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NEW DELHI TIMESR.N.I. No 53449/91 DL-SW-1/4124/20-22 Page 24 Rs. 7.00 9 - 15 August 2021Vol - 31 No. 28

ESTABLISHED 1991

(Monday/Tuesday same week) (Published Every Monday) ISSN -2349-1221 New Delhi Founder : Dr. Govind Narain Srivastava

UAE - IsraelUAE - Israel relations haverelations have never been closernever been closer

India sends Oxygen train to Bangladesh

Hakim Ajmal Khan: Freedom Fighter and a pioneer in the field of

modern education amongst Muslims

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Uncertainties are Uncertainties are way of life, accept them to stay at peaceaccept them to stay at peace

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Hakim Ajmal Khan, born in Delhi on February 11, 1868, was always willing to make any number of sacrifices in order to achieve the common objective of Indian independence, development of communal harmony and promotion of modern education amongst Muslims. Hakim Ajmal Khan was an eminent Indian Unani

physician who was a versatile genius, a great scholar, a social reformer, a noted freedom fighter, an Unani medical educationist, and a founder of scientific research in the Unani System of Medicine. According to a historian, Hakim Ajmal Khan was the nearest the Muslims had to Gandhi ji. In terms of breadth of political appeal, he was highly regarded by the government, respected in the Congress, and amongst the Hindus generally, and was one of the few Muslims who could feel equally at home among the Ulama, the Nawabs and the Westernized Aligarh graduates. When tensions between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League flared in 1916, he was instrumental in having the Lucknow Pact formed,

which established a reconciliation between the two organizations. After leaving the Muslim League in 1917, he had a strong...

Every one of us goes through numerous situations in life that we cannot foretell ahead of time. There are far too many things that we will never know that will happen to us until it does, and it’s pointless to worry or be worried about somethings that are beyond our control. However, if we could and if it were feasible, we would prefer to entirely prevent or eliminate some events from ever occurring to us. Maybe we need to accept the fact that we will never be able to completely control...

PAGE 5 Europe’s Energy Europe’s Energy Security hangs Security hangs in balance with in balance with

Nord-Stream 2

Iran pouring fuel on Gulf waters

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NEW DELHI TIMESOpinion

◆ By NDT Special Bureau

@NewDelhiTimes

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◆ By Tarek Fatah Author & Columnist, Canada

@[email protected]

F

T

ollowing an unprecedented act of cyber warfare on the seas, at least

six ships off the coast of the United Arab Emirates broadcast simultaneous warnings on Tuesday that they had lost control of their steering under unclear circumstances, as British authorities reported “a potential hijack” was underway in the area off the coast of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman.

According to Reuters, which quoted two security maritime sources, Iranian-backed forces were believed to have seized one of the tankers.

The question that struck everyone was this: How did Iran develop the capability of disarming large oil tankers without any physical intervention?

My sources in Washington and among Iranian expatriates have suggested China’s hand in equipping Tehran for cyber warfare. This transfer of technology was part of the Iran-China 25-year deal signed in March this year.

The Iran-China deal calls explicitly “for joint training and exercises, joint research and weapons development and intelligence

sharing.” With a Chinese naval base in the nearby strategic Balochistan port of Gwadar, the Gulf of Oman at the mouth of the Persian Gulf is today under the China-Iran-Pakistan axis.

Having said that, the Iranian provocations at the mouth of the Persian Gulf has two other objectives: To deflect attention from a figure complicit in mass murder who has ascended to the top as the country’s new President, and to throw a smokescreen over the month-long massive anti-government protests that originated in Iran’s oil-rich Arab province of Khuzestan and has now spread across the land including the capital Tehran.

Iran’s new President, Ebrahim Raisi is the man behind the mass murders of thousands of opponents of Ayatollah Khomeini’s brutal dictatorship. The Islamic Republic today stands in the family of nations headed by a man best known for killing political prisoners.

Who else but China would make a good ally for Iran despite the fact Beijing has put a million of its Muslim Uighur citizens in concentration camps? But if Islamic Pakistan can become China’s poodle, why can’t Islamic Iran become Beijing’s pet panda?

Aside from having a mass-murdering President in Tehran, Iran’s other challenge erupted in its oil-rich, Arab-inhabited province of Al-Ahwaz. Lack of electricity in

over 50°C temperatures coupled with lack of drinking water ignited peoples hidden anger and, as usual, in recent protests it turned to slogans against the man sitting on top of the wealth pyramid of the country, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Keyvan Soltany, an Iranian exile in Canada, claims that not only does Ayatollah Khamenei hold enormous power and is the real decision-maker, but in Iran’s bankrupt economy he holds on to over $100 billion in state funds from where he funds Mullahs and Islamic foundations.

Soltany says that at the root of Iran’s crisis is the privatization of the country’s public sector industries that then ended up in the hands of Mullahs and their cronies.

And to govern over an Arabic-speaking province, the Iranian regime cynically pits other ethnic groups to counter their strength. Thus in Arab Khuzestan, members of the Bakhtiari and Lor minority were expected to counterbalance the Arab population. Instead, they too joined the Ahwazis in the protests.

With the radical Sunni Muslim jihadis of the Taliban running amuck in next-door Afghanistan targeting Shia Muslims, any spillover into Iran will further strengthen China as the master puppeteer in the region as the United States gets duped and runs for cover.

Coming back to the China-Iran pact, the

New York Times reports that the agreement also includes proposals for China to build the infrastructure for a 5G telecommunications network, to offer the new Chinese Global Positioning System, Beidou, and to help Iranian authorities assert greater control over what circulates in cyberspace, presumably as China’s Great Firewall does.

Now, do we understand that six oil tankers simultaneously lose control over their engines is not some miracle, but a reflection of how China has outsmarted the United States at every stage of the game.

Who would have guessed during the Cold War that Islamist dictators and Communist oligarchs would one day be in bed together giving birth to ‘Sharia-Bolshevism’?

Iran pouring fuel on Gulf watersIf Islamic Pakistan can become China’s poodle, why can’t Islamic Iran become Beijing’s pet panda?

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Space tourism to become a regular feature soon

he year 2021, especially the month of July, has been phenomenal for space

tourism. The dream to visit space as a tourist came to reality when Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson and Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos, toured space in quick succession. The early strides of these billionaires opened up the frontiers of space tourism to common man. Space suddenly became a place not just for astronauts but for tourists to avail experience of a lifetime!

The devils on the block: In 2001, businessman Dennis Tito became the first person ever to pay for a trip to space. Twenty years later, on July 11, 2021, Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic Company, flew to a height of 80 kilometres. The spacecraft VSS Unity had 17 ship windows to look outside and several in-cabin cameras to record the experience for posterity.

Nine days later, on July 20, 2021, the New Shepard-the rocket ship of Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin-had its first crewed suborbital space flight from Texas to an additional 20 kilometres to the Kármán Line-a boundary 100 kilometres above the ground that demarcates the Earth from the space. That was New Shepard’s 16th voyage but its first with passengers. Founder Bezos, brother Mark, and an 82-year-old renowned female aviator Wally Funk who was trained as an astronaut in the 1960s before the U.S. government canned its “women in space” program, spent roughly 10 minutes in zero gravity.

Visiting the International Space Station (ISS) is another possibility. Space X sent its

first post-Space Shuttle crewed spaceflight in May 2020 with two astronauts and Crew-1 Mission in November 2020 that successfully docked four astronauts at the ISS.

How much will it cost anyway? Virgin Galactic sold 600 tickets for $250,000 each but discontinued in 2014 after a test crash. After the July 11 flight, ticket sales could reopen higher at $300,000- $400,000 for regular flights in 2022 before settling down to attract the rich rather than the uber-rich.

Focus is on 1.78 million people of $10 million net worth who can afford a $100,000 ticket, while 5.07 million people with $5 million net worth can pay $50,000 for a ticket. The raffle drawing for two seats requires donation to Space for Humanity.

Blue Origin has so far not priced its tickets but sales will start soon. Its 2018 estimates priced tickets at $200,000-$300,000. The demand is very, very high for seats and private sales has reached $100 million!

F l o r i d a - b a s e d company Space P e r s p e c t i v e offers a cheaper option for space tourists on its Spaceship Neptune - a balloon-shaped pressurized capsule - for $125,000 a seat but will ascend only 19 miles, much short of the boundary of space, and weightlessness at

100 km. Still, 300 seats for 2024 have all been sold.

Elon Musk’s space tourism company Axiom will arrange flights to the ISS in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule in early 2022. The cost could be $55 million per seat as journey is too long and involves eight-night’s stay. Flights through other space tourism services will also cost at least a few hundred thousand dollars.

How soon can we travel to space? The space tourism can begin very soon. After

two more final suborbital test flights in late 2021 Virgin Galactic will have clearance for regular commercial flights from 2022.

It plans 400 flights per year and already has 600 active reservations. Even Elon Musk has bought a ticket for future Virgin Galactic spaceflight. Ticket sales are open to general public on email [email protected].

Blue Origin already has a Federal Aviation Administration license

for human space travel. If the first crewed flights are successful,

the public can start space tourism flights in early

2022. The company will have to schedule more trips and build more rockets.

Tourists should be of 5’0”- 6’4”height, weigh 110-223 pounds and capable of climbing

seven flights of stairs (the height of the launch tower)

in under 90 seconds. The

aspiring civilians must have loads of money, and shell out billions in charity. One seat was auctioned for $28 million to Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old from the Netherlands who became the youngest person ever to visit space.

Since 2001, the space tourism industry has struggled to make spaceflight commercially viable. So far, only a handful of people have been able to pay their way into space. Now, the richest people in the world can avail regular private space flights.

SpaceX will take missions to the Moon and also to Mars over years. The Moon landings could happen as soon as 2024.

What will it take to become a space tourist? Virgin Galactic will provide five-days training on how to be safe and comfortable during high acceleration, and make the most of time spent in microgravity. Aerospace medical experts will offer advice, help and check pre-flight fitness. The Axiom crew will be spending their nights in sleeping bags.

With world’s billionaires engaged in an ongoing friendly competition civilian space travel will gain in popularity. Other space tourism companies are striving to reach the Kármán Line at 100 kilometres boundary instead of where Virgin Galactic currently flies to.

Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin competed to go suborbital first. Successfully launching the first space tourism flight will be another fierce competition. And taking space tourism to the masses will be the last and the defining competition.

Future: Space tourism will become a reality in 2022 but aspirants need to choose Blue Origin/Virgin Galactic only to travel to the edge of space for experiencing zero gravity.


9 - 15 August 2021 3


NEW DELHI TIMES Editor’s Desk

◆ Dr. Ankit Srivastava Chief Editor

@[email protected]

H

Hakim Ajmal Khan: Freedom Fighter and a pioneer in the field of modern education amongst Muslims

akim Ajmal Khan, born in Delhi on February 11, 1868, was always

willing to make any number of sacrifices in order to achieve the common objective of Indian independence, development of communal harmony and promotion of modern education amongst Muslims. Hakim Ajmal Khan was an eminent Indian Unani physician who was a versatile genius, a great scholar, a social reformer, a noted freedom fighter, an Unani medical educationist, and a founder of scientific research in the Unani System of Medicine.

According to a historian, Hakim Ajmal Khan was the nearest the Muslims had to Gandhi ji. In terms of breadth of political appeal, he was highly regarded by the government, respected in the Congress, and amongst the Hindus generally, and was one of the few Muslims who could feel equally at home among the Ulama, the Nawabs and the Westernized Aligarh graduates.

When tensions between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League flared in 1916, he was instrumental in having the Lucknow Pact formed, which established a reconciliation between the two organizations. After leaving the Muslim League in 1917, he had a strong friendship with Mahatma Gandhi ji, which prompted him to join the Indian National Congress. He was the Chairperson of the reception committee for the Indian National Congress’ Delhi sessions in December, 1918.

He took part in the Khilafat, or Non-Cooperation Movement inaugural ceremony, when he turned down the honorary titles bestowed by the British government, such as Kaisar-e-Hind and Haziqul-Mulk, and so became a role model. He was part of a delegation meeting with the Viceroy to discuss the Khilafat problem.

In 1921, he also presided over a session of the Indian National Congress in Ahmedabad. In his Presidential Address, he stated: “The spirit of non-cooperation pervades throughout the country and there is no true Indian heart even in the remotest corner of this great country which is not filled with the spirit of cheerful suffering and sacrifice to attain Swaraj and see the Punjab and the Khilafat wrongs redressed.”

Gandhi ji held Ajmal Khan in the highest esteem. On March 12, 1922, Gandhi ji wrote a letter to Hakim Ajmal Khan not only as “one of the foremost leaders of Mussalmans, but, above all as an esteemed friend”. Gandhi ji wrote in the letter, “I have had the privilege of knowing you since 1915. Our daily growing association has enabled me to prize your friendship as a treasure. A staunch Mussalman, you have shown in your own life what Hindu-Muslim unity means. I have been drawn so close to you chiefly because I know that you believe in Hindu-Muslim unity in the full sense of the term.”

He made great contributions in the field of education. Ever since his successful involvement in the movement to elevate the MAO College into the status of a University,

his dream was to found an academic institution, free of government control. He remained firm in his commitment to Jamia when the crisis of 1924 happened. He spent the latter part of his life and the better part of his wealth for the welfare of Jamia, often bailing Jamia out of the dilemmas and financial crises.

He was the first Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia National Muslim University, which was established for students who shared nationalist ideologies and cherished the idea of modern scientific education. As Chancellor, he reinforced nationalist ideology and scientifc fervour through developing the institute. He worked hard to promote peaceful ties between Hindus and Muslims, even hosted a conference with Hindu and Muslim leaders in his home in September, 1924.

Hakim Ajmal Khan combined the best of traditional knowledge with the Western knowledge. In 1891, he expressed these views in the introduction for a catalogue of Arabic and Persian manuscripts: “Although the sun of Eastern arts and sciences kept rising in its own time, and many nations drew benefits from its light, now that sun has declined and the age, as is its habit, has given birth to a new sun that fulfils the needs of the people of the age. . . . The results of this reversal, which previous nations have already endured, will happen to us: we will see our former greatness and glory in the hand of oblivion if we do not take thought to preserve it”.

Hakim Ajmal Khan was very interested in expanding and developing the Unani system of medicine. He established three essential institutions, the Central College in Delhi, the Hindustani Dawakhana, and the Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbiya College, better known as Tibbia College, in Karol Bagh, Delhi, which broadened research and studies in the field and secured the Unani system of medicine from extermination.

The World Unani Day is a global event taking place every year on February 11, which is the birthday of the great Unani scholar and social reformer, Hakim Ajmal Khan. The main objective of the celebration of the said event is to pay tribute to the legendary scholar for his wonderful contribution in the sustained

development of Unani system of medicine in the country and rest of the world and to spread awareness in masses and take actions about healthcare delivery through Unani system of medicine worldwide through its preventive and curative philosophy. Despite retiring from active politics in 1925 due to bad health, Hakim Ajmal Khan worked hard to develop communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims until his death on December 29, 1927.

The present d a y Indian

Muslim community is in dire need of towering personality like Hakim Ajmal Khan who can lead the Muslims towards modern education system and help in developing strong nationalistic sentiments.

Being the only Muslim to chair a session of the Hindu

Mahasabha, Ajmal Khan showed that a nation can not develop unless communal harmony is

practiced in totality. He always advocated the idea of a unified India by overcoming religious fault line. It’s

time to remember the forgotten hero.


9 - 15 August 20214


NEW DELHI TIMESInternational

◆ By NDT Bureau@NewDelhiTimes

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◆ By Sujay Dhawan Senior Editor

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U

International Political Scenario of the Week

Belarus

Irregular migration is constantly rising from Belarus to Lithuania. Lithuania, a Member State of the European Union, has faced an influx of mostly Iraqi migrants in the past few months. It accused the government of Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko of encouraging the migrant flow in retaliation for the EU sanctions against his country following the diversion of a passenger plane to arrest a dissident journalist aboard.

Lithuania has said it had turned away 180 migrants attempting to enter the country from Belarus. Belarus has announced a tightening of its border control with Lithuania to prevent Lithuanian authorities from sending migrants back to Belarus.

“God, forbid they start implementing the policy of removing people they invited over there through official border crossing points,” Lukashenko said during a meeting with defence and security officials. “Starting from today, not a single person should set foot on the territory of Belarus from the adjacent side, be it from the south or from the west.” “The border guards used all necessary means to prevent the unlawful

crossing of the border in view of the current situation under which the Lithuanian side is taking foreign citizens seeking refuge in the EU to the border,” the Belarus State Border Committee said in a statement.

Lebanon

Tensions have escalated on the Lebanon Israel border. On August 8, Hezbollah group fired a barrage of rockets toward Israel and Israel hit back with artillery. Hezbollah said in a statement that it hit “open fields” in the disputed Shebaa farms area. The group said it fired 10 rockets, calling it retaliation for Israeli airstrikes the day before.

Israel said those strikes were in response to rocket fire from southern Lebanon in recent days that was not claimed by any group Israel said it fired back after 19 rockets were launched from Lebanon, and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett swiftly convened a meeting with the country’s top defence officials. No casualties were reported. “We do not wish to escalate to a full war, yet of course we are very prepared for that,” said Lt. Col. Amnon Shefler, spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces.

Somalia

The recent Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict and the Report of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict have documented an alarming 80 per cent increase in sexual

violence in Somalia. The reports linked sexual violence to the prevailing conditions of insecurity in Somalia. This was marked by political tensions in the run-up to national elections, inter-communal clashes related to land-based disputes, and a surge in extremist militant group Al-Shabaab’s activities, which intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to the temporary suspension of security and judicial services, the pandemic also disrupted access to education and

services for survivors. Cases of sexual violence attributed to Al-Shabaab has doubled, the report found, describing how the Islamist militant group continues to use sexual violence and forced marriage to dominate areas under their de facto control. “We urge all parties to the conflict in Somalia to immediately cease these violations”, the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, and the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten said in a statement.

nited Arab Emirates has transformed not in terms of technology and

development but in culture as well. The collection of seven emirates forms one country. With all the kings and Prince’s, it is a monarchy and theocratic state. If we go 50 years back, we them having only fishing a pearl mining as main occupation. The emirates people used to live more like nomads and with no infrastructure. With oil boom, UAE hit gold. Their lives transformed and in last two decades they have excelled and marveled in all spheres.

But now, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are favorite tourist destinations. Exorbitant amount of money, luxurious lifestyle, and panache of natives of emirates is major attraction. One can see sheikhs taking out their tigers on a stroll, Police patrolling in Lamborghini and Women wearing the costliest makeup’s while just visiting a coffee shop.

UAE has changed the meaning of luxury and made mark in infrastructure development in

the world. World’s highest skyscraper Burj Khalifa is in DUBAI only. It indeed now defines UAE.

UAE has come long way in terms of diplomatic relations. The world was shocked and stunned especially the Islamic countries when UAE signed Abraham Accords with

Israel with US as a mediator. The then US President, Donald Trump brought arch enemies together under one roof and made then sign a deal which no one ever could

have imagined in their dreams. It was a monumental deal which gave Islamic world a message – ‘Peace is better than War’.

Few weeks back we have again witnessed something which no one ever imagined; UAE opening Embassy in Israel’s Tel Aviv. This was historical and a straight punch in the face of those who have tried to trigger

unrest between Arab states and Israel. The diplomatic relations laid foundation to bilateral ties among both nations. UAE & Israel inked agreements on climate and environment which will make their ties go deeper.

UAE has broken age old shackles of misogyny and chauvinism with its rational approach and introducing diplomacy in their international relations. UAE and Saudi’s have understood that society needs to move forward instead of moving backwards.

If you take example of Iran and Pakistan, there the sermons and maulana’s are treated above the citizens and value for life is barely anything. It is shameful to even talk about killings someone in the name of religion but

blasphemy is integral part of judicial system in the countries ruled by religion rather than constitution. Constitution is for namesake in Islamic republic of Pakistan and killing someone in the name of blasphemy is considered as pious as Allah.

UAE has shown the path of a true leader. With Saudi’s and UAE harbingering Peace over pleasing certain senseless maulana’s and maulvi’s, the future of Gulf looks bright but yes future of countries like Pakistan is uncertain with collapsing economy and falling infrastructure.

Mark my words: India, Israel, UAE, Saudi Arabia, USA, Australia, Japan, France and Great Britain are the countries one would bank upon in future and would look up to.

UAE - Israel relations have never been closer

UAE Embassy Inaugurated in Tel AvivHistory in the making

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NEW DELHI TIMES International


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Ryszard Czarnecki:Former Minister of EU Affairs in Poland, former Vice President and current member of the European Parliament

◆ By Ryszard Czarnecki Member of European Parliament

@r_czarnecki

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Europe’s Energy Security hangs in balance with Nord-Stream 2

ord Stream 2 is an export gas pipeline running from Russia to Europe across

the Baltic Sea. The entry point of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline into the Baltic Sea will be the Ust-Luga area of the Leningrad Region. Then the pipeline will stretch across the Baltic Sea. Its exit point in Germany will be in the Greifswald area close to the exit point of Nord Stream. The route covers over 1,200 kilometres. The total capacity of two strings of Nord Stream 2 is 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The aggregated design capacity of Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 is therefore 110 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

On July 22 2021, the US and Germany signed a deal to allow the completion o f

the Nord Stream 2. As part of the deal, the US a n d Germany committed t o

countering any Russian attempt to use the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as a political weapon. The two countries also expressed their support to Ukraine, “The United States and Germany are united in their determination to hold Russia to account for its aggression and malign activities by imposing costs via sanctions and other tools,” they said in a joint statement that covered Nord Stream 2 as well as Russia’s support for separatists in Ukraine. “Should Russia attempt to use energy as a weapon or commit further aggressive acts against Ukraine, Germany will take action at the national level and press for effective measures at the European level, including sanctions, to limit Russian export capabilities to Europe in the energy sector,” it said.

However, the deal has faced a lot of criticism from many quarters in the US as well as in Europe. The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez was joined by his counterparts

from Estonia, Czech Republic, Ireland,

Latvia, Poland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom,

and Lithuania in issuing a joint

statement in opposition to the recent agreement between the United States and Germany to allow the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

T h e

statement read: We consider Nord Stream 2 a geopolitical project geared towards expanding Russia’s influence on Europe by dominating the energy market. The completion of the pipeline will strengthen the impact of Russian gas in the European energy mix, endanger the national security of EU member states and the United States, and threaten the already precarious security and sovereignty of Ukraine”.

The joint statement further stated: “The likely repercussion of the completion and operation of Nord Stream 2 is to undermine the development of a single, liberalized, and open European market by consolidating sources of supply in the Nord Stream 2 system and deterring investment in alternatives. We expect a clear commitment from Germany to reduce dependency on gas imported from Russia and move towards green energy. We presume that Germany will handle its responsibility towards these goals with the utmost dedication. We need to make a collective commitment to increase support to the security and defence capabilities of Ukraine in order to prevent a deepening of the current security crisis, exacerbated by the threats created by Nord Stream 2”.

Poland and Ukraine too have expressed their discontentment at the US-German deal. “This decision has created a political, military and energy threat for Ukraine and Central Europe, while increasing Russia’s potential to destabilize the security situation in Europe, perpetuating divisions among NATO and European Union member states,” the Polish and Ukrainian Foreign Ministers said in a joint statement.

Since, the project was announced, Nord

Stream 2 has constantly faced a lot of opposition from a number of European countries who say that it will pose a grave risk to their security and gives Russia an opportunity to exert more economical as well as strategic pressure inside the EU territory.

According to a briefing by the European Parliament earlier this year, “the pipeline’s geopolitical implications are its most controversial aspect. Critics, including several EU Member States, describe Nord Stream 2 as a Kremlin project to export Russian influence as well as gas to Europe. The pipeline looks set to perpetuate Russia’s stranglehold on EU energy markets and compromise European strategic autonomy”.

The European Commission also disputes the thesis that Nord Stream 2 will bring in security benefits. In 2016, Maroš Šefčovič, the Vice President of the European Commission had categorically stated that as regards security of supply, Nord Stream 2 could lead to decreasing gas transportation corridors from three to at least two – abandoning the route through Ukraine.

Also, the Yamal route via Poland could be endangered. Such a reduction of routes would not improve security of supply”. These concerns are valid today also.

It is high time that Germany realises the net negative consequences of its decisions. Else, the energy security of Europe may be in jeopardy and at the mercy of Russia.

Israeli airlines start direct flights to Morocco after improved ties

n July 24, 2021, two Israeli carriers launched nonstop five-and-a half-

hours commercial flights from Tel Aviv to Marrakesh. Israir flight reached Marrakech with 100 Israeli tourists. Hours later El Al, Israel’s national flag carrier’s flight reached the same destination.

These direct commercial flights-technically the second and third between Israel and Morocco-landed in Marrakesh, seven months after upgrading of diplomatic relations in 2020 between Israel and African country Morocco in a US-brokered deal. Stewards wearing traditional Moroccan garb served Moroccan food. Flight lounge was decorated with Moroccan flags, and traditional carpets. The passengers were given dates, cakes, and mint tea at a welcoming ceremony organized in their honour. There was great excitement everywhere for the historic event. Israelis hailed the return to the land of their ancestors. Many Israelis are looking forward to visiting what was once an important Jewish centre.

El Al will operate five flights a week on Boeing 737 planes between Marrakesh and Casablanca from August 10 while smaller rival Israir would operate two-three flights a week on Tel Aviv -Marrakesh route. Israeli company Arkia will start flights from August 3. Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc will also start from August.

Moroccan national tourism regarded it “a crowning moment” and expects 200,000 Israeli visitors in 2021 comparable with 13 million yearly total foreign tourists before the pandemic. The new direct flights would “help advance fruitful tourism, trade, economic cooperation and diplomatic agreements” to strengthen Israel-Morocco relations.

For centuries, Morocco has been home to the largest and most prosperous Jewish communities in North Africa and the Middle East. After Israel’s formation in 1948, as Jews fled or were expelled from many Arab countries, an estimated 250,000 Jews left Morocco for Israel from 1948 to 1964. Today only 3,000 Jews remain in Morocco, while 700,000 Jews of Moroccan origin live in Israel. Thousands of Israelis claim Moroccan ancestry. Moroccan deal with Israel, and the opening of liaison offices, is a restoration of mid-level ties. Some 50,000 to 70,000 tourists, many of them of Moroccan origin, annually travelled to Morocco from Israel via third countries before the coronavirus pandemic. Now, they will avail direct flights

Morocco annexed Western Sahara in 1975 which the United Nations does not recognize but America’s Trump administration agreed to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara—the long-disputed and divided former Spanish colony— as part of the U.S.-brokered “Abraham Accords.” And Morocco became one among the four regional states-other three being the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan-to normalize ties with Israel in 2020. July 25

flights marks the beginning of normal air travel for commercial passengers. The US State Department was “excited” by the El Al flight, calling it “another important development stemming from improved relations between our partners and friends in Israel and Morocco.”

On December 22, 2020, the first-ever direct flight between the two countries carrying an American and Israeli delegation led by then-White House senior adviser Jared Kushner travelled from Tel Aviv to Rabat. Morocco and Israel officially normalized relations and signed agreements on direct flights, financial cooperation, visa waivers for diplomats and water technology cooperation at the guest house near the royal palace in Rabat. Biden administration threatens to review this decision.

Rabat had a liaison office in Tel Aviv but Israel-Morocco relations cooled off in 2000 when Morocco expressed solidarity with

Palestinians during the 2000-2005 second Palestinian intifada. Islamic fundamentalists decry this as a “betrayal” of the Palestinians cause. Rights groups accused Morocco of having used the Israeli spyware program Pegasus which Rabat strongly denied and threatened legal action.

Now many Israelis would know Morocco better, to experience and be excited by this special country that is deeply rooted in Israeli heritage, culture and experience.

Considering short-term problems, the number of active Covid- cases in Morocco today being three times the number of active cases in Israel, the dread of tourists bringing back dreaded delta variant to Israel looms large. That won’t be souvenirs Israel will expect from Morocco flights. However, thinking long-term, the initiative will help Israel getting wider acceptance in the region. And that will go a long way in establishing peace in the Middle East.

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◆ By Himanshu Sharma Editor

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India sends Oxygen train to Bangladesh

ndia under Modi’s leadership is taking good care of its neighbours. After

sending COVID vaccine to neighbouring Bangladesh, it recently sent medical oxygen to help fight Covid. On July 24, the Indian Railway dispatched an Oxygen Express carrying 200 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) from Tatanagar in Jharkhand to Benapole in Bangladesh.

Indian railways had commenced Oxygen Expresses on April 24, 2021 during the peak of the second wave of the Coronavirus crisis to provide respite to states grappling with shortage of medical oxygen. Around 480 such trains carried 36,841 tonnes of LMO to 15 states, as hospitals from across the country reported an acute shortage of LMO liquid amid the devastating second wave of the pandemic. Then the demand in India rose to around 9,000 tonnes per day during its peak of the second wave.

This is the first time ever that the Oxygen Express is being put into operation to deliver the life-saving gas to neighbour Bangladesh to help its hospitals save lives as the country faced an oxygen crisis because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The train carrying 10 containers reached Bangladesh on 25th July. This move, carried as per India’s neighbourhood first policy, is aimed at strengthening ties between Dhaka and Delhi. Previously, India has donated anti-COVID-19 vaccines to Bangladesh under its “Vaccine Maitri” initiative.

Good Samaritan India is doing well to a neighbour whereas a section of the population – the fanatical people - mocked and celebrated the second wave in India. Neighbour’s back-stabbing behaviour has been depressing especially since it received valuable, and mostly free, services from India. Appreciation can’t be expected from them. Ever since Bangladesh separated from India as part of Pakistan, Indians have treated them like family. India is truly following its cultural ethos of treating the world as a family to set an example for the world.

Supplying oxygen is a display of how kind-hearted the Indians are, sharing what they have, even if their own citizens are also in need. India may help Pakistan by supplying those testing kits, if they improve their behaviour.

India’s neighbours unnecessarily get hostile without valid reasons leading us to rethink why to help someone who doesn’t appreciate

our humanitarian efforts. Bangladeshis celebrated when Indian were dying in thousands during the second wave. When PM Modi visited Bangladesh, radical, fanatic and jihadi Muslims killed innocent Hindus and desecrated Hindu temples. Continuing help to ungrateful people stuck in seventh-century mentality requires monumental fortitude. Thankfully India persisted with its mission as saviour of the world.

Some critics regard Indian initiative as a grave mistake as storing up oxygen for a very potential third and fourth wave would have been a more pragmatic step than helping thankless Bangladeshis. That’s Incredible India! Recovered itself and then hurried help to the world in all possible ways. Without India’s vaccines, world would barely have vaccines.

Indian government is supplying oxygen to Bangladesh and Nepal to save the lives of their citizens. Still the fanatical section of the

Bangladeshi people don’t like India because of their religious roots, rather ally with Pakistan that killed three million Bengalis in 1971! India is always supportive and the one and only true friend of Bangladesh. A friend in need is a friend indeed. And Bangladesh continues to export Rohingya to India!

India feels it’s her moral duty to help neighbour Bangladesh. India mulls sharing vaccine with Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh. We are really lucky to have a world class leader like Modi but at the same time must learn from our past relations with Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives or Bangladesh.

Few months ago, the fanatic section of Bangladeshis mocked Indians during second wave and continue saying objectionable things but we still help them in their need. Their protest to Modi’s presence there was really ungrateful. India has always been magnanimous but it should be strong economically and diplomatically. Our neighbourhood first policy sets us different from them. India-Bangladesh ties can rise above theses petty skirmishes.

China has been desperately searching for a foothold in Bangladesh. That makes it mandatory for India to maintain cordial relations with Bangladesh for humanitarian as well as strategic reasons no matter how nasty they behave. Being ungrateful may be the corner-stone or the tenets of someone’s cult but our religion is based on love even for the ungrateful. Let’s follow the call of great Indian civilisation. And India must continue to follow what our great Sanatan dharma commands—Basudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is a family).

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Checkmate to Taliban ideology: Saudi women soldiers stand guard at Mecca

slamic fundamentalists might be gloating at the prospects of their self-

fulfilling efficacy in keeping their women folks hidden from public glare. They want to implement Sharia Law everywhere and keep their women under veil. Currently, the Taliban is on a great run in Afghanistan and the fundamentalist Islamic terror outfit is slapping all sorts of restrictions on women. Fortunately for the world, a fresh wind of change is blowing over Saudi Arabia – the leader of the Islamic world and one of the richest countries of the Islamic block.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has been pushing through social and economic reforms to modernise the conservative Muslim kingdom. He is seeking foreign investment to diversify the economy that has hinged too much on oil. Following his reform plan, known as Vision 2030, the Crown Prince has lifted a driving ban on women, allowed adult women to travel without permission from guardians and granted them more control over family matters. However, the reform plan has faced dissent, even from women’s rights activists.

The social reform has ushered in an era of freedom wherein Saudi women can be recruited as soldiers, lance corporals, corporals, sergeants, staff sergeants and

police. Since April, in a significant stride towards women empowerment, dozens of female soldiers have become a part of the security services that monitor pilgrims in Mecca and Medina, the birthplaces of Islam. Women dressed in military khaki uniforms, a hip-length jacket, loose trousers and a black beret over a veil covering hair, roam in the Grand Mosque in Mecca, for monitoring the security situation there.

This is the first time Saudi female soldiers are standing guard in Mecca as thousands of Muslim pilgrims take part in this year’s Hajj. This is a huge accomplishment for Saudi women and they consider it as the biggest pride to be in the service of religion, the country and the guests of God. To serve the worshippers is a very noble and honourable task. Saudi women soldiers are naturally elated. Twitterattis hailed the feat as a key step towards women’s empowerment.

Unfortunately (or fortunately!) the haj has been restricted to Saudi citizens and residents for the second year in a row barring millions of other pilgrims from abroad in response to the coronavirus pandemic. And for the first time in Saudi history, female soldiers have become part of the security services that monitor pilgrims in Mecca and Medina. Saudi policewomen stand guard in front of the Kaaba as worshippers circumambulate the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque during the annual hajj pilgrimage, in Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca.

Six dozen of female officers, working round the clock in four teams of nearly 18 members each, are currently deployed in Makkah and Madinah, for providing security and managing worshippers at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque.

Saudi police female officers check documents of pilgrims arriving to perform their final Tawaf in the Grand Mosque, in the holy city of Mecca. The fact that their daily work is now considered important is a signal achievement of the Kingdom’s five-year-old Vision 2030.

The 113-strong all-female batch of military-trained officers, stationed at the Prophet’s Mosque, was created few months ago. They are deployed to the service and stand alert in front of the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque. They are part of the

homeland security branch of Saudi Arabia’s Special Security Forces.

The Taliban persists with its evil designs on enslaving women as per Sharia law by hiding them in veil and burkha. They are totally oblivious of the fact that they are still living in the moribund society of seventh-century Saudi Arabia whereas the world has moved on during last two decades.

The Taliban is horrendously trying to obliterate all the gains of democracy and empowerment of women made during last twenty years of democratic rule in Afghanistan. Taken in that context the initiative of Prince Salman to liberate women from the age-old tenets of religious obscurantism, is really significant and deserves all praise.

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Philippines restores a key military pact with the US

n July 29, 2021, the Philippines Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana

in a joint news conference with visiting the US counterpart Lloyd Austin in Manila announced that the Philippines will keep having large-scale combat exercises with the United States as part of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). Delfin Lorenzana told reporters at a news conference with U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin that the Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, after his meeting with Austin, retracted the VFA termination letter sent to the US last year. “The President decided to recall or retract the termination letter for the VFA,” Lorenzana told reporters after an hour-long meeting with Austin, referring to the Visiting Forces Agreement. “There is no termination letter pending and we are back on track.” Austin thanked Duterte for the decision, which he said would further bolster the two nations’ 70-year treaty alliance. “Our countries face a range of challenges, from the climate crises to the pandemic and, as we do, a strong, resilient US-Philippine alliance will remain vital to the security, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific,” Austin said. “A fully restored VFA will help us achieve that goal together.” A statement from Duterte’s office said the Philippine President and Austin “had an open and frank discussion of the status and future direction” of the Philippine-US ties. “They agreed that the alliance can be further strengthened through enhanced communication and greater cooperation,” the statement added.

The US Embassy in Philippines welcomed the decision by Duterte to restore the VFA and issued the following statement: “The United States welcomes President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to recall the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). We strongly believe that the VFA, and the broader alliance that the VFA enables, strengthens not only the security of our two nations, but also the rules-based order that benefits all nations in the Indo-Pacific”. As the US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin III said, “A strong, resilient U.S.-Philippine alliance will remain vital to the security, stability, and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific. A fully restored VFA will help us achieve that goal together”.

A visiting forces agreement is a version

of a status of forces agreement that only applies to troops temporarily in a country. The agreements came into force on May 27, 1999, upon ratification by the Senate of the Philippines. The agreement provides legal permission for thousands of US troops who rotate into the Philippines for military and humanitarian assistance exercises each year. The VFA provides for arms sales, intelligence exchanges and discussions on military cooperation. It allows U.S. troops access to Philippine soil for military exercises aimed at regional security and local humanitarian work. Those measures bolster a 1951 Mutual Defence Treaty between the two countries

Duterte had terminated the agreement in February 2020. The termination process,

however, was suspended in June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing Chinese aggressive manoeuvres in the South China Sea. The Philippine government again held off the suspension in November 2020. In June 2021, Philippines had again decided to extend by another six months its VFA with the United States, which would have expired by August 2021. After meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte and Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez. Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr announced that “ “The President conveyed to us his decision to extend the suspension of the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement for another six months while he studies, and both sides further address his concerns regarding particular aspects of the agreement”.

The decision by Duterte to restore the VFA signals a discontentment with China and is perceived as a bulwark and a counterbalancing alliance against increasing Chinese activities in the South China Sea. China has rejected the Biden administration’s declaration of support Sunday for an international tribunal ruling in favour of the Philippines. The tribunal had concluded that China’s historic rights claims over the maritime areas (as opposed to land territories and territorial waters) inside the “nine-dash line” had no lawful effect.

In March 2021, Philippine authorities spotted more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels at Whitsun Reef, in the north-eastern periphery of Union Banks, and demanded that China withdraw them from the area. China continues to ignore these and claims the region as part of its territory.

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Australia now hit hard by Delta Variant ◆ By NDT Bureau

@NewDelhiTimes

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T he Delta strain of the SARS COV 2 virus has hit countries very hard. In

Australia, Delta variant has become the dominant strain. The continuing outbreaks and infection levels have forced the federal and local governments to keep continuing restrictions in major cities. Variations in the different states are of varying degrees, but it mostly involves restrictions on gatherings, staying indoors, closed businesses including restrictions on construction, closure of non-essential markets, etc. The travel restrictions also involve a prohibition of trans-state movement on civilians and restricted travel from many countries including bans.

The re-emergence of Delta cases in Southern cities is likely to extend the snap restrictions and partial lockdowns. New South Wales continued to account for almost 90% of the new COVID cases in Australia, according to the Health Department. With restrictions having expired on 30 July, but the number of cases still staying significant, restriction in New South Wales including intra-state movement is likely to last for longer phases. In other states, the re-opening of the hospitality sector will meet the challenges of snap restrictions as cases increase from prevalent Delta strain.

Australia’s growth forecast has been cut riding on the new lockdown measures in Sydney, the major economic hub of the country. Prior to new infections, the

Australian economy picked up fast piggy-backing on the $90billion Job keeper Wage Subsidy introduced by the Scott Morrison government. The gains are threatened to be quickly reversed as Sydney introduced fresh restrictions and snap lockdowns. Other States are similarly likely to impose restrictions if the Coronavirus infections continue to rise. This will seriously hamper the already low household spending, delay constructions, reduce investments and economic works. The injections of financial measures by the federal government to boost the financial status of households and businesses are likely to benefit and help in fast recovery if Australian states are able to control the pandemic.

The COVID-19 Vaccine rollout in Australia has been slower. According to data available at the time of writing, only 16% of Australians have received both jabs. The slow rollout has been questioned by many netizens who see Vaccination as the only logical way the Australian economy can be re-opened practically. The low vaccination rate is also hampering Canberra’s plans to setup more travel bubbles with other countries. The Vaccination programme is also impeded by shortages in jabs and confused norms of eligibility.

Australia will conduct its next federal elections in May next year. The success of the vaccination process and a healthy aggressive economic recovery are extremely important for the current liberal-National coalition under Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The extended restrictions and slow Vaccination are already making the current regime

unpopular. Opinion Poll has been quick to highlight this fact that the opposition Labour party has significantly gained support riding on this resentment. Public approval ratings of Scott Morrison are at its lowest in his career.

The failure to contain the pandemic remains one of the major resentments. In these circumstances, the coalition will likely to sit the remainder of its term hoping to reverse the negatives by a fundamentally strong economic recovery. Greater Vaccination rates will play the foremost role in this.

The vaccination campaign is facing issues from the Pfizer’s delivery issues. Pfizer jabs have remained in short supply and increasing its availability will be crucial. The

AstraZeneca Vaccines can fill the gap and increased walk-in hubs will certainly help. If the anti-vaccine protests are countered and citizens are urged to pro-actively vaccinate faster, the economic restrictions in major states like Sydney can be lifted soon.

The growing protests also pose risks to public health due to chances of transmission and further spread of coronavirus. The government will remain under strain as Australia enters the election year.

A pre-mature relaxation can further lead to extended restrictions when the virus re-emerges. So, the Scott Morrison government has a tight rope to walk and ensuring Vaccine supply to the wilful will remain the topmost priority.

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Israel threatens retaliation against Iran for oil tanker attack

n August 5, 2021, Benny Gantz, the Defence Minister of Israel, remarked

that Israel would not hesitate to launch military strikes against Iran. Speaking to the news website Ynet, Gantz responded to whether Israel was prepared to attack Iran with a blunt “yes.”. “We are at a point where we need to take military action against Iran,” Gantz said. “The world needs to take action against Iran now.

The categorical remarks of Gantz come after a fatal drone attack on an oil tanker linked to an Israeli billionaire killed two crew members off Oman in the Arabian Sea on July 29, 2021. The drones targeted the tanker just northeast of the Omani island of Masirah, over 300 kilometers (185 miles) southeast of Oman’s capital, Muscat. London-based Zodiac Maritime, part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group, said the attack killed two crew members, one from the United Kingdom and the other from Romania. The statement from Zodiac Maritime said that “at the time of the incident the vessel was in the northern Indian Ocean, traveling from Dar es Salaam to Fujairah with no cargo onboard,” naming ports in Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates.

Earlier, the Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett too blamed Iran for the attack: “I just heard that Iran, in a cowardly manner, is trying to evade responsibility for the event. They are denying this. Then, I determine, with absolute certainty — Iran carried out

the attack against the ship. “The intelligence evidence for this (Iran’s involvement) exists and we expect the international community will make it clear to the Iranian regime that they have made a serious mistake. In any case, we know how to send a message to Iran in our own way,” he said, hinting at a possible retaliatory move. “Iran’s thuggishness endangers not only Israel, but also harms global interests, namely freedom of navigation and international trade,” he claimed.

Defence Minister Benny Gantz and Israel Foreign Minister Yair Lapid have blamed Iran for the attack. “Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC’s Air Force, is behind dozens of terror attacks in the region employing UAVs and missiles,” Gantz told envoys from countries on the United Nations Security Council during a briefing at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. “For the first time ever, I will also expose the man who is directly responsible for the launch of suicide UAVs — his name is Saeed Ara Jani and he is the head of the IRGC’s UAV command.” “The UAV command conducted the attack on Mercer Street,” he said. Saeed Ara Jani plans and provides the training and equipment to conduct terror attacks in the region”. Gantz also told Ynet that Israel is ready to engage in a “multi-front” conflict that might include Iran. “Iran is a global and regional problem and an Israeli challenge,” Gantz said. “We need to continue to develop our abilities to cope with multiple fronts, for this is the future,” he added.

The United States and the United Kingdom also blamed Iran for the attack. The United States Central Command, known as CENTCOM, blamed Iran for the attack:

“We are troubled by the temporary forcible seizure of the M/V Asphalt Princess by Iranian gunmen,” said the US. Air Force Maj Nicole Ferrara, a CENTCOM spokesman. “We are looking into the incident, but do not have an understanding of what the Iranians were doing at this time, or why they would impede the transit of this legitimate commercial vessel.”

On August 6, the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Statement blamed Iran for the attack on the tanker near the Oman Coast in the following statement: “We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union stand united in our commitment to maritime security and the protection of commercial shipping. We condemn the unlawful attack committed on a merchant vessel off the coast of Oman on 29 July, which killed a British and a Romanian national. This was a deliberate and targeted attack, and a clear violation of international law. All available evidence clearly points to Iran. There is no justification for this attack. Vessels must be allowed to navigate freely in accordance with international law. We

will continue to do our utmost to protect all shipping, upon which the global economy depends, so that it is able to operate freely and without being threatened by irresponsible and violent acts. “The G7 said that Iran’s behaviour, alongside its support to proxy forces and non-state armed actors, threatens international peace and security. The G7 Foreign Ministers called on Iran to stop all activities inconsistent with relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Iran denies these allegations and has termed them as Israel’s “blame games”. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh described the claims of Tehran’s involvement as “baseless.” “Such blame games are nothing new,” Khatibzadeh said. “Those who are responsible for this (attack) are the ones who made it possible for the Israeli regime to set its foot in this region. Saeed Khatibzadeh described Gantz’s threat as “another brazen violation of Int’l law” and “malign behavior” that allegedly stems from Israel’s blind support for the West. He tweeted: “We state this clearly: ANY foolish act against Iran will be met with a DECISIVE response. Don’t test us.”

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USA launches National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism

ackling domestic terrorism has been stated as a priority for the Joe Biden

administration. Under the US Federal law, “domestic terrorism” is defined as “activities that involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State; appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.”. On June 15, 2021, the Biden administration launched the first ever National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism to address this challenge to America’s national security and improve the federal government’s response.

The Strategy is based on four pillars. Under the first pillar, the US Government will enhance domestic terrorism analysis and improve information sharing throughout law enforcement at the federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial levels, and, where appropriate, private sector partners. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have implemented a robust system to methodically track domestic terrorism cases nationwide.

The second pillar is based on preventing domestic terrorism recruitment and mobilization to violence. As per the White House, the Department of Homeland

Security (DHS) has designated “Domestic Violent Extremism” as a National Priority Area within the Department’s Homeland Security Grant Program, which means that over $77 million will be allocated to state, local, tribal, and territorial partners to prevent, protect against, and respond to domestic violent extremism. DHS and FBI are working to strengthen local prevention, threat assessment, and threat management frameworks.

The Department of Defence (DOD) is incorporating training for servicemembers separating or retiring from the military on potential targeting of those with military training by violent extremist actors. The U.S. Government will improve public awareness of federal resources to address concerning or threatening behaviour before violence occurs.

The US Government will augment its efforts to address online terrorist recruitment and mobilization to violence by domestic terrorists through increased information sharing with the technology sector and the creation of innovative ways to foster digital literacy and build resilience to recruitment and mobilization.

Under the third pillar, the US will disrupt and deter domestic terrorism activity. As part of the strategy, the US Attorney’s Offices and FBI field offices across the country have formally made domestic terrorism a top priority and are tracking comprehensively domestic terrorism-related cases, reallocating or requesting appropriate funding and resources as needed to target the threat.

Under the fourth pillar, the US will confront long-term contributors to domestic terrorism. According to this pillar, every component of the government has a role to play in rooting out racism and bigotry and advancing equity for all Americans.

The US Government, in close partnership with civil society, will address the long-term contributors that are responsible for much of today’s domestic terrorism. This includes reducing and protecting Americans

from racial, ethnic, and religious hatred, and stemming the flow of firearms to individuals intending to commit acts of domestic terrorism.

Thus, the Biden administration has prioritized domestic terrorism as a major security issue. The strategy follows a zero-tolerance approach to extremism. The strategy is also pro-active in nature as the focus is on preventing domestic terrorism rather than plainly relying on law enforcement.

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British navy group: Hijackers have left vessel off UAE coasthe hijackers who captured a vessel off the United Arab Emirates in the

Gulf of Oman left the ship, the British navy reported, as radio traffic appeared to reveal a crew member onboard saying Iranian gunmen had stormed the asphalt tanker.

The incident — described by the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations the night before as a “potential hijack” — revived fears of an escalation in Mideast waters and ended with as much mystery as it began.

Hints of what unfolded on the Panama-flagged Asphalt Princess emerged with a maritime radio recording obtained by commodities pricing firm Argus Media and shared with The Associated Press. In the audio, a crew member can be heard telling the Emirati coast guard that five or six armed Iranians had boarded the tanker.

“Iranian people are onboard with ammunition,” the crew member says. “We are … now, drifting. We cannot tell you exact our ETA to (get to) Sohar,” the port in Oman listed on the vessel’s tracker as its destination. It was not clear whether the crew members, whom he identified as Indian and Indonesian, were in danger at the time of the recording.

No one took responsibility for the brief seizure, which underscored mounting tensions as Iran and the United States seek a resolution to their standoff over Tehran’s tattered 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

In an apparent response, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh denied that Iran played any role. He described the recent maritime attacks in the

Persian Gulf as “completely suspicious.”

The rising tensions have played out in the waters of the Persian Gulf, where just last week a drone attack on an oil tanker linked to an Israeli billionaire off the coast of Oman killed two crew members. The West blamed Iran for the raid, which marked the first known fatal assault in the shadow war targeting vessels in Mideast waters. Iran denied involvement.

The intruders boarded the Asphalt Princess sailing off the coast of Fujairah, authorities said. The official news agency of Oman’s military said it received reports that the Asphalt Princess had been hijacked and immediately dispatched Royal Air Force maritime patrol aircraft and naval vessels “to contribute to securing international waters.”

In the recorded radio traffic, when the Emirati coast guard asks the crew member what the Iranian gunmen were doing onboard, he says he “cannot understand the (Iranians),” his voice muffled, before trying to hand over the

radio to someone else. The call then cuts off.

Speaking from Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price said that American officials also “believe that these personnel were Iranian, but we’re not in a position to confirm this at this time.”

Possible signs of trouble began to emerge that evening when six oil tankers off the coast of Fujairah announced around the same time via their Automatic Identification System trackers that they were “not under command,” according to MarineTraffic.com. That typically means a vessel has lost power and can no longer steer.

Satellite-tracking data had showed the Asphalt Princess gradually heading toward Iranian waters off the port of Jask, according to MarineTraffic.com. Hours later, however, it stopped and changed course toward Oman, just before the British navy group declared the hijackers had departed and the vessel was “safe.”

In an analysis, maritime intelligence firm Dryad Global described the seizure of the Asphalt Princess as the latest Iranian response to outside pressures, economic conflicts and other grievances.

“Iran has consistently shown that in conducting this kind of operation, it is calculated in doing so, both by targeting vessels directly connected with ongoing disputes and (vessels) operating within the ‘grey space’ of legitimacy,” which may be involved in illicit trade, Dryad Global said.

The owner of the Asphalt Princess, listed as Emirati free zone-based Glory International, could not be reached for comment.

The U.S. military’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet and the British Defense Ministry also did not respond to requests for comment. The Emirati government did not acknowledge the incident.

The Gulf of Oman sits near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all traded oil passes. Fujairah, on the UAE’s eastern coast, is a main port in the region for ships to take on new oil cargo, pick up supplies or trade out crew.

For the past two years, after then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from Iran’s nuclear deal and imposed crushing sanctions, the waters off Fujairah have witnessed a series of explosions and hijackings.

The U.S. Navy has blamed Iran for a series of limpet mine attacks on vessels that damaged tankers.

Credit : Associated Press (AP)

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UK police arrest 11 over racist abuse after Euros final

ritish police said that they have made 11 arrests in connection with the online

racial abuse of England soccer players following their team’s loss to Italy in the final of the European Championship last month.

Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka endured a barrage of abuse after they missed penalties in England’s shootout defeat at London’s Wembley Stadium on July 11.

The U.K. Football Policing Unit said it has requested data from social media companies to advance its investigation and has passed on information to local police forces, which so far have arrested 11 people on suspicion of a number of offences, including malicious communications.

“There are people out there who believe they can hide behind a social media profile and get away with posting such abhorrent comments,” Cheshire Chief Constable Mark Roberts, who leads soccer policing for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said. “They need to think again.”

The unit said that of the 207 criminal social media posts identified, 123 accounts belong to individuals outside the U.K. and their details are being shared with the relevant countries. It added that it is waiting for information on the remaining 50 account holders.

Roberts said the Football Policing Unit is

“seeking engagement” with the players themselves to offer support and to seek their input on the investigation and any subsequent prosecutions.

The three Black players targeted were part of a young England squad that has been widely praised for its diversity and social conscience. Rashford, for one, has been at the forefront of a campaign against child poverty that convinced the British government to restore free lunches for thousands of poor children amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Those arrested so far range in age from 18 to 63. They have all either been released while under further investigation or posted bail with orders to return to court at a later date.

The abuse was widely condemned. Prince William, the President of the English Football Association, said he was “sickened” by the racism aimed at the England players.


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Head of UN health agency seeks

vaccine booster moratorium

he head of the World Health Organization called for a moratorium

on administering booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines as a way to help ensure that doses are available in countries where few people have received their first shots.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the appeal mostly to wealthier countries that have far outpaced the developing world in numbers of vaccinations. He said richer countries have administered about 100 doses of coronavirus vaccines for every 100 people on average, while low-income countries — hampered by short supplies — have provided only about 1.5 doses per 100 people.

WHO officials say the science is unproven about whether giving booster shots to people who have already received two vaccine doses is effective in preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

The U.N. health agency has repeatedly called for rich countries to do more to help improve access to vaccines in the developing world. It has argued that no one is safe until everyone is safe because the longer and more widely the coronavirus circulates, the greater the chance that new variants could emerge — and prolong a global crisis in fighting the pandemic. The agency has no

power to require countries to act, and many in the past have ignored its appeals on issues like donating vaccines, limiting cross-border travel and taking steps to boost production of vaccines in developing countries.

Tedros pointed to a WHO target he had announced in May seeking to ensure that 10% of the populations in all countries receive vaccines against the coronavirus.

“Accordingly, WHO is calling for a moratorium on boosters until at least the end of September to enable at least 10% of the population of every country to be vaccinated,” he told a news conference.

To help take the heat out of the pandemic, WHO has been focusing on getting vaccines to older adults, health care workers and other target populations in many countries before booster shot campaigns are carried out.

Dr. Bruce Aylward, a special adviser to Tedros, said the moratorium was about an appeal to countries considering booster doses to “put a hold” on such policies “until and unless we get the rest of the world caught up” in the fight against the pandemic.


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Australia to spend $813M to address Indigenous disadvantageustralia’s government pledged 1.1 billion Australian dollars ($813

million) to address Indigenous disadvantage, including compensation to thousands of mixed-race children who were taken from their families over decades.

The AU$378.6 million ($279.7 million) to be used to compensate the so-called Stolen Generations by 2026 is the most expensive component of the package aimed at boosting Indigenous living standards in Australia.

The compensation of up to AU$75,000 ($55,400) in a lump sum plus up to $AU7,000 ($5,200) for expenses such as psychological counselling will only be available to mixed-race children who had been under direct federal government control in the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Jervis Bay Territory.

Most members of the Stolen Generations had been under state government control when they were separated from their Indigenous mothers under decades of assimilation policies that ended as recently as the 1970s.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the compensation was a recognition of the harm caused by forced removal of children from families.

“This is a long-called-for step recognizing the bond between healing, dignity, and the health and well-being of members of the Stolen Generations, their families and their communities,” Morrison told Parliament.

“To say formally not just that we’re deeply sorry for what happened, but that we will take responsibility for it,” Morrison added.

Pat Turner, the Northern Territory-based Indigenous chief executive officer of the National Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Organisation, welcomed the compensation, which was recommended in 1997 by a government inquiry into the Stolen Generations.

“Many of our people have passed, including my mother, so it’s a sad day for those who have passed, but it’s a good day for those who have survived,” Turner said. Turner’s mother Emma Turner had been taken from her own mother in the 1920s and they didn’t reunite until the 1970s.

“It will never replace growing up with family, you can never replace that,” she added. “I hope this will give some relief to the survivors of the Stolen Generations.”

Australian states have legislated their own compensation plans for Stolen Generations survivors between 2008 and last year.

But Queensland and Western Australia, states with some of the country’s largest proportions of Indigenous people within their populations, do not have specific Indigenous compensation plans. Anyone who experienced neglect or abuse while in a Queensland or Western Australia state institution is entitled to compensation.

Turner said it was time Queensland and Western Australia also acknowledged the Stolen Generations’ human rights.

“I’m quite happy to say to the W.A. government and the Queensland government: time’s up for redress of the Stolen Generations. You have to follow the other jurisdictions throughout Australia,” Turner said.

Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt, the first Indigenous person appointed to the job, said his own mother Mona Abdullah was separated from her siblings

in Western Australia from infancy until they were in their 20s.

“You can’t undo the emotional impact that that has,” Wyatt said.

Among the Stolen Generations members who won’t receive federal compensation is Lorna Cubillo.

In 2000, Cubillo lost a landmark Federal Court case against the Australian government seeking compensation for the abuse and neglect she suffered in a home for Indigenous children in the Northern Territory city of Darwin. She died in Darwin last year at age 81.

Indigenous Australians account for 3% of the population and have poorer health, lower education levels and shorter life expectancies than other ethnic groups. Indigenous adults account for 2% of the Australian population and 27% of the prison population.

A center-left Labor Party government launched the ambitious Closing the Gap initiative in 2008 aimed at achieving equality for Indigenous Australians in health and life expectancy within a generation.

But Morrison’s conservative government last year scrapped the 12-year-old timetable, declaring the policy had failed.

Morrison said that among the most significant achievements of Australia’s pandemic response were the facts that COVID-19 had been kept out of Outback Indigenous communities and no Indigenous Australian had died from coronavirus.


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Australia’s 2nd largest city, Melbourne, enters 6th lockdown

ustralia’s second-largest city, Melbourne, went into a sixth lockdown, with a state

government leader blaming the nation’s slow COVID-19 vaccination rollout.

Melbourne joins Sydney and Brisbane, Australia’s most populous and third-most populous cities respectively, in locking down due to the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.

Melbourne and surrounding Victoria state will lock down for seven days after eight new infections were detected in the city, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said.

Andrews gave less than four hours’ notice that the state would lock down from 8 p.m. He said his government had no other choice because only 20% of Australian adults had been fully vaccinated.

“To be really frank, we don’t have enough people that have been vaccinated and, therefore, this is the only option available to us,” Andrews said. “The time will come when we have many more options. But that isn’t now.”

Andrews has accused neighboring New South Wales state of taking too long to lock down Sydney after a limousine driver who became infected while transporting a U.S. aircrew from Sydney Airport tested positive to the delta variant on June 16.

New South Wales reported its worst day since the Sydney lockdown began on June 26 with a record 262 new local infections and five deaths.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said four of the dead had not been vaccinated. One had a single dose of the two-shot AstraZeneca vaccine in late May.

Australian authorities have urged people in Sydney not to wait for the optimal 12 weeks before getting their second AstraZeneca dose.

“No one who has died has had both doses of vaccine. I cannot stress enough how it’s so important for everybody of all ages to come forward and get the vaccine,” Berejiklian said.

AstraZeneca and Pfizer are the only vaccines available in Australia.

There have been 21 COVID-19 deaths reported in Sydney since the latest outbreak began. There have been 78 deaths confirmed in New South Wales since the pandemic began.Credit : Associated Press (AP)

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2 Russian news sites, legal aid group, close

under pressurewo Russian news outlets and a legal aid group backed by a leading

Kremlin critic shut down after authorities blocked their websites, the government’s latest moves targeting independent media, opposition supporters and human rights activists ahead of Russia’s September parliamentary election.

The Otkrytye Media and MBKh Media news sites, as well the Pravozashchita Otkrytki legal aid group, announced they were ceasing operations, citing reports that their websites were blocked over their alleged ties to organizations declared “undesirable” in Russia - a label that outlaws an organization and exposes its members, supporters and partners to prosecution.

All three organizations are backed by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a Russian tycoon who moved to London after spending a decade in prison in Russia on charges widely seen as political revenge for challenging President Vladimir Putin’s rule. Russian authorities have declared a number of organizations linked to Khodorkovsky “undesirable.”

Otkrytye Media said in a statement that it had received a grant from Khodorkovsky but never worked with “undesirable” organizations. Still, the outlet said it would

shut down as “the risks for the project’s staff members are too high.” MBKh Media Editor-in-Chief Veronika Kutsyllo echoed the sentiment, saying on Facebook that she wasn’t “ready to endanger the freedom and lives of other people.”

“Unfortunately, the authorities don’t need media projects that are critical of what is happening in the country. The more criticism there is, the shorter the lifespan of a project. But we at least tried,” Otkrytye Media’s statement read.

Lawyer Anastasia Burakova, who worked with Pravozashchita Otkrytki, told the Dozhd TV channel “there was no other option” for the group but to shut down.

Independent media, journalists, opposition supporters and human rights activists in Russia have faced increased pressure ahead of the Sept. 19 vote, which is widely seen as an important part of Putin’s efforts to cement his rule before the next Presidential election in 2024.

The 68-year-old Russian leader, who has been in power for more than two decades, pushed through constitutional changes last year that would potentially allow him to hold onto power until 2036.


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China pledges 2 billion vaccines globally through year’s end

pledge by China to supply 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to other

countries this year expands the commitments made by a nation that is already the largest exporter of the shots by far.

President Xi Jinping made the announcement in a message to an international forum China organized on vaccine cooperation. He also promised to donate $100 million to COVAX, the program that aims to distribute vaccines to low- and middle-income countries.

“This means that China stands ready to provide safe and effective vaccines for nearly 10% of the population in the rest of the world,” said Wang Xiaolong, the director general of the Foreign Ministry’s Department of International Economic Affairs.

China has already delivered 770 million doses to foreign countries since September last year, Wang said at a briefing for foreign media. Most of those have been exported under bilateral deals. Wang said that donated doses are in the tens of millions, but did not provide a precise figure.

The U.S. has donated 110 million doses, mostly through COVAX, the White House said earlier this week.

China’s two biggest COVID vaccine makers, Sinopharm and Sinovac, have entered agreements to deliver up to 550 million doses through COVAX by the middle of next year. Wang said the first deliveries under the U.N.-backed program will be made this month to Bangladesh, Pakistan and Algeria.

Hundreds of millions of Chinese shots have been administered to people both in China and around the world. However, there are concerns about whether they protect adequately against the highly transmissible delta variant.

In Indonesia and Thailand, which have relied heavily on Sinovac’s shot, the governments are planning to give a booster shot of the Moderna vaccine to health workers after reports that some had died despite being fully vaccinated with the Chinese shot.

The Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines, which both use inactivated viruses, have shown lower effectiveness against the delta variant but still provide some protection, according to Feng Zijian, an official at China’s Center for Disease Control, who spoke to state broadcaster CCTV in June.

Most of the more than 1.7 billion vaccine doses that have been administered in China

are from Sinopharm and Sinovac. China is currently fighting a widespread outbreak driven by the delta variant, which has infected people who have been vaccinated.

Sinovac published a study online in July, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, that showed a third booster shot given at least six months after the second shot could greatly increase antibody levels.

The company has submitted clinical research data to regulators for emergency use approval for new variations of its CoronaVac shot designed for the newer delta and gamma variants, CEO Yin Weidong announced at China’s vaccine forum, which was held virtually.

CanSino, another private company whose one-shot vaccine is in use in Pakistan, Mexico and other countries, said it is working on adapting it for the variants. Its founder, Zhu Tao, said at a separate forum that the vaccine did show declines in effectiveness in lab tests against the delta variant, but that it is still protective.

Zhu said the company’s latest research data show that a third booster shot would significantly raise antibody levels.

State-owned Sinopharm has told state media

that it is developing vaccines tailored to four major variants, including the delta one.

Globally, vaccine distributions have been starkly unequal, as wealthy countries consider issuing booster shots to their citizens and poorer nations struggle to get enough vaccines for a first dose.

“Over 4 billion vaccines have been administered globally, but more than 75% of those have gone to just 10 countries,” World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the Chinese vaccine forum.

China has been accused of using vaccines as leverage in diplomatic dealings. In June, diplomats told The Associated Press that China had threatened to withhold vaccines to pressure Ukraine into withdrawing from a statement calling for more scrutiny of China’s treatment of ethnic and religious minorities in its Xinjiang region.

U.S. President Joe Biden made a point of saying that American vaccine donations would come without “pressure for favors or potential concessions” when announcing U.S. donation plans in June.


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Saudi case against Twitter user may have its roots in US

Saudi humanitarian aid worker’s anonymous Twitter account used for

satire about Saudi Arabia’s economy landed him in prison in the kingdom over three years ago.

But the story may have roots in an elaborate ploy that began in Silicon Valley and sparked a federal case against two Twitter employees accused of spying for the kingdom.

The case, spanning from San Francisco to Riyadh, reveals Saudi Arabia’s continued efforts at suppressing criticism of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and shines a spotlight on the lengths to which the kingdom has gone to target perceived critics.

For Areej al-Sadhan, a dual Saudi-U.S. citizen living in California, the saga began on March 12, 2018, when plain-clothed security forces entered the office of the Red Crescent in Riyadh, where her younger brother, Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, was working.

The men took her brother away, without any explanation.

“It was like he disappeared off the face of the earth ... there was no trace of him at all,” she said.

That same year, the crown prince oversaw an unprecedented crackdown against activists, rivals and perceived critics as he amassed power. The year culminated in the gruesome killing of Washington Post contributing columnist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in the Saudi Consulate in Turkey in late 2018.

As months went by, word reached al-Sadhan’s family that he was being held in a secret location and subjected to abuse: beatings, electrocution, sleep deprivation, verbal and even sexual assault.

Then, in February 2020, nearly two years after his disappearance, a relative’s phone rang. It was al-Sadhan.

He confirmed he was alive and being held in al-Ha’ir Prison on the outskirts of the Saudi capital. A year later, he called again to tell them he would be released soon.

But he was never freed. In April, the anti-terrorism court where he was tried handed down a shockingly long prison sentence of 20 years for al-Sadhan, followed by a 20-year travel ban. Rights groups note that under the ruling, al-Sadhan, 37, will not be truly free until he is 77 years-old.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi commented on Twitter that al-Sadhan’s sentencing “was a grave injustice, continuing Saudi Arabia’s assault on freedom of expression.” She said Congress is closely monitoring Abdulrahman’s appeal efforts and “all human rights abuses by the regime.”


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Shipping snags prompt US firms

to mull retreat from China

ame maker Eric Poses last year created The Worst-Case Scenario Card Game,

making a wry reference to the way the coronavirus had upended normal life.

He had no idea.

In a twist that Poses never could have predicted, his game itself would become caught up in the latest fallout from the health crisis: a backlogged global supply chain that has delayed shipments around the world and sent freight costs rocketing.

Worst-Case Scenario, produced in China, was supposed to reach U.S. retailer Target’s distribution centers in early June. Instead, the games were stuck for weeks at the Port of Seattle and didn’t arrive until mid-July.

“It’s consuming my life,” said Poses, who started his Miami Beach, Florida-based toy company All Things Equal in 1997, selling games from the trunk of his car. “You do everything right. You produce on time. You’re psyched about your product.’’

And then ... unforeseeable disaster.

Like other importers, Poses is contending with a perfect storm of supply trouble — rising prices, overwhelmed ports, a shortage of ships, trains, trucks — that is expected to last into 2022. The experience proved disturbing enough that Poses is reconsidering a cost-saving decision he made five years ago: to shift production of his games and toys out of the United States to China. Now, he thinks, it might make sense to bring production back — at least to Mexico, if not the United States — to protect him from the risks of relying on factories an ocean away in China.

“I’m willing to make smaller margins,” he said, “if it means less anxiety.”

Other American companies are making similar calculations: 52% of the U.S. manufacturing executives surveyed by the consulting firm Kearney said they have started buying more supplies in the United States in response to COVID-related supply disruptions. Forty-seven percent said they plan to reduce reliance on supplies or factories from a single country; 41% specifically said they wanted to cut their dependence on China.

And not just because of the virus-related bottlenecks in shipping, severe as they are. Companies are worried, too, about becoming caught in the crossfire of a trade war between the United States and China, the world’s two biggest economies.


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Thousands flee fires in Greece, Turkey; some rescued by sea

housands of people fled wildfires burning out of control in Greece

and Turkey, as a protracted heat wave turned forests into tinderboxes and flames threatened populated areas, electricity installations and historic sites.

On the Greek island of Evia, the coast guard mounted a major operation to evacuate hundreds of people by sea, using patrol boats as well as fishing and private vessels to rescue residents and vacationers from encroaching flames. Dozens of other villages and neighborhoods were emptied in the southern Peloponnese region and just north of the Greek capital as blazes raced through pine forests.

“We’re talking about the apocalypse, I don’t know how to describe it,” Sotiris Danikas, head of the coast guard in the town of Aidipsos on Evia, told state broadcaster ERT, describing the sea evacuation.

Coast guard spokesman Nikos Kokkalas told ERT that 653 people had been evacuated from beaches in northeast Evia after all other means of escape were cut off by the fires.Fires have raged in many parts of Greece as

the country has been baked by a prolonged heat wave that sent temperatures soaring to 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). Thousands of people have fled their homes or holiday accommodation, while at least 20 people, including four firefighters, have been treated for injuries. Two of the firefighters were in intensive care in Athens, while another two were hospitalized with light burns, the Health Ministry said.

In neighboring Turkey, wildfires described as the worst in decades have swept through swaths of the southern coast for the past 10 days, killing eight people.

More than 1,000 firefighters and nearly 20 aircraft are now battling major fires across Greece. Several European countries are sending or already sent firefighters, planes, helicopters and vehicles to help.

Although temperatures dipped below 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time in nearly 10 days in many parts of Greece, strong winds were predicted for much of the country, weather that could further hamper firefighting efforts.

“We are going through the 10th day of a major heat wave affecting our entire country, the worst heat wave in terms of intensity and duration of the last 30 years,” Fire Service Brig. Gen. Aristotelis Papadopoulos said.

In Turkey, authorities evacuated six more neighborhoods near the town of Milas, in Mugla province, as a wildfire fanned by winds burned some 5 kilometers (3 miles) from a power plant. At least 36,000 people were evacuated to safety in Mugla province alone, officials said.

Meanwhile, several excavators cleared strips of land to form firebreaks in a bid to stop flames from reaching the Yenikoy plant, the second such facility to be threatened by wildfires in the region.

A fire reached the compound of the coal-fueled Kemerkoy power plant, forcing nearby residents to flee in navy vessels and cars. It was contained after raging for some 11 hours and officials said the plant’s main units were not damaged.

Wildfires near the tourism resort of Marmaris, also in Mugla province, were largely contained, officials said, while at least two fires were still burning in Antalya province, another beach holiday destination.

In Greece, firefighters went door to door in areas around 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) north of Athens telling people to evacuate, while helicopters dropped water on towering flames and thick smoke blanketed the area. Authorities sent push alerts to mobile phones in the area urging residents to evacuate.

Constant flare-ups that threatened inhabited areas hampered the work of hundreds of firefighters there.

The fire halted traffic on the country’s main highway connecting Athens to northern Greece and damaged electricity installations, leading the power distribution company to warn of the possibility of rolling power cuts.


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Thousands jam Philippine

vaccination sites over false news

housands of people jammed coronavirus vaccination centers in the

Philippine capital, defying social distancing restrictions, after false news spread that unvaccinated residents would be deprived of cash aid or barred from leaving home during a two-week lockdown that started.

Officials placed Metropolitan Manila back under lockdown until Aug. 20, as a new spike in COVID-19 infections that health officials say could be due to the highly contagious delta variant threatens to overwhelm hospitals. Three other regions, including nearby Laguna province, were also placed under lockdown until Aug. 15.

Only authorized workers for essential businesses and residents on medical emergencies or food-buying errands can venture out. An eight-hour curfew was imposed in the capital region starting at 8 p.m. and police checkpoints were set up in city boundaries.

A day before the lockdown, false news spread on social media that unvaccinated residents would either be prohibited from leaving their homes to go to work or deprived of 1,000 pesos ($20) aid. It sent large crowds heading for vaccination centers in the cities of Manila, Las Pinas and Antipolo even without prior registrations.

Thousands lined up for several blocks in designated government centers and shopping malls to get the jabs, at times sparking arguments and complaints and snarling traffic.

In Manila alone, up to 22,000 people showed up outside vaccination centers before dawn. People descended in groups and arrived in vans from nearby provinces, some “rowdily removing barricades,” city officials said, citing police reports. Many were not registered under Manila’s immunization program.

Police were forced to stop vaccinations in at least one of the shopping malls and asked the crowds to return home.

Critics partly blamed President Rodrigo Duterte for the confusion. The brash-speaking leader warned Filipinos last week that those who refuse to get vaccinated will not be allowed to leave their homes as a safeguard against the spread of the delta variant. He acknowledged that there was no specific law for such a restriction.

For people who refuse to receive COVID-19 vaccine, Duterte said, “well, for all I care, you can die anytime.”

“We cannot allow our national immunization program to become superspreader events, especially given the threat posed by the delta variant,” the Department of Health said in a statement following the chaotic scenes.


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Hiroshima marks 76th anniversary of US atomic bombing

iroshima marked the 76th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing,

as the mayor of the Japanese city urged global leaders to unite to eliminate nuclear weapons, just as they are united against the coronavirus.

Mayor Kazumi Matsui urged world leaders to commit to nuclear disarmament as seriously as they tackle a pandemic that the international community recognizes as “threat to humanity.”

“Nuclear weapons, developed to win wars, are a threat of total annihilation that we can certainly end, if all nations work together,” Matsui said.

The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. It dropped a second bomb three days later on Nagasaki, killing another 70,000. Japan surrendered Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.

But countries stockpiled nuclear weapons in the Cold War and a standoff continues to this day. Matsui renewed his demand that Japan’s government “immediately” sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Prime Minister Yoshihide

Suga did not mention the treaty in his speech at the Hiroshima Peace Park ceremony, where aging survivors, officials and some dignitaries observed a minute of silence for the 8:15 a.m. blast. At a news conference later, Suga said he has no intention of signing the treaty.

“The treaty lacks support not only from the nuclear weapons states including the United States but also from many countries that do not possess nuclear arms,” Suga said. “What’s appropriate is to seek a passage to realistically promote the nuclear disarmament.”

The global Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons took effect in January after years of civil effort joined by the atomic bombing survivors, or hibakusha. But while more than 50 countries have ratified it,

the treaty notably lacks the U.S. and other nuclear powers as well as Japan, which has relied on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for its defense since the war’s end.After the ceremony, Suga apologized for inadvertently skipping parts of his speech. Parts that were dropped included his pledge to pursue efforts toward achieving a nuclear free world as head of the world’s only country to have suffered atomic attacks fully aware of the inhumanity of the nuclear weapons, according to his speech posted on the Prime Minister’s Office.Some said Suga skipping those parts of his speech spotlighted what could be seen as government hypocrisy over nuclear disarmament and the treatment of atomic bombing survivors.


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NEW DELHI TIMES THIS DAY | THAT YEAR |

August 9, 1942

August 11, 1960

August 13, 1961

August 15, 1947

Quit India Movement began in India on this day that year.

Chad gained its independence from the French on this day that year.

The construction on the Berlin Wall, a wall that divided West Berlin from East Berlin started on this day that year.

India became independent from British Rule on this day that year.

August 10, 2003

August 12, 1981

August 14, 2010

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko was on the International Space Station when he married Ekaterina Dmitrieva, who was

located in Texas at the time of the wedding on this day that year.

The IBM Personal Computer was stocked in stores for the first time on this day that year.

The First Youth Olympics began in Singapore on this day that year.


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Delhi Government reduces the cost of RT-PCR and RAT for COVID-19

he Delhi government has released revised a RT-PCR and Rapid Antigen

Detection Test (RAT) rates for Coronavirus illness. According to an order issued by Delhi’s Health and Family Welfare Department, the traditional RT-PCR test for COVID-19 will now cost ₹300 in the national capital when samples are collected by government workers. The RAT will also cost ₹300.

The RT-PCR test will cost ₹400 if the samples are collected by private lab teams

and processed at their facility for the government. Individuals who give their samples to private hospitals, labs, and collecting facilities must pay a fee of ₹500 for the Covid-19 test, which includes sample collection and testing costs.

When samples are collected from home, the RT-PCR test will cost ₹700. It will cover the costs of visits, sample collection, and testing. According to the order, the revised tariffs take effect immediately.

According to the health department, private sector labs must collect samples from testing sites as requisitioned by government teams. Within 24 hours of the order’s issuance, all labs and hospitals were required to post the amended rates in “prominent” locations.

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E-book containing information on 108 heritage sites of Delhi unveiled

new e-book containing information on 108 heritage sites of Delhi was

unveiled by Lt Governor Anil Baijal and South Delhi Mayor Mukesh Suryan via a video-conference event.

The book, titled ‘’Glorious Heritage’’, is first one in the series of three volumes, and aims to bring awareness among the youth on historical sites in the city.

The L-G in his message in the book emphasised that while Delhi is home to UNESCO heritage sites of Red Fort, Humayun’’s Tomb and Qutub Minar, there are many interesting historical structures which are tucked away in inner lanes. It is the duty of both the government as well as people to preserve these lesser-known structures and create awareness about these sites, he said.

Mayor Suryan said through this book, people, especially the young generation, will get to know about historical monuments, ancient buildings and memorials. Suryan said the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has created a ‘’Heritage Conservation Cell’’ in order to conserve and protect heritage sites under its jurisdiction, and has identified 475 sites.

SDMC commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, Standing Committee chairman Col (retd) B K Oberoi, Leader of House Indrajeet Sehrawat, Deputy Chairman of Standing Committee Poonam Bhati, Additional Commissioner and chairman of heritage cell, A A Tazir and others senior officials were also present on the occasion.

The SDMC said the oldest heritage site mentioned in the book is Anangtal, an ancient reservoir in Mehrauli built during the Tomar dynasty rule, which was mentioned by Budh Sridhar in 1132, while the least old site is the Daryaganj Police Station constructed in 1930.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announces initiative to transform Delhi

into a “Global City”

rvind Kejriwal, the Delhi Chief Minister, announced an initiative

to foster government-corporate-citizen partnerships in developing policies and strategies for the city’s development. Public infrastructure, transportation, solid waste management, and air pollution control are all areas that need to be developed.

The effort is named “Delhi@2047,” and it is based on the Aam Aadmi Party’s vision document, which was included in the state budget for 2021-22.

Kejriwal said that “Delhi has to be turned into a global city. We have to prepare a road map regarding our vision on how we see Delhi in 2047 – with the country completing 100 years of Independence. When we say 2047, we are not procrastinating. We are developing strategies. We have to set both short-term and long-term goals. Long-term goals include increasing Delhi’s per-capita income to match that of Singapore, bidding to host Olympic Games. Goals such as 24×7 supply of water across the city have to be accomplished immediately” while addressing a live-streamed video conference with policymakers and corporate

stakeholders. According to the CM of Delhi, several sectors in Delhi, such as education, health, power, and public services, have seen significant growth and improvement in the previous five years… In the days ahead, several areas will require additional attention, including Delhi’s roadways, water supply, public transportation system, lake development, sports facilities, solid waste management, and air pollution control. Cleaning Delhi can be converted into a money-making opportunity. Residents, businesses, and other sectors must all work together to complete these projects.

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NEW DELHI TIMES National

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Indian Navy ships to join Exercises in Indo-Pacificndia is sending four navy ships for exercises and port visits with the

Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia to strengthen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, its navy said Wednesday, as China’s maritime power grows in the area.

The Indian ships will spend more than two months in the region, the navy said in a statement.

Commander Vivek Madhwal, the Indian navy spokesman, said four ships will take part.

The ships will also participate in a multilateral exercise, MALABAR-21, along with the Japanese, Australian and U.S. navies, the statement said.

It said the exercises will enhance coordination

with friendly countries, based on common maritime interests and a commitment to freedom of navigation.

“Besides regular port calls, the task group will operate in conjunction with friendly navies to build military relations and develop interoperability in the conduct of maritime operations,” the statement said.

The U.S., India, Japan and Australia are part of the Quad regional alliance created in response to China’s growing economic and military strength.

Washington has long viewed New Delhi as a key partner in efforts to blunt increasing Chinese assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.

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Rekha Sharma nominated as

Chairperson of the National Commission for Women for three

more years

ekha Sharma has been given a three-year extension as the chairperson

of the National Commission for Women (NCW), according to an official order by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

The order states: “In pursuance of Section 3 of the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 (20 of 1990), Central Government hereby nominates Smt. Rekha Sharma, as Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, for another term of three years w.e.f. 07.08.021, or till the age of 65 years or until further orders, whichever is the earliest.

Sharma, 57, assumed the charge of NCW chairperson on August 7, 2018.

She has been associated with the Commission as a member since August, 2015 and held the additional charge as the Chairperson from September 29, 2017 before becoming its regular chief.

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Parliamentary panel recommends renegotiating Indus Water

Treaty with Pakistan

Parliamentary Standing Committee has recommended that India should

renegotiate the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan in view of the “present day pressing issues such as climate change, global warming and environmental impact assessment”.

Headed by MP Sanjay Jaiswal, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources submitted the 12th report on ‘Flood management in the country including international water treaties in the field of water resources management with particular reference to treaty/agreement entered into with China, Pakistan and Bhutan’

“Present day pressing issues such as climate change, global warming and environmental impact assessment etc. were not taken into

account by the treaty.

In view of this, there is a need to re-negotiate the treaty so as to establish some kind of institutional structure or legislative framework to address the impact of climate change on water availability in the Indus basin and other challenges, which are not covered under the treaty.

Hence, the Committee urges the Government of India to take necessary diplomatic measures to renegotiate the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan,” the Committee recommended in its report.

The Committee also noted that though India has, as per the IWT, the right to create water capacity storage of up to 3.6 million acre-feet (MAF) on the western rivers, no storage capacity has been created so far by India; and that out of the estimated power potential of about 20,000 megawatt, which could be harnessed from the western rivers power projects, a capacity of only 3,482 MW has been constructed so far on the western rivers.

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Reserve Bank of India retains

real GDP growth projection at 9.5 per

cent for 2021-22

he Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has retained real GDP growth projection at

9.5 per cent for 2021-22. The RBI Governor said in a statement: ‘Domestic economic activity has started normalising with the ebbing of the second wave of the virus and the phased reopening of the economy. High-frequency indicators suggest that (i) consumption (both private and Government), (ii) investment and (iii) external demand are all on the path of regaining traction. Let me elaborate on each of these three aspects. Further easing of restrictions and increasing coverage of vaccinations are likely to boost private spending on goods and services including travel, tourism and recreational activities, propelling a broad-based recovery in aggregate demand.

The robust outlook for agriculture and rural demand would continue to support private consumption. Urban demand is likely to accelerate with recovery in manufacturing and non-contact intensive services, release of pent-up demand and the pace of vaccination. This is corroborated by encouraging movements in several high frequency indicators, viz., registration of automobiles, electricity consumption, non-oil non-gold imports, consumer durable sales and hiring of urban workers”.

External demand remained buoyant during Q1:2021-22 and was reflected in increasing exports, lending critical support to aggregate demand. Strong external demand is an opportunity for India and further policy support should help in capitalising on this. Global commodity prices and episodes of financial market volatility, together with vulnerability to new waves of infections are, however, downside risks to economic activity. Taking all these factors into consideration, projection of real GDP growth is retained at 9.5 per cent in 2021-22 consisting of 21.4 per cent in Q1; 7.3 per cent in Q2; 6.3 per cent in Q3; and 6.1 per cent in Q4 of 2021-22. Real GDP growth for Q1:2022-23 is projected at 17.2 per cent.


9 - 15 August 202116


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16 killed by lightning on way to wedding party

in Bangladeshightning killed at least 16 people who were traveling to a wedding party in

western Bangladesh and injured several others, including the groom, an official said..

Local government official Sakib Al-Rabby said the bride was not with the group when the incident occurred in Shibganj in Chapainawabganj district.

Al-Rabby said the group had just left their boat to take refuge because of the thunderstorm when they were struck.

The area is about 245 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of Dhaka. The annual monsoon is currently underway in Bangladesh. Each year more than 200 people, mostly farmers in their fields, are killed by lightning.

Experts say worsening air pollution and global warming are contributing to an increase in the frequency of lightning strikes in the country.


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Pakistan army completes 90% of fence along Afghan border

akistan’s military said that it has completed 90% of a fence

being constructed along the border with Afghanistan, vowing to complete the project this summer.

Pakistan says it is constructing the fence to prevent cross-border militant attacks.

The announcement by the Pakistan army comes amid increasing violence in neighboring Afghanistan, where the Taliban have stepped up attacks ahead of a complete withdrawal of American troops from the war-torn country.

Pakistan started the fence along the 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) border with Afghanistan — known as the Durand Line — in 2017 when militants repeatedly launched cross-border attacks on Pakistani posts.

A Pakistani military official, Col. Rizwan Nazir, told a group of foreign journalists at the key Torkham border crossing that the remaining 10% of the fence at the western

border will be complete this year.

The border barrier between the two countries consists of two sets of chain-link fences separated by a 2-meter (6.5-foot) space that has been filled with concertina wire coils. The double fence is about 4 meters (13 feet) high. The military has installed surveillance cameras to check any movement along the border.

Afghanistan has never recognized the porous border that runs through the Pashtun heartland, diluting the power of Afghanistan’s largest ethnic group on both sides.

Pakistan and Afghanistan often accuse each other of turning a blind eye to Islamic militants operating along the frontier.

Pakistani soldiers were seen patrolling one of the most dangerous regions in the county, where Pakistani Taliban and other local and foreign militants have a presence.

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Pakistan sends troops after Muslim mob attacked Hindu temple

akistan deployed paramilitary troops in a conservative town in the country’s

eastern Punjab province, a day after a Muslim mob attacked and badly damaged a Hindu temple there.

In New Delhi, India’s foreign ministry summoned a Pakistani diplomat to protest the attack and demand protection for Hindus living in the predominantly Muslim Pakistan.

The attack took place in the town of Bhong in Rahim Yar Khan district after a court granted bail to an eight-year-old Hindu boy who allegedly desecrated a madrassa, or religious school, earlier this week. The mob damaged statues, burned down the temple’s main door and briefly blocked a nearby road.

The boy was earlier arrested on charges of intentionally urinating on a carpet in the madrassa’s library that housed religious books.

The mob alleges he committed blasphemy, an act punishable by the death sentence in Pakistan, where mere accusations of blasphemy have in the past incited mobs to violence and deadly attacks.

Prime Minister Imran Khan condemning the attack on Twitter, saying he has ordered the provincial police chief to take action against any officers whose negligence may have contributed to the attack. Khan also promised the government would restore the temple.

Punjab police official Asif Raza said the police have a list of 50 suspects and promised speedy arrests. He said troops were now guarding the temple and that security has been provided to members of the Hindu community.

In New Delhi, India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said such “incidents are occurring at an alarming rate while the state and security institutions in Pakistan have stood by idly and completely failed in preventing these attacks.”

Muslims and Hindus have mostly lived peacefully in Pakistan, but there have been attacks on Hindu temples in recent years. Most of Pakistan’s minority Hindus migrated to India in 1947 when India was divided by Britain’s government.


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Myanmar ambassador to UNT wo Myanmar citizens were arrested on

charges alleging that they conspired to oust Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations, who opposes the military junta that seized power earlier this year, by injuring — or even killing — him.

Phyo Hein Htut and Ye Hein Zaw plotted to seriously injure or kill Myanmar’s ambassador in an attack that was to take place on American soil, U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a release.

According to court documents in White Plains federal court, a Thailand arms dealer who sells weapons to the Myanmar military hired the pair to hurt the ambassador to try to force him to step down. If that didn’t work, the ambassador was to be killed, authorities said.

Myanmar’s military overthrew the country’s civilian government in February. Myanmar’s currently recognized U.N. ambassador, Kyaw Moe Tun, staunchly opposed the ouster of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. In a speech to the General Assembly in late February, Tun called for “the strongest possible action from the international community” to restore democracy.

Myanmar’s military has tried to remove Tun from his post, but the 193-member General Assembly is responsible for accrediting diplomats and has not taken action at the military’s urging.

There was no immediate response to a phone call and email to Myanmar’s U.N. Mission seeking comment.

The plot to maim or kill Tun was to be carried out in Westchester County, where the ambassador lives, according to two criminal complaints.

Htut last month was contacted by the arms dealer, who wanted to pay several thousand dollars for Htut to carry out the attack, the complaints said. Htut received a $2,000 advance on July 23, it added.

After the FBI learned of the plot, it arranged to interview Htut, when Htut described the plan, which included initially tampering with the ambassador’s tires to cause an accident, the complaint said.

It said Htut received $4,000 in payments to carry out the attack and was to be paid

another $1,000 once it was finished.

In a complaint against Zaw, authorities said Zaw admitted after his arrest that he sent the $4,000 to Htut.

Htut, 28, and Zaw, 20, are each charged with conspiracy to assault and make a violent attack upon a foreign official, which carries a maximum sentence upon conviction of five years in prison.

At an initial appearance in White Plains federal court, Htut consented to detention. Zaw awaited an initial appearance.

Messages seeking comment from their lawyers were not immediately returned.


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NEW DELHI TIMES North America

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Mexico to call out national guard to protect gas trucksExico’s President said that he will call on the National Guard to protect

gas delivery trucks after drivers and crews went on strike to protest government price controls.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he will not back down and compared the battle to his 2019 offensive against fuel thieves.

Crews that distribute LP gas in Mexico’s capital went on strike after the government imposed price controls on the fuel that most Mexicans use to cook and heat water. The crews work on commission for the distributors.

Those independent trucks and their crews blocked entrances and vandalized trucks at gas tank farms around Mexico City, saying price controls will hurt their earnings. Photos posted by local media showed masked men smashing the windows of some small gas tank trucks to enforce the strike. Others parked their vehicles at entrances to tank farms to block them.

“Yesterday they said they could not go out (on deliveries) because they risked getting their vehicles vandalized,” López Obrador said. “The National Guard is going to intervene to protect the distributors.”

López Obrador said he would consider filing criminal complaints. The leader of the striking crews later told local media they were temporarily calling off the strike, in hopes of talks with the government.

The President has said in the past he wants

to set up a state-owned gas distribution company to compete with the often-corrupt private tank trucks that fill roof-top gas tanks or distribute small portable gas cylinders.

Distributors often short-change customers on the amount of gas they deliver. Moreover, some charge as much as 50% profits margins, contributing to gas price increases of almost 50% in the last year.

The Mexican Association of Gas Distributors said that it “distances itself from the actions by groups of independents who work on commission, who do not hold distribution permits and who are blocking plants, preventing us from going out and working to supply homes and businesses that need gas.”

The association represents the owners of

tank farms and some larger distribution chains that own fleets of trucks. The independents own or lease their own trucks, or run smaller operations delivering small portable LP cylinders to homes.

The association said it had warned the government about “the risks and impacts implicit” in imposing price controls.

Mexico imports much of its LP gas, and international prices have risen, leading to higher costs for Mexicans. López Obrador invoked emergency powers to decree a six-month price cap.

Experts had warned that price controls announced would probably lead to shortages, because the largely private gas distributors may refuse to operate under government-imposed profit margins.

Mexico’s anti-monopoly regulator criticized López Obrador’s maximum prices and warned that “price regulation could have consequences unintended by the decree, like shortages of LP gas.”

Experts said the proposed price cap hearkens back to decades past when Mexico’s state-owned oil company Pemex imported LP gas and sold it at fixed prices to distributors. Now, private companies import much of the gas, and won’t do so if they lose money on it.

The government is under pressure to do something.

One of the President’s key promises has been that basic fuel prices won’t increase above the rate of inflation, and the largely privatized market for cooking gas cylinders has made that unobtainable.

Mexico’s inflation rate is currently hovering around 6%. Cooking gas is a major expenditure for almost 70% of Mexican households.

López Obrador has called the gas strike “an emergency situation,” and compared it the showdown he faced early in his administration in late 2018 and 2019.

Faced with increasing theft of gasoline and diesel by criminal gangs that drill illegal taps into government pipelines, the President shut down many pipelines. Fuel had to be moved by tanker trucks, and there were long lines at gas stations.

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Hotels become hospitals as Cuba battles soaring COVID cases

uba’s hot spot for COVID-19 infections has shifted to the central

province of Ciego de Avila, where officials are converting hotels into hospitals.

Instead of tourists, the Hotel Ciego de Avila will hold up to 240 low-risk pediatric patients, officials say, while the Las Canas Motel will have 53 beds for pregnant women with the coronavirus.

They are also ordering isolation of whole households when a virus is detected.

“The people are very frightened. Every day, more sick, more deaths — a relative, a neighbor, a friend,” said Mayi Del Valle, a 49-year-old library worker from the town of Ceballos in the province, speaking by phone. “There are people treating COVID in their houses based on herbs.”

Cuba’s national director of epidemiology, Francisco Durán, said that the province accounted for 23 of the 98 new deaths from

COVID-19 recorded the previous day in the country of 11 million people — the nation’s highest death toll yet in the pandemic.

The province of some 430,000 people had about twice as many deaths as in the capital of Havana, a city of 2 million.

The west-central province of Matanzas, famed for the beach resort Varadero, was the center of infection last month, but the wave there seems to have receded.

Deputy Prime Minister Jorge Luis Tapia and Health Minister José Ángel Portales were sent to Ciego de Avila, about 400 kilometers (240 miles) east of Havana, and government news media said official were sending more ambulances and 100 bicitaxis, which can be used for logistical support.

Since the start of the pandemic, Cuba has recorded 3,091 deaths and 422,614 confirmed infections, a huge share of them just in recent weeks. The country had been highly successful in keeping the virus at bay last year, but cases began shooting up after a brief period of relaxed controls at the start of 2021.

The Pan American Health Organization also expressed concern about rising infections in Cuba.

“This is due to the delta variant, which has been reported by authorities in various places in the country,” said Ciro Ugarte, director of health emergencies for the organization, during a news conference in Washington.


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Guatemala draws fire for new

anti-corruption prosecutor

uatemala named a new anti-corruption prosecutor, two weeks after the

previous one was fired and fled the country, citing fears for his safety.

Attorney General Consuelo Porras named Rafael Curruchiche as the new prosecutor. Curruchiche is considered to be one of Porras’ inner circle and has himself been questioned for allegedly protecting businessmen accused of illegal campaign contributions from prosecution.

His appointment seemed unlikely to quell international criticism or calm street protests against corruption following the departure of former anti-corruption prosecutor Juan Francisco Sandoval.

Edie Cux of the transparency group Citizen Action said Curruchiche was the wrong person for the job.

“He is someone who does not have the knowledge or ability” to run the country’s top anti-corruption office, Cux said. “Moreover, he has a history of not being an independent prosecutor.”

The firing of Sandoval in July lead the United States to say it had lost confidence in Guatemala’s commitment to battling corruption. The U.S. government temporarily suspended cooperation with Porras’ office.

Thousands of Guatemalans took to the streets in protest, blocking highways and calling for a national strike over the government’s

apparent unwillingness to tackle corruption.

President Alejandro Giammattei has previously spoken of his friendship with Porras, who was appointed by his predecessor, President Jimmy Morales.

Sandoval said after his firing that as his investigations got closer to Giammattei and members of his Cabinet, Porras made efforts to block him. Porras said she fired him because his investigations were ideologically biased.

Sandoval’s office was a critical remaining piece of Guatemala’s anti-corruption efforts. In 2019, the Morales forced out the United Nations’ anti-corruption mission, which had worked closely with Sandoval’s office to dismantle graft networks.

Giammattei expressed his concern that the suspension in U.S. cooperation would be “counterproductive” because it would affect the countries’ common goals of fighting organized crime and corruption.

He said he had asked the Finance Minister to look for budget support and called on “friendly countries” to help keep efforts from being diminished.


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As COVID-19 surges in Tunisia, oxygen is in short supply

s Tunisia faces a surge of COVID-19 cases, demand for life-saving oxygen

has grown higher than the supply, leaving patients desperate and family members angry at the government as they say they are forced to find oxygen on their own.

As the misery grows, traders have seized on an opportunity for profit, buying supplies of oxygen and other treatments and then renting them or selling them at higher prices. The profitable enterprise that is growing online has prompted citizens to call on authorities for intervention.

“I was subjected to various types of blackmailing. People were trading and brokering with everything. Believe me, with everything,” said Abdou Mzoughi, 43, whose nearly 80-year-old mother died June 26 from COVID-19 after he spent six days trying, but failing, to get the lifesaving oxygen treatment she needed.

“We were looking for a bed with oxygen in any hospital,” he said. He couldn’t even find her a place in a field hospital, or obtain a larger oxygen concentrator for at-home treatment.

The pandemic comes as the nation in North Africa — the only success story of the Arab Spring of a decade ago — finds itself beset by overlapping political and economic crises. Last month President Kais Saied fired the Prime Minister, froze the parliament and took on executive powers in what he says is a bid to save the country. He began ruling by decree after nationwide protests over the nation’s deteriorating social and economic situation — topped by the raging coronavirus epidemic.

Tunisia, with a population of 12 million, has reported more deaths per capita in the pandemic than any African country and has had among the highest daily death rates per capita in the world in recent weeks. More than 20,000 Tunisians have died so far, and the vaccination rate remains low.

Mzoughi said the market price of oxygen has more than doubled as demand grows in Kairouan, an ancient desert city that is considered among the holiest in Islam and is recognized by UNESCO for its rich architectural heritage. It is also one of the poorest cities in Tunisia.

Renting an oxygen concentrator can now cost up to $200 a week — an amount that Mzoughi roughly makes in a month with a steady job in the regional office of an online newspaper.

Now he visits his mother’s grave daily and describes still being in a state of shock over

her death. Ahmed Jridi, who owns a shop in Kairouan selling medical devices, said he has seen more sales in oxygen devices.

“I discovered that those who are renting these devices do not have sick people who need oxygen, but rather they are merchants, and when they knew that it was a profitable business, they bought many oxygen devices and began to control the high rental price,” he said.

Private hospitals and clinics are also witnessing unprecedented pressure and intense demand for resuscitation and oxygen beds. That has caused a shortage of liquid oxygen in hospital tanks, and prompted the health authorities to request supplies from Algeria to enhance its strategic stock and avoid interruption in health units.

It has also led to the use of spare oxygen bottles, or the transfer of some patients to other hospitals.

“The oxygen is exhausted. The reserve in the cistern is only used for a few minutes. So to protect our patients we have prepared large bottles of oxygen between the beds of

patients who are in artificial respiration,” said Dr. Kaies Traoui, a resident in the department of anesthesia and resuscitation at Aghlabid Hospital in Kairouan.

Authorities have now ordered private clinics to contribute oxygen until there is a return to the normal oxygen supply pattern.

Tunisia consumed between 25,000 and 30,000 liters of oxygen daily before the pandemic. Now, the North African nation consumes 10 times the amount, between 230,000 to 240,000 liters of oxygen per day. Meanwhile, it’s production capacity is only at 100,000 liters per day, according to the Ministry of Health.

An especially moving video posted in mid-July on social media showed a man described as an official of Mateur Hospital, in the north, collapsing in tears because there was no oxygen for his patients. The video, posted by a Tunisian journalist, made the rounds at home and was widely picked up by French media.

However, the ministry denies claims that the health system in Tunisia is collapsing, saying it has received adequate aid from Arab and European countries, including oxygen machines, vaccines and field hospitals.

Still, on July 21, President Saied ordered the military to take over management of the national response to the pandemic.


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US warns Ethiopia of ‘dehumanizing

rhetoric’ on Tigrayhe head of the U.S. Agency for International Development expressed

concern about the “dehumanizing rhetoric” used by Ethiopia’s leaders amid the nine-month conflict in the Tigray region, whose forces last month were described as “weeds” and “cancer” by the country’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed.

Samantha Power spoke to reporters after pressing Ethiopia’s government to ease a blockade of humanitarian aid to Tigray, where hundreds of thousands of people face famine in the world’s worst hunger crisis in a decade. Just 10% of targeted aid has reached the region since mid-July, she said — 153 trucks as of two days ago, while the United Nations has said 1,500 trucks were needed during that time.

Ethiopia’s government in recent weeks has accused aid groups of arming Tigray forces, without providing evidence, and suspended the work of two international aid groups while accusing Doctors Without Borders and the Norwegian Refugee Council of “disseminating misinformation.”

Meanwhile, Power said, “desperate humanitarian needs are growing more acute with every passing day” in Tigray, where more than 5 million people need help after Ethiopian and allied forces pursuing Tigray fighters were accused of looting and destroying food supplies. Tigray remains cut off from the outside world, with communications links down and just one road available for aid convoys, which have faced numerous checkpoints and searches.

While the West is said to be exploring the possibility of a humanitarian aid corridor from neighboring Sudan into western Tigray, the head of Ethiopia’s national disaster risk management commission this week rejected that idea. A USAID spokesman did not respond when asked whether Power, who visited Sudan before Ethiopia, discussed the idea with Sudanese leaders.

Power also noted the increasingly heated talk by both sides in the conflict and said the kind of “virulent” language used by the Prime Minister and other officials, also seen on social media in Ethiopia, “often accompanies ethnically motivated atrocities.”

She called for an immediate cease-fire and dialogue.

Chances of dialogue appear slim as Ethiopia’s government has declared the Tigray forces a terrorist group.

The war started in November after a political falling-out between the Tigray ruling party, which had dominated Ethiopia’s government for nearly three decades, and the current Prime Minister. Now the Tigray forces say they want Abiy out as a precondition to talks.


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South Africa quickens vaccine drive, gets more doses from US

he cars lined up by the strikingly modern mosque and were guided to

parking bays where the drivers soon got jabs.

The brisk pace at the Houghton mosque COVID-19 vaccination center is seeing 700 people per day getting shots and is expected to soon reach 1,000 a day.

“This is exciting! We’re vaccinating more people than we expected,” said Yaseen Theba, chairman of the Muslim Association of South Africa a day after the vaccination center opened last week. “We created this drive-thru site to accommodate as many people as possible, in a situation where they are comfortable. And it’s working! We’ll keep it going as long as people need to get vaccinated.”

Hitting its stride after a faltering start, South Africa’s mass vaccination drive gave jabs to 220,000 people a day last week and is accelerating toward the goal of 300,000 per day. With large deliveries of doses arriving and some vaccines being assembled here, South Africa appears on track to inoculate about 35 million of its 60 million people by the end of the year and 40 million by February.

More than 7.7 million South Africans have received at least one dose, with more than 100,000 fully vaccinated, representing 1.6% of the population, according to official figures. Across Africa, less than 1.5% of the continent’s 1.3 billion people have been fully vaccinated, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

After starting with just a dozen vaccination sites, South Africa now has more than 3,000 including government and private hospitals, pharmacies, mines, factories, churches and mosques.

South Africa now appears to have an adequate supply of doses. More than 5.7 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine have arrived this week from the U.S., part of President Joe Biden’s distribution of more than 110 million surplus doses to more than 60 countries. South Africa has also purchased more than 40 million Pfizer/BioNTech doses, which are being delivered in regular shipments, and 30 million Johnson & Johnson doses.

Another encouraging factor is the enthusiasm for the vaccines. More than 70% of South Africans say they are eager to get vaccines while just 10% say they are opposed, according to surveys.


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NEW DELHI TIMES South America

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On the bus or off, Venezuela journalists try to deliver news

fter boarding a bus in Venezuela’s capital, Juan Pablo Lares sits in front

facing the passengers, turns on a microphone and speaker, and delivers the news while a colleague holds a black cardboard frame around his face to mimic a television screen.

“Good morning! This is the newscast of El Bus TV Capitolio,” he reads from his script to the passengers, most of whom listen carefully while others brush past him to get on or off at their stops. The news he delivers is not always flattering to Venezuela’s socialist government.

That rudimentary news delivery system is one of several ways journalists are fighting to preserve press freedom in the South American nation. Media in Venezuela, like in other countries, have been struggling to stay afloat, but their difficulty is not just dwindling advertising revenue.

They face mounting pressures from a government trying to control the flow of news, including fines over criticism of officials and barriers to purchase of newsprint. This has left millions with access to information largely through state media.

“This newscast is a way to overcome censorship and misinformation in Venezuela,” Lares told his audience of passengers after his newscast one July afternoon. Stories that day included the decay of a university considered a World

Heritage Site and the effects of the country’s hyperinflation.

Journalists are also giving free newspapers to bus passengers and people at bus stops, and encouraging them to share the papers with others. Other journalists are walking into neighborhoods and reading the news to people gathered around them or listening from their windows.

Since President Nicolás Maduro took office in 2013, more than 60 news outlets have closed, some of them burdened by multimillion-dollar fines imposed by a government telecommunications commission that accused them of promoting hatred and destabilization of the government.

Maduro’s actions against the press, which he accuses of conspiring against his government and spreading false information, are an extension of the tactics deployed by his predecessor and mentor, Hugo Chávez, who called independent media an enemy after taking office in 1999.

Natalie Southwick, Latin America and Caribbean program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, said

Venezuela is one of the most difficult environments for the independent press as the government has used various tools — from physical harassment and detention of journalists to the use of the courts against media outlets — to make the space for critical media smaller.

“And all of this ultimately contributes to this overall goal of trying to control information, trying to control the narrative both within and outside of the country,” said Southwick. “And that’s why we see people from (President Recep) Erdogan in Turkey to someone like Maduro in Venezuela really targeting the independent press. They know that that reporting poses a threat to their ability to control what people hear and how they make decisions.”

A court in May seized the Caracas headquarters of the newspaper El Nacional, an outlet critical of Maduro and his closest collaborators. The action was the result of a defamation lawsuit filed by the Vice President of the ruling party, Diosdado Cabello, and sought to guarantee a multimillion-dollar payment in damages.


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Brazil’s Bolsonaro gives govt’s ‘soul’ to centrist blocresident Jair Bolsonaro swore in his new chief-of-staff in a move to shore

up congressional support for legislation, and also seen as aimed at stifling an impeachment push and scoring votes in Brazil’s poorer northeast region.

After Bolsonaro tapped Sen. Ciro Nogueira to occupy the post last month, he described the position as his administration’s “soul.″ Nogueira belongs to a centrist political bloc known for ideological malleability and the old-style politics of delivering support in exchange for positions — a practice Bolsonaro had vowed to his supporters that he would never embrace.

The conservative President drew closer to the so-called Centrao this year as his administration’s pandemic response was targeted by a Senate committee’s investigation, his popularity plunged ahead of his 2022 reelection bid and the opposition staged nationwide protests calling for his impeachment. He has said in recent days that he was part of the Centrao during his political career.

“I want to tell all of you, the arrival of Ciro Nogueira now is a demonstration by the government that ever more we want to deepen our relationship with Congress,″ he told attendees at the Presidential palace. He added that the executive and legislative are effectively one government branch, since they rely on each other to implement most anything.

Nogueira hails from Piaui state in Brazil’s northeast, a region that has long been a stronghold of the Workers’ Party. The party’s most prominent member — former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — is expected to challenge Bolsonaro in next year’s election and opinion polls put him well ahead in a runoff.

“Bolsonaro kept saying he was going to do away with ‘old politics,’″ da Silva wrote on Twitter last week. “What is his new politics? Become hostage to the Centrao?″

Members of the Centrao held key positions in all administrations since Brazil’s return to democracy, including da Silva’s, but have never before secured the chief-of-staff post.

Ahead of Nogueira’s swearing-in ceremony, video of a 2017 television interview circulated widely on social media showing him saying that Bolsonaro had a “fascist, prejudicial character″ and that da Silva had been Brazil’s best President, especially for the northeast.

In Brasilia, he was eager to show allegiance to his new boss.


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Drought hits South America

river, threatening vast ecosystem

T he Paraná River, one of the main commercial waterways in South

America, has reached its lowest level in nearly 80 years due to a prolonged drought in Brazil that scientists attribute to climate change.

At peril is a vast ecosystem that includes potable water for 40 million people, the livelihood of fishing communities and farmers, and the navigability of a major grain export hub.

The National Water Institute of Argentina has defined the low water level of the Paraná River, which goes through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, as “the worst since 1944.”

“This natural asset is clearly giving us signs

that it’s not infinite,” said environmentalist Jorge Bartoli, coordinator of the organization “El Paraná No Se Toca” (Parana Should Remain Untouched).

The low water level is due to a record drought in Brazil, where the river begins.

The midwestern and southern regions of Brazil are in a big water crisis. Water reservoirs, including the giant Itaipu dam, are at their lowest levels in 91 years and Brazilian authorities have issued an emergency alert for five states: Minas Gerais, Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo and Paraná.

Reduced water levels are part of a natural cycle, but specialists warn that the scenario

is more extreme because of climate change.

“These climate changes that were less frequent before are becoming more frequent,” said Brazilian climatologist José Marengo.

Environmentalists say deforestation is contributing to the problem.

The Paraná waterway and its aquifers supply fresh water to some 40 million people in countries including Brazil and Argentina.

In turn, it receives water from the Paraguay River, which has among its main sources the Pantanal area, a huge wetland located in the Mato Grosso region of southern Brazil.

The drought of the river is impacting the transport of goods.

Guillermo Miguel, president of the port of the city of Rosario, said vessels had to reduce their tonnage by approximately 20% to continue moving. He said transport costs are increasing.

In 2019, 79 million tons of grain, flour and oil were exported from Rosario, according to the city’s stock exchange, making it one of the biggest agricultural export hubs in the world.


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NEW DELHI TIMESOpinion


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Tigray insurgents advances towards the Gondar-Djibouti

route, raises the prospect of coup

he Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) is seeking to seize critical locations in

the Afar and Amhara regions in order to pressure Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s national government to negotiate, or to launch a coup that will replace him with a more accommodative administration. Despite TDF offensives, the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) and allied Amhara and Eritrean forces withdrew from Tigray’s major cities in late June 2021. Attempts to reverse TDF gains by deploying more forces from other Ethiopian regions have so far failed. TDF leader Tsadkan Gebretensae, a former ENDF chief of staff, claimed on July 24 that his party is in a position to march into Addis Ababa without facing any real opposition. This followed a statement by TDF-aligned Government of Tigray (GoT) spokesperson Getachew Reda on July 19 denying any interest in “territorial gains in Afar,” as well as previous claims by Reda that the TDF would “liberate every square inch” of Tigray.

If the TDF captures Gondar or the capital of the Afar region, Semera, as well as the Semera-Djibouti A1 highway, a forcible change of Ethiopian government is likely in the next one-month forecast. A coup from within the ENDF, backed by the Amhara

region’s security establishment and aligned ENDF elements, or Prime Minister Ahmed’s resignation in the face of an imminent coup threat or further TDF advances towards Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, are the most likely forms of such a change of government, in our opinion. A coup attempt or threat against Ahmed would most likely aim to replace him with an interim authority that would negotiate a truce and a subsequent peace agreement with the GoT.

The TDF capturing Semera and the A1 highway to Djibouti would significantly stifle Ethiopia’s external trade, resulting in widespread import shortages (such as petrol) across the country, particularly in Addis Ababa. This would increase the chances of an anti-Ahmed coup from within the ENDF, especially if widespread protests (with turnouts in the hundreds of thousands) in Addis Ababa and the surrounding central Oromia region were triggered by shortages, large spikes in the prices of imported essential goods, or discontent with TDF advances.

The TDF would be able to immediately threaten Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara region, if it captured Gondar, a crucial centre of public support for the area’s territorial claims in western and southern Tigray. As a result, the chances of Amhara ENDF and regional security forces elements concluding that Prime Minister Ahmed’s administration is incapable of protecting Amhara region and, as a result, deciding to oust Ahmed and

his political ally, Agegnehu Teshager, as President of Amhara region, are increased. An Amhara-led coup against Ahmed, on the other hand, would almost certainly be rejected by Ethiopia’s other regional governments, resulting in bloodshed in Addis Ababa between rival ENDF factions and Oromia regional security forces. The militant Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) would likely respond by seeking to gain open control of towns in western Oromia, most likely with the help of Oromia’s security forces. This possibility would be heightened if the new Amhara-backed administration pursued a further anti-TDF war effort in the absence of Ahmed, rather than a truce and talks.

TDF capture of Gondar would be less possible if Amhara regional forces withdrew from western Tigray to fight the TDF onslaught, with the TDF likely refocusing its offensive to recover western Tigray. The withdrawal of Amhara military from western Tigray would very certainly be accompanied by a large outflow of ethnic Amhara civilians, resulting in a new humanitarian crisis of displaced people in northern Amhara. The remaining ENDF troops in western Tigray’s Sudanese border would most likely join the Amhara forces in withdrawing, reducing the risk of confrontation with Sudanese forces in the disputed al-Fashaga Triangle. Remaining Eritrean soldiers would most likely evacuate from western Tigray as well.

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Afghanistan’s future likely to be weighed down by Tribal complexities

ollowing talks between the two sides in Doha, Qatar, on July 18, the Afghan

government and the Taliban issued a joint statement stating that they had agreed to speed up work toward political reconciliation. There was little sign of significant progress in intra-Afghan discussions, which have been essentially deadlocked since they began in September 2020. The looming deadline for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan on September 11, 2021, has made intra-Afghan negotiations a vital component of an increasingly unstable scenario in Afghanistan.

A residual foreign military presence is expected to stay, pending US-Taliban talks, including discussions about a US mission to secure the US embassy compound in Kabul. The Taliban leadership was open to a force of up to 1,000 US forces remaining to exclusively guard the embassy, according to sources with access to the Taliban in July 2021. Additionally, talks with the Taliban, the US, and Turkey regarding a component of Turkish troops remaining to safeguard Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport are likely to be ongoing

Afghanistan’s Taliban controlled 200 of the country’s 419 district centres. The Afghan government claims to have reclaimed certain areas, while local reports suggest that as of July 25, the ANDSF and anti-Taliban militias had recaptured 12 districts. The Taliban are putting pressure on half

of the country’s provincial capitals. The Taliban also took control of at least 12 Afghan National Army (ANA) battalion headquarters and one border force battalion headquarters. The Taliban’s gains since May have raised doubts about the ANDSF’s capacity to combat them without US and NATO military assistance. The Afghan National Army’s Special Forces – a key military force that will almost certainly be crucial in combating the Taliban – have been deployed several times to counter Taliban attacks on districts and strategic positions, as well as to protect cities, but have often failed to do so, resulting in significant losses and fatigue.

Because of the ANDSF’s vulnerability and the Taliban’s initial victory in the northwest region in mid-2021, Afghan government faction leaders – many of whom were former warlords – sought an arrangement with the Taliban. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former

Mujahideen fighter and current leader of the Hizb-i-Islami - Gulbuddin (HIG) political party, was one of the first Afghan political figures to appear to negotiate a deal with the Taliban in 2020. Salahuddin Rabbani, a Former Minister of foreign affairs with clout in the provinces of Takhar and Badakhshan, is another figure dealing with the Taliban. Despite Taliban gains on his borders, Rabbani has remained neutral.

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai may have made an agreement with the Taliban. In the face of the Taliban’s successes in the south, Karzai allies in the police slipped away. More local tribal chiefs are likely to follow suit and bargain in order to defend their interests and secure a seat in a future temporary administration ruled by the Taliban.

The Taliban has progressed unchallenged by tribal militias in Laghman and Logar,

where local Pashtun tribes had been major supporters of Ghani, himself an ethnic Pashtun. This suggests a growing level of indifference among the tribes. Two prominent tribes in Paktia, the Jaji and the Ahmadzai (Ghani’s own tribe), have ended their support for the President. The Jaji had earlier stated that they supported Ghani in April, but the announcement of the US withdrawal, as well as the Taliban’s quick progress in the northwest, undoubtedly prompted them to retract their support. Although certain key tribes in Paktia, such as the Mangal and Zadran, and the majority of tribes in Khost continue to support Ghani, the fast-shifting political allegiances of the broader tribal population signal that they, too, are likely to reassess their support for the government.

Only the Baghlan Andarabi Jamiati commanders and few Tajik militias in Aliabad, Kunduz province, have meaningfully fought the Taliban in 2021. Panjshiri leaders in the erstwhile anti-Taliban Northern Alliance’s heartland have also made declarations about organising a resistance organisation, but with little or no effect.

Divergent perspectives on future strategy exist among Hazara commanders. Militias linked to Hazara commander Muhammad Mohaqqeq have clashed with the Taliban in Balkh province’s Charkent district, while Commander Alipoor, a local militia leader in Behsud, has announced his neutrality between the Taliban and the Afghan government. Karim Khalili, the other major Hazara politician, has remained silent on his position in the aftermath of the Taliban advance as of late July.

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9 - 15 August 2021 21


NEW DELHI TIMES Sports

◆ By Dr. Pawan Mathur

@PawanMathur

[email protected]

IB

Best performances of the Tokyo Olympics - 2

n the second part of the series of articles, New Delhi Times continues to

look at some of the best performances in the 2021 Olympics so far. It is no surprise that athletics dominate this list.

Ma Long (Table Tennis)

Ma Long (China) won the men’s individual gold defeating compatriot Fan Zhendong 4–2 in the final, making him the first player in history to win consecutive gold medals in the men’s singles ever. Later, the Chinese men’s team of Long, Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin beat the German team of Patrick Franziska, Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Timo Boll to gold with a final score of 11-7, 11-3, 11-9. This meant that Ma Long became the first-ever table tennis player to win five gold medals at the Olympics.

Caeleb Dressel (Swimming)

At the Tokyo Olympics, Dressel (USA) won five gold medals, making him the fifth American in history to win that many in a single Olympics in the past 50 years. Only four other swimmers had captured five golds at a single Olympics: Michael Phelps (who did it three times), Mark Spitz, Kirstin Otto and Matt Biondi. He also became the first swimmer in history to win gold in the 50-meter freestyle, the 100 free and the 100-meter butterfly at the same Olympics.

Sydney Mclaughlin (Athletics)

Sydney McLaughlin (USA) won the women’s 400m hurdles gold with a world record time of 51.46 seconds breaking her own world-best mark of 51.90. She beat her rival Dalilah Muhammad to the gold. Dalilah Muhammad had taken the lead in the first 200m but then McLaughlin gained ground and sprinted ahead in the last 50m of the race to win a spectacular gold medal.

Karsten Warholm (Athletics)

Karsten Warholm (Norway) smashed his own world record time of 45.94 seconds in the men’s 400m hurdles smashing his own world 0.76 seconds with one of the greatest performance the track has ever seen. In one of the greatest 400m hurdles races in the history of the Olympics, Warholm beat the challenge of Rai Benjamin (USA) who came second to win silver with an impressive time of 46.17, while Brazil’s Alison dos Santos won bronze (46.72).

Last month, Warholm broke the longest-standing world record in men’s track, when he clocked 46.70 seconds at the Diamond League meeting in Oslo, eclipsing Kevin Young’s 29-year-old mark of 46.78.

Marcell Jacobs (Athletics)

Marcell Jacobs (Italy) shocked all analysts to win the men’s 100m title with a personal best time of 9.80 seconds to succeed the legendary Usain Bolt as Olympic champion. Jacobs also set a new European record. For the first two thirds of the race Jacobs trailed USA’s Fred Kerley but gained ground in the last stages to win gold ahead of pre-race favourites Kerley and Canada’s Andre De Grasse who won silver and bronze respectively.

Marcell Jacobs, Lorenzo Patta, Eseosa Desalu and Filippo Tortu (Athletics)

In one of the most exciting track events at the Tokyo Olympics, the Italian 4 x 100m

men’s team of reigning 100m champion Marcell Jacobs, Lorenzo Patta, Eseosa Desalu and Filippo Tortu edged past Great Britain win their first gold in the event since London 1948. Filippo Tortu ran a spectacular anchor leg and pipped Mitchell-Blake of Great Britain just before the finish line by 0.01s. Canada, featuring 200-meter champion Andre De Grasse, took bronze in 37.70. Marcell Jacobs thus became a double gold medallist at the Tokyo Games.

Elaine Thomson (Athletics)

Elaine Thompson-Herah (Jamaica) confirmed her position as the leading women short distance sprinter winning the women 100m in an Olympic record time of 10.61 seconds as Florence Griffith Joyner’s 33-year-old Olympic record of 10.62 that she set in Seoul 1988 was finally broken.

This was Elaine Thompson ‘s second consecutive Olympic gold in the 100m. She beat fellow countrywomen and two-time Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce on way to the gold medal. Fraser-Pryce had to be content with the silver medal clocking 10.74, becoming the most decorated female 100m athlete at the Olympic Games.

Canada Women Team (Football)

Canada women’s football team stunned all winning its first gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. In the semi-final, Canada defeated pre-tournament favourites USA 1-0 as Jessie Fleming converted a penalty kick. In the final, the team pipped the fancied Sweden team in a penalty shootout after the scores were tied 1-1 after regulation time. Canadian goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe was the star of the penalty shootout.

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PSG explores Messi signing; Pochettino

in contactarcelona’s announcement that Lionel Messi would be leaving the club set

Paris Saint-Germain scrambling to figure out if it could sign the most desired free agent in soccer history.

Messi called PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino, who is also from Argentina, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss private discussions.

The person said PSG was assessing the potential revenue that could be generated by signing Messi while also paying him a huge salary and complying with soccer’s financial regulations.

Funded for a decade by Qatari sovereign wealth, PSG is one of the few clubs in the world that can afford the 34-year-old Messi’s salary. A challenge would appear to be ensuring ongoing compliance with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, although some flexibility has been provided due to the pandemic and changes are due to the system designed to stem losses. It is PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi who, as chairman of the European Club Association and a member of UEFA’s executive committee, is involved in the process of discussing a wider update to FFP.


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Neeraj Chopra creates history with

gold in Javelin Throw

ndia’s Neeraj Chopra scripted his name into India’s sporting hall of

fame by winning the gold medal in the men’s Javelin Throw event at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Chopra won the event with a throw of 87.58m. Chopra is the first Indian athlete to win an Olympic Gold in athletics and only the second Indian to win an individual Olympic Gold after shooter Abhinav Bindra, who achieved the feat in 2008.

Neeraj Chopra threw a best attempt of 87.58m to win the Olympic gold. Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch won silver and fellow Czech Vitezslav Vesely won bronze to complete the podium.

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NEW DELHI TIMESTechnology & Health

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Impact of space station spin

requires study, official says

pace engineers will analyze whether a glitch that caused the International

Space Station to spin out of its normal orientation could have impacted any of its systems, a Russian space official said.

Sergei Krikalev, the director of crewed space programs at the Russian space corporation Roscosmos, emphasized that last week’s incident did not inflict any observable damage to the space station but he said that experts would need to study its potential implications.

“It appears there is no damage,” Krikalev said in an interview broadcast by Russian state television. “But it’s up to specialists to assess how we have stressed the station and what the consequences are.”

NASA emphasized that the station was operating normally and noted that the spin was within safety limits for its systems.

Thrusters on Russia’s Nauka laboratory module fired shortly after the module arrived at the International Space Station, making the orbiting outpost slowly spin about one-and-a-half revolutions.

Russia’s mission controllers fired thrusters on another Russian module and a Russian cargo ship attached to the space station to stop rotation and then push the station back to its normal position.

Both U.S. and Russian space officials said the station’s seven-person crew wasn’t in danger during the incident.

The station needs to be properly aligned to get the maximum power from solar panels and to maintain communications with space support teams back on Earth. The space station’s communications with ground

controllers blipped out twice for a few minutes.

NASA said in a tweet that the station was 45 degrees out of alignment when Nauka’s thrusters were still firing and the loss of control was discussed with the crew. “Further analysis showed total attitude change before regaining normal attitude control was (tilde)540 degrees,” NASA said.

NASA noted that “continued analysis following last week’s event with unplanned thruster firings on Nauka has shown the space station remains in good shape with systems performing normally.”

“Most importantly, the maximum rate and acceleration of the attitude change did not approach safety limits for station systems and normal operations resumed once attitude control was regained,” it said.

Roscosmos’ Krikalev, a veteran of six space missions who spent a total of 803 days in orbit, noted that firing orientation engines created a dynamic load on the station’s components, making a thorough analysis of whether some of them could be overstressed necessary. “The station is a rather delicate structure, and both the Russian and the U.S. segments are built as light as possible,” he said. “An additional

load stresses the drivers of solar batteries and the frames they are mounted on. Specialists will analyze the consequences. It is too early to talk about how serious it was, but it was an unforeseen situation that requires a detailed study.”

Krikalev said Nauka’s engines fired because a glitch in the control system mistakenly assumed that the lab module hadn’t yet docked at the station and activated the thrusters to pull it away.

The launch of the 22-ton (20-metric-ton) module has been repeatedly delayed by technical problems. It was initially scheduled to go up in 2007, but funding problems pushed the launch back, and in 2013 experts found contamination in its fuel system, resulting in a long and costly replacement. Other Nauka systems also underwent modernization or repairs.

Nauka is the first new compartment for the Russian segment of the International Space Station since 2010, offering more space for scientific experiments and room for the crew. Russian crew members will have to conduct up to 11 spacewalks beginning in early September to prepare it for operation.


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Melting ice imperils 98% of

Emperor penguin colonies by 2100

ith climate change threatening the sea ice habitat of Emperor penguins, the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposal to list the species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

“The lifecycle of Emperor penguins is tied to having stable sea ice, which they need to breed, to feed and to molt,” said Stephanie Jenouvrier, a penguin ecologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Research published in the journal Global Change Biology found that by 2100, 98% of Emperor penguin colonies may be pushed to the brink of extinction, if no changes are made to current rates of carbon emissions and climate change.

Around 70% of colonies will be in danger sooner, by 2050.

The new study looked at overall warming trends and the increasing likelihood of extreme weather fluctuations due to global warming. And it noted that extremely low levels of sea ice in 2016 led to a massive breeding failure of an Emperor penguin colony in Antarctica’s Halley Bay.

That year, seasonal sea ice broke up before penguin chicks had time to develop waterproof adult feathers, and about 10,000 baby birds drowned, Jenouvrier said. The colony did not recover afterward.

Emperor penguins breed exclusively in Antarctica during winter. They endure temperatures of minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 degrees Celsius) and wind speeds approaching 90 miles (144 kilometers) per hour by huddling together in groups of several thousand birds. But they can’t survive without sufficient sea ice.

“These penguins are hard hit by the climate crisis, and the U.S. government is finally recognizing that threat,” said Sarah Uhlemann, international program director at the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity.

The U.S. government has previously listed species outside the country as threatened, including the polar bear, which lives in Arctic regions and is also imperiled by climate change and sea ice loss.

Emperor penguins — the world’s largest penguins — currently number about 270,000 to 280,000 breeding pairs, or 625,000 to 650,000 individuals. The proposed listing will be published in the Federal Register to open to a 60-day public comment period.


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New theory: Earth’s longer

days kick-started oxygen growth

cientists have a new idea for how Earth got its oxygen: It’s because the planet

slowed down and days got longer.

A study published proposes and puts to the test the theory that longer, continuous daylight kick-started weird bacteria into producing lots of oxygen, making most of life as we know it possible.

They dredged up gooey purple bacteria from a deep sinkhole in Lake Huron and tinkered with how much light it got in lab experiments. The more continuous light the smelly microbes got, the more oxygen they produced.

One of the great mysteries in science is just how Earth went from a planet with minimal oxygen to the breathable air we have now.

Scientists long figured microbes called cyanobacteria, were involved, but couldn’t tell what started the great oxygenation event.

Researchers in a study in Nature Geoscience theorize that Earth’s slowing rotation, which gradually lengthened days from six hours to the current 24 hours, was key for the cyanobacteria in making the planet more breathable.

About 2.4 billion years ago there was so little oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere that it could barely be measured, so no animal or plant life like we know could live. Instead, lots of microbes breathed in carbon dioxide, and in the case of cyanobacteria, produced oxygen in the earliest form of photosynthesis.

At first it wasn’t much, but in only about

400 million years Earth’s atmosphere went to one-tenth the amount of oxygen we have now — a huge jump, said the study’s lead author, Judith Klatt, a biogeochemist at the Max Planck Institute in Germany.

That oxygen burst allowed plants and animals to evolve, with other plants now joining in the oxygen-making party, she said.

But why did the bacteria go on the oxygen making binge? That’s where University of Michigan oceanographer Brian Arbic comes in. He studies tidal forces on Earth and how they’ve slowed Earth’s rotation.

Arbic was listening to a colleague’s lecture about cyanobacteria and he noticed that the oxygen event coincided with the timing of Earth’s days getting longer. The planet’s rotation slows because of the complicated physics of tidal friction and interaction with the moon.


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NEW DELHI TIMES Entertainment & Lifestyle

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John Abraham has been appointed as the MotoGP™ Brand

Ambassador by Eurosport India

urosport India, India’s most popular sports destination, and discovery+, India’s

first aggregated real-time entertainment streaming app, have strengthened their motorsports programming by appointing Bollywood superstar and MotoGP™ fan John Abraham as the India Ambassador for their flagship Motorsport property - MotoGP™.

John, a die-hard MotoGP fan, will be the face of Eurosport’s “MotoGP, Race Lagate Hai” campaign in India, where he will promote the sport to a wider audience.

With prestigious properties such as the FIA Formula 2 Championship, W Series, Nascar, Indycar Series, and Bennetts British Superbike racing, Eurosport India now has an unrivaled depth of global motorsports programming for Indian motorsports enthusiasts. The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) sanctioned Grand Prix motorcycle racing, also known as MOTO GP. It is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events contested on road circuits (FIM).

For their Indian audience, Eurosport India and Discovery+ have the LIVE and exclusive broadcasting rights for all three top classes, namely Moto 2, Moto 3, and Moto GP. John has already shared the stage with MotoGP great “The Doctor”-Valentino Rossi and has attended numerous MotoGP™ races.

Mrs. Megha Tata, Managing Director-South Asia, Discovery Inc, commented on the partnership, saying that the Discovery network has always believed in building passionate communities, and bringing John Abraham on board as the India Ambassador

for MotoGP is simply one step in that direction. He stated that “Motorsport still has a lot of distance to travel as a mainstream sport in India and we couldn’t find a better fan of Moto GP than John Abraham himself who could join us in making the passionate motorsports fan cheer together for their favorite rider. We are thrilled to begin this partnership and with John’s involvement we are confident that we will elevate this pure sport to greater heights in the years to come”.

India is recognized for its passion for motorcycles, and it has developed into a strong market for superbikes and two-wheelers with more than 500cc engines throughout the years, resulting in Yamaha’s R15 joining as a co-presenting sponsor for its broadcast in India.

The campaign will include a multi-platform promotional strategy that includes radio, outdoor advertising, and digital. While digital and social media will be the primary drivers of conversation and buzz through engaging content videos with John, Eurosport is also offering devoted fans the chance to win special racing merchandise signed by our MotoGP friend John Abraham.

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‘Faraaz’ the next film by Hansal Mehta will chronicle the tale of the

2016 Bangladesh Terror Attack

he makers of Hansal Mehta’s new film, ‘Faraaz,’ stated that it is based

on the 2016 Bangladesh terror attack. The Holey Artisan cafe attack, which shook Bangladesh, will be depicted in this action thriller. Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha and producer Bhushan Kumar are behind it.

Mehta, who most recently directed the critically acclaimed web series ‘Scam 1992- The Harshad Mehta Story’ and the sports drama feature ‘Chhalaang,’ expressed his delight that Sinha and Kumar have realized his three-year dream of making this film. ‘Faraaz’ is a story about a deep

sense of humanity and its final triumph over adversity. While it is based on true events, it is also a very personal story that he carried with him for nearly three years.

Zahaan Kapoor, the grandson of late actor Shashi Kapoor, will make his acting debut in the film, which also stars Aditya Rawal, the son of actor Paresh Rawal, and Swaroop Sampat, who made his acting debut last year with the ZEE5 film ‘Bamfaad.’

According to Sinha, the film is “not only a story of terror and loss, but also of hope and faith.”

According to the official description, ‘Faraaz’ will tell the story of the events that occurred in Dhaka on July 1, 2016, when five teenage militants trashed a luxury cafe and held over 50 people, hostage, for about 12 hours. Kumar stated that the goal of this film was to keep authentic to the original story.

In June of this year, Mehta began filming for the next action thriller. The film is produced by Sinha’s Benaras Mediaworks, T-Series, Mahana Films’ Sahil Saigal, Sakshi Bhatt, and Mazahir Mandasaurwala, as well as Mahana Films’ Sahil Saigal, Sakshi Bhatt, and Mazahir Mandasaurwala.


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George Harrison’s ‘All Things

Must Pass’ hits a milestone

eorge Harrison’s landmark album “All Things Must Pass” is celebrating its

belated 50th anniversary and the former Beatles’ son thinks a new remixed collection might make the perfect post-pandemic soundtrack.

“I think that the message of this record is more ready to be received now than it was when it first came out,” said Dhani Harrison. “The message is clearer and now it’s sonically clearer. This is a really important bit of music.”

The original collection was audacious for its time — the first triple studio album in rock history, a virtual flurry of vinyl. The anniversary editions out this week make that look quaint, containing eight LPs (or five CDs) plus a Blu-ray audio disc, with the remixed album, demos, outtakes and jams.

There are reprinted archival notes, track annotations, photos and memorabilia. The most expensive edition comes in its own wooden crate, complete with figurines of the famous garden gnomes featured on the album cover. But first is the music, which Rolling Stone lists among the 500 greatest albums of all time.

“We’re not trying to make it sound modern,” said triple Grammy Award-winning engineer Paul Hicks. “I’m not trying to put any sort of stamp on it. We are very respectful to the mixes that were there and follow them as much as possible.”

The skeleton of “All Things Must Pass” was recorded over two days in late May 1970. On May 26, Harrison record 15 songs backed by Ringo Starr and his longtime friend, bassist Klaus Voormann. The next day, he played an additional 15 songs for co-producer Phil Spector on just an acoustic guitar.

The original 23-track album — complete with hits “Isn’t It a Pity,” “What Is Life” and “My Sweet Lord” — has been remixed for the anniversary editions from Capitol/UMe and are now augmented with 47 demos and outtakes, 42 of them previously unreleased.

The 1970 session tapes produced 25 hours of music, including several songs that didn’t make the album like “Cosmic Empire,” “Going Down To Golders Green,” “Dehra Dun,” “Sour Milk Sea,” and “Mother Divine.”

Dhani Harrison and Hicks started work on the anniversary editions five years ago, re-digitizing and listening to every song and every take made during the sessions. It was an ever deeper dive than the 30th and 40th anniversary reissues. Hicks calls the new work “forensic.”

They emerged from the vault with some 110 different songs and Harrison and his team had to decide how to present what he’d found. He recalled once listening to a Beach Boys box set that had 10 versions of every song and didn’t want to go that route.


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Grammys commit to more hiring diversity for 2022 show

he Grammy Awards will adopt an inclusion rider that will require

producers to recruit and hire more diverse candidates backstage and in front of the camera for next year’s ceremony.

The Recording Academy announced that the rider will be added to its agreement with producers staging the 64th annual awards as a way to ensure equity and inclusion at all levels of production.

Academy President and CEO Harvey Mason jr. called the concept a “monumental step” for an inclusive music community. The full inclusion rider will be released publicly on Sept. 16.

The rider requires Grammys producers to audition, interview, and hire onstage and offstage people who have been historically and systematically excluded from the industry.

“As the academy continues its transformational journey, diversifying our industry is at the core of every decision we make,” Mason said in a statement. “We’re dedicated to fostering an environment of inclusion industry wide and hope that our efforts set an example for our peers in the music community.”

The academy’s initiative was created in partnership with several groups including the Color of Change, inclusion rider co-authors Kalpana Kotagal and Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni, and Ryan Butler, the founding director of Warner Music/Blavatnik Center for Music Business at Howard University.

“There are a lot of unwritten rules in the entertainment industry that create racial exclusion, and at Color Of Change, we know that to change society you have to change the rules,” said Rashad Robinson, President of the organization. “This inclusion rider is a written rule that will change the culture of hiring at the Grammys, and will make inclusion the norm.”

Kotagal said incorporating the concept into the awards show will have an enormous impact on an industry that has a long history of “exclusion and underrepresentation.”

“Part of what makes the inclusion rider so potent is its adaptability,” said Kotagal, who is a civil rights attorney. She added that the inclusion rider for the Grammys will include a commitment to “deepening and diversifying hiring pools, setting benchmarks and targets for hiring, collecting and thoroughly analyzing applicant and hiring data and implementing accountability measures.”


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9 - 15 August 202124


NEW DELHI TIMES

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Think - Tanks

‘Housing For All by 2022’ - A Revolution Transforming Urban India

he Narendra Modi Government’s flagship scheme, National Mission for Urban

Housing, is en-route to meet its objective of 2 crore urban houses for the Urban population of India. In 2015, the year after his election as the leader of the largest democracy, PM Modi initiated a host of initiatives. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) with the urban component led by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA) targeted to provide cheap housing finance to the lower- and middle-income population dwelling in urban areas.

Mid 2021, the Ministry has sanctioned 1.12 crore houses, initiated over 80 lakh houses, and completed around 50 lakhs homes. The sanctioned houses represent around 60 per cent of the approximate target of 2 crore houses. Out of committed investment of 7 lakh crore, the government has already disbursed above 1 lakh crore rupees out of the central pool of 1.8 lakh crore.

To accelerate the programme further, MOHUA initiated the ‘PMAY-U Awards for Implementation and Innovation’ under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) in the year 2019. In 2021, a 100 days challenge was announced for the rewards. The purpose of the scheme to encourage competition among the

enforcement bodies like urban local bodies and states. With targets such as 90% grounding of sanctioned projects, the scheme is well placed to reduce the gap between the sanctioned and grounded projects.

“Housing For All by 2022” is a transformative program which will help contain poverty, significantly improve human development parameters through better sanitation, dignified living and access to infrastructure. The initiative will help end the culture of Slum-dwelling in Urban India. The Mission addresses serious shortages of Urban housing or housing finance among the Economically Weaker Sections, Lower Income Groups and Middle-Income Groups. All these eligible households will be assured help to own pucca houses.

Affordable Rental Housing Complexes forms a sub-scheme of PMAY where households who can’t afford to spend on houses can avail themselves cheaper rental homes for a dignified life. The programme is expected to benefit the workers of the non-formal economy and industrial sector workers.

The urban housing construction spree is not only playing a major role for much of the urban poor but it has also become a driver of technology, employment and economic activity. PMAY(U) has generated 2.46 lakh crore jobs, with net consumptions of 369 lakh metric tons of cement and 84 mt of steel. The global housing technology challenge identifies a host of new technologies for

a sustainable, eco-friendly and disaster-resilient future. Using this, 16 lakh new technology houses have been constructed under PMAY (U).

Till 2021, the scheme has helped construct 68.69 lakh beneficiary led construction houses, 23.21 lakh affordable housing in partnership houses, 15.96 lakh credit-linked subsidy scheme houses and 4.5 lakh in-situ slum redevelopment houses. Telangana followed by Kerala and Gujarat lead in the grounding and completion of sanctioned projects among different states. The Ministry has red-flagged the 34 lakh non-starter housing projects and the 100 days challenge is intended to encourage states to start construction on all sanctioned projects.

The Housing for all Scheme represents the aspiring ambitions of a modern India to end poverty in accordance with 2030 UN Sustainable Goals. Housing for families will have many long-term advantages for the economy as a whole. Spending on illness and diseases will come down, the potential to develop further economic opportunities, lives will be secured from disasters and human development can be propelled to new heights. Breaking the vicious chain of poverty is extremely essential for any developing country like India to sustain a high growth rate and rise in the league of nations. An

affordable house provides a dignified life to families, helps end the harsh life in outlying slums, and brings close infrastructures like schools and hospitals. For urban India, removal of Slums made of tarpaulin sheets or kutcha houses ensures beautification, land availability for re-development and an image make-over to drive tourism.

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Uncertainties are way of life, accept them to stay at peace

very one of us goes through numerous situations in life that we cannot foretell

ahead of time. There are far too many things that we will never know that will happen to us until it does, and it’s pointless to worry or be worried about somethings that are beyond our control. However, if we could and if it were feasible, we would prefer to entirely prevent or eliminate some events from ever occurring to us. Maybe we need to accept the fact that we will never be able to completely control the thing that will happen in our lives, weather good or bad, but a little precaution and diligence from our part can indeed help us a lot in managing our lives and reality from utter and complete chaos and minimizing the level of crisis that lies in our unforeseeable future.

Almost every crisis contains both the seeds of success and the roots of failure inside it. The key to responding crisis is finding, nurturing, and reaping that potential success. And the heart of crisis is the proclivity for exacerbating a bad situation. We worry that we will be overwhelmed by a colossal catastrophe that will lead to our ruin. An even we fear that it will lead us to our ruin. We fear all the time that what we do in our capacity is never good enough thus we are an utter failure, a laughing stock and a disappointment. We worry that our efforts at work is not good enough, that we might disappoint our partners or loved ones, or our efforts at school or our careers is not enough to see us through and that when something

bad eventually happens we will be chucked off, let go, fired or abandoned.

But we need to find in us the strength and understanding within us that the catastrophe that we fear will happen, has in fact already happened. When we are worried we are naturally fixated on what will occur next. It’s the future with boundless possibilities of horror, that is the natural arena for exploration by our panicked thoughts. But we need to realize that the fact that we are here reading this article, means that we have overcame numerous crisis and catastrophes and for better or for worst has come out of it, may be a little bruised and scratched but wiser and more experienced at the end of the day. We must accept that we cannot prevent certain tragic events, and that we are all victims of a few traumatic events or painful memories, and that we all bear scars from our past.

However, these scars or traumas serve

as future cautions and signs, allowing us to become smarter and more cautious in situations that are similar but not identical. Unfortunate and inescapable circumstances help us realise the harshness of reality and come to terms with what the world really is. It assists us in maturing from our juvenile immaturities into more mature and understanding individuals. In the enormous corner of the cosmos, we are a miraculously fragile species. We have never been and will never be complete masters of our circumstances, and we will always be at the mercy of vast and uncontrollable forces to which we must surrender with grace while still approaching with a degree of respectful caution.

We must try to understand our limitation and importance before events, the powerlessness of our mighty brains, the humbling lessons inflicted by nature, our vulnerability to the extremes of life. We should expect that we should from time to time expect to be

taken wholly by surprise. But none of it has been with us in mind and that we have not be singled out, we are not victims, nor are we the sole targets of the many unfortunate events in life. We must try to be kinder to ourselves and others and to learn to love others for we are all broken and battered by the unrelenting storms of life. Try to build friendship around the always surprising and blessed discovery of mutual vulnerability and gain relief from how much it is richer to love than to gain love and how much gratifying it is to serve than to be served.

Sometimes it’s important to experience life in all of its ugliness in order to properly grasp it, and we’re confident that no one has ever gone through life without being scraped and bruised. It’s important to keep in mind that we’re not being persecuted. Those inescapable and sad occurrences in our lives were not our fault, and none of them were planned with us in mind.

Life will inevitably unfold as it should, and no matter how diligent or cautious we are, we will not be able to avoid every unpleasant occurrence that occurs. We must understand that this is normal and that, at the end of the day, life, no matter how horrible things appear to be, will eventually find a way to turn things around with a little patience and love.

Sure this article doesn’t talk a lot like the other articles that talk about crisis and the guide to avoiding crisis with infinite precaution and alertness of human capacity we could even say we were dubbed. Sure may be, but in a strange way, what it’s trying to do is allowing you to come to terms with the impending crisis that we will have to face and to overcome it with the right amount of gratitude and self-awareness.

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