Expresso Top National and International Headlines of the Week on 10 March 2024 Transcript
In top national news: Underlining that it is time to sensitise and “educate our police” on freedom of speech and expression and “the extent of reasonable restraint”, the Supreme Court Thursday set aside a Bombay High Court order and quashed an FIR against a Maharashtra college professor booked for his WhatsApp status critical of the abrogation of Article 370 and for wishing Pakistan on its independence day. The bench of Justices A S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said, “Every citizen of India has a right to be critical of the action of abrogation of Article 370 and the change of status of Jammu and Kashmir.”
The Delhi Police said they booked a former ad-hoc professor of Delhi University for allegedly encroaching on the area outside the varsity premises with her ‘pakoda’ stall. Dr Ritu Singh took to frying ‘pakodas’ at her stall earlier this week after 192 days of protest outside the Arts Faculty against alleged caste harassment and illegal termination from services. The police removed the stall and booked her under Indian Penal Code Section 283 (danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation). An ad-hoc psychology professor, Dr Singh joined Daulatram College in 2019 but was removed within a year, and her contract was not renewed.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said China has not observed longstanding written agreements with India and blamed it for the bloodshed at the borders in 2020, the first in more than four decades. Speaking at the inaugural Raisina Roundtable in Tokyo, an event by the think tank, Jaishankar also spoke about how he expected a change in Russia’s direction towards the rest of the world and it may likely want multiple options in Asia. Jaishankar elaborated on the changing world order, saying, “There is a reality of a very big power shift in the Indo-Pacific. When there are very big shifts in capabilities and influence and presumably ambitions, then there are all the accompanying ambitions and strategic consequences.”
The Maharashtra Government appointed Siddhesh Kadam, son of Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam, the new chairman of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). Under the existing rules, only a person with 25 years of experience in matters related to environmental protection or having experience in institutions dealing with matters relating to environmental protection can be appointed to the post. Kadam is 41 years old and is the younger son of Ramdas Kadam who was the state’s former Environment Minister under the under the previous BJP-Shiv Sena government.
In top international news: The United States has revised language in a draft United Nations Security Council resolution to back “an immediate ceasefire of roughly six weeks in Gaza together with the release of all hostages”. The third revision of the text — first proposed by the US two weeks ago — now reflects blunt remarks by Vice President Kamala Harris. The initial US draft had shown support for “a temporary ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war. The US wants any Security Council support for a ceasefire to be linked to the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Stepping up his anti-India rhetoric, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has affirmed that no Indian military personnel, not even those in civilian clothing, would be present inside his country after the 10th of May. Muizzu’s statement comes less than a week after an Indian civilian team reached the Maldives to take charge of one of the three aviation platforms in the island nation, well ahead of the March 10 deadline agreed by the two nations for the withdrawal of Indian military personnel. The President stated that due to his government’s success in expelling Indian troops from the country, people who spread false rumours, are attempting to twist the situation
In other news: South Korea has scored a diplomatic victory against its rivals in Pyongyang by establishing formal ties with the government in Cuba, long seen as North Korea’s unshakeable ally. In mid-February, Seoul announced it would be opening a diplomatic mission in Havana, Cuba’s capital, to help South Korean companies gain a new foothold in the Caribbean, provide a new outlet to promote Korean culture and enable the island nation to benefit from new sources of development and other assistance. The South Korean government did not mention whether the move would impact Cuba’s traditionally close relations with North Korea. However, analysts agree that Seoul was in part motivated by a desire to weaken Pyongyang’s network of allies.
Lastly: Poland saw its most violent protest by farmers and supporters yet some participants threw stones at police and tried to push through barriers around parliament, injuring several officers, police said. Police used tear gas and said they detained over a dozen people and prevented the protesters from getting through to the Sejm, the Polish parliament. Farmers are angry over European Union climate policies and food imports from Ukraine that they say threaten their livelihoods. Such protests have occurred across the 27-member EU in recent weeks, but this one was decidedly angrier than earlier demonstrations in the central European nation.
