Monthly Archives: March 2022

India’s Chief Justice N.V. Ramana visits UAE, focuses on extradition ties

Posted on by
Reply

 Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, who is on his maiden visit to the United Arab Emirates, on Thursday held talks with the UAE Justice Minister and the head of the Emirates Supreme Court.

The discussion was focused on the Indian expatriates in the Gulf country and for closer judicial cooperation between the two nations.

CJI Ramana, accompanied by Indian Ambassador Sunjay Sudhir and Supreme Court Justice Hima Kohli, held a meeting with UAE Minister of Justice Abdullah bin Sultan bin Awad Al Nuaimi, Federal Supreme Court President Mohd Hamad Al Badi, and Supreme Court Judge Abdul Rahman Al Balushi on issues concerning Indian expatriates.

Addressing a felicitation function organised by the Indian community in the UAE at the India Social and Cultural Centre, Abu Dhabi, he said: “Today we discussed some issues which are bothering the Law Minister and the Ambassador.”

“There are around 175 people whose extradition orders are pending and when the Ambassador brought it to notice, we represented it to the UAE Law Ministry to look into this and try to expedite these extradition orders.

Judges facing sponsored, synchronised, malicious physical, social media attacks: CJI.

“There is 105 transfer of sentence orders and that too will be expedited. One more request was for access to visit Indians in prisons. These are humanitarian issues which we need to take care of,” he said.

“After this, there was the matter of judgments regarding the workmen who were terminated and those verdicts not being implemented. They said they will review the numbers given every six months,” he added.

“In family courts, we’ve seen legislation made by the UAE government to protect traditional laws of Indians who are non-Muslims so that they can follow their laws. They have agreed for this and it seems they have created some courts,” he said.

One of the difficulties, he said, is that there are not enough interpreters. “They’ll say they’ll take care so people who don’t understand Arabic can use interpreters.

“The UAE Minister has promised the issues will be taken care of. I appreciate the Ambassador’s hard work and sincerity,” the CJI said.

He said that India and the UAE share strong friendly ties and that the two nations have signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement.

“One of the major reasons for strong ties between the two nations is that Indians constitute one of the strongest ethnic groups. Nearly 3.5 million Indians are living here comprising 30 per cent of the total population. Indians have contributed to the development of the UAE over the years,” he added.

CJI Ramana also said that suggestions could be made to the organisations like the Indian Culture Centre to think of creating a legal assistance centre to help those in need of legal assistance in India.

Neighbourhood First: 5 Sailing boats of Indian Navy visit Sri Lanka

Posted on by
Reply
Tightening naval ties between India and Sri Lanka, five sailing vessels of the Indian Navy are now visiting the island nation.

“Continuing Indian Navy’s endeavour to build ‘Bridges of Friendship’, indigenous sailing vessels Mhadei, Tarini, Bulbul, Kadalpura and Hariyal visit the South Indian island from March 10-19 with the aims to provide ocean sailing training and experience to the Sri Lanka Navy,” the Indian High Commission in Colombo said in a statement.

“The vessels were in Trincomalee from 10 March 2022 to 13 March 2022 and embarked
fourteen officers including two lady officers of Sri Lanka Navy for ocean sailing experience in Colombo. Dedicated training was also imparted to the embarking officers by an Indian Navy Officer during harbour phase,” the statement added.

The senior officer of the Indian Navy Sailing team, Commodore B.R. Singh, called on COMEAST, Rear Admiral Jayantha Kularatne, at Trincomalee and Deputy Chief of Staff, COMWEST, Rear Admiral A.U.C. De Silva at Colombo, it said.

“The ocean-sailing experience provided by Indian Navy is expected to encourage keen enthusiasm amongst the Sri Lanka Navy Officers for this adventure sport.”

Earlier India’s INSV Madhei circumnavigated the globe in a solo endeavour by Commander Dilip Donde in 2010 and undertook non-stop solo expedition in 2012 by Lt Commander Abhilash Tomy. In another India naval endeavour INSV Tarini as part of Navika Sagar Parikrama, a six women officer team, had successfully circumnavigated the globe in 2019.

To promote the interest towards sailing and adventure sports among Sri Lanka Navy, Indian Navy’s Western Fleet Commander, Rear Admiral Sameer Saxena, had earlier handed over state of the art sailing gears on behalf of the Indian Navy to Sri Lanka Navy’s Director General Operations, Rear Admiral P.S. Mahawithana, at a ceremony onboard INS Chennai on March 12.

“The recent engagements amongst the two Navies have cemented the deep rooted bonds of
friendship and seamless interoperability. The arrival of Indian Navy ships is symbolic of close defence cooperation and togetherness shared amongst the two countries in line with India’s ‘Neighborhood First’ policy,” the HC statement added.

India offers help to mediate to end Russia-Ukraine war

Posted on by
Reply

India, which has maintained good relations with both Russia and Ukraine, offered help to “engage” in diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine following the UN concerns for the lives of millions of people.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “emphasized that there is no option but the path of dialogue and diplomacy”, said India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, T.S. Tirumurti on Thursday.

“We stand ready to continue to engage on these objectives in the Security Council, as well as with the parties, in the coming days,” he said.

Modi has already spoken to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, urging both the leader to direct talks.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelentsky expressed positivism on the outcome of talks being held in Belarus and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the talks were “close to an agreement”.

Zelenskyy

Taking note of the outcome in bilateral talks between Ukraine and Russia, Tirumurti said, “We reiterate our call for immediate cessation of hostilities across Ukraine.”

He said, “We continue to underline the need to respect the UN Charter, international law and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states… The humanitarian situation has worsened, particularly in the conflict zones.”

He said that humanitarian assistance should not be politicised and said that India has already sent over 90 tonnes of relief supplies to Ukraine and its neighbours since March 1. “We are in the process of identifying other such requirements and sending further supplies in the coming days,” he said.

So far, 726 people have been killed, 52 of them children, and most of the casualties resulted from the use of explosive weapons with wide impact in residential areas. However, the actual number is likely much higher.

Attacks on hospitals

“Life-saving medicine we need now is peace,” World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said outlining the health catastrophe in Ukraine. He said that WHO has verified 43 attacks on health care facilities, with 12 people killed and 34 injured, including health workers.

“Attacks on health care are a violation of international humanitarian law – anytime, anywhere,” he said. He said that UN convoys with humanitarian supplies have not been able to reach several areas.

Russia’s Permanent Representative Vasily Nebenzia denied the accusations that Russia is attacking places like medical facilities or a theatre sheltering people or a mosque. “We note with regret that Ukraine has always was a pawn in the struggle against Russia and remains such a pawn still,” he said.

He said that Russia will not press for a vote on a resolution it had introduced to counter a resolution proposed by France and Mexico on facilitating humanitarian assistance in Ukraine.

Russia was calling for an emergency session of the Security Council on Friday on its complaints of what it said were bio-weapon labs in Ukraine.

World Court ICJ orders Russia to stop war immediately; Is it binding?

Posted on by
Reply

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest judicial body in the world, on Wednesday ordered Russia to suspend its military operations in Ukraine, though its orders are not mandatory for defying member nations.

In a vote of 13-2, the decision was to ask the Russian Federation to quickly suspend military operations it started on February 24. “The Russian Federation shall immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on Feb 24, 2022 in the territory of Ukraine,” the judges said as quoted by Reuters.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the outcome at the world court and said, “Ukraine gained a complete victory in its case against Russia at the ICJ. The ICJ ordered to immediately stop the invasion. The order is binding under international law. Russia must comply immediately. Ignoring the order will isolate Russia even further”.

On 26 February, Ukraine filed an application against Russia concerning “a dispute” on the interpretation, application and fulfilment of the Genocide Convention. Ukraine contended that having falsely claimed acts of genocide against the people of the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, Russia declared and implemented a “special military operation” to prevent and punish the purported acts.

The ICJ asked Russia to immediately suspend its attacks and cease all military operations as they were based on Moscow’s stated purpose of preventing or punishing Ukraine for committing genocide.

The Court also noted that Russia had decided not to participate in oral proceedings and later, presented a document setting out its position that in this case, the Court lacks jurisdiction and requested it to “refrain from indicating provisional measures and to remove the case from its list.”

Meeting conditions

In delivering the ruling, President of the Court Joan Donoghue of the United States, outlined that the necessary conditions were met to give the ICJ the authority to indicate provisional measures, namely that the rights asserted by Ukraine are plausible and the condition of urgency was met in that acts causing irreparable prejudice can “occur at any moment.”

“Indeed, any military operation, in particular one on the scale carried out by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, inevitably causes loss of life, mental and bodily harm, and damage to property and to the environment,” said the ICJ President.

On behalf of the world court, she continued, “the civilian population affected by the present conflict is extremely vulnerable,” adding that Russia’s aggression has resulted in “numerous civilian deaths and injuries…significant material damage, including the destruction of buildings and infrastructure”.

“Attacks are ongoing and are creating increasingly difficult living conditions for the civilian population. Many persons have no access to the most basic foodstuffs, potable water, electricity, essential medicines or heating. A very large number of people are attempting to flee from the most affected cities under extremely insecure conditions,” she explained.

The judges were unanimous in their order that both parties refrain from any action that might “aggravate or extend the dispute…or make it more difficult to resolve.”

 

Massive power shutdown in Tokyo as 7.3M earthquake jolts region violently (Videos)

Posted on by
Reply

More than 2 million homes in Tokyo went without electricity as a powerful 7.3M earthquake jolted the Tokyo region. The quake shook large parts of eastern Japan, including the capital, where buildings were seen swayed violently during the earth quake. At least two people were killed and dozens more were injured, according to Kyodo News.

As power was snapped by the TEPCO, East Japan Railway Co. suspended most of its train services. The utility service company — Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), which operates the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant where the cooling systems failed after the 2011 disaster, said workers found no abnormalities at the site, which was in the process of being decommissioned.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake hit at 11:36 p.m. at a depth of 60 km below the sea. The epicentre was located off the coast of Fukushima in northern Japan. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat.

The northern Japan witnessed a deadly 9.0 quake and tsunami 11 years ago on March 11 that caused nuclear plant meltdowns in Fukushima.

The state-owned NHK TV reported some incidents of fire and damage to buildings and falling rocks in Iitate town in Fukushima. Several residents captured the shaking inside homes and posted them on social media as seen below:

 

 

55% of Indians spend 3 sleepless nights a week; Here are some solutions

Posted on by
Reply

Due to the Covid pandemic and two years of continuous stay at home has changed the bioclocks of many Indians and several households are experiencing the impact now to readjust to the rigours of daily commute to the office and schools.

In a survey conducted by ResMed, 81 percent in India cited poor sleeping habits. “We conducted this survey to investigate the importance of a good night’s sleep and its impact on one’s wellbeing,” said Carlos Montiel, ResMed’s Vice President of Latin America and South Asia.

“The findings show that people struggle to sleep at night and are interested in learning more about their sleep habits and sleep quality,” said Montiel.

Here are some findings:

* 72 percent of respondents said insufficient sleep had worsened their emotional state of mind.

* Indians are ready to correct sleeping habits.

* About 81% agree that bad sleeping habits can affect quality of life.

* 34 percent were also aware that snoring was a sign of a poor night’s sleep, resulting in 51 percent of respondents using sleep trackers to keep records of sleep patterns and 35 percent expressing interest in keeping track of their health during sleep.

Despite these sleep challenges, only 21 percent of those polled sought help from a general practitioner or a healthcare specialist.

Furthermore, 59 percent believe that snoring is a sign of a good night’s sleep, emphasizing the importance of raising awareness about sleep health.

Many people are also unaware that the symptoms they experience while sleeping could be indicators of a sleep disorder such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).

Mood changes such as irritability or depression, morning headaches, and excessive daytime sleepiness are the top three symptoms cited by both males and females.

 

Despite this, 32 percent of those polled said they had never heard of OSA.

Over 80 percent of adults worldwide with sleep apnea are undiagnosed and unaware of their condition. Common signs and symptoms of OSA include excess weight, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Here are solutions to avoid sleeplessness:

  1. Wake up at the regular time: Though it’s tempting to sleep late on weekends, especially if you have had poor sleep during the week, you should get up at the same time every day to train your body to wake consistently at the same time.
  2. Eliminate alcohol, coffee, cigarettes: The effects of caffeine in coffee last for 24 hours and it could be affecting your sleep. Even alcohol and cigarettes keep the brain disoriented, so avoid them.
  3. Reduce day-time naps: Napping is good during the day but limit them to a few minutes and possibly not more than twice a day to maintain a regular sleep pattern. Napping can affect the quality of sleep at night.
  4. Exercise regularly. Regular exercise can improve sleep quality but don’t do it before going to bed as it can act as a stimulant. Give at least 3 hours of time to go to bed after exercise.
  5. Bedtime activities: Limit your bedtime only for sleeping and having sex. Never indulge in readings, texting, making phone calls. or listening to music continuously.
  6. Don’t eat or drink: Eating or drinking just before sleep activates the digestive system and hence keeps you up for longer hours. Further, drinking a lot of fluids prior to bed puts pressure on your bladder requiring frequent visits to the washroom and disturbing your sleep.

 

Indian-origin volunteers in Ukraine help out refugees

Posted on by
Reply

In a move to help out the refugees from Ukraine,  an international cadre of volunteers are working round the clock to help those who are in Poland and a handful of them are Indian-origin people who are focusing on providing vegetarian food for those needed most.

A volunteer Yogi Trivedi was one among them who is based in Rzeszow in Poland who is helping out refugees in welcoming them at the border and guiding them to settle in camps. He is one of those who can cook vegetarian food, which provides great relief for many.

The Indian-origin volunteers under the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) are about 25 who are drawn from nearby European nations such as Ireland, France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria and Poland. In addition, some of them have reached from the US and UK as well.

They have helped the Indian students initially who are being evacuated by the Indian government and now they are serving those who need any help. So far, more than2.5 million Ukrain refugees are there in neighbouring countries.

The team wearing yellow vests with a sketch of the Akshardham temple in Gujarat are helping refugees of all nationalities at three border points, Budomierz, Korczowa and Medyka now.

Trivedi, a teacher at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, among the five from the US joined them via the BAPS Instagram page and they are providing the refugees with essentials like warm clothes, gloves, sanitary supplies and hot meals.

“If you’ve been travelling for seven to nine days, from across the country, you’ve been walking. Often the lines at the crossings can lead back to two to four kilometres at different checkpoints and they can take up several hours to cross,” he said explaining the trauma these refugees face while fleeing Ukraine.

“When you come over to the Polish side, if there’s someone there to smile, give you a helping hand, carry your luggage, help you carry your kids, help you get settled, even if it’s for the first five, seven minutes, you could see the immense sort of stress and trauma melting away from their face,” he noted.

Ukrainian refugees show resilience and humility. “Despite all the difficulties they had, they were willing to keep on going and do it all for their children’s sake, and for their country’s sake,” he said.

Pakistan raises accidental missile issue at UN; China, US support direct talks

Posted on by
Reply

Despite India’s clarification, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi chose to complain to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on what he said was the “blatant violation of Pakistans airspace by the ‘accidental’ firing of a missile by India on March 9”, reports said.

India’s Defence Ministry had given clarification that in the course of routine maintenance on March 9, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile that landed inside the territory of Pakistan.

However, Pakistan said “multiple shortcomings and technical lapses of a serious nature in India’s management of strategic weapons” was “irresponsible conduct” and needed to be addressed by the international community, including the UN Security Council. Islamabad also insisted on a joint probe of the incident.

Meanwhile, the US and China have urged India and Pakistan to hold direct talks for reducing tensions as both are nuclear-armed nations. “We continue to support direct dialogue between India and Pakistan on issues of concern,” a US State Department official said on Monday, though Washington said it sees no wrong intention behind the mishap.

Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry said, “We called on relevant countries to have dialogue and communication as soon as possible and launch a thorough investigation into this incident,” spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing.

 

5 Indian students killed in Ontario Highway accident, Jaishankar condoles

Posted on by
Reply

India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on Monday mourned the demise of five Indian students who were killed in a road accident near Toronto, Canada.

Taking to Twitter, he said: “Deeply mourn the passing away of five Indian students in Canada. Condolences to their families. Pray for the recovery of those injured.”

The accident occurred on a highway when the passenger van carrying the students collided with a tractor-trailer on early Saturday morning, leaving five Indian students killed.  The van was travelling on Canada’s Highway 401 between Belleville and Trenton.

External affairs minister Dr s. Jaishankar. (MEA Photo)

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have identified them as Jaspinder Singh, 21, Karanpal Singh, 22, Mohit Chouhan, 23, Pawan Kumar, 23, and Harpreet Singh, 24.

They were pronounced dead on the scene. Two injured students were rushed to hospital with serious injuries. The victims were students in colleges in Montreal and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

OPP Constable Maggie Pickett said: “It’s a tragedy. Nobody wants to respond to that call for service, but we’re there, we’re working.” There are over 200,000 Indian students currently studying in colleges in Canada.