#everydayquiz #TheHindu #IndianExpress #BusinessStandard #EconomicTimes
The Hindu: Giving peace a chance in
Yemen
A United Nations-backed
ceasefire between the Saudi-allied forces loyal to President Abd-Rabbuh Mansour
Hadi and Shia Houthi rebels took effect in Yemen on Sunday, raising hopes that
the warring factions may purposefully work towards a negotiated solution.
It is
not clear how long the truce will hold, given the complexity of the conflict
and past experience. Three previous attempts to reach a ceasefire had
collapsed. This time around, the rebels and the Saudi-backed forces have
announced that they will respect the truce. Saudi
Arabia and its allies started bombing Yemen in
March 2015 with the obvious goal of reinstating the ousted government of
President Hadi and weakening the Shia Houthi rebels who had captured the
capital Sanaa. But after a year of relentless bombing by Riyadh, the Houthis
still hold the capital city and control much of western Yemen. In fact, if anyone
has secured a strategic advantage out of the Yemeni war, it is al-Qaeda. The
stateless chaos amid a disastrous war has helped al-Qaeda expand its footprint
steadily in the country, and it now runs a mini state from southeastern Yemen.
On the other side, the war has turned Yemen into a humanitarian catastrophe.
More than 6,000 people, half of them civilians, have been killed since the
Saudi bombing started, and about two million have been displaced. An estimated
80 per cent of the population needs humanitarian assistance, while millions of
children face malnutrition. If the war is allowed to rage on, its humanitarian
and strategic costs would be much graver.
But there may be no easy
way out. The real reason for the conflict lies in the complex geopolitics of
the region. Saudi Arabia sees the Houthis as a front for Iran and does not want
a Shia-dominated government in its backyard. Western countries, particularly
the U.S. and the U.K., have continued to supply weapons to Riyadh and turned
their eyes away from the brazen violation of human rights for fear of further
antagonising Saudi Arabia, their key West Asian ally that is already piqued by
the Iran nuclear deal. This has given the Saudis a free hand in Yemen. And as
things stand, they have messed it up. The ceasefire, however, is a starting
point. But for it to succeed, the regional powers should set aside their
geopolitical games and come together to address the humanitarian problem
pragmatically. The Saudis should realise that they cannot forcibly keep away
from power the Houthis, who claim to represent the country’s Shia community
that makes up between 30 and 45 per cent of the total population. The Houthis
and their Iranian backers should also understand that they cannot just take
over the whole country. Any practical solution will require an end to external
military intervention and a cessation of violence, followed by the formation of
a government of national unity. These cannot be achieved unless Iran and Saudi
Arabia cooperate, and in a manner that puts their selfish interests aside.
Whether they have the vision to do this is uncertain, but a failure to put the
region before narrow geopolitical interests would result in this ceasefire
meeting the fate of previous ones.
Warring
› Warring countries or groups of people are at war with
each other:
Warring tribes
Faction
› a group within a larger group, especially one with
slightly different ideas from the main group:
The left-wing faction of the party
Oust
› to force someone to leave a position of power, job,
place, or competition:
The president was ousted (from power) in a military coup
in January 1987.
Relentless
> continuing in a severe or extreme way:
Relentless criticism/pressure
Brazen
› obvious, without any attempt to be hidden:
Brazen cheating
Antagonize
› to make someone dislike you or feel opposed to you:
It's a very delicate situation and i've no wish to
antagonize him.
Pique चिढ़ा हुआ
› a feeling of anger, especially caused by someone
damaging your feeling of being proud of yourself:
He stormed from the room in a fit of pique, shouting that
he had been misunderstood.
Pragmatic
>solving problems in a sensible way that suits the
conditions that really exist now, rather than obeying fixed theories, ideas, or
rules:
In business, the pragmatic approach to problems is often
more successful than an idealistic one.
The Hindu: Downscaling for success
Sometimes, success
depends on the scaling down of ambition. Efforts at reuniting the secular
parties with roots in the Janata Party of the 1970s have been under way ever
since the Bharatiya Janata Party won a majority of its own in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. But a
mega-merger was never going to be easy as the Janata Parivar parties, with
varying strengths, spread across different regions, and united only by a common
opponent, could not have easily agreed on the modalities of coming together.
The Janata Dal (United) under Nitish Kumar is going ahead with the merger plan,
but without three of the major parties — the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh,
the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar and the Janata Dal (Secular) in
Karnataka. The Janata Party was an artificial union of parties fighting the
Congress during a difficult period in the country’s history; it suffered more
than one split over ideological differences and conflicting pulls and
pressures. Given this, re-unification can only be just as unnatural, prompted
by nothing more than shifting political expediencies. Rather than wait
endlessly for the mega-merger, Mr. Kumar chose to bring together what was
possible in the circumstances — the Rashtriya Lok Dal of Ajit Singh, the
Samajwadi Janata Party of Kamal Morarka, and the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha of
Babulal Marandi.
What must be disquieting
for Mr. Kumar is that the RJD, a partner in his government in Bihar, chose not
to be part of the merger plan for the present. Given that the two parties had
fought and won thestate Assembly election last
year without any major hiccup, a merger would have been a logical step. The
reluctance of the RJD to commit on a merger highlights the post-poll tensions
within the alliance. Also, there is the possibility that the RJD is seeking to
expand its base at the expense of the JD (U) sooner or later. Given their
different spheres of influence, the parties that are currently part of the
merger plan, the JD (U), the RLD, the SJP and the JVM, are not political
rivals; for the same reason, they would not be able to greatly add to one
another’s vote share and increase winning chances in specific constituencies.
Any merger would only be in name. The original rationale for the reunification
of the Janata Parivar, to present a national-level alternative to the BJP, is
no longer relevant. When the SP was involved in talks, the post-merger entity
was meant to be an alternative to both the BJP and the Congress. But the JD
(U), as well as the RJD, needs the Congress in Bihar. Therefore, as a
national-level alternative, the Janata Parivar experiment was doomed to failure
from the very outset. By scaling down the merger plans, Mr. Kumar appears to
have sacrificed his ambition to play a bigger national role at the altar of
pragmatism.
Expedience
› the situation in which something is helpful or useful
in a particular situation, but sometimes not morally acceptable:
As a matter of expedience, we will not be taking on any
new staff this year.
I think this government operates on the basis of
expediency, not of principle.
Disquieting
› causing worry:
The disquieting situation between these two neighbouring
countries looks as if it will continue.
Hiccup (PROBLEM)
› a problem that
delays or interrupts something for a while, but does not usually cause serious
difficulties:
We've had one or two slight hiccups, but progress has
generally been quite steady.
Reluctant
> not willing to do something and therefore slow to do
it:
[+ to infinitive] I was having such a good time I was
reluctant to leave.
Doomed
› certain to fail, die, or be destroyed:
This is a doomed city.
Outset
› the start or beginning:
From the outset we planned to conduct our research
together.
Altar
› a type of table used in ceremonies in a Christian
church or in other religious buildings
Indian Express: Passing the test
For a while back then, it had seemed
that the fracas at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Srinagar was
escalating dangerously. It had all the suitable ingredients for a perfect
storm. The backdrop: A jingoistic debate on “nationalism” that had gained
ground in Delhi and beyond after the JNU episode in which three students were
jailed on charges of sedition after a campus event in which some “anti-national” slogans
were raised. The staging ground: Srinagar, where it could be said that the
“idea of India” is most contested and controversial in the country. The
provocation: A group of Kashmiri students failing the cricket test, by cheering
the West Indies side against India in a World T20 semifinal. An added edge was
lent to the situation by the recent putting together of the Mehbooba Mufti
government — taking forward, after a moment of uncertainty and pause, the
audacious political experiment that her father, the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed,
had forged in partnership with the BJP, bringing together the two extremities
of Kashmir politics, soft separatism with hardline nationalism. The
drama that started with some Kashmiri students cheering the “wrong” team did
seem to be following an ominous script, with students labelled “Kashmiris” and
“outsiders” and the J&K police “anti-national” — till a calming and firm
intervention by Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh. The demand by some students
to shift the NIT out of Srinagar is “not a demand worth raising let alone worth
hearing,” he told this newspaper. And “we told (the students) that just like
it’s your flag, it is also our flag and the flag of the J&K police”.
By his attempt to defuse the building
tensions, the deputy CM has sent out a reassuring signal — that on Kashmir, his
party has decided not to let the hotheads prevail. And that it is giving a
breakthrough alliance a chance. Singh has promised a hearing to campus
discontent due to lack of wifi, strict curfew hours, restrictions on movements
of girls. He has owned the responsibility of addressing the security concerns
of students and of encouraging the possibilities of a more relaxed conversation
with them, and within them, through seminars, cultural fests and exchanges.
This moment is also refreshingly different from the dismal pattern that has
gone before in Kashmir and outside it. In the last version of the BJP-PDP
government, polarising issues involving Article 370, beef and the J&K flag
had seemed to divide the ruling alliance into two, ranging the BJP against the
PDP. This time, its deputy CM’s intervention on a matter on which the BJP has
been seen to take the hardline elsewhere, defies the expectations of alliance
pessimists.
Then, the BJP has been seen to divide
itself on controversial issues into the vocal so-called fringe and the silent
ostensibly moderate mainstream. That division of labour, strategic or not, has
also been upturned on the NIT issue in Srinagar. The BJP has ensured that the
BJP-PDP alliance has passed its first test.
Fracas
› a noisy argument or fight:
He was injured in a Saturday-night
fracas outside a disco.
The prime minister has joined the
fracas over the proposed changes.
Backdrop
›
a large piece of cloth with buildings, countryside, etc. Painted on it,
hung at the back of a stage during a performance
›
the view behind something:
The mountains form a dramatic backdrop
to the little village.
›
the general situation in which particular events happen:
Their love affair began against a
backdrop of war.
Jingoist
› someone who believes that their own
country is always best:
He was a confirmed jingoist and would
frequently speak about the dangers of Britain forming closer ties with the rest
of Europe.
Audacious
› showing a willingness to take risks
or offend people:
He described the plan as ambitious and
audacious.
An audacious remark/suggestion
Forge (COPY)
› to make an illegal copy of something
in order to deceive:
A forged passport
A forged signature
Ominous
› suggesting that something unpleasant
is likely to happen:
There was an ominous silence when I
asked whether my contract was going to be renewed.
The engine had been making an ominous
sound all the way from my parents' house.
Defuse (BOMB)
› to prevent a bomb from exploding:
Bomb disposal experts have defused a
110-pound bomb at a subway station this afternoon.
Hothead
› someone who does things or reacts to
things quickly and without thinking carefully first
Breakthrough
> an important discovery or event
that helps to improve a situation or provide an answer to a problem:
Scientists are hoping for a
breakthrough in the search for a cure for cancer.
Defy
> to refuse to obey a person,
decision, law, situation, etc.:
It is rare to see children openly
defying their teachers.
A few workers have defied the majority
decision and gone into work despite the strike.
Ostensible
› appearing or claiming to be one
thing when it is really something else:
Their ostensible goal was to clean up
government corruption, but their real aim was to unseat the government.
Upturned
› pointing or looking up, or having
the part that is usually at the bottom turned to be at the top:
An upturned boat on the beach provided
shelter.
Business Standard: Securing national
interest
The standard debate that dominates the public discourse as US
Defence Secretary Ashton Carter arrived in India on his third visit since
assuming office is whether India's "pivot" towards the world's lone
superpower is prudent foreign policy. The terms of the discussion are anachronistic
and impractical. Given today's geo-political realities, it makes more sense to
consider how optimally India's security and strategic interests are served if
it were to sign the three agreements that the US establishment considers the
foundation of a closer defence relationship. The fact that the Indian defence
establishment has shown qualified enthusiasm for the "foundational"
pacts and that the US has demonstrated a willingness to meet some of these
reservations suggests that the misgivings of "capitulation" to US
interests are misplaced.
Of the three - the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), the Communication and Information Security Memorandum Agreement (CISMOA) and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) - only the first is likely to be signed. Rechristened the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), it provides access for the signatories to each other's military bases. In 2006, the Left parties had objected to this agreement on the ground that the country would become a base for US military operations to which India had objections. This was an issue that the Pentagon has addressed and the renamed agreement reportedly ensures that discretion remains with the Ministry of Defence. CISMOA involves a firewall for accessing advanced radio and satellite communication equipment that goes into the C-130J Super Hercules special operations transporters, and P8-I Poseidon maritime multi-mission aircraft. The US' reservations about supplying communication equipment without the CISMOA arise out of its fears that technology may leak to, say, Russia, India's major defence partner since the 1970s. India, however, chose to buy these aircraft fitted with commercially available radios of a lower order and is unlikely to sign the CISMOA right now. The BECA remains the point of contention with India unwilling to provide access to digital imagery of the country in view of Washington's close ties with the Pakistan military.
There are strategic gains, too, in Indo-US defence ties. Though it is true that the US sees India as one bulwark against China's rising power, reciprocity here can only be mutually beneficial in the light of China's overt tilt towards Pakistan and aggressive infrastructure expansion into India's neighbourhood. Nor can it be spurned at a time when Russia is becoming an increasingly capricious partner in terms of spare parts supports, contractual niggles and delivery schedules. In any case, India has long demonstrated its ability to balance geo-political imperatives with its strategic interests. The 2005 civil nuclear deal, for which the US persuaded nuclear suppliers to make exceptions for India, is one indicator of this. Nor has the country narrowed its supplier base, as exemplified by its contracts for Rafales and submarines from France. Detractors of closer Indo-US relations should worry not about defence but in such recent agreements as climate change, where it is difficult to avoid criticisms of toeing the US line. In the larger rubric of foreign relations, however, sticking to dated alignments is both impractical and harmful for India.
Of the three - the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), the Communication and Information Security Memorandum Agreement (CISMOA) and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) - only the first is likely to be signed. Rechristened the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), it provides access for the signatories to each other's military bases. In 2006, the Left parties had objected to this agreement on the ground that the country would become a base for US military operations to which India had objections. This was an issue that the Pentagon has addressed and the renamed agreement reportedly ensures that discretion remains with the Ministry of Defence. CISMOA involves a firewall for accessing advanced radio and satellite communication equipment that goes into the C-130J Super Hercules special operations transporters, and P8-I Poseidon maritime multi-mission aircraft. The US' reservations about supplying communication equipment without the CISMOA arise out of its fears that technology may leak to, say, Russia, India's major defence partner since the 1970s. India, however, chose to buy these aircraft fitted with commercially available radios of a lower order and is unlikely to sign the CISMOA right now. The BECA remains the point of contention with India unwilling to provide access to digital imagery of the country in view of Washington's close ties with the Pakistan military.
There are strategic gains, too, in Indo-US defence ties. Though it is true that the US sees India as one bulwark against China's rising power, reciprocity here can only be mutually beneficial in the light of China's overt tilt towards Pakistan and aggressive infrastructure expansion into India's neighbourhood. Nor can it be spurned at a time when Russia is becoming an increasingly capricious partner in terms of spare parts supports, contractual niggles and delivery schedules. In any case, India has long demonstrated its ability to balance geo-political imperatives with its strategic interests. The 2005 civil nuclear deal, for which the US persuaded nuclear suppliers to make exceptions for India, is one indicator of this. Nor has the country narrowed its supplier base, as exemplified by its contracts for Rafales and submarines from France. Detractors of closer Indo-US relations should worry not about defence but in such recent agreements as climate change, where it is difficult to avoid criticisms of toeing the US line. In the larger rubric of foreign relations, however, sticking to dated alignments is both impractical and harmful for India.
Dis·course
Written or spoken
communication or debate.
Piv·ot
The central point, pin,
or shaft on which a mechanism turns or oscillates.
Pru·dent
Acting with or showing
care and thought for the future.
Anachronistic
Anachronic:
chronologically misplaced; "English public schools are anachronistic"
Dis·cre·tion
The quality of behaving
or speaking in such a way as to avoid causing offense or revealing private
information.
Con·ten·tion
Heated disagreement.
Bul·wark
A defensive wall.
Rec·i·proc·i·ty
The practice of
exchanging things with others for mutual benefit, especially privileges granted
by one country or organization to another.
Spurn
› to refuse to accept something or
someone because you feel that thing or person is not worth having:
She spurned my offers of help.
Ellis plays the part of the young
lover spurned by his mistress.
Ca·pri·cious
Given to sudden and
unaccountable changes of mood or behavior.
Nig·gle
Cause slight but
persistent annoyance, discomfort, or anxiety.
De·trac·tor
A person who disparages
someone or something.
Toe
Push, touch, or kick
(something) with one's toe.
Ru·bric
A heading on a document.
Apr
12 2016 : The Economic Times (Bangalore)
Welcome
Hydrocarbon Initiative in Iran
It is wholly welcome that India has offered to invest up to $20
billion in new petrochemicals complexes, fertiliser plants and liquefied
natural gas (LNG) facilities in hydrocarbons-rich Iran. It would enable us to
source much-needed fuel and feedstock supplies at fine rates, while Iran would
be able to leverage its gas assets to shore up value addition in
petrochemicals, apart from monetising its hydrocarbon reserves. Oil minister
Dharmendra Pradhan has reportedly sought adequate land in the Chabahar Special
Economic Zone, and is also seeking long-term natural gas supplies on mutually
attractive terms.
It makes
perfect sense for Indian companies to join hands with Iranian joint venture
partners to explore and produce oil and gas, build petrochemical plants, and
also invest in gas-processing facilities and port infrastructure, especially in
the new industrial hub of Chabahar. Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel by
far and Iran, which has the world's second-largest gas reserves, is
geographically close to western Indian ports. It is also a fact that natural
gas accounts for a lowly share -barely 9% -in our commercial energy mix. It
needs to rise significantly . The way ahead is to shore up both LNG supplies
and possibly piped gas from the Persian Gulf. In parallel, there's the pressing
need to firm up joint-venture fertiliser plants in Iran using cheap feedstock.
It would meet our domestic deficit for nitrogenous fertiliser and also provide
for exports.
It is
also welcome that New Delhi and Tehran have reportedly decided to finalise by
October how best to develop the Farzad-B gasfield in Iran, which was discovered
by ONGC Videsh (OVL), the overseas arm of state-owned oil producer ONGC. It may
even make sense to unlock shareholder value with an IPO and list OVL.
Wholly
> completely:
I wasn't wholly convinced
by her explanation
Shore sth up
› to stop a wall or a
building from falling down by supporting it with building materials such as
wood or metal:
Boundary walls have had
to be shored up.
› to support or improve
an organization, agreement, or system that is not working effectively or that
is likely to fail:
The new public relations
manager has the difficult task of shoring up the company's troubled image. #SSC #IBPS #SBI #RBI #NABARD #NICL #NIACL #CAT #NMAT #everydayquiz
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