CURRENT AFFAIRS
08 December 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Bharat bandh: Support us but leave your flags at home, farm unions tell political parties.
On the eve of the Bharat bandh that they plan to observe tomorrow, farmer leaders tried to find a balance between highlighting Opposition party endorsement as a sign of the widening support, and refuting the government’s allegation that the protests have been hijacked by vested political interests. They want to thank political parties for their support, but they appeal to them to leave their own flags and banners at home, and stand solely in support of farmers, said Krantikari Kisan Union president Darshan Pal, during a press conference called by Punjab farmer leaders at the Singhu border on Monday. So far, 24 political parties have come out in support of the bandh, according to farmers’ groups. The list includes the Congress and Left parties, and regional outfits such as the DMK, TRS, SP, BSP, RJD, Shiv Sena, NCP, SAD, TMC, AIMIM, AAP, JMM and the Gupkar Alliance. Pal dismissed the Centre’s accusations of party politics overtaking the farmers’ agenda. Even Kejriwal saab came this morning, but we did not give him our stage. We have been here from November 27. You cannot give even one example of the farmers taking funds from political parties, or allowing them to speak from our stage. We are very firm on it, he said. The BJP may have its own narrative. But they must answer why we have support from such a wide section of society. Tuesday’s bandh includes plans for a chakka jaam, or road blockade, between 10 am and 3 pm. Supplies of milk and vegetables will also be stopped during this period, although emergency services will not be affected, said farm leaders, appealing for peaceful protests.
B) Centre asks states to tighten security for Bharat bandh.
Farmers listening to the address given by various leaders ahead of the Bharat Bandh called by the protesting farmers at the Singhu Border in New Delhi on December 7.Farmers listening to the address given by various leaders ahead of the Bharat Bandh called by the protesting farmers at the Singhu Border in New Delhi on December 7. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued an advisory to all states and union territories that no untoward incident should occur during Tuesday’s all-India strike called by farmers’ unions. It asked them to tighten security and ensure that all Covid-19 guidelines are strictly followed. The Bharat bandh is against the three farm laws passed by Parliament in the September monsoon session. The strike call has received support from many political parties, including the Congress, DMK, NCP, SP, Trinamool Congress and the Left parties. The union leaders have said the strike will be effective from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. but no kind of essential or emergency services will be disrupted. Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country have assembled at Delhi’s borders to protest against the three farm laws.
C) Cannot build the coming century with laws of the last century: PM Modi
In the video grab made out of @narendramodi Twitter account, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the construction of the Agra Metro Project via video conferencing on December 7, 2020. India cannot build the coming century with laws of the last century, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, stressing the significance of reforms. His remarks come a day before a proposed Bharat bandh called by farmer groups to protest against the Centre’s agri-reform laws. For new facilities and systems, reforms are necessary. They cannot build the coming century with laws of the last century, he noted. Launching the construction of Agra Metro through video-conferencing, he said that the laws that were beneficial in the last century will become a burden in the next century. For this reason, there must be continuous process for reforms, he asserted. People often wondered why reforms are working better today in comparison to the past. The reason is simple. Earlier, reforms would take place in fragments, keeping some sectors and departments in mind. Now reforms are being brought with a thought of entirety, he said.
D) SC allows laying of foundation stone for new Parliament complex.
The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the new Parliament building to go ahead as scheduled on December 10, after the government gave an undertaking to keep in abeyance any construction or demolition of buildings and shifting of trees in the Central Vista area for the time being. A Bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar expressed displeasure with the Centre for aggressively continuing with the construction, demolition and shifting of trees even as questions concerning the legality of the Central Vista project were in court. They thought they are dealing with a prudent litigant and deference will be shown. They have shown deference to them and expected that they will act in a prudent manner. The same deference should be shown to the Court and there should be no demolition or construction, Justice Khanwilkar addressed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre. Mehta, after receiving instructions from the government, apologised to the court and gave an undertaking that no physical changes would be made to the area. He can make a statement that there will be no construction, demolition or felling of trees. Foundation stone will be laid. But, no physical change, Mehta assured.
E) Sushil Kumar Modi elected to Rajya Sabha.
Sushil Kumar Modi receives the election certificate from Divisional Commissioner on being elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha. Modi receives the election certificate from Divisional Commissioner on being elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha. Senior Bihar BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi was today elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha. The seat had fallen vacant after the death of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Ram Vilas Paswan in October. The election was scheduled to be held on December 14 but since no Opposition candidate had filed nominations, Modi was elected unopposed. His election was considered a formality as the NDA had got a majority in the Assembly in the recently concluded elections. Modi is likely to be inducted into the Union Cabinet in the next expansion of the Council of Ministers.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Iran’s planned centrifuges ‘deeply worrying’: France, U.K. and Germany
France, Germany and Britain said today that they were alarmed by an Iranian announcement that it intended to install additional, advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges. If Iran is serious about preserving a space for diplomacy, it must not implement these steps, the three powers, who along with China and Russia are party to a 2015 nuclear containment deal with Tehran known as the JCPoA, said in a joint statement. A confidential International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report obtained by Reuters said Iran planned to install three more cascades, or clusters, of advanced IR-2m centrifuges in its enrichment plant at Natanz, which was built underground apparently to withstand any aerial bombardment. Iran’s nuclear deal with major powers says Tehran can only use first-generation IR-1 centrifuges, which refine uranium much more slowly. Iran’s recent announcement to the IAEA that it intends to install an additional three cascades of advanced centrifuges at the Fuel Enrichment Plant in Natanz is contrary to the JCPoA and deeply worrying, the three powers said, reacting to the U.N. watchdog’s report, which is yet to be made public. Such a move would jeopardize their shared efforts to preserve the JCPOA and also risks compromising the important opportunity for a return to diplomacy with the incoming U.S. administration, they said, referring to Joe Biden, who defeated President Donald Trump in the November 3 election.
B) China pushes false theories about virus.
The mild mannered German scientist never anticipated becoming a Chinese propaganda star. But Alexander Kekule, director of the Institute for Bio security Research in Halle, Germany, has been all over the state-run media in China in recent days. News outlets have taken Mr. Kekule’s research out of context to suggest that Italy, not China, is where the coronavirus pandemic began. Photos of him have appeared on Chinese news sites under headlines reading. China is innocent. Mr. Kekule, who has repeatedly said that he he believes virus first emerged in China was startled. This is pure propaganda, he said. Facing global anger over their initial mishandling of the outbreak, Chinese authorities are now trying to rewrite the narrative of the pandemic by pushing theories that the virus originated side China. In recent days, Chinese officials have said packaged food from overseas might have initially brought the virus to China. Scientists have released a paper positing that the pandemic could have started in India. The state news media has published false stories misrepresenting foreign experts, including Mr. Kekule and officials at the WHO, as having said the virus came from elsewhere. The campaign seems to reflect anxiety within the ruling party about the continuing dam to China’s reputation brought by the virus.
C) Biden picks California AG as first Latino Health Secretary.
President-elect Joe Biden has picked California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be his health secretary, putting a defender of the Affordable Care Act in a leading role to oversee his administration’s coronavirus response. Separately, Mr. Biden picked a Harvard infectious disease expert, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And he announced a new role for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert. If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Becerra, will be the first Latino to head the Department of Health and Human Services, a $1 trillion plus agency with 80,000 employees and a portfolio that includes drugs and vaccines, leading-edge research and health insurance programmes covering more than 130 million Americans. Mr. Biden’s selection of Mr. Becerra and Ms. Walensky was announced on Monday in a press release from the transition office. Mr. Biden also announced other top members of his health care team, though some posts remain unfilled. Mr. Becerra, as the State of California’s top lawyer, has led the coalition of Democratic states defending Obamacare from the Trump administration’s latest effort to overturn it, a legal case awaiting a Supreme Court decision next year. Mr. Becerra was involved in steering the Obama health law through Congress in 2009 and 2010.
