Tag: knowledge

CURRENT AFFAIRS
06 March 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Supreme Court says government’s rules to regulate OTT platforms ‘lack teeth’

The Supreme Court on Friday said the government’s new rules to regulate OTT (over-the-top) platforms lacked teeth to punish violators or to screen offensive content even as it protected Amazon Prime Video India Commercial head Aparna Purohit from arrest in the ‘Tandav’ web series row. They went through your Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules of 2021 these are merely guidelines. There is no provision for punishment or fine. What is the mechanism to control it [content]? Justice Ashok Bhushan, heading a Bench, asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Mehta agreed to consider drafting new regulations or even legislation to address the concern raised by the court about OTT platforms. They can come out with it. They can come out with a draft and place it before the court, he stated. The Bench ordered that the regulations/legislation, once done, should be placed before the court. During the hearing, Amazon, represented by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, complained about an oral remark made by Justice Bhushan that some of the films featured on OTT platforms had pornographic content. Rohatgi said the remark had been picked up by the media and bandied about. Amazon does not show pornography, he said. Mehta intervened to say that Justice Bhushan did not mean pornography literally, but meant that some content was almost pornographic.

B) Owner of vehicle parked near Ambani residence found dead; Maharashtra ATS to probe. 

Hiren Mansukh, owner of the vehicle with explosives which had been found parked near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence last week, was found dead in a creek in neighboring Thane on Friday, police said. The investigations will now be handled by the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), Home Minister of Maharashtra Anil Deshmukh said on Friday. He also stated that the explosive-laden Scorpio car belonged not to Mansukh but to another person identified as Sam. Mansukh (45) had gone missing on Thursday night. The body was found on the banks of the creek along the Mumbra Reti Bunder road, a senior official of Thane Police said. A Scorpio with gelatin sticks inside was found near ‘Antilia’, Ambani’s multi-storey residence in South Mumbai, on February 25. Police had earlier said it had been stolen from Airoli-Mulund Bridge on February 18. Crime Branch of Mumbai police had recorded Mansukh’s statement in the case. Mansukh, who was in vehicle spare parts business, had said he had lodged a police complaint after the SUV was stolen. On Friday afternoon his family members approached Naupada Police Station in Thane saying he had gone missing. Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Devendra Fadnavis said the death of a prime witness showed that something was fishy.

C) Mamata to contest from Nandigram, announces TMC candidates list. 

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced the candidates for 291 of the 294 assembly seats in the State. The Bimal Gurung faction of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha will announce names for remaining three seats of the Darjeeling hills. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson said she would contest from the Nandigram assembly constituency of Purba Medinipur district. She will contest from Nandigram, she had given her word and will stick to it, she said. She made it clear that she would not contest Kolkata’s Bhawanipur seat, which she had represented for the past two terms. The party’s candidates’ list comprises people from different sections of society such as women, youth, film stars, sportspersons and retired bureaucrats. The list has 51 women, 79 Scheduled Caste, and 17 Scheduled Tribe candidates. Banerjee said the party had taken a decision not to field anyone above 80 years of age. It would set up a Bidhan Parishad to accommodate several senior leaders who were not contesting. Finance Minister Amit Mitra and Minister for Technical Education Purnendu Bose would not contest now.

D) Bihar court sentences nine to death in 2016 hooch tragedy case. 

Nine persons were sentenced to death and four women to life imprisonment by Gopalganj Additional District Judge-2 Luv Kush Kumar on Friday after they were convicted in the Khajurbanni locality hooch tragedy. Nineteen people died and six others lost their eyesight in August 2016 after consuming illicit liquor in dry Bihar. Fourteen persons had been named accused in the case. One of them died during trial, said Special Public Prosecutor Ravi Bhushan Srivastava. Those sentenced to death in the case are Chhathu Pasi, Kanhaiya Pasi, Nagina Pasi, Lalbabu Pasi, Rajesh Kumar, Sanoj Kumar Pasi, Sanjay Pasi, Ranjit Chaudhary and Munna Chaudhary. The women convicts are Laljhari Devi, Kailasho Devi, Indu Devi and Rita Devi. They will approach to Patna High Court against the judgment, said Ved Prakash Tiwari, the lawyer representing the accused persons. In June 2020, 21 policemen three Sub-Inspectors, five Assistant Sub-Inspectors and 13 Constables were dismissed in connection with the hooch tragedy, which struck months after Bihar was declared a dry State.

E) NCB files charge sheet against Rhea Chakraborty, others. 

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday has filed a 11,700-page charge sheet against 33 persons, including actress Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik, in an alleged drug smuggling case. Eight of the accused are currently in judicial custody while the rest are out on bail. The chargesheet has been filed by the NCB’s Mumbai Zonal Unit. The case is an off-shoot of a money-laundering probe initiated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) based on an FIR registered by the Patna police on July 25, 2020. The police case was lodged by late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s father, who accused Chakraborty and others of abetment to suicide, criminal conspiracy, cheating, breach of trust, theft, wrongful restraint and confinement. It was later taken over by the CBI.

F) State-Centre ties further strained as Customs shares testimony ‘implicating’ Kerala CM, Speaker. The Customs today informed the Kerala High Court that Swapna Suresh, one of the prime accused in the diplomatic gold smuggling case, has revealed with clarity that smuggling of foreign currency was done at the instance of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Assembly Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan. Sumit Kumar, Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Kochi submitted in a statement filed before the High Court that she had made a shocking revelation of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s close connections with the previous Consul General of UAE and the illegal monetary transactions. The Customs Commissioner added that Swapna Suresh had also made revelations about three ministers in the State cabinet. Reacting to the development, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has described it as a political plot to tarnish the government ahead of the Assembly polls. The state government has also upped the ante by announcing that Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) officials would not answer the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s summons on Friday. LDF convener A. Vijayraghavan said the Centre had resorted to underhand politics to discredit the government. The Customs was merely a cat’s paw of the BJP, he said, adding that the department had leaned heavily on a COFEPOSA detainee’s questionable statement to raise false allegations against the administration. It had also attempted to implicate three Cabinet ministers in the smuggling case falsely, he said. The CPI(M) State secretariat said the Centre’s disinformation would not fool the voters. The Central agencies had in various sworn depositions merely parroted the allegations raised by the BJP and the Congress, it said.

G) No coercive action on Amaravati illegal land case.

The Andhra Pradesh government orally stated in the Supreme Court on Friday that it would not take any coercive action against persons named in an FIR concerning the illegal purchase of land in Amaravati and was further willing to hand over the case to the CBI for a court-monitored investigation. The statement was made before a Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan by senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for Andhra. The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by the Andhra Pradesh government against a High Court stay on investigation into the FIR that named former Advocate General Dammalapati Srinivas and others, including relatives of a sitting Supreme Court judge. The FIR shows offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, criminal breach of trust, and cheating under the Indian Penal Code. The allegations include abuse of official positions in the State, sharing of privileged information, and causing loss to the public exchequer during the previous Telugu Desam Party (TDP) regime. The High Court had stayed the investigation and barred the State from taking any coercive action against the persons named in the FIR.

H) Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq disallowed from leading prayers. 

Hurriyat chairman and Valley’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was placed under house arrest and allegedly disallowed from leading the Friday prayers at the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, days after the Jammu and Kashmir administration said he was free to go anywhere. A Hurriyat spokesman said police officials on Thursday evening visited Mirwaiz’s residence to convey to him that he continues to be under house arrest and will not be allowed to go to Jamia Masjid for Friday prayers. The spokesman alleged that since Friday morning additional forces had been deployed outside Mirwaiz’s house and the area converted into a garrison. The Hurriyat expresses strong resentment and regret over the latest government move after announcing the release of the Mirwaiz after 20 months of detention. It seems the J&K authorities have reneged on their own statements that the Mirwaiz was a free person, a Hurriyat spokesman said. The Mirwaiz was arrested and later detained in his house since August 4, 2019, when the Centre ended Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional position. Earlier, the Hurriyat had announced that the Mirwaiz, in the wake of the government decision to set him free, would meet religious leaders on Friday and also deliver a sermon at the Jamia Masjid. Scores of the Mirwaiz’s followers, including women carrying garlands, were preparing for a reception on the premises of the mosque. They condemn this authoritarianism. This comes after the recent remarks of the Minister of State for Home Affairs that no one in J&K was under house arrest. If that is so, why does the Mirwaiz continue to be detained? the spokesman said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A) More bloodshed in Myanmar as UNSC set to meet on crisis. 

A protester was shot dead in Myanmar on Friday in the latest round of bloodletting at anti-coup demonstrations, as the UN Security Council prepared to meet on the escalating crisis. Despite an increasingly brutal crackdown by the military authorities that has seen more than 50 people killed, protesters took to the streets again in towns around the country to denounce the February 1 coup. The violence has brought condemnation from around the world, with the UN rights chief demanding the junta stop murdering and jailing protesters, and the Security Council is set to discuss the crisis later Friday. But despite the mounting international pressure, the Generals have shown no sign of heeding calls for restraint. In Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, hundreds of engineers took to the streets crying Free our leader in reference to ousted State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, detained by the military since the first night of the coup. The killing follows the deadliest day of the crackdown so far on Wednesday, when the UN said at least 38 people were killed as gaphic images showed security forces firing into crowds and bloodied bodies dragged away. In the southern city of Dawei police fired tear gas at demonstrators, while there was defiance despite the danger at protests in the commercial capital Yangon. Meanwhile, in the country’s north, a number of people have crossed the border into India in a bid to escape the crackdown.

B) India reaffirms Lanka defence ties. 

With the participation of the Indian Air Force Chiefand 23 aircraft in the three-day event in Colombo to mark the 70th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SIN). India sought to reaffirm its strong defence cooperation with Sri Lanka. ‘Nie last time Indian aircraft took part in such an event was in 2001, on the occasion of the SIÄF’s 50th year, according to Captain Vikas Sood, De fence Adviser at the Indian High Commission. A team of 4 Sarang Advance Light Helicopters, Surya Kiran (Hawks), Tejas Fighter Aircraft, Tejas Trainer and the Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft from India were in Sri Lanka this week, to participate in a fly past and acrobatic display event with the SIN, held by Colombo’s seafront. Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauri called on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and met senior defence officials. The engagement was very positive. we look forward to building on our strong ties, Captain Sood said. During Sri Lanka’s over three decade civil war, India played a crucial role, politically and at times using its military. While the controversial Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) presence here, and Operation Poomalai’ of 1987 when the Indian Air Force dropped food supplies in Jaffna drew criticism from sections, the Indian military support has been repeatedly acknowledged by Sri Lanka’s national leaders.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
05 March 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Group of Ministers spells out steps to ‘neutralise’ narratives critical of Modi regime. 

In an effort to neutralise narratives critical of the Narendra Modi government, a Group of Ministers (GoM), formed to fine-tune government communication, has come out with various suggestions, including tracking 50 negative and 50 positive influencers on the social media and to neutralise the people who are writing against the Government without facts and set false narratives/spread fake news. It emerges that the decisions to cap FDI (foreign direct investment) at 26% for the digital media and the new IT rules that have a separate section dealing with a code of ethics for Over The Top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime were the result of the GoM’s deliberations. The FDI cap was essential, the GoM felt, to constrict foreign influence on the Indian media. As a result of this capping, Huffington Post, which had been publishing reports critical of the Modi regime, shut its operations in India. Information Technology (IT) Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Prakash Javadekar, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Anurag Thakur and MoS for the Environment Ministry Babul Supriyo were part of the GoM, which met six times between June 14 and July 9 last year. The GoM’s report was first reported by Caravan magazine. The Hindu also has a copy of it. There is so far no official word on its contents. The GoM report quotes suggestions made by the Ministers. For instance, Prasad suggested, a list of media personnel and prominent persons, who are pro our line of thought – both nationally and globally, should be prepared. Few eminent academicians, Vice Chancellors, retired Indian Foreign Service officers etc should be identified who can write our achievements and project our viewpoint. Among other action points recommended by the GoM include enlarging the Prasar Bharati News Service into a main line news agency. Among the long- term agreed strategies include coordination with schools of journalism as present students are the future journalists. Puri told the GoM that the journalists who are supportive of the government, even if they are now unemployed, should be roped in. As per the report, this suggestion would also be acted upon. Thakur wanted the BJP and the Modi government to reach out to right-wing parties across the world to arrive at a common ground.

B) Bengaluru, Shimla ‘most liveable’ cities in govt’s Ease of Living Index. 

Bengaluru was adjudged the most liveable among 111 cities in India in the government’s ‘Ease of Living Index’ on Thursday, followed by Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Surat, Navi Mumbai, Coimbatore, Vadodra, Indore and Greater Mumbai. Of the 49 cities ranked on the livability index in the ‘million-plus population’ category, Delhi figures in the 13th spot and Srinagar at the bottom. According to the index released by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Shimla topped the category of cities with ‘population less than million’. In this category, Bhubaneshwar was ranked second, Silvassa came third, and they were followed by Kakinada, Salem, Vellore, Gandhinagar, Gurgaon, Davangere and Tiruchirapalli. Muzaffarpur figured at the bottom of the livability index for 62 cities in the ‘less than million population’ category. New Delhi Municipal Council topped the ‘Municipal Performance Index’ in the ‘less than million’ population category. Indore topped the ‘Municipal Performance Index’ in the million-plus population category.

C) Supreme Court favours regulation of OTT platforms. 

The Supreme Court on Thursday made it amply clear to OTT (over-the-top) platforms like Netflix and Amazon that it is in favour of screening content shown by them. It said some of the films hosted by the platform were pornographic. Traditional film viewing has become extinct. Now films and web series are viewed by the public on these platforms. Should there not be some screening? We feel there should be some screening. There is pornography in some films, Justice Ashok Bhushan, leading a Bench, also comprising Justice R. Subhash Reddy, observed. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Amazon producer Aparna Purohit’s bail, said this was not about pornography but the right to freedom of expression. But a balance has to be struck, Justice Bhushan retorted. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the content included filthy abuses. The hearing was based on a plea by Purohit, Amazon Prime’s commercial head, against the Allahabad High Court decision to deny her pre-arrest bail in connection with the probe into Tandav, a web series hosted by the platform. The FIR said the series ridiculed Hindu gods and the country’s political power corridors. Justice Bhushan said the court wanted to consider Purohit’s case in the light of the new guidelines notified by the government to hold social media and OTT platforms accountable for their content. The Bench asked the guidelines to be placed on record and scheduled a hearing for March 5. The Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules of 2021 requires streaming platforms to comply with a new three-tier self-regulatory complaint redressal system. It also includes an independent self-regulatory body headed by a retired high court or Supreme Court judge, which will decide on matters related to content. Meanwhile, the Information & Broadcasting Ministry today clarified that none of the OTT platforms will have to register with the government and no government nominee will be present in the self-regulatory body. The statement was issued after I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar had an interaction with representatives of OTT platforms. 

D) Labour rights activist Shiv Kumar granted bail.

Labour rights activist Shiv Kumar was on Thursday granted bail by the Sessions court in Haryana’s Sonipat in an attempt to murder case leading to his release from the jail. He was earlier granted bail in two more cases on Wednesday. Kumar, the district president of Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, a workers’ rights group, was arrested by the Haryana Police on February 2 in connection with three cases registered against him over the past two months. His fellow activist and co-accused in the three cases, Nodeep Kaur, was granted bail this past week and released from the jail. Kumar’s lawyer Jatinder told that the bail was granted by the District and Sessions Judge Y.S. Rathore. The medical report of Kumar submitted at the Punjab and Haryana High Court had revealed multiple injuries to him.

E) E Sreedharan will be Kerala CM candidate, says Union Minister. 

E Sreedharan, the ‘metro man’ of India will be the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate for next month’s Kerala Assembly election, Union Minister V Muraleedharan tweeted Thursday evening. Kerala BJP will fight Kerala polls with E Sreedharanji as its chief ministerial candidate. They will defeat both CPM and Congress to provide a corruption-free, development-oriented governance for the people of Kerala, Muraleedharan said.

F) EPFO keeps interest rates unchanged. 

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Thursday decided to keep the interest rate on provident funds unchanged at 8.5% for the financial year 2020-’21, the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment said in a release. The decision was taken at a meeting of the central board of trustees of the EPFO on Thursday and was headed by Union Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar. The interest rate would be officially notified in the government gazette following which EPFO would credit the rate of interest into the subscribers’ accounts, the labour ministry release stated. The notification for the interest rate will be done following approval from the Union finance ministry.The rate of 8.5% remains the lowest since 2012-2013. However, the EPFO said it was higher compared to other investments.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Blinken calls China the ‘biggest geopolitical test’ for U.S.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the United States was ready to confront China where need be, calling the Asian power the biggest geopolitical test of the century. In his first major speech, Mr. Blinken vowed that President Joe Biden’s administration will emphasise diplomacy over military action and build cooperation with the world on global challenges such as climate change and COVID-19. They will manage the biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century: their relationship with China, Mr. Blinken said at the State Department. He promised to champion the rights of Hong Kong and the ethnic Uighurs, saying that if not, China will act with even greater impunity. China is the only country with the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to seriously challenge the stable and open international system all the rules, values and relationships that make the world work the way they want it to, he said. Their relationship with China will be competitive when it should be, collaborative when it can be and adversarial when it must be. And they will engage China from a position of strength. Mr. Blinken indicated that Mr. Biden would be sparing in military action despite ordering an air strike last week in Syria against Iranian linked Iraqi Shiite paramilitaries. In future cases when we must take military action, we will do so only when the objectives and mission are clear and achievable, consistent with our values and laws and with the informed consent of the American people, he said.

B) UN tells Myanmar military to stop ‘murdering’ protesters. 

At least 54 people have been killed and over 1,700 detained since Myanmar’s February 1 coup, the United Nations rights chief said on Thursday. The comments come after the deadliest day of protests in Myanmar, with at least 38 dead on Wednesday in rallies where security forces were seen firing at crowds. UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet urged security forces to halt their vicious crackdown on peaceful protesters. Myanmar’s military must stop murdering and jailing protesters, she said in a statement. It is utterly abhorrent that security forces are firing live ammunition against peaceful protesters across the country, she added. Ms. Bachelet said she was appalled at the documented attacks against emergency medical staff and ambulances attempting to provide care to those who have been injured. The UN rights office said it had corroborated information that at least 54 people had been killed since February 1. The actual death toll, however, could be much higher as these are the figures the office has been able to verify, it said. Protesters rally again Meanwhile, defiant protesters returned to the streets on Thursday after Wednesday’s violence. At Yangon’s San Chaung township, known for its hip cafes, restaurants and bars, the streets were transformed with barricades built out of sandbags, tyres, bricks and barbed wire. Passersby walked on images of junta leader Min Aung Ellaing, which protesters plastered on the ground to slow down security forces who will avoid stepping on them. Yesterday was horrific it was devastating to learn the military has never changed since 1962 but resistance is now our duty, said activist Thinzar Shunlei Yi.

C) Ahead of Floyd murder trial, U.S. House clears police reforms. 

A sweeping police reform package was cleared by the U,S, House of Representatives on Wednesday, five days before the trial of a white officer charged with murdering African-American George Floyd. The Bill is named after Floyd, who died last May when then-Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee on the vie tim’s neck for over eight minutes. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act cleared the House last year but was blocked in the Republicanled Senate. With President Joe Biden in office since January, and the Senate narrowly controlled by Democrats, the Bill was reintroduced last week and it was passed on Wednesday largely along party lines, 220 to 212. Before the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the legislation will not erase centuries of systemic racism and excessive policing in America, but it takes a tremendous step towards stopping the violence and improving relations between law enforcement and the communities they serve. The Bill now heads to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain as the chamber is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. The measure bans choke holds and no-knock warrants, combats racial profiling, limits the transfer of military equipment to local police forces, expands police training, and establishes a database to track officer misconduct. Its most controversial provision is likely the restriction of officer immunity, which shielded police from civil lawsuits. Republicans have argued that the measure would strip police forces of funding, tie the hands of officers and make communities less safe. House Republican Debbie Lesko warned that the Bill leaves police unequipped to deal with dangerous or life-threatening situations and limits the tools that police can use in the field. Floyd’s family heralded the Bill’s House passage in a statement from their lawyers on Wednesday evening.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
04 March 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Bharat Biotech says Covaxin showed 81% efficacy in Phase 3 clinical trials. 

India-made Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin has demonstrated an interim clinical efficacy of 81% in its Phase 3 clinical trial, vaccine maker Bharat Biotech said. Covaxin has demonstrated high clinical efficacy trend against Covid-19 as well as significant immunogenicity against the rapidly emerging variants, CMD Krishna Ella said. A statement from Bharat Biotech, which developed the vaccine in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said 25,800 participants between 18-98 years of age were enrolled for the Phase 3 study. It included 2,433 over the age of 60 and 4,500 with comorbidities. The first interim analysis is based on 43 cases, of which 36 cases of Covid-19 were observed in the placebo group versus seven cases observed in the Covaxin group, resulting in a point estimate of vaccine efficacy of 80.6%. The interim analysis included a preliminary review of the safety database, which showed that severe, serious, and medically attended adverse events occurred at low levels and were balanced between vaccine and placebo groups. A release said analysis from the National Institute of Virology indicates that vaccine-induced antibodies can neutralise the UK variant strains and other heterologous strains. Noting that the vaccine demonstrated interim efficacy in preventing Covid-19 in those without prior infection after the second dose, the company said the 25,800 participants received a vaccine or placebo in a 1:1 ratio. Clinical trials will continue through to final analysis at 130 confirmed cases in order to gather further data and to evaluate the efficacy of Covaxin in additional secondary study endpoints.

B) I-T dept raids premises linked to Anurag Kashyap, Tapsee Pannu, Vikas Bahl. 

The Income-Tax Department today conducted searches on about two dozen premises linked to some Bollywood figures in Mumbai. The searches were carried out on the premises related to director Anurag Kashyap, actor Taapsee Pannu and producer Vikas Bahl, said an Income-Tax Department official. The searches, part of a tax evasion probe against Phantom Films and carried out across 30 locations in Mumbai and Pune, also covered Reliance Entertainment group CEO Shibhasish Sarkar and some executives of celebrity and talent management company KWAN. The raids began in the morning and were continuing till evening. The action is part of an investigation against the production house, which was dissolved in 2018, and its then promoters Kashyap, director-producer Vikramaditya Motwane, producer Vikas Bahl and producer-distributor Madhu Mantena. Tax department sources said some inter-linked transactions between the entities searched are under the scanner of the department. The raids, they added, are aimed at gathering more evidence to further probe tax evasion allegations against them. The business transactions of films made under the banner of Phantom Films are also being probed, the sources said. Both Kashyap and Pannu, who worked together in the 2018 film “

Manmarziyaan and are now collaborating in the upcoming film Dobaara, are known to be outspoken about their views on a range of issues. Earlier this month, in what was seen as oblique criticism of the government’s response to tweets by foreign celebrities, including singer Rihanna, on the farmer’s protest, Pannu had tweeted, If one tweet rattles your unity, one joke rattles your faith or one show rattles your religious belief then it’s you who has to work on strengthening your value system not become ‘propaganda teacher’ for others. This tweet had received more than 290,000 likes and around 90,000 retweets. Kashyap had visited JNU and Shaheen Bagh during the anti-CAA protests last year and is known to be equally outspoken on a range of issues, though he has been quiet on Twitter in recent times.

C) Caught in ‘sex for favours’ scandal, Karnataka Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi resigns. 

Karnataka’s Minister for Major and Medium Irrigation Ramesh Jarkiholi submitted his resignation from the Cabinet on Wednesday, a day after allegations of him seeking sexual favours from a woman in return for a government job emerged. A CD allegedly containing recordings of his intimate moments with the woman was submitted to Bengaluru police by an activist on Wednesday. Jarkiholi has sent his resignation letter to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and stated that he was resigning from the post to save the party from embarrassment and that he should be reinstated once proven innocent. He has described the allegations as far from true. There had been protests by opposition parties since Tuesday demanding his resignation. Earlier in the day his brother and BJP leader Bakakrishna Jarkiholi met the Chief Minister and sough a CBI inquiry into the incident. Jarkiholi led the team of 17 MLAs from the Opposition parties who switched to the BJP from the Congress, which eventually led to the fall of the Congress–JD(S) coalition government and formation of the BJP government. Besides the party he quit, a large number of BJP old-timers too were not comfortable with Jarkiholi’s instant political growth.

D) Covid-19-induced school closures affected 25 cr Indian children: UNICEF study. 

Closure of 1.5 million schools due to the coronavirus pandemic and the resultant lockdowns in 2020 impacted 247 million children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in India, a UNICEF report has found. Globally, schools for more than 168 million children have been completely closed for almost a full year, it said. The report stated that online education is not an option for all as only one in four children had access to digital devices and internet connectivity. Pre-Covid-19, only a quarter of households (24%) in India had access to the internet and there was a large rural-urban and gender divide. In India, closure of 1.5 million schools due to the pandemic and lockdowns in 2020 has impacted 247 million children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools. In addition, there are over six million girls and boys who were already out of school even before the Covid-19 crisis began, a statement from the UN agency said on Wednesday. It also said that till date in India only eight States/UTs have opened all classes from class 1 to class 12; 11 states have reopened classes 6-12 and 15 states have only opened classes 9-12. Three States have reopened anganwadi centers, with younger children losing out greatly on crucial foundational learning.

E) Voicing dissent against govt. does not amount to sedition: Supreme Court. 

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said voicing dissent against the government did not amount to sedition, while rejecting a plea to terminate the Lok Sabha membership of Dr. Farooq Abdullah and book him for sedition. A Bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul rejected a petition filed by Rajat Sharma accusing Dr. Abdullah, president of the National Conference of Jammu and Kashmir, of stating that in Kashmir he will get Article 370 of the Constitution restored with the help of China during a speech on September 24. Sharma argued that Article 370 had been deleted from the Constitution by majority in Parliament. Everybody knows that there are only two countries in the world which are trying to grab the Indian part of Indian territories, namely China and Pakistan, which mean that Farooq Abdullah is trying to hand over the Kashmir to China or Pakistan, which is totally contrary to the provision of the Constitution and amounts to sedition, his petition said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) U.S. democracy watchdog downgrades India from ‘free’ to ‘partly free’ status. 

U.S.-based human rights watchdog Freedom House has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of driving India toward authoritarianism with a hamfisted lockdown, scapegoating of Muslims, and a crackdown on critics, and downgraded India’s status from ‘Free’ to ‘Partly Free’, in its annual report. Under Modi, India appears to have abandoned its potential to serve as a global democratic leader, elevating narrow Hindu nationalist interests at the expense of its founding values of inclusion and equal rights for all, said Freedom in the World 2021, which was released on Wednesday. India’s freedom score, calculated using indicators of political rights and civil liberties, dropped four points to 67 this year, pulling the country down into the ‘Partly Free’ category. In a year when social media censorship has been hotly debated, and the government shut down Internet connectivity on Delhi’s borders over the farmer protests, India’s Internet freedom score dropped to just 51. The report traced a deterioration in political rights and civil liberties since Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, adding that the decline only accelerated after his re-election in 2019. Last year, the government intensified its crackdown on protesters opposed to a discriminatory citizenship law and arrested dozens of journalists who aired criticism of the official pandemic response, said the report. It noted that judicial independence had also come under strain, pointing to the case of a Delhi High Court judge who was transferred immediately after reprimanding the police for taking no action during riots in the capital that left over 50 people dead. Uttar Pradesh’s law prohibiting forced religious conversion through interfaith marriage was also listed as a concern. Rather than serving as a champion of democratic practice and a counterweight to authoritarian influence from countries such as China, Modi and his party are tragically driving India itself toward authoritarianism, the report stated. Freedom House, largely funded through U.S. government grants, has been tracking the course of democracy since 1941.

B) Blinken calls China the ‘biggest geopolitical test’ for U.S.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the United States was ready to confront China where need be, calling the Asian power the biggest geopolitical test of the century. In his first major speech, Mr. Blinken vowed that President Joe Biden’s administration will emphasise diplomacy over military action and build cooperation with the world on global challenges such as climate change and COVID-19. They will manage the biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century. our relationship with China, Mr. Blinken said at the State Department. He promised to champion the rights of Hong Kong and the ethnic Uighurs, saying that if not, China will act with even greater impunity. China is the only country with the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to seriously challenge the stable and open international system  all the rules, values and relationships that make the world work the way we want it to, he said. Their relationship with China will be competitive when it should be, collaborative when it can be and adversarial when it must be. And we will engage China from a position of strength. Mr. Blinken indicated that Mr. Biden would be sparing in military action despite ordering an air strike last week in Syria against Iranianlinked Iraqi Shiite paramilitaries. In future cases when we must take military action, we will do so only when the objectives and mission are clear and achievable, consistent with our values and laws and with the informed consent of the American people, he said.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
02 March 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Another Dalit minor girl found dead in U.P.; police register case of rape and murder. 

A minor Dalit girl was found dead in a village in Akrabad tehsil of Aligarh on Sunday after she went to collect fodder for cattle in the fields, police said. Locals feel that the 17-year-old was raped and killed. The police have registered a case against unidentified persons for rape and murder. When a police team went to take the body for post-mortem, angry villagers blocked their way by setting fodder on fire. The SHO of the Gangiri police station was injured in pelting of stones by women. The body was later taken to Aligarh for post-mortem. The girl had gone out on Sunday morning. When she didn’t return till afternoon, villagers started searching for her. Her body was found in a wheat field around one km from the village. Locals alleged that her clothes were disturbed and it seemed she was strangulated. Aligarh Senior Superintendent of Police Muniraj P said an FIR had been registered against unidentified persons for rape and murder of the victim. Prima facie, it seems a case of murder. Other details would be clear after the post-mortem report. They have detained some locals for questioning and would soon solve the case. Earlier this month, in U.P.’s Unnao district, two Dalit minor girls were found unconscious and subsequently died, after which police registered a case of murder against unidentified persons.

B) ‘Will you marry her?’ SC asks man accused of raping a girl repeatedly when she was a minor. 

The Supreme Court today asked a State government employee whether he would marry a girl he was accused of raping repeatedly while she was a minor. The man refused, saying he was already married. A Bench led by Chief Justice Sharad A. Bobde subsequently stayed his arrest for four weeks so he could apply for regular bail. During the hearing, the court asked the lawyer for the accused to find out whether his client would be willing to marry the victim or risk the prospect of going to jail. The lawyer returned shortly thereafter to convey to the court that his client had refused to marry the girl. They had initially asked for marriage. Right now, he cannot marry her. He is married, the lawyer reported back to the court what his client said. In another case, the Bench stayed the arrest of a man accused of rape after having falsely promised marriage. The accused had approached the court saying he was framed. He said they were in a live-in relationship and she had accused him of rape when their relationship turned sour. Their sexual intercourse during the period was consensual. The alleged victim said she was promised marriage and was brutally and sexually abused.  When two people are living as husband and wife, however brutal the husband is, can you call sexual intercourse between them ‘rape’? Chief Justice Bobde asked the girl’s lawyer. He replied that his client’s consent was taken by fraud and the accused had threatened the girl. The court finally refused to entertain the plea of the accused to quash the FIR against him, but allowed him liberty to apply for discharge in the trial court, while staying his arrest.

C) Covid-19 vaccine registration only on Co-WIN portal, says Health Ministry. 

India has opened registration and started the second phase of Covid-19 vaccination that aims to cover people above 60 and those above 45 with specified co-morbid conditions. After multiple complaints on the first day from beneficiaries who claimed that they were not able to register for vaccination, the Health Ministry issued a clarification stating, Registration and booking for appointment for COVID vaccination is done through CoWIN portal cowin.gov.in. There is no CoWin App for beneficiary registration. The app on Play Store is for administrators only. From March 1, the slots will be open from 9 a.m. till 3 p.m., and the appointments can be booked any time before 3 p.m., subject to availability, the Ministry added. The vaccine is being offered free at government COVID Vaccination Centres (CVCs), while private centres are offering it at a capped price of ₹250 per dose. The Ministry also said that the Centre is supplying two approved vaccines for use in India — Covishield and Covaxin — and added that beneficiaries will not have a choice on which vaccine will be administered to them. To ramp up the vaccination capacity, around 10,000 private hospitals are empanelled under Ayushman Bharat PMJAY, more than 600 hospitals under the Central Government Health Scheme, and other private hospitals under State governments. Health Insurance Schemes can participate as CVCs. Private health facilities which will serve as government COVID vaccination centres have been directed to follow strict norms of due process, quality and safety, including integration with the national Co-WIN technology platform, said a senior health official. Beneficiaries are also allowed three methods of registration advance self-registration, on-site registration, and facilitated cohort registration.

D) PM Modi takes first jab of COVAXIN. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday morning took the first shot of COVAXIN, the Indian-researched and produced Covid-19 vaccine (produced by Bharat Biotech) at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. Tweeting a picture of himself getting a shot, Prime Minister Modi said: Took my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS. Remarkable how our doctors and scientists have worked in quick time to strengthen the global fight against COVID-19. He appeal to all those who are eligible to take the vaccine. Together, let us make India COVID-19 free!

E) Prashant Kishor joins Amarinder Singh govt in Punjab. 

Four years after helping the Congress come to power in Punjab with a big win in the Assembly elections, Prashant Kishor has returned to the state, signing on as principal advisor to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who tweeted to say the two would work for the betterment of the people of Punjab. Happy to share that Prashant Kishor has joined me as my Principal Advisor. Look forward to working together for the betterment of the people of Punjab!” Singh tweeted Monday. Punjab is scheduled to hold Assembly elections in early 2022.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A) Chinese malware may have targeted Indian power systems and seaports: U.S. firm.

Chinese state-sponsored actors may have deployed malware into Indian power grids and seaports as border tensions between India and China began escalating in May last, culminating in a deadly clash along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in mid-June. The alleged cyber intrusion was discovered and revealed by U.S. cyber security and intelligence firm, Recorded Future, according to the New York Times, which broke the story. An October 12 grid failure in Mumbai may have been caused by the Chinese malware, as per the report. The Massachusetts-based firm found that in the lead-up to the clashes, they noticed an increase in malware targeting the government, defence organisations, and the public sector. The Power Ministry confirmed that while attempts to breach systems were made, the power sector had not been impacted. Recorded Future told that there was still some evidence of ongoing intrusion, although a significant amount of it has subsided recently. There is evidence that some of the intrusions remain ongoing; however, a significant proportion of the activity appeared to cease in early to mid-February following notification, a spokesperson for Recorded Future, Caitlin Mattingly, told. While the government has not contacted Recorded Future since the New York Times published its report, according to Mattingly, the company had been in touch with the government prior to the report’s publication. China’s Foreign Ministry strongly hit out at the report, calling it irresponsible, and attacked it for not offering evidence. China firmly opposes and cracks down on all forms of cyber attacks, spokesperson Wang Wenbin said. Speculation and fabrication have no role to play on the issue of cyber attacks, as it is very difficult to trace the origin of a cyber attack, he added.

B) Chinese scribe charged under new law for Galwan comments.

A Chinese investigative journalist and blogger on Monday became the first person charged under a new criminal law banning the defaming of martyrs, for his comments questioning the government’s account of the clash with India in Galwan Valley last year. Qiu Ziming (38), an investigative journalist formerly with The Economic Observer, was arrested on February 20 in Nanjing, where he lives, after raising questions a day after China’s announcement declaring honours for five soldiers, including four awarded posthumously, eight months after the June 15, 2020 clash. In messages to his 2.5 million followers on the Chinese Twitter-equivalent, Sina Weibo, Mr. Qiu suggested the fatalities would have been higher because as per the official account, some of the soldiers died coming to the aid oftroops in difficulty, who, in his view, would have suffered losses as well. Mr. Qiu also asked why India had, in contrast, promptly recognised the 20 Indian soldiers who died, which, he suggested, meant that in India’s view they won and paid a lesser price. His account on Weibo was subsequently suspended. On Monday, Mr. Qiu was charged for violating the law on defaming martyrs’ honour and reputation. According to State media, this was the first reported case of anyone being charged under the law, which calls for a fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years. While China had in 2018 passed a law banning people from insulting martyrs, the civil law was added as an amendment to China’s criminal law which took effect on March 1.

C) Trump hints at 2024 run for presidency.

Donald Trump told conservatives Sunday he was considering running for presi dent again in 2024, as he reasserted dominance over the Republican Party and warned of a struggle for America’s very survival. Echoing the grievance politics of his 2016 campaign and the harsh rhetoric of his one-term presidency, the 74-year-old fired up an enthusiastic crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando. In a keynote speech, his first since leaving the White House on January 20 he repeated his false claims that he won the election instead of President Joe Biden, and hammered establishment Republicans who voted against him in the latest impeachment drama. But while he teased his future plans, he left the crowd guessing about whether he will challenge Mr. Biden in a rematch. With your help we will take back the House, we will win the Senate, and then a Republican President will make a triumphant return to the White House and he wonder who that will be? Mr. Trump said to a raucous cheer. Who knows?  he boomed about his potential plans. He may even decide to beat them for a third time, OK? At CPAC, he walked on stage to revel in a lengthy standing ovation by cheering loyalists, the vast majority maskless despite the coronavirus pandemic. Like he did so often during his two campaigns, he painted a pitched battle against as Democrats’ socialist agenda to remake the nation. They are in a struggle for the survival of America as we know it, Mr. Trump said. This is a terrible, terrible, painful struggle. Mr. Trump also put to rest the rumours that he might create a new political party. Mr. Trump as expected took swipes at Mr. Biden, saying the Democrat just concluded a disastrous first month in office.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
01 March 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Maharashtra Minister, linked to Pune girl’s death, resigns from cabinet.

Maharashtra Forest Minister and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Rathod has resigned from the Maharashtra cabinet for his alleged connection with the death of a 23-year-old woman from the nomadic Banjara community in Pune. Mr. Rathod, who has been under fire from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for nearly three weeks following the incident, tendered his resignation to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday. Mr. Thackeray has yet to take a call on whether or not to accept the Minister’s resignation. While stating that the affair was a ploy to defame him, Mr. Rathod said that he would assist in the investigation. Former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is the BJP’s Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Legislative Assembly, however, hit out at the Uddhav Thackeray government for the latter’s handling of the affair. This [resignation] has come too late, the current state of Maharashtra’s law and order situation is deplorable. Despite so much evidence against Mr. Rathod, why has no FIR still been lodged against him? This case has exposed the Thackeray government’s true colours, he alleged.

B) ISRO launches Brazil’s Amazonia-1, 18 other satellites. 

ISRO successfully launched Brazil’s optical earth observation satellite, Amazonia-1 and 18 co-passenger satellites from India [5] and the U.S.A. [13] successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space, SHAR, at Sriharikota, on Sunday. The satellites were carried on board the PSLV-C51, the 53rd flight of India’s workhorse launch vehicle and the first dedicated mission for New Space India Ltd (NSIL), the commercial arm of ISRO. The mission was undertaken under a commercial arrangement with Spaceflight Inc., USA. Indian Space Research Organisation launches the Amazonia-1, Brazil’s optical earth observation satellite, and 18 co-passenger satellites from U.S. and India on board the PSLV-C51 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on February 28, 2021. The PSLV-C51, equipped with two solid strap-on boosters, the third such launch of the PSLV-DL variant, lifted off at 10.24 a.m. from the first launch pad at Sriharikota. Of the 18 satellites, 13 were from the U.S.A , one of them a technology demonstration satellite and the remaining for 2-way satellite communications and data relay. Among the five Indian satellites, one belongs to DRDO. Five satellites belong to India — the Satish Dhawan SAT (SDSAT) built by Space Kidz India is a nano-satellite intended to study the radiation levels, space weather and demonstrate long range communication technologies and the UNITYsat, a combination of three satellites intended for providing radio relay services.

C) Kejriwal describes farm laws as ‘death warrant’ for farmers. 

Describing the contentious farm laws as death warrants for farmers, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal made Aam Admi Party’s political ambition to cross over Yamuna into Uttar Pradesh clear at a kisan panchayat in Meerut on Sunday. Promising to control erring sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh on the lines of power distribution companies in Delhi, Mr Kejriwal asked the gathering to vote for a party with the right intent. He said farmers were in pain for 70 years because they have been cheated by different governments and parties. Now the three farm laws have made it a matter of life and death. All that the farmer has been asking for is the right price of his produce, he said. He said farmers were sitting on the road in the cold because these laws would reduce them to labourers on their own land. It has come down to a do or die kind of situation, he said. He reminded the massive gathering of party workers and farmers that in 2014, BJP asked for votes by promising to implement the Swaminathan Committee Report. However, within three years in power, it submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court that said minimum support price could not be 50% more than the cost of the produce. It amounts to backstabbing the farmers.

D) Army cancels recruitment exam following paper leak. 

The Army has cancelled an examination for pan-India recruitment of general duty personnel after paper was found to have been leaked, officials said on Sunday. They further said at least three persons have been arrested in Pune so far. The Indian Army has zero tolerance towards corrupt practices in the recruitment process for selection of suitable candidates, an official said. Based on a proactive joint operation with local police at Pune, a case of possible leakage of question paper prepared for Common Entrance Examination for Recruitment of Soldiers (General Duty) was reported last night, the official added. While further investigations are underway, it was decided to cancel the examination to ensure continuous transparency in the recruitment process.

E) Ghulam Nabi Azad praises PM Modi for being ‘frank about his past’

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said he likes leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi who are proud of their roots and noted that Mr Modi speaks frankly about his past as a tea-seller. Addressing a function by Gujjar Desh Charitable Trust here, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said a person should not try to hide his background from the world. He himself, had come from a village and he is proud of being a villager. He admire a lot of things about leaders like their Prime Minister who also says that he was from a village. He used to sell tea. He might have political differences with Modi but he is also frank about his past of being a chaiwala (tea-seller), Mr Azad said. The remarks come a day after Mr Azad and other ‘G-23’ dissident leaders, who have been pressing for a leadership change and organisational overhaul in the Congress, gathered on one stage here and said the party is weakening.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A) 18 anti-coup protesters killed in Myanmar military crackdown: U.N. rights office. 

Myanmar police fired on protesters on Sunday in the bloodiest day of weeks of demonstrations against a military coup and at least seven people were killed and several wounded, political and medical sources and media said. The U.N. Human Rights Office says it has received credible information that a crackdown Sunday on anti-coup protesters in Myanmar has left at least 18 people dead and over 30 wounded. Deaths reportedly occurred as a result of live ammunition fired into crowds in Yangon, Dawei, Mandalay, Myeik, Bago and Pokokku, it said in a statement, referring to several cities in Myanmar. Tear gas was also reportedly used in various locations as well as flash-bang and stun grenades. Myanmar has been in chaos since the army seized power and detained elected government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership on Feb. 1, alleging fraud in a November election her party won in a landslide. Myanmar is like a battlefield, the Buddhist-majority nation’s first Catholic cardinal, Charles Maung Bo, said on Twitter. Police were out in force early and opened fire in different parts of the biggest city of Yangon after stun grenades, tear gas and shots in the air failed to break up crowds. Soldiers also reinforced police. Several wounded people were hauled away by fellow protesters, leaving bloody smears on pavements, media images showed.

B) Trump set to take spotlight with post-presidency speech. 

Donald Trump returns to the political spotlight on Sunday, determined to regain control of a Republican party that is out Of power and pondering whether the flawed former President can win again in 2024. The 74-year-old will address the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando in a highly-anticipated speech during which he is expected to tease attendees about his political future including the possibility of another presidential run. A hero’s welcome He is sure to be greeted like a returning hero by a loyalist crowd as he calls for party unity and perhaps rips some of his critics on the final day of the nation’s largest conservative gathering. They are not starting new parties, and they will not be dividing their power and their strength, Mr. Trump will say, according to Fox News. Instead, they will be united and strong like never before. U.S. political parties usually face a reckoning after a string of losses such as those the Republican Party saw under Mr. Trump in 2020: losing the White House, ceding the Senate and failing to take back the House of Representatives. The party is also marked with Mr. Trump’s repeated lies about his election loss to Joe Biden, his impeachment for inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, and the extraordinary faultline his actions have caused between establishment Republicans and pro-Trump populists. But, instead of jettisoning its failed leader and charting a new path to relevance, much of the Republican party still sees Mr. Trump as retaining a vicelike grip on its future. It is a perception he has encouraged, setting himself up as a Republican kingmaker. On Friday, he endorsed an ex-aide against an Ohio Congressman who voted to impeach him.

C) Houthi missile attack thwarted, says Riyadh.

Loud explosions shook Riyadh on Saturday as a Saudi-led military coalition said it thwarted a missile attack launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, which sent debris raining down on civilian homes. Iran-backed Houthi fighters have intensified operations against the kingdom as air strikes by the Saudi-led military coalition pound rebel positions in the north of Yemen, in a bid to stop their offensive to seize the government’s last northern stronghold of Marib. Saudi Arabia said on Saturday it thwarted a Houthi missile that targeted Riyadh. The operation was carried out with a ballistic missile and 15 drones targeting sensitive areas in the enemy’s capital of Riyadh, said Houthi spokesman Yahya al-Saree, according to the rebels’ Al-Masirah TV channel. Fragments of the missile scattered over several Riyadh neighbourhoods, damaging at least one home but no casualties were reported, Saudi’s state-run Al-Ekhbariya television said. AFP correspondents in the Saudi capital reported hearing multiple loud explosions. The night sky lit up with a bright flash following the interception of a missile, state television footage showed. Separately, the coalition said it intercepted six Houthi drones targeting the kingdom, including the southern cities of Khamis Mushait and Jizan. The assaults came as Saudi Arabia hosted a Formula E championship on the outskirts of Riyadh, which state media said was attended by de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Houthis have escalated cross-border attacks on the kingdom even after the U.S. delisted the rebels as terrorists and stepped up efforts to de-escalate the six-year conflict. The designation, imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, had been widely criticised by aid agencies, which warned it would hamper their efforts to alleviate a humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
28 February 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Rift out in open as Congress dissenters pitch for Ghulam Nabi Azad at Jammu meeting. 

Congress party’s internal differences spilled out in the open today, with the dissenting group, popularly known as G-23, holding a rally in Jammu ostensibly to felicitate Ghulam Nabi Azad on his retirement from the Rajya Sabha but effectively challenging the party’s central leadership in a show of strength. The G-23 leaders said they wanted a strong Congress rooted in Gandhi’s principles and see an experienced leader in Ghulam Nabi Azad. People say ‘G23’, I say Gandhi 23. With the belief, resolve and thinking of Mahatma Gandhi, this nation’s law and Constitution was formed. Congress is standing strongly to take these forward. ‘G23’ want Congress to be strong, Congress leader Raj Babbar said during the party’s ‘Shanti Sammelan’ in Jammu. Other senior Congress leaders Anand Sharma, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Kapil Sibal, and Vivek Tankha, apart from Azad, also spoke on the occasion. The truth is that we see Congress party getting weak. That is why we have gathered here. We had gathered together earlier too and we have to strengthen the party together, Sibal said. In August last year this group, led by Azad, had written to party President Sonia Gandhi urging her to ensure full time and visible leadership. Gandhi returned to helm as an interim chief, after her son Rahul Gandhi’s abrupt resignation. It is the first time that the letter writers have come out in the open, dropping all pretence. The Congress leadership has remained mum about renominating Azad and the G-23 members find themselves sidelined in the scheme of things within the party. Azad, speaking at the rally, said that he may have retired from Rajya Sabha but he has not retired from politics.

B) Onus of creating ‘enabling environment’ rests with India, says Imran Khan.  

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday welcomed the ceasefire agreement with India but said the onus of creating an enabling environment for further progress in bilateral relations rests with New Delhi. In his first comments since the militaries of India and Pakistan jointly announced on Thursday that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and other sectors, Khan said Pakistan remains ready to move forward to resolve all outstanding issues with India through dialogue. He welcome restoration of the ceasefire along the LOC. The onus of creating an enabling environment for further progress rests with India. India must take necessary steps to meet the long-standing demand & right of the Kashmiri people to self determination according to UNSC resolutions, Khan tweeted. They have always stood for peace & remain ready to move forward to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue, Khan said in a series of tweets. India and Pakistan issued a joint statement on Thursday to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the LoC and other sectors after hotline discussions by their Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMO). The decision by the two countries came into effect from the midnight of February 24/25.

C) AG refuses consent for contempt proceedings against ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi. 

Attorney General K.K. Venugopal has refused to give consent to an activist to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi for his comments about the Supreme Court. Activist Saket Gokhale said Justice Gogoi’s remarks, during a widely publicised interview given during the India Today conclave in February, had scandalised the court and lowered its dignity in the eyes of the public. It was reported that Justice Gogoi, now a Rajya Sabha MP, had used terms like ramshackle judiciary and so on. Venugopal, in a letter to Gokhale, agreed that Justice Gogoi’s statements were indeed very strong but it was said for the good of the institution and would not in any manner scandalise the court or lower its authority in the eyes of the public. The statements apparently reflect his deep frustration with the ills that undoubtedly beset the justice delivery system, Venugopal explained to Gokhale. The consent of the Attorney General is necessary to initiate contempt proceedings in the Supreme Court. He accordingly decline consent to initiate proceedings for criminal contempt under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. Venugopal concluded in his letter dated February 26.

D) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments. 

The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stood at 1,10,94,731 with the death toll at 1,58,403. With Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bengal, Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir reporting a high active Covid-19 caseload and an increasing trend in new cases in the last week, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba today reviewed the situation with the Chief Secretaries. The States have been advised not to lower their guard, to enforce pandemic-appropriate behaviour, and deal firmly with violations. They are also required to follow effective surveillance and tracking strategies in respect of potential super spreading events. The Health Ministry said Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have also shown a surge in new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the active caseload to 1,59,590. Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 8,333, followed by Kerala with 3,671 while Punjab reported 622 new cases, it said. India reported 16,488 new cases in the 24 hours ending 8 a.m. on Saturday. Private hospitals functioning as COVID-19 vaccination centres can charge up to ₹250 per person per dose, the Union Health Ministry announced on Saturday along with a list of 20 medical conditions that will enable those between 45 and 59 years to avail the vaccine.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A) Saudi Arabia rejects U.S. intelligence report on Khashoggi’s killing. 

Saudi Arabia said it rejected completely the negative, false and unacceptable assessment of the U.S. intelligence report released on Friday that found Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler approved an operation to capture or kill the Washington Post columnist in 2018, the U.S. report said, as the United States sanctioned some of those involved but not the crown prince himself. The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia completely rejects the assessment in the report pertaining to the Kingdom’s leadership, and notes that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA. The crime was committed by a group of individuals that have transgressed all pertinent regulations and the kingdom’s leadership took the necessary steps to ensure that such a tragedy never takes place again, the foreign ministry statement added. A Saudi Arabian court jailed eight people last year for between seven and 20 years over the murder of Khashoggi after his family forgave his killers and enabled death sentences to be set aside. Khashoggi, a critic of the crown prince, was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, where he had gone to obtain documents for his impending wedding. His body was dismembered and removed from the building and his remains have not been found. The murder caused a global uproar and tarnished the reformist image of Prince Mohammed, and strained the relationship between the U.S. and its closest Arab ally.

B) U.S. airstrike in eastern Syria a warning to Iran, says Biden. 

President Joe Biden said on Friday that a U.S. airstrike against an Iranian-backed militia in eastern Syria, the first since he took office, should be seen by Iran as a warning. Asked what the message was from the air strike, Mr. Biden said that he can’t act with impunity. Be careful, he added, speaking in Houston during a tour of relief efforts after a huge winter storm in Texas. Syria and Iran on Friday condemned the attack, with Damascus calling it a bad sign from the new Biden administration and Tehran saying it would further destabilise the region. John Kirby said two F-15E Strike Eagles dropped seven precision-guided munitions on Thursday on facilities in eastern Syria used by the militias believed to be behind a spate of rocket attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Mr. Biden was sending an unambiguous message. He’s going to act to protect Americans and when threats are posed, he has the right to take an action at the time and in the manner of his choosing, Ms. Psaki said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the administration wanted to make it very, very clear notably to Iran that they cannot act with impunity against our people, our partners, our interests. Syria condemned the strike as cowardly American aggression. The Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the U.S. attack as a clear violation of international law, saying it would intensify military conflicts and further destabilise the region.