by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Buzz
New Delhi : With Israel asserting that its relationship with India is much stronger than one vote in the UN, the stage is set for for the arrival here on Sunday of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu on a six-day trip to give a fillip to 25 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
This is the first prime ministerial visit from Israel to India since the visit of then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
The visit comes less than a month after New Delhi voted in the UN General Assembly against US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
However, Israeli Ambassador to India Daniel Carmon, at a media briefing here, set at rest all speculation over this saying, “I think the relationship is much stronger than one vote in the UN here and there.”
He also added: “Sometimes it is India that comes to Israel with a request and sometimes Israel comes to India with a request. We cannot always fulfil those requests. That is why we are two countries, two members of the UN.”
B. Bala Bhaskar, Joint Secretary (WANA) in the Ministry of External Affairs, told the media that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Netanyahu will sit for a bilateral summit here on January 15, both sides “will be discussing a lot of issues”.
Netanyahu’s visit also assumes significance as it comes just over six months after the visit of Modi to Israel, the first ever Indian prime ministerial visit to the West Asian nation
Stating that bilateral cooperation has been expanded to several areas, Bhaskar said: “It all started with agriculture, now we have large areas of cooperation predominantly dominated by technology collaboration, innovation, R&D, science, space, so these are actually very qualitative engagements characterised by technological collaboration and innovation.”
According to Carmon, though cooperation in agriculture and water were the highlights of Modi’s visit to Israel in July last year, this time innovation will top the agenda.
“Innovation that would, you know, touch any of the areas in which we cooperate. Innovation could be in the field of defence, innovation could be in the field of agriculture, innovation could be in the field of IT, of R&D,” he said.
The Ambassador described innovation as a “cross-cutting issue” and said this would be reflected in the discussions between Modi and Netanyahu.
Carmon referred to Netanyahu’s scheduled visit to the iCreate Innovation Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology on the outskirts of Ahmedabad and said that the centre “has a big clement of Israeli ecosystem in innovation”.
Bhaskar said the ties between the two countries have been expanding in the areas of agriculture, water, innovation, entrepreneurship development, space, education, culture, homeland security and defence.
“We have upgraded our relationship to the strategic level with a special focus on agriculture and water,” he said.
He said the bilateral commerce between the two countries stood at $5 billion in 2016-17 which did not include defence trade.
There is speculation about the revival of talks on India’s purchase of 8,000 Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel that was cancelled last year.
Carmon, on his part, said that the Spike project is an example of Israel engaging in the Make in India programme.
Stating that the project would be a boost to India’s economy, the Ambassador said: “If there is a problem, I hope it would be solved.”
Apart from the summit-level meeting, the second India-Israel CEOs Forum will be held as also a series of other meetings between both sides in New Delhi and Mumbai during the course of the visit. Netanyahu will be accompanied by a delegation of 130 Israeli business leaders.
Asked about the status of the India-Israel free trade agreement (FTA), Carmon said that “the FTA is definitely on our agenda”.
Netanyahu is also scheduled to visit a Centre of Excellence in Agriculture at Vadrad, Gujarat, that has been set up with Israeli assistance.
Carmon said that by the end of this month, there will be 22 centres of excellence set up with Israeli aid up and running across India.
These centres cover areas like vegetables, citrus fruits, dates, mangoes, flowers, beekeeping, he said, adding that “we are now starting work on a dairy farm in Haryana”.
Netanyahu will also be accompanied by Moshe Holtzberg, whose parents, Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, were killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Moshe, who was only two years old then, will visit Chabad House, where his parents were killed.
Another major highlight of Netanyahu’s visit will be his participation in this year’s Raisina Dialogue, India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
United Nations : The UN has asked the Saudi-led coalition to keep the Red Sea ports of Hudaydah and Saleef open for humanitarian shipments.
UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, has welcomed the opening of Hudaydah and Saleef to commercial and humanitarian cargo. He called on the Saudi-led coalition to continue allowing vessels into the Red Sea ports, and for the Houthi rebels to desist from threatening this vital access route, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Friday, Xinhua reported.
McGoldrick also lauded the coalition’s approval to move four cranes to Hudaydah Port to enhance its capacity and allow for faster off-loading of vessels, said the spokesman.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 13 vessels have delivered food and much-needed fuel through Hudaydah and Saleef since December 20, 2017, when the Saudi-led coalition announced that it would keep the two ports open for a period of one month for both humanitarian and commercial cargo. More deliveries are in the pipeline, according to OCHA.
A total of 22 million people in Yemen are in need of humanitarian assistance. Over 70 per cent of them live in proximity to the Hudaydah and Saleef ports.
The Saudi-led coalition, which is fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen, sealed off land, sea and air access to Yemen in November 2017 after Houthi rebels launched a missile at the Saudi capital of Riyadh. The missile was intercepted.
The blockade was partially lifted later, but shipment of humanitarian supplies kept being affected.
Yemen has been in civil war since 2015, pitting Houthi forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and forces loyal to the government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. In December 2017, conflict erupted between Houthi rebels and Saleh supporters, leading to the killing of Saleh.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Announcement comes shortly after UN members voted overwhelmingly to oppose Trump’s Jerusalem decision
By Safvan Allahverdi,
Washington : The U.S. will reduce its funding of the UN by $285 million for the coming fiscal year, its envoy to the UN announced late Sunday.
“The inefficiency and overspending of the United Nations are well known. We will no longer let the generosity of the American people be taken advantage of or remain unchecked,” Nikki Haley said in a statement.
“This historic reduction in spending – in addition to many other moves toward a more efficient and accountable UN – is a big step in the right direction,” she added.
The announcement came shortly after UN member nations voted overwhelmingly to oppose a decision by President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel – a move that drew condemnation and protests from across the Arab and Muslim world.
The full 193-member UN General Assembly met last week for a rare emergency special session regarding Trump’s decision. Unlike at the Security Council, the U.S. has no veto power in the assembly.
A total of 128 members voted in favor of the resolution while nine countries voted against it and 35 others abstained. Twenty-one countries did not cast a vote.
In response, Trump threatened UN members that he would withhold billions of dollars in aid to countries that voted in support of the resolution denouncing the U.S. move.
“They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us. Well, we’re watching those votes. Let them vote against us. We’ll save a lot. We don’t care,” he said.
Haley also threatened UN members over the vote, saying there would be consequences and she would be “taking names” of countries who voted in favor of the resolution.
Jerusalem’s status has long been considered a final status issue to be determined by Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, and Trump’s decision is widely seen as undercutting that longstanding understanding. East Jerusalem, which Palestinians are seeking to make the capital of their state, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
The U.S. currently provides about 22 percent of the UN budget or approximately $3.3 billion per year.
—AA
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
By Vishal Gulati,
New Delhi : There’s no magic solution to the smog problem in the Indian capital as it’s caused by a variety of factors, United Nations Environment head Erik Solheim has said, adding: “The key here is providing clear, decisive leadership on the issue.”
It’s the same in New Delhi, Manchester, London, Beijing or Nairobi. Citizens and politicians have to breathe the same air. It’s possible to build a strong consensus for action to opt for low-carbon solutions.
“Delhi’s smog problem is caused by a variety of factors. These range from agricultural burning, the burning of waste, transport, construction and power generation, among others,” Solheim told IANS in an online interview from Nairobi, which is hosting the UN Environment Assembly next week.
He said the priority is really to establish a scientific basis for action, using air quality monitoring technology to identify the precise sources of pollution.
“Policymakers can then use that data to prioritise areas of action and plan future change. The key here is providing clear, decisive leadership on the issue. Given the public health concerns, anyone taking firm action can be sure of winning public support,” he observed.
Ahead of the third session of the UN Environment Assembly, where world leaders are gathering for the largest global meeting on pollution, an optimistic Solheim said there’s a need for action on transport to curb emissions.
Transport accounts for nearly 18 per cent of all emissions worldwide, and over 90 per cent of the sector is still dependent on carbon-intensive fossil fuels.
“We need action on transport for two reasons. The transport sector, be it on land, in the air or at sea, is a major contributor to emissions and a driver of climate change. It’s also a big cause of pollution, with an immediate detrimental impact on the health of hundreds of millions of people,” Solheim said.
“We have started to see a shift to low-carbon solutions, but this needs to speed up. I’m convinced that the days are numbered for the internal combustion engine, with many nations now committing themselves to a time-bound phase-out of petrol and diesel vehicles,” he said.
“But we really need to see more innovation and change in the air transport and shipping sectors.”
The UN Environment Assembly, with 193 nations as its members, aims to deliver commitments to end the pollution of air, land, waterways and oceans and to safely manage chemicals and waste.
According to Solheim, what’s happening in many cities around the world is criminal, and people deserve far better.
“Living in a city should not mean being condemned to poor health and an early death. On the positive side, both policymakers and citizens are increasingly aware of the issue, and especially the costs to health, to productivity and to the environment.
“It’s possible to build a strong consensus for action. The benefit here is that action on tackling poor air quality in cities is also a big part of the action we need to take on climate change,” he said.
On stepping up action to fight oceanic pollution, he said: “Beach clean-up initiatives are fantastic because they are a very useful tool to highlight the sheer scale of the problem and they help galvanise public support for change.
“But ultimately, we have to stop plastics getting into the oceans in the first place. For this we need stronger political leadership on the issue. Better waste management, incentives for recycling and producers taking more responsibility for where their products end up.”
Solheim, an admirer of Indian lawyer Afroz Shah’s commitment and passion for clean seas, says his model of cleaning beaches can be replicated for the rest of the world.
For Solheim, the solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions lies in steering electricity sector transformation towards green technology.
China and India are both undergoing extraordinary change, and the shift to renewables in both the countries has been one of the most promising trends of recent years.
“I’m convinced that both nations will emerge as global energy leaders if they continue on this path,” said Solheim, who recently tried out one of the bicycles delivered by Mobike that will be available for delegates to move around during the UN Environment Assembly.
He believes the bike aims to provide affordable and clean transport solutions for the cities.
(Vishal Gulati is travelling to Nairobi at the invitation of United Nations Environment Assembly to cover its third annual session. He can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Syrian government soldiers celebrate victory against the Islamic State (IS) in the eastern city of al-Bukamal. (Credit: newsx.com)
United Nations : Syria remains the world’s largest and most dynamic displacement crisis, with half of Syrians displaced from their homes, a top UN humanitarian official has said.
On average, more than 6,500 people have been displaced every day in the first nine months of 2017, UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock told the Security Council on Wednesday, Xinhua reported.
In northeast Syria, as fighting continued down the Euphrates River toward the border with Iraq, airstrikes and clashes have displaced more than 436,000 people from and within Raqqa governorate since the anti-Islamic State offensive began a year ago.
Another 350,000 people have been displaced from and within the neighbouring governorate of Deir ez-Zor since August 2017, said Lowcock.
Nearly 3 million people continue to live in besieged and hard-to-reach areas in Syria, he said.
At least 420,000 people are living in 10 besieged areas, 94 per cent of whom are in the rebel-held enclave of East Ghouta near the capital city of Damascus.
The UN official expressed grave concern over the food crisis in East Ghouta as fighting continued. Only 100,000 people out of an estimated population of 400,000 in the enclave have received food assistance this year. And those people are only getting occasional one-off deliveries, he said.
Across the war-torn country, more than 13 million people urgently need humanitarian assistance and protection, 5.6 million of them are in acute need, he said.
Almost one school-age child in three is out of school; one-third of schools are damaged or destroyed; fewer than half of Syria’s health facilities are fully operational, leading to thousands of preventable deaths from injury or disease, said Lowcock.
Humanitarian deliveries continue to be impeded, particularly with regard to cross-line operations, he said.
Although assistance to areas under government control represents the majority of UN response, civilians in areas not under government control are reached in much larger numbers, with much greater consistency, and with much more comprehensive support through cross-border operations than through cross-line operations, said Lowcock.
—IANS
