NATIONAL NEWS
Prime Minister Modi extends invitation to Pope Francis
In his first visit to the Vatican Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited Pope Francis to visit India. The invitation was extended during a meeting between them on Saturday morning in the Vatican. Had a very warm meeting with Pope Francis. I had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues with him and also invited him to visit India, said the Prime Minister Modi in a social media post after the meeting. Modi was scheduled to meet the Pope for half an hour but an informed source said the meeting extended beyond the scheduled time. Mr. Modi and the Pope discussed a wide range of issues aimed at making our planet better such as fighting climate change and removing poverty, said the source. Modi, who gifted a silver candle stand to the Pope, was accompanied by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla. The Prime Minister gave Pope Francis a silver candelabra and a book, The Climate Climb: India’s strategy, actions and achievements. The Pope gave Mr. Modi a collection of his main teaching documents and a bronze medallion featuring a tree and the words in Italian The desert will become a garden. Pope Francis has been vocal about the need to act on climate change and spoken in the past against enduring conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan. He has called upon countries to take in refugees from Afghanistan and spoken against racism and other forms of hate crimes. The Pope has called on countries to act urgently to deal with the issue of climate change. On Friday, he said, Climate change can be faced with a renewed sense of shared responsibility for our world, and an effective solidarity based on justice, a sense of our common destiny and a recognition of the unity of our human family in God’s plan for the world. Modi became one of the leaders of the G20 who met the Pope on the sidelines of the summit in Rome. U.S. President Joe Biden met Pope Francis on Friday. The last Papal visit to India took place in 1999 when Pope John Paul II was hosted here. Pope Francis visited Sri Lanka in 2015 and he was hosted by Myanmar and Bangladesh in 2017. But on both the occasions, India was not part of his travel plans. He made history by visiting Iraq earlier this year, which was his first visit to the war-torn country. He also visited the United Arab Emirates in 2019. Modi’s personal invite indicates that a Papal visit to India is likely soon. The Prime Minister also interacted with world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
Aryan Khan is out on bail
Mumbai film industry star Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was released from the Arthur Road jail on the morning of October 30, after spending 25 days in prison. Khan junior was arrested on October 3 by the Narcotics Control Bureau from a cruise ship after some other individuals on board were found with contraband. He was sent to Arthur Road Jail on October 8. The Bombay High Court on October 29 directed Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha to execute a bond of ₹ 1 lakh with one or more sureties in order to be released from jail in the drug case busted on a cruise ship. While he was granted bail by the Bombay high Court on October 28 the detailed bail order, citing bail conditions was made available only the following day; his release got further delayed by a day.One of the advocates appearing for Khan told The Hindu that there was a delay in taking the papers to Arthur Road Jail and as per protocol no inmate is released after 5.30 p.m. Hence, Khan had to spend one more night in prison. Each of the Applicants/Accused shall execute P. R. Bond of ₹1 lakh with one or more sureties in the like amount. They shall not indulge in any activity similarly registered against them for offences under the Narcotics Drugs Psychotropic Substances Act. Applicants/Accused shall not try to establish communication with co-accused or any other person involved directly or indirectly in similar activities or make any call to any person indulging in similar activities as alleged against them, through any mode of communication. They shall not undertake any action which is prejudicial to the proceedings before the Hon’ble Special Court [established under the NDPS Act]. They shall neither personally or through anyone make any attempt to influence witnesses nor tamper with the evidence. They shall surrender their passport before the Special Court immediately. They shall not make any statement regarding the aforesaid proceedings pending before the Special Court in any form of media i.e. print media, electronic media etc. including social media. They shall not leave the country without prior permission from the Special Judge for NDPS. They shall attend the NCB Mumbai office on each Friday between 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to mark their presence. The HC’s order granting bail to Aryan Khan was hailed by several film personalities, while a huge group of fans gathered outside Shah Rukh Khan’s sea-facing bungalow ‘Mannat’ in suburban Bandra in a show of solidarity and to celebrate end of his son’s incarceration.
Mamata Banerjee attacks Congress
Modiji is going to be more powerful because of the Congress, Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee said as she continued her attack on the Congress during her visit to Goa; making it the second time since the Bengal CM trained her guns on the Congress. The West Bengal Chief Minister also accused the Congress of not being serious about politics. It was not taking decisions in time, she alleged. They did not take politics seriously. Modiji is going to be more powerful because of the Congress… If one cannot make the decision, why the country should suffer for that. They [Congress] have got enough opportunities, she stated. This was the second day in a row that the Bannerjee had targeted the Congress. Her criticism of the grand old party came on the day when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was visiting Goa. Banerjee arrived in Goa on October 28. On October 30, she interacted with media persons and visited the Mapusa market and interacted with locals. Ms. Banerjee noted that the Congress fielded candidates against her party in her State Assembly polls and one should not expect her to throw flowers at them. Instead of the BJP, they contested against me in my State. When they contested against my political party in Bengal, how can they expect that we will shower flowers in return, she remarked. The Congress, along with Left parties and the Indian Secular Front, fielded candidates against the Trinamool Congress. It, however, did not field a candidate against Banerjee in the Bhabanipur bypoll on September 30. Reacting to her remarks, West Bengal Pradesh Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury observed that Banerjee was the Trojan Horse of the BJP. Before August 20, the Congress was all good. What happened between August 20 and September 16 that the Chief Minister nephew [Abhishek Banerjee] came out of the office of the Enforcement Directorate and started targeting the Congress, Chowdhury asked.
Kohli lashes out spineless trolls for targeting Shami
A livid India captain Virat Kohli on Saturday hit back at spineless trolls who attacked Mohammed Shami’s religion after the team lost to Pakistan in its inaugural T20 World Cup game and said targetting people for their faith is the most pathetic thing to do. Shami, who endured an off day in India’s 10-wicket defeat, was trolled on Instagram for his Muslim identity. Attacking someone over their religion is the most, I would say, pathetic thing that a human being can do, skipper Kohli didn’t mince words on the eve of his team’s crucial match against New Zealand when asked about the trolling that his senior pacer faced. There is a good reason why we are playing on the field and not some bunch of spineless people on social media that have no courage to actually speak to any individual in person, he said. Kohli reminded the naysayers that the bond among the team members is so strong that this kind of chatter doesn’t infiltrate the protective shield they have created for themselves. Talking about his take on social media abuse, Kohli termed it as the lowest level of operative human potential.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
USAID Launched 5 Year Initiative ‘SAREP’ to Accelerate Clean Energy Transition and Improve Energy Access in South Asia
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched South Asia Regional Energy Partnership (SAREP), a new 5 year, 49 million USD initiative to facilitate collaboration among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. This initiative will harness the clean energy potential of the South Asian region to reduce emissions, combat climate change, and stimulate economic growth and powers health systems. The initiative aims to improve access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy. During the April 2021 Leaders Climate Summit, Joe Biden, President of America and Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India launched the US India climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 partnership. SAREP will support various regional activities established under this collaboration and assist both countries to demonstrate how the world can align swift climate action with inclusive and resilient development across the region. SAREP will offer opportunities to move forward using advanced technologies and infrastructure and assist to facilitate a transition to sustainable energy, including through innovative financing. The clean energy transition will support women’s economic empowerment and lead to a wide range of economic and health benefits for the 1.5 billion citizens of the South Asian region. The initiative which is customised to the priorities of each country will enable the deployment of renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies, transform and modernize utilities, drive regional cooperation, and stimulate private-sector participation and investments.
China successfully launches Optical Remote Sensing Satellite ‘Jilin-1 Gaofen 02F’
On October 27,2021, China successfully launched an optical remote sensing satellite namely ‘Jilin-1 Gaofen 02F’ from a low-cost small, solid-fuel carrier rocket Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) in the Jilin-1 Earth-imaging constellation. It was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gansu Province. The Jilin-1 constellation will consist of up to 138 satellites by the end of the decade. It will contain different types of satellites to perform different roles. Jilin-1 Gaofen 02F will provide high-resolution images and high-speed data transmission. Kuaizhou-1A is a low-cost small solid-fuel carrier rocket with a short preparation period. Developed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, it is designed to launch low-orbit satellites weighing less than 300kg.
