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Category Archives: Current Affairs

Pakistan commission rejects Imran Khan’s bid to overturn election ban

Current Affairs, GENERAL STUDIES & GK, Politics

Pakistan commission rejects Imran Khan’s bid to overturn election ban

Former prime minister is barred from standing in elections after being jailed for unlawfully selling state gifts while in office

Pakistan’s election body has rejected former prime minister Imran Khan’s nomination to contest the 2024 national elections in two constituencies, officials and his party’s media team said on Saturday.

The 71-year-old former cricket star has been embroiled in a tangle of political and legal battles since he was ousted as prime minister in April 2022. He has not been seen in public since he was jailed for three years in August for unlawfully selling state gifts while in office from 2018 to 2022.

Khan was disqualified from contesting the national elections scheduled for 8 February because of the corruption conviction, but he nevertheless filed nomination papers for the elections on Friday, his media team said.

In a list of rejected candidates from Lahore, the election commission of Pakistan said Khan’s nomination was rejected because he was not a registered voter of the constituency and because he was “convicted by the court of law and has been disqualified”.

His media team said the commission had also rejected his nomination to contest the elections in his home town, Mianwali.

Khan, who is widely seen as the country’s most popular leader, says he is being targeted by the military, which wants to keep him out of the polls. The military denies this.

Last week, a high court refused to suspend Khan’s disqualification from contesting the elections.

In addition to Khan, the election commission has also rejected nomination papers submitted by other senior party members, including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, vice-chairman of Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Meanwhile, the election commission accepted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s nomination from two constituencies for the 2024 elections, weeks after a court overturned two graft convictions.

But Sharif still needs a life ban on holding any public office to be removed to qualify to stand, so it was not immediately clear how his nomination was accepted. A hearing on that ban will be held in January.

Sharif was banned from running in elections in 2017 by the supreme court, which declared him dishonest for not disclosing income from a company owned by his son.

Sharif, who arrived back home in October from four years of self-imposed exile in Britain, is bidding for a fourth premiership in the February elections. His biggest challenge will be to wrest back his support base from Khan.

 

Source:- https://www.theguardian.com/world

2023: A Strange, Tumultuous Year in Sustainability

Current Affairs, GENERAL STUDIES & GK

2023: A Strange, Tumultuous Year in Sustainability

The year 2023 contained several important sustainability narratives and trends. The author outlines three key ones — the anti-ESG movement, China’s acceleration of a clean economy, and the rise of reporting regulations — and then suggests a series countervailing forces pushing against each. He also outlines several smaller stories that leaders need on their radar as well.

This was a rough year. The world’s biggest challenges generally got worse, or at least more complicated. Our biggest existential threat, climate change, is no longer a scientific model of the future; it’s now a relentless daily challenge. This year, yet again, heat records were shattered, wildfires and dangerous air spread over unprecedented areas, and flooding and storms destroyedthousands of lives. Even the (seemingly) world’s most powerful woman, Taylor Swift, had to postpone a concert in Brazil because of the heat. Scientists tell us that we’ve pushed the planet beyond its ability to support us in critical areas such as availability of water, biodiversity, and, of course, carbon emissions.

The good news is that even though we’re not moving fast enough, sustainability in business is mainstream — a must-do, not a nice-to-do. With both significant bad and good news, I’m frequently asked if I’m optimistic or pessimistic. I can’t answer that easily. The forces driving companies toward sustainability are relentless … yet we’re not doing enough and some powerful counter-pressures are in play. I see duality. As a society, we are winning (more companies doing more than ever) and losing (emissions and inequality still rising). As the clean economy grows, or human rights and equality get more attention, those who do not want these changes also work to slow progress. So, my core takeaway from the year is that there’s a yin-yang of interconnected, opposing forces.

So, let’s look at three themes in sustainability from 2023 that really dwarf other stories. One side of the tug-of-war generally has an advantage — and it leans toward more sustainability and more clean tech — but none of these trends were unobstructed.

1. The Anti-ESG Movement Plagues Companies

This was the biggest topic in sustainable business by far, even as we struggled to clearly define “ESG.” To me, ESG — which stands for environmental, social, and governance — is mostly a term used by the financial world to look at the risk to companies from environmental and social issues. It’s not the broader idea of sustainability, which covers the role of business in society and its contribution to a thriving world. But the terms got conflated, with ESG opponents using it as “a proxy for opposition to the spread of ‘liberal values,’” as the then-head of sustainability for the financial services firm Morningstar pointed out. Anti-ESG is an American creation, and it has a number of flavors, but I heard discussions of it all over the world.

It’s influence played out in a number of ways. Some companies and brands — like M&Ms, Target, and Bud Light — faced firestorms of protest for actions critics found too “woke,” and took heat for their often awkward responses. Most famously, the governor of Florida kept battling one of the world’s most beloved brands, Disney, over the company’s position on state laws targeting the LGBTQ+ community. CEO Bob Iger hit back, calling the attacks “anti-business” and thencancelled a $1 billion office development.

In response to a significant amount of talk in the media and amongst employees on these issues, many companies decided to go silent, embracing a sustainability word-of-the-year, “green hushing.”

On the other hand…

There’s been a bit of a waning of anti-woke rhetoric on the U.S presidential campaign trail, and the significant amount of noise does not seem to be derailing action. A Bloomberg Intelligence surveyfound that the “trend of increasing focus on ESG by both businesses and investors … appears to remain intact.” The report found that three quarters of executives think the benefits of ESG are worth the increased risk of scrutiny. Around 90% of investors felt ESG was mainstream, part of their fiduciary duty, and helped them make better decisions.

Some in the investment community even pushed back on anti-ESG laws — partly because, as one analysis concluded, those state laws could cost taxpayers $708 million. Banks are also making more money from loans and underwriting to clean energy than to fossil fuels. One memorable headline read, “Morgan Stanley Doubles Down on ESG Despite the Politics.”

Other coverage of company action found plenty continuing their work on sustainability, even in states that are hostile to it. For examples, South Carolina steel-maker Nucor is working to make low-carbon steel and set a goal for net zero across value chain by 2050.

The reality is that there wouldn’t be such powerful backlash if there weren’t real progress. On some level, it doesn’t matter too much if companies speak less as long as they continue to do the hard work of decarbonizing and tackling inequality. But it is a concern, as it might make it less likely they will work on the larger, systemic problems we need to solve. It’s hard to collaborate if you don’t talk. The silence should lessen. Some corporate leaders are just changing language — BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says he’ll stop using the “weaponized” term ESG (but the firm kept launching ESG funds).

2. China Leads the World to Clean Economy Tipping Points

The year in clean tech started with the amazing news that the world had spent more than $1 trillion on green tech, which topped investment in fossil fuels for the first time. And the International Energy Agency, which has been underestimating the growth of clean tech for decades, now sees the light, describing an “unstoppable” energy transition. Many regions and countries accelerated their efforts; for example, the EU is banning sales of new internal combustion engine cars by 2035 and calling for a phase-out of fossil fuels. And France banned short-haul domestic flights in favor of trains.

Great news all around. But it was China that blew everyone away. In what may be the single biggest sustainability headline of the year, China’s national oil company, Sinopec, said the country had reached peak gasoline demand (in part by radically increasing sales of EVs). Some analysts believe China may have peaked in total carbon emissions already. The country was on track to add 150 gigawatts of solar this year (versus adding 87 gigawatts in 2022), more than the total capacity in the U.S. And in a rare positive moment in U.S.-China relations, the countries agreed to ramp up renewables. If all the estimates are true, it’s a monumental and fundamental shift in global energy and transportation systems — which has enormous ripples for many gargantuan value chains. And it goes directly against the persistent myth that “China isn’t doing anything” on climate.

On the other hand…

As critics point out, China is permitting more coal plants, but this can get misconstrued. (People say to me that China is building two plants per week when, in reality, many don’t get built.) The new plants are much cleaner, it’s generally backup power, and China is also cancelling and shelving plants rapidly as well.

There are more important countervailing forces, including some indication that exponential growth rates of some techs, like solar, may slow in 2024 due to supply-chain issues. But more pressing is the swing toward conservative leaders globally, which generally correlates with being pro-fossil fuels and actively anti-renewables. For example, Mexico has been making renewables projects much harder and pushing fossil fuels. The UK retreated on some climate policies, like delaying a ban on combustion engines in cars to 2035.

And the global climate summit in Dubai, COP28, included the meeting president (and CEO of the UAE’s national oil company) sounding like a climate denier. Fossil fuel interests now dominate COP, and they’ve inserted into the discussions the language of “abated emissions” — i.e., you can keep burning fossil fuels if you can capture the carbon (a big if). The final language of the COP28 agreement seems to support a fossil fuel phase-out, but we’ll see. We’ve also seen some serious citizen pushback in a number of countries to policies that are perceived to raise the cost of living.

There’s also increasing concern about one aspect of the clean tech transition: There are problematic working conditions in the mining supply chain for clean-economy metals like lithium and cobalt. These are real concerns that should be addressed. The clean tech transition is necessary for our thriving and survival, but we must simultaneously address human rights issues that have plagued all forms of energy. As part of this work, the U.S. and EU are working to secure sourcing under better conditions, as well as sourcing more broadly than from just China.

Finally, I want to note the persistent myth that EVs are “just as bad” as (or worse than) fossil-fuel cars in terms of carbon emissions because of a) the energy needed to make a battery-powered vehicle, and b) the fact that it’s often plugged into a dirty grid. Yes, of course EVs have a footprint, but they are much more efficient users of energy and they are a key part of a systemic solution, including cleaning up the grid. This is a much longer conversation, but the short version is that the footprint of a combustion and oil-based transportation system is wildly higher than a battery and electricity-based one.

3. Rising Requirements and Regulations for Reporting

The biggest tactical discussion about sustainability in business is focused on reporting. It’s wonky and unsexy, but rising regulations covering “non-financial” reporting are creating a lot of work and stress for companies. Most of the attention is focused on the requirements measure and report on carbon emissions — both their own and, increasingly, their suppliers’ and customers’ as well (called “Scope 3” emissions). But these new rules also demand discussion of impacts on water, biodiversity, human rights, and more.

It’s a fundamental shift in what companies have to measure and disclose, and the EU is leading the charge. The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) create new sustainability reporting obligations for an estimated 50,000 companies. Multinationals, even if headquartered outside the EU, realize they must prepare as well.

But the EU is just one player. In 2023, new laws in Canada and Germany, for example, will require that companies report on the emissions and targets for their supply chains. As a country, California would be the fifth largest economy in the world, so its two climate-related disclosure bills have an enormous impact. One bill, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, requires any company operating in the state (with more than $1 billion in revenue) to disclose their GHG emissions as well as Scope 3 emissions. Almost all of these new bills also hold companies to extensive standards of climate reporting, most notably the guidelines provided by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

On the other hand…

These are laws, so they’re not exactly optional, but pushback, or at least some nuance, is growing. The alphabet soup of regulations and guidelines is not easy to navigate, so companies are raising important concerns about how, for example, they can gather Scope 3 data from suppliers that may not have it. Also, data and tracking are good things, but it’s possible that extensive reporting is getting in the way of real action by sucking the air out of the room. I’ve seen internal data from consultants that have surveyed sustainability executives on their priorities. In 2022, the top issue was integrating sustainability with strategy, which is what we want to see. Now, the top concern is about how to answer all the new requirements.

The way out of this morass is partly about dedicating enough resources. Companies need more people working on ESG and sustainability reporting. But in parallel, I also hear companies making the case that we shouldn’t seek perfection anyway — after all, precise Scope 3 data is going to be hard to come by (and actually non-existent further up supply chains — picture a small apparel company in China that does not have tracking systems on carbon emissions or human rights). Many aspects of financial statements are estimated today (for example, goodwill on the balance sheet), so some leeway on sustainability data should be expected.

A conservative-led quasi-rebellion against ESG, the continued explosion of clean tech, and the rise of new, detailed sustainability regulations — these are the big three stories of the year in corporate sustainability. Of course, many other things are going on. So, here’s a rapid-fire list of other areas that caught my attention and will likely become much bigger stories in the next year or two.

  • Emissions-heavy industries — the so-called “hard to abate” sectors like cement, steel, and aluminum — are starting to turn the ship. Extensive partnerships to develop low/no-carbon manufacturing technologies, growing commitments from buyers to guarantee revenue (like this “green steel” buying network), and new financing approaches (such as the Sustainable Aluminum Finance Framework) are proliferating.
  • Company positions on policycontinue to get scrutiny, as there’s a clear disconnect for many between their own big goals and what they, or their trade associations, lobby for.
  • Insurance companiesare starting to bail on places hit hard by climate-enhanced weather, like State Farm discontinuing new home insurance policies in California because of wildfires.
  • Consumers may finally become a force for sustainability. A fascinating McKinsey study shows that products with ESG claims on packaging experienced faster sales growth.
  • Engaging Gen Z stakeholders directly in sustainability and activism (versus leaving them to despair about their future; consider the shocking data on how more than half are not planning to have kids, in part because of climate change) is a rising topic. One cool example: Puma’s “Voices of a Re:Generation” program brought in some young influencers to help guide their sustainability thinking.
  • The value of nature — i.e., the many trillions of dollars of services it provides society and business, as well as our very existence — has always been hard to quantify precisely, but efforts continue. In 2023, we saw the development of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures.
  • Living wages, a critical element of fighting inequality (especially in supply chains), are unfortunately nearly nonexistent in large companies, according to a Just Capital study (but I remain optimistic that this is shifting).

In total, the tipping points are clear. But countries and companies are not on track to hit net zero targets as fast as science requires. The overall story remains one of a crooked path to inevitable change. A cleaner, more just economy and world is being born, but it’s not going to be smooth sailing. I remind myself that resistance is just a sign that sustainability is winning. Onward to 2024.

 

Source:- https://hbr.org/2023

BJP win in 2024

Current Affairs, GENERAL STUDIES & GK, News Update, Politics

BJP win in India’s 2024 general election ‘almost an inevitability’

Concerns raised over what a third term for Narendra Modi would mean for the country amid rising Hindu-Muslim tension

India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has cut a confident figure in recent weeks. As his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) swept three major state elections in December, Modi did not hold back from predicting that “this hat-trick has guaranteed the 2024 victory”.

It was a sign that with less than six months to go before the general election, in which Modi will be seeking a third term in power, campaign season has begun with gusto.

In India’s current political landscape, the consensus among political analysts is that a win for Modi and the BJP is the most plausible outcome.

The prime minister’s popularity as a political strongman, alongside the BJP’s Hindu nationalist agenda, continues to appeal to the large Hindu majority of the country, particularly in the populous Hindi belt of the north, resulting in the widespread persecution of Muslims.

At state and national level, the apparatus of the country has been skewed heavily towards the BJP since Modi was elected in 2014. He has been accused of overseeing an unprecedented consolidation of power, muzzling critical media, eroding the independence of the judiciary and all forms of parliamentary scrutiny and accountability and using government agencies to pursue and jail political opponents.

A shopkeeper displays rings with BJP and Indian National Congress party symbols.
A shopkeeper displays rings with BJP and Indian National Congress party symbols. Photograph: Reuters

While regional opposition to the BJP is strong in pockets of south and east India, nationally it is seen as fragmented and weak.The main opposition Indian National Congress party won the state election in Telangana this month but is in power in only three states overall and is perceived as hierarchical and riddled with infighting.

The recently formed coalition of all major opposition parties – which goes by the acronym INDIA – has yet to unite on crucial issues, though it has vowed to fight the BJP collectively.

“The general sense is that a BJP win is almost an inevitability at this stage,” said Neelanjan Sircar, a fellow at the Centre for Policy research. “The question is more: what factors will shape the scale of the victory?”

The BJP has begun a nationwide pre-election push. A roadshow, titled Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, will see thousands of government officers deployed to towns and villages across the country over the next two months, tasked with speaking about the BJP’s successes over the past nine years – despite criticisms of politicizing government bureaucracy and resources for campaigning purposes.

The Ministry of Defence is also setting up 822 “selfie points” at war memorials, defence museums, railway stations and tourist attractions where people can take photos of themselves with a Modi cutout.

The BJP’s recent domination in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh appeared to reaffirm the popularity of Modi. Though the prime minister has little to do with state elections, which are designed to elect local assembly members, the BJP strategically put Modi front and Centre of their campaigns in the place of local leaders, where he appeared at dozens of rallies to directly appeal to voters and present himself as the embodiment of the party.

Modi’s messaging in these campaign speeches combined an emphasis on the BJP’s paternalistic welfare schemes – which provide large amounts of free food and cash handouts – with nationalistic and religiously communal rhetoric, offering a glimpse of how the BJP intends to fight the election on a national scale.

Modi’s role in elevating India as a global power – be that in international politics or in the recent its moon landing in August – it was the first country to successfully land a spacecraft near the lunar south pole – was also prominent.

A member of the public in Andhra Pradesh watches the launch of the Chandrayaan-3 rocket to the moon.
A member of the public in Andhra Pradesh watches the launch of the Chandrayaan-3 rocket to the moon. Photograph: Idrees Mohammed/EPA

Asim Ali, a political scientist, said the recent state election campaigns in the north were “some of the most religiously polarising I have seen” as the BJP played heavily on Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) sentiments to win the majority vote.

In Rajasthan, Modi repeatedly evoked an incident where a Hindu tailor was murdered by extremist Muslims to claim that the opposition Congress party, which ruled the state, was “sympathetic to terrorists” and that it was their appeasement of Muslims that had led to the killing.

The BJP’s candidates included four Hindu priests, some with very hardline views, but no Muslims. In the tribal dominated state of Chhattisgarh, the BJP played on fears of forced conversions of tribal people away from Hinduism.

Modi was brought to power in 2014 largely on the back of an anti-incumbency wave while his re-election victory in 2019 was all but secured after India carried out airstrikes on Pakistan, after a terrorist incident a few months before the polls, resulting in a storm of national security sentiment in his favor.

However, whether the BJP will win the same sort of sweeping parliamentary majority it secured in 2019 is unclear. Its position in certain crucial states, such as Bihar and Maharashtra, is uncertain and the party’s weakness on economic problems, particularly jobs and inflation, could also affect voting.

Ali was among those who feared a Hindu-Muslim divide would be stirred up further to become “the dominant issue, at least in the Hindi heartland”.

“Hindu-Muslim communalization has become completely normalized, not just through political campaigning but by the television news channels and the messages people see on social media and WhatsApp,” said Ali. “It can be activated by the BJP at their grassroots at any time. Just one or two slogans from Modi and other senior BJP leaders, a few coded communal do whistles, and people get the message.”

Indeed, one of the biggest issues likely to dominate the BJP’s agenda pre-election is the long-awaited opening of the Ram Mandir, a grand Hindu temple that has been built in the place of a demolished mosque. Construction of the building, in the north Indian town of Ayodhya, has long been a focal point of the Hindu nationalist movement in India, and the fanfare around Modi’s inauguration of the temple later this month in January is expected to be a national event.

A man walks in front of posters of the 2019 Bollywood film PM Narendra Modi, a biopic on the Indian prime minister, in Mumbai.
Posters in Mumbai of the 2019 Bollywood film PM Narendra Modi, a biopic on the Indian prime minister. Photograph: Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images

Baijayant Panda, national vice president of the BJP, said the party was very confident about the parliamentary elections. He credited the confidence in part to “the Modi premium”, which meant the BJP tended to perform better in national than state elections because of the “stratospheric popularity” of the prime minister.

“On the ground, there’s a huge surge of optimism, even in areas which we haven’t traditionally won,” said Panda. “Having had this kind of victory in the state elections completely cements our position.”

Exactly what a third term for Modi would mean for India, particularly if it was another outright majority, was a cause for concern among some analysts and human rights groups. While Panda said it would be defined by economic success, and India becoming the world’s third largest economy, others feared a continued erosion of democracy and the rights of the Muslim minority, who exceed 200 million.

Ashutosh Varshney, the director of the Center for Contemporary South Asia at Brown University in the US, said he expected the rights of Muslims to continue to come under attack.

He warned that a situation similar to the Jim Crow laws, which existed in southern American states in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and disenfranchised black people on the basis of race, could become a reality in India under a third Modi term.

“If Modi comes back to power we can imagine a scenario of a Jim Crow-style Hindu nationalist order in BJP-ruled states,” said Varshney. “It will establish Hindu supremacy, deprive Muslims of equality and create a secondary citizenship for Muslims, which will likely eventually remove their right to vote.”

Panda pushed back against allegations of BJP communalism. “I dare anyone to point out where a minority, whether a Muslim or a Christian or Buddhist or a Sikh has been discriminated against in the governance of India, you will not find a single example,” he said.

 

Source:- https://www.theguardian.com/

India deploys three warships to Arabian Sea after attack on tanker

Current Affairs, Politics, Trade & Export-Import

India deploys three warships to Arabian Sea after attack on tanker

Pictures shows damage to the tanker

India has said it is sending three warships to the Arabian Sea after a drone hit an “Israel-affiliated” merchant vessel off its western coast last week.

MV Chem Pluto was attacked about 200 nautical miles (370km) off the coast of the western state of Gujarat.

The attack triggered a fire but it was quickly extinguished by the crew. There were no casualties.

The vessel’s crew included 21 Indians and a Vietnamese citizen.

The MV Chem Pluto is Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned, and Netherlands-operated chemical tanker. British Maritime Security firm Ambrey said the ship was linked to Israel but didn’t specify the connection.

Indian media reports said the vessel was transporting oil from Saudi Arabia and was heading to the Mangalore Port in southern India when the attack took place.

After the attack, an Indian Coast Guard ship accompanied the MV Chem Pluto to Mumbai on Monday.

“Considering the recent spate of attacks in the Arabian Sea, Indian Navy has deployed Guided Missile Destroyers, INS Mormugao, INS Kochi and INS Kolkata in various areas to maintain a deterrent presence,” the navy statement said.

The navy added that it was also regularly flying a long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft to monitor the situation.

India heavily relies on fuel shipments from the Middle East, particularly from Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Any disruption in this route can be problematic for India.

“India plays the role of a net security provider in the entire Indian Ocean region,” Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday.

Indian Navy Warship INS Kolkata arrives at Hamad Port during the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition & Conference (DIMDEX) in the Qatari capital Doha on March 20, 2022.
Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata is among the vessels deployed by the country

He said the Indian Navy had increased its surveillance of the seas. “We shall find whoever is responsible for this attack and strict action will be taken against them.”

No group has admitted responsibility for the drone attack. The United States blamed Tehran for the attack but a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry called the accusation “baseless”.

A spate of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels, who are opposed to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, have triggered concerns for the global shipping industry.

The US Central Command says at least 15 commercial ships have come under attack by Houthi militants so far in the past two months.

Several shipping companies have already changed the course of their vessels to avoid the Red Sea.

That is triggering concerns for exporters in South Asia.

“We are worried. Our shipping agents say the transport cost could increase by 10 to 15% and the travel time will increase by five to seven days,” said Syed Nazrul Islam, vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association told the BBC.

Bangladesh exports billions of dollars’ worth of ready-made clothes to Europe and the United States.

Though the cost of transport is usually paid by the clothing brands in the West, Mr Islam said Bangladeshi exporters were worried that the buyers would ask for a discount next time when they order.

 

Source:- https://www.bbc.com/news

Highlights Of Bills Replacing IPC, CrPC & Evidence Act

Current Affairs, GENERAL STUDIES & GK, Politics

Highlights Of Bills Replacing IPC, CrPC & Evidence Act As Stated By Home Minister In Lok Sabha 

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah introduces the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha

One of the five PRAN taken by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi before the country on August 15 was – to end all signs of slavery – today’s three bills are going to fulfil this one vow of Shri Modi

Today, we have brought 3 new Bills by repealing Indian Penal Code, 1860, Criminal Procedure Code, (1898), 1973 and Indian Evidence Act, 1872, which were enacted by the British and passed by the British Parliament

Indian Penal Code, 1860 will be replaced by Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023, the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898 will be replaced by the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 will be replaced by the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023

These three outgoing laws were made to strengthen and protect the British rule and their purpose was to punish, not to give justice

The soul of the three new laws will be to protect all the rights given to Indian citizens by the constitution, and, their purpose will not be to punish but give justice

These three laws made with Indian thought process will bring a huge change in our criminal justice system

Modi government has brought this law by taking a very principled decision to bring citizens at the centre, instead of governance

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had said in 2019, all the laws made during the time of the British across all the departments, should be made in accordance with today’s time and in the interest of the Indian society after adequate discussion and consideration

18 States, 6 Union Territories, the Supreme Court, 16 High Courts, 5 Judicial Academies, 22 Law Universities, 142 Members of Parliament, around 270 MLAs and public have given their suggestions on these new laws

The Home Minister said, for 4 years intense discussions were held on these laws and he himself was present in 158 consultation meetings

Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, which will replace CrPC, now has 533 sections, 160 sections of old law have been changed, 9 new sections have been added and 9 sections have been repealed

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill 2023, which will replace the Indian Penal Code, will have 356 sections instead of the earlier 511 sections, 175 sections have been changed, 8 new sections have been added and 22 sections have been repealed

Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, which will replace the Evidence Act, will now have 170 sections instead of the earlier 167, 23 sections have been changed, 1 new section has been added and 5 have been repealed

These three old laws had signs of slavery, they were passed by the British Parliament, today we have come up with new laws by removing these signs of slavery from a total of 475 places

The law expands the definition of documents to include electronic or digital records, e-mails, server logs, computers, smart phones, laptops, SMS, websites, locational evidence, mails, messages on devices

Provision has been made in this law to digitize the entire process from FIR to case diary, case diary to charge sheet and charge sheet to judgement

Videography has been made compulsory at the time of search and seizure which will be part of the case and will not implicate innocent citizens, without such recording by the police no charge sheet will be valid

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi took a historic decision to set up the National Forensic Science University to promote forensic science in a bid to increase the conviction ratio

After three years, every year 33,000 forensic science experts and scientists will be available in the country, the target has been set in the law to take the conviction ratio above 90%

The visit of the forensic team is being made compulsory on the crime scene of crimes having provision for punishment of 7 years or more, through this, the police will have a scientific evidence, after which the chances of acquittal of the culprits in the court will be very less

Modi government is going to start Zero FIR for the first time after 75 years of the Independence for the convenience of the citizens, with this initiative, the citizens will be able to lodge complaint even outside of their police station area

Provision of e-FIR is being added for the first time, every district and police station will designate a police officer who will officially inform the family of the arrested person about his arrest online and in person

The statement of the victim has been made compulsory in the cases of sexual violence and the video recording of the statement has also been made compulsory in the cases of sexual harassment

It will be compulsory for the Police to give the status of the complaint in 90 days and thereafter every 15 days, to the complainant

No government will be able to withdraw a case of imprisonment of 7 years or more without listening to the victim, this will protect the rights of the citizens

Scope of summary trial has been increased in petty cases, now crimes punishable up to 3 years will be included in summary trial, with this provision alone, over 40% of cases in sessions courts will end

A time limit of 90 days is fixed for filing the charge sheet and depending on the situation, the court can further give permission for 90 more days, the investigation will have to be completed within 180 days and trial should begin

Courts will now be bound to give notice of framing of charge to the accused person within 60 days, within 30 days after the completion of arguments, the Hon’ble Judge will have to give verdict, this will not keep the decision pending for years and the order will have to be made available online, within 7 days

Government has to decide on permission within 120 days for trial against civil servant or police officer else it will be treated as deemed permission and trial will be started

A provision has been brought for attachment of property of declared offenders, a new provision of harsh punishment against inter-state gangs and organized crimes is also being added to this law

Sex on the pretext of false promise of marriage, employment, promotion and false identity has been made a crime for the first time, 20 years of imprisonment or life imprisonment in all cases of gang rape

Provision of death penalty has also been made in case of crime with girls below 18 years of age, for mob lynching also, all three provisions of 7 years in jail, life imprisonment and capital punishment have been made

Earlier, there was no provision for snatching of mobile phone or chain from women, but now a provision has been made for the same

Provision has been made for imprisonment for 10 years or life imprisonment in case of permanent disability or being brain dead

Punishment increased from 7 to 10 years for a person committing crime with children, provision has been made to increase the amount of fine in many crimes

There were many cases of using pardon for political gains, now the death penalty can only be changed to life imprisonment, life imprisonment to a minimum of 7 years and 7 years to a minimum of 3 years, no culprit will be freed

Modi government is going to repeal sedition law completely because India is a democracy and everyone has the right to speak

Earlier, there was no definition of terrorism, now crimes like armed insurgency, subversive activities, separatism, challenging the unity, sovereignty and integrity of India have been defined in this law for the first time

A historic decision regarding trial in absentia has been taken, a person declared fugitive by a Sessions Court judge will be tried and sentenced in his absence, no matter where in the world he may be hiding, if the fugitive has to appeal against punishment, he will have to follow Indian law

A total of 313 changes have been made in this law which will bring a widespread change in India’s criminal justice system, now anyone will be able to get justice within a maximum of 3 years

In this law, special care has been taken of women and children, it has been ensured that criminals are punished and the police cannot misuse their powers

On one hand, laws like sedition have been repealed, on the other hand, provision of punishment for heinous crimes like exploiting women by cheating and mob lynching have been made, provisions also made for crack down on organized crimes and terrorism

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah introduced the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023 and Bharatiya Sakhshya Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha, today.

Shri Amit Shah said that today the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav is culminating and Amrit Kaal is beginning. Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav will end on August 15 and the journey of 75 to 100 years of independence will begin from August 16, which will create a great India. He said that in his address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had kept Panch Pran in front of the people of the country, one of them isto end all signs of slavery. He said that these three bills introduced today are in a way fulfilling one of the five vows taken by Modi Ji. All these three bills have basic laws for the criminal justice system. He said that today we have brought three new laws by abolishing the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Criminal Procedure Code, (1898), 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 made by the British and passed by the British Parliament. The Indian Penal Code, 1860 will be replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023, the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898 will be replaced by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, 2023 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 will be replaced by the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023. These three Acts which will be replaced, were made to strengthen and protect the British rule and their purpose was to punish, not to give justice. We are going to bring changes in both these fundamental aspects. The soul of these three new laws will be to protect all the rights given by the Constitution to the Indian citizens. The objective will not be to punish anyone but give justice and in this process punishment will be given where it is required to create a sense of prevention of crime.

Union Home Minister assured the Lok Sabha that from 1860 to 2023, the criminal justice system of India continued to be operated on the basis of the laws made by the British Parliament, but now these three laws will be replaced with new laws imbibing the Indian soul, which will bring a big change in our criminal justice system. He said that in the current laws heinous crimes like murder or crime against women were placed very low and crimes like treason, robbery and attack on the official of the government were kept above these. He said that we are changing this approach and the first chapter in these new laws will be on crimes against women and children. The second chapter will be on murder/homicide and criminality with human body. We have brought this law by taking a very principled decision of bringing the citizen at the centre instead of governance.

Shri Amit Shah said that a long process has been followed in making of these laws. He said that in 2019, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had guided all of us that all the laws made during the time of the British across all the departments should be discussed and reviewed in accordance to the present times and in the interest of the Indian society. He said that extensive consultation has been done everywhere to make these laws. He said that in August 2019, he had written letters to all the judges of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justices of all the High Courts of the country and all the law universities of the country. In 2020, letters were written to all MPs, Chief Ministers, Governors and Administrators of Union Territories. After extensive consultation, today this process is going to become a law. He said that 18 States, 6 Union Territories, Supreme Court, 16 High Courts, 5 Judicial Academies, 22 Law Universities, 142 Members of Parliament, about 270 MLAs and public have given their suggestions regarding these new laws. Shri Shah said that for 4 years these were discussed in depth and he himself was present in 158 meetings.

Union Home Minister said that Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill, which will replace CrPC, will now have 533 sections, 160 sections have been changed, 9 new sections have been added and 9 sections have been repealed. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, which will replace the IPC, will have 356 sections instead of the earlier 511 sections, 175 sections have been amended, 8 new sections have been added and 22 sections have been repealed. The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, which will replace the Evidence Act, will now have 170 sections instead of the earlier 167, 23 sections have been changed, 1 new section has been added and 5 repealed.

Shri Amit Shah said that these three old laws were full of signs of slavery, they were passed by the British Parliament and we only adopted them. These laws refer to Parliament of the United Kingdom, Provincial Acts, Notifications by the Crown Representative, London Gazette, Jury and Barristers, Lahore Government, Commonwealth Resolutions, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Parliament. These laws include the references to Her Majesty’s and by the Privy Council, these laws were based on the Copies and Extracts Content in the London Gazette and Possession of the British Crown, Court of Justice in England and Her Majesty’s Dominions are also mentioned at many places in these laws. He said that by ending these 475 signs of slavery, we have brought new laws today. We have tried to connect the new era with these laws. Our criminal justice system takes a long time, justice is delivered so late that justice has no meaning, people have lost faith and are afraid to approach the court.

Home Minister said that the state-of-the-art technologies have been incorporated in these laws. The definition of documents has been expanded to include electronic or digital records, e-mails, server logs, computers, smart phones, laptops, SMS, websites, locational evidence, mails and messages available on devices, which can be used in courts, which will give freedom from the pile of papers. He said that provision has been made in this law to digitize the entire process from FIR to case diary, case diary to charge sheet and from charge sheet to judgement. At present, only the appearing of the accused in court can be done through video conferencing, but now the entire trial, including cross questioning, will be done through video conferencing. Examination of complainant and witnesses, investigation and recording of evidence in trial and High Court trial and entire appellate proceedings will now be possible digitally. We have made it after discussing with National Forensic Science University and scholars and technical experts from all over the country on this subject. We have made videography compulsory at the time of search and seizure, which will be part of the case and this will save the innocent citizens from being implicated. No charge sheet will be valid without such recording by the police.

Union Home Minister said that even after 75 years of independence, our conviction rate is very low, that is why we have worked to promote forensic science. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has taken a historic decision to establish National Forensic Science University. After three years, the country will get 33,000 forensic science experts and scientists every year. In this law, we have set a target to take the conviction ratio above 90 percent. For this, an important provision has been provided which will make the visit of the forensic team to the crime scene compulsory for offenses punishable for 7 years or more. Through this, the police will have scientific evidence, after which the chances of acquittal of the culprits in the court will be significantly reduced. We will computerize all the courts in the country before the year 2027. Similarly mobile forensic vans have also been experienced. In Delhi, we have done a successful experiment that the FSL team visits the scene of any crime with a provision of punishment of more than 7 years. For this we have launched the concept of Mobile FSL which is a successful concept and there will be 3 mobile FSLs in every district and will go to crime scene.

Shri Amit Shah said that for the first time after 75 years of independence, we are starting Zero FIR to ensure the convenience of the citizens. Wherever the crime may have happened, the citizens will be able to lodge complaint even outside of their police station area. Within 15 days of the registration of crime, it will have to be forwarded to the concerned police station. For the first time we are adding the provision of e-FIR. Every district and police station will designate a police officer who will inform online and in person about the arrest to the family of the arrested person. Shri Shah said that the statement of the victim has been made compulsory in the case of sexual violence and video recording of the statement has also been made compulsory in the case of sexual harassment. It will be compulsory for the police to give the status of the complaint to the complainant in 90 days and thereafter in every 15 days. No government will be able to withdraw a case of imprisonment of 7 years or more without hearing the victim, this will protect the rights of the citizens. Under this law, for the first time, we are bringing community service as a punishment. The scope of summary trial in small cases has also been increased, now offenses punishable up to 3 years will be included in summary trial, with this provision alone more than 40 percent cases in sessions courts will be finished. A time limit of 90 days has been fixed for filing the charge sheet and depending on the situation, the court will be able to give permission for further 90 days. In this way, within 180 days the investigation will have to be completed and will be forwarded for trial. Courts will now be bound to give notice of framing of charges to the accused person within 60 days. The Hon’ble Judge will have to give the decision within 30 days of the completion of the argument, this will not keep the decision pending for years, and the decision will have to be made available online within 7 days.

Union Home Minister said that the government will have to decide on the permission for trial against a civil servant or police officer within 120 days, otherwise it will be treated as deemed permission and the trial will be started. We have made another big revolutionary change, the SP who is currently working, will testify after seeing the same file, the earlier concerned officer was not required to come, which will provide quick testimony and justice will also be delivered soon. Apart from this, we have also brought a provision for attachment of the property of declared criminals. We are also adding a new provision of different type of harsh punishment against inter-state gangs and organized crimes in this law. We have also made many provisions to deal with crime and social problems against women. For the first time, a provision has been made to criminalize sexual intercourse on the basis of false promises of marriage, employment and promotion and on the basis of false identity. In all cases of gang rape, a provision of 20 years of punishment or life imprisonment has been made, which is not being implemented today. In the case of girls below 18 years of age, a provision of death penalty has also been kept. For mob lynching all three provisions of 7 years, life imprisonment and death penalty have been kept. There was no provision for mobile phone or chain snatching from women, but now provision has been kept for the same.

Shri Amit Shah said that there was a provision of punishment of 7 years in both the cases of grave injury and in case of minor injury, we have separated both. He said that in case of permanent disability or brain dead, a provision has been made for punishment of 10 years or life imprisonment. The punishment for offenses against children has been increased from 7 years to 10 years. Provision has also been made to increase the amount of fine in many crimes. There is also a provision of 10 years of imprisonment for criminals who run away from custody. There were many cases of using pardon from sentences for political gains, now the death penalty can be changed to life imprisonment, life imprisonment to a minimum of 7 years and 7 years to a minimum of 3 years, no culprit will be spared.

Union Home Minister said that the Modi government is going to end sedition completely because India has a democracy and everyone has the right to speak. Earlier there was no definition of terrorism, but now crimes like secession, armed insurgency, subversive activities, separatism, crimes like challenging the unity, sovereignty and integrity of India have been defined in this law for the first time and the rights have been given to confiscate the properties of those related to these crimes. The court will order this on the cognizance of the investigating police officer. Shri Shah said that the Modi government has taken a historic decision regarding trial in absentia. The Sessions Court Judge, after due process, will try and sentence a person declared a fugitive in absentia, no matter where in the world he may be hiding. He will have recourse to Indian law and court to appeal against the sentence.

Shri Amit Shah said that a large number of case properties are lying in police stations across the country, these can be disposed of by videography and submitting the verified copy to the court. He said that a total of 313 changes have been made in this law which will bring a widespread change in our criminal justice system and anyone will be able to get justice within a maximum of 3 years. Shri Shah said that special care has been taken of women and children in this law, it has been ensured that the criminals are punished and such provisions have also been made to prevent the police from misusing their powers. On the one hand, laws like sedition have been repealed, on the other hand, provision of punishment for exploiting women by cheating and heinous crimes like mob lynching, and cracking down on organized crimes and terrorism has also been done.

 

 

 

 

Source:- https://pib.gov.in/

Israel has gone beyond Self-Defence in Gaza

Current Affairs, GENERAL STUDIES & GK, Politics

Israel has gone beyond Self-Defence in Gaza 

Israel has “gone beyond self-defence” and lost the moral authority in its war with Hamas, the chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee has said.

Tory MP Alicia Kearns told the BBC she thinks Israel has broken international law and risks increasing support for Hamas among Palestinians.

She said: “Bombs don’t obliterate an ideology and neither can a stable state be constructed from oblivion.”

Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has also criticised Israel’s tactics.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he said Israel’s legal basis for military action in Gaza was “being undermined” and warned its government was “making the mistake of losing its moral authority alongside its legal one”.

Asked if she agreed with Mr Wallace that Israel has damaged its standing with its conduct in Gaza, Ms Kearns told BBC Radio 4’s World At One: “I think unfortunately it has.

She said a truce that could be turned into a lasting ceasefire should be pursued, rather than a focus on the eradication of Hamas – which Israel, the UK, US and some other Western powers class as a terrorist organisation.

Ten Tory MPs – including former Cabinet ministers Kit Malthouse and George Eustice – have written to the Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron urging him to push for an “immediate ceasefire”, describing Israel’s strategy as “neither proportionate nor targeted”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted operations, which were launched when Hamas carried out an unprecedented assault on Israel on 7 October, will continue until the group is dismantled.

Around 1,200 people were killed and an estimated 240 people were taken hostage by Hamas – and despite some being returned during a temporary truce, about 120 are still thought to be inside Gaza.

Ms Kearns – who chairs the committee of MPs tasked with holding the Foreign Office to account – warned Israel could inadvertently increase support for Hamas among Palestinians.

She said: “Hamas is an ideology which recruits into its membership.”

An opinion poll carried out between 22 November and 2 December by a respected Palestinian think tank, the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research, found that support for Hamas had more than tripled in the occupied West Bank compared to three months ago.

Supporters of Hamas were still in a minority, but 70% of the respondents said armed struggle was the best means of ending the Israeli occupation.

Smoke rising over Gaza
Israel has carried out air strikes and land operations against targets in Gaza

Israel has come under growing international pressure over the scale of civilian casualties in Gaza, which Hamas-controlled authorities put at more than 19,400.

The same authorities claimed 110 people were killed on Sunday in Israeli air strikes on the Jabalia refugee camp, which had been the largest settlement for displaced people prior to the current fighting.

The retaliatory Israeli offensive has seen much of northern Gaza damaged and 85% of the territory’s 2.3 million population driven from their homes.

On Sunday, Lord Cameron signalled a shift in tone from the government by calling for a “sustainable ceasefire” – echoing a form of words Prime Minister Rishi Sunak used in the Commons last week.

Writing in the Sunday Times, the foreign secretary said: “Our goal cannot simply be an end to fighting today. It must be peace lasting for days, years, generations.”

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Scotland on Monday, Mr Sunak called for Israel to respect humanitarian law, adding: “It’s clear that too many civilian lives have been lost and nobody wants to see this conflict go on a day longer than it has to.”

The government has consistently stopped short of calling for a full ceasefire, saying it respects Israel’s right to self-defence.

Israeli soldiers in a tunnel
The Israeli military said it located a large underground tunnel constructed by Hamas on Sunday

Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy pushed back against Mr Wallace’s criticism, describing his choice of words as “unfortunate language”.

He told the BBC said allowing Hamas to “literally get away with murder” would be more likely to radicalise people than Israel’s military tactics.

However, Husam Zomlot, the head of the Palestinian mission to the UK, accused the Israeli army of normalising “the mass murder of children, [and] women” and “the mass destruction of hospitals, schools, churches, mosques”.

 

 

Source:- https://www.bbc.com/

Parliament security breach 2023

Current Affairs, News Update, Politics

Parliament security breach: 15 India opposition MPs suspended for protests

A video grab taken from the India TV channel shows an unidentified man jumping from the visitor's gallery of Lok Sabha, causing a scene using a colour smoke in the House during the Winter Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Fourteen Indian opposition MPs have been suspended after protesting against a security breach in the parliament.

At least four people were arrested after two intruders shouted slogans and set off coloured smoke inside parliament. Their motive remains unclear.

The federal home ministry has ordered an investigation into the incident.

The security lapse occurred on the 22nd anniversary of a deadly attack on the parliament.

On Thursday, a day after the breach, security was ramped up around the parliament building, with barricades outside the complex to restrict entry.

Both houses were adjourned after protests by opposition MPs who demanded a discussion on the incident and statements from the prime minister and the home minister.

In the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the parliament, opposition MP Derek O’Brien was suspended for “ignoble conduct” after he shouted slogans demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah.

In the Lok Sabha, the lower house, 13 MPs from opposition parties such as the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam were suspended until 22 December, when the session ends.

Before the session was adjourned, defence minister Rajnath Singh said in parliament that the incident had been condemned by “everyone”. “We all – ruling and opposition MPs – have to be careful about to whom we issue the passes (to enter parliament),” he said.

Opposition leaders have demanded action against Pratap Simha, an MP from the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who allegedly signed the passes used by the intruders to enter the public gallery in parliament.

Neither Mr Simha nor his party have officially commented. The BBC has emailed the MP for comment.

A police official told Reuters that visitor passes had been suspended until a security review was completed for the parliament building.

Reports say the four accused – three men and a woman in their 20s and 30s – will be produced in court on Thursday. Police have not officially confirmed their identities yet, but their families have been speaking to local media, and newspapers have published their photos and names.

The incident occurred on Wednesday while lawmakers were in session in the Lok Sabha, the lower house. Earlier in the day, President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders had paid tribute to the victims of the attack in 2001 in which nine people were killed. All five of the attackers were killed by the security forces.

MPs said two men jumped into the chamber from the public gallery and set off canisters of coloured smoke. One of the men was seen jumping from table to table as lawmakers and security officials tried to catch him.

Two others – a man and a woman – shouted slogans outside the parliament and set off coloured smoke from canisters. They were seen on video being led away by the police.Presentational white space

Who are the accused?

The four people who have been arrested are from different states in India – several media reports have quoted anonymous police officials who say they met on Facebook, but the BBC couldn’t confirm this independently.

Some journalists outside parliament managed to speak to one of the accused as she was being led away by police. She identified herself as Neelam and said she did not belong to any organisation. She also said she was an ordinary citizen who was unemployed and wanted to protest against the government for clamping down on people.

Her family spoke to ANI news agency from their home in Jind district in the northern state of Haryana, and said that they did not know she had gone to Delhi. “All we knew was that she was in Hisar [in Haryana] for her studies,” her brother said.

Neelam’s family said she had several degrees, including a masters in education, but was concerned about unemployment.

“She used to tell me that she is so highly qualified but has no job, so it is better to die,” her mother told ANI.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays floral tribute to the martyrs who lost their lives in the 2001 terror attack on Parliament House (Samvidhan Sadan).

The man she was protesting with has been identified as Amol Shinde, from Latur district in Maharashtra state. A state minister told media that Mr Shinde had spent the last few years trying to pass police recruitment tests. Police say his family did not know his whereabouts.

The two men who entered parliament are Manoranjan D from Mysore in southern Karnataka state and Sagar Sharma from Lucknow in northern Uttar Pradesh state.

Manoranjan’s father Devaraju Gowda told reporters that he condemned his son’s act.

“This is wrong… You can protest outside [parliament] but not do this,” he said, adding that Manoranjan had an engineering degree and would rear chicken, sheep and fish on the family’s land.

“He reads a lot on Vivekananda [an intellectual and philosopher]. He only wanted to do good for society, for the deprived,” Mr Gowda said. The family is from the constituency of Mr Simha, the lawmaker who allegedly signed the men in.

Sagar Sharma was the man who was filmed jumping on tables in parliament. His mother Rani Sharma said he was a tuk-tuk driver in Lucknow city.

“He had left two days ago,” she told ANI. “He told me that he was going with his friends for some work.”

Reports say a fifth man was detained in Gurugram on the outskirts of Delhi while another man was traced to Rajasthan. Both of them have been accused of helping the four protesters.

 

Source:- https://www.bbc.com/

Export-Import Through Red Sea Under Attack

Current Affairs, News Update

Shipping firms pause Red Sea journeys over attacks

Danish shipping company Maersk has said it is pausing all journeys through the Red Sea. 

The decision comes after a spate of attacks on vessels launched from a part of Yemen controlled by the Houthis – an Iran-backed rebel movement.

The group has declared its support for Hamas and say it is targeting ships travelling to Israel. The Red Sea is one the world’s most important routes for oil and fuel shipments.

German transport company Hapag-Lloyd later said it was making a similar move.

The firm owns a ship that recently came under attack, and confirmed to the BBC later on Friday it was also suspending operations in the area until Monday.

In a statement to the BBC, Maersk, one of the world’s biggest shipping companies, said: “The recent attacks on commercial vessels in the area are alarming and pose a significant threat to the safety and security of seafarers.

“Following the near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar yesterday and yet another attack on a container vessel today, we have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area bound to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait to pause their journey until further notice.”

The Bab al-Mandab strait – also known as the Gate of Tears – is a channel 20 miles (32km) wide, and known for being perilous to navigate.

It sits between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea on the African coast.

It is the route by which ships can reach the Suez Canal from the south – itself a major shipping lane. Avoiding it means vessels must take much longer routes, for example navigating around southern Africa.

About 17,000 ships and 10% of global trade pass through it every year. Any ship passing through Suez to or from the Indian Ocean has to come this way.

A map showing the Bab al-Mandab strait, which sits between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea on the African coast.
Presentational grey line

Maersk pausing its Red Sea shipping journeys “could not come at a more difficult time”, director general at the Institute of Export & International Trade Marco Forgione said.

“This impacts every link in the supply chain… and will only increase the chances of critical products not making their destinations in time for Christmas,” he added.

At least two other cargo ships in the strait came under attack on Friday. The US says one was hit with a drone and another by missiles, blaming the Houthis for both attacks.

The Houthis did not confirm the drone strike, but said they did fire missiles at two boats.

The group has controlled parts of Yemen since seizing power from the country’s government in 2014, triggering an ongoing civil war.

Speaking before the announcements by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan – who is on a trip to the Middle East – said the Houthis were threatening freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, which is vital for oil and goods shipments.

“The United States is working with the international community, with partners from the region and from all over the world to deal with this threat,” he said.

Earlier this month, a US warship shot down three drones fired from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen after three commercial vessels came under attack in the Red Sea.

Just days before that incident, the US said another warship had captured armed men who had earlier seized an Israeli-linked tanker off Yemen’s coast.

Last month, the Houthis released video footage showing armed men dropping from a helicopter and seizing a cargo ship in the southern Red Sea.

 

 

Source:- https://www.bbc.com/news

The colored stripes that explain climate change

Climate & Environment, Current Affairs, GENERAL STUDIES & GK

The colored stripes that explain climate change

In 2017, Ellie Highwood, then professor of climate physics at the University of Reading, posted a photograph on Twitter of a “global warming blanket“ she had crocheted, in which rows of color represented average global temperature changes across time. She had no idea that a graphic version later created by a colleague would become a global symbol of climate change.

The “climate stripes” image has been embraced by activists globally, and used as a cover image for Greta Thunberg’s The Climate Book, as well as for print editions of The Economist and the Folha de S.Paulo, a Brazilian newspaper. The stripes have been worn in London Fashion Week catwalks and as part of the UK football team Reading FC’s players’ uniform.

The stripes have been displayed as public infrastructure, on public transport in Europe, decorated buildings and even natural landmarks such as the White Cliffs of Dover in England. Recently, they were shown in a three day music festival in Mexico City.

The warming stripes have been used to decorate public transport such as electric trams and buses in countries including the UK and Germany (Credit: Ed Hawkins)

The warming stripes have been used to decorate public transport such as electric trams and buses in countries including the UK and Germany (Credit: Ed Hawkins)

Cycling 4 Climate, a foundation that has organised rides in six countries to promote climate change awareness, chose the stripe pattern as a uniform because of the strong message it conveys.

“It gives me the feeling that even when I’m exercising, I’m working on increasing climate change awareness,” says co-founder Joost Brinkman, based in the Netherlands. “I frequently get asked about the shirt because people like the design. It’s an easy conversation starter and people are always shocked when they understand the story.”

Unlike traditional data visualisations, the blanket’s pattern only features colours – and resembles a barcode more than a normal graph. “Some people switch off as soon as they see a graph, right?” says Highwood. In her blog, she shared instructions to replicate the blanket using yarn or other materials. “The craft version does something different. If you are physically reproducing the pattern, you are internalising the data, and there’s more chance you’ll feel that it’s real.”

When Ed Hawkings, climate scientist and professor at the same university, saw the climate stripes and witnessed people’s reactions, he thought they would be a good way to visualise the data from climate change online. He reduced the range of colours to tones of blues and reds, universally associated in weather maps with temperature.

In 2020, Cycling 4 Climate rode for 400km (249 miles) along the future Dutch coastline, using their climate stripes jerseys as a conversation starter (Credit: Cycling 4 Climate)

In 2020, Cycling 4 Climate rode for 400km (249 miles) along the future Dutch coastline, using their climate stripes jerseys as a conversation starter (Credit: Cycling 4 Climate)

A year later, looking for a simple way of communicating with a non-scientific audience, Hawkins tested the design at the Hay Festival in the UK. After a positive reception, he embarked on a mission to make the climate stripes widely accessible and launched a website for people to customise the graphic to their location. Within a week, the site had more than one million downloads from across 180 countries.

“Part of tackling the issues we face is to normalise this topic as a part of our everyday conversations, like we talk about the economy, healthcare or politics,” says Hawkins.

Bernadette Woods Placky, chief meteorologist at Climate Central, an organisation that communicates climate change science and solutions, first saw the stripes on a Facebook group of TV meteorologists and reporters in 2018. When a weather presenter in the network printed the design on a tie to wear on TV, and asked if anybody else wanted to join, she saw an opportunity for the community to collaborate. They partnered with Hawkins, universities, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and others, and had a WhatsApp group with TV weather presenters from more than 100 countries. Soon, the campaign went global.

“Climate change is the biggest challenge of our time, and there is no one way to answer this. The fact that this resonates across such a variety of audiences…. That is what’s most important to me,” says Woods Placky.

October 2023 was the warmest on record globally, and 2023 is virtually certain to be the warmest year on record. A 2023 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report concluded that human activities, mainly through emissions of greenhouse gases, have caused global warming, increasing the likelihood and intensity of extreme weather events.

“Climate change can be a really tough subject, but people see these stripes and they get excited. There’s something about them that is inspiring and uniting. You see energy build in a positive way,” says Woods Placky.

For Amanda Makulec, Executive Director of the Data Visualization Society (DVS), the warming stripes are just another way of presenting data. Makulec believes that what makes them special is that they have taken on a life of their own. Anybody can use the pattern in imaginative ways, helping them connect with the message.

Makulec views artistic or physical representations of information as a way to make it less daunting. “It can make the data seem less technical, and allows us to look at the big picture and reflect,” she adds.

Although it’s impossible to isolate or measure the effect of a single campaign on climate policies and negotiations around the world, some experts believe that the climate stripes may have contributed to generating attention for rising temperatures.

US Senators have worn them as pins and French members of the ecologist group had them on their shirts whilst speaking in parliament. Gabriel Boric, now Chile’s president, wore them as a facemask during the final debate before the elections.

The stripes have also had significant international exposure in recent COP (Conference of the Parties) climate events, confirms Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, scientist and former IPCC vice-chair. COPs gather government representatives, the general public, the media and activists from hundreds of nations.

He recently wore his climate stripes tie during a meeting with the COP28 president. “When you don’t have PowerPoint [presentation software], it’s a visually powerful way to spread the message of the rapid evolution of global temperature,” says van Ypersele.

Hawkins hoped the climate stripes visual would spark curiosity in people and start conversations about rising temperatures (Credit: Ed Hawkins, University of Reading)

Hawkins hoped the climate stripes visual would spark curiosity in people and start conversations about rising temperatures (Credit: Ed Hawkins, University of Reading)

However,  van Ypersele observed that in other settings the graphic is not always understood.

“Sometimes people come up to me and say, ‘oh, you have a nice tie’, and then I see they don’t get it,” he adds. So, whenever he wears the tie, he is always prepared to offer an explanation about its meaning, as well as the causes and effects of climate change and what we can do to slow it down.

The graphic has also faced some backlash, mainly from the scientific community, says Hawkins, for being too simple.

“I certainly have had criticism because you can’t see the details, the numbers. I think that’s fair. There’s no one way of presenting this, in a way that is easily understandable and gives everyone all they want from a graphic. It is only one from a wide range we can draw on to talk to different audiences about the same issue,” says Professor Hawkins.

CARBON COUNT

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Although the climate stripes have become popular in North America and Europe, this is not necessarily the case in other regions. Habiba Ahut Daggash, who researches technology and policy for climate change mitigation and clean energy across Africa, says that in Nigeria ” they are only recognized by people familiar with climate science. I’m not sure it would be recognizable to even all environmental activists or civil society without explanations.”

The warming stripes may not necessarily be the solution, but perhaps they represent a first step in recognizing the problem, especially when misinformation is abundant.

“Climate change has been a very political challenge, and if the stripes have opened doors to start those conversations… I can’t think of a better impact,” says Makulec.

 

 

Source:- https://www.bbc.com/

Article 370: SC Decision

Current Affairs, GENERAL STUDIES & GK

Article 370: India Supreme Court upholds repeal of Kashmir’s special status

India’s top court has upheld the stripping of special status from the former state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in 2019 revoked the Indian constitution’s Article 370, which had given the region significant autonomy.

The state of more than 12 million people was also split into two federally administered territories.

The court added that the government should hold elections in the region by September 2024.

The five-judge bench also ordered that the region should be restored as a state “at the earliest.”

“The state of Jammu and Kashmir does not have internal sovereignty different from other states,” Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said while reading out the judgement.

In his concurring judgement, Justice SK Kaul recommended that an “impartial truth and reconciliation commission” be set up in Kashmir to investigate human rights violations by both “state and non-state actors” over the past few decades.

The revocation was one of Mr Modi’s poll promises in 2019 and the court’s decision comes months before he seeks a third term. Local politicians in the region have expressed disappointment over the order.

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he was “disappointed but not disheartened”.

The scenic Jammu and Kashmir region was once a princely state which joined India in 1947 soon after the sub-continent was divided up at the end of British rule.

Nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan have since fought two wars and a limited conflict over Kashmir. Each has come to control different parts of the territory with a ceasefire line agreed.

Security has been tightened in Kashmir since Monday morning.

“We are duty-bound to ensure that peace prevails in the [Kashmir] valley under all circumstances,” VK Birdi, the inspector general of Kashmir zone, told PTI news agency.

Security was also beefed up and the region witnessed a communication blackout when the revocation happened.

On 5 August 2019, the Indian government revoked nearly all of Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which granted special privileges to the people of Jammu and Kashmir state.

The assembly, overseeing the state’s budget, spending, employment, education, and economic activity, was dissolved. A lieutenant governor was appointed to govern the region until local elections were conducted. Several activists and senior opposition leaders in the region were detained.

Article 370 allowed the state its own constitution, a separate flag and freedom to make laws. Foreign affairs, defence and communications remained the preserve of the federal government.

As a result, Jammu and Kashmir could make its own rules relating to permanent residency, ownership of property and fundamental rights. It could also bar Indians from outside the state from purchasing property or settling there.

The constitutional provision had underpinned India’s often fraught relationship with Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority region to join India at partition.

Mr Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had long opposed Article 370 and revoking it was in the party’s 2019 election manifesto.

They argued it needed to be scrapped to integrate Kashmir and put it on the same footing as the rest of India. After returning to power with a massive mandate in the April-May general elections in 2019, the government lost no time in acting on its pledge.

Critics say the BJP ultimately wants to change the demographic character of the Muslim-majority region by allowing non-Kashmiris to buy land there.

In August this year, the constitution bench of the Supreme Court began hearing nearly 23 petitions challenging the government’s decision.

The petitioners had stressed on the unique nature of Kashmir’s relationship with India, and said Article 370 “acted as a bridge” between the constitutions of India and Jammu and Kashmir.

The state comprised the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley, the Hindu-dominated Jammu region and the high altitude Buddhist enclave of Ladakh.

The petitioners argued that the state’s reorganisation into Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh as federally administered territories violated India’s constitution, which requires the state legislative assembly’s approval to reduce a state to a union territory.

The petitioners said that the abrogation of Article 370 also took away the region’s internal sovereignty without considering the will of its people. But the government had claimed this sovereignty was surrendered to India in 1947.

Many of the restrictions imposed after the scrapping of the special status have been eased and the picturesque Kashmir valley attracted more than 16 million tourists in 2022. The government has said it is ready to hold state elections and restore statehood.

However, the government frequently imposes communication restrictions in the region for security reasons, criticised by rights groups as measures to suppress dissent.

 

 

Source:- https://www.bbc.com/