UK court remands Nirav Modi till June 27
London: A UK court on Thursday extended till June 27 the remand of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, who is fighting his extradition to India in the nearly USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case.
The 48-year-old has been lodged at Wandsworth prison in south-west London since his third attempt at seeking bail was rejected by Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot at the last hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court earlier this month.
He was produced before Judge Arbuthnot for the first case management hearing in the case. The judge remanded him till June 27.
The judge also asked the Indian government to provide within 14 days the information on which prison he will be held at.
Modi was arrested by uniformed Scotland Yard officers on an extradition warrant from a Metro Bank branch in central London as he attempted to open a new bank account on March 19 and has been in prison since.
During subsequent hearings, Westminster Magistrates' Court was told that Modi was the "principal beneficiary" of the fraudulent issuance of letters of undertaking (LoUs) as part of a conspiracy to defraud PNB and then laundering the proceeds of crime.
Arbuthnot, the judge who had ordered the Mallya extradition in December 2018, has been very firm with the CPS, representing the Indian government, about proper indexing of all documents to be submitted to the court in relation to the case.
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Russia, China object to US UNSC Presidency's Programme of Work over Iran
United Nations (PTI): In a development highlighting polarisation in the UN Security Council, the monthly programme of work for the US Presidency of the powerful UN organ could not be adopted after Russia and China raised objections concerning Iran.
The United States, a veto-wielding permanent member, assumed the Presidency of the 15-nation UN Security Council for the month of March. As is customary, a monthly programme of work that outlines the Council’s anticipated meetings and events for the month is adopted by the UN body at the commencement of the Presidency.
The Council President then briefs the media in the UN headquarters on the UNSC programme of work and agenda for the month.
However, the US-drafted programme of work for its monthly presidency of the Council could not be adopted on Monday after the other veto-wielding permanent members Russia and China raised objections pertaining to the 1737 Sanctions Committee concerning Iran.
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“Russia & China objected to the adoption of the US-drafted UNSC PoW (Programme of Work) for March,” Russia’s Permanent Mission to the UN said.
“We were compelled to take this step because the provisional programme of work proposed by the US included a briefing on the work of the 1737 Sanctions Committee concerning Iran, whose work was allegedly resumed in September 2025 following the triggering by the UK, France, and Germany of the “snapback” mechanism to reimpose the anti-Iranian Security Council resolutions,” Russia said.
“In February, we once again brought our position on this matter to the attention of our US colleagues, urging them to refrain from including such an event in the provisional programme of work. Unfortunately, our appeal remained unheeded. For this very reason, we had no other choice but to object to the adoption of the UNSC programme of work for March,” it said.
The UN Security Council had in 2015 adopted a resolution that implemented the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) concerning Iran's nuclear programme. In August 2020, the United States invoked the resolution's "snapback" mechanism, under which the Security Council can reimpose UN sanctions.
Last year, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (UK) (collectively known as the "E3") invoked the snapback mechanism, which resulted in the sanctions being reimposed on Iran on September 27, 2025 “based on Iran’s continuing “significant non-performance” of its nuclear commitments.”
In the wake of the failure of the adoption of its monthly Programme of Work, the US released its “Plan of Work” outlining the Council’s anticipated meetings and events for the month.
A press conference by the US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz to brief members of the media on the Programme of Work, initially scheduled for March 3, was also cancelled.
Council Presidents traditionally host about two signature events during their presidency. The first signature event by the US was a briefing on March 2 titled “Children, Technology, and Education in Conflict” under agenda item “Maintenance of international peace and security” which was presided over by First Lady Melania Trump, a history-making event since it was the first time ever that the spouse of a world leader chaired a UNSC meeting.
The second signature event that the US is expected to host will be a briefing on ‘Energy, critical minerals, and security’.
The US took over the UNSC gavel just a day after it, along with Israel, launched military strikes against Iran, killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior leaders. Tehran launched retaliatory attacks against American and Israeli targets in West Asia, a region that is now plunged in a devastating war that is impacting millions of civilians.
