THE HEADLINES:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, India’s Act East Policy has given new energy, momentum, and direction to ties with ASEAN countries; Holds bilateral meetings with ASEAN leaders in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

• Centre declares Hizb-Ut-Tahrir and all its manifestations and front organizations as terrorist organizations under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

• Last rites of renowned industrialist Ratan Tata performed with full state honours at Worli Crematorium in Mumbai.

• Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to South Korean author Han Kang.

• Durga Pooja celebrations underway with religious fervour across the country.

• And in Sports: Indian men’s Table Tennis team secures bronze medal at Asian Championships in Astana after losing to Chinese Taipei in semifinals.

• Rafael Nadal announces retirement from professional Tennis.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India’s Act East Policy has given new energy, momentum, and direction to ties with Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN countries. Speaking at the India-ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Lao PDR today, he stressed that the 21st century is the century of India and ASEAN countries. The Prime Minister said, India and ASEAN countries are peace-loving nations, and they respect each other’s national integrity and sovereignty.

 

Highlighting the importance of ties between India and ASEAN countries, Prime Minister Modi said trade with the ASEAN region has almost doubled to over 130 billion dollars in the past ten years. He said, India has direct flight connectivity with seven ASEAN countries, and soon direct flights will start with Brunei.

 

On the occasion, the Prime Minister announced a 10-point plan to further boost relations between India and ASEAN countries. The next year will be celebrated as the ASEAN-India Year of Tourism, for which India will make available five million US dollars towards joint activities.

 

India and the ASEAN countries have stressed collaboration to leverage Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in several sectors, including education, healthcare, agriculture, and climate action. In a joint statement on advancing digital infrastructure, India-ASEAN acknowledged the opportunities for collaboration to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices to promote DPI development across the region.

 

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Laos, Prime Minister Modi held a series of bilateral meetings with ASEAN leaders. During his meeting with the newly appointed Prime Minister of Japan, Shigeru Ishiba, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership through enhanced cooperation in a wide range of areas. This includes trade and investment, infrastructure development, defense and security, semiconductors, culture, and people-to-people exchanges. Both leaders also emphasized that India and Japan are indispensable partners for a peaceful, safe, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region and renewed their commitment to working together to achieve this goal. Mr. Modi also held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of New Zealand, Christopher Luxon. This was the first meeting between the two leaders. The two Prime Ministers discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation across a range of areas, including trade and investment, defense and security, renewable energy, education, agri-tech, sports, tourism, space, and people-to-people ties.

 

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi was welcomed by the Minister of Home Affairs of Lao PDR, Vilayvong Bouddakham after his arrival in Vientiane, this afternoon. He is also scheduled to attend the 19th East Asia Summit in Vientiane during his visit.

 

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The Centre has declared Hizb-Ut-Tahrir and all its manifestations and front organizations as terrorist organizations under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. In a Gazette notification, the Union Home Ministry said Hizb-Ut-Tahrir is allegedly involved in the radicalization and motivation of gullible youth to join terrorist organizations, such as ISIS, and raising funds for terror activities. It said, the aim of the organization is to establish an Islamic state and Caliphate globally, including in India, by overthrowing democratically elected governments through jihad and terrorist activities.

 

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In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Vice President of the National Conference, Omar Abdullah, was unanimously elected as the Legislature Party Leader today. After emerging as the single largest party with 42 elected MLAs, the National Conference held its legislature party meeting in Srinagar to discuss government formation with its pre-poll alliance partners, Congress and CPI (M). Four winning independent candidates also joined the National Conference during the meeting.

 

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The Last rites of renowned industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata were performed with full state honours at Worli Crematorium in Mumbai this evening. Ratan Tata, who is credited with transforming the Tata Group into a globally renowned conglomerate, breathed his last at the age of 86, at a hospital in Mumbai last night. President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Ministers and leaders expressed their condolences on the demise of the veteran industrialist.

 

Our correspondent reports that a huge crowd of admirers had gathered at the Worli Crematorium to pay their respects to Ratan Tata.

 

“The last rites of Ratan Tata, one of India’s most internationally recognised business leaders, took place today evening at the Worli crematorium according to Parsi customs. People from all walks of life attended the cremation ceremony. Union Minister Amit Shah, Union Home Minister Piyush Goyal, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde, Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis among others were seen at the crematorium. Earlier today, many industrialists including Kumar Managalam Birla and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das paid homage to the departed soul at the NCPA lawns. The Maharashtra government declared today as a day of mourning in the state as a mark of respect to the late industrialist. The Maharashtra cabinet today passed a proposal to request the Union government to award the Bharat Ratna to Ratan Tata. Prarthna, Akashvani News, Mumbai.”

 

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The 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to South Korean author Han Kang. She was honored for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life. The Nobel committee at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences made this announcement today. Ms. Kang is widely known for her novel The Vegetarian, which was written in three parts. According to the Nobel committee, she is the first South Korean writer to win the award.

 

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The Durga Puja festival is being celebrated with religious fervour across the country particularly in Eastern states like West Bengal, Assam, Tripura and Odisha.

 

In West Bengal, a large number of devotees are gathering in pandals across the state to have a glimpse of the Goddess’ Idol. In the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, Darjeeling Hills and Siliguri, thousands of people, wearing traditional dresses, took part in processions, chanting Maata Durga bhajans.

 

In Odisha, the famous Durga Puja, also known as Durgotsava or Sharadotsav, commenced today with rituals and festive spirit. This year, more than 300 Dussehra pandals have come up in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

 

In Assam, all puja committees across the state have designed the makeshift Durga puja pandals with various motifs and themes to attract people and disseminate constructive messages.

 

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Marking the seventh day of the ongoing 10-day-long Dashain festival in Nepal, the Phulpati ceremony is observed today. Dashain is the biggest festival in Nepal and on the occasion of phulpati, people offer sacrifices in temples and bring assorted holy leaves and flowers inside their homes.

 

“Phulpati is an assortment of sugarcane, turmeric, ginger saplings, belpatra, delicacies, flowers and fruits that are anointed and taken inside the home and shakti temples on banana leaves as part of the celebration. Common man as well as the State celebrates Phulpati with great fervour. In a Phulpati badhai ceremony organised by the State at Tundikhel in Kathmandu, President Ramchandra Paudel, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Nepali Army, was the Chief Guest. The Phulpati Badhai is a unique celebration practised by the Nepal Army in continuity to religion, culture, and tradition. Sweta Singh for Akashwani News, Kathmandu.”

 

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In USA, more than three million homes and businesses are now without power in Florida after Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida’s west coast last night as a Category 3 storm. The US National Hurricane Center reports that Hurricane Milton has completed its transit of Florida and has moved off the state’s east coast. However, the center warns that it is still producing hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall in east-central Florida.

 

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The Indian men’s Table Tennis team secured a bronze medal at the Asian Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, after losing 0-3 to Chinese Taipei in the semifinals today. Sharath Kamal went down to Lin Yun-Ju in the opening singles rubber. In the second singles match, Manav Thakkar fought hard before losing 1-3 to Kao Cheng-Jui. The Indian men’s team had also bagged bronze medals in 2021 and 2023.

 

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Spain’s tennis legend Rafael Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam singles champion, has announced his retirement from professional Tennis. He shared the news through a video on social media, expressing his gratitude for the support throughout his career. Nadal’s final tournament will be the Davis Cup finals this November in Malaga, marking a fitting conclusion to his illustrious journey. Nadal has a total of 92 ATP singles titles to his name, including 36 Masters titles as well as an Olympic gold medal.

 

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In the ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup, Bangladesh have set a target of 104 runs for West Indies in the third Group B match at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the UAE.

 

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, India’s Act East Policy has given new energy, momentum, and direction to ties with ASEAN countries; Holds bilateral meetings with ASEAN leaders in Vientiane, Lao PDR.
• Centre declares Hizb-Ut-Tahrir and all its manifestations and front organizations as terrorist organizations under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
• Last rites of renowned industrialist Ratan Tata performed with full state honours at Worli Crematorium in Mumbai.
• Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to South Korean author Han Kang.
• Durga Pooja celebrations underway with religious fervour across the country.
• And in Sports: Indian men’s Table Tennis team secures bronze medal at Asian Championships in Astana after losing to Chinese Taipei in semifinals.