TCC has filed an appeal against the High Court of Justice order in the BVI Court of Appeal, as per the latest updates….reports Asian Lite News
The strength of Pakistan’s claim of success in the Reko Diq mines case might just be fading out as the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) has challenged the ruling of a British Virgin Islands (BVI) court, which had allowed Pakistan to retain its assets, which were attached in connection to the case for the settlement of a $6 billion award.
TCC has filed an appeal against the High Court of Justice order in the BVI Court of Appeal, as per the latest updates.
Earlier, TCC had sought attachment of Pakistan’s assets for the enforcement of the $6 billion award that was given by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on July 12, 2019. The award was slapped on Pakistan for revoking a contract for mining at Reko Diq in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
On December 10, 2020, the BVI High Court had attached the Roosevelt Hotel in New York and the Scribe Hotel in Paris to enforce the award. Both the hotels were owned by Pakistan’s flag carrier airline Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
However, the same court later changed its order and ruled that PIA could retain its two assets, a news that was celebrated in Pakistan as a victory in the case.
As per the BVI ruling, TCC’s plea was not only rejected, but a fine of $5 million along with a $50,000 penalty was also imposed on the company.
“The BVI Court ruled that it has no jurisdiction, and the all ex-parte orders obtained by the TCC were based on an incorrect reading of law,” said a senior member of Pakistan’s Ministry of Law.
The rejection of the TCC plea also came because Pakistan has already initiated the process for the annulment of the $6 billion award in the Reko Diq case, a decision on which is awaited.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s legal experts say that the probability to have the $6 billion penalty annulled has certainly come as a booster for the country, which is already suffering from an economic crisis.
The international arbitration tribunal of the ICSID had slapped a $6 billion penalty on Pakistan on July 12, 2019, for a decision taken in 2011 to deny a mining lease for the Reko Diq project to the TCC.
Pakistan was ordered to pay over $4 billion in damages and $1.7 billion in pre-award interest to TCC, after it was found that Pakistan reportedly took an unlawful decision to deny TCC a lease to mine copper and gold deposits at the Reko Diq mine.
While Pakistan’s leverage given by the court and chances of annulment of the $6 billion award will be a great booster for the country’s economy, TCC’s latest appeal may just ruin Islamabad’s success claims and further hurt its crippling and worsening economic crisis.
Now that a third Israeli-Hamas war has ended as inconclusively as the two previous wars, will both sides prepare for the next one, or let sanity sink in and chart a dramatically new course that will end the vicious cycle from which neither side can ever escape?…writes Dr Alon Ben-Meir
No keen observer of the brutal Israel-Hamas conflict can draw any conclusion other than that both sides have and continue to be delusional about their presumptive goal of destroying the other entirely. If past experiences offer any lesson, Israel can inflict massive destruction and casualties and even decapitate Hamas’ leadership, but Hamas will still survive, regroup, rebuild their arsenals, and emerge even stronger. And while Hamas can launch thousands of rockets, Israel can absorb such an onslaught and rise to exact an even greater price. To be sure, neither side can ever change the equation, but only set the stage for the next round.
What contributes to this impasse is that Israel assesses the result of the war in terms of how much destruction it has inflicted, how many militants it killed, and the extent to which it has degraded Hamas’ offensive ability. And since Israel considers Hamas as an irredeemable terrorist foe, it must therefore be contained by “mowing the lawn” every few years.
Conversely, Hamas measures the outcome in political and psychological terms and its impact on the Palestinian public. In that sense, Hamas can rightfully claim victory in this last war because they successfully usurped the mantle of the defender of the Palestinian cause and the “true guardian of East Jerusalem.” In addition, they inflicted a significant political blow on their rival—the Palestinian Authority—for its lame reaction to the disturbances in East Jerusalem.
That said, Israel and Hamas cannot ignore the plain reality that neither can make the other disappear. They have to decide where to go from here, and recognize that the status quo is not sustainable, as has been demonstrated time and again.
Increasing public pressure
In Gaza, the Palestinians are despairing. They suffer from poverty, 50 percent unemployment, a broken healthcare system, and shortages of medicine, food, gas, and electricity, along with casualties and destruction they have sustained during devastating wars. They want an end to the conflict with Israel, and although this sentiment is not freely expressed, Hamas’ leadership is fully aware that blaming Israel for the public’s plight resonates only up to a point. They must meet their public’s demands if they want to prevent widespread unrest.
Likewise, the Israelis are becoming increasingly frustrated with how Netanyahu has been handling the conflict with Hamas (this is the second inconclusive war with Hamas under his watch). The communities adjacent to Gaza have had more than their share of anxiety, fear, and disruptions in their daily lives. Most Israelis resent that they must rush to shelters for days to seek protection from rockets, all while the economy is badly affected and the cost of waging these wars is ever-escalating with no end in sight to the bloody cycle.
In light of the last war and its indeterminate result, Israel and Hamas may well be compelled to reconsider their relations and chart a new path to change the dynamic of the conflict, from which both can benefit.
First, a long-term ceasefire: The Israeli military establishment’s decision to instantly retaliate (disproportionately) to any Hamas provocation, as has been the case in every war, is not the answer any more. Israel, which helped created Hamas in the first place to counter-balance the PLO and has witnessed its evolution over the past three decades, must admit it simply cannot wish it away. It is time for Israel to agree on a long-term ceasefire (hudna) for 15-20 years, which Hamas has been seeking for several years. Israel has legitimate concerns that during such a long respite, Hamas will amass more rockets, build more tunnels, and substantially improve their offensive and defensive capability.
These concerns can be mitigated through deterrence or rewards. One is to entice Hamas that full compliance would lead to gradual lifting of the blockade and rebuilding of the infrastructure; two, the violation of the agreement will prompt Israel to inflict such a massive blow from which Hamas may not recover. In this regard, Hamas’ arsenal of rockets and other weaponry has been a major point of contention for Israelis. Under a long-term ceasefire, their current arsenal should be kept under lock and key, with the direct supervision of Egypt, which has long mediated between Israel and Hamas.
Two, rebuilding Gaza’s infrastructure: President Biden’s announcement that the US and other donors will provide billions of dollars to rebuild what was destroyed during the last conflagration and further expand infrastructure is crucial. The building of schools, hospitals, housing, roads, and electrical grids are critical for every Palestinian in Gaza and also for Hamas’ leadership. Although Hamas challenged Israel in the past, knowing that they were inviting massive Israeli retaliation, given how dire the conditions have become in Gaza they will be increasingly less inclined to challenge Israel again, especially if they want to preserve their political gains from this latest war.
Obviously, the US with the support of other nations will establish an unfettered monitoring system to prevent Hamas from diverting any of the aid received for military purposes, especially building tunnels, manufacturing rockets, and training. That said, it will be wise to involve Hamas to participate in the reconstruction efforts to make it increasingly vested in the process.
Three, gradual lifting of the blockade: In conjunction with a long-term ceasefire, Egypt, with the strong support of the US, should work with Israel and Hamas on a plan that will gradually lift the blockade over a period of five years. The complete lifting of the blockade should be directly linked to Hamas’ renunciation of violence against Israel, and it must demonstrate that by preventing any hostile act against Israel by any group from inside Gaza. Moreover, Hamas must commit to distance itself from the Muslim Brotherhood, because Cairo plays a central role in any ceasefire and its implementation and considers the MB as a terrorist organization.
This is the moment when Hamas’ leaders must realize that it is not enough to boast about the psychological and political victory they harvested from the war; they must translate that into practical gains. They have now a crucial opportunity to change the entire dynamic of the conflict by demonstrating moderation, and it will most prudent on the part of Israel to seize the moment and move beyond the old and tired notion that Hamas is simply incorrigible.
The above may seem too logical of an approach to solve such an endemic conflict between hardnosed adversaries where emotions run high, hatred runs deep, and distrust is all but self-consuming. However, I invite any Israeli or Hamas leader to show me if there is any other viable alternative that stands any chance of being mutually accepted.
(Dr Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies.)
French President Emmanuel Macron calls for clarity and urges transparency and resolution of the matter, reports Asian Lite News
European countries have demanded an explanation from the US and Denmark as soon as possible on reports that the American intelligence agency had used Danish infrastructure to spy on top politicians, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
On Sunday, Denmark’s national broadcaster DR News said in a report that Danish Defense Intelligence Service (FE) has given the US National Security Agency (NSA) open internet access to spy on senior politicians of European countries including Germany, Sweden, Norway, and France.
In response to the report, Danish Minister of Defence Trine Bramsen had said that the government will not “enter into speculation about any intelligence matters from the press or others… Systematic wiretapping of close allies is unacceptable”
But French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for “clarity” and urged “complete transparency and resolution of the matter by our Danish and American partners”.
This “is unacceptable between allies, even less between allies and European partners”, he added.
Meanwhile, Merkel said she “could only agree” with Macron’s comments, adding she was “reassured” by Bramsen’s condemnation of any such spying.
Besides Merkel, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the candidate for chancellor Peer Steinbrueck were among those the NSA had spied on, the DR News report said.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Wikipedia)
“It is grotesque that friendly intelligence services are indeed intercepting and spying on top representatives of other countries,” Steinbrueck told German broadcaster ARD on Monday.
“Politically I consider it a scandal.”
In Paris, French Minister for European Affairs Clement Beaune told France Info radio that the DR report needed to be checked and that, if confirmed, it would be a “serious” matter.
“These potential facts, they are serious. They must be checked,” he said, adding there could be “some diplomatic protests”.
Jens Holm, a member of the Swedish Parliament, called on investigation into “who exactly was monitored, when and how”.
“This is extremely outrageous,” Holms told local media, adding that the situation elicits memories of the Cold War.
The governments of Norway and Sweden are pressing the Danish government and demanding immediate answers about the alleged NSA espionage through Danish cables.
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said her government has asked Denmark “for all the information they have”.
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg (Wikipedia)
“It’s unacceptable if countries which have close allied cooperation feel the need to spy on one another,” she told public broadcaster NRK.
Norway’s Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen also told broadcaster NRK that the country takes the allegations seriously.
Swedish Minister of Defence Peter Hultqvist said on state broadcaster SVT on Sunday that he “asked to be fully informed about matters concerning Swedish citizens, companies and interests.”
“And then we have to see how the answer sounds from a political side in Denmark,” Hultqvist said, adding that he had been “in contact with Denmark’s Defence Minister to ask if Danish platforms have been used to spy on Swedish politicians”.
Afghanistan’s National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib said that Taliban leaders had not been in contact with their supreme leader for one year, reports Mrityunjoy Kumar Jha
The Taliban’s top leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada has been absent from important meetings and has not been seen in public for the last one year, triggering speculation about his physical status.
Citing the intelligence reports, Afghanistan’s National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib said during a press conference on Saturday that Taliban leaders had not been in contact with their supreme leader for one year.
“Taliban have had no contact with Mullah Haibatullah for the last 12 months. There is no information available whether he is alive or dead? No one had heard his voice and no one had met him. Intelligence information proves it,” the Pajhwok news quoted him saying.
According to senior Afghan intelligence, army and NATO officials, most decisions of the Taliban regarding peace and security are being taken by the group’s deputy leader, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of the infamous Haqqani network, known for working hand-in-glove with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
But the Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid told Pajhwok Afghan News that Mullah Haibatullah was alive and was doing his job. Mujahid said that all their leaders and officials are in contact with the supreme leader. They take his advice on all important issues and share their reports with him.
Taliban
He added that Akhundzada is in a safe and secure place, and his absence in public was driven by security reasons.
There have been several reports that senior leaders of the Taliban are in a safe hideout near Quetta under the protection of the Pakistani army. Few weeks ago, members of the Taliban negotiating team had travelled to some undisclosed locations near Quetta for further consultations with their senior leaders, but the absence of the top leader’s name stood out.
Three months ago, there were media reports that Akhundzada had been killed in a bomb blast in a mosque in Quetta. His brother and a number of people of his seminary had apparently also suffered casualties in the incident, which is said to have taken place in April 2020.
The Taliban had rejected the report. Taliban leader Ahmadullah Wasiq said on Twitter: “This is false news and baseless rumours have no truth. Spreading such rumours and false news is a failed propaganda attempt by the enemy’s intelligence services. The enemy wants to hide its defeats in such rumours and distract the people’s minds.”
However, it is not unknown for the Taliban to hide the death of its leaders.
Mullah Omar’s death in Pakistan in 2013 was kept hidden from the public by the Taliban for about two years. The group confirmed the death in July 2015 only after Afghanistan’s spy agency went public with the development.
Mullah Omar’s successor, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, was killed in a US drone strike in Balochistan, in May 2016. Akhundzada was named the new head of the Taliban days later. He was previously the Taliban’s chief justice and most of the decisions and fatwas were made by him.
It is no secret that scores of top Afghan Taliban leaders are based in Pakistan. The top leadership council is called the “Quetta Shura” because most of its members are based in Quetta.
This year, Salaam Times raised the issue about the whereabouts of the Taliban supremo. It said that no voice clip of the Taliban’s leader had been released since a year and his Eid messages were all in written form.
(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Anhui Innovation Center and learns about the technological innovation in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province. (XinhuaYan Yan)
Information flowing through China’s digital networks is closely monitored and controlled on the insistence of the CCP, making its digital security more precarious and vulnerable, reports Pushkar Sinha
Under the garb of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has leveraged its social credit system to coerce and manipulate the behaviour of its own people.
“Every Breath You Take: China’s New Tyranny” -a new book authored by Ian Willams spotlights that the social credit system in the party-state came of age during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the disease became an excuse to roll out new pilot schemes, with major implications on individual freedoms.
While some provinces rate social standings through a point scoring system, others use technology and Big Data to backlist individuals and businesses. For instance, in Rongcheng, a city close to the Yellow Sea, 10 points are deducted for not wearing a mask in public while the cost of failing to self-isolate costs 50 points, as reported by Foreign Policy magazine. Overcharging for medical supplies, selling fake medical goods, not wearing masks, violating quarantine and consuming wild animal products were some of the acts on which the local authorities rapidly imposed social credit retaliation, in the months following the eruption of the pandemic on Chinese soil.
Prohibition from high-speed rail travel, luxury hotel bookings and buying flights were part of a variety of disincentives that were imposed to punish those who were put on the blacklist. Businesses can be blocked from participating in government programmes and subsidies, while citizens can be barred from government employment if their scores fall below the minimum acceptable level.
Adam Knight, the author of a new paper titled Going Viral: The Social Credit System and COVID-19, points out that Ministry of Transport put drivers who used express lanes reserved for key workers have been restricted from carrying out further transportation services. Misdemeanours related to hiding virus symptoms, concealing details of foreign travel, avoiding medical treatment or having contact with suspected patients have been added to people’s personal social credit file. The BBC reports that even whistle-blower medics and journalists exposing the scale of suffering were jailed for allegedly spreading “rumours” or false information, as defined by their enforcers.
Out of 96 Covid-related infringements, only nine were deemed serious enough to warrant criminal proceedings by the Shanghai government. Nevertheless, these records were made public online and attached to the individual’s credit record. Behaviour condoned by the CCP is rewarded with access to a bureaucratic “green channel” at government offices for faster paperwork-processing, discounts on utility bills or easier access to state-backed loans including cash payments, says a Times report.
The New York Times is reporting that a “Traffic Light”, as it is popularly known, is a colour coded smartphone app that crunches data and awards user with red, amber or green code according to the determination of infection risk. There is a growing interest in the CCP to make the app permanent to bolster its surveillance state and standardise “social control” systems.
Another aspect of the Traffic light app is that it was introduced as a mini app within Tencent’s WeChat and Alibaba’s Alipay apps rather than a standalone one. The data collected by these established apps combined with the GPS tracking ability of the Traffic Light app has led to fears of China becoming a “digital leviathan” that encourages people not to question the system for fear of reprisals.
In areas under lockdown, phone location data is being used to monitor movement and enforce curfews. If a patient is designated for quarantine, geolocation pings on their phone can alert authorities if they stray out of their homes. Phone location data is also being used to map with precision the locations visited by the person two weeks before diagnosis.
A combination of human and automated computer analysis is used to work out the individuals they may have infected. A text message is then sent out through one of the major apps alerting those who may be at risk.
Information flowing through China’s digital networks is closely monitored and controlled on the insistence of the CCP, making its digital security more precarious and vulnerable. The Economist has revealed that information sent through WeChat or Alipay must pass through central servers as plain text, unencrypted so that the company can filter and censor them according to the government’s requirements.
Besides, in China, cameras installed on road walks have facial recognition system, along with licence plate determination abilities that instantly alert authorities if anyone is found breaking quarantine. The system can be accurately described as a clever form of soft totalitarianism as it encourages people not to act against the will of the authorities.
(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
While the outbreak of Covid 19 has somewhat derailed economic growth in the region, which is home to about one fourth of the world’s population, it has the advantage of a robust domestic demand, a report by Mahua Venkatesh
Amid an increasingly belligerent China, which has set its focus on the South Asian region, India must ensure early or at least timely completion and implementation of all pending initiatives pertaining to economic, infrastructure and trade framework.
One of the biggest problems that India faces is the failure in real execution of proposed plans and framework in a timebound manner�whether international or domestic, two analysts India Narrative spoke to said on condition of anonymity.
“There is an urgent need to focus on timely execution of projects and framework. Delay in implementation gives rise to uncertainty. Contrast this to China’s strategy. It has been very quick and steady in implementation,” one of them said, adding that these critical gaps leave a window for Beijing to turn them into opportunities.
Foreign policy observers in India said that New Delhi must also start preparing to play a much larger role in the new regional order, especially as an alternative to China as several countries including the US are now looking for newer allies.
Chinese President Xi Jinping
Covid 19 and its implications
The outbreak of Covid 19 has further dented progress.
“Though the outbreak of Covid 19 has thrown up huge challenges and derailed progress and implementation of several initiatives in the region, the region has the ability to bounce back. For that countries must enhance co-operation, focus on commonalities, keep aside thorny issues which would take time to resolve. In fact, Covid 19 has also provided a common thread to the countries of the region for increased information exchange and co-operation,” Nazneen Ahmed, senior research fellow at Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) told India Narrative.
Economic prospects of South Asia
While the outbreak of Covid 19 has somewhat derailed economic growth in the region, which is home to about one fourth of the world’s population, it has the advantage of a robust domestic demand. A World Bank report published in March said that seamless transport connectivity between India and Bangladesh has the potential to increase national income by as much as 17 per cent in Bangladesh and 8 per cent in India.
“Countries in the Bay of Bengal region have not yet managed to achieve their true growth potential because of multiple reasons, which are often political. But now, we need to focus on the common goals based on the shared culture, history and heritage so that implementation of all projects can be expedited,” Bipul Chatterjee, Executive Director, CUTS International said. Chatterjee too said that it is critical now to ensure timely early closure. completion and execution of all pending and proposed projects and protocols.
China-ship
Rise of a budding Indo-Pacific community
The Covid 19 pandemic, which continues to be a cause for concern for South Asian as well as Southeastern countries, is set to provide a common thread for a Bay of Bengal ( BIMSTEC) bloc to move ahead even as several contentious issues remain. Besides, the importance of BIMSTEC, set up in 1997, will increase in the coming years as the grouping can get geopolitically enmeshed in the growing Indo-Pacific community which is coming into its own following a security threat from an expansionist China, experts said.
Amid the pandemic and the rapidly changing regional China-driven geopolitical contours, the importance of smaller regional blocs which until now remained dormant has come to the fore, analysts said.
Establishing BIMSTEC’s linkages with a broader Indo-Pacific region could be a game-changer.
“The rekindling of BIMSTEC, somewhat, had started around 2018 before the outbreak of Covid 19 but with the pandemic is likely to give it a further push. Covid 19 induced issues such as health, education besides social factors must be taken up by the BIMSTEC bloc,” Nazneen Ahmed, Senior Research Fellow, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) told India Narrative.
“Instead of one step backward, we can now take one step forward by focusing on the commonalities among the countries. Taking up the softer issues and enhancing exchange of knowledge and know-how on various health related issues would help in reviving BIMSTEC,” Ahmed said, adding that complex issues relating to trade could be kept aside for the time-being.
A study by the East West Center underlined that the pandemic has brought up the need to strengthen regional cooperation in the public health sector and related services in the region while enhancing trade facilitation to augment supply chain resilience, and restoring economic growth. “The key message is that measures to mitigate Covid-19-related challenges must serve to reduce the costs of the pandemic in the region,” the study noted.
BIMSTEC, which started as an economic bloc between Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation was later rechristened Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation after the entry of Nepal and Bhutan in 2004.
According to the Observer Research Foundation, despite many concerns that plague the BIMSTEC, there are grounds for optimism with the resurgence of strategic and economic interests besides the thrust on Indo Pacific, the bloc has gained salience as a promising sub-regional grouping.
The recent resurgence of strategic and economic interests in the Bay, as part of a larger maritime strategic space, namely, the Indo Pacific, has helped BIMSTEC gain salience as a promising sub-regional grouping. the bloc can become an important relay for the development of new supply chains that exclude China. Already India, Japan and Australia–comprising the Indo-Pacific core–have started a dialogue of building new post-Covid supply chains, which could leverage the strengths of BIMSTEC members along the way forward.
An analyst said that the post Covid world will present a different picture with the thrust on regional factors. “Many had written obituaries of BIMSTEC but the region has suddenly become the focus with geopolitical contours changing,” he said.
(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
AIADMK is reeling under the electoral defeat and infighting between the two senior leaders — former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and former Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, reports Asian Lite News
The close associate of former Chief Minister late J. Jayalalithaa and the former General secretary of AIADMK, V.K. Sasikala popularly known as “Chinnamma” among the AIADMK cadres has reportedly hinted that she would return to active politics.
She in a telephonic call to a party worker on Saturday hinted that she may come back to politics and that she will take over the AIADMK.
AIADMK is reeling under the electoral defeat and infighting between the two senior leaders — former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and former Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam has peaked.
In the telephonic call she is speaking to a party worker that she will not allow AIADMK to fall apart and that after Covid-19 pandemic subsides she would come back to active politics.
Sasikala, before the assembly elections, had dramatically announced her withdrawal from politics after entering the state of Tamil Nadu with a convoy of 1,000 vehicles. She was released from the Parappana Agrahara Central prison in Bangalore after serving a four-year jail term in case related to disproportionate wealth case.
Sasikala’s nephew and Chairman of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), TTV Dhinakaran was not available for comment but his office when contacted by IANS said, “Sasikala Madam has spoken to some of the party members that she will be coming back to Tamil Nadu politics”.
There is an intense rift in the AIADMK after the loss in elections and it was evident during the selection of the opposition leader. Palaniswami had pipped Panneerselvam for the post of opposition leader and Panneerselvam had left the AIADMK headquarters where the meeting was held, in a huff.
While Edappadi had emerged stronger in the party owing to his huge victory in his home constituency Edappadi with a margin of 93,802 votes in the 2021 assembly elections and was instrumental in the victories of AIADMK led front in ten of the eleven seats in Salem district, the home district of Edappadi K Palaniswami(EPS).
In the Southern districts of Tamil Nadu which was once the stronghold of AIADMK, the party faced a drubbing and in the Theni district, the party could win only Bodinayknar seat of O Panneerselvam while the party lost in other seats. This was a major setback for the AIADMK as the predominant “Thevar” community was always aligned with the AIADMK ever since Sasikala had emerged in AIADMK politics.
Sasikala, according to the sources in AMMK is inclined to take over the AIADMK and pose a threat to the ruling DMK dispensation and it has to be seen how far she will succeed in wriggling her way to the top in the new avatar of AIADMK in which Edappadi K Palaniswami has emerged stronger.
EPS-OPS rift
The AIADMK is now facing rough weather with its two most powerful leaders – Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam (OPS) – engaged in a fight over political supremacy within the party.
OPS is a Thevar and a former loyalist of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and her friend VK Sasikala. Incidentally, both Sasikala and OPS are from the Thevar community, considered as fighters and warriors among the various caste denominations of Tamil Nadu.
With Stalin emerging as a popular Chief Minister, the AIADMK has to settle the differences between its main leaders, Palaniswami and Panneerselvam. The theory doing the rounds in Tamil Nadu is that they have to be together or it could lead to the AIADMK getting marginalised in the days to come as a wounded Sasikala and TTV Dhinakaran are waiting in the wings to try and make a comeback in the party and to forge an alliance with OPS who is from the Thevar community as much as they are.
However, political observers are of the opinion that at present the minor rift between the two main leaders of the AIADMK has not yet reached a no comeback point. But if the rift widens and Sasikala and Dhinakaran try to make a comeback, it could lead to a major division where the EPS faction may use all the weapons in its armoury to block their entry. (with inputs from IANS report by Arun Lakshman)
Vijayan said all the states should put before the PM the need for giving the vaccines free of cost to all the states, but the Centre is trying to wash its hands of it…reports Asian Lite News
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday reached out to 11 other non-BJP Chief Ministers, stressing the need for jointly taking up the issue of vaccine for all with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a letter to his counterparts in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Maharashtra, Punjab, Odisha, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Delhi, he said that this is the need of the hour as with an expected third wave on the anvil, the only way to deal with it for mass vaccination through which herd immunity can be developed.
Vijayan said all the states should put before the PM the need for giving the vaccines free of cost to all the states, but the Centre is trying to wash its hands of it and asking the states to make its own arrangements even as companies are not that keen to enter into arrangements with the states.
Hence if the Centre invites a global tender for the vaccines, it would be much better and moreover if the burden of vaccines comes on the states, it could well turn out to be huge financial burden, he said. Besides the issue of federalism is also there, he noted.
Drop in TPR
Kerala heaved a sigh of relief on Monday as the Covid test positivity rate (TPR) fell to 13.77 per cent, with 12,300 people turning positive from 89,345 samples tested in the past 24 hours.
Incidentally, it is the first time in a month that the TPR fell below 15 per cent.
But despite the fall in the TPR, the number of deaths continues to be high, with 174 fatalities reported on Monday, taking the death toll to 8,815.
A statement issued from the office of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the total number of active cases stands at 2,06,982.
The day saw 28,867 people turn negative, taking the total cured in the state to 23,10,385.
Across the state, there were 7,88,202 people under observation at various places which includes 38,377 people at hospitals.
There were 885 hotspots in the state.
Even though the lockdown has been extended till June 9 starting Monday, there have been some relaxations in the norms with various segments of shops allowed to open every other day and on Monday, further relaxations came when people were allowed to go out for morning walks between 5 to 7 a.m. and evening walks between 7 to 9 p.m. every day, but on condition, that there should be no overcrowding and the social distancing norms are maintained.
The city’s positivity rate — the proportion of samples tested returning positive — on March 19 was reported at 0.93 per cent, while the daily number of Covid cases on the day was 716….reports Asian Lite News
On the day the lockdown was partially lifted (only construction and manufacturing are allowed) in the national capital on Monday, the daily positivity rate declined to below 1 per cent (0.99%), the lowest since March 19.
The city’s positivity rate — the proportion of samples tested returning positive — on March 19 was reported at 0.93 per cent, while the daily number of Covid cases on the day was 716.
Delhi’s daily positivity rate remained below 5 per cent since May 21. The World Health Organization says a positivity rate under 5 per cent indicates that the outbreak within a population is under control.
Delhi on Monday reported 648 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, which is the third straight day that Delhi’s daily cases were reported below the 1k mark.
Delhi reported 86 deaths, below 100 daily deaths for the second straight day. Delhi’s daily death count was reduced to below 100 on Sunday (78), which was the lowest since March 12.
With continued reduction in daily Covid cases, Delhi’s active cases have reduced to 11,040, similarly the number of patients in home isolation have also declined to 5,374, according to the Delhi Government health bulletin issued on Monday.
With 471 fresh recoveries, Delhi’s total Covid recoveries are 6,32,230, while the number of total positive cases so far rose to 6,46,348.
Meanwhile, India reported 1,27,510 new infections in 24 hours — its lowest in 50 days, as 2,795 more succumbed to the pandemic, the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry said on Tuesday.
New Delhi: Health workers collect swab samples for Covid-19 testing at a testing center in New Delhi on Friday, May 07, 2021. (Photo: Wasim Sarvar/ IANS)
This is the least number of fresh infection reported after April 8, when India recorded 1,31,968 cases while on April 7, India witnessed 1,26,789 fresh cases.
Fatalities also dropped below the 3,000-mark for the first time since April 26, when the country witnessed 2,771 deaths.
Most Metro cities are still fighting huge waves, though Mumbai and Delhi have arrested the surge.
For the first time in 47 days Delhi on Saturday reported less than 100 cases. Andhra Pradesh on Sunday breached the 15-lakh mark in recoveries.
India’s overall tally of Covid-19 cases now stands at 2,81,75,044 with 18,95,520 active cases and 3,31,895 deaths so far.
According to the Health Ministry, a total of 2,55,287 people have been discharged in the last 24 hours, taking the total discharge to 2,59,47,629 in Covid cases till date.
The Health Ministry said that a total of 21,60,46,638 people have been vaccinated so far in the country, including 27,80,058 who were administered vaccines in the last 24 hours.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, 34,67,92,257 samples have been tested up to May 31 for Covid-19. Of these 19,25,374 samples were tested on Monday.
In the last three weeks, India has recorded over 75,000 deaths. On May 24, India crossed a grim milestone of three-lakh deaths due to the coronavirus infections, thus becoming world’s third country after the US and Brazil to cross three-lakh deaths.
The bench emphasised that the vaccination not reaching the rural population and indicated that 75 per cent vaccination is being done in urban areas…reports Asian Lite News
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Monday remarked, “You must smell the coffee”, as it grilled the Centre over its vaccine policy and emphasised that the policy to fight back the deadly virus should be aligned with the ground situation in the country.
A bench comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, L. Nageswara Rao and S. Ravindra Bhat told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, “You must smell the coffee and see what is happening across the country”, and stressed that Centre’s vaccination policy should not be carved in stone, rather it should evolve based on the ground situation. The bench suggested that the Centre must know the ground situation and change its policy accordingly. “If we had to do it, we would have done it 15-20 days back. If we had to do, we would have done so 15 days ago. But we want you to smell the coffee and realise what is happening in the country and make the necessary amendments.”, said the bench.
The bench emphasised that the vaccination not reaching the rural population and indicated that 75 per cent vaccination is being done in urban areas. “With shortage there is no chance of vaccine going in rural areas,” the bench noted.
Justice Chandrachud noted that private hospitals, procuring the vaccines, are not serving the core rural areas, therefore the Centre is merely addressing urban areas. “The policy today does not include vaccination in rural areas, it is a matter of concern,” noted the bench.
Justice Chandrachud emphasised the policy cannot be ad-hoc day-to-day response, instead there should a plan based on science. “We want the policy to be amended..need enforceable policies for the country. You have to have a policy to deal with these issues. If a new issue comes up then policy has to address it”, said the bench.
Citing technical glitches on CoWIN application used for registration for vaccinations, Justice Bhat said he had received distress calls from all over the country, and added that young people, who had registered for vaccination, visit private hospitals, only to find all slots are booked.
Making it clear that its suggestion on vaccine policy should be taken in the right stride, the bench said “We are not going to run central govt and make policies for you.”
On the aspect of vaccine policy, Justice Chandrachud told Mehta that the ability to recognise that ‘I am wrong’ is not a sign of weakness, but that of strength.
He added that this is a platform for dialogue across the spectrum. “The idea is not to criticise, but to strengthen the arms of the government..The fact that MEA went abroad, had dialogue shows the seriousness of the situation”, said Justice Chandrachud.
During the top court’s suo motu hearing on Covid-19 crisis management in the country, the Centre informed the top court that it is confident of vaccinating all eligible persons over 18 years, by the year end. Mehta submitted the production from domestic vaccine producers will be enough to vaccinate all who are over 18 years of age.
