By Krishn Kaushik, Fayaz Bukhari and Shilpa Jamkhandikar

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India and China have reached a deal on patrolling their disputed frontier to end a four-year military stand-off, the Indian foreign minister said on Monday, paving the way for improved political and business ties between the Asian giants.

The news came on the eve of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia for an Oct. 22-24 summit of the BRICS regional grouping, during which he could hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian officials said.

Relations between the world’s two most populous nations – both nuclear powers – have been strained since clashes between their troops on the largely undemarcated frontier in the western Himalayas left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead in 2020.

The two sides had since stopped patrolling several points along the border in the Ladakh region to avoid new confrontations, while moving tens of thousands of new troops and military equipment closer to the freezing highlands.

“We reached an agreement on patrolling, and with that we have gone back to where the situation was in 2020 and we can say … the disengagement process with China has been completed,” Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said at a NDTV media conclave.

The “understanding was reached only today,” he said, adding: “We always said that if you disturb the peace and tranquillity how can the rest of the relationship go forward?”

To avoid clashes, the two militaries will patrol contested points along the border according to an agreed schedule, a senior Indian military officer aware of the details told Reuters.

Both sides will monitor the area in Ladakh to ensure that there are no violations, the officer added.

Authorities in Beijing offered no immediate response to India’s remarks.

REGULAR REVIEW, MONITORING

Officials in New Delhi said the pact clears the path for a likely bilateral meeting between Modi and Xi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, which will be their first since 2020.

The senior military officer said that both sides would pull back their troops a little from current positions to avoid face-offs, but would be allowed to patrol these areas according to a schedule that is being worked out.

Monthly review meetings and regular monitoring of the contested areas by both sides would ensure there are no violations, he added.

Deependra Singh Hooda, a retired senior Indian army officer who was a commander for a part of the China frontier, said that while the two sides would need fresh confidence-building measures, “at least the impasse has been broken”.

Slow progress during talks over the last four years to end the stand-off damaged business ties between the two large economies, with New Delhi tightening scrutiny of investment by Chinese firms and halting major projects.

India’s tougher vetting of all Chinese investment after the clashes effectively turned away billions of dollars from the likes of carmakers BYD and Great Wall Motor, and added more red tape in Indian firms’ interactions with Chinese stakeholders.

However, Indian imports from China have surged 56% since the 2020 border clash, nearly doubling New Delhi’s trade deficit with Beijing to $85 billion. China remains India’s biggest source of goods and was its largest supplier of industrial products last year.

Asked about the impact of Monday’s pact on trade with and investment from China, Jaishankar said: “It has just happened. There will be meetings to see what the next steps will be. I wouldn’t go so fast.”

(Reporting by Krishn Kaushik, Fayaz Bukhari, Aftab Ahmed and Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Writing by Tanvi Mehta and YP Rajesh; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Mark Heinrich)

An investigative panel set up by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has stated that a popular crossdresser, Idris Okuneye, widely known as Bobrisky, completed his jail term.

PUNCH Online reports that Bobriksy was sentenced to six months imprisonment on April 12 for abusing the naira and released from prison in August.

Controversial social critic, Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, had shared a voice note allegedly belonging to Bobrisky that she paid N15m to some Economic and Financial Crimes Commission officials to drop the money laundering charge against him.

In the audio, Bobrisky also claimed that a “godfather,” alongside staff members of the Nigerian Correctional Service, ensured he served the six-month sentence in a private apartment and not in prison.

On September 30, the minister constituted an investigative panel chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Magdalena Ajani, and ordered a probe into the alleged corruption and other violations against the Nigerian Correctional Service.

Reading the phase one report of the panel on Monday, a member of the panel and the Executive Director and founder of Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action, Uju Agomoh, said the panel found no evidence that Bobrisky slept outside the prison walls after she was sentenced.

He said, “The panel did not find any evidence thus far that suggested that Mr Okuneye slept outside the custodial centre during the period of his imprisonment, which was from 12th April 2024 to 5th August 2024, which is a six-month correctional sentence with the usual remission applicable”.

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Agomoh said during this period, Bobrisky was transferred from the Kuje Custodial Centre to the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Kirikiri-Apapa, Lagos, and then to the Maximum Security Custodial Centre, from where she was discharged after the completion of her sentence.

He stated that Bobriksy enjoyed several privileges while in both Custodial Centres, which include furnished single cells, humidifier, and lots of visits by his family members and friends.

The panel, however, said the cross-dresser’s transfer to a maximum security facility as a first offender violated Section 164A and Section 164B of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act of 2019.

He added, “The panel also found that Mr. Okuneye Idris enjoyed several privileges while in custody, both at the Medium Security and the Maximum Security Custodial Centres, which include, especially the following: furnished single cells, humidifier, lots of visits by his family members and friends as he desired, self-feeding, designated inmates to run errands for him, access to fridge and television, and possibly access to his phone.

“It is necessary to further investigate if the above privileges provided for Okuneye Idris were financially motivated and based on corrupt practices by correctional officers.

“The panel believes that the peculiar case of the inmates and the inmates’ physical look and behaviour pose a threat, and the lack of laid-down rules for the treatment of such a case may have necessitated such privileges to be granted to Okunenye Idris.

“The panel recommends that clear guidelines need to be set up to guide operations regarding such incidents in future. Steps should be taken to avoid the obvious discriminatory practices in relation to the socio-economic levels and other status of inmates.”

The Nigeria Union of Journalists, Imo State Chapter, disassociates themselves from Nonsonkwa.

They have equally asked security agencies to hold him responsible for the recent burning of NOUN/JAMB facilities in Ehime Mbano.

See the release for more details:

This is coming after an   alarming report emerged yesterday regarding the abduction of Mazi Theodore Chinonso Ubah, popularly known as Nonsonkwa, a well-known radio presenter.

Recall that The incident occurred on the evening of October 20, 2024, in front of the Teachers’ House along the Owerri/Portharcourt Road, near Ozisa FM Radio.

Ekwutosblog gathered that Eyewitnesses who spoke to ThePressman Newspaper shared their shock at the suddenness of the event, but details remain scarce.

An anonymous source confirmed the abduction, expressing concern for Nonsonkwa’s safety and inquiring about any updates on his whereabouts.

Efforts to contact Nonsonkwa by phone have been unsuccessful, as his number has been switched off since the incident.

In response to the alarming news, reports of the abduction have been forwarded to the Imo State Police Command, with hopes of receiving updates from the Public Relations Officer.