Sushma begins bilateral interactions at UN, meets Nepal Foreign Minister
United Nations, Sep 24 : External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj began her hectic round of bilateral interactions on the sidelines of the annual high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Monday meeting the Foreign Ministers of Nepal, Morocco and Lichtenstein.
Although it was not a formal meeting, she greeted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when she came to the UN, India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin tweeted.
Sushma Swaraj and members of the Indian mission began the day by paying respects to the Indian flag at the UN before her scheduled participation in the High-Level Event on Counter-Narcotics convened by US President Donald Trump.
Sushma Swaraj and Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, the Foreign Minister of "close neighbour" Nepal, "took stock of our bilateral relationship" at their meeting, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.
She also held a bilateral meeting with Federica Mogherini, the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs.
They "discussed issues related to trade and investment and exchanged views on the regional and global issues", Kumar said in a tweet.
He noted that India and the EU were bound by a "strategic partnership based on common values of democracy, freedom and rule of law.
"Celebrating 25th anniversary of our diplomatic relations" Sushma Swaraj and Lichtenstein Foreign Minister Aurelia Frick "exchanged views on enhancing bilateral relations in trade and investment, particularly through participation at Indian trade fairs and tourism," Kumar tweeted.
On relations with Morocco, he noted that they stretched back to the time of Ibn Battuta, the 14th century explorer, and tweeted that Sushma Swaraj and "Morocco Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita discussed strengthening cooperation in areas of commerce, pharma, cyber security, defence and culture".
Sushma Swaraj is scheduled to speak in the afternoon at the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit honouring the birth centenary of the South African freedom fighter and president.
On the sidelines of the UNGA, her hectic schedule is expected to include a total of 30 one-on-one meetings with about 30 leaders and participation in several multilateral meetings, according to Dinesh K. Patnaik, the Joint Secretary, United Nations Political.
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Tribal couple, son hacked to death over witchcraft suspicion in Jharkhand's Godda
Godda (Jharkhand) (PTI): A tribal couple and their minor son were allegedly hacked to death by their relatives in Jharkhand's Godda district over suspicion of practising witchcraft, police said on Tuesday.
The incident took place in Danga Tola under Deodanr police station area late on Monday and police recovered their bodies on Tuesday.
"A tribal couple and their minor son were hacked to death at Danga Tola in Godda. Preliminary investigation suggests the victims were killed over suspicion of practising witchcraft," Godda Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Ashok Ravidas told PTI.
Three persons have been arrested so far, he said.
"Police have arrested three persons in this connection. During initial interrogation, the accused told the police that they suspected that the victims were practising witchcraft," the SDPO said.
The axe used to kill them has also been recovered, and further investigation into the matter is underway, he said.
Deodanr police station officer-in-charge Amit Marki said the deceased tribal couple has been identified as Darbari Murmu (55) and his wife Maki Baski (50).
Their deceased son was around 12 years old. The bodies have been sent to Sadar Hospital in Godda for post-mortem examination.
