Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day's biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you staying safe. Here are the big stories that you need to follow today: 'Exaggerated' claims won't help: MEA to China The Ministry of External Affairs today said "exaggerated" claims will not help realise the understanding reached during the June 6 meeting between the Indian and the Chinese senior commanders. The statement from Anurag Srivastava, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs came hours after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke of China's "firm will" to protect its sovereign territory, in the context of its claim that Galwan Valley in Ladakh is part of China. "Both sides have agreed that the overall situation should be handled in a responsible manner and that the understandings reached between senior commanders on June 6 should be implemented sincerely. Making exaggerated and untenable claims is contrary to this understanding," said Srivastava. Meanwhile, the Indian Army said all Indian soldiers involved in the violent clash with China at Galwan Valley in Ladakh on Monday have now been accounted for, even as reports circulate that a number of Indian soldiers continued to be in the custody of the Chinese Army. New central scheme for migrant workers Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new scheme for migrant labourers who have returned to their native places, Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan. The Prime Minister will launch the scheme from Khagaria in Bihar, she said. The scheme aims to generate employment for labourers who have returned to their native places after facing hardship due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown. "We have tried to find which are the districts to which the migrant workers have returned. 116 districts have received the largest number of workers and they are spread across 6 states… For 125 days, 25 schemes of the government will be brought together to those districts that have received the highest number of workers. All those who need work/employment will be given work in these districts," she said. Nepal passes bill to update map The Upper House of the Nepal Parliament on Thursday passed the Second Constitution Amendment Bill 2077 (Vikram era), with all 59 members voting in favour of the new map that claims the disputed territory of Limpiyadhura-Kalapani-Lipulekh. Political map of Nepal released by the country on May 20, 2020. The voting completed the legislative move that grants constitutional status to the map, which was unveiled after the Kalapani territorial dispute intensified in May. Nepal Communist Party's Deputy Chief of Foreign Affairs Bishnu Rijal said the Bill would now be forwarded to President Bidhya Devi Bhandari for her signature, following which the amendment would become part of the Constitution. Covid Watch: Numbers and developments A medic wearing protective gear takes a swab from a man to test for COVID-19 at Patel Nagar in New Delhi on Thursday. The number of coronavirus cases in the country stood at 3,72,250 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 12,409. Telcos AGR order not to be used on other PSUs The government today informed the Supreme Court today that it had withdrawn 96% of its ₹4 lakh crore demand in adjusted gross revenue (AGR) from non-telecom public sector undertakings (PSUs). The turnaround comes days after the court pulled up the government for "misusing" its October 2019 judgment to get money from PSUs such as DMRC, Oil India, GAIL and Gujarat Narmada Valley Corporation. A three-judge Bench, led by Justice Arun Mishra, made it clear that its AGR verdict last year was limited to AGR dues owed by telecom companies and not PSUs that had nothing to do with the sector. On May 11, the court said the Department of Telecom's move to employ the judgment to demand money from PSUs was "totally impermissible". The court had threatened to haul up officials for contempt. Supreme Court stays Jagannath Yatra The Supreme Court has stayed the annual Jagannath Rath Yatra scheduled for June 23 in Puri, Odisha. "Lord Jagannath won't forgive us if we allow the yatra," Chief Justice S.A. Bobde observed orally. The court said the restraining order arises out of the court's concern for public health and safety amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Traditional survitors prepare for the annual Rath Yatra of Shree Jagannath temple in Puri, Odisha. This year's rath yatra will be held on June 24, and the State government is expected to take a call keeping in view the conditions prevailing at that point of time. This was swiftly followed by some banter: "Do you know the word 'juggernaut' comes from 'Jagannath'? 'Juggernaut' means something that cannot be stopped," Chief Justice Bobde said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta quipped, "Your Lordships have stopped it today". Did Trump seek China's help for 2020 re-election? In his new book, The Room Where It Happened, Donald Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton has made several explosive claims, of which the most startling is that Trump, as US President, had asked President Xi Jinping to use China's economic power to help him win the 2020 elections. The White House has filed an emergency order seeking to block the publication of the book on national security grounds. But the most damaging (for the Trump Presidency) excerpts from the book, which is set to go on sale from June 23, have already made their way to the press. Here are Bolton's other startling revelations: Trump reportedly offered personal favours to dictators, didn't know that UK was a nuclear power, thought Finland was "kind of a satellite of Russia", believed it would be "cool" to invade Venezuela, and had endorsed China's mass detention of Uighur Muslims in internment camps. Incidentally, Trump on Wednesday signed legislation calling for sanctions against China over its repression of Uighur Muslims. The Bill, which Congress passed with only one "no" vote, is apparently intended to send China a strong message on human rights, by mandating sanctions against those responsible for oppression of China's Muslim minority. In Brief: India's presence on the international stage got a boost as it secured a non-permanent seat to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2021-22 biennium. India won 184 votes in the 193-strong General Assembly, well above the qualifying two-thirds majority of 128 votes, in Wednesday's election. India's term on the 15-member Council, which begins on January 1, will be its eighth. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. |
Post a Comment