Home Blog Page 3486

Hillary Clinton calls the Russian bombing of maternity hospital a ‘war crime’: Here’s the sordid US track record she conveniently glosses over

Dibakar Dutta
-
0
Hillary Clinton calls the Russian bombing of maternity hospital a ‘war crime’: Here’s the sordid US track record she conveniently glosses over

A day after Russian warplanes bombed a maternity hospital in the besieged city of Mariupol in war-torn Ukraine, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday (March 10) condemned President Vladimir Putin for committing ‘war crimes.’

The deadly attack by Russia on the maternity hospital in Mariupol left three dead and 17 injured. The civilian building was targeted several times with high explosive Russian bombs, thereby, forcing pregnant women to deliver their newborn in the basement.

In a tweet, Clinton wrote, “If Russian leadership would rather not be accused of committing war crimes, they should stop bombing hospitals.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Hillary Clinton

While Hillary Clinton has been upfront in calling out the atrocities committed by Russia in Ukraine, the United States also has a long history of targeting hospitals and civilian buildings. Many such ‘war crimes’ were committed by the States during her tenure as the 67th Secretary of State between 2009 and 2013.

NATO bombied civilians and hospitals in Libya

In June 2011, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), of which the United States is a part, acknowledged that a missile intended for a ‘military missile site’ struck a civilian home in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

“It appears that one weapon did not strike the intended target and that there may have been a weapons system failure which may have caused a number of civilian casualties,” NATO had conceded.

As per a report in The New York Times, at least 9 people were killed in the ‘misfire.’ “The blast knocked the top off the structure, leaving a concrete staircase reaching into the air. Several carports on the block collapsed, crushing the vehicles within,” the report emphasised.

Screengrab of the NATO statement

A month later, The Atlantic reported that NATO bombed a hospital in Zliten town in Western Libya. The deadly attack killed 7 people and destroyed several food warehouses, besides the town’s hospital.

An eyewitness named Osama Mahmoud told the reporters that the military operation took place overnight. He had said, “In this whole area there is no military.” While speaking about the bombings, Major General Nick Pope claimed that the NATO forces had attacked only staging posts near Zliten.

Screengrab of the 2011 news report by The Atlantic

Popular Twitter user, Hadi Nasrallah, pointed out how the US misadventure in the North African country had left it in tatters. “Look at the destruction Russia’s bombs did to Ukraine. This is a war crime. Sorry, I meant NATO’s bombs in Libya,” he had tweeted.

Following reports that Muammar Gaddafi was killed by NATO-backed rebels, a ‘joyous’ Hillary Clinton had announced, “We came, we saw, he died.” While lambasting the US for leaving Libya in ruins, journalist Richard Mehdurst stated, “Ten years on Libya has slave markets, a shattered economy, and its resources plundered.”

During the 2011 invasion of Libya, the NATO forces deliberately targeted State-owned water installations and crippled Libya’s water supply. Even to this day, the North African country is struggling with the water crisis.

“The deliberate destruction of a nation’s water infrastructure, with the knowledge that doing so would result in massive deaths of the population as a direct consequence, is not simply a war crime, but potentially a genocidal strategy,” wrote Nafeez Ahmed in The Ecologist.

US bombed hospitals in Afghanistan, Pentagon refused to call it ‘war crime’

During the Obama administration, the US Air Force launched an airstrike on October 3, 2015, targeting a clinic named Kunduz Trauma Centre in northern Afghanistan. The hospital was run by the charity ‘ Médecins Sans Frontières’ (Doctors Without Borders). The incident had claimed 42 lives and injured 30 others.

While MSF labelled the attack as ‘war crime’, the Pentagon had denied the allegations and called the attack ‘unintentional’. It claimed that the airstrike at the hospital was the result of technical and human errors.

According to General Joseph Votel, the US ‘mistook’ the Kunduz hospital for a building captured by the Taliban. Although he assured that disciplinary action would be taken against 16 US personnel, the accused would not face any criminal charges. “The fact this was unintentional takes it out of the realm of being a deliberate war crime,” he had claimed.

Screengrab of the BBC news report

Médecins Sans Frontière had informed that the US officials did not stop the air raid despite multiple requests. On April 29, 2016, the charity’s President remarked, “Today’s briefing amounts to an admission of an uncontrolled military operation in a densely populated urban area, during which US forces failed to follow the basic laws of war.”

Khalid Ahmad, one of the victims gravely injured in the aerial raid, had said that the US Air Force personnel are criminals, who ought to be jailed.

US targeted hospitals in Somalia, Yugoslavia and Sudan under Clinton administration

Hillary Clinton served as the First Lady between January 1993 and January 2001. During her husband Bill Clinton’s tenure as the 46th US President, ‘war crimes’ were committed in Somalia, Yugoslavia and Sudan.

Journalist Alan MacLeod pointed out how in September 1993, the US Army Rangers had fired two mortars outside the Digfer Hospital in the Somalian capital of Mogadishu.

The Chicago Tribune had reported, “Hospital director Dr Fuji Mohammed says three women were killed when the bomb exploded. He says the hospital received six or seven hits, but he does not know the total number of victims because patients and their relatives fled when the attack started, taking the dead and wounded with them.”

A similar incident took place in May 1999 when NATO warplanes used laser-guided missiles to destroy a hospital in Belgrade in Yugoslavia. The tragic attack claimed the lives of 3 people and injured several others, including 2 women in labour and medical staff.

“Nato spokesman Jamie Shea acknowledged that one of its laser-guided bombs had gone astray over the capital and struck a building about 450 metres away from its intended target,” The Guardian had reported.

Reportedly, the Al Shifa factory in Khartoum in Sudan manufactured half of the country’s pharmaceutical products, including anti-malarial drugs. However, on August 20, 1998, the Clinton administration ordered the bombing of the medicine factory.

“Fourteen years later, its wreckage remained, a shrine to an incident that locals still refer to as a terrorist attack. The Al Shifa plant had been taken out on the direct orders of Bill Clinton. The strike was in retaliation for Osama bin Laden’s recent bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania,” it was stated.

Journalist Alan MacLeod had tweeted that the deliberate attack destroyed Sudan’s main source of drugs, leading to tens of thousands of deaths.

While Hillary Clinton is busy calling out Russia for bombing a maternity clinic, she did not speak a word against the atrocities committed by the US against civilians of different nations during her husband’s administration or that of her tenure as the US Secretary of State.

BJP shatters traditional caste equations in UP, makes inroads into Samajwadi Party’s vote bank

OpIndia Staff
-
0
BJP shatters traditional caste equations in UP, makes inroads into Samajwadi Party’s vote bank

With its glorious performance in the recently held Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the BJP has returned to power in India’s most populous state with a 2/3rd majority. As the party returns to power in a state plagued by casteist and communal politics, BJP has shown it has managed to rise above the traditional caste politics.

Out of the 370 seats it contested, BJP managed to win 255 seats, for a 69% success rate. By winning seats across the board among various demographics, BJP has disproved the traditional caste and religion equations followed by psephologists from Noida. It was widely believed that the elections will go down traditional caste lines. Some of the opposition parties were so sure of this caste based voting that they spent 5 years addressing Yogi Adityanath as Ajay Bisht in order to portray BJP as party of Thakurs.

However, once the results were out, people found out that the Thakurs voted for BJP, as did Brahmins, as did Jats, as did Dalits, and even Yadavs and Muslims. Some of the ‘safe seats’ for Samajwadi Party ended up going with BJP because of some Yadav-Muslim votes going with the ruling party.

BJP workers celebrated after a historic win. Image Source: Hindustan Times

Brahmins, Thakurs, Jats, Yadavs, Dalits, and Muslims are the main segments of the society in Uttar Pradesh who influence most of the seats in the state. Even among Dalits, there is a clear distinction between Jatavs and Non-Jatav Dalits and their voting patterns. It, therefore, becomes necessary to see how the BJP has performed in the constituencies dominated by these communities and how it won across the board.

BJP has comfortably won in Brahmin majority seats

The number of Brahmin voters in Uttar Pradesh constitute around 14%. In 115 seats of the state, it is the Brahmin voters who end up deciding the winner and the loser. So, all political parties were taking special efforts to lure the Brahmin voters ahead of the elections. Ever since the Yogi government came to power in 2017, CM Yogi Adityanath was accused of being anti-Brahmin. The encounter of dreaded don Vikas Dubey, who killed eight policemen, gave the opposition a chance to label Yogi Adityanath as an anti-Brahmin figure.

Yogi Adityanath has led the BJP campaign in Uttar Pradesh and won the election for his party.

Some Brahmin MLAs of the BJP also questioned the government on the issue. Before the elections, the opposition made all sorts of promises to woo this Brahmin vote bank but to no avail. The results of the top 10 Brahmin dominated assembly seats show that the Brahmins very much kept their faith with the Yogi government. Out of these ten constituencies having a Brahmin population from 90000 to 160000, BJP won 9 while Samajwadi Party managed to win one.

Dalit voters chose BJP

Election after election, BJP’s vote share among dalit voters keep rising even if JNU activists keep trying to portray BJP as an anti-dalit party. In the Uttar Pradesh elections, once again BJP got overwhelming support from the dalits, not just from non-Jatavs but also from BSP’s Jatav vote-bank. Even Mayawati admitted that the fear of Samajwadi Party’s goonda raj made many dalits vote for BJP.

8 out of the top 10 Thakur majority seats elected a BJP candidate

As soon as Yogi Adityanath became the CM, he was accused of favoring Thakur leaders and officers, and his birth name was used by all leftist media outlets. There were also allegations of posting only Thakur officers in government jobs, similar to Akhilesh posting Yadavs during his time.

The Thakur class is considered to be the opinion makers in Uttar Pradesh. That is why no one can ignore them, particularly when incumbent CM’s Thakur ancestry was made such a big issue. During the 2022 elections, BJP expectedly emerged as a winner in the Thakur dominated seats winning 8 out of the 10 seats with highest Thakur population.

PM Modi also campaigned in areas covering more than 200 seats and his efforts paid off.

BJP has caused a dent in Yadav-majority seats in Uttar Pradesh

The loyal Samajwadi voter, Yadavs, who are 9% of the population in UP are one of the most significant vote banks in the state. If you look at the results of the top ten Yadav majority seats, Samajwadi Party has won 7 out of them. All these seats are in close vicinity of Etawah and a traditional bastion of the Party.

Image SOurce: India Times

However, BJP with its ally Apna Dal has managed to win 3 seats out of these ten Yadav majority seats. In Chhibramau and Bakhshi ka Talab constituencies, voters preferred BJP candidates. BJP’s ally Apna Dal candidate won in Kayamganj giving BJP another seat in the Yadav stronghold.

BJP triumphed in the Jat dominated assembly seats

Jat voters constitute around 6 to 7 percent of the voters in Uttar Pradesh, but their influence rises significantly in western UP. After the farmers’ protest against the farm laws, it was widely expected that western UP will deliver a big blow to BJP.

Jat Representational Image
Source: India Today

However, the results from western UP suggest that nothing of that sort happened. Even though Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) managed to retain their core Jat voters, a large number of Jats still ended up voting for BJP. The results of the top ten Jat populated seats show that BJP has managed to win most of them.

BJP starts entering into the Muslim-dominated seats

Uttar Pradesh has around 20% Muslim population. There has been a lot of resentment in this section about the BJP government. BJP has been described as an anti-Muslim party even though BJP governments extend maximum welfare funds to Muslim communities.

Image Source: Times of India

Still, surprisingly, the BJP has won 2 out of the top ten Muslim majority seats where the Muslim population ranges from 168000 to 250000. BJP has won in Dhaulana and Saharanpur, while Samajwadi Party has managed to expectedly win the other 8 such seats. Notably, the AIMIM party of Asaduddin Owaisi has miserably failed in these constituencies.

This performance of the BJP demonstrates how it has made the Uttar Pradesh voters transcend above caste and religious barriers, and vote for law & order and development.

Netizens break into meme fest after India admits to accidentally firing a missile into Pakistan

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Netizens break into meme fest after India admits to accidentally firing a missile into Pakistan

India on Friday said it accidentally fired a missile into Pakistan stating that a technical malfunction during the course of maintenance caused the incident. The Ministry of Defence issued a statement, expressing its ‘regrets’ over the incident and informing that a high-level court of inquiry has been ordered.

However, the occurrence, unprecedented as it is, tickled the funny bones of many social users, who took to social media websites to share hilarious memes and videos to mark the incident.

Social media platforms were awash with a meme fest as netizens shared funny posts over India’s admission of accidentally firing a missile into Pakistan.

Netizens share memes after India says it accidentally fired a missile into Pakistan

A social media user shared on Twitter a snippet from the popular Bollywood movie ‘Ek aur Ek Gyarah’ wherein actors Sanjay Dutt and Govinda, perched inside a battle tank, indiscriminately press the buttons that lead to the firing of missiles and bullets at the villains.

A Twitter user shared an image of PM Modi allegedly involved in some experimentation, to insinuate that the missile was fired by him and to poke fun at Pakistan.

Another social media user shared a popular meme from the movie Hera Phera to insinuate the accidental firing of a missile was intentional.

Yet another social media user shared pictures of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and PM Modi engaging in repartee over the firing of the missile into Pakistan.

‘Missile accidentally fired into Pakistan during maintenance’: India

India on Friday issued a statement acknowledging that on 9 March 2022, in the course of routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile that unfortunately landed in an area of Pakistan. Fortunately, there has been no loss of life due to the accident.

The Government of India has taken a serious view and ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry, said the Defence Ministry in a statement.

The Ministry also added that while the incident was “deeply regrettable, it is also a matter of relief that there has been no loss of life due to the accident”.

The acknowledgement came a day after the Pakistani Army claimed that a ‘missile’ from India was launched from Hisar, violated the Pakistani airspace and fell in Mian Channu city in Khanewal district of the Punjab province of Pakistan. The incident allegedly took place on Wednesday (March 9) evening.

As per the Pakistani army’s DGISPR, the missile was without a warhead and had come close to civilian airlines, and had come over 124 km inside Pakistan. General Major Babar Iftikhar stated “It was a supersonic flying object, most probably a missile, but it was certainly unarmed. When it fell, it damaged civilian properties.”

DG ISPR alleged that the ‘flying object’ travelled 124 km from Sirsa in India to land in Mian Channu city of Pakistan. Genera Babar, however, made it clear that the flying object was not shot down and that it fell on its own.

Bolivian soldier who had shot dead leftist fighter Che Guevara dies at 80 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Bolivian soldier who had shot dead leftist fighter Che Guevara dies at 80 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra

The Bolivian soldier Mario Teran who is credited to have shot dead the leftist fighter Che Guevara has died at the age of 80 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra on Thursday 10th March 2022. After his retirement, Mario Teran was living in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. He was ill and hospitalized for the last three weeks. He is survived by his two children and his wife.

Leftist leader Che Guevara had fought in the Cuban revolution that won power in 1959 under Fidel Castro by toppling the regime of Fulgencio Batista. Che Guevara had worked for some time in the Cuban government as an official and later moved his focus to African and South American countries to needlessly incite the people in those countries for insurrections against their own state.

Mario Teran had shot dead Argentina-born Guevara on 9th October 1967 in the eastern Santa Cruz province of Bolivia during the cold war. According to a report by WION News, Gary Prado, who is a former Bolivian soldier and also who helped capture Guevara 54 years ago, has said, “He died. He was ill and nothing could be done.”

A Twitter user Chitrangada has posted in her tweet, “Dear Mario Teran, thank you for your service and ending the life of this miserable wretch Che all those years back. RIP! Bolivian soldier who shot dead revolutionary Che Guevara dies at 80.”

After Bolivian soldiers had tracked down Che Guevara, Mario Teran was chosen to kill Guevara as per the orders to execute had arrived from the Bolivian capital.

Minor girl gangraped by ‘boyfriend’ Biki Ali and his 4 friends in Guwahati, case filed after they uploaded video of the crime on social media

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Minor girl gangraped by ‘boyfriend’ Biki Ali and his 4 friends in Guwahati, case filed after they uploaded video of the crime on social media

Guwahati police is looking for five youths named Biki Ali, Faizur Ali, Puna Ali, Pinku Ali, and Raja Ali for gangrape of a minor girl, all of whom are absconding. After committing the crime, the youths led by Biki Ali had uploaded the video of the same on social media, which had gone viral.

According to reports, the class ten minor girl was in an alleged affair with Biki Ali. On February 16th, he took her to his home along with a friend and both of them had raped her together. They had also recorded the act. They threatened that they will upload the images and the videos on social media if she disclosed about the incident to anyone.

While the 16-year-old girl kept quite due to this threat, it emboldened Biki Ali to commit the crime again. On 19th February, he blackmailed her to accompany him to an Oyo hotel, threatening that if she does not agree, the visuals will be made viral.

In the hotel room, Biki Ali was joined by four other friends named Faizur Ali, Puna Ali, Pinku Ali, and Raja Ali. They gangraped the girl together, and again made video of the same. This time, they also uploaded the videos on social media.

After keeping mum for some days, the girl informed her family about the incident, and immediately her parents registered a complaint at the Panbazar Women Police Station in the city. Based on the complaint, a case under POCSO has been registered against the five named by the victim.

While the girl is aged 16 and thus a minor, all the accused are adults as they are in their early twenties. The police have launched a manhunt to nab the five accused, as all of them are on the run at present.

India accidentally fires missile into Pakistan during maintenance, says it ‘deeply regrets’ the incident

OpIndia Staff
-
0
India accidentally fires missile into Pakistan during maintenance, says it ‘deeply regrets’ the incident

India on Friday issued a statement acknowledging that on 9 March 2022, in the course of routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile that unfortunately landed in an area of Pakistan. Fortunately, there has been no loss of life due to the accident.

The Government of India has taken a serious view and ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry, said the Defence Ministry.

It is learnt that the missile landed in an area of Pakistan. While the incident is deeply regrettable, it is also a matter of relief that there has been no loss of life due to the accident, added the statement.

Pakistan claims unarmed Indian missile landed on its soil

On Thursday, March 10, the Pakistani Army claimed that a ‘missile’ from India was launched from Hisar, violated the Pakistani airspace and fell in Mian Channu city in Khanewal district of the Punjab province of Pakistan. The incident allegedly took place on Wednesday (March 9) evening.

As per the Pakistani army’s DGISPR, the missile was without a warhead and had come close to civilian airlines, and had come over 124 km inside Pakistan. General Major Babar Iftikhar stated “It was a supersonic flying object, most probably a missile, but it was certainly unarmed. When it fell, it damaged civilian properties.”

DG ISPR alleged that the ‘flying object’ travelled 124 km from Sirsa in India to land in Mian Channu city of Pakistan. Genera Babar, however, made it clear that the flying object was not shot down and that it fell on its own.

There were no human casualties. While there were no sensitive installations in the area where it landed, a wall did fall, the Pakistan military said.

Karnataka: Mohammad Ijaz stabs his wife Apoorva Puranik turned Arfa Bano 23 times after she discovers about his first marriage

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Karnataka: Mohammad Ijaz stabs his wife Apoorva Puranik turned Arfa Bano 23 times after she discovers about his first marriage

In a gruesome incident of the Love Jihad case, one Mohammad Ijaz in Karnataka brutally stabbed his wife Apoorva Puranik, alias Arfa Bano, for seeking a divorce after finding out that he was already married and a father of three children.

According to the reports, the 30-year-old Mohammad Ijaz stabbed his second wife, 26-year-old Apoorva Puranik, 23 times with a machete as revenge for leaving him. The incident took place in the Gadag district of Karnataka on Thursday. The victim is in critical condition and is battling for her life at a local hospital in the city.

The accused – Ijaz, who works as an auto driver, was in a relationship with Apoorva Puranik, an MBA graduate. Ijaz had lied to Apoorva that he was pursuing his education and used to work as an auto driver in his free time. In 2018, the couple got married against the wishes of the girl’s family.

After the marriage, Apoorva converted to Muslim, changed her name to Arfa Bano, and followed Islamic traditions such as wearing a burqa, hijab, etc. Apoorva even started consuming meat and completely abandoned Hindu traditions after Ijaz forced her to convert to Islam. Apoorva’s family also reconciled with her daughter and began to have a cordial relationship with the daughter and Ijaz. The couple also had a son.

A few months later, Apoorva, who comes from a very respectful Brahmin family in the city, found out that Ijaz had concealed information about his first marriage. Reportedly, Ijaz had already married a Muslim woman before his wedding with Apoorva and had fathered three children. As she learned about Ijaz’s first marriage, Apoorva left Ijaz and shifted to her parent’s residence in Gadag district along with her two-year-old son. She had also filed for divorce at a local court after Ijaz began to torture her.

Almost four months after she left Ijaz to stay with her parents, on Thursday, the accused chased and stabbed his estranged wife nearly 23 times before she collapsed to the ground. Apoorva had gone to the ground to learn to ride a two-wheeler with one of her neighbours.

She was immediately shifted to a local hospital in the city. In the meantime, Ijaz has managed to escape from the spot. The Gadag police have launched a manhunt to nab Mohammad Ijaz.

Earlier, it was reported on social media that the victim had died due to severe injuries. However, sources confirmed to OpIndia that she is alive but very critical.

RBI bars Paytm Payments Bank from onboarding new customers, orders IT audit

OpIndia Staff
-
0
RBI bars Paytm Payments Bank from onboarding new customers, orders IT audit

In a major blow to Paytm, the Reserve Bank of India has directed Paytm Payments Bank to stop onboarding new customers with immediate effect. This direction came in a press release by RBI today. The RBI has also directed Paytm to appoint an IT audit firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of its IT systems.

The Reserve Bank took action against Paytm under section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

The notice reads, “Reserve Bank of India has today, in the exercise of its powers, inter alia, under section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, directed Paytm Payments Bank Ltd to stop, with immediate effect, onboarding of new customers. The bank has also been directed to appoint an IT audit firm to conduct a comprehensive System Audit of its IT system.”

“Onboarding of new customers by Paytm Payments Bank Ltd will be subject to specific permission to be granted by RBI after reviewing report of the IT auditors. This action is based on certain material supervisory concerns observed in the bank,” it further added.

Further details about the reason behind the action are awaited.

According to reports, Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s Paytm Payments Bank was expected to seek a small finance bank (SFB) license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by June this year. However, this doesn’t seem to be the reason for the action taken by RBI. Paytm Payments Bank commenced operations on May 23, 2017. Paytm Payments Bank’s metamorphosis into a small lending bank, according to specialists monitoring the company, would allow the company to build a business model that is protracted.

Paytm went public on the stock exchange in November of last year. The initial public offering, which was one among the largest in India’s capital market history, caused quite a fuss.

Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma began his ambitious quest with the Paytm app in 2010 and was gradually gaining users’ interest, however, demonetization provided a lion’s share of the boost in the success of Paytm’s development, as a massive spike in online payments was observed. Following the demonetization in November 2016, Paytm became a popular cashless payment option for many customers and retailers. Paytm took the opportunity and ramped up to establish itself as a prominent player in the digital transactions ecosystem, branching further into areas such as Payments Bank, UPI, E-Commerce, Movie ticket booking, etc.

As Russian oil sector faces financial issues due to sanctions on banks, Russian Deputy PM speaks to Indian Petroleum minister, invites Indian investment

OpIndia Staff
-
0
As Russian oil sector faces financial issues due to sanctions on banks, Russian Deputy PM speaks to Indian Petroleum minister, invites Indian investment

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak talked with the Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri over phone yesterday. The discussion was cantered on bilateral collaboration in fuel and energy, as well as education, amid the sanctions against Russia by western countries following its invasion of Ukraine. They addressed present and prospective collaborative initiatives in the fuel and energy industries, noting that current projects are being implemented smoothly.

As per a Russian statement, Deputy PM Novak said, “What we have is a particularly privileged strategic partnership; the leaders of our countries maintain regular contact. Mutually beneficial cooperation is actively promoted, including the Arctic LNG 2 and Sakhalin 1 projects. Gazprom supplies LNG to India, and Rosneft continues its systematic work with its Indian partners.”

The Deputy PM added, “We are interested in further attracting Indian investment to the Russian oil and gas sector and expanding Russian companies’ sales networks in India.”

Large Russian firms, according to Mr. Novak, are actively involved in projects in India, such as the manufacturing, refining, and distribution of oil, natural gas, and coking coal.

“Russia’s oil and petroleum product exports to India have approached S1 billion, and there are clear opportunities to increase this figure. We expect to continue cooperating in the development of peaceful nuclear power, in particular, in building the nuclear power units at Kudankulam,” the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia added.

Alexander Novak and Hardeep Puri also discussed a bilateral educational partnership, with a focus on increasing opportunities for Indian students to study at Russian universities.

Official statement from the Indian side is yet to come.

Russia’s invitation to Indian forms to invest in Russian petrochemical sector is significant in the current scenario, as the Russian Deputy Prime Minister has informed his country is facing difficulties in the sector due to sanctions. He told the Russian parliament that the contracted volumes for March will be delivered as planned, but that there are problems affecting exports of crude oil and refined products to be delivered in April.

“Here we are currently facing certain problems, primarily related to financing,” he said. However, the minister added that Russia has maintained full production of both oil and gas so far.

He said that the sanctions imposed on Russian banks have caused problems for all market participants, including “suppliers, buyers and traders.” He had added that specifically there were problems witg availability and issuance of letters of credit. Apart from financial issues, Russian oil companies are also facing difficulties in obtaining tankers and insurance.

Notably, ONGC Videsh has failed to get bids for its tender to sell 700,000 barrels of Russian sokol crude. The overseas arm of ONGC has a 20% stake in Russia’s Sakhalin-1 project and sells its share of oil through tenders. However, for the tender that closed on Thursday, all the parties that had shown an interest withdrew their bids.

While US, UK and Canada has banned import of Russian, it is not expected to effect Russian export much as European countries, the major buyer, have not stopped buying Russian gas and oil yet. Even though EU nations have imposed other sanctions on Russia, they are so heavily dependent on Russian gas and oil that they can’t stop it immediately without securing alternatives. However, due to sanctions in the financial sector, Russian oil industry is facing problems.

Russia-India Cooperation

Russia has traditionally been an important partner for India. Since the signing of the “Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership” in October 2000 (during President Putin’s visit), India-Russia relations have taken on a qualitatively new character, with increased cooperation in almost all areas of the bilateral relationship, including politics, security, defense, trade and economy, science and technology, culture, and people-to-people ties. 

Amidst the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Russia has played a key role in ensuring the safety of Indian citizens stranded in Ukraine. The Indian government repeatedly pressed Russian authorities to set up a safe path for Indian students who need to be evacuated. Also, according to reports, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian soldiers to safeguard Indian students with “every possible effort.”

‘EU laws over national laws’: European Union hits Poland and Hungary with sanctions while they deal with over 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘EU laws over national laws’: European Union hits Poland and Hungary with sanctions while they deal with over 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees

The European Union has decided to impose economic sanctions on its two member states, Poland and Hungary, even as the two countries deal with the influx of over 1.5 Million Ukrainian refugees in the last 2 weeks. European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of these sanctions on Poland and Hungary in the middle of the unfolding humanitarian crisis.

In a press release, European Parliament stated that it was high time for the Commission to protect the EU budget from violations of rule of law. It also mentions that EU funds must be protected from countries that undermine the EU’s “liberal democratic values”. As per European Union laws introduced in January 2021, EU member countries that bend the rule of law are not eligible to receive funds from the EU.

478 MEP (Members of European Parliament) voted in favour of these sanctions, while 155 voted against.

“EU laws are above national laws, even above the constitution of respective member states”

In October 2021, Poland’s top court had rejected the supremacy of EU laws over some judicial matters. A constitutional tribunal in Poland had stated that some EU treaty articles were incompatible with Poland’s constitution.

The European Commission had taken major objection to the Poland top court’s ruling and had stated, “EU law has primacy over national law, including constitutional provisions. All rulings by the European Court of Justice are binding on all member states’ authorities, including national courts.”

As per European Union, Poland and Hungary are not respecting these common EU laws, and are accused of curbing the freedom of courts, media and academics. In addition, they are accused of depriving LGBTQ+ people and migrants of their rights. The two countries had appealed against these European laws in the European Court of Justice but their plea was dismissed in February earlier this year.

With Billions of Euros at stake, this decision is bad news for both Poland and Hungary, particularly for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban who faces an election next month.

While the timing of this decision is just a coincidence, since the process was in the works since last year, still the decision to rob these countries of funds in the middle of a refugee crisis has been met with widespread derision. During the ongoing war in Ukraine, Poland has taken close to 1.5 million refugees, while Hungary has received nearly a quarter of a million refugees. Now with this humanitarian crisis on their hands, they also know that there won’t be any help coming from the EU.

In addition, Poland has been pushed as the first line of defence against Russian aggression, but while they were focusing on Russia, they got sanctioned by the EU from behind.

European Union’s detractors have for long complained about the EU’s meddling in a member country’s internal affairs, one of the main reasons for the Brexit vote in Britain. Now, with the EU holding money from its member countries, in the middle of a humanitarian crisis, those complaints about the EU are only going to grow.

1...3,4853,4863,487...7,677Page 3,486 of 7,677