India News Live Updates: PM Modi holds bilateral talks with Dominica PM Roosevelt Skerrit in Georgetown

Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said on Wednesday she will step down from the agency that oversees U.S. telecommunications companies on Jan. 20 when Donald Trump assumes the presidency.

Rosenworcel, who joined the FCC in 2012 and is the first female permanent chair, oversaw a dramatic expansion of commission work on space policy including the establishment of a Space Bureau.

She was also behind efforts to help more students get internet access, oversaw a government subsidy program to help 23 million households get broadband access and led an agency crackdown on the proliferation of Chinese telecoms equipment and other national security issues.

Rosenworcel said the job had been the honor of a lifetime, guiding “the FCC during a time when communications technology is a part of every aspect of civic and commercial life.”

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has charged billionaire Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the Adani Group, with allegedly defrauding American investors and bribing officials. Adani, 62, his nephew Sagar Adani, 30, executives of Adani Green Energy Ltd, and Cyril Cabanes, an executive of Azure Power Global Ltd were charged on Wednesday with conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud, as well as substantive securities fraud, for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from US investors and global financial institutions through false and misleading statements.

The SEC alleged that the bribery scheme was orchestrated to enable renewable energy companies Adani Green and Azure Power to capitalise on a multi-billion-dollar solar energy project awarded by the Indian government.

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The U.S. Senate on Wednesday blocked legislation that would have halted the sale of some U.S. weapons to Israel, which had been introduced out of concern about the human rights catastrophe faced by Palestinians in Gaza.

Seventy-nine of the 100 senators opposed a resolution that would have blocked sales of tank rounds to Israel, while 18 approved it and one voted present.

The Senate was due to vote later on Wednesday on two other resolutions that would stop shipments of two other types of offensive military equipment.

All of the votes in favor of the measure came from Democrats, while “no” votes came from both Democrats and Republicans. Approval would have been a marked departure from decades of U.S. congressional support for Israel, which for years was the biggest recipient of U.S. military assistance.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to repeal President Joe Biden’s signature artificial intelligence policy when he returns to the White House for a second term.

What that actually means for the future of AI technology remains to be seen. Among those who could use some clarity are the government scientists and AI experts from multiple countries gathering in San Francisco this week to deliberate on AI safety measures.

Hosted by the Biden administration, officials from a number of U.S. allies — among them Australia, Canada, Japan, Kenya, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the 27-nation European Union — began meeting Wednesday in the California city that’s a commercial hub for AI development.

As per an update by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of the infamous gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, has been arrested by US law enforcement and is currently under detention at the Pottawattamie County Jail in the city of Iowa, United States.

In an official statement to ANI, ICE stated that Bishnoi was detained at the faciility and that they could not share any further information at this time.

The arrest of Anmol Bishnoi comes amid ongoing investigations into his involvement in various criminal activities.

The Commonwealth of Dominica has conferred its highest national honour, the Dominica Award of Honour, upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi. President Sylvanie Burton presented the award to PM Modi in recognition of his efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and his dedication to strengthening the relationship between India and Dominica.

Upon receiving the prestigious award, PM Modi expressed his gratitude, saying, “This honour is not only mine but of 140 crore people of India, their efforts, their values and their tradition. We are two democracies, and we together are role models of women’s empowerment for the world. It is a matter of deep satisfaction that we were able to help the people of Dominica during a pandemic like Covid-19.”

House Ethics Committee Republicans voted Wednesday against releasing the panel’s long-running investigation into President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, the top Democrat on the panel said.

The outcome, however, is only a temporary reprieve for Gaetz, who faces allegations of sexual misconduct, as he works to personally secure his embattled nomination to be the nation’s top law enforcement official.

The House panel expects to meet again Dec. 5 to reconsider releasing its findings.

“There was no consensus on this issue,” said Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, the panel’s ranking Democrat, who said the vote fell along party lines on the evenly split committee.

North Korea and Russia have signed a protocol on cooperation after meetings covering trade, the economy, science and technology in Pyongyang, North Korean state media KCNA said on Thursday.

There were few details in the KCNA report, but Russia’s TASS news agency said on Tuesday that the countries agreed to increase charter flights following the meeting, citing Russia’s ministry of natural resources.

Between January and September, the number of tourists travelling between Russia and North Korea amounted to over 5,000 people, with more than 70% travelling by air, it said.

The increased charter flights are expected to take off not only from Russia’s eastern region close to North Korea, but also from major Russian cities in other areas, TASS said, citing the ministry.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, for a bilateral discussion in Georgetown, Guyana.

The meeting, held during PM Modi’s visit to Guyana, is part of India’s ongoing engagement with Caribbean nations to strengthen ties and foster cooperation.

India and the Commonwealth of Dominica have enjoyed traditionally cordial bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1981. While Dominica does not maintain a diplomatic mission in India, it is concurrently accredited to India’s mission in Port of Spain.

The relationship has been marked by numerous high-level exchanges, including interactions between Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Skerrit during the India-CARICOM Leaders’ Meeting in New York in September 2019, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).