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UK calls for ‘toll-free’ Strait of Hormuz

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Daily Excelsior
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LONDON, Apr 20: Britain on Monday called for a lasting settlement to ensure freedom of navigation and a toll-free Strait of Hormuz as the US-Iran ceasefire hung in the balance.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper arrived in Japan for the final leg of what has been branded as an “intensified shuttle diplomacy tour” to advance coordination with key allies on shared geopolitical, economic and energy security priorities.
During the six-day tour spanning Europe and West Asia, the British minister held in-person talks with Foreign Ministers from 11 countries, including Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, the UAE, and Ukraine, concluding with a meeting with the Japanese Foreign Minister for the annual Strategic Dialogue in Tokyo.
“An important meeting with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on importance of extending the ceasefire & getting shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz fully reopened,” said Cooper, following the meeting with her Pakistani counterpart on Sunday.
“The UK is grateful to Pakistan for the role they have been playing in facilitating diplomatic talks,” she said.
It came ahead of the US seizure of an Iranian cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend for allegedly trying to get past the American blockade of the country’s ports. It has thrown a second round of planned negotiations in Pakistan into disarray as Tehran declined to continue with the peace process.
“This is a critical diplomatic moment with the end of the ceasefire looming. Further talks on a lasting settlement are welcome – they must lead to a toll-free Strait of Hormuz,” said Cooper.
“Proposals have been circulating from Iran to introduce tolls on the Strait once the conflict is concluded. Since the call I convened with more than 40 countries at the start of April, we have been working to build an international consensus both on the urgency of reopening the Strait of Hormuz and on the principle that freedom of navigation must be restored in full, without restrictions or tolls.Â
“It is clear to me from my talks that an increasing number of countries are now joining the UK in insisting that there is no sustainable resolution to the closure of Hormuz that leaves the Iranian regime charging for access,” she said.
The UK foreign secretary said she will continue her talks in Japan on Monday because it is about the precedent to be set for freedom of navigation all over the world.Â
“If the wrong precedent is set (in the Strait of Hormuz), it would be deeply damaging not just for the global economy, but for global security, and that is why it is an argument we must win,” she added.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said that Japan has joined UK-led efforts to support a resumption of free passage in the Strait of Hormuz, and in recent days has announced a new cooperation framework with its Asian counterparts pledging USD 10 billion in financial aid to support neighbours, especially in Southeast Asia, to secure energy.
It highlighted that the UK has been engaging with partners across the globe to build a broad coalition of opposition and resistance to tolls – including through convening 50 countries, including India, for a summit in France last week.Â
“The Foreign Secretary has been clear that preventing individual states from holding the global economy hostage requires coordinated international action to protect supply chains, uphold international law and defend the rules-based order,” it stated. (PTI)

Japan issues advisory for northern coastal areas  for slightly increased risk of mega-quake

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Daily Excelsior
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TOKYO, Apr 20: Japan on Monday issued an advisory for northern coastal areas for an increased risk of a possible mega-quake induced by a major quake earlier in the day.
The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there is 1% chance of a mega-quake occurring on the northern Japanese coast in the next week or so, following the powerful quake earlier Monday near the Chishima trough.
Officials said the advisory is not a quake prediction but urged residents to raise their preparedness, such as emergency food and their grab bag, just in case, while continuing their daily lives.
The advisory for the region is the second in recent months. One was issued following another major quake in December. No major subsequent quake occurred.
A powerful earthquake struck off the northern Japanese coast earlier Monday, and the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami alert in the region, sending residents rushing to safer grounds. So far, no major injuries or damages have been reported.
The quake, registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.5, occurred off the coast of Sanriku in northern Japan at around 4:53 pm (0753 GMT), at a depth of about 10 kilometres (6 miles), the agency said.
A tsunami of about 80 centimetres (2.6 feet) was detected at the Kuji port in the Iwate prefecture within one hour of the quake, and a smaller tsunami of 40 centimetres (1.3 feet) was recorded at another port in the prefecture, the agency said.
The tsunami alert and advisory were still in place in Japan, with warnings of a wave of up to 3 metres (10 feet), but the US-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said the tsunami threat from the quake “has now passed.”
The Japanese agency urged residents in the region to immediately stay away from the coast or along rivers and take shelter on higher ground. It also cautioned people in the area against possible aftershocks for about a week.
Footage on NHK television showed many people driving up to parks and other facilities on higher ground. In the town of Tomakomai in Hokkaido, a resident came to a hilltop park after picking up his child at a cram school and said he planned to stay until the alert is lifted.
Iwate and three other northern prefectures issued non-binding evacuation advisories to more than 128,000 residents, according to the disaster management agency.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said officials are assessing the situation, but so far, no damage or injuries have been reported, including at power stations and other facilities.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority said nuclear power plants and related facilities in the region were all intact, and no abnormalities were detected.
Another 7.5 magnitude quake in December left dozens injured.
It’s been 15 years since a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, ravaged parts of northern Japan, caused more than 22,000 deaths and forced nearly half a million people to flee their homes, most of them due to tsunami damage.
Some 160,000 people fled their homes in Fukushima because of the radiation spewed from the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. About 26,000 of them haven’t returned because they resettled elsewhere, their hometowns remain off-limits, or they have lingering concerns about radiation. (AP)

US and allied forces kick off combat drills  with Philippines despite Washington’s focus on Iran

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Daily Excelsior
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MANILA, Apr 20:  The United States and the Philippines kicked off one of their largest combat exercises Monday in an annual display of allied military might aimed at deterring aggression in Asia, despite Washington’s preoccupation with the war in the Middle East.
The large-scale combat drills between the US and Philippines will expand this year to include other militaries, including from Japan, France and Canada, which have signed visiting forces agreements with Manila, the Philippine military said.
More than 17,000 American and Filipino military personnel will participate in the Balikatan – Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder – exercise. The event will last nearly three weeks and will include mock battle scenarios and live-fire maneuvers in locations including Philippine provinces facing the disputed South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.
Nearly 10,000 US military personnel will take part in the combat drills, a major deployment that US military officials said underscores Washington’s commitment to Asia despite its preoccupation with the war against Iran.
“Regardless of the challenges elsewhere in the world, the United States focus on the Indo-Pacific and our ironclad commitment to the Philippines remains unwavering,” Marine Lt. Gen. Christian Wortman said in the opening ceremony.
Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner said the multinational combat drills build deterrence and resilience against aggression in the region. He did not mention any country in his speech but in the past, he has strongly criticized China for its increasingly assertive actions against Philippine navy and coast guard forces in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay claims to the waters, a key global trade route, but territorial confrontations have particularly spiked between Chinese and Filipino forces in recent years.
China has objected to the US-Philippine drills, saying they are aimed at containing its global rise. The Philippine military, however, has insisted the exercise does not target any country and is also needed to prepare allied forces to respond to natural disasters.
The US has repeatedly warned China that it is obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces come under an armed attack in disputed waters.
“We remain guided by a shared commitment to uphold international law, to respect sovereignty and to contribute to a free and open Indo-Pacific where nations can thrive without coercion,” Brawner said.
During the drills, Japanese forces will fire missiles from a coastal area in the northwestern Philippine province of Ilocos Norte to help sink a mock enemy ship about 40 kilometers (25 miles) away in the peripheries of the South China Sea, Philippine marine. Col. Dennis Hernandez told The Associated Press.
US forces will use a marine drone laden with explosives to further bombard the enemy ship, Hernandez said.
Last year, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth assured Philippine officials while visiting Manila that the Trump administration would work with allies to ramp up deterrence against threats across the world, including China’s aggression in the South China Sea.
“Friends need to stand shoulder to shoulder to deter conflict, to ensure that there is free navigation whether you call it the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea,” Hegseth told Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (AP)

Modi killed bill on women’s quota, opposition fought delimitation bill only: Cong’s Kharge

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Daily Excelsior
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Cooch Behar (WB), Apr 20: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday claimed it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who “killed” the
Constitution amendment bill to implement women’s quota in legislatures from 2029 and pointed out that the opposition has fought the delimitation bill only. Taking a jibe at the prime minister for campaigning extensively across West Bengal for the Assembly polls, he asked whether Modi wished to become the chief minister of the state.
Over the prime minister accusing the Congress and other opposition parties of committing “foeticide” after the bill to implement 33 per cent women’s reservation in legislatures in 2029 derailed in the Lok Sabha, Kharge said, “It is you (Modi) who killed the women’s reservation bill; we fought against the Delimitation Bill and not against the bill on women’s quota.” Addressing a poll rally in Cooch Behar, the Congress president said, “We are always keen to ensure the rights and welfare of women”, and reminded the gathering that the party has had women leaders like Sarojini Naidu, Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. (Agencies)

Man sentenced to death in  Pak for wife’s ‘honour killing’

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Daily Excelsior
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LAHORE, Apr 20:  A Pakistani court on Monday sentenced a man to death for killing his wife in the name of ‘honour’, an official said.
The convict brutally killed his young wife by slitting her throat with a knife last year, according to the prosecution.
He suspected that his wife had an affair with a man from her locality in Kahna, a thickly populated area of Lahore.
The court found the accused guilty and sentenced him to death along with a fine of PKR 300,000, according to the court official.
“Additional Sessions Lahore Judge Ijaz Ahmed Bosal on Monday handed down a death sentence to Muhammad Azam for murdering his wife for what he claimed was ‘disgracing the family honour,” the official said.
Honour killing in Pakistan remains a severe, persistent issue with hundreds of women murdered annually, often driven by strict patriarchal norms and rural tribal systems.
Hundreds of women (estimated over 700-1,000 per year) are killed for disgracing the “honour” of the family, with the highest rates reported in Punjab and Sindh provinces.
Killings often result from accusations of illicit relationships, marrying against family consent, or perceived insults to family reputation. (PTI)

UK police arrest 2 in connection  with weekend arson attack on synagogue

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Daily Excelsior
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LONDON, Apr 20: British police have arrested two teenagers in connection with a weekend arson attack on a synagogue in northwest London, as Jewish leaders express concern about a wave of incidents targeting their community.
Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes of London’s Metropolitan Police Service on Monday said officers arrested two young men, aged 19 and 17, overnight in relation to the attack on the Kenton United Synagogue in the borough of Harrow. The department has made 15 arrests related to six attacks on Jewish targets and a Persian-language media organisation critical of Iran’s government that occurred over the past few weeks, he said in an interview with the BBC.
One “serious line of inquiry” is that Iran is hiring local criminals to carry out these attacks amid tensions in the Middle East, including the U.S.-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic, Jukes said.
“We’ve seen a pattern with other actors of thugs for hire, people taking cash that looks like quick and easy money,” Jukes said. “This is part of the modern hybrid war fought by proxies.”
In the most recent incident, a bottle containing a flammable liquid was thrown through the window of the Harrow synagogue on Saturday night, causing smoke damage, police said.
Counterterrorism police are investigating the series of incidents, which began on March 23 when an arson attack destroyed four ambulances owned by a Jewish charity that serves people of all faiths in north London. Police on Friday closed Kensington Gardens, a central London park visited by thousands of tourists and local residents every day, to investigate an alleged drone attack on the nearby Israeli embassy.
No one has been injured in the incidents, which all happened within a few miles (kilometres) of each other.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said on Sunday that “a sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community of the UK is gathering momentum.”
“Thank God, no lives have been lost, but we cannot, and must not, wait for that to change before we understand just how dangerous this moment is for all of our society,” he said on X.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans on Sunday said police are aware that a group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia had claimed responsibility for most of the attacks in Britain. The same group has claimed responsibility for incidents in recent months at places of worship, business and financial institutions across Europe, all of which appear to be linked to Jewish or Israeli interests, she said.
Israel’s government has described Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, whose name means the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, as a recently founded group with suspected links to “an Iranian proxy.”
“I want to be clear, irrespective of the motivation of this group, to those facilitating on their behalf and those committing the acts – we will not tolerate activity which seeks to intimidate or frighten our communities. You will not succeed in creating division and hate,” Evans said.
The UK has accused Iran of using criminal proxies to conduct attacks on European soil targeting opposition media outlets and the Jewish community. Britain’s MI5 domestic intelligence service says that more than 20 “potentially lethal” Iran-backed plots were disrupted in the year to October. (AP)

Both Pilots Killed As Private Plane Crashes Into Hill In Chhattisgarh

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Daily Excelsior
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Jashpur (Chhattisgarh), Apr 20: Two pilots were killed after a chartered aircraft crashed after colliding with a hill in Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur district after on Monday, officials said.
The incident took place near Ara Hill in the Narayanpur police station area.
According to preliminary inputs, the aircraft was flying at a low altitude, around 30 feet above the ground, when it collided with a tree and went down.
Visuals from the spot show what appears to be a small single-engine propeller aircraft flying unusually low, just above treetop level, moments before the reported crash
A rescue team has been rushed to the spot, and efforts are underway to assess the situation.
However, officials said the crash is yet to be officially confirmed, and more details are awaited.

Meesho allots over 94.79 lakh  equity shares to employees under ESOP

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Daily Excelsior
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NEW DELHI, Apr 20:  E-commerce firm Meesho has allotted nearly 94.8 lakh equity shares to its eligible employees under the company’s employee stock ownership plan.
“We wish to inform you that the Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the Board of Directors of Meesho Ltd, by way of a circular resolution passed on April 20, 2026, has approved the allotment of 94,79,380 equity shares of face value of Re 1 each to the eligible employees, upon exercise of vested options under the company’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) 2024 Plan. The said equity shares shall rank pari-passu with existing equity shares of the company in all respects,” Meesho said in a regulatory filing.
Following this allotment, the issued, subscribed, and paid-up equity share capital of the Bengaluru-headquartered company has increased from Rs 456,40,55,196 to Rs 4,57,35,34,576. (PTI)

India, Korea discuss  revamping trade pact

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Daily Excelsior
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NEW DELHI, Apr 20:  India and Korea on Monday discussed revamping the existing free trade agreement between the two countries to boost economic ties.
The pact was discussed during a meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his Korean counterpart Yeo Han-koo.
“We discussed ways to resume and revamp the India-Korea CEPA (comprehensive  economic partnership agreement) upgrade negotiations and explored opportunities for deeper cooperation in industrial cooperation, green energy and digital trade,” Goyal said in a post on social media.
The two countries are looking at the upgradation of CEPA, which was operationalised in January 2010. So far, over 10 rounds of review talks have been held.
India has earlier sought greater market access for certain products like steel, rice, and shrimp from South Korea to boost exports of these goods.
India had also flagged issues over Korean firms not buying Indian steel.
India has, multiple times, raised concerns about the growing trade deficit between the two countries.
India’s exports to Korea dipped 9.3 per cent to USD 5.81 billion in 2024-25 from USD 6.41 billion in 2023-24. Imports dipped marginally by 0.34 per cent to USD 21 billion in 2024-25. (PTI)

Groww posts 2-fold jump in profit  to Rs 686 cr in March quarter

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Daily Excelsior
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NEW DELHI, Apr 20 :  Billionbrains Garage Ventures, the parent company of stock broking firm Groww, on Monday reported an over two-fold growth in profit after tax to Rs 686 crore for the three months ended March 2026.
The company had posted a PAT of Rs 309 crore in the same quarter preceding fiscal.
Its total income surged 81 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,536 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 850 crore in the January-March quarter of 2025, Bengaluru-headquartered Groww said in a stock exchange filing.
The firm’s total transacting users stood at 2.16 crore at the end of the March quarter, marking a 25 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth. Its active user base stood at 1.67 crore.
Further, its total customer assets accelerated 36 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3 lakh crore.
“Operating leverage played out across all the cost buckets, leading to PAT margin expanding by 8.3 per cent YoY …and an absolute PAT margin of 44.7 per cent in Q4. As the revenue increases faster than the costs, which are largely fixed in nature, the margins will keep expanding,” the company said.
For the full fiscal year FY26, Groww’s PAT grew 14 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2,083 crore and total income rose 19 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4,816 crore.
Founded in 2016, Groww emerged as country’ largest stockbroker, with over 28 per cent market share.
On November 12, the company made a remarkable debut, closing with a premium of nearly 31 per cent against the issue price of Rs 100.
Shares of Billionbrains Garage Ventures were trading 0.25 per cent higher at Rs 198.8 apiece on the BSE in the afternoon trade. (PTI)
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