Current Affairs - 30 June 2015

Hindu religion has solution to all problems in world: Amit Shah

• AHMEDABAD: BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday said Hindu religion has solution for all the problems in the world. 
  
  "Hindu religion has solutions for all the problems of the world... I am not saying this because I am born Hindu," Shah said at Gujarat University convention centre, while unveiling former President A P J Abdul Kalam's book 'Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji'. 
  
  "When I faced difficulty for two years, I visited each and every religious centre in India. In that period, I sought blessings from all the 'jyotirlings' and 'shaktipeeths' of India, except Somnath temple (in Gujarat)," Shah said referring to the two years that he was barred from entering Gujarat due to legal proceedings in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case. 
  
  In December last year, Shah was acquitted in the Sohrabuddin encounter case. 
  
  "That was the time when I was not able to do my activities... Perhaps God made me seek his blessings in my youth," the BJP chief said. 
  
  He added that the religious leader of Swaminarayan sect, Pramukh Swami, has given a new lease of life to Hindu tradition with the powers of saints like Shankaracharya had done with the tradition of 'akhadas'. 
  
  Speaking on the event, governor of Karnataka Vajubhai Vala said that religion was more important than the state. 
  
  "'Dharma danda' is much more important than 'Raj danda' and it can make people happy," said Vala. 
  
  Recounting an incident when he was the Mayor of Rajkot in 1980s, Vala said he chose to felicitate religious leader Pramukh Swami by going against the local administration. "This is in my blood and this is in the 'sanskaras' of RSS that could lead me to even vacate the post of a Mayor," Vala added. 
  
  On the book written by Kalam, Vala said he feels that one saint is giving his opinions for the other saint. 
  
  Praising Kalam, Gujarat governor O P Kohli said his personality is unique, as the scientist has saintly qualities. 
  
  The event was attended by Gujarat ministers Saurabh Patel and Bhupendrasinh Chudasma and other senior BJP leaders.

Jayalalithaa launches Chennai Metro Rail, Chennaiites flock to enjoy first day first ride

• CHENNAI: Chennai on Monday joined the league of cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Jaipur which have metro rail systems.
  
  Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa inaugurated Chennai Metro Rail Limited's passenger services between Alandur and Koyambedu. She flagged of a train through video conferencing from the secretariat. After that, a train left Alalndur station at 12.14pm and reached Koyambedu at 12.35pm.
  
  The facilities launched through video conferencing included seven stations on the first stretch -- Koyambedu, Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus, Arumbakkam, Vadapalani, Ashok Nagar, Ekkattuthangal and Alandur -- and CMRL's depot at Koyambedu.
  
  The ten kilometre elevated stretch falls on the second corridor that runs for about 22km connecting Chennai Central with St Thomas Mount.
  
  In keeping with the spirit of Chennai, where a movie should be watched on the first day first show without fail, a large number of people gathered at the Alandur station by 11am on Monday to buy tickets for the first passenger train which will leave at 1.30pm.
  
  J Lakshminarayana, an engineering student who was in the queue to buy a ticket, said, "I will not be a regular commuter on the metro. But I wanted to experience it on the first day. In fact, I wanted to travel on the first train on the first day."
  
  The Rs 14,600-crore project was approved by the previous Congress-led UPA regime in 2009 and the work began later that year.
  
  The metro rail is expected to cover 32 stations in the coming years. In a bid to provide a seamless travel, the metro rail has been designed to connect Chennai Airport, Chennai Central railway station, Egmore Station, CMBT and MRTS.

Now, police verification must for journalists at the time of renewal of their PIB cards every year

• NEW DELHI: Journalists accredited with the Press Information Bureau (PIB), a status that allows them easy access to many government offices, will need to get their police verification done every year. There is a rule to this effect in place but it wasn't being followed in the case of renewals, especially when there was no change in the home address. 
  
  But with nearly 2,500 journalists getting accreditation cards this year without any home ministry approval, the latter has insisted that the rule needs to be observed without exception in a note to PIB on Friday. 
  
  The bureau has to provide the list of renewals to the home ministry, which said this wasn't done for 2015. 
  
  Despite this, the cards were issued with the digitally scanned signature of the chief security officer, which grants the holder entry into restricted areas. Journalists apply for PIB card renewal at the end of every year. 
  
  The home ministry's alarm is on the grounds of the card holder getting free access to government buildings and in light of the recent document theft case that has seen several people, including former journalists, being taken into custody. 
  
  In this context, some see the move as weeding out those who are not journalists. Some senior journalists were critical of the move, given that police verification is time consuming. The move demonstrates the government's lack of faith in the media, said one editor. 
  
  "It is Orwellian because it seeks to keep tabs on journalists even after they have been police-verified for their accreditation (when they first applied)," said Krishna Prasad, editor-in-chief of Outlook magazine and associate member of the working committee of Editors Guild of India. 
  
  Delhi Police have raised concerns over the security aspect. The unit concerned with the security of the Prime Minister has begun insisting on a special Delhi Police pass for media persons. It's also asking for an advance list of journalists likely to be present at any functions that Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends. 
  
  PIB is meanwhile looking to issue RFID/smart cards for enhanced security. 
  
  The bureau is expected to tell the home ministry on Monday that annual police checks of 2,500 or so journalists would mean renewals taking longer. It may suggest that veterans be excused and newly accredited journalists are subjected to police verification every three years, said officials aware of the proposal. 
  
  PIB will henceforth make sure the list is always sent to the home ministry before renewal, said director general Frank Naronha. The annual police verification issue was being discussed, he said. An alternative would be for journalists to get a verification certificate signed at the local police station. 
  
  "This would be faster than a policeman going to each journalist's house for yearly checks," a PIB official told ET.

LG vs Delhi govt: HC refuses to restrain ACB chief

• NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Monday refused to stay anti-corruption branch (ACB) chief Mukesh Kumar Meena from discharging his duties. 
  
  The court said that no interim relief can be granted to the state government.
  
  However, the HC issued notice to LG Najeeb Jung and the Centre on Delhi government's allegation that the LG imposed it's choice on the ACB and is interfering in its functioning. 
  
  Meanwhile, the Delhi government withdrew its second plea to make Meena personally a party to the petition after the HC indicated it's disapproval. 
  
  The court sought a response from the central government by August 11 and asked Meena to "act in accordance with law". 
  
  Meena was appointed the ACB chief by LG Najeeb Jung on June 8, superseding ACB chief SS Yadav. 
  
  Delhi's Aam Aadmi Party government had objected to Menna's appointment.

Greece orders banks closed for a week, worried citizens empty ATMs; Indian markets spooked

• ATHENS: Greece announced early on Monday it will shut banks for a week and impose capital controls, pleading for calm after anxious citizens emptied cash machines in a dramatic escalation of the country's debt crisis.
  
  Banks will be closed until July 6 - the day after a referendum on bailout proposals - with a 60-euro ($65) limit on ATM withdrawals, but foreign tourists, a vital engine of the Greek economy, will be exempt from the restrictions, a decree published in the official government gazette said.
  
  In the first market reaction to the growing risk of a Greek euro exit, the single currency tumbled in Asia on Monday morning.
  
  Stock markets also fell sharply, with Tokyo, Sydney, Shanghai and Hong Kong each sinking more than 2 percent by Monday afternoon.
  
  In India, the benchmark BSE sensex tanked over 535 points and the NSE nifty slid below the 8,300 mark in opening trade today on across-the-board selling by participants, PTI reported. Brokers said widespread selling by investors as well as funds, in line with a global sell-off on fears that Greece may default on a debt repayment and crash out of the euro zone, soured the mood.
  
  The drastic measures to protect Greece's banking system against the threat of mass panic came after the European Central Bank said it would not increase its financial support to Greek lenders, despite early signs of a chaotic bank run.
  
  It capped a weekend of high drama that began with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's unexpected call for a July 5 referendum on creditors' latest reform proposals after bailout talks in Brussels collapsed.
  
  In response, angry EU and IMF creditors rejected a request to extend the nation's bailout beyond its June 30 expiry date, sparking fears Greece could default on a key debt payment to the IMF due the same day and possibly crash out of the eurozone.
  
  Uncertainty over how events will unfold in coming days prompted crowds to form long queues outside some ATMs in Greece, leaving many cash machines dry.
  
  Keen to stave off panic, Tsipras assured Greeks their deposits were "totally safe".
  
  "Any difficulties that may arise must be dealt with calmness. The more calm we are, the sooner we will get over this situation," he said, adding that Athens had again requested a "prolongation of the (bailout) programme".
  
  With the Athens stock exchange closed on Monday, other global markets were expected to follow Asia's lead in what is set to be a highly volatile day of trade as investors return to their desks to find Greece hurtling towards default.
  
  "We have had a slow bank jog in Greece and most thought that there would be an agreement eventually, at the last minute. That is no longer true," said Emma Lawson, a senior currency strategist at National Australia Bank.
  
  'Open to proposals'
  
  The Frankfurt-based ECB's governing council earlier Sunday held a crisis telephone conference and pledged to maintain emergency liquidity assistance - keeping open its life support for Greek banks and, by extension, the Greek state.
  
  But it pledged no extra cash for banks.
  
  The move further raised the stakes in Greece's festering debt crisis after five months of tough bailout talks culminated on Friday night with Tsipras's shock call for a referendum on creditors' latest cash-for-reforms offer.
  
  Unless creditors heed Tsipras's renewed request for a bailout extension, Greece's rescue plan will formally expire on Tuesday. This will almost certainly mean Greece will default on more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) due to the IMF that same day.
  
  Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said there was still time for a compromise, urging creditors to show some "goodwill" and come up with an improved proposal ahead of the plebiscite.
  
  "We remain open to new proposals by the (creditor) institutions," he told the German daily Bild.
  
  The weekend's rapid-fire events in the Greek saga set off a flurry of diplomatic activity for Monday.
  
  In a tweet, an EU spokesman said European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker would hold a press conference at 1045 GMT to discuss the latest developments on Greece.
  
  In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called an emergency meeting with the heads of parliamentary groups and party leaders, while French President Francois Hollande will chair crisis talks with key ministers in Paris.
  
  In Japan, top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said G7 finance ministers had held consultations over the weekend, calling the breakdown of talks "extremely regrettable."
  
  "We appreciate that eurozone finance ministers on June 27 announced they, together with the ECB, will do everything they can for the stability of the eurozone," he told a press conference on Monday.
  
  'There is no more money'
  
  A banking source in Greece said only 40 percent of cash machines now had money in them.
  
  In Athens, teacher Yiannis Grivas told AFP he had withdrawn his entire 940-euro salary on Friday so "I have enough to live on for a few weeks."
  
  He added: "I am not afraid of capital controls, I never take out more than 50 euros a day anyway."
  
  In the capital's upscale Kolonaki area, 32-year-old Anna tried in vain to find a working cash machine.
  
  "There is no more money," she said, adding that she hoped her countrymen would vote in the referendum "to stay in the eurozone and the European Union" and that "the nightmare will finally end".
  
  Since Friday night alone, 1.3 billion euros ($1.45 billion) have been withdrawn from the Greek banking system, according to the head of the bank workers' union Stavros Koukos.
  
  French Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned of a "real risk" of Greece leaving the eurozone if Greeks vote against the EU's bailout proposals in the planned referendum.
  
  But Tsipras, whose Syriza party came to power in January on an anti-austerity platform, has advised voters against backing a deal he said spelled further "humiliation" for a country that has endured five years of recession, turmoil and skyrocketing unemployment.

China and India stay quiet as refugee crisis worsens

• HONG KONG:When a deadly earthquake rocked Nepal in April, China and India rushed to send relief supplies and search-and-rescue teams. But when another humanitarian crisis - boats bearing thousands of migrants - appeared off Southeast Asian shores a month later, Asia's two most populous countries said and did little. Instead, offers to resettle the migrants came from Gambia and the United States.
  
  The wealthiest nations in the Asia-Pacific region stood back as well. Australia declared it would not resettle the migrants, mostly Rohingya Muslims fleeing religious persecution in Myanmar or poor Bangladeshis seeking jobs. Japan pledged $3.5 million in emergency assistance but also refrained from offering to take in any displaced people.
  
  More than a month after Malaysia and Indonesia agreed to provide temporary shelter for up to 7,000 of the migrants stranded at sea, there has been no sign of progress in finding them a permanent home, nor any hint that Myanmar would address the conditions driving the Rohingya exodus. And Asia's most powerful nations are essentially sitting out the crisis.
  
  Their passivity is all the more striking because, halfway around the world, European leaders have been actively debating a response to their own migrant crisis, in which more than 1,700 people from Africa and the Middle East have died trying to cross the Mediterranean this year.
  
  President Xi Jinping of China and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India often present their nations as emerging global powers, promoting regional cooperation. Both countries also share a border with Myanmar and enjoy economic leverage as major trading partners, and in China's case, as a top source of foreign investment.
  
  But neither has pressured the government on its treatment of the Rohingya or played a significant role in efforts to resettle them. During a meeting of the UN Security Council last month, China insisted that the matter was an internal one for Myanmar to resolve.
  
  "The Rohingya issue is a complex multilateral issue," said Zachary Abuza, an analyst with the consultancy firm Southeast Asia Analytics. The governments in Southeast Asia "want it to go away, but they are unwilling to solve it. China and India could play leadership roles but see it as a losing issue that would diminish their clout and bilateral interests.
  
  "No country has more leverage over Myanmar than China, even if it's diminished in the past four years," he added. But China sees the Rohingya problem "as such a toxic one in Southeast Asia that it is unwilling to make a deal of the issue. There is no political upside."
  
  India has helped absorb past waves of refugees fleeing border wars and political repression in Myanmar, providing sanctuary to Burmese pro-democracy activists through decades of military rule, for example. It also hosts more than 10,000 Rohingya who fled earlier spates of violence against them.
  
  But India has refrained from criticizing Myanmar and adopted a policy of grudging tolerance toward Rohingya arrivals rather than engagement, analysts and refugee advocates said. Some government officials have expressed fear that Rohingya Muslims in India might be infiltrated by jihadists.
  
  "India sort of stayed away from this whole thing, and that is disappointing," said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of Human Rights Watch, referring to the most recent crisis. "India wants to be more careful in maintaining its strategic and economic influence" over neighbors rather than criticize them over human rights issues, she said.
  
  Michel Gabaudan, president of the advocacy group Refugees International, based in Washington, said India was distrustful of the international refugee process in part because it had received little recognition for taking in refugees, including more than 100,000 Tibetans from China and another 100,000 Tamils from Sri Lanka. "India has taken refugees when it made political sense, but not out of a sense of international obligation," he said.
  
  Many in India and elsewhere in the region consider the problem of refugees to be a legacy of western imperialism and colonial-era borders. The origins of the current crisis, for example, can be traced to 1974, when the Burmese military government asserted that the Rohingya were economic migrants who had traveled to Myanmar during British rule and stripped them of citizenship.
  
  As a result, Gabaudan said, there is a sense that responsibility for refugees rests with the West and institutions such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Only a handful of nations in Asia are among the 148 countries that are parties to the main international conventions that protect refugees.
  
  "Generally speaking, there is a lack of state responsibility for refugee protection in Asia," said Brian Barbour, director of external relations at the Japan Association for Refugees. "Most countries in the region believe that they should be praised for hosting such large numbers of refugees, not criticized for refusing to grant asylum or allow refugees to locally integrate."
  
  During the last major refugee crisis in Asia, which began in the mid-1970s, more than 3 million people fled war in Indochina - Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos - and arrived in destinations across Southeast Asia that grew increasingly unwilling to accept them, including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. At an international conference in 1979, governments in the region agreed to admit the refugees temporarily only after the rest of the world promised to assume most of the costs and to resettle them elsewhere.
  
  More than 1 million people were resettled in the United States, with large populations going to Australia and Canada as well. Much smaller populations were resettled in Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines.
  
  China resettled 260,000 ethnic Chinese who fled Vietnam at the time. In the preceding decades, it also took in hundreds of thousands of ethnic Chinese fleeing discrimination and violence in Indonesia and Malaysia, and earlier this year, it offered temporary refuge for ethnic Chinese known as the Kokang who fled fighting in their home state in northeastern Myanmar.
  
  But the Rohingya and other refugee populations that are not of Chinese ethnicity are less of a concern to Beijing, said Yun Sun, a scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington who has studied China and refugee issues. She said Beijing helped ethnic Chinese refugees out of a sense of "amity," but only if such assistance was not politically costly. "Beijing doesn't want to be seen as interfering with other countries' internal affairs," she said.
  
  Unlike India, China ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention. But it limits registration of refugees and restricts access by the United Nations' refugee agency to populations in China. The government has also refused to protect North Koreans who cross the border as refugees, treating them instead as economic migrants subject to forced repatriation.
  
  "The domestic priority is internal stability," said Alistair D B Cook, a research fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
  
  Cook said an emphasis on noninterference in Asia has meant that the only countries in the region that have responded to the migration crisis are those that had migrants leave or come ashore. "Essentially what we see now, we see going as far back as the Indochinese exodus," he said. "How states responded then and how they respond now, there hasn't been too much change."
  
  What has changed, however, is the economic strength of the region, which has enjoyed several decades of rapid growth since the Vietnam War. Many countries in Asia are much richer than they were 40 years ago, suggesting at least greater financial capacity to assist refugees.
  
  While countries such as Thailand and the Philippines provide temporary sanctuary for migrants fleeing persecution, Japan is the only nation in Asia that has accepted refugees for resettlement through the United Nations' refugee agency. Since beginning the program in 2010, though, Japan has resettled only 18 refugee families, according to the ministry of foreign affairs.
  
  Even Australia, long a destination for migrants seeking safety and a better life, has taken a tougher stance against asylum seekers. After as many as 880 people drowned trying to reach the continent in 2012, the government adopted a policy of intercepting migrants at sea and turning them back, or holding them indefinitely at offshore detention centers and, most recently, flying them to countries willing to take them for a fee.
  
  Earlier this month, an Indonesian smuggler said the Australian authorities had given him and his crew more than $30,000 in cash to take their cargo of 65 migrants to Indonesia, possibly in violation of international and local laws. The allegation, which the government has neither denied nor admitted, was the latest sign of a further hardening under Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
  
  "It's just a political choice," said Paul Power, chief executive of the Refugee Council of Australia, an umbrella group of nonprofits that work with asylum seekers. "It's all about presenting to a small element of the Australian population that they are tough. What's discussed is actually just being tough on persecuted people."

Zimbabwe tour: Ajinkya Rahane to lead India; Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni rested

• NEW DELHI: Middle order batsman Ajinkya Rahane has been appointed captain of the Indian team for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe.
  
  The All-India Senior Selection Committee of the BCCI met here on Monday and decided to rest the senior members including MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Umesh Yadav for the Zimbabwe series next month.
  
  Offspinner Harbhajan Singh has made a comeback to the ODI side after being included for the one-off Test against Bangladesh. Top order batsman Robin Uthappa has also been recalled.
  
  Harbhajan last played an ODI in June 2011 and was subsequently dropped from the side.
  
  Earlier in June, India toured Bangladesh for a one-off Test and three ODIs. The Test in Fatullah ended in a draw while Bangladesh clinched their maiden bilateral series win over India 2-1.
  
  "The Indian team did not do well in Bangladesh, we felt the same. (But) we have to move forward and considering the domestic cricket to be played, we have picked this side, looking at the 2016 T20 World Cup," Chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil told reporters. 
  
  "We had picked the best possible team that played at the World Cup and keeping the future series in mind, whether it is Sri Lanka, or South Africa home series, Twenty20 World Cup or the Australia series, we have decided to rest a few players, who need urgent rest," he said. 
  
  India will tour Zimbabwe for three ODIs and two T20 Internationals starting from July 10. The India 'A' squad was also picked for the tri-series against Australia 'A' and South Africa 'A' and Cheteshwar Pujara has been named captain.
  
  The BCCI working committee will meet again in July to discuss the appointment of a new coach.
  
  Squad for the Zimbabwe tour: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Murali Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey, Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma, Axar Patel, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, Stuart Binny, Robin Uthappa
  
  India A squad: Cheteshwar Pujara (capt), KL Rahul, Abhinav Mukund, Karun Nair, Shreyas Iyer, Naman Ojha, Vijay Shanker, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Shardul Thakur, Varun Aaron, Abhimanyu Mithun, Umesh Yadav, Shreyas Gopal, Baba Aparajith

:::SPORTS - TROPHIES - RELATED TERMS :::

• 
  

  Sport	Trophies	Related Terms
  Badminton	Thomas Cup, Uber Cup, Narang Cup, Agarwal Cup, Sudirman Cup, Challenge Cup, Konica Cup,Yonex Cup	Drop, Deuce, Smash, Love, Double fault, Touch, Base Line,Backcourt, Bird, Carry, Clear, Center Line, Court, Drive, Kill, Rally
  Base ball	Commissioner’s Trophy Warren C. Giles Trophy William Harridge Trophy	Perfect game, Home, Pitcher, Put out, Strike
  Basket ball	B.C. Gupta Trophy, Todd Memorial Trophy, William Jones Cup	Block, Dribble, Pivot,Dunk,Free throw
  Billiards & Snooker	Walker Trophy, Thomas Cup	Cue, Canon, Long Jenny, Short Jenny,. Frame In-off
  Boxing	Federations Cup, Val Baker Trophy	Rounds, Knock Out, Jab, Hook, Punch, Count Down
  Bridge	Holkar Cup, Rana Gold Cup	Rubber, Trump, Little Slam
  Chess	Naidu Trophy, Khaitan Trophy	Move, Checkmate, Knight, Pawn, FIDE, Gambit, Double Check, Promotion, Grandmaster,Attack
  Cricket	Deodar Trophy, Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Ashes Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Titan Cup, Merchant Trophy, Sahara Cup, C. K Nayadu Trophy ,Singer Cup, Wisden Trophy	Hat-trick, Maiden, Follow-on, Gully, Yorker, Bouncer, Pull, Googly, Hook Fick, Stumped, Duck, LBW, Pitch
  Foot Ball	Durand Cup, Merdica Cup, Santhosh Trophy, Subratho Cup, Rovers Cup, Federation Cup/Fed Cup, Nehru Cup, B.C. Roy Trophy, DCM Cup, Gold Cup, Governor's Cup, Independence Day Cup, Indira Gandhi Trophy,COPA Cup	Goal, Corner-Kick, Free-Kick, Red Card, Yellow Card, Foul, Trapping, Heading, Penalty, Pass, Forward, Dribble, Half, Give and Go
  Golf	Rider Cup, Walker Cup, Canada Cup	Course, Links, Tee, Niblic, Hole, Eagle, Par, Put, Club, Iron,Rough
  Hockey	Agakhan Cup, RangaSwamy Cup, Muragappa Gold Cup, Dhyanchand Trophy,Guru Nanak Cup	Centre, Penalty-Stroke, Sjick, Push-in, Carry, Touch-line, Penalty Box
  Lawn Tennis	Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon Open, US Open, Davis Cup, Hopman Cup	Smash, Serve, Set, Deuce, Ace, Slice, Backhand, Forehand, Grand-Slam, Love, Lab
  Table Tennis	Corbillion Cup, Uthant Cup	Smash, Drop, Deuce, Spin, Let, Service