Month: September 2020

Chinese debt trap has cast a shadow over Maldivian economy with some estimates suggesting that island nation maybe owing huge amount to Beijing.

China has faced criticism for its infrastructure projects in the developing countries, which are disguised as debt traps intended to increase Chinese footprints in the region.

According to a BBC report, a 2.1 km (1.3-mile), four-lane bridge was built with USD 200m (PS148m) from Beijing. The Sinamale bridge or China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, the first built between any islands in the Maldivian archipelago, has also led to a boom in new property and commercial developments on the island of Hulumale, the report said.

It was one of the several projects undertaken during the tenure of Maldives’ pro-China President Abdullah Yameen, who was elected in 2013. As per the report, Yameen’s tenure was also marked by allegations of human rights abuses with many politicians including former President Mohamed Nasheed, who is now Speaker, getting detained.

Yameen suffered a surprise defeat in the election in 2018 and Ibrahim Mohammed Solih became President.

“The [Chinese debt] bill was USD 3.1bn,” Nasheed was quoted as saying. As per the report, the figure included government-to-government loans, money given to state enterprises and private sector loans guaranteed by the Maldivian government. The Speaker of Maldvies’ Parliament is worried his country walked into a debt trap.

“Can these assets produce enough revenue to pay back the debt? The business plan of none of these projects has any indication to suggest that it will be able to pay back the loan.”

However, former Maldivian officials and Chinese representatives put the figure Male owes China between USD 1.1 to 1.4 billion, a huge sum for a country with GDP of around USD 4.9 billion.

Nasheed worries Maldives could meet same fate as Sri Lanka where Chinese debt trap led to a Chinese state-run enterprise acquired a 70 per cent stake in the Hambantota port on a 99-year lease in 2017.

Maldvies, which is heavily reliant on tourism has been hit hard by coronavirus. According to the report, the foreign tourist arrivals were down 55 per cent by the end of June and estimates suggest the country may lose more than USD 700m, more than a third of its tourism income, this year if the pandemic persists. (ANI)

India on Thursday welcomed the agreement for normalization of ties between Israel, UAE and Bahrain while also reiterating support for the Palestinian cause.

“We have followed the Abraham Accord between Israel, UAE, Bahrain and the US. India has always supported peace and stability in West Asia. We welcome these agreements for normalization of relations between Israel, UAE and Bahrain,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at the regular media briefing.

“We also continue our traditional support for the Palestinian cause and hope for early resumption of direct negotiations for an acceptable two-state solution,” he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on Tuesday signed the historic Abraham Accord in the presence of US President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu on Wednesday termed the accord as historic and thanked Trump for “unequivocally” standing by Israel’s side and for “boldly” confronting what he called the “tyrants of Tehran”.

“Thank you, President Trump. You have unequivocally stood by Israel’s side and boldly confronted the tyrants of Tehran. You’ve proposed a realistic vision for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. And you have successfully brokered the historic peace that we are signing today,” Netanyahu said in a tweet. (ANI)

Bollywood actor Rakul Preet Singh, whose name also surfaced in a drugs case related to the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, on Thursday moved the Delhi High Court seeking directions not to telecast or publish on TV channels and other platforms any content related to the narcotic drugs case that maligns or slanders her image.

Rakul Preet Singh also told the High Court that media reports are being run in contravention with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry guidelines.

A single-judge bench of Justice Navin Chawla issued notice to the Central government, Prasar Bharati, Press Council of India and News Broadcasters Association on the matter and listed it for further hearing on October 15.

The bench also directed the Centre, Prasar Bharati and News Broadcasters Association to consider Rakul Preet Singh’s plea as a representation and expeditiously decide it including any interim directions that ought to be issued.

The High Court also expressed hope that TV channels shall show restraint and abide by the program code and other guidelines while making any report in connection with Rakul Preet.

The Central government submitted that an order of pre-censorship ought not to be passed and that there has been no complaint from her under the Cable TV Act.

The actor, in her plea, told the court that being a well-known Indian film actress and model who has worked in the Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Hindi film industry, she has starred in numerous movies and won several film awards and acclaim over the years.

The plea said the petitioner is a non-smoker, a teetotaller, into fitness, yoga and meditation, is also known for her healthy lifestyle.

“In recognition of her popularity, clean image and public service, the Telangana government appointed her in 2017 as the brand ambassador for the “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” programme. She is also associated with various brands, including Samsung mobiles,” the plea said.

It said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has specifically prohibited the telecast of any content that criticizes, maligns or slanders any individual or which contains anything defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half-truths.

The plea also said the Press Council of India has also specifically required the media not to sensationalise or invade privacy rights.

“She was shocked to watch news relating to her, along with actress Sara Ali Khan and designer Simone Khambatta, being named as individuals who take drugs by actress Rhea Chakraborty in the ongoing investigation by the Narcotics Control Bureau in Mumbai,” the plea said.

“The respondents have failed to discharge their statutory functions of ensuring compliance by the members of the News Broadcasters Association of their own directives, which has resulted in the flagrant violation of the fundamental rights of the Petitioner guaranteed under Article 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution,” it added.

The plea said she does not take drugs at all, and has, to the best of her recollection, has only met Sara Ali Khan twice and has not met Simone Khambatta at all.

In her plea, she urged the court to issue directions to authorities to ensure the members of the News Broadcasters Association to comply with the directions issued by the Centre.

She also sought directions to the Press Council to ensure the members of the News Broadcasters Association comply with the directions contained in its Media Advisory. (ANI)

The US move to impose restrictions on import of certain products originating from Xinjiang autonomous region in China could benefit Indian textile exporters, according to investment information firm ICRA.

The United States cited concerns on illegal and inhumane forced labour in the region while imposing the ban earlier this week.

While there were reports of a more broad-based ban on the products originating from the region, the restrictions have been limited to a few entities for now.

Besides banning imports of other product categories, including hair products and computer parts, the ban includes restrictions on some entities from the region involved in manufacturing apparel and producing and processing cotton.

Xinjiang is a major cotton-producing belt which accounts for an estimated 80 to 85 per cent of China’s cotton output.

Jayanta Roy, Senior Vice President and Group Head for ICRA Ratings, said that while the immediate impact in terms of the market catered to by identified entities is not quantifiable, the development could have major repercussions for global textile trade.

With China being the leading apparel exporter, accounting for more than 35 per cent of the global trade and more than three-fourths of China’s cotton originating from the Xinjiang region, any extension of the ban to a wider base in China could trigger a material shift in global apparel trade in coming years,” he said.

Amid concerns on the origination of the coronavirus from China, there have already been reports of severalinternational buyers looking at diversifying their sourcing base across countries.

As per ICRA’s channel checks, several major apparel exporters from India have either already started receiving increased orders or are in active discussions with large international buyers, looking at increasing their sourcing from India.

The shift, which was previously expected to take place gradually over the medium term, could be expedited in the light of this recent development.

“While Vietnam and Bangladesh have been the key beneficiaries over the past few years for a shift away from China, India also stands to gain from any such market opportunity which may arise due to its strong presence in cotton-based apparel,” said Roy. (ANI)

Think spending time with your kids and spouse is the key to your happiness? You may actually be happier getting together with your friends, according to a research conducted by SMU psychology professor Nathan Hudson.

Hudson’s research finds that people report higher levels of well-being while hanging with their friends than they do with their romantic partner or children.

In fact, being around romantic partners predicted the least amount of happiness among these three groups, reveals a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Hudson stressed, however, that the finding has more to do with the activity than the person it is shared with. That’s because people tend to spend more of their time doing enjoyable activities with friends than they do with family members, who occasionally find themselves together doing unpleasant tasks like chores or caretaking duties.

“Our study suggests that this doesn’t have to do with the fundamental nature of kith versus kin relationships. When we statistically controlled for activities, the ‘mere presence’ of children, romantic partners, and friends predicted similar levels of happiness,” he said.

“Thus, this paper provides an optimistic view of family and suggests that people genuinely enjoy their romantic partners and children,” he added.

More than 400 study participants were asked to think back on times with their friends or family – identify the activity they shared – and rate whether those experiences left them feeling various emotions, such as happy, satisfied, and with a sense of meaning. Each emotion was rated from 0 (almost never) to 6 (almost always).

This information and other responses about how study participants felt at different times allowed Hudson and his co-authors, Richard E Lucas and M Brent Donnellan, to estimate rates of happiness with their friends and family. Lucas and Donnellan are both from Michigan State University.

The activities people most frequently perform while they’re with their romantic partners include socializing, relaxing, and eating. People tend to do similar activities when they are with their friends, too.

They just do a lot more of these enjoyable tasks while hanging with their friends and a lot less housework, the study found. For instance, 65 percent of experiences with friends involved socializing, but only 28 percent of the time shared with partners.

Spending time with their children also meant more time doing things that had a negative association, such as housework and commuting.

However, the activity that people reported most often with their offspring – childcare – was viewed positively. And overall, people report feeling similar levels of well-being while in the presence of friends, partners, and children once the activity was taken out of the equation.

“There’s a lesson here. It’s important to create opportunities for positive experiences with romantic partners and children – and to really mentally savor those positive times,” Hudson said.

“In contrast, family relationships that involve nothing but chores, housework, and childcare likely won’t predict a lot of happiness,” Hudson added. (ANI)

By Baidurjo Bose

They might have worked earlier with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Cricket Australia (CA), but this will be Sportradar’s first tryst with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). And having come on board for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to monitor betting irregularities, the team is ready for some late nights as fans gear up for some scintillating action on the field.

Speaking to ANI, Mona Motwani, Integrity Services Consultant, India, Sportradar said that the challenge is higher when it comes to a multi-team tournament like the IPL as compared to a regular bilateral series.

“In a multi-team tournament like the IPL, especially where there are more teams and players in play, there is definitely more variables to contend with, which leads to a heightened risk level certainly,” she said.

So is that something that the team is ready to face? Mona says that the tracking doesn’t have to be at the location itself and can be done remotely and that is a big advantage.

“Our monitoring systems track remotely in real-time which allows us to not be on location to be able to comprehensively track the number of games at the same time. Our analysts are also based remotely, with the latest technology and experience to allow efficient review and tracking of each game that will be played during the IPL season,” she pointed.

Mona goes on to add that previous experience of having been involved with cricket definitely works when it comes to handling situations or scenarios.

“We will be approaching this in a similar manner as we have done for various sports and other organizations. Sportradar has had experience in Cricket, having previously worked with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Cricket Australia (CA) in similar capacities in supporting their anti-corruption and integrity services in the past,” she said.

Interestingly, Mona says that individuals do play a role when it comes to ‘betting attention’. And that means her team will have their work cut out when it comes to the IPL as it will see the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, AB de Villiers, and Chris Gayle battling it out among others.

“With the high profile players, comes along higher media and betting attention, and it has been shown that the IPL is in fact one of the top sports competitions in the world in terms of betting turnover,” she said.

The IPL will be played across three venues this season — Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah — and gets underway on Saturday with Chennai Super Kings taking on defending champions Mumbai Indians. (ANI)

Birthday greetings for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 70th birthday poured in from all across the globe. It is worth noticing that not only the Indian leaders but also several world leaders conveyed birthday wishes to the Prime Minister.

Finnish PM Sanna Marin conveyed wishes to PM Modi and impressed upon the greater potential to deepen bilateral relations between India and Finland.

“On the occasion of your 70th birthday on September 17, let me express my heartfelt congratulations to you and my best wishes for your good health and well-being,” read a letter from the youngest Finnish PM,” she said.

Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli while wishing PM Modi, stated that the two leaders will continue to work towards strengthening the relations between Nepal and India.

“Warm greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji on the auspicious occasion of your birthday. I wish you good health and happiness. We will continue working closely together to further strengthen relations between our two countries,” Oli tweeted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also wished PM Modi on his birthday.

“I look forward to continue constructive dialogue with you and work closely together on topical issues of the bilateral and international agenda,” President Putin said.

From India, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi extended wishes to the PM Modi on his birthday on Twitter and stated, “Wishing PM Narendra Modi ji a happy birthday.”

From the cabinet, Home Minister Amit Shah wished the Prime Minister on his special day stating, “Happy birthday to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, the most popular leader of the country, who is devoted to the nation’s service and welfare of the poor.”

“In the form of Modi ji, the country has got a leadership that connected the deprived class with the mainstream of development and laid the foundation of a strong India,” Shah said in another tweet.

“Be it providing houses, electricity, bank accounts, toilets to the poor of the country who have been deprived of their rights for decades or giving a respectable life to the poor mothers by providing cooking gas to them through the Ujjwala scheme and , this has only been possible by the unwavering determination and strong will of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji,” another tweet from Shah read.

Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman also took to Twitter to extend greetings to PM and said, “Wishes to Narendra Modi on your birthday. You have dedicated yourself completely to the service of the nation. Selfless and tireless, you are focused on improving India’s place in the world. In these challenging times, you’ve led from the front extending assistance to the global community. You ensured that Indians stranded in the world over were brought back home. The blessings of the most needy, who you reached out with food and cash, are with you. My prayers for your good health and long life.”

To mark the occasion, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has organised a week-long ‘Seva Saptah’ in which programmes pertaining to cleanliness, distribution of sanitation pads, wheelchairs and social service are being organised from September 14 to 20 across the country. (ANI)

The government on Wednesday constituted an expert committee under the National Cyber Security Coordinator to study reports of surveillance of Indians including of political leaders, by Chinese firm Zhenhua Data and the External Affairs Ministry raised the issue with China’s Ambassador here, sources said.

The expert group will also evaluate the implications of these reports, assess any violations of law and submit its recommendations within 30 days.

The sources said the government is deeply concerned with any report that suggests that foreign sources are accessing or seeking to access the personal data of Indian citizens without their consent.

“The Government of India takes very seriously the protection of privacy and personal data of Indian citizens. The government has constituted an expert committee under the National Cyber Security Coordinator to study these reports, evaluate their implications, assess any violations of law and submit its recommendations within 30 days,” a source told ANI.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar communicated this decision to Congress MP KC Venugopal in response to demands from him and other MPs for protecting data of Indian leaders and others from spying by Chinese companies, sources said.

Venugopal had earlier today demanded a clarification from the Centre in Rajya Sabha on the issue of ‘Chinese surveillance on political leaders and key officials.’

The sources said that the Ministry of External Affairs raised the issue of Zhenhua Data Information Technology Co. which was allegedly spying on prominent Indians, with the Chinese Ambassador today.

China said that Zhenhua is a private company and stated its position publicly, the sources added.

Venugopal said in Rajya Sabha that as per media report, Zhenhua Data Information, a Shenzhen based technology company with links to the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government is tracking over 10,000 Indians in its global database of foreign targets.

“This includes the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Opposition leader, Army Chief and MPs. This is a major area of concern. I want to know from the government if it has taken note of it. If so, what actions have been taken?” he asked.

The issue also figured in the Lok Sabha with Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury stating that several Indian leaders and people from other sections of society were under surveillance by China and urged the government to create “an impregnable firewall” to resist the “menacing syndrome” of “digital aggression”. (ANI)

Amid the ongoing tensions over transgressions by the Chinese in Eastern Ladakh, the Indian Army is keeping its formidable Bofors howitzers ready for operations.

In a visit to the maintenance facilities for the Bofors guns in Ladakh, ANI could see the effort with which the engineers of the force are servicing and maintaining the 155mm Bofors gun in Ladakh.

The Bofors gun, which was inducted into the regiment of artillery in the mid-1980s, is capable of firing both in low and high angles will be deployed in Ladakh once they will be serviced.

In Ladakh, Army Engineers were seen servicing one such Bofors gun which they said that it will be ready to roar in a few days.

According to the officials, the gun required periodical servicing and maintenance to keep roaring for which technicians have been deployed to keep it in working.

Bofors was instrumental in winning many battles of Operation Vijay was displayed in Dras in Jammu and Kashmir recently.

In the workshop, Army Engineers are responsible to maintain and service all such weaponry required in odd situations.

“From a firing pin to engine assembly of a tank, Technical store groups job is to provide everything. This vehicle behind is mobile spares van, through this we provide components in the forward areas to repair technicians,” Lt Colonel Preeti Kanwar said while briefing about Army’s preparation in regards to servicing and maintenance in the forward areas.

The Bofors guns proved their mettle in the Kargil war of 1999 against Pakistan by destroying the bunkers and bases built on high altitude mountains with ease and causing heavy damage to the Pakistan Army. (ANI)