PM Modi arrives in Bangladesh on his first foreign trip since covid outbreak

News Network

March 26, 2021

Dhaka, Mar 26: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Friday on a two-day visit to Bangladesh during which he will attend the celebrations of the golden jubilee of the country's independence, the birth centenary of ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and hold talks with his counterpart Sheikh Hasina.

Modi, who is visiting Bangladesh on his first trip to a foreign country since the outbreak of the coronavirus, was received by Prime Minister Hasina at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport upon his arrival.

"Landed in Dhaka. I thank PM Sheikh Hasina for the special welcome at the airport. This visit will contribute to even stronger bilateral relations between our nations," Modi tweeted.

The prime minister travelled to Dhaka on the newly-inducted custom-made Boeing 777 aircraft. He wore his mask before alighting from the aircraft and exchanging pleasantries with Hasina.

A salute of 19 guns and Guard of honour were accorded to Prime Minister Modi at the airport.

The prime minister had on Thursday said he will hold substantive discussions with Hasina during the visit, as he expressed happiness that his first foreign tour after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic will be to a friendly neighbouring country with which India shares deep ties.

"Our partnership with Bangladesh is an important pillar of our Neighbourhood First policy, and we are committed to further deepen and diversify it. We will continue to support Bangladesh's remarkable development journey, under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's dynamic leadership," Modi tweeted ahead of his visit.

He wrote that he was looking forward to remembering the life and ideals of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and celebrate 50 years of Bangladesh’s War of Liberation, as well as our diplomatic ties.

Modi is scheduled to go straight to the National Martyrs’ Memorial in Savar from the airport to pay tributes to the 1971 Liberation War martyrs.

Shortly afterwards, he will visit the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi 32, originally the Bangladesh founder's private residence, to pay homage to his memories.

Later, Modi will join the celebration programme as the guest of honour at the National Parade Square. Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid will be the chief guest at the function, which would be chaired by Prime Minister Hasina.

In the evening, Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the "Bangabandhu-Bapu Museum" jointly with his counterpart at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. He will also attend a state banquet hosted in his honour by Hasina.

On Saturday, Modi will visit the mausoleum of 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Tungipara in Gopalganj district, the first Indian dignitary to ever visit the place.

He is also scheduled to visit the Jeshoreshwari and Orkandi temples in southwestern Shatkhira and Gopalganj on Saturday.

On Saturday afternoon, Modi will hold talks with Hasina at the Prime Minister’s Office, where at least five MoUs are expected to be signed and a number of projects inaugurated virtually.

Later, he will meet President Hamid at Bangabhaban presidential palace before leaving for New Delhi in the evening.

Modi's visit is taking place at a time Bangladesh is commemorating Mujib Borsho, the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of the country's war of liberation. The two countries are also celebrating 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

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‘Israel’s sole objective is erasing entire Palestinian presence’

News Network

November 21,2024

Hamas says the Israeli regime’s sole objective lies in “erasing” the entirety of the Palestinian population from across the Palestinian territories.

Khalil al-Hayya, a ranking official with the Gaza Strip-based Palestinian resistance movement, made the remarks to the Palestinian al-Aqsa TV on Wednesday.

“The occupation targets everyone—it strikes hospitals, civil defense, women, children, and the elderly,” he said, adding that the regime sought to “empty Gaza of its residents, and displace the Palestinian people to fulfill its dreams of building a Zionist Jewish state across all of Palestine.”

The remarks came amid the regime’s October 2023-present war of genocide on the coastal sliver that has so far claimed the lives of nearly 44,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

“This unprecedented aggression in modern times evokes scenes from the dark ages of human history, having crossed all red lines and exceeded every expectation of brutality in the modern era,” the Palestinian official lamented.

He also regretted that the regime had added “systematic and dangerous starvation to its aggression, falsely claiming before the world that it allows 250 [aid] trucks into Gaza daily. In reality, the number of trucks is far fewer.”

Hayya, meanwhile, regretted that “scenes of children torn apart, women screaming over their children, and heart-wrenching destruction have failed to stir enough humanity to stop these crimes.”

He decried the United States for vetoing the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions that are aimed at bringing about a potential ceasefire in the war, saying this indicated Washington’s “partnership in the aggression” and a simultaneous siege that the Israeli regime has been enforcing on Gaza.

Addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the official asserted that, despite what the Israeli official is after, Hamas would not hand over the regime’s captives “without [the regime’s] stopping the war.”

He called Netanyahu “the main obstacle” in the way of cessation of the aggression, saying the Israeli premier “blocks any progress for political reasons,” and citing his preventing conclusion of a ceasefire agreement in July.

Hayya also warned that the regime sought to expand the war beyond Gaza, but asserted that its goals are “impossible and will never happen.”

“Today, the enemy exposes its true intentions of extermination and displacement, but it will fail,” he stressed.

“The Palestinian people are resilient and will not surrender, as they believe in their humanitarian and political cause. The enemy and its allies will not succeed in achieving their goals. This steadfast people will endure, and the occupation will not prevail against them.”

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