How Significant is Emmanuel Macron’s Visit to India for Indo-French Ties?| Vantage with Palki Sharma

How Significant is Emmanuel Macron’s Visit to India for Indo-French Ties? | Vantage with Palki Sharma

French President Emmanuel Macron is in India for a two-day state visit. Macron has been invited to serve as the Chief Guest for India’s Republic Day celebrations. With this visit, Macron has become the sixth French Head of State to attend New Delhi’s Republic Day parade. Palki Sharma tells you how significant is Macron’s visit to India for the Indo-French diplomatic ties.

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Emmanuel Macron | Narendra Modi | Republic Day Parade | Ram Temple | Jaipur | India | France | Firstpost | World News | Vantage | Palki Sharma

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Vantage is a ground-breaking news, opinions, and current affairs show from Firstpost. Catering to a global audience, Vantage covers the biggest news stories from a 360-degree perspective, giving viewers a chance to assess the impact of world events through a uniquely Indian lens.

The show is anchored by Palki Sharma, Managing Editor, Firstpost.

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Hello namaskar this is first post and you’re watching vantage with me py Sharm the big news maker of the day is French president Emanuel macron he is in India as a chief guest of the Republic Day parade tomorrow today was day one of his visit he spent it in jaur sightseeing meeting people holding a road show and then a bilateral meeting with prime

Minister Narendra Modi we’ll bring you the color and the substance also why India the India France partnership is important in the global context middle power shaping the emerging World Order meanwhile Canada under Justin Trudeau continues to be unbelievable now they’re investigating India for election meddling we’re not making this up we’ll

Discuss the ugly separation and impending Court battles in the Sony Z Saga and how it damages brand India why US troops are not leaving Iraq and why Bagdad wants them to go what a lion and a tiger were doing at an election rally in Pakistan why an

Alcohol store opening in Saudi Arabia is a very big deal how Tik Tok is taking on YouTube by labeling a student as cheetah in a national newspaper is problematic and why the US and the UK are fighting over a cup of tea all this in more coming up the headlines

First China denies supplying weapons to Hamas it’s the first time that Beijing has refuted the charge earlier reports said Israel had proof of Hamas using Chinese weapons Beijing has not openly taken sides in the war but it has criticized Israel for using excessive force in Gaza another South Korean lawmaker

Assaulted a member of the ruling party was hit on her head with a rock in Soul the male as salent who was arrested claims to be 15 years old the attack comes just weeks after an opposition leader was stabbed in Busan has Myanmar sentenced three generals to death for surrendering a key

Town to the Rebels the Army denies the reports the Strategic town is near China’s border losing it was the biggest defeat for the hunas in recent months in India another jol to the opposition ahead of the election Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will hold a rally in Bihar next week but state chief

Minister and India block Ally nitish Kumar is unlikely to join it it comes a day after Bengal chief minister mamata banerji sned the Coalition turkey Central Bank raises interest rates again hiking it to 45% to fight record inflation with local elections due in March this is likely to

Be the last hike for some time earlier this month it’s currency the L hit a record low against the US dollar a Japanese man is sentenced to death for an arson attack in 2019 the attack killed 36 people in an Anime Studio in Kyoto it was Japan’s deadliest

Crime in decades Japan is among the few developed countries which allows capital punishment British museums to return looted gold and silver to Ghana but it’s only a loan there’s pressure on former colonizers Britain France and Belgium to return stolen artifacts many countries including India want the UK to return

Their Treasures like the kinu For The picture say it all it’s one of those stories French president Emanuel macron in the pink city of jaur in a day of many highlights this one stands out Prime Minister Modi took president macron shopping and what did he get a replica of the ram Temple from a shop near jaipur’s iconic

Havel take a look at this the replica was GI gifted by Prime Minister Modi to president macron he’s in India as the chief guest for the Republic Day parade and he’s not the first French leader to be invited for this five others have been Chief guests

Before him and yet this visit it is very different no one has captured the mood of India as well as Emanuel macron with the social media posts in Hindi his photo ops with Prime Minister Modi his obvious endorsement of the ram Temple and his selfies with the people of jaur

Macron has invested in this relationship and India is responding in kind japur rolled out the red carpet decked up in Indian and French tricolors to welcome the French President japur is a capital of Rajasthan a Western Indian State famous for its palaces and Heritage sites and now it’s playing host to macron this

Is a break from convention in the past the visits of world leaders and bilateral meetings were all about Delhi maybe a trip to the Taj Mahal followed but by and large it was centered in the capital National Capital Prime Minister Modi is changing that he took former US

President Trump to aabad former Japanese prime minister Shinzo AB to Banaras the UAE president to aabad and now the French President to jaur complete with Road shows it’s a rare experience both for these leaders and for the people of these cities and Macon seems to be having a

Good time he got a full tour of the iconic sites his first stop was the Amir Fort where he received a traditional Welcome [Applause] India’s external affairs minister SJ Shankar was with him as was the deputy chief minister of Rajasthan princess Dia Kumari wherever they went macron was greeted by large crowds the French President did not shy away from shaking hands or posing for selfies and speaking with the people who’d come to greet him

At the Amir Fort he interacted with Indian students who spoke with him in French president macron was at his charismatic best his next stop was jant man an astronomical Observatory and a UNESCO World herited site India’s prime minister joined him there the two leaders greeted each other with a bare

Hug and from there they embarked on a road show or a show by yatra this procession was not just about photo ops it also showcased the India France relationship they made a stop at the hav mahel a Palace located in the middle of the old city ha mahel literally translates to

The Palace of winds it was built in the year 1799 the palace has more than 900 Windows it is world famous for its architecture and macron stopped there to have tea now this stretch is home to jaipur’s oldest and most famous markets so the leaders did some shopping and

That’s when maon took the ram Temple replica during this tour they also discussed UPI UPI stands for unified payments interface India’s popular digital payment system last year when Prime Minister Modi visited France they signed a deal to integrate India’s UPI with France’s lra Network the pack paved the way for for

India’s UPI to be accepted in France the system will be operationalized soon and today president macron got a chance to see UPI in action before it goes live in France basically this was a carefully planned tour to make the most of the time they had and build

Synergies this visit caps 25 years of the India France partnership and it’s a very special partnership France is a key supplier of weapons French companies are among the largest investors in India both countries are also working on a nuclear partnership while macron is in India he’ll try to make progress on all three

Fronts India has bought Rafa Jets and Scorpion submarines from France president macron wants more deals and bigger contracts a nuclear deal could be in the pipeline Paris is offering six small reactors to New Delhi they’re also hoping for a breakthrough on a free trade PCT between India and the European

Union president macron will lean on his personal equation with Prime Minister Modi to make progress on all counts now let me State the obvious here Modi and macron have great chemistry you’ve seen it many times whether whether it’s enjoying fireworks in Paris or a road show in jaur or a bilateral at

The G20 the comfort and warmth is evident and that’s because of two reasons one their personalities are clearly in sync though they’re 27 years apart and two because the B atal relations are so good there are no disagreements between India and France no internal meddling no sermons and no strategic rivalry why is

That because both India and France share a similar Vision that of a multi-polar world they don’t want to dominate or dictate others listen to this molar World interdependent interconnect the world has become multipolar again this means that we have to relearn the complexity of the dialogue but also its

Fertility that vision is very important especially in today’s world we’ve seen Camp politics intensify recently you have the likes of a America and Britain on one side Russia and China on the other the battle lines are very clear so is the objective to dominate Global Affairs to shape the world in their

Image and we’ve seen this before the cold war in the last century was about the same thing the US on one side the Soviet Union on the other you were either with them or against them but some countries refused to play that game like India they remained non align throughout the cold

War France was not part of that game they were very much in America’s Camp yet Paris was not a blind follower I’ll give you some examples in the 1960s they sold weapons to India including aircraft like The Mirage in 1982 they shipped nuclear fuel to India the US was

Supposed to be the original supplier but when they pulled out France stepped in and this continued even after the Cold War in 1998 India carried out a nuclear test most western Nations sanctioned India but France did not what does that tell you France is more reliable than other Western countries they have an

Independent streak consider the US war in Iraq Britain jumped at the chance of helping America again France did not they opposed the US invasion which brings us to present day both India and France are middle Powers that’s the term used for countries that are not not seen as superpowers but they

Still have a lot of influence over Regional and Global Affairs those are middle Powers let’s look at some numbers France has 290 nuclear Warheads it is the fourth largest nuclear power in the world India has 164 Warheads it is ranked seventh let’s also look at the economy France’s GDP is around $2.7

Trillion it’s the seventh largest economy India’s GDP is 3.3 trillion it’s the fifth largest economy in the world now the point of this analysis is quite simple together India and France have a lot of clout France can bring in the European Union India can influence the global

South it’s a win-win partnership also a necessary partnership there are two Wars raging ravaging the world right now Russia versus Ukraine and Israel versus Hamas both have deepened political divisions in Ukraine the West is backing the K regime they will not let Ukraine surrender or lose same in Israel the US

Won’t pressure Israel for a ceasefire on the other side you have China and Russia Beijing is silently backing Putin’s War Reports say Russia is using Chinese Gear in Ukraine so who is talking about peace who is aiming for the middle ground countries like France and India let’s look at how they have

Navigated these two Wars we start with France in February 2022 president macron flew to Moscow he met President Putin of Russia he tried to dissuade him from invading Ukraine unfortunately it did not work when Putin invaded macron helped Ukraine he has given them military aid worth $3.5 billion doar at

The the same time he’s open to talks macron says he will speak to Putin if there is hope for peace his policy in Israel has been similar macron flew down after the Hamas attack he expressed solidarity with the Israelis but now he’s urging restraint he says fighting terrorism does not mean

Flattening Gaza and he’s right now we come to India when Russia invaded Ukraine New Delhi did not condemn it instead it called for dialogue Prime Minister Modi told President Putin this is not the era for war at the same time India sent Aid to Ukraine not military aid humanitarian

Aid the 15th Consignment reached this week to Ukraine and in Israel India’s policy mirrors a French one first full solidarity then a ceasefire call now both these approaches are rooted in realism the idea is not to take sides or make a bad situation worse the idea is to find

Solutions which is why the India France partnership is so important it may not be a new non- align movement but it’s certainly an alternative to Camp politics so to any leader watching if you want to be India’s friend learn from France if you don’t learn from Canada their campaign against India continues

First Justin Trudeau accused India of a political assassination now he’s investigating India for ction meddling and listen to the details Trudeau had announced a public inquiry last year there was talk of Chinese meddling in the Canadian election so the opposition put pressure on the Prime Minister but the inquiry

Was never about India it was about the likes of Russia and China countries that have a history of foreign meddling the US does too have a history of foreign meddling but of course Canada would not dare investigate the US so this probe was focused on Russia and

China how did India enter the picture well officially there is nothing stopping the investigators the committee can probe any country but the real reason is this let me show you a headline from September last year jagm Singh wants India included in public inquiry on pole interference I’m sure most of you know

This man if not he has two things you should know a jmit Singh Is A bonafied khalistani and B his party is keeping Trudeau in power now try connecting the dots in September jmit Singh wants India investigated in January the inquiry names India coincidence there is no such

Thing in politics so what happens next public hearings the first of which will be held on Monday an interim report is expected in the month of May the final one will be published by the end of this year but forget the technical details let’s focus on the politics Canada had

Reasons to investigate China multiple reports accused beij of helping trudo’s party and logically it makes sense because Canada’s opposition is fiercely anti-china so Beijing would want trudo in power and those reports also took names like H dong until last year he was a lawmaker from Trudeau’s party now he

Sits in Parliament as an independent do you know why because he reportedly lobbied for China and that’s a credible lead one that links Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party to Beijing but what does Trudeau do he turns the attention to India he accuses and investigates New Delhi without

Proof just think about it India is not China or Russia we do not have state sponsored hackers we do not have Shady lobbyists nor do we have a history of meddling so the investigation against India is political it’s about sending a message and the end goal is quite clear

To Club India with the likes of China Russia and Iran as a country that meddles abroad a country that that targets foreign citizens and a country that does not respect rules but let’s be clear that is not India if anything it’s the other way around Indian leaders have

Never called for Canada to be broken up Canadian leaders have and that to repeatedly India has never hosted anti-c Canada referendums but Canada has Indians have not threatened to kill Canadian diplomats again Canadians have yet India is meddling in Canada it’s a bit Rich isn’t it especially coming from

Justin Trudeau this is a leader who openly comments on foreign elections like the one in America at the start I mentioned the difference between France and Canada I will show you an example now both macron and Trudeau were recently asked the same question what if Donald Trump wins the

US election this was a question listen to their responses I’ve always had the same philosophy I take the leaders that people give me I did it with President Trump during his whole term his first term and we achieved results we could do important things together uh Mr Trump uh

Represents a certain amount of uh of unpredictability uh but uh we uh will make sure we’re pulling together and preparing for whatever invent alties that’s the difference macron says we will do important things with Trump Trudeau calls Trump unpredictable he says he will prepare for eventualities whatever that means

So to recap Trudeau openly calls a US presidential candidate unpredictable a candidate he was once caught bad mouthing on a hot mic he also brushes aside allegations of Chinese support yet somehow India is being investigated clearly in trudo land logic does not exist now let’s talk about the Sony Z

Saga two heavy weights in the entertainment business they wanted to join forces but after 2 years of negotiations the proposed merger collapsed and now it has become a cautionary tale of everything that’s wrong with India’s corporate governance this entire Saga is doing a lot of damage to Brand

India when it was first proposed the idea seemed promising at least on paper two industry leaders coming together to run a $10 billion entity a bigger ship in theory but it sunk before it could sail leaving a bitter T in everyone’s mouth a legal battle is now on the horizon Z is

Taking Sony to court in both India and Singapore it is seeking to implement the merger terms Z’s case rests on two arguments first there was no breach of terms that’s what they say Z says it is engaged with Sony or it engaged with Sony in good faith

And the second argument is that Sony does not deserve a termination fee they’ve asked for it the Japanese giant Sony they’ve asked for some $90 million in compens compens ation compensation for the failed merger that’s what Sony wants what about Z what does it want from the lawsuit it wants a merger with

Sony Z wants to enforce it through courts the filing says and I’m quoting Z calls upon Sony to immediately withdraw the termination and confirm that they will perform their obligations to give effect to and implement the merger scheme so the courts could decide the fate of this merger Z wants it Sony does

Not want it Reports say Sony’s Chief in India has in fact written to his employees the letter talks about exploring New Opportunities meaning Sony remains dedicated to India but it doesn’t want to do business with Z so will there be a forced marriage that’s for the courts to decide

Meanwhile Z’s troubles are growing the companies on the radar of the Ed that’s the enforcement directorate it’s a government agency tasked with fighting economic crime yesterday Ed of officials showed up at Z’s Mumbai offices they searched the premises they questioned the employees some of them so what were

They looking for it’s not clear as of now but here’s what we know Z’s Founders are being investigated by sebbi the Securities Exchange Board of India sebi sebbi is India’s Market regulator it is probing allegations of fund diversion by Z founder subash Chandra and his son Punit goenka who’s also the

CEO and managing director of Z they’re said to have stolen from the company anywhere between 800 to 1,000 CR rupees that’s 90 to120 million us diverted from the company this probe has come as a big setback for Z it’s also one of the reasons why the Sony

Merger failed Sony felt uneasy about the investigation and the scrutiny against the founders when the deal was first signed goena was poised to lead the merged entity but then this investigation began sebbi banned goenka and Chandra from holding any managerial positions that ban was later lifted but Sony remained uncomfortable also the

Regulator did not take the heat off the founders so this month subash Chandra appealed to the government he sought their intervention Reports say he wrote to nirmala sitaraman the Finance Minister of India and in this letter he’s accused sebbi of scuttling the merger he said the regulator and I’m quoting the

Regulator was acting with a predetermined mind and that the minister should intervene to protect the minority shareholders so he’s basically trying to put sebbi in the dock it did not work Sony walked out and Z shares tanked news of the merger collapse led to a mass selloff shares of Z entertainment fell

By more than 30% and now institutional investors want answers what are institutional investors these are large organizations usually they manage large pools of cash they invest on behalf of their clients now Reports say they’re holding discussions they’re discussing the way forward and one of the options they’re considering is this an extraordinary general

Meeting where Punit goas fate could be decided basically they’re hinting at a forced removal and the founders of Z are under pressure they need to device the way forward and they must do it fast else they will face the wroth of the shareholders our next story is from Iraq the West

Asian Nation seems to be fed up with the US specifically American troops Iraq wants them out the US has about 2,500 troops in Iraq they’re part of an International Coalition against the terror group Isis American troops have been fighting Isis in Iraq since 2014 and they seem to have won Isis has been

Pushed back but despite the success the Americans do not seem to want to leave and this has become a problem for Iraq especially because of the war in Gaza anti-American sentiment is on the rise Iraq’s leaders do not want to be associated with the US any longer here’s our

Report the United States and Iraq are about to initiate talks over America’s withdrawal from the West Asian Nation the second withdrawal the century the first was in 2011 after the war on Saddam Hussein then they came back to the nation they destroyed in 2014 but this

Time it wasn’t to attack it was to defend Iraq against the terror group Isis back in 2014 the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria was on the rise they had captured swedes of territory in Northern Iraq and Syria and declared their brutal caliphate in the region all the regional governments were

Struggling they asked for help which is how the US returned to Iraq it formed and led an International Coalition against Isis called cjtf oir that stands for Combined Joint Task Force operation inherent resolve the Coalition had 15 combatant members and it was led by the United States Central Command the Coalition mostly launched

Air strikes against Isis but they were involved in ground operations as well that’s why the US had sent troops by 2017 Isis was crumbling they barely controlled any territory then in 2019 the first Isis cff abub Bakr Al bagdadi was killed during a US operation that marked the

Beginning of the end a brutal killer one who has caused so much hardship and death has violently been eliminated by 2021 the US had declared their combat role complete however they didn’t leave they transition from fighters to advisers and maintain their presence in Iraq at present there are

About 2,500 American soldiers in the country they have been a source of friction for years they are a political headache for Iraq’s present prime minister Muhammad Shia Al Sudani Al Sudani became PM in 2022 with the backing of groups friendly with Iran America’s great Asian headache Al Sudani

Has been attempting a balancing act trying to keep Iran happy while also maintaining cordial ties with the us but Iran has no such dilemma we have repeatedly expressed our views to the authorities of the countries of the region including Iraq and declared that the presence of the American forces in any form whatsoever

However would not help to maintain the stability and peace Al Sudani has tried to ask American troops to leave for a while now he had broached the subject early last year and the two countries had even decided to hold a high military commission last year to chalk out a path

Towards the US withdrawal but all that progress stall last October when Hamas attacked Israel on October the 7th the US backed Israel and this has been breeding anti American sentiment of the region including in Iraq the presence of American troops is becoming an even bigger political liability for Al

Sudani it came to a head on the 4th of January when the US killed a high ranking Iraqi militia commander in bdad the Target belonged to an iran-backed Shia militia operating in Iraq the US says these groups have been responsible for numerous attacks on American bases and personnel

In both Iraq and Syria but the slain militia Commander was also nominally working under the Iraqi military so technically the US killed an Iraqi Ally which is what has revived PML Sudan’s efforts to house the US troops the reasons for the presence of Coalition forces but to confront

Isis the end of the mission of the International Coalition is a necessity for the security and stability of Iraq it is also necessary to maintain constructive bilateral relations between Iraq and the countries of the International Coalition the Iraqi PM insists that they will maintain a constructive bilateral relationship with the us but will

Washington listen and leave the US May fear that Al Sudan’s Iraq could fall to Terror once again then there’s the Iran angle how a US withdrawal could be a win for Teran but Iraq is sick of the American troops they have been around in some form or

Another for over two decades and Iraqis are tired of their interference good or bad they want the Americans to head home and leave them to their own feet do politicians like nicknames if they’re good ones why not just look at Naas Sharif the former prime minister of Pakistan his supporters often call him

Shere Punjab meaning the lion of Punjab this week Naas Sharif held a rally in Lor thousands of his supporters came to see the lion of Punjab they also ended up seeing an actual lion take a [Applause] Look don’t be surprised keeping big cats as pets is quite common in Pakistan Karachi alone has 300 pet liines imagine that 300 pet liines in one city the obvious question is why many pakistanis consider big cats to be a symbol of power money and masculinity but is it legal well yes and

No importing wild animals was banned recently but the rest of it is fuzzy the laws change from Province to Province either way let’s focus on the rally the tiger and lion are both symbolic to the sharifs Naas Sharif like I told you is called The Lion of Punjab and the tiger

Is the election symbol of his party the pmln or the Pakistan Muslim League Naas yet he was not happy to see the big cats in fact Sharif asked the lion and the tiger to be sent back his daughter has released a statement she says do not bring real animals to political rallies

How about that you’ve heard do not bring sharp objects but big cats is a f Jokes Aside the campaigning is on in full swing Pakistan’s election day is February 8th just two weeks to go of course all bets are on nawas Sharif he has the army support to be prime

Minister but what happens after that Reviving Pakistan’s economy will not be easy the ratings agency fit has released a new assessment it says Pakistan will remain dependent on the IMF for the next few years the IMF is the international monetary fund or Pakistani is call The Last Hope Islamabad has struck a bailout

Deal with the IMF the deal is for $3 billion out of which around 1.9 billion has been dispersed but one bailout may not be enough fit says Pakistan will need more help in the coming years and you can see why Pakistan’s economy shrank by 0.2% in 2023 the year before it had expanded

Almost 6% so the trajectory is bad unemployment is also Rising it was 6.2% in 2021 it increased to 8 and 1 12% last year inflation is also on the same path it was almost 30% last year basic Commodities are becoming unaffordable like eggs and onion so where is the Silver

Lining they may not be one normally elections bring certainty and direction to countries but that’s not the case in Pakistan these elections are a Plunge Into The Unknown so many things can go wrong will Imran Khan supporters accept the results will foreign Nations call out the rigging will Terror groups

Attack on voting day these are all major concerns so whoever is elected or selected will have a tough time they will face three main challenges one is the economy we’ve already discussed that the second is domestic security the Pakistani Taliban is on a rampage there is talk of Islamic State making inroads

So security is vital Terror attacks killed more than 1500 pakistanis last year the toll was a sixe high something needs to be done and Challenge number three is fixing relations with neighbors Sharif has talked about a reset with India but that’s not his only challenge and frankly not even his call Iran and

Pakistan recently bombed each other Pakistan and Afghanistan have also exchanged fire so Islamabad has problems with all its neighbors you cannot revive your economy like that you need Regional peace and stability if Naas Sharif wins the next election the coming election it could be his most challenging term

Yet now let’s look at what’s going on in Saudi Arabia the kingdom is making headlines for a new policy a new alcohol policy in a few weeks from now Saudi Arabia will be opening its first alcohol shop Riyad will see legal liquor sales after 7even decades prohibition was imposed in the year

1952 after a Saudi Prince shot a British Diplomat dead in a drunken rage and since then alcohol has been a taboo in the Kingdom but Saudi Arabia is different now it’s de facto under the rule of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman and MBS has been trying to bring the

Kingdom into the future under his vision 2030 plan it seems the vision involves a more liberal Al regime but that doesn’t mean the booze will start flowing in Saudi Arabia just yet there are some rules and restrictions with a new alcohol regime here’s our report when you think of Saudi Arabia

You think of a conservative oilr Kingdom but it seems it’s ready for a new Tequila Sunrise if you haven’t figured it out yet Saudi Arabia is finally going to allow the sale of alcohol yes the kingdom will be opening a new boo shop in a few weeks it’s first in over s

Decades now this doesn’t mean you can just jet to jeda for Ain and tonic the alcohol shop isn’t for everyone it’s just for diplomats that to only non-muslim diplomats the shop will be located in Riyad the capital’s diplomatic quarter and the rules to get in are strict first as we mentioned it’s

Only for diplomats they will have to go and buy the alcohol in person they can’t send any of their staff they have to make an appointment on what’s known as the Diplo app when they arrive for their appointment they will have to show proof that they are above 21 years of age they

Also have to make sure they wear proper attire so no running to the boo shop in workout clothes for a last minute party purchasing booze will be a serious formal Affair and secretive too no cellphones allowed apparently there will be boo kotas as well every Diplomat will

Be entitled to 240 points of alcohol every month what can you get for 240 points a liter of spirits is worth 6 points a liter of wine is three and it’s one pint for a liter of beer so each Diplomat can buy 40 L of whiskey or gin

Or whatever they like they can get 80 L of wine and a whopping 240 L of beer it seems like more than enough for a single Diplomat at least if we ignore their families and staff now with all these rules you may think that it’s barely any change but

You must remember this is Saudi Arabia a country where women couldn’t drive till 2018 that’s also the year when movie Holes returned after a gap of almost four decades the last few years have seen momentous changes in the Kingdom they are all part of one man’s Vision

Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman the de facto Saudi ruler is trying to diversify the Kingdom’s economy move it past their Reliance on oil he has been trying to attract multinational companies Global sports franchises he’s even trying to boost tourism but for that lost plan to succeed MBS needs the world’s perception

Of Saudi Arabia to change liberalizing alcohol sales may be one way to attract visitors the booze is limited to diplomats for now but in a few years maybe by the time the 2034 football World Cup comes about the people of Saudi Arabia will be more comfortable with seeing alcohol because they haven’t

For decades it was banned in 1952 a few months after a drunken Scandal it involved Prince mishari bin abdulaziz he drank too much at a party and shot dead siril Usman the British Vice Consul in jeda this led to his father King abdulaziz Banning alcohol by starting small with booze

Limited to just the diplomats Saudi Arabia could be laying the groundwork and setting the stage for its rise as a future tourism hotspot now let’s talk about Tik Tok the app that has revolutionized social media and took snooping for China to another level Tik Tok was the pioneer of short

Form content it launched 15sec videos they were addictive they reduced our attention spans and our Tik Tok is venturing further it wants to take on YouTube how by playing long form content basically longer videos Tik Tok is already testing it it is allowing some users to upload 30 minute long videos

And if this feature is launched it will put Tik Tok in direct competition with YouTube for Years YouTube has been the Undisputed leader of long videos so why is Tik Tok buying for this Crown to understand that let’s look at Tik tok’s trajectory it came about in 2016 and

Since then it’s been a game changer Tik Tok had two major USBS one short form content videos that are not longer than 15 seconds so in 1 minute you can watch four of them and two vertical videos we were used to tilting our phones to watch videos Tik Tok changed that and it

Became the the fastest growing social media platform in 2021 it had 1 billion users by the end of this year it will have two billion many other platforms tried to replicate the success Instagram got reals YouTube laun shorts Snapchat introduced Spotlight everyone ventured into the world of short form content

Which means Tik Tok lost its differentiation sure it was the Pioneer but now everyone was doing the same so Tik Tok started shifting away 15-second videos became a minute long then it expanded to 3 minutes soon it was 10 minutes and now it’s testing out 30 minutes but will

That be enough can Tik Tok take on YouTube with just longer videos let’s look at the numbers first YouTube is owned by Google it was launched in 2005 it has a user base of 2 and a half billion people Tik Tok came almost almost 10 years later and its

User base is still smaller it’s impressive but not as big as YouTube yet plus YouTube exists in major markets like India where Tik Tok has been banned so YouTube has the upper hand here then there’s the monetization Tik Tok is known for its creators but they don’t

Get paid as much as YouTube in general Tik Tok pays creators 2 to 4 cents per thousand views so if you have a million views you’ll get between 20 and $40 then there’s the Tik Tok creators fund it was launched in 2020 pledging a billion dollar to its top creators the

Money is divided equally in 2022 it introduced Tik Tok pulse it’s about ad Revenue in contrast YouTube pays around $2 to $29 per th000 views the average is around $18 it’s two main funding sources AdSense that’s the ad revenue and YouTube shorts fund long story short YouTube pays

More also this Tik Tok association with China it’s owned by bite dance a Chinese company and that has raised many questions about snooping about Chinese interference Tik Tok has been banned in some countries it is banned on governmental devices in others the US wants to investigate the app so unlike

YouTube Tik Tok does not have it easy which brings us to how the platforms are used YouTube is like a search engine in fact it’s the most used search engine after Google people use it for all kinds of stuff educational videos cooking recipes Daily News it’s not just an

Entertainment app it’s a video app it’s about everything under the sun plus YouTube was built for web the the web browser Tik Tok was built for the phone and where YouTube lags behind is the time spent users spend an average of 17 minutes on YouTube but on Tik Tok

Users spend an average of 95 minutes a day that’s more than 1 and a half hours every day it’s because of its algorithm it’s almost like it can read your mind it’s addictive you spend hours scrolling can Tik Tok replicate that for longer videos if it does YouTube would have some serious

Competition but it’s not like YouTube is not innovating it is also pushing shorter videos when you open the app the first thing you see are shorts it has also announced AI features like a new editing app like Tik Tok so the lines are blurring really it’s no

Longer about a niche it’s about who does it better for our next story let me narrate a scenario for you you’re caught cheating in a test you’re worried your parents will find out so you run away from home 3 days later you’re found you finally return to safety and what’s the

First thing you see a newspaper headline that says you ran away because you cheated can you imagine the trauma it happened to a 12-year-old boy he ran away from his coaching Center in the city of Bengaluru 72 hours later he was found in Hyderabad his parents are

Ecstatic but the matter has not ended there speculation continues on why he ran away headlines keep reflecting it it is unnecessary and dangerous our next report tells you why it was a Sunday morning 12-year-old Parina had gone to his coaching class it was located in the Indian city of

Bangaluru at around 11:00 a.m. he left the center no one saw him after that soon a frantic search began his parents took to social media they asked for help parin was found 3 days later in Hyderabad a city located 570 km from Bengaluru so how did parinov get there

He boarded a bus from bangaluru that took him to mysuru from mauru he took took a train to Chennai and then he traveled to Hyderabad how did he pay for the tickets parinov had around 100 rupees on him he also had some Parker pens he sold them for his expenses when he reached

Hyderabad he took the Metro that’s where he was spotted a passenger identified him and he was stopped so parinov has been found his parents are happy all is well hi everyone my son my son has found Hyderabad Metro Nali station he is safe now we are going to pick him from

Hyderabad thank you so much for your support yet the speculations refused to Die Why did Parina flee that’s the big question and reports suggest it’s because he cheated there was an exam at his coaching Center he was caught cheating in that he was worried about his parents finding out so he fled and

The headlines are on St steroids boy fled after cheating in exams can you imagine the effect that can have a 12-year-old boy buckles under academic pressure cheats in an exam and runs away from home all because he doesn’t want his parents to know parav is now back

Home but there’s been a disturbing rise in the number of missing children in 2023 the number of missing children in bangaluru was 421 in 202 1 it was 314 so that’s a 34% jump why is that experts blame a lot of factors but mostly it’s academic pressure the

Pressure to get good marks and if you don’t there are consequences that you have to deal with there’s bullying there’s parental pressure the fear of getting scolded repeatedly all of that has an impact on a child they often lose confidence in themselves they feel dejected that can lead to anxiety and

Depression so how can this be solved doctors say the need of the hour is open communication schools often cause stress it leaves children anxious they withdraw from their daily lives then their social media increased use triggers the need for validation and children can go to

Any lengths to get it a home is a child’s Safe Haven it should never be a place of insecurity issues like this need a sensitive approach communicate with your child a few bad marks is not the end of the world there are far worst things that could happen like your child going

Missing our last story tonight comes from two countries on the opposite sides of the Atlantic America and Britain they find themselves on the opposing ends of a historic debate too a storm in a teacup quite literally because this debate is over tea and it is causing

Quite the stir especially in the UK all thanks to a scientist some 5,000 km away in America chemistry professor Michelle Frankle she recently released a book on tea in which she said the humble cup of tea could be improved and she suggested that a pinch of salt would help in case

You missed it I will repeat she says you should put actual salt in your tea why because salt contains sodium and it would make the tea less bitter that’s the theory and that’s not all she also advises that you vigorously squeeze the tea bag while steeping tea now she’s

Paying a steep price for her ideas she has left the Brits at a boiling point you see the British are tea loving creatures even though it’s not their drink tea first arrived in Britain from China in the 1650s but they’re quite attached to it like they are to many

Other things that are not theirs plus they give themselves credit the British believe they have perfected the art of making tea and now they’re the third largest tea drinking nation in the world after turkey in Ireland 84% of the UK population drinks tea every day the UK

Drinks about 100 Million Cups of Tea per day the beverage is practically a cultural institution in the UK so when America the country that famously threw British tea overboard in 1773 tells them how to make tea and asks them to add salt they don’t take it well the Brits are

Appalled and their headlines say it all the Brewing controversy has prompted a diplomatic intervention from the US they’ve issued what they call an important statement the US has issued the statement saying and I will quote the unthinkable notion of adding salt to Britain’s national drink is not official United States

Policy and never will be T is the alexer of camaraderie we cannot stand idly by as such an outrageous proposal threatens the very Foundation of our special relationship this made everyone happy the aggressive headlines say it all but America could not resist stirring up some trouble as usual they added that

Americans would continue making tea in the microwave and the British government disagreed wholeheartedly after all this is not the first time the Americans have trolled Britain one time the British even called on their military to clarify their point so far no war has been declared over te but this bizarre incident makes

One thing quite clear people take their food very seriously just take celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey he loves making idiot sandwiches take the Italians for instance just Google Italians mad at food that’s what you type Italians mad at food and you’ll see what I’m talking about an influencer actually took up

This challenge he sat at an Italian restaurant cutting spaghetti the staff was so bothered they told him off in another case he drank wine with ice they took his glass away but not just Italy food is a big deal in many other countries especially the traditional cuisine like in Japan China

France India Spain and many others because food is not just about sustenance it’s a part of our culture and if someone questions it people won’t go down without a fight or kick up a tempest in a teapot and now it’s time for vanted shots images that tell the story in South

Korea new viral trend of deep frying toothpicks raises concerns in China a giant dragon was painted on snow to Mark the spring festival and 200 drones lit up Madrid Sky forming shapes of iconic tourist spots like the Taj Mahal finally we’re taking you back in history on this

Day in 1924 the first Winter Olympics kicked off in France 16 countri gathered to compete in the French alpes it initially received some push back from the Scandinavian Nations but the competition was a huge success we leaving you on that note thanks for watching we’ll see you Tomorrow N That