NewsBytes

Trump signs tax, spending cut bill at White House July 4 picnic

President Donald Trump signed his package of tax breaks and spending cuts into law Friday in front of Fourth of July picnickers after his cajoling produced almost unanimous Republican support in Congress for the domestic priority that could cement his second-term legacy. Flanked by Republican legislators and members of his Cabinet, Trump signed the multitrillion-dollar legislation at a desk on the White House driveway, then banged down a gavel gifted to him by House Speaker Mike Johnson that was used during the bill's final passage Thursday.

Trinidad & Tobago extends full support to India for UNSC permanent membership

India and Trinidad and Tobago have inked six agreements to boost cooperation in several sectors, including infrastructure and pharmaceuticals, following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart from the Caribbean nation, Kamla Persad-Bissessar. In the meeting held on Friday, Prime Minister Modi announced a decision by India to issue Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards up to the sixth generation of the Indian diaspora of Trinidad and Tobago, where over 40 per cent of the population is of Indian origin. Modi landed in Port of Spain on Thursday in the second leg of his five-nation tour.

DRDO, AIIMS-Rishikesh ink MoU for clinical trials in field of biomedical devices   

An institute of the DRDO has signed an agreement with AIIMS, Rishikesh for conducting "clinical trials" and advanced research in the field of biomedical devices related to human performance in extreme environments. The collaboration between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will facilitate the development of products, technologies and strategies for the "mitigation of effects" of extreme environments on human performance, officials said. Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS) of the DRDO has signed an MoU with AIIMS, Rishikesh for "conducting clinical trials and advanced research in the field of biomedical devices and supplements related to human performance in extreme environments," a senior official said.

UK-based arms consultant Bhandari declared fugitive economic offender

A Delhi court on Saturday declared UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari a fugitive economic offender on a plea from the Enforcement Directorate (ED), an order that will allow the agency to confiscate all his assets that are worth crores of rupees. District Judge (Tis Hazari) Sanjeev Aggarwal said in his order the court was satisfied that "Sh. Sanjay Bhandari, S/o Late Sh. R K Bhandari, is a fugitive economic offender under section 12(1) of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 and is declared as such under the above provision(s) of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018". The order has come as a shot in the arm for the federal probe agency as it will now be able to confiscate assets worth crores of rupees of Bhandari, whose chances to come to India have been virtually nullified after a UK court recently ruled against his extradition.