E. Times of India Report

INVITE A FRIEND VIEW IN BROWSER MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2019 Good morning! 5 THINGS FIRST PM Modi to address UN Climate Action Summit; Donald Trump to address Global Call to Protect Religious Freedom at UN; Supreme Court hearing on disqualification of Karnataka MLAs; Bypolls in UP’s Hamirpur & Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada assembly constituencies; Swearing-in ceremony of four new SC judges 1. Why the BJP is banking on its 'minority' CMs Unlike five years ago when the BJP contested the assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra without naming a CM candidate, this time, as both states go to polls on October 21 — with results due on October 24 — the party is banking on its incumbent CMs for 'deliverance' again, despite both of them hailing from their respective states’ minority community or caste. Here's why: Minority report: While Haryana's CM, Manohar Lal Khattar hails from the Punjabi community — which constitutes about 8% of the state’s population — Maharashtra's Devendra Fadnavis belongs to the Brahmin community, who constitute about 10% of the state’s demographics. Compare that with the dominant communities in each state — the Jats in Haryana are 27% of the population while the Marathas in Maharashtra constitute 33% of its population. The fact that the CMs hail from minority castes could prove handy in the BJP's outreach to different castes during campaigning. Dominance pandering: Both Khattar and Fadnavis have been careful not to antagonise the dominant communities in their respective states. In Haryana, Khattar presided over the violence unleashed by the Jat agitators in 2016 demanding reservations as an OBC, which was granted via a bill by the Khattar government giving 6% reservation to Jats in Class I and Class II government jobs, while for Class III and Class IV jobs, the reservation is 10%. In Maharashtra, Fadnavis, while granting 16% reservation to the Marathas, rejected the demand of the Brahmins for a similar caste-based reservation — probably aware of how granting reservations for a so-called upper caste, to which he himself belongs, would play out in the electoral amphitheatre. In fact, in Maharashtra, despite the violence unleashed by Maratha protestors, Fadnavis appeared to go easy on them and even invited them for discussions. Politically astute? Even as the dominant castes in both Haryana and Maharashtra — Jats and Marathas respectively — have been placated by Khattar and Fadnavis, respectively, the minority castes may be wary of gravitating towards a CM-candidate from the majority castes. Moreover, the BJP itself will be hesitant to change a winning duo — in the 2019 General Elections, the BJP won all 10 of the Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, while in Maharashtra, together with ally Shiv Sena, it won 41 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats, with the BJP alone winning 23 of the 25 seats it contested from. 2. And now, a round of applause for India's wrestlers India managed its best-ever run at the Wrestling World Championships, which came to an end on Sunday, in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Five wrestlers bagged medals — a silver and four bronzes — as well as four Olympic quota places, thus bettering India's previous best show (in 2013), when the country managed three medals courtesy Amir Dahiya (silver), Bajrang Punia (bronze) and Sandeep Tulsi Yadav (bronze). FYI: At the beginning of the month, India's shooters had managed their biggest-ever gold haul at the ISSF World Cup, while the pugilists recorded their best-ever finish at the World Boxing Championships on Saturday. Punia, in fact, claimed the bronze medal in the 65 kg category this year — the first Indian to win three medals at the World Championships. And while Ravi Kumar also won bronze in the 57 kg category, Vinesh Phogat was the sole Indian woman wrestler to bag a medal, picking up bronze in the 53 kg category. And then arrived India's best result at this year's World Championships. Having qualified for the final of the 86 kg category, Deepak Punia (in pic) was aiming to be the second Indian wrestler, after Sushil Kumar (in 2010) to win a World Championships title. The 20-year-old was also targeting his third successive gold this season after winning the Cadet World Championships and then the Junior World Championships. (He was the youngest-ever Indian wrestler and the fifth overall to reach a World Championships final.) But Deepak was forced to miss the title clash against Iranian Hasan Yazdanichara on Sundaydue to injuries and settled for silver. This after picking up an injury on his left leg and eye in his first round fight versus Kazakhstan's Adilet Davlumbayev. "I suffered an injury during my first bout. My left leg is swollen. I wanted to win a gold medal for my country but unfortunately it didn't happen. I thought I will recover in time but failed to recover," Deepak told TOI. And on Sunday evening, came India's fifth medal. Rahul Aware won bronze in the 61kg freestyle category at the World Wrestling Championships, when he defeated USA's Tyler Lee Graff 11-4 in the non-Olympic category. Full story here Cricket update: India and South Africa shared the T20I series, with the Proteas winning the third and final T20I in Bengaluru on Sunday by nine wickets. Beuran Hendricks was named the Man of the Match, while South African captain Quinton de Kock was adjudged Man of the Series. 3. Modi's operandi in the US And so began PM Narendra Modi's seven-day visit to the US on Saturday night. Arriving at the George Bush International Airport in Houston, Texas, Modi moved into his first engagement soon after — a roundtable meeting with the top CEOs and representatives from US energy majors including the likes of BP, Cheniere Energy, Exxonmobil and Schlumberger to discuss methods to harness opportunities. There were also meetings with delegations from the Kashmiri Pandit, Sikh and Dawoodi Bohra communities. Read an ostensible effort to showcase India's plurality and counter the growing narrative about a country ruled by Hindu ultranationalists and overrun by Hindutva hotheads. And then on Sunday, came the 'Howdy, Modi!' event at Houston's NRG Stadium, where India and the US affirmed their deepening engagement with a public display of affection and mutual show of political support between their leaders — Modi and President Donald Trump. Before a rapturous crowd of over 50,000 Indian Americans, both leaders pledged to put both nations on the path of greater prosperity and security. One standout moment: President Trump got a standing ovation from the crowd and the entire Indian delegation, including Modi and external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, when he spoke of the need to protect innocent civilians from radical Islamic terrorism. "Border security is vital to the United States and border security is vital to India. We understand that," said Trump. Modi will now leave for New York. And here's what's lined up in the next few days: Sept. 23: Modi will address the Climate Action Summit hosted by UN Secretary General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres at around 10:00 am (7:30 pm IST). He would then attend an event on universal health coverage (also hosted by the UNSG), where he will showcase the 'Ayushman Bharat' programme. That will be followed by a leaders' dialogue on strategic response to terrorist and violent extremists narratives, jointly hosted by the King of Jordan, President of France, Prime Minister of New Zealand and the UNSG. Along with Modi, Boris Johnson (UK's PM), Angela Merkel (the German chancellor), and the Presidents of Kenya and Indonesia will also be in attendance. Sept. 24: Modi will co-chair the India-Pacific island states leaders meet. And then it's off to 'Leadership Matters: Relevance of Gandhi in Temporary Times' — a 150th birth anniversary event to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi in the UN — organised by the Indian mission to the UN in New York. Modi will launch the Gandhi Solar Park, inaugurate the Gandhi Peace Garden in a university and release a UN postage stamp. He will also receive the 'Global Goalkeepers Award' from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation at the Lincoln Centre for his Swacch Bharat Abhiyan initiative. Sept. 25: Having chaired the opening plenary of the Bloomberg Global Business Forum, followed by a conversation with Michael Bloomberg, Modi will attend an investment roundtable meeting organised by the Government of India and Invest India with CEOs of over 40 companies including Coca-Cola, Cisco Systems, Lockheed Martin and Microsoft. Sept. 26: A number of bilateral meetings are scheduled. Details are awaited. Sept. 27: Modi will address the UNGA session in the first half of the day (approximately 9 pm IST). This would be the PM's second address at the UNGA. (The first was in 2014.) PM Modi and the foreign minister are also scheduled to attend various bilateral and plurilateral meetings on the sidelines of the UNGA session. Reportedly, there are 14 bilateral meetings lined up for PM Modi, including meeting with President Trump for a second time on this tour. Stay updated here 4. How 19% of India's crude oil is spiking 100% of its petrol price 10 month high: Retail petrol prices in Delhi were the highest since November 27 last year, rising by 27 paise to touch Rs 73.62 per litre on Sunday. Prices of petrol have risen by Rs 1.59 per litre in the national capital in the last 6 days — which is the highest ever increase in that time span since daily price revision started in 2017. The reason? The drone and missile strikes on two of Saudi Arabia's oil fields on September 14 that led to a production cut by 5.7 million barrels a day, impacting global crude oil prices as Saudi Arabia is the second largest crude oil producer in OPEC. For every $1 increase in crude oil prices, India ends up paying Rs 10,700 crore extra annually. Even diesel prices have soared, by Rs 1.31 per litre, in the last 6 days which includes an 18 paise hike per litre on Sunday in Delhi. It's not just Delhi which is bearing the brunt — in Mumbai too, petrol prices touched Rs 79.29 per litre on Sunday, the highest since November 27, 2018. Why Saudi matters: Even though Saudi Arabia is no longer India's largest supplier of crude oil — having ceded that position to Iraq in 2017-18 — it's still the second largest supplier, accounting for a little over 19% of India's crude oil imports, with Iraq leading the pecking order, accounting for more than 22% of India’s crude oil imports. Besides, while crude oil imports from Iraq increased by just 1.9% between 2017-18 and 2018-19, India's crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia went up by 11.53% in the same period. Not yet over: Even though crude oil prices have cooled down from the 15% spike witnessed on Monday last, analysts feel the pain for the Indian consumer may not be over — with retail prices of both petrol and diesel expected to rise by Rs 5-6 per litre within the next fortnight while some feel the shock of the attacks may be felt for years as it's expected to "add a permanent risk premium to oil and gasoline prices." This month, of the nearly two million tonnes of crude oil India will source from Saudi Arabia, the West Asian country has already supplied 1.2-1.3 million tonnes — with an assurance to supply the rest as well. The problem though will be felt in the LPG supply as India buys two lakh tonnes of the gas every month from Saudi Arabia. OMCs like Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum have already initiated contact with Qatar to make up for the shortfall, according to reports. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government had no plans to revise the fiscal deficit or cut any expenditure following the corporate tax cuts which are expected to cost Rs 1.45 lakh crore to the exchequer. NEWS IN CLUES 5. This travel firm was founded by a cabinet maker in London in 1841. Clue 1: It organised the world's first personally-conducted tour by airplane in 1927 — flying a group of 6 from New York to Chicago. Clue 2: The company was also a pioneer in developing 'circular notes' — products that would later become traveller's cheques. Clue 3: In 1896, it became the official passenger agent for the first modern Olympics in Athens. Scroll below for answer 6. Imran slaps Hafeez on the wrist before meeting Trump Deja vu: Like a well rehearsed script, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief and 26/11 main accused Hafiz Mohammad Saeed has been chargesheeted in a terror financing case by a Gujranwala court besides being named as an accused in four similar cases — just a day before Pakistan PM Imran Khan meets with US President Donald Trump in New York on the sidelines of the UNGA. Last time around too, just days before Khan's maiden visit to the US as PM, Saeed was arrested in Pakistan even as he was enroute to Gujranwala to appear before an anti-terrorism court. Why the urgency? The action against Saeed could probably be in response to the blacklisting of Pakistan by the Global Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) Asia Pacific Group (APG) last month wherein Islamabad was included in the 'Enhanced Expedited Follow Up List' after the APG said that the country had failed to comply with 32 of the 40 compliance parameters. The FATF, which deals with issues concerning funding for terrorism, will review Pakistan's compliance at its next meeting in October— which explains why Saeed has been chargesheeted for funding terror activities rather than terrorism itself. Realty bites: The five cases in which Saeed has been named with a few others for allegedly funding terror activities have been registered across Gujranwala, Multan and Lahore. As per a report in Times of India, the provisions invoked against Saeed relate to Section 11 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (ATA) of Pakistan, which include cases relating to seizure of property in Moza Makwal in Gujranwala; another property in Tehsil Mian Channu in Multan, another three properties seized in Raiwind Mandi, Sahiwal and Tehsil Arifwala, in Lahore district. The cases are believed to be mild since the punishment ranges between 6 months to a maximum of 5 years, along with a fine — which would be small change given that LeT has been proscribed by the US and is on the UN sanctions list as well. 7. The cost of gun violence — in terms the US understands Human lives lost due to gun violence in the US may move some of the Americans, but money lost due to gun violence — and that too running into billions of dollars — will not just move the citizenry but also the economy. Here’s why: Shooting the economy: For the first time ever, death rate due to gun violence — number of deaths per 100,000 people — was higher than the death rate due to road accidents in the US. Against a gun death rate of 12.20, road accident death rate was 11.9 in 2017, according to a report recently released by the US Congress Joint Economic Committee. That cost the country $229 billion due to lost income and spending, employer costs, police and criminal justice responses and health care treatment. Also included are indirect costs such as reduced quality of life due to pain and suffering, fewer jobs, lost businesses and lower home values in local economies and communities across the nation. Which means the US economy lost 1.4% of its GDP in 2017 due to mindless shooting. Lost cost: California suffered the most in economic terms, with gun violence costing it $18 billion, followed by Texas, which lost close to $17 billion due to gun related deaths and Florida, where the economic cost of gun violence amounted to $14 billion. In fact, in all these three states, one person died due to a gunshot every 3 hours. Human cost: Of the 39,773 people who died due to gun-related violence in 2017, nearly 2,500 were school-age children, the report said. Of these, close to 60% of the deaths — 23,854 — were suicides, which means every hour, two to three Americans shoot themselves dead. The number of gun deaths in the US in 2017 were at their highest in the last 40 years — with Americans 25 times more likely to die from a gun than people of other high income countries. Even within the US, the report found that "a young black male is 20 times more likely to die of a firearm-related homicide." However, that's not even the worst part — globally, out of every 10 gun-related deaths that occur in the 15-24 age group, 9 happen in the US. Which means that the US is shooting dead its future and young workforce. X-PLAINED 8. Autumnal equinox What: A day with equal amount of daylight and night time, roughly 12 hours for each. The autumnal equinox also officially marks the beginning of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and the start of spring in the Southern Hemisphere. How: It's the exact moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator — an imaginary line in the sky that matches up with Earth's equator (itself an imaginary line that divides the planet into the Northern and Southern hemispheres). The 23.4° tilt in the Earth's axis causes varying amounts of sunlight to reach different regions during its year-long orbit around the Sun. But during equinoxes, the Earth will neither tilt toward nor away from the Sun, creating a balance between day and night. When: Today afternoon. The exact time the Sun crosses the celestial equator is, reportedly, 1320 IST. Why: The term 'equinox' comes from Latin — 'aequus' means equal and 'nox' means night. Which: Equinoxes happen twice each year — in March and September. Autumnal equinox for the Northern hemisphere = Vernal equinox for the Southern Hemisphere, and vice-versa. Key dates for 2019-20 (for Northern Hemisphere) Autumn Equinox: Monday, September 23 Winter Solstice: Sunday, December 22 Spring Equinox (2020):Friday, March 20 Summer Solstice (2020):Sunday, June 21 9. Gay pride...now in a pride of lions! Trendsetting lions: While Indian men and women homosexuals and lesbians may have officially come out of the closet only last year, after the Supreme Court struck down Sec 377, it seems the Big Cats of Gir lion sanctuary have been pretty much roaming about with gay abandon for over four and a half decades, if not earlier. Forest officials, wildlife conservators and researchers have so far documented seven separate cases of same sex lion and lioness couplessince 1973, with the last one occurring in 2017. Date & mate: The last known case, in 2017, was observed in the Devaliya interpretation zone near Sasan where zoo-bred lions are housed. The forest conservators released two sets of lions and lionesses, with the cubs released separately. It was observed that the two male lions started a mating ritual two days after their release, indulging in copulation. In fact the first photographic evidence of copulating male lions was recorded in 1999 in Khokhra range of the national park. Similar behaviour was also noted among female lions in 1982. What gives: The idea of homosexuality among lions was initially surprising, given that the animal is extremely territorial and doesn't take too kindly to the presence of another male lion anywhere near its pride. According to the researchers, pseudo-homosexuality behaviour — in which there's no copulation or penetration — is often observed among young male lions, of between 2.5 to 3.5 years of age. This is the age when they start becoming sexually mature, which may explain their initial attraction for same sex cubs with whom they have grown together. However, homosexual tendencies are also noticed among adult lions, especially nomadic lions who do not have female mates. Sort of like a Plan B by Mother Nature for lions! YOU SHARE YOUR B'DAY WITH... Source: Various 10. And the television Oscars go to... The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards kick off Sunday evening (at about 0530 IST early Monday morning) at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles: Hostless, but many stars:The Oscars went without a host in January, and now, the Emmys will also follow suit. And the star-studded presenter lineup includes the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Michael Douglas, Naomi Watts and the Kardashian clan. Fare well GoT and Veep:While Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus is no stranger to Emmys glory, only one Game of Thrones(GoT) performer — Peter Dinklage — has ever won an acting statuette. Will the Television Academy voters see this as their last chance to right historic wrongs? Louis-Dreyfus could claim the standalone all-time acting record with a ninth win. (The 58-year-old is currently tied with US television legend Cloris Leachman.) Also, GoTcould dominate proceedings for one last time, tying the record for most wins in best drama series with Mad Men and The West Wing. It needs three wins on the night to break its own record for Emmys in a single season (12). John Adams, the 2008 limited series, holds the all-programme record for a single year with 13. HBO v. Netflix: Last year, both platforms received 23 Emmys each. Long-dominant HBO has the advantage this year — it secured more nominations and bagged more wins at last weekend's Creative Arts Emmys, where technical and minor category prizes were announced early. But will Netflix be able to close the gap with When They See Usand Ozark? With new streaming giants Disney+, Apple TV+, NBC's Peacock and indeed HBO Max about to enter the market, a historic win for Netflix would be timely. Can Oh make history?Sandra Oh, the daughter of Koreans who emigrated to Canada, could earn the title of first woman of Asian descent nominated for best lead actress in a drama series. She is competing against her Killing Eve co-star Jodie Comer. Emmy updates here Answer To NEWS IN CLUES Thomas Cook. The travel company's 178-year existence hung by a thread on Sunday, after it struggled to find further private investment and is now relying on an unlikely government bailout. The operator, on Friday had said that it needed £200 million — in addition to the £900 million rescue deal secured last month — or else fall into administration, which could leave thousands of holidaymakers stranded and require Britain's largest repatriation since World War II. Thousands of workers could also lose their jobs, with the company employing about 22,000 staff worldwide, including 9,000 in Britain. Follow news that matters to you in real-time. Join 3 crore news enthusiasts. GET APP Compiled by: Judhajit Basu, Rakesh Rai, Sumil Sudhakaran, Tejeesh N.S. Behl Are you reading this in Gmail? To continue receiving updates from the Times of India, kindly move our emails to primary folder. 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