Thursday, August 14, 2014

Obama orders targeted airstrikes in Iraq as more than 40,000 take refuge atop Mount Sinjar; Iraqis nominate Maliki successor as defiant Maliki stages political showdown in Baghdad
World > Iraq
On Thursday, the US President Barack Obama gave permission for 'targeted airstrikes' to break the siege by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in northern Iraq. He said that the move was necessary to protect Americans in Iraq and a ‘potential genocide’ of innocent Iraqis by ISIS militants. However he insisted that the American combat troops, which were withdrawn in 2011, won’t return to Iraq. US fighter jets and drones hit specific, small assets of the Islamic State forces near Irbil, destroying three vehicles and damaging two others.
Thousands of Iraqi citizens, most of them Yazidis, a small and ancient religious sect that ISIS has vowed to exterminate, have been forced to flee their homes in the area of Sinjar. People loaded whatever supplies they could and fled towards the big cities. Some fled for miles on foot without any belongings. As many as 40,000 displaced Yazidis have taken refuge atop Mount Sinjar and some 200,000 have fled to other parts of northern Iraq. There is no food or water on the mountain and people are dying of thirst and starvation. They could not climb down for fear of getting killed. Parents were spitting into their children’s mouths to try to get them some liquid. Airdrops by the Iraqi government and US forces have not reached a large number of refugees since they are spread over large areas and the tricky mountainous region makes it difficult to spot people and airdrop supplies. Over the past week ISIS has executed a large number of Yazidis and hundreds of women and young girls were taken away as brides or slaves for jihadis and given the choice of conversion or death.
Under heavy pressure from the United States, Iraqi lawmakers chose a replacement for Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, widely blamed for his country’s polarized politics. Haidar al-Abadi, a member of Maliki’s own Shiite party was named by President Fouad Masoum to replace Maliki. But Mr. Maliki angrily rejected the move, vowing to fight in the courts and deployed militias and special forces on the streets, creating a dangerous political showdown in Baghdad. Although Mr. Maliki is widely reviled in Iraq, he remains a formidable force, with relatives who command special security forces, courts that are heavily shaped by his influence and a history of exacting revenge on his domestic opponents. Ironically, the US had helped Mr. Maliki rise to power eight years ago but now holds him responsible for alienating the country’s Sunni minority and helping fuel the rise of the ISIS.

Cabinet clears Bill to let minors be tried as adults for heinous crimes
Politics and Government > Juvenile Justice Bill 2014
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014 that gives powers to the Juvenile Justice Board to decide if a juvenile above 16 years, involved in heinous crimes like rape, would be tried in an adult court. The Bill comes in the backdrop of countrywide outrage after a minor convicted in the Nirbhaya gang-rape case was handed a three-year term in a reform home. However, the Bill lays down that in no case a juvenile involved in a heinous crime will be sentenced to death or life imprisonment. The new Bill also lays down provisions for punishment related to recruitment of child soldiers by militant groups, subjecting a child to corporal punishment which includes physical and verbal abuse and ragging of students within and outside an institution. The proposed Bill also provides for facilitating faster adoption of children and setting up foster care homes.

Russia Bans Food Imports in Retaliation for Western Sanctions
World > Russia
In response to Western sanctions, confronting Russians with a type of economic isolation largely unseen since the Soviet era, Russia has banned imports of a wide range of U.S. and European foods. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev outlined the products subject to the one-year ban—beef, pork, poultry, fish, fruit, vegetables, cheese, milk and other dairy products from the U.S., Canada, the European Union, Norway and Australia—in a radical response to penalties imposed on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine.
He also announced a ban on Ukrainian flights transiting through Russian airspace, and warned that Russia could issue a similar ban on U.S. and European planes.

Others

Dhoti Bill Introduced in Tamil Nadu to ensure entry of dhoti-clad Tamils into clubs
Politics & Government > Dhoti Bill
Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa has introduced a bill in the assembly that will ensure that veshti - clad Tamils are not denied entry into clubs and other institutions.
The bill states that any establishment that restricts the use of traditional clothes stands to lose its licence. Any establishment or person found responsible for violation could attract a penalty of Rs 25,000 or a jail term of one year. The law would apply for any "recreation club, association, trust, company or society".
The move comes after a Madras HC judge wearing a veshti was denied entry into a Chennai club. The Tamil Nadu Entry into Public Places (Removal of Restriction of Dress) Bill, 2014 proposes penalties to establishments and a jail term to persons responsible for violations.

One lakh children go missing in India every year: Home ministry
Politics & Government > Home Ministry
A recent report by the Home Ministry has revealed that over 3.25 lakh children went missing between 2011 and 2014 (till June) at an average of nearly 1 lakh children going missing every year. The Government data has revealed that after 1.7 lakh children missing in 2013, now over 1.5 lakh more children have gone missing and one child goes missing in every eight minutes. Over 3,25,000 children went missing between 2011 and 2014 (till June) which turns out to be nearly an average of 1,00,000 every year.
In the past three and a half years, over 50,000 children have disappeared in Maharashtra with Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh recording less than 25,000 missing children for the same period.

City in Xinjiang China bans beards, veils in buses
World > China
Authorities in Karamay, a city in the restive Xinjiang region of China has banned "five groups of people" — those who wear burka, headscarves, veils or hijab, any clothing bearing the crescent moon and star, as well as long beards. All of these symbols are associated with Islam. The ban comes within days of a major terrorist attack and subsequent police action that killed nearly 100 people in the bordering Kashgar area of the same province. The government blames Islamist separatists for the attacks in Xinjiang province. The ban disallows people in these groups from using facilities like buses and other means of public transport. This is in view of a local sports competition on August 20 and may be extended beyond that. State leaders in Xinjiang are also known to be working on a controversial proposal to implement family planning equally on all ethnic groups, including Muslims, who until now had been exempt from China’s two-child policy. Chinese authorities have earlier discouraged Muslim government employees from fasting during Ramzan on the grounds that it can affect their health and performance. The police were also concerned about crowding and inter-mingling during the fast-breaking time because they feared it might give terrorist groups the opportunity to expand their network.

RBI releases draft guidelines for Bharat Bill Payment System
Economy > BBPS
The Reserve Bank of India has issued draft guidelines for the implementation of Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS). The BBPS will function as a tiered structure for operating the bill payment system in the country and will provide customers the convenience of ‘anytime anywhere’ bill payment. The draft guidelines outline the requirement and the basic tenets of operating the BBPS, and prescribe the eligibility criteria, standards for settlement model and customer grievance redressal, roles and responsibilities and scope for entities seeking to be part of BBPS. The RBI has invited comments from stakeholders by September 5.

Prime accused Sher Singh Rana convicted in Phoolan Devi murder case
India > Phoolan Devi Murder Case
A New Delhi court on Friday convicted prime accused Sher Singh Rana in the 2001 murder of dacoit-turned-MP Phoolan Devi. The court however acquitted 10 others accused in the case. A 12th accused, Pradeep, had died of heart attack in Tihar Jail in November 2013. Phoolan Devi, a Samajwadi Party MP from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, was shot dead on July 25, 2001, outside her residence at Ashoka Road by Rana and his aides. As per police, the motive behind the killing was to take revenge for the alleged murder of upper caste men by her.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee and 4 others likely to be awarded Bharat Ratna this year
Awards > Bharat Ratna
The union government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may soon announce its decision to award the coveted Bharat Ratna Award to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who is the former Prime Minister of India, as well as a veteran leader of the BJP. Names of Madan Mohan Malviya, the freedom fighter, along with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, as well as Kanshi Ram, the Dalit leader and the founder of the Bahunjan Samaj Party, and also Dhyanchand, the legendary hockey player, are also under consideration for the prestigious award.
Last year, the UPA government had given the award to cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and scientist CNR Rao. The BJP, then in the Opposition, had criticized the UPA for ignoring Vajpayee's contribution and said it will bestow the honour upon him as soon as it comes to power.

Ukraine says it's close to taking rebel-held Donetsk
World > Ukraine
After making significant gains that have divided rebel forces, Ukrainian government forces are preparing for the final stage of recapturing the city of Donetsk from pro-Russian separatist rebels. The developments come as Ukraine said it had agreed on a Red Cross-led humanitarian aid operation with Russia, the European Union and other international partners to alleviate suffering in the rebel-held city of Luhansk.
Donetsk which was once a bustling metropolis is facing worsening shortages of food, water and fuel. Few civilians are on the streets, but groups of armed separatist fighters can be seen. There is relatively little traffic, with gasoline in short supply.

Russian Intervention in Ukraine Is Likely, NATO Says
World > Ukraine
NATO is warning that a Russian intervention in Ukraine is likely, fearing that a convoy of humanitarian aid dispatched by the Kremlin to the separatist-held city of Luhansk, in eastern Ukraine, is being used as cover for a military buildup. Russian aid, which is being delivered as part of a Red Cross–administered program, comes in response to setbacks suffered by pro-Russian rebels in the past week. The Putin Administration insists the assistance is purely humanitarian, and Ukraine has indicated that it welcomes the international relief mission of which the Russian convoy is a part.
The conflict in Ukraine has led to a crisis between East and West at a level not experienced since the Cold War, with wide-ranging sanctions on Russia imposed by the E.U. and the US.

Large banks should be required to raise at least 30 percent of their funding in the form of equity: Anat R Admati
World > USA
Stanford Finance Professor Anat R. Admati has said that post-financial crisis regulatory changes remain insufficient.
Her solution is to make banks behave more like other companies by forcing them to reduce sharply their reliance on borrowed money. That would likely make the banking industry more stodgy and less profitable — reducing the economic risks, the executive bonuses and, for shareholders, both the risks and the profits.
According to her, large banks should be required to raise at least 30 percent of their funding in the form of equity, about six times more than the current average for the largest American banks. This would not affect the ability of banks to accept deposits; it would not even affect their borrowing from other sources. Instead, she says, banks should be required to suspend dividend payments, thus increasing their equity by retaining their profits, until they are sufficiently capitalized.

FBI to probe into Missouri teen's shooting
World > Michael Brown Shooting
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has opened a probe into the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager in this St. Louis suburb, as more unrest broke out following looting and widespread property damage. The FBI will conduct its own investigation in addition to one already under way by St. Louis county police into a shooting by a Ferguson police officer that left 18-year-old Michael Brown dead. The FBI review will focus on whether the civil rights of Mr. Brown were violated.
Background:
The shooting of Michael Brown occurred on August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, United States. Brown was an unarmed 18-year-old African American man who was shot by a Ferguson police officer. The incident sparked protests and acts of vandalism in the St. Louis suburb as well as national calls for an investigation into the incident.

Israel prepared to ease conditions in Gaza following 72-hour ceasefire
World > Israel-Palestine
According to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Israel has agreed to ease conditions in the Gaza Strip during indirect cease-fire talks in Cairo, Egypt. The latest three-day cease-fire between Israel and Islamist group Hamas has held so far, with normal life beginning to return to streets of Gaza. As part of easing conditions, Israel might agree to expand the fishing zone off Gaza from its current range of three nautical miles to six. Israel is also willing to ease the passage of people from Gaza to both Israel and the West Bank, and to increase the number of permits authorized each month to 5,000. It is also willing to significantly increase the number of Gazan trucks carrying various goods which can enter Israel through the Kerem Shalom crossing on the Gaza Strip-Israel-Egypt border. Israel might also be prepared to allow the transfer of money to Gaza to pay the salaries of Hamas through a third party, provided it is not Qatar or the United Nations.
However, there has been a serious deadlock regarding the return of the bodies of Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, two Israeli soldiers killed in the latest conflict, held by Hamas. Hamas is demanding the release of Hamas members jailed in Israel who were captured during the latest offensive. Israel said that the military would be ready to protect Israel if Hamas violated the truce and a Hamas spokesman has said the talks were "the last chance" to agree on a long-term truce. However, easing the conditions won’t include the construction of a seaport or an airport in Gaza as demanded by Hamas.

West Africa uses centuries old tactic - cordoning of disease infected areas, to contain Ebola
World > Ebola Outbreak
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has reached such massive proportions that governments there have revived a disease-fighting tactic not used in nearly a century: the “cordon sanitaire,” in which a line is drawn around the infected area and no one is allowed out. Cordons, common in the medieval era of the Black Death, have not been seen since 1918. Centuries ago, in their most extreme form, everyone within the boundaries was left to die or survive, until the outbreak ended. Plans for the new cordon were announced on Aug. 1 at an emergency meeting of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, the three countries hardest hit by Ebola. The plan was to isolate a triangular area where the three countries meet, separated only by porous borders, and where 70 percent of the cases known at that time had been found. As of Monday, the region had seen 1,848 cases and 1,013 deaths, according to the World Health Organization, although many experts think that the real count is much higher because families in remote villages are avoiding hospitals and hiding victims. Disease-control experts say the tactic could help contain the outbreak but should be used humanely. Food, water and medical care must reach those inside, and the trust of inhabitants must be won through communication with their leaders. In Sierra Leone and Liberia, large sections of districts affected by Ebola have been cut off by military roadblocks. Inside the cordoned areas, alarmed residents have told reporters that they fear starving because food prices are rising. Many farmers have died, and traders who cannot travel cannot earn money. It is not clear whether plans to deliver food, water and care are underway. World Health Organization, which last week declared the outbreak an international public health emergency said it will work with the World Food Program and other agencies to make sure food and supplies get in.

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