NATIONAL NEWS
Foreign militants outnumber locals in north Kashmir, pose security challenge
Taking the security agencies by surprise, foreign militants outnumber local militants in north Kashmir — comprising three districts of Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara — in a changing trend, according to official figures. The sudden spike in numbers has forced the police to restrict the movement of mainstream leaders and elected grassroots representatives because of fears of an increase in attacks on them, top police sources said. According to the latest data of the police, there are between 40 to 50 foreign militants active in north Kashmir compared to just 11 local militants. It is for the first time in a decade that north Kashmir is witnessing heightened militant activities compared to south Kashmir, which remained the hub of militants after the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in 2013. The foreign militants build-up was taking place for a long time and cannot be connected with the recent situation in Afghanistan. The changing trend was visible in the past two months, a police officer said. The presence of foreign militants in the ranks of the groups such as the Jaish-e-Muhammad, Al-Badr, Lashkar-e-Taiba and The Resistance Front (TRF) had dried up in the first quarter of 2021. In fact, the first foreign militant, Hamas alias Asrar alias Saria, who was active since March 2018, was killed on May 4 in north Kashmir’s Sopore, according to the police. Against 32 foreign militants killed in 2020, only nine foreign militants have been killed this year so far, according to official figures. A total of 102 militants, mostly commanders, were killed, 88 youth recruited, 30 arrested and 425 over ground workers held this year, according to the police data. The biggest success against foreign militants in Kashmir this year was the killing of Saifullah alias Adnan alias Lamboo, an IED expert who played a role in the 2019 Pulwama attack on July 31, a police officer said. The rising numbers of militants in north Kashmir, which is already over 50 militants, has forced the security agencies to re-strategise their response. A senior official said most mainstream leaders and elected grassroots representatives have been asked to lie low and provided with dos and don’ts when they plan to move around. In fact, the police investigation into the grenade attack on a sarpanch, Narinder Kour, on August 22 in Baramulla’s Shrakwara Kreeri area was traced to TRF’s non-local recruit Ali Bhai. The police said the two suspected attackers held in the case were in contact with LeT terrorist Hilal Sheikh and Usman, a foreign terrorist.
Congress voices support for ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’, Rahul Gandhi says ‘unjust govt’ will have to listen
The Congress on Sunday voiced support for the ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, with party leader Rahul Gandhi saying the call of truth is echoing and an unjust government will have to listen. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that the arrogance of power cannot withstand the roar of the farmers. Thousands of farmers from Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring states on Sunday gathered in Muzaffarnagar for the ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’, just months ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. The event was organised by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) at the Government Inter College ground in Muzaffarnagar in protest against the Centre’s contentious farm laws. The call of truth is echoing. You have to listen, unjust government! Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi. Priyanka Gandhi also voiced support for the mahapanchayat, saying, Farmers are the voice of this country. Farmers are the pride of the country. Arrogance of any power cannot withstand the roar of the farmers. The whole country is with the farmers in the fight to save agriculture and in demanding their dues in lieu of their hard work, the Congress general secretary said. Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said those stealing the farms of farmers are traitors. Voicing support for the mahapanchayat, senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot expressed confidence that the mahapanchayat organised under the leadership of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha will strengthen farmers’ interests. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an amalgam of several farmer unions, has been spearheading the agitation against the farm laws since last year.
Across parties, U.P. MLAs push to promote Hindu sites
An analysis of a tourism development scheme launched in Uttar Pradesh has shown that most of the MLAs — especially those of Opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) — have chosen Hindu religious, spiritual and cultural sites for promotion. In the rare instances, where an MLA picked a shrine linked to Muslims or sufism, one of them belongs to the BJP, going against political expectations. Most of the Muslim MLAs of the main Opposition Samajwadi Party also preferred Hindu sites. There were only two dargahs in the list; one dedicated to a Sufi saint Latif Shah in Chandauli, which was nominated by a BJP MLA. To put it in context, while the BJP has aggressively pushed the narrative of Hindutva nationalism, in recent times even its opponents, charged with allegations of Muslim appeasement and alarmed by communal polarisation in the elections, have tried to keep pace with what some observers have described as soft Hindutva while trying to maintain distance from Muslim symbolism. While U.P. has 403 elected legislators, the State Tourism Department received proposals for development of sites in 373 constituencies. The proposals were sent as part of the Mukyamantri Paryatan Samvardhan Yojana launched by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath earlier this year to develop and promote local heritage and tourism sites, centres of spiritual, historical, cultural, natural and religious importance. A booklet published by the Tourism department shows that a majority of the MLAs have picked sites associated with Hindu faith, most of them temples, dhams, ashrams, pilgrimage sites and shrines and ghats considered holy. The legislators were asked to nominate the most important site in their constituency to be developed into a high-level tourism site, according to officials. A sum of ₹50 lakh was allotted to each constituency while the additional funds would come from the MLA funds and CSR funds. The government earmarked a budget of ₹180 crore for the scheme.
Indian athletes soar high in best ever Paralympics
Inspirational, incredible and indomitable. India’s paralympians managed to be all these and much more in an epoch-making campaign at the Tokyo Games where an unparalleled 19 medals, including five gold, helped them sign off 24th in the overall tally — the highest position ever. The tally also included eight silver and six bronze medals but most importantly, it was a performance during which history was scripted almost everyday with the contingent living up to the ‘Spirit in Motion’ motto of the Games. Even on the last day of competitions, the medal rush did not stop and Krishna Nagar won a gold after Noida’s District Magistrate Suhas Yathiraj signed off his brilliant run with a silver to complete a remarkable badminton show. The duo’s performance was like icing on the cake for the contingent, which found new heroes, celebrated some established ones, and brought para-sports firmly into the mainstream in India. In all, 54 came to Tokyo and 17 of them left with medals around their necks. It was an improved performance, no doubt, but calling it just improvement would be an understatement given that India’s overall Games haul was a mere 12 before this edition. To put things in perspective, at the 2016 Rio Games, India had 19 athletes across five disciplines with four returning with medals in the end.
Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments
The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,29,39,534 with the death toll at 4,40,593. Following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) warning that it has identified counterfeit versions of the Covishield vaccine in Southeast Asia and Africa, the Union Health Ministry has written to all States and Union Territories to identify counterfeit/falsified Covishield vaccines in India. Monitoring teams for Covid-19 vaccination in States are being provided with details for due diligence. The Ministry said in its letter: The States have been told to carefully authenticate vaccines before use. The Centre has provided details for identification of original labels of three vaccines being administered in India (Covishield, Covaxin, Sputnik V). The Ministry has issued guidelines to ensure fake Covid-19 vaccines are not administered in India. The WHO noted that falsified Covishield (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Corona Virus Vaccines-Recombinant) has been identified in the WHO’s African Region and South-East Asia Region. The falsified products were reported to WHO in July and August 2021. The genuine manufacturer of COVISHIELD (Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd.) has confirmed that the products listed are falsified. These falsified products have been reported at the patient level in Uganda, India and Myanmar, the global health body said. The Union Health Ministry in its recent letter has indicated various features to ascertain genuine products. The anti-counterfeit features in the Covaxin label include an invisible helix (DNA-like structure) on the label that’s only seen under UV light; micro text hidden in the label claim Dots, which is written as Covaxin; the green foil effect in the ‘x’ of Covaxin; and the holographic effect on Covaxin.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Berlin Faces Expropriation Vote: What Happens If The People Say ‘Yes’?
With a purple-yellow colour scheme and multilingual slogans, the posters calling for a yes vote in Berlin’s upcoming property referendum are hard to miss. So that Berlin remains our home is printed in various languages. In the bottom corner of each poster is the logo of the group behind the campaign: DW and Co. Enteignen (Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen and Company). They want voters to back their appeal for the Berlin Senate to devise a law which would allow for the expropriation of what they call private real estate companies, specifically those that own more than 3,000 housing units. The campaigners say the companies would be compensated at a rate well below market value. They believe such legislation would be constitutionally compatible with Germany’s Basic Law under the never-before-used Article 15, which states: Land, natural resources and means of production may, for the purpose of nationalization, be transferred to public ownership or other forms of public enterprise by a law that determines the nature and extent of compensation. Deutsche Wohnen, which owns around 113,000 housing units in the city, is clearly the main target. But plenty of other companies would be affected, such as Vonovia (which is currently trying to buy Deutsche Wohnen) and the Pears Group. On September 26 — the same day as Germany’s federal election — Berliners will vote on the radical proposal. To get that far, the organizers had to collect 175,000 valid, handwritten and fully verified signatures of citizens eligible to vote in Berlin. They achieved that within a few months, a reflection of the strength of views in the city around its escalating housing crisis. Recent polls suggest a slim majority of eligible voters in the capital support an expropriation law.
UK Visits Japan For Naval Drill Amid China’s Growing Influence In Indo-Pacific Region
Japan’s defence minister on Monday welcomed the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth as it made its first Japanese port call, saying the involvement of European nations in the Indo-Pacific region is key to peace and stability as China’s military strength and influence grow. Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi met the strike group’s commander, Commodore Steve Moorhouse, on board the carrier. The ship arrived at the US Navy base in Yokosuka near Tokyo on Saturday. Japan is seeking to expand its military cooperation beyond its traditional alliance with the United States as China’s navy expands and increasingly presses its territorial claims. The Queen Elizabeth participated in a joint exercise with warships from the United States, the Netherlands, Canada and Japan before arriving in Yokosuka. The exercise was part of efforts to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific vision led by Washington and Tokyo. European countries’ interest in (China’s) unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas contributes to the peace and stability in this region, Kishi told reporters. I expect the port call will contribute to a further development of Japan-British defense cooperation. Japan has become increasingly worried about China’s growing military influence in the region as well as Beijing’s escalating tensions with Taiwan and rivalry with the United States. Japan has repeatedly protested to China over its increased activity near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu.
