New Delhi, Jan 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday presented traditional Indian gifts to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as he welcomed the UAE leader and his family at his residence at Lok Kalyan Marg.

PM Modi gifted the President of UAE a royal carved wooden jhula (swing), a beautifully carved wooden swing from Gujarat that sits at the heart of many Gujarat family homes. It is hand-carved with detailed floral and traditional designs, showing skilled craftsmanship. In Gujarati culture, the jhula symbolises togetherness, conversation and bonding across generations. The gift also resonates deeply with the UAE’s declaration of 2026 as the ‘Year of Family’.

PM Modi also gifted the visiting leader a Pashmina shawl in an ornate silver box. The Pashmina shawl comes from Kashmir and is made by hand from very fine wool, making it soft, light and warm. The shawl is placed in a decorative silver box made in Telangana. Together, they represent India’s rich tradition of handloom and handicraft.

A Pashmina shawl in an ornate silver box was also gifted to Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Al Ketbi. She was also gifted Kashmiri Saffron in an ornate silver box. Grown in the Kashmir Valley, saffron is revered for its deep crimson strands and intense aroma.

Earlier, in a special gesture, Prime Minister Modi travelled to the Delhi airport and personally welcomed UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as he began his third official visit to the country since assuming office.

Both leaders travelled together in the same car from the airport, showcasing their longstanding friendship and the multi-faceted partnership between the two countries. This is the UAE President’s fifth visit to India over the past decade.

“Went to the airport to welcome my brother, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. His visit illustrates the importance he attaches to a strong India-UAE friendship. Looking forward to our discussions,” PM Modi posted on X.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s India visit builds on the strong momentum generated by recent high-level exchanges, including the visit of Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in September 2024, and the visit of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE and Crown Prince of Dubai in April 2025.

“India and the UAE share warm, close, and multi-faceted relations, underpinned by strong political, cultural, and economic ties. The two countries are among each other’s top trading and investment partners, bolstered by the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the Local Currency Settlement (LCS) system, and the Bilateral Investment Treaty. India and the UAE also enjoy a robust energy partnership, including long-term energy supply arrangements,” read a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) ahead of the UAE President’s visit.

“The visit will provide an opportunity for the two leaders to chart new frontiers for the India–UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. It will also enable an exchange of views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, where India and the UAE share a high degree of convergence,” it added.

New Delhi, Jan 20: In a world-first discovery, scientists in Australia have found that the human heart can regrow muscle cells after a heart attack, raising hopes for future regenerative treatments for heart failure.

The study, published in Circulation Research, revealed that while parts of the heart remain scarred after a heart attack, new muscle cells are also produced, a phenomenon previously seen only in mice and now demonstrated in humans for the first time, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Until now we’ve thought that, because heart cells die after a heart attack, those areas of the heart were irreparably damaged, leaving the heart less able to pump blood to the body’s organs,” said Robert Hume, research fellow at the University of Sydney and first author of the study.

“In time, we hope to develop therapies that can amplify the heart’s natural ability to produce new cells and regenerate the heart after an attack,” said Hume, also lead of translational research at Australia’s Baird Institute for Applied Heart and Lung Research.

Though increased mitosis (a process in which cells divide and reproduce) after a heart attack has been observed in the heart muscles of mice, this is the first time the phenomenon has been demonstrated in humans.

The team made the breakthrough using living heart tissue samples collected from patients undergoing bypass surgery at Australia’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

“Ultimately, the goal is to use this discovery to make new heart cells that can reverse heart failure,” said Professor Sean Lal, the study’s senior author and heart failure cardiologist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

Cardiovascular disease remains the world’s leading cause of death, and heart attacks can eliminate a third of the cells in the human heart, researchers said, adding that the discovery offers promising groundwork for novel regenerative medicine.

New Delhi, Jan 20: The Supreme Court has ruled that state police authorities can investigate and file a chargesheet against central government employees when it comes to the offences of bribery and corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The court has also made it clear that no prior permission from the CBI is required before registering a case against a central government employee by the state police.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Satish Chandra Sharma said on Monday that offences under the PC Act can be investigated by a state agency or a central agency or any police agency, as can be seen from section 17 of the Act, with the qualification that the police officer shall be of a particular rank.

“Section 17 does not exclude or prevent the state police or a special agency of the state from registering a crime or investigating cases relating to bribery, corruption and misconduct against central government employees.

“It is for convenience and to avoid duplication of work that the Central Bureau of Investigation — a specialised investigating agency under the Special Police Establishment — is entrusted with the task of investigation of the cases of corruption and bribery against the employees of the central government and its undertakings and the Anti-Corruption Bureau — a specialised investigating agency of the state — is entrusted with the task of investigation of the cases of corruption and bribery against the employees of the state government and its undertakings,” the bench said.

The offences under the PC Act are also cognisable and can, therefore, be investigated by the state police, it added.

The apex court’s order came while upholding a Rajasthan High Court order that had refused to quash a corruption case against a central government employee.

The high court had ruled that the Rajasthan ACB had jurisdiction to register the criminal case under provisions of the PC Act, despite the fact that the accused was a central government employee.

“The high court has taken the correct view while saying that it is incorrect to say that it is only the CBI who could have instituted the prosecution,” the top court said.