India

This will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jaipur.

On Thursday, addressing the heads of the Pacific Island nations who are in New Delhi for the summit, President Pranab Mukherjee said: “UNSC reform and expansion will be discussed and concrete proposals are expected to be considered in the forthcoming UNGA session next month. An inter-governmental negotiating text is already on the table, for which India needs their support.”  

Leaders and delegates from 14 island nations are in Jaipur for the second Summit of the Forum for India- Pacific Islands Cooperation.

India's Economic Times quotes the country's External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, saying India stands ready to share its expertise and technology with the island nations to help them adapt to and to mitigate the effects of climate change.

The paper says India will push for greater cooperation with the island countries in sectors like oil and natural gas, mining, IT, healthcare, fishing and marine research.

The international conference will be held on August 21.

The local administration and civic bodies have been pressed in to make the city beautiful while general administration department is overseeing the arrangements for the delegates.

The Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) has intensified efforts for the beautification of the city. Hotels where delegates will stay and visit have been earmarked and 10 teams have been deployed for cleaning and landscaping works in the city. Apart from that, officials from the electricity cell too are taking stock of the situation.

In tweets, Modi said: “I am very optimistic about FIPIC Summit. Am sure it will strengthen India's bond with the Pacific island nations.”

Later, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj welcomed the 14 leaders who arrived in India for the summit.

In an address to the FIPIC leaders, she said: “You may be far from us geographically but you have always had a special place in our hearts”, according to tweets posted by external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup.

On August 21, India will host the heads of 14 island nations at the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC), in what is seen as a first step towards greater engagement with the region, which is important from an economic and geostrategic standpoint.

The mudslide occurred in Joumol, a village in Manipur state close to India's border with Myanmar, said police officer Herojit Singh.

Police reinforcements were finding it difficult to reach the area which has been cut off by road because of heavy rains over the past three days, Singh said.

He said that the rescuers would use helicopters to land in the area on Sunday after day-break.

Television images showed people bursting firecrackers and raising an Indian flag in Masaldanga enclave which became part of India at midnight Friday.

India's External Affairs Ministry in a statement described July 31 as a historic day for both India and Bangladesh as "it marks the resolution of a complex issue that has lingered since independence" from British colonialists in 1947.