PM Modi concludes Japan visit, heads to China for SCO summit
Tokyo (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday left for China to attend the SCO summit after wrapping up a two-day visit to Japan.
During his visit, India and Japan firmed up 13 key agreements and declarations and announced the launch of several transformative initiatives.
"This visit to Japan will be remembered for the productive outcomes which will benefit the people of our nations. I thank PM Ishiba, the Japanese people and the Government for their warmth," the prime minister said in an X post.
The new measures to further expand the India-Japan special strategic and global partnership were unveiled following summit talks between Prime Minister Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba.
Japan set an investment target of 10 trillion yen (approximately Rs 60,000 crores) in India over a decade and the two sides sealed a raft of big-ticket pacts, including a framework for defence ties and a 10-year roadmap to largely boost economic partnership.
Other agreements signed include an economic security architecture to promote supply chain resilience in strategic sectors such as semiconductors, clean energy, telecom, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals and new and emerging technologies.
The prime minister, who landed in Tokyo on Friday, said India-Japan cooperation is crucial for global peace and stability, and both sides have laid a strong foundation for a "new and golden chapter" in the partnership.
The 10-year roadmap focuses on significantly expanding overall economic ties. It comprised several key pillars for boosting engagement that included economic security, mobility, ecological sustainability, technology and innovation, health, people-to-people exchanges and engagements between Indian states and Japanese prefectures.
The two sides also signed an implementing arrangement for the Chandrayaan-5 mission, a joint exploration of the polar region of the moon by the space agencies of the two countries.
On Saturday, Modi met governors of 16 Japanese prefectures in Tokyo and called for strengthening state-prefecture cooperation under the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership.
Later, he also travelled with Ishiba to Sendai in the Japanese prefecture of Miyagi to visit a semiconductor plant.
During his two-day visit to China, Modi will attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tianjin on August 31 and September 1.
The summit of the 10-member bloc is regarded as significant and most consequential from the point of view of India-China relations in the current context of a sudden downturn in India-US ties after Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports.
This will be Modi’s first visit to China in seven years.
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Seven killed, three injured in separate road accidents in UP
Mainpuri/Muzaffarnagar/Deoria (UP) (PTI): Seven people were killed and three others injured in separate road accidents in Mainpuri, Muzaffarnagar and Deoria districts of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Wednesday.
All incidents took place on Tuesday night.
In Mainpuri, three persons, including a couple, were killed near the Shitala Devi Temple on Devi Road under Kotwali police circle when a pickup vehicle hit a motorcycle head-on, Superintendent of Police Ganesh Saha said.
The victims, Dharmendra Singh (50), his wife Baby (48), both residents of Ferozabad, and Sanjay Singh (40) of Tavepur village, were on the two-wheeler and were on their way to attend the cremation of a relative when the incident took place.
According to police, the pickup and a Wagon R car were attempting to overtake each other when the former went out of control and rammed into the motorcycle, killing all three riders on the spot. Police rushed to the scene and sent the bodies for post-mortem examination, Saha added.
In Muzaffarnagar's Charthawal town, a 30-year-old woman, identified as Imrana, was killed while another woman was injured after a speeding car hit them on Rajbaha Road.
Circle Officer Ravishankar said the victims were walking when the car struck them, throwing Imrana into a canal. She was declared dead by the doctors.
Following the incident, villagers staged a protest demanding action against the driver, who fled the spot without the vehicle. Police said efforts are underway to trace and arrest the accused.
In another incident in Deoria district, three persons were killed, and two others seriously injured when a car crashed into a tree in the Baghochghat area late Tuesday night, police said.
The accident occurred near Haji Market when a Bihar-registered Swift car coming from Pakaha went out of control and rammed into a roadside tree, leaving the vehicle badly mangled.
Police said five people were travelling in the car. Three of them died on the spot, while two injured persons were admitted to Maharshi Devaraha Baba Medical College in Deoria.
The deceased have been identified as Karan Kushwaha, a resident of Gopalganj district in Bihar, and Pintu Kumar of Dulharpur village under Phulwaria police station. The identity of the third deceased is yet to be established.
The injured have been identified as Govind Kushwaha (18) of Sisai village in Kushinagar and Bhola Srivastava alias Sonu (22). Police said the occupants had visited a relative's place in Kushinagar and were returning after attending a wedding function when the accident occurred.
Station House Officer Anil Tiwari said police had to use a gas cutter to rescue the victims trapped inside the vehicle.
The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, and further legal proceedings are underway, he added.
