Monday, 9thjuly, 2012

HEADLINES

• Ansari is UPA's choice for vice president
• Tokyo conference pledges $16 billion for afganistan
• The swiss master climbs to seventh heaven; Federer wins a record seventh wimbledon
• Wrestler – Actor Dara singh remains very critical

NATIONAL NEWS

• Dalai Lama speaks of dilemma on spreading self immolations
  • The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has said it is best for him “to remain neutral” on the issue of more than 40 Tibetans setting themselves on fire in the Tibetan areas of China over the past year, amid allegations by Beijing of a plot and concerns among some Tibetans about the spreading protests.
  • “Now, the reality is that if I say something positive, then the Chinese immediately blame me,” he said. “If I say something negative, then the family members of those people feel very sad.
    
    
• Tokyo conference pledges $16 billion to Afganistan
  • International donors on Sunday pledged $16 billion in badly needed development aid for Afghanistan over the next four years, when most foreign troops will leave, as Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged the international community not to abandon his country.
  • The “Tokyo Declaration” adopted at the end of a day-long conference here on Afghanistan said the participants, including External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, reaffirmed their respect for sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan, which constitutes an integral component of the peace, wellbeing and prosperity of the region and beyond.
  • Also, the participants from over 70 countries welcomed the results of the Delhi Investors’ Summit on Afghanistan — hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry on June 28 in Delhi — which benefited from many participants from neighbouring countries, and underscored the importance of implementing the recommendations of the summit
  • Mr. Krishna noted that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had pledged an additional $ 500 million to Afghanistan during his visit to Kabul last year, bringing India’s total cumulative commitment to $ 2 billion.

INTERNATIONAL

• Defiant Morsy reinstates parliament; polls soon
  • Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsy has ordered the reinstatement of his country’s Parliament — a move that is expected to kick-start a new round of skirmishes with the military top brass, which had earlier dissolved the people’s assembly.
  • Mr. Morsy issued a presidential decree on Sunday asking the dissolved lower house to resume its legislative work. The decree said fresh parliamentary elections would be held within 60 days of the ratification of a new constitution.
  • The new presidential order is expected to rankle the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) — the military group that took charge of government after an uprising removed former strongman Hosni Mubarak.
  • SCAF had dismantled the Islamist dominated People's Assembly in mid-June, following a ruling by the Supreme Constitutional Court, which said that the election of one-third of the law makers to parliament was unconstitutional. Many activists had said that SCAF’s action amounted to a “military coup”

EDITORIALS, OPINIONS AND COLUMNS

• An interview with Dalai Lama – Might be useful to know the context behind the self immolations happening in Tibet
• A very good article on the need for change in the international institutions in the changing world order
• Another good one on the reforms needed in the Indian Administrative service
  Aamir Khan on Untouchability
• Editorial on cycling in cities
• Editorial on the recent sad Yannich Nizhanga incident

ECONOMICS

• The latest Financial stability report by the RBI