UN Secretary General Guterres visits Golden Temple
Amritsar, Oct 3 : United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday visited Amritsar's Golden Temple complex, where the holiest of Sikh shrines Harmandir Sahib is located.
Guterres, the first UN head to have visited the shrine, offered prayers at the holy temple.
"I want to express my deep respect for the religion of the Sikh people and this wonderful Golden Temple, in which the spirit of peace and tolerance is present. I prayed here as a Catholic but, all people, from all religions in the world, can pray in this holy place," Guterres said.
"There are unfortunately not many temples in the world where this is possible, and this makes me feel very happy to be here and very proud to be invited. And, at the same time, it increases my admiration for the Sikh communities everywhere: the Sikh community in India, the Sikh community in my part of the world, in Europe, in North America, everywhere where Sikhs are contributing to the development of our world," he said.
The UN chief, who was accompanied by Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, was taken around the shrine complex and the 'Langar Hall', the largest community kitchen in the world.
Guterres, who sported a white cloth to cover his head, appreciated the work being done at the shrine complex.
"I want to express to my hosts my deep gratitude and wish you all the best - to the wonderful practice that the Golden Temple represents, receiving everybody, sharing with everybody the food, but, more than the food, sharing this wonderful spirit of peace, of harmony, of understanding that we badly need in today's world," he said.
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Trump’s fresh threat to bomb Iran amid reports of deal to end war
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened Iran with more bombing if it doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz, amid a report that the warring sides were nearing an agreement to end the war.
US media outlet Axios reported, quoting US officials and two other sources, that the US and Iran were getting close to a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations.
The US expects Iranian responses on several key points over the next 48 hours, Axios reported, adding that nothing has been agreed yet. This was the closest the parties had been to an agreement since the war began.
"Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
"If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before," Trump said.
According to Axios, the deal would involve Iran committing to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment, the US agreeing to lift its sanctions and release billions in frozen Iranian funds, and both sides lifting restrictions around transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
It said many of the terms laid out in the memo would be contingent on a final agreement being reached, leaving the possibility of renewed war or an extended limbo in which the hot war has stopped, but nothing is truly resolved.
