Maseru, July 21 (IANS) As part of his ongoing multi-nation official visit to the African…

Georgetown, July 21 (IANS) Underlining the deep-rooted cultural ties between India and Guyana, the Indian High Commission and Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre in Georgetown successfully organised a ‘Srimad Bhagavad Gita’ chanting competition.The event, held in collaboration with the Chinmaya Mission in the capital of the South American country, witnessed participation of various temples and socio-cultural organisations.”It was heartening to witness young children and youth chanting shlokas from Chapter 5 of Bhagavad Gita at the Award Ceremony hosted earlier today. It underlines the deep cultural connection between Guyana and Bharat through our shared heritage and the strong desire in Guyana and India to preserve and reinforce our strong cultural and people to people ties,” the High Commission of India in Georgetown posted on X.”We wish all the very best to our young Guyanese brothers and sisters who participated in this initiative and within a few months demonstrated their mastery in Shloka chanting and appreciation of our shared tradition,” the post added.The programme also included photographic display of important religious sites in and around Kurukshetra – the place where Lord Krishna had recited Gita to Arjuna.Coinciding with the event, the Indian High Commission in Georgetown also informed the gathering about the forthcoming ‘International Gita Mahotsav’ scheduled at Haryana’s Kurukshetra from November 15 to December 5, 2025, and informed about various cultural events planned on the sidelines of this international event.The Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre in Georgetown, established in 1972, is one of the oldest Indian Cultural Centres abroad, and also teaches Indian classical dance, yoga and music. The majority of the Indo-Guyanese population strictly follows religious practices brought with them during the time of indentureship.In November, during a two-day visit to Guyana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in a heartwarming religious event that highlighted the deep cultural ties between India and Guyana.PM Modi also took part in a Ram Bhajan (devotional song) at the Promenade Garden in Georgetown.Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the Promenade Garden was particularly significant, as it highlighted the strong presence of the Indian diaspora in Guyana, where many people trace their roots back to India. It also reinforced the importance of cultural diplomacy in strengthening bilateral ties between India and Guyana.–IANSscor/as

Beijing, July 21 (IANS) A new heat wave alert has been sounded worldwide as Europe and the Middle East are battling an extremely scorching heat wave this week, prompting various climate emergencies in many countries.
According to the national meteorological service, Iran is sweltering through its hottest week of the year above 50 degrees Celsius, with temperatures in Tehran hitting 40 degrees on Sunday.As searing heatwaves persist, Tehran’s water authority has urged residents to slash consumption by at least 20 per cent, warning that dam reservoirs supplying the capital have sunk to “their lowest levels in a century.”Some 3,500 km west of Tehran, the Greek capital of Athens is enduring its first prolonged heatwave of this summer as well.Hot air masses sweeping in from North Africa arrived earlier this summer and have formed a heat dome over Greece and the Balkans, pushing temperatures up to 10 degrees above the seasonal norm, said the National Observatory. With average highs forecast to approach 38 degrees this week and peak at 44 degrees in some areas, The National Herald, a Greek daily, described conditions as “hotter than hell.”Such aridity, combined with gales, has put Greece under severe wildfires.Firefighters on Thursday grappled with a blaze on the island of Crete that burned through forests and olive groves, forcing the evacuation of more than 1,000 people. Meanwhile, a new fire near Athens edged dangerously close to residential areas.Elsewhere, Turkey recorded 761 wildfires in the 10 days following June 26. The fires flaring in and around the western Izmir Province have claimed the lives of an elderly man and a forestry worker.Across Europe, at least eight heat-related deaths have been reported in countries including Spain and Italy as the continent is baked in the heatwave, Xinhua news agency reported.”We are currently under the influence of a strong high-pressure system; this is trapping hot air from northern Africa over the region. And as we can see, it’s having a pretty big impact on the way we feel,” Clare Nullis, a World Meteorological Organisation spokesperson, said earlier.She noted that humans will have to learn to live with more frequent and intense heat waves as a result of climate change.The EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service said in a recent article that “damage to the built environment from extreme weather events is expected to increase tenfold by the end of the century due to climate change alone.”Such widespread climate impacts highlight the importance of building greater resilience, it noted, calling for physical and technological measures such as water recycling, separation of rain and greywater, climate-resilient building design, risk mapping and early warning systems.”Adaptation is required across all sectors and governance levels, and actions must address both current climate impacts and protect against future risks,” it said.–IANSint/bpd/as

Jerusalem, July 21 (IANS) The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on Monday claimed that it attacked and destroyed the military infrastructure of the Houthi regime in Yemen’s port of Hodeidah. Taking to X, the IDF said, “Among the infrastructure targetted: engineering tools used to restore the port’s infrastructure, fuel tanks, and vessels used for military activities and to exert force against the State of Israel and ships in the maritime area near the port, as well as additional terror infrastructure used by the Houthi terror regime”.The Hodeidah port has been used by the Houthi regime for ‘military’ purposes, due to which it has had to face several attacks in the past. Along with carrying out terror operations against Israel as well as its allies, the port was also used to transfer weapons from the Iranian regime, the IDF stated.The IDF claimed to have pinned down a number of attempts to rebuild the terror infrastructure at the port.“The IDF identified ongoing activity and attempts to restore terror infrastructure in the port by the Houthi terror regime’s forces, and therefore, the components used to advance this activity were attacked,” the statement mentioned.According to the IDF, the Houthi terror regime has, time and again, exploited the maritime region to conduct terror activities as well as exerted pressure on commercial, passing ships in the global shipping space.The targets that have been attacked, in and near the port, are allegedly very similar to the Houthi terror regime’s military use of the civilian infrastructure, for the purpose of spreading terror.The IDF has also stated that it will continue to strike out any threats against Israel, including the Houthi terror regime.”The IDF will act with force against the repeated attacks by the Houthi terror regime against the citizens of the State of Israel and is determined to continue striking with force any threat to the State of Israel, in any area where it is required,” it said.–IANSint/bpd/as

Kabul, July 21 (IANS) Police set on fire more than half a tonne of illegal drugs in the southern Afghanistan Kandahar province on Sunday, provincial police spokesman Assadullah Jamshid said Monday.
The contraband, which included 130 kg of opium poppy, 480 kg of methamphetamine and 660 pieces of stimulant tablets, had been collected over the past two months and was burned publicly, the official added.Police won’t allow anyone to produce, process or traffic illegal drugs, the official further said.Yesterday, Afghan security forces dismantled two drug processing labs and discovered more than 580 kg of illicit drugs in western Afghanistan’s Farah province, the office of the Deputy Minister of Interior for Counter-Narcotics said in a statement.According to the statement, counter-narcotic police launched separate operations on the outskirts of the Bakwa district, where they destroyed two drug labs and confiscated 589 kg of illicit substances. Nine suspected drug smugglers were detained, Xinhua news agency reported.The Afghan interim government has stepped up its crackdown on illicit drugs and those involved in the business.In a similar case, on July 8, the Afghanistan Police thwarted attempts to smuggle 43 kg of illegal opium type drugs and arrested two individuals on charges of involvement in the drug business in eastern Wardak province.The alleged drug traffickers were attempting to take the contraband, which was smuggled from the northern Balkh, onward to the western Farah province. They were intercepted by police in Wardak’s provincial capital, Maidan Shar and drugs confiscated.Both the arrested men, after necessary investigation, would be handed over to the judiciary for further interrogation, the official further said.Further, police also launched operations to destroy hashish farms in northern Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province.During search operations, police found 1500 kg of opium poppy from inside a tanker of liquid gas on July 5 and arrested a drug smuggler who was attempting to take the contraband out of Takhar province, the official said.–IANSint/bpd/as

Dhaka, July 21 (IANS) A Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed into a school building in capital Dhaka Monday afternoon, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media division of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, has confirmed.

According to the ISPR, the Bangladesh Air Force’s Chinese-made F-7 BGI training aircraft took off at 1:06 pm, local time on Monday and crashed into the Milestone School and College building in Dhaka’s Uttara around 1.30 PM.”The Fire Service has confirmed the death of at least one person in the incident. Rescue work is underway at the scene,” Bangladesh’s leading Bengali daily Prothom Alo reported, stating that the school building caught fire after the plane crashed.The report mentioned that four injured people have been taken to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) by an Air Force helicopter.A Milestone College teacher told ‘The Daily Star’ newspaper that he was standing near the college building when the aircraft hit the front side of the three-storey school building, trapping several students.”The college teachers and staff rushed to rescue the students. Members of the army arrived shortly afterwards, followed by firefighters who joined the rescue operation,” the newspaper reported.Members of the Bangladesh Army and eight engines of Fire Service and Civil Defence rushed to the spot and started rescue operations, according to a fire service notification.Meanwhile, Dhaka Tribune reported that eght units from the Uttara, Tongi, Pallabi, Kurmitola, Mirpur, and Purbachal fire services are working at the scene.”ideos circulating on social media show several people being rescued with injuries. They are reportedly being taken to Uttara Adhunik Hospital, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Kurmitola General Hospital, Kuwait Bangladesh Friendship Govt Hospital, Uttara Women’s Medical College, Shaheed Monsur Ali Medical College Hospital,” the newspaper reported.–IANS/as

Jakarta, July 21 (IANS) Indian Naval Ship (INS) Saryu, an indigenously built Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel (NOPV) and indigenously designed and built LCU-55 – the fifth ship of Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mk-IV class – along with Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) Dornier arrived for the post–deployment debriefing and closing ceremony of the 44th edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND–INDO CORPAT) at Indonesia’s Belawan, on Monday.

The 44th edition of IND–INDO CORPAT between the Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy is being conducted from July 13-21.”India and Indonesia enjoy a close and friendly relationship covering a wide spectrum of activities and interactions. The 44th edition of IND-INDO CORPAT seeks to bolster the maritime cooperation between the two navies and forge strong bonds of friendship between India and Indonesia, in keeping with Government of India’s vision MAHASAGAR – Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions,” the Embassy of India in Jakarta posted on X.As part of India’s vision, the Indian Navy has been proactively engaging with the countries in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) towards enhancing regional maritime security. This has been through bilateral and multilateral exercises, Coordinated Patrols, Joint EEZ Surveillance, and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations.India and Indonesia have been carrying out CORPATs twice a year since 2002, with an aim of keeping this vital part of the IOR safe and secure for commercial shipping, international trade and conduct of legitimate maritime activities. CORPATs help build understanding and interoperability between navies, and facilitate institution of measures to prevent and suppress Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking, maritime terrorism, armed robbery and piracy. It further helps enhance the operational synergy by exchange of information for prevention of smuggling, illegal immigration and for conduct of Search and Rescue (SAR) operations at sea. India and Indonesia have traditionally enjoyed a close and friendly relationship covering a wide spectrum of activities and interactions.Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, on his first State Visit to India, attended this year’s Republic Day celebrations as the Chief Guest. The visit coincided with the 75th Anniversary of India-Indonesia diplomatic relations, a milestone that reflects the enduring friendship and deep-rooted historical ties between the two countries.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Subianto reaffirmed that India and Indonesia, as maritime neighbours and strategic partners, must continue to work to further deepen and broaden the defence cooperation to a robust one.The Indonesian President welcomed India’s interest in enhancing cooperation on maritime security, including its engagement with regional mechanisms to ensure the safety and security of sea lanes of communication. Both leaders also acknowledged the significance of collaborative efforts to achieve safe and secure sea lanes in the region. In this regard, they agreed that there needs to be constant communication to discuss enhancement of maritime safety.–IANSscor/as

Colombo, July 21 (IANS) Twenty-one people were injured in a head-on collision between a private bus and a state-owned Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) bus in Kegalle, Sabaragamuwa province in central Sri Lanka, on Monday morning, police said.The accident happened around 5 am, according to police. The injured are receiving treatment at two regional hospitals.Kegalle police have launched an investigation into the incident.In a similar incident on June 18, about 23 people were injured when a passenger bus collided with a container truck in Ratnapura district in south central Sri Lanka, according to police.Traffic on the Colombo-Ratnapura main road was disrupted for about an hour following the accident.All those injured were taken to a regional hospital. Local media reported that none of the victims is in serious condition.Further, according to Xinhua news agency, a total of 592 Sri Lankans have died in 565 fatal road accidents as of April 2 this year.Deputy Inspector General of Motor Traffic and Road Safety of Sri Lanka Police, Indika Hapugoda, had told the media that there were 594 fatal accidents, claiming 619 lives during the same period in 2024.He also noted that April tends to record a higher number of fatal road accidents due to multiple nationwide celebrations, with 204 deaths reported during the month in 2024 alone, adding that December is another month that typically sees a spike in road fatalities for similar reasons.Looking at annual figures, Hapugoda said 2,341 people died in 2,231 fatal road accidents in 2023, and the number rose in 2024, with 2,541 deaths recorded from 2,403 fatal accidents.He further highlighted that 7,127 people sustained serious injuries in fatal accidents in 2024, many of whom now face long-term medical treatment or permanent disabilities.–IANSint/bpd/sd

Vientiane/ Hanoi, July 21 (IANS) Vietnam and Laos brace for nature’s fury on Monday, as…

Moscow, July 21 (IANS) Russia is ready to move quickly towards a settlement on Ukraine, but the main objective is to achieve its goals, said the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
President Vladimir Putin “has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible,” Peskov told state television in an interview on Sunday. “This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy.””Our goals are clear, they are obvious, they do not change,” he added.Russian officials have said repeatedly that any peace deal hinges on Ukraine withdrawing forces from four regions, renouncing its NATO bid and halting NATO troop deployments.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that his officials have proposed holding a new round of peace talks with Moscow this week. “Everything should be done to achieve a ceasefire,” he said in his evening address to the nation.On July 14, US President Donald Trump, during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, said the United States will send weapons to Ukraine through NATO, and threatened “severe tariffs” targeting Russia if a ceasefire deal is not reached in 50 days, Xinhua news agency reported.Russia rejected Trump’s 50-day ultimatum, dismissing the threat as unacceptable.Following the announcement, US Permanent Representative to NATO Matthew Whitaker stated that President Trump’s statements on supplying arms to Ukraine and the introduction of additional anti-Russian restrictions are likely to trigger a response from Russia, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.Trump also said he would impose “very severe tariffs” on Russia.Expressing his anger at Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, he said, “My conversations with him are very pleasant, and then the missiles go off at night.”“I felt we had a deal about four times″ between Russia and Ukraine, “but it just kept going on and on”, said Trump, who tried to broker a deal.–IANSint/bpd/sd