FNI

‘Boycott French products’ launched over Macron’s Islam comments

Several Arab trade associations have announced a boycott of French products, in response to recent comments made by President Emmanuel Macron on Islam.

Earlier this month, Macron pledged to fight “Islamist separatism”, which he said was threatening to take control in some Muslim communities around France.

He also described Islam as a religion “in crisis” worldwide and said the government would present a bill in December to strengthen a 1905 law that officially separated church and state in France.

His comments, in addition to his backing of satirical outlets publishing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, has led to a social media campaign calling for the boycott of French products from supermarkets in Arab countries and Turkey.

Muslim world condemns Macron, France over treatment of Islam

The backlash over French President Emmanuel Macron’s critique of Islam has intensified after Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan questioned his counterpart’s mental health, while Muslims in several countries are demanding a boycott of France.

Marking his second sharp criticism against Macron in two days, Erdogan said on Sunday that the French president had “lost his mind”, prompting France’s foreign minister to recall the country’s ambassador in Ankara.The French debate on Islam was deepened after the beheading of a teacher who had shown caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad – previously published by a satirical magazine – in a class on freedom of expression. Muslims believe that any depiction of the Prophet is blasphemous.

Iran accuses France’s Macron of fuelling ‘extremism’

Iran has accused France of fuelling “extremism” after President Emmanuel Macron defended the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

“Muslims are the primary victims of the ‘cult of hatred’ – empowered by colonial regimes & exported by their own clients,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted. Macron said history teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded for showing caricatures of the prophet to pupils “because Islamists want our future”.

Faridabad murder caught on CCTV, victim's family claims 'love jihad'

21-year-old woman was shot dead in broad daylight in Faridabad district of Haryana on Monday. The incident took place during a failed abduction attempt that was caught on camera.

The incident took place on Monday afternoon at Faridabad's Ballabgarh when two men tried to abduct the victim, identified as Nikita Tomar. When she resisted, one of the accused pulled out a revolver and fired at her, police said. The brutal murder was caught on camera.

Both the men allegedly involved in the murder have been arrested and the main accused has been identified as Tausif, police said on Tuesday. The other accused has been identified as Rehan, a resident of Nuh in Haryana.

Meanwhile, the family of the woman has linked the killing of the 21-year-old to so-called 'love jihad'. The family claimed that the woman was attacked outside her college by a man who was infatuated with her while the other accused is his associate.

The 21-year-old's kin said a case had been filed by the family against the main accused in 2018, but the matter was settled later. Haryana Police Commissioner told India Today, “In 2018, Nikita's family filed a kidnapping case against Tausif but the family later said they did not want to take action. We have arrested accused Tausif now.”

Jagdishan takes over as HDFC Bank MD & CEO

Sashidhar Jagdishan has taken over as the new chief executive and managing director of the largest private sector lender, HDFC Bank.

Assets of NBFCs expected to grow at 15-18% in current fiscal

As economic activity revives after the gradual lifting of the lockdown, the demand for gold loans is expected to rise. The gold loan assets of finance companies in country are estimated to grow by 15-18 per cent in current financial year, according to CRISIL.

The demand, especially from individuals for meeting urgent personal requirements and from micro enterprises for working capital to restart businesses, would propel gold loan growth.

Gold loans would be preferred as non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and banks have tightened their underwriting norms for other loans. Also, higher average gold prices mean gold-loan assets under management of NBFCs could grow 15-18% this fiscal.

Noida sweets manufacturer attacked FOR ransom

Noida: Merely a month after Haldiram Snacks Private Limited corporate office in Noida suffered a ransomware attack, the servers of another Noida-based sweets manufacturing company were hacked and their data was encrypted in a different format that that which the company uses.

According to the company, the incident took place on the afternoon of August 22 at the corporate office of Mithaas sweets in Noida’s Sector 63.

“Our company server was hacked and there was a ransomware implanted between 3-4pm. All our transactional data was encrypted in a different format, which was inaccessible to us and became completely useless. There was a ransomware screen which asked us to contact them on a particular email id in order to decrypt the data back to the original format,” said Sumit Chowdhary, director (operations).

He added that when the company contacted their anti-virus provider, they were advised not to engage with the ransomware.

“They said that the hackers may then be able to hack into our email as well. So we never replied to the mail. All our data is still there in the encrypted form. We are hoping that technical experts will be able to decrypt it eventually,” said Chowdhary.

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Air quality ‘severe’ in parts of Greater Noida

Air quality reached “severe” levels in parts of Gautam Buddh Nagar in the National Capital Region (NCR) on Monday, while it largely remained “very poor” in Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad, according to a government agency.

Concentration of major air pollutants PM 2.5 and PM 10 during the morning hours remained in the “severe” category in parts of the four immediate neighbouring districts of Delhi, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

An air quality index (AQI) between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.

In Gautam Buddh Nagar’s Noida, the AQI was 383 at Sector 116, followed by 373 at Sector 62, 364 at Sector 1, while the air quality monitoring station at Sector 125 showed “insufficient” data for the last 24 hours.

PVVNL lodges over 800 power theft cases

Since April this year, the power discom Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) has lodged 814 electricity theft cases in Gautam Budh Nagar at its exclusive anti-theft police station in Sector 63.

Wanted arrested after encounters in Greater Noida

NOIDA/Greater Noida: Two wanted criminals were arrested after separate encounters with the police in Greater Noida. In the first case, a 35-year-old man was arrested only after an encounter in Greater Noida West. The suspect was identified as Islam, a resident of Moradabad.

Deputy commissioner of police, Noida Central, said that police received information about movement of the suspect. “The police signalled the suspect to stop for checking, but he tried to escape after opening fire at the police team where no one was injured after that police opened fire and injured his right leg and then arrested,” he said.

The police recovered a stolen motorcycle, a countrymade gun which could fire only one bullet before reloading and a live cartridge from his possession. The suspect was wanted in five criminal cases and a reward of Rs 25,000 was announced on his arrest, the police said.

In separate case, a 25-year-old man was arrested after an encounter with the police in Ecotech III area in Greater Noida. The suspect was identified as Prashant Kumar, a native of Kannauj. He lived in a rented accommodation at Salarpur in Noida Sector 39. Ankur Aggarwal, additional deputy commissioner of police, Gautam Budh Nagar, said that the police received information about movement of two suspects on a motorcycle near Jalpura village. “The police signalled the suspects to stop for checking. in this case too, the suspects opened fire at the police team and tried to escape,” he said.

The police also opened fire in which Kumar and this time was hit in his left leg and fell off the motorcycle and was arrested. The police have recovered a countrymade gun, a stolen motorcycle and a mobile phone from Kumar’s possession. At least five criminal cases are registered against Kumar, the police said.

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India records daily spike of 36,469 fresh Covid-19 cases

India on Tuesday recorded 36,469 fresh coronavirus cases just a day after witnessing the lowest daily rise in cases in over last three months. The country’s total tally of coronavirus cases has now increased to over 79 lakh.

The country has also recorded 488 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of Covid deaths to 1,19,502. Active cases in the country have also declined to 6,25,857 after 27,860 more people recovered in the last 24 hours.

Gujarati actor Naresh Kanodia dies at 77 due to coronavirus

Gujarati films actor Naresh Kanodia has died due to coronavirus. He was admitted in the hospital since last four days and was undergoing treatment in Ahmedabad’s UN Mehta Institute. He was 77 years old.

Naresh Kanodia was mostly known for his roles in Gujarati films and still has a lot of fan following. He is known as the Amitabh Bachchan of the Gujarati film industry. After his death, Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani tweeted to express his shock and condolences.

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"Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world" : French President Emmanuel Macron

It is not about one particular comment that has sparked off a hot debate and angry reactions from the Arab countries. It began with Macron unveiling his secular legislation plan early this month to tackle what he has described as "Islamic separatism" in France and "Islamic terror attacks".

On October 2, while announcing that his government would bring out fresh legislation to strengthen the 1905 French law that separates church from state. During his announcement, he said, "Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today, we are not just seeing this in our country."

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COVAXIN TO ENTER PHASE III

The third phase of the human trial of the indigenous vaccine against Covid-19, Covaxin, will commence at a private hospital in Bhubaneshwar soon. The search for a suitable vaccine against coronavirus has almost come to the final stage, Dr E Venkata Rao, Principal Investigator in the Covaxin human trial and Professor in the department of Community Medicine at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital here said on Sunday.

IMS and SUM Hospital is among the 21 medical institutes selected across the country by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) where the third phase trial would be conducted.

OXFORD VACCINE RAISES HOPES

The AstraZeneca-Oxford coronavirus vaccine, one of the frontrunners in the global vaccine race, has produced an immune response in both young and old. The announcement has raised hopes as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to damage global economies.

The coronavirus vaccine has also triggered lower adverse responses among the elderly, British drug maker AstraZeneca has said.

“It is encouraging to see immunogenicity responses were similar between older and younger adults and that reactogenicity was lower in older adults, where the Covid-19 disease severity is higher,” an AstraZeneca spokesman said.

PFIZER ENROLLS 42,000 VOLUNTEERS

US drug maker Pfizer, which is developing a coronavirus vaccine with German pharma company BioNTech, has enrolled 42,113 volunteers for Phase II and Phase III clinical trials.

Pfizer has said it could file in late November for US authorization of the coronavirus vaccine it is developing, opening up the possibility of a vaccine being available in the United States by the end of the year.

UK HOSPITAL TO PREPARE FOR VACCINE ROLLOUT

A major London hospital trust has been told to be ready to receive the first batches of the coronavirus vaccine being trialed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca by early next month, according to a UK media report on Monday.

‘The Sun’ newspaper claims that the country’s state-funded National Health Service (NHS) is preparing for an initial rollout of the vaccine from the week “commencing November 2”.

Oxford vaccine immune response triggers hopes

Coronavirus vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University has successfully triggered a strong immune response among both young and old. The announcement by AstraZeneca has triggered hopes across countries ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile in India, Bharat Biotech and ICMR will be entering Phase III clinical trials of the indigenous vaccine, Covaxin.

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7 killed, 70 injured in Pakistan blast

Major explosion at a madrassa has rocked a colony in Pakistan’s Peshawar. Local reports say at least seven people have died while 70 others have suffered injuries in the powerful blast at a madrassa in Dir Colony of Peshawar.

"The blast took place in a madrassa where unknown people had planted explosives in a plastic bag," a police officer told Reuters on Tuesday. Children were among the dead, he added.

A spokesman for the Lady Reading Hospital nearby said it had received seven dead and 70 wounded patients, many with burns suffered in the blast.

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Tata Communications appoints Kabir Ahmed Shakir as CFO

Tata Communications on Tuesday announced the appointment of Kabir Ahmed Shakir as its Chief Financial Officer.

The appointment comes with effect from October 21, 2020. He will be responsible for the strategic financial management of the company, including investor relations, the company said in a statement.

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Sweden bans Huawei, ZTE from 5G mobile networks

Swedish regulators have banned the use of telecommunications equipment from China’s Huawei and ZTE in its 5G network in advance of the government’s spectrum auction scheduled for next month.

The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) said the setting of the licence conditions followed assessments by the Swedish Armed Forces and the Swedish Security Service. European governments have been reviewing the role of Chinese companies in building their networks following pressure from the United States, which says they pose a security threat because, among other concerns, Chinese companies and citizens must by law aid the state in intelligence gathering.

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Coronavirus can survive for 28 days on some surfaces: Study

The virus that causes COVID-19 can survive on banknotes, glass and stainless steel for up to 28 days, much longer than the flu virus, Australian researchers said on Monday, highlighting the need for effective cleaning and handwashing to help combat the disease.

Findings from the study by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, appear to show that in a tightly controlled environment the virus remained infectious for longer than other studies have found.CSIRO researchers said that at 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) the SARS-COV-2 virus was “extremely robust” and remained infectious for 28 days on smooth surfaces such as plastic banknotes and glass found on mobile phone screens. The study was published in Virology Journal.

Ireland, Wales to re-enter lockdown as COVID-19 surges in Europe

Countries and regions in Europe are toughening coronavirus restrictions amid a surge in fresh infections, with Wales imposing a “fire-break” lockdown of 14 days, Ireland announcing a nationwide “stay at home” order for six weeks and Belgium shutting down bars and restaurants for a month as authorities there warned of a possible “tsunami” of new COVID-19 cases.

The latest European measures on Monday came as the World Health Organization blamed the rise in northern hemisphere cases on countries’ failure to properly quarantine infected people.

According to the WHO, half of the 48 countries in its Europe region have seen a 50 percent rise in cases in the past week. With the continent firmly in the grip of a second wave of COVID-19, several countries have imposed curfews, while Wales and Ireland have become the first territories to reimpose lockdowns.

In a televised address on Monday, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin announced the closure of non-essential retail, limiting restaurants and pubs to take away service and telling people not to travel more than five kilometres (three miles) from their home.

Argentina passes 1 million cases

Argentina has passed one million coronavirus cases and it is now smaller cities like Ushuaia – known as “The End of the World” at the edge of the country – that are seeing some of the most notable upticks.

Doctors have had to quadruple the number of beds for COVID-19 patients over the last month. At least 60 percent of those tested recently are coming back positive for the virus. “We were the example of the country,” said Carlos Guglielmi, director of the Ushuaia Regional Hospital. “Evidently, someone arrived with the coronavirus.”

Across Latin America, three other nations are expected to reach a million-case milestone in the coming weeks – Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

Military exercises set to take place in Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea

Australia will take part in large-scale military exercises off the coast of India next month that will bring together a quartet of countries concerned by rising Chinese influence. India, Japan, the United States and – for the first time since 2007 – Australia will take part in this November’s Malabar naval exercise, a move that is likely to lead to protests from China. Australian Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said late on Monday that the drills were about  “demonstrating our collective resolve to support an open and prosperous Indo-Pacific” – a allusion to countering China’s power.

India’s Ministry of Defence said the naval drill would take place in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, which has been a hotspot for Indo-Chinese strategic competition. Over the last few decades, China has tried to significantly increase influence in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh, prompting acute concern in New Delhi. The drill comes at a time of diplomatic tensions between China and Australia, economic tensions between China and the US and military tensions between China and India.

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UNRAVELLING THE CHINESE CODE

Border disputes have been the bane of our country since ancient times. Unfortunately our leadership never had the urgency to address these issues which has resulted into differences being converted into disputes. The present conflict with China has been the manifestation of this malaise.

It has been no secret to us that the Chinese leadership has never desired a settlement of the border dispute. They have followed Mao Tse Tung’s expansionist theory of “Five Fingers”, i.e. Ladakh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. The Chinese has ever since made repeated intrusions in these areas and tested the resolve of our forces to defend these moves.

China understands that mobilisation of large forces will not make any difference to their 15 trillion economy but will definitely impact the economy of other nations like India, Bhutan and Nepal. The PLA has over a period of time amassed huge military assets which are exhibited by them to intimidate other nations. Today China occupies more than 50 percent of territories through forceful occupation which includes Inner Mongolia, Akshai Chin, Tibet, Xinjiang and Yunnan.

There has been a plethora of thoughts and analysis on the current Ladakh crisis that almost everyone has reached a saturation point.. All Defence, Foreign Affairs analysts and Geo-Strategist have articulated a great deal on why China did what it did and tried to decipher the psyche of the Chinese leadership. Unfortunately there has not been a single word from the Chinese on this.

Therefore, largely all have speculated the reason for this Chinese mis-adventure, stating that it could be the result of the declaration of Ladakh as a Union Territory or creation of infrastructure by India near the border areas or India’s growing proximity to the United States of America or interference in Tibet’s internal affairs, formulation of QUAD and so on. Nobody is sure what could have been the trigger as most statements have emanated from India rather than China. The most important aspect to understand here is that over the years there has been an increasing asymmetry between China and India both in terms of Economy and Military spheres. The difference between the two Asian neighbours is real and substantive. The Chinese economy is five times the size of the Indian economy, while its military spending is four times that of India’s. China’s power has grown exponentially and they have become strong to assert themselves. There is a talk in their political circles in China that there is no utility in pursuing diplomatic talks with India and has been evident with more than 23 talks having taken place without an agreement in sight.

Professor Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, a noted defence research analyst with ORF states that there are two fundamental issues that need to be borne in mind. One is China’s unwillingness to see another peer power that may be rising in its neighbourhood, which is how they appear to see India. China’s efforts at balancing India are not new; it is part of the Chinese policy since the 1950s. As India’s role and prominence increase even marginally, Beijing seems to find it unacceptable. China would like to see a subservient and pliable India. The Chinese are convinced that India needs to be taught a lesson. They also realise that the 1962 war was a mistake when they withdrew their forces from the captured areas. They are now moving towards coercive diplomacy and bring upon India to revisit their policy towards the US as also lend support to their Belt Road Initiative (BRI).

Under this back drop how then do we visualise the implications of the present situation on the LAC. The recent Corps Commanders meeting held on the basis of the five point agreement arrived during the Foreign Ministers meeting of both the countries at Moscow, has resulted in no further escalation of forces levels by both sides. In any case in the given areas of conflict any further increase of forces would not be commensurate with the desired results.

Flash Points on LAC(Image courtesy The Print)

Considering the present force level of both the armies having around 50,000 troops in the conflict zone, is an indicator that there cannot be an all out offensive. It is also clear to China that this battle now cannot be won without fighting. Their strategic plans largely look at non-kinetic options, which are now evidently not happening. Therefore, presently the exit options are limited. It’s a Hobson’s choice both countries face. The Indian Army needs to hold tight, maintain a low profile and continue to reinforce their positions. Both the armies would ultimately look for exit options and may have to draw Red Lines which are acceptable to both.

The Chinese made a statement through the Hindustan Times newspaper, that it abides by the LAC proposed by their then Premier Zhou En Lai in a letter to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru dated 07 November 1959, that China maintains the sanctity of the 1959 line of perception of the LAC and it is India which has transgressed. This seems to be a political masterstroke to pre-empt any further talks on withdrawal from their existing deployment positions. India has however refuted these claims since this statement of China makes no mention of three very important agreements concluded between the two countries Post 1959.

India intends to avoid a military escalation, which in all likelihood means that it will accept the new Chinese-established status quo on the border.  It therefore emerges that the 1959 claim line is now likely to be the new LAC in all areas except Demchok.

                                          Image courtesy: The Print

It would therefore be in the interest of both the nations to declare the areas between the 1959 claim line and 1993 alignment of LAC as a buffer zone, where no deployment of troops or creation of border infrastructure would be permitted from both sides. This would be a face saving solution for both Xi Jenping and our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. An agreement on these lines can pave the way for dis-engagement and de-escalation before the winter sets in.

According to a study by the Delhi Policy Group, maintaining a credible defensive and surveillance posture requires India to deploy defensive formations with a multi-layered ISR system to cover operational and strategic depths that can detect moves of centralised reserves, rocket forces and strategic assets coming from the Chinese main land, along extended lines of communication. The surveillance system, to be dependable, must be based on satellite imagery, UAVs and aerial surveillance platforms, complemented by radars and tactical electro-optical surveillance integrated into both tactical C3I and C4ISR systems. The criticality is collation, analysis and dissemination of intelligence in real time. 

Our current force structures continue to be infantry biased with limited mobility and fire power, which is a limitation that needs to be overcome by suitable changes in the existing defensive posture. The deployments along identified avenues of approach need to be self-contained, in the form of tailor-made Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs) which are agile and eg Vehicles equipped with missiles). Where required, Forward Air Controllers for directing air support, combat Engineers and support elements for operational logistics need to be factored in. Also, as against the prevalent practice of fighting a battle of attrition at the point of contact, these agile formations should be able to provide a capability of manoeuvre and of launching counter offensive/quid pro quo (QPQ)/riposte operations by rapidly shifting the point of engagement. The concept of military deployment along the LAC could therefore be described as “Positional Defence by tailor made Integrated Battle Groups supported by Specialised Mobile Reserves.

            There has also been a talk about LOC-i-sation of the LAC. In the classical sense this would not be possible in Eastern Ladakh given the type of terrain. Since all agreements have now collapsed and there is a trust deficit with China, India would need to push in additional troops in this region to guard all avenues of approach. Task oriented battle groups as described above would need to be deployed with specific task orientation. Use of Special Forces would become paramount. The holding of heights South of Pangong Tso upto Rezing La virtually closes most avenues to Leh. The present deployment on the Kailash ridge lines cannot be vacated, because if we leave these critical areas we will not be able to get them back. The mistake made of giving back “Haji Pir” to Pakistan on a platter cannot be repeated.

Battles are not fought in a linear dimension as Vietnam defeated France, USA and China with almost nothing. Afghanistan defeated UK, USSR and USA with less than nothing. The Indian Army is better prepared than Vietnam or Afghanistan. PLA may have great equipment, sophisticated infrastructure at the theatre level but at lower levels they lack battle experience and operational adaptability. As Clausewitz said, “Strategy is about picking the right battles. Tactics are about successfully executing the battles”. China is getting hyphenated with India. A stalemate is a victory for India, anything more will be a bonus.

The Indian Army has improved its sectoral operational preparedness. It has carried out key strategic manoeuvres, has deployed its troops to cover all likely avenues of infiltration and has almost completed its winter stocking. A massive logistical exercise was done to push in almost two lac tonnes worth of supplies through the two axes i.e. the Zojila and the Rohtang pass. Our forces are battle ready to face any eventuality.

From current developments in India’s immediate neighbourhood, it is evident that the level of threats across our borders is increasing exponentially. Our aim of achieving “punitive deterrence” against Pakistan and “dissuasion/dissuasive deterrence” against China is unlikely even in the medium term (2030-35). Under these circumstances, “going it alone” seems a challenge which our existing economic and military power can ill afford.

There will be both greater institutionalisation as well as a flurry of mini-laterals that will emerge in the Indo-Pacific driven by shared concerns about China’s aggressive behaviour. China’s continuing harassments and naval as well as land border intrusions have seen a particular increase in 2020. This has prompted several new partnerships such as Australia-India-France trilateral. The contours of a comprehensive Indian-U.S. partnership, and New Delhi’s commitment to it, will be clear only after the results of the U.S. presidential election in November.

Though we have so far followed a policy of strategic autonomy but we will have to look now to strengthen partnerships with other countries in terms of issue based alliances such as Japan, Indonesia, Australia, USA and Russia. Economic and military areas of co-operation will need to be identified. In September, India and Japan sealed a logistics agreement to provide their militaries with access to each other’s bases for supplies.

Our maritime presence would need to be strengthened. The nation will have to build a strong military posture coupled with economic growth. India would need to gear up itself to explore other markets such as South Korea, Vietnam and Indonesia till such time the Atma Nirbharta Campaign takes off.  The small and medium industries are the backbone of our economy and should be brought on rail. The world has now changed over. Adaptation will be the key.

Our future relationship with China would need to go through a change. Even if the PLA moved away and restoration of the status quo ante was to happen, which is doubtful, a return to normalcy in India-China bilateral relations may be difficult. The fact that China broke several of the commitments contained in the border agreements and CBMs starting from the 1993 agreement will have a serious impact in rebuilding the ties, as also the domestic political criticism of the government’s handling of this issue.

For all practical purposes, the Chinese military has crossed over into Indian territory and altered the status quo. With Beijing possibly thinking that it has the overall military balance in its favour, it is in no mood to disengage and return to positions prior to the Galwan clash. While India does not appear to be looking to return to Wuhan summit bilaterally, New Delhi has shown some inclination to establish some semblance of normalcy in the relationship. However, this would still require Beijing to meet India at least halfway.

China has always wanted to de-link border disputes with the economic activity. This cannot happen anymore. Till border disputes are settled there has to be an embargo placed on all Chinese firms and no import-export activity to take place. This is easier said than done because over a period of time our industry has become China dependent as is evident with the huge trade imbalance we have. Therefore this will pose the greatest challenge for us. There would be a requirement to re-draft Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) and de-lineate the LAC. China is now slowly getting isolated. It would need to shed its baggage of history. Jingoism will not work. It would have to do away with its “Son of a Heavens” concept. The world will have to get together to evolve a policy of “Congagement” i.e. contain and engage with China. The time for reckoning is coming near.

Maj Gen Rajan Kochhar, VSM, retired from the Indian Army, as Major General Army Ordnance Corps, Central Command, after 37 years of meritorious service to the Nation. Alumni of Defence Services Staff College and College of Defence Management, he holds a doctorate in Emotional Intelligence and is a reputed expert on defence security strategy and issues. He is an Arbitrator with the Ministry of Defence, Member, Manoj Parikkar Institute of Defence and Strategic Analyses, New Delhi and Senior Adviser with DRaS.

 

 

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US bans palm oil imports from Malaysian producer FGV

The United States has banned imports of palm oil from Malaysian company FGV Holdings following an investigation into allegations it uses forced labour, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency said.

FGV, one of the world’s largest crude palm oil producers, and some other suppliers of the oil used in everything from food and cosmetics to biodiesel have long faced allegations from rights groups over labour and human rights abuses.

In response, FGV said “it is fully committed to respecting human rights and to upholding labour standards”.

The US agency said the ban was the result of a year-long investigation that revealed signs of forced labour such as abuse of the vulnerable, deception, physical and sexual violence, intimidation and threats, and retention of identity documents.

The investigation also raised concerns that forced child labour was potentially being used in FGV’s production processes, CBP said in a statement, adding that the ban would come into effect immediately.

“The use of forced labour in the production of such a ubiquitous product allows companies to profit from the abuse of vulnerable workers,” said Brenda Smith, Executive Assistant Commissioner of CBP’s trade office.

Challenges in Iraq mount a year after anti-gov’t protests erupted

A month later, the protests forced the resignation of then-Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, who was succeeded by Mustafa al-Kadhimi, with the latter pledging to integrate protesters’ demands into his transitional government’s plans.But on the ground, little has been achieved.

Al-Kadhimi has set an early parliamentary vote for June 6, 2021, nearly a year ahead of schedule. “Protesters wanted early elections and a new electoral law. We’re doing that,” Abdelhussein Hindawi, al-Kadhimi’s adviser on elections, told AFP news agency.

Protesters clash with police after rape victim’s cremation

Protests have erupted in several parts of India after the body of a gang-rape victim was cremated late at night, against the wishes of her family.

The 19-year-old victim from the Dalit community – the lowest rung of the ancient Hindu caste system – was attacked and raped on September 14 in a field near her home in Hathras district, 100km (62 miles) from the capital, New Delhi, authorities said.