Tag: REET

NATIONAL NEWS 

Promote yoga break among staff, says Centre.

The Ministry of Ayush had designed and developed five minutes duration yoga protocol, named Y-break, for workplace. The Centre has asked all its departments to promote five-minute yoga break or ‘Y-break’ among employees working under them, with a view to refresh, distress and refocus with enhanced efficiency at workplaces, according to a personnel Ministry order. The Ministry of Ayush had designed and developed five minutes duration yoga protocol, named Y-break, for workplace by an expert committee in 2019 and the module was launched in January 2020 on pilot project basis in six major metro cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata) with the help of various stakeholders. Feedback of the same was very encouraging, it said. Consequent to this success, the Ministry of Ayush developed an android based application Y-break and the same was made available recently in Google Play Store for access by public, said the order issued to all Central government departments. In order to spread awareness about access and usage of Y-break protocol/app among workforce for all sectors (public/private), all Ministries/departments of government of India are requested to promote the usage of Y-break protocol among the employees, it said. A campaign was launched to spread awareness of the same to provide access and usage of Y-break protocol/app among people at workplaces , the order added.

President Kovind lauds teachers for responding to new challenges

President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday greeted educators across the country on the eve of Teachers’ Day and lauded them for their efforts to enable uninterrupted education of students during the COVID-induced lockdown. He said the occasion honoured the dedicated services of all the teachers who played a leading role in the intellectual and moral development of children. In the Indian tradition, teachers are placed on the same pedestal as God, Mr. Kovind said. Since the onset of the pandemic, the pedagogy adopted by teachers also underwent a major change, the President said. During lockdown, our teachers accepted every challenge associated with the introduction of online medium of education. They took effective steps to enable uninterrupted education of the students, he said. On this occasion, let us all express our gratitude to the entire teaching community for its invaluable contribution towards building a strong and prosperous nation, Mr. Kovind said. Teachers’ Day is observed on the birthday of a great educationist, philosopher and former President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. I extend my warm greetings and best wishes to all teachers on the occasion of Teachers’ Day, the President said.

India, Singapore conduct 3-day naval exercise 

India and Singapore have carried out a mega naval wargame in the southern fringes of the South China Sea over the last three days, in reflection of their growing congruence of interests in the strategically key region. The Indian Navy deployed its guided-missile destroyer INS Ranvijay, anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kiltan and guided-missile corvette INS Kora and one P8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft for the ‘SIMBEX’ exercise from September 2-4, officials said. The Singapore Navy was represented by formidable class frigate RSS Steadfast, victory class missile corvette RSS Vigour, one Archer class submarine and one Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft, they said. Four F-16 fighter aircraft of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) also participated in the exercise during the air defence drills. It was the 28th edition of the Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX). Initiated in 1994, SIMBEX is the Indian Navy’s longest uninterrupted bilateral maritime exercise with any foreign navy. Sustaining the continuity of this significant engagement despite the challenges of the ongoing pandemic further underscores the strength of bilateral defence ties, Indian Navy Spokesperson Commander Vivek Madhwal said. Despite these constraints during the planning stages, both navies could achieve seamless and safe execution of several challenging evolutions including live weapon firing and advanced naval warfare serials, including anti-submarine, anti-air and anti-surface warfare drills, he said. Commander Madhwal said the scale and complexity of the drills is a testimony to the interoperability achieved between both Navies. This year’s edition of SIMBEX is also a special occasion as it takes place during the ongoing celebrations of the 75th year of India’s independence, he said. The success of SIMBEX-2021 is yet another demonstration of the mutual resolve on both sides to strengthen the bilateral partnership further in the years ahead, he added. India-Singapore defence ties remain a very significant aspect of the overall engagement between the two countries. Both navies have a representation in each other’s Maritime Information Fusion Centres and have also recently signed an agreement on mutual submarine rescue support and coordination.

Chief Justice of India unhappy with less representation of women at the top

Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V. Ramana on Saturday lamented that very few women find representation at the top and admitted that even a mere 11% representation of women on the Bench of the Supreme Court was achieved with great difficulty. Ideally, women should have got at least 50% representation at all levels after 75 years of Independence, he said. The CJI’s remarks come within days of the Supreme Court Collegium led by him scripting history by successfully recommending three women judges to the court in one go. The court has four women judges now, the highest ever. After 75 years of Independence, one would expect at least 50% representation for women at all levels, but I must admit, with great difficulty, we have now achieved a mere 11% representation of women on the Bench of the Supreme Court, he stated at an event organised by the Bar Council of India to felicitate him. A majority of women lawyers suffered within the profession and continued to face significant challenges even after they reached the top. Women lacked basic amenities in court complexes. Women do not have restrooms in lower courts… It is difficult for them to wait for long hours in the court corridors, the CJI pointed out. The reality remained that the legal professions was yet to whole-heartedly welcome women into its fold, he noted. The CJI refused to accept sole credit for the recent appointment of nine judges to the Supreme Court in one shot. The Collegium, led by the CJI, had followed this feat by recommending a whopping 68 judges to 12 High Courts, again in one go. Lawyers had referred to him as Sachin Tendulkar for repeatedly creating history within so short a time of taking charge as top judge in April 2021. A while ago, I was referred to as Sachin Tendulkar. I must correct the perception here. Like any game, it’s a team effort. Unless all the members of the team perform well, it is difficult to win. Here, I must place on record my sincere thanks to my colleagues in the Collegium – Brothers U.U. Lalit, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and L. Nageswara Rao – who have become active and constructive partners in this endeavour, he observed. Judicial appointments was an ongoing process. The Collegium intended to live up to the herculean task of filling up 41% of vacancies existing in all the High Courts, he asserted. At one point, commending the young and dynamic Law Minister, Kiren Rijiju, who was present on the dais, and the government, for quickly approving the nine names recommended for the Supreme Court, the CJI said in another one month, we expect 90% of the vacancies filled in this country.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Sri Lanka offers help with New Zealand knife attack probe. 

Sri Lanka will cooperate with New Zealand’s investigation into a knife rampage by an Islamic State-inspired assailant from the South Asian nation, authorities said Saturday. Police shot dead the 32-year-old Sri Lankan after he attacked seven people in an Auckland supermarket on Friday. The man had been living in New Zealand since 2011. Sri Lanka condemns this senseless violence, and stands ready to cooperate with New Zealand authorities in any way necessary, foreign ministry spokesman Kohularangan Ratnasingam said in the Sri Lankan government’s first comment on the incident. Ratnasingam commended the quick response of New Zealand authorities in dealing with the attacker. Sri Lankan police sources said criminal investigators had already interviewed the attacker’s brother, who lives in Colombo, and were looking into all possible links. We are collecting information about him as well as anyone else who may have had contacts with him, a top police official said, adding there were no records of the attacker visiting Sri Lanka recently. The South Asian country is still scarred by suicide attacks on three churches and three hotels on Easter Sunday in 2019 that left 279 dead. Some of the attackers came from the same eastern province as the Auckland attacker. The 2019 bombings were blamed on a group that pledged allegiance to the then Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Sri Lanka’s Muslim Council has condemned the Auckland attack as a barbaric act of terrorism and thanked New Zealand police for their swift response. This reminds all of us to come together and be united and fight against terrorism and violent extremism locally and internationally for the betterment of everybody, council member Mohamed Hisham told AFP.

 

UN Secretary-General: Mercenaries and foreign fighters must leave Libya

Antonio Guterres urged Libyan parties to exert every effort to ensure that parliamentary and presidential elections are held on December 24. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is again urging countries to withdraw all foreign fighters and mercenaries from Libya, saying they continue to operate throughout the conflict-stricken North African country in violation of last October’s ceasefire agreement with no discernible abatement of their activities. The United Nations chief also urged countries supplying arms and military equipment to the foreign fighters to stop violating the United Nations arms embargo, saying, the movement of aircraft providing logistical support also continued unabated at airbases in central Libya in the strategic city of Sirte and nearby Jufra area. In a report to the United Nations Security Council circulated September 3, Mr Guterres called for the implementation of a comprehensive plan for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all mercenaries and foreign forces from Libya, with clear timelines. He also urged Libyan parties to exert every effort to ensure that parliamentary and presidential elections are held on December 24 in accordance with the political road map that ended hostilities last year. Libya has been wracked by chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011 and split the country between a U.N.-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities loyal to commander Khalifa Hifter in the east. Each have been backed by different armed groups and foreign governments. Hifter launched a military offensive in 2019 to capture the capital, a campaign backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and France. But his march on Tripoli ultimately failed in June 2020 after Turkey sent troops to support the government, which also had the backing of Qatar and Italy. Subsequent United Nations-sponsored peace talks brought about a ceasefire last October and installed an interim government that is expected to lead the country into December elections, but the Libyan parliament has so far failed to agree on a legal framework to hold elections. Mr. Guterres cited initial differences over whether presidential elections should be carried out by direct voting or indirectly by the elected parliament, whether a referendum on the draft permanent constitution should be held first, and eligibility criteria for candidates including military personnel and dual citizens. The U.N. chief urged the parties and institutions to clarify the constitutional basis for elections and to adopt the necessary electoral laws.

NATIONAL NEWS 

Certain sections of media communalise everything, says CJI

Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana on Thursday said certain sections of the media communalised everything and this would ultimately result in giving the country a bad name. The remark from the CJI came while hearing petitions highlighting how some media outlets aired communal content linking the spread of the coronavirus to a Tablighi Jamaat meet held at Nizamuddin in Delhi. The problem is, everything in this country is shown with a communal angle by a section of media. The country is going to get a bad name ultimately, Chief Justice Ramana, heading a three-judge Bench, observed orally. The hearing witnessed Chief Justice Ramana upbraid the lack of accountability on the part of social media platforms. The CJI said social media platforms only responded to powerful people, while complaints made by ordinary people, institutions and judges over content were ignored. These web channels, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube. They never respond. There is no accountability. About the institution they write badly and then they do not respond. This is the condition of institutions, forget individuals. They consider only people who are powerful. Institutions, common man, judges, they do not. This is the reality, Chief Justice Ramana noted.

Lok Sabha without a Deputy Speaker for 830 days With the Delhi High Court asking the Central government on Wednesday to explain its stand on a petition that claimed that keeping the post of Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha vacant is a violation of Article 93 of the Constitution, the issue is once again in the spotlight. Petitioner Pawan Reley pointed out that the position had been vacant for the last 830 days. Congress’s floor leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, It is a constitutionally mandated position and not a ceremonial one. During each session, the Congress has demanded that the election to the post be held, but our demands have been ignored. Senior TMC leader Derek O’ Brien pointed out that the longest time that this post had remained vacant was in the 12th Lok Sabha, and even then on the 59th sitting of Parliament, election to the post was held. Modi-Shah is dismantling every institution, including Parliament. We have been screaming ourselves hoarse. Angry. Sad, he said. Congress Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha Kodikunnil Suresh said that by convention, this post went to the Opposition. During the Budget Session of Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla contracted Covid-19. The panel of chairpersons are not equipped to handle the job, he noted. As of now, there are nine members who are part of the Panel of Chairpersons from the BJP, DMK, YSR Congress, BJD, TMC and the Revolutionary Socialist Party. A Deputy Speaker enjoys the same legislative powers as the Speaker. And in the absence of the Speaker because of death, illness or any other reason, the Deputy Speaker also assumes the administrative powers. Soon after the 2019 general election, the government had made some effort to fill the position. It approached the YSR Congress, who turned down the offer since it would have been difficult to align their protest against the government for not according special status to Andhra Pradesh while occupying the post. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and his Deputy in the Lok Sabha Arjun Ram Meghwal were both not available for their comment. Birla had said that it is for the House to elect a Deputy Speaker and it’s not the Speaker’s job. BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, who is a member of the Panel of Chairpersons, said the Lok Sabha functioning was not affected by lack of a Deputy Speaker. Currently, the Maharashtra Assembly is functioning without an elected Speaker after the resignation of Nana Patole, he pointed out. As the combined Opposition did not have the strength to elect a member of their choice, the choice fell on the government. The fact that there was no recognised leader of the Opposition also hampered the process, he stated. In 1984, when Rajiv Gandhi came to power with an overwhelming majority, the Deputy Speaker’s position was given to the AIADMK, he noted.

Long-COVID now forces hospitals to offer rehabilitation programme 

Medical care facilities across the country are now offering rehabilitation programmes for COVID-survivors, with the hospitals continuing to report cases of Long-COVID while India is registering a downward trend of new COVID cases. The most common symptoms reported include muscle weakness/fatigue, sleep problems, and hair loss though hospitals are also seeing cases of COVID-related development of tuberculosis and fungal pneumonia, and cases of increased heart rate, especially among those between 30-65 years. The rehabilitation programme includes physiotherapy, psychological counselling, pulmonologist consultation, and lung function tests. Dr. Akshay Budhraja, Pulmonologist, Aakash Healthcare, said: We are seeing issues with those over 30 years and aggravated complaints among the elderly. A study published recently in medical journal Lancet, titled 1-year outcomes in hospital survivors with COVID-19: A longitudinal cohort study,’ — conducted among COVID survivors in Wuhan, the epicentre of the first coronavirus outbreak in China — found that a number of survivors continued to have lower health status a year after symptom onset. Survivors continued suffering from at least one post-COVID medical complication even a year after COVID. While most survivors returned to their original work and life, the baseline health status of some continued to be lower, said the study, which followed the cases of 1,276 patients admitted at the Jin Yin-tan Hospital in Wuhan over one year. G.S. Chabbra, director, Respiratory Medicine, QRG Hospital, Faridabad, said while admissions due to Long COVID have slowed down now, the hospital has been in constant touch with their patients via tele-medicine and the hospital app. After the second wave we did have patients with complaints of hair fall, episodes of breathlessness, and joint and muscle pain, which are typical symptoms of post-COVID patients, he said.

Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments 

The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,29,01,257 with the death toll at 4,39,900. Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Thursday said that with reports of new mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the rising number of variants of concern and interest, international passengers coming in from South Africa, Bangladesh, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, etc., will now undergo RT-PCR tests on arrival in India. Passengers from the U.K., Europe and the Middle East are already required to take this test. International passengers are to undergo pre-arrival RT-PCR testing at least 72 hours before boarding and only asymptomatic passengers are allowed to board a flight to India. Now, these latest revisions have been communicated to the States to ensure strict compliance so that the import of variants into India may be prevented, he explained. He added that in case of symptomatic and/or positive international travellers, States must continue to implement stringent public health measures of contact tracing, quarantine, testing and ensuring COVID-19-appropriate behaviour. The Ministry has also written to States and Union Territories asking them to strengthen their Whole Genome Sequencing activities, which are critical to establishing clinical epidemiological correlations. The Health Secretary stated that the second COVID-19 surge is far from over and that, currently, 69% of Covid-19 cases are from Kerala. He added that Kerala currently has more than 1 lakh active cases, while four States — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh — have between 10,000 to 1 lakh active cases. Forty-two districts in the country are still reporting more than 100 new cases each day, which is a cause of concern. However, India has now managed to fully vaccinate 16% of its adult population, while 54% has got one shot, Bhushan said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

New York City Mayor declares state of emergency after record-breaking rain 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency on September 1 night due to what he called a historic weather event, with record-breaking rain across the city leading to flooding and dangerous conditions on the roads. Nearly all New York City subway lines were suspended late on September 1 as the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida brought drenching rain and the threat of flash floods and tornadoes to parts of the northern mid-Atlantic. At least five flash-flood emergencies were issued on September 1 evening by the National Weather Service, stretching from just west of Philadelphia through northern New Jersey. Earlier in the night, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy also declared a state of emergency in response to Ida. Storm damage from Ida astounded officials on Wednesday three days after the powerful hurricane pounded southern Louisiana, as reconnaissance flights revealed entire communities devastated by winds and floods. Tornadoes spawned by the storm ripped through parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, images on social media showed. At least nine homes were destroyed in Mullica Hill, New Jersey. New Jersey’s Newark Liberty Airport said on Twitter it was experiencing severe flooding. It said it resumed limited flight operations close to midnight after all flight activity was suspended late on Wednesday. New York City also experienced flooding, with social media images showing water gushing over subway platforms and trains. Subway service was extremely limited due to the flooding, the Metropolitan Transit Authority said. The New York City Mayor urged people to not go outside.

Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada to be named Afghanistan’s Supreme Leader 

The Taliban’s top religious leader Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada will be named as Afghanistan’s supreme authority, a senior member of the group has said. Consultations are almost finalised on the new government, and the necessary discussions have also been held about the cabinet, Mufti Inamullah Samangani, a senior official in the Taliban’s information and culture commission, said on Wednesday. He said the group is all set to announce the formation of the new government in Kabul in the next three days. In the new set-up, 60-year-old Mullah Akhundzada will be the Supreme Leader of the Taliban government, which will follow the pattern of the Iranian leadership. In Iran, the supreme leader is the highest political and religious authority of the country. He ranks above the president and appoints the heads of the military, the government, and the judiciary. The supreme leader has final say in the political, religious and military affairs of the country. Mullah Akhunzada will be the leader of the government and there should be no question on this, he said, indicating that the president will work under his oversight. Mullah Akhunzada is the top religious leader of the Taliban and has been serving at a mosque in Kachlaak area of Balochistan province for 15 years. 

NATIONAL NEWS 

BJP sends legal notice to MLAs who defected to Trinamool

Days after two party MLAs defected to the Trinamool Congress, the BJP leadership in West Bengal on Wednesday said it has issued legal notices to them. The way we have taken action against Mukul Roy, approached Speaker and taken the issue of his defection before the High Court, in a similar manner we have issued notice to Tanmoy Ghosh and Biswajit Das to explain their stand, said Suvendu Adhikari, BJP MLA and leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. Adhikari pointed out that more than 50 MLAs of the Opposition parties have crossed floor during the regime of the TMC since 2011. The Opposition parties then [Left and Congress] did not seriously take up these defections. From the BJP, we can assure that we will take it to its logical conclusion in a democratic manner, Adhikari said, adding that the two MLAs had not been keeping in touch with the party over the past few months. Three BJP MLAs have defected to the TMC after the polls. Roy was the first to do so in June, followed by Tanmoy Ghosh (Bishnupur) on Monday and Biswajit Das (Bagda) on Tuesday. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said such defections will not affect the party. Defection is not a new phenomenon. If dozens of MLAs came from the TMC to the BJP before the Assembly polls and a few of them go back to the TMC, it is not going to affect the party, he said. The BJP leadership said some MLAs yield to the pressure of the ruling party and alleged that the police are exerting pressure on the MLAs of the Opposition parties. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh targeted Adhikari and said he was trying to hide his inefficiency by saying the MLAs who defected were not in touch with the BJP for months.

Rise in GDP for government is rising prices of gas, diesel, petrol: Rahul Gandhi 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday slammed the government over the rising price of domestic cooking gas, diesel and petrol, and alleged that an amount of ₹23 lakh crore has been earned by increasing the prices of these commodities in the last seven years. He also alleged that while sections such as farmers, the salaried class, and labourers were being demonetised, a few industrialist friends of Prime Minister Narendra Modi were being monetised. At a press conference, Gandhi said the government has come up with a new concept of GDP, wherein a rise in GDP means a rise in prices of Gas, Diesel and Petrol. On the one hand, there is demonetisation and on the other there is monetisation. Whose demonetisation is taking place — farmers, labourers, small traders and informal sector, MSMEs, contract workers, salaried class and honest industrialists. Whose monetisation is taking place — four-five friends of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said. The Congress leader alleged that a transfer of wealth is taking place from the poor and the weak to the Prime Minister’s friends. He said that the government was panicking over not being able to fulfill its promises and was surviving on fuel prices. Gandhi added that the day when the international crude oil prices rise to about $90-100, the situation will spiral out of control in India. The Congress party has been attacking the government over the rise in petrol, diesel and LPG prices and has been demanding a reduction in them by removing some of the taxes imposed by the central government. The prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cooking gas cylinders across all categories, including subsidised gas on Wednesday were hiked by ₹25 per cylinder– the third straight increase in rates in less than two months. Subsidised as well as non-subsidised LPG now costs ₹884.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi, according to a price notification of oil companies.

Maharashtra to form State Council for climate change 

Mindful of the gravity of the climate change crisis, the Maharashtra government will constitute a State Council for climate change, State Environment and Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray said on Wednesday. The council would be headed by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and co-chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar while an action plan to deal with climate-related challenges affecting Maharashtra would be presented before the State Cabinet within a month, Aaditya Thackeray said. Climate change is a pressing and grave issue and I believe we face a climate emergency. Today, we presented the summary of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report regarding carbon impact before the State Cabinet. After this, it was decided by the Cabinet to form a State Council on Climate Change. Henceforth, we will be presenting every month before the Cabinet, Aaditya Thackeray said. He said that the State Environment Ministry would formulate the climate action plan for concerned departments like Energy, Transport, Urban Development, and Industry, and seek the Cabinet’s approval for the same. The State Council for Climate Change will be monitoring and presenting the progress report to the Cabinet each month, Aaditya Thackeray said. Noting that weather patterns had changed dramatically in the State over the past decade, the Environment Minister said that the climatic transformation had triggered landslides with greater frequency, besides raising temperatures during the summer months and reducing the number of winter days. We recognise the importance of climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the need to act now. We do not have the luxury of time. The State government has already taken multiple actions on the climate front, like adopting the EV (electric vehicles) policy, conserving the Aarey Colony green space… within a month, we will be having interdepartmental conferences where we will be finalising our goals, he said. Last week, Thackeray had launched Mumbai’s first climate action plan developed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation with technical support from the World Resources Institute India. At the time, Thackeray had said that further delays would make Mumbai unliveable in a decade’s time. Mumbai civic body chief Iqbal Singh Chahal had given sober warning at the launch of the Mumbai Climate Action Plan, remarking that 70% of the area under four administrative wards in the city, including the upmarket Cuffe Parade, Nariman Point and the Secretariat itself, could be underwater by 2050.

Afghan nationals protesting outside UNHCR office: Delhi High Court expresses concern 

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday expressed concern over a lack of adherence to Covid-19 appropriate norms by a large gathering of Afghan nationals protesting outside the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) office. The protestors have been seeking refugee status and resettlement options from the UNHCR. They have been saying that they have no option but to stay put outside the UNHCR office as returning to Afghanistan is not an option now. With no job opportunities and their visas expiring soon, they were worried about the future. Justice Rekha Palli asked the Centre, the Delhi government, and the police to coordinate and work out a solution so that the protest gathering does not act as a superspreader of Covid-19. The court said the situation could not be permitted to continue as the protestors could be seen sitting and standing next to each other without even wearing masks. We are also dealing with Covid-19. Look at the pictures. What if this could be a superspreader of Covid-19. You should ensure some protocol is there. Why are they not wearing masks? the court remarked. Afghan nationals hold placards during a protest outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office to urge the international community to help Afghan refugees, in New Delhi, India, September 1, 2021.  It is not the inconvenience only with which I am concerned. I am more concerned that it should not act as a superspreader of Covid-19 again. The city has barely coped with the second wave. You have to ensure that the protesters follow the Covid-19 protocols. Let them wear masks and then protest, it said. The court’s observation came while hearing a petition by the Vasant Vihar Welfare Association, which stated that the foreign nationals (refugees/asylum seekers) have gathered outside the office of the UNHCR at B Block in Vasant Vihar since August 15, including lanes and parks adjoining it, and the residents were facing difficulties due to this. The court asked the Delhi government what it had done in pursuance to the Supreme Court’s direction to frame guidelines on the issue of the right to protest so as to ensure a balance between fundamental rights and the maintenance of law and order. The association stated the residents were facing difficulties in commuting and going to markets for purchasing essential goods.  The petition also sought a direction to the Ministry of External Affairs to frame an appropriate policy for ensuring that such nuisance to the local residents does not occur on the account of foreign missions being in the vicinity of residential localities. Central government standing counsel Ajay Digpaul submitted that it was not a normal situation and the residents should have some humanitarian approach and these were international issues that could not be decided overnight as they have huge international consequences. The Delhi government said there were around 500 protesters at the site and sufficient force had been deployed. The court will hear the matter again on September 3.

Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments 

The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,28,54,543 with the death toll at 4,39,493. The reported breakthrough Covid-19 infections in India are well within the expected numbers if we take into account the total infections and other factors, said genome sequencing government consortium INSACOG, stressing that inoculation protects from severe illness. The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) said Delta continues to be the dominant lineage in India and globally. When a person gets an infection even after being vaccinated against it, it is called a breakthrough case. The number of reported vaccination breakthroughs in India are well within the numbers expected from the total number of infections, the fraction of population that is vaccinated, and the known reduction in the effectiveness of Covishield/Covaxin against infections by Delta. Vaccines continue to protect against severe disease and remain a cornerstone of public health strategy, the bulletin dated August 30 said. It said based on high stringency reclassification by INSACOG, the total number of Delta sub-lineages — Delta Plus AY.1 to AY.12 — in India are only 856 out of all samples analysed, which is much less than what is reported on some global websites. It said AY.12, which was first noted in Israel and currently driving infection in the country, which has inoculated 60% of its population, is not yet seen in India.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

To contain food prices, SriLanka declares economic emergency. 

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declared an economic emergency to contain soaring inflation after a steep fall in the value of the country’s currency caused a spike in food prices. President Rajapaksa on Tuesday declared the state of emergency under the public security ordinance to prevent the hoarding of essential items, including rice and sugar. The emergency came into effect from midnight on Tuesday. The President has promulgated emergency regulations under the Public Security Ordinance on the supply of essential goods, presidential spokesman Kingsley Ratnayake told reporters. The government has appointed a former General as commissioner of essential services, who will have the power to seize food stocks held by traders and retailers and regulate their prices. The military will oversee the action which gives power to officials to ensure that essential items, including rice and sugar, are sold at government-guaranteed prices or prices based on import costs at customs and prevent hiding of stocks, Mr. Ratnayake said. The emergency move followed sharp price rises for sugar, rice, onions and potatoes, while long queues have formed outside stores because of shortages of milk powder, kerosene oil and cooking gas. The wide-ranging measure is also aimed at recovering credit owed to state banks by importers.

Biden had pressed Ghani to ‘change perception’.

In the last call between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Afghanistan counterpart, Ashraf Ghani, before the Taliban seized control of the country, the leaders discussed military aid, political strategy and messaging tactics, but neither of them appeared to be aware of or prepared for the immediate danger of the country falling to the militants, a transcript reviewed by Reuters shows. The men spoke for roughly 14 minutes on July 23. On August 15, Mr. Ghani fled the presidential palace, and the Taliban entered Kabul. Reuters reviewed a transcript of the presidential phone call and has listened to the audio to authenticate the conversation. The materials were provided on condition of anonymity by a source who was not authorised to distribute it. In the call, Mr. Biden offered aid if Mr. Ghani could publicly project he had a plan to control the spiralling situation in Afghanistan. We will continue to provide close air support, if we know what the plan is, Mr. Biden said. Days before the call, the U.S. carried out air strikes to support Afghan security forces, a move the Taliban said was in violation of the Doha peace agreement. The U.S. President also advised Mr. Ghani to get buyin from powerful Afghans for a military strategy going forward, and then to put a warrior in charge of the effort, a reference to Defence Minister General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi. Mr. Biden lauded the Afghan armed forces, which were trained and funded by the U.S. government. You clearly have the best military, he told Mr. Ghani. You have 300,000 wellarmed forces versus 7080,000 and they’re clearly capable of fighting well. Days later, the Afghan military started folding across provincial capitals in the country with little fight against the Taliban. In much of the call, Mr. Biden focused on what he called the Afghan government’s perception problem. I need not tell you the perception around the world and in parts of Afghanistan, I believe, is that things are not going well in terms of the fight against the Taliban, he said. And there is a need, whether it is true or not, there is a need to project a different picture. Mr. Biden told Mr. Ghani that if Afghanistan’s prominent political figures were to give a press conference together, backing a new military strategy, that will change perception, and that will change an awful lot I think. Mr. Biden’s words indicated he didn’t anticipate the insurrection and collapse to come 23 days later. We are going to continue to fight hard, diplomatically, politically, economically, to make sure your government not only survives, but is sustained and grows, he said. Mr. Ghani told Mr. Biden he believed there could be peace if he could rebalance the military solution. But he added, We need to move with speed. We are facing a full-scale invasion, composed of Taliban, full Pakistani planning and logistical support, and at least 1015,000 international terrorists, predominantly Pakistanis thrown into this, Mr. Ghani said.

 

NATIONAL NEWS 

India holds first officially confirmed meeting with Taliban; Russia, China abstain on UNSC’s Afghanistan resolution

India has held its first officially confirmed meeting with the Taliban. It took place between Indian Ambassador to Qatar Deepak Mittal and Sher Mohammed Stanekzai, head of the Political Office of the Taliban based in Doha, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a press release. Stanekzai, an ethnic Pashtun, was trained as an officer of the Afghan army during the Cold War years. He issued a statement three days ago seeking normal commercial, diplomatic and political relations with India. India had remained silent to the overture initially but held the meeting hours after the U.S. completed the military evacuation from Kabul. India has maintained that it has maintained contact with all stakeholders but this is the first time that the meeting has been confirmed and announced. Sources said India was focused on ensuring the safety of those individuals who wished to come to India but could not do so as the Taliban denied them permission to leave Kabul. Meanwhile, in a related development, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), under India’s presidency, passed the Resolution that reminded Taliban to stand by its commitment to prevent international terrorism. Resolution 2593 of the UNSC addresses India’s major concerns on Afghanistan at this time, informed sources said in New Delhi on Tuesday. But the P-5 countries (permanent members of the UNSC) remained divided over the issue. Russia and China abstained during the voting over the draft saying it divided the approach to the Afghan crisis. Russian representative at the UNSC pointed out that the author of the draft resolution, that is the U.S., has divided terrorists in Afghanistan into ours and theirs, pointing to a changing stance of the U.S. towards the Taliban and its allied Haqqani Network, which has in the past attacked both American and Indian targets in Afghanistan. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, representing India at the UNSC, highlighted the role of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed and said that these outfits should be called out and condemned, without referring to the Haqqani Network that is likely to come up at the Taliban Sanctions Committee for a discussion among the members for possible delisting.

India’s GDP grows 20.1% in April-June, but economy still far from pre-COVID level 

India’s economic growth surged to 20.1 % in the April-June quarter of this fiscal, helped by a low base of the year-ago period, despite a devastating second wave of Covid-19. The gross domestic product (GDP) had contracted by 24.4 % in the corresponding April-June quarter of 2020-21, according to data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Tuesday. The government had imposed a nationwide lockdown at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic last year. This year, the massive second wave of the pandemic hit the country in the middle of April, which forced states to impose fresh restrictions. However, the economy has still not returned to the pre-COVID level. In value terms, the GDP stood at ₹32,38,020 crore in April-June 2021-22, much lower than the figure of ₹35,66,708 crore in the corresponding period of the 2019-20 financial year. The GDP had shrunk to ₹26,95,421 crore in April-June last year during the nationwide lockdown. GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in Q1 of 2021-22 is estimated at ₹32.38 lakh crore, as against ₹26.95 lakh crore in Q1 of 2020-21, showing a growth of 20.1 %  as compared to contraction of 24.4 % in Q1 2020-21, the NSO said in a statement. According to the NSO data, gross value added (GVA) growth in the manufacturing sector accelerated to 49.6 % in the first quarter of 2021-22, compared to a contraction 36 % a year ago. Farm sector GVA growth was up at 4.5 %, compared to 3.5 % earlier. Construction sector GVA grew by 68.3 % compared to 49.5 % contraction earlier. Mining sector grew by 18.6 %, as against a contraction of 17.2 % a year ago. Electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services segment grew by 14.3 % in the first quarter of this fiscal, against 9.9 % contraction a year ago. Similarly, trade, hotel, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting grew by 34.3 % compared to 48.1 % contraction earlier. Financial, real estate and professional services grew by 3.7 % in Q1 FY22 compared to a contraction of 5 %. Public administration, defence and other services grew at 5.8 % during the quarter under review, compared to (-) 10.2 % a year earlier.

Delhi HC to hear plea challenging Asthana appointment on Wednesday

The Delhi High Court today posted the hearing on a petition challenging the appointment of Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as Delhi Police Commissioner and an intervention application filed in the matter by an NGO for Wednesday. On August 25, the Supreme Court had asked the High Court to decide within two weeks the plea pending before it against the appointment of the senior IPS officer as Delhi Police Commissioner. Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), which filed the impleadment application, argued that the petition before the High Court, filed by one one Sadre Alam, was a copy-paste of its plea before the Supreme Court. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for CPIL, said, We have filed an intervention on behalf of CPIL. Something extraordinary has happened in the matter. The petition is a total copy-paste. Full stop, comma, exclamation mark. The court may list it tomorrow or whenever. See the kind of abuse of process of law that is done. The NGO stated that it got to know about the filing of Alam’s petition before the High Court from media reports and was surprised to see some of the paragraphs of the instant writ petition as quoted by media, as the same appeared to be copy-pasted from the applicant’s writ petition filed before the Supreme Court prior in time. The NGO claimed that the precise purpose of filing the petition by Alam seems to be only to defeat public interest by scuttling the genuine, bona fide and well-researched and deliberated PIL filed by the applicant (NGO) before the Supreme Court. The petition filed by Alam has contended that the 1984-batch IPS officer, serving as the Director General of Border Security Force, was appointed Delhi Police Commissioner on July 27, just four days before his superannuation on July 31. Alam, in his plea, argued that the decision of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) in appointing Asthana for the post was completely illegal on multiple grounds. The plea said the appointment was in clear and blatant breach of the directions of the Supreme Court of India as Asthana did not have a minimum residual tenure of six months, and that no Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) panel was formed for appointment of Delhi Police Commissioner. The petition, additionally, argued that the appointment violates the fundamental rule which stipulates no government servant shall be granted extension in service beyond the age of retirement of sixty years.

Sidhu questions Punjab govt on ‘inaction’ against those involved in drug trafficking 

Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday questioned his party government in the State on the ‘inaction’ against those involved in drug trafficking. And the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), at its legislative party meeting held here, accused Sidhu and Chief Minister Amarinder Singh of running away from public issues. Sidhu, in a statement, said numerous tormented mothers who had lost their children due to the drug menace were waiting for the report of the Special Task Force (STF) surrounding the drugs trade. In February 2018, the STF filed a status report in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Later, the government filed before the court an opinion-cum-status report, and the matter is still in the court. Questioning the government’s ‘inaction’, Sidhu said that despite the court’s directions, nothing had been done nothing to extradite some 13 drug smugglers back to India. Leader of the Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema demanded that the one-day Assembly session, dedicated to the 400th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur on September 3, be extended for at least 15 days so that all the issues concerning people, including the agricultural crisis, expensive electricity and the mafia, can be discussed in the House. Taking a dig at Sidhu, he stated that if the ruling Congress president could not ensure an extension of the term of the coming Assembly session, then by what conscience was he still sitting in the ruling party. AAP MLA Aman Arora said that he had brought a private member’s bill to cancel the power purchase agreements and now it would be seen whether Sidhu and his fellow MLAs supported this pro-people Bill or run away from it. If Sidhu sincerely desires, the Bill to cancel the power agreements could be passed in the Assembly as he has the support of more than 50 Congress MLAs, and with the Aam Aadmi Party MLAs, there would be a majority in the House, he added.

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

UNSC resolution addresses ‘key concerns’ on Afghanistan: India

Despite the abstention of two P5 countries – Russia and China – from the Indialed United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2593, the Government of India said it was a matter of satisfaction that the resolution addressed India’s key concerns on Afghanistan. P5 refers to the five permanent members of the UNSC – China, France, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S. According to official sources, the resolution, which called on the Taliban to keep their commitments on preventing terror groups in Afghanistan and urged them to assist the safe evacuations of all Afghan nationals wishing to leave the country, was the result ofa careful coordination and high-level official contacts with UNSC members, including a call to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The efforts were overseen by a special new group led by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. The resolution demands that Afghan territory should not be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter and train terrorists and plan or finance terrorist attacks. It mentions individuals designated by Resolution 1267, (which includes the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad), said the sources, explaining why India played an active role in ensuring that the resolution went through on Monday, a day before it demitted presidency of the UNSC. Explaining the split within the P5, Russia and China said they wanted all the groups, especially the Islamic State and the Uighur East Turkestan Islamic Movement to be named specifically in the document, and listed a number of objections to the drafting of the resolution. They accused the U.S ., the U.K. and France, the sponsors of the resolution, of having rushed it through on a tight schedule while seeking to absolve the U.S. of responsibility, and distinguishing between their and our terrorists.

 

China opens first road-rail transport link to Indian Ocean. 

The first shipments on a newly-launched railway line from the Myanmar border to the key commercial hub of Chengdu in western China, that provides China a new road-rail transportation channel to the Indian Ocean, were delivered last week, state media reported on Tuesday. A test cargo through what is being called the China-Myanmar New Passage arrived at the Chengdu rail port in Sichuan province on August 27, the official China News Service reported. The transport corridor involves a sea-road-rail link. Goods from Singapore reached Yangon Port, arriving by ship through the Andaman Sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean, and were then transported by road to Lincang on the Chinese side of the Myanmar-China border in Yunnan province. The new railway line that runs from the border town of Lincang to Chengdu, a key trade hub in western China, completes the corridor. This passage connects the logistics lines of Singapore, Myanmar and China, and is currently the most convenient land and sea channel linking the Indian Ocean with southwest China, the China News Service said, adding that the oneway journey saves 20 to 22 days. China also has plans to develop another port in Kyaukphyu in the Rakhine state, including a proposed railway line from Yunnan directly to the port, but the progress there has been stalled by unrest in Myanmar. Chinese planners have also looked at the Gwadar port in Pakistan as another key outlet to the Indian Ocean that will bypass the Malacca Straits. Gwadar is being developed as part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to the far western Xinjiang region, but has been slow to take off amid concerns over security. The costs and logistics through CPEC are also less favourable than the Myanmar route with the opening of the rail transport channel from the Myanmar border right to western China’s biggest commercial hub, Chengdu. Transportation time on the railway line from the Myanmar border to Chengdu takes three days. The Irrawaddy website that focuses on Myanmar news said the route is the first to link western China with the Indian Ocean. The railway line currently ends in Lincang on the Chinese side opposite the Myanmar border trade town of Chin Shwe Haw. Plans are underway to develop Chin Shwe Haw as a border economic cooperation zone under the Belt and Road Initiative. The Irrawaddy said the route goes through Mandalay, Lashio and Hsenwi on the Myanmar side and is expected to become the lifeblood of international trade for China and Myanmar, while providing a source of income for Myanmar’s military regime.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

Rockets fired at Kabul airport hit residential neighbourhood

Rocket fire apparently targeting Kabul’s international airport struck a nearby neighborhood on Monday, the eve of the deadline for American troops to withdraw from the country’s longest war after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. It wasn’t immediately clear if anyone was hurt. The rockets did not halt the steady stream of U.S. military C-17 cargo jets taking off and landing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in the Afghan capital. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Last week, the Islamic State group launched a devastating suicide bombing at one of the airport gates that killed at least 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members. The airport has been a scene of chaos in the two weeks since the Taliban blitz across Afghanistan took control of the country, nearly 20 years after the initial U.S. invasion that followed the September 11 terrorist attacks. But since the suicide bombing, the Taliban have tightened their security cordon around the airfield, with their fighters seen just up to the last fencing separating them from the runway. In the capital’s Chahr-e-Shaheed neighborhood, a crowd quickly gathered around the remains of a four-door sedan used by the attackers. The car had what appeared to be six homemade rocket tubes mounted in place of backseats. The Islamic State group and other militants routinely mount such tubes into vehicles and quietly transport them undetected close to a target. Some of the rockets landed across town in Kabul’s Salim Karwan neighborhood, striking residential apartment blocks, witnesses said. That neighbourhood is some 3 km from the airport. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Five rockets targeted the airport, said U.S. Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for the American military’s Central Command. A defensive weapon known by the acronym C-RAM — a Counter- Rocket, Artillery and Mortar System — targeted the rockets in a whirling hail of ammunition, Urban said. 

Taliban didn’t take away passports: Afghan visa agency 

A week after the Government of India cancelled all existing visas for Afghan nationals wanting to travel to India, and instituted the e-visa only system after reports that Taliban gunmen had stolen many passports, the sole Indian visa agency has denied any passports have been lost or misplaced. In a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), a copy of which The Hindu has seen, owners of Shahir Travel Agency, which has handled Indian visas since 2009, have asked the government to revoke the order dated August 25, and also to expedite the e-visa system to enable genuine cases of students, businesspersons, and others associated with India in the past who could need to leave Afghanistan urgently. We have written to the Government of India with our very legitimate concerns. The problem this fake news has created is that the current personnel in power [Taliban] have been accused of something they did not do and that puts all our Kabul staff in danger. Therefore, we have to publicly and vociferously refute all the fake news in the Indian media, Muhammad Karim, CEO of Shahir Travel Agency (STA), the sole Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) in Kabul, told The Hindu. According to Karim, Taliban representatives now in charge of Kabul had visited their offices, along with other offices and businesses in the city, but at no point were passports containing Indian visas taken by them or misplaced. All the visas that were issued by the Embassy were done so after complete security check in Kabul. NIC (National Informatics Centre of India) maintains details of all visa stickers issued and biometrics captured, the agency’s letter said, adding that the government could match the passport holders at any time required. MEA officials declined to comment on the letter sent by STA. They said it was unlikely that the government would revoke its decision, given uncertainty over the security situation in Afghanistan, and particularly after the deadline for all foreign troops to leave the country expires on Tuesday. As The Hindu has reported earlier, the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) has delayed issuing any e-visas, as it is difficult to conduct security checks on applicants without local inputs as the Indian Embassy in Kabul is shut down. On August 27, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the decision to cancel thousands of visas previously issued to Afghan nationals had been made following reports of people raiding one of our outsourcing agencies, where Afghan passports with Indian visas were there, but did not mention who was responsible for the reports. Several media agencies had suggested that the worry was that a Pakistan-backed group or intelligence agencies may have taken the passports in order to use them for terror attacks in India.

NATIONAL NEWS  

Shooter Avani Lekhara and javelin thrower Sumit Antil clinch gold at Paralympics; discus thrower Vinod Kumar loses bronze 

Shooter Avani Lekhara scripted history on August 30 as she became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympics, firing her way to the top of the podium in the R-2 women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event in Tokyo. The 19-year-old finished with a world record equalling total of 249.6, which is also a new Paralympic record. She’s the fourth Indian athlete to win a Paralympics gold after swimmer Murlikant Petkar (1972), javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia (2004 and 2016) and high jumper Thangavelu Mariyappan (2016). Avani Lekhara became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympics, firing her way to the top of the podium in the R-2 women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event. In the SH1 Rifle category, shooters are able to hold a gun with arms. The athletes have an impairment in their legs, for example amputations or paraplegia. Some athletes will compete in a seated position, while others will compete in a standing position. Javelin thrower Sumit Antil clinched India’s second gold, shattering the men’s F64 category world record multiple times in a stunning Games debut performance. The 23-year-old from Sonepat in Haryana, who lost his left leg below the knee after he was involved in a motorbike accident in 2015, sent the spear to 68.55m in his fifth attempt, which was the best of the day by quite a distance and a new world record. In fact, he bettered the previous world record of 62.88m, also set by him, five times on the day. Australian Michal Burian (66.29m) and Sri Lanka’s Dulan Kodithuwakku (65.61m) took the silver and bronze respectively. The F64 category is for athletes with a leg amputation, who compete with prosthetics in a standing position. A student of Delhi’s Ramjas College, Antil was an able-bodied wrestler before his accident, which led to the amputation of his leg below the knee. A para athlete in his village initiated him to the sport in 2018. Meanwhile, discus thrower Vinod Kumar on Monday lost his F52 category bronze medal after being found ineligible in disability classification assessment by the competition panel. The 41-year-old BSF man, whose Army man father was injured during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, produced a best throw of 19.91m to finish third behind Piotr Kosewicz (20.02m) of Poland and Velimir Sandor (19.98m) of Croatia on Sunday. However, the result was challenged by some competitors. The panel was unable to allocate the athlete Vinod Kumar from NPC India with a sport class and the athlete was designated as Classification not Completed (CNC), the organisers said in a statement. The athlete is therefore ineligible for the Men’s F52 Discus medal event and his results in that competition are void, it added. F52 is for athletes with impaired muscle power, restricted range of movement, limb deficiency or leg length difference, with athletes competing in seated position with cervical cord injury, spinal cord injury, amputation, and functional disorder. Para-athletes are classified depending on the type and extent of their disability. The classification system allows athletes to compete with those with a similar level of ability. Vinod’s classification was done on August 22. 

ED records witness statement of Jacqueline Fernandez in Sukesh Chandrasekhar money-laundering case 

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday recorded the witness statement of Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez in a money laundering case against ‘conman’ Sukesh Chandrasekhar. Earlier this month, the agency seized a sea-facing bungalow in Chennai and 16 luxury cars, besides two kg gold, during the searches in connection with a fresh case registered by the Delhi police accusing Sukesh of cheating and extortion. The premises of Sukesh’s wife Leena Maria Paul, a small-time actress in Malyalam films who has also done some roles in Hindi movies, were also searched. The police have alleged that Sukesh had been running the racket from inside Delhi’s Rohini jail where he was lodged. He and his associates allegedly extorted about ₹200 crore from various people. It is alleged that Sukesh arranged mobile phones inside the prison. He used a number-spoofing mobile App to contact his prospective victims, posing as a senior government functionary. The accused cheated many people on the pretext of getting their jobs done. In 2017, Sukesh was arrested by the Delhi police for allegedly taking money from then AIADMK (Amma) leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran on the promise of helping him get the two leaves symbol for his faction.

Maharashtra BJP launches protest demanding reopening of temples 

Alleging that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government gave more importance to liquor bars than temples, the opposition BJP in Maharashtra staged an aggressive protest demanding the re-opening of temples on Monday. Symbolically blowing conches in their shankhnaad agitation and defying Covid-19 regulations, hundreds of BJP activists and State leaders participated in protests in key temple areas of Pune, Mumbai, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Solapur districts flouting pandemic protocols. Alleging that the MVA government was deliberately hurting sentiments of the Hindu community, BJP MLA from Mumbai’s Ghatkopar, Ram Kadam also charged that the government apparently gave permission for other religions for their festivities but was refusing to open temples. Please bear in mind, we are not advocating crowding in front of temples. But the government can certainly devise a system based on the issuance of online passes for lakhs of devotees who have not been able to offer worship at the iconic temples in Pandharpur and Shirdi. When you can make rules for beer bars, then why does this government dither when it comes to re-opening temples, said Kadam. Earlier, a police shield had been stationed outside the famous Siddhi Vinayak Temple to prevent Kadam from holding a protest there. A partner in the coalition government, the Congress hit out at the contradictory stand taken by the BJP government at the Centre and the party’s Maharashtra unit over celebration of festivals and the re-opening of temples amid the looming threat of a third wave of infections. The Congress said that despite the Modi government’s directives on restrictions on festivities, why were Maharashtra BJP leaders pressurising the MVA government to permit festivities and allow temples to be reopened.

NATIONAL NEWS 

Red flags raised on oil palm plans for northeast, Andamans

Given the widespread destruction of rainforests and native biodiversity caused by oil palm plantations in Southeast Asia, environmental experts and politicians are warning that the Centre’s move to promote their cultivation in India’s northeastern States and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands could be disastrous. Other concerns include the impact on community ownership of tribal lands, as well as the fact that the oil palm is a water-guzzling, monoculture crop with a long gestation period unsuitable for small farmers. However, the government says land productivity for palm oil is higher than for oilseeds, with the Agriculture Minister giving an assurance that the land identified for oil palm plantations in northeastern States is already cleared for cultivation. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, soon after the launch of the ₹11,040 crore National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), Meghalaya MP Agatha Sangma warned that the focus areas were biodiversity hotspots and ecologically fragile and oil palm plantations would denude forest cover and destroy the habitat of endangered wildlife. It could also detach tribespeople from their identity linked with the community ownership of land and wreak havoc on the social fabric, said the National People’s Party. Congress leader and former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said proposals for large-scale oil palm cultivation had been studied and rejected as part of the technology mission on edible oils in the late 1980s as it was a recipe for ecological disaster. He said that the present proposal of course is designed to benefit Patanjali and Adani, both corporates with interests in edible oil expansion. The palm is an invasive species. It’s not a natural forest product of northeastern India and its impact on our biodiversity as well as on soil conditions has to be analysed even if it is grown in non-forest areas. Any kind of monoculture plantation is not desirable, said Bibhab Talukdar, a biologist who heads the Guwahati-based conservation organisation Aaranyak, advising caution in introducing oil palm.

CBI inquiry found no ‘cognisable offence’ by Anil Deshmukh 

A leaked report of a preliminary inquiry conducted by the CBI reveals that the agency had concluded that no cognisable offence has been committed by Anil Deshmukh, the former Home Minister of Maharashtra. The inquiry was conducted by a CBI team following orders by the Bombay High Court on a criminal writ petition filed by Advocate Jayshri Patil, who had lodged a complaint with Malabar Hill police station in south Mumbai in the wake of the letter written by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. In his letter, Singh had alleged that Deshmukh had asked former Mumbai Police API Sachin Vaze to collect ₹100 crore from hotel owners in Mumbai. However, based on this inquiry report, the CBI filed an FIR against the former minister. Subsequently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) too initiated a probe against Deshmukh and has summoned him several times to appear for it. Deshmukh is, however, yet to appear before the ED. The CBI report, which has been leaked to the media and has been seen by The Hindu, has now cast doubts over the ongoing investigation by the central agency. According to sources, despite the investigation officer not finding any cognisable offence committed by Deshmukh, an FIR was registered. The CBI is yet to react on the leaked report. According to the CBI report, within two days of his reinstatement in July 2020, Vaze was posted as in charge of Crime Investigation Unit (CIU) by the then Joint CP as per the orders of Parambir Singh. He used to report directly to the police chief, bypassing all channels of hierarchy. The inquiry report stated that after the Antilia case, it came to the knowledge of the then HM (Home minister) that most of the important and sensitive cases were assigned to Sachin Vaze on the directions of Parambir Singh. He was accompanied by Parambir Singh to all the important meetings at CM’s residence. There was no personal interaction of the then HM with Sachin Vaze. There is no proof of any meeting of Sachin Vaze with the then HM at his residence apart from official briefings/purposes in the presence of other officers. There was NO proof of any demand by the then HM or his P.S. Sanjeev Palande for collection of money, the report said. It further noted that, ACP Sanjay Patil and DCP Bhujbal have confirmed in their statements that no such demand for any collection of money was ever made by the then HM directly or through his PS.

Cannot imagine Ayodhya without Ram, says President Ram Nath Kovind 

It is impossible to imagine Ayodhya without Lord Ram, said President Ram Nath Kovind as he visited the Uttar Pradesh town on Sunday to launch several cultural projects. The President also visited the makeshift Ram Janmabhoomi temple and offered prayers there. Ayodhya nagri is not just Prabhu Ram’s janmabhoomi and leelabhoomi but without Ram it is impossible to even imagine about this town, Kovind said. The President was speaking at the inauguration of the Ramayana Conclave and launch of various projects of the Department of Culture and Tourism, U.P.

Crypto money gains traction in adult industry amid OnlyFans drama, potentially paving way for mainstream adoption 

Porn stars, sex workers and others in adult entertainment were taking a closer look at cryptocurrency payments in the wake of a series of troubles with the mainstream financial system, potentially propelling digital currencies into wider use. The latest problem came earlier this month when OnlyFans announced it would ban sexually explicit content on the sex-friendly creator site, only to reverse course days later following a backlash. Nonetheless, the drama could accelerate a move to cryptocurrency to allow anonymous payments to performers outside the banking system. With stricter rules from payment processors and the recent issues with OnlyFans, it’s obvious crypto will be the solution, said British performer Adreena Winters, who is also a brand ambassador for an upcoming crypto-friendly adult content marketplace. Porn has frequently been the factor for new concepts taking off, be it VHS, online credit card payments and even the internet, so I don’t think it’s surprising it is that porn will eventually get crypto to become mainstream. Jeff Dillon, chief development officer at Nafty, a cryptocurrency platform launched this year specifically for the adult industry, said the OnlyFans saga has done more than any marketing we could ever paid for. Dominic Ford, founder of JustFor.Fans, an OnlyFans rival which accepts bitcoin, said crypto represents just a small fraction of transactions on his platform because it is more cumbersome, but suggested this could ramp up quickly if popular money transfer tools adapt. A cryptocurrency that works online and transcends borders seems an obvious evolution like email was the evolution of mail, said Ford.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

U.S. says drone kills suicide bombers targeting Kabul airport

A U.S. drone strike on August 29 struck a vehicle carrying multiple suicide bombers from Afghanistan’s Islamic State affiliate before they could target the ongoing military evacuation at Kabul’s international airport, American officials said. There were few initial details about the incident, as well as a rocket that struck a neighbourhood just northwest of the airport, killing a child. The two strikes initially appeared to be separate incidents, though information on both remained scarce. The strike came as the United States winds down a historic airlift that saw tens of thousands evacuated from Kabul’s international airport, the scene of much of the chaos that engulfed the Afghan capital since the Taliban took over two weeks ago. After an Islamic State affiliate’s suicide attack that killed over 180 people, the Taliban increased its security around the airfield as Britain ended its evacuation flights on August 28.

As Biden warns of more attacks, U.S. destroys car bomb in Kabul. 

The United States said itdestroyed an explosive-laden vehicle with an air strike in Kabul on Sunday, hours after President Joe Biden warned of another terror attack in the capital as a massive airlift of tens of thousands of Afghans entered its last days. A Taliban spokesman confirmed the incident, saying a car bomb destined for the airport had been destroyed – and that a possible second strike had hit a nearby house. The U.S. said it had only struck the vehicle, but added that secondary blasts indicated a substantial amount of explosive material. Local media reported there may have been civilian casualties. The strike comes after a suicide bomber from the Islamic State group on Thursday targeted U.S. troops stopping huge crowds of people from entering the airport in Kabul, from where about 1,14,000 people have been evacuated since August 15 when the Taliban swept back into power. More than 100 people. Died in the attack, including 13 U.S. service personnel, slowing down the airlift ahead of Mr. Biden’s deadline for evacuations to end by Tuesday. The operation is winding down despite Western powers saying thousands may be left behind.300 Americans remain U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said some 300 Americans still in Afghanis tan were seeking to leave the country. They are not going to be stuck, he told ABC, adding that the U.S. had a mechanism to get them out.The Pentagon said on Saturday that retaliation drone strikes had killed two highlevel IS jihadists in eastern Afghanistan, but Mr. Biden warned of more attacks from the group. The situation on the ground continues to be extremely dangerous, and the threat of terrorist attacks on the airport remains high, Mr. Biden said.Our commanders informed me that an attack is highly likely in the next 2436 hours.The IS attack has forced the U.S. military and the Taliban into a form of cooperationto ensure security at the airport that was unthinkable two weeks ago. On Saturday, Taliban fighters escorted a steady stream of Afghans from buses to the main passenger terminal, handing them over to the U.S. forces for evacuation.The troops were seen throughout the civilian side of the airport grounds and annexe buildings, while U.S. Marines peered at them from the passenger terminal roof. After a 20-year war, the foes were within open sight of each other, separated by just 30 metres.