US to act more strictly with Pakistan on terrorism: Haley
New Delhi, June 28: US envoy to the UN Nikki Haley on Thursday said Washington will not tolerate governments giving safe haven to terrorists and will communicate this message more strongly to Islamabad than it used to do in the past.
"We cannot tolerate its government, or any other government, giving safe haven to terrorists. We won't tolerate it. We are communicating this message to Pakistan more strongly than in the past and we hope to see changes," Haley said in a speech at a public function here.
"In this area, the US is approaching our relationship with Pakistan differently than in the past," Haley said in her speech on "Advancing India-US Relations" organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
The US envoy, who is on a three-day visit, said the US and India have both felt the pain of terrorism, both share a commitment to defeat it and the hateful ideology that motivates them and share an urgent interest to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists.
"We have greatly expanded our counterterrorism cooperation in the past decade. But we can and we must do more. We must use all of the elements of our national power - economic, diplomatic and military - to protect ourselves," she said.
She said the US has significantly upgraded its security cooperation with India and was now a major defence partner of the US. At the 2+2 dialogue, both countries will discuss ways the US can support India as a provider of regional security around the Indian Ocean.
As she hoped for a free and open Indo-Pacific and protection of sovereign nations from external coercion for peace, stability and commerce, Haley said China is a matter of concern and its failure to respect the rule of law will restrict the relationship between the US and China.
"Unlike India, China does not share our commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and fundamental freedoms. This makes China's expansion of loans and investments in countries in the region a matter of concern for many of us.
"China's failure to respect the rights of its people and the rule of law will limit its own ability to grow and prosper over the long term. And unlike with India, this will limit the United States' relationship with China," she said.
On North Korea, Haley said the regime has devoted a huge portion of its limited resources to its nuclear and missile programmes, even in times of famine and at great cost to the lives of its people.
Only a strong, effective international sanctions effort has brought the regime to the negotiating table, she said and added that only time will tell whether the people of North Korea will finally be given priority over their government's dangerous nuclear ambitions.
"The sanctions will stay on. The pressure will continue. We need to see full actions on denuclearisation," Haley said.
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South zone finalists announced at WAVES VFX challenge in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: The South Zone round of the WAVES VFX Challenge took place today in Bengaluru, organized by the Association of Bangalore Animation Industry (ABAI).
The day-long competition brought together talented participants from across southern India, with the goal of selecting top finalists who will go on to represent the region at the national finals next month during the WAVES Summit in Mumbai.
Finalists were selected in three categories:
Student Category
Winner: Soumya Das
Runner-up: Gagan HP
Professional Category
Winner: Mohamad Javeed
Runner-up: S Sai Chandan
Enthusiasts Category
Winner: Gagan Ajai
Over 1,500 entries were received from students, working professionals, and VFX enthusiasts, all centered around the theme “Super Hero Power.” Out of these, 14 entries were shortlisted to compete in today’s final round. One winner and one runner-up from each category were chosen to represent the South Zone in Mumbai.
ABAI Secretary R.K. Chand appreciated the strong participation and encouraged industry professionals to attend the Mumbai summit, which will host well-known personalities from films, advertising, and creative sectors. He also mentioned that the WAVES Challenge was recently launched in Bengaluru by Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The event was inaugurated by Dr. Sagar Gulati, Director of the School of Creative Design and Information Technology at Jain (Deemed-to-be University), the zonal partner for the competition.
The day also featured two special sessions led by industry experts. Vijay Selvam from the global VFX studio MPC held a masterclass titled “Concept Reality,” where he discussed lighting, animation, compositing, and photorealistic effects. Students got the chance to interact with him during a Q&A session.
Another session was conducted by Rakesh H, Lead Head at The Mill, who spoke about how visual effects are used in advertising. Nearly 100 students attended these sessions, gaining valuable industry insights and learning opportunities.
