PM Modi arrives in UAE for final leg of two-nation visit
Abu Dhabi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Saturday on a day-long visit to the UAE during which he will meet UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and review the burgeoning bilateral ties between the two strategic partners.
Modi arrived in Abu Dhabi following his successful two-day visit to Paris where he joined French President Emmanuel Macron for the Bastille Day parade as the Guest of Honour and signed several agreements to bolster bilateral ties.
Prime Minister Modi will hold talks with Sheikh Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi.
"I look forward to meeting my friend, H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan," Prime Minister Modi said in his departure statement on Thursday.
"Our two countries are engaged across a wide range of sectors such as trade, investments, energy, food security, science and technology, education, fintech, defence, security, and robust people-to-people ties," he said.
Energy, food security, and defence are expected to be the focus areas of Modi's visit to the UAE during which the two countries will review the progress in bilateral relations after they inked a landmark trade agreement.
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which gave a new thrust to the economic engagement between the two countries, was signed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
India and the UAE are engaged across various sectors such as trade, investments, energy, food security, science and technology, education, fintech, defence, security, and robust people-to-people ties.
The Indian expatriate community is the largest ethnic community in UAE constituting roughly 30 per cent of the country's population. The number of resident Indian Nationals was estimated to be 3.5 million in 2021 as per the UAE records.
Landed in Abu Dhabi. I look forward to the deliberations with HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which will further deepen India-UAE cooperation. @MohamedBinZayed pic.twitter.com/l3alPoKjXK
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 15, 2023
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NIA registers case to probe recovery of 79 crude bombs in poll-bound West Bengal
New Delhi (PTI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday registered a case to probe recovery of 79 crude bombs in poll-bound West Bengal, officials said.
The move came following a directive by the Union Home Ministry in this regard, they said.
In pursuance to the home ministry's order, the anti-terror agency on Sunday registered a case, which was originally filed at Uttar Kashi police station, Bhangar division, Kolkata on Saturday, and took up the investigation, an NIA spokesperson said in a late night statement.
"The case pertains to recovery of 79 crude bombs and other incriminating materials by Kolkata police, which were being stored at a spot, thereby endangering human life and property," the spokesperson said.
Earlier in the day, the Election Commission had directed the West Bengal Police to launch a special drive to arrest those involved in illegal manufacturing of crude bombs in the poll-bound state, an official said.
It asserted that all cases related to the making of any such explosive would be probed by the National Investigation Agency, the official said.
The directive came after the police recovered a large number of crude bombs from the house of a person, allegedly a TMC worker, at Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district, days ahead of the second and final phase of the assembly polls in the state.
The explosives were recovered during a search at the residence of Rafikul Islam following specific inputs, the official said.
The poll panel also issued a warning to senior police officers across the state over any lapse in maintaining law and order before the April 29 polling.
The first phase of the assembly elections in West Bengal was held on April 23, while the second phase will take place on April 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.
A record 93.19 per cent turnout has been recorded in the first round of polling. Bhangar will vote in the second phase.
