Tag: motivation

NATIONAL NEWS

A) ‘Arbitrary and irrational’: Supreme Court slams Centre’s Covid-19 vaccination policy.

Our Constitution does not envisage courts to be silent spectators when constitutional rights of citizens are infringed by executive policies, noted the Supreme Court as it slammed the Centre’s vaccination policy for citizens aged 18-44 years, describing it as prima facie arbitrary and irrational. In a 32-page order published on Wednesday, a Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud has sought detailed information on the percentage of population vaccinated (with one dose and both doses) as against eligible persons in the first three phases of the vaccination drive. This shall include data pertaining to the percentage of rural population as well as the percentage of urban population so vaccinated, the court stated. It also sought the complete data on the Centre’s purchase history of vaccines till date, including Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik. The data should clarify: (a) the dates of all procurement orders placed by the Central Government for all three vaccines; (b) the quantity of vaccines ordered as on each date; and (c) the projected date of supply, the order said. The court asked the government to outline how and when it would vaccinate the remaining population. The government had mentioned in court that it would complete the vaccination of the entire eligible population by December-end. It directed the Centre to submit all the relevant documents and file notings reflecting its thinking and culminating in the vaccination policy along with an affidavit in two weeks. Referring to the Centre’s stated position that every State/UT Government shall provide vaccination free of cost to its population, the court asked the States and Union Territories to confirm whether or not it would do so. It is important that individual State/UT governments confirm/deny this position before this court. Further, if they have decided to vaccinate their population for free then, as a matter of principle, it is important that this policy is annexed to their affidavit, so that the population within their territories can be assured of their right to be vaccinated for free at a State vaccination centre, it explained. The court directed the States and UTs to file their affidavits in this regard within the next two weeks and clarify their individual policies for free vaccination.

B) Centre amends pension rules to bar retired security officials from writing without prior clearance.

The Narendra Modi government has amended the Pension Rules for Civil Servants, prohibiting retired officials in intelligence or security-related organisations from publishing any information related to their organisation without clearance from the competent authority. The retired officials will have to sign an undertaking to the effect and pension could be withheld or withdrawn for failure to comply with the rules. The order is said to have a bearing on retired police chiefs and intelligence agency officials who have either penned a book or regularly write columns in newspapers and magazines. The amended rule says that No government servant, who, having worked in any Intelligence or Security-related organisation included in the Second Schedule of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (22 of 2005), shall, without prior clearance from Competent Authority publish in any manner, while in service or after retirement, any information or material or knowledge which is related to the domain of the organisation and obtained by virtue of working in the said organisation. It bars retires officials from sharing sensitive information the disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, or relation with a foreign State or which would lead to incitement of an offence. The retired officials will have to sign Form 26, where they will have to give a legal undertaking to not share such information in the public domain.

C) Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik writes to all CMs, pitches for Covid-19 vaccine procurement by Centre.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has called for a consensus among all States for a universal vaccination programme. In a letter to all Chief Ministers, and personal calls to a few of them, he expressed grave concern at the prevailing Covid-19 situation and suggested that the Centre should procure vaccines and distribute them. After the second wave, people are very scared about future waves and variants. Every citizen in India has been affected by this pandemic in one way or the other. It could be losing a loved one or losing a job or loss in business or just the mental trauma because of the present situation. None has been spared by this pandemic, said the five-time Chief Minister. The only way to protect our people against future waves and provide them with a hope of survival is vaccination. Countries which have focused on vaccination programme have seen remarkable improvement in their Covid-19 situation. We have to provide this healing touch to our people, he said. After the Union Government announced Phase-3 of the vaccine policy, allowing vaccination of those above 18 years and procurement by State governments and the private sector, there has been great demand for vaccines, the letter says. Many States floated global tenders for vaccine procurement. However, it is quite clear that the global vaccine manufacturers are looking forward to the Union government for the clearances and assurances. They are unwilling to get into supply contracts with the State governments, while the domestic vaccine manufacturers are having supply constraints and are not able to commit required supplies. No State was safe unless all the States adopted vaccination as a top priority and executed it on war-footing. This cannot be a battle among the States to procure vaccines. Under the circumstances, he said, the best option available is for the Government of India to centrally procure the vaccines and distribute among the States so that our citizens are vaccinated at the earliest. Patnaik also suggested decentralisation of the vaccination programme. States should be allowed the flexibility to determine their own mechanism to ensure universal vaccination, he said. Internet was inaccessible in many hilly areas and therefore online registration had to be flexible. Some vulnerable tribes could be given vaccines on priority.

D) Google says new IT rules not applicable to its search engine.

Google has contended that the new Information Technology rules for digital media are not applicable to its search engine, and urged the Delhi High Court on Wednesday to set aside a single judge order which applied the rules on the company while dealing with an issue related to removal of offending content from the internet. The single judge’s decision had come while dealing with a matter in which a woman’s photographs were uploaded on a pornographic website by some miscreants and despite court orders, the content could not be removed in entirety from the World Wide Web and errant parties merrily continued to re-post and redirect the same to other sites. Google claims the court mischaracterised its search engine as a ‘social media intermediary’ or ‘significant social media intermediary’. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notice to the Centre, Delhi government, Internet Service Providers Association of India, Facebook, the pornographic site and the woman, on whose plea the single judge’s ruling had come, and sought their responses to Google’s plea by July 25. The court also said that it was not going to issue any interim order at this stage. Google has contended that the single judge, in his April 20 judgment, had mischaracterised its search engine as a ‘social media intermediary’ or ‘significant social media intermediary’ as provided under the new rules. The single judge has misinterpreted and misapplied the New Rules 2021 to the appellant’s search engine. Additionally, the single judge has conflated various sections of the IT Act and separate rules prescribed thereunder, and has passed template orders combining all such offences and provisions, which is bad in law, it has said in its appeal against the April 20 judgement.

E) Plea in SC challenges HC’s dismissal of petition on halting Central Vista construction activity.

A Supreme Court lawyer on Wednesday appealed to the apex court against a Delhi High Court judgment dismissing a plea to stop construction activity in the Central Vista area of the national capital amidst a surge in the pandemic. Advocate Pradeep Kumar Yadav said the High Court erred in concluding that the workers stayed at the site whereas they were brought in daily from outside at a time when restrictions were in place on public movement to halt the spread of the virus. The High Court failed to appreciate that allowing a big construction work with a huge number of innocent laborers workers to continue during peak Covid-19 pandemic period is a serious public health issue concern, Yadav’s petition said. The special leave petition said that there was no justification for holding that the Central Vista Avenue Development project was an essential activity during the peak pandemic crisis. The Delhi High Court had found no reason to suspend the construction activities as it held that the workers were staying at the project site. It concluded that COVID-19 protocols are adhered to and COVID-19 appropriate behaviour is being followed. It imposed ₹1 lakh costs on the petitioners, Anya Malhotra and Sohail Hashmi, for filing a motivated petition.

F) Govt eases norms for supply of foreign-made Covid-19 vaccines in India.

To ease the supply of imported Covid-19 vaccines, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has waived the requirement of conducting bridging clinical trials and testing of every batch of vaccine by the Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL), Kasauli for foreign-made vaccines. The DCGI said it has been decided that for approval for restricted use in emergency situations which are already approved for restricted use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, European Medicines Agency, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, U.K., Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, Japan, or which are listed in WHO Emergency Use Listing, and which are well established vaccines, the requirement of conducting post-approval bridging clinical trials and of testing every batch of vaccine by CDL, Kasauli can be exempted, if the batch/lot has been certified and released by the National Control Laboratory of the country of origin.

G) Man sings Juhi Chawla’s songs during the HC hearing of her plea against 5G.

Some of the hit songs of actor Juhi Chawla’s movies made their way in the proceedings before the Delhi High Court on Wednesday when a man started singing them during the virtual hearing related to the Bollywood star’s plea against the setting up of 5G wireless network in the country. The action of the man resulted in the periodic interruption of hearing and on the judge’s directions, the person was repeatedly removed from the hearing, but he kept on joining and started singing till the time the proceedings were locked. Chawla also joined the virtual proceedings from South Africa. The man, who was logging in the virtual hearing with different names, first started singing ‘Ghoonghat ki aad mein dilbar ka didaar adhura’ from her block buster movie ‘Hum hai rahi pyar ke’ and he was then removed. He again joined the proceedings and started singing another song, ‘Lal lal hoton pe gori kiska naam hai…’ from another of her hit films, and was again removed from the hearing. The third time, he joined and sang ‘Meri banno ki aayegi baraat ke dhol bajao ji’ from the movie Aaina. At the outset, the man was heard saying, Where is Juhi Ma’am I can’t see her and when the judge asked the court master to mute the concerned person, he said, You want to mute me? Oh really! Chawla had earlier shared the link for joining the proceedings on her Twitter handle, tweeting, If you do think this concerns you in anyway, feel free to join our first virtual hearing conducted at Delhi High Court to be held on 2nd June, 10.45 AM onwards. As for her plea, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday termed it as defective and said it was filed for media publicity. The court also questioned Chawla for filing the suit without giving any representation to the government on her concerns related to 5G technology. Justice JR Midha said the plaintiffs, Chawla and two others, were required to first approach the government for their rights and if denied, only then they should come to the court. Chawla’s plea claimed that 5G wireless technology could cause serious, irreversible harm to humans and permanent damage to the earth’s ecosystems. It said that if the telecom industry’s plans for 5G come to fruition, no person, animal, bird, insect and plant on earth will be able to avoid exposure, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to levels of radiation that are 10x to 100x times greater than what exists today.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A) President Biden vows to strengthen voting rights.

Speaking from Tulsa, Oklahoma, on the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre in which an estimated 300 blacks were killed by white supremacists and many left homeless U.S. President Joe Biden said he would fight with every tool at my [his] disposal to ensure the Senate passed its version of a voting rights Bill, the For the People Act, already passed by the House of Representatives earlier this year. The President also announced that he had appointed Vice-President Kamala Harris, who is African American and Indian American, to head the White House’s efforts to strengthen voting rights. Describing the massacre in the Greenwood neighbourhood (called the ‘Black Wall Street’ as it was the most prosperous black neighbourhood in America at the time), accounts of which have not made it into most history lessons, Mr. Biden described a belief that America did not belong to everyone. A belief enforced by law, by badge, by hood and by noose, he said following remarks after he met survivors of the massacre. Mr. Biden toured the Greenwood Cultural Center and met the only three known survivors, now aged 107, 106 and 101. Mr. Biden’s actions come at a time when Republicans on Capitol Hill and State legislators are advancing legislation which they say is to curb voter fraud but Democrats say they are aimed at restricting access to the ballot box, especially for minority communities. The President said the sacred right [voting] was under assault with incredible intensity like I’ve never seen. On Monday Texas’s Republican Governor, Greg Abbot, threatened to cut the salary of legislators after Democrats, on Sunday, boycotted a vote on a Bill they said would restrict voting and make it easier to overturn results. Florida, Arizona and Georgia have also passed voting restriction legislation this year. Following the loss of several key swing States and the presidency, Republican lawmakers across the country have acted to bring further controls on voting, echoing former President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims of large-scale voter fraud.

B) China, Pakistan, Afghanistan to hold talks amid U.S. withdrawal.

China on Thursday will chair a meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan, as Beijing looks to step up its engagement with both Kabul and Islamabad amid the withdrawal of U.S. China’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday the fourth meeting between the three countries’ Foreign Ministers will be held via video link and would be chaired by China. The US central command said that between 30-44% of the withdrawal of had been completed, with President Joe Biden announcing in April a complete withdrawal by September 11 this year. The three countries’ Vice Foreign Ministers, at a virtual dialogue in July, had -urged for an orderly. responsible and condition based withdrawal. Ambassador to China, Javid Qaem, was quoted as telling Chinese media this week that China’s good relations with both Afghanistan and Pakistan could see Beijing playing a critical role in building trust between these two neighbouring countries. The Afghan envoy cited China’s offer to facilitate Afghan peace talks in the future, the official Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying, noting that Foreign Minister Wang Yi had in a May 17 phone call with Afghan National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib offered to facilitate internal negotiations among various parties in Afghanistan, including creating necessary conditions for negotiations in China. He also called on India and China to work together despite their other bilateral problems. Afghanistan being a stable country is in favour of countries such as the U.S., China and India, the Communist Party-run Global Times quoted him as saying. It is more important how we and Pakistan can build trust and how China and India can build trust regarding Afghanistan regardless of other issues.

NATIONAL NEWS

A) CBSE class 12 exams cancelled, says government.

The Class 12 examinations of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) have been cancelled, following a review meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday evening. In view of the uncertain conditions due to COVID and the feedback obtained from various stakeholders, it was decided that Class XII Board Exams would not be held this year. It was also decided that CBSE will take steps to compile the results of class XII students as per a well-defined objective criteria in a time-bound manner, said the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office issued after the meeting. However, in case some students wish to take the exams, such an option would be provided to them by CBSE, as and when the situation becomes conducive, said the statement. The same option was offered last year as well. At the meeting, attended by senior Cabinet Ministers and Education Ministry officials, a detailed presentation was made on consultations held so far and views received from all stakeholders, including State governments. The examinations, originally scheduled to be held in May, were postponed due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. About 14 lakh students have registered to write the examination this year.

B) Before he retired, Centre served show cause notice on former Bengal Chief Secretary under Disaster Management Act.

Hours before he retired, former West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay was served a show cause notice by the Union Home Ministry under Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, (DM Act) punishable by an imprisonment of up to two years or a fine or both. The section pertains to punishment for obstruction for refusal to comply with a direction given by the Central government. Bandyopadhyay has been asked to explain in writing to the Home Ministry within three days as to why action should not be taken against him under Section 51 of the DM Act. The notice was served barely a couple of hours before he retired on May 31. He had refused a three-month extension sanctioned to him by the State and Central government. On May 31, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had also shot off a letter asking him to comply with its May 28 order to report to the Central government’s office in Delhi. The notice issued to Bandyopadhyay said that since the Prime Minister is head of the NDMA and had gone to West Bengal to review Cyclone Yaas, the officer’s act of abstaining himself from the meeting amounted to violation of the Act. The section prescribes punishment for obstruction for refusal to comply with any direction given by or on behalf of the Central government under the Act. It says that violation shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term that may extend to one year or with a fine or both upon conviction. It adds that if such refusal to comply with directions results in loss of lives or imminent danger thereof, shall on conviction be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years. According to Meeran Chadha Borwankar, former Director General of Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), Section 51 of the Act has two important caveats. Under the Act, the action on the part of the person has to be ‘without reasonable cause’ and ‘failure of an officer to perform the duty without due permission or lawful excuse.’ I am sure the Chief Secretary had ‘reasonable cause’ and ‘lawful excuse’ for not attending the meeting. He can highlight both in his reply, the retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer said.

C) Congress CMs protest against exclusion from panel on GST waiver for Covid-19-related products.

Chief Ministers of the Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have questioned the Union government’s decision to not include Finance Ministers from the Congress-ruled States in the Group of Ministers (GoM) formed to examine the issue of GST exemption to Covid-19 relief material. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is the convenor of this eight-member committee. The other members are ministers from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Odisha, Telangana and U.P. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot wrote on Twitter, The Union Government has set up a GoM following the GST Council Meeting of May 28th, 2021. A deliberate attempt has been made to keep the principal Opposition party, the Congress, that has three members in the GST Council, out of the GoM. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said the exclusion of the Congress was against the spirit of cooperative federalism. Congress-ruled States are also part of the GST Council, so why have they been omitted out of this committee, he asked. It was deliberate and to ensure that the Centre got to have its way, he said. Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal has been one of the first leaders to raise the necessity of holding a GST Council meeting to rationalise the tax on supplies needed for the pandemic. West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra too had raised this issue. Both have not found space in the committee. In the recent meeting of the GST Council, the Ministers of the Congress-ruled States had proposed that for all goods needed to deal with Covid-19, the GST should be only 0.1% The GoM has to examine the need for GST waiver in case of Covid-19 vaccines, medicines, medical grade oxygen, pulse oximeters, test kits, hand sanitisers, oxygen therapy equipment, ventilators and so on. It has to submit a report by June 8.

D) Petrol, diesel prices hiked again, rates at new high.

Petrol and diesel prices on June 1 scaled new highs across the country after they were hiked for the 17th time in a month. Petrol price was increased by 26 paise per litre and diesel by 23 paise a litre, according to a price notification of State-owned fuel retailers. In Delhi, petrol hit an all-time high of ₹94.49 a litre, while diesel is priced at ₹85.38 per litre. Fuel prices differ from State to State depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges. Rajasthan levies the highest value-added tax (VAT) on petrol in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The price of petrol, which had already crossed the ₹100-mark in several cities in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, breached the psychological barrier in Mumbai on Saturday. Tuesday’s price increase was the second since then. Petrol now costs ₹100.72 a litre in Mumbai and diesel comes for ₹92.69 per litre. The increase on June 1 is the 17th increase in prices since May 4, when State-owned oil firms ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision that they had observed during the recently held Assembly elections in States like West Bengal. In 17 increases, petrol price has risen by ₹4.09 per litre and diesel by ₹4.65 a litre. Oil companies revise rates of petrol and diesel daily based on the average price of benchmark fuel in the international market in the preceding 15-days, and foreign exchange rates. Brent crude oil the most widely used international benchmark has risen 36% this year to more than $70 a barrel. This has prompted an increase in retail fuel prices.

E) Covid-19 surge: 10,000 children in country in immediate need of protection.

Bal Swaraj, an online tracking portal of a national child rights body, shows details of nearly 10,000 children in the country in immediate need of care and protection. They include children aged between zero and 17 who were orphaned or abandoned during the Covid-19 pandemic since March 2020. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) informed the Supreme Court that these children ran a high risk of being pushed into trafficking and flesh trade. The Commission said it had already received several complaints of government authorities illegally transferring details of children to private entities and NGOs. A Bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Aniruddha Bose is suo motu examining ways to protect children who have suffered personal losses and trauma caused by the pandemic. The cataclysmic Covid-19 pandemic devastated the vulnerable sections of society… there are a number of children who have become orphans due to the demise of either the breadwinner of the family or of both their parents, the court’s amicus curiae, advocate Gaurav Agrawal, said. On May 28, the Bench had directed the NCPCR, represented by advocate Swarupama Chaturvedi, and States to compile data identifying children in need of immediate care. The district authorities are directed to upload the information of children who have become orphans after March, 2020 on the portal Bal Swaraj before tomorrow evening [May 29], the Bench had ordered. The NCPCR’s Bal Swaraj records the details of 9,346 children who are in need of care and protection as of May 29. Of this, children who have lost either parent are 7,464, while those who have been orphaned and abandoned are 1,742 and 140, respectively. The portal shows that children aged between eight and 13 form the highest age bracket of those who are in dire need of help. There are 3,711 of them.

F) Swapan Dasgupta back in Rajya Sabha; shameful, says TMC.

A month after his resignation from the Rajya Sabha to contest the West Bengal elections on BJP ticket, Swapan Dasgupta was renominated to the House by President Ramnath Kovind to fill the seat that fell vacant due to his resignation for his remainder term till April next. Dasgupta lost the Tarkeshwar constituency to his TMC rival, Ramendu Sinharay, by a margin of over 7,000 votes. He was forced to resign from the Rajya Sabha ahead of the polls after the TMC forced legal action since a nominated member cannot contest on any party ticket while continuing to hold the post in the House. TMC chief whip in the Rajya Sabha Sukhendu Sekhar Ray told The Hindu, I do not think it has ever happened in the history of the Rajya Sabha that a person who resigned just a month back is renominated by the President of India. The government is setting a bad precedent here by throwing all parliamentary norms out of the window. Ray termed it a shameful act. He was sent to West Bengal, protected as a leader of the BJP. After losing the battle now, he is being rehabilitated by the backdoor. The BJP, it seems, does not have educated people to run the show, so they are holding on to the ones they have, he stated. It was an insult to the office of the President, he said. The nominated posts are to be occupied by persons of eminence. And now, the President is forced to nominate a person who fought on BJP ticket just a month back, Ray added. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter, I think this is the FIRST time since the Rajya Sabha came into being in 1952 that such a thing has happened. A senior government official said Dasgupta’s resignation was accepted and he had been re-nominated only for the remainder of his term that ends next year.

G) Goa government seeks retrial in Tarun Tejpal case.

The Goa government in its appeal before the Bombay High Court against journalist Tarun Tejpal’s acquittal in a rape case said it was a fit case for retrial, citing the trial court’s lack of understanding of a victim’s post-trauma behaviour and censuring of her character. The appeal, filed before the HC’s Goa bench, was amended this week to bring on record the judgement and to include further grounds against the acquittal of Tejpal. The government said the trial court considered the evidence given by defence witnesses as gospel truth, but at the same time discredited without any finding the evidence given by the victim and the prosecution witnesses. It also claimed that the trial court completely ignored the most telling piece of evidence in the case (the apology e-mail) which established the guilt of the accused beyond a shadow of doubt. In its amended appeal, which will be heard on June 2, the State government said the trial court had lost sight of the fact that it was Tejpal who was an accused and was on trial, and not the victim. The entire judgement focuses on indicting the complainant rather than trying to ascertain the culpable role of the accused, the appeal said. The finding of the trial court on how a woman, who has been a victim of sexual assault, normally behaves is unsustainable in law and is coloured by prejudice and patriarchy, it said. In its appeal, the prosecution sought the HC to expunge several portions of the judgement that cast aspersions not only on the prosecution’s case, but also on the victim. This fact, accompanied by other attendant circumstances, clearly makes out a case for retrial in accordance with law, the prosecution said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Sri Lanka cargo vessel fire extinguished after two weeks. 

The fire aboard a Singapore registered cargo ship off Colombo was finally extinguished after about two weeks following a concerted international operation, the Sri Lankan Navy said on Tuesday. Experts from the [Dutch] salvage company SMIT boarded the vessel [MV XPress Pearl] and said the engine rooms are flooded. Our divers are yet to obtain clearance to check if there is any leak. The Indian Coast Guard vessels are also still here, assisting us, Captain Indika De Silva told The Hindu. Flames broke out aboard the vessel on May 20, and spread rapidly after an onboard explosion on May 25, leading to what Sri Lanka’s environmentalists fear could be the country’s worst environmental disaster. The vessel, which left the Hazira port in Gujarat on May 15, was headed to Singapore via Colombo, carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid, other chemicals and 28 containers of plastic raw material. Much of the cargo reportedly fell into the sea, while tonnes of plastic pellets were found deposited along Sri Lanka’s coastline, prompting authorities to restrict access to the sea and impose a fishing ban. Sri Lanka’s Marine Protection Authority chairperson Dharshani Lahandapura said: This is probably the worst beach pollution in our history. Many social media users shared photographs of plastic pellet heaps and dead fishes along the country’s southern beaches. Statement recorded Meanwhile, Sri Lankan investigators questioned the crew of the cargo ship, even as the vessel smouldered for over 12 days. Criminal Investigation Department recorded a statement from the captain for 14 hours on Monday, Colombo based The Morning newspaper reported. The Colombo Magistrate’s Court issued an order preventing the captain, chief engineer, and the deputy chief engineer of the vessel from leaving the country.

B) Pope updates canon law to address paedophilia by priests.

Pope Francis updated the Catholic Church’s criminal code on Tuesday by adding details on punishing sexual abuse crimes of minors by priests, measures long sought by activists against paedophilia. Revision of the penal sanctions within the Code of Canon Law followed a years long process involving input from canonist and criminal law experts and came after repeated complaints by victims of sexual abuse and others that the code’s previous wording was outdated and in transparent. The purpose of the revision, the most comprehensive since 1983, is restoration of justice, the reform of the offender, and the repair of scandal wrote Pope Francis in introducing the changes. Since becoming pope in 2013, the Argentine pontiff has striven to tackle the decades-long sexual abuse scandals involving Catholic priests around the globe, although many activists against paedophilia insist much more needs to be done. He convened an unprecedented summit on clerical sex abuse in 2019 while lifting secrecy rules that hindered investigations of abusing priests, among other measures. The new code falls short of explicitly spelling out sexual offences against minors yet refers to offences against the sixth commandment, which prohibits adultery. Under the new heading of Offenses against human life, dignity and liberty, the code specifies that a priest is to be stripped of his office and punished with other just penalties if he commits offences against the sixth commandment with a minor. Similarly, a priest who grooms or induces a minor to expose himself or herself pornographically or to take part in pornographic exhibitions will be similarly punished. One aim of the revision, wrote Pope Francis, was to reduce the number of penalties left to the discretion of judges, especially in the most serious cases. The new text introduces various modifications to the law in force and sanctions some new criminal offences, which respond to the increasingly widespread need in the various communities to see justice and order reestablished that the crime has shattered, he wrote. Other technical improvements related to the right of defence, the statute of limitations for criminal action, a more precise determination of penalties, he added. The changes will take effect in December.

NATIONAL NEWS

A) Supreme Court bats for one price for Covid-19 vaccines.

The government on Monday said it will inoculate the entire eligible population in the country by the end of 2021, but the Supreme Court raised questions about achieving such a milestone with a policy that allows the Centre to procure only 50% of the vaccines while leaving the States to fend for themselves. The court also challenged the differential vaccine pricing policy, saying there needs to be one price for vaccines across the nation. A three-judge Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud also asked the government to please wake up and smell the coffee about the farfetchedness of an illiterate villager from rural India crossing the digital divide to register for Covid-19 vaccination on the CoWIN portal where slots disappear in the blink of an eye. Justice Chandrachud said the government should be aware of the ground realities in ‘Digital India’. Vaccination policy today is entirely exclusionary of the rural areas, the court said. One of the judges on the Bench, Justice S. Ravindra Bhat said he had received distress calls from across the country from people unable to register on CoWIN. The court asked why marginalised sections should not be treated on par with people having co-morbities for early vaccination. The virtual hearing, however, began on a positive note with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta assuring that on vaccination, as per our estimate, from the domestic market and Sputnik V, we expect the entire eligible population to get vaccinated by the end of this year. Mehta said the government was in talks with other manufacturers like Pfizer. If the discussions succeed, the government would be able to advance its deadline for completing the immunisation drive. The Solicitor General said he would file an affidavit with the latest updates. But the court highlighted the difference in vaccine prices between the Centre and the States. When the Centre can purchase vaccine in bulk for Rs.150 per dose, the States have to pay Rs.300 to Rs.600. Justice L. Nageswara Rao, on the Bench, asked why even the two vaccines — Covaxin and Covishield — were differentially priced. What is the rationale for this dual pricing policy? Why is the Centre procuring at a lower price and what has the Centre fixed its vaccine purchase at 50% and left the States to their own devices? Justice Bhat asked. Article 1 of the Constitution says Bharat is a Union of States. When the Constitution says that, we will follow the federal rule. Then the Government of India has to wholly procure the vaccines and distribute them. Here, individual States are left in a lurch, Justice Chandrachud said.

 

B) Delhi HC dismisses plea seeking to halt Central Vista work, imposes Rs. 1 Lakh fine on petitioners.

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking to halt the construction activities at the Central Vista Avenue Redevelopment Project in view of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases. A Bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh remarked that there was no reason for the court to suspend the construction activities as the workers were staying at the project site, and COVID-19 protocols are adhered to and COVID-19 appropriate behaviour is being followed. We are of the view that this is a motivated petition preferred by the petitioners and not a genuine public interest litigation [PIL], the court said while imposing a cost of ₹1 lakh on petitioners Anya Malhotra, who works as a translator; and Sohail Hashmi, a historian and documentary film maker. The petitioners had argued that the project was not an essential activity and hence, it could be put on hold for now during the pandemic. The court noted that the work at the Central Vista Avenue Redevelopment was part and parcel of the Central Vista Project and of vital public importance and the legality of the project had been upheld by Supreme Court. By no stretch of imagination, it can be said that Central Vista Project or Central Vista Avenue Redevelopment Project is not an essential project, the court said, adding, If this type of project is stopped by the court, the main project cannot be completed within the stipulated time. It noted that the work at the Central Vista Avenue Redevelopment Project had to be completed by November, 2021. While the petitioners argued that the time limit be extended, the court said, Such kind of arguments cannot be accepted by this court, keeping in view that the construction activity of this essential project or of a project of national importance cannot be stopped especially when the conditions imposed by the order of the DDMA dated 19th April, 2021 are not flouted or violated. Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, for the petitioners, had stated that his clients were only delivering a message of health and safety for the people of Delhi and if the government could not see it, then it was a sorry reflection of their concern for the lives of the citizens. Luthra had referred to the ongoing project work as not Central Vista, rather central fortress of death, comparing it to Auschwitz, a German concentration camp during World War II. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta objected to the comparison, saying one could criticise but such terms should not be used.

 

C) It’s time to define limits of sedition, SC says.

The Supreme Court on Monday said it is time to define the limits of sedition even as it protected two Telugu channels from any coercive action by the Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh government for their reportage of the Covid-19 pandemic in the State. A three-judge Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud flagged indiscriminate use of the sedition law against critics, journalists, social media users, activists and citizens for airing their grievances about the government’s Covid-19 management, or even for seeking help to gain medical access, equipment, drugs and oxygen cylinders, especially during the second wave of the pandemic. This is muzzling the media, Justice L. Nageswara Rao, another judge on the Bench along with Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, said about the manner in which Andhra Pradesh had tried to silence channels TV5 and ABN. It is time to define the limits of sedition, Justice Chandrachud said. He pointed out that the Court had categorically told the States not to initiate penal action against the critics of Covid-19 management measures in an April 30 order. Both channels urged the Supreme Court to initiate contempt proceedings against the senior officials of the State government for violating the April 30 order of the Supreme Court to immediately cease any direct and indirect threats of prosecution and arrest to citizens, who air their grievances.

 

D) India’s GDP recorded its worst contraction since independence in 2020-21, shrank by 7.3%

India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted 7.3% in 2020-21, as per provisional National Income estimates released by the National Statistical Office on Monday, marginally better than the 8% contraction in the economy projected earlier. GDP growth in 2019-20, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, was 4%. The fourth quarter of 2020-21 recorded a growth of 1.6% in GDP, the second quarter of positive growth, after the country had entered a technical recession in the first half of the year. The Gross Value Added recorded 3.7% growth in Q4, compared to 1% in Q3. GVA had contracted 22.4% and 7.3% in the first and second quarters of 2020-21. GDP had contracted 24.4% in the April to June 2020 quarter, followed by a 7.4% shrinkage in the second quarter. It had returned to positive territory in the September to December quarter with a marginal 0.5% growth.

 

E) West Bengal Chief Secretary opts to retire, joins Mamata as chief adviser.

Soon after West Bengal government decided not to release its Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, who was asked by the Centre to report to Delhi on Monday, the latter decided to retire from the civil service. He will, however, continue to serve the State as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s chief adviser. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier in the day written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, informing him that the State won’t release Bandyopadhyay and urging him to rescind the order. Last week, the Union government issued an order asking the Chief Secretary to report to the Central government at 10 a.m. on Monday. The government of West Bengal cannot release, and is not releasing, its Chief Secretary at this critical hour on the basis of our understanding that the earlier order of extension, issued after lawful consultation in accordance with applicable laws, remains operational and valid. The latest order is also clearly in violation of applicable laws and against public interest: it is in any case ab initio void, Banerjee wrote in the letter addressed to the Prime Minister. She thus humbly appeal to your conscience and good sense, on the behalf of people of West Bengal, and request you to rescind the latest order, she added. She really and sincerely hope that this latest order is not related to my meeting with you at Kalaikunda. If that be the reason, it would be sad, unfortunate and would amount to sacrificing public interest at the altar of misplaced priorities, she wrote referring to the incident where she skipped the review meeting on cyclone ‘Yaas’chaired by the Prime Minister. Bandyopadhyay had accompanied the Chief Minister.

 

F) Kerala Assembly passes resolution seeking recall of Lakshadweep administrator.

The Kerala Legislative Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution demanding the recall of Lakshadweep administrator Praful Khoda Patel and withdrawal of the controversial orders issued by him. The house also expressed solidarity with the people of Lakshadweep, who have been protesting against the decisions of the administrator and have demanded immediate steps to safeguard the culture and livelihood of the people of the island. It is the first resolution moved in the Assembly after the second LDF government under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan came to power in the April 6 Assembly elections and the first in the 15th Legislative Assembly. The Chief Minister, who moved the resolution under Rule 118 in the House after obituary references and presentations of the reports, said the administrator was taking many measures to alienate the peace-loving people of the island. In the name of development, even their livelihood is threatened. Even coconut trees are painted with saffron colour in the name of beautification. This can’t be allowed at any cost. The attempt is to impose and implement the saffron agenda and corporate interests in Lakshadweep. The Sangh Parivar is making the island another laboratory and people of the country will not allow that to happen, the resolution said. After the recall of the administrator, the resolution said all controversial decisions taken by him should be withdrawn.

 

G) Twitter has to comply with new digital rules, says Delhi High Court.

Twitter has to comply with the new Information Technology Rules for digital media if they have not been stayed, the Delhi High Court said on Monday. Justice Rekha Palli issued notice to the Centre and social media platform Twitter seeking their stand on a plea by a lawyer, Amit Acharya, claiming non-compliance of the Rules by it. While Twitter claimed before the court that it has complied with the rules and appointed a resident grievance officer, the Central government disputed the claim. They have to follow it [rules], if it has not been stayed, the court said. In his plea, filed through advocate Akash Vajpai and Manish Kumar, Acharya said that he came to know about the alleged non-compliance when he tried to lodge a complaint against a couple of tweets. During the hearing, Central government standing counsel Ripudaman Singh Bhardwaj told the court that Twitter has not complied with the rules. Acharya, in his plea, said that the new IT Rules took effect from February 25 and the Centre had given three months to every social media intermediary, including Twitter, to comply with them. He contended that the three-month period got over on May 25, but no resident grievance officer was appointed by Twitter to deal with complaints regarding tweets on its platform. The petition has sought a direction to Twitter to appoint a resident grievance officer without further delay. It has also sought a direction to the Centre to ensure that the IT rules are complied with. Twitter had recently said it was committed to India as a vital market, but criticised the new IT rules and regulations, saying they inhibit free, open public conversation.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) As births decline, China to allow couples to have third child.

China’s ruling Communist Party said on Monday that it will ease birth limits to allow all couples to have three children instead of two in hopes of slowing the rapid aging of its population, which is adding to strains on the economy and society. The ruling party has enforced birth limits since 1980 to restrain population growth but is now worried that the number of working-age people is falling too fast while that of 65-plus is rising. That threatens to disrupt its ambitions to transform China into a prosperous consumer society and global technology leader. A ruling party meeting led by President Xi Jinping decided to introduce measures to actively deal with the aging population, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It said leaders agreed that implementing the policy of one couple can have three children and supporting measures are conducive to improving China’s population structure. Leaders also agreed that China needs to raise its retirement age to keep more people in the workforce and improve pension and health services for the elderly, Xinhua said. Restrictions that limited most couples to one child were eased in 2015 to allow two, but the total number of births fell further, suggesting rule changes on their own have little impact on the trend. Couples say they are put off by high costs of raising a child, disruption to their jobs, and the need to look after elderly parents. China, along with Thailand and some other Asian economies, faces what economists call the challenge of whether they can get rich before they get old. The Chinese population, which is 1.4 billion already, was expected to peak later this decade and start to decline. Census data released on May 11 suggest that is happening faster than expected, adding to burdens on under-funded pension and health systems and cutting the number of future workers available to support a growing retiree group. The share of working-age people (15 to 59 years) in the population fell to 63.3% last year from 70.1% a decade earlier. The group aged 65 and older grew to 13.5% from 8.9%. The 12 million births reported last year was down nearly one-fifth from 2019.

 

B) ‘Many obstacles’ remain in bid to oust Netanyahu, says Lapid.

Israeli Opposition leader Yair Lapid on Monday said many obstacles remain before a diverse coalition can be built to oust veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but voiced hope it will achieve the greater goal. Mr. Lapid, a secular centrist, has been locked in talks with the right-wing nationalist Naftali Bennett on the terms of a change alliance that also hinges on an array of other parties ahead of a Wednesday midnight deadline. Former TV anchor Mr. Lapid’s chances of success rose when tech millionaire Mr. Bennett, despite their ideological differences, said on Sunday he would join a national unity government in which the two men would take turns to serve as premier. Israel’s latest political turmoil comes more than two months after Israel’s fourth inconclusive election in less than two years and could topple the right-wing leader known as Bibi who has ruled for a total of 15 years. It also follows Israel’s bloody Il-day conflict with Islamist group Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza that ended with a May 21 ceasefire. A viable anti-Netanyahu coalition would still need the support of other parties and lawmakers to gain a majority of 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset, Israel’s legislature. But while Mr. Lapid warned of remaining hurdles, he also sought to strike a cautiously upbeat note. We’ll have to overcome them together, he told members of his Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party. That’s our first test to see if we can find smart compromises in the coming days to achieve the greater goal. Mr. Netanyahu warned on Sunday that a left-wing government would be ‘dangerous to the state of Israel.

NATIONAL NEWS

A) The government used ‘Indian double mutant strain’ in the Supreme Court affidavit.

The government used the term Indian double mutant strain in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court just days before it officially objected to affixing nationality to the virus variant. A May 9 affidavit refers to the Indian double mutant strain while detailing the steps taken by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology to develop Covaxin. The affidavit was filed in the court three days prior to a Ministry of Health statement on May 12, taking exception to media reports which referred to the B.1.617 variant as an Indian variant. The Ministry condemned these media reports as baseless and unfounded. It said the World Health Organisation (WHO) had not associated B.1.617 with the term Indian variant. Instead, it considered the virus a variant of ‘global concern’. The WHO had also clarified in a tweet that it does not identify viruses or variants with names of countries they are first reported from. We refer to them by their scientific names and request all to do the same for consistency. But the May 9 affidavit runs contrary to WHO even in this aspect. In fact, the affidavit calls variants UK variant, Brazil variant, South African variant and caps the list with the Indian double mutant strain. The Ministry of Health was one among the many Ministries consulted before the May 9 affidavit was filed in the apex court. The introductory paragraph in the affidavit filed by the Ministry of Home Affairs said the document was filed in compliance with the instructions received from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Ministry of Railways. Congress leaders like Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh pointed out the anomaly between the May 9 affidavit and the official objection of the Health Ministry on May 12. My colleague @Pawankhera found a Govt of India affidavit to Supreme Court using the term ‘Indian double mutant strain’. And they tell the world not to. Govt also uses the UK variant, Brazil variant, etc. in its official communication, Mr. Ramesh tweeted.

B) COVID patient’s body thrown into the river in Uttar Pradesh, the family booked.

The family of a person who died of COVID was booked in Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur district after they were caught in a video dumping his body into a river in broad daylight. The video, shot by someone driving on the bridge from where the body was dumped, was widely shared on social media. This comes on the heels of the Uttar Pradesh government trying to fend off criticism over countless bodies of suspected COVID-19 victims found floating in the Ganga in several districts. In the video from Balrampur, two men, including one wearing a PPE kit are seen mounting the body, which is wrapped in a bag, to be thrown over the bridge on the Rapti river. V.B. Singh CMO Balrampur said an FIR had been lodged against the family of the person whose body was thrown into the river. Mr. Singh said the body was of one Premnath Mishra of Siddharthnagar, who was admitted to hospital on May 25 and died three later on May 28. The body was handed over to his family as per COVID protocol, the CMO said. Mr. Singh said that the prima facie it came to light that the family had thrown the body into the river and appropriate action would be taken in the matter. Ever since bodies were seen floating in the Ganga, the police have set up pickets and patrolling by boats to prevent such disposals and even offered people a support sum of ₹5,000 for cremation if they cannot afford it. 

C) Public sector banks to lend up to ₹5 lakh to individuals for COVID-19 treatment.

Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have announced that they will provide unsecured loans of up to ₹5 lakh to individuals to meet their and family members’ COVID-19 treatment cost. This comes in the wake of the ongoing second wave of the pandemic that has swept across the country unleashing untold miseries on families across income groups. This forms part of three new loan products announced by them on Sunday to provide fresh lending support to vaccine manufacturers, hospitals/dispensaries, pathology labs, manufacturers and suppliers of oxygen, ventilators, importers of vaccines & COVID-related drugs logistics firms, and individuals suffering from COVID-19. As per these announcements made at a joint press conference by the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) and State Bank of India (SBI), individuals including salaried, non-salaried, and pensioners can avail of unsecured personal loans from ₹ 25,000 to ₹ 5 lakh to meet COVID-19 treatment. The repayment tenure is 5 years and SBI would charge interest of 8.5% per annum. Other banks are free to decide their interest rate. The PSBs have also offered to provide up to ₹2 crores as healthcare business loans to existing hospitals, nursing homes for setting up oxygen plants along with a power backup system under the ECGLS. Capped at an interest rate of 7.5% these loans are backed by a 100% guarantee cover of National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd (NCGTC) under ECLGS 4.0 which was announced by the Department of Financial Services and Government of India. The loan tenure is 5 years. The banks have also come out with business loans for healthcare facilities. Up to ₹.100 crore, each would be advanced to firms in Metro cites to set up/expand healthcare infrastructure and to manufacturers of healthcare products such as vaccines and ventilators. While firms in Tier 1 and urban centers can avail loans of up to ₹ 20 crores, the ones in Tier II to Tier IV can avail up to ₹ 10 crores. The loan tenure is 10 years. All these schemes being offered by PSBs will form part of the COVID loan book and are under priority sector lending.

D) Congress releases a seven-point charge sheet against Modi’s seven years in charge.

The Congress on Sunday released a seven-point ‘charge sheet against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government which has now completed seven years in power. The party accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of reversing all economic gains made by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, insensitive treatment of the farmers, inept handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and failing to protect the country against threats from China. Randeep Surjewala, Congress general secretary and in-charge of the communication department, in a virtual press conference, said the Modi government was the weakest government India had had in 73 years. When the UPA government demitted office in 2014, the GDP was 8.1%, Mr. Surjewala said. Even before the pandemic hit in 2019-20 the GDP had fallen to 4.2%. In the first quarter of 2020-21, the GDP was down to minus 24.1%, and in the second quarter, it is now minus 7.5%. It is estimated that in 2020-21 the GDP will be close to minus 8%, he said. The government came to power on the promise of providing two crore employment. In seven years they should have provided 14 crore jobs. Forget about 14 crore jobs, the unemployment rate is at a 45-year high, he added. The Congress leader also slammed the government for its insensitive attitude towards the farmers. He said that the BJP government wanted big corporations to replace small farmers. He also accused the government of going back on their promise of implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report. This government is not against poverty, they are against the poor, he said pointing at the World Bank report that claimed that during the UPA years 27 crore persons overcame extreme poverty while the PEW Research Centre in 2020 said the middle class had shrunk in India with nearly 3.20 crore people being pushed off the grid.

E) Serum Institute promises 9-10 crore Covishield doses in June.

Serum Institute of India (SII) has informed the government that it will be able to manufacture and supply nine to 10 crore doses of Covishield in June, official sources said on Sunday amid complaints by States about the shortage of anti-coronavirus vaccine jabs. In a recent letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, SII said its employees have been working round the clock in spite of various challenges because of the pandemic. We are pleased to inform you that in the month of June we will be able to manufacture and supply nine to 10 crore doses of our Covishield vaccine to the country as compared to our production capacity of 6.5 crore doses in May, Prakash Kumar Singh, the Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at SII, said in the letter. Mr. Singh also thanked Mr. Shah for his valuable guidance and continuous support at various stages of their endeavor to make India ‘aatmanirbhar’ (self-sufficient) in COVID-19 vaccines and making it available for the people of the country. Serum Institute of India has always been sincerely concerned about the protection of the citizens of our country and the world at large from COVID-19. Under the leadership of our CEO, Adar C Poonawalla, our team has been working relentlessly shoulder to shoulder with our government to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, he said in the letter. We assure you that with the support of the Government of India and under your kind guidance, we are trying our best by utilizing all of our resources to increase our production capacity of Covishield in the coming month also. In early May, SII had communicated to the Centre that production of Covishield would be ramped up to 6.5 crores in June, seven crores in July, and 10 crores each in August and September.

F) India has sent a jet to Dominica for Mehul Choksi’s extradition, says Antigua PM.

The government has maintained its silence on the Mehul Choksi deportation case in the Caribbean islands, even as the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda claimed that he had information that India has sent a jet to Dominica to provide documentation and take custody of the fugitive businessman. Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne said India is going all out to ensure that Mr. Choksi, who is wanted for the ₹13,578 crores Punjab National Bank fraud case, is deported to India, and indicated that Indian officials were in Dominica’s capital Roseau to escort him back on a Qatar Airways private jet parked now at the Douglas-Charles airport nearby, that landed there on May 28. Yes, I can confirm there is a jet there. My understanding is that the Indian government has sent certain documentation from the courts in India to confirm that Mr. Choksi is indeed a fugitive and my understanding is that the documentation will be used in the court case that will be heard at the court next Wednesday, Mr. Browne told Pointe FM radio channel, where he broadcasts his own show, on Sunday. According to publicly available information on Flight tracker sites, the jet, a Qatar Executive flight-A7CEE arrived traveled to Dominica from Doha to Delhi to Madrid, indicating it began its journey on May 27, the day before Mr. Choksi was produced in Dominica’s Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. The Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs declined to comment on the issue. Mr. Choksi, who has been on the run from India since 2018, disappeared from Antigua last Wednesday and was arrested by Dominican authorities on Friday bearing grievous injuries from what his lawyers claimed was a kidnap attempt.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A) Israel, Egypt officials meet in a bid to solidify the Gaza ceasefire.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted Egypt’s intelligence chief and sent Israel’s Foreign Minister to Cairo on Sunday, amid efforts to build on a ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas a week ago that ended the worst violence in Egypt helped broker the truce that has held since May 21, a diplomatic success that thrust it into the spotlight, and is working with the United States and other regional partners to expand it into a more permanent ceasefire. Mr. Netanyahu said his meeting with Abbas Kamel in Jerusalem dealt with regional security issues and ways to prevent Hamas, the Islamist militant group that rules Gaza, from siphoning off civilian aid to strengthen its capabilities. Palestinian officials put reconstruction costs at tens of millions of dollars from Israeli strikes in Gaza, where medical officials said 248 people were killed during 11 days of fighting. Israel is also repairing damage caused by Palestinian rockets and missiles, which killed 13 people in Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi’s trip to Cairo was the first such visit in 13 years. Mr. Ashkenazi said he would discuss with Egyptian counterparts establishing a permanent ceasefire with Hamas, along with ways to help rebuild Gaza. Egypt announced on Saturday that Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry would receive Mr. Ashkenazi, but did not give further details of the talks. Both Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Ashkenazi said a key aim for Israel was to secure the return of two Israeli civilians and the remains of two soldiers held for years in Gaza. Hamas has refused to hand them over. 

B) China’s space station plans gather pace with cargo docking

China took another step towards completing the construction of its first space station by the end of next year following the launch and docking of a cargo spacecraft early on Sunday. The Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft, described by China’s state media as the delivery guy for China’s space station, was launched late on Saturday on a Long March-7 rocket from the island of Hainan and docked eight hours later with the space station’s first core module called Tianhe, or heavenly harmony. The launch was the third landmark for China’s space program in recent weeks. China landed a spacecraft on Mars on May 15 carrying its first Mars rover, Zhurong. The Tianhe module, which the cargo spacecraft docked with on Sunday, was launched on April 29. The Tianzhou-2 spacecraft carried a range of supplies, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said, and will be followed by the launch of another cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-3, and two manned missions, Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-13, later this year, each carrying three astronauts who will spend several months in orbit. The Shenzhou-12 launch is slated for mid-June. The six missions to follow this year, including for the space station’s second and third modules, Wentian and Mengtian, will close to complete the construction of China’s first space station, expected to be finished in 2022. The CMSA said Tianzhou-2, with a maximum takeoff weight of 13.5 tons and 6.9 ton-payload capacity, is the largest cargo spacecraft in service. The spacecraft is carrying cargo and propellant that will replenish the supplies of the Tianhe module, the agency said. Official broadcaster China Global Television Network said its supplies include food for the crew that will follow in the Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-13 missions, including famous stir-fried Chinese dishes like shredded pork with garlic sauce and Kung Pao chicken.

NATIONAL NEWS

A) Withdraw the ‘unconstitutional’ recall order of Chief Secretary: Mamata tells Centre.

Describing the Union government’s order to recall West Bengal Chief Sectary Alapan Bandyopadhyay as unconstitutional, unilateral and a result of political vendetta, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday urged the Centre to withdraw the order. I appeal to you to withdraw this letter and allow him to work for the people of the State. I will appeal to you Prime Minister, Home Minister, do not indulge in political vendetta when it comes to IAS and IPS officers, she said. Banerjee pointed out that she did meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and before leaving for Digha sought his permission three times. I feel insulted and humiliated, but they should not insult my officers. What was his (Mr Bandyopadhyay’s) fault? He went with me to meet PM, the Chief Minister said. Hours after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee did not participate in the review meeting on cyclone Yaas chaired by the Prime Minister, the appointments committee of the Cabinet attached the State’s top bureaucrat to the Centre. Referring to photographs of empty chairs at the Prime Minister’s meeting, Banerjee said she spoke to him for several minutes, which was not photographed and circulated. Since last night so many political leaders made unjust comments to tarnish my image, the image of my government, she said. The Chief Minister also raised the issue that the Leader of Opposition was not present when the Prime Minister visited Gujarat or Odisha. It was supposed to be a PM-CM meeting. Then, later it was revised with the presence of central ministers, Leader of Opposition and the Governor, Banerjee pointed out.

 

B) Recall of Bengal chief secretary is ‘malicious’, spells the death knell of federalism, says Congress.

The Congress on Saturday decried the recall of the West Bengal Chief Secretary by the Centre, alleging it was an unpardonable attack on the Constitution and federalism that will create anarchy in the country, PTI reported. Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the abrupt, malicious and unilateral recall of West Bengal’s chief secretary by the Modi Government has shocked the conscience of the entire nation. This is a double whammy when viewed in light of the fact that the chief secretary was granted an extension for three months by the Modi Government itself as recently as four days ago, he said and called it a death knell for federalism. This is a lethal blow to the Constitution of India, as also federalism. If the Union Government is permitted to recall the All India Service Officers i.e. IAS and IPS from the states for partisan political considerations and at its whims and fancies, the entire architecture of the rule of law and the Constitution will crumble, Surjewala said in a statement. He said if the head of bureaucracy in a state is summarily removed by the Union Government, why would any IAS or IPS officer, whether a district magistrate or a secretary or a police officer, listen to and follow the orders of state government or implement any policy or programme devised by the state government. This would lead to complete and total anarchy in the country, he alleged. Will the prime minister, the DPOT and the BJP Government disclose the reason for the U-turn in recalling the chief secretary within four days of granting him a three months extension, he demanded. The Congress leader also said the ongoing saga in the Calcutta High Court is grossly disturbing and bodes ill for an independent judiciary. Surjewala said equally shocking for every individual having faith in the Constitution is the recent letter written by Justice Arindam Sinha, a sitting Judge of the Calcutta High Court. Barely four days after he was granted an extension, the Centre on Friday night sought the services of West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay and asked the state government to relieve the officer immediately, a move termed by the ruling Trinamool Congress as a forced deputation. Bandyopadhyay, a 1987-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, was scheduled to retire on May 31 after completion of 60 years of age. However, he was granted a three-month extension following a nod from the Centre.

 

C) 13 more District Collectors empowered to grant citizenship to applicants from 3 countries.

The Home Ministry empowered 13 more District Collectors in five States Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab to grant citizenship certificates to applicants belonging to six minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The latest notification is a reiteration of similar orders issued in 2016 and 2018 and is not related to the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) that is yet to come into effect. The CAA passed in 2019 seeks to grant Indian citizenship to six undocumented communities that came to India till December 31, 2014. The May 28 notification intends to benefit legal migrants (who entered on passport/visa) from the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who have already applied for Citizenship under Section 5 (by registration) and Section 6 (naturalisation) of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The only way CAA could have helped the legal minority migrants is in fast-tracking their applications as it reduced the mandatory requirement of 11 years aggregate stay in India to five for citizenship. While the rules for CAA are yet to be framed, a minority applicant from the three countries, even if he or she came in 2014, becomes eligible for citizenship in the year 2025. Many of them, however, have been residing in India for more than 20 years on long-term visas (LTV). An LTV is a precursor to Citizenship. The applicants will have to apply online and a citizenship certificate will be provided after a security check by Central agencies and State police. Under the existing system, minority communities from the three countries who entered India before December 31, 2009, may or may not choose to provide a copy of their passports but they have to provide the date of the visa and may upload the visa document in place of the passport while applying for citizenship. The Home Secretaries of Punjab (except Jalandhar) and Haryana (except Faridabad) have also been given such powers. Citizenship is a Central subject and the Home Ministry periodically delegates powers to States through gazette notification under Section 16 of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

 

D) Vairamuthu to ‘return’ ONV Kurup literary prize.

Popular Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu on Saturday announced ‘returning’ the ONV literary prize, instituted in memory of Jnanpith laureate Malayalam poet late ONV Kurup, following protests from various quarters against the award to the songwriter, who is facing sexual harassment charges. Though he said he was ‘returning’ the award, in effect he was declining the honour, saying he did not want the jury to face embarrassment and blamed ‘vendetta’ behind the decision to reconsider the award by the ONV Cultural Academy. He requested that the cash prize of ₹3 lakh announced by the academy be given to the Kerala Chief Minister’s Public Relief fund and announced his own contribution of ₹2 lakh towards the same as a token of his love for Kerala and its people. Due to the interference of those with vendetta the award has been subject to reconsideration is what I have come to know. Wondering if the protests were aimed at belittling him and Kurup, Vairamuthu said he wanted to make sure that the scholarly jury should not be pushed to embarrassment. Therefore, I only desire to avoid receiving the award amid controversies, he said. On Friday, the ONV Cultural Academy had said it has decided to review the decision to grant the fifth ONV Literary Prize to Vairamuthu. The academy’s decision came in the wake of mounting protests from various quarters against the decision to give the award to the Tamil songwriter and poet who is facing accusations of sexual harassment. Actors Parvathi Thiruvothu and Geetu Mohandas and singer Chinmayi Sripada, who was among the women who accused Vairamuthu of sexual harassment, had objected to the Kerala honour for the lyricist. Vairamuthu had earlier denied the allegations levelled against him, calling them totally false and motivated.

 

E) As Jaishankar’s visit concludes, vaccine procurement challenges still being worked out.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed a range of issues on Friday including Covid-19 vaccine procurement, India-China border issues (according to the U.S.), climate change, the Quad, and the bilateral relationship. Discussions around vaccine procurement for India and related issues such as indemnity for vaccine manufacturers are still being resolved. I’m not going to get into the very specific angles of what was discussed, but certainly, vaccine manufacturing, procurement, delivery the larger question of how we can cooperate together both bilaterally and on the larger Quad context were covered today, Acting Assistant Secretary Dean Thompson who was present at the meeting said in response to a question from The Hindu. Both he and Jaishankar addressed the Indian press separately after the bilateral meeting. Asked whether there was a discussion on the allocation of vaccines from the U.S. stockpile, Jaishankar said the topic came up but did not get into details. The Biden administration has committed to sharing 60 million AstraZeneca doses and 20 million additional vaccine doses with the rest of the world by the end of June. American officials have said they will work with COVAX an international effort to equitably distribute vaccines in arriving at the allocation. Expanding vaccine manufacturing in India, Jaishankar said, was one of the goals of his visit to Washington. In a tweet on Friday, he said his meeting with Blinken and the team also focused on the Indo-U.S. vaccine partnership aimed at expanding access and ensuring supply. Resolving issues around U.S. demands for indemnity and early Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) were central to Jaishankar’s agenda in Washington, The Hindu had reported. However, regulatory, legal, commercial and supply-side aspects were still under discussion, the Minister told members of the Indian press on Friday. These [discussions] are going on between the companies concerned and the authorised people in India.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A) As Putin hosts Lukashenko, U.S. hits Belarus with sanctions. 

The United States on Friday announced punitive measures against Belarus targeting the regime of strongman President Alexander Lukashenko, who met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin amid a global outcry over the forced diversion of a European plane. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called for a credible international investigation into the events of May 23, which she called a direct affront to international norms. Belarus scrambled a military jet to divert a Ryanair plane and arrested 26-year old opposition journalist and activist Roman Protasevich who was on board, triggering a global outcry. The White House announced it was working with the EU on a list of targeted sanctions against key members of Mr Lukashenko’s regime. Meanwhile, economic sanctions against nine Belarusian state-owned enterprises, reimposed by Washington in April following a crackdown on pro-democracy protests, will come into effect on June 3. The further U.S. moves on Belarus could target those that support corruption, the abuse of human rights, and attacks on democracy, Ms Psaki said. The White House also issued a Do Not Travel warning for Belarus to U.S. citizens and warned American passenger planes to exercise extreme caution if considering flying over Belarusian airspace.

 

B) Sri Lanka faces marine disaster after ship fire.

Sri Lanka faces an unprecedented pollution crisis as waves of plastic waste from a burning container ship hit the coast and threaten to devastate the local environment, a top environment official warned Saturday. Thousands of Navy ratings using mechanical diggers scooped tonnes of tiny plastic granules on the beaches that had come from the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl that has been smouldering on the horizon for ten days. Sri Lanka’s Marine Protection Authority (MEPA) said the microplastic pollution could cause years of ecological damage to the Indian Ocean island. This is probably the worst beach pollution in our history, MEPA chairman Dharshani Lahandapura said. The tiny polyethene pellets threaten tourism beaches and fish-breeding in shallow waters. Fishing has been banned along an 80 km stretch of coast near the ship that has been burning for 10 days despite an international firefighting operation.

NATIONAL NEWS

A) Supreme Court expresses anguish over the plight of children orphaned by COVID-19.

 

The Supreme Court on Friday said precious time was being lost as children orphaned, abandoned and traumatised by the Covid-19 pandemic were starving without food on the streets of this large country. The apex court ordered district authorities across the country to immediately fan out and identify these children in need of care and provide them with basic needs like food, shelter and clothes. Days are passing by without children getting any food. Hope you will understand [to the Centre and the State governments] the agony these children are undergoing on the streets. We do not know the age of these children starving on the streets or how many of them are there in such a large country, a visibly anguished Justice L. Nageswara Rao, accompanied by Justice Aniruddha Bose on the Bench, said. Justice Rao said the actual number of children abandoned or orphaned may be much more than what has been cited in official and news reports. Bhati and advocate Swarupama Chaturvedi, for the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, said the Commission had an online portal ‘Bal Swaraj’ wherein district authorities could individually upload the figures of orphans and children in need of care and protection within their respective jurisdictions. District authorities have already been given the password to operate the portal. The court directed the district authorities in every State to upload the details of children who were orphaned and in a position requiring care and protection after March 2020, the month when the pandemic began in India. The court asked the States to separately provide the facts and figures of such children by Sunday evening. The court scheduled a hearing on Tuesday. The hearing on Friday was based on an urgent application filed by the amicus curiae, advocate Gaurav Agrawal, who placed on record a report in The Hindu about the plight of children during the pandemic. Agrawal said the pandemic has wreaked havoc in the lives of many children who had either lost both parents or guardians to the virus. He said, quoting the newspaper report, that there has been a marked increase in child trafficking, especially of girls. Agrawal said the government had an obligation to protect children.

 

B) The current rate of vaccination guarantees a third wave, which will be much worse: Rahul Gandhi.

In a virtual press conference, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today said that the current rate of vaccination will guarantee a third Covid-19 wave and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through his nautanki [theatrics], has created space for the virus to evolve and spread in India. He also lambasted Modi for not having understood the virus, for not having a vaccination strategy, and for waiting till 2021 to order vaccines when he could have done it last year. He also attacked the Prime Minister for deprioritising India’s needs by exporting millions of vaccines before a sufficient number of Indians could be vaccinated. Gandhi also claimed that the Covid-19 mortality figures put out by the Centre were big lies. Though Modi was worried about his image, it is gone; it’s dead, he said. He also accused the government of shutting down the feedback and information system. The pressure against social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook should be viewed in that context, he observed. Mr Modi is responsible for the second wave of Covid-19; it’s a result of his ‘nautanki’ [theatrics] and lack of his responsibility. It’s time for him to be a leader, display leadership skills and show courage and not come out with excuses and blame others, he said. The Prime Minister doesn’t think strategically. He is an event manager. He thinks one event at a time. You don’t need events now as events will kill people, you need a strategy. The aim of the strategy should be to shut the space for corona, he noted. With only 3 % of India’s population fully vaccinated and 97 % potentially exposed to the virus, the situation was alarming not just to the country but a ‘liability to the entire planet. As the virus mutated very fast, there could come a time when even vaccines may not be as effective as they were now. If 50-60% of India’s population was vaccinated, then the threat of a third wave would greatly subside and certainly won’t be a fourth or fifth wave, he said. You are the Prime Minister, the buck stops with you, Gandhi said, adding, Did Chhattisgarh export vaccines? No, the Prime Minister of India exported vaccines. Because he fundamentally misunderstood what is going on. The government may believe that their fight against coronavirus involved a fight with its political rivals as well, but the Opposition parties were actually a warning system. The tragedy is that the government is not understanding the nature of what they are fighting. The government is under the impression that they are fighting the Opposition. When it comes to corona, we are on the government’s side, he pointed out.

 

C) Narada case: All four TMC leaders get interim bail.

Four West Bengal leaders, including two Ministers, who were arrested by the CBI in the Narada case, were granted interim bail by a five-judge Bench of the Calcutta High Court on Friday on a personal bond of ₹2 lakh each. One of the conditions of the bail granted by the Bench of Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justices I.P. Mukerji, Harish Tandon, Soumen Sen and Arjit Banerjee was that the accused persons shall not give any press interview or make any public comments in connection with the cases pending in this court or in the trial court, pertaining to the alleged offence concerning themselves or any other co-accused. The aforesaid accused persons shall make themselves available for interrogation in the course of further investigation, if any, of the alleged offence, as and when required by the CBI. Considering the lockdown imposed in the State of West Bengal, the interrogation may be carried out by virtual mode, the order said. The CBI arrested Ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee, MLA Madan Mitra and former Minister Sovan Chatterjee on May 17 and they were granted bail by a Special CBI court the very same day. But it was stayed by a Division Bench of the High Court. The court later placed them under house arrest and constituted the five-judge Bench. The matter will now come up for hearing on May 31.

 

D) More pre-term babies during the second wave, say doctors in Bengaluru hospital.

More pregnant women appear to be testing positive for Covid-19 and developing complications during the ongoing second wave. As a result, gynaecologists in Karnataka are seeing a rise in pre-term deliveries and stillbirths. Although there is no statewide data available as yet, doctors said they are seeing many pregnant women reporting severe breathing problems. There is a rapid deterioration in the condition of such patients making urgent intervention and premature births inevitable, they said. A premature/pre-term delivery is one in which the baby is born before the 37th week of pregnancy. Patients and their families too readily give consent for a premature delivery, when the situation demands urgent intervention. If such patients need to be put on ventilators or require pruning, anaesthetists and treating physicians recommend that the deliveries be conducted before starting the treatment. We had to do this in 45 of the 276 positive women who delivered in our hospital since March, said D Tulasi Devi, Medical Superintendent of Hajee Sir Ismail Sait (HSIS) Gosha Hospital, Bengaluru. This State-run hospital is a dedicated Covid-19 facility for pregnant women. A total of 524 pregnant women had been admitted here since March. Among these, 276 women delivered at the hospital and the rest who were in their first or second trimesters were treated and discharged. Five of the 45 women who delivered pre-term succumbed to Covid-19. The hospital has seen a total of 22 maternal deaths during the second wave so far. While five were the ones who delivered pre-term, three died after giving birth at 32 weeks. The remaining 14 mothers, who had come with severe Covid-19 complications and precariously low oxygen saturation levels, died despite intervention. Chikkanarasa Reddy, professor of Paediatrics, Bowring and Lady Curzon Medical College and Research Institute, said although seven of the babies born to these COVID-positive mothers tested positive, all of them have recovered.

 

E) NCB arrests Sushant Singh Rajput’s flatmate Siddharth Pithani from Hyderabad.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday arrested Siddharth Pithani in Hyderabad for his alleged involvement in the drugs procurement case linked to the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Confirming the arrest, a senior NCB official said Pithani would be produced before a competent court later on Friday. The accused, a flatmate of the actor, was among the four persons who were present at Sushant’s Mumbai residence when his body was found on June 14 last year. In the same case, the NCB earlier arrested several persons, including Sushant’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Show, Sushant’s housekeeping manager Samuel Miranda and staff member Dipesh Sawant, drug peddlers. The NCB has instituted the case based on the initial information shared by the Enforcement Directorate on text exchanges among the suspects and its own preliminary findings. Sushant’s death is being probed by the CBI, which took over the case from the Patna Police in August last year.

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Germany recognises colonial killings in Namibia as genocide.

Germany has agreed to officially recognise the colonial-era killings of tens of thousands of people in Namibia as genocide and to spend a total of 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion), largely on development projects. The accord with Namibia announced Friday is the result of more than five years of talks on the events of 1904-1908, when Germany was the southern African country’s colonial ruler. Historians say German Gen. Lothar von Trotha, who was sent to what was then German South-West Africa to put down an uprising by the Herero people in 1904, instructed his troops to wipe out the entire tribe. They say that about 65,000 Herero were killed and at least 10,000 Nama. In the light of Germany’s historical and moral responsibility, we will ask Namibia and the descendants of the victims for forgiveness, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a statement. Our aim was and is to find a joint path to genuine reconciliation in remembrance of the victims, he said. That includes our naming the events of the German colonial era in today’s Namibia, and particularly the atrocities between 1904 and 1908, unsparingly and without euphemisms. We will now officially call these events what they were from today’s perspective: a genocide. Germany says that representatives of the Herero and Nama were involved in the negotiations, though Berlin’s direct dealings have been with the Namibian government. Talks between Germany and Namibia opened in 2015, more than a decade after a 2004 visit to Namibia in which then-Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul offered Germany’s first apology for the killings, which she said were what today would be labelled as genocide. Maas said that as a gesture of recognition of the incalculable suffering, Germany plans to support Namibia and the descendants of the victims with a 1.1 billion-euro rebuilding and development program in whose design and implementation the communities affected by the genocide will take a decisive role. At the same time, he said that legal claims to compensation cannot be derived from this. That reflects Germany’s position that the Genocide Convention of 1948 cannot be applied retroactively, and that its liability is political and moral rather than legal. The projects Germany agreed to fund are expected to stretch over a 30-year period and will cover areas such as land reform, including land purchases, agriculture, rural infrastructure, water supply and vocational training. They will be separate from continuing development aid to Namibia.

 

B) As India watches keenly, Sri Lanka seeks FDI in Port City.

Sri Lanka on Friday invited international investment into the Colombo Port City that it described as a fully Sri Lankan project, while official sources in New Delhi said they were keeping a close eye on the project and its security implications. If it is only a commercial venture then that is their (Sri Lanka’s] choice. We will continue to engage Sri Lanka while watching our national interest, said a government source in New Delhi, awaiting the final version of the Bill whose blueprint the Sri Lankan Parliament’s Speaker signed on Thursday. The ‘Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act’ is yet to be made public. Addressing concerns around the recently passed legislation on laws governing the Colombo Port City, which critics fear might be a Chinese enclave in the Sri Lankan capital, a team of government Ministers said the China-backed $1.4 billion. Port City, pitted as a financial hub, had the potential to create 83,000 jobs and bring in up to $15 billion in investments. Constitutional experts and opposition legislators argue that the 269-acre financial hub, coming up on reclaimed land adjoining Colombo’s seafront, would enjoy, besides a tax-free status, immunity from Sri Lankan law. Sections within Sri Lanka, including the political opposition, trade unions and the influential Buddhist clergy, see it as a threat to Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. Apart from the high geopolitical stakes in the big-ticket investment project in the strategically located island nation, the Colombo Port City has sparked a raging debate within the country over its China policy. Instances of official signage excluding Tamil, an official language, while including Mandarin, drew wide criticism from the public. China has been among the top lenders to Sri Lanka, especially since the pandemic struck, offering a $1 billion in loan and a nearly-S 1.5 billion currency swap facility. Earlier this week, Sri Lanka’s Cabinet awarded a project to build an elevated highway in the capital’s suburbs estimated to cost S 1 billion to the State-owned China Harbour Engineering Corporation (CHEC), on a Build-operate-transfer basis, for 15 years.