Washington: The United States said Tuesday it would curb visas for Chinese officials over "repression" of Uighurs and other Muslims in the western region of Xinjiang, a day after imposing commercial restrictions.

"The United States calls on the People's Republic of China to immediately end its campaign of repression in Xinjiang," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

 

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Chennai (PTI): Music composer A R Rahman will be conferred with the Lakshminarayana International Award this year, the organisers of the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival have announced.

The award, instituted to honour artists for their contributions to the field of arts, will be presented to Rahman at a special ceremony on December 15, according to a press release.

The event will serve as the curtain raiser to the 35th edition of the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival and will be held at Rasika Ranjani Sabha here.

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Rahman, a two-time Academy Award winner and one of India’s most celebrated music composers, has been credited with transforming the soundscape of Indian cinema. With over 150 million records sold and more than 100 film soundtracks and albums to his name, his work spans landmark films such as "Roja", "Bombay", "Dil Se", "Taal", "Lagaan", "Slumdog Millionaire" and "127 Hours".

Trained in Western classical music at Trinity College, London, Rahman established the Panchathan Record Inn in Chennai, one of India’s most advanced recording studios. He made a historic debut with "Roja", which earned him the National Award — the first of seven, the highest number received by any Indian composer.

Rahman is also a recipient of the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan.