8th edition of Global Entrepreneurship Summit
Ivanka Trump, the daughter and adviser of U.S. President Donald Trump, has arrived in India for the annual global entrepreneurship summit, foreign ministry officials said Tuesday. The summit scheduled to held in the southern city of Hyderabad Tuesday is being co-hosted by India and the United States.
Ivanka accompanied by several top administration officials reached India late Monday night. Ivanka is expected to visit the old city as well as the Charminar, the iconic symbol of Hyderabad city.
The three-day summit, which is being held for the first time in South Asia, to be inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the 8th edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Hyderabad today. It is a pre-eminent gathering of entrepreneurs, investors, and supporters from around the world. The three-day event hosted by India and the United States is being held for the first time in South Asia.
The theme of this year’s summit is “Women First, Prosperity for All” and will include 1,200 young entrepreneurs, mostly women.
“It is a pre-eminent gathering of entrepreneurs, investors, and supporters from around the world,” officials said. “Ivanka Trump leading the U.S. contingent will be addressing the inaugural session and take part in two plenary sessions about women empowerment.”
GEM summit theme demonstrates the commitment of the United States and Indian governments to the principle that when women are economically empowered, their communities and countries thrive. Women entrepreneurs help drive innovation and job creation, as well as address the world’s greatest and most critical challenges.
US President’s Advisor, Ivanka Trump will lead the US contingent. US Ambassador in India, Kenneth Juster informed that Ms Trump will be addressing the inaugural session and take part in two plenary sessions about women empowerment.
Niti Ayog CEO Amitabh Kant informed media in Hyderabad that for the first time women delegates are in majority representing 52.5 percent of 10 countries including Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Israel being represented by all-women delegations.
He said for India, the summit holds a special place as the country is focused more intensely than ever before to give entrepreneurs the opportunities and ecosystem to help them thrive.
Mr Kant said the Summit will highlight the enabling environment for innovation and entrepreneurship – including actions by the government to increase the ease of doing business, eliminating unnecessary regulations and supporting start-ups.
Greece backs India’s bid for permanent membership in UNSC
Greece today advocated reforms in the United Nations and backed India’s bid for permanent membership in the Security Council, asserting that New Delhi “cannot be kept out” of one of the most important world bodies.
Foreign Affairs Minister of Greece Nikos Kotzias said in New Delhi today that his country fully supports India for the membership of the UNSC as a new balance of power is emerging in the world.
The minister noted that the old powers are declining while a new balance of power is emerging with countries such as India and China.
He was responding to a question after delivering a lecture on “Greece as a pillar of stability in Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean”, an event organised by the Observer Foundation Research and the Embassy of Greece.
The minister said Greece and India could play specific role in stabilisation of the West Asia and also the eastern Mediterranean region.
Bali volcano get voltile
Transport authorities in Indonesia extended closure of the international Ngurah Rai airport on Tuesday as volcanic eruption on Bali resort island continued, officials said.
NHK photo
The shutdown of Ngurah Rai airport was extended to 7:00 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) Wednesday from 7:00 a.m. (0100 GMT) Tuesday, said Wisnu Darjono, director operation of airNav Indonesia, a firm carrying out navigation services.
The decision came as Mount Agung volcano in Karangasem district of Bali continued eruption on Monday evening, spewing ash by up to 3 km high.
“After the eruption last night, it was decided to prolong the closure,” he said in a statement.
The director said volcanic ash advisory shows that the navigation pathway has been covered by volcanic ash.
“So this is dangerous for flight. This decision is taken for the safety of flight,” said Darjono.
A total of 89,000 passengers have been stranded in Bali as a result of closure of the airport.
Separately, in nearby Lombok area, another major foreign tourist destination in the country, the main airport has been reopened since 6:00 a.m. Tuesday (0000 GMT), said Israwadi, corporate secretary of PT Angkasa Pura I, operator of the airport.
The airport was shut down at 19:50 p.m. local time (1350) Monday.
The Lombok International airport has been made as an alternate airport when the Bali Ngurah Rai airport could not operate.
Over 200,000 foreign holiday makers come into the Bali tourist resort every month, according to the national statistics agency.
Indonesia closed the airport on the tourist island of Bali on Monday and ordered 100,000 residents living near a grumbling volcano spewing columns of ash to evacuate immediately, warning that the first major eruption in 54 years could be “imminent”.
The airport was closed for 24 hours from Monday morning, disrupting 445 flights and some 59,000 passengers, after Mount Agung, which killed hundreds of people in 1963, sent volcanic ash high into the sky, and officials said cancellations could be extended.
“Plumes of smoke are occasionally accompanied by explosive eruptions and the sound of weak blasts that can be heard up to 12 km (7 miles) from the peak,” the Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said in a statement after raising the alert from three to its highest level of four.
“The potential for a larger eruption is imminent,” it said, referring to a visible glow of magma at Mount Agung’s peak overnight, and warning residents to evacuate a danger zone at a radius of 8-10 km (5-6 miles).
Sutopo, a BNPB spokesman, said there had been no casualties so far and 40,000 people had left the area, but tens of thousands still needed to move.
Video footage shared by the agency showed volcanic mud flows (lahar) on the mountainside. Lahar carrying mud and large boulders can destroy houses, bridges and roads in its path.
Bali, famous for its surf, beaches and temples, attracted nearly 5 million visitors last year, and its airport serves as a transport hub for the chain of islands in Indonesia’s eastern archipelago.
But tourism has slumped in parts of Bali since September when Agung’s volcanic tremors began to increase and the alert level was raised to maximum before being lowered in October when seismic activity calmed.“I‘m really worried. Maybe I’ll go somewhere south that I think will be safe to avoid being trapped by the ashfall,” said Maria Becker, a German tourist staying in Amed, around 15 km (9 miles) from the volcano.
Agung rises majestically over eastern Bali to a height of just over 3,000 metres (9,800 feet). Northeastern Bali is relatively undeveloped compared to the more heavily populated southern tourist hub of Kuta-Seminyak-Nusa Dua.
Indonesia’s Vulcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Centre (PVMBG), which is using drones, satellite imagery and other equipment, said predictions were difficult in the absence of instrumental recordings from the last eruption 54 years ago.
In 1963, an eruption of Agung killed more than 1,000 people and razed several villages by hurling out pyroclastic material, hot ash, lava and lahar.
Recordings now show the northeast area of Agung’s peak has swollen in recent weeks “indicating there is fairly strong pressure toward the surface”, PVMBG said.
It warned that if a similar eruption occurred, it could send rocks bigger than fist-size up to 8 km (5 miles) from the summit and volcanic gas to a distance of 10 km (6 miles) within three minutes.
Some analysis, however, suggests the threat should not be as great this time because “energy at Mount Agung’s magma chamber is not as big” and the ash column only around a quarter as high so far as the 20 km (12 miles) reached in 1963, Sutopo said.
Bali airport, about 60 km (37 miles) from the volcano, will be closed for 24 hours, its operator said.Ten alternative airports have been prepared for airlines to divert inbound flights, including in neighboring provinces. Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd said it was cancelling flights on Tuesday, while Jetstar was offering to exchange Bali bound tickets for other destinations.
Television footage showed hundreds of holidaymakers camped inside the airport terminal, some sleeping on their bags, others using mobile telephones.
“We have been here (in Bali) for three days we are about to leave today, but just found out our flights have been cancelled. We have got no information because the gates, the check-ins, have been closed indefinitely,” said Carlo Oben from Los Angeles.
Cover-More, Australia’s biggest travel insurer, said on its website customers would only be covered if they had bought policies before the volcano alert was first issued on Sept. 18.
Indonesia’s hotel and restaurant association said stranded tourists at member hotels would get one night’s free stay.
The main airport on Lombok, next to Bali, was closed after being open for much of the day, a spokesman said.
Airlines avoid flying when volcanic ash is present because it can damage engines and can clog fuel and cooling systems and hamper visibility.
India, Russia ink anti-terror pact
India and Russia today agreed to help each other in combating terrorism.
The agreement between the two countries for cooperation in tackling all forms of terrorism was signed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Russia’s Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev in Moscow after they held wide-ranging talks.
The two strategic partners asserted that there were no good or bad terrorists and the menace should be fought
jointly.
jointly.
During the meeting, the ministers emphasized the strength of the relationship between India and Russia that has been consolidated over the past 70 years in all areas.
A statement issued by the Indian embassy in Moscow said, the two ministers emphasized that cooperation in the field of security was an important aspect of this bilateral relationship.
Indian and Russian representatives also signed a joint action plan for countering the threat posed by narcotics.
This agreement will provide legal framework for bilateral cooperation in this field.
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