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When NRC is done, all stakeholders will be consulted: Home Minister Amit Shah

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When NRC is done, all stakeholders will be consulted: Home Minister Amit Shah

On Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah clarified that the decision to implement National Register of Citizens will be done after consulting all the stakeholders. Speaking to Aaj Tak, Home Minister said that there was no plans to bring NRC currently, but it will be done in future, he added.

However, the Home Minister said that when NRC is brought in the country, every stakeholder will be consulted to ascertain their views.

“NRC has not come in yet, when it comes, there is no talk of bringing it, even if it comes all stakeholders will be consulted,” Home Minister Amit Shah said as he responded to certain concerns regarding the documents that may be required to prove citizenship if NRC is implemented.

In his interview with Aaj Tak journalist Anjana Om Kashyap, the Home Minister also spoke regarding several achievements of the Modi government upon the completion of one year in office. The Home Minister mentioned regarding the abrogation of Article 370, the establishment of a Ram Mandir trust, the criminalization of Triple Talaq and also the historic Citizenship Amendment Act.

“These issues have been ongoing for a long time. The migrants have been seeking asylum in India since Independence. Article 370 was introduced as a temporary measure by the Constituent Assembly. Ram Janmabhoomi case was the country’s oldest case,” Home Minister Amit Shah said adding that for the past 60 years, these issues have been connected to the country’s unity and integrity, social justice and popular sentiment.

States have fought battle with centre against coronavirus: Home Minister

The Home Minister Amit Shah also mentioned that all the states have worked in close cooperation with the centre in the last few weeks to tackle the Chinese pandemic coronavirus.

Home Minister Amit Shah said that each state did its part to the best of its abilities. “We have reached this stage (containment of infection) because of this coordination between the Centre and states,” Home Minister Amit Shah said praising states for their role in tackling the pandemic.

The Home Minister also said according to India’s federal structure, each state has a different governments with different political parties at the wheel but they have all fought this battle well, this is the truth, he added. He also said, “Since Modi ji is the Prime Minister, he has approached this crisis in an organised manner.”

This is Home Minister Amit Shah’s first interview to media after his absence in the public domain last month, leading to various speculation about his ill-health. However, Amit Shah had informed people and BJP workers that all theories surrounding his health were just rumours.

George Floyd protests: Nike, Louis Vuitton, Macy’s, Adidas stores vandalised and looted by rioters in the US

OpIndia Staff
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George Floyd protests: Nike, Louis Vuitton, Macy’s, Adidas stores vandalised and looted by rioters in the US

Thousands of Americans have gathered across the country to protest against the killing of George Floyd. However, these ‘protests’ have now escalated into large-scale riots, vandalism and looting. Many stores, boutiques have been looted and destroyed by the violent rioters in various parts of the country.

The shocking visuals of violent mob destroying a Nike showroom in Chicago have gone viral now. A Chicago-based reporter Ben Pope shared horrific videos on Twitter, in which it can be seen how ‘protestors’ smashed the windows of a Nike store located at 669 Michigan Avenue.

The protestors can be seen looting the merchandise present inside the Nike store in Chicago. The violent mob left the store empty after vandalising and looting it.

Similarly, the violent mob in the US was also caught damaging the luxury departmental store Neiman Marcus, trying to enter to loot the store amidst the ongoing riots across the country. In the video, it can be seen, how a protestor is trying to break the window with an axe, helping the violent mob to enter and rob the store located at 737 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

In another image shared by Ben Pope, an AT&T store on Michigan Avenue was also vandalised by the mob, who smashed the windows of the store. According to The Chicago Tribune report, the violent mob gathered at 2 PM near the Federal Plaza, which grew to a mass of 3,000 people by evening. By evening, the protestors turned violent by throwing fireworks and bottles at authorities.

Similarly, a Macy’s store at Water Tower Place, Chicago was also smashed and looted on Saturday by a violent mob.

Not just in Chicago, the violent mob also resorted to vandalism in other parts of America. Reportedly, there were similar scenes at Flight Club, Supreme and Sole Stage on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles.

The Adidas flagship store in New York’s Manhattan area was also damaged and looted. Similarly, rioters were also seen looting a Villa shoe store in Rochester in New York

Similarly, several rioters broke into the Louis Vuitton store in Portland and looted the merchandise. The footage of the incident has now gone viral across social media platforms. The riots entered the store by breaking a glass door and robbed the goods present inside the store.

Death of George Floyd

On May 25, a 46-year-old black man, George Floyd was killed by a police officer, Derek Chauvin, who knelt on the former’s neck for 7 long minutes until his body became unresponsive. George Floyd was seen handcuffed and begging for breath after a police officer had arrested him.

A shopkeeper had called the cops on Floyd for allegedly trying to pass a ‘potential counterfeit bill’. On being taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center, he was pronounced dead.

Following the death of George Floyd, a fresh wave of protests erupted in various US states. Hundreds of protestors have hit the streets to protest against the killing of George Floyd. However, the protests have now turned violent with demonstrators have resorted to rioting, vandalising private properties, leading to large scale violence on the streets of America.

“You hang homosexuals, stone women, and exterminate Jews” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slams Iran foreign minister over racism jibe

OpIndia Staff
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“You hang homosexuals, stone women, and exterminate Jews” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slams Iran foreign minister over racism jibe

Amidst the killing of a 46-year-old African-American man named George Floyd by a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Iran, Javad Zarif, decided to take a dig at US Secretary Mike Pompeo and Trump administration on Saturday.

Referring to the United States, he wrote, “Some don’t think #Black Lives matter.” Zarif then urged the entire world to ‘wage war’ against racism. The Iranian Foreign Minister had altered a press statement released by the United States’ Secretary Mike Pompeo in June 2018 about the home-grown protests in Iran against the autocratic regime. In the alternate press release, Zarif had struck out the word ‘Iran’ and replaced it with ‘US’ and ‘America’ to contextualise with respect to recent rioting.

The tweaked press release read, “The US Government is squandering its citizens’ resources, whether its adventurism in Asia, Africa or Latin America, its support for countless dictators, or its ambitions for wastefully expanding its nuclear arms program, it will only add to the suffering of the people of America. As I have said before, it should surprise no one that protests continue in America. The American people are demanding their leaders share their country’s wealth and response to their legitimate needs. We condemn the government’s same futile tactics of suppression, imprisonment of protestors, and the denial of Americans’ frustrations. The people of America are tired of racism, corruption, injustice, and incompetence from their leaders. The world hears their voice.”

Responding to Javad Zarif, Mike Pompeo wrote, “You hang homosexuals, stone women and exterminate Jews.”

It must be remembered that while racism is not the State Policy of the United States, execution of homosexuals and suppression of women rights have been the governmental policy in the Islamic Republic of Iran since it is governed by Sharia. Moreover, Iranian has an official and declared policy to destroy Israel and hence antisemitism is state-sponsored, institutional, and an instrument of the regime.

The Killing of George Floyd and subsequent riots

On May 25, a 46-year-old ‘black’ man, George Floyd was reportedly murdered by a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, who knelt on the former’s neck for 7 long minutes until his body became unresponsive. Despite the victim complaining about not being able to breathe, coupled with verbal protest from onlookers, the said officer was unmoved. A shopkeeper had called the cops on Floyd for allegedly trying to pass a ‘potential counterfeit bill’.

On Wednesday night, Police cars were vandalised and pelted with rocks. To pacify the situation, the cops resorted to firing tear gas and rubber bullets at the frenzied mob. Shops were raided and looted, all in the garb of a peaceful protest. The mob also breached the security and reached for the police precinct in the neighbourhood where Floyd died. The building was set of fire by the unruly mob, amidst slogans demanding justice for the victim.

George Floyd Case: Rioters desecrate 142-year-old Cathedral in New York, Synagogue in Los Angeles with hateful graffiti

OpIndia Staff
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George Floyd Case: Rioters desecrate 142-year-old Cathedral in New York, Synagogue in Los Angeles with hateful graffiti

On Saturday, rioters had reportedly desecrated the 142-year old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan in New York, following the killing of a 46-year-old black man named George Floyd by a white officer, Derek Chauvin, on May 25, report New York Post.

Two walls of the Cathedral were desecrated with hateful graffiti and the stairs were spray-painted in black with the name of the victim. The walls were defaced with words such as ‘F*ck’, ‘BLM (Black Lives Matter)’, NJNP (No Justice No Peace) that were written in black letters. As per the report, the sacrilegious act was committed when a mob marched past the Cathedral towards Fifth Avenue.

Later, workers had scrubbed down the graffiti at the iconic cathedral.

The outrageous graffiti was spotted by a reporter from the New York Post at around 6:30 pm. As per the report, on being asked for a comment, the police declined to reply. Moreover, two major Highways in Manhattan were also shut down by rioters on Saturday afternoon. Besides, a northern stretch of the 9.86-long FDR Drive was also closed by 150 them, followed by the New York Police Department (NYPD) after 2 pm. Interestingly, the Archdiocese spokesperson Joseph Zwilling was unaware of the crime when he was contacted by the news portal.

Similarly, Synagogue Congregation Beth El on Beverly Blvd in Los Angeles was also vandalised by rioters.

“F*ck Israel” and “Free Palestine” graffiti appeared on the synagogue.

The Killing of George Floyd

On May 25, a 46-year-old African-American man, George Floyd was reportedly murdered by a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, who knelt on the former’s neck for 7 long minutes until his body became unresponsive. A shopkeeper had called the cops on Floyd for allegedly trying to pass a ‘potential counterfeit bill’. Despite the victim complaining about not being able to breathe, coupled with verbal protest from onlookers, the said officer was unmoved. On being taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center, Floyd was pronounced dead.

Riots in Minneapolis

On Wednesday night, Police cars were vandalised and pelted with rocks. To pacify the situation, the cops resorted to firing tear gas and rubber bullets at the frenzied mob. Windows of unmanned stores were broken. Shops were raided and looted, all in the garb of a peaceful protest. Home goods such as rugs and coffee makers were stolen and stores were set ablaze. The mob also breached the security and reached for the police precinct in the neighbourhood where Floyd died. The building was set of fire by the unruly mob, amidst slogans demanding justice for the victim. On Saturday, the riots spread across the country.

India is flooded with love: Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthang tweets a video of villagers in Bihar offering food to stranded Mizo passengers

OpIndia Staff
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India is flooded with love: Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthang tweets a video of villagers in Bihar offering food to stranded Mizo passengers

On Saturday, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthang took to Twitter to share a heart-warming video of a large number of locals in Bihar coming to the rescue of the stranded Mizos by offering them food.

A Shramik express train carrying stranded labourers back to Mizoram had stopped briefly in a village in Begusarai, Bihar recently. In the video, it can be seen how enthusiastic villagers carried food near the train and offered food to the travellers.

The video was shared on Twitter by Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga, who said that the gesture touching. “India is beautiful when it is awash with love,” he tweeted along with the clip.

The 30-second video from Begusarai Bihar, seems to have captured on a mobile phone, shows a group of villagers came forward near the train with packets of food. Few men were seen giving a basket full of food items to a passenger from a window of the train.

On Thursday, Mizoram’s Chief Minister had also shared a similar video of passengers in a train travelling to flood-hit North-east, sharing their food to flood-victims along the railway track. The passengers in the train are from Mizoram who was returning to their homes.

The poignant images of people coming to the rescue of each other come at the backdrop of recent floods in the region caused in Assam due to the overflow of Brahmaputra river. The annual floods in the regions have also occurred at a time when the country is facing the heat of coronavirus pandemic.

US President Donald Trump postpones G7 summit till September, contemplates inviting India, Russia while excluding China

OpIndia Staff
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US President Donald Trump postpones G7 summit till September, contemplates inviting India, Russia while excluding China

On Saturday, US President Donald Trump had reportedly said that he would postpone the G-7 summit as the current format is “very outdated group of countries”. Besides, he had expressed the desire to invite India along with Russia, Australia and South Korea the summit. “I’m postponing it because I don’t feel that as a G7 it properly represents what’s going on in the world”, Trump was quoted as saying.

Whether the expansion of the G-7 summit to G-11 is permanent cannot be ascertained at this point, but this highlights the increasing importance of India in global politics. According to White House spokesperson, Alyssa Farah, the US President wants countries to discuss China at the meeting. The summit is now likely to be delayed at least till September.

Amidst the Coronavirus outbreak, Donald Trump had cancelled the summit in March but had decided to hold the meeting recently. As per reports, the US President was keen on sending a positive message to the world that the country was returning back to normal. The G-7 summit, which was scheduled to be hosted by the United States, would have featured countries including France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

While the idea of an in-person meeting was endorsed by French President Emmanuel Macron, Cananda’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited health risks to decline such an idea. Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Markel had also refused to attend the summit, owing to the Coronavirus scare. The meeting was supposed to be held between June 10 and June 12 this year. Earlier, Trump had said that he did not want the global epidemic to stop the G-7 summit.

Donald Trump attacks China

On Friday, US President Donald Trump announced that the USA will cut off ties with the World Health Organisation (WHO), besides imposing sanctions on China. The unprecedented decision came at the backdrop of China’s mishandling of the Coronavirus outbreak, endangering the lives of millions of people and failing to uphold the autonomy of Hong Kong.

He had informed that he would sign an executive order and prevent the entry of ‘some foreign nationals’ from China whom the State Department had deemed to be a potential threat to US security. With the goal of protecting American investors, Trump had further directed the Financial markets and his team to take cognisance of the practices of Chinese Companies listed on US financial markets.

Britain proposes D-10, alliance of democracies including India

Last week, the Great Britain had proposed a new alliance of 10 5G countries, dubbed as ‘D10’, to align against China and reduce its reliance on Beijing, especially on Chinese telecom giant Huawei. Britain has planned to club India, South Korea and Australia along with G7 countries – UK, US, Italy, Germany, France, Japan and Canada – to create alternative suppliers of 5G equipment and other technologies to avoid dependence on China for vital technologies.

Chinese state media can’t hide their glee as various cities in America go up in flames in riots and lootings

OpIndia Staff
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Chinese state media can’t hide their glee as various cities in America go up in flames in riots and lootings

Chinese state media ‘Global Times’, the English-language people of Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, on Saturday expressed glee at the rioting and looting in the United States after African-American man George Floyd was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis last week. Taking a dig at the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s remark on Hong Kong demonstrations where she referred to the protests as a ‘beautiful sight’, Hu Xijin, the nationalist editor Global Times said, “US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi once called the violent protests in Hong Kong “a beautiful sight to behold.” Now, the “beautiful sight” is extending from Hong Kong to over a dozen US states. US politicians now can enjoy this sight from their own windows.”

He further questioned the US administration whether the Chinese government and National People’s Congress issue a statement to support the protests by African-Americans and the grassroots of US society. “If China does not support the protests in the US, how could the latter keep playing its Hong Kong card? After all, US President Donald Trump just announced Friday to impose sanctions against China over Hong Kong affairs,” he wrote.

The Global Times had on Friday reported that even Chinese netizens had referred to the rioting in the United States as a ‘beautiful sight’. As claimed by the CCP’s mouthpiece, one of the Chinese netizens even mocked the Hong Kong protestors by comparing China and US law and order situation by sarcastically asking the Hong Kong protestors to “take a better look at the country you are begging for help”.

Global Times claims that one of the Chinese netizen also aped the five demands of Hong Kong protestors and listed out what Minnesota citizens should demand from the US administration. “Five demands from Minnesota: release US citizens arrested during the protests; establish a supervision team to investigate US police; disband US ‘black cops;’ abolish US law on national security and the US presidential election system,” Global Times claimed.

George Floyd protests in the US

46-year-old African American George Floyd died after being pinned down by a white Minneapolis police officer who held his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes even as he pleaded that he can’t breathe. Soon after, widespread protests erupted which soon turned violent. On Saturday, the protests escalated nationwide which led to many cities to impose curfew. Demonstrators in Philadelphia also tried to topple a statue while they shut down highway traffic in Miami. On Saturday, US President Donald Trump urged Minnesota officials to get tough on protestors and even offered military support to control the situation.

Hong Kong protests

Until 1997, Hong Kong was ruled by the British as a colony but returned to China under the ‘One nation, two systems’ arrangement. In April 2019, the extradition bill was introduced which would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China under certain circumstances. Opponents feared that this may expose Hong Kong residents to unfair trial and violent treatment and could be used to target activists and journalists.

In June 2019, protests erupted across Hong Kong against the plans to allow extradition to mainland China as critics feared that this could undermine Hong Kong’s judicial independence and endanger lives of those who dissent. The bill has been shelved, however, the protests took a pro-democracy shape with people demanding investigations for alleged police cruelty.

The protests turned violent where protestors fought officers with poles, petrol bombs and other projectiles. Police also shot a protestor and another man was set on fire by anti-government protestors.

Actors Arshad Warsi, Milind Soman get attacked by Islamists and Pakistanis for urging people to boycott Chinese products amid Ladakh standoff

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Actors Arshad Warsi, Milind Soman get attacked by Islamists and Pakistanis for urging people to boycott Chinese products amid Ladakh standoff

Islamists and Pakistanis attacked Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi after he urged people to boycott Chinese products amid the Ladakh standoff. On Saturday, Warsi took to Twitter to say that he is consciously going to stop everything that is Chinese.

He said that while most products we use are either made in China or they have major components which are made there, it will take time to phase out the Chinese products. “But I know, one day I’ll be Chinese free,” he tweeted.

However, he was soon attacked by Islamists and Pakistanis for his appeal.

He was asked if he had the courage to ask PM Modi on the ‘atrocities’ on Kashmir or he will only speak filmy dialogues.

One Muhammad Aqib, whose Twitter profile states that he is from Pakistan, said that he is consciously thinking of banning India from anywhere. Aqib was upset Warsi was not saying anything on ‘suppression of Muslims in India by fascist Modi’.

Another Pakistani, Almas Arshad, suggested that India should leave all ‘Chinese things’ like Ladakh. Similarly, the ‘Made in India’ actor Milind Sonam, on Friday, shared video of Aamir Khan starrer ‘3 Idiots’ inspiration Sonam Wangchuk’s video where he urged people to boycott Chinese hardware and software over time.

The education reformer had called for boycott of Chinese products in the wake of the military standoff between India and China at the LAC (Line of Actual Control) in Ladakh. Soman, too, was mocked and attacked by ‘liberals’ and Islamists for calling to ban Chinese products.

Former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah mocked Soman for the call to boycott Chinese products. Sonam also got hate for his association with the RSS during his childhood which he had mentioned in his autobiography released earlier this year.

The Standoff at LAC

About 5000 Chinese army personnel, under the garb of a military exercise, diverted their movement towards the Indian side of the LAC (Line of Actual Control). The current stand-off began on May 5-6 and has been continuing all along the LAC up to Sikkim. Sources told ANI that the behaviour of Chinese troops had been reminiscent of the stone pelters in Kashmir who are funded by Pakistan. The Chinese troops came armed with sticks, clubs with barbed wires and stones in an area near the Pangong Tso lake during a face-off with Indian troops there, the source revealed.

Unelected people think they can impose their will on the government through courts: Harish Salve

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Unelected people think they can impose their will on the government through courts: Harish Salve

Senior Supreme court Lawyer Harish Slave has said that a lot of people who are not elected representatives thinks that they can impose their will on the government in the centre through courts. He said that a judge can be criticized and even his judgement too but attributing motives to them is unethical.

While speaking at a webinar on the issue of ‘Insulting Judiciary from social media Diatribes’, he said, “To say judgement is to favour a political party or judge has acted in favour of political party is wrong. Supreme Court is not a dartboard. You can criticize a judgment saying the judge has taken a conservative line.” He also added that privacy is a serious issue and the Indians are not really serious about it despite it being a valuable property.

He also stated that some also push into the Supreme court for some relief. Salve said, “When they do not get relief from Supreme Court, they say judges are not doing this because of this reason… Some people are pushing the boundaries by saying the Supreme Court deserves ‘F’ grade for its handling of migrants. I have been reading these articles. They are wrong.”

He added, “A lot of people who are not elected feel that they can impose their will on the government through courts. One can criticize that court saying that (in migrants’ case) either the court should have intervened or not… but to say that the court is scared of the government is wrong. If I argue a case and I lose, I should think that I tried my best but I lost. But if I get a feeling that the judge did not give judgment in my favor because of … what newspapers might write, then I am worried.”

The senior advocate also said that one may not agree with the judgment of the court but saying that the court does not stand with the people is wrong.

India emerges as fifth-largest hydropower producer in the world overtaking Japan

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India emerges as fifth-largest hydropower producer in the world overtaking Japan

In a significant development, India has emerged as the fifth-largest producer of hydropower electricity in the world surpassing Japan. As per the International Hydropower Association, India has a total installed base standing at 50 Gigawatt now after Canada, the US, Brazil, and China.

IHA, the London based global hydropower trade body published the 2020 hydropower status report along with COVID-19 policy paper. As per the data, global hydropower installed capacity reached 1308 GW in 2019 after a total of 50 countries completed greenfield and upgrade projects, including pumped storage.

As per reports, a total of 15.6 GW capacity was installed in 2019, down from 21.8 GW in 2018 representing a surge of 1.2 percent which is below the 2.0 percent growth target to meet the requirements of the Paris Agreement Carbon Reduction. Brazil with 4.93 GW, China with 4.17 GW, and Laos with 1.89 GW saw the largest increases according to the report.

Read- Govt of India approves construction of India’s largest hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh

IHA stated that hydropower’s flexibility services have been in high demand at the time of the Coronavirus crisis as the plant operators have been less affected due to the degree of automation in modern facilities.

IHA stated that the pandemic has underlined hydropower’s resilience and critical role in delivering clean, reliable, and affordable energy.

While hydropower developments have not been immune to fluctuations occurring in the economy which have put financing and refinancing of the company is at risk.

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