Ready to promote inter-Korean cooperation: Putin
Moscow, April 29: Russian President Vladimir Putin told his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in on Sunday that Russia was willing to promote cooperation between the two Koreas as Seoul and Pyongyang are seeking reconciliation.
During their phone conversation, Moon informed Putin of the detailed outcome of his meeting with the top leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un on Friday in Panmunjom, Xinhua news agency reported quoting the Kremlin.
Putin and Moon positively assessed the agreements reached at the meeting, it said in a press release.
The Russian President confirmed Russia's readiness to promote the establishment of practical cooperation between South Korea and North Korea, in particular through the implementation of major tripartite infrastructure and energy projects.
Putin stressed the importance of continuing the efforts of all parties involved toward a political and diplomatic settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue following a roadmap proposed by China and Russia.
The roadmap suggests that North Korea suspend its nuclear and missile tests and the US and South Korea stop their joint annual military drills on the peninsula. It also proposes a dual-track approach involving the establishment of a peace mechanism while achieving denuclearisation.
Tensions on the peninsula have eased dramatically since the beginning of 2018, leading to the historic summit between Moon and Kim on Friday.
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SGPC writes to Mann, seeks ban on 'Emergency' in Punjab a day before release
Amritsar, Jan 16 (PTI): The SGPC on Thursday wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a ban on the release of Kangana Ranaut's movie 'Emergency' saying it "tarnishes" the image of Sikhs and "misrepresents" history.
Actor and BJP MP Ranaut's 'Emergency' is slated to release in cinemas on January 17.
In the letter to Mann, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed strong objection to Ranaut's film.
Dhami said that if the film is released in Punjab, it will spark "outrage and anger" in the Sikh community and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ban its release in the state.
The SGPC, an apex gurdwara body, had earlier also protested the film.
"It has come to our attention that the movie 'Emergency' produced by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut is going to be released on 17th January 2025 in cinemas in different cities of Punjab and the tickets have also started to be booked," its letter to Mann read.
Dhami said the SGPC had also protested the release of the movie in a letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary on November 14 last year.
"But it is sad that the Punjab government has not taken any step till now. If this film is released on January 17, 2025, then it is natural to create outrage and anger in the Sikh world," the current letter read.
Dhami said the SGPC will submit a letter also to all the deputy commissioners in Punjab, seeking a ban on the film in the state.
The SGPC denounced the "character assassination" of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Khalistani militant killed in 1984 in a military operation.
"If this film is released in Punjab, we will be forced to strongly oppose it at the state level," Dhami said.
In August last year, the SGPC sent a legal notice to the producers of the 'Emergency' film, alleging that it "misrepresented" the character and history of Sikhs, and asked them to remove the objectionable scenes depicting "anti-Sikh" sentiments.
In the notice, the producers of the film, including Kangana Ranaut, were asked to remove the trailer released on August 14 from all public and social media platforms and tender a written apology to the Sikh community.
The SGPC objected to film writing separate letters to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification.
