Posts published in “International,Diplomacy,Education”

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) With a team of US officials likely to visit India soon to hold discussions on sanctions against Iran and impact on oil imports, the government on Thursday emphasised on energy security that is vital for economic growth.
"We are, of course, prepared to take all necessary steps, including engagement with all stakeholders. I had mentioned about ensuring our energy security. We will have to see how we go about doing that. It is vital for economic growth. We have to see the steps we take, the discussions we have, and the engagements which we have to undertake to ensure that we maintain our energy security," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told reporters here.
Kumar said that he was not aware of any firm dates for the discussions at this stage.
He said that whenever the discussions take place there would be representatives from the Ministries concerned, including of external affairs and petroleum and natural gas.<br> <br>He was reacting when asked about reports of a US delegation's visit to India to talk about the Iran nuclear deal.
Kumar said that the question pertained to a statement made by a US State Department official and there was no specific mention about any country.
Brian Hook, Director of Policy Planning at the US State Department, had said on Monday that the US was not looking to grant licences or waivers because doing so would substantially reduce pressure on Iran.
He had said that the US was prepared to work with countries reducing their imports on a case-by-case basis, but as with our other sanctions, it is not looking to grant waivers or licences.
Iran is India's third-largest oil supplier after Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
The US has told India and other countries to cut oil imports from Iran to "zero" by November 4 or face sanctions.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is also learnt to have reiterated the US position in a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
--IANS <br>ps/tsb/vm

Mumbai, July 5 (IANS) Commercial banks in the country will no longer be able to transact in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin from Friday in view of a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directive in April.
In a bid to protect consumers and curb money laundering and other financial irregularities, the RBI had, on April 5, barred all its regulated entities, including banks, from dealing in virtual currencies like bitcoins, following its earlier multiple warnings on their risks.
Regulated entities already providing services to any individual or business dealing in digital currencies had been given three months to exit the relationship.
Cryptocurrency trade in rupees will stop from midnight, while exchanges or cryptocurrency companies will now be unable to avail loans or hold bank accounts.
Investors would only be able to do peer-to-peer transactions with a fellow trader and such transaction would only be possible in the form of exchange with any another cryptocurrency.
The RBI statement in April had said: "We have now decided to fence RBI-regulated entities from the risk of dealing with entities associated with virtual currencies. They are required to stop having a business relationship with entities dealing with virtual currencies forthwith, and unwind the existing relationship within three months."
"Virtual currencies, also variously referred to as cryptocurrencies and crypto assets, raise concerns of consumer protection, market integrity and money laundering, among others".
The RBI, however, also said it is exploring a "fiat digital currency" issued by the central bank.
According to investigation agencies here, with the demand and price of cryptocurrencies on the rise, cyber criminals have found innovative ways to dupe those looking to invest.
Bitcoins in India have been trading at more than Rs 10 lakh each, while people are investing amounts ranging from Rs 3,000 to several lakhs of rupees.
--IANS<br>bc/qd/sed/vm

Nizhny Novgorod (Russia), July 5 (IANS) France's lightning quick attack will be put to their toughest test when they take on Uruguay's unbreachable defence in a FIFA World Cup quarter-final clash here on Friday.
Uruguay are sweating on the fitness of star striker Edinson Cavani, who picked up a knock against Portugal in their round of 16 tie. Cavani scored a brace in that game.
France will once again pin their hopes on teenage sensation Kylian Mbappe, who will be under immense pressure to uncork a backline led by Diego Godin.
Besides Godin, the likes of Jose Gimenez, Martin Caceres and Diego Laxalt, along with goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, means Uruguay possess the joint-best record at the World Cup.
They passed through the group stage without conceding a goal, and the only player to score against Uruguay was Portugal's Pepe in the last 16, and that was ultimately in vain.
Brazil are the only other team to have conceded just a solitary goal so far.
Uruguay have conceded three fewer goals than France. Both teams have scored seven times.
"If you let France have space it will be very difficult," Uruguay's coach Oscar Tabarez was quoted as saying by media outlets after ensuring a spot in the quarters.
France found their mojo against Lionel Messi's Argentina, largely because of Mbappe. Antoine Griezmann also looked good as the French beat Argentina 4-3.
Coming back from two goals down, Benjamin Pavard scored a wonder goal of his own to make it 2-2, before the irrepressible Mbappe scored twice in four minutes. Argentina replied yet again late on through substitute Sergio Aguero, but it was too little, too late for the South Americans.
Didier Deschamps, France's coach, has already indicated that he is expecting a different kind of game from "solid" Uruguay from the seven-goal thriller in Kazan.
--IANS<br>dm/kk/mr

Moscow, July 5 (IANS) Former Brazil striker Ronaldo has brushed aside criticism of countryman Neymar for play-acting at the World Cup, saying it's "nonsense" and he is not protected by referees.
"There are many ways to see football and interpret it," Ronaldo told reporters.
"I am against all these opinions (on Neymar acting). He is an intelligent player in his movements and on how to defend himself from being tackled. I don't think referees have been protecting him enough," Ronaldo was quoted as saying by ESPNFC.
Neymar has been accused by several media outlets for diving and exaggerating fouls.
Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio made a reference to "too much acting" and former internationals Alan Shearer, Pat Nevin, Peter Schmeichel and Eric Cantona were among those who criticised Neymar's theatrics.
"When people repeatedly hit me I would feel a sense of unfairness. Criticism is nonsense. TV shows and newspapers just want to fill the space," Ronaldo added.
--IANS<br>dm/gau/mr

Mumbai, July 5 (IANS) A day after stringent observations by the Bombay High Court, a high-level meeting of the civic and railway administrations, besides the IIT-B, on Thursday decided to start detailed audits of all 445 bridges in the Mumbai suburban railway networks area from Friday, an official said here.
A dozen teams comprising experts from BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Western Railway (WR), Central Railway (CR) and the Indian Institute of Technology, (IIT-B) will be formed, as the three organisations finally got cracking on the issue.
These teams will take up the technical audits of all 445 structures like road overbridges, foot overbridges, pipelines, flyovers, skywalks, etc, which pass over the railway tracks on the CR and WR suburban system, the lifeline of Mumbai's daily eight million commuters, spanning Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts.
"As per directives of Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, the high-level meeting was held at the BMC office. It was attended by Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta, WR General Manager A.K. Gupta, CR General Manager D.K. Sharma and engineering heads of all the three organisations," WR spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar told IANS.
"We shall ask the IIT-B experts to suggest if they have any advanced technology for the speedy repairs or reconstruction of the stressed bridges," he added.
Bhakar however ruled out the possibility of taking help of the Indian Army which had helped construct three other railway bridges on the Mumbai suburban section with record speed last year after the September 29 stampede at Elphinstone Road station which killed 23 commuters.
The audits of all these structures shall be completed within a time-frame of three-four months, he added on the development which came two days after a portion of the Gokhale Bridge in Andheri crashed, paralyzing Mumbai on Tuesday.
A division bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Justice N.H. Patil and Justice G.S. Kulkarni, while hearing a PIL filed by Mumbai Congress leader Smita Dhruva, made stringent observations asking the BMC not to shirk its responsibility when any incident pertaining to civic amenities affects the citizens of Mumbai.
Additionally, at Thursday's meeting in the BMC, the heads decided to order repairs or reconstruct the stressed bridges on priority without procedural delays, with precedence given to the oldest structures, with complete coordination among various agencies.
The three organisations shall also conduct regular monthly meetings of top officials, clear issues about designs, drawings, approvals, land issues, etc, to speed up the required works.
They would also explore the feasibility of creating a special corpus fund for the purpose of an appropriate amount, to ensure financial resources are readily available, especially for undertaking works of urgent nature or in emergencies.
However, the work on those bridges and structures already identified for repairs or reconstruction, would be taken up on top priority without procedural delays.
The CR and WR heads urged the BMC chief to initiate a drive to remove encroachments on the pedestrian pathways on all bridge which corrode and weaken the structures.
--IANS<br>qn/qd/vd

Thiruvananthapuram, July 5 (IANS) Kerala's Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday slammed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for taking the same route as Prime Minister Narendra Modi to silence the media who criticise the government.
Chennithala's statement came after it surfaced that the Vijayan government had given the green signal to register a case against senior TV anchor Venu Balakrishnan of Mathrubhumi TV.
Accusing Vijayan of trying to emulate Modi in taking steps to silence the media, the Congress leader hit out at the case being registered against Venu on the grounds of creating communal disharmony while doing his job as a news anchor.
"This is nothing but an act to gag the media and to take on all those who criticise the government. What's most surprising is that police decided to act based on a complaint from a worker of the CPI-M's youth wing. What Vijayan should understand is that this is Kerala and withdraw the case that has been registered," said Chennithala.
The Kollam police has registered a case based on a complaint from Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) youth wing leader based on a prime time discussion that Venu anchored last month on the topic of police action against a Muslim when Venu diverted the issue by bringing in Muslim sentiments as the fasting period of Ramadan was going on.
Meanwhile with the Vijayan government deciding to pursue the case strongly, the state police on Thursday consulted legal luminaries for expert advice and got the green signal to go forward.
Meanwhile, Venu, who is considered a leading media anchor who has always taken strong positions on various issues, notwithstanding who he is taking on, is also seeking expert legal advice.
--IANS<br>sg/vd

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) Notwithstanding the Supreme Court ruling on the Delhi government's powers vis-a-vis the Lt Governor, a new tussle broke out on Thursday with the AAP government claiming that the powers to transfer or post officers lie with it while a Union minister said Delhi being a Union Territory makes its powers subservient to the Central government.
The war of words erupted a day after the Supreme Court pronounced its judgement over jurisdiction of powers between the Centre and the Delhi government, saying the Lt Governor has to abide by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.
The new controversy, which arose hours after the apex court's verdict on Wednesday, assumed serious proportions when Delhi's Chief Secretary (Services) refused to issue an order that the Council of Ministers in Delhi would decide on departmental transfers and postings.
The AAP government asked the officers to respect the Supreme Court order, saying disobeying it amounted to contempt of court and would invite serious consequences.
"All officers should respect and obey SC order. Open defiance of SC order shall invite serious consequences. It will be in no one's interest," Kejriwal tweeted in the evening.
Earlier, in a four-page letter written to Lt Governor Anil Baijal, Kejriwal said that after the Supreme Court judgment, the executive powers related to "services" lie with the elected government and not with the Lt Governor or Central government.
"The Central government or the LG have executive powers only on three subjects. On all other subjects, executive powers lie with the Council of Ministers. Therefore, executive power related to 'services' lie with the council members," the letter said.
Kejriwal said the Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously ruled that Delhi's Lt Governor was constitutionally bound by the "aid and advice" of the elected government in all areas except land, police and public order.
The Chief Secretary cited a 2015 notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs as the reason for rejection, saying it has not been specifically quashed.
Calling this "contempt of court", Kejriwal said: "The said notification becomes infructuous in the light of clear orders of the Supreme Court. The judgment of court has been effective the moment it was pronounced.
"If the files related to services are placed before the LG and he acts on them, it would clearly amount to contempt of Supreme Court in the light of its judgment."
Seeking support from the LG for the development of Delhi, Kejriwal said that he plans to "issue orders to all functionaries" on Friday and in case of any contrary views, "the Cabinet Ministers are ready to come over for a discussion".
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who directed its services department to issue the order, said the refusal by senior bureaucrats to comply with Supreme Court ruling amounted to contempt of court.
Sisodia said the government was now seeking legal opinion on the matter.
"The Chief Secretary has written to me saying the services department will not abide by the court's order. This will also create problems for the officers if they do not abide by the order. If the LG, even after the court's order, insists to see the service department file, then that is a contempt of court," he said.
The AAP leader said that after the Supreme Court order, the central government had no control over the service department in the capital.
"But even then, the officers are saying that the (Home Ministry's earlier) orders have not been quashed and that's why they will not comply with the Supreme Court's orders. If the apex court orders something, then there is no scope of not abiding by it," he said.
"If the orders of a court, that too the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, are openly violated, then the country would go into a state of chaos. Where will be the law then?" Sisodia asked.
He said the centre, the LG or the officers may not like the court order but they will have to abide by it.
The AAP government went aggressive after Union Minister Arun Jaitley rejected claims by AAP on the powers of the Delhi government, saying the Supreme Court judgement emphasises the importance of the elected state government but Delhi being a Union Territory makes its powers subservient to the Central government.
In a Facebook post, he also said the apex court has held categorically that Delhi cannot compare itself on par with other states and, therefore, any presumption that the administrative control of the UT cadre of services has been decided in favour of Delhi government would be wholly erroneous.
Jaitley said the judgement elaborates at length the constitutional philosophy behind the Constitution and reaffirms precisely the text of what the Constitution says.
"It does not add to the powers of the state government or the central government nor does it in any way dilute the same. It emphasizes the importance of elected state government but Delhi being a Union Territory makes its powers subservient to the central government," he said.<br> <br>--IANS<br>sd-bns/vsc/mr

Beijing, July 5 (IANS) China said on Thursday that it does not want a trade war to start if the US imposes the first round of tariffs on imported Chinese products, but if it does then Beijing will be forced to react in the interests of the country and its people.
On Friday, the US will initially impose a set of tariffs on 818 Chinese items worth about $34 billion. Separate measures affecting 284 products worth about $16 billion could take effect following a review and public comment process.
China has repeated several times that it was not going to impose tariffs before the US does so, Commerce Ministry spokesperson Gao Feng said at a press conference here.
"US measures are essentially attacking global supply and value chains. To put it simply, the US is opening fire on the entire world, including itself," he was quoted as saying by Efe news.
"China will not bow to threats or blackmailing and our resolve to safeguard global free trade and the multilateral mechanism will not waver."
Nearly 50 per cent of the products subjected to tariffs, accounting for more than $20 billion, are manufactured by foreign firms in China, a majority of them American, Gao said.
He also said that the US move amounts to violation of provisions of the World Trade Organisation's General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and of the Agreement on Safeguards.
Gao called on all countries to unite against protectionism and unilateralism. "China will work with other countries to fight against the regressive tide of backward, outdated and inefficient protectionism and unilateralism and will maintain a stable and predictable global economic and trade environment."
Beijing had already warned President Donald Trump that if tariffs on Chinese products are imposed, it will react with tariffs on 545 goods imported from the US.
Despite warning of retaliatory tariffs, the spokesperson expressed China's intention to protect the interests of all the firms based in China and help them diffuse the potential impact of a trade war.
--IANS<br>soni/vm

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC), which held its first meeting on Thursday, directed the four member states -- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry -- to share their exact data on Cauvery water and the technology used to calculate this.
"Today's meeting went on well with the cooperation of all members. We have asked all the four states to share their exact data on Cauvery water -- inflow, outflow, evaporation and amount of water in reservoirs -- and the technology they are using to calculate these data," said a CWRC member.
The Committee has met three days after the first meeting of Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), which directed the Committee to calculate the exact amount of water to be released by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu after giving a ballpark figure of 31 tmcft for July.
"We explained everything to the Committee members regarding the Authority's decisions and what they need to do. We have asked for their exact data. We also discussed a new technology to calculate the evaporation of water and the amount of water in the dam," he said.
The nine-member CWRC, which is chaired by Central Water Commission Chief Engineer (Irrigation Management Organisation) Navin Kumar and has representatives from the four states, will review the technologies used by the states to calculate data related to water.
"We will unanimously come to a conclusion whether we need to use one of the existing technologies or we need a new technology," said the official. The committee's next meeting is scheduled for July 19. <br> <br>On the need for a visit to the dam, the official said as of now the monsoon is above normal and there is enough water in the reservoir. Later, if need arises, the committee members may plan a visit, the official said.
On July 2, CWMA Chairman S. Masood Husain had directed Karnataka to release the quantum of water as per the tribunal award for July after adjusting the surplus in the month of June to Tamil Nadu. The tribunal had allotted 34 tmcft and the excess water released in June was more than 3 tmcft.
The CWMA meeting had discussed the rules of business, required staff and structure, infrastructure, format for maintaining data like inflow, outflow, withdrawals, cropping pattern, implementation status of the tribunal's award for June and realisation at Biligundlu site on inter-state border.
Husain had said: "The authority directed Karnataka to ensure the balance quantity for July at Biligundlu adjusting the excess quantity of water realised by Tamil Nadu at Biligundlu in June subject to the assessment and recommendation by the regulation committee (CWRC)."
--IANS<br>mgu/qd/vm