FGN45: BIZ-FM-TRADE PACT (RPT) ****India actively engaging with US; hopes to sign first phase of bilateral pact by Oct: FM San Francisco: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said India is “actively engaging” with the new US administration and hopes to conclude the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement “positively” by fall (September-October) this year.**** FGN18: BIZ-FM-BHARAT (RPT) ****Primary focus of Modi govt to transform India into Viksit Bharat by 2047: Sitharaman San Francisco: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the Modi government’s primary focus is to transform India into a developed nation by 2047, with a strong focus on sunrise sectors to drive this objective.**** FGN44: CHINA-TARIFFS-LD COUNTERMEASURES ****China threatens to retaliate against countries striking trade deals with US at its expense Beijing: China on Monday threatened to impose countermeasures on countries seeking to strike trade deals with the US at its expense in order to get American tariff exemptions.**** FGN57: BANGLA-WOMEN-ISLAMISTS ****Islamist group in Bangladesh demands abolition of women’s reform commission Dhaka: An Islamist group in Bangladesh has demanded the abolition of the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission formed by the interim government to introduce reforms aimed at empowering women, saying it will launch a nationwide campaign to press for its demands.**** FGN56: PAK-JUIF-IMRAN PARTY ****Pakistan’s JUI-F party not to ally with jailed former PM Imran Khan’s PTI Peshawar: Pakistan’s mainstream politico-religious Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) party has decided not to ally with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).**** FGN47: VATICAN-POPE FRANCIS-UK ****King Charles, PM Keir Starmer lead UK tributes to Pope Francis London: King Charles III and Prime Minister Keir Starmer led an outpouring of tributes in the UK after the Vatican’s announcement that Pope Francis had passed away on Easter Monday.**** FGN48: SINGAPORE-ELECTION-AI ****Surge in AI-generated political videos ahead of Singapore general elections Singapore: There has been a surge in the creation of online videos using artificial intelligence (AI) tools related to Singapore’s general election on May 3 and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, according to a media report.**** FGN58: PAK-TERRORISTS ****Pak security forces kill 10 suspected terrorists in Punjab Lahore: Law enforcement agencies on Monday shot dead 10 suspected terrorists of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Punjab province, police said.**** FGN37: ISRAEL-INDIA-HERZOG ****Israeli President urges India to deepen ties by working together on geostrategic issues Jerusalem: Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday urged India to further deepen bilateral ties by working together on geostrategic issues, especially emphasising on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) project, which he described as the “future of the world”.**** FGN7: UN-INDIA-JOBS (RPT) ****India has to generate 8 mln jobs per year for next 10-12 years: Chief Economic Advisor Nageswaran New York: India has to generate 8 million jobs per year at least for the next 10-12 years and raise the share of manufacturing in GDP as it strives to achieve the vision of becoming a developed country by 2047, Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India V Anantha Nageswaran said.**** FGN40: LD RAHUL ****Very clear EC is compromised: Rahul Gandhi in US; BJP calls him ‘traitor’ Boston/New Delhi: The Election Commission is “compromised”, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged at an event in the US as he attacked the poll panel citing turnout figures in the Maharashtra election, drawing a strong reaction from the BJP which called him a “traitor”.**** FGN39: RUSSIA-POPE FRANCIS-PUTIN ****Russian President Putin condoles death of Pope Francis Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday condoled the death of Pope Francis, who died at the age of 88 on Monday.**** FGN23: LANKA-CARDINAL-EASTER ATTACKS ****Sri Lanka Cardinal presses for dismantling of ‘deep state’ over Easter Sunday probe Colombo: Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the head of the local Catholic church, on Monday pressed for the dismantling of what he called a “deep state” within Sri Lanka, which he alleged was responsible for preventing a credible investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.**** FGN19: PAK-POLIO-CAMPAIGN ****Pak health minister says poliovirus samples detected in all Karachi districts ahead of vaccination campaign Karachi: Pakistan’s Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on Monday highlighted the urgent need for action to combat polio and said environmental samples detected the presence of the poliovirus in all districts of Karachi.**** FGN38: VATICAN-4THLD POPE FRANCIS ****Pope Francis, Latin America’s first pontiff who ministered with charm and humility, dies at 88 Vatican City: Pope Francis, history’s first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humility and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives over climate change and critiques of capitalism, died Monday. He was 88.**** (AP) PTI GSP