PM Modi arrives in Japan for G20 Summit
Osaka (Japan): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday arrived here in Japan for the G20 Summit during which he will attend important plurilateral meetings and meet with the world leaders including US President Donald Trump.
"Early morning arrival in Osaka. The #G20 Summit, bilateral and multilateral interactions await PM @narendramodi in the coming two days. He will elaborate on many issues of global importance and present India's viewpoint," the prime minister's office (PMO) tweeted.
This will be Prime Minister Modi's sixth G20 Summit which is being held at Osaka on June 28-29.
"PM @narendramodi arrives at Kansai International airport in #Osaka to attend the #G20summit . Over the next 3 days, PM has a range of bilateral and plurilateral engagements to articulate India's views on the global platform," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.
In his departure statement, he said that issues such as women empowerment, artificial intelligence and common efforts to address challenges like terrorism will be high on his agenda.
"The summit will provide an important opportunity to reiterate and reinforce our strong support to reformed multilateralism, which is crucial for preserving rule-based international order in today's fast-changing world," Modi said.
The summit, he said, will also be a platform for sharing India's strong developmental experience of the last five years, which provided the basis for a resounding mandate by the people of India to the government to continue on the path of progress and stability.
He said the two-day Osaka summit will also be an important stepping stone for India towards hosting the G20 summit in 2022 "when we usher in a New India in the 75th anniversary year of our Independence".
On the sidelines, Modi said, he "looks forward to engaging with leaders of our major partner countries on important issues of bilateral and global importance.
"I also look forward to host the next Russia, India and China (RIC) Informal Summit on the sidelines, and also to participate in the next informal meetings of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and JAI (Japan, America and India) leaders," he added.
Apart from Trump, Prime Minister Modi will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders during the G20 Summit.
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2 Indian nationals part of crew of luxury cruise ship that reported hantavirus outbreak
London (PTI): At least two Indian nationals are part of the crew of the Dutch vessel MV Hondius which reported a hantavirus outbreak with five confirmed cases and three deaths so far, according to the BBC.
The luxury cruise ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, began its journey on April 1 from Argentina’s Ushuaia and is expected to arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 10.
About 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries were initially aboard the luxury cruise, but dozens disembarked on the island of St Helena on April 24, according to the report.
Of the 28 nationalities onboard, 38 are from the Philippines, 31 from the UK, 23 from the US, 16 from the Netherlands, 14 from Spain, nine from Germany, six from Canada, and two crew members from India, among others, the BBC reported.
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The World Health Organization said on Thursday that five of the eight suspected hantavirus cases had been confirmed.
A 69-year-old Dutch woman, confirmed to have the virus, has died; her Dutch husband and a German woman were also among the fatalities. Their cases are being investigated.
The UN health agency has said the outbreak is not the start of a pandemic.
Maria van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at WHO, told a news briefing that the situation is not the same as six years ago with Covid-19 because hantavirus spreads through “close, intimate contact”.
Van Kerkhove said “this is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently”. She said authorities had asked “everyone to wear a mask” on board the MV Hondius.
Those in contact with or caring for suspected cases, she added, should “wear a higher level of personal protective equipment”.
Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents - but in the latest outbreak the transmission between people was documented for the first time, the WHO said.
Meanwhile, health authorities are racing to trace dozens of people who have recently disembarked from the Dutch vessel MV Hondius.
Oceanwide Expedition said 29 passengers, of at least 12 different nationalities, had left the MV Hondius in St Helena, the British Overseas Territory.
It also said the body of one deceased person—now known to be a Dutch man - was taken off the vessel.
Seven of those who left the cruise liner were British nationals.
