ABP Live News Shots: PM Modi's US Visit To Wagner Group's Rebellion In Russia — Top Headlines From The Week

ABP Live News Shots: From PM Narendra Modi's US Visit to Wagner group's rebellion in Russia — bringing to you all the big news that made headlines this past week, in case you missed it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to America made news all week as he addressed his first press conference in nine years since he assumed the top job in 2014. His high-level meeting with US President Joe Biden and address at the joint sitting of the US Congress were among other highlights of the tour. In India, the mega Opposition meeting finally took place in Patna after delays. However, cracks among the non-BJP parties were on display with the AAP insisting on the Congress party's support in its fight against the Centre's ordinance for control of Delhi's services. In international news, a robotic diving vehicle discovered a debris field from the submersible Titan and tributes poured in for the five people who are believed to have been instantly killed in a “catastrophic implosion”. Meanwhile, Russia was faced with an internal rebellion as its mercenary Wagner group sought to topple the country's military leadership before withdrawing from Moscow and returning to its “field camps".

INDIA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Joint Meeting of the US Congress where he said that there can be "no ifs or buts" in dealing with terrorism, seeking action against state sponsors of terrorism, in a veiled salvo at Pakistan. In his address, Prime Minister Modi emphasised that more than two decades after 9/11 and more than a decade after 26/11 in Mumbai, radicalism and terrorism still remain a pressing danger for the whole world. "These ideologies keep taking new identities and forms, but their intentions are the same. Terrorism is an enemy of humanity and there can be no ifs or buts in dealing with it. We must overcome all such forces sponsoring and exporting terror," he said in his 60-minute address in English. PM Modi also made a reference to China, commenting that the global order is based on respect for the principles of the UN Charter, peaceful resolution of disputes, and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. "The dark clouds of coercion and confrontation are casting their shadow in the Indo-Pacific. The stability of the region has become one of the central concerns of our partnership," he remarked, in an apparent reference to China's aggressive moves in the strategic region.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired an all-party meeting in the national capital to discuss the situation in the violence-hit Manipur. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma also took part in the meet which came after a group of people had set on fire a private godown of Manipur minister L Susindro at Chingarel in Imphal East district, reducing it to ashes. According to news agency PTI, an attempt was also made to torch another property of the consumer and food affairs minister and his residence at Khurai in the same district on Friday night but timely intervention prevented it. Security forces fired several rounds of tear gas shells till midnight to prevent the mob from gheraoing his Khurai residence, police said. Earlier, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi said that the unprecedented violence has "left a deep wound in the conscience of our nation" and has affected the lives of people in Manipur. She appealed for peace and harmony in the state. Rahul Gandhi questioned the timing of the all-party meeting to discuss the prevailing situation in Manipur in the wake of ethnic violence and clashes, by saying that it is being organised when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a State visit to the United States, which shows that the meeting isn't important to him.

As many as 17 opposition parties have pledged to work together to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Following a four-hour meeting hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday (June 23), leaders from various regional and national parties expressed their views on the importance of unity and working with flexibility while putting differences aside. While the BJP dismissed the opposition parties' unity as a sham, they demonstrated a determination to work together and present a strong challenge to the ruling party in the upcoming general elections. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar stated that "very positive talks were held". "We have decided to contest (Lok Sabha elections) together. Another meeting of all (opposition) parties will be held to determine the next steps. Almost everything will be finalised at that meeting. Mallikarjun Kharge will preside over the meeting early next month," he mentioned. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called it a "battle of ideologies" and said, "Indeed, there will be differences amongst us but we have decided to work together and protect the ideologies shared by us". 

WORLD

After days of aerial and underwater searches, a robotic diving vehicle deployed from a Canadian ship discovered a debris field from the submersible Titan on the seabed 1,600 feet (488 metres) from the bow of the Titanic after the submersible went missing on Sunday. Tributes were paid to the five people who are now believed to have been instantly killed in the “catastrophic implosion”. Coast Guard officials said that five major fragments of the 22-foot Titan were found in the debris field left from its disintegration, including the vessel’s tail cone and two sections of the pressure hull. “The debris field here is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vehicle,” Rear Admiral John Mauger of the US coast guard said. The Titan, operated by the US-based company OceanGate Expeditions, had gone missing after it lost contact with its surface support ship on Sunday morning about an hour and 45 minutes into a two-hour dive to the world’s most famous shipwreck. In its tribute, the White House stated that the loved ones of the five men had endured a “harrowing ordeal” over the past week. OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding, British-Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood, 48-year-old vice chairman of Engro Corporation, and his 19-year-old son Suleman are among the dead.

Tensions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin subsided after the two parties reached a deal with Prigozhin to go into exile and sounded the retreat. As per the deal announced by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, Prigozhin will go to neighbouring Belarus and charges of mounting an armed rebellion will be dropped. It also said that it would not prosecute fighters who took part in the rebellion while those who did not join in were to be offered contracts by the defence ministry. Putin’s “highest goal” was “to avoid bloodshed and internal confrontation with unpredictable results,” said Peskov as Prigozhin and his forces were allowed to go free. After a brief span of rebellion and turning in against Russia, Prigozhin, who had vowed to topple the Russian military, said that troops were ‘turning back’ to avoid spilling blood.  According to a report from RT Russia, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced that he had arranged a deal whereby Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin would abandon his mutiny in exchange for “security guarantees” for his fighters.  

Former United States president Barack Obama opened up about his views on the state of democracy in the US and countries across the world in an interview where he said that concerns about Indian democracy must also enter into diplomatic conversations. His remarks on protecting the rights of ethnic minorities in India came amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the US where he held bilateral talks with incumbent President Joe Biden. In his interview with CNN, Obama mentioned that he worked with PM Modi on climate change and other areas and opined that raising concerns about Indian democracy must also enter into diplomatic conversations. He also flagged a possibility of India at some point beginning to "pull apart" if the rights of ethnic minorities are not protected. “Part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, then there is a strong possibility India at some point starts pulling apart. And we’ve seen what happens when you start getting those kinds of large internal conflicts,” he said, as quoted by CNN. 

SPORTS

In a momentous feat, Olympian CA Bhavani Devi etched her name in history by securing India's inaugural medal at the Asian Fencing Championships. Despite a hard-fought battle in the women's sabre semifinal against Uzbekistan's Zaynab Dayibekova, Bhavani displayed incredible skill and determination, eventually losing by a narrow margin of 14-15. Nevertheless, her exceptional performance guaranteed India its first-ever medal in this prestigious continental event held in Wuxi, China as she secured a bronze.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) all-rounder Will Jacks wreaked havoc after he hammered five back-to-back sixes in England’s T20 Blast tournament for Surrey against Middlesex. He reached the feat against Middlesex leg-spinner Luke Hollman in the 11th over of the first innings.  Jacks ended up collecting 96 off 44 balls with 7 sixes and was also involved in a stand of 177 runs for the opening wicket with Laurie Evans who also made 85 runs in 37 balls.

The BCCI on Friday, declared the squads for the West Indies tour where the Indian team will be playing two Tests, three One-Day-Internationals (ODIs), and five T20Is, starting from July 12. Young guns like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and pacer Mukesh Kumar have been added to India's Test side for the very first time while veteran players like Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav have been dropped.

BUSINESS

On day two of the US state visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with a number of American CEOs and invited them to boost investment in India. This executive meeting Prime Ministers included the President and CEO of Micron Technology Sanjay Mehrotra, President and CEO of Applied Materials Gary E Dickerson and CEO of General Electric H Lawrence Culp. Earlier PM Modi met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk as well to discuss "investment prospects" in India. "The prime minister invited Micron Technology to boost semiconductor manufacturing in India," a Ministry of external affairs statement said. Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra after meeting Modi, as per PTI, said, "We look forward to greater opportunities in India. Micron is a global leader in memory and storage, and we are a supplier for memory and storage in all end markets from data centres, to smartphones to PCs, and today really fuelling the AI engine as well."

Fitch Ratings on Thursday revised India's economic growth forecast upwards to 6.3 per cent from 6 per cent for FY24, the PTI reported. This is primarily because of a stronger outturn in the first quarter and near-term momentum. The growth forecast compares with 7.2 per cent GDP expansion in FY23. In the previous fiscal year (FY22), the economy had grown 9.1 per cent. The rating agency said, "India's economy has been showing broad-based strength, with GDP up by 6.1 per cent year-on-year in 1Q23 (January-March) and auto sales, PMI surveys and credit growth remaining robust in recent months, and we have raised our forecast for the fiscal year ending in March 2024 (FY23-24) by 0.3 percentage points to 6.3 per cent."

The Joe Biden administration will make it easier for Indians to live and work in the United States, using this week's state visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help some skilled workers enter or remain in the country, citing three sources privy to the development news agency Reuters said. Modi arrived in the US on June 21 to a euphoric welcome by the Indian diaspora. According to the report, the US State Department could announce as soon on Thursday that a small number of Indians and other foreign workers on H-1B visas will be able to renew those visas in the US, without having to travel abroad, one of the sources told Reuters, part of a pilot programme that could be expanded in coming years.

TECH

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that he was planning to come to India next year and he also expressed confidence that Tesla will be in India soon. Calling his conversation with Prime Minister Modi excellent, Musk said that it is quite likely that there will be a significant investment in India.

Carl Pei's Nothing may foray into the smartwatch category, as the device has received BIS certification, the media has reported. According to the BIS certification, London-headquartered Nothing is working on a smartwatch with the model number D395. Tipster Mukul Sharma had first spotted a trademark, dubbed "CMF By Nothing" a couple of months ago. This comes as the company gears up to launch the Nothing Phone (2), the successor to last year's Nothing Phone (1).

Quashing previous leaks and rumours, analysts have said that Apple iPhone SE's launch date has been pushed back again. There have been talks about the fourth iteration of Apple's "affordable" iPhone SE since early last year. However, the new iPhone SE may not be officially unveiled even in 2024, according to Barclays analysts. The analysts have been quoted as saying by MacRumors that a 2024 launch window is unlikely for the iPhone SE 4.

HEALTH & SCIENCE

The Isle of Wight in the English Channel, a popular tourist destination, is also known as the dinosaur island. A number of dinosaur species roamed here millions of years ago, and many of these have been identified over the years. Now, a new armoured dinosaur has been described in a study published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. Named Vectipelta barrette (after Prof Paul Barrett of the UK’s Natural History Museum), it is the first new armoured dinosaur to be discovered in the Isle of Wight in the last 142 years. The species is an ankylosaur, a kind of armoured dinosaur. Other ankylosaur remains have been found on the island over the years, but all these finds in the last 142 years were described as Polacanthus foxii, a famous dinosaur from the island.

India has agreed to sign the Artemis Accords, which the United States established in 2020 together with seven other founding member nations to establish a common political understanding regarding mutually beneficial practices in the exploration and use of outer space. NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have also agreed to send a joint mission to the International Space Station in 2024, news agency PTI reported, quoting the White House. A senior White House administration official said that NASA and ISRO are developing a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation this year, and that the two space agencies aim to send a joint mission to the ISS next year. The Artemis Accords are grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. The principles of the Artemis Accords include activities conducted in support of NASA's Artemis Program. As many as 25 countries and one territory have signed the Artemis Accords, as of June 5, 2023. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday, June 22, 2023, appointed Dr Vanessa Kerry, a medical doctor, as the first-ever Director-General Special Envoy for Climate Change and Health. Dr Kerry, the CEO of Seed Global Health, a Massachusetts-based organisation which helps provide medical and nursing training support in resource-limited countries, will play an important role in expanding the WHO's climate and health messaging. She will also undertake high-level advocacy, a statement released by the WHO said. The responsibilities of Dr Kerry as the Director-General Special Envoy for Climate Change and Health include spreading WHO's crucial messages on the significance of climate change and health, influential figures and policymakers to ensure a widespread understanding. She will also foster the adoption and adaptation of WHO's recommendations, and consider the unique contexts of local, national and regional circumstances. 

ENTERTAINMENT

Soon after its release, 'Adipurush' faced criticism and demands for a ban. Om Raut, the director, Manoj Muntashir, the co-writer, and the producers T-Series and UV Creations had all promised to change the language in a few crucial dialogues in order to calm the people. As stated, it seems like the filmmakers have modified some of the film's offensive dialogues.

Currently, according to sources, the revised version of the film is being shown in theatres. The word "baap" has been changed to "Lanka" in the clip of a scene. The controversial dialogue by Bajrang (based on Hanuman) saying, "Kapda tere baap ka, tel tere baap ka, aag bhi tere baap ki, aur jalegi bhi tere baap ki" has been changed in the fresh prints, according to a tweet posted by a viewer.

Sunny Deol's son Karan Deol tied the knot with longtime girlfriend Drisha Acharya on June 18 at Taj Lands End in Mumbai. New photos from the wedding are out and all the Deols including Dharmendra to Sunny, Abhay, Bobby Deol and others could be seen in the pictures. Women of the Deol family, who choose to be away from limelight, were also seen in the new pictures.Dharmendra’s wife Prakash Kaur and Sunny Deol’s wife Pooja can be seen in the photos as they pose with the couple.

Ram Charan and wife Upasana Konidela are on cloud nine as they embrace parenthood by welcoming their first child, a baby girl, during the early hours of Tuesday, June 20. Upasana was admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad's Jubilee Hills, last night on Monday. Mega fans have been congratulating Ram Charan on becoming a parent by sending him warm wishes and posting happy messages on social media.