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Showing posts from September 15, 2020

Chhattisgarh to set up specialised police unit to counter Maoists in Bastar, China’s transgression attempts foiled in Ladakh: What Rajnath Singh said in Lok Sabha

Hindustan Times, Raipur Ritesh Mishra Sep 15, 2020 00:45 IST The decision was taken in a review meeting chaired by chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday in which senior police officials and home minister Tamradhwaj Sahu were also present. Recently Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah seeking deployment of seven battalions of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for the state. Recently Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah seeking deployment of seven battalions of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for the state.  The Chhattisgarh government has decided to set up a specialised police unit called the ‘Bastar Special Force’ in which only local young men of the Bastar region will be recruited to counter Maoists. The decision was taken in a review meeting chaired by chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday in which senior police officials and home minister Tamradhwaj Sahu were also present. The governm

US bans five exports from China’s Xinjiang region over forced labour

   Hindustan Times Posted by Shivani Kumar Sep 15, 2020 10:08 IST “President Trump and this Department have, and always will, put American workers and businesses first and protect American citizens from participating in these egregious human rights violations,” said Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli. In another crackdown on China, the United States has banned cotton, hair products, computer components, and some textiles from China’s Xinjiang province which are made “using forced labour”. “By taking this action, DHS is combating illegal and inhumane forced labor, a type of modern slavery, used to make goods that the Chinese government then tries to import into the United States. When China attempts to import these goods into our supply chains, it also disadvantages American workers and businesses,” said Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli. “President Trump and this Department have, and always will, put American

Germany break ranks with China, shifts to adopting India-Pacific strategy

Hindustan Times Posted by Kanishka Sarkar Sep 14, 2020 23:43 IST Germany’s new India-Pacific approach takes a tough stand on China, including criticism of the huge debt burden of countries participating in Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative (BRI). In a major diplomatic jolt to China, Germany has decided to focus on maintaining stronger partnerships with democratic countries in the India-Pacific region in order to promote the rule of law. Berlin’s drift towards the India-Pacific strategy comes as Europe has expressed concerns over China’s track record on human rights and its economic dependence on the Asian country, Nikkei Asian Review reported. “We want to help shape (the future global order) so that it is based on rules and international cooperation, not on the law of the strong. That is why we have intensified cooperation with those countries that share our democratic and liberal values,” German foreign minister Heiko Maas said on September 2. That day, Germany adopted the new guidel

‘Climate change and debt are sinking us’: Small island nations cry for help

  Hindustan Times Jayashree Nandi | Edited by Sparshita Saxena Sep 14, 2020 21:31 IST  A coalition of 44 low-lying nations has sounded alarm bells saying they are sinking not just because of climate change impacts but are also neck-deep in debt. Ahead of the 75th United Nations General Assembly which begins in New York on Tuesday, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), a coalition of 44 low-lying nations sounded alarm bells saying they were sinking not just because of climate change impacts like sea-level rise but are also neck-deep in debt. “We are sinking in debt. This situation has been building up for quite some time now. But with the collapse of the tourism sector due to Covid-19 pandemic, we are in a state of emergency. We need systemic changes and not short-term measures. The climate crisis is unabated. The promise of green recovery cannot be rhetoric,” said Lois Michele Young, a Belizean diplomat and ambassador of AOSIS. She called on donor, developed countries to honour

Centre to pour funds into PSU banks

The Telegraph 15.09.20, 03:48 AM Out-of-budget proposal of Rs 20,000cr, analysts say requirement may be of around Rs 60,000cr. The Modi-government on Monday sought Parliament approval for a Rs 20,000 crore bank recapitalisation programme for this fiscal but the out-of-budget proposal may not be enough given looming bad asset concerns and the difficulties faced by PSU banks to raise funds from the markets. The lockdown has forced the government to do a U-turn on recapitalisation: in her budget speech in February, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had ruled out recapitalisation funds for banks as the government had already large sums in them over the past few years. Amid the bad asset fears, the RBI prodded the Centre to go for a recap. In its stability report, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said recapitalisation had “become necessary” and called for lenders to raise money in advance to “build resilience” in the financial system. “There are certain stress points in the financial system,

Bypassing Mukesh Ambani in India will be a tough ask for Google, Facebook and Amazon

Hindustan Times Posted by Shankhyaneel Sarkar Sep 14, 2020 13:49 IST  Silicon Valley’s ambitions in the country represent a threat to Ambani’s ability to achieve such dominance in his home market, but winning their cooperation, with all the know-how and global reach it brings, could help him achieve it faster. Big Tech is clamoring for a larger piece of India’s booming internet space, but that increasingly seems to mean going through the country’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani. Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. is said to be offering to sell a stake of about $20 billion in its retail business to Amazon.com Inc., Bloomberg News reported last week. If Ambani succeeds in pulling off such a deal, it would mark another victory for the billionaire, who in recent months has secured $20 billion of investment in his digital unit from marquee names including Facebook Inc. and Google Inc.The mere possibility of an Amazon investment reveals not only Ambani’s market clout, but also how India’s busines

TikTok chooses Oracle as US partner , Chinese-owned app rejects Microsoft’s acquisition offer

The Telegraph  |   Washington   |    David E. Sanger, David McCabe And Erin Griffith   Published 15.09.20, 01:46 AM It was unclear whether TikTok’s choice of Oracle as a technology partner would mean that Oracle would also take a majority ownership stake of the social media app, the people involved in the negotiations said.  It was unclear whether TikTok’s choice of Oracle as a technology partner would mean that Oracle would also take a majority ownership stake of the social media app, the people involved in the negotiations said. The Chinese owner of TikTok has chosen Oracle to be the app’s technology partner for its US operations and has rejected an acquisition offer from Microsoft, according to Microsoft officials and other people involved in the negotiations, as time runs out on an executive order from President Trump threatening to ban the popular app unless its American operations are sold. It was unclear whether TikTok’s choice of Oracle as a technology partner would mean that O

Loyal Abe aide set to be new Japan PM

Telegraph India Reuters   |   Tokyo   |    15.09.20, 01:56 AM Yoshihide Suga has promised to continue the former prime minister's key policies and pursue his reform goals. Japanese chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga, a loyal aide to outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, won a landslide victory in a ruling party leadership election on Monday, paving the way for Japan’s first change of leader in nearly eight years. Suga, 71, who has promised to continue Abe’s key policies, said his big win would give him the backing to pursue his reform goals — including deregulation and breaking down bureaucratic silos — and that containing the coronavirus and reviving the economy were conditions for calling a snap general election. “As I got big support in numbers today, the environment in which I can pursue my policy agenda in a stable manner has been secured,” Suga told a news conference. Suga won 377 votes out of 534 votes cast, and 535 possible votes, in the leadership  election by the Libera

India beats China, becomes member of UN’s ECOSOC body

Hindustan Times Asian News International | Washington, United States Posted by Shivani Kumar Sep 15, 2020 07:10 IST India, Afghanistan and China had contested the elections to the Commission on Status of Women. Even as India and Afghanistan won the ballot among the 54 members, China could not cross the half-way mark. India will be a member of United Nation’s Commission on Status of Women for four years, 2021 to ‘25. India will be a member of United Nation’s Commission on Status of Women for four years, 2021 to ‘25. (Reuters)  India has been elected as a member of the United Nation’s Commission on Status of Women, a body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), said TS Tirumurti, permanent representative of India to the United Nations, on Monday (local time). Taking to Twitter, Tirumurti said, “India wins seat in prestigious ECOSOC body! India elected member of Commission on Status of Women (CSW). It’s a ringing endorsement of our commitment to promote gender equality and women’s em

NRIs bring in more dollars during lockdown, amid layoffs, falling interest rates world over

  The Indian Express Written by George Mathew | Mumbai |  September 15, 2020 10:15:54 am With this inflow, total NRI deposits touched $135.36 billion as of July 2020, up from $130.58 billion in March 2020, $133.12 billion in 2019 and $124.44 billion in 2018, according to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data. Dream11 turned a unicorn hitting a valuation of over $1 billion after a secondary investment by Steadview Capital worth $60 million in April last year. (File) Non-resident Indians (NRIs) brought to India a higher amount of $4.6 billion to India between April and July this year when most of the countries faced stringent lockdowns across the world. This is 50 per cent more than what NRIs had brought to India during the same period of last year, i.e. $3.05 billion. With this inflow, total NRI deposits touched $135.36 billion as of July 2020, up from $130.58 billion in March 2020, $133.12 billion in 2019 and $124.44 billion in 2018, according to the latest Reserve Bank of India

US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad to visit India today, brief officials on intra-Afghan talks

The Indian express Written by Shubhajit Roy | New Delhi |  September 15, 2020 7:50:57 am Khalilzad, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, met top brass in Islamabad on Monday. US special envoy on Afghan peace process Zalmay Khalilzad will visit India on Tuesday and meet top Indian officials to brief Delhi on the intra-Afghan talks that started on Sunday in Doha. He had visited India in May this year and met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval. Khalilzad, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, met top brass in Islamabad on Monday. In Doha, MEA’s joint secretary (Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran) J P Singh met Afghanistan’s former CEO and head of Afghan peace process, Abdullah Abdullah, on Monday. “Had a good meeting with J. P. Singh, JS (PAI), Ministry of External Affairs of India in Doha-Qatar. We took stock of the developments on the peace efforts, & the need for genuine regional & international support for talks. I

Modi govt plans to drop condition that Air India buyer take on Rs 24,000 cr aircraft debt

  The Print SIDDHARTHA SINGH and ANURAG KOTOKY  14 September, 2020 6:41 pm IST Modi govt is being advised to drop the rule on concern it will deter buyers who will be allowed to bid on the enterprise value & not on the entity value. Bloomberg: India is proposing to drop a condition that the winning bidder for Air India Ltd. will have to take on $3.3 billion of aircraft debt, people with knowledge of the matter said, as the government struggles to sell the loss-making carrier kept afloat by taxpayer-funded bailouts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration is being advised to drop the rule on concern it will deter buyers, the people said, asking not to be identified as the proposal isn’t public. A group of bureaucrats has vetted the plan, and under the new proposition, potential buyers will be allowed to bid on the enterprise value and not on the entity value, the people said. A renewed attempt to sell Air India, which hasn’t made money since 2007, has been hurt by the pandemic