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Luxury Russian yachts are the latest casualty of the Russian invasion of Ukraine: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Luxury Russian yachts are the latest casualty of the Russian invasion of Ukraine: Read details

The Russian luxury yachts have become the latest casualties of the Russian-Ukraine war as the western governments are now planning to seize them as a response to Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch special military operations in Ukraine.

Fearing sanctions and seizures by the European government, the Russian billionaires close to President Vladimir Putin are moving their yachts to smaller friendly countries as the United States and its allies prepare further sanctions on their property amidst the ongoing war.

According to a report by CNBC, Marine Traffic showed that at least four massive yachts owned by Russian business leaders are moving towards Montenegro and the Maldives after the United States and its European allies announced sanctions against Russian oligarchs.

Earlier, the Biden administration had announced the creation of a task force targeting the assets, including yachts and mansions owned by the Russian billionaires believed to be close to Putin. France has also formulated a list of properties owned by Russian oligarchs, including cars and yachts, that could be seized under sanctions by the European Union.

The yachts owned by the Russian businessmen are on the move towards Mauritius as they do not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

Following the US’s punitive actions, some of Russia’s wealthiest are moving their yachts to undisclosed locations to avoid harsh sanctions.

Reportedly, Vagit Alekperov, the president of Russia-based Lukoil, is sailing his yacht to Montenegro, which is expected to reach there in the coming days. At least another three yachts owned by other Russian billionaires will reach the Maldives.

Germany, France seize luxury Russian yachts

Meanwhile, the German authorities have reportedly seized the $600m yacht belonging to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov in a Hamburg shipyard.

Usmanov is one of those Russian billionaires currently facing sanctions from the European Union in response to Russian military actions in Ukraine.

On Wednesday, the German authorities seized Usmanov’s 156-metre yacht “Dilbar” worth $600m, regarded as the largest motor yacht in the world. The German Finance Ministry said the yacht was owned by an entity of which Sechin had been identified as the main shareholder.

Since late October, the yacht has been in the yards of shipbuilding firm Blohm+Voss. 

The French government has also said it had seized a 280-foot yacht linked to Rosneft boss Igor Sechin in the Mediterranean port of La Ciotat.

“Thanks to the French customs officers who are enforcing the European Union’s sanctions against those close to the Russian government,” France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a tweet Thursday.

Sechin, former deputy prime minister of Russia, has been the CEO of Russian state oil company Rosneft since 2012. 

Boss is a criminal: Ukrainian sailor sinks $7.7 Million Russian yacht

In a bizarre incident, a Ukrainian sailor was reportedly arrested by the Spanish police for trying to sink his Russian boss’s luxury yacht.

Reportedly, the 55-year-old Taras Ostapchuk, a ship engineer, opened valves in the engine room of the 156-foot vessel in an attempt to flood it as a form of protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The yacht was docked at Mallorca port in Spain.

The engineer was arrested by Spain’s Civil Guard on Saturday, who was presented before the judge on Sunday. Ostapchuk told the judge he did not regret his actions. 

“I don’t regret anything I’ve done, and I would do it again,” Ostapchuk said. The 55-year-old sailor said his boss is “a criminal who sells weapons that kill the Ukrainian people.”

The cruise – “Lady Anastasia” is a 156-foot yacht that belongs to Alexander Mijeev, the CEO of Rosoboronexport, which exports defence products like weapons, ships, tanks and fighting vehicles.

Gujarat police demolish illegal properties constructed on government land by history-sheeter Sajju Ghulam Mohammad Kothari

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat police demolish illegal properties constructed on government land by history-sheeter Sajju Ghulam Mohammad Kothari

According to a report by DeshGujarat, the Gujarat police have demolished illegal properties made on government land by the notorious gangster Sajid alias Sajju Ghulam Mohammad Kothari. The demolition was carried out with the assistance of the Surat Municipal Corporation, JCP and DCP personnel, and the crime branch PIO.

The wanted gangster Sajju Ghulam Mohammad, who lives in the Nanpura neighbourhood, was charged with land grabbing by the Surat crime branch. According to the report, the accused had illegally grabbed government-owned land adjacent to his home, prompting the collector to file a land-grab complaint against him.

Sajid is a history-sheeter who has long been on the Gujarat police’s wanted criminals list. Sajid alias Sajju Ghulam Mohammad Kothari and his gang have been notoriously involved in murder and attempt to murder cases registered in different police stations of the city. He is notoriously known for running gambling activities around his home in Jamrukh Gali of Nanpura, Adajan and Dindoli. Furthermore, Sajju’s gang is also involved in unlawful land acquisition as well as running drug cartels. Sajju’s brother Arif Kothari is wanted for running a gambling den in the Pander area.

On February 11, 2021, the Surat police had booked Sajid alias Sajju Gulam Mohammad Kothari, his brother Yunis, Samir Salim Shaikh, Javid Gulam Hussain, Mohammad Arif alias Popat Shaikh, Arif Abdul Rehman Shaikh, Mohommad Kamil Ali and Hasnain Tahir Kokawala and charged them under the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GujCTOC) Act.

A month later, the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) had apprehended history-sheeter Sajju Kothari from Mumbai. Fearing arrest for many offences, Kothari escaped Surat, and the ATS was successful in tracking him down to a Mumbai neighbourhood after performing searches for him.

In 2018, when cops went to urge the gang to switch off the loud music system late at night in Nanpura, the group had assaulted a police sub-inspector.

In March 2016, police carried out a search at Kothari’s Surat residence. He was brought to Surat in connection with a case and presented before a court. Two months prior to this, Sajju had been detained under the Prevention of anti-social Activities Act and sent to the Bhuj jail.

However, when the police again detained him in March 2016, he went to Lajpore Jail himself and surrendered before the authorities there. The accused Sajju Kothari, however, clashed with the police at Lajpor jail and escaped later, after which the Surat police declared him as a wanted criminal.

In 2011 too, while serving a sentence in prison, Sajju was involved in the physical assault on three policemen, including the jailor, who had intervened when a fight broke out between two rival groups of inmates at a Surat sub-jail.

Canada does not buy crude from Russia but Justin Trudeau bans the import, European nations continue gas and oil imports from Russia

OpIndia Staff
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Canada does not buy crude from Russia but Justin Trudeau bans the import, European nations continue gas and oil imports from Russia

As the western nations continue to impose more and more sanctions against Russia, Canada has also joined the race to cripple the Russian economy for invading Ukraine. Taking some time off from brutal attacks on the democratic protests by truckers, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has announced that his govt will stop importing crude oil from Russia.

In an address on Monday, PM Justin Trudeau said that even though Canada is not dependent on Russia for oil, the ban will send a strong message. “While Canada has imported very little amounts in recent years, this measure sends a powerful message,” he said.

He also announced that Canadian banks would be barred from transactions with the Russian central bank. The Canadian PM announced sending more military equipment to Ukraine to fight Russian forces, including anti-tank weapons, body armours, helmets, gas masks, night-vision goggles. Canada has already sent three shipments of lethal and non-lethal equipment to Ukraine.

The champion of freedom of speech Justin Trudeau also announced that Canada will be banning Russian media houses, including Russia Today, in Canada.

While Justin Trudeau plans to send a ‘powerful message’ by banning crude oil import from Russia even though they import ‘very less’, the fact is, it is not ‘very less’. In fact, the import of crude oil from Russia by Canada is actually nil. As per Canadian Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, his country has not imported any crude oil from Russia since 2019.

It is notable that, unlike Europe which is dependent on Russian oil and gas, Canada is not, as it itself is a major oil producer and exporter. Canada is the fourth-largest oil producer after USA, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Therefore, Russia’s oil export to Canada is negligible.

Most importantly, while several European nations have imposed sanctions against Russia over the operation in Ukraine, they continue to import gas and oil from Russia. These nations are paying hundreds of millions of dollars every day to Russia for gas and oil imports, despite other sanctions in other sectors.

Around 40% of Europe’s gas and oil needs are fulfilled by imports from Russia, and it is not easy to find alternate sources of such a huge volume of oil in such a short time.

In fact, Russian oil export to Europe has increased after the invasion of Ukraine began, and rising fuel prices have meant they are actually earning more from oil and gas export. As several European nations have decided to shut down nuclear power plants and coal-based power plants, they are more dependent on Russian gas than before. Although these countries aim to completely move to renewable energy, it will take decades to achieve that objective, and they need fossil fuel till then.

It has been speculated that despite announcing sanctions, these countries will not be able to stop importing gas and oil, which means Russia will continue to earn millions of Euros daily, to fund its operations in Ukraine. Although eventually European nations may find alternate sources, that will take some time, it is unlikely that they will be able to stop imports from Russia before the end of the war.

Russia faces sports sanctions across the board while India continues to play with Pakistan: A contested diplomatic opportunity lies ahead

Suyash
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Russia faces sports sanctions across the board while India continues to play with Pakistan: A contested diplomatic opportunity lies ahead

In February, soon after the Russian army escalated aggression on its Ukrainian border that the talks to isolate Russia all over the world started. Going well beyond the economic sanctions by the West, independent sports organisations thought to counter Russia by making Russian players pay for their government’s actions.

At a time when the politics to completely shadow Russia in the sports arena continues, many in India are asking if India should impose similar costs on our rogue neighbour Pakistan.

The global isolation of Russia in sports

The Ukraine-Russia tussle has caught the ire of the international sports community while many have asked to ban Russia from participating in sports competitions and leagues in the future. The International Olympics Committee (IOC) sought to meet its members to discuss the means to counter Russia through sports amidst the challenging geopolitical scenario. Withdrawing the Olympic order from Russian President Vladimir Putin, the IOC asked sports organisations to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and sports officials from participating in any international events. The IOC said the move was needed to “protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants.”

Soon after IOC’s open stand against Russia, European football governing body UEFA confirmed that Russian players will be completely banned from the FIFA and UEFA tournaments. A statement issued by the Executive Committee of UEFA reiterated their stance saying, “Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine. Both Presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace amongst people,”

Apart from Institutionalised sanctions against Russia, it was the Russian players who were made responsible for the invasion putting their positions and stature at stake. Daniel Medvedev, the Russian tennis player who fared well at the ATP 500 tournament is on the verge of losing his position as world number one. Meanwhile the Russian football team Spartak Moscow is also banned by the UEFA from participating in the ongoing Champions League finale which was due to take place in St Petersburg on May 28, 2021. 

With the blanket ban on Russia by the European clout in International sports, Russian Paralympians are also barred from playing in the Winter Paralympics in Beijing. The move has threatened the careers of individuals much more than holding their national leaders responsible. The ban on Russian players has also grappled the advertising sector with The US life insurance company, MassMutual pulling out an ad featuring hockey team Washington Capitals’ Russian captain Alexander Ovechkin. 

Should India continue to engage with Pakistan?

While the politics of sports continues to rule the roost due to western hegemony, clouds have gathered over the fate of India-Pakistan bilateral participation despite repeated terror advances of the latter on Indian soil. While Indian relations with Pakistan remain to be contentious over the issue of Pakistan’s occupation in Kashmir, it has continued to unleash terror activities, spy wars and propaganda wars through media to disturb India’s internal security.

Despite its control over cricketing organizations like the International Cricket Council (ICC) and having the robust BCCI on the national level, India has failed to deliver its narrative in the sports arena. However, like the West, India’s cricketing credentials too can become an extension of its diplomacy in a way to counter Pakistan, provided it realises to tap this potential. Not only it can send messages across the globe to isolate the semi-terror state, but it also does make Pakistan suffer in more ways than one when its cricket is discouraged.

It is to be realised that the ideals of separating Sports and Politics do not hold much water in challenging geopolitical situations. When Europe and the West decide to go well beyond the supposed rules-based order to target Russia, maybe there is much reason for India to show Pakistan its place through Cricket. While the argument that in this case the Jihadi military complex of Pakistan should be separated from the aspirations of its local cricket-loving population, it is also to be considered that holding cricket matches is much a diplomatic exercise as compared to its sheer entertainment value. Talking about this, George Orwell once described the nationalism charged by matches happening around the world as ‘War minus the shooting’.

Going further, one also needs to look back at the instances of Pakistani cricket players seeing matches with India as a war against the Kafirs. From Shoaib Akhtar’s belief in Pakistani Punjabis as a special race to Waqar Younis’s defence of offering Namaz in front of Hindu players are enough to tell you that Jihad surely finds a place in Pakistani cricket’s raison d’être. Then the question before India lies whether it should serve its strategic goals through its contained soft-power in Cricket.

When the Pulwama attack was unleashed by Pakistan and targetted killings in Jammu and Kashmir were on a rampant rise, Indian politicians across the board – barring Congress asserted the fact that Pakistan’s engagement with Cricket with India and its exercises in terrorism cannot go hand in hand. The increased influence of politics in sports all over the world can thus prove to be a strategic tool for India in countering Pakistan.

Ex-Gujarat State Congress Pres Bharatsinh Solanki’s alleged audio clip goes viral, here is what he said

OpIndia Staff
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Ex-Gujarat State Congress Pres Bharatsinh Solanki’s alleged audio clip goes viral, here is what he said

An audio clip believed to be of former Gujarat State Congress President Bharatsinh Solanki and a woman has gone viral. In the audio clip, the man, some media houses believe to be Bharatsinh Solanki, asks the woman ‘kem chho’ (how are you) quite lovingly. The woman, responds with ‘kem chho’ as well. She then says she is fine and asks how the man (believed to be Solanki) is who responds with he is fine as well.

Zee 24 Kalak, however, has identified the woman in the audio clip as Anand Nagar Palika President, Aarti Patel.

The man, believed to be Congress leader, then asks the woman if he has started some activity. When the woman asks what ‘activity’, the man replies with “I heard you started a school.” Then the audio gets a little unclear. The man then asks ‘what else, and if everything is okay,’.

When the woman says that the audio is unclear, the man replies, “I am currently in the USA.” The woman then says that he was supposed to return on 19th to which he said that he would return after about 10-15 days.

“US citizen is in USA,” the woman says to which the man replies that “Not a US citizen yet.” From the conversation it appears like they are discussing someone else’s US citizenship. The woman then expresses disbelief that the person (about whom they are talking) is not yet a US citizen, despite so many years (of being in US). “Has a Green Card,” the man says. Green Card holder in America is a Permanent Resident card which allows a person to work and stay in the US permanently.

The woman then talks about American citizenship and the man teases her how ‘she knows everything’. The woman then says how she was just kidding. The man then asks her to call him on WhatsApp when she is free. “Then what?” she asks and giggles. “We will talk,” he says. She then asks him why hasn’t he slept yet to which he responds, he will soon.

Rest of the audio is unclear where the man can be heard repeatedly saying ‘bolo’.

Bharatsinh Solanki’s estranged wife wrote to Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, accused him of having illicit relationship with multiple women

Earlier in December 2021, Bharatsinh Solanki’s estranged wife Reshma Solanki had written a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son and senior Congress leader Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi making explosive allegations against her husband. She had accused Solanki of using his political clout to destroy the party in Gujarat. She had also accused him of having illicit relationship with multiple women and that he was giving election ticket to those women he was close to.

“My husband keeps chatting continuously with these women. He keeps saying what if he is old. He has relationships with women as young as 22 and even as old as he is. He spends most of his energies behind these women only,” a letter purportedly written by Reshma Solanki read. “24 years back I was made to marry him against my wishes and in all these years I never got the rights of a wife. My brother in law Amit Chavda (who is Solanki’s first cousin) knows all this but to advance the political career has kept mum on the issue,” she said in the letter. In the letter she alleged that in the night, Solanki goes in the bedroom and then locks himself up and sends obscene messages to 8/10 women of party. 

Bharatsinh Solanki is son of former Gujarat CM Madhavsinh Solanki

Bharatsinh Solanki is son of Congress leader and former Gujarat Chief Minister Madhavsinh Solanki who had infamously propagated the ‘KHAM’ (Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi, Muslim) votebank theory for Congress in Gujarat. He was the chief minister of Gujarat when some of the worst communal riots. The first half of the 1980s saw some of the worst inter-caste riots in Gujarat, which quickly escalated to communal riots. There was rise of crime, including bootlegging and don-wars. Madhavsinh Solanki passed away in January 2021.

Polish universities to allow Indian students to complete their education: Union Minister VK Singh

OpIndia Staff
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Polish universities to allow Indian students to complete their education: Union Minister VK Singh

In a significant relief to Indian students, the universities in Poland may consider giving admissions to the Indian students enabling them to finish their studies. The Indian students currently studying in Ukrainian universities face uncertainties over their future as universities are shut in the war-torn country, affecting their studies.

Interacting with 600 Indian students at Hotel Prezydenckie in Rzeszow, Poland, Union Minister Vijay Kumar Singh said, “If your course is not complete, all people I met in Poland said they would take responsibility for the education of all students who were in Ukraine.

Taking to Twitter, the Union Minister said, “Poland and India share centuries of friendship and cordial relations which have brought our people together. I am happy to share with you that Polish universities will be opening their doors to our students from Ukraine so that they can finish their studies. Jai Hind!”

The Union Minister indicated that the Polish universities might come to the rescue of Indian students affected by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis by allowing these students to complete their education out of goodwill towards India.

Amidst ongoing Russia’s special military operations in Ukraine, VK Singh landed in Poland to oversee the evacuation process of Indian nationals from Ukraine on Tuesday. During his interaction with the Indian citizens, he urged the Indians stranded there to monitor the guidelines issued by the Indian embassy in Kyiv and the Ministry of External Affairs.

India fast-tracks evacuation from Ukraine

As the Ukraine-Russia war turns ugly, the government has rushed to evacuate Indian nationals stranded in war-torn Ukraine and has deployed 80 flights under “Operation Ganga” to evacuate stranded Indians from Ukraine.

The Modi government has intensified the evacuation plan by deploying more flights in the coming months. By March 10, a total of 80 flights will be pressed into service to evacuate the stranded Indians. These flights belong to the fleet of Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, Spice Jet, Vistara, Go Air, and planes from the Air Force.

The government has planned nearly 35 evacuation flights from the Romanian capital city Bucharest, including 14 flights of Air India, eight of Air India Express, seven of IndiGo, one of Spice Jet, and three of Vistara two of Indian Air Force in the coming week.

Similarly, another 28 flights have been scheduled to take off from Hungary’s capital Budapest. Among these 28, 15 flights are from Go Air, nine from IndiGo, two from Air India, one from Indian Air Force, and one from Spice Jet.

From Rzeszow, Poland, nine flights are scheduled to depart, including eight from IndiGo and one from Indian Air Force, while five flights will take off from Suceava, Romania and three flights will take off from Kosice, Slovakia.

Worshipping climate saints like Greta Thunberg has made many NATO countries the slaves of Russian energy exports

Sanghamitra
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Worshipping climate saints like Greta Thunberg has made many NATO countries the slaves of Russian energy exports

While the Western world keeps demonising Vladimir Putin and now even Russians, a stark reality that has emerged is how badly they are dependent upon Russian energy exports, and how their overt, boastful attempts to put up a farce of token solidarity with Ukraine is only an attempt to divert the attention of the public from their own failures.

A video clip of the former USA President Donald Trump is going viral for weeks now since the news of Russian troops preparing to invade Ukraine emerged.

In the clip, Trump is accusing Germany, a major NATO country of being badly dependent on Russian energy exports.

In this video, Trump says, “It is very sad when Germany makes a massive oil and gas deal with Russia. We are supposed to be guarding against Russia, we are spending millions of dollars to protect France, Germany (NATO countries) against Russia and here they are, pouring millions of dollars into the coffers of Russia, making pipeline deals. it is very inappropriate, A former chancellor of Germany is the head of the pipeline company that is supplying the gas.”

Trump adds further, “Ultimately Germany will have over 70% of their country controlled by Russia. It should have never been allowed to happen. You tell me if that is appropriate. It is very bad for NATO”. He goes on to assert how the US share of spending is higher than other NATO members, but that is another discussion.

US depends on Russian oil and gas exports too, hence they left out ‘energy’ sector from sanctions

Earlier last week, when USA and Germany, UK etc were starting to declare they are super angry with Vladimir Putin and wanted to show the world that they care very much for Ukraine, they announced a series of sanctions, aimed at damaging Russia economically.

However, the US government explicitly stated that they are not touching the energy sector, that is, they are doing nothing that will affect the energy imports from Russia in any way. The entire energy sector, with broad inclusions of even wood, had been left untouched, safe from sanctions.

“Our sanctions are not designed to cause any disruption to the current flow of energy from Russia to the world”, announced the Biden administration’s Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh last week.

The White House order announcing sanctions had explicitly stated that energy will be exempt from sanctions.

There is a reason why US has not touched energy imports in its sanctions against Russia. They cannot, not without pluging their own citizens into a serious energy crisis. In the last few years, the US has grown only more and more dependent on Russian oil and gas.

While the Democrats in USA kept accusing Trump of being Putin’s puppet, the reality is that since Biden took oath, the USA’s dependency on oil and gas imports from Russia has only increased.

As per reports, the USA purchased over 600,000 barrels of Russian oil and petroleum products PER DAY in 2021. That was 24% higher than 2020. In 2021, 21% of all gasoline imports of the USA came from Russia. Basically, while Biden keeps making big statements about how Russia and Vladimir Putin are everyone’s enemy, his country keeps paying the so-called enemy billions of dollars every month.

Europe’s energy dependency on Russia

Europe gets over 40% of its oil and gas from Russia. Germany is one of the countries where the energy dependency is at its worst. While big sanctions and big statements of condemnation were announced by leaders in Europe and USA against Russia, they have made sure that Russian oil and gas continues to flow into their countries.

Even the move to cut off Russian banks from the SWIFT system has come with a lot of conditions and careful exemption of ‘energy’ related payments.

Even after announcing sanctions and hyperventilating against Russia, Germany has actually bought more oil and gas from Russia in the last few days. Russian energy giant Gazprom has stated that despite the so-called sanctions, gas exports from Russia to Europe, via pipelines that run through Ukraine, are functional and continuing, unaffected.

In 2021, Russia got more than 100 billion USD from Europe by selling oil and gas. Though Germany has announced a token measure of ‘suspending’ the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, for now, the fact remains that Germany gets more than half of its gas from Russia alone. Nord Stream 2 is not supplying gas yet, so the ‘suspension’ doesnt actually hurt Germany’s gas imports.

How and why did US and Europe become so dependent on Russian oil and gas

The reason why the USA and Europe have become so dependent on Russian gas is mainly because they stopped being self-reliant, and especially because they became the devotees of a new religion called climate activism.

Over the years, riding on a wave of fanaticism called ‘climate activism’, the Western nations have shut down their nuclear power plants, and increased dependency on ‘renewables’ like wind and solar power. The delusions of having a ‘green energy’ revolution were so intense they they closed down gas fields, decommissioned nuclear power plants (NPPs) and even rejected the new methods of extracting natural gas.

When Joe Biden came to power, his very first move was to shut down the Key Stone XL pipeline project. Climate activists like Greta Thunberg, John Kerry and many ‘woke’ politicians in Western countries have led them to believe that they can fulfill their energy needs through wind and solar, that they do not need nuclear power, that nuclear power, that is the cleanest, most effective means to produce energy, is actually ‘extremely dangerous’, and have shut down projects involving natural gas.

Author Michael Shellenberger has pointed out often how shutting down nuclear plants and rejecting energy-intense sources like natural gas, countries have spiralled down into the path of unreliable, inconsistent and low-output solutions like wind and solar.

In a recent article, Shellenberger wrote, “At the turn of the millennium, Germany’s electricity was around 30 percent nuclear-powered. But Germany has been sacking its reliable, inexpensive nuclear plants… By 2020, Germany had reduced its nuclear share from 30 percent to 11 percent. Then, on the last day of 2021, Germany shut down half of its remaining six nuclear reactors. The other three are slated for shutdown at the end of this year. (Compare this to nextdoor France, which fulfills 70 percent of its electricity needs with carbon-free nuclear plants.)”

On the contrary, as Shellenberger pointed out, Putin has been focusing on expanding nuclear energy projects, and producing more and more oil and gas. As a result, while Russia fulfills a significant part of its domestic energey needs through nuclear power plants, it has a lot of oil and natural gas left to export to Europe and the USA.

Yes, though Greta cannot be directly linked to the German onslaught on its own NPPs, because that started under Angela Merkel around 2011, when she was 8, the way the climate activist’s theatrics of “How dare you” and “blah blah blah” have been lapped up, hailed, deified and celebrated by the Western media and their policymakers is a good indicator of why their energy policies have ended up laying them at the mercy of Russian exports.

And yet, as recetly as July 2021, Germany and 4 other EU countries had opposed to classifying nuclear energy as ‘green’. Spain, Austria, Denmark and Luxemberg were the other four.

Reuters headline from July 2021

Climate activists would like everyone to believe that it is entirely possible to fulful energy demands though wind and solar, but it is far from the truth. Renewables like wind and solar are low output, require vast lands and prone to weather patterns. There are other downsides too, like recycling costs, carbon footprint and inconsistency in production and supply.

The cost of energy dependency

Russia’s military operation in the Ukraine is the jolt that has made the West wake up from its long slumber. Climate politics is a phenomenon that has long been making poorer, developing nations pay dearly for the whims and fancies of Wstern activists. Now that Germany has hastened up to quickly announce they will be building two new LNG terminals and may be not shut down all its remaining NPPs, it is a lesson for the whole world.

Now it is the EU and USA, tomorrow it may be India, Indonesia, China and many others. In a rapidly developing world, energy dependency will shape geopolitics, national security and economy. The dependence on energy is only going to be more and more intensified as we progress, and it is a brutal wake up call for every country, to invest on reliable, efficient sources of energy and ensure that when hostilities emerge, they are not held hostage to another country’s schemes.

The sanctions announced by the USA and European country against Russia come with a lot of exemptions, conditions and even a ‘grace period’. It is notable here that any measures of ‘not depending upon Russian energy exports’ will take years to actually develop the infra and showing results. So the truth is, while they shame other nations like India for not going against Russia, these Western power are still paying billions of dollars to the so-called ‘enemy of the world’. The realities of energy dependency and the stark hypocrisy of western powers somehow gets buried in the noise of sanctimony and hollow solidarity.

Nawab Malik and Dawood Ibrahim: Decoding the links between the NCP leader and the 1993 Mumbai Blasts accused terrorist

OpIndia Staff
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Nawab Malik and Dawood Ibrahim: Decoding the links between the NCP leader and the 1993 Mumbai Blasts accused terrorist

After Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik was arrested by ED for alleged links with Dawood Ibrahim, opposition parties in the state are demanding his resignation. But despite the grave allegations, Nawab Malik is putting up a confident face. He is smiling to the cameras, showing ‘I am safe’ attitude, and overall seems confident that allegations against him will not be proved. Moreover, the Maharashtra govt and his party is also supporting him.

While answers to many of such questions remain concealed, it is clear that the MVA led Maharashtra govt and the National Congress Party (NCP) is entirely supporting Malik and has no intentions to make him resign from the Ministry. The NCP toughened its stand yesterday in the case and cleared that Malik would continue to be the Minister.

BJP’s Chandrakant Patil and Devendra Fadnavis yesterday had demanded that Malik should resign on March 3, today as Maharahstra’s Budget Session began and said that the party would not allow the legislature to function until Malik resigned. State NCP President and Minister Jayant Patil then affirmed that though Malik was being alleged of his involvement in the Dawood Ibrahim case, he would not leave his Ministerial position. “No resignation means no resignation”, he stated.

Today, yet again, Devendra Fadnavis launched a blistering attack on MVA led govt and stated that the state government was dedicated to terrorist and gangster Dawood Ibrahim. He added that the MVA was being sympathetic towards those who helped Dawood and his aides, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts.

Condemning the decision to retain Nawab Malik as a minister in the govt, Fadnavis said, “For the first time in Maharashtra, a minister is behind bars but his resignation hasn’t been taken. This government is coming together to save people who keep relations with Dawood. That’s why we have started protests and we demand that his resignation be taken immediately,” he added.

The allegations posed by the ED against Malik are serious but the approach of NCP and Malik seems to be informal and uninhibited in the case. The ‘Malik saga’ actually kicked off when the ED arrested him in the case pertaining to a PMLA instance related to elements linked to Dawood Ibrahim and the underworld. There were reports saying that Malik was involved in the Hawala transfers operated by Dawood Ibrahim.

On February 15, the ED had conducted multiple raids in South Mumbai in connection with a money laundering case against the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his aides. Close to 9 places in Mumbai and 1 in Thane had been raided including the residences of Dawood Ibrahim’s late sister Haseena Parkar and brother Iqbal Kaskar.

The agency later took into custody Iqbal Kaskar on February 19 and presented him before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court. Also, the National Investigation Agency had said that Dawood Ibrahim was planning to launch terror attacks in India and that he was transferring funds through Hawala channels to provide financial help to all those involved in a planned attack. Nawab Malik’s name appeared in the process of investigation after the intelligence inputs directed the agency to look into the Hawala transactions while probing a money laundering case against Ibrahim, Iqbal Mirchi, Chhota Shakeel, Parkar and Javed Chikna.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis last week reiterated the linkages between Nawab Malik in a money-laundering probe linked to 1993 Mumbai blasts accused Dawood Ibrahim. He alleged that Malik had purchased land worth rupees crores for just Rs 30 lakhs from 1993 bomb blasts accused Sardar Shahwali Khan and Sardar Patel, an aide of Dawood’s sister Haseena Parkar.

Earlier in November 2021 also, Fadnavis had exposed Malik and said that he and his family had bought land parcels from people linked with the underworld. The ED in the investigation process happened to learn that Malik had actually purchased land worth Rs 3 crores in the year 2005 from Haseena Parkar at Rs 30 lakhs. The sale deed was deliberately made to look like the cost of the land was Rs 30 lakhs when the practical cost transacted was at Rs 85 lakhs. The market value of the land today is around Rs 300 crores.

The ED quizzed Nawab Malik for 7 to 8 hours on the day he was arrested, but to no avail. Later ED on March 1, issued summons to his son Faraz Malik as Nawab Malik did not cooperate to the investigation process. It was later found by the agency that Faraz Malik had a major role to play in the land deal. The ED while probing into the land transaction between Nawab Malik and Hassena Parker, found that Faraz Malik had paid the required amount in cash to satisfy the deal.

Nawab Malik had bought Kurla’s Goawala Compound property at Rs 85 lakhs and had asked Faraz Malik to pay Rs 55 lakhs in cash to Saleem Ishaq Patel who was working as a driver of Haseena Parkar. According to the reports, Parkar had given power of attorney of the land to Patel who got the deal signed by Faraz Malik. Patel was later arrested in 2007 with Parkar in a land grabbing and fraud case but no action had been taken against Malik and his son. The property deal began in 2003 and was completed by 2007.

It is important to note that, Nawab Malik has not been cooperative throughout the investigation initiated by the agency. According to the reports, he was seen waving at the public and the media with an immorally confident smile. He had also complained of kidney problems immediately after he was arrested and was shifted to JJ Hospital for treatment. However, the ED brought him back to custody after getting discharged.

While the ED is tracing the other person involved, it has affirmed that Faraz Malik is one of the two persons who delivered Rs 55 lakhs in cash and Rs 5 lakh in a cheque to Parkar in 2005-06 for the Kurla land. Further, it becomes interesting to note that, NCP leader Sharad Pawar had specifically criticized the arrest of Nawab Malik and said that the case was being planned deliberately to harass people who have been outspoken against misuse of central agencies. Trying to give a religious angle to the situation, he had said that Malik was being targeted because he is a Muslim.

“If there is a Muslim activist who is their opponent, it is their habit to link his name to Dawood. When I was the CM of Maharashtra, they had tried to link my name with Dawood as well. This is an attempt to harass those who are speaking against the misuse of central agencies,” Pawar was quoted.

Also, AIMIM Chief Asaddudin Owaisi saw the arrest of Malik as an opportunity to further its Islamist politics. He alleged that Malik was arrested only because he was a Muslim. AIMIM MP from Maharashtra, Imtiaz Jaleel also extended support to Malik and said that nobody from the MVA alliance was actually concerned over the issue. He said that the current Deputy CM from NCP, Ajit Pawar who is accused of a massive Irrigation Scam is from NCP and he never went to jail. He reiterated that Muslims in this country cannot be linked to terrorism.

Pertinently, the serial blasts, which ripped through Mumbai on March 12, 1993 had killed around 300 people and injured over 1,400. Ninety-nine persons were convicted for the blasts under various sections of Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act (TADA). Sharad Pawar who was Maharahstra’s Chief Minister during the 1993 blasts series, had invented an extra bomb blast to promote ‘secularism’ and ‘maintain harmony between Hindus and Muslims’. While there were a total of 12 blasts in the Hindu dominated areas, Pawar on the govt radio channel had announced that there were 13 blasts and that the last one (imaginary) had affected a Muslim dominated area.

22 years later, Sharad Pawar, speaking at an event during the 89th Marathi Literary Meet near Pune, Pawar admitted that he had invented a bomb blast because all actual ones had happened in Hindu areas and he feared there will be communal tension as ‘that is what Pakistan wanted’.

The case is under investigation by the ED who is tracing all the linkages of illegal money transfers, land purchases and involvement of NCP’s Nawab Malik in the Dawood Ibrahim case. Whatever happens, it is clear by now that the NCP and the MVA led govt would stand strong behind Malik and that is what is probably accounting to Malik’s safe play in the case.

Donald Trump believes China may be emboldened to invade Taiwan soon because of the Biden administration’s failure in handling Russia-Ukraine war

OpIndia Staff
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Donald Trump believes China may be emboldened to invade Taiwan soon because of the Biden administration’s failure in handling Russia-Ukraine war

Given the Biden administration’s failure in handling the US pullout from Afghanistan and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US former President Donald Trump believes China might be emboldened to invade Taiwan.

Speaking exclusively in an interview with Fox Business on Wednesday, March 2, Trump reportedly said that Taiwan may be “next” for a potential invasion, as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict may impact China’s rising aggression. 

“Taiwan is going to be next. Just watch Taiwan; President Xi is watching with glee,” Trump was quoted as saying.

When the FOX Business host asked Trump if he expected Taiwan to invade sooner rather than later, the former president took a direct dig at his successor and the incumbent US President Joe Biden, saying that “they’re seeing that our leaders are incompetent, and of course, they’re going to do, this is their time. They did nothing on Ukraine. They do nothing.”

Donald Trump also stated that China is closely monitoring the Russia-Ukraine crisis. He also stated that Chinese President Xi Jinping is taking cues from the US’s handling of Afghanistan’s evacuation after the Taliban seized power last year.

“President Xi happens to be a man with a high intelligence level, and he looks at what happened in Afghanistan…He saw the way that we left Afghanistan…left American citizens there… is still trying to get out…he sees that and this is his opportunity to do what he wants to do,” Donald Trump said.

“Many people are dying, and we’re allowing this to happen. It would have never happened [if I was still president]. It should have never happened. Putin never would have done it with me. I can tell you that,” Trump said claiming that he gave Ukraine the anti-tank missiles while Biden gave little and Obama gave them blankets.

Ukraine has fought Russia capably, far better than most people expected, Trump remarked, stressing that Putin would never do such a thing to him (Trump).

The US shared intelligence with China on Russia’s troop buildup near Ukraine, China shared the info with Moscow

On February 26, OpIndia reported on how senior Biden administration officials held urgent meetings with the Chinese diplomats and presented them intelligence showing Russia’s troop buildup around Ukraine.

In response, the Chinese officials, including the Foreign Minister and the Ambassador to the United States, ignored American officials, saying they did not see any Russian invasion of Ukraine coming.

The Biden administration was desperate to stop Russians and thus shared intelligence with China on Russia’s troop buildup in hopes that President Xi Jinping would step in. The officials privy to this information said that the Biden administration shared high-level info with its adversary to gain support from China to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine.

However, the Chinese government repeatedly rebuffed the efforts and instead turned over the intelligence data to Moscow.

The US officials believe that their information was relayed to Russia by China, noting that the Biden administration was trying to sow division between China and Russia.

Russia’s ‘military operations’ against Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin of Russia announced limited military strikes against Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the special operation in eastern Ukraine in a televised address.

Putin made it clear that Russia had no intention of invading Ukraine. He stated that the military operation he announced was in reaction to threats from Ukraine and would strive to “demilitarise” and “denazify” Ukraine.

The Russian military entered Ukraine through Belarus, according to Ukraine’s border guard service. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Russian military crossed Belarus to enter Ukraine from the north. Russian troops have launched an attack on Ukraine’s northern border forces.

‘Racist, sexist’: New York Times uses picture of her sister in place of Serena Williams, fails to even mention her name in an article about her. Read what happened

OpIndia Staff
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‘Racist, sexist’: New York Times uses picture of her sister in place of Serena Williams, fails to even mention her name in an article about her. Read what happened

Tennis star Serena Williams has called out the New York Times for printing the photo of her sister Venus Williams in a news about her on Wednesday. Serena Williams runs an early-stage venture capital firm Serena Ventures. This firm had raised an inaugural fund of $111 million. While publishing a report about this, NYT had printed the photograph of Venus Williams – elder sister of Serena Williams – in the news article.

This mistake by NYT has not only attracted the rage of Serena Williams but has also enraged fans and followers who have reacted on social media.

The photo shared by Serena Williams from her Twitter handle.

Serena Williams has posted the photo of the newspaper report on her Twitter account saying, “No matter how far we come, we get reminded that it’s not enough. This is why I raised $111M for Serena Ventures. To support the founders who are overlooked by engrained systems woefully unaware of their biases. Because even I am overlooked. You can do better, New York Times.”

The Twitter handle NYT Business has replied to her saying “This was our mistake. It was due to an error when selecting photos for the print edition, and it did not appear online. A correction will appear in tomorrow’s paper.”

Moreover, the New York Times has also avoided mentioning the name ‘Serena Williams’ in the headline and simply wrote ‘Tennis star’ instead. This has caused the fans and followers to be enraged and they have lashed out at the NYT on social media. A Twitter handle Digital Sista has written, “it’s not a mistake. It’s called racism and sexism. It’s not something all women experience. And if Serena Williams is overlooked by VCs. Imagine what happens to those that don’t even have her platform. That should be the takeaway.”

Drew Olanoff has written in his tweet, “they should issue an apology, run it again tomorrow with a respectful headline and the apology.”

Another Twitter user Roberta has posted, “This is insane, I’m sure they would never mistake Sharapova for Azarenka or vice-versa.”

Serena Williams’s firm Serena Ventures has invested in fintech companies Propel, Cointracker, and edtech company Masterclass. It manages a portfolio of over 60 angel investments, thirteen of which are unicorns.

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