politicodiary

China is planning to ramp up its airbases near the Indian border. The signs of eminent war and threat to the sovereignty are clear; and China continues to try and build a kind of psychological pressure on Indians. It is massive for those staying on the border like Tibet, J&K and Arunachal Pradesh. Right now, work that was to go ahead for an Airport at Tawang has halted. Indian intelligence has confirmed that there is a likelihood of nothing less than 16 bases close to Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, and the crucial Indian-Nepal tri-junction. What goes against us as of now is the fact that we do share boundaries with Xinjiang (China), Pakistan and Afghanistan. Of these, China is playing a sly game of supporting Pakistan and Taliban in Afghanistan too; all to the discomfort of Indian sensibilities. Concern for the Northeast and Arunachal particularly are two new airports being developed close to its borders . The Tawang Airport would have actually been a more usable optio...

An Israeli spyware is said to have compromised personal phones of many important politicians and world leaders The military grade spyware known as the  Pegasus  has notoriously got into the lives of politicians, diplomats, business leaders and even journalists. The menace has been such that it has left the French President Emmanuel Macron no choice but to change his phone, his number and even order for an overhaul in cyber security protocols.  Pakistan has been busy blaming India for having let the mouse out of the box. The spyware is called  The spyware, called Pegasus. It was developed by an Israeli company which is now claiming its buyers were legitimate ones and vetted before it was sold to them.  The spyware actually ' enables users to infiltrate phones without being detected in order to record calls, control cameras, and extract messages and emails.' The company  NSO Group  has admitted to have sold it to so called "vetted government agencies" to...

  A recent WHO warning states that there is an alarming rise in toxicity levels due to irresponsible e-waste disposal. It is already affecting health of millions of children. Recently, a case was reported of toxic food poisoning that was a result of e-waste contamination having got transferred to food items in Ghana.  In a ground breaking news report, Children and Digital Dumpsites , the WHO has explicitly outlined the irresponsible disposal of electronic waste.  “With mounting volumes of production and disposal, the world faces what one recent international forum described as a mounting “tsunami of e-waste”, putting lives and health at risk.” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “In the same way the world has rallied to protect the seas and their ecosystems from plastic and microplastic pollution, we need to rally to protect our most valuable resource –the health of our children – from the growing threat of e-waste.” As many as 12.9 million women ar...

  Its Cuba too up and arms against the government that has let it down. For the first time in 30 years, the Cuban population took to the streets and protested throughout the country, over shortage of food and electricity. Protests broke out simultaneously in all parts of Cuba. Several hundred protesters marched through the capital Havana chanting, "We want liberty," with a heavy military and police presence deployed after demonstrators massed outside the Capitol building. Protestors were beaten down with plastic pipes and tear gas was used to calm the crowds down, which was in thousands and hundreds flocking the streets. According to the data journalism site Inventario, the only ones authorized to gather in Cuba are normally Communist Party events. But these protests have been called rare as they gathered in 40 different spots across the nation.   Several thousand protesters, mainly young people, took to the streets of San Antonio de los Banos, a town 30 kilometers (20 ...

It is not oil anymore but water which is on sale now.  While the Nile Basin nations fight over water of the Blue and White Nile, Israel and Jordon are busy entering into a water sale deal. Under this deal, the Jewish state has agreed to sell an unprecedented amount of water to Jordon. Apparently, this will significantly boost Jordanian exports to Palestinians in West Bank. Most of Africa is under drought and looking at eager supplies of water and other means of livelihood. Ethiopia has been able to go against the tide and start irrigating its ambitious and promising Renaissance Dam project, much to the dismay of Egypt. After quite a cold war, Jordan and Egypt are coming close to each other and water is their reason for it. The meeting between the two countries was held just inside the Jordanian border. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and his Jordanian counterpart approved Israel's sale of 50 million cubic metres of water to its neighbour.  This is being called a tr...

Pakistan’s interest in Turkey isn’t good news for India. Earlier also, it was seen that Turkey was using Pakistan as a conduit to send its own to be trained and train personnel in military know how. Many South Indian unemployed youth were said to be trained by such allied Turkish forces within sleeper cells in the deeps of South India. In the latest, Pakistan is now seeking armed drones from Turkey. It continues to subtly but consistently deepen the already strong bilateral cooperation, especially in the defence arena. Another interesting point of interest between them remains Kashmir and Afghanistan. Both these associations can never be good for India that has been trying to resolve the Kashmir issue while trying to figure out a peaceful way to restore democracy in Afghanistan. India earned itself a place on the roundtable recently, when nations of influence were figuring out ways to restore democracy in Afghanistan. But confirmed intelligence has said that the possible procuremen...

 Lebanese Army is struggling to keep itself in shape and trying other resorts to stay afloat   While the country is still reeling under immense financial pressure to pay off its huge debts, it army has started an innovative way of making some revenue. It is using its helicopters to give tourist rides in the city in a way to make some revenue and encourage the culture of tourism too.  The Covid-19 pandemic has crippled their options of using tourism as a revenue generator anyway. Its pound has already lost all its importance as a currency of trade. Its resources are dwindling and its government has not been able to keep the country afloat, without borrowing hugely from other countries.  Smuggling of petrol and other things has become rampant across the borders too. Army apparently, has had to scrap meat from its soldier meals to save on their meagre resources. According to official source, soldiers are earning one-tenth of their monthly wages; with the figure falling ...