Tag: Evacuation

Jaishankar, US Secy of State Antony Blinken discuss global developments amid India-Canada standoff

India and the US agreed to continue their cooperation in the areas of defence, space and clean energy as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Secretary of State Antony Blinken, amid a simmering diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of a Khalistani separatist.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Washington, US.

India and the US agreed to continue their cooperation in the areas of defence, space and clean energy as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Secretary of State Antony Blinken, amid a simmering diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of a Khalistani separatist.

Jaishankar is currently on a five-day official trip to Washington DC. This is the highest-level interaction between the two countries after the recent G20 Summit in New Delhi.

“Great to meet my friend US Secretary of State @SecBlinken at State Department today. A wide ranging discussion, following up on PM @narendramodi’s June visit. Also exchanged notes on global developments. Laid the groundwork of our 2+2 meeting very soon,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.

The two top diplomats “discussed a full range of issues, including key outcomes of India’s G20 presidency, and the creation of India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and its potential to generate transparent, sustainable, and high-standard infrastructure investments,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

The two leaders did not take any questions from the media.

“The Secretary and the External Affairs Minister also emphasised the continued importance of cooperation ahead of the upcoming 2+2 Dialogue, in particular in the areas of defence, space, and clean energy,” Miller said in a statement after the meeting.

New Delhi will host the fifth edition of India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, Jaishankar announced on Thursday. Although he did not reveal the dates of the meeting, it is learnt that the ministerial dialogue would be held in the first half of November.

The US delegation would be represented by Blinken along with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will lead the Indian delegation.

“I actually look forward to seeing you in Delhi for the 2+2,” Jaishankar told Blinken, as the latter welcomed him at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department for the meeting.

The last 2+2 ministerial was held in Washington DC on April 11. Started during the previous Trump administration, the first 2+2 ministerial was held in New Delhi on September 6, 2018.

“Focused discussion on India-US collaboration on critical and emerging tech and creating resilient supply chains at discussion convened by @USISPForum,” Jaishankar said in another post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/india/eam-s-jaishankar-meets-us-secretary-of-state-antony-blinken-amid-india-canada-diplomatic-row-2705479

Hurricane Hilary floods could threaten lives – US

Hurricane Hilary is moving towards Mexico’s Baja California peninsula

Hurricane Hilary, heading to Mexico’s Pacific coast, has weakened but can still cause “life-threatening” flooding, US meteorologists warn.

With winds up to 100mph (175km/h), it is now a Category 2 storm, the National Hurricane Center says. Hillary is due to make landfall later on Saturday.

The NHC is already reporting heavy rain in parts of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and the south-western US.

Hilary will weaken to a tropical storm before it reaches southern California.

It would be the first tropical storm to hit the US state in more than 80 years.

In its latest update at 21:00 GMT on Saturday, the NHC says the hurricane is now roughly 285 miles (459km) south-east of Baja California’s westernmost point of Punta Eugenia.

“Hilary appears to be weakening quickly,” John Cangialosi, a senior hurricane specialist at the NHC, is quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency on Saturday.

“The eye is filling and the cloud tops in the eyewall and rainbands have been warming during the past several hours,” he adds.

Hilary was earlier a powerful Category 3 storm with winds up to 130mph.

Rainfall could reach 10in (25cm) in some areas of southern California and southern Nevada, the NHC says. “Dangerous to catastrophic flooding is expected,” it adds.

In San Diego, the National Weather Service (NWS) earlier issued a warning for the “high potential” of flash flooding. Nearly 26 million people in the south-western US were under flood watch.

On Friday, US President Joe Biden said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) had “pre-positioned personnel and supplies in the region.

“I urge everyone in the path of the storm to take precautions and listen to the guidance from state and local officials,” he said.

Parts of Mexico are under a tropical storm watch and its government has placed 18,000 soldiers on standby to assist in rescue efforts.

As the storm bears down, Major League Baseball has rescheduled three games in southern California, while SpaceX has delayed the launch of a rocket from its base on the central California coast until at least Monday.

The National Park Service also closed Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave National Preserve, both in California, to prevent visitors from being stranded in the event of flooding.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66499946

Exit mobile version