38 minute read
World responding to soil policy: Sadhguru
New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS):
Lamenting the “massive brain drain” of young, talented, and hardworking doctors, Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana on Tuesday said the Central and state governments have a serious responsibility for the welfare of aspiring doctors from small towns and rural areas and to improve their working conditions. In the inaugural National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS) Public Oration, he said: “Since there was no explicit mention of right to health under the Fundamental Rights, the Supreme Court, in the case of Bandhua Mukti Morcha, interpreted Article 21 to include right to health. In the case of Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity, the Supreme Court held that failure on the part of a government hospital to provide timely medical treatment to a person in need of such treatment results in violation of his right to life guaranteed under Article 21.” “In a sense, I would say medicine and law are similar. We must keep ourselves abreast of the latest developments in our fields to be able to provide the best possible healthcare or legal representation. A good lawyer, like a good doctor, must always work earnestly towards imbibing and accumulating greater knowledge. The possibilities for growth in both fields are seemingly endless. Both medicine and law are one of the oldest professions in the world,” he added. The CJI also said that in contemporary times, the doctors play multiple roles - as healthcare providers, care givers, educators, managers, policy makers etc. “Our recent experience with Covid taught us the significance of robust healthcare for all. Especially in a country like India, where there is immense disparity in access to healthcare, doctors are accountable to the public. Exorbitant medical fees coupled with excessive barriers has made it almost impossible for the poor to get decent healthcare. “It is primarily the cost of healthcare that is forcing people to suppress their health care needs and wellbeing. The heart-breaking fact is that, the crucial preventive stage is often lost when people suppress their health needs. They only approach the doctors when it is unmanageable and has crossed a certain threshold,” he added. Since the patient typically has only a limited understanding of the illness and the process of treatment, the medical professional has a larger duty to the patient in a fiduciary relationship, he said. He also noted that treatment for an individual involves various stakeholders. “They have to traverse through doctors, private hospitals and insurance companies. Through this process the patient blindly trusts only the doctors. It is doctor’s presence and involvement that gives the assurance to patients that they are not just consumers,” he said. The Chief Justice then said that he “must come to a topic that I feel strongly about”. “During the pandemic I saw various instances where doctors had been threatened, abused, attacked, and shunned. Despite this, they continued working on the front lines. This negative response towards doctors is truly unfortunate. Several false cases are being lodged against upright and hardworking doctors. They need a better, and more secure, working environment. We must foster an environment where more young people want to become doctors to serve Indian society. “This attitude towards doctors is pushing out our best talents abroad. A massive brain drain is taking place where young, talented, and hardworking doctors do not see a future in India. We as a society must change this and incentivise our doctors to stay in India and continue their service and help meet both our medical and social goals,” he said. He noted that the Central and state governments too have a serious responsibility. “Many aspiring doctors from small towns and rural areas rely on the government for education, support and employment. But, beyond this initial support, the government must look out for the welfare of its doctors and improve their working conditions. The government must think of stronger incentives to make doctors accessible to rural population,” he said.
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Delhi farmer, who bought flight tickets for labourers during Covid, commits suicide
New Delhi, Aug 24 (IANS): Farmer Pappan Singh Gahlot, who had bought flight tickets for his Biharbased labourers to send them home during the Covid-19 pandemic, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself at his home in Tigi Pur village of Outer North Delhi on Tuesday evening. The police said that they got a call of the incident at around 5 p.m. Gahlot has left behind a suicide note, in which he cited an illness as reason behind taking the extreme step, and also wrote that he himself is responsible for the act. His body was sent to a nearby government hospital for post-mortem. Gahlot came in news after he sent his labourers to Bihar by flight so that they could meet their families during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many called him Sonu Sood of Delhi. Even Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit had read his story on Radio describing how he helped people by going out of the way. Gahlot is survived by his wife and a daughter.
Puducherry, Aug 22 (IANS):
Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangasamy while presenting the budget for the financial year 2022-23 said the government has decided to provide free laptops to all students of Class 11 and 12 of government, and aided schools in a phased manner. He presented a budget of Rs 10,696.61 crore in state legislative assembly on Monday. The government will also provide monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 to women between the age of 21 and 55, and living below the poverty line. The Chief Minister said that the assistance would be given to those women who are not in the bracket of receiving any other financial assistance from the state government. N. Rangasamy in his budget speech said that the government plans to launch a ferry service between Karaikkal port and Kankesanthurai port in Sri Lanka this year. He also said that under the Sagaramala scheme the government proposed to operate cargo handling from Puducherry port. The state government has also decided to extend the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat -- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana Health Insurance Scheme to families beyond below poverty line (BPL) from this financial year onwards. This would help families above the poverty line get health insurance coverage for renal transplants also. The Union Territory has also enhanced the financial assistance for the marriage of a differently-abled person with a non-differently abled person from Rs 25,000 to Rs 1,00,000. The assistance for marriage between two differently-abled persons has been enhanced from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2,00,000, the Chief Minister said in his budget speech. The government has also set aside an amount of Rs 3 crore for a separate department for Sports and Youth Affairs. The Chief Minister also informed the house that the government has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for laying the foundation stone of the National Law University in Puducherry. The government has also decided to procure cyber tools and establish an Emergency Response Support System to curtail the menace of cyber crimes against women and children. The Chief Minister also said that more Women’s help desks would be set up in police stations. The government has allocated a record Rs 1,036.5 crore for health in the budget and several novel projects in health have been announced by the Chief Minister. This includes establishing an e-hospital service in Government Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Women and Child hospital. MRI machines and CT scan equipment will be procured for all health care centres in the UT, the Chief Minister said. New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would interpret the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act and the rules to eliminate the discrimination between married and unmarried women for allowing abortion till 24 weeks of pregnancy. A bench, headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, said the court is reserving the judgment on the MTP Act interpretation and it would include “unmarried woman” or “single woman”, which would allow them abortion up to 24 weeks. The bench noted that the provisions in the MTP rules need to be fine-tuned, and in the seven categories of women eligible to seek abortion till 24 weeks of pregnancy, it would add a category of women who suffer desertion, irrespective of marital status. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, contended that there is no discrimination under the MTP (Amendment) Act, 2021, and categorisation has been provided in the relevant rules under the Act. She submitted that according to experts, categorisation has been to curb the misuse of laws including the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC-PNDT) Act due to sex determination of the foetus. The bench said that its judgment will be shaped in such a way that the provisions of PC-PNDT Act are not diluted. The Centre had told the apex court that it could intervene in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Rules, 2003. The bench, also comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and J.B. Pardiwala, said the court can interpret Rule 3B(c) in such a manner that the change of marital status should be a broad category which would include a married woman who has been abandoned and also an unmarried,
who suffered abandonment. It noted that women who got unwanted pregnancy, due to medical device failure, should be allowed to terminate the pregnancy up to 24 weeks. Earlier this month, the apex court had said it would interpret the MTP Act and connected rules to see if unmarried women could be allowed to terminate the pregnancy up to 24 weeks on medical advice. On July 21, the top court had allowed a 25-year-old to abort her 24-week pregnancy arising out of a consensual relationship.
World responding to soil policy: Sadhguru
Panaji, Aug 24 (IANS): Sadhguru Jagadish Vasudev said that the world is responding to soil policy, but citizens of the world must continue to amplify their voices. He was speaking during the signing of ‘Save Soil’ Memorandum of Understanding with the Goa government on Tuesday. “Everybody is part of this problem (soil degradation). Everyone has contributed to it knowingly or unknowingly, and now the only way to resolve it is that we have to be part of the solution,” Sadhguru said. “The body you carry is soil. The clothes you wear is soil. The chair that you sit on is soil. Tell me one thing which is not soil. Everything we dug out from earth... Did you bring something from mars? From your physical body to everything we use has come from soil. And we just forgot that this is the source of our life. We started treating it as a resource. The moment you treat the source as a resource there is a sacrilege, which will bring enormous pain to us,” he said. Sadhguru termed soil as the largest living system with a trillion species of life. “... Top soil scientists of the world are admitting that they know less than one per cent of species present in the soil; when you know only one per cent, you should not mess with it,” he asserted. “Save soil movement is not protest or agitation. This is an expression of our love and responsibility for the life... ,” Sadhguru said. “Before 1950, this country and many parts of the world had witnessed extreme famines. Once again we are driving the world to famine. Famine is the worst possible way to die, war is much better because you are shot and dead. Famine is slow fade, it will take three to four months for human being to die,” he said.
Protests continue in Hyderabad against BJP MLA Raja Singh
Hyderabad, Aug 24 (IANS):
Protests continued in Hyderabad on Wednesday over BJP MLA Raja Singh’s derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad. A tense situation prevailed in the old city on Tuesday night as hundreds of people took to streets after Raja Singh was granted bail. At a couple of places, the protest turned violent prompting the police to resort to baton charge to disperse the protests, who burnt tyres on the roads. Carrying black flags and raising slogans, protesters gathered at the historic Charminar, Madina circle, Barkas, Chandrayangutta, Chanchalguda, City College, Afzal Gunj and other areas. For a second consecutive night, the city witnessed protests against Raja Singh for hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims. The protest continued till early hours of Wednesday. The protesters demanded stringent action against the controversial MLA and some of them were carrying national flags. Tension was palpable in the old city and more protests are likely on Wednesday. Police stepped security in the city and intensified patrolling in communally sensitive areas. Additional forces including Rapid Action Force, Greyhounds and special reserve police were deployed to prevent any untoward incident. Raja Singh was granted bail by a city court on Tuesday evening, a couple of hours after he was remanded to judicial custody in a case booked at Mangalhat police station. The case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was booked against him and he was arrested on Tuesday morning after a massive protest on Monday night against a video posted by him online with derogatory comments about the Prophet. Cases were also booked against the MLA at various other police stations in Hyderabad and other districts. Supporters of Raja Singh and protesters had gathered at Nampally Criminal court, leading to high tension. Police resorted to baton charge to disperse both the groups. After Raja Singh’s release, his supporters accorded him a warm welcome at his residence in Dhoolpet. Raising slogans in his favour, they distributed sweets. The MLA has denied making derogatory comments against anybody and claimed that his video was in response to stand up comedian Munawar Faruqui’s recent show in Hyderabad. The BJP on Tuesday suspended Raja Singh from the party and asked him to reply in 10 days as to why he should not be expelled from the party.
Aus tourism industry waiting for int’l market to rebound
Canberra, Aug 26 (IANS): Australian tourism operators have revealed the international market still need time to rebound about half a year after the country’s border reopened. It recently marked six months since Australia opened up to international visitors almost two years after the border was closed to prevent the spread of Covid-19, reports Xinhua news agency. According to data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) earlier in August, there were 730,400 total international arrivals in June. Of those, 275,300 were travellers visiting Australia for short-term holidays. By comparison there were 660,340 short-term overseas arrivals in Australia in June 2019. While an increase in Australians holidaying domestically has offset some fall in international visitors, the tourism industry is still waiting for international visitors and also facing staffing problems.
ABS labour force data found there are 51,900 jobs vacant in the accommodation and food services industries across the country in May, and with official unemployment rate at the lowest in decades, not enough local workers to fill them. Prior to the pandemic the tourism industry was reliant on international backpackers on working holiday visas. Since December the federal government has approved 102,800 Working Holiday Maker (WHM) visa applications but only 49,000 successful applicants have entered the country in the same time. “The major international factor that we’re dealing with is the lack of backpackers,” John Geappen, the owner-operator of a tourism business in Western Australia (WA), was quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday. “The result is we’ve got a lot of businesses that are suffering. Hundreds and hundreds of hospitality-related businesses rely on them.” Some experts told ABC there are a number of reasons for the difficulty of the industry, including the high cost and inconsistency of flights, delays in the processing of visas, the continued Covid restrictions and the slow return of cruise ships.
Covid fallout worse for Australian women: Survey
Canberra, Aug 23 (IANS): The lingering impacts of Covid-19 pandemic in Australia were felt more severely by women in the country, a survey published on Tuesday said. The survey conducted by researchers from the University of Queensland (UQ) found that during the pandemic, women’s employment, hours of work, domestic labour, mental health and well-being all took larger hits than their male counterparts, reports Xinhua news agency. “Women are also more likely to be casual, part-time or contract workers who were among the first to lose their jobs as businesses struggled in response to lockdown,” said lead researcher Terry Fitzsimmons. The findings came from a nationwide survey of 1,931 men and 1,691 women employed across a variety of industries including construction, mining, education, healthcare and the arts, and were conducted between November 2021 and March 2022. Of men surveyed, 84 per cent were in full time work compared with 72 per cent of women, meaning that women were much more likely to lose their jobs or income as health restrictions were introduced. Following this trend, women were taking on more hours of domestic labour, house cleaning and child rearing, and foregoing new job opportunities or opportunities for professional development. “The effects of these job losses, reduced income and domestic labour burdens meant women suffered greatly from fatigue, stress, anxiety and depression,” said Fitzsimmons. The researchers said that the findings give new evidence that the outcomes of the pandemic have not been split equally along the lines of gender. They made a series of recommendations to address the unequal impacts, including investment into early education and childcare, greater investment into social and mental health support, and addressing the role of gender stereotypes. “Governments also need to better incorporate hybrid working arrangements, provide equal access to parental leave entitlements and overhaul wage-setting mechanisms,” said contributing author Miriam Yates.
Police seize largest ever fentanyl shipment
Canberra, Aug 22 (IANS): The Australian Border Force (ABF) said on Monday that the police have seized the largest ever shipment of fentanyl, preventing more than 5 million doses of the deadly opioid hitting the streets. The drugs were found hidden inside in an industrial wooden lathe sent from Canada that arrived in Melbourne in December 2021, dpa news agency quoted the ABF as saying in a statement. ABF officers inspected the container in February and detected nearly 60 kg of powdered substances hidden inside military-style ammunition boxes concealed within a three tonne lathe. Forensic officers identified 11.2 kg of pure fentanyl, equivalent to about 5.5 million potential lethal doses of 30 mg, and some 30 kg of methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of A$27 million ($18 million). As little as 28 milligrams of the drug can be fatal, the ABF said. Australian authorities said they had only ever detected illicit fentanyl importations in minor amounts, all less than 30 grams. “This was a massive amount of Fentanyl,” ABF Commander Maritime and Enforcement South James Watson said. “Fentanyl is an extremely toxic substance to handle as well as being a lethal drug to use. There is a fentanyl epidemic in many parts of the world today, resulting in thousands of deaths of users every year,” Watson added. Australian Federal Police acting Commander Anthony Hall said it was known criminal syndicates worldwide were lacing illicit drugs with the synthetic opioid, creating a dangerous cocktail. “People who use illicit drugs can never be certain what they are ingesting and this seizure highlights the potentially lethal game of Russian roulette they play. We don’t want to see Australia joining other countries in that deadly game.” Canberra, Aug 22 (IANS): Australia’s flag carrier Qantas has issued a formal apology and refunds to millions of customers as it seeks to regain public confidence following months of delays and operational blunders. “On behalf of the national carrier, I want to apologise and assure you that we’re working hard to get back to our best,” Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said statement. Joyce has been under intense scrutiny as the airline has suffered severe worker shortages, mass cancellations and delays of flights, and misdirected luggage, reports Xinhua news agency. Alongside the statement, the CEO sent a video message to frequent flyers saying despite “good reasons” for the operational problems, including staff shortages due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a tight labour market and extreme weather in eastern Australia, it was still not good enough. In addition to the apology, the airline would issue A$50 ($34) vouchers for flights between Australia and New Zealand, the extension of frequent flyer bonuses, and the extension of frequent flyer rewards. The airline would be rolling out a series of initiatives to overcome the operational hurdles, which has included the hiring of 1,500 new workers since April, and A$15 million of investment to help smooth customers’ travel experience. In 2020, the airline outsourced its baggage handling workforce which resulted in 1,700 redundancies. The move was deemed a breach of Australia’s work regulation by the Federal Court, and has been seen by many as a reason behind its struggle to meet the return of aviation demand. The Transport Workers’ Union (TWU), representing workers in the industry made a call for Joyce to resign and criticised the move as the CEO trying to “buy off forgiveness”. TWU national assistant secretary Nick McIntosh told the local media on Monday that the once great airline which was known for providing secure, quality jobs had trashed its reputation during the pandemic. “Qantas needs a reset and that’s got to start at the top ... we need to put an independent body in place that’s got the capacity to look at all the underlying issues in this industry.”
PM flags legal reform after secret ministries scandal
Canberra, Aug 21 (IANS): Australia’s Prime Minister has flagged reforms in response to his predecessor’s secret ministries scandal. Anthony Albanese on Sunday revealed he will on Monday receive advice from the Solicitor-General on any legal and constitutional problems surrounding former PM Scott Morrison swearing himself into several ministries, Xinhua news agency reported. It was revealed on Tuesday that Morrison had been appointed to five ministries including the health, home affairs and treasury portfolios secretly between March 2020 and May 2021. Albanese on Sunday said that “very clearly” there’s a need for proper scrutiny of what occurred here. “There are separate questions about the functioning of our democracy, about conventions and whether any conventions have been overturned, and whether there’s a need for any reforms required to ensure that something like this can never happen again,” he told Sky News Australia. Morrison, who has been urged by some members of the Opposition Liberal Party to resign from Parliament over the scandal, justified the appointments by saying it was necessary to guide Australia’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Albanese said on Sunday his government would establish a royal commission into Australia’s coronavirus response as soon as was practical. “Clearly, you’d need to look at the response of all governments,” he said. “Primarily, it would be about the federal government, that’s what we have responsibility for. But the interaction between the different levels of government of course was critical to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Also on Sunday, Australia reported more than 10,000 new COVID-19 cases and more than 30 deaths as the country continues to battle against the wave of Omicron sub-variant infections in winter.
Unemployment rate falls despite 41,000 job losses in July
Canberra, Aug 18 (IANS) Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday showed the unemployment rate fell to 3.4 per cent last month as employment and hours worked both decreased at the same time. Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS, said the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage points between June and July to 3.4 per cent, with employment falling by 41,000 people and the number of unemployed people also decreasing by 20,000 during the same period, reports Xinhua news agency. “The fall in unemployment in July reflects an increasingly tight labour market, including high job vacancies and ongoing labour shortages, resulting in the lowest unemployment rate since August 1974,” Jarvis said in a statement. The July reference period coincided with the winter school holidays, worker absences associated with Covid-19 and other illnesses, and further flooding events in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state with Sydney as the capital city. In line with the fall in employment, and continued illness-related worker absences, hours worked also fell by 0.8 per cent in July. “In addition to people taking annual leave around the winter school holidays, there were also around 750,000 people working fewer hours than usual due to being sick in July 2022, around double the usual number we see during the middle of winter,” Jarvis said. The statistics came when the wave of Omicron sub-variant infections continued in the current winter months in Australia. Since the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020, Australia has reported a total of 9,851,002 Covid-19 cases and 13,021 deaths, with approximately 193,018 active cases, according to the latest data from the Department of Health.
Tension builds up in Canada’s Brampton as people oppose referendum by Khalistanis
By Rajinder S Taggar
New Delhi, Aug 27: Palpable tensions prevails in Brampton city of Canada’s Ontario state, as the Khalistanis have launched a campaign to conduct a so-called referendum on the issue of creating a separate homeland for the Sikhs in India. The activists of the banned anti-India organisation, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), are distributing fliers at the entrance gates of different Gurdwaras asking Indians, especially Punjabis, to participate in the “referendum” on September 18 at a community center in Brampton. The move is being staunchly opposed by pro-India Canadians led by Azad Singh Goyat, an established community advocate and a politician. Goyat has objected to the use of public property by Khalistanis who are putting up posters and fixing signboards to publicise the referendum date and venue. “Illegal signs mushrooming on public property in Brampton need to be removed by the administration and the police. Why is the community leadership sleeping? Why is it not asking the government to curb the illegal actions of a handful of people?” says Goyat in a post on his Facebook page. Goyat has issued an ultimatum to the administration and the police to nearly 103,000 Work visas (which includes skilled and seasonal workers) -- a 148 per cent increase over the previous year. Indian nationals continue to be the top nationality granted Skilled Worker visas, accounting for 46 per cent of all skilled work visas granted globally. Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, said: “India
remove the referendum campaign material from public properties by August 29, or else he will launch a people’s direct action movement to remove these illegal signs. However, Harjinder Singh Pahra, a Khalistani engaged in referendum activities, says that people like Goyat are trying to create confrontation in the community. “We are peacefully doing what we want to do. There is massive support coming for the referendum. No one will be forced to vote on September 18,” he claims. J.P.Pandher, a Punjabi journalist working for popular Omni TV says that the administration and the police can only act if there was a breach of peace from any of the two sides. He agrees that Khalistanis can not legally use public property to publicise the referendum. They can only use private properties to paste and fix posters and signboards after taking the written consent of the proprietors. It is common knowledge that the management of almost all Gurdwaras has slowly come under the control of radicals who with their muscle power win elections to form management committees. The Gurdwaras are then used to propagate anti-India views. The silent majority of the Sikhs find themselves helpless before armed Khalistanis who even indulge in violence against peaceful people opposed to them. The SFJ had earlier conducted a “referendum” in some cities in the US and the UK. As expected the results declared by it show the majority favouring the creation of Khalistan. The purpose of the referendum is to collect data of voters supporting the creation of Khalistan and present it to the United Nations seeking its intervention.
(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS): The latest UK Immigration Statistics published on Thursday showed that nearly 118,000 Indian students received a student visa in the year ending June 2022 -- an 89 per cent increase from the previous year. India has now overtaken China as the largest nationality being issued sponsored Study visas in the UK. The UK continues to be a popular destination for Indian holidaymakers too. Indian nationals accounted for the highest proportion (28 per cent) of Visitor visas granted. More than 258,000 Indian nationals received visit visas in the year ending June 2022 -- a 630 per cent increase compared to the previous year (when travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic were still in place). In the year ending June 2022, Indian nationals also received
Melbourne, Aug 21 (IANS): Popular singer Sona Mohapatra took a packed auditorium by surprise when she was called upon the stage at the ongoing Indian Film Festival of Melbourne to give away an award and judge the long-standing and popular dance competition of the festival. The singer treated the auditorium packed with the Indian diaspora, government functionaries, including ministers and members of parliament, and the city’s mayor with an impromptu act. She crooned, a-cappella, the ‘Kuhu Kuhu Bole Koyaliya’, a duet sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammad Rafi for the pan-India 1957 film, ‘Suvarna Sundari’, starring the legendary Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Anjali Devi. That was her tribute the late Nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar. Talking about the experience, Sona said: “When the festival organisers discovered that I had collaborated with the legendary Aussie band INXS in a single called ‘Afterglow’, they requested if I could sing a few lines to celebrate India-Australia friendship. “I found that the in-house symphony had a conductor who was a jazz musician and requested him to join with a violin. It was magical singing ‘Afterglow’ in the land of INXS. I first again. I’m delighted that Indian nationals were issued the largest number of UK study, work and visitor visas in the year ending June 2022. More strength to the unique living bridge that connects our people. “As this shows, we’re experiencing unprecedented demand for visas. I encourage students starting courses soon to apply as early as possible.”
Sona Mohapatra sings ‘Kuhu Kuhu’ in impromptu tribute to Lata Mangeshkar
SL President directed to ensure Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s return
By Ashe O
Washington, Aug 24 (IANS): Former US President Donald Trump’s problems are piling up as his team seems to be losing the grip as new disclosures reveal he took 300 documents from the White House. His lawyers are deserting him and he’s having tough time at the primaries when blue states recently turned in non-Trump candidates in the run-up to the midterms. Trump is reportedly having a hard time retaining the “best people” to represent him as he faces multiple lawsuits and a federal investigation, but the latest move from Trump left everyone wondering if his team is even awake at the wheel, media reports said. On Monday night, one of Trump’s official representatives for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) released a May 10 letter that legal experts say is incredibly damning. Conservative journalist John Solomon posted the document on his website, JustTheNews.com. The letter was sent to Trump’s lawyers by NARA, and confirms that the former president took highly classified materials with him to Mara-Lago. “As you are no doubt aware, NARA had ongoing communications with the former President’s representatives throughout 2021 about what appeared to be missing Presidential records, which resulted in the transfer of 15 boxes of records to NARA in January 2022,” the letter reads. In its initial review of materials within those boxes, NARA identified items marked as classified national security information, up to the level of Top Secret and including Sensitive Compartmented Information and Special Access Program materials. NARA informed the Department of Justice about that discovery, which prompted it to ask the President to request that NARA provide the FBI with access to the boxes at issue so that those in the Intelligence Community could examine them. The former President had more than 300 classified documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, that have since been recovered by the federal government, New York Times has reported. The figures represent three batches of documents that federal officials have recovered in recent months. About 150 documents marked classified were handed over to the National Archives in January, a large number that prompted concern from officials there that Trump may have had additional sensitive material in the bowels of the resort. Trump reportedly went through those boxes himself late 2021 before they were turned over. Officials at the Justice Department later went to the Florida estate in June with a subpoena for any additional classified material. But reviews of security footage and information from interviews with Trump’s aides led them to believe there were even more documents that hadn’t been turned over. The Times added former White House officials were tasked with trying to return the documents to the federal government, but Trump resisted, calling the boxes: “Mine.” The FBI, armed with a search warrant, went to Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8 and recovered 11 more sets of classified material. A federal judge unsealed the warrant shortly afterward, which shows Trump was under investigation for possible violations of the Espionage Act. The Times, the first to report the number of sensitive material found during the searches, added it’s unclear what type of classified information officials found. But the paper, citing a person briefed on the investigation, said they included material from the CIA, the National Security Agency and the FBI on topics related to national security. It’s unclear if Trump could face any charges related to the documents. The Presidential Records Act requires all official government material be turned over to the National Archives at the end of a term. The archives knew, in part, that it was missing documents that had been widely reported in the media, including Trump’s “love letters” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, The HuffPost said. . The Times’ report comes amid the ongoing firestorm after FBI agents searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort earlier this month. Trump has castigated the search, declaring the FBI’s actions a politicisation of the Justice Department that has never happened to a former president. His aides quickly moved to say he had a “standing order” to automatically declassify documents that left the Oval Office for his estate, although there is no evidence so far to back up that claim. The DOJ’s investigation into the documents is ongoing, as are several other government inquiries into Trump’s behaviour leading up to the Jan 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol and his efforts to remain in power. Lawyers for Trump on Monday urged a federal judge to prevent the FBI from continuing to review documents recovered from his Florida estate earlier this month until a neutral special master can be appointed. The attorneys asserted in a court filing, their first since the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago two weeks ago, that the sets of documents taken from the residence were “presumptively” covered by executive privilege. Separately Monday, a federal judge acknowledged that redactions to an FBI affidavit spelling out the basis for the search might be so extensive as to make the document “meaningless” if released to the public. But he said he continued to believe it should not remain sealed in its entirety because of the “intense” public interest in the investigation, a written order from US Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart said. “Particularly given the intense public and historical interest in an unprecedented search of a former President’s residence, the Government has not yet shown that these administrative concerns are sufficient to justify sealing,” he wrote.
Trump legal woes are ‘Dampening Republican Enthusiasm’:
The GOP strategist Larl Roe said that Trump should spend some of his $120 million war chest to help the stumbling Republican Senate candidates he endorsed. Long-time Republican strategist Rove said Monday that former President Donald Trump’s ongoing legal problems are “dampening Republican enthusiasm” as the nation heads toward the midterm elections. “The more we talk about the boxes of material at Mar-a-Lago the FBI seized earlier this month and the less that we talk about the problems that we face as a country here and now, the better off the Democrats are,” Rove told Fox News. “It raises their enthusiasm; dampens the Republican enthusiasm”. He didn’t comment on what might happen if Trump declares before the midterms that he’s going to make another run for the presidency. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) shared tempered expectations last week that Republicans would retake the Senate. McConnell didn’t specify which candidates lacked “quality” when he made his comments. But several controversial GOP Senate candidates with little or no political experience, championed by Trump, are stumbling in the polls. Those include Mehmet Oz, running against Democratic Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman; Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance (opposed by Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan) and former football star Herschel Walker, who’s running in Georgia for the US Senate against incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock.
By Susitha Fernando
Colombo, Aug 23 (IANS): The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) ruled on Tuesday that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country in July amid the unrest triggered by the ongoing economic crisis, should be allowed to return to the country. Writing to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the HRCSL stated that Rajapaksa is entitled to certain privileges and benefits under law and the government should take necessary steps to ensure his security to return. The Commission headed by a retired Supreme Court judge recommended the government to take all necessary steps to assess the threat situation and provide Rajapaksa and his family access to return whenever he wants. Following the three-month long street violence over the economic crisis that led to the acute shortages of food, fuel, electricity and cooking gas, Rajapaksa announced his resignation on July 9 and fled the country on July 13. He first went to the Maldives and then to Singapore. On the request of the Sri Lankan government, Rajapaksa and his wife were allowed to enter Thailand where he currently resides. A former dual citizen of Sri Lanka and the US, Rajapaksa was refused visa by Washington as he had to give up his American citizenship before the 2019 presidential election. Sri Lankan election law prohibits foreign nationals from running for presidency. Last week, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party formed by Rajapaksa family including Gotabaya’s brothers -- former Prime Minister Mahinda and former Finance minister Basil -- had urged Wickremesinghe to facilitate the former President’s return to the country. Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s safe return was one of the key deals to support Wickremesinghe in his presidency. Earlier this month, Wickremesinghe had told media that it was not the right time for Gotabaya Rajapaksa to return as his presence could again inflame political tensions in the island nation. Kathmandu, Aug 24 (IANS): The Nepal government is in a fix on whether to allow the Indian Army to recruit Nepali youths under the Narendra Modi governments newly launched Agnipath scheme of short-term recruitment into the armed forces. New Delhi has apparently asked Kathmandu’s views on the matter as India’s Gorkha regiment plans to recruit Nepalis, for which tests are scheduled for August 25 in Butwal and September 1 in Dharan. According to Nepali media reports, the delay over giving decision has reached to the office of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba who discussed the matter with Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka and some senior Nepal government officials. But there is no decision yet whether to allow India to recruit Nepali youths in Indian Army or not as 75 per cent those who get selected would have to return home after four years and that could invite huge social costs. Government officials in Kathmandu have said they were still mulling over the matter saying the Indian government did not discuss the matter with the Nepali side before launching the scheme and only informed that it has resumed the recruitment under the new scheme. The Indian Army had postponed the Gorkha recruitment due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As soon as the new scheme was launched on June 14, the Indian Army via the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu wrote to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking approval for the selection and recruitment in Butwal and Dharan, and sought security support from the local administrations during the recruitment process, according to the Nepali media reports. After the government of Nepal failed to communicate to the Indian side whether it will allow the Indian Army to start the recruitment process, the latter has stopped short of making public the recruitment dates. As per the Agnipath scheme announced by the Modi government in India, it will be recruiting 46,000 “Agniveers”. Upon completing the four-year service, the “Aginveers” will return to society as a disciplined, dynamic, motivated, and skilled workforce for employment in other sectors to pursue their career in the job of their choice, as per the Indian government plan. The provision will apply to the Gorkha regiment, a dedicated force of the Indian Army that only hires Nepali nationals and Nepalispeaking people. Some sections in Nepal have raised questions about the Agnipath scheme, saying whether it will violate the Tripartite Agreement between then British, India and Nepali governments signed in 1947 that ensures the recruitment in the Indian Army and ensured equal pay and pension and other facilities on par with the Indians. Some Nepali experts have suggested to make this tripartite agreement bilateral with India.
Germany, Canada sign hydrogen deal in ‘historic step’
Berlin, Aug 24 (IANS): Germany and Canada have signed a cooperation agreement for the production and transport of hydrogen on the second day of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s inaugural trip to Canada. German Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Canadian Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson signed the agreement at a ceremony on Tuesday in the remote town of Stephenville, in Newfoundland and Labrador, attended by Scholz and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, dpa news agency reported. Trudeau spoke of a “historic step forward for our shared future”. “Our target is clear: Working towards initial exports of Canadian hydrogen to Germany by 2025,” Trudeau said. “Our outcomes are clear as well: Creating middle class jobs and local growth while delivering clear energy that will help fight climate change.” Scholz said that the deal will take the partnership between the two countries to a more strategic level. The German chancellor, who was accompanied on his trip by his deputy Habeck and a large delegation of business and industry leaders, called the agreement “an important step not only for strengthening our bilateral economic relations, but also for a sustainable energy supply for the future.” Newfoundland is considered a favourable location for the production of renewable hydrogen. The region is very windy and sparsely populated. The use of hydrogen does not produce greenhouse gases. To produce it, water has to be split into hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis, which is only climate-friendly if sustainable energy is used. Currently the cost of producing low-carbon hydrogen is more expensive than buying natural gas, but experts believe that hydrogen has the ability to reduce energy bills in the medium term. Industrial hydrogen production hubs have yet to be completed, however. German energy companies Eon and Uniper said on Tuesday that they had signed a memorandum of understanding with Canada’s Everwind on the sidelines of the German-Canadian talks with the aim of importing climate-neutral hydrogen from Canada on a large
scale from 2025. Accordingly, the companies are each seeking a purchase agreement for up to 500,000 tonnes of ammonia - the chemical used to transport hydrogen - per year. A green hydrogen and ammonia production plant is to be built in the village of Point Tupper in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. “It is in an advanced stage of development and is expected to start commercial operation in early 2025,” Eon said. Also on Tuesday, German carmaker Mercedes-Benz and the Canadian government signed a memorandum of understanding to promote cooperation and economic opportunities within the Canadian supply chain for electric vehicles.
Ottawa, Aug 24 (IANS) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced new sanctions against Russia. In a press release on the Prime Minister’s website, Trudeau said on Tuesday that Canada is imposing new measures on 62 close associates of the Russian government and a defence sector entity, Xinhua news agency reported. Among the individuals sanctioned are high-ranking Russian government officials, including Russian federal governors and regional heads, their family members, and senior officials of currently sanctioned defence sector entities, according to the press release. The Prime Minister also announced allocation of funding for two Ukraine projects through the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program to provide additional support to Ukraine’s security sector institutions. Since February 24 this year, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 1,300 individuals and entities from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
