📰 Endless war: on Saudi Arabia's strike in Yemen
The global community fails Yemen by not pressuring Saudi Arabia to cease the attacks
•The attack on a bus in a crowded market in southern Yemen that killed at least 45 people, most of them children, is the latest atrocity in the military intervention led by Saudi Arabia that began over three years ago. During this period, Riyadh has paid little attention to growing international criticism of its use of excessive force in Yemen, which plunged the country, among the poorest in West Asia, into what the United Nations calls the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis. The bus attack comes a week after Saudi war planes targeted the port city Hodeida, which is already under siege, killing at least 28 people and wounding dozens more. Since Saudi Arabia launched air strikes on Yemen’s Shia Houthi rebels, who captured huge swathes of territory, including the capital Sanaa, the civilian toll has been particularly high. The Saudi-led coalition, backed by the U.S., targeted public infrastructure, killed thousands of civilians, displaced hundreds of thousands more and even laid siege to major cities, blocking food and aid supplies. With no functional government in place and the rebels fighting the Saudi invasion, Yemen’s 28 million people have been practically abandoned by the world. In recent years, the country has had an unprecedented cholera outbreak that killed over 2,000 people. The health-care system has collapsed, millions of people have been cut off from regular access to clean water, and more than eight million people threatened by acute hunger.
•Saudi Arabia has not been deterred by any of this. Nor has it come under any serious international pressure to halt its catastrophic campaign. Its response to the bus bombing has been callous: it said the attack was “a legitimate military action”, and accused the rebels of using children as human shields. The Saudis say the Houthi rebels are backed by Iran, its regional rival; also that its campaign has been on behalf of the internationally recognised government of Yemen. Curiously, Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi is nowhere to be seen; he is reported to be under house arrest in Riyadh. The military campaign has been a failure from a strategic point of view as well. After more than three years of relentless bombing, the rebels are still entrenched in their areas of influence, including Sanaa. It is high time the international community paid serious attention to the voices of the battered Yemenis. The U.S. continues to support this disastrous aggression, with other leading global powers failing to do anything more than condemn rights violations. The plight of Yemenis will get progressively worse unless enough pressure is brought to bear upon Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia and the main architect of the Kingdom’s aggressive foreign policy. He should stop the war and push for a negotiated settlement between the Yemeni government and the rebels.
📰 Two MPs bring private Bill against lynching
Tharoor denied permission to table the legislation in the Lok Sabha; Tulsi tables his in Rajya Sabha
•Ahead of the government which is still consulting stakeholders to cast a law against lynching, Shashi Tharoor, Lok Sabha member of the Congress, and K.T.S. Tulsi, a nominated Rajya Sabha member, introduced a private member’s Bill in Parliament on Friday.
•“We are anxious to share the provisions of this Bill in order to pre-empt the possibility of the government coming up with a weaker Bill,” Mr. Tharoor told presspersons later. “If public consciousness is raised as to what can go into anti-lynching Bill, then our feeling is that the government will have no choice but to take these provisions into account.”
•Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan did not allow Mr. Tharoor to table the Bill in the Lok Sabha, arguing that law and order was a State subject and it was not for the Lok Sabha to debate it. Mr. Tulsi’s Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha.
Striking terror
•A special law was needed to deal with lynching, though most of the crimes were covered by the Indian Penal Code, Mr. Tulsi said. “Lynching is a crime without motive, it is not a private dispute between the two parties. In fact, the victims are unknown. The object of these crimes is to strike terror in society. To strike terror by killing people most mercilessly like rats.” Lynching was more dangerous than terrorism and just as there was a special law to tackle terrorism, lynching needed one too,” Mr Tulsi said.
•The Bill introduced by the two gives a detailed definition of what constitutes lynching.
•It suggests that the minimum punishment should be seven-year jail term and the highest, life imprisonment, depending on the gravity of the offence. It has provisions to deal with “creation of a hostile environment”. They include incidents where a Minister felicitates a lynching accused.
Protecting witnesses
•“The Bill also talks about protecting the victim and witnesses. If witnesses are not protected, then nobody will come forward and the courts will not be able to arrive at the truth,” Mr. Tulsi explained.
•Mr. Tulsi and Mr. Tharoor said the government was trying to shirk responsibility by claiming law and order was a State subject.
•The two will send their draft to Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
📰 U.S. cuts military training with Pak.
Pakistani officials warn the move will push their military to further look to China or Russia for training
•President Donald Trump’s administration has quietly started cutting scores of Pakistani officers from coveted training and educational programmes that have been a hallmark of bilateral military relations for more than a decade, U.S. officials say.
•The move, which has not been previously reported, is one of the first known impacts from Mr. Trump’s decision this year to suspend U.S. security assistance to Pakistan to compel it to crack down on Islamic militants.
•The Pentagon and the Pakistani military did not comment directly on the decision or the internal deliberations, but officials from both countries privately criticised the move.
•U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said they were worried the decision could undermine a key trust-building measure. Pakistani officials warned it could push their military to further look to China or Russia for leadership training.
•The effective suspension of Pakistan from the U.S. government’s International Military Education and Training programme (IMET) will close off places that had been set aside for 66 Pakistani officers this year, a State Department spokesperson said. The places will either be unfilled or given to officers from other countries.
•Dan Feldman, a former U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, called the move “very short-sighted and myopic”. “This will have lasting negative impacts limiting the bilateral relationship well into the future,” Mr. Feldman said.
Long term dividends
•The State Department spokesperson, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the IMET cancellations were valued at $2.41 million so far. At least two other programmes have also been affected, the spokesperson said.
•It is unclear precisely what level of military cooperation still continues outside the IMET programme, beyond the top level contacts between U.S. and Pakistani military leaders.
•The U.S. military has traditionally sought to shield such educational programmes from political tensions, arguing that the ties built by bringing foreign military officers to the U.S pay long-term dividends.
•For example, the U.S. Army's War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, which would normally have two Pakistani military officers per year, boasts graduates including Lieutenant General Naveed Mukhtar, the current director-general of Pakistan’ powerful spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI).
•The War College, the U.S. Army’s premier school for foreign officers, says it has hosted 37 participants from Pakistan over the past several decades. It will have no Pakistani students in the upcoming academic year, a spokeswoman said.
•Pakistan has also been removed from programmes at the U.S. Naval War College, Naval Staff College and courses including cyber security studies.
📰 U.K. asked to take a new approach to immigration
Industry body wants Britain to scrap immigration targets
•Pressure for the U.K. to further shake up its immigration policies grew as the Confederation of British Industry published a report, calling for a “new approach”.
•It asked the government to scrap immigration targets, leave Britain “open enough” to grow the economy and enable businesses to access talent at all skills levels. It also suggested that trade deals with countries such as India and Australia would be easier to forge if Britain reviewed its approach to visas, and brought migration policy to the trade discussion table.
•Britain’s needs were “more complex” than only ensuring that the U.K. can attract the “brightest and the best”, said Josh Hardie, the CBI’s deputy director, referring to a phrase repeatedly used by the government in defence of the existing system. “Housebuilding needs architects for design, labourers to dig foundations and electricians to finish the job... this is no longer a theoretical debate, it’s about the future of our nation.”
Right signals
•He called on the government to send the right signals and put “migration on the table” in trade talks both with the EU and other nations, where “it is clear existing visa restrictions inhibit trade and foreign direct investment”.
•India has repeatedly raised concerns about Britain’s unwillingness to ease visa restrictions for professionals, students and others. In particular, Britain’s decision to exclude India from a relaxation of visa norms for students provoked criticism from India, raising bilateral tensions.
•The report was also supported by industry-specific groups, including U.K. Hospitality, Food and Drink Federation and TechUK. Staying at the forefront of developments in the fast evolving global tech sector required access to “niche digital skill sets from a global pool of talent,” the report said.
•Among its specific recommendations are reforming the Tier 2 visa route — the main work route for those coming to the U.K., including from India — to ensure that employers could “access the range of skills that they need” and scrapping the annual number of Tier 2 visas issued.
•The government recently took doctors and nurses out of the annual limit, but with EU workers leaving the U.K. in larger numbers, the demand for Tier 2 visas has risen, leaving businesses unable to hire the talent they needed.
•Following a scandal over the wrongful treatment of Commonwealth migrants in the U.K., attention has turned to the U.K. government’s “hostile” approach to immigration, with the suggestion that its approach risked harming those legally in Britain, and the needs of the business community.
•A number of changes were brought in by new Home Secretary Sajid Javid, but businesses and others believe far more change is needed to truly tackle the problem. “The stakes are high,” warned the CBI. “Get it wrong, and the U.K. risks having too few people to run the health service, pick food crops or deliver products to stores around the country.”
📰 Half a million Venezuelans fleeing crisis enter Ecuador
Quito declares a state of migration emergency
•More than half a million Venezuelans have crossed into Ecuador this year, the UN said on Friday, after Quito declared a state of migration emergency triggered by the crisis engulfing Venezuela.
•Colombia and Brazil, which share borders with Venezuela, have borne the brunt of the regional humanitarian emergency brought on by the near total collapse of the Venezuelan economy.
•But with the crisis deepening, the “influx is now accelerating” into Ecuador and beyond, with some people making arduous weeks-long journeys on foot before finding a place to settle, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said in Geneva.
•“Since the beginning of the year, some 5,47,000 Venezuelans have entered Ecuador through the Colombian border,” UNHCR said, noting that most have continued onwards to Peru and Chile.
•“Many run out of resources to continue their journey and, left destitute, are forced to live rough in public parks and resort to begging... in order to meet their daily needs,” the agency added.
•The UNHCR said Ecuador’s state of emergency declaration would help mobilise more resources.
•Caracas’s diplomatic isolation has intensified, with the country in the grip of staggering hyperinflation, shortages of food and medicine.
📰 We averted a possible debacle: ISRO chairman
‘Decision to recall GSAT-11 justified’
•Indian Space Research Organisation could have faced a ₹1200-crore debacle in space had it not brought GSAT-11 back from the Guiana launch port in late April, its Chairman K. Sivan said on Friday.
•Speaking for the first time on issues raised about the 5,700-kg high throughput satellite, he justified ISRO’s unprecedented decision to recall the satellite midway between its reaching the French port and the launch.
•Dr. Sivan said an apex committee of former chairmen and former space commission members collectively decided to bring GSAT-11 back to Bengaluru for a thorough check.
•“There is ₹1,200 crore at stake as costs of the satellite and the launch, apart from India’s reputation. We cannot afford to take risks in such a high profile mission. We did lose our place in the launch queue when we brought our satellite back. But it turned out to be a wise decision. GSAT-11 had the same set of power system configuration that two older satellites had. RISAT-1 died prematurely and GSAT-6A lost communication contact soon after launch on March 29 because of suspected power system failure, harnesses etc... We had just sent GSAT-11 [to Guiana] and no one was sure if the same issue was there in GSAT-11,” he said.
•Checks found that the provision or “margin” for the deployment of the solar panel was much smaller than was required. “Had it gone in that configuration, the panel [which generates power for the 15-year life] would not have deployed in space. The satellite would have been a failure. We had a chance to improve a major system. We are also confident that the failure issue has been overcome.”
•Contrary to a few reports, there was no pressure on ISRO nor were the two new launches a quid pro quo for taking GSAT-11 to space, he said. GSAT-31 and 30 would be signed this month only because launches with Arianespace must be committed four months before launch date that ISRO sought — before December 15 — he said.
•The national space agency had envisioned that its two GSLV rockets would fully take over geostationary orbit launches and that GSAT-11 — its heaviest to date and most ambitious for digital communication — would be its last satellite to go outside India for a launch. But early this year, it realised that upgrading a GSLV-Mk2 engine would need more time. The bigger Mark 3 was also not available in time.
•“We already knew that we have to look for outside launch again for these two satellites,” Dr. Sivan said.
📰 Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve enters UNESCO list
11 Indian reserves now listed in World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
•The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve (KBR) of Sikkim, the highest biosphere reserve in the country that includes the third highest mountain peak in the world, Kanchenjunga (8,586 m), has been included in the UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserve (WHBR).
•The decision was taken at the International Coordinating Council of Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme, UNESCO, in its 30th Session held at Palembang, Indonesia, last month, a press release by Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change said.
•With the inclusion of the KBR, one of the highest ecosystems in the world, reaching elevations of 1,220 m to 8,586 m above sea level, the number of biosphere reserves from the country included in World Network of Biosphere Reserves has increased to 11.
•The last biosphere reserve to be included was the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve in Kerala in 2016. The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve was the first reserve from the country to be included in the WNBR. India has 18 biospheres reserves, of which 11 have been included in the WNBR.
Boost to research
•C.S. Rao, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Sikkim, said the inclusion of the KBR in the UNESCO list will boost the unique ecosystem of Sikkim on two counts: collaborative research and tourism.
•“This development will boost international research collaboration relating to flora, fauna and ecosystem of the KBR. Sikkim, with a population of about 6 lakh, gets15 lakh tourists annually. This will help us get more tourists,” Mr. Rao said.
•Explaining, the importance of the KBR for Sikkim, he said the biosphere reserve comprises 41% of the entire geographical area of the mountain State. “Of the 2,931 sq km area of the KBR, 1,784 sq km is the core area of the biosphere sphere, 835 sq km buffer area and 311 sq km comprises transition area between habitation and the biosphere reserve,” Mr. Rao said.
•The Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP), which comprises the core area of the KBR, was inscribed as India’s first “Mixed World Heritage Site” on July 17, 2016. Eighty six per cent of the core lies in the Alpine zone and the remaining portions are located in the Himalayan wet temperate and sub tropical moist deciduous forest.
Biodiversity hotspot
•The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve is one of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots that has good species diversity with high levels of endemism, with many mountains, peaks, lakes, caves, rocks, stupas (shrines) and hot springs.
•According to the Sikkim Forest Department, there are 4,500 species of flowering plants in the KBR, including 424 medicinal plants and 36 rhododendrons, 60 species of primulas and 11 varieties of oaks .
•The biosphere reserve has also listed 362 species of ferns.“Over 118 species of the large number of medicinal plants are found in Dzongu Valley in north Sikkim,” a press statement of the PIB said.
•Mr. Rao said that many species protected under the Wildlife Protection Act have their home in the KBR. This includes the Red Panda, Snow Leopard, Himalayan Black Beer and herbivores species of Musk deer, Great Tibetan Sheep, Blue Sheep, Boral and Barking Deer. Over 500 species and sub-species of birds, including high-altitude pheasants — Monal Pheasants, Tragopan Pheasants and Blood Pheasants (the State Bird) — are also found in the reserve.
📰 IIP surges to five-month high of 7%
‘Increase aided by pickup in investment demand, part-spurred by a rise in government expenditure’
•Growth in industrial activity picked up to a five-month high of 7% in June, driven by an across-the-board acceleration in growth rates including in sectors such as manufacturing, electricity, infrastructure, and capital and consumer goods, according to official data released on Friday.
•The Index of Industrial Production registered a growth rate of 7% in June, rising from 3.93% in May. Within this, the manufacturing sector grew 6.9% in June, an increase from 3.66% in May.
‘Credit, exports rise’
•“There is a pickup in investment demand overall,” D.K. Srivastava, chief policy advisor at EY India said. “This is partly driven by an increase in government expenditure. The stimulus by the government on the current and capital sides and a pickup in private investment has led to industrial growth. This is shown by a pickup in other indicators as well, such as credit data and exports.”
•The primary goods segment within the IIP registered a growth rate of 9.28% in June, up from 5.74% in May. Capital goods witnessed a similar acceleration in growth rates, coming in at 9.62% in June up from 6.92% in the previous month. The infrastructure sector showed strong growth of 8.53% in June, up from 7.42% in May.
•“The strong recovery in manufacturing and consumer durables is particularly encouraging as is the continued strength in infrastructure and construction sector,” B. Prasanna, group executive and head, global markets group, ICICI Bank, said in a note.
•“This is in tandem with credit growth in the construction sector at around 8% during the last 12 months.”
‘Weak non-durables’
•“However, we are slightly concerned with the weakness in consumer non-durables, though this could reverse on the back of normal monsoons and government support aiding rural income as we go ahead,” Mr. Prasanna added. Consumer goods saw growth accelerating to 5.92% in June from 1.57% in May.
•Within this, consumer durables witnessed a strong surge, registering a growth rate of 13.1% in June, up from 6.39% in May.
•Consumer non-durables, however, grew only 0.47% in June, although this reversed the contraction of 2.06% witnessed in the previous month. “The encouraging news is the jump in the production of capital goods and infrastructure and construction goods,” Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of CII said in a note.
•“Even on a low base of last year, this could be the reflection of the positive investment trend, in sectors such as roads, railways and affordable housing.”
📰 ‘India to triple ethanol production by 2022’
Aim is to reduce oil import bill by ₹12,000 crore, says Prime Minister Modi
•India will triple its ethanol production over the next four years till 2022 and this will save ₹12,000 crore in the country’s oil import bill, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, which is being celebrated as World Biofuels Day.
•The Prime Minister also blamed the previous government for not encouraging the production and adoption of ethanol, saying his government has planned 12 biofuel refineries in the country at an investment of ₹10,000 crore. “The ethanol blending programme was started during the Vajpayee government,” Mr. Modi said. “But previous governments did not take the ethanol programme seriously. Now we will produce 450 crore litres of ethanol in the next four years from the existing 141 crore litres. This will result in an import savings of ₹12,000 crore.” The government will achieve 10% ethanol blending in petrol by 2022 and is aiming to double it to 20%,” Mr. Modi added.
•However, the government’s biofuel policy has come under some criticism, with Kalikesh Singh Deo, Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas saying the policy itself needs revisiting.
•“On the occasion of World Biofuels Day, the government needs to revisit its recently announced biofuels policy,” Mr. Deo said in a note.
‘Abysmal levels’
•“India needs to adopt a holistic approach to meet the consistent targets of ethanol blending, which this government has been maintaining at abysmal levels (2% currently as per the policy document itself),” Mr. Deo said in a note.
•“The Union Government is highlighting the fact that it is investing significantly in the effort to transform biomass to biofuel,” Mr. Deo added. “There is a plan to set up 12 modern refineries for generating advanced biofuel. The plans announced by the government have been repeated in one form or other since 2014, with little or no success,” he added.
