[NEWS OF THE DAY]

Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin will visit Bali for G20 Summit, Says Indonesian President

Indonesian president Joko Widodo in an interview with Bloomberg News said Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are both planning to attend the G20 summit which will take place in Bali later this year. “Xi Jinping will come. President Putin has also told me he will come,” Widodo said. This is the first time the Indonesian president has confirmed Xi and Putin’s plans regarding the G20 summit. This means Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin could come face-to-face with US president Joe Biden and other European leaders for the 1^st time since Russia – Ukraine conflict. The attack on Ukraine came shortly after Putin and Xi said they have a ‘no limits’ partnership. This also means that this is the first time Putin could come face-to-face with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, also expected to attend the G20 Summit in Bali. The meeting also comes in the backdrop of the crisis in Taiwan triggered by China’s anger over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit. China and the US have also cut off talks on the military, maritime defense, and a range of other areas. (here)

Australia and Nato members begin air combat drills as China tensions grow

Australia kicked off a large-scale air combat exercise with Nato members and Indo-Pacific countries on Friday amid rising tensions in the region. A total of 17 countries will take part in the biennial Exercise Pitch Black in Australia’s Northern Territory from Aug 19 to Sept 8. Germany, Japan, and South Korea will be full participants for the first time. The exercise comes at a time of rising tensions between China and the US and its allies over the Taiwan Strait, where the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted military exercises in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei earlier this month. As many as 2,500 personnel and 100 aircraft will take part in the exercise, including participants from Nato members Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, and the United States as well as Nato partners New Zealand, South Korea, and the UAE. The air forces of Indonesia, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand will also take part in the drill. (here)

“People far away have a tendency to walk away”: Jaishankar defends ties with Myanmar referring to Afghanistan

Referring to the situation in Afghanistan after the US exit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thu defended India’s ties with Myanmar and asserted that being an immediate neighbor, the understanding and interests are very different from people who are far away. “I trust people closer to the problem than people far away because people far away have a tendency to walk away when they feel like, we saw that in Afghanistan.” On the ties India shares with Myanmar, Jaishankar stressed, “…When you are an immediate neighbor, you have understanding, interests which is very different from what people far way convey when they often pontificate…..we have incidents at the border, we have organized crime, we have refugees, factors when you have a land border with a neighbor.” he added. He said that India will manage the ties it holds with Myanmar as it is natural for India to support the democratic aspiration of the people. The EAM on Sino-India relations “At the moment the relationship is going through an extremely difficult phase after what China did at the border,” he continued saying. Speaking on the Rohingya issue, the EAM noted that India has discussed with Bangladesh over the issue and what matters for them is repatriation. (here) During Jaishankar’s visit to Thailand, both countries evaluated the progress made in security, trade, defense, connectivity, tourism, and people-to-people ties, the MEA said on Thu. Thailand is a key member of the ASEAN block which influences the whole Asian continent. India has accomplished a major expansion of ties with ASEAN in the last decade. The country is also a strategic partner of India in the region and the bilateral ties, especially on defense and security are on the upswing with Thailand. Jaishankar also met Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha and communicated PM Narendra Modi’s greetings and best wishes. Both ministers also witnessed the signing of (i) MoU on Health and Medical Research Cooperation between the Indian Council of Medical Research, India, and Department of Medical Sciences, Thailand; (ii) MoU for Cooperation & Collaboration on Broadcasting between Prasar Bharti, India and Thai Public Broadcasting Service of Thailand, MEA said in a statement.

Indian rupee pressured by strong dollar, RBI support eyed

Reuters-The Indian rupee slipped against the U.S. currency on Fri as the dollar got a boost from U.S. labor data and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials. The rupee was trading at 79.7350 per U.S. dollar by 0436 GMT, down from 79.6725 in the previous session. It opened at 79.7575 and since then has traded in an about 4 paisa trading range. The Reserve Bank of India has been regularly stepping in to manage the rupee’s volatility. The local currency last month reached a record low of 80.0650. According to RBI’s monthly bulletin, released on Thu, the RBI sold a net $3.7 bn in June. The dollar index rose 0.2% on Fri to 107.72, adding to the previous session’s advance. It is “not entirely unexpected” that after a higher opening move, there is “not much follow through”, a trader at a Mumbai-based bank said. (here)

[NATIONAL]

In a first, I-Day celebration held in Canada’s hotbed of Khalistani radicals

The Consulate General of India in Vancouver held the country’s 76^th Independence Day celebrations in the city of Surrey for the first time. Surrey, a city in British Columbia, is the hotbed of Khalistani separatists. Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara and Dashmesh Darbar Gurdwara in Surrey are anti-India and pro-Khalistan. The celebratory events in the British Columbia city were held amid growing concerns over the activities of Khalistan radicals following the assassination of Ripudaman Malik, the man acquitted in the 1985 Air India bombing. Surrey mayor Dough McCallum issued a proclamation declaring Aug 15, 2022, as “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav Day” in the city. The proclamation highlighted the strong bilateral relationship between India and British Columbia, which is home to over 4 lacs of people of Indian descent. Separate but similar proclamations were issued by mayors of Nanaimo, Burnaby, Victoria, and New Westminster. Addressing the event, Consul General Manish said in his welcome remarks that the Amrit Mahotsav concert, organized under “Jan Bhagidari“ (peoples participation) mode, was a celebration of the rich and diverse cultural heritage of India. (here)

India, Australia to undertake high-level engagement in the coming days

India and Australia are set to undertake high-level engagement in the next few weeks and months as part of a flourishing relationship between the two sides. Next week, Indian Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan will be traveling to Australia, a key visit given to around 90,000 Indian students down under. Both sides also have a Joint Working Group on Education which has identified several key areas for cooperation, including collaborative research in education policy, student exchange programs, capacity building in vocational education, and distance learning in higher education. India Australia tier 2 dialogue happens in the first week of the Sept, and in the last week, Australian trade minister Tim Watts is expected to travel to India to hold talks with his counterpart. As both countries signed the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement or ECTA pact earlier this year which will be followed by a full-fledged trade pact. The negotiation for the full trade pact is due to start during the visit of the Australian trade minister. This will be the minister’s first India visit under the current capacity given the country saw a govt change in May. (here)

US Senator Jon Ossoff to lead an 8-day delegation to India

In a bid to bolster relations between India and US, 35-year-old Ossoff is the youngest US Senator in 3 decades, Jon Ossoff will lead an 8-day economic delegation to India starting from Aug 30. Ossoff made this announcement in a recent video message while congratulating the Indian people on the historic occasion of the 75^th anniversary of India’s Independence. The delegation will arrive in Mumbai on Aug 30 and depart New Delhi on Sept 6, 2022. “We will also work to represent the Indian American community in Georgia, where the growing Indian diaspora is a thriving and beloved part of our community,” Senator Ossoff added. (here)

Commerce ministry recommends imposing anti-dumping duty on Chinese medicine

The commerce ministry has recommended the imposition of anti-dumping duty on Chinese ofloxacin — a medicine used to treat certain infections — for 5 years to guard domestic players from cheap imports from the neighboring country. Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended the duty on imports of ‘ofloxacin’ and its intermediates from China after concluding in its probe that the product has been exported at dumped prices into India, which impacted the domestic industry. DGTR had conducted the probe following a complaint from Aarti Drugs Ltd about the dumping and initiation of the investigation. The directorate works under the ministry. The WTO regime: The recommended duty ranges between $0.53/kg and $7.03/kg. The finance ministry takes the final call to impose these duties. The imposition of anti-dumping duty is permissible under the WTO regime. DGTR, in May had recommended the continuation of anti-dumping duty on Chinese solar glass for 2 years to guard domestic players from cheap imports. (here)

Indian Philanthropist Ashish Dhawan Appointed to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Board of Trustees

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Thu announced the appointment of Indian philanthropist Ashish Dhawan, founder, and CEO of Convergence Foundation, to its board of trustees. The new board members will serve alongside Strive Masiyiwa, Baroness Nemat (Minouche) Shafik, Thomas J Tierney, Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman, and co-chairs Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, a statement said. In addition to being CEO of the Convergence Foundation, which is focused on accelerating India’s economic growth and development, Dhawan is also the chairperson of Ashoka University and Central Square Foundation, a nonprofit organization working to improve the quality of education for children in India. He is based out of New Delhi. (here)

Pakistan wants peaceful ties with India: PM Shehbaz

According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifexpressed these views during a meeting with a newly-appointed Australian High Comm­issioner to Pakistan, Neil Hawkins. The PMO quoted the prime minister as saying: “Pakistan desires peaceful ties with India, based on the principles of equity, justice, and mutual respect. In this context, a just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute following the relevant UNSC resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people was indispensable.” “The international community has to play a facilitative role in this regard, as it was essential for durable peace and stability in South Asia,” the prime minister said. (here)

Pakistan rejects India’s ‘deliberate attempts’ at pre-poll rigging in IIOJK

Pakistan has told the UNSC that India was suppressing the Kashmiris’ struggle for freedom, as no effort has been made to distinguish terrorism from the pursuit of peoples’s legitimate right to self-determination and national liberation. “This right (to self-determination) is inherent and it was promised to the Kashmiri people by the Security Council,” Ambassador Munir Akram said in a written response to a speech made by India’s UN envoy on Aug 9 during the 15-member body’s debate on “Threats to International Peace and Security caused by terrorist acts.” Ruchira Kamboj, the Indian envoy, had made oft-repeated allegations that Pakistan — without naming it — was aiding some terrorist groups, and she also expressed surprise that the UN counter-terrorism report does not take notice of the activities of several proscribed groups, especially those repeatedly targeting India. (here)

J-K Hawala operator involved in the funding of LeT, Al-Badr arrested

In a joint operation between Delhi Police and Jammu and Kashmir Police in assistance with the central agencies, a Hawala operator has been arrested, said officials on Fri. The accused was allegedly involved in the funding of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Al-Badr terror outfits. The accused has been identified as Mohammad Yaseen and was arrested from the Jammu bus stand along with the terror funding amount of Rs 10 lakh. The officials also informed that the money illegally funded from overseas sources was used for funding terror-related activities in the valley. The accused was undercover as a garment trader by profession and was operating from Meena Bazar, Delhi. He worked as a conduit for Hawala money, collecting funds received from sources based abroad and further delivering them to terror operatives in the valley. During interrogation, Mohd Yaseen disclosed that the hawala money was being sent to India at Surat and Mumbai through South Africa. (here)

NIA files charge sheets against four ISIS supporters for their role in anti-India activities

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thu filed a charge sheet against 4 persons having associated with the terrorist organization ISIS or Daesh and supporting the outfit to further its activities on Indian soil. The NIA took over the case on Apr 30 this year from Tamil Nadu Police which filed a case on Feb 21. The accused conspired together for threatening the general public as well as police officials on duty and attempted to murder by using a metal air pistol to cause death or grievous injury to the police officials of Mayiladuthurai police station in Tamil Nadu with criminal intimidation in dire consequences. The accused intended to cession a part of the territory of India and intended to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India by forming an anti-national organization namely the Khilafah Party of India’, Khilafa Front of India’ and Intellectual Students of India (ISI) and Student Party of India, etc by dethroning the established democratic Government which causes disaffection against India, the NIA said. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

Shanghai court jails Chinese-Canadian tycoon Xiao Jianhua for 13 years

A Shanghai court on Fri jailed Chinese-Canadian tycoon Xiao Jianhua for 13 years. As per Shanghai First Intermediate Court rulings, Xiao’s Tomorrow Holding conglomerate has also been fined to the tune of 55.03 bn yuan (US$ 8.09 bn). The court said that Xiao and Tomorrow had “severely violated financial management order” and “hurt state financial security”. China has formally put Xiao on trial, more than 5 years after the tycoon went missing in Hong Kong. Xiao’s disappearance sent shockwaves through Hong Kong’s elite business community, where it was widely interpreted as a signal the city was no longer beyond the reach of the mainland’s security apparatus. Xiao disappeared at a time when Chinese police were prohibited from operating in Hong Kong, which has a legal system under the “one country, two systems” framework. Xiao reportedly, worked on behalf of several powerful families, in China throughout his career, and was once described by The New York Times as “a banker for the ruling class.” By 2016, he was worth an estimated USD 6 billion. (here)

China issues first national drought alert, battles to save crops in extreme heatwave

China has issued its first national drought alert of the year as authorities battle forest fires and mobilize specialist teams to protect crops from scorching temperatures across the Yangtze river basin. The national ‘yellow alert’, issued late on Thu, comes after regions from Sichuan in the south-west to Shanghai in the Yangtze delta have experienced weeks of extreme heat, with govt officials repeatedly citing global climate change as the cause. The alert is 2 notches short of the most serious warning on Beijing’s scale. As many as 66 rivers across 34 counties in the southwestern region of Chongqing have dried up, state broadcaster CCTV said on Fri. Rainfall in Chongqing this year is down 60% compared to the seasonal norm, and the soil in several districts is severely short of moisture, CCTV said, citing local govt data. The district of Beibei, north of Chongqing’s urban center, saw temperatures hit 45⁰C on Thu, as per China’s weather bureau. According to data from China’s emergency ministry late on Thu, high temperatures in July alone caused direct economic losses of $556 mn, affecting 5.5 mn people. (here)

Taliban seized over $7 billion of US military equipment

The United States provided more than $7 billion worth of military equipment to the former Afghan govt, much of it ended up in the hands of the Islamic Emirate after the US troop’s withdrawal and the sudden collapse of the country, Khaama Press reported citing the source. The majority of the outlay, according to a report from the US Defence Department’s inspector general went into tactical ground vehicles like MRAPs and Humvees, which cost about $4.12 bn when the Islamic Emirate took control of Kabul. The report also said that 316,260 small arms – including rifles, sniper rifles, pistols, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and howitzers – worth $511.8 million were under the care of the Afghan military at the time of its collapse, The New York Post reported. Communications, explosive detection, night-vision, and other surveillance equipment were also in the Kabul government’s inventory when the Taliban took over. Between 2005 to 2021, the Defence Department spent around $84 bn in security assistance to Afghan forces, with $18.6 bn going to buying weapons for the Afghan National Army, Afghan Air Force, Afghan National Police, and Afghan Special Security Forces. Over those 16 years, the watchdog found, the US spent $612 million on 427,300 weapons including 258,300 rifles, 6,300 sniper rifles, 64,300 pistols, 56,155 machine guns, 31,000 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and 224 howitzers. The inspector general’s report comes amid Republican criticism of President Biden’s handling of the military pullout. (here)