Tag: COBRA

Categories
-Top News UK News

Sunak chairs COBRA meeting over Sudan

The US, France and China are also braced to bring out nationals in the face of deadly clashes, which have so far killed more than 400 people…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has chaired an emergency COBRA meeting over the “extremely concerning” situation in Sudan. The UK plans to evacuate diplomats and nationals from Sudan, according to the head of the Sudanese army.

The US, France and China are also braced to bring out nationals in the face of deadly clashes, which have so far killed more than 400 people, according to the World Health Organisation.

A government spokesperson said: “We recognise that the situation is extremely concerning for British nationals trapped by the fighting in Sudan. We are doing everything possible to support British nationals and diplomatic staff in Khartoum, and the Ministry of Defence is working with the Foreign Office to prepare for a number of contingencies.”

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) confirmed Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Africa minister Andrew Mitchell attended the morning meeting in the Cabinet Office.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it was planning for a wide range of scenarios, alongside the FCDO, on how it can assist in Sudan. Two COBRA meetings also took place yesterday.

Britain had put troops and aircraft on standby at an overseas base in case they are needed to airlift embassy staff and UK citizens from the country.

A statement by the Sudanese military citing army chief Abdel Fatteh al Burhan said: “It is expected that the process of evacuation will begin in the coming few hours, as the United States, Britain, France and China will evacuate their diplomats and nationals by air with military transport planes belonging to their armed forces from Khartoum, and it is expected to start immediately.”

It follows promises by rival Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to open airports for evacuations.

Diplomats from Saudi Arabia have already been taken out of the coastal city of Port Sudan and Jordan’s diplomats are due to follow suit.

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, released on Saturday, said 91 citizens were evacuated, together with approximately 66 from “brotherly and friendly” countries – including Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada and Burkina Faso.

“We are pleased to announce the safe arrival of the citizens of the Kingdom who were evacuated from the Republic of Sudan, as well as several nationals of brotherly and friendly countries, including diplomats and international officials, who arrived in an evacuation operation carried out by the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, with the support of various branches of the armed forces,” the statement added.

British forces could also deploy to other airfields close to Sudan.

The United States and France – close allies of the UK – have bases in Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa.

The Pentagon said earlier this week that it was moving additional troops and equipment to a naval base in Djibouti to prepare for the evacuation of US embassy personnel.

But the White House said on Friday it had no plans for a government co-ordinated evacuation of an estimated 16,000 US citizens trapped in Sudan.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to the president of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, on Friday about the violence in Sudan, which was triggered by the two warring generals.

A Number 10 spokesman said the two leaders agreed to “continue to co-ordinate efforts to de-escalate the violence and protect civilians, including our citizens”.

There are thought to be dozens of UK diplomats and other officials at the embassy in Khartoum as well as hundreds of UK citizens in Sudan. The figure rises into the thousands if dual nationals are also included.

Fierce fighting has gripped Sudan for the past few days as the army and RSF wage a power struggle, which has left hundreds of people dead and forced residents to hide in their homes.

The two warring sides said on Friday that they had agreed to a ceasefire for the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr – but explosions and gunfire rang out across Khartoum on Saturday.

Two ceasefire attempts earlier this week also rapidly collapsed.

Okedi, who works for the Norwegian Refugee Council added: “The challenge is humanitarian workers do not have any guarantee of safety to access populations in need, so nothing is happening in terms of humanitarian work.”

He urged international action to ensure that supplies could get through to those in need.

The latest conflict has forced thousands to flee the fighting and cross the border into Chad, where refugee camps were already under pressure from people displaced by long-standing violence in Darfur.

A UK government spokesperson confirmed the MoD is supporting the FCDO “with prudent planning for various contingencies”.

The spokesperson added: “We are coordinating across government and with our international partners to provide the best ongoing consular assistance to British nationals and support for our diplomatic staff. We will continue to issue updates as the situation develops.”

ALSO READ-Dowden appointed Sunak’s deputy after Raab’s exit

Categories
Film Review Lite Blogs

‘Cobra’: A decent action entertainer

A lot of thought has gone in to the film’s story and its making. But unfortunately, that is exactly what works against it…reports Asian Lite News

Duration: 183 minutes, Director: Ajay Gnanamuthu. Cast: Vikram, Srinidhi Shetty, Mrinalini Ravi, K.S. Ravikumar, Meenakshi Govindarajan, Irfan Pathan, Roshan Mathew, Miya George and Robo Shankar. (Rating: ***)

Director Ajay Gnanamuthu’s ‘Cobra’ is an intense but lengthy action entertainer that manages to impress you in parts.

The first half of the film is more of an action entertainer while the next half has equal doses of action, drama and family sentiment to offer.

The story begins with Rishi (Roshan Mathew) a ruthless business tycoon who fears no one, having a stand off with the Chief Minister of a state. Drunk on the power his business empire provides him, he orders the assassination of the Chief Minister who was looking to thwart his plans of business expansion.

Rishi’s most potent weapon is a person nicknamed the Cobra (Vikram), a brilliant mathematician whose identity even Rishi does not know.

Rishi’s instructions are communicated to the Cobra, whose real name we get to know is Mathi, through a journalist (K. S. Ravikumar) and they are carried out with precision every single time.

The Chief Minister’s assassination is soon followed by the assassination of the Prince of Switzerland and the Defence Minister of Russia.

The only common factor in all the assassinations is the usage of mathematics, that is cleverly employed by the assassin. Hot on the trail of this assassin is not just the state police but also the Interpol, of which Aslan Ilmaz (Irfan Pathan) is a part.

Feeding secret information to the Interpol about the assassin is an anonymous computer genius, who delivers clues about who the next target of the Cobra is.

As the Interpol arrives in the country to gather additional information from the state investigating agencies, the hunt for Cobra intensifies.

Do the law enforcement agencies succeed in their mission of nabbing the Cobra? Why did the Cobra turn an assassin? What happens to Rishi on whose behest the assassinations are carried out? Cobra answers all these questions and more…

A lot of thought has gone in to the film’s story and its making. But unfortunately, that is exactly what works against it.

The plot of the film is so intricate and so complex that viewers have to keenly watch and pay attention to every development on screen, including the dialogues. One small miss and there’s every chance that the plot may well go over your head.

The first half of the film is fast and action-oriented and one is able to relish it. The second half is actually where the problem lies. It is distinctly different from the first and focuses on the introduction of a new character called Kathiravan (Vikram) that makes it exceedingly difficult for audiences to follow the developments.

Nevertheless, Vikram dazzles as both Mathi and as Kathiravan. He gives us a glimpse of that magnificent acting which he displayed in ‘Anniyan’.

One sequence in the film in particular is simply outstanding. In it, Vikram imitates the actions of the characters that appear in his hallucinations. Anandraj, who comes as one of the characters in his hallucination, is just equally brilliant in these seqeunces.

Both Anandraj and Vikram perform the very same body movements without looking at each other, even as they deliver the very same lines. Their actions are perfectly in sync with one another and leave you stunned.

Mrinalini Ravi’s chemistry with Sarjano Khalid, who plays the younger Mathi, works big time. Both actors deliver commendable performances and their portions add strength to the film.

Srinidhi Shetty, K.S. Ravikumar, Roshan Mathew and Robo Shankar too play their roles neatly and convincingly.

The background score is sometimes so loud that it overpowers the dialogues being spoken, making it difficult for audiences to follow proceedings.

Harish Kannan’s visuals are stunning and a delight to watch.

One wishes the editing was a bit tighter as the run time of the film is a whopping three hours and three minutes.

On the whole, Cobra is a decent action entertainer which is impressive in parts.

ALSO READ-‘They are strong-willed and invincible no matter what life throws at them’

Categories
-Top News

CBI SEEKS COBRA ON ECONOMY

As ONS data revealing the .3% fall in GDP in April, CBI, the UK’s largest business forum, urged the government to set up weekly Cobra-style meeting to tackle the economic crisis…reports Asian Lite News

Responding to ONS data revealing GDP fell by 0.3% in April, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Christine Jardine MP said: “The Government’s barrage of tax hikes and lack of cost-of-living support are leaving people to suffer, and now that’s translating into worrying economic figures.

 “The UK has the best universities, the best services sector and the best workforce – yet this Government is in such disarray that we’re headed for the lowest growth in the G7. Their incompetence is nothing short of dangerous,” she added. “Instead of giving speeches full of empty promises, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak need to start listening to people and give them real help with the cost of living.”

The ONS forecasts stagnant growth as consumer confidence decreases and inflation continues to sky-rocket. It has reduced its GDP growth outlook for 2022 to 3.7 per cent – down from 5.1 per cent. The growth outlook for 2023 has dropped to 1 per cent, down from 3 per cent previously.

Meanwhile, in an interview with the Sunday Time, the CBI’s director-general Tony Danker warned that if the attention isn’t directed on the economy instead of debates on ideology and leadership, the UK could enter a “very live” recession.

He told the Sunday Times that the prime minister and the cabinet need to grip the economy “like they did Covid” and should be co-chairing Cobra-style emergency planning meetings.

The seven actions the CBI is calling for before the autumn budget are:

@ A full commitment to a permanent successor the super-deduction

@ Cut approval times for new offshore wind farms from four years to one year

@ Call for immediate talks to resolve the Northern Ireland Protocol impasse and finalise Brexit

@ Act as a broker between rail companies and unions to avoid summer strikes

@ Announce a permanent replacement to the recovery loan scheme to support cashflow

@ “Get real” on industry concerns over labour shortages

@ Add immediate flexibility to the apprenticeship levy for one year, allowing all employers to use their levy funds to tackle labour shortages

ONS Data

The economy contracted by 0.3% in April after it shrank by 0.1% in March, the Office for National Statistics said. April’s figure was weaker than expected, and it was the first time the economy has contracted for two months in a row since Covid struck. Both households and businesses have been hit by rising prices, which are surging at their fastest rate for 40 years due to record-high fuel and energy costs.

The cost of filling up an average family car with petrol recently hit £100, and there have been signs that people are cutting back spending as costs rise.

The Bank of England has warned the UK faces a “sharp economic slowdown”, and has forecast that inflation – the rate at which prices rise – could reach more than 10% by the end of the year.

April was the first time all main sectors of the economy – services, manufacturing and production – had shrunk since January 2021.

The ONS said the main driver of April’s contraction was in the services sector, due to the winding down of the NHS’s Covid Test and Trace operation. It also said some businesses were continuing to struggle with the impact of price increases and supply chain shortages.

Labour’s shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said the figures were “extremely worrying” and would “add to growing concern about abysmal growth and plummeting living standards under the Conservatives”.

There have been three months on the trot now of zero growth, BBC reported. Only in January has the UK economy grown this year. While May should break that pattern, the chances are that the economy is contracting over this quarter. Current forecasts suggest this should not be the start of a technical recession, especially given the support to household incomes from the energy package last month, but that risk certainly hangs over the economy. Though the jobs figures continue to impress, interest rates and inflation continue to rise.

The risk of a UK-EU trade war is now material, which could push up inflation more and risk investment. And there are further pressures on tax and spend from businesses calling for tax cuts, to public sector workers seeking pay rises matching double-digit inflation.

ALSO READ-Several barriers ahead for India-UK trade deal by Diwali