CURRENT AFFAIRS
19 February 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Two minor Dalit girls die after being found unconscious in a field in Unnao; another in serious condition.

Two minor Dalit girls were declared brought dead to the hospital and another was in a serious condition after they were found in an unconscious state in a field in Unnao district in eastern Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, police said. The three girls, aged 15, 14 and 16, were found tied in a field in Babuhara village in Asoha, around 36 km south of Lucknow, by villagers when they did not return after they left their house to take fodder for the cattle, police said. Director General of Police H.C. Awasthy said the post-mortem could not ascertain the cause of death and the viscera had been preserved for chemical examination. No injury mark was found on the body of the deceased in the autopsy, he stated. On the condition of the third girl, he said she had been referred to a Kanpur hospital for better treatment. According to the medical bulletin, it is a suspected case of poisoning and her condition is critical but stable. Six teams have been formed to investigate the case from all possible angles. Ramesh Chandra Prayalankar, Circle Officer, Purwa, said that on the complaint of the family members, an FIR had been registered against unidentified persons under sections 302 and 201 of the IPC. The girls were cousins. They were found in the wheat field of the family, he told. He denied reports that the victims’ family members were detained at the police station and not allowed to talk to the media. There is no such attempt. They were called to understand the sequence of events and now they have been sent home under police protection to conduct the last rites, he said. Chief Medical Superintendent of Unnao District Hospital Basant Bhatt said that when the girl was brought in, she was in a serious condition. Clinically, it appeared like a case of organo phosphorous poisoning. The chemical is used in insecticides. Froth was coming out of her mouth and she was gasping for breath. They have intubated her to take water out of lungs. The Opposition described it as yet another example of the deteriorating law and order situation in the State. A delegation of the Samajwadi Party met the family members of the victims. First a daughter in Hathras, then a mother in Budaun, and now sisters of Unnao – women are not safe in BJP rule, tweeted SP President Akhilesh Yadav in Hindi.

B) ‘Rail roko’ protest remains peaceful.

Farmers on Thursday gathered near railway tracks at many places in Punjab and Haryana for the ‘rail roko’ protest against the Centre’s new agri laws, with officials stopping trains at stations as a precautionary measure. The rail blockade did not have much impact in Uttar Pradesh, with farmers organising token protests near railway tracks and stations in the state. Around 25 trains have been regulated in the northern zone due to the ‘rail roko’ call by farmers protesting the three agri laws on Thursday, a zonal railway spokesperson said. Regulating trains means they have either been cancelled, short terminated or rerouted. Farmers protesting on railway track against the new farm laws at the Rail Roko agitation at Modinagar railway station in Ghazibad, Uttar Pradesh. Farmers protesting on railway track against the new farm laws at the Rail Roko agitation at Modinagar railway station in Ghazibad, Uttar Pradesh. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer unions which is spearheading the protest, last week had announced the nationwide rail blockade to press for its demand to repeal the legislations and had said that the agitation will be from 12 pm to 4 p.m.

C) Third Quad ministerial meeting to discuss regional, global issues.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will join his counterparts from the U.S., Japan and Australia on February 18 (later this evening) under the framework of the Quad coalition to deliberate on ways to enhance cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of growing Chinese assertiveness in the region. This is the first such meeting since the election of U.S. President Joe Biden. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the Ministers will exchange views on regional and global issues, especially practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. The third India-Australia-Japan-USA ministerial meeting will be held on February 18 with participation of the respective Foreign Ministers, the MEA said in a brief statement. The evolving situation in the Indo-Pacific region in the wake of China’s increasing military muscle-flexing has become a major talking point among leading global powers. The U.S. has been favouring making Quad a security architecture to check China’s growing assertiveness. The MEA said the meeting will provide an opportunity to continue the useful exchange of views from their last meeting in Tokyo in October last.

D) LG asks Puducherry CM to prove majority in the Assembly on February 22.

The Congress government in Puducherry will face a test of strength on Monday, newly appointed Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said, by citing the Opposition’s stand that the ruling party no longer enjoyed a majority. Just months before an election, the state government is believed to have lost its thin majority after four recent resignations, though Chief Minister V Narayanasamy denies this. He insists that two of those resignations are yet to be accepted. Soundararajan, who was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor on Thursday after Kiran Bedi’s sudden removal, said a floor test was needed to ascertain whether the Congress government enjoys a majority. The vote will take place by 5 pm on Monday. A statement said the Lieutenant Governor had conveyed to Narayanasamy that the assembly would meet for a single agenda, namely whether the government of the incumbent Chief Minister continues to enjoy the confidence of the House. Of the 30 elected MLAs in the assembly, the Congress had 15 members and, along with the DMK’s three and one independent member, was just past the majority mark of 16. After the resignations, the government and the opposition both are at 14. The Congress has 10 members, leaving the government one short of the majority mark, which has dropped to 15 with the assembly strength coming down to 28.

E) SC makes queries to govt on felling of trees of a certain species, age. 

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad A. Bobde on Thursday asked the government whether measures could be taken to prevent the felling of trees of a certain species and age, after considering their contributions to ecology, even for infrastructure projects. Can something be done to see if trees of a certain age and type are never cut down, Chief Justice Bobde addressed the government, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati. Chief Justice Bobde said certain species of trees could be identified and graded on the basis of their abilities to provide oxygen and to bind the soil. The remarks came even as a Supreme Court-appointed expert committee filed a report that said the felling of 300 heritage trees to construct five railway overbridges in West Bengal would cost India a staggering ₹2,23,50,00,000. The 10-digit figure was arrived at by the committee after calculating the products these trees would produce over the 100 years of their natural lifetime. These include oxygen, micro-nutrients, compost and bio-fertilizer, besides being valuable members of the natural environment. The committee had said an individual tree annually parts with products worth ₹74,500. Though the report was submitted a year ago, the figures of loss quoted in the report had managed to alarm Chief Justice Bobde’s Bench. The CJI had suggested framing a new protocol by which road and highway projects ought to be cleared only after checking the feasibility of other modes of transport such as waterways and railways.

F) ‘Metroman’ E. Sreedharan to join BJP. 

In a major boost for the party, E. Sreedharan, principal advisor to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and popularly known as Metroman, is all set to join the BJP. This was announced by the BJP Kerala unit president K. Surendran at a news conference here on Thursday. Sreedharan, 88, would officially join the party during the inauguration of the Statewide Vijaya Yatra led by Surendran from Kasaragod on February 21, ahead of the Assembly polls. Surendran claimed both the Congress-led United Democratic Front and the CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front had opposed and humiliated Sreedharan on several occasions. He said that Sreedharan was an asset for the State. The BJP had already requested him to contest the polls, Surendran said.

G) PM moots special visa scheme for medical staff during Covid workshop with nine countries. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday suggested that neighbouring countries should consider creating a special visa scheme for doctors and nurses, so that they could travel quickly within the region during health emergencies, on the request of the receiving country. Modi was addressing a workshop on ‘COVID-19 Management: Experience, Good Practices and Way Forward’ with nine neighbouring nations, including Pakistan. India was hosting the secretary-level virtual meeting, chaired by Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.The Prime Minister said that civil aviation ministries could coordinate a regional air ambulance agreement for medical contingencies and countries could come together to create a regional platform for collating, compiling and studying data about the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines among populations.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Facebook news goes dark in Australia.

Australians woke to empty news feeds on their Facebook Inc pages on Thursday after the social media giant blocked all media content in a surprise and dramatic escalation of a dispute with the government over paying for content. The move was swiftly criticised by news producers, politicians and human rights advocates, many of whom pointed out that official health and meteorology information had also been scrubbed during the coronavirus pandemic and at the height of Australia’s summer bushfire season. Facebook was wrong, Facebook’s actions were unnecessary, they were heavyhanded, and they will damage its reputation here in Australia, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said. Mr. Frydenberg said facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg gave no warning of the news shutdown when the pair spoke over the weekend about looming laws that will force them to pay local publishers for content. The two had a subsequent conversation on Thursday morning which was constructive, Mr. Frydenberg said, adding they discussed what he called differing interpretations about how the new Media Bargaining Code would work.

B) Texas shivers amid power outages, water shortages. 

Power was gradually being restored but hundreds of thousands of households remained without electricity on Thursday across Texas, the oil and gas capital of the U.S., with some facing water shortages as a deadly winter cold spell that pummelled the southeastern part of the country headed east. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a winter storm warning. It said the storm would bring ice, sleet and heavy snow to parts of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi as it tracks to the northeast, causing power outages, tree damage and making driving hazardous. Even though the Arctic air mass was beginning to lose its grip on an area of the country not used to such extreme cold, the frigid temperatures would continue, the NWS said. More than 30 storm-related deaths have been reported.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
18 February 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Delhi court acquits Priya Ramani in M.J. Akbar’s defamation case; rejects argument that he was a man of ‘stellar reputation’

A Delhi court on Wednesday dismissed former Union Minister M.J. Akbar’s criminal defamation complaint against journalist Priya Ramani for her tweets accusing him of sexual harassment. Women have the right to put their grievances at any platform of their choice and even after decades, the court said while acquitting Ramani in the case. The court also rejected Akbar’s argument that he was a man of stellar reputation. At the height of the #MeToo movement in 2018, Ramani had accused Akbar of sexual harassment. Following Ramani’s accusation, about a dozen former colleagues of Akbar also came out with different allegations against him. In response, Akbar filed a criminal defamation case against Ramani in October 2018. Akbar claimed that Ramani’s tweet and her article accusing him of sexual harassment were defamatory, and lowered his reputation. He has also said that Ramani didn’t produce any evidence to prove her story. However, Ramani pleaded truth as her defence in relation to the allegations of sexual harassment against Akbar. She maintained that the criminal case was initiated to create a chilling effect against women who spoke out about their experience of sexual harassment at his hands..Following the verdict, Ramani said she felt vindicated on behalf of all the women who have ever spoken up against sexual harassment at the workplace. Speaking to The Hindu, Ramani said that this case was not about him, it was about what women face at the workplace. It feels amazing to have their truth validated in a court of law. His victory belongs to everyone who spoke up during the #MeToo movement.

B) Farmers call for rail roko protest from noon to 4 pm tomorrow.

Protesting farm unions have called for a nationwide rail roko protest on Thursday, between noon and 4 pm, which they hope will force the government to break the ongoing deadlock over three farm laws. However, the response to a similar highway protest earlier this month suggests that the mass impact of such blockades may be limited to a few states. The Railways has also focussed on the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal in the deployment of 20,000 additional security personnel ahead of the protest. The protest call has been issued by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella group of most of the unions participating in the agitation. From 12 noon to 4 pm, farmers will stop trains by going to their nearest railway station. They will welcome the trains with flower garlands and then communicate with railway passengers. Agitating farmers will also provide water, milk and tea to the passengers, said Bharatiya Kisan Union-Tikait leader Rakesh Tikait, on the eve of the protest. He appealed to farmers to remain peaceful during the protest, and to commuters to take time to listen to farmers’ demands. A successful rail roko protest across the country will force the government to break the deadlock, said Kul Hind Kisan Sabha leader Baldev Singh Nihalgarh.

C) Govt. denies link between Char Dham project and Uttarakhand disaster. 

The government on Wednesday denied in the Supreme Court any link between the Char Dham road-widening project in Uttarakhand and the recent flash floods in the Rishi Ganga valley, which claimed many lives and damaged the Tapovan hydro project. The denial, before a Bench led by Justice Rohinton Nariman, came from the government in response to a communication from the high powered committee (HPC) chairperson Ravi Chopra connecting the tragedy with the Char Dham project. The court asked the government to file a response in two weeks. The 899-km-long Char Dham highway project connects the four shrines of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath in the Garhwal Himalayas. The project is under the Supreme Court’s scanner after an NGO, Citizens for Green Doon, raised environmental concerns over the cutting of trees and harm to the fragile Himalayan ecology caused by the widening of the existing mountain roads. The high-powered committee was formed to be the eyes and ears of the Supreme Court on the project. However, it had not been unanimous in its views. In January, the government had supported a majority view within the committee favouring the necessity of broadening the Himalayan feeder roads to the Indo-China border in order to facilitate troop movement. The Ministry of Defence, in an affidavit in court, had said it was unfortunate that three of the HPC members gave a minority view to reconsider a December 15, 2020 circular of the Ministry of Road and Transport and Highways, which fixed the carriageway width of the feeder roads at seven metres with a paved shoulder spanning 1.5 metres on either side. The minority view had said the December 15 circular needed a re-think considering its long-term impacts on the fragile Himalayan terrain and sensitive ecosystem.

D) Punjab urban local body election results: Congress wins 6 of 7 municipal corporations. 

The ruling Congress won six of the seven Municipal Corporations (MCs) in the civic polls in Punjab for which results were declared on February 17, officials said. The Congress won in Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Abohar, Batala and Pathankot. The result for the seventh corporation was expected later in the day. The counting of votes for yet another corporation will take place on Feb. 18. Over 70% of voting was recorded in the Punjab civic body elections on February 14, 2021.Over 70% of voting was recorded in the Punjab civic body elections on February 14, 2021. The outcome of the elections, held against the backdrop of the farmers’ agitation against the BJP-led government at the Centre, has come as a boost for the Congress, which is also hoping to win the Assembly elections due early next year. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and the BJP failed to make a mark in the elections for the municipal corporations.

E) Have forgiven my father’s killers, says Rahul Gandhi. 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the killing of his father Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 brought him tremendous pain but he nursed no anger or hatred towards those responsible for it. During an interaction the Congress MP had with students of a State-run women’s college in Puducherry, he was asked, that his father was killed by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam). What are his feelings about these people? and he answered by saying violence cannot take away anything. He don’t have anger or hatred towards anybody. Of course, he lost his father and for him it was a very difficult time, he said, adding, it was similar to having one’s heart severed. He felt tremendous pain, but he don’t feel any hatred or any anger. He forgive, he said to rounds of applause. Gandhi was interacting with students of Bharathidasan Government College for Women in Puducheery.

F) Petrol prices: PM Modi blames previous governments. 

On a day when the price of petrol crossed the ₹100 mark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the middle-class would not have been burdened if the previous governments had focused on reducing India’s energy import dependence. Without referring to the relentless increase in fuel prices, which are linked to international rates, he said India imported over 85% of its oil needs in the 2019-20 financial year and 53% of its gas requirement. Can a diverse and talented nation like ours be so energy import dependent? he asked, addressing an online event to inaugurate oil and gas projects in poll-bound Tamil Nadu. He do not want to criticize anyone but he want to say (that) had they focused on this subject much earlier, their middle-class would not be burdened, he said. The price of petrol crossed the ₹100 per liter mark in Rajasthan after fuel rates were hiked for the ninth day in a row. Since India imports the bulk of the oil it needs, retail rates are benchmarked to international prices, which have risen in recent weeks. Opposition parties, including the Congress, have criticised the price hikes, blaming it on the Modi government raising taxes to scoop out the benefit that arose from international oil rates plunging to a two-decade low in April/May last year. While global rates have rebounded with pick-up in demand, the government has not reduced the taxes, which are at a record high. Central and state taxes make up for 60% of the retail selling price of petrol and account for over 54% of the diesel price.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A) Amazon used a secret strategy to dodge Indian regulators, says Reuters report.

Amazon favoured big sellers on its India platform, and used them to manoeuvre around rules meant to protect the country’s small retailers from getting crushed by e-commerce giants, according to internal documents accessed by Reuters. The documents lay bare that for years, Amazon has been giving preferential treatment to a small group of sellers on its India platform, publicly misrepresented its ties with the sellers, and used them to circumvent increasingly tough regulatory restrictions in India, the Reuters report said. Indian traders, both brick-and-mortar and smaller online sellers, have long alleged that Amazon’s platform largely benefits a tiny number of big sellers and that the American giant engages in predatory pricing that has crushed legions of retailers. Amazon rejects this: It says it complies with Indian law, which stipulates that an e-commerce platform can only connect sellers to buyers for a fee, unlike in the United States, where Amazon can both act as middleman and sell goods directly to consumers. The company also says it runs a transparent online marketplace and treats all sellers equally. The internal Amazon documents contradict those claims, revealing how the e-commerce giant has helped a small number of sellers prosper, giving them discounted fees and helping one cut special deals with big tech manufacturers such as Apple Inc. The documents also show that the company has exercised significant control over the inventory of some of the biggest sellers on Amazon.in, even though it says publicly that all sellers operate independently on its platform. The documents reviewed by Reuters were dated between 2012 and 2019. They included drafts of meeting notes, PowerPoint slides, business reports and emails. One of the notes contains a frank appraisal of Modi’s straight forward style of thinking, sizing him up as not an intellectual.

B) Conservative U.S. radio host Limbaugh dies at 70. 

Provocative and polarising U.S. talk radio luminary Rush Limbaugh, a leading voice on the American political right since the 1980s who boosted and was honoured by former President Donald Trump, has died at age 70 after suffering from : lung cancer, Fox News reported on Wednesday. Mr. Limbaugh’s appeal and the success of his top-rated radio show arose from his brash and colourful style, his delight in baiting liberals and Democrats and his promotion of conservative and Republican causes and politicians. His radio show became nationally syndicated in 1988 and quickly built a large and committed following, making him wealthy in the process. Mr. Trump, a former reality TV personality with a showman’s instincts who pursued right-wing populism during four years in the White House, awarded Mr. Limbaugh the highest U.S. civilian honour the Presidential Medal of Freedom. First lady Melania Trump placed the medal around his neck after her husband lauded Mr. Limbaugh as a special man beloved by millions of Americans. 

C) ‘U.S. will pay over $200 million to WHO’

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that his country would pay the World Health Organization (WHO) $200 million by the end of this month. The announcement is significant as former U.S. President Donald Trump had begun the process of withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO, a process stopped by his successor President Joe Biden. He is pleased to confirm that by the end of the month, the United States intends to pay over 200 million in assessed and current obligations to the WHO. Mr. Blinken told Foreign Ministers of UN Security Council member countries, at an online meeting to discuss the to the pandemic. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar was also part of the meeting. This is a key step forward Antony Blinken in fulfilling our financial obligations as a WHO member and it reflects our renewed commitment to ensuring the WHO has the support it needs to lead the global response to the pandemic even as they work to reform it for the future, Mr. Blinken said. The U.S. is the largest funder of the WHO contributing more than 15% of its total funds. Mr. Trump had pulled the U.S. out of the WHO. which he had called a puppet of China. This process would have been complete in mid-2021, but Mr. Biden reversed it hours after assuming office last month.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
17 February 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) 37 dead, many missing after bus falls into canal in M.P.’s Sidhi district. 

At least 37 people, including 16 women, died after the bus they were travelling in fell off a bridge into a canal near Patna village in Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi district on February 16 morning, a senior official said, adding that search operations are still going on. After fishing out 18 bodies initially, rescuers have retrieved 19 more bodies until now, said Rewa Divisional Commissioner Rajesh Jain. A total of 37 bodies, including 16 women, 20 men and a child, have been fished out of the Bansagar canal until now, he said, adding that a magisterial probe has been ordered. Prima facie, 44 passengers were travelling on the bus at the time of the accident, which occurred around 8:30 a.m. Seven persons managed to swim to the banks of the canal after the incident and 37 bodies have been recovered. The 44 passengers have been identified, Jain added. Earlier in the morning, Inspector General (Rewa zone) Joga had confirmed the recovery of 18 bodies from the accident site. The bus landed in the canal near Patna village, around 80 km from the Sidhi district headquarter, around 8:30 a.m. The State government has cancelled the ‘grih pravesh’ or house-warming ceremony to be attended virtually by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in view of the bus accident. The cancellation of the event, which was scheduled to start at 11 a.m. at Minto Hall in Bhopal, was announced by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan after he reached the venue. Amit Shah was scheduled to take part via video conferencing in this programme for the beneficiaries of over one lakh houses constructed in Madhya Pradesh under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

B) Disha Ravi arrest: Court asks Delhi Police to share FIR copy; DCW issues notice. 

A court in Delhi on Tuesday directed the Delhi Police to hand over to 21-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi a copy of the FIR related to her arrest for allegedly sharing a social media ‘toolkit’ on the farmers’ protest, PTI reported. The court also allowed her to speak to her family. Besides the FIR, the court also directed the police to provide her the copies of the arrest memo and remand paper which was placed to seek her custodial interrogation. The court also permitted her to get warm clothes, masks and books. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharma allowed Ravi to speak with her family members over phone for 15 minutes a day and meet with her lawyer for 30 minutes a day, during the time she is in police custody. The court passed the order on an application filed by Ravi through her lawyer. The court had on Sunday sent Ravi to five day police custody after the agency said her custodial interrogation was required to probe an alleged larger conspiracy against the government of India and to ascertain her alleged role relating to the Khalistan movement. Meanwhile, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Tuesday issued notice to the Delhi Police over Ravi’s arrest. Taking suo motu cognisance of the matter, the women’s panel in its letter to the police has sought reasons as to why a transit remand was not sought. Please provide reasons for allegedly not providing a lawyer of her choice when she was produced before the court in Delhi, the notice read. The DCW has also sought copies of the FIR and a detailed action taken report by February 19. DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal said that as per media reports, Disha Ravi was not given a lawyer of her choice neither were rules followed during her arrest. Police should inquire into the matter. However, it is extremely sad and unfortunate if Disha has been arrested because of her support for the protesting farmers.

C) Toolkit case: Activist gets temporary pre-arrest bail. 

Environmental activist Shantanu Muluk, a suspect in a case registered by Delhi Police in connection with the toolkit shared by climate activist Greta Thunberg about the ongoing farmers’ protest, on Tuesday got temporary anticipatory bail from the Bombay High Court. The high court on Wednesday will pass its order on another accused, advocate Nikita Jacob’s similar plea. Justice Vibha Kankanwadi of the Aurangabad bench of the HC granted Muluk, resident of Beed in central Maharashtra, ten days’ transit anticipatory bail to enable him to apply for protection before the appropriate court in Delhi. Muluk and Jacob had on Monday approached the high court separately seeking transit anticipatory bail, after a Delhi court issued non-bailable warrants against them. According to Delhi Police, the duo were involved in preparing the toolkit document and were in direct touch with pro- Khalistani elements. Jacob’s plea for pre-arrest bail was heard by Justice P D Naik at the high court’s principal bench in Mumbai, which said it would pass the order on Wednesday. The case has been lodged under IPC sections 124(a) (sedition), 153 (a) (promoting enmity among different groups) and 120 (b) criminal conspiracy. Senior counsel Mihir Desai, appearing for Jacob, argued that the alleged toolkit was prepared by a number of people and only spoke of support to the protesting farmers. It does not talk about any violence or about the January 26 incident at the Red Fort (when a tractor rally by protesters led to violence), Desai argued. Advocate Venegavkar, however, claimed that the toolkit was created and authored by Disha Ravi and Jacob along with many others who were part of the Khalistan movement. He also contended that the HC does not have the powers to grant any relief when the matter pertains to another state. Meanwhile, sources in Delhi Police today said that US-based climate activist Greta Thunberg has been absolved of any criminality, as of now.

D) OTT platforms: Explain action taken, SC tells govt. 

The Supreme Court on Tuesday remained unimpressed with the government’s submission that it is contemplating regulations for OTT (over-the-top) platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. Everybody in the world can contemplate. They put it out in an affidavit what they are doing, Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde addressed Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, for the government. The court issued notice on a plea filed by advocates Shashank Shekhar Jha and Apurva Arhatia seeking a proper board/institution /association for monitoring and managing the content of different OTT/streaming and digital media platforms. Initially, during the hearing, the court had asked the petitioners to approach the government with their representation. However, the court, later on, decided that the government should better file a written reply to the petition. The plea contended that there was no law or autonomous body governing the digital content to monitor and manage the content of OTT platforms made available to the public at large without any filter or screening, it said. Lack of legislation governing OTT/streaming platforms is becoming evident with each passing day and every new case that is filed on these grounds. The government is facing heat to fill this lacuna with regulations from the public and the judiciary; still the relevant government departments have not done anything significant to regularise these OTT/Streaming Platforms, the plea said. None of the OTT/streaming platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Zee5, and Hotstar, have signed the self-regulation code provided by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting since February 2020, it alleged. However, last week, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) had said that 17 platforms, including Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar and Amazon Prime Video, have adopted a ‘toolkit’ for effective implementation of the self-regulation code introduced in February 2020. The industry body added that it will also set up an ‘IAMAI Secretariat for the Code’, comprising representatives from the signatories to the Code as well as IAMAI.

E) Withdraw ‘Modi tax’ on petroleum products immediately: Congress.

Continuing to exert pressure on the Narendra Modi government over high excise duty on petroleum products, the Congress on Tuesday referred to it as Modi tax and demanded the immediate withdrawal of additional excise duty. At a press conference at party headquarters, spokesperson Pawan Khera said the Modi government has collected more than ₹20 lakh crore from additional excise duty collection. They demand an immediate withdrawal of this additional ‘Modi Tax’ imposed over the last six years and eight months. This in itself will reduce petrol price to ₹61.92 per litre and diesel price to ₹47.51 per litre. Every common Indian deserves this relief immediately, Khera said. India deserves a government which works and thinks for every single Indian and not, to use the words of my leader Rahul Gandhi, just a government of ‘Hum do, Humare do’. He said when former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demitted office in May 2014, international crude oil price was $108 per barrel yet petrol was sold at ₹71.51 per litre in Delhi and diesel at ₹57.28. As on February 1, 2021, international crude oil price was $54.41 per barrel, just half of May 2014, yet the price as of today of petrol is ₹89.29 per litre and diesel ₹79.70 per litre. The Congress alleged the BJP and its eco system always keeps citizens engaged on emotive issues that generate hatred, fear or anger to distract attention from its failure. 

F) Kiran Bedi removed as Puducherry L-G. 

Kiran Bedi was removed as the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry late on Tuesday evening. Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundarajan has been given additional charge of the Union Territory until regular arrangements are made. A communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan said that the President has directed that Dr. Kiran Bedi shall cease to hold the office ofthe Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry and has appointed Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor of Telangana, to discharge the functions of the Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry, in addition to her own duties. The statement did not specify any reason behind Ms. Bedi’s removal. In fact, she had put up a two-minute video reviewing the reasons for the low rate of COVID-19 vaccination in the UT. The Congress had written to the President earlier to recall the L-G. The move came on a day the Congress government, headed by Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy, lost majority following the resignation of two MLAs in the past two days. The high profile exits come as an embarrassment for the party as former chief Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to kick off the party’s poll campaign on Wednesday.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Rocket strike at U.S. base in Iraq kills contractor, injures 5. 

A rocket attack at a U.S.-led military base in Kurdish northern Iraq on Monday killed a civilian contractor and wounded five other people, including a U.S. service member, according to initial reports, the U.S. coalition in Iraq said. It was the most deadly attack to hit U.S.-led forces in almost a year in Iraq, where tensions have escalated between U.S. forces, their Iraqi and Kurdish allies on one side and Iran-aligned militias on the other. A coalition spokesman said on Twitter the attack hit coalition forces in the Kurdish regional capital of Erbil. Kurdish security sources said at least three rockets landed near Erbil International Airport in the autonomous region late at night. Reuters reporters heard several loud explosions and saw a fire break out near the airport. A group calling itself Saraya Awliya aldam claimed responsibility for the attack on the U.S.-led base, saying it targeted the American occupation in Iraq. It provided no evidence for its claim. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday the United States was outraged by the attack. In a statement, Mr. Blinken said he had reached out to Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani to discuss the incident and to pledge our support for all efforts to investigate and hold accountable those responsible. Groups that some Iraqi officials say have links with Iran have claimed a series of rocket and roadside bomb attacks against coalition forces, contractors working for the coalition and U.S. installations including the Embassy in Baghdad in recent months.

B) Sri Lanka considering India’s grant instead of China project. 

In an apparent bid to displace a Chinese company that had won the contract to install renewable energy SYStems in three small islands offJaffna Peninsula in northern Sri Lanka, India has offered a grant of $12 million to execute it, Colombo-based media reported. Sri Lanka’s Minister of Power Dullas Alahapperuma has recently said that the government would consider India’s proposal, and that he would present a Cabinet paper on the matter soon. Newspaper reports quoted him as saying that receiving a grant is an advantage that would ease the burden on the Treasury, as opposed to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan, as per the original project proposal, that would have to be repaid. The development comes less than a month after the Cabinet cleared a project to install hybrid renewable energy systems in Nainativu, Delft or Neduntheevu, and Analaitivu, located in the Palk Bay, some 50 km off Tamil Nadu. The Cabinet decisions taken on January 18, published officially, included a proposal to award the contract to Sinosoar-Etechwin Joint Venture in China, with funding from the ADB. Meanwhile, a group of northern Tamil political parties have voiced opposition to Chinese involvement in the project, citing security threats to Tamil people and India. They are not opposed to China but given that India has known security concerns in this regard, and also because the project is to come up very close to Tamil Nadu, they oppose Chinese involvement, Jaffna parliamentarian Dharmalingam Sithadthan told. The people of Tamil Nadu have been lending unconditional support to the Tamil cause, so their security, as well as that of India, is very important to us, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) legislator said, adding that India was a long-term friend of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka. It remains to be seen if India’s proposal gets official clearance, but India’s swift offer comes in the wake of being ejected along with Japan out of the East Container Terminal (ECT) development project at the Colombo Port, following another Cabinet decision taken on February 1 this year.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
16 February 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) More ‘toolkit’ arrest warrants. 

Non-bailable warrants have been issued against two persons allegedly found to be involved in the toolkit matter, Delhi Police said on Monday. Warrants have been issued against Mumbai-based activist Nikita Jacob, and another activist Shantanu Muluk. They both, along with Bengaluru-based climate change activist Disha Ravi, were involved in creating the ‘toolkit’ on farmers’ protest and spreading it further, Delhi Police said on Monday. It is not yet clear whether this ‘toolkit’, which first came to public attention when it was shared on Twitter by climate activist Greta Thunberg, is banned in India. Nor is it clear whether the government has officially made it illegal for activists or citizens to either share this ‘toolkit’ or support the ongoing farmers’ protests in India. The police have claimed that the idea behind the ‘toolkit’ was to tarnish the image of the government through a global campaign. Joint Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crime) Prem Nath said that Poetic Justice Foundation founder M.O. Dhaliwal contacted Nikita Jacob through a colleague identified as Puneet, resident of Canada. The motive was to ensure that on Republic Day, Global Day of Action was observed followed by a Twitter storm, Nath said. Police said that on January 11, a Zoom meeting was organised which was attended by Jacob, Dhaliwal, Muluk, and others and it was during this meeting that it was decided that this campaign should be made global and to create unrest amongst the farmers. Police claimed that probe has shown that Jacob, Muluk and Ravi created the ‘toolkit document’ and further spread it. Disha had sent this toolkit to U.S. based climate change activist Greta Thunberg on Telegram. Preliminary probe revealed that a lot of data has been deleted from Disha’s phone. Her telegram search also reveals that on February 3, toolkit links were deleted. Based on this evidence, her arrest was made, the Commissioner said. Police said that non-bailable warrants have been issued against Jacob and Shantanu. Sources said that a Special Cell team had visited Jacob’s residence but could not question her at the time. Delhi Police have also arrested 22-year-old climate change activist Disha Ravi from Bengaluru who allegedly edited the toolkit, police said. A Delhi Court on Sunday sent her to five-day police custody.

B) ‘Toolkit’ arrests: Lawyer Nikita Jacob seeks anticipatory bail. 

Advocate Nikita Jacob on Monday moved the Bombay High Court, seeking a transit anticipatory bail after the Delhi Police issued a non-bailable warrant against her in connection with the ‘toolkit’ tweeted by 18-year-old Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg. Jacob’s associate Shantanu Muluk also moved the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court seeking a transit anticipatory bail in the same matter. Both their pleas will be heard tomorrow. Jacob’s plea mentions that she has not received a copy of the complaint or the FIR, if filed by any authority, and when she tried to procure the same, it was denied to her. On February 11, the Cyber Cell Unit personnel, accompanied by constables from the Vanrai Police Station, came to Jacob’s house with a search warrant and seized personal documents and electronic gadgets, which had confidential information protected by attorney-client privilege. Her plea states that some trollers and bots are circulating her personal information like email ids, phone numbers and pictures on social media. An entity named, ‘Legal Rights Observatory’ appears to have filed a false and baseless complaint with the Delhi Police and seeks to pin the blame for violence on January 26, 2021 upon her. Times Now, ABP news channels reached her house based on this information. Legal Rights Observatory is a body affiliated with the RSS. Jacob has volunteered in an environmental movement by the name of Extinction Rebellion that helps create awareness about various environmental causes.

C) Jurists raise questions over manner of Disha Ravi’s arrest. 

While the Delhi police have claimed that all norms and procedures were followed when they arrested 22-year-old climate change activist Disha A. Ravi from her residence in Bengaluru on Saturday, several leading advocates and jurists have raised concerns over reported violation of norms and guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Home Affairs and multiple judgments. Ravi was arrested at her residence in North Bengaluru on Saturday by Delhi Police and immediately flown to the nation’s capital, where she was produced before the magistrate on Sunday afternoon. A group of lawyers petitioned the Bengaluru Police on Monday citing the 2012 guidelines from the MHA. The practice of police arresting a person outside the State, but bringing them back and producing them before a magistrate in their own jurisdiction is not in accordance with the law, the MHA guidelines said. Further, Section 80 of CrPC stipulates that the arrested person must be produced before the magistrate within the jurisdiction of arrest, which must be followed in every case, the guidelines said. However, this has not been followed in this case, lawyers claim. Ravi allegedly did not have an opportunity to seek legal counsel and argued her own case when she was remanded into police custody for five days in Delhi on Sunday – this is another aspect that has come under severe criticism. Being ‘arrested’ from Bengaluru, she should have been produced before the competent court in Bengaluru itself for obtaining transit remand since she is being moved between States, but was not. She also did not have an opportunity to seek legal counsel nor was one provided to her, in breach of Article 22. These actions of Delhi police have made a complete mockery of the procedure established by law in depriving Disha Ravi of her right to life and liberty, said a statement from Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms.

D) WhatsApp’s new policy: Indians apprehensive about privacy, says CJI

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad A. Bobde on Monday said Indians have grave apprehensions about privacy from Facebook and WhatsApp. People have grave apprehensions about loss of privacy. You may be a two or three trillion company, but people value their privacy more. It is our duty to protect people’s privacy, Chief Justice Bobde, heading a three-judge Bench, addressed lawyers appearing for the social media/instant messaging giants. They are telling them what they heard and read – People think that if A sends a WhatsApp message to B and B to C. The circuit of messages is revealed to Facebook, the CJI addressed senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Arvind Datar, for the companies. Both lawyers vehemently denied this as misinformation. Chief Justice Bobde said that say that on oath. They are issuing notice. File a response. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the government, stated that this is an apprehension of the nation. Privacy is part of their fundamental rights. They [WhatsApp and Facebook] cannot compromise their privacy. They cannot differentiate. The hearing concerned the new privacy policy introduced by WhatsApp on January 4. The allegation is that it scraps users’ ‘opt-out policy’. The user would have to, according to the policy, compulsorily consent to share their data with Facebook and its group, the petitioners have alleged. The deadline for the roll-out of the policy was February 8 initially, but it was extended to May 15. Sibal denied allegations that WhatsApp was treating Europeans and Indians differently. Europe has a special law [General Data Protection Regulations], India doesn’t. The new privacy policy was applicable to the rest of the world except Europe. Mr. Datar said the General Data Protection Regulations was followed by probably 20 countries in the world. Allegations of differential treatment being accorded to Indians were unfounded.

E) India opens up its mapping, geospatial data for general use.

India has so far been reliant on foreign resources for mapping technologies and services.India has so far been reliant on foreign resources for mapping technologies and services. India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) on Monday opened access to its geospatial data and services, including maps, for all Indian entities by saying, What is readily available globally does not need to be regulated. The move is said to release a lot of data that is currently restricted and not available for free. The update represents a major change in the country’s mapping policy, which earlier required individuals and companies to seek approval for use of mapping data under the Geospatial Information Regulation Act, 2016. Geospatial data includes location information about natural or man-made, physical or imaginary features, whether above the ground or below, boundaries, points of interest, natural phenomena, mobility data, weather patterns, and other statistical information. Liberalisation of the mapping industry and democratisation of existing datasets will spur domestic innovation and enable Indian companies to compete in the global mapping ecosystem by leveraging modern geospatial technologies, the Ministry said in a release. The announcement comes at a time when advances in mapping technology, including aerial vehicles, mobile mapping systems, LIDAR and RADAR sensors, and satellite-based remote sensing techniques, are giving a lift to innovation in eCommerce, logistics and urban transportation sectors.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A) ‘Israeli missile strikes in Syria kill 9’

Israeli missile strikes against several targets near Syria’s capital Damascus killed at least nine pro-regime militia fighters early on Monday, a Britain-based war monitor said. Nine Iran-backed militia fighters were killed in Israeli strikes targeting arms de pots, including missile stores, around Damascus, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory said all the fighters killed were non-Arab pro-government forces, but it said it could not determine if they were Afghan, Pakistani or Iranian. Syrian air defences intercepted a sizeable number of the missiles, but many hit their targets and caused material damage, added the monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria for its reports. The attack began shortly after midnight and lasted for nearly half an hour, it said. Syrian state media also reported the strikes, but said that air defences had intercepted most of the missils. An Israeli army spokesperson said. Since the outbreak of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out raids in the country, mostly targeting Iranian forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters as well as government troops. 

B) Nigeria’s Okonjo-lweala appointed WTO head. 

Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjolweala was appointed on Monday as the first female and first African head of the beleaguered World Trade Organization (WTO), saying a stronger WTO would be vital for the global COVID-19 recovery. The WTO called a virtual special General Council meeting at which member states officially selected the former Nigerian Finance Minister and World Bank veteran as the global trade body’s new Director-General. She will take up her post on March 1 and her term, which is renewable, will run until August 31, 2025. The near-paralysed institution desperately needs a kick-start something Ms. Okonjo-lweala immediately addressed after being confirmed in the job. A strong WTO is vital if we are to recover fully and rapidly from the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 66-year-old economist said in a statement.

C) After impeachment acquittal, Trump looks to reassert himself. 

Donald Trump took in the win at Mar-a-Lago, surrounded by friends and family. His lawyers celebrated with hugs and smiles. One joked, they are going to Disney World! Now acquitted in his second Senate impeachment trial, Mr. Trump is preparing for the next phase of his post-presidency life. He is expected to re-emerge from a self-imposed hibernation at his club in Palm Beach, Florida, and is eyeing ways to reassert his power. But after being barred from Twitter, the former President lacks the social media bullhorn that fuelled his political rise. And he’s confronting a Republican Party deeply divided over the legacy of his jarring final days in office, culminating in the January 6 storming of the Capitol. Mr. Trump remains popular among the GOP base, but many Republicans in Washington have cooled to him. Never before have so many members of a President’s party seven GOP Senators, in his case voted for his removal in a Senate trial. Friends and allies expect Mr. Trump to resume friendly media interviews after weeks of silence. He has met with political aides to discuss efforts to help Republicans try to take control of the House and Senate in the 2022 midterms elections. He remains fixated on exacting revenge on Republicans who supported his impeachment or resisted his efforts to overturn the results of the November election won by Democrat Joe Biden.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
15 February 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) 22-year-old activist arrested for ‘spreading toolkit’, faces conspiracy charge. 

The Delhi Police cyber cell has arrested 21-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi from Bengaluru on Saturday after her alleged role in spreading a toolkit related to the farmers’ protests came to light. A senior police officer said that while trailing the toolkit related to the farmers’ protest, they tracked Ms. Ravi in Bengaluru. A police team was sent there for further investigation and she was picked up from her home. Police has also seized her laptop and mobile phone for further investigation. She was brought to Delhi where she was formally arrested and will be produced before a magistrate. They have found that she made several changes in the toolkit related to farmers protest and further spread it in certain groups on social media, added the officer. Recently, Delhi police had registered an FIR under Section 124A (sedition), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) against the people who created and spread toolkit. A report from Bengaluru quoted sources close to Ms. Ravi, the arrested activist from ‘Fridays For Future’, as saying that her family and counsel were groping in the dark. She was picked up for questioning. The family was also told she was being taken for questioning. But she has been taken to Delhi and shown arrest. Even the FIR copy is not available in the public domain and not made available to the family and counsel. They don’t know what are the charges against her, said an activist who knew Ms. Ravi. Her family and her counsel have refused to speak to the media.

B) Twelve bodies recovered in ongoing Uttarakhand rescue operations.

Twelve bodies were recovered on Sunday in the ongoing rescue operations in Uttarakhand, according to an update from Uttarakhand Police. This brings the total number of bodies found to 50. About 154 are still believed missing. Rescue operations are on at the Tapovan hydropower station in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, where a torrential flood last Sunday from a glacier-linked landslide destroyed hydropower plants downstream, killing at least 50 and causing 204 to go missing. Of the bodies retrieved, 41 were found at Chamoli, seven at Rudraprayag, and one each at Pauri Garhwal and Tehri Garhwal. Only 25 of the recovered bodies have been identified. As part of rescue operations, a 30-cm diameter and 12-metre-deep borehole has been drilled to aid with removing silt. Many of those killed are believed to be workers at the tunnels of the Tapovan hydropower project, who were trapped in the massive pile of rubble and debris that resulted from the avalanche blocking the inlet tunnels. There are also operations on to divert the river’s course from the left bank to the right bank to aid in desilting operations. There are at least 325 engineers, officers, geologists and scientists engaged in rescue operations. Efforts are also on to monitor the size of a lake that has been forming on the upper portion of the Rishiganga because the natural course of the river is being obstructed due to a pile of debris from last week’s avalanche.

C) Congress will not implement CAA: Rahul Gandhi. 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said his party will not implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and promised to hike the daily wage of tea plantation workers if his party comes to power in Assam. Launching the Congress campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls at Sivasagar in eastern Assam, he also took a swipe at the BJP for trying to divide Assam so that business tycoons from Gujarat take its wealth away. Mr. Gandhi recalled former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi as his guru who acquainted him with several key issues including the divisive CAA. Pointing to the crossed CAA printed on the Assamese gamosa around his neck, he said: Listen, ‘hum do hamaare do’! Come what may, we will not allow the CAA. Mr. Gandhi had coined ‘hum do’ for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and ‘hamaare do’ for corporate giants Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani. He devoted much of his speech to the tea workers, who are a deciding factor in a third of the 126 Assembly seats. He said their daily wage would be more than doubled. What can you buy with ₹167? We will add ₹200 to this figure and take away ₹2 to fix ₹365 as your daily wage, he told the crowd mostly comprising tea workers at the rally near a historic field where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had campaigned for the BJP a few days ago. The focus of the political parties has been on the workers. The BJP-led government has wooed them with cash and incentive schemes besides promising to hike their wages within a few days. Mr. Gandhi also promised to protect the principles of the Assam Accord signed between the All Assam Students’ Union and the Centre in 1985 at the end of a violent six-year agitation against illegal immigration. Assam has the issue of illegal immigration but the people of the State have the capability to resolve them through dialogue. The Congress will defend and protect the principles of the accord, he said, referring to the delay in implementing a vital clause that guarantees constitutional safeguards for the indigenous people.

D) Modi launches five projects in Kerala.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched five projects in Kerala on Sunday which he said would energise the growth trajectory of the country. Mr. Modi, who arrived at Kochi on Sunday afternoon, dedicated to nation, the Propylene Derivative Petrochemical Project of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), launched the Ro-Ro vessels to be operated between Bolghatty and Willingdon Island and inaugurated the Sagarika International Cruise Terminal. He also laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction of South Coal Berth, in Cochin Port besides inaugurating the Marine Engineering Training Institute, the only maritime training institute in India functioning within a Shipyard having extended training facilities for trainees on various vessels under construction or repair. In his address, Mr. Modi said the projects would go a long way in creating the Athmanirbhar Bharath. The Prime Minister urged people to travel locally and explore places. He suggested start-ups to consider developing projects for the tourism sector. A large number of people are writing about the local tourism destinations and posting pictures about the destinations as they cannot travel abroad due to COVID 19. Besides generating additional revenue for the people in the sector, it will also connect youth to the culture of the country, he said. India went up in its world tourism ranking. The country is in the 34th position from the earlier 65, he said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Fire destroys 100 fuel tankers in Afghanistan. 

At least 100 oil and gas tankers have been destroyed by a fire in a catastrophe at Afghanistan’s biggest trade crossing with Iran, causing millions of dollars of losses, officials said on Sunday. The huge blaze, which broke out Saturday afternoon at Islam Qala port, 120 km from the western city of Herat, has been contained and an investigation launched into its cause. They were told that 100 or 200 tankers have been destroyed, but this number could be higher, Jailani Farhad, spokesperson for the Governor of Herat province, said after visiting the scene. During the blaze, looters descended on the site, stealing goods that were being imported and exported across the border, Younus Qazi Zada, the head of the Herat Chamber of Commerce said. The catastrophe was much bigger than imagined, he said. Unfortunately, irresponsible people have looted a large number of goods, he added. Mr. Qazi Zada said initial estimates were of millions of dollars of losses. Mr. Farhad added that investigators needed more time to examine the extent of damage. Videos posted on social media on Saturday night showed the towering fire and huge clouds of thick black smoke billowing into the sky. Around 20 people were injured in the fire, according to Herat officials. Damage to power lines from the incident left large parts of Herat without power on Sunday. Islam Qala is one of the major ports in Afghanistan, through which most official trade with Iran is conducted. Kabul has waivers from Washington allowing it to import oil and gas from Iran despite U.S. sanctions.

B) UAE’s Hope Probe sends home first image of Mars. 

The UAE’s Hope Probe sent back its first image of Mars, the national space agency said Sunday, days after the spacecraft successfully entered the Red Planet’s orbit. The picture captured the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, emerging into the early morning sunlight, it said in a statement. The image was taken from an altitude of 24,700 km above the Martian surface on Wednesday, a day after the probe entered Mars’ orbit, it said in a statement. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister and Dubai’s ruler, shared the coloured image on Twitter. The first picture of Mars captured by the first-ever Arab probe in history, he wrote. The mission is designed to reveal the secrets of Martian weather, but the UAE also wants it to serve as an inspiration for the region’s youth. Hope became the first of three spacecraft to arrive at the Red Planet this month after China and the U.S. also launched missions in July, taking advantage of a period when the Earth and Mars are nearest. The UAE’s venture is also timed to mark the 50th anniversary of the unification of the nation’s seven emirates. Hope will orbit the Red Planet for at least one Martian year, or 687 days.

C) Russia’s Foreign Minister holds talks on climate with U.S. envoy. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed climate change with U.S. envoy John Kerry and the two agreed to cooperate further within the Arctic Council, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. During the conversation, questions were raised about the implementation of the Paris climate accord, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released late on Saturday. The Foreign Minister told Mr. Kerry, a former Secretary of State who is now the U.S. climate envoy, that he welcomed the decision by new U.S. President Joe Biden to rejoin the landmark Paris Agreement on curbing global emissions of greenhouse gases. Mr. Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump had pulled out of the 2015 accord. The two men also underlined the need for as wide a cooperation as possible in the area of the environment. They also agreed to develop cooperation within the Arctic Council a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses various issues, including sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic region. The telephone conversation came at a time when already strained relations between Russia and the West have been further exacerbated by the arrest and imprisonment of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny and Moscow’s merciless crackdown on the ensuing protests.  Earlier this month, Mr. Biden said the U.S. would no longer be rolling over in the face of Russia’s aggressive actions and demanded Mr. Navalny’s release.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
14 February 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) J&K will get back Statehood at an appropriate time, says Amit Shah.

Home Minister Amit Shah told Lok Sabha on Saturday that the government would restore full Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir at an appropriate time, and claimed that the Narendra Modi government has done more for the Union Territory since Article 370 was read down in August 2019 than those who ruled it for generations. Shah was replying to a discussion on the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in Lok Sabha. He also criticised some Opposition members for their claim that the proposed law negates the hopes of the region of getting back its statehood. This legislation has nothing to do with statehood, and Jammu and Kashmir will be accorded the status at an appropriate time, Shah said. The J&K Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill seeks to merge the all-India services J&K cadre with the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre. He said the region’s union territory status was temporary, just as the Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir was supposed to be. Jammu and Kashmir has been a top priority for the current government since it took power in 2014, the Minister said. Decentralisation and devolution of power have taken place in the UT following the revocation of Article 370, Shah said, noting that panchayat elections saw over 51% voting. Panchayats have been given administrative and financial powers for local development, something they lacked earlier, he added. Now people chosen by the masses will rule Jammu and Kashmir, not those born to kings and queens, he said, attacking dynastic parties in the region. Even their rivals could not allege any wrongdoing in these polls, which were conducted fairly and peacefully, he added. Work on two AIIMS in the region has begun, and the Kashmir Valley will be connected to the railways by 2022, the Minister said. He assured the people of Jammu and Kashmir that no one will lose their land, adding that the government has sufficient land for development works. Shah said the government expects that around 25,000 government jobs will be created in Jammu and Kashmir by 2022. National Conference MP Hasnain Masoodi had, during the debate, advocated the restoration of statehood and advised the Centre to wait for the Supreme Court to deliver its verdict on the legal validity of the removal of special status from J&K before making massive administrative changes.

B) Farmer unions demand high-level judicial inquiry into R-Day violence, cases against farmers. 

Protesting farmer unions on Saturday demanded a high-level judicial inquiry into the violence that took place during the tractor rally in Delhi on January 26 and the alleged ‘false’ cases slapped on the farmers. Addressing a press conference at the Singhu border, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders asked farmers who are getting police notices not to appear before the force directly and, instead, approach the legal cell constituted by the unions for any assistance. Kuldeep Singh, a member of SKM’s legal cell, alleged that a retired judge of the Supreme Court or High Court should probe the incidents to unravel the conspiracy behind the January 26 violence and the alleged false cases against the farmers. According to SKM leaders, 16 farmers who had participated in the tractor parade are still untraceable. Another leader Ravinder Singh said that 122 farmers had been arrested by Delhi Police in connection with 14 of the 44 FIRs, adding that SKM will provide legal and financial aid to all the arrested farmers. The Morcha leaders claimed that false cases were being slapped on farmers, charging them with serious offences like attempt to murder to harass them. Singh said that the Morcha will provide ₹2,000 to every arrested farmer for spending in prison canteen. Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at three Delhi border points, demanding a repeal of the three agri laws and a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP).

C) Supreme Court refuses to review order on Shaheen Bagh protests. 

The Supreme Court refused to reconsider its judgment that the Shaheen Bagh protests, by a collective of mothers, children and senior citizens, against the Citizenship Amendment Act was inconvenient for commuters. The right to protest cannot be any time and everywhere. There may be some spontaneous protests but in case of prolonged dissent or protest, there cannot be continued occupation of public place affecting the rights of others, said a three-judge Bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, declining the review petitions. The review hearing held in the judges’ chambers was published on Saturday. The original judgment of October 7 last year had declared the demonstrations and road blockades in the Shaheen Bagh area of the national capital as unacceptable. The Review Bench, which comprised the same judges who delivered the original judgment, said they did not find any error apparent warranting reconsideration in their verdict. On October 7, the court had concluded that protesters should express their dissent only in designated areas chosen by the administration. In the review petition, Kazi Fatima and 11 others said the protesters were not even heard by the court. The petitioners asked how the court could restrict expressions of dissent to certain designated areas. Restricting protests to designated areas upsets the very concept of dissent and protests. Protests are the only way for citizens in a democracy to show their dissent. Curb on this freedom leaves citizens with no report to voice their concerns, the review petition had said. The review petitioners had referred to how the police have in the recent past acted arbitrarily by beating students and protesters. The observation made by the court in the judgment clothes the police with an arbitrary discretion to attack any peaceful protesters. This would lead to a situation wherein the administration would never engage in dialogue with protesters, but instead take action against them, including their prosecution, the review petition had argued.

D) SC to examine contempt plea against CEC, political parties. 

The Supreme Court has decided to examine a contempt petition filed by a lawyer against Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and leaders of prominent political parties for not fully adhering to an apex court order against allowing dreaded criminals to contest in the Bihar Assembly polls. A Bench led by Justice Rohinton F. Nariman issued notice in the contempt case to Arora, Chief Electoral Officer for Bihar H.R. Srinivas, JDU general secretary K.C. Tyagi, Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Bihar president Jagdanand Singh, Lok Jan Shakti Party leader Abdul Khalik, Congress party leader R.S. Surjewala and B.L. Santosh of the BJP. On February 11, the Bench allowed petitioner-advocate Brajesh Singh to argue his case in person. It scheduled the next hearing for March 9. The court said Arora and other political leaders, arraigned as respondents, need not be present during the hearing. Singh said the Supreme Court had on February 13, 2020 directed political parties to publish the criminal antecedents of their candidates in widely circulated newspapers, which was wilfully disobeyed by political parties in the elections. The lawyer said the court had ordered parties to publish on their websites the reasons for selecting such candidates and why those without a criminal record were not found better-suited to contest the elections. Singh said the parties published the details of their candidates in only one Hindi newspaper and gave similar reasons for their choice of candidates.

E) ‘Illegal detention’ of Nodeep Kaur: Punjab and Haryana HC issues notice to Haryana govt. 

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a notice to the Haryana government, asking it to explain the complaint filed against 23-year-old Dalit labour union activist Nodeep Kaur. The Court took suo moto cognizance of complaints of alleged illegal detention of Kaur, who was arrested on January 12. There have been allegations that she was sexually assaulted while in the custody of Haryana Police. Kaur was granted bail on Thursday in one of the three cases filed against her. Another case is up for hearing on Monday. Kaur’s arrest has drawn international censure, including from U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s niece, Meena Harris and British MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, among others.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Tensions high as mass protests in Myanmar enter second week.

Opposition to Myanmar’s new military regime intensified on Saturday as spontaneous neighbourhood watch groups mobilised to thwart arrests of anti-coup activists and the UN demanded the release of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Army takeover that brought a decade-old democracy to an end has unleashed a storm of anger and defiance, with huge protests bringing urban centres around the country to a standstill. Since taking Suu Kyi and her allies into custody, troops have stepped up arrests of civil servants, doctors and others joining strikes calling on the Generals to relinquish power. The junta on Saturday suspended laws constraining security forces from detaining suspects or searching private property without court approval and ordered the arrest of well-known backers of mass protests. The announcements bore echoes of the near half-century of military rule before reforms began. An order signed by military ruler Gen. eral Min Aung Hlaing suspended three sections of laws protecting the privacy and security of the citizens, which had been introduced during the gradual liberalisation. Those sections include the requirement for a court order to detain prisoners beyond 24 hours and constraints on security forces’ ability to enter private property to search it or make arrests. The suspensions also free up spying on communications. Crowds defied curfews to gather on the streets as night fell, hours after finishing a seventh straight day of rallies, following rumours that the police were launching a fresh wave of arrests. One group swarmed a hospital in Pathein on rumours that a popular doctor would be taken. More than 320 people have been arrested since last week, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.

B) Draghi sworn in as new PM as Italy hopes to turn the page. 

Former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi was formally sworn in as Italy’s new Prime Minister on Saturday, against the backdrop of the deadly coronavirus pandemic and a crippling recession. The appointment of the 73-year-old known as Super Mario capped weeks of political instability for the country still in the grips of the health crisis that has killed more than 93,000 people. He swear to be loyal to the Republic, recited Mr. Draghi, as he stood before President Sergio Mattarella in the ornate presidential palace in a televised ceremony. Members of his new Cabinet, who include technocrats, veteran politicians and Ministers held over from the previous government, each took the oath of office. Rudderless country Mr. Draghi was parachuted in by Mr. Mattarella after the previous centre-left coalition under premier Giuseppe Conte collapsed, leading Italy rudderless amid the worst recession since the Second World War. After assembling a broad-based coalition, on Friday night Mr. Draghi formally accepted the post of premier, publicly revealing the new Cabinet for the first time.