New York: India and Pakistan came “too close” to a nuclear conflagration during the 2019 confrontation with both sides believing the other was preparing to deploy nuclear weapons, according to former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
He recounted in his book, “Never Give an Inch”, his frantic night-time diplomatic efforts to get the neighbours to stand down after getting a call from External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar warning him that he believed Pakistan was readying nuclear weapons for a strike and India was considering its own escalation.
“I do not think the world properly knows just how close the India-Pakistan rivalry came to spilling over in a nuclear conflagration,” he wrote.
But, he added, “the truth is, I don’t know precisely the answer either. I just know it was too close”.
He was woken up at night while he was on a visit to Hanoi with a call from Jaishankar who told him that “he believed the Pakistanis had begun to prepare their nuclear weapons for a strike”.
“India, he informed me, was contemplating its own escalation. I asked him to do nothing and give us a minute to sort things out,” Pompeo wrote.
Working with John Bolton, who was then the US National Security Adviser, from their Hanoi hotel room he “reached the actual leader of Pakistan. General (Qamer Javed) Bajwaa”, he wrote.
“I told him what the Indians had told me. He said it wasn’t true. As one might expect, he believed the Indians were preparing their own nuclear weapons for deployment.
“It took us a few hours, and remarkably good work by our teams on the ground in New Delhi and Islamabad, to convince each side that neither was to convince each side or the other was not preparing for nuclear war,” Pompeo added.
Taking credit for the de-escalation, he wrote: “No other nation could have done that, but we did that night to avoid a horrible outcome.”
He acknowledged the work of Kenneth Juster, who was the then US envoy in New Delhi, calling him “an incredibly capable ambassador” who “loves India and its people”.
Pompeo, who was the director of the Central Intelligence Agency before becoming the Secretary of State, recounted in the book his four years in former President Donald Trump’s cabinet.
The book subtitled, “Fighting for the America I Love”, lays out how he aggressively implemented Trump’s ‘America First’ vision.
Writing about his efforts to deepen ties with New Delhi, Pompeo wrote that he “made India the fulcrum of my diplomacy to contract Chinese aggression”.
“I chose to devote serious quantities of time and effort to make India the next great American ally,” he added.
New Delhi: ‘MasterChef India’ contestant Aruna Vijay from Chennai spoke about exploring South Indian cuisine and how it is not just confined to idli, dosa, and rice; there is a lot more in South India.
She said: “Many people take south Indian cuisine for granted and believe we simply eat idlis, dosa, and rice, which is not the case. Having the chance to disprove this type of stereotype makes me feel elated. I am proud to be representing my home state. I will be able to evolve people’s mindset about Tamil Nadu and its flavourful cuisine. We really are a rich state, bursting with flavours and I am only but a medium of spreading the word about Tamilian cuisine.”
Aruna is now among the Top 15 contestants on the show. She added that it is a great responsibility to represent a state as what you prepare will be making a perception in the minds of people of what all eat in that particular part.
“There of course is the responsibility of representation and correct representation that I shoulder. It’s not only pride that courses through me when I think about my purpose on the show for Tamil Nadu but also immense love for my home. I feel like I invite viewers every day to my kitchen whenever I cook on the show and show them a glimpse into the culinary history of Tamil Nadu,” she added.
The chef added that there are times on the show when she is not happy with her preparation and it is quite challenging to overcome the feeling of dissatisfaction and start again.
“There have been times when I am not happy with my plate and many times when I am and that goes to show how a cook really puts their blood, sweat and tears into plating their creation. I feel no less than an artist at work, painting with masalas and ingredients. No journey is without its hurdles and of course, I have foreseen my difficulties but they only challenge me, my inner chef,” she concluded.
‘MasterChef India’ airs on Sony Entertainment Television.
New Delhi: Amid recent incidents of unruly passenger behaviour, Air India has modified its in-flight alcohol service policy wherein cabin crew have been told to tactfully further serving of alcohol if needed.
The Tata group-owned airline has been slapped with penalties in the last few days by DGCA for the unruly behaviour of passengers onboard two international flights for reporting lapses.
The exact changes in the revised policy could not be immediately ascertained.
According to the revised policy, guests should not be permitted to drink alcohol unless served by the cabin crew and that the cabin crew be attentive to identifying guests that might be consuming their own alcohol.
“Service of alcoholic beverages must be carried out in a reasonable and safe manner. This includes tactfully refusing to (further) serve a guest alcohol,” as per the policy.
In a statement, an Air India spokesperson said the airline has reviewed its existing in-flight alcohol service policy, taking reference from other carriers’ practice and input from the US National Restaurants Association’s guidelines.
“These were largely in line with Air India’s existing practice, though some adjustments have been made for better clarity, and NRA’s Traffic Light system included to help crew recognise and manage possible cases of intoxication.
“The new policy has now been promulgated to crew and included in training curricula. Air India remains committed to the safety and well-being of our passengers and cabin crew, including but not limited to the responsible service of alcohol,” the spokesperson said.
New Delhi: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi arrived here on Tuesday on a three-day state visit with a focus on enhancing bilateral ties in a range of areas including agriculture, digital domain and trade.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sisi will hold wide-ranging talks on Wednesday following which the two sides are expected to ink half a dozen agreements to boost ties in a number of areas.
“Warm welcome to India, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Your historic visit to India as Chief Guest for our Republic Day celebrations is a matter of immense happiness for all Indians. Look forward to our discussions tomorrow. @AlsisiOfficial,” Modi tweeted.
The 68-year-old influential Arab leader will grace the Republic Day celebrations as the chief guest.
Minister of State for External Affairs RajKumar Ranjan Singh welcomed President Sisi at the airport.
“This visit will further deepen the long-standing India-Egypt friendship,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Twitter.
Sisi is accompanied by a high-level delegation.
The Egyptian president previously visited India in October 2015 to participate in the third India-Africa Forum Summit which was followed by his state visit in September 2016.
This is for the first time that the President of Egypt has been invited as the chief guest to India’s Republic Day celebrations. A military contingent from the Egyptian Army will also participate in the Republic Day parade.
Sisi will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday ahead of his talks with Modi.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will also call on Sisi.
“The forthcoming visit of President Sisi is expected to further strengthen and deepen the time-tested partnership between India and Egypt,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement on Saturday.
India is keen to further expand ties with Egypt, a key player in the politics of both the Arab world as well as Africa. It is also seen as a major gateway to markets in Africa and Europe.
The MEA said the multifaceted relationship between the two countries is based on shared cultural values, commitment to foster economic growth, collaboration in the fields of defence and security and convergence on regional and global issues.
The bilateral trade between the two sides has been on an upswing in the last few years.
The bilateral trade between India and Egypt achieved a “record high” of USD 7.26 billion in 2021-22, according to the MEA.
More than 50 Indian companies have invested around USD 3.15 billion in diverse sectors of the Egyptian economy, including chemicals, energy, textile, garment, agri-business and retail.
Washington: Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed that he was awakened to speak to his then Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj who told him that Pakistan was preparing for a nuclear attack in the wake of the Balakot surgical strike in February 2019 and India is preparing its own escalatory response.
In his latest book ‘Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love’ that hit the stores on Tuesday, Pompeo says that the incident took place when he was in Hanoi for the US-North Korea Summit on February 27-28 and his team worked overnight with both New Delhi and Islamabad to avert this crisis.
“I do not think the world properly knows just how close the India-Pakistan rivalry came to spilling over into a nuclear conflagration in February 2019. The truth is, I don’t know precisely the answer either; I just know it was too close,” Pompeo writes.
India’s warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF jawans.
“I’ll never forget the night I was in Hanoi, Vietnam when – as if negotiating with the North Koreans on nuclear weapons wasn’t enough – India and Pakistan started threatening each other in connection with a decades-long dispute over the northern border region of Kashmir,” Pompeo says.
“After an Islamist terrorist attack in Kashmir- probably enabled in part by Pakistan’s lax counterterror policies – killed forty Indians, India responded with an air strike against terrorists inside Pakistan. The Pakistanis shot down a plane in a subsequent dogfight and kept the Indian pilot prisoner,” he said.
“In Hanoi, I was awakened to speak with my Indian counterpart. He believed the Pakistanis had begun to prepare their nuclear weapons for a strike. India, he informed me, was contemplating its own escalation. I asked him to do nothing and give us a minute to sort things out (sic),” Pompeo writes in his book, which wrongly refers to Swaraj as “he”.
“I began to work with Ambassador (then National Security Advisor John) Bolton, who was with me in the tiny secure communications facility in our hotel. I reached the actual leader of Pakistan, (Army chief) General (Qamar Javed) Bajwa, with whom I had engaged many times. I told him what the Indians had told me. He said it wasn’t true,” Pompeo says.
“As one might expect, he believed the Indians were preparing their nuclear weapons for deployment. It took us a few hours – and remarkably good work by our teams on the ground in New Delhi and Islamabad – to convince each side that the other was not preparing for nuclear war,” the 59-year-old top former American diplomat wrote in his book.
There was no immediate comment from the Ministry of External Affairs on Pompeo’s claims.
“No other nation could have done what we did that night to avoid a horrible outcome. As with all diplomacy, the people working the problem set matter a great deal, at least in the short run. I was fortunate to have great team members in place in India, none more so than Ken Juster, an incredibly capable ambassador. Ken loves India and its people,” he said.
“And, most of all, he loves the American people and worked his tail off for us every day. My most senior diplomat, David Hale, had also been the US ambassador to Pakistan and knew that our relationship with India was a priority,” Pompeo said.
“General McMaster and Admiral Philip Davidson, the head of what came to be renamed the US Indo-Pacific Command, understood India’s importance, too,” he said.
“Although often frustrated by the Indians, US trade representative Robert Lighthizer – a brilliant trade negotiator and a Bob Dole staff alumnus, making him a near-Kansan – was a great partner working to deepen economic ties. We all shared the view that America had to make a bold strategic effort to tighten our ties with India and break the mold with new ideas,” Pompeo writes in his book.
New Delhi: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday and was accorded a warm welcome. He will be the chief guest at the 74th Republic Day parade.
He is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including five ministers and senior officials for his official visit from January 24-27.
As he arrived in New Delhi, the traditional folk dance is being performed to welcome Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
It is pertinent to mention that this is the first time the President of Egypt has been invited as the chief guest on Republic Day.
Notably, India and Egypt are celebrating 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations this year. India has also invited Egypt as a ‘guest country” during its G20 Presidency.
According to the statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs, Sisi will be accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Wednesday.
He is scheduled to meet President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar among others, with whom he will hold a meeting at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, as per a media advisory released by the MEA.
On the same day, the Egyptian president will lay a wreath at the Rajghat, the memorial of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. He will hold a meeting with PM Modi and discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest during his stay.
The same evening, President Droupadi Murmu will host a state banquet in honour of the visiting dignitary.
On Republic Day, Sisi will witness the Republic Day Parade as the chief guest. A military contingent of the Egyptian Army will march on the Rajpath along with other contingents.
Sisi will attend the “at home” reception by President Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhawan. He will also hold a meeting with Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. He will interact with the business community in India. Sisi will return to Cairo on January 27.
“This is for the first time that the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt has been invited as Chief Guest on our Republic Day. A military contingent from Egyptian Army will also participate in the Republic Day parade,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in an official statement on Monday.
The Ministry of External Affairs stated, “The forthcoming visit of President Sisi is expected to further strengthen and deepen the time-tested partnership between India and Egypt.”
India and Egypt have “warm and friendly relations marked by civilizational, cultural and economic linkages and deep-rooted people-to-people ties”, as per the MEA statement.
The ties between the two nations are based on shared cultural values, commitment to strengthening economic growth, and cooperation in various sectors, including defence, security and convergence on regional and global issues.
New Delhi: Samsung India on Tuesday said it now has more than 62 million Galaxy A series smartphone customers in India and people can now enjoy a true 5G experience at just Rs 44 a day, or Rs 1,320 a month, via attractive EMI options, as the country-wide 5G roll out gains momentum in 2023.
Aditya Babbar, Samsung India’s Senior Director of Mobile Business, told IANS that the early launch of new 5G smartphones is part of the company’s 5G-first strategy and will help the South Korean company secure 75 per cent of its smartphone business through 5G devices this year.
“We’ve come up with multiple affordability options for our consumers, including extremely low EMIs, starting as low as Rs 44 per day for newly-launched Galaxy A14 5G,” Babbar said.
Last year, Galaxy A series was India’s best-selling smartphone series.
“In fact, the Galaxy A is industry’s fastest-growth smartphone series (above 10 million units). We believe the launch of Galaxy A14 5G and A23 5G will help us start the year on a strong note,” Babbar added.
Samsung’s new Galaxy A series smartphones are made for the 5G era and come with a large 6.6-inch screen and a 5000mAh battery for seamless entertainment.
Samsung is betting big on its recently launched 5G smartphones – Galaxy A14 5G and A23 5G – to consolidate its 5G leadership in the country.
Galaxy A14 5G comes with Samsung’s new Galaxy signature design and is the company’s most affordable 5G smartphone in the A series portfolio in India, starting at an effective price of Rs 14,999.
Galaxy A23 5G, which comes with a 50MP camera with OIS, starts at an effective price of Rs 20,999.
According to Babbar, to democratise 5G technology in India, “we are not only reaching out to more customers by leveraging our distribution depth, but also providing more affordability options to customers”.
“We have ensured that A14 5G and A23 5G are the most widely distributed 5G smartphones in the country. We are also ensuring equal EMIs for our 4G and 5G phones,” Babbar told IANS.
Samsung said that 60 per cent of its customers use affordability platforms to buy smartphones, higher than the industry average of 40 per cent.
Nearly 80 per cent of Samsung customers who buy smartphones on credit use Samsung Finance+ platform, which the company launched in 2019.
Samsung led the India market in 5G smartphone shipments last year.
When you’re feeling under the weather, the last thing you want to do is trek from pharmacy to pharmacy searching for basic medicines like cough syrup and antibiotics. Yet many people across Europe — faced with a particularly harsh winter bug season— are having to do just that.
Since late 2022, EU countries have been reporting serious problems trying to source certain important drugs, with a majority now experiencing shortages. So just how bad is the situation and, crucially, what’s being done about it? POLITICO walks you through the main points.
How bad are the shortages?
In a survey of groups representing pharmacies in 29 European countries, including EU members as well as Turkey, Kosovo, Norway and North Macedonia, almost a quarter of countries reported more than 600 drugs in short supply, and 20 percent reported 200-300 drug shortages. Three-quarters of the countries said shortages were worse this winter than a year ago. Groups in four countries said that shortages had been linked to deaths.
It’s a portrait backed by data from regulators. Belgian authorities report nearly 300 medicines in short supply. In Germany that number is 408, while in Austria more than 600 medicines can’t be bought in pharmacies at the moment. Italy’s list is even longer — with over 3,000 drugs included, though many are different formulations of the same medicine.
Which medicines are affected?
Antibiotics — particularly amoxicillin, which is used to treat respiratory infections — are in short supply. Other classes of drugs, including cough syrup, children’s paracetamol, and blood pressure medicine, are also scarce.
Why is this happening?
It’s a mix of increased demand and reduced supply.
Seasonal infections — influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)first and foremost — started early and are stronger than usual. There’s also an unusual outbreak of throat disease Strep A in children. Experts think the unusually high level of disease activity is linked to weaker immune systems that are no longer familiar with the soup of germs surrounding us in daily life, due to lockdowns. This difficult winter, after a couple of quiet years (with the exception of COVID-19), caught drugmakers unprepared.
Inflation and the energy crisis have also been weighing on pharmaceutical companies, affecting supply.
Last year, Centrient Pharmaceuticals, a Dutch producer of active pharmaceutical ingredients, said its plant was producing a quarter lessoutput than in 2021 due to high energy costs. In December, InnoGenerics, another manufacturer from the Netherlands, was bailed out by the government after declaring bankruptcy to keep its factory open.
Commissioner Stella Kyriakides wrote to Greece’s health minister asking him to take into consideration the effects of bans on third countries | Stephanie Lecocq/EPA-EFE
The result, according to Sandoz, one of the largest producers on the European generics market, is an especially “tight supply situation.” A spokesperson told POLITICO that other culprits include scarcity of raw materials and manufacturing capacity constraints.They added that Sandoz is able to meet demand at the moment, but is “facing challenges.”
How are governments reacting?
Some countries are slamming the brakes on exports to protect domestic supplies. In November, Greece’s drugs regulator expanded the list of medicine whose resale to other countries — known as parallel trade — is banned. Romania has temporarily stopped exports of certain antibiotics and kids’ painkillers. Earlier in January, Belgium published a decree that allows the authorities to halt exports in case of a crisis.
These freezes can have knock-on effects. A letter from European Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides addressed to Greece’s Health Minister Thanos Plevris asked him to take into consideration the effects of bans on third countries. “Member States must refrain from taking national measures that could affect the EU internal market and prevent access to medicines for those in need in other Member States,” wrote Kyriakides.
Germany’s government is considering changing the law to ease procurement requirements, which currently force health insurers to buy medicines where they are cheapest, concentrating the supply into the hands of a few of the most price-competitive producers. The new law would have buyers purchase medicines from multiple suppliers, including more expensive ones, to make supply more reliable. The Netherlands recently introduced a law requiring vendors to keep six weeks of stockpiles to bridge shortages, and in Sweden the government is proposing similar rules.
At a more granular level, a committee led by the EU’s drugs regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), has recommended that rules be loosened to allow pharmacies to dispense pills or medicine doses individually, among other measures. In Germany, the president of the German Medical Association went so far as to call for the creation of informal “flea markets” for medicines, where people could give their unused drugs to patients who needed them. And in France and Germany, pharmacists have started producing their own medicines — though this is unlikely to make a big difference, given the extent of the shortfall.
Can the EU fix it?
In theory, the EU should be more ready thanever to tackle a bloc-wide crisis. It has recently upgraded its legislation to deal with health threats, including a lack of pharmaceuticals. The EMA has been given expanded powers to monitor drug shortages. And a whole new body, the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) has been set up, with the power to go on the market and purchase drugs for the entire bloc.
But not everyone agrees that it’s that bad yet.
Last Thursday, the EMA decided not to ask the Commission to declare the amoxycillin shortage a “major event” — an official label that would have triggered some (limited) EU-wide action— saying that current measures are improving the situation.
A European Medicines Agency’s working group on shortages could decide on Thursday whether to recommend that the Commission declares the drug shortages a“major event” — an official label that would trigger some (limited) EU-wide action. An EMA steering group for shortages would have the power to request data on drug stocks of the drugs and production capacity from suppliers, and issue recommendations on how to mitigate shortages.
At an appearance before the European Parliament’s health committee, the Commission’s top health official, Sandra Gallina, said she wanted to “dismiss a bit the idea that there is a huge shortage,” and said that alternative medications are available to use.
And others believe the situation will get better with time. “I think it will sort itself out, but that depends on the peak of infections,” said Adrian van den Hoven, director general of generics medicines lobby Medicines for Europe. “If we have reached the peak, supply will catch up quickly. If not, probably not a good scenario.”
Helen Collis and Sarah-Taïssir Bencharif contributed reporting.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )
Islamabad: India has invited Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Atta Bandial and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to attend meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that also includes Russia and China, a media report said.
India currently holds the presidency of the SCO which comprises Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran and Central Asian States, The Express Tribune reported.
As president of the SCO, New Delhi is set to host a series of events, including a conference of the chief justices of member states, meeting of the foreign ministers and a summit in 2023.
The meeting of Chief Justices of the SCO is scheduled for March while the Foreign Ministers will meet in May.
Official sources confirmed to The Express Tribune on Monday that India shared the invitations with Pakistan for the Chief Justice and Foreign Minister.
It is, however, not clear whether the Chief Justice and the Foreign Minister will attend both the events or depute someone to represent Pakistan.
Pakistan hasn’t yet responded to the Indian invite, according to sources.
Given the SCO is an important forum because of the presence of China and Russia, Pakistan is unlikely to stay out of the events, reports The Express Tribune.
Both Pakistan and India were accepted as full members of the influential organisation a few years back after they committed not to undermine the SCO work because of their bilateral disputes.
The meeting of the SCO Foreign Ministers is due to take place in Goa, Express Tribune reported.
