Morning Digest | SCO members should give each other full transit rights, says PM Modi; Russia allays India’s worries over Ukraine, and more

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September 17, 2022 08:09 am | Updated 08:10 am IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends an extended-format meeting of heads of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states at a summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends an extended-format meeting of heads of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states at a summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022. | Photo Credit: Reuters

SCO members should give each other full transit rights: PM Modi

Better regional connectivity is only possible if members grant each other “full transit rights”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, referring to Pakistan’s refusal to give India transit trade access by land to Afghanistan and Central Asia, at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State (CHS) here on Friday.

Russia allays India’s worries over Ukraine

Russia understands India’s “concerns” over its war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Prime Minister Narendra Modi, promising to try and end the nine-month old conflict and blaming the Ukrainian government for prolonging it, in the first meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand.

Jaish chief Masood Azhar in Afghanistan, says Bilawal Bhutto

Denying any knowledge of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar being in Pakistan, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto said he was “hopeful” that Pakistan would soon be let off the Financial Action Task Force List. Speaking to The Hindu and other journalists after the SCO summit in Samarkand, Mr. Bhutto said that as far as he knew, “the individual” [Masood Azhar], who is wanted in India for a series of attacks from the 1999 IC-814 hijacking to the Parliament attack and 2019 Pulwama bombings and is a UN designated terrorist, was “in Afghanistan”, a statement that directly contradicts a statement by the Taliban regime that placed Azhar in Pakistan. 

China’s zero-COVID trap

China’s strategy of lockdown and mass testing that made sense in a world without vaccines is now past its sell-by date. Ananth Krishnan reports on what the extreme measures and the expansion of state power have meant for the daily lives of residents.

Lakhimpur Kheri rape case | Dalit family mourns daughters, demands death penalty

The Hindu visited the victims’ village Tamoli Purwa to get insights into the gruesome incident. “Give death sentence to the culprits,” said Maya Devi, the mother of the girls. The mother had filed the complaint on which the FIR was registered by the police at the Nighasan police station on Wednesday.

Maharashtra was set to sign Vedanta MoU

The Maharashtra government has formalised all the plans and even fixed the date to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Vedanta-Foxconn and AvanStarte as early as July 29, 2022, for the setting up of a multibillion-dollar semiconductor plant at Talegaon near Pune, according to a letter purported to have been written by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to Vedanta Resources Limited chairman Anil Agarwal.

IAF to fly AN-32 on blended biodiesel for 200 hours

As part of efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is looking to fly an AN-32 transport aircraft modified to operate on 10% blended biodiesel for 200 flight hours in the next six months, said Air Vice Marshal S. K. Jain, Assistant Chief of Air Force (maintenance plans).

Eklavya Model Residential Schools face teacher shortage

According to the data gathered by the Ministry, just about 4,000 teachers have been appointed across the 378 schools, of which nearly 70% are either contractual teachers or on deputation from state government schools.

Supreme Court suggests web portal to assist Ukraine-returned medical students

A Bench led by Justice Hemant Gupta said students should have the benefit of a transparent system which gave them information about the foreign universities, number of seats available in them and their compatibility.

Faculty association writes to Health Minister against proposed name change of AIIMS Delhi

“Identity is linked with the name. If identity is lost, institutional recognition is lost both within the country and outside. That is why famous and established institutes have continued with the same names for centuries - Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard universities,” the Faculty Association of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (FAIMS) said in its letter to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

Assam has 15 of India’s 25 districts most vulnerable to climate change

Fifteen of India’s 25 districts most vulnerable to climate change were in Assam, the State’s Science, Technology and Climate Change Minister Keshab Mahanta told the 126-member Assembly on Friday.

Adani names son Karan to run cement firms; injects ₹20,000 crore in Ambuja Cement

Billionaire Gautam Adani's son Karan will helm the cement firms his group has acquired to become India's second largest cement player and extend his burgeoning empire that spans from ports and energy to airports and telecom.

T20 World Cup 2022 | India have taken risk by picking only four specialist pacers: Mitchell Johnson

The skillful Mohammad Shami has been kept on standby which has surprised a few experts of the game as Indian selectors kept faith on the quartet led by Jasprit Bumrah with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh in its ranks.

Erling Haaland is Premier League Player of the Month in August

Haaland, 22, bagged a brace on his league debut against West Ham United and scored once at Newcastle United before hitting consecutive hat-tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest as City won four of their opening five games.

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