India has pledged a $50 million security assistance to Sri Lanka as National Security Advisor Ajit Doval called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and discussed a range of bilateral issues, including strengthening cooperation in defence, intelligence sharing and maritime security.

Doval arrived in Colombo on Saturday on a previously unannounced visit during which he also met several foreign diplomats and discussed important issues of mutual interest.

"A very cordial discussion was held with National Security Advisor of India, Ajit Doval today. Strengthening of bilateral cooperation on national security, intelligence sharing, maritime security & fostering of regional collaboration, were some of the key points of discussion," President Rajapaksa tweeted on Saturday.

The President's office said Doval pledged that India will provide $50 million to Sri Lanka to help the country purchase equipment for its security forces.

During the talks, India also pledged to provide assistance to Sri Lanka with technology on intelligence gathering, The Sunday Times newspaper reported.

The President's office said President Rajapaksa and Doval also discussed improving bilateral relations and strengthening cooperation between the armed forces and coastguard agencies of the two countries and maritime security.

Doval pointed out the importance of reviewing the intelligence related to the maritime zone between Sri Lanka, the Maldives and India.

He said other regional countries should also be brought into this process as observers, the paper said, quoting the President's office.

Doval has become the second highest ranking Indian official to visit Colombo after Rajapaksa assumed office in mid November.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was the first foreign dignitary to visit Sri Lanka soon after Rajapaksa's election victory, amid China's growing influence in the island nation.

Rajapaksa chose New Delhi  for his first overseas visit after becoming the President.

India's pledge for enhancing defence cooperation comes days after Russia said it will assist Sri Lanka, which is seeking ways to consolidate its regional position through balanced diplomacy and attracting foreign investments, to improve its defence capacity.

"We have been providing Sri Lanka cooperation in defence and we will continue to do so," Russian Foreign Minister Serge Lavarov said here on Tuesday.  -- PTI

Amid the tussle with the Left front government over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Sunday made it clear he would not remain a 'mute spectator' and would ensure the law of the land is upheld.

"The Constitution has to be upheld and this is not a personal fight," Khan, who arrived from Bengaluru, told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday evening.

"I will not sit like a mute spectator... will ensure that the rules and law are upheld," he added.

Taking objection to the state government moving the Supreme Court against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) 'without consulting' him, the Governor has sought a report from the chief secretary.   -- PTI

In a rare wedding ceremony held in a Mosque, a Hindu couple tied the nuptial knot and exchanged vows in Alappuzha on Sunday.

The marriage hosted by the Cheruvally Muslim Jamaat mosque near Alappuzha, was held according to Hindu rituals in front of a lighted traditional lamp with guests from both the communities participating.'

The bride Anju and the groom Sarath exchanged garlands and performed rituals in the presence of a priest at the mosque premises, which was decked up for the rare occasion signifying communal amity.

A vegetarian sadya was also held at the premises.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took to Facebook to congratulate the young couple and said the state has always upheld and showcased such beautiful examples of religious harmony.

The wedding was held at a time when a concerted attempt was being made to divide people in the name of religion,Vijayan said conveying his wishes to the couple, their families and the mosque committee.

"Kerala is one and we will stay united," he said and shared a photograph of the wedding ceremony.

Since the bride hailed from a poor economic background, Anju's mother had sought help from the mosque committee to conduct the wedding, which they readily agreed.

The Mosque committee also gifted ten sovereigns of gold and Rs two lakh to the bride as a wedding gift.

The marriage was held as per Hindu rituals.

Food for around 1,000 people was also arranged, Nujumudeen Alummoottil, secretary of Cheruvally Jamaat committee said.  -- PTI

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union on Sunday said it will approach the Delhi high court on January 20 seeking a direction for quashing the new hostel manual which has provisions for fee hike.

In a statement, the students' body said it will be filing the plea on Monday against the Inter-Hall Administration manual which, it claimed, was passed 'illegally' in October without taking the feedback of the Union.

The JNUSU, which has been on a strike on the issue for close to three months, urged the students to continue the boycott of registration and all academic activities.

Early this month, the university had witnessed tussle between student groups over the issue of registration.

Amid the stir, masked men had gone on a rampage on January 5 in the campus assaulting students and teachers and storming hostels, drawing widespread outrage.  -- PTI

The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi has called for a Maharashtra bandh on January 24 to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and 'wrong' economic policies of the Centre.

Talking to reporters here on Sunday, VBA leader Prakash Ambedkar alleged that there was unrest in the country over the CAA, which the Centre was trying to implement forcibly.

"The country is on the path of economic bankruptcy. Due to demonetisation and GST, coupled with atmosphere of mistrust in the country, the government is not getting revenue. The economic policies of the Centre are wrong," he alleged.

Ambedkar also appealed to political parties and social organisations to join the bandh.

He also met Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in connection with the bandh call.  -- PTI

Nineteen Indians, kidnapped by pirates from a commercial vessel from the high seas off the western coast of Africa last month, have been released while one died in their captivity, according to the Indian mission in Abuja.

20 Indian crew members were kidnapped from the vessel MT Duke in the high seas off the western coast of Africa on December 15.

The High Commission of India in Abuja on Sunday tweeted that 19 Indian nationals were released on Saturday while one died in the captivity of the pirates in 'adverse conditions'.

India thanked the Nigerian authorities for their assistance in the release of the abducted Indians.

'Indian Govt and Mission gave highest priority and worked with @NigeriaGov on release of 20 Indian seafarers kidnapped on 15 Dec from MV Duke. 19 were released yesterday. One sadly died in captivity in adverse conditions. Our deepest condolences. Mission assiting in speedy return,'  the Indian High Commission tweeted.

The Indian mission in Abuja had taken up the matter with the Nigerian authorities and also with the authorities of the neighbouring countries.  -- PTI

Image only for representation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with students, teachers and parents on Monday and share 'valuable tips' with them to ensure they take the upcoming board and entrance exams in a relaxed manner.

The third edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha is being organised at Talkatora Indoor Stadium in Delhi.

A total of 2,000 students and teachers will attend the event, of which 1,050 students have been selected through an essay competition.

Officials said the event will start around 11.00 am and will also be broadcast on YouTube.

The students who will get to ask questions to the prime minister have been short-listed on the basis of essays submitted by them on five subjects -- Gratitude is Great, Your Future Depends on Your Aspirations, Examining Exams, Our Duties, Your Take, and Balance is Beneficial.

"A lot of excitement and enthusiasm is being seen among the students, teachers and parents to not only participate in the unique event but also to receive valuable tips from the prime minister who is keen to ensure that the students take exams in a relaxed atmosphere and do not come under stress, to ensure better results in the long run," the HRD Ministry said in a statement.

A senior official said the ministry received around 2.6 lakh entries from students for the event this year. Last year, it was around 1.4 lakh entries.

PM Modi took 10 questions in the 2018 edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha and 16 in last year's.

This year's event was initially scheduled for January 16 but was rescheduled due to festivals across the country.  -- PTI

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has sought a report from the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front government for moving the Supreme Court against the Citizenship Amendment Act without informing him.

The Raj Bhavan sought the report from the state chief secretary.

"The Governor's office has sought a report from the chief secretary for not informing him about the state's move to approach the apex court against the CAA," a top source from Raj Bhavan told PTI on Sunday.

The Governor  has been at loggerheads with the government ever since the state assembly passed a resolution last month, seeking to scrap the new law.

Khan had also publicly expressed his displeasure over the government not informing him moving moving the Supreme Court against the CAA.  -- PTI

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday released a 'guarantee card' listing 10 promises, including free bus rides for students and deployment of 'mohalla marshals' for women's safety, that his Aam Aadmi Party will fulfil if it is re-elected in Delhi.

The card, '10 guarantees of Kejriwal', also promises to continue the scheme for free electricity up to 200 units, free health facilities, to plant two crore saplings, clean Yamuna river and reduce pollution in Delhi over the next five years.

"I am giving 10 guarantees to the people of Delhi. This is not a manifesto. We will launch a comprehensive manifesto in 7-10 days. The manifesto will have more things specifically for students, teachers, among others. This will be for everyone," Kejriwal said.

"The Opposition is saying that many of our schemes will only last till March 31, so this is our guarantee that these schemes will continue for the next five years. 24 hours electricity will continue and 200 units of free electricity will continue," he said.

The 'guarantee card' also promises more than 11,000 buses and to increase the length of the Delhi Metro network to over 500 km.

Kejriwal released the card by signing it.  -- PTI 

Amid ongoing nationwide protests against Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said that as many as 2,838 people from Pakistan were given citizenship during the last six years.

"In the last six years, as many as 2,838 Pakistani refugees, 914 Afghanistani refugees, 172 Bangladeshi refugees including Muslims have been given Indian citizenship.

"From 1964 to 2008, more than 4,00,000 Tamils (from Sri Lanka) have been given Indian citizenship," Sitharaman said at 'Programme on Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019' event in Chennai.

She added, "Till 2014, over 566 Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were given Indian citizenship. During 2016-18 under Modi government, around 1,595 Pakistani migrants and 391 Afghanistani Muslims were given Indian citizenship."

The minister, further, said, "It was also during the same period in 2016, that Adnan Sami was given Indian citizenship, this is an example.

"Giving citizenship to Taslima Nasreen is another example."

Sitharaman added that people who came from East Pakistan have been settled at various camps in the country.

"They are still there and it's been 50-60 years now. If you visit these camps, your heart will cry. The situation is the same with Sri Lankan refugees who continue to live in camps. They're barred from getting basic facilities," she said.

Asserting that the government is not snatching away anyone's citizenship, the BJP leader said: "This Citizenship (Amendment) Act is an attempt to provide people with a better life. We are not snatching away anyone's citizenship, we are only providing them that."

"The National Population Register (NPR) will be updated every 10 years and is not involved with the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Some are involved in raising false allegations and triggering people unnecessarily without any base," she added. -- ANI

Names of railway stations written in Urdu on platform signboards in Uttarakhand will now be written in Sanskrit, the second official language of the hill state.

The move is in keeping with the Railway Manual which says the name of a railway station on platform signboards should be written in the second official language of the state concerned after Hindi and English, Chief Public Relations Officer, Northern Railway, Deepak Kumar said.

"Instead of Hindi, English and Urdu, the names of railway stations on platform signboards across Uttarakhand will now be written in Hindi, English and Sanskrit," he said.

"Since Sanskrit is the second official language of Uttarakhand, the names of railway stations written in Urdu on platform signboards in the state will be replaced with those in Sanskrit," the official said.

The names of railway stations in Uttarakhand on platform signboards still appear in Urdu as most of them belong to the period when the state was part of Uttar Pradesh where Urdu is the second official language.

However, as per rules of the Railway Manual  appropriate change should have been made on these signboards in 2010 after Sanskrit was made the second official language of the state, he said.

Sanskrit was made the second official language of Uttarakhand in 2010 during the chief ministership of Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, who is now Union HRD Minister.

However, not much will change in the spelling of the names of railway stations in Uttarakhand when they are written in Sanskrit as both Hindi and Sanskrit use the same Devnagri script.  -- PTI

A first information report has been registered against the driver of veteran actor Shabana Azmi for rash and negligent driving, after her car met with an accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in Maharashtra, police said on Sunday.

Azmi, 69, who was injured in the accident which took place on Saturday, is undergoing treatment at Kokilaben Ambani Hospital in suburban Andheri and is 'stable', the hospital's Executive Director and CEO Dr Santosh Shetty told PTI.

Driver Kamlesh Kamath, 38, who sustained minor injuries in the incident, was apparently trying to overtake another vehicle when Azmi's Tata Safari car rammed into a truck near Khalapur, about 60 km from Mumbai in neighbouring Raigad district, a local police official earlier said.

Azmi's husband, lyricist Javed Akhtar, was travelling in another car, Raigad Superintendent of Police Paraskar told PTI on Sunday.

"We have booked driver Kamlesh Kamath under Indian Penal Code Sections 279 and 337 for rash and negligent driving and provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act. He is not yet arrested," Paraskar said.

The car will be sent for an inspection to RTO (regional transport office) to ascertain if there was any fault in the vehicle or if the mishap took place after the driver lost control, he said.

After the incident, Azmi was first rushed to MGM Hospital in Navi Mumbai and later shifted to the Kokilaben Ambani Hospital in Mumbai.

"We will collect Azmi's medical report from the MGM Hospital where she was initially taken. The driver's medical examination was also conducted and he was not found under the influence of alcohol," Paraskar said.

Meanwhile, Dr Shetty at the Kokilaben Ambani Hospital said the actor's health condition is 'stable'.

"Azmi is recuperating. She is stable and under observation. No surgery, operation was performed during the night...she is undergoing medical treatment," he said.

Azmi is known for her path-breaking roles in filmslike Arth, Ankur, Paar, Masoom and Godmother.   -- PTI

Shops, eateries, various other commercial establishments and local transport remained shut in the Shirdi temple town of Maharashtra on Sunday in response to the bandh called over a controversy on the birthplace of 19thcentury saint Sai Baba.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has convened a meetingover the issue at the state secretariat in Mumbai on Monday.

The bandh began here at midnight, but the Sai Baba temple remained open with devotees being allowed to offer prayers, officials of the temple trust and Ahmednagar district administration said.

The 'prasadalaya' and the temple kitchen were also open to ensure devotees were not inconvenienced, they said.

Long queues of devotees were seen in front of the 'prasadalaya', breakfast centre and 'laddoo' sale centres ofthe temple, according to sources.  

Terming the bandh as 'successful', local Bharatiya Janata Party functionary Sachin Tambe Patil, who is former trustee of the Sai Baba temple, said, "Commercial establishments, shops,restaurants and local transport (autorickshaws and other private vehicles) are closed and a complete shutdown is being observed in the town as well as in 25 villages around Shirdi."

"However, the temple is open and devotees are coming to offer prayers," he said, adding that a rally has been organised in Shirdi on Sunday.

Devotees who made pre-bookings at hotels were allowed to stay and taxi services from the airport to the temple wer ealso unaffected, the district administration official said.

The state transport buses from other locations were being allowed to come to the town, he added.

Former Maharashtra minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil,who is the local BJP MLA, on Saturday said he supported the bandh call.

The controversy began after Chief Minister Thackeray announced a grant of Rs 100 crore for development of facilities at 'Sai janmasthan' (birthplace) at Pathri in Parbhani district.

Local residents and leaders in Shirdi took exception to the chief minister's announcement, saying the birthplace of the famed saint was not known, and Pathri cannot make a claim to being his birthplace.

They are demanding that Thackeray withdraw his official statement where he described Pathri as Sai Baba's birthplace.

It was at Shirdi in Ahmednagar district where Sai Baba,whose devotees cut across religious lines, spent much of hislife.   -- PTI

A first information report (FIR) has been filed on Saturday against 60-70 women in Aligarh for allegedly staging the protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Population Register (NPR).

Police said that the protest organised by the agitated women was in violation of Section 144.

"Some women tried to stage a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Population Register, which is a violation of Section 144. So, an FIR has been registered against 60-70 unknown women," said Anil Samania, Circle Officer (CO) of Aligarh Civil Lines.

Protests broke out in different parts of the country, including Assam against CAA which grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists, and Christians facing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and who came to India on or before December 31, 2014. -- ANI

The Commerce Ministry has recommended restricting purchase of tax-free alcohol to one bottle at duty-free shops as part of steps to reduce import of non-essential goods, sources said.

 

The ministry has also recommended to its finance counterpart that purchase of cigarette cartons at duty-free shops should be prohibited, they said.

These recommendations are part of proposals made by the commerce ministry for the forthcoming Budget, which would be unveiled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1.

Currently inbound international passengers are allowed to buy two litres of alcohol and a carton of cigarette from these shops.

According to sources, there are countries that allow only one litre of liquor to international passengers and the same practice can be adopted in India.

This suggestion assumes significance as the government is looking at various ways to curtail import of non-essential goods into the country to rein in trade deficit.

The commerce ministry has also suggested increase in customs duty on several products like paper, footwear, rubber items and toys to promote 'Make in India' and boost manufacturing growth, sources said.

The ministry has proposed rationalisation of basic customs or import duty on over 300 items from different sectors, including furniture, chemicals, rubber, coated paper and paper boards. 

A senior Air India pilot who was suspended in May last year after being accused of sexual harassment by a woman colleague was found guilty by an internal committee of the airline but has been reinstated recently, senior officials said.

The committee imposed a "major penalty" on Captain Sachin Gupta, who has now appealed to the next authority against the punishment, they said.

In response to specific queries on the matter, P S Negi, Regional Director (Northern Region), Air India, said, "The Internal Complaints Committee of Air India conducted the enquiry proceedings and found Captain Sachin Gupta guilty of the charges of misconduct."

The immediate competent disciplinary authority has imposed a "major penalty" as per the company's service regulation that is applicable to Captain Sachin Gupta, he said.

"In keeping with these service regulations, Captain Sachin Gupta has now appealed to the next higher authority/CMD (Chairman and Managing Director) against the punishment awarded. The said appeal on merit will be examined and considered by the competent appellate authority in due course of time," he added.

Another senior Air India official said on condition of anonymity that Gupta has been "reinstated as instructor".

Air India had suspended Gupta last year over the sexual harassment allegations, telling him that "pending (an) enquiry... during the period of suspension, you (Gupta) will not enter the premises of Air India Limited without written permission".

According to a complaint filed by the woman pilot, the alleged incident took place on May 5 last year in Hyderabad, where she was being trained by Gupta.

In the complaint, she had alleged that Gupta suggested that the two should have dinner at a restaurant after the training session was over on that day.

"We went to (a) restaurant at around 8 pm and this is where my ordeal started.... He started with telling me how depressed and unhappy he was in his married life," the woman said in her complaint.

"He also asked me how I coped with my husband living away and whether I didn't need to have sex everyday. He asked me if I masturbated...," she alleged. "At some point I told him I did not want to talk about all this and called a cab," she added.

The pilot alleged that the instructor's behaviour got worse during the half-hour wait for the cab.

"I was left shocked at this behaviour and felt extremely uncomfortable, scared and humiliated," she said.

The woman said she felt "morally obliged" to report this matter to the airline so that such behaviour is not repeated with anyone else in the future.

On May 16 last year, Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani had told employees that sexual harassment cases are "often" being witnessed at Air India and the airline needs to come down "very, very heavily" on such offenders.

Criticising the Centre over the Citizenship Amendment Act, Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav said it is unfortunate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi can only see the "white cap" and "hijab" (worn by Muslims) but not the national flag in the hands of lakhs of people.

He said the ongoing protests across the country against some decisions of the Centre were a way for people to

vent out their "suffocation".

The politician-activist was addressing a rally in Bhiwandi town on Saturday night to oppose CAA, the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens and the National Population Register.

"Modi can only see the white cap and 'hijab' and not not the tricolour in the hands of lakhs of people which is unfortunate. The suffocation in the country has come out through these agitations," Yadav said.

He also said that the agitation at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi has "proved the power of women".

An FIR has been registered against actor Shabana Azmi's driver after the car they were travelling in met with an accident on the Mumbai-Pune expressway on Saturday afternoon, police said.

Shabana Azmi's driver has been identified as Amlesh Yogendra Kamat.

According to the police, a complaint has been registered by Rajesh Pandurang Shinde, the truck driver whose vehicle was hit from behind by Shabana Azmi's car.

"Due to rash driving by the driver, the car hit the moving truck on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway which resulted in the accident," the FIR copy read.

Soon after the accident, Shabana Azmi was immediately rushed to MGM Hospital in Navi Mumbai and was later shifted to the multi-speciality Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai's Andheri.

According to doctors, she has suffered a head injury and slight damage to the backbone. Her condition is said to be stable, although, she remains under medical observation.

Her husband lyricist Javed Akhtar, who was travelling with her, escaped with a minor injury.

After Kerala and Punjab, the Maha Vikas Agadi government is also mulling over a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 in Maharashtra Assembly.

Congress spokesperson Raju Waghmare said: "Our senior party leader Balasaheb Thorat has also shared his stand on the CAA. Even Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has said that we are against the CAA. As far as the resolution against CAA is concerned, our senior leaders of MVA will sit together and decide." 

If this happens, then Maharashtra will be the third state to pass a resolution against CAA, which grants citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.

Emphasising that CAA is 'unconstitutional,' senior lawyer and Congress leader Kapil Sibal has said that every state Assembly has the constitutional right to pass a resolution and seek CAA's withdrawal.

He added that it would be problematic to oppose the CAA if the law is declared to be 'constitutional' by the Supreme Court.

"I believe the CAA is unconstitutional. Every State Assembly has the constitutional right to pass a resolution and seek its withdrawal. When and if the law is declared to be constitutional by the Supreme Court then it will be problematic to oppose it/The fight must go on!" Sibal tweeted.

Earlier speaking at the Kerala Literature Festival on Saturday, the Congress leader had said that constitutionally no state can say that it will not implement the amended Citizenship Act, as doing so will be "unconstitutional".

Kerala government has also approached the Supreme Court against the CAA following the passage of a resolution against it in the state Assembly.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has also announced that the Congress state government is going to join Kerala in the Supreme Court in the case.

A new Lok Sabha central hall big enough to house 900 Members of Parliament, and flexible enough to house up to 1,350 MPs for a joint Parliament session will be the centrepiece of the Central Vista redevelopment plan that has a deadline of 2024.

The new Parliament complex, which has an earlier deadline, 2022, will be among the first plans to be finalised and tendered out, perhaps in the first half of this year itself. The current design of an evolving plan envisages a triangular complex, with a tricoloured beam lighting up the sky overhead. And at a more mundane level, the MPs will sit comfortably in broad two-seater benches, accessible from either side so that no one will have to squeeze through and which can, when a joint session is held, accommodate three.

The redevelopment will also see North and South Block, which house ministries, becoming museums; the creation of a central secretariat, and a redesigned Rajpath.

According to presentations made by the Ahmedabad-based HCP Design, the new triangular Parliament building will come up next to the existing complex, the Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts will be relocated with some of the new government buildings coming up where it is located, and the National Archives will be remodelled. 

The Prime Ministers residence will be shifted behind the existing South Block complex while the residence of the Vice President will move behind North Block.

Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have agreed to give up their royal titles and stop receiving public funds as part of a settlement with the Queen that lets them spend more private time in Canada.

  

The announcement from Buckingham Palace follows more than a week of intense private talks aimed at managing the fallout of the couple's shock decision to give up front-line royal duties.

"Following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family," Queen Elizabeth II said in a statement.

"I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life." 

Her comments referred to battles with the media that prompted Harry and Meghan -- known until now as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex -- to sue several newspapers over intrusions into their private lives.

A separate statement attributed to Buckingham Palace said "the Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family".

HRH is the acronym for Her Royal Highness.

"As agreed in this new arrangement, they understand that they are required to step back from Royal duties, including official military appointments. They will no longer receive public funds for Royal duties," the statement said.

The settlement added that the two will also repay 2.4 million pounds of taxpayer's money spent on renovating their Frogmore Cottage home near Windsor Castle.

The Palace added that it would not comment on who ends up paying for their security detail in Canada -- an issue of intense public debate.

It also failed to mention whether the couple would be allowed to benefit financially from future royalties and franchise fees.

Harry and Meghan are seeking to register the "Sussex Royal" brand as a global trademark for their future enterprises.