and appreciated stances on many core issues. We therefore continue to work with you to maintain the security and stability of the region, in particular to protect trade and oil routes, and to strengthen our cooperation in the areas of cybersecurity, space technology, and energy, including its renewable forms.

In conclusion, we reiterate our welcome to you and your delegation, wishing you continued success, good health and happiness, and for the Republic of India and its friendly people further progress and prosperity.

Peace, mercy and blessings of God be upon you."
HM the King bestowed Bahrain Order - First Class on the Prime Minister of the Republic India in recognition of his efforts to strengthen bilateral relations with the Kingdom of Bahrain.

PM Modi

"I feel very honoured and fortunate to be awarded the Order. I am equally honoured by Your Majesty's friendship for me and for my country.

"I humbly accept this prestigious honour on behalf of 1.3 billion. It is an honour for the entire India.

"This is a symbol of the friendly relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and India.

"These relations go back thousands of years and in the 21st century, they are expanding in all areas.

"It is a measure of happiness that in our decisions today, we agreed to add new areas of cooperation and to further strengthen our ties. We aim to make India a five trillion-dollar economy. We would like Bahrain to partner with India more closely for shared progress.

"I am very happy to note that the Indian origin people are the largest foreign community in Bahrain. They are welcome here with open hearts. I thank the leadership of the Kingdom for looking after them and making them feel at home here.

"I consider myself very fortunate to be the first ever Indian Prime Minister to visit this close friend in our neighbourhood.

"I am grateful to the leadership of Bahrain for the generous hospitality for my delegation and me. It would be an honour for me His Majesty in India on a visit.
Thank you."

The King also hosted a dinner banquet in honour of the Indian PM and the accompanying delegation.

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News Network
May 3,2024

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Mangaluru: The passenger vessel service between Lakshadweep and Mangaluru has recommenced operations with the arrival of Parali, a high-speed craft, at the Old Mangaluru Port on Thursday, May 2 

With 160 passengers on board, along with a pilot, a ship engineer, an assistant, and eight labourers, the arrival of the vessel brings hopes of reinstating this vital transportation link.

The passengers were welcomed by Congress brass. The vessels that used to arrive before the Covid-19 pandemic took 13 hours to reach Mangaluru from Lakshadweep. However, the introduction of the high-speed craft, Parali, has reduced the travel time to approximately seven hours, said Abubakar Ashraf Bengre.

Bengre is part of a team that has been instrumental in liaising with the authorities of both Lakshadweep and Karnataka to facilitate the revival of this service. He told reporters that the service would bring better economic activity to Mangaluru. 

Over recent months, discussions have been held with Hamdullah Sayeed, president, Lakshadweep Congress Committee, as well as Karnataka Speaker UT Khader and district minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, to garner support for the reintroduction of the service.

The passengers who arrived mostly sought medical treatment, went shopping or met relatives here. They said that they traveled for Rs 450. Former MLA J R Lobo said that they will urge the government to ensure regular vessel services continue.

The passenger service was discontinued due to a lack of demand, it is learnt. In the year 2018-19, 4,955 passengers embarked and 7,422 disembarked from the Old Mangaluru Port. Subsequently, the figures declined to 3,779 (embarked) and 2,294 (disembarked) in 2019-20. The numbers further plummeted to 561 (embarked) and 19 (disembarked) in 2020-21, leading to the suspension of the service.

At present, the administration of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep has released a schedule for high-speed craft movement from April 29 to May 5.

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News Network
May 11,2024

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Madikeri, May 11: Kodagu police have apprehended the man allegedly responsible for the brutal murder of a minor girl within the confines of Kumbaragadige village in Karnataka's Somwarpet taluk. 

Kodagu Superintendent of Police, K Ramarajan, disclosed that the arrested individual is Prakash (32) from Hammiyala village in Somwarpet taluk. However, authorities are still in the process of recovering the severed head of the victim. The perpetrator had absconded with the victim's severed head after committing the crime. 

Search operations for the suspect commenced late on Thursday night (May 9), with officials diligently pursuing leads. Acting on information suggesting the suspect's presence in a forested area near the village, the police swiftly moved in and apprehended him.

The victim US Meena, 15, a student of Surlabbi High School, had passed the SSLC examinations, the results of which were announced on May. One same day, she was murdered. 

Reportedly, the engagement of the minor girl with the suspect was thwarted by officials from the Women and Child Development department. Subsequently, officials persuaded the girl's parents against proceeding with the marriage. 

However, despite these interventions, the suspect forcibly entered her residence during the night, purportedly abducted her, and later perpetrated the heinous crime in a wooded area on the outskirts of the forest, before absconding with her severed head.

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News Network
May 7,2024

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Israeli military aircraft have heavily bombed the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip accompanied with ground advances shortly after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said it had agreed to a proposal on ceasefire in Gaza.

A Palestinian journalist reported flares in the night sky, while locals said dozens of reconnaissance drones flew overhead.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa and Egyptian media said Israeli military vehicles advanced towards the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, as well as the Karem Shalom crossing with the Israeli-occupied territories.

A Palestinian security official and an Egyptian authority have told the Associated Press news agency that Israeli tanks have entered Rafah, reaching as close as 200 meters from Rafah’s border crossing with neighboring Egypt.

The Israeli military has said it was conducting “targeted strikes” against Hamas in eastern Rafah.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has also said "Israel is continuing the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas" in order to advance the release of captives and what it called "the other objectives of the war."

In the meantime, it described the proposal on ceasefire as "far from Israel's essential demands," but added that it would send negotiators for talks "to exhaust the potential for arriving at an agreement."

The military strikes on Rafah came ahead of talks in Egypt on Tuesday aimed at sealing a truce proposal accepted by Hamas, which was put forward by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. 

According to a copy of the proposal, there will be three phases to ending Israel’s onslaught against Gaza.

The first phase calls for a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim corridor and the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes. The second phase involves an announcement of a permanent cessation of military operations. In the last phase, there would be a complete end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip. 

In return, Israel would be required to release an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners, withdraw its troops from certain regions of the Gaza Strip, and allow Palestinians to travel from the south of the coastal sliver to the north.

About 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering in Rafah, once designated a “safe zone” by the Israeli military. Palestinians are now struggling to evacuate the city, after the Israeli military dropped leaflets ordering them to leave as a large-scale assault on the city is planned.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said that a ground invasion of Rafah would be “intolerable” and called on Israel and Hamas “to go an extra mile” to reach a truce deal.

“This is an opportunity that cannot be missed, and a ground invasion in Rafah would be intolerable because of its devastating humanitarian consequences, and because of its destabilizing impact in the region,” Guterres told reporters on Monday ahead of a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella in New York.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has also warned that Israel is “jeopardizing the deal by bombing Rafah.”

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