Around 3,500 NRIs, 1,000 PIOs stranded in Sudan

News Network
April 27, 2023

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Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Thursday, April 27, said that the Indian government is constantly monitoring the situation in Sudan, adding that the situation on ground in the conflict-torn region remains highly volatile. 

At a media briefing, he said India has been in touch with all the concerned sides in Sudan with a focus on taking out Indians from the conflict zones.

"Our focus has been to take out the Indians from the conflict zones to safer areas as soon as possible and then to bring them back home," the foreign secretary said.

Referring to India's evacuation mission 'Operation Kaveri', he said 360 Indians have been brought back home and another batch of 246 are reaching India soon.

At present, he said around 320 Indians are in Port Sudan and they are being taken to Saudi city of Jeddah.

"Our estimate is that there are approximately 3,500 Indians and 1,000 Person of Indian Origins (PIOs) in Sudan," Kwatra said. 

He said that the third naval ship - INS Tarkash - has also reached Port Sudan to evacuate Indians from Sudan. 

India has evacuated at least 670 Indian nationals from Sudan and is looking to rescue more of its citizens from the strife-torn African nation before the end of a tenuous ceasefire between the regular army and a paramilitary force.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly fighting between the country's army and a paramilitary group for the last 12 days that has reportedly left around 400 people dead.

India stepped up its efforts to evacuate the Indians from Sudan after a 72-hour truce was agreed between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces following intense negotiations.

India has set up a transit facility in Jeddah and Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan is overseeing the evacuation mission from the Saudi Arabian city.

The first batch of 278 Indians was evacuated from Port Sudan by the Indian Navy's frontline ship INS Sumedha on Tuesday. 

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News Network
November 26,2024

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Mangaluru: The coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi are witnessing a fascinating weather pattern, with chilly early mornings giving way to dry, sweltering afternoons. Over the past two days, dense fog blanketed the rural landscapes, while urban centers like Mangaluru felt the stark contrast of brisk mornings and peak afternoon heat.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) noted that in rural areas, the morning chill caused temperatures to dip by one to two degrees Celsius below the seasonal norm, intensifying the fog. Monday saw Mangaluru recording a maximum temperature of 33.3°C and a minimum of 22.6°C, reflective of the sharp day-night variation.

While mornings painted a serene picture with mist-covered trees and a cool ambiance, the afternoons proved relentless, with temperatures soaring between 11 am and 3 pm, offering little respite. Currently, there are no signs of rainfall, with forecasts predicting the continuation of this dual weather pattern for the coming days.

Local residents have mixed feelings about this weather trend. Farmers in rural areas appreciate the cool mornings that ease early chores but express concerns over the dry afternoons, which may affect crop irrigation if the dry spell prolongs. In contrast, urban dwellers are enjoying the foggy mornings but brace for the scorching afternoons.

Meteorologists attribute the sudden chill to shifts in atmospheric pressure along the coast, a precursor to possible weather transitions in December. Whether this pattern persists or leads to unexpected changes remains to be seen, but the twin districts are clearly caught in nature's dramatic play of contrasts.

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News Network
November 18,2024

Advisors to US President-elect Donald Trump have instructed his allies and associates to refrain from using the inflammatory language they previously employed when discussing issues related to migrants and the deportation of asylum seekers, in a bid to avoid “looking like Nazis.”

US media reports said that Trump’s associates had been asked to stop using the word “camps” to describe potential facilities that would be used to accommodate migrants rounded up in deportation operations across the country.

The reports said the US president-elect’s allies had been ordered to stave off such charged terms as they would bring to mind “Nazis,” and be used against Trump.

“I have received some guidance to avoid terms, like ‘camps,’ that can be twisted and used against the president, yes,” one Trump ally told American monthly magazine Rolling Stone.

“Apparently, some people think it makes us look like Nazis.”

The presidential advisers also cautioned surrogates and allies to keep racist terms, which have dogged Trump’s campaign, out of their remarks.

They said with Trump’s heated rhetoric that used to compare undocumented immigrants to “animals” and his slight that they are “poisoning the blood of our country,” detractors did not need to reach too far to find parallels to Nazi Germany.

Stephen Miller, who Trump tapped to be his deputy chief of staff of policy, specifically used the word “camps” to describe holding facilities that he hoped the military could put together for immigrants.

Tom Homan, who served as the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is chosen by Trump to be in charge of the US borders, was no stranger to such language.

“It’s not gonna be a mass sweep of neighborhoods,” he said in an interview earlier this week. “It’s not gonna be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous.”

Becoming a little more forthright about the new government’s aggressive deportation plans, Homan likened the early days of the Trump administration to the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“I got three words for them – shock and awe,” he said. “You’re going to see us take this country back.”

Trump made immigration a central element of his 2024 presidential campaign but unlike his first run, which was mainly focused on building a border wall, he has shifted his attention to interior enforcement and the removal of undocumented immigrants already in the United States.

People close to the US president and his aides are laying the groundwork for expanding detention facilities to fulfill his mass deportation campaign promise.

The businessman-turned-politician deported more than 1.5 million people during his first term.

The figure do not include the millions of people turned away at the border under a Covid-era policy enacted by Trump and used during most of Biden’s term.

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