Author: Aadarsh Satwant

India’s central bank on Friday announced it will withdraw rupees 2,000 currency notes from circulation. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), however, added that the 2,000 rupee notes will continue to be legal tender until Sept. 30. The RBI has advised banks to stop issuing rupees 2,000 denomination banknotes with immediate effect. The RBI first printed the rupees 2,000 note in November 2016 after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a surprise televised address to the nation announced the withdrawal of currency notes of rupees 500 and 1,000 from the country’s financial system. The controversial move on Nov. 8, 2016,…

Seven bodies were recovered from a Chinese fishing vessel that capsized in the central Indian Ocean, according to state media on Monday, days after China President Xi Jinping ordered an all-out search to rescue and recover missing crew members. Several countries, including Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Maldives, and the Philippines, joined in rescue efforts for 39 missing crew members after the Chinese distant-water fishing vessel “Lupeng Yuanyu 028” capsized early last Tuesday, state-run CCTV reported. The vessel is owned by Penglai Jinglu Fishery Co Ltd based in Shandong province. The company has yet to release a statement on the incident. Of the 39 people…

Brussels, London (6/6 – 60) Indonesian Minister of Defense and 2024 presidential candidate, Prabowo Subianto delivered a peace plan for the Russia-Ukraine war at the Shangri-La Dialogue, which is being held for the twentieth time this year. The 2023 event took place in Singapore on 2–4 June. It was attended by defense ministers of the Asia-Pacific region and associated officials, as well as high-level delegations from the European Union and international organizations, invited to observe. The article “Singapore hosts key Asia defense summit with eye on Ukraine” details the essence of the meeting. The proposal was severely criticized and rejected…

German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has acquired a 40% stake in India’s leading private terminal and inland transport service provider J M Baxi Ports & Logistics Limited. Hapag-Lloyd AG signed the binding agreement on Wednesday. Under the terms, it will acquire 35 % of J M Baxi Ports & Logistics Limited (JMBPL) from a Bain Capital Private Equity affiliate. A second agreement signed by Hapag-Lloyd AG with JMBPL and its promoters, the Kotak family, subscribes Hapag-Lloyd to a capital increase raising its shareholding to 40%. The financial details of the deal are not being disclosed. J M Baxi Ports &…

Aishwarya Rai was among the first ones to console Karthi as he got emotional at a Ponniyin Selvan 2 press conference ahead of its release. Actor Karthi turned emotional at a promotional event on Tuesday as he bid adieu to the team of Ponniyin Selvan ahead of the release of the second part. A clip has surfaced on social media where Karthi can be seen turning emotional as he talks about being part of the team. Aishwarya Rai and others can be seen consoling him and giving him a hug.  Karthi plays the character of commander Vandhiyathevan in Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus.…

Tug boats have towed free one of the world’s biggest container ships, the Mumbai Maersk, which had run aground off the German island of Wangerooge in the North Sea, Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said on Friday. “The Mumbai Maersk was towed free during a second attempt,” the Central Command said in a statement on its website. “The large container ship is to be brought to the port of destination Bremerhaven at the earliest possible time.” An offshore tug boat, a multi-purpose vessel and six assistance tugs were involved in the operation, it added. The Denmark-flagged ship was on its way from…

India Meteorological Department (IMD) Tuesday forecasts a gradual rise in maximum temperature by 2 to 4 degree Celsius over many parts of the country in the next four days. Heatwave conditions are very likely in isolated pockets over coastal Gangetic West Bengal and coastal Odisha from Thursday to Saturday, it added. According to the IMD, the maximum temperatures are in the range of 39-41 degrees Celsius over some parts of Gujarat and less than 39 degree Celsius over the rest parts of the country. On Monday, two places in Odisha — Jharsuguda and Baripada, recorded a maximum temperature of 40.4…

U.S. and Philippine armed forces unleashed a volley of missiles on a mock enemy warship in the South China Sea on Wednesday, in a show of military power and a strengthening alliance at a time of rising regional tension.  Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr watched from a four-story tower as a high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) fired rockets at a decommissioned navy corvette in the waters just a few miles off its western province of Zambales. It was the first time the annual U.S.-Philippines “Balikatan” exercises featured live fire drills at sea, at a location just a few hours…

China’s defense ministry said on Friday that it yet again had to monitor and drive away the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Milius that entered its territorial waters in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands. “We sternly demand the U.S. to immediately stop such provocative acts, otherwise it will bear the serious consequences of unforeseen incidents,” a spokesperson said in a statement from the Ministry of National Defence. The U.S. Navy said the guided-missile destroyer was asserting its navigational rights and freedoms. “Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms…

As a Philippine coast guard aircraft flew over the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea on Thursday, a message came in over the radio telling it to immediately leave “Chinese territory.” Such warnings, from a Chinese coast guard ship, have become an almost daily ritual around one of the world’s most contested archipelagos, where China is one of five countries claiming the strategic islands – or at least some of them – as their own. “Calling China coast guard vessel. You are transiting inside Philippine territorial sea,” the Philippine pilot radios back. “Request identify yourself and state your intention to prevent misunderstanding,” he said. …