Why Taiwan’s entry into United Nations must be welcomed and facilitated

Four events recently highlighted the issue of Taiwan’s entry into the United Nations. First is the 50^th anniversary on 25 October of UN Resolution 2758 that brought in China (People’s Republic of China) in the place of Taiwan (Republic of China). In its legal, psychological and media warfare, China reminded many countries of this event but also warned them not to expand relations with Taiwan, even as chances of conflict with the United States on the issue increased.

Second is China’s brazen show of force with over 150 fighter aircraft and others in its arsenal to intimidate the 24-million people of Taiwan to surrender. More than 3,000 sorties were flown to coerce Taiwan in the last one year. This follows Beijing’s “reunification” policy, “one country, two systems”, “6 nos” and others. President Xi Jinping also vowed to “break heads” of anyone defying China’s orders. This is a radical departure from what Mao Zedong said to Edgar Snow in 1936 that Taiwan should become independent.

The third is United States President Joe Biden’s recent statement on “rock sold” commitment to Taiwan security. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken went further and said on 26 October that “we encourage all UN Member States to join us in supporting Taiwan’s robust, meaningful participation throughout the UN system and in the international community”. Previously, the Trump Administration had ended all self-imposed restrictions in meeting Taiwan officials and began sending health and finance officials to Taipei.

Fourth, while Taiwan has over 100 de facto diplomatic missions across the world, including with over 50 UN members, these are mostly subsumed under Taipei economic and cultural centres offering consular, trade and investment services. China insisted on other countries following its Olympics formula of “Chinese Taipei” as a way out of the imbroglio. However, Lithuania recently had changed the name of Taiwan's representative office to that of “Taiwanese Office” — suggesting that a new formation is coming up, which could possibly gather steam not only with the other hundred such offices across the world but in the UN as well. Taiwan is now recognised by 15 countries, down from 22 in 2016.

While China opposed any such representation in the UN or other bodies and in fact exerted pressure to curtail Taiwan in multilateral institutions like International Civil Aviation Organisation and World Health Assembly, Taiwan has also been attempting its bid for membership since 1993. This was scuttled by the UN General Committee ostensibly under Beijing’s pressure. With China expanding its influence in many UN bodies, its say is increasing day by day on the UN functioning, with its impact falling on Taiwan’s efforts as well.

When Taiwan occupied the UN Security Council seat from 1945 to 1971, and as it was getting tough to enter the UN, a defiant premier of China Zhou En-lai even thought of setting up an alternative “revolutionary UN”, in vain. China’s revolutionary policies, defiance of the UN and its resolutions, non-participation in arms control and disarmament under the UN and in fact involving in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and others were cited as some of the reasons for denying membership to China earlier.

A number of conditions are imposed on a new entity entering the UN, such as on “membership” generally based on exercise of sovereignty, “credentials” based on the contribution to humanity and “representativeness” based on population, territory and others. In other words, an aspirant state needs to indicate its “universal” appeal and “responsibility” in providing public goods and services such as humanitarian disaster relief, rescue operations, peacekeeping or others in order to enter the UN. The debates around Palestine before and currently on the Taliban, Kurds and others indicate the above dilemmas.

While Taiwan qualifies on many of the above criteria, much of the problems in its entry into the UN lie in the myopic vision of its own leadership, in addition to the highly sectarian policies pursued by China. The Kuomintang (KMT), which lost the civil war with the communists in 1949 and shifted to Taiwan, claimed to be the representative of all Chinese (at that time over 600 million!) across the Straits and pursued “one China” at the UN in 1945 to 1971.

The KMT also followed authoritarian policies in Taiwan till 1986, hardly distinguishing itself from the policies in China. Moreover, the KMT signed the “1992 consensus” with the Communist Party of China that there exists only “one China”. Although over 90 percent of islanders today identify themselves as “Taiwanese”, the above historical baggage is haunting them in addition to having no clear political and strategic vision.

Taiwan is today a bubbling democracy practising competitive politics with a mature rule of law and contributes to nearly half of global IT hardware. It's addressing of novel coronavirus won accolades across the globe for not only its non-intrusiveness but also to the high level of professionalism of its medical system. Its exhibition of transparency in all aspects of addressing the pandemic is in sharp contrast to the situation across the Straits. It is then time for Taiwan to exhibit its model of governance to the rest of the world.

The writer is Professor in Chinese Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Views expressed are personal.​

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At COP-26, PM Modi will launch key initiatives under CDRI, ISA, says Indian envoy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch two important initiatives under the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and International Solar Alliance (ISA) at the upcoming 26th session of the Conference of Parties (COP-26) in Glasgow, India’s High Commissioner to the UK Gaitri Issar Kumar has said.

“These initiatives will make the presence of a very high-level delegation from India led by our prime minister, very very important,” Kumar said on Sunday.

The envoy emphasised that at COP-26 Prime Minister Modi will share India’s commitment to the world and his presence will contribute to the success of COP-26.

“The focus will be on economic revival and how to do this in a sustainable way. For this, climate action is very relevant,” Kumar said.

PM Modi – who is in Rome – will be visiting Glasgow for the COP-26. He is slated to meet UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson there.

Modi's bilateral meeting with Boris Johnson is expected to take place soon after Monday's opening ceremony, which will include cultural performances and a speech by the UK Prime Minister. Johnson has said the summit will be the "world's moment of truth" and has urged world leaders to make the most of it.
"The question everyone is asking is whether we seize this moment or let it slip away," he said, ahead of the two-week conference.

COP-26 is being held from October 31 to November 12 under the Presidency of the UK partnering with Italy in Glasgow.

A high-level segment of COP-26, titled the World Leaders’ Summit (WLS), will be held on November 1-2. The Summit will be attended by Heads of State/Government of more than 120 countries.

With inputs from agencies 

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First papal visit to India since 1999 likely after PM Modi's invite to Pope Francis

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday invited Pope Francis to visit India as he called on the head of the Catholic Church at the Vatican in their first-ever one-to-one meeting.

At the Vatican, Modi was accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

It was the first-ever one-to-one meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church.

Modi is also the first Indian Prime Minister Francis has met since becoming Pope in 2013.

Briefing reporters on Prime Minister Modi's historic meeting with the 84-year-old Pontiff, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the two leaders did not discuss the exact dates of the papal visit.

"The prime minister said 'Please visit India at your earliest convenience. Obviously, the actual details will be worked out through diplomatic channels," he said.

"The fact of the matter is that the Prime Minister did invite the Pope. The significance of the invitation is well known to us. The last Papal visit to India was in 1999 when Pope John Paul II visited India. It is obviously going to be a very important visit for both India to receive His Holiness and for the Pope to visit India," he said.

"The Pope was delighted to visit India. Although he has never visited India, he has a great sentiment about our country and he said 'this is the greatest gift you have given me, I am really looking forward to visit India'," Shringla quoted the Pope as saying.

Modi gave Pope Francis a silver candelabra and a book, The Climate Climb: India's strategy, actions and achievements. The Pope gave Modi a collection of his main teaching documents and a bronze medallion featuring a tree and the words in Italian “The desert will become a garden."

The Prime Minister also met Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Vatican City State. The first Pope to visit India was Paul IV, who visited Mumbai in 1964. Pope John Paul II visited India in February 1986 and November 1999.

Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan in October 2019 met Pope Francis at the Vatican.

With inputs from agencies

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G20 leaders will strengthen WHO to expedite emergency use authorisation for COVID vaccines, says Piyush Goyal

The G20 leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have agreed that the WHO would be strengthened to fast-track the process for emergency use authorisation for COVID-19 vaccines, India's G20 Sherpa Piyush Goyal said on Sunday.

Briefing the media, Goyal said the Leaders adopted the 'Rome Declaration' at the G20 Summit and the communiqué gives a very strong message under the health section with the countries agreeing that the COVID-19 immunization is a global public good.

It was decided that the recognition of COVID vaccines which are deemed to be safe and efficacious by the World Health Organisation (WHO) will be mutually accepted subject to national and privacy laws that the countries may have, Goyal said.

"The theme of the G20 summit was people planet and prosperity. Truly, within this overarching theme, this G20 has delivered a strong message of recovery from the pandemic, recovery in terms of the economy and across different sectors like health employment education tourism and most significant climate action," Goyal said as per ANI.

"But more importantly it has been agreed that everybody will help to optimize the processes and procedures of the WHO for vaccine approval and emergency use authorisation, and the WHO will be strengthened so that it can do the recognition of vaccines faster," he said.

Prime Minister Modi had told G20 leaders on Saturday that India is ready to produce over 5 billion COVID vaccine doses by the end of next year to help the world in the fight against the pandemic.

He had asserted that it was necessary that the WHO approves Indian vaccines at the earliest.

...the recognition of COVID vaccines which are deemed to be safe and efficacious by WHO will be mutually accepted, subjected to national laws that countries may have: India’s Sherpa to G20 Summit & Union Minister Piyush Goyal in Rome pic.twitter.com/hki5Vds3Hv

— ANI (@ANI) October 31, 2021

A technical advisory group of the UN health agency will meet on November 3 to conduct a final "risk-benefit assessment" for Emergency Use Listing of Covaxin. Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and AstraZeneca and Oxford University's Covishield are the two widely used vaccines in India.

Goyal said Prime Minister Modi's mantra of sustainable lifestyles was reflected in the G20 declaration on sustainable consumption and responsible production patterns.

According to NDTV, Goyal said India has asked developed nations that have "enjoyed the fruits of energy" to reach net zero faster so that emerging economies use some "carbon space" to drive growth. 'Net zero emissions' refers to achieving an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and greenhouse gas emissions taken out of the atmosphere.

"Developed nations have enjoyed the fruits of energy and they will need to go for net zero faster, so that developing nations have some carbon space. For now there is no adequate technology to absorb large amount of clean energy into grids. There is a need to look at more technology and innovation before we can identify the year (for achieving net zero)," Goyal said.

Livelihoods of small, marginal farmers were among focus areas of India's discussions at the G20 Summit in Rome, Goyal said.

Negotiators for the Group of 20 worked through the night and talks continued Sunday morning in hopes of reaching consensus for a final statement. The Group of 20 leaders also agreed to end public financing for coal-fired power generation abroad, but set no target for phasing out coal domestically -- a clear nod to top carbon polluters China and India. On agriculture, the leaders have agreed that livelihoods for small and marginal farmers were the focus of our discussions, the minister said.

"Everybody has agreed that improving their livelihoods is an important global effort that we'll have to put in," he said. Goyal said that energy and climate was clearly the centre stage of discussion during G20 Summit.

"Energy and climate was clearly the centre stage of our discussion. India and many other developing countries pushed for safeguarding the interest of the developing world. We are also joined by developed countries to increase the ambition from current levels of commitment," he said.

The G20 is a leading global forum that brings together the world's major economies. Its members account for more than 80 percent of the global GDP, 75 percent of global trade and 60 percent of the population of the planet.

In August a bombshell "code red" report from the world's top climate science body warned that Earth's average temperature will hit the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold around 2030, a decade earlier than projected only three years ago.

With inputs from agencies

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G20 agrees on limiting global warming to 1.5 degree celsius above pre-industrial levels

G20 leaders agreed Sunday on the need to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius but fell short of a hoped-for pledge on reaching net zero emissions, according to a draft communique seen by AFP.

The group of 20 major economies emit nearly 80 percent of carbon emissions, and are under pressure to go bold on climate to give a much-needed boost to crucial UN climate talks starting in Glasgow on Sunday.

According to the draft, which sources said would be the final one, the G20 reaffirm their support for the 2015 Paris Agreement goal of keeping "the global average temperature increase well below 2 degrees and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels".

In addition, they state that "keeping 1.5 degrees within reach will require meaningful and effective actions and commitment by all countries."

This will "require taking into account different approaches, through the development of clear national pathways that align long-term ambition with short- and medium-term goals, and with international cooperation and support".

Experts say meeting the 1.5 degree target means slashing global emissions nearly in half by 2030 and to "net-zero" by 2050.

But the draft declaration, due to be published later Sunday, does not set a clear deadline for carbon net neutrality, saying it should be achieved "by or around mid century."

Summit host Italy was pushing for a 2050 target, but this was hard to square with China, the world's largest carbon emitter, which has set its own deadline at 2060.

The declaration includes a commitment to "put an end to the provision of international public finance for new unabated coal power generation abroad by the end of 2021", a key pledge that mirrors what was already promised by China in September.

Elsewhere, it reaffirms the so-far unmet commitment to mobilise $100 billion for developing countries for climate adaptation costs.

Opening the formal discussions on climate on the second and final day of the G20 Rome summit Sunday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi urged counterparts to aim high. "The decisions we make today will have a direct impact on the success of the Glasgow summit and ultimately on our ability to tackle the climate crisis," he said.

Britain's Prince Charles also urged leaders of the world's biggest economies on Sunday to put words into action as they tackled the global climate change crisis on the final day of a weekend summit that is setting the tone for an even bigger UN climate conference opening in Glasgow, Scotland.

Warning that "it is quite literally the last-chance saloon," Charles told the Group of 20 leaders that public-private partnerships were the only way to achieve the trillions of dollars in annual investment needed to transition to clean, sustainable energy sources that will mitigate the warming of global temperatures.

"It is impossible not to hear the despairing voices of young people who see you as the stewards of the planet, holding the viability of their future in your hands," Charles told the presidents and prime ministers gathered in Rome.

The future of coal, a key source of greenhouse gas emissions, has been one of the hardest things for the G-20 to agree on. However, the US and other countries are hoping to get a commitment to end overseas financing of coal-fired power generation, said a senior US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview President Joe Biden's plans.

Western countries have moved away from financing coal projects in developing countries, and major Asian economies are now doing the same: Chinese President Xi Jinping announced at the UN General Assembly last month that Beijing would stop funding such projects, and Japan and South Korea made similar commitments earlier in the year.

China has not set an end date for building domestic coal plants at home, however. Coal is still China's main source of power generation, and both China and India have resisted proposals for a G-20 declaration on phasing out domestic coal consumption.

COP26 President Alok Sharma said China's carbon-cutting commitments — known as the nationally determined contribution, or NDC — so far fall short of expectations.

"In terms of their NDC, it moved forward somewhat from 2015 ... but of course we expected more," Sharma told the BBC. He added that while Beijing has pledged to stop international coal financing and reducing domestic coal "we need to see the details of that."

UK prime minister Boris Johnson said before the Rome summit that he tried but could not get a commitment on a coal phase-out from Xi, who did not travel to the gathering.

In Glasgow, Johnson said, "we want these leaders … to focus on the commitments they can make, moving away from the use of fossil fuels, moving away from coal-fired power stations domestically."

Climate campaigners were hoping that rich G-20 countries would take steps to meet a long-standing but yet-to-be-fulfilled commitment to raise $100 billion annually to help developing countries move toward greener economies and adapt to the changing climate.

Youth climate activists Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate issued an open letter to the media as the G-20 was wrapping up, stressing three fundamental aspects of the climate crisis that often are downplayed: that time is running out, that any solution must provide justice to the people most affected by climate change, and that the biggest polluters often hide behind incomplete statistics about their true emissions.

"The climate crisis is only going to become more urgent. We can still avoid the worst consequences, we can still turn this around. But not if we continue like today," they wrote, just weeks after Thunberg shamed global leaders for their "blah blah blah" rhetoric during a youth climate summit in Milan.

G-20 leaders also discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and the uneven distribution of vaccines in the world. On Saturday they endorsed a global minimum tax on corporations, a linchpin of new international tax rules aimed at blunting fiscal paradises amid skyrocketing profits of some multinationals.

And after a meeting on the sidelines about Iran's nuclear program, Biden, Johnson, Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Emmanuel Macron made a joint statement expressing their "determination to ensure that Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon."

They also voiced concern that Tehran "has accelerated the pace of provocative nuclear steps" after halting negotiations on a return to the nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

With inputs from agencies

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Want to tame the Dragon? India must first bust the ‘One China’ myth

India and China are like ‘yin’ and ‘yang’. One passive, eternally content with whatever it has. The other is hyperactive, always seeking more, often through power and deception. But unlike the traditional yin and yang that bring order in the otherwise chaotic world, India and China find themselves stuck in a face-off mode with their massive armies standing too close for comfort. Primarily because the Dragon refuses to curb its ever-growing appetite for power, territory and resources.

Today, as China is ready with another trick up its sleeve to deceive India in the name of the new Land Border Law, one wonders how far we are going to let the Dragon dictate terms. When are we going to act, rather than react to what Emperor Xi Jinping and his wily comrades/commanders are doing? China is a past master in this game of deception. In a cricketing analogy, it will keep coming out of the crease into the Indian side of the LAC (Line of Actual Control) till it is certain of not getting a bouncer. India, all these years, has been content playing by the rules set by the Dragon.

Also Read: Why China’s new Land Border Law may further intensify military standoff with India

But why are we abiding by the rules set by our adversary? Because we don’t know the enemy yet. In fact, worse, we even don’t really know who we are. It’s this cocktail of grand ignorance and gross indifference that has mostly created the mess India is in today.

So, who is the Dragon? And why it never says never to a neighbour’s territory which it believes it can annex, intrude into, or at least lay claims at? Because, historically, that has been the nature of the Dragon! Traditional China was just a third of the area it is today. It became what it is through the combination of long-term planning, deception and force. Han China has nothing in common with Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia, still have we ever questioned its presence in these territories?

Also Read: India’s China strategy is a concoction of reserved diplomacy, backed by a vocal army

In 1965, historian RC Majumdar, while highlighting China's inherent imperialist nature, wrote: “Thanks to the systematic recording of historical facts by the Chinese themselves, an almost unique achievement in oriental countries… we are in a position to follow the imperial and aggressive policy of China from the third century BC to the present day, a period of more than 2,200 years… It is characteristic of China that if a region once acknowledged her nominal suzerainty even for a short period, she would regard it as a part of her empire forever and would automatically revive her claim over it even after a thousand years whenever there was a chance of enforcing it.”

Sadly, for India, scholars like Majumdar were cornered in the late 1960s when under the stewardship of Nurul Hasan, a new set of Marxist historians led by Romila Thapar, Bipan Chandra and RS Sharma was allowed to hijack the country’s mindscape. For these intellectuals, the erstwhile Soviet Union was the “Only Fatherland”, and China nothing short of Medina, if not Mecca itself! Is it any surprise that year after year hardly any book of consequence on China, its true imperialist character appeared on the Indian horizon?

But why just blame the intellectuals when the political leadership obdurately refused to look at China dispassionately. Even six months after Mao Zedong openly reiterated his determination to ‘liberate’ Tibet, then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru maintained that the Chinese invasion of Tibet was not likely. On 9 July 1949, he wrote a note to the Secretary General, Ministry of External Affairs: “Whatever may be the ultimate fate of Tibet in relation to China, I think there is practically no chance of any military danger to India arising from any possible change in Tibet. Geographically, this is very difficult and practically it would be a foolish adventure. If India is to be influenced or an attempt made to bring pressure on it, Tibet is not the route for it.”

Mao’s troops invaded Tibet in 1950. Nehru himself conceded the mistake to C Rajagopalachari more than a decade later. Soon after the disastrous 1962 war, he said: “Morally I find it hard to say that the Chinese government had deliberately deceived us at any stage. We may have deceived ourselves…”

India under Nehru just refused to look at the writing on the wall. This explains why even when the then Army Chief, KS Thimayya, raised doubts over Chinese intentions, our political leadership ensured that India’s ordnance factories, as revealed by TJS George in his biography of then Defence Minister VK Krishna Menon, were busy making hair-clips and pressure cookers and preparing to make mechanical toys! The Chinese didn’t stab from the back; it was “a stab from the front”, as MJ Akbar asserts in his Nehru biography.

The Chinese, to their credit, never hide their true intentions. In fact, they reiterated them again and again. Arun Shourie gives a fascinating perspective about this Chinese way of functioning. He writes in his book, Self-Deception: India’s China Policies, “Make no mistake: China watches… the feeble, confused, contradictory ways in which our governments, and even more our society reacts each time it advances a claim. And it pursues its policy: Claim; repeat the claim; go on repeating the claim; grab; hold; let time pass. And they will reconcile themselves to the new situation. Has the policy not succeeded in regard to Tibet?”

But it’s not that the Dragon just screams. It also knows when to keep quiet. Shyam Saran, former Foreign Secretary and one of the best minds on China in current times, narrated a story during a public lecture in 2012. Referring to a conversation between former Secretary-General, Ministry of External Affairs, RK Nehru, and Chinese Premier Chou En-lai in 1962, just before the big war, Saran said, “RK Nehru drew attention to reports that China was leaning towards the Pakistani position that Jammu & Kashmir was a disputed territory. He recalled to Chou an earlier conversation, where when asked whether China accepted Indian sovereignty over J&K, he had said rhetorically — has China ever said that it does not accept Indian sovereignty over J&K, or words to that effect. At this latest encounter, Chou turned the same formulation on its head, to ask: Has China ever said that India has sovereignty over J&K?”

What complicated the matter for India is its disproportionate contentment with the resources, territories it has. This goes to the extent that when an enemy country grabs a portion of India’s territory, our leadership justifies the enemy act with a ‘not-even-a-blade-of-grass-grows-there’ statement. Many a times this is compounded by a colossal lack of awareness about India’s past and its legitimate historical rights and claims.

Historically and civilisationally, India’s claims over Tibet and Xinjiang are far greater and credible than China’s. To give an example, in the 4^th century CE lived Sanskrit scholar Kumarajiva, born to a Kashmiri father and a Kuchean mother. His story is a stark reminder that India didn’t shrink in 1947 alone; this has been a constant phenomenon for the last 2,000 years. For those not well versed with India’s past, Kucha, in northern Tarim basin, exists in the present-day Xinjiang. A centre of Buddhist learning, it was from here that Indian music had spread to China. It needs to be mentioned that Yarkand and Khotan (which tradition says was built by King Ashoka’s son Kutsan) in northern Tarim valley were centres of Mahayana Buddhism, while Kashgar, Kucha and Turfan were the hubs of Hinayana Buddhism.

One can gauge the civilisational/cultural presence of Hindu/Buddhist India from the fact that Kumarajiva, after learning Buddhist scriptures in Kashmir, also a centre of Shaiva philosophy, studied four Vedas, five sciences, Brahmanical Shastras and astronomy in Kashgar — it’s the same territory that China today claims to be historically the part of the great Chinese civilisation!

So, what does the Kumarajiva story tell? That India has a greater civilisational/historical claim over Xinjiang and Tibet than China. But what did India do? Far from making any claims or at least questioning Chinese designs, it helped Beijing control these territories. This included rejecting moves in the UN to discuss Tibet and a US call in 1960 for Tibetan ‘self-determination’. Nehru, in 1959-60, went to the extent of discouraging Tibetan authorities from approaching the UN, but when they did, India abstained from the vote. China returned the compliments by first siding with Pakistan in questioning India’s Kashmir policy and then launching a full-fledged war in 1962. The rest, as they say, is history.

Today, six decades later, as the militaries of India and China are stuck in a standoff-like situation for more than a year at the LAC in eastern Ladakh, one needs to ask: How long will India take to put in place a proper China policy? To the credit of the Modi government, it can at least be said to be moving in the right direction. But still, it’s far from being a consolidated and coordinated approach aimed at hurting the Dragon and its interests.

To begin with, India should start questioning the Chinese forcible occupation of Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, and most importantly, give Taiwan a diplomatic high-five. An inherently imperialist China obsessed with territories just can’t afford to see two-thirds of its territories painted not in red. This would set the tone for our future diplomatic endeavours.

Once the Dragon knows that it would get as hard as it gives, it might be tempted to act responsibly. Till now, it has not even been encouraged to be reasonable. Being a bully has worked to its advantage. But not this time! New India has finally acted. It has called Beijing’s bluff at the LAC, but it’s a work in progress. Chinese are watching us closely on how far we can go. And we should go as far as they have gone. At least! So, if they find Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh disputed territories, so should be Tibet and Xinjiang (anyway, our historic, civilisational ties with these two places go much deeper than China’s). And if Emperor Xi thinks he can raise a toast with Taliban Khan, then we shouldn’t mind having a sumptuous dinner with our Taiwanese friends either!​

Also Read: India, China border emerging as a bigger flashpoint than Taiwan for a short, sharp war; all bets are off​

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Halloween 2021: A look at some of the most haunted places across world

Halloween is celebrated every year on 31 October. The festival originated from an ancient Celtic festival, Samhain which signifies the end of summer and the coming of dark winter days. According to tradition, it was believed that 31

October was the day when the ghosts of the dead came down on Earth. Hence, Celtic people would light massive bonfires at night and pray in order to ward away the ghost of the dead. Spooky and scary costumes were also worn to save one’s self from spirits.

Halloween is now popularly celebrated by dressing up in scary attires and having costume parties, carving pumpkins, and people also visit churches to pray. Children go to houses, knocking on doors and saying, ‘trick or treat’.

On this occasion, take a look at some of the most haunted places in the world below:

Island of Dolls, Mexico City

Located in the South of the centre of Mexico City, the Island of Dolls has a mysterious history of deaths associated with the place. It has dolls hanging over trees and it is believed that a young girl had drowned in a canal and died on this island. Several TV series' have also captured the mystery behind the paranormal activities on this island.

Isle of Wight, England

This place is home to some really beautiful scenery and steep cliffs. A number of supernatural stories of ghosts residing in this place keep doing the rounds. It is also said that the trails of this island are haunted.

Poveglia Island, Italy

Poveglia Island has a unique history of its own. From being a quarantine zone during the plague to using this place as a mental asylum during the twentieth century, this island is prohibited for being a spot of paranormal activity.

Kuldhara, Rajasthan, India

Legend has it that a village girl and her father were threatened by an evil minister. The girl, in order to save herself, left the place but cursed it while leaving. This village is deserted since the 19th century and no one dwells here as they believe there is evil energy in this place.

Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town, South Africa

This castle has several paranormal stories associated with it. It is believed that a ghost of ‘the Lady in Grey’, who holds her face and cries hysterically has been seen here by people. Ghost of a black dog, tower bell ringing on its own are other spooky activities that reportedly occur here.

The Coliseum, Rome

Built in 70 AD, this monument has witnessed the horrific deaths of many prisoners and even gladiators who died in stage fights. This structure is said to be haunted by the ghosts of those who lost their lives here.

Casa Loma, Canada

This house is open for a tour to visitors even though it is said to be haunted by ghosts. This structure is built entirely in gothic style and will give you a true Halloween experience.

 

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UK woman almost throws out a 34-carat diamond ring worth $2 million

A woman from the UK recently found that a piece of jewelry she possessed was actually a 34-carat diamond worth two million dollars. The woman had brought the stone at a car boot sale and was going to throw it away.

The woman who is in her 70s thought that the piece was worthless but she decided to inquire about it first as one of her neighbor's convinced her to get the price checked. The UK woman went to Featonby Auctioneers in North Shields to get the worth of the piece determined.

Mark Lane, of Featonby’s Auctioneers, said that the 70-year-old woman came in with a box of jewelry that had her wedding band, along with this piece of stone and other low-value jewelry items. The woman had prior appointments and she thought to pass by and quickly get the worth of the stone checked.

However, Lane saw that the stone was quite large and was also bigger than a pound coin. At first, he thought it was a lookalike of a diamond and was a Cubic Zirconia. Lane used a diamond tester machine after a few days to check the value of the stone. In order to clarify its authenticity, the piece was then sent to London. Later on, it was sent to Antwerp, Belgium to be certified by experts who confirmed that it was a 34-carat diamond.

The 70-year-old woman, who is also a pensioner, chose to keep her identity anonymous but was glad to have discovered a diamond. She mentioned that going to car boot sales was something she loved and it never crossed her mind that the piece could actually be a real diamond.

Lane said that this diamond's size was one of the biggest he had seen in the past five years. He said that the color and clarity of the diamond was great and it was off the scale to find a 34-carat diamond.

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Narendra Modi holds ‘very warm meeting’ with Pope Francis in Rome, invites him to India

Vatican City: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called on Pope Francis at the Vatican and discussed with him issues covering a range of areas of interest, including COVID-19, general global perspectives and maintaining peace and tranquility.

It is the first-ever one-to-one meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church.

A meeting that was scheduled only for twenty minutes went on for an hour! PM Modi and the Pope discussed a wide range of issues aimed at making the planet better such as fighting climate change and removing poverty, said sources.

Modi is also the first Indian Prime Minister Francis has met since becoming Pope in 2013.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Pope Francis at the Vatican today

"Had a very warm meeting with Pope Francis. I had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues with him and also invited him to visit India," says PM. pic.twitter.com/CBiopLlFEV

— ANI (@ANI) October 30, 2021

It may be recalled that the last Papal Visit happened in 1999 when Atal Vajpayee was the prime minister and Pope John Paul II had come. Now it is during PM Modi’s term that the Pope has been invited to visit India, reports ANI. At the Vatican, Modi was accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The Prime Minister also met Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Vatican City State. Ahead of the historic meeting, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Friday said that the Prime Minister will have a separate meeting with the Pope. He will be meeting his holiness on a one-to-one basis, he said during a press conference in Rome. Tomorrow, the Prime Minister will pay a call on His Holiness, Pope Francis at the Vatican City, and thereafter, he will attend G20 sessions, where he will also hold more bilateral meetings and we will continue to keep you informed, Shringla had said.

At the Vatican City, PM @narendramodi had a meeting with Pope Francis. @Pontifex pic.twitter.com/o9OobfIBkL

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) October 30, 2021

The meeting could, after a certain period of time, be followed up by delegation-level talks, he had said. The Vatican has not set an agenda. I believe, tradition is not to have an agenda when you discuss issues with His Holiness. And I think we would respect that.

I am sure the issues would cover a range of areas of interest in terms of the general global perspectives and issues that are important to all of us, COVID-19, health issues, how we can work together to maintain peace and tranquility and this is something that, I think would be the general trend in the discussions, the Foreign Secretary added on Friday.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Halloween 2021: From significance to how its celebrated, all you need to know about festival

Every year, Halloween is celebrated on 31 October and this year, the festival falls on a Sunday. People celebrate Halloween by going to church, lighting a candle, and praying. It is also celebrated by carving pumpkins, wearing scary costumes, and watching horror movies.

History and significance of Halloween:

Celebrated mostly in western countries, Halloween has different beliefs with respect to its origin.

Halloween means holy evening or All Saints Day. In the eighth century, All Saints Day was celebrated to honour saints. The eve of All Saints Day was called All Hallows Eve which then came to be known as Halloween.

It is also believed that Halloween originates from an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain. In Ireland, Halloween was called Samhain which meant the end of summer. The festival was celebrated by people wearing spooky costumes and lighting bonfires at night. The tradition of donning a spooky attire was followed to keep ghosts away on 31 October. The night of 31 October was believed to be the night when spirits from the other world visited the living world every year.

The festival of Samhain marked the beginning of a cold winter and the end of the harvest season. This time of the year was also linked to death and decay. Hence, Celtic people celebrated Samhain on the boundary night of summer and winter by praying and lighting bonfires to ward off evil spirits.

Why is Halloween celebrated on 31 October?

In countries such as Ireland and the United Kingdom, it was believed that 31 October was the night when the boundaries between the living and dead were blurred. The ones who were dead could visit the world of the living and their ghosts came down on Earth on 31 October. The Celtic people who lived around two thousand years ago also shared the same belief and since they celebrated their New Year on 1 November, Halloween is celebrated on 31 October.

 

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Here are some simple steps to help children with long-COVID thrive in school

Children who get COVID-19 typically recover quickly and will not require special support upon return to school.

However, some people who contract the disease experience persistent symptoms and post-viral complications.
These complications can include fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog, changes in taste and smell, and headaches.

This post-viral syndrome is called long-haul COVID-19, more commonly referred to as “long COVID” in the medical community.

Children who experience long COVID will need support at school. Some symptoms – such as fatigue, brain fog and memory impairment – are similar to those experienced after a concussion.

But because these symptoms are challenging to identify or to track, it can be difficult for teachers to know how to help.

We are researchers who study how schools manage concussions and the prevalence of long COVID and associated mental health outcomes. We believe strategies that schools use to support students with concussions may also help those with prolonged COVID-19 symptoms.

Kids and long COVID
Not all physical symptoms experienced after COVID-19 illness indicate long COVID. When symptoms do last more than a few weeks, a thorough medical evaluation by a pediatrician with knowledge of long COVID is recommended.

Pediatric post-COVID clinics are an excellent way to find such doctors. However, at this time, these clinics aren’t widespread in the United States.

Post-COVID complications have been reported frequently by adults. However, research on long COVID in children is scarce, with estimates of persistent symptoms varying widely.

The wide-ranging estimates likely reflect differences in how study participants were recruited, how long after having acute COVID-19 they participated in the study, the symptoms researchers assessed and other methodological differences.

School accommodations
Students who continue to experience symptoms after they’ve tested negative and been cleared to return to school should notify the school of persistent issues.
Even if the child is not officially diagnosed with long COVID, a gradual return to school and activities, as well as academic and environmental accommodations, can support children during recovery.

We recommend that parents, teachers and doctors work together to support the child’s recovery. This is what’s called collaborative care. It is helpful if a school-based professional – such as a school nurse, counselor or psychologist – serves as a central communicator.

This involves sharing accommodations with teachers, talking with doctors (with a signed release) and communicating progress back to the family.

Together, these collaborative care teams can establish temporary accommodations for the affected student, such as:

• Allow a flexible attendance schedule with rest breaks to minimize fatigue.
• Reduce physical activity and minimize exposure to overstimulating environments to prevent fatigue and headaches.
• Modify the workload. This might include, for example, removing high-stakes projects and nonessential work, providing alternate assignments and allowing the student to drop classes without penalty. Base grades on adjusted work so the child is not penalized for memory problems.
• Provide extra time to complete assignments and tests so a child with brain fog can process information.
• Develop an emotional support plan for the student to prevent anxiety and depression. This might include identifying an adult at school to talk with if the child feels overwhelmed, or providing a support group for students to discuss their experiences and recovery.
• Encourage the student to explore alternative extracurricular activities that are nonphysical and not cognitively taxing.
• We recommend that schools front-load adjustments for a student with long COVID and gradually withdraw them as the student recovers. The symptoms, recovery rate and trajectory will vary for each student.
• Therefore, a gradual and monitored return to activity is important to help ensure that symptoms don’t worsen when students engage in more activity. If symptoms do get worse, then accommodations should resume.

An evolving illness
We have much to learn about the long-term effects of COVID-19 and the prognosis for those who develop long COVID. These guidelines are based on what is known at this time and should be considered preliminary.

As COVID rates and treatments evolve, it is important for parents, educators and medical providers to continue talking with one another about persistent symptoms and effective treatments.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here.

The authors of the article are Susan Davies, Professor, School Psychology, University of Dayton and Julie Walsh-Messinger, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Dayton

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World Thrift Day 2021: Here's some online thrift stores in India that offer sustainable and affordable clothing

World Thrift Day is celebrated annually on 30 October in India and 31 October across the world. The day, also known as World Savings Day, is meant to create awareness about the importance of saving money.

World Thrift Day inculcates the importance of savings in the general public to ensure that a higher standard of living can be achieved by the people.

Why is the day celebrated on 30 October in India?

World Thrift Day was first established in Milan, Italy, in the year 1924, during the first International Savings Bank Congress (World Society of Savings Banks). The day of 31 October was declared as ‘International Saving Day’ by Italian Professor Filippo Ravizza.

The motive behind the day was to encourage people to have savings as well as restore the confidence of the public in banks, which was at a low point after World War I. Since then, World Thrift Day has been marked globally.

In India, the day is celebrated on 30 October so that it does not coincide with the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was assassinated on 31 October, 1984.

Some online stores to help save money:

In times of the pandemic, it has become even more important for people to save money. Several individuals are now buying pre-owned goods or used items such as mobile phones, clothes, and so on online. Here is a list of some places you can get great used clothes at amazing prices-

Curated Findings:

The store has some of the best collections of accessories. The online store features a great variety of sustainable, pre-owned clothes that appeal to different aesthetics.

Lulu Thrift:

This Manipur-based pre owned goods store appeals to everyone due to its quirky and funky merchandise.

The Local Thrift:

Anyone can find something to buy at this Instagram store that provides both sustainable and affordable clothing, accessories, and other products to their customers.

Thrift Banana:

The store was started by a group of fashion students and features a wide collection of clothes such as tops, dresses, and denim jackets at affordable prices.

Lust Thrift:

With a massive collection of beautiful dresses, intricate brassieres, and well-fitted jeans, the online store is a go to place for many people due to its affordable and stylish clothes.

 

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Why China's quest to dominate global tech standards may be elusive for Beijing

The rise of China’s technological growth has created ripples in the world technology ecosystem.

The global tech markets, which were generally dominated by the West have come under immense geopolitical and geoeconomic pressure due to China’s rapid growth in developing emerging technologies. The Chinese government has created a vision for the State to dominate the global tech supply chains and eventually concentrate geopolitical power. At the heart of this vision lies technical standards and the role they play in determining the balance of power between technologically adept states.

Beijing’s view on economic and technical growth has a simple saying: Third-tier companies make products. Second-tier companies make technology. Top-tier companies set standards. China wants to take over the mantle of the latter. With this in mind, the Chinese government revealed the ‘China Standards 2035’ project in 2020, which emphasises the role of technical standards in creating political and economic value for the state. One of the flagship schemes of China for the coming decade, the ‘Standards 2035’ project aims to control the governing mechanism of strategic technologies like 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Internet of Things (IoT). However, the project does not restrict itself to technology and underlines the objective of the Chinese State and state-supported companies to set standards in other sectors like agriculture and manufacturing also.

This ambitious plan of the Chinese government has ruffled feathers in the West. But the inherent objectives of setting standards provide a silver lining for those seeming to fret over their rival’s ambitions. The current geopolitical climate and the working of the Chinese government will make it incredibly difficult for them to spearhead the process of technical standard-setting. Though having both economic and political clout on the international stage, China finds it hard to convince the rest of the world to follow the governance framework they propose, especially for critical and strategic technologies.

The interoperability dilemma

One of the basic requirements of an international technical standard is to ensure the interoperability of specific technology. Standards act as global frameworks to advance growth and allow easier dissemination of technology across borders. For example, in the telecommunication domain, the creation of a 4G/5G standard is to ensure an open communication network that would allow users access to other global networks.

China and its attempts to influence the standard-setting process can be seen with respect to the 5G standards. This has been done through Huawei and other state-supported telecommunication firms. With Huawei demonstrating exemplary technological advancements in the field of 5G, the company now owns the largest share of 5G related patents. This has made the Chinese and its companies effectively control the growth of 5G technology across the globe.

However, the threats of state-sponsored surveillance have made other countries take note of the effects of Chinese equipment in their networks. The United States, which has been in a major trade war with China for a year and is one of the largest markets for telecommunication companies has now introduced a new program to replace the existing Huawei and ZTE equipment from local networks. The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently offered to reimburse local telecom carriers for removing network equipment made by Chinese companies citing threats to national security. While the FCC had already declared the two Chinese companies, Huawei and ZTE, as national security threats the previous year and had placed them on the blacklist, this development ensures the complete eradication of Chinese equipment and technology from the US market.

It is, however, not just the Americans who have officially placed restrictions and outright bans on Chinese telecommunication companies. The United Kingdom, after years of deliberation, decided to ban the purchase of any new 5G equipment from Huawei and ordered the existing equipment to be completed removed from local networks by 2027. The other members of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, have also formally blocked Huawei’s presence in the local 5G infrastructure. Other countries are following suit and the Chinese telecommunication giants are losing massive market share due to these curtailments.

Sanctions and restrictions have effectively crippled Huawei and other Chinese companies’ economies. It has reduced the influence the Chinese firms have on the global 5G infrastructure considerably. These kinds of actions taken by western countries can eliminate the possibility of the world adhering to Chinese-backed standards. With effectively no presence in major markets, the standards set by Chinese firms go against the basic objective of interoperability which it must satisfy. Strict responses to the usage of Chinese technology, like bans and restrictions, can result in its technical standards becoming null and void.

Addressing safety and quality question

Another one of the fundamental issues that technical standards tackle is maintaining the necessary threshold of quality that a technology product or service needs to adhere to before it can be used by the general public. With different companies in multiple countries engaging in developing high-end products and services, there is bound to exist a wide array of differences across the companies’ outputs. This makes it difficult to judge the quality of each product. Technical standards can ensure that there is a level playing field in global technological competition. Innovation in the field will likely see an uptick due to standards providing a clear and precise standard to preserve. The International Standard Organisation (ISO) and its specifications help to understand the level of quality that needs to be maintained for any specific technology, product, or service.

With the concept of quality, arises the aspect of safety concerns. There have been possibilities cropping up of these technological advancements potentially infringing on human rights. Applications of technologies like AI and the possibility of genetically engineering humans raise ethical questions. International technology standards can address such ethical concerns.

The Chinese government has used its premier foreign policy project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a method to export locally developed standards to countries that have signed deals with China on infrastructure and technology projects. International technical standards have been used as a foreign policy tool by China to increase its geopolitical and geoeconomic presence. With BRI steaming ahead in regions like Central Asia and Africa, the project has been cardinal in increasing China’s presence and leverage in often neglected regions of the world. The Chinese get to increase their investments as well as sign pacts with the BRI countries for using their technology standards. But this has led to questions being asked on what the intentions of the Chinese government are in pushing these standards.

The digital infrastructure in the continent of Africa is dominated by major Chinese firms with Huawei and ZTE leading the way. However, there have been suspicions on the quality of technology provided by these Chinese companies as well as the objective of providing high-end technology to other countries. Reports of human rights abuses along with infringement on the privacy rights of users have questioned the intentions of Chinese investments in regions like Africa. The authoritarian regime of the CCP has itself has given the impression of the state values individuals’ rights with crackdowns on internet content and video games.

Chinese-backed standards now face the scrutiny of ensuring the quality and the protection of individuals’ rights. This will make China’s case for pushing international technical standards through with many western countries questioning the intentions of Chinese-backed standards. This has been seen in Huawei and the telecommunications domain. It is likely that with the rise of economic protectionism, there will be further pushback against Chinese products and services.

When China itself is blatantly ignoring the basic tenets of a technical standard, its quest for becoming the leader to set global standards remains far-fetched now. But with China looking for ways to influence the standards-setting processes, this can soon change. Standards-setting processes still require global consensus and increasing Chinese ambitions have made other states re-examine their presence in the international standards domain. It will be still a while before China can effectively convince the world that it can guarantee the objectives of a global standard.

The author is a research analyst at the Takshashila Institution.

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Instagram influencer faces backlash after posing in front of father’s casket

Social media influencers usually share videos and photos on their verified handles to increase followers and attract engagements on their profiles. However, one such influencer from Miami recently faced backlash after pictures of her posing in front of her father’s casket at his funeral went viral.

Twenty-year-old Jayne Rivera had shared these pictures on her social media account. She had captioned her post, “Butterfly fly away. Rip Papi, you were my best friend. A life well-lived”.

https://twitter.com/MacMcCannTX/status/1453030106528632836?s=20

https://twitter.com/myronmy9/status/1452972020241559557?s=20

Meanwhile, in an interview with NBC News, Rivera defended her post saying that different people handle grief in different ways. “Everyone handles the loss of a loved one in their own ways; some are more traditional while others might come across as taboo. For me, I treated the celebration as if my father was right next to me, posing for the camera as he had done on many occasions in the past,” she said.

Rivera asserted there was nothing wrong with what she had posted she stands by it.

Minutes after she posted her images, social media users criticised Rivera for her action. There were many who voiced their opinion, others called out the influencer, and a few backed her.

While one user said it was strange to see someone pose like that at a funeral, the other defended Rivera by saying that what she did was okay as it was probably the last time she will be seeing that face in real life.

However, few reports also suggest that Rivera posted eight photos on her account. Among those pictures, one was clicked smiling, another showed her hands held together in prayer, and one even captured her glancing while looking away from the lens.

 

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Group of kangaroos invade golf course and interrupt golfer; watch viral video here

A young golfer, in an unusual incident, was left surprised after a large group of kangaroos charged up the fairway in Australia on a golf course. The amateur golfer has been identified as Wendy Powick, who practices at the Arundel Hills Country Club.

Expressing her excitement on the same, Powick took to her social media account and posted a video where a group of kangaroos hopped towards her while she was preparing to swing at the tee box on the golf course.

“Never ever seen this happen before when a whole mob of Kangaroos at @arundelhillscountryclub on the Gold Coast decided to charge up the fairway and stop right at the front of the Tee box to watch me… Absolutely gold and only in Australia…” Powick's post reads.

Check out the amazing video here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CVcnfSuAFRP/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

In the video which is grabbing all the attention on social media, Powick is seen preparing to swing her shot at the tee box in the golf course. As the golfer gets ready, she suddenly had to stop after spotting a large group of kangaroos hopping towards her.

Surprised Powick noticed that the kangaroos were coming closer and closer to the fairway, where she was standing. Following this, she waited for some time, especially for them to leave the place.

Powick is even caught chuckling and saying out loud that they've (kangaroos) come to watch her tee off. Since being shared online, this funny yet adorable incident has gone viral all over social media and has also garnered 1.37 lakh views so far.

 

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New York school district bans Halloween costumes inspired from South Korean series 'Squid Game'

As the festival of Halloween is just around the corner, children in many parts of the world, especially the US, are gearing up to celebrate the spooky festival with a lot of fun costumes.

However, in the state of New York, a school district has forbidden children from dressing up as characters from the hit Netflix show Squid Game. The Fayetteville-Manlius School District in the state, which oversees three elementary schools, has prohibited students from wearing costumes from the South Korean dystopian drama.

According to district superintendent Craig Tice, any costume from Squid Game would be “inappropriate”, due to the violent messages associated with the series. He added that the costume guidelines of the educational institute forbid attire that can be gory or scary.

Costumes which include items like toy guns or swords, which can be interpreted as weapons, are also not allowed by the school, according to Tice. He mentioned that some students had been “mimicking” the games shown in Squid Game.

The move has divided parents, with many slamming the move as “overbearing”. Other schools around the world have also faced issues with the South Korean series, with schools in Ireland, Spain and the United Kingdom also expressing discontent over children watching Squid Game.

Recently, the Central Integrated Primary School in the UK warned parents over the suitability of the show for kids, saying it was “most definitely not appropriate” for children in primary school to be watching the violent show.
Squid Game has become the biggest show on Netflix since its launch in mid-September, with over 142 million households watching the series. The black masks and pink and green jumpsuits worn in the series have gained popularity worldwide.

The show features a group of people facing crushing debt and financial despair, participating in a series of deadly children’s games in order to win the grand prize of $38 million.

The show has been rated for mature audiences on Netflix due to the violence, sex, nudity, smoking, suicide and language in the series.

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YouTuber takes problem solving to new heights, rents helicopter to solve viral Physics question

Both fiction and real life have many instances where people have gone to great lengths to solve a mystery or find some solution to a problem. However, Derek Muller, who owns a YouTube channel named Veritasium, took the ability to newer heights by renting a helicopter to find the answer to a physics question.

The YouTuber rented a helicopter to find the answer to a question that appeared on the 2014 US Physics Olympiad team qualifying exam. The question was based on a hypothetical scenario of a rope hanging beneath a helicopter. It had been popular ever since the paper was released, since no one could agree on the answer.

Muller made the scenario real by trying out the question in a helicopter and making a video on the same. The video has gone viral, receiving over 3 million views till date.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-_7y0WUnW4

Before conducting the experiment, he asked viewers for what they thought was the correct answer. Surprisingly, when the poll results were declared, not many had voted for what actually turned out to be the correct answer.

Muller even attached a parachute and kettlebell separately to the rope to find out the correct answer. He concluded the 12.58 minute video by saying that depending on what was attached to the rope, the answer could be either of the options B, C or D, that were printed on the question paper. However, for a rope hanging without any attachments, as mentioned in the question, the correct answer would be option B.

Muller had gained fame earlier when he had uploaded a video showing how the wind-powered vehicle Blackbird could outrun the wind itself. The video ignited a controversy, with Alexander Kusenko, a physicist at the University of California claiming that Muller was incorrect.

The two later bet $ 10,000 on the issue whether a model vehicle built on the principle as Blackbird could work successfully. The bet was held in the presence of famous scientist Sam Caroll and celebrity science commentator Neil deGrasse Tyson, with Muller later winning the bet.

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Video: Workers in Thailand left dangling from 26th floor after woman cuts rope

A woman in Thailand left two painters dangling from the 26th floor after she allegedly cut the rope that supported them. The painters were working on a high-rise condominium.

Colonel Pongjak Preechakarunpong, the Chief of the Pak Kret police, said the woman has been arrested for attempted murder and property destruction charges.

The 34-year-old woman cut the rope as she was angry for not being informed about the workers beforehand. The footage of both the painters nearly hanging for life has gone viral on the internet.

Watch the video of the shocking incident here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uGREPxOUJw&t=4s

In the viral clip, two men can be seen trying to balance themselves and making efforts to get back to safety.

One of the workers, Song, a resident of Myanmar, said he was lowering himself along with the other two workers from the 32 floor when all of a sudden they realised they were unstable. They immediately called for help.

On seeing the workers dangling from the condo, a nearby resident Praphaiwan Setsing and her husband immediately swung into action and pulled them to safety

The woman who had cut the rope initially denied the allegation but when the rope was sent for a fingerprint and DNA analysis by the police, she confessed to the crime.

The authorities did not confirm the reason behind the woman's action . However, according to local media reports, the woman was angry that no one had informed her about the workers and when she saw them painting outside, she was agitated. She did not see the announcement made by the condo’s management also.

If the charges levied on the woman are proved, she can face around 20 years of imprisonment.

 

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Why China’s new Land Border Law may further intensify military standoff with India

China’s new Land Border Law claims to attract coordinated attention to the border regions to achieve socio-economic prosperity and infrastructural boom and to strengthen its border security and territorial sovereignty. This being the projected reality seems to have received wider media coverage. But, knowing China’s habitual double-dealing, it becomes imperative for New Delhi to exercise a greater degree of circumspection in understanding the sub-currents of the law and to act pre-emptively to minimise possible risk to India’s territorial integrity that the law may invite in the long run.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) approved on 23 October 2021 the Land Border Law which is reported to be enforced on 1 January 2022. The law calls the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the People's Republic of China (PRC) as ‘sacred and inviolable’ and clarifies the legal and military concentration on the border regions in terms of intensification of patrolling, infrastructural and deep border survey and surveillance activities.

The Global Times reports that the law ensures cooperation from the citizens and organisations and restricts them not to build permanent structures or fly drones and stipulates the use of weapons against the infiltrators and trespassers. The State Council Information Office of China (SCIOC), as reported in The Global Times, expressed in 2019 the complexity involved in securing its vast land and maritime border comprising more than 22,000 km of border land and a coastline of 18,000 km.

To make this overwhelmingly large and extensive borderline guarded and secured, the law is reported to be a much-needed addition to Beijing’s border-related legal arrangement. This sounds almost well and fine, but what needs to be seen is its bearing on India as there exists ambiguity in India-China border demarcation. China has always demonstrated its bullying behaviour along the LAC (Line of Actual Control) stretching over 3,488 km.

The Doklam crisis, Galwan Valley standoff, and the ongoing Chinese activities along the border areas of Arunachal Pradesh are some of the tendencies that worry India and invite defensive action from its end. On top of it, the new Land Border Law generates urgency for India to seriously rethink expediting its border infrastructure and going headlong into quick structuring of plans to build formidable frontier highways and other defence-related installations in order to stand shoulder to shoulder with China. New Delhi needs to revitalise significantly its geostrategic nodes along the LAC to strengthen its position which will act as a major deterrent to the Dragon’s expansionist proclivities.

This would give Beijing the much-needed message to recoil to its respective territory and refrain from interventionist and intrusive strategy of salami slicing and cabbage cutting (clandestine and incremental occupation of the land of the neighbouring nations’ territory without resorting to the visible and violent methods of annexation) as exercised along LAC, Bhutan, Nepal, South China Sea, Paracel Islands, Senkaku Islands, median line in the Taiwan Strait, Indo-Pacific regions, etc.

These tiny transgressions promise a profitable dividend to China as it gradually claims those territories acquired as its own or declares them disputed if much hue and cry is done. Beijing’s every move, both covert and overt, must be keenly observed; and this move in legislating a law in the pretext of protecting its border needs deep reading.

Knowing its sustained attempt to cause border conflicts along the LAC, this law may have much that needs critical reading than brushing aside as mere domestic legal commitment to ensure border safety. This piece of legislation deals with the international border, and therefore embodies policies that may initiate staggering developments along the border. The critical part of it is that the habitual transgressor complains of transgression and legislates a law to check the acts of transgression! This policy paradox and the development of a complex that its borders require protection and hence the law, sound very ominous.

Doklam standoff

Beijing has never given New Delhi conflict-free LAC. The latter ignored for a long time the former’s malice under the pseudo and synthetic Sino-India friendship. When New Delhi realised the danger from its eastern sector and geared up its infrastructure along the border, it had to face the Doklam standoff. The face-off in the Doklam plateau, Bhutan, began on 16 June 2017 with Beijing starting construction of a motorable road to develop connectivity between Doklam and Chumbi valley in Tibet transgressing the Indo-Bhutan bilateral agreement of 1949 and 2007 and the India-China agreement of 2012. The said agreements then arrived at a consensus of maintaining status quo at the crucial trijunction.

Beijing knows the importance of the Siliguri corridor for India with length and width of 60 and 22 km respectively and the only land link to India's Northeastern states such as Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. It invests its diplomatic, military and infrastructural might to keep the tension growing in the region and to offer India some form of sustained restlessness. This mindset arranges a series of hurdles for India to distract it from its aspiration towards becoming a major economic and diplomatic force in South Asia.

China’s Doklam claim is dubiously based on the Anglo-Chinese Convention of 1890. On 14 October 2021 Beijing and Thimphu signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) on Three-Step Roadmap to expedite the boundary talk. The Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, Wu Jianghao, and the Foreign Minister of Bhutan, Lyonpo Tandi Dorji, met virtually in a video conferencing and mutually agreed to cooperate in terms of facilitating border talks. But what remains to be seen is that of the pragmatic aspects of the talk. Will this virtual generosity and claims of cooperation really lead to some form of positive and result-oriented conclusion? Or, is this just showcasing to give the international community the impression of China's change of heart and positive intent? This comes just before the introduction of the new Land Border Law and may embody China's cunning.

Ladakh

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) sets its land-grabbing expedition in the Ladakh region too by intruding into India’s territory and ramping up the defence infrastructure. In June 2020 the face-off between PLA and Indian military led to a violent brawl in the Galwan Valley which killed 20 Indian soldiers. The actual casualty on the Chinese side still remains unknown. This and a host of other successive disputes indicate Beijing's doggedness towards prolonging border conflict with India and distracting India from its preparedness towards boosting its economy crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Around Pangong Lake, both militaries have agreed to pull back, but in other areas such as Hot Springs, Gogra Post and the Depsang Plains in Ladakh, Beijing indulges in territorial ambiguities in the absence of a well-defined hard boundary and claims its own and desires to leverage on its critical geo-strategic exceptionality. The prime geostrategic Aksai Chin plateau which connects Xinjiang Province with western Tibet still remains in China’s control.

Pakistan has given the Shaksgam Valley or the Trans Karakoram Tract of Hunza-Gilgit region of Pak-occupied Kashmir to China and has given it the total access to operationalise its China-Pakistan economic corridor there. The new Land Border Law may be an addition to Beijing’s armoury of extending conflict with India. If this law expedites Beijing military infrastructural projects along the LAC, it may commit a series of violations as the India-China border has not been respected seriously by it.

Arunachal Pradesh

Chinese intransigence over Arunachal Pradesh is a cause of concern as well. Arunachal Pradesh, being a frontier state of India having significant geostrategic space, shares an international border with Myanmar (520 km), China (1,080 km) and Bhutan (217 km). Its untapped natural resources and geo-economic potentiality attract China and the latter makes weird and unfounded claims to occupy it.

Beijing adopts the salami-slicing method wherever possible to gradually occupy the land as there are many vast stretches along the McMahon Line which remain largely uninhabited. The unoccupied lands are the easy grab for China. Beijing’s new Land Border Law with its vigour for redefining its territory with Arunachal Pradesh may create a fresh set of troubles for India by demanding its claim over it. A frontier highway seems to be the immediate infrastructural need in the region that New Delhi must adopt to tackle effectively the ensuing consequences of the nascent border law. It will facilitate faster movement of troops if China resorts to military confrontation.

China cares least about the fragile ecology in the Himalayan region and intervenes technologically to build infrastructure. India has to undertake competitive infrastructural projects in Arunachal Pradesh, resorting to due restraint wherever possible to safeguard ecology. China has already built road and bullet train infrastructure to Nyingchi, a town that is extremely close to the border of Arunachal Pradesh and is taking a major initiative to develop border infrastructure. The rail connectivity project to Tawang undertaken by India seems to have gone slow owing to various local, logistic, ecological and economic factors. New Delhi must revitalise its infrastructural project to expedite growth in the region and safeguard the territorial sovereignty of India, especially along the LAC, by intensifying security arrangements in order to check Beijing’s arbitrariness and hegemonic character.

The current government at the Centre seems to have shown the right mindset to give a proper counter to China, but what more needs to be done is that of a massive ramp-up in the infrastructure sector along the LAC to make Beijing realise India’s territorial integrity is its top priority. The new Land Border Law may embody surprises for India, but New Delhi must express its preparedness to offer proper opposition to any misadventure resorted to. Moreover, China is an expansionist power. This propensity is well-illustrated in Mao Zedong’s imagination of modern China considering Tibet being its right-hand palm and Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and NEFA (Arunachal Pradesh) are its five fingers.

These border disputes explain Beijing’s resolve to fulfil Mao’s territorial imagination. The new Land Border Law may never go off track and settle border issues to restore peace along the LAC. It may be very much on track to intensify the border controversy until Mao’s dream is realised.

Dr Jajati K Pattnaik is an Associate Professor in the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; Dr Chandan K Panda is an Assistant Professor at Rajiv Gandhi University, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh. Views expressed are personal.​

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CoP26, Paris Agreement, Net zero, carbon capture: Climate Change jargon buster

Climate change this and climate change that... As world leaders prepare to meet in Glasgow, Scotland from 31 October–12 November for the COP26 Summit, there will be a lot of technical lingo being used.

In an effort to make things easier and to help you sound like an expert, here are some of the key words and phrases that will be used.

COP26

First off, let’s start with the name of the summit itself.

It stands for the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. The meeting will bring together world leaders, scientists, NGOs and activists to push towards meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

More than 120 world leaders are expected to attend, with more than 25,000 delegates from 197 countries, in the biggest diplomatic event on British soil since World War II.

Paris Agreement

Signed in 2015, it is an international treaty that committed 195 signing nations to meeting climate targets. The main goal of the Paris agreement is to limit global heating to “well below” two degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels, while “pursuing efforts” to stay within the lower, safer threshold of 1.5 degree Celsius. The agreement also wants signing nations to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted on 11 December 1997 but owing to a complex ratification process, it entered into force on 16 February 2005. Currently, there are 192 parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol operationalises the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by committing industrialised countries and economies in transition to limit and cut greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions in accordance with agreed individual targets. The Kyoto Protocol only binds developed countries, and places a heavier burden on them under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities”, because it recognises that they are largely responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere.

1.5 degree Celsius

What is the big deal about this 1.5 degree Celsius?

This was a goal set by the Paris Agreement to limit the average global temperature increase to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels.

These temperature goals have their roots in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. Maintaining a 1.5 degree Celsius increase or less means a milder impact on ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as fewer extreme weather events.

Greenhouse gas emissions

No talk on climate change can be complete without the mention of greenhouse gas emissions. Basically, they are gases that trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere. The most common greenhouse gas emission is carbon dioxide, which is primarily emitted via human activity.

Net zero emissions

This means removing as much greenhouse gas from the atmosphere as what's emitted, so the net amount added is zero.

To do this, countries and people are trying to plant more trees or restoring grasslands to soak up carbon dioxide (CO2). Dozens of countries have already pledged to achieve net zero by mid-century and there is huge pressure on countries that haven't yet to do so by COP26.

Carbon Capture

The simple way to explain this is any process being used to capture carbon dioxide before it enters the atmosphere. New technology is being created to literally suck carbon from the air.

Clean energy

Clean energy is energy that comes from natural sources or from processes that are continuously replenished. Wind and solar power are the best examples of clean or renewable energy.

Adaptation

This refers to the way humans can change their lives to better cope with the impacts of climate change. These might include building early warning systems for floods or barriers to defend against rising sea levels. In some places where rainfall is decreasing, planting drought-resistant varieties of crops can help ensure communities have enough food to eat.

Mitigation

Mitigation as the word suggests is how humans can reduce greenhouse gas emissions or remove them from the atmosphere.

Examples of mitigation would be switching from coal and gas to sources such as wind or solar power or choosing public transport over commuting in private vehicles or even expanding forest cover.

Climate finance

In 2009 at the Copenhagen COP, developing countries were promised that they would receive at least $100 billion a year in climate finance from 2020, from public and private sectors. But the 2020 target was missed, and filling the gap is high on the agenda for the talks in Glasgow.

Developing nations, particularly those in the Global South, which are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, argue that industrialised nations are historically more responsible for climate change and must do more to fund changes to help developing nations adapt.

With inputs from agencies

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From climate change, economy to COVID-19 pandemic, here's what G20 Summit in Rome will deal with

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made his way to Rome in Italy for the G20 Summit.

If you have been following the news, the G20 has been a buzz word and as the world looks towards the leaders meeting for the 16th summit, we take a look at what it’s all about, what is expected to be discussed and what Modi will be doing there.

📌Only 2 days to go to the #G20RomeSummit, the final stage of the #G20Italy Presidency.

Have a look behind the scenes at the Convention Center "La Nuvola" that will host the #G20 working sessions. pic.twitter.com/ZjoE7rDb6g

— G20 Italy (@g20org) October 28, 2021

What is G20?

The G20 is an international grouping made up of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, Britain, and the United States. Spain is a permanent guest invitee.

The G20 was established in 1999 to broaden the scope of the G7 — a grouping of the world’s most powerful nations, and its primary mandate is to “prevent future international financial crises”.

How often does it meet?

The leaders comprising of the G20 countries meet once a year. This year's summit, the first in-person meet of the G20 since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, will be held between 30-31 October in Rome, Italy.

Aims for this year’s meet

The Associated Press reports that while economic recovery is a top agenda item, host Italy hopes the leaders will set a shared, mid-century deadline to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and explore a commitment to reduce methane emissions as well.

The United Nations and climate activists also want the G20 countries to fulfill their longtime pledges of providing $100 billion a year in climate aid to help poor nations cope with the impacts of global warming.

Climate change will be a big talking point at the summit wherein questions such as phasing out coal and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius will be discussed and debated.

Moreover, the summit assumes even more significance as it is being held on the eve of the COP26 talks in Glasgow, Scotland.

Leaders are also expected to rubberstamp a deal to impose a 15 percent minimum tax on global corporations and discuss the post-pandemic recovery and associated risks, including the uneven rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

Italian prime minister Mario Draghi was quoted by AFP as saying that the summit “marks the return of multilateralism, after the dark years of isolationism and of isolation linked to the health crisis”.

Post-pandemic recovery, including inflation and rising energy prices along with supply chain issues will also be discussed at the Rome talks.

AFP also reported that no new pledges are expected on COVID-19 vaccines, but Italy wants more help for lower income countries to help distribute existing jabs and build more resilient health systems.

Security’s up

The two-day event will take place under maximum security. As per local reports from Rome, there will be multiple road closures and police snipers will be stationed at strategic rooftops in the area.

Additionally, Rome's airspace will be monitored by the army and there will be maximum security around the Hotel Rome Cavalieri A Waldorf Astoria.

Missing leaders and strained diplomacy

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin of China and Russia respectively are not going to be present at the summit.

Many believe that the climate talks at the G20 won't be substantial or effective if China, the world's number one carbon polluter, won't be at the table.

As per reported information, Putin too will attend the summit in a virtual format.

The absence of Xi and Putin sends a signal that Europe should note in particular, said Massimo Franco, international affairs columnist for Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, according to an Associated Press report.

“If China doesn’t come to Rome, if Russia — which has a lot of energy to sell to Europe — doesn’t join the G-20, I think that this G-20 will be a confirmation of European fragility from the energetic point of view,” Franco was quoted as saying.

The strained ties between US president Joe Biden and French president Emmanuel Macron will also come to the fore after their fallout over the AUKUS deal.

Last month, the announcement by the UK and the US to sell nuclear-power submarines to Australia set off diplomatic tensions. The deal scuttled France's $66 billion deal to sell diesel-powered submarines to Australia, and led the French government to take the unprecedented action of recalling its ambassadors to the US and Australia.

Biden and Macron spoke over the telephone since the tiff, but it remains to be seen how the countries' leaders react when made to sit at the same table.

Modi at G20

As Modi flies out to Rome to attend the summit, he tweeted, “Landed in Rome to take part in the @g20org Summit, an important forum to deliberate on key global issues. I also look forward to other programmes through this visit to Rome.”

Landed in Rome to take part in the @g20org Summit, an important forum to deliberate on key global issues. I also look forward to other programmes through this visit to Rome. pic.twitter.com/e4UuIIfl7f

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 29, 2021

It has been reported that the prime minister will focus on global economic and health recovery from the pandemic, sustainable development, and climate change.

In his departure statement, he had said: “This will be the first in-person Summit of the G20 since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020 and will allow us to take stock of the current global situation and exchange ideas on how the G20 can be an engine for strengthening economic resilience and building back inclusively and sustainably from the pandemic."

The situation in Afghanistan is expected to figure prominently at the summit, according to sources.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that counter-terrorism and terror financing would also be discussed during the G20 meeting.

Modi is also expected to meet with leaders on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Briefing media about the visit, Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla said among bilateral meetings the PM will meet Saudi Crown Prince (last G20 President) and the Indonesian President (Indonesia is incoming G20 presidency). The meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince is significant amid growing political and economic partnership.

The prime minister will also visit Vatican City, to meet Pope Francis and Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

With inputs from agencies

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