The Evening Wrap: Pakistani lawmakers elect Shehbaz Sharif as new Prime Minister

India and the U.S. will hold their fourth annual ‘2+2’ Defence and Foreign Ministry dialogue on April 11 in Washington, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine looming over the discussions and occupying a prominent place on the agenda. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who arrived in Washington on Saturday night, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, arrived on Sunday, will meet their counterparts, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in the first such dialogue of the Biden administration. The last meeting in this format was in October 2020. Last year’s meeting was pushed back multiple times, owing to scheduling conflicts, including — notably — a visit from Russian President Vladimir Putin to New Delhi in December 2021. The agenda for discussion is broad, reflecting the breadth of the “Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership” between the two countries. The two sides will discuss defence, science and technology (particularly emerging technology), climate and public health (particularly cooperation on managing the COVID-19 pandemic), fortifying and building supply chains, as well as people to people ties, as per the readouts of the talks from the U.S. State and Defense Departments. India and the U.S. will continue their “close consultations on the consequences of President Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine and mitigating the impact by addressing energy and food prices”, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday. India has raised the issue of commodity price impacts of the war, including at the United Nations. It has also purchased oil at a discounted price from Moscow — a move that has ruffled feathers in the Biden administration. The U.S. has said it is willing to help provide alternatives to India’s sourcing of oil from Moscow — which accounts for 1–2% of its energy imports. This is likely to feature in the week’s discussions. PML-N’s Shehbaz Sharif, PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi submit nomination papers for Pakistan PM post Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday nominated himself for the post of Prime Minister, while the former ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) named Shah Mehmood Qureshi as its candidate for the post. The move came hours after Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed from office through a no-confidence vote held early Sunday morning, becoming the first premier in the country’s history to be sent home after losing the trust of the House. In accordance with the deadline of the submission stipulated by the National Assembly, 70-year-old Mr. Shehbaz submitted nomination papers for the new leader of the house, the Express Tribune newspaper reported. Mr. Khan’s party nominated 65-year-old former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi as its candidate for the premier’s post. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa invites independent MPs to discuss economic crisis Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has invited the eleven-party coalition allies comprising 42 independent MPs for a discussion on the country’s worst economic crisis, according to a media report. During the meeting, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday evening, the MPs will also request the President to remove his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and appoint a new cabinet to address the unprecedented crisis faced by the island nation. Last week the entire Sri Lankan cabinet resigned apart from Mahinda at a time when the country was facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from the UK in 1948. During the meeting, the MPs will also hand out a list of proposals to President Rajapaksa to bail out Sri Lanka from the current economic and political crisis, the Colombo Page news portal reported. No FBI team in India to probe bitcoin scam: CBI The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday clarified that there is no Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) team in India to probe the bitcoin scam in Karnataka. Recently, Congress leaders had sought to know if the FBI of the U.S. was in India to gather information on the alleged bitcoin scam in Karnataka. An official release from the CBI said that FBI has not sent any team to India for conducting a probe in the matter nor has any request been made by FBI to CBI for conducting investigation in this case in India. “Accordingly, the question of according any permission for the probe by competent authority in India does not arise. The CBI as the National Central Bureau for INTERPOL in India coordinates closely with international law enforcement agencies including FBI,” the release added. Congress leaders had alleged the involvement of Karnataka BJP leaders in the scam, accusing them of transferring bitcoins to fill “Modi wallet”. In brief Congress leaders had alleged the involvement of Karnataka BJP leaders in the scam, accusing them of transferring bitcoins to fill “Modi wallet”. Ukraine’s prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova on Sunday said 1,222 bodies have been found in the region around the capital Kyiv so far. “We have actually now, only for this morning, 1,222 dead people only in Kyiv region,” Ms. Venediktova said in an interview with Britain’s Sky News. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow [logo] The Evening Wrap 11 APRIL 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( India-U.S. 2+2 dialogue will address broad agenda while working to manage differences on Ukraine   [India and the U.S. will hold their fourth annual ‘2+2’ Defence and Foreign Ministry dialogue on April 11]( in Washington, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine looming over the discussions and occupying a prominent place on the agenda. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who arrived in Washington on Saturday night, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, arrived on Sunday, will meet their counterparts, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in the first such dialogue of the Biden administration. The last meeting in this format was in October 2020. Last year’s meeting was pushed back multiple times, owing to scheduling conflicts, including — notably — a visit from Russian President Vladimir Putin to New Delhi in December 2021. The agenda for discussion is broad, reflecting the breadth of the “Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership” between the two countries. The two sides will discuss defence, science and technology (particularly emerging technology), climate and public health (particularly cooperation on managing the COVID-19 pandemic), fortifying and building supply chains, as well as people to people ties, as per the readouts of the talks from the U.S. State and Defense Departments. India and the U.S. will continue their “close consultations on the consequences of President Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine and mitigating the impact by addressing energy and food prices”, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday. India has raised the issue of commodity price impacts of the war, including at the United Nations. It has also purchased oil at a discounted price from Moscow — a move that has ruffled feathers in the Biden administration. The U.S. has said it is willing to help provide alternatives to India’s sourcing of oil from Moscow — which accounts for 1–2% of its energy imports. This is likely to feature in the week’s discussions. PML-N’s Shehbaz Sharif, PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi submit nomination papers for Pakistan PM post Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday [nominated himself for the post of Prime Minister]( while the former ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) named Shah Mehmood Qureshi as its candidate for the post. [Residents read newspapers along the roadside in Islamabad on April 10, 2022. Imran Khan was ousted as Pakistan’s Prime Minister early on April 10 after losing a no-confidence vote in parliament following weeks of political turmoil. ] The move came hours after Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed from office through a no-confidence vote held early Sunday morning, becoming the first premier in the country’s history to be sent home after losing the trust of the House. In accordance with the deadline of the submission stipulated by the National Assembly, 70-year-old Mr. Shehbaz submitted nomination papers for the new leader of the house, the Express Tribune newspaper reported. Mr. Khan’s party nominated 65-year-old former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi as its candidate for the premier’s post. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa invites independent MPs to discuss economic crisis Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has [invited the eleven-party coalition allies comprising 42 independent MPs]( for a discussion on the country’s worst economic crisis, according to a media report. During the meeting, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday evening, the MPs will also request the President to remove his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and appoint a new cabinet to address the unprecedented crisis faced by the island nation. Last week the entire Sri Lankan cabinet resigned apart from Mahinda at a time when the country was facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from the UK in 1948. During the meeting, the MPs will also hand out a list of proposals to President Rajapaksa to bail out Sri Lanka from the current economic and political crisis, the Colombo Page news portal reported. No FBI team in India to probe bitcoin scam: CBI The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday [clarified that there is no Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) team in India]( to probe the bitcoin scam in Karnataka. Recently, Congress leaders had sought to know if the FBI of the U.S. was in India to gather information on the alleged bitcoin scam in Karnataka. An official release from the CBI said that FBI has not sent any team to India for conducting a probe in the matter nor has any request been made by FBI to CBI for conducting investigation in this case in India. “Accordingly, the question of according any permission for the probe by competent authority in India does not arise. The CBI as the National Central Bureau for INTERPOL in India coordinates closely with international law enforcement agencies including FBI,” the release added. Congress leaders had alleged the involvement of Karnataka BJP leaders in the scam, accusing them of transferring bitcoins to fill “Modi wallet”. In brief Congress leaders had alleged the involvement of Karnataka BJP leaders in the scam, accusing them of transferring bitcoins to fill “Modi wallet”. [Toys for Ukrainian refugee children are seen on the platform where a train from Odesa arrived at Przemysl Glowny railway station, after fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Przemysl, Poland on April 10, 2022. ] Ukraine’s prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova on Sunday said 1,222 bodies have been found in the region around the capital Kyiv so far. “We have actually now, only for this morning, 1,222 dead people only in Kyiv region,” Ms. Venediktova said in an interview with Britain’s Sky News. 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