Month: September 2021

Categories
-Top News India News

BIMSTEC members should enhance engagement in agri-sector: India

Agriculture is one of the most important of the 14 sectors as about 1.7 billion plus people i.e., 22 per cent of the global population lives in BIMSTEC countries…reports Asian Lite News

India, which hosted the 8th meeting of agriculture experts of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries, on Tuesday called for enhancing the engagement in agriculture and allied sectors amongst the BIMSTEC member states.

Highlighting the UN Food System Summit 2021 and the transformations that are happening in the agriculture and food systems globally, India’s Secretary, Agricultural Research & Education and Indian Council of Agricultural Research Director General, Dr Trilochan Mohapatra sought enhanced engagement and deepening of cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors amongst the BIMSTEC member states by encouraging the exchange of knowledge, germplasm, students, and experts.

He also emphasised addressing biosafety and biosecurity concerns and promoting digital agriculture along with the trade of technologies for developing resilient agriculture, food systems and value chains, a release said here.

Mohapatra chaired the daylong virtual meeting with Myanmar’s Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Ministry’s Deputy Director General, Planning, Dr Thanda Kyi, as the co-chair. Experts in agricultural and people from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand participated in the meeting, the release said.

The BIMSTEC member states appreciated the greater engagement of India offering six slots of scholarships each for Masters and PhD programmes in agriculture and its other initiatives for capacity development and training including the development of seed sectors.

The cooperation in the areas of high impact transboundary diseases of livestock and poultry, aquatic animal diseases and biosecurity in aquaculture, and digitalisation to promote precision farming was also discussed in the meeting.

The BIMSTEC provides a unique link between south and southeast Asia with five countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka from South Asia and Myanmar and Thailand from southeast Asia coming together on one platform for cooperation in 14 key economic and social sectors of the economy.

The BIMSTEC was founded in 1997 with an ambition to pursue mutual trade, connectivity, and cultural, technical, and economic development in the region. Initially, six sectors- trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism, and fisheries were included for sectoral cooperation, which was later expanded to 14 areas of cooperation.

Agriculture is one of the most important of the 14 sectors as about 1.7 billion plus people i.e., 22 per cent of the global population lives in BIMSTEC countries and agriculture & allied activities are central to the economic and social development of the region, the release added.

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Categories
Arab News Sharjah Technology

An Innovation for Energy Storage Solutions

Sharjah Sustainable City is the first community to demonstrate energy storage solutions in the region

Sharjah Sustainable City (SSC) has taken an initiative for a global movement towards sustainable living, promoting a lifestyle that is compatible with the future…reports Asian Lite News

Sharjah Sustainable City, a fully sustainable community by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) and Diamond Developers, will be the first community in the region to give residents access to a renewable energy storage solution. The move comes after SEE Institute, the research and development arm in The Sustainable City entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hager Group, an international company specialised in renewable energy storage. The agreement, of which Sharjah Sustainable City is the first beneficiary, formalizes an ongoing relationship with the German-based company to test and deploy the latest technologies and innovations in demand management and smart energy solutions.

Sharjah Sustainable City is the first community to demonstrate energy storage solutions in the region

The partnership with Hager Group is aligned with the wider brand -The Sustainable City, which supports innovation through pilot programmes, prototype testing as well as helping to present complex solutions in a real-life context. Sharjah Sustainable City retains an agile and ever evolving outlook towards a low carbon future and is committed to promoting the transfer of sustainability know-how. Hager Group offers varied energy solutions such as battery storage, EV charging stations (EEBUS) as well as energy management systems that allow users to control and balance different energy sources and loads.

Yousef Ahmed Al-Mutawa, Chief Executive Officer of Sharjah Sustainable City said: “We prioritise innovation and leverage the smartest technologies to drive efficiencies across all our sustainability targets. Renewable energy is one of the biggest contributors towards achieving net zero carbon and this partnership with Hager Group will allow us to reach the highest possible energy efficiencies and the lowest energy intensities in our development. Sharjah Sustainable City is proud to be the first beneficiaries of this MoU signed by SEE Institute, our invaluable knowledge hub.”

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Torsten Hager, Future Energy Solutions International Corporate Strategy Director Hager Group said: “To reach the global targets of carbon neutrality and to realise a sustainable renewable energy supply, we need to integrate energy storage systems and management to control devices.

Our partnership with Sharjah Sustainable City will allow us to demonstrate together new innovative solutions, which will shape the future of sustainable buildings.”

Sharjah Sustainable City aims to be a leader in shaping the way towards a cleaner and greener world. Partnerships and knowledge sharing are key components towards this goal as well as piloting prototypes and testing new ideas. The MoU with Hager Group is only one example of the many ways The Sustainable City projects are building ties all over the world, therefore creating a ripple effect of climate actions, leading the way towards sustainable living.

Categories
-Top News India News

AAP to contest all 403 seats in UP, no alliances

Singh said that AAP’s Tiranga Sankalp Yatra will be taken out in all 403 constituencies of the state in the coming days…reports Asian Lite News.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has set to rest all speculations about alliances for the upcoming UP Assembly elections.

The party has announced that it will field candidates for all 403 seats in the in the 2022 state election.

Sanjay Singh, AAP’s Uttar Pradesh in-charge, has asked party workers to get involved in the preparations for the elections at the booth level in order to fight the imminent polls with full force.

Singh said that AAP’s Tiranga Sankalp Yatra will be taken out in all 403 constituencies of the state in the coming days.

“Through this, we want to tell the people what real nationalism is. Our nationalism is that every poor child should have access to a better school to study. As in Delhi, the dream for better schools should be achieved in Uttar Pradesh too. Like mohalla clinics in Delhi, every village should have better hospitals or clinics. There should be electricity in the homes of the poor – 300 units should be available free of cost.” Sanjay Singh said.

He said that the nationalism of AAP is that they will provide good health and education to the people of Uttar Pradesh.

“We do not have a cremation-making ideology. The BJP made crematoriums in every village during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2017, they had said that they would do so,” he said.

Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh slammed the ruling government in Uttar Pradesh. He alleged that many incidents that hurt the pride of the tricolour had taken place in Uttar Pradesh under the BJP government.

“Everyday incidents of rape against daughters take place here. Instead of providing justice, the government forcibly burns the victim’s body in the dark of night,” he alleged.

He also slammed the BJP for allowing scams to take place in the state.

“Whether it is the purchase of medical equipment like oximeter, oxygen cylinders and thermometer or purchase of land for Ram temple or the scam in the Jal Jeevan Mission, the state government has no answer to our questions,” he said.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh also mentioned the party’s recently concluded membership drive in Uttar Pradesh during the meeting on Tuesday. He claimed that around one crore new members from Uttar Pradesh had joined the party in one month’s time.

The Uttar Pradesh election is scheduled to be held early next year.

ALSO READ-Taliban ‘night letters’ circulate in Afghanistan

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Categories
-Top News Afghanistan Asia News

Taliban initiates dialogue with India in Qatar

Ambassador of India to Qatar, Deepak Mittal, meets Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the Head of Taliban’s Political Office in Doha on the request of Taliban, reports Asian Lite News

After the US completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, Taliban initiated dialogue with India in Qatar over safety, security and early return of Indian nationals stranded over there, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday.

For the first time, India has made public a meeting held between the two sides.

The ministry stated that Ambassador of India to Qatar, Deepak Mittal, met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the Head of Taliban’s Political Office in Doha.

“The meeting took place at the Embassy of India, Doha, on the request of the Taliban side,” said the ministry.

Discussions focused on safety, security and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan. The travel of Afghan nationals, especially minorities, who wish to visit to India also came up.

Ambassador Mittal raised India’s concern that Afghanistan’s soil should not be used for anti-Indian activities and terrorism in any manner.

Stanekzai assured the Ambassador that these issues would be positively addressed.

Stanekzai, known as Sheru, trained in the Indian Military Academy in the 1982, rose to the ranks of Deputy Health Minister during the Taliban regime, and later served as a chief peace negotiator in Doha.

He was also Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban regime. The 58-year-old Pashtun comes from the Stanekzai clan. He can speak five languages and he served as Taliban’s Political Office chief between 2015-2019.

Taliban had seized the war-ravaged country’s capital Kabul on August 15 after then President, Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

On August 30, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on Afghanistan, aiming to prevent the use of Afghan soil by terrorist organisations against any country.

The resolution was adopted with 13 votes in favour while Russia and China preferred to abstain.

Taliban asks countries to reopen embassies

As the US forces exited Afghanistan on Tuesday, the Taliban have asked countries to reopen their embassies in Kabul that they had a sitdown soon after the outfit took control of the country, local media said.

The Taliban have called on countries, especially the US, to resume diplomatic relations with Afghanistan, Tolonews reported.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, “America should have a diplomatic presence in Kabul. We have communication channels with them and we expect them to reopen their embassy in Kabul and we also want to have trade relations with them,” the Afghan-based organisation reported.

Soon after the last US military plane flew out of Afghanistan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Washington has suspended diplomatic presence in Kabul and transferred “our operations to Doha, Qatar”.

“For the time being, we will use this post in Doha to manage our diplomacy with Afghanistan,” he said.

The Taliban have also sought to reestablish relations and asked nations to invest and help rebuild Afghanistan.

A member of the Taliban’s cultural commission Ahmadullah Wasiq said, “We promise to the world, regional countries and neighbouring countries that Afghanistan’s soil will not be used against them. The world should recognize the Afghan government and cooperate with us on reconstruction and with investments.”

Afghanistan had 36 embassies of various nations in Kabul. And in return, the country had 71 embassies and general consulates in those countries. Many countries suspended their diplomatic presence in Afghanistan due to the recent turmoil.

ALSO READ-Taliban ‘night letters’ circulate in Afghanistan

READ MORE-Afghan scientists fear loss of funding, research

Categories
-Top News Afghanistan

Taliban ‘night letters’ circulate in Afghanistan

The letters are a traditional Afghan method of intimidation. They were used by mujahideen fighters during the Soviet occupation and then by the Taliban…reports Asian Lite News

The Taliban are pinning chilling ‘night letters’ on the doors of those they accuse of “working for the crusaders”.

The notes order their victims to attend a Taliban-convened court. Failure to do so will result in the death penalty, the Daily Mail reported.

The letters are a traditional Afghan method of intimidation. They were used by mujahideen fighters during the Soviet occupation and then by the Taliban as both a propaganda tool and a threat.

Often used in rural communities, they are now being widely circulated in cities.

One of those to receive a warning was Naz, a 34-year-old father-of-six whose construction company helped the UK military build roads in Helmand and the runway at Camp Bastion, the report said.

He had applied for sanctuary in Britain under ARAP, the Afghan relocation programme, but had been rejected.

Naz said: “The letter was official and stamped by the Taliban. It is a clear message that they want to kill me. If I attend the court, I will be punished with my life.

“If I don’t, they will kill me, that is why I am in hiding, trying to find a way to escape. But I need help.”

Those received by former British translators are designed to both spread fear and compliance with Taliban directives with threats of violence or death if “demands are not met”, the Daily Mail report said

As in Naz’s case, that usually involves an interpreter surrendering to a Taliban court.

Shir, 47, worked on the front lines in Helmand and qualified for relocation. But he was unable to force his way through the airport to board an evacuation flight.

“My daughter found the letter on our door with a nail in it. It instructed me to surrender myself for the judgment of the court of the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) or they would act like hunters to find me. They would then kill me.”

He immediately moved home and is now in hiding.

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