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ISIS demanded ransom before killing
Foley, trading European hostages for huge sums a main source of income for
terror groups
World
> ISIS > 21 August
The ISIS had asked for a $ 100 million
ransom before killing James Foley, the freelance videographer and reporter for
GlobalPost and Agence France-Presse. According to an investigation by the
Times, kidnapping Europeans and demanding ransom has become a main source of
revenue for al Qaida and its affiliates, which have earned at least $125
million in ransom payments in the past five years alone. Although ISIS has
recently been expelled from Qaida, its tactics of kidnapping and demanding
ransom appear to be in line with other Qaida branches. The United States,
unlike several European countries that have given millions in ransom to the
terror group to spare the lives of their citizens, refused to pay, which might
have cost Foley his life. The ISIS is threatening to kill at least three other
US citizens it holds if its demands remain unmet. ISIS is also holding citizens
of Britain, which like the US has declined to pay ransoms. Amid growing
criticism that the US had not done enough to secure the release of its citizens,
authorities revealed that a United States Special Operations team tried and
failed to rescue Foley as well as the other American hostages during a secret
mission this summer. The ISIS has now threatened to kill a second of its
hostages, Steven J. Sotloff, a freelance journalist for Time magazine, who was
being held alongside Foley. The American’s government’s no-compromise policy
means that captured Americans have little chance of being released. Only a few
succeeded in running away and even fewer were rescued in special operations.
No petrol, diesel
for vehicles with no PUC certificate in Delhi
India
> Delhi > 22 August
In order to ensure that polluting
vehicles are off roads, the Delhi Government has decided to stop sale of diesel
and petrol to vehicles which do not possess Pollution Under Control (PUC)
certificates. The decision to this effect comes as per the recommendation of
the city government’s high-powered committee on environment constituted by
Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung. All vehicles registered till 2010 are required
to get PUC certificates reissued every three months, while those purchased
after 2010 have to get the certification done annually.
Delhi was named among the 5 most
polluted cities across the world.
Supreme Court
declares all coal blocks allocated since 1993 to 2010 illegal
India
> Coalgate > 25 August
The Supreme Court has said that all
coal blocks allocated since 1993 to 2010 by the screening committee were
illegal as no objective criteria was followed and the allocations were done
arbitrarily breaching guidelines. The Supreme Court bench, however, didn’t
de-allocate the coal blocks and said that coal exploration from them will
continue till further orders. The court has fixed September 1 as the date of
the hearing to decide whether there is a need for cancelling the 218 coal block
allocations. The coal blocks were allotted mainly in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh,
Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh to private companies.
Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has decided to file a
closure report in the coal block allocation scam involving Kumar Mangalam Birla
and former Coal Secretary P C Parakh after a 10-month probe with the agency
stating that they could not find any evidence in this matter.
Others
Arvind Subramanian, US-based
economist, set to become chief economic adviser
Politics
and Government > Chief Economic
Adviser > 22 August
US-based economist Mr. Arvind
Subramanian is set to be named as chief economic adviser to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's government. The appointment of Subramanian, a senior fellow at
the Peterson Institute for International Economics, was recommended by finance
minister Arun Jaitley. Cabinet-level approval is expected to follow.
To counter China, India
deploys Akash missiles in northeast
World
> India > 22 August
After basing Sukhoi-30MKI fighters at
Tezpur and Chabua, India has now begun deploying six Akash surface-to-air
missile (SAM) squadrons in the northeast to deter Chinese jets, helicopters and
drones. IAF has started getting deliveries of the six Akash missile squadrons,
which can "neutralize" multiple targets at 25 km interception range in
all-weather conditions, earmarked for the eastern theatre.
The Akash deployment in the northeast
is in tune with the overall plan to progressively achieve "meaningful and
credible deterrence" against China.
China, incidentally, has been
conducting major exercises with its J-10, Sukhoi-27UBK and Sukhoi-30MKK
fighters in the high-altitude Qinghai-Tibet plateau in recent times.
Gen Prayuth
Chan-ocha appointed 29th Thai PM
World
> Thailand > 25 August
Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, chief of
Thailand's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), received a royal
command appointing him the country's 29th prime minister at Army headquarters.
He promised to solve national problems urgently and to be accountable.
Gen Prayuth promised to tackle
corruption, especially that in the government sector, and to develop the nation
in all dimensions. He asked general public to support the work of his
government. The nation's economic problems would be solved quickly and
sustainably to prepare Thailand for the ASEAN Community, he pledged.
Flipkart signs pact with Textiles
ministry to provide online platform for weavers
Corporate
> Flipkart > 25 August
Online e-retailer Flipkart.com has
signed an agreement with the Textiles Ministry to provide an online marketing
platform to textile weavers from across the country from September. The online
initiative will help weavers tap the growing online market. Under the
agreement, the company will help weavers choose the right designs, colour
schemes and sizes according to what is in demand. The project is being launched
on a pilot basis for six months, after which it will be assessed. Flipkart will
connect the artisans directly to the buyer and help in relaying the orders to
weavers, packaging, collecting and delivering to the buyer. Flipkart will
charge a 3-4 commission on sale but there will be no listing charges. The
transportation charge will be extra which will be mentioned clearly.
Supreme Court refuses to recognize
pending criminal cases against MPs as disqualification
Politics
and Government > Criminal Cases
Against MPs > 27 August
The Supreme Court of India has refused
to recognize pending criminal cases against MPs as a disqualification for their
appointment as ministers. However, the SC bench said that both the Prime
Minister and chief ministers of states owe it to constitutional morality not to
appoint persons with criminal background as ministers. The SC said it cannot
read an additional disqualification for appointment of ministers other than
what is provided in the Constitution.
France gets new
cabinet as political crisis averted
World
> France > 27 August
Following the collapse of the
government, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls's new cabinet has been unveiled
after 4 months. President Hollande had to request the formation of a new cabinet
- his third in just over two years - after the government fell apart last
weekend.
The new government is said to have
been formed in line with his "direction" and is seen by analysts as
Hollande's last chance to save his five-year term as president. If the new
cabinet fails to get the support of lawmakers, Hollande and France face a
political crisis that could lead to the dissolution of parliament and a snap
election
France has the world's fifth-largest
economy by nominal figures and the ninth largest economy by PPP figures. It has
the second-largest economy in Europe (behind its main economic partner Germany)
in nominal figures, based on the dynamic industrial structure of the French
economy.
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