Trump-Kim meet a step forward for peace: Singapore PM
Singapore, May 11: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday said that the upcoming historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, slated to take place in the island nation, will be a step forward "for peace".
"We hope this meeting will advance prospects for peace in the Korean Peninsula," Lee said in an official statement, adding that "Singapore is pleased to host the meeting".
After several weeks of speculations and only few hours after welcoming three Americans who were held captive in North Korea, Trump finally announced on Thursday night the date (June 12) and venue for the first-ever meeting between him and Kim, reports Efe news.
"We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!" Trump tweeted.
Lee tweeted a message in response to the Trump tweet, saying that the upcoming summit "is a significant step on the path to peace", and wished that "may it lead to a successful outcome".
The White House chose Singapore, a small and prosperous island state with 5.6 million people in Southeast Asia, as the summit venue due to "security" protocols and Singapore's experience in organising summits, an US official told Efe.
Singapore was selected also because it maintains diplomatic relations with both Washington and Pyongyang and is therefore considered a neutral ground.
The meeting is expected to last only one day, and can still be called off if Kim does anything unacceptable to the US, Victoria Coates, the director of international negotiations at the White House National Security Council, warned.
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Punjab: Eight killed, many injured in Bathinda bus accident
Bathinda, Dec 27: Eight people died and many were injured on Friday when a private bus crashed through the railing of a bridge here and plunged into a drain a few feet below, police said.
The bus had over 45 passengers and it fell in Lasara drain at Jeewan Singhwala village, officials said.
The accident occurred when the bus was enroute to Bathinda from Talwandi Sabo. Locals rushed to the spot immediately to help the passengers, they said.
Eight people have died in the accident, the police said.
Police and district administration also launched a rescue operation and took the injured to a hospital. A team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also reached the spot to provide assistance, they added.
The weather was inclement in the area, the officials said, while adding that exact cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained.
Bathinda Deputy Commissioner Showkat Ahmad Parray, who reached the spot to supervise the rescue operation, said medical teams and ambulances were rushed to the spot.
