PM Modi embarks on 'historic' Palestine visit: Here's the full itinerary

Agencies

February 10, 2018

Ramallah, Feb 10 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first engagement after arriving in Ramallah on Saturday morning will be to lay a wreath at the Mausoleum of Late President Yasser Arafat.

Prime Minister Modi will be accompanied by his Palestinian counterpart Rami Hamdallah.

The Mausoleum of Yasser Arafat was unveiled on November 10, 2007 and is located adjacent to the compound of Presidential Headquarters (Al-Muqata'a).

After paying homage to Yasser Arafat at the Mausoleum, the Prime Minister will take a short tour, accompanied by Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, of the Yasser Arafat Museum located adjacent to the Mausoleum.

Prime Minister Modi, who is on his maiden trip to Palestine, will be received by President Mahmoud Abbas before the ceremonial welcome in the compound of the Presidential Headquarters, also known as Muqata'a.

The Presidential Headquarters in Ramallah is the compound that encompasses the Office of the President, offices of Advisors to President, in addition to the headquarters of the Presidential Guard.

The Prime Minister on his first day of the three-nation tour will hold meetings and exchange agreements with ministers in Ramallah in the West Bank.

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said Prime Minister Modi's visit to Ramallah in Palestine was the first ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister there.

Prime Minister Modi's visit to Palestine comes a month after India hosted Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On February 9, Prime Minister Modi arrived in Jordan, which is his transit to Palestine.

The prime minister's office expressed gratitude to King Abdullah II of Jordan for facilitating the transit.

After Palestine, the Prime Minister would visit United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman.

The Prime Minister will leave for the UAE tomorrow and then on the final leg, to Muscat on February 11, before returning to Delhi the following day.

Prior to Prime Minister Modi, former President Pranab Mukherjee and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had visited Palestine in October 2015 and January 2016 respectively.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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