Soul of India is in tolerance: Pranab

In his last address to the nation as the Head of State, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday stressed the need for pluralism and tolerance, saying that the soul of India resides in these values.

He also made a strong pitch for freeing public discourse from violence, both “physical as well as verbal”.

“Multiplicity in culture, faith and language is what makes India special. We derive our strength from tolerance,” Mr. Mukherjee said, asserting that plurality had become an essential part of the country after centuries of assimilation of ideas. The soul of India resided in pluralism and tolerance, he added.

True foundation


Emphasising that compassion and empathy were the “true foundation” of India’s civilisation, Mr. Mukherjee said, “But every day, we see increased violence around us. At the heart of this violence is darkness, fear and mistrust. We must free our public discourse from all forms of violence, physical as well as verbal.”

He contended that only a non-violent society could ensure the participation of all sections of the people, particularly the marginalised and the dispossessed, in the democratic process. “India is not just a geographical entity. It carries a history of ideas, philosophy, intellect, industrial genius, craft innovation and experience,” he said.

Divergent streams


Mr. Mukherjee upheld the need to have divergent streams in public discourse.

“We may argue, we may agree or we may not agree. But we cannot deny the essential prevalence of multiplicity of opinion. Otherwise, a fundamental character of our thought process will wither away,” he asserted. He reminded people of Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy and said that the creation of an inclusive society had to be an article of faith. The President also stressed the need for financial inclusion for an equitable society, and said that the poorest needed to be empowered.

Mr. Mukherjee emphasised the need for quality education, saying that India’s higher educational institutions needed to be upgraded to world-class levels.

“Our universities should not be a place for rote-memorising but an assembly of inquisitive minds,” he said, stressing the need for “creative thinking, innovation and scientific temper”.

“It calls for the application of logic through discussion, argument and analysis. These qualities have to be cultivated and the autonomy of the mind has to be encouraged,” he added.

Right to happiness


The President also stressed upon the need to protect the environment and the people's right to lead happy lives through good governance, social inclusion and poverty eradication.

“Eradication of poverty would provide a strong boost to happiness. A sustainable environment would prevent damage to planetary resources,” he said.

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China says awarding Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo was 'blasphemy

BEIJING: Giving the Nobel Peace Prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was a "blasphemy", China said on Friday as it faced a barrage of criticism over the democracy activist's death.
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China had lodged protests with "certain countries" for interfering in its "judicial sovereignty".
"Conferring the prize to such a person goes against the purposes of this award. It's a blasphemy of the peace prize," Geng told a regular news briefing.
The United States and the European Union paid tribute to Liu Xiaobo as it urged President Xi Jinping's government to let his widow, the poet Liu Xia, who has been under house arrest since 2010, leave the country.
Germany voiced regret that Beijing ignored its offer to host Liu while French President Emmanuel Macron remembered him as a "freedom fighter". Britain hit out at China for preventing Liu from travelling overseas for treatment.
The UN human rights commissioner, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, said Liu "was jailed for standing up for his beliefs".
While China lodged protests, some of the global reaction to his death was relatively muted, highlighting China's emergence as an economic and diplomatic superpower on the world stage.
US President Donald Trump and Macron offered praise for Xi at a joint press conference in Paris and only voiced sadness for Liu later in statements.
In a sign of China's growing confidence, the state-controlled Global Times newspaper said in an English-language editorial that "the West has bestowed upon Liu a halo, which will not linger".
A day after Liu's death, attention turned to his widow's fate.
Chinese doctors said she was by her husband's side when he lost his battle with liver cancer on Thursday at age 61, more than a month after he was transferred from prison to a hospital in the northeastern city of Shenyang.
Liu's main doctor said he was able to say goodbye to his 56-year-old wife and in his final moments told her to "live well".
But authorities have restricted her contact with the outside world and her whereabouts were unknown following the death of her husband, a veteran of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests whose advocacy for democratic reform infuriated the government.
The foreign ministry spokesman said he would "not make prejudgements" about whether Liu Xia could go abroad and that China always handles the entry and departure of its citizens "in accordance with the law".
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson paid tribute to Liu Xiaobo and called on Beijing "to release Liu Xia from house arrest and allow her to depart China, according to her wishes".
The EU urged Beijing to let Liu Xia and her family bury the dead democracy campaigner "at a place and in a manner of their choosing, and to allow them to grieve in peace".
Jared Genser, a US lawyer who represented Liu, said all contact with Liu Xia had been cut off in the past 48 hours.
"I am deeply worried about what's happening with her right now," Genser told CNN, adding that it would be hard for the government to still justify holding her without charges.
"The world really needs to rally and mobilise to make sure she can go wherever she wants and that she can bury her husband wherever she wants," he said.
Liu Xia's parents both died over the last year, and the poet, who was never interested in politics, has suffered from depression, according to friends.
"After the death of Liu Xiaobo, our most important goal is to save Liu Xia from the bitter sea," Hu Jia, a Beijing-based activist, told AFP.
"We will also use public opinion and public opinion pressure to urge the Chinese Communist Party to open the cage door, so Liu Xia can get free" along with her brother, Hu said.
Liu was jailed in 2008 after co-writing a petition calling for democratic reforms. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison for "subversion" a year later.
He became the first Nobel Peace Prize laureate to die in custody since German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky in 1938, who had been held by the Nazis.
The Chinese political prisoner was represented by an empty chair at his Nobel prize ceremony in Oslo in 2010.
The government strived over the years to erase any memory of Liu and a search for his death turned up nothing on Baidu, China's Google-like search engine.
China's censors raced to scrub social media networks of emojis of candles and "RIP" tributes following his death.

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Poonam Pandey’s ‘Yoga’ picture

Known for posting raunchy pictures on social media, Poonam Pandey has done it again. The internet sensation's latest yoga picture has grabbed attention for obvious reasons. It's been said that the pictures have been leaked online. The starlet claims, "I never expected that my pictures will get leaked even before, I posted it on social media and will get viral in such short period of time. It just shows fans excitement for my photo shoots but I am certainly happy that my followers are giving me really good feedback for that."

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Russia lobbyist attended Trump son’s meeting

A Russian-American lobbyist says he attended a June 2016 meeting with President Donald Trump’s son, marking another shift in the account of a discussion that was billed as part of a Russian government effort to help the Republican’s White House campaign.

Rinat Akhmetshin confirmed his participation to The Associated Press on Friday. Mr. Akhmetshin has been reported to have ties to Russian intelligence agencies, though he denies those links.

The meeting has heightened questions about whether Mr. Trump’s campaign coordinated with the Russian government during the election, which is the focus of federal and congressional investigations. In emails posted by Donald Trump Jr. earlier this week, an associate who arranged the meeting said a Russian lawyer wanted to pass on negative information about Democrat Hillary Clinton and stated that the discussion was part of a Russian government effort to help the GOP candidate.

While Mr. Trump Jr. has confirmed that Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya was in the meeting, he did not disclose Mr. Akhmetshin’s presence. The President’s son has tried to discount the meeting, saying he did not receive the information he was promised.

Illicit money flow


Mr. Akhmetshin said Mr. Trump Jr. asked the attorney for evidence of illicit money flowing to the Democratic National Committee, but Ms. Veselnitskaya said she didn’t have that information. She said the Trump campaign would need to research it more, and after that Mr. Trump Jr. lost interest, according to Mr. Akhmetshin.

“They couldn’t wait for the meeting to end,” Mr. Akhmetshin said.

Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and current White House senior adviser, and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort also attended the meeting.

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France flaunts military might as Trump watches

France’s Bastille Day parade on Friday coupled traditional displays of military might with a look at wars past and present and a nod to the U.S. role in both.

French President Emmanuel Macron invited Donald Trump as the guest of honor for the celebration to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War I. The two men sat side by side with their wives, speaking animatedly as American and French warplanes roared above the Champs—Elysees.

Two hours before the parade Friday, the famed Champs—Elysees avenue was emptied as was the Place de la Concorde with its golden—tipped obelisk. The wide boulevard has been targeted repeatedly by Islamic extremists, most recently last month when a man crashed his car into a convoy of gendarmes.

Five of the 145 U.S. troops marching in Friday’s parade wore period World War I uniforms; Trump saluted the detachment as it passed.

Also in the parade were French soldiers taking part in the mission against the Islamic State group. France and the United States are among a coalition of nations fighting the extremist organization.

Trump was expected to return to the U.S. after the parade and Macron heads to the southern city of Nice, where last year an extremist plowed a truck into the holiday crowd, killing dozens. IS claimed responsibility for that attack and others in France, including one just last month on the Champs—Elysees that left only the attacker dead.

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U.K. support to India on terror ‘rock solid’, says envoy

Britain’s approach to working with India on the terrorism challenges faced by both countries has long been “rock solid” and continued to remain so, Britain’s senior envoy to the country said on Friday.

“There has been close collaboration all the way through…we know India suffers massively and we are as strong collaborating with India on fighting it as we ever were,” said British High Commissioner Sir Dominic Asquith at a meeting in London.

Asked whether Britain’s approach to India’s terrorism concerns — as well as those about Britain’s alleged tolerance of anti-India activity in the country — was changing, signalled by the decision to cancel a rally last week in Birmingham commemorating the death anniversary of Burhan Wani, Sir Dominic said that decision had been down to the local council of Birmingham City.

Freedom of speech


However, he said while Britain stressed the importance of freedom of speech, it also recognised the potential contradiction on occasion between this and concerns about the incitement of violence. “Our principles on counter terrorism are stronger than ever,” he said.

When details of the Wani rally — planned for July 8 — emerged on social media, India had expressed its concerns to Britain via a “note verbale,” and Birmingham Council withdrew permission for the rally, saying they had initially taken a booking for a “peaceful rally” but had changed their assessment after assessing the promotional material. India has in the past been critical of decisions by U.K. authorities to allow events perceived as anti-Indian (including by Sikh groups) to take place.

Sir Dominic’s comments come weeks after India’s high commissioner to the U.K. Y.K. Sinha made candid comments about Britain’s past approach to India’s concerns about the source of terrorism on its borders. “India must be recognised as bearing the brunt of this for decades. ..if this isn’t recognised, bilateral cooperation will not be a success,” he had said at a book launch last month.

“The centre of terrorism is on our west and if you don’t recognise that then I’m afraid there is very little we’ll be able to do,” he had said. He also said in India’s view, Britain had become a “haven for fugitives from justice,” and allowing anti-India activity on its soil.

‘Living bridge’


Turning to the bilateral relationship more widely, Sir Dominic said the expansive, and long-standing “living bridge” between the two countries belied the perception that Britain wanted India’s business, not its people, arguing that many of the connections were happening below the radar. “There’s an endless set of strands…a living bridge,” he said.

He expressed his optimism about the potential for the growth of the relationship including trade, highlighting the joint trade review —involving businesses and governments — that was looking at potential post-Brexit opportunities for growth, including beyond the traditional free trade agreement model. While it was work in progress, a run through or assessment of the plan was likely to take place before the year-end.

He added that he believed the Commonwealth Summit due to take place in London in April next year, presented another significant opportunity to further relations.

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US House passes bill on defence co-operation with India

The US House of Representatives has passed a $621.5 billion defence policy bill that proposes to advance defence cooperation with India.

An amendment in this regard, moved by Indian-American Congressman Ami Bera, was adopted by a voice vote by the House as part of the National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA) 2018, beginning October 1 this year. NDAA-2018 was passed by the House 344-81.

The India-related amendment passed by the House requires the Secretary of Defence, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to develop a strategy for advancing defence cooperation between the United States and India.

“The United States is the world’s oldest democracy and India is the world’s largest democracy. It is vitally important to develop a strategy that advances defence cooperation between our two nations,” Bera said.

“I am grateful this amendment [is] passed and look forward to the Defence Department’s strategy that addresses critical issues like common security challenges, the role of partners and allies, and areas for collaboration in science and technology,” he said.

“Cooperation between the US and India enhances our own defence and our ability to meet the evolving security challenges of the 21st century,” Bera added.

Following the passage of the National Defence Authorisation Act, the Secretary of Defence and Secretary of State have 180 days to develop a strategy for advancing defence cooperation between the United States and India.

NDAA needs to be passed by the Senate before it can be sent to the White House for the US President Donald Trump to sign it into law.

As passed by the House, NDAA-2018 asks the State Department and the Pentagon to develop a strategy that addresses common security challenges, the role of American partners and allies in India-US defence relationship, and role of the defence technology and trade initiative.

It also asks them to address how to advance the communications interoperability and security memorandum of agreement and the basic exchange and cooperation agreement for geospatial cooperation.

The previous NDAA-2017 had designated India as a major defence partner which brings India at par with closest American partners in terms of defence trade and technology transfer.

Meanwhile, a senior defence official yesterday said that India and US defence relationship is on a positive track.

“... [As] we look at the global order, and when we look at the evolving security environment within Asia, India’s rise and role [is] evolving, [and] we see the United States and India increasingly viewing the region in the same way, and our interests are very much aligned,” said Cara Abercrombie, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for South and Southeast Asia.

Addressing a New York audience, she said the relationship creates a high level of dialogue in the Pentagon on a range of issues.

“This is all rooted in when we look at the region and [what] we share. We have the same [aerial] security interests, the same counter-proliferation, counter-piracy, and counter- terrorism [interests],” she added.

“We have the same interests in upholding this international system that upholds the rule of law that favours freedom of navigation, open sea lanes of communication, and freedom of over flight.

Those are values that are critically important to the United States and India to our economic prosperity and to our access in the region,” Abercrombie said during a panel discussion at the 2017 Global Business Forum in New York City.

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