[NEWS OF THE DAY]

1. Chintan Shivir Day 2: Gun-toting or pen-wielding – will defeat all forms of Naxalism, Modi tells home ministers
2. Boost to ‘defence’ along LAC with China; 75 projects, including bridges, roads and helipads inaugurated
3. Task of bringing perpetrators of 26/11 attack to justice remains unfinished: India at UNSC’s counter-terrorism meet
4. ‘Pacing challenge’ China, ‘threat’ Russia & ‘partnership’ with India, focus of US Defense Strategy
5. Imran Khan’s long march 2.0

What Else

6. Elon Musk’s Twitter ownership starts with firings, declares the ‘bird is freed’
7. Putin lauds PM Modi’s independent foreign policy, says India has made great economic strides under his leadership
8. Women’s panel to probe alleged auction of Rajasthan girls to ‘settle’ disputes over loans
9. An Analysis of the Origins of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Interim Report advocates Lab leak
10. ‘Pacing challenge’ China, ‘threat’ Russia & ‘partnership’ with India, focus of US Defense Strategy
11. Canada to join US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, vows to play ‘bigger role’ in region
12. China expands list of sectors for foreign investment to 519, focus on manufacturing
13. China reasserts ‘firm support’ for Russia as Foreign Minister Wang Yi calls Moscow counterpart
14. Myanmar warns any ASEAN pressures would create ‘negative implications’

Chintan Shivir Day 2: Gun-toting or pen-wielding – will defeat all forms of Naxalism, Modi tells home ministers

• Union Home Minister, Amit Shah presided over the 2-day (Thu-Fri) Chintan Shivir of CMs, States Ministers of Home.
• The objective is to prepare an Action Plan for the implementation of ‘Vision 2047’ and ‘Panch Pran’ as announced on Independence Day by PM Modi.
• We’ll have to be 10 steps ahead of the crime world – PM Modi moots the idea of “One Nation, One Uniform” for police, says it is not an imposition, give it a thought. [indicate a bigger plan]
• “NIA has been given extraterritorial rights. We have decided to set up NIA branches in every state by 2024,” said Shah
• Shah bats for ‘equal response’ to ‘cross the border crimes like terrorism’
• The discussion covered- Fire, Civil Defense, and Homeguard Police Modernization, Enemy property, Human Resource Issues, Civil Registration System, Foreigners in India, and Unspent Balances (here)

Boost to ‘defence’ along LAC with China; 75 projects, including bridges, roads and helipads inaugurated

• Of the 75 projects that have been inaugurated on Fri, 44 are bridges, 28 roads, two helipads, and one zero-carbon habitat.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Fri dedicated to the nation 75 infrastructure projects along the borders with China and Pakistan.
• The Minister inaugurated the infrastructure projects of the Border Roads Organisation at Leh, including Shyok Setu.
• As per sources, these strategic roads and helipads will prove to be crucial in the deployment and mobilization of Indian troops.
• India is set to complete the construction of 272 roads along its northern borders by 2023.
• As far as roads are concerned, 6 have been built in Rajasthan, 1 in Punjab, 7 in J&K, 8 in Ladakh, 2 in Sikkim, and 4 in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Of the 2 helipads, one is located in Nyoma, close to the LAC in eastern Ladakh.  Nyoma advanced landing ground (ALG) for fighter aircraft operations.  (here)

Task of bringing perpetrators of 26/11 attack to justice remains unfinished: India at UNSC’s counter-terrorism meet

• India on Fri described terrorism as a “serious threat” to international peace and security, and the entire humanity
• External Affairs Minister called upon the international community to send out a message that it will “never give up” on holding terrorists accountable and delivering justice.
• Speaking at the informal opening session of the 2-day anti-terrorism meeting of the UNSC Special Meeting of Counter-Terrorism Committee in Mumbai.
• Curb terror financing to combat terrorism: EAM.
• He also said that UNSC has been “regrettably” unable to act in some cases when it comes to proscribing some terrorists because of “political considerations”.
• Terrorism plagued several regions of the world: EAM
• Members of the international community attended the meeting at Hotel Taj Mahal Palace and paid tribute to victims of terrorism.
• Delegates from 14 countries, besides the UNSC CT group, excluding Pakistan attended the meeting. (here)
• US Secretary of state Blinken says “we have a responsibility to victims” to bring “justice to perpetrators of Mumbai attacks including their mastermind”

Elon Musk’s Twitter ownership starts with firings, declares the ‘bird is freed’

• Reuters- Elon Musk became Twitter Inc’s owner on Thu, firing top executives
• Provided little clarity over how he will achieve the lofty ambitions he has outlined for the influential social media platform.
• “The bird is freed,” he tweeted, referencing Twitter’s bird logo in an apparent nod to his desire to see the company have fewer limits on content that can be posted.
• Musk has, however, also said he wants to prevent the platform from becoming an echo chamber for hate and division.
• Other goals include wanting to “defeat” spam bots on Twitter and make the algorithms that determine how content is presented to its users publicly available.
• After Musk takeover, India says it expects Twitter to comply with local rules
• Musk also said in May he would reverse the ban on Donald Trump, who was removed after the attack on the U.S. Capitol
• Though the former president has said he won’t return to the platform, instead launched his social media app, Truth Social. (here)

Putin lauds PM Modi’s independent foreign policy, says India has made great economic strides under his leadership

• Russian President, in his annual address to a Moscow-based think tank, on Thu lauded PM Modi’s independent foreign policy.
• Said, a lot has been done under his leadership in India and he called him a patriot of the country.
• Calling India’s development a tremendous one in its development from being a British colony to a modern state
• The Russian president added that around 1.5 billion people and definite development results give reasons for everyone’s respect and admiration for India.
• Putin also underlined that PM Modi has asked him to increase the supply of fertilizers which is very important for Indian agriculture.
• Putin’s address to the Kremlin comes as Moscow continues to escalate the war in Ukraine more than 8 months after Russia’s invasion on Feb 24. (here)

Women’s panel to probe alleged auction of Rajasthan girls to ‘settle’ disputes over loans

• The National Commission for Women on Fri formed a 2-member fact-finding team to look into allegations of auctioning off of girls for loan repayment in Rajasthan’s district.
• The women’s panel said it had come across several media reports about girls being auctioned off to settle disputes over loan repayments in Bhilwara.
• It has been reported that in many settlements, girls are sold into prostitution on stamp paper.
• In some cases, their mothers are raped on the diktat of ‘khap’ (caste) panchayats for the settlement of disputes, it said.
• NCW Chairperson has also written to the state chief secretary and demanded urgent action and seek action taken report. (here)

An Analysis of the Origins of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Interim Report advocates Lab leak

Senate Committee on Health Education issued an interim report on Thu point outs:

• Based on the analysis of the publicly available information, it appears reasonable to conclude that COVID-19 was, more likely than not, the result of a research-related incident.
• New information, made publicly available and independently verifiable, could change this assessment.
• However, the hypothesis of a natural zoonotic origin no longer deserves the benefit of the doubt or the presumption of accuracy.
• The following are critical outstanding questions that would need to be addressed to be able to more definitively conclude the origins of SARS-CoV-2:
  • What is the intermediate host species for SARS-CoV-2? Where did it first infect humans?
  • Where is SARS-CoV-2’s viral reservoir?
  • How did SARS-CoV-2 acquire its unique genetic features, such as its furin cleavage site? (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

‘Pacing challenge’ China, ‘threat’ Russia & ‘partnership’ with India, focus of US Defense Strategy

• The US has recognized China as its “most consequential strategic competitor for the coming decades” whose “coercive tactics” are the most comprehensive and serious challenge.
• The Defense Strategy, USA, released on Thu by defense secretary Llyod Austin, directed the DoD “to act urgently” to sustain and strengthen U.S. deterrence, with the PRC as the department’s “pacing challenge”.
• However, it noted that “conflict with the PRC is neither inevitable nor desirable”.
• It also identified Russia as an “acute threat” and said that the US and its allies and partners will increasingly face the challenge of deterring two major powers.
• Making a clear shift from the terror angle to homeland threat, the defense strategy paper, said the scope and scale of threats to the homeland have fundamentally changed.
• The PRC and Russia now pose more dangerous challenges to safety and security at home, even as terrorist threats persist, it said.
• India and its tensions with China along the LAC figured thrice in the 80-page doc which said that the department will advance “our Major Defense Partnership with India to enhance its ability to deter PRC”. (here)

Canada to join US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, vows to play ‘bigger role’ in region

• Nearly 5 months after US President Joe Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, Canada on Thu announced it would join the 13-nation alliance.
• Speaking in Ottawa at a joint press conference with the US Secretary of State, the Canadian FM vowed that Canada would play a “bigger role” in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Secretary praised Canada’s move and said in the coming months the US would “closely consult with other members on the development of a process for considering new members”. (here)

China expands list of sectors for foreign investment to 519, focus on manufacturing

• China’s state planner on Fri issued the 2022 list of sectors for foreign investment, which has been expanded to encourage foreign capital to flow into manufacturing sectors.
• The new list, with the number of industries expanding to 519 from 480 in the last publication of eligible sectors in 2020, came after President called on China to “win the battle”.
• Still focusing on manufacturing sectors, the new version list remains a “key move to stabilize foreign investment under the current situation.”.
• Air ground support equipment, components related to autonomous driving, advanced manufacturing, energy saving, and environmental protection are also included. (here)

China reasserts ‘firm support’ for Russia as Foreign Minister Wang Yi calls Moscow counterpart

• China has reaffirmed its support for Russia, with FM Wang Yi telling his Russian counterpart that Beijing will continue to support Moscow.
• Any attempt to block the advancement of China and Russia will never succeed, Wang told Sergey Lavrov during a phone call on Thu, days after the 20^th unveiled a new top Chinese leadership and gave a groundbreaking third term to President Xi Jinping.
• China willing to deepen exchanges at all levels, Wang Yi tells Sergey Lavrov in a first overseas phone call after the party congress
• Call in line with tradition for China to first call its most important strategic partner after the congress, analyst notes (here)

Imran Khan’s long march 2.0

• ‘Haqeeqi Azadi’ march towards Islamabad to begin from Lahore at 11 am
• Imran hopes to force elections by demonstrating public support
• This is the second such march by Imran this year; the first was on May 25
• Islamabad police have deployed more than 13,000 officers
• PTI says the march will be peaceful and limited to designated areas only
• Imran’s container reaches Liberty Chowk
• The PTI has dedicated its march to slain journalist Arshad Sharif and media fraternity.
• Interior Minister has said that the govt will deal with long march participants with an iron hand and take “strict action” if they attempt to break the law. (here)
• The march is expected to enter Islamabad on Nov 4.

Myanmar warns any ASEAN pressures would create ‘negative implications’

• Reuters- Myanmar’s military govt warned on Thu that any pressure from its Southeast Asian neighbors to put a time frame on a peace plan would create “negative implications”.
• The junta, which seized power from an elected govt last year, was reacting to a meeting earlier on FMs from the ASEAN in Jakarta to discuss easing the intensifying crisis.
• No Myanmar representatives were present at the special meeting of the group’s foreign ministers to discuss the stalled peace plan.
• The junta has done little to honor its commitments to the so-called 5-point peace “consensus” which includes immediately halting violence, starting a dialogue. (here)