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US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House for their first face-to-face meeting, seeking to build the relationship between the world’s two largest democracies.
Despite differences over issues such as immigration and climate change, Modi is expected to assure Trump that the United States has nothing to fear from India’s growing economic clout.
After they began their afternoon talks in the Oval Office, likely to centre on issues such as trade and the war in Afghanistan, the two leaders are expected to give a joint statement to reporters.
Trump, who described Modi as a “true friend” on Twitter after his weekend arrival in the US, should find much in common with the Indian leader, with both men having won power by portraying themselves as establishment outsiders.
While ties with some traditional allies have been strained by Trump’s complaints that Washington has been the loser in trade agreements, Modi appears alert to his host’s sensitivities and emphasis on transactional diplomacy.
Writing in a Wall Street Journal editorial published just ahead of their meeting, Modi said that in “an uncertain global economic landscape, our two nations stand as mutually reinforcing engines of growth and innovation”.
India is currently the world’s fastest growing major economy, a status that Modi is hoping to cement by drawing in more foreign investment — in part by encouraging manufacturers to do business in Asia’s third-largest economy.
“The transformation of India presents abundant commercial and investment opportunities for American businesses,” said Modi, whose government is about to implement a new nationwide tax system designed to scythe through red tape.
“The rollout of the Goods and Services Tax on July 1 will, in a single stroke, convert India into a unified, continent-sized market of 1.3 billion people,” he wrote.
Busy day of meetings
Ahead of his talks with Trump, Modi met with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis as India eyes the purchase of more military equipment from the US.
Although there are not expected to be any major defence announcements, the California-based contractor General Atomics said it had been given clearance by the US government to sell drones to the Indian army.
The State Department also announced it was slapping sanctions on a senior figure in the Kashmiri separatist group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.
The designation of Syed Salahuddin (also known as Mohammed Yusuf Shah) as a global terrorist marks a diplomatic victory for India which has been battling a decades-long insurgency by separatist groups in Kashmir, a Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan and claimed in full by both.
Relations between India and the US were generally cool until the 1990s but they warmed under Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, as India sought greater foreign investment and trade ties.
However, it was not long after Trump’s election that obstacles emerged on issues such as trade and visas for Indians wanting to work in the United States.
Then Trump accused India of seeking to profit from the Paris climate accord as he announced the US withdrawal from the deal this month — drawing sharp denials from New Delhi.
A proposed overhaul of H-1B visas — used by thousands of Indian software engineers to work in the United States — has caused concern in New Delhi.
But Indian officials have played down those differences, insisting that Modi was sensitive to his counterpart’s concerns over American jobs and trade, and there were “no major sticking points” that could sour the talks.
“If there’s one thing we want (from the talks), it’s chemistry… If the chemistry is good, then frankly everything else gets sorted,” a senior Indian official who is travelling with the prime minister told reporters in Washington.
Regional security is expected to be high on the agenda as Washington considers deploying up to 5,000 extra troops in Afghanistan to help local forces fighting insurgent groups and seeks to encourage what an administration official describes as India’s “positive role” in the country.
Trump’s administration has meanwhile indicated it could take a tougher stance on Pakistan, which India has long accused of harboring militant groups.
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Not unless it’s orchard thieves cider.
@Pj Windgap: the light orchard thrives is much nicer than the full fat one
@Pj Windgap: other cider brands are available
Dixons is good
“I heard yer ma likes Dixons Cider”
Oh my God yes! Keeps them nice and crunchy. Why are people voting no!? Nothing worse than a soft, mushy apple.
@Daragh Cassidy: Nothing worse than an apple so cold that your teeth feel like they’re breaking!
@Veronica: Sensodyne :)
Yeah, 2 soft mushy apples
Best. Poll. Ever.
Apples in the fridge? Only if you want to freeze your teeth when you bite them.
@Clancy: only keep them in the fridge during summer when a cold apple is actually nice.
Is this a wind up.? I love oranges they don’t last very long would they last longer in the fridge .?
The real question, do you keep ketchup in the cupboard or the fridge?
@Pete Gilmartin: freezer
The super markets are very clever. Most now sell fruit and veg pre packed. If you don’t open straight away heat builds up causing it to rot quicker even if leave in it same can happen.
@: Actually they pack fruit & veg in an inert gas, excluding oxygen, so it lasts longer.
It keeps for ages if the package is sealed because it cannot oxidise without oxygen. Once you open the pack it begins to turn fast.
@Haul Pusford: How many do you use?? For a wizz I use three sheets, for a no2 I use (on average) four sheets. Fold them up nicely and away you go!
@Veronica: Well, they deleted your poll suggestions. That’s a pity, but maybe it’s because they’re saving them for future use and don’t want us to get too excited all at once?
@Veronica: you’re in a very giggly mood today Veronica!
@Anon Ymous: For some reason it feels like a Friday to me :)
I know where I’d like to put them.
@Declan Hegarty: Go to work Declan(on the apples).
Fruit and veg will last for weeks longer in the fridge, except for bananas, they don’t last long no matter where they are stored. And like Fanny Fitz sez, and that’s the truth.
@Patabake Kennedy: Banana’s will last longer but the skins turn black quicker. Open them up and they’re still good.
@Declan Hegarty: Is there no law against cruelty to bananas. TORTURE I TELLS YA, TORTURE.
Wow real juicy stuff… Cutting to the core of Irish issues
No more apples in the vending machine please
@Colm Kelliher: Well, that’s almost a sentence… And don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of apples for you. Nobody will take away your precious apples… Tell my secretary you can have a free apple, she’ll make everything all right.
Keep nearly all fruit and veg in the fridge, slow news day
I don’t know about that but there is something I can share with you. Buy tons of cheap cider and decent into big plastic containers and put them in the freezer. When they are frozen get a hand drill with a small bit and drill into the large bubbles you can see and drain them. That’s nearly pure alcohol with apple flavour otherwise known as Applejack. It takes patience but a lot more palatable than Poitin and less hassle. No need to keep it in the fridge until mixed with your favourite fizz.
What about those horse apples?
If you have access to an apple crop, instead of letting them rot, try this brill apple wine recipe. Incredible golden organic fab Irish apple wine … about 50 cent per bottle.
http://allotmentheaven.blogspot.ie/2011/07/apple-wine-easy-recipe.html
No I don’t have a fridge
No if they are that nice no to keep in fridge just eat them .like wine no neede to keep cork just drink it .
Why isn’t there just a “No I don’t”
option to vote ????
Cause it’s a daft poll to begin with :)
For fcuk sake,leave it out!
Put half the apples in the fridge and half in the fruit bowl, once you eat the ones in the bowl remove the others from the fridge. Fresh apples without frozen teeth.
Put half of your apples in the fridge and half in the fruit bowl, when you finish eating the ones in the bowl take the others from the fridge. Best of both worlds.
People these days are so stupid that they go by the label than what their senses say… Cut the bad bit off you eejits???
If your not asking it as a random poll then why have 4 options. Yes or No should suffice.Clowns
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