Politics

Chennai: China's President Xi Jinping arrived in Chennai to a grand welcome on Friday. Chinese president's visit that comes soon after the recent episode of tensions in bilateral ties over India's decision to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir's special status and reorganise the state into two union territories.

Xi is accompanied by Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi. Both are scheduled to hold separate talks with their Indian counterparts - S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Officials on both sides said the focus of the Modi-Xi summit would be to insulate bilateral trade and development cooperation between the emerging economic powerhouse from differences on Kashmir and the vexed boundary issue.

Notwithstanding the strained ties, the state and the central government agencies have left no stone unturned to accord a warm and grand welcome to Xi. This temple town has been decorated with flowers and colourful lights and historical sites to be visited by the Chinese leader have been spruced up.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E K Palaniswami, Governor Banwarilal Purohit and Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Assembly P Dhanapal welcomed the Chinese leader, who has come to India on a nearly 24-hour visit for his second informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

A cultural ceremony was organised to welcome the visiting leader. The venue of the summit, the ancient coastal town of Mamallapuram, about 50 km from the Tamil Nadu capital, is significant as it has strong trade and cultural links with China's Fujian province. A large number of artistes lined up at the airport waving colourful flags, beating drums and dancing to traditional music to welcome the influential Chinese leader.

Xi's visit comes two days after he held talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in Bejing.

A China-Pakistan joint statement issued after talks said China is paying "close attention" to the situation in Kashmir and that the issue is a dispute left from history, and should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter.The comments angered India as it asserted that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the country and China is well aware of New Delhi's position.

Officials said there will be at least five occasions when Modi and Xi will have opportunities to engage on an one-on-one setting on Friday and Saturday. At 5 pm, Modi will take Xi to three iconic monuments of Mamallapuram -- Arjuna's Penance, Panch Rathas and the Shore temple. Then the two leaders will witness a cultural programme at the temple complex.

This is the second edition of the informal summit between Modi and Xi. The first informal between the two leaders was held in picturesque Chinese lake city of Wuhan in April 2018, months after a 73-day face off between the armies of the two countries in Doklam tri-junction raised fears of a war between the two Asian giants.

On Saturday, the two leaders will hold one-on-one talks at the Fisherman's Cove resort. This will be followed up by delegation-level talks. After the talks, Modi will host a lunch for Xi, and the Chinese leader will leave for Chennai airport at 12.45 pm,as per the reports.

#WATCH Tamil Nadu: Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed by folk dancers and musicians, upon his arrival at Chennai airport pic.twitter.com/HB37PVAyh9

— ANI (@ANI) 11 अक्तूबर 2019

New Delhi: The Modi government has issued new guidelines for the Special Protection Group (SPG) protecting the Gandhi family. According to this new directive, SPG protection has been made compulsory for any member of the Gandhi family during their entire visit while traveling abroad. Till now SPG security personnel used to go to the foreign destination (first location) only with the Gandhi family.

At the same time, if members of the Gandhi family do not accept this, then their foreign travel may also be cut due to security reasons. Earlier, after coming together to the first location, members of the Gandhi family used to return all security personnel back to India citing their privacy. In such a situation, there was an increased risk for them during further foreign travel.

According to the new guidelines issued by the Modi government, now if a member of the Gandhi family visits London, the SPG security personnel will be with them at all times till they return to Delhi, as if they live with them in India. If a member of former PM Rajiv Gandhi's family wants to go on a foreign tour, the Indian embassy in the country concerned will talk with the local police to provide them security besides SPG protection.

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday will perform ‘Shastra Puja’ in Paris on Dusshera  where he will receive the first Rafale fighter jet, officials said. 

Rajnath will be leaving for Paris on a two-day visit, primarily to receive the first of 36 Rafale fighter jets on Tuesday when Dusshera coincides with the foundation day of the Indian Air Force. The Defence Minister will take a sortie in the aircraft from an airbase in Paris for first-hand experience. The first batch of four aircraft will reach India by May next year.

Officials said top military brass of France as well as senior officials of Dassault Aviation, the makers of Rafale, would be present at the Rafale handing-over ceremony. Sources said a high-level team of the Indian Air Force was already in Paris to coordinate with the French officials on the ceremony. On October 9, Rajnath is scheduled to hold extensive talks with top defence brass of the French Government on ways to further deepen defence and security cooperation between the two countries.

The sources said the first squadron of the aircraft will be deployed at the Ambala Air Force station. The India-Pakistan border is about 220 km from there. The second squadron of Rafale will be stationed at Hasimara base in West Bengal. The Rafale jets will come with  India-specific modifications, including Israeli helmet-mounted displays, radar-warning receivers, low-band jammers, 10-hour flight data recording, infra-red search and tracking systems.

New Delhi: Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday has released a promotional video showcasing the story of airstrike on Jaish-e-Mohammed’s terror camp in Pakistan’s Balakot in February this year.

The promotional video was released during a press conference on annual Air Force Day which falls on October 8, by Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria.

The action followed a suicide bombing claimed by the terror group that killed 40 troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama on February 14.

The Balakot airstrike mission was carried out with such secrecy that not even close family members of the assault team knew about the developments.

IAF fighter planes had destroyed the Jaish-e-Mohammed province after entering Pakistani airspace for the first time in 48 years.

Military tensions between India and Pakistan escalated following this air strike, with Pakistan air force fighters, including F-16s, making a failed attempt to bomb Indian military installations on February 27.

Both air forces lost one fighter plane each in the aerial engagement, with IAF’s Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman ending up in Pakistani custody after his MiG-21 Bison crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He was returned to India on March 1.

Take a look at the video:- 

#WATCH Indian Air Force showcases the story of the Balakot aerial strikes in a promotional video at the annual Air Force Day press conference by Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria. pic.twitter.com/GBRWwWe6sJ

— ANI (@ANI) 4 अक्तूबर 2019