| | 1. How India keeps both US and Russia happy |  | The US House of Representatives has passed by voice vote a legislative amendment that approves waiver to New Delhi against the punitive CAATSA sanctions for its purchase of the S-400 missile defence system from Russia. However, the waiver will become effective only if the US Senate clears the amendment and the President signs it. What is CAATSA?- The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act or CAATSA is a tough US law that authorises Washington to impose sanctions on countries that purchase major defence hardware from Russia in response to the latter’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections.
- The Trump administration sanctioned Turkey, a NATO ally, for purchasing the S-400 air defence systems from Russia.
The S-400- In the face of a two-front military threat from China and Pakistan, India is procuring the Russian-made S-400 surface to-air missiles as part of a $5 billion deal signed in 2018. The systems will be deployed along northern and western borders.
- The S-400 Triumf is considered one of the advanced air defence systems in the world. The long-range missile is capable of intercepting up to 36 targets simultaneously including aircraft, ballistic and cruise missiles.
The significance- India’s Ministry of External Affairs has said that New Delhi is pursuing an independent foreign policy and its defence acquisitions are guided by its national security interests.
- India has abstained from voting against Russia, its trusted defence partner, at the UN over the issue of Ukraine war. At the same time, it has remained aligned with the US to counter China in the Indo-Pacific.
- Seen from this perspective, the CAATSA waiver could be a big boost for India’s strategic autonomy.
| |
| | 5 THINGS FIRST | Today: Meeting of floor leaders of political parties with Lok Sabha Speaker ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament. Tomorrow: India-China to hold next round of military talks; All-party meet ahead of monsoon session of Parliament; 3rd India vs England ODI; Meeting of NDA leaders ahead of Presidential election
| |
| | 2. A digital news policy overhaul |  | - The government wants Big Tech majors Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Twitter, and Amazon to pay Indian publishers and media companies from their revenues for using their content in a new move to overhaul the digital news business in India.
- This comes over a year after the publishers in India decided to follow the examples of countries like Australia when they asked social media giants such as Google to pay for their content. The Indian Newspaper Society in February asked Google to compensate Indian newspapers for using their content and insisted that the global search giant increase the publisher share of advertising revenue to 85 per cent.
- The move comes as the government aims to regulate digital media in India with the Registration of Press and Periodicals Bill that may be introduced in the upcoming Parliament session.
- It proposes the registration, for the first time, of digital media, which has not been defined by any law or any government regulation till now, and also punitive action for "violations".
- Digital news publishers will now have to register with the Press Registrar General within 90 days of the law coming into effect. There will be an appellate board with the Press Council of India chairperson as its chief to redress any grievances.
- An earlier attempt to regulate digital media by the government under Information Technology rules in 2019 had sparked a huge controversy. Back then, the draft bill had defined digital media news as news in digitised format that can be transmitted over the internet and includes text, video, audio and graphics.
- If the Registration of Press and Periodicals Bill gets Parliament’s nod, it will replace the British-era Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 that was meant for regulating newspapers and printing presses in India.
| |
| | 3. Even protests and pujas are ‘unparliamentary’ |  | Close on the heels of a controversy over “unparliamentary words”, a new circular issued by the Rajya Sabha secretariat has prohibited holding of demonstrations, dharnas or religious ceremonies in the precincts of Parliament House, drawing ire from the Opposition. The monsoon session of Parliament begins on Monday. Word-play and criticisms- Congress general secretary and chief whip of the party in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh was among the first ones to slam the government. “Vishguru's latest salvo - D(h)arna Mana Hai!,” he tweeted.
- TMC's Mahua Moitra took a swipe at the Prime Minister for holding a religious ceremony “on top of the new Parliament building”.
- CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury alleged that these are attempts to muzzle the voice of democracy.
- NCP chief Shard Pawar called the move an attack on democratic rights of elected representatives.
Firefighting- The Rajya Sabha secretariat has said that the circular has not been issued for the first time and such advice has been reiterated from time to time. It claimed such a circular is issued normally ahead of every session of Parliament.
- The secretariat also provided copies of the similar circular issued during the Congress-led UPA regime in 2013.
- The circular on dharnas comes amid opposition outrage over another bulletin listing out certain words as “unparliamentary” which was issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat.
| |
| | 4. 'Voice of dissent is necessary for a healthy democracy' so... |  | - Bail: A Delhi court granted bail to Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in the case involving his 2018-tweet. The court invoked Hindu religion in its bail order to argue that his tweet did not appear violative of Section 153A (communal enmity) and 295A IPC (insulting religion).
- The tweet: He had posted an image from the 1983-movie Kissi Se Na Kehna, showing a hotel's name changing from Honeymoon Hotel to Hanuman Hotel. He wrote: “Before 2014: Honeymoon Hotel. After 2014: Hanuman Hotel.”
- “The voice of dissent is necessary for healthy democracy. Therefore, merely for the criticism of any political parties it is not justified to invoke Section 153A and 295A of Indian Penal Code,” the court said.
- Jail: Zubair continues to be in jail over other FIRs registered against him in Uttar Pradesh, where he is facing six cases in Hathras (two), Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, Lakhimpur Kheri, and Sitapur over his tweet or calling certain persons “hatemongers”.
- “Hindu religion is one of the oldest religions and most tolerant. The followers of the Hindu religion are also tolerant. Hindu religion is so tolerant that its followers proudly name their institution/organisation/facilities in the name of their Holy God or Goddess,” the court said.
- “Naming of an institute, facility or organisation or child in the name of Hindu deity on the face of it is not violative of Section 153A and 295A IPC, unless the same is done with malice/guilty intention.”
- Who got offended? The court noted that the police have not identified the Twitter users who complained saying they were offended by Zubair's tweet. “The statement of this aggrieved person/witness under Section 161 CrPC is not yet recorded. The police have failed to record the statement under the Section.”
- FCRA: On the charge of illegal foreign contribution, the court observed that prima facie the accused has taken all the safeguard to prevent the receipt of any foreign contribution.
| |
| | | 6. Lankans breathe a sigh of relief |  | Two days after former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka, his two brothers – former PM Mahinda Rajapaksa and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa – were barred from leaving the island nation until July 28. - Court order: The country’s Supreme Court on Friday passed an order during the hearing of a petition filed by Transparency International, a global NGO, alleging that these persons were directly responsible for the unsustainability of Sri Lanka's foreign debt, its debt default and the current economic crisis.
- Acting Prez: Ranil Wickremesinghe was on Friday sworn in as Sri Lanka's acting president after parliament accepted the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
- Secret vote: For the first time since 1978, Sri Lanka will elect its next president through a secret vote by the MPs and not through a popular mandate, on July 20. The new president will serve the remaining tenure of Gotabaya Rajapaksa till November 2024.
- Sigh of relief: Rajapaksa's departure from office marks a major victory for the anti-government protesters, who for months have demanded his removal. “We are so happy today that he resigned and we feel that when we, the people, come together, we can do everything," said Arunanandan, 34, a school teacher told Reuters. "We are the real power in this country." Updates here
| |
| | 7. Right to life versus choice of motherhood |  | - A reserved order: An unmarried woman in her 20s recently approached the Delhi High Court seeking termination of her pregnancy. Reserving its order on Friday, the court said it wouldn’t abort of the 23-week pregnancy.
- Why kill the child? “We will not permit you to kill that child. (We are) very sorry. This virtually amounts to killing [the foetus]...Why are you killing the child?”
- A right as a choice? The petitioner’s lawyer argued that she was “ditched” at the last moment by her partner and that if termination is not permitted, it would cause great injury to her mental health and be a violation of her reproductive rights.
- The counsel said the woman was not physically, mentally, financially fit to bring up the child being a single unmarried parent and that it will cause her mental trauma and will be a social stigma.
- A suggestion: “There are big queues for adoptions...We are not forcing her [Petitioner] to raise the child. We will ensure that she goes to a good hospital. Her whereabouts will not be known. You give birth and come back,” the bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said.
- “Everything will be looked after by the government of India or Delhi government or some good hospital... I am also offering to pay.”
- Law: There is a legal bar on termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021. Exceptions include the mental health of the pregnant woman.
- Precedence: In January this year, the Delhi HC allowed termination of a 28-month pregnancy after medical reports showed the foetus was suffering from a rare congenital heart disease.
| |
| | 8. When ‘host’ returned to haunt ex-VP |  | - Charges and denials fly between the BJP and former Vice President Hamid Ansari after Pakistani journalist Nusrat Mirza claimed he met Ansari during his ‘espionage’ tours of India during the previous Congress-led UPA rule.
- On Friday, Ansari refuted for the second time the claims made by Mirza and charges levelled by the BJP. His office said, “The former Vice President of India stands by his earlier statement that he never knew or invited Pakistan journalist Nusrat Mirza to any conference, including the 2010 conference mentioned by Nusrat Mirza or 2009 conference on terrorism or on any other occasion.”
- Earlier, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia showed a picture of Ansari sharing a stage with Mirza at a conference on terrorism in Delhi in 2009 to counter the former Vice President’s denial.
- This began on July 10, when Mirza claimed in a YouTube interview to have spied for the ISI during his five visits to India. On one of the visits, he claimed to have attended a seminar with Ansari in 2010.
- Ansari denied the claims calling them “politically motivated’’ and frivolous” on July 12. A day later, Bhatia accused the Congress and Ansari of betraying the country. Ansari issued a statement calling the BJP’s charges a “litany of falsehood”.
- On July 14, Adish Aggarwala, a senior advocate and the organiser of the 2010 seminar, shared an image showing Ansari and Mirza at an event organised by the Jama Masjid United Front in October 2009. Aggarwala also claimed that an official in the Vice-President Secretariat had requested him on Ansari’s behalf to invite Mirza for the 2010-conference.
- On July 15, Aggarwala rejected Ansari’s defence that he never met or invited Mirza. The BJP then stepped up its attack citing the photograph.
| |
| | X-PLAINED | | 9. Who is at risk of getting monkeypox? |  | India's first confirmed case of monkeypox, detected in Kerala, has caused great alarm in the country. The patient had recently returned from the UAE. - Cause for worry? Kerala Health Minister Veena George said there is nothing to worry about or to be anxious about. All the steps are being taken and the patient is stable. The primary contacts (about 15 people) of the affected individual have been identified.
- Monkeypox is a rare, viral zoonotic infection, which can spread from animals to humans and from person to person. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that in most cases, the symptoms of monkeypox go away on their own within a few weeks.
- At risk: Monkeypox spreads to humans through close contact — face-to-face, skin-to-skin, mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-skin including sexual — with an infected person or animal. Healthcare workers caring for monkeypox patients are at a greater risk and must also be vigilant and should take extra measures to protect themselves.
- Infants, young children and people with underlying immune deficiencies are at risk of more serious symptoms, and in rare cases, death from monkeypox.
- An immune deficiency disease or disorder occurs when the immune system does not function properly or does not work as expected. People born with a deficiency from a genetic cause are known as primary immunodeficient. There are over 200 primary immunodeficiency disorders.
- Symptoms include a high temperature, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen glands, shivering (chills) and exhaustion. it can take between 5 and 21 days for the first symptoms to appear.
- Vaccines given to protect against smallpox are said to be effective against monkeypox. One dose of the smallpox vaccine helps reduce the severity of monkeypox symptoms and prevent future infections. If you continue to be exposed, you may require a second dose.
| |
| | | Answer To NEWS IN CLUES |  | Rubaiya Sayeed: Rubaiya, daughter of late former J&K Chief Minister, Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, on Friday identified JKLF chief Yasin Malik and three others as her abductors in 1989. She appeared before the CBI court in Jammu as a prosecution witness in the case. Her release was managed by swapping four jailed militants when her father was the Home Minister in the V.P. Singh government. Malik has already been sentenced for life in a terror funding case, in which he admitted to the charges levelled against him by the prosecution. | |
| | Follow news that matters to you in real-time.
Join 3 crore news enthusiasts. | |
|
| Written by: Rakesh Rai, Tejeesh Nippun Singh, Jayanta Kalita, Prabhash K Dutta
Research: Rajesh Sharma
| |
|
|
