Tag: latest Current Affairs

CURRENT AFFAIRS
10 March 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat resigns.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat resigned from his post today. The crisis over his continuance arose after the national leadership of the party dispatched two central observers to the State following repeated complaints on Rawat’s style of functioning within the party and reported popularity in the State. The central observers former Chattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and Rajya Sabha MP Dushyant Gautam underlined serious shortcomings in Rawat’s handling of the party and government. Rawat was then summoned to Delhi on March 8 and given his marching orders. Singh and Gautam will reach Dehradun this evening and a meeting of the BJP legislature party is scheduled for March 10. The frontrunners for the post include State Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat, MP Ajay Bhatt and Satpal Maharaj. Rawat is being replaced a year before the polls next year, amid concerns that his reported non-performance could cost the party.

 

B) Over 72% rise in number of UAPA cases registered in 2019, most arrests in U.P.

There has been over 72% increase in the number of persons arrested under the anti-terror law UAPA (Unlawful Activities [Prevention] Act) in 2019 compared to 2015, data provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the Lok Sabha shows. As many as 1,948 persons were arrested under the UAPA in 2019, in 1,226 cases registered across the country. Such cases registered in the years 2015-2018 stood at 897, 922, 901 and 1,182, and the number of those arrested was 1,128, 999, 1,554 and 1,421 respectively. In 2019, the highest number of such cases were registered in Manipur (306), while the highest number of arrests under the UAPA were made in Uttar Pradesh (498). Under the UAPA, getting bail is rare and the investigating agency has up to 180 days to file a charge sheet. Earlier, a reply by the government in the Lok Sabha showed that only 2.2 % of the cases registered under the UAPA during 2016-2019 had ended in convictions.

 

C) Delhi HC issues notice on petition against new IT Rules to regulate online news portals. 

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought a response from the Centre on a petition challenging the new IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, claiming it seeks to regulate online news portals by imposing government oversight and a vaguely worded ‘Code of Ethics’. A Bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh issued notices to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) and Ministry Of Information & Broadcasting on the plea filed by Foundation for Independent Journalism, a trust that owns digital news portal The Wire. The petition argued that the new IT Rules issued on February 25, 2021, were palpably illegal in seeking to control and regulate digital news media when the parent statute nowhere provided for such a remit. It said the new IT Rules had profound and serious harms for digital news media and was destructive of their rights. Other petitioners in the case include M.K. Venu, Director and Founding Editor, The Wire, and Dhanya Rajendran, founder & Editor-In-Chief, The News Minute. The plea stated that the IT Rules, 2021, introduced two distinct sets of regulations one, due diligence norms to be followed by ‘intermediaries’ and two, ‘Code of Ethics’ ought to be adhered to by ‘publishers’, along with a three-tier compliance mechanism. While ‘intermediaries’ were recognised and regulated by the IT Act, the plea said that the new IT Rules laid down a separate ‘Code of Ethics’ for the two kinds of publishers publishers of news and current affairs content, and publishers of online curated content.

D) Parliament proceedings: Both Houses stalled again over fuel price hikes. 

For the second consecutive day today, both Houses of Parliament failed to function, with relentless protests from Opposition members after their demand for a debate on the frequent hike in fuel prices was rejected. Rajya Sabha saw two adjournments before the House was adjourned for the day at 2.10 p.m. Tuesday was the first sitting of both Houses of Parliament as per the pre-Covid-19 timings and seating arrangements, with members sitting in their respective chambers instead of being spread out in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha chambers.

E) Covaxin Phase-2 trials show its safe and induces immune response, says Lancet study. 

Covaxin, India’s first indigenous vaccine against Covid-19, is safe and generates immune response without any serious side effects, according to the interim results of the Phase-2 trials published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. The authors of the study noted that the Phase-2 results did not asses the efficacy of the vaccine codenamed BBV152. Developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, the vaccine has been granted emergency use authorisation in clinical trial mode by the Indian government. The latest study comes a week after Bharat Biotech announced that the vaccine has shown 81% efficacy in the third phase of clinical trials, the results of which are yet to be published. The Phase-2 trial to evaluate the immunogenicity and safety of BBV152 vaccine was conducted in healthy adults and adolescents aged 12-65 years at nine hospitals across nine states in India.

F) GoM report points to draconian attitude of government, says Editors Guild. 

The Editors Guild of India (EGI) on Tuesday said the recent revelations about a Group of Ministers (GoM) report on the government’s media strategy was an example of its increasingly draconian attitude towards any criticism. The EGI said in a statement it was shocked at the manner in which the GoM prepared its report with an embedded toolkit to control the narrative about the government in the media. It said the GoM, whose members include five Cabinet Ministers and four Ministers of State, was set up in mid-2020, without provocation and at a time when press freedom and democracy indices were on a decline. The report, which was prepared at the end of 2020 and has recently emerged in media, further illustrates the government’s increasingly draconian attitude against any critique and inquiry by the press. The suggestions from the GoM report hint at increased surveillance and targeting of writers and journalists who depart from the government’s narrative, the Guild said. Among the more disturbing suggestions was one by a Minister to develop a strategy to neutralise the people who are writing against the government without facts and set false narratives/spread fake news, it said, citing the report. The EGI said such a suggestion revealed an intention to muzzle any criticism of the government, in the absence of clarity on what constitutes fake news. The preparation of the GoM report and its debilitating import on media freedom and journalists is a major concern for EGI, which demands that the government, which is supposed to safeguard constitutional values of freedom of expression, should make it clear that it is committed to the plurality of views in the media, the statement said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) No foreign spectators at Tokyo Olympics due to Covid-19 concerns.  

Japan has decided to stage this summer’s Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics without overseas spectators due to concern among the Japanese public about Covid-19, Kyodo news agency said on Tuesday, citing officials with knowledge of the matter. Kyodo said the government had concluded that welcoming fans from abroad would not be possible given public concern about the coronavirus and the detection of more contagious variants in many countries. The opening ceremony will also be held without spectators, Kyodo said. The organising committee has decided it is essential to hold the ceremony in the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima behind closed doors, only permitting participants and invitees to take part in the event, to avoid large crowds forming amid the pandemic, Kyodo said, quoting the officials. The Games are set for July 23 to August 8. Most Japanese people do not want international visitors to attend the Games amid fears that a large influx of visitors could spark a resurgence of infections, a Yomiuri newspaper poll showed. The survey showed 77% of respondents were against allowing foreign fans to attend, versus 18% in favour.

B) PM Modi inaugurates ‘Maitri Setu’ between India and Bangladesh. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday virtually inaugurated the India-Bangladesh Friendship Bridge (Maitri Setu) over the Feni river at Sabroom in south Tripura. He also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for eight other infrastructure projects together worth ₹ 3,518 crore. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in a video message, said that the inauguration of the 1.9-km- long ‘Maitri Setu’ would herald a new chapter in relations between the two neighbours. The bridge, which was first mooted a decade ago, would immensely benefit Northeast India in trade matters as the same would connect the Chittagong sea port just 100 km from Agartala. Modi, in his speech congratulated the BJP-led coalition government in Tripura for completing three years in office on Tuesday. You have created history three years ago by ending the rule of a repressive regime of corruption and commission, he said, indirectly hitting out at the erstwhile CPI(M)-led Left front government.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
09 March 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Supreme Court may revisit 50% ceiling on reservations. 

The Supreme Court on Monday may have opened up the possibility of reconsidering the ceiling imposed on total reservation, a move that may impact the challenge to the legality of a Tamil Nadu reservation law which allows 69% quota in State government jobs and educational institutions. A three-judge Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan had, on March 3, deferred hearing a challenge to the law, opting to wait for a Constitution Bench to decide the validity of the Maratha quota law first. However, on Monday, the Constitution Bench, which is also led by Justice Bhushan, decided to expand its ambit and re-examine whether reservation limit could cross the 50% ceiling limit as done by certain States like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. The court, in short, decided to examine whether its Indira Sawhney case judgment of 1992, which fixed the ceiling limit of 50% for reservation in government jobs and educational admissions, requires a re-look by a larger Bench. The Constitution Bench has issued notice to the States, providing them with an opportunity to clarify their position on the 50% reservation mark. Though the court has kept the question of legality of the Tamil Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of seats in Educational Institutions and of appointments or posts in the Services under the State) Act of 1993 on the backburner on March 3, the issue is likely to arise for discussion before the Constitution Bench in the coming days. The deferment of the Tamil Nadu case on March 3 had drawn the spotlight away from the State’s reservation law with the State gearing up for Assembly elections. On March 3, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, for the Tamil Nadu government, had even submitted that the Assembly polls were due and the case should be taken up after the elections. Mr. Rohatgi and senior advocate Shekhar Naphade along with advocate Yogesh Kanna, for Tamil Nadu, had said the increase in reservation percentage in the State was based on quantifiable data. They had repeatedly argued that the case in Tamil Nadu was different from other States and the 1993 law was protected under the Ninth Schedule from judicial review. The Tamil Nadu quota law of 1993 was challenged in the apex court by a student, C.V. Gayathri, through her father, S. Vaitheeswaran. Ms. Gayathri had submitted that the Tamil Nadu Reservation Act, 1993 provides 69% reservation in admissions and in public services, which is arbitrary, unreasonable and excessive.

B) MPs from poll bound states seek curtailed budget session. 

Lok Sabha members hailing from the poll-bound West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry have requested an early curtailment of the second part of the Budget session that began on Monday morning. Sources said nearly 145 MPs have written to Speaker Om Birla for the same. On Monday, during the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Lok Sabha, floor leaders of various parties advanced the same view. While Trinamool Congress (TMC) and DMK leaders were not present at the meet, the issue was discussed. Mr. Birla met with some leaders one on one to get a sense of the situation and the sources said he would arrive at a decision only after ascertaining the sense of the House on the matter. While the Shiv Sena said they would go with whatever the government decides on the issue, the YSRCP was one of the few parties that felt the days lost if the session is curtailed should be made up. The Trinamool Congress, in letters addressed to both Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu and Mr. Birla, pointed to the 2011 and 2008 precedents, when the session was similarly curtailed . In the letter to Mr. Naidu, TMC national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien said due to the polls, MPs of his party would not be able to attend the Parliament session. He cited the example of the 222nd session, which commenced on February 21, 2011, and was scheduled to conclude on April 21, 2011. However, due to Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, the House was adjourned sine die on March 25, 2011. The government has started reaching out to the Opposition parties seeking to close the session early. A section of Congress leaders supports the demand, including Adhhir Ranjan Chadhhary, but the rest of the party feel that it will send a wrong message. In other parliamentary proceedings, the Rajya Sabha on Monday was adjourned for the day after Opposition MPs began shouting slogans against the fuel prices in the country. The Lok Sabha also saw multiple adjournments due to protests from the Opposition. The Lower House will resume at 11 am on Tuesday.

C) Supreme Court has highest respect for womanhood, says CJI. 

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad A. Bobde on Monday said the Supreme Court, as an institution, had the highest respect for womanhood and recent media reports quoting him as asking an alleged rapist to marry his victim was completely misquoted. The CJI made the position clear on International Women’s Day while hearing a plea made by a 14-year-old rape victim seeking the termination of pregnancy. On March 1, during a virtual hearing, several media outlets reported the CJI asking a rape accused’s lawyer to find out whether his client would be willing to marry the victim or risk the prospect of going to jail. The lawyer came back later in the day and said his client had declined as he was already married. On Monday, the CJI said certain people were out to tarnish the image of the judiciary and a counter mechanism needed to be set up. The Bench said the reputation of the judiciary rested in the hands of the Bar. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the comments of the CJI on March 1, was indeed twisted out of context. A flurry of outrage followed the reported comments of the CJI. According to the prosecution side, the accused had repeatedly raped the girl since she was in high school. Monday saw the CJI clarify that his oral remarks, on March 1 again, during the hearing of another case concerning a man accused of falsely promising marriage to a woman was also misinterpreted.

D) Major sent to police custody in Army exam paper leak. 

A 47-year-old Army officer arrested in connection with a recruitment exam paper leak in Pune was on Monday remanded to police custody till March 15. The Pune police told the court of Additional Sessions Judge S.R. Navandar that Major T. Murugan, who was arrested from Tamil Nadu, had forwarded the question paper to other accused. Public Prosecutor Premkumar Agrawal told court that Murugan had forwarded the leaked question paper to other accused through Whatsapp, and the police needed to know from where he got this exam paper. Mr. Agrawal said the accused had deleted mobile phone chats, which had to be retrieved, and a probe was needed to unearth financial transactions and further links. Defence counsel A.D. Lonandkar opposed the plea and told court that the accused’s phone had already been seized and, therefore, there was no need for police custody. Remanding Murugan to police custody till March 15, Judge Navandar said the accused is the key person in the paper leak conspiracy. Due to unlawful activities, the entire process of recruitment was stopped and the exam postponed. Considering the seriousness of the crime, there is a need for thorough investigation and for that sufficient police custody is required, the judge observed. Police have invoked relevant sections of IPC as well as the Prevention of Corruption Act. So far, six persons have been arrested, including three Army personnel, for the leak that took place on February 28.

E) Women farmers take spotlight in ongoing protests.

Thousands of women farmers held protest marches and delivered speeches at the Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur protest sites at Delhi’s borders on International Women’s Day. Noting that women contribute significantly to the country’s farming sector, the organisers have laid out elaborate plans to let women farmers manage the stage, arrange food and security and share tales of their struggles on the occasion. The stage is being managed by women, the speakers are all women and the issues that are being discussed are of both farming and women farmers more specifically, farmer leader Kavitha Kuruganti told the Press Trust of India. The discourse of the debate is focusing on women farmers. The debate is also on the contribution of women in this movement, said Ms. Kuruganti, who is also a member of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha. She added that the participation of women has increased significantly with the arrival of thousands of women.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Toll from military camp blasts in E. Guinea rises to 30: report.

The death toll from accidental explosions at a military camp in Equatorial Guinea rose to 30 on Monday, media reports said, after 10 more bodies were found in the ruined site. Six hundred people were injured in the blasts, which also flattened homes near the camp on the outskirts of the economic hub of Bata, State television TVGE said, adding that it expected the toll to rise. It showed images akin to a war zone, in which rescue workers and civilians struggled to remove bodies from smoking ruins. Three children aged three and four were brought out alive and taken to hospital. A string of four huge explosions occurred in mid-afternoon on Sunday, hitting the Nkoa Ntoma camp, which houses special forces and gendarmes and their families, as well as homes nearby. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who has ruled the small central African state for 42 years, has blamed the accident on stubble-burning by local farmers and on negligent supervision of the camp’s munitions depot. Anyone living in a radius of two to four km of the explosions has been unable to return home. Bata is home to of E. Guinea’s 1.4 million people, most of whom live in poverty despite the country’s oil and gas wealth. 

B) After historic visit, Pope leaves Iraq for Rome.

Pope Francis on Monday wrapped up his historic whirlwind tour of Iraq that sought to bring hope to the country’s marginalised Christian minority with a message of coexistence, forgiveness and peace. The pontiff and his travelling delegation were seen off with a farewell ceremony at the Baghdad airport. At every turn of his trip, Pope Francis urged Iraqis to embrace diversity from Najaf in the south, where he held a historic meeting with powerful Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, to Nineveh to the north, where he met with Christian victims of the Islamic State group’s terror and heard their testimonies of survival. In Iraq’s south, the Pope convened a meeting of Iraqi religious leaders in the deserts near a symbol of the country’s ancient past the 6,000-year-old ziggurat in the Plains of Ur, also thought to be the birthplace of Abraham, the patriarch revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims. The gathering brought religious representatives across the country rarely seen together, from Muslims, Christians, Yazidis and Mandaeans.

SPORTS NEWS 

A) World Test Championship final in Southampton, Ganguly confirms. 

India will play their inaugural World Test Championship final against New Zealand at Southampton’s Ageas Bowl Stadium from June 18-22, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly confirmed on Monday. Initially, the final was supposed to be held at the Lord’s but Southampton, with a five-star facility inside the stadium, will make it easier for both the ICC and the England and Wales Cricket Board to create a bio-bubble for the two teams. Yes, the final will be held at Ageas Bowl, Ganguly replied to a query from PTI. India qualified for the marquee clash after beating England 3-1 in a just-concluded Test series. The BCCI president, who has been on a medical break after undergoing a bypass surgery, is expected to travel to UK to watch the final match. Southampton, with its slowish track, puts India on even keel with New Zealand as spinners will come into the game at the venue. He will go for the World Test Championship and hopefully we can get past New Zealand in the final. New Zealand will be there before us and they will play a couple of Test matches (against England), Ganguly told ‘India Today’ channel.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
08 March 2021

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) All-women crew of MT Swarna Krishna makes history. 

In an attempt to acknowledge the efforts of women in breaking down the stereotypes of the erstwhile male-dominated maritime sector, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has flagged off an all-women crew onboard Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) vessel MT Swarna Krishna, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said on Sunday. The vessel was virtually flagged off by the Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister on March 6, it said. The Shipping Corporation of India, as a part of its ongoing Diamond Jubilee celebrations and also to commemorate the International Women’s Day on March 8, 2021, achieved another feat when Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ports, Shipping & Waterways, virtually flagged off the ‘All Women Officers’ Sailing’ on MT Swarna Krishna – SCI’s product carrier from JNPT Liquid Berth Jetty on March 6, 2021, the Ministry statement said. This is the first time in the world maritime history that a ship is being sailed by all women officers, it added. Mr. Mandaviya acknowledged the contribution and sacrifice of the women seafarers who acted as the Indian ambassadors to the global maritime community and had made the nation proud, it said. The move demonstrated the gradual shift in the perception of seafaring as a male-oriented profession and the principles of Diversity & Inclusion that SCI upholds. SCI has been a pioneer in employing women seafarers onboard its vessels and has implemented various initiatives including age relaxations and fee concessions to aspiring female cadets through its Maritime Training Institute to promote their integration into the maritime sector, the statement said.

B) Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty joins BJP in Kolkata. 

Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty joined the BJP on Sunday at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally. Mr. Chakraborty was welcomed into the party fold by BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and State party chief Dilip Ghosh among others. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had met the actor at his Mumbai residence last month setting off speculation that he might join the BJP. Mr. Chakraborty, a former Rajya Sabha member of the TMC, had quit the Upper House in 2016 after his name surfaced in Saradha Ponzi scam.

C) PM Modi promises to usher in ‘real change’ in West Bengal.  

Prime Minister Modi headlined the weekend campaigning ahead of the coming Assembly Elections in four States, promising to usher in ‘Asol Paribortan (real change)’ by bringing in development in West Bengal. Mr. Modi was speaking at a public rally at Brigade parade grounds targeted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee saying that this is not the same Didi that removed Left Front from power. Describing the public rally as one of biggest rallies he has ever addressed Mr Modi in his hour-long speech went on lengths to explain that Asol Paribortan real change means. From this Brigade ground he want to give you assurance of real change assurance of development of Bengal, assurance of things to change in Bengal increasing of increasing investment in Bengal and assurance that for youths, farmers and workers we will work 24 hours, the Prime Minister said. Mr Modi said that the BJP government in Bengal will draw its inspiration from the mantra of Asol Paribortan which would mean such a situation where there are jobs for youths and there is no migration for youth and industries can prosper and will have the infrastructure of the 21st century. The Prime Minister also went on which Kolkata is called city of joy and there is no reason Kolkata would not be the city of future. Mr Modi said on one side there is Trinamool Congress and the Left parties and Congress and one side there are people of the State. The PM accused the Left parties government of bringing in vote bank politics in the State and using an old slogan of the Left parties Congresser kalo haath gudie dao bhenge dao ( Break and grind the evil hand of Congress) also took the swipe of Left Congress alliance in West Bengal. Mr Modi said that after three decades of Left rule people Bengal trusted Mamata Banerjee to bring in partivartan change but she betrayed its people, insulted them.

D) Amit Shah talks up NDA ‘coalition government’ in Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Amit Shah was in Tamil Nadu to launch his party’s campaign for the April 6 Lok Sabha bypoll in Kanniyakumari and exuded confidence that the party would not only win Kanniyakumari, but the NDA in Tamil Nadu would emerge victorious in the Assembly elections also next month. Launching his Vetri Kodi Eandhi (Carrying the flag of victory) campaign from Suseendiram in this district, he said he was confident that a coalition government of the NDA will come to power in the State after the April 6 Assembly polls. The party has fielded former Union Minister Pon. Radhakrishnan for the Lok Sabha bypoll, necessitated due to the death of Congress MP H. Vasantha Kumar last year due to COVID-19. Kicking off his party’s campaign with Mr. Radhakrishnan and senior State BJP leaders in tow, Mr. Shah said he visited 11 houses to convey Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message. 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) India, China should create ‘enabling conditions’ to settle border dispute, says Wang Yi. 

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday said India and China needed to create enabling conditions for the settlement of the boundary dispute, even as he reiterated China’s view that the rights and wrongs of last year’s crisis were clear. His comments came at his annual press meet along the sidelines of the on-going convening in Beijing of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the ceremonial Communist Party-controlled legislature. Mr. Wang addressed China’s relations with the United States, the EU, Japan and India among other issues. The China-India relationship is essentially about how the world’s two largest developing countries get along and pursue development and rejuvenation together, he said to a question on the on-going disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Mr. Wang reiterated the statement he made during a February 25 call with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar that the boundary dispute, an issue left from history, is not the whole story of the China-India relationship. It is important that the two sides manage disputes properly and, at the same time, expand and enhance cooperation to create enabling conditions for the settlement of the issue, he told reporters. The rights and wrongs of what happened in the border area last year are clear, so are the stakes involved. It again proves that initiating confrontation will not solve the problem. Returning to peaceful negotiation is the right way forward. China’s position is very clear. We are committed to settling the boundary dispute through dialogue and consultation. At the same time, we are resolved to safeguard our sovereign rights and interests. India has conveyed a different message, underlining that without full disengagement along the LAC, and then de-escalation, restoring normalcy in the relationship would not be possible.

B) Swiss narrowly back proposal to ban face coverings in public. 

Swiss voters narrowly approved on Sunday a proposal to ban face coverings, both the niqabs and burqas worn by a few Muslim women in the country and the ski masks and bandannas used by protesters. The measure will outlaw covering one’s face in public places like restaurants, sports stadiums, public transport or simply walking in the street. Few exceptions It foresees exceptions at religious sites and for security or health reasons, such as face masks people are wearing now to protect against COVID-19, as well as for traditional Carnival celebrations. Authorities have two years to draw up detailed legislation. Two Swiss cantons, or states, Ticino and St. Gallen, already have similar legislation that foresees fines for transgressions. National legislation will put Switzerland in line with countries such as Belgium and France that have already enacted similar measures. The Swiss government had opposed the measure as excessive, arguing that fullface coverings are a marginal phenomenon. It argued that the ban could harm tourism as most visitors from well-heeled Persian Gulf states wear such veils. Experts estimate that at most a few dozen Muslim women wear full-face coverings in the country Of 8.5 million people. In the end, 51.2% of voters supported the plan.

C) At ruined Iraq church, Pope calls on Christians to forgive. 

Pope Francis called on Iraq’s Christians to forgive the injustices committed against them by Muslim extremists and to rebuild as he visited the wrecked shells of churches and met ecstatic crowds in the community’s historic heartland, which was nearly erased by the Islamic State group’s horrific reign. At each stop in northern Iraq, the remnants of its Christian population turned out, jubilant, ululating, decked out in colorful dress. though heavy security prevented Francis from plunging into the crowd as he would normally do. Nonetheless, they seemed simply overjoyed that they had not been forgotten. It was a sign of the desperation for support among an ancient community uncertain whether it can hold on. Traditionally Christian towns dotting the Nineveh Plains of the north were emptied as Christians as well as many Muslims fled the Islamic State group’s onslaught in 2014. Only a few have returned to their homes since the defeat of IS in Iraq declared four years ago, and the rest remain scattered elsewhere in Iraq or abroad. Bells rang out in the town of Qaraqosh as the Pope arrived. Speaking to a packed Church of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis said forgiveness is a key word for Christians. The road to a full recovery may still be long, but I ask you, please, not to grow discouraged. What is needed is the ability to forgive, but also the courage not to give up. The Qaraqosh church has been extensively renovated after being vandalized by IS militants during their takeover of the town, making it a symbol of recovery efforts. Pope Francis, dressed in white, took to a red carpet stage in a square in the north’s main city, Mosul, surrounded by the grey hollowed-out shells of four churches, nearly destroyed in the war to oust the Islamic State group from the city.

SPORTS NEWS 

A) IPL 2021 season to begin in Chennai on April 9.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 will run from April 9 to May 30 across six venues with no team getting to play at home, its Governing Council announced on Sunday. Despite COVID-19 surge, Mumbai has been named as one of the host cities and the tournament will be held behind closed doors at least in in the initial phase of the tournament. The other venues are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata. The Nardendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the final on May 30 as well as the play-offs. Defending champions Mumbai Indians will face Royal Challengers Bangalore in the tournament opener in Chennai on April 9. Each team is set to play at four venues during the league stage. Out of the 56 league matches, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru will host 10 matches each while Ahmedabad and Delhi will host eight matches each. There will be a total of 11 double headers where six teams will play three afternoon matches and two teams will play two afternoon matches. The afternoon games are slated for a 3:30 p.m. start while the evening games will have a 7:30 p.m. start. The fixtures of the tournament have been mapped in a way that every team will travel only three times during the league stage, thus reducing commute and minimising risk. The VIVO IPL this year at home will be played behind closed doors to begin with and a call on allowing spectators will be taken at a later stage of the tournament, the statement read further.

B) Vinesh wins gold. 

Star Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat claimed her second gold medal in as many weeks with a dominant win in the Matteo Pellicone ranking series event here on Sunday and reclaimed the top rank in her category. The 26-year-old World bronze medallist and only Indian woman wrestler to qualifiy for Tokyo Games, Vinesh blanked Canada’s Diana Mary Helen Weicker 4-0 in the 53kg title clash. Vinesh scored all her points in the first period and held on to her lead in the second to ensure a top-of-thepodium finish. Vinesh had won a gold in Kiev last week. The Indian had entered the event as World No. 3, but is back to No. 1 having collected 14 points. The Canadian was ranked 40 before the tournament but is now at No. 2. Vinesh did not concede a single point at this tournament, winning two of her three bouts by pinning her rivals while getting injury walkouts in the other two in the eight-woman field.

C) Sarita Mor had won a silver in the 57kg on Saturday.

The Indian men’s boxing team’s final campaign at the 35th Boxam International tournament in Castellon, Spain was derailed by a positive COVID-19 case, resulting in three withdrawals from summit clashes. Olympics-bound Ashish Kumar (75kg) tested positive and consequently his roommates Mohammed Hussamuddin (57kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) were forced to withdraw from their finals on Saturday. All three ended with silver medals. Also unable to compete in the final was Satish Kumar (+91kg) due to illness. Manish Kaushik (63kg) ended up being the sole gold winner, beating Denmark’s Nikolai Terteryan. Among women, Simranjit Kaur (60kg) was forced out of her final after her semifinal opponent — Kiria Tapia of Puerto Rico tested positive for the virus. Vikas Krishan (69kg) lost a gruelling contest to Spain’s Youba Sissokho. In the women’s draw, Pooja Rani (75kg) and Jasmine (57kg) also signed off with silvers after being beaten by superior opponents in American Melissa Graham and Italian Irma Testa respectively. India ended with one gold, eight silver and one bronze.

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.