29 January - 4 February 2018 - 16-min

NEW DELHI TIMES 

R.N.I. No 53449/91 DL-SW-01/4124/17-19 (Monday/Tuesday same week) (Published Every Monday) New Delhi Page 16 Rs. 7.00 

29 January - 4 February, 2018 Vol - 27 No. 52 Email : info@newdelhitimes.com Founder : Dr. Govind Narain Srivastava ISSN -2349-1221 

Pakistan urges Ummah Unity 

Brands US, Israel and India bonhomie as 

emerging nexus 

Angela Merkel’s Legacy 

David Kilgour 

Page 12 

erik solheim 

Giftedness 

Mark Parkinson 

Page 12 

NDT Special Bureau 

Page 2 

The Risk of 

Xenotransplantation 

Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi 

Page 14 

Living the Egg 

Netanyahu’s Historic India tour hails a 

‘new era’ in Indo-Israel ties 

The Hijabi Hoax that fooled Canada 

Dr. Pramila Srivastava 

Dr. Ankit Srivastava 

Tarek Fatah 

Page 13 

Page 3 

Page 2 

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twitter@NewDelhiTimes 

facebook.com/newdelhitimes 

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2 

29 January - 4 February, 2018 

P 

Editorial 


Pakistan urges Ummah Unity 

Brands US, Israel and India bonhomie as emerging nexus 

◆◆ 

By NDT Special Bureau 

@NewDelhiTimes 

info@newdelhitimes.com 

akistan Senate Chairman Mian Raza 

Rabbani visited Iran to address the 

13th session of the Parliamentary Union 

of Islamic Countries (PUIC) being held in 

Tehran. While addressing the gathering 

of PUIC, Rabbani sounded the warning to 

the Muslim world that the emerging nexus 

between the United States, Israel and India 

is a major threat to the Ummah. 

He spoke of Pakistan’s strong opposition to 

the US attempt to alter the legal and historical 

status of Al Quds, and castigated the US 

move as a blatant violation of international 

law and United Nations Security Council’s 

resolutions. 

It is apt to recall here that Pakistan was 

the co-sponsor of the UN resolution on 

the Jerusalem Al Quds issue. Rabbani also 

met Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali 

Khamenei. 

Rabbani said ‘Today it is Pakistan and Iran, 

tomorrow it can be any other country’ and 

extolled all to rise above divisive conflicts 

- sectarian, ideological or communal. He 

proposed that the way forward lies in 

enhancement of multi-stratum cooperation in 

areas such as economy, trade, infrastructure, 

investment, education, health, science and 

technology, agriculture, energy and defence. 

However, Rabbani exhibited a positive 

approach to extremism and sectarianism. 

Pakistan, he said, would continue to play a 

proactive role against this tide of extremism 

and anarchy to root out the menace of 

terrorism. 

The Muslim world must not let a handful 

of extremists and transnational terrorists 

to malign Islam for their vested interests, 

he emphasized. He also stressed the need 

for promoting the true image and message 

of Islam as a religion of peace, tolerance 

and respect for human dignity, rights and 

freedoms. 

He viewed the PUIC as a step forward for 

increased mutually-beneficial integration 

within the Muslim world for envisaging 

the “strengthening of contacts, cooperation 

and coordination between various Muslim 

countries’ parliamentary, governmental and 

non-governmental organisations, with the 

aim of advancing common objectives”. 

He hoped that as a forceful institutional 

voice of the Muslim world, the PUIC could 

play an important role through elected 

representatives of people. 

Photo Credit :Shutterstock 

Most of the Muslim leaders of the world have 

no clear short term and long term vision for 

societal welfare. Among the Muslim world, 

only Gulf countries have prospered due to 

petroleum while other countries have lacked 

growth. 

Islam is projected as the religion of 

peace whereas torn asunder by religious 

strife, sectarian violence, extremism and 

radicalism, Ummah has in reality shunned 

tolerance, respect for human dignity, rights 

and freedoms. 

Rabbani is preaching to the front row 

probably well trenched in the belief that 

decades of Pakistani proxies meddling in 

neighbouring countries internal affairs were 

good for Ummah! Pakistan’s hypocrisy 

is now exposed before the world. His 

utterances could also be a gentle hint to the 

Iranian leader. As it is Iranians don’t trust 

Pakistanis. 

Rabbani’s depiction of India-US-Israel 

bonhomie as an emerging nexus against 

Islamic world especially Pakistan, can at best 

be described as a figment of imagination. 

All these countries basically focus on trade 

and economic development. He conveniently 

forgets that Pakistan’s geopolitical repositioning 

by its disentanglement from US 

and gravitating closer to China has driven 

India towards US. Now there are talks of 

Russia joining China-Pakistan melee which 

could further complicate the geopolitical 

scene. 

Pakistan’s offer of Gwadar port to China 

for military base has upset the strategic 

geopolitical balance of the region to pile up 

Indian worries. 

China’s infrastructure building in Spratly 

Islands in South China Sea threatens to 

unsettle international trade and troubles US 

no end. 

The coming together of US and India should 

be viewed in that perspective. It is in no way 

directed against Pakistan. 

The Hijabi Hoax that fooled Canada 

◆◆ 

By Tarek Fatah 

Author & Columnist, Canada 

@TarekFatah 

tarek.fatah@gmail.com 

he moment the first pictures appeared 

T 

of 11-year-old Khowlah Noman at 

a press conference, flanked by her mother 

in niqab and a Muslim activist from 

Mississauga, I knew there was something 

not right. 

Khowlah’s story that an Asian man cut 

her hijab with scissors was a physical 

impossibility. 

To cut the hijab with scissors through the 

winter jacket was only possible if the jacket 

was completely removed. This was not 

the case. There was obviously more to it 

than met the eye, but not for our bleedingheart, 

guilt-ridden politicians, hungry for 

the Muslim vote bank in some pockets of 

Toronto. 

Within hours, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 

appeared with his Muslim Citizenship 

Minister Ahmed Hussen to validate the yet 

unsubstantiated story of a Muslim being 

attacked because of her religion. 

Toronto Mayor John Tory and Premier 

Kathleen Wynne, both facing elections, 

joined the chorus of condemnation, without 

waiting for any police confirmation about 

whether a crime had been committed. 

Now Toronto Police say the alleged attack 

on an 11-year-old girl wearing a hijab last 

week was a hoax. In other words, the hijabi 

girl and her brother simply made up the 

story. 

We still don’t know enough whether this 

incident was orchestrated to further entrench 

the sense of victimhood among Canada’s 

Muslims or if it was a tale made up by the 

11-year-old girl to cover up some other 

incident. 

Photo Credit : Shutterstock 

Khawlah Noman isn’t the first Muslim girl 

to pull off such a hoax, but she surely must 

be the youngest to do so. 

In December 2016, the hijabi-wearing 

Yasmin Seweid, 18, was arrested for filing 

a false police report. She had claimed 

three Donald Trump supporters in New 

York attacked her and that she was called a 

“terrorist” on a subway train. 

Sources told London’s Daily Mail, Yasmin 

Seweid had made up the story to cover up 

for a late night out drinking with friends. 

Then there was the incident on Nov. 11, 2016, 

when a Muslim student made up allegations 

that a white man told her to remove her hijab 

else he would set her on fire. The attack near 

the University of Michigan campus was 

cited as an example of a spike in hate crimes 

in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential 

victory. 

The police determined her story wasn’t true. 

Which brings us back to the central question: 

Why are 11-year-old girls wearing the hijab? 

We are a society that accommodates all, 

but not the Swastika or the KKK cone hat, 

but when it comes to the flag of the fascist 

Muslim Brotherhood, the hijab, we give it 

the benefit of the doubt. 

Writing in these columns, I have stated 

empathically that the hijab has nothing to do 

with Islam as a religion. It is not sanctioned 

anywhere in the Qur’an, the fundamental 

text of Islam, or even in the dubious Hadith 

(traditions) attributed to Prophet Muhammad 

100 years after his death. 

Sad, that at a time when Muslim women in 

Iran are risking their lives to tear off their 

hijabs, Canada is becoming a place where 

little girls are being used to carry the burden 

of Islamism on their heads. 

Amir Taheri, the Iranian-born author and 

expert on Islamic issues wrote an extensive 

piece on the phenomenon of the hijab for 

the New York Post in 2003. According to 

Taheri, “This fake Islamic hijab is nothing 

but a political prop, a weapon of visual 

terrorism. It is the symbol of a totalitarian 

ideology inspired more by Nazism and 

Communism than by Islam. It is as symbolic 

of Islam as the Mao uniform was of Chinese 

civilization.” 

Many Muslim Canadians, both men and 

women would agree with Taheri that the 

hijab “is a sign of support for extremists 

who wish to impose their creed, first on 

Muslims, and then on the world through 

psychological pressure, violence, terror, 

and, ultimately, war.” 

If Canada’s politicians continue to rely on 

the advice of Islamists who seem to have 

a presence in all parties, Mullahs and their 

secular Muslim nationalist allies will blind 

them to the reality on the ground, in the 

madrassahs and the presence of Islamist 

groups in our school system. 

As a first step, ban the burka in all of 

Canada’s public places. That will be the shot 

across the bow needed to warn those who 

seek our destruction that we will fight on the 

proverbial beaches even if our politicians 

cuddle up to warmth of the hijab and niqab. 

www.NewDelhiTimes.com 

India’s only International Newspaper

29 January - 4 February, 2018 3 

I 

T 

Editorial 

◆◆ 

By Dr. Ankit Srivastava 

Editor - in - Chief 

@AnkitNDT 

ankits@newdelhitimes.com 


Netanyahu’s Historic India tour hails a ‘new era’ in Indo-Israel ties 

sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 

and his wife Sara Netanyahu arrived 

at the Air Force Station in New Delhi on 

14th January for the first visit by an Israeli 

leader to India in 15 years. He is only the 

second Israeli PM to visit India after Ariel 

Sharon in 2003. Modi had made history in 

July 2017 becoming the first Indian leader 

to visit Israel. 

Netanyahu’s six-day long visit marks 25 

years of Indo-Israel diplomatic relations, 

extremely important in the backdrop of 

India’s vote in favour of a United Nations 

resolution that denounced United States 


recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. 

While Netanyahu was ‘disappointed’, the 

Israeli ambassador to India played down, 

describing the relationship as ‘much stronger 

than one vote at the UN’. India-Israeli 

relationship is an important all-weather 

relationship that was strong enough to 

withstand fissures. Nothing could reverse 

it as both countries employ statesmanship 

◆◆By NDT Bureau 



to maintain best of relations. Modi viewed 

Netanyahu’s visit as ‘historic and special’ 

that will ‘further cement the close friendship 

between our nations’ while Netanyahu hailed 

Modi’s greeting as a ‘surprise welcome’ 

that overrode a scheduled welcome by a 

Cabinet minister. Cold War had witnessed 

Indian diplomacy leaning heavily towards the 

Palestinians at Israel’s cost. Over the past 

quarter century, both have inched closer. 

Pragmatic Modi understands real politic to 

orient all actions towards national interests. 

UN votes apart, there were other irritants 

like India cancelling the $500 million deal 

to buy 8,000 Spike anti-tank guided missiles 

from Israel’s state-owned defence contractor 

Rafael since DRDO offered to manufacture 

similar missiles at home. India needs Israel 

technology to further develop its capability. 

The army and the government are reportedly 

searching for ways of reviving the order. 

Israel is already a major weapons supplier 

to India, exporting an average of $1bn of 

military equipmentannually. India announced 

to buy 131 surface-to-air missiles from 

Israel for its first domestically made aircraft 

carrier. Seeking to end India’s status as the 

world’s top defence importer Modi invited 

Israeli defence companies ‘to take advantage 

of the liberalised foreign direct investment 

(FDI) regime to make more in India with 

our companies’. Technology transfer to local 

firms could create much-needed jobs. 

Both countries signed agreements on cyber 

security, air transport, energy, space cooperation 

and film production. The progress in 

implementation of agreements signed during 

Modi’s visit to Israel on technology, water 

and agriculture was also reviewed. The 

visit enhanced cooperation with a global 

economic, security, technology and tourism 

power. 

The largest-ever business delegation of around 

130 business people accompanying 

Netanyahu included executives in technology, 

agriculture and defence that ‘reflects the 

enthusiasm in Israel to do more business 

with India.’ 

The India-Israel CEO Forum Meeting 

was a great success. At Mumbai - the seat 

of majority of India’s estimated 4,500 

Jews - Netanyahu visited Jewish centre 

Chabad House in a symbolic gesture to 

tiny and shrinking Jewish community. He 

met 11-year-old Moshe Holtzberg, whose 

parents were among 166 people killed in the 

2008 Mumbai attacks. 

Meeting with Bollywood luminaries and 

producers he hosted a party to market 

Israel as a prime filming location. Israel’s 

technology on water usage, hydrology, and 

desalinization, plant cloning GMO and hot 

house agriculture, electronics and artificial 

intelligence (AI) is the best in the world. 

Their per capita income and GDP /GNP are 

higher than European countries excepting 

Germany. 

Indo-Israel bilateral trade skyrocketed from 

$200 million in 1992-the year of establishing 

diplomatic ties - to $5billion in 2016-17; 

mere pittance versus Israel’s $40bn annual 

trade with Washington and Brussels. Indian 

delegation will be in Israel in February to 

hammer out a free trade agreement that is on 

the anvil since 2006. Searching for common 

ground and keeping differences aside, the 

two statesmen have taken diplomacy to new 

heights. This is a win-win situation for both. 

Sizeable numbers of Muslims who chose to 

live in India and Israel live freely enjoying 

social importance. 

Their places of worship are often located 

in centres of the city in prime real estatesuch 

freedom being a dream for minorities 

in countries such as Pakistan due to narrow 

minded and ruthless ethnic cleansing. 

The friendship soared to new heights as 

the two bonded while paying homage to 

Gandhi at Sabarmati Ashram, flying kites 

and inaugurating the iCREATE (Center for 

Excellence in Technology and Enterprise) 

campus near Ahmedabad. 

Both acknowledge the transformative power 

of technology and young people and of 

partnership in the field of technology, agriculture 

and life sciences. 

Modi asked innovators to benefit from Israel’s 

partnerships in areas of India’s necessities like 

water conservation, agriculture, preservation 

of agricultural produce, food processing and 

farming in desert-like regions and areas with 

little water. The innovations in health and 

cleanliness can create a new India. 

“We are ushering today a new era in our 

relations. We have had diplomatic relations for 

25 years, but something different is happening 

now because of your leadership and our 

partnership,” Netanyahu said and his “Jai Hind 

Jai Bharat, Jai Israel” summed it all. 

India-Israel relationship have entered a new 

phase and will now only smoothen over time. 

Repositing ASEAN-India Relations: India hosts leaders of all 

countries of the block in 2018 Republic parade 

he year 2017 witnessed the Association 

of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 

and India celebrating 25 years of dialogue, 

15 years of summit level meetings, and five 

years of strategic partnership. India invited 

heads of all ASEAN countries to participate 

in Republic day on January 26, 2018 - the 

first time ever in India’s independent history 

that all the heads of ASEAN were in New 

Delhi, together celebrating with India a 

very important milestone of its journey to 

freedom. 

India preferred to stay clear of regional 

organizations throughout the Cold War 

period to focus on global organizations 

instead. The geopolitics of the era also 

slotted ASEAN and India into opposing 

ideological blocs. Friendship with USSR 

made India view the ASEAN as a U.S. ploy 

to contain Communism. Indian moves like 

friendship treaty with USSR, stance on the 

Vietnam War, recognition of Kampuchea 

regime, acquiescence on Soviet invasion in 

Afghanistan, criticising American presence 

in Diego Garcia, Nuclear test and subsequent 

military (especially naval) modernization 

in the 1980s created fissures in the already 

tense ASEAN-India relationship. 

Of course, ASEAN and India converged on 

the issue of the Zone of Peace, Freedom and 

Neutrality (ZOPFAN) in the Indian Ocean 

Region (IOR) but the broad atmosphere 

of tensions, political mistrust and mutual 

suspicion resulted in missed opportunities. 

India, however, essayed modest bilateral 

economic relations with selected ASEAN 

countries. The fall of Soviet Union, rise of 

China, globalization, balance of payment 

crisis and prospects of international isolation 

reshaped India’s perspectives on regional 

organizations and New Delhi eased into 

active engagement with them. 

Prime Minister Narasimha Rao’s visit to 

select South-East Asian countries heralded 

India’s Look East policy with the ASEAN at 

the center. India became a limited dialogue 

partner in ASEAN in 1992, a full dialogue 

partner in 1995 and a full member of the 

ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in 1996. 

It shared the high table with big powers 

like the United States, China, and Russia, 

alongside ASEAN, on security issues in the 

Indo-Pacific region. Modi government’s 

Act East policy has now made ASEAN the 

anchor of India’s interests in the region. 

Currently India has 30 sectoral dialogue 

mechanisms and seven ministerial level 

interactions with ASEAN in fields as varied 

as external affairs, defence, connectivity, 

telecommunications, energy, commerce, 

agriculture, environmental issues, and 

tourism. India shares strong bilateral relations 

with each of the 10 ASEAN member 

countries. ASEAN and India celebrated 

a ‘commemorative summit’ in 2012 and 

upgraded relations to a strategic partnership. 

Economics, security, and connectivity have 

always been at the centre of ASEAN-India 

relations. ASEAN now accounts for 10.4 

percent of India’s exports and 10.6 percent of 

imports. India signed a free trade agreement 

(FTA) on goods in 2009 and on services and 

investments in 2014. 

India has a Comprehensive Economic 

Cooperation Agreement with various 

countries of the ASEAN region resulting in 

concessional trade and more investments; 

ten percent of the total FDI equity inflows 

to India come from the ASEAN region. On 

the security issues, inclusion in multilateral 

forum ARF was a major positive for India. 

ASEAN and India now see convergence of 

their interests on the issue of non-traditional 

security in the IOR like piracy, illegal 

migration, trafficking of drugs, arms, and 

humans, as well as maritime terrorism. 

India succeeded at ARF to isolate Pakistan 

during Kargil War while maintaining 

ties after nuclear test of 1998. Other 

ASEAN forums like ASEAN PMC and 

ASEAN Defence Ministerial Meeting-Plus 

(ADMM-Plus) also provide India platforms 

on regional security issues. The signing 

of a “Joint Declaration for Cooperation to 

Combat International Terrorism,” maritime 

exercises with the navies of ASEAN 

countries, information-sharing initiatives, 

and defence agreements with individual 

ASEAN countries impart security dimensions 

to ASEAN-India relations. India is working 

toward better regional connectivity through 

transit agreements on connectivity infrastructure 

through land, water, and air. Cooperative 

endeavours on education, tourism, academic, 

cultural, social, and scientific collaboration 

will be on full display during Republic Day. 

The “ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, 

Progress, and Shared Prosperity” in 2004 

and the “Plan of Action” in 2012 highlighted 

the growing confluence in various fields 

between ASEAN and India. 

Prime Minister Modi upgraded India’s 

policy with the ASEAN from the Look East 

to Act East. Modi has already visited eight 

out of ten ASEAN countries that reflect the 

strategic importance of this region to India’s 

foreign policy. 

The rise of China compels India to engage 

with the regional grouping ASEAN whose 

member countries, for long, have looked to 

India for strategic balancing against China. 

That also enhances India’s rising prominence 

in the region. The geopolitics of the Indo- 

Pacific region ordains that in this age of 

multilateral alignment, India must engage 

and cooperate with ASEAN to check rising 

China’s unbridled expansive unilateralism in 

the Indo-Pacific region. 

On South China Sea issue, India and 

ASEAN now need each other more than at 

any time in history. Republic day gathering 

reflected an apt platform and opportunity to 

carry on further the shared vision, interests 

and partnership. 

India’s only International Newspaper 


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World 

As US raises tariffs, India’s 

Modi defends free trade 

Modi was meant to be the event’s highlight 

until Trump decided to come as well. Modi’s 

speech follows on from Chinese President 

ndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi 

warned that the recent wave of trade 

protectionism, in which governments raise 

barriers to free trade between nations, is 

“worrisome.” 

Modi delivered the warning in a speech at 

Davos just hours after the U.S. government 

of President Donald Trump approved tariffs 

on imported solar-energy components and 

large washing machines in a bid to help U.S. 

manufacturers. 

“Forces of protectionism are raising their 

heads against globalization,” he told a 

crowd of business and government leaders 

at the World Economic Forum in Davos, 

Switzerland. 

Without directly mentioning Trump or the 

U.S., he said “the solution to this worrisome 

situation against globalization is not 

isolation.” 

Modi quoted Mohandas Gandhi to drive 

home his point: “I don’t want the windows of 

my house to be closed from all directions. I 

want the winds of cultures of all countries to 

enter my house with aplomb and go out also.” 

Japan central 

bank keeps lax 

monetary policy 

unchanged 

he Bank of Japan has opted to keep 

intact its unprecedented monetary 

stimulus despite an uptick in growth, 

sticking with its massive asset purchases 

and a negative interest rate policy aimed at 

spurring inflation. 

The U.S. Federal Reserve and European 

Central Bank, among other central banks, 

have begun tightening stimulus unleashed to 

counter the fallout from the global financial 

Xi Jinping’s address to the Davos elite at 

last year’s event. Xi portrayed his country as 

a champion of free trade on the same week 

Trump was inaugurated president. 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 

later addressed the Davos crowd, which is 

I 

gathering in unusually heavy snowfall. While 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said 

new barriers to trade could pose a danger on 

a par with climate change and extremist attacks, 

his Canadian peer, Justin Trudeau, revealed that 

his country and the 10 remaining members of the 

Trans-Pacific Partnership have revised their trade 

deal in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal. 

Credit : Associated Press (AP) 

Iraqi parliament sets May 12 

as date for national elections 

raq’s parliament has set May 12 as 

the date for holding national elections 

despite calls from the country’s Sunni 

community to delay the vote until the return 

of nearly 3 million people displaced by the 

fight against the Islamic State group. 

Shiite lawmaker Abbas al-Bayati said 

lawmakers at a session in the Shiitedominated 

house “unanimously” approved 

the date proposed by the government. 

The deeply-divided parliament failed many 

times to set the date, prompting the country’s 

ballots. 

Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri said 

the government is committed to returning 

the displaced and to creating a peaceful 

atmosphere for the elections. All weapons 

must be in the hands of the government 

during election campaigns and the voting 

day, al-Jabouri added. 

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed 

to lead a “cross-sectarian” list, building 

on last year’s victory against IS. Three 

separate list — led by Shiite paramilitary 


EU imposes 

sanctions on 7 

senior Venezuelan 

T 

officials 

he European Union imposed economic 

and travel sanctions on seven senior 

Venezuelan officials accused of human 

rights abuses or breaching the rule of law in 

the crisis-ridden country. 

The move comes after U.S. authorities 

levied sanctions against dozens of Venezuela’s 

leaders, including President Nicolas Maduro, 

and was adopted “as the political, social and 

economic situation in Venezuela continues 

to deteriorate,” EU headquarters said in a 

statement. 

The targeted officials rejected the sanctions 

announced the same day that students at a 

university in the capital of Caracas clashed 

with police. The most prominent official 

on the European list is Diosdado Cabello, 

the head of Venezuela’s ruling socialist 

party who is considered to be the nation’s 

second most powerful leader. Cabello has 

not been targeted by U.S. sanctions. Other 

officials on the list include: Tarek William 

Saab, Venezuela’s attorney general; interior 

minister Nestor Luis Reverol; Supreme Court 

president Maikel Jose Moreno; National 

Guard Cmdr. Antonio Jose Benavides; 

elections chief Tibisay Lucena Ramirez; 

and head of the national intelligence agency 

Gustavo Enrique Gonzalez. 

The EU officials said those sanctioned “are 

involved in the non-respect of democratic 

principles or the rule of law as well as in 

the violation of human rights.” They will 

have their assets frozen and be banned from 

traveling in Europe. 

In a broadcast on state television, communications 

minister Jorge Rodriguez rejected the 

sanctions by the “elite” in Europe against 

Venezuelans he called honorable and decent 

“patriots.” “Venezuelan democracy is solid,” 

he said. “There’s no country that exercises it 

as fully as Venezuela.” 

Venezuela was once one of Latin America’s 

wealthiest countries, sitting atop the world’s 

largest oil reserves. Mismanagement and a 

recent drop in global oil prices have left it 

in a deepening economic and political crisis, 

marked by shortages of food and medicine. 

The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned 

51 Venezuelan officials, including four 

current and former military officers, in an 

attempt to weaken Maduro’s grip on power. 

crisis. The BOJ appears to have recently 

reduced its purchases of government bonds. 

However Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda has said he 

would maintain Japan’s barrage of deflationfighting 

stimulus until a 2 percent inflation 

target is met. 

The aim is to convince companies and 

consumers to spend more, helping to sustain 

faster growth. The economy expanded at a 

2.5 percent annual pace in July-September, 

suggesting the policies may be gaining 

traction. 

Many are watching to see if Prime Minister 

Shinzo Abe will reappoint Kuroda as 

governor of the central bank when his fiveyear 

term ends in April. 


Photo Credit : AP Photo 

Supreme Court to issue a ruling against any 

delay to the elections, the fourth since the 

2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam 

Hussein. 

The over three-year fight against IS has 

left most of the Sunni areas in northern 

and western Iraq in ruins, and poor public 

services have exacerbated the situation. The 

Sunnis argue that the current situation will 

make it hard for Sunni voters to update their 

information ahead of elections or cast their 

troop leaders that fought IS, ex-premier 

Nouri al-Maliki who currently serves as one 

of three vice presidents, and followers of 

firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — 

are expected to be his main rivals. 

Despite the declared victory over IS, Iraqi 

and U.S. officials have warned it will likely 

to continue with insurgent-style attacks. 

Last week, two IS suicide attacks killed at 

least 46 and wounded more than 100. 



Dozens of students at Central University of 

Venezuela threw stones and gasoline bombs 

at police in riot gear, who returned the 

aggression firing rubber bullets and tear gas. 

A student who covered his face said they 

were protesting the death of Oscar Perez, 

a rebel police officer who called for an 

uprising against Maduro’s government. 

Perez, 36, was killed a week earlier with six 

others in a clash with government security 

forces. 

“The politicians abandoned us,” the masked 

student said. “They literally left us here and 

we have to fight for what we truly believe — 

for the conviction of our country’s freedom.” 





World 

Pence says US embassy will move to 

Jerusalem by end of 2019 

S. Vice President Mike Pence told Pence told the AP the administration was state solution but only if both sides support 

U. G 

Israeli lawmakers on 22nd January 

that the U.S. would put plans to move 

its embassy to Jerusalem on a fast track, 

drawing angry denunciations from Arabs 

who were forcibly removed from the hall 

during his speech before Israel’s parliament. 

The Trump administration’s plan to accelerate 

the move of the embassy, announced in 

the first address of a sitting American 

vice president to the Knesset, marked 

the highlight of Pence’s visit celebrating 

President Donald Trump’s decision last 

month to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s 

capital. 

“Jerusalem is Israel’s capital — and, as 

such, President Trump has directed the State 

Department to begin initial preparations 

to move our embassy from Tel Aviv to 

Jerusalem,” Pence told the lawmakers, 

vowing that the “United States Embassy will 

open before the end of next year.” 

Pence’s speech drew protests from the 

Palestinians, with chief negotiator Saeb 

Erekat saying it “has proven that the U.S. 

administration is part of the problem rather 

than the solution.” Shortly after Pence began 

speaking, several Arab lawmakers voiced 

their displeasure by raising signs that said, 

“Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine,” and 

heckling the vice president. They were 

forcibly removed from the plenum. 

Despite the pandemonium, Pence expressed 

hope in an interview with The Associated 

Press after the speech that the Palestinians 

would re-enter negotiations. “Our message 

to President (Mahmoud) Abbas and the 

Palestinian Authority is: The door’s open. 

The door’s open. President Trump is 

absolutely committed to doing everything 

the United States can to achieve a peace 

agreement that brings an end to decades of 

conflict.” 

The embassy is to be opened in an existing 

U.S. facility that will be “retrofitted” to 

meet safety and security requirements, 

Undersecretary of State Steve Goldstein told 

reporters in Washington. He said Secretary 

of State Rex Tillerson had yet to sign off on 

the safety plan for the new facility but would 

do so in coming weeks. 

The most likely location is in Jerusalem’s 

Arnona neighborhood, in a modern building 

that currently handles U.S. consular affairs 

like issuing passports, birth certificates and 

travel visas, said a U.S. official, who wasn’t 

authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke 

on condition of anonymity. The U.S. consulgeneral 

works out of another Jerusalem 

facility that handles political affairs and 

diplomatic functions. 

The retrofitted building had been originally 

envisioned as an interim plan that would 

allow Trump to quickly fulfill his vow to 

move the embassy. 

Yet it was unclear after Pence’s speech 

whether Trump still intended to break 

ground later on a new embassy elsewhere 

in Jerusalem or to use the retrofitted one 

permanently. 

“We expect that to be the embassy,” 

Goldstein said of the facility that will open 

next year. “We do not have a plan at current 

to build a new embassy.” 


“exploring a range of options” on where to 

locate the embassy. 

The vice president was preceded on the 

Knesset dais by Prime Minister Benjamin 

Netanyahu, who lavished his guest with 

praise and gratitude. It was part of an 

exceptionally warm welcome for Pence 

in Israel, which has been overjoyed by 

Trump’s pivot on Jerusalem. But the move 

has infuriated the Palestinians and upset 

America’s Arab allies as well. 

The main Arab party in the Israeli parliament 

had warned that it would boycott Pence. Its 

leader, Ayman Odeh, vowed they would 

not provide a “silent backdrop” to a man he 

called a “dangerous racist.” 

Pence responded to the ruckus by saying he 

was humbled to speak before such a “vibrant 

democracy,” then delved into his prepared 

remarks about the countries’ unbreakable 

bond. 


“I am here to convey one simple message: 

America stands with Israel. We stand with 

Israel because your cause is our cause, your 

values are our values and your fight is our 

fight,” he said. “We stand with Israel because 

we believe in right over wrong, good over 

evil and liberty over tyranny.” 

Pence said the U.S. would back a two- 

it. Netanyahu’s hard-line government is 

dominated by opponents to Palestinian 

statehood, making such a scenario unlikely. 

The Palestinians say the U.S. is no longer 

an acceptable mediator. They have preemptively 

rejected any peace proposal 

floated by the Trump administration, fearing 

it will fall far short of their hopes for an 

independent state in the West Bank, east 

Jerusalem and Gaza, lands captured by 

Israel in the 1967 war. 

The Palestinians have refused to meet with 

Pence. In an expression of that snub, Abbas 

overlapped with Pence in Jordan, when 

the Palestinian leader flew to Brussels for 

a meeting with European Union foreign 

ministers, where he urged EU member states 

to recognize a state of Palestine and step up 

involvement in mediation. 

Pence’s visit coincided with a dispute 

between the Foreign Press Association in 

Israel and the Israeli government after Israeli 

demands to strip-search a Finnish journalist 

covering the start of Pence’s visit. 

The journalist said she was taken behind a 

curtain at Netanyahu’s office, where she said 

she was questioned, patted down and then 

asked to remove her bra for an inspection. 

She said she refused and was barred from 

covering the event. 

The woman, who was born and raised in 

Finland, said she was singled out because 

her father is Palestinian. 

The FPA, which represents some 400 

journalists working for international media 

in Israel and the Palestinian territories, 

accused Israel of ethnic profiling and 

called the Israeli practice of strip-searching 

journalists a “mark of shame” aimed at 

intimidating reporters. 



Germany, France 

pass resolution for 

new friendship treaty 

erman and French lawmakers approved 

a joint resolution stressing the need for 

closer cooperation as the two nations mark 

the 55th anniversary of the signing of the 

Elysee friendship treaty. 

At a special German parliamentary session in 

Berlin, French National Assembly President 

Francois de Rugy told lawmakers that 

multilateralism “is the secret of success of 

Europe.” “Strengthening of the cooperation 

between our two countries is a precondition 

for strengthening Europe,” he said. 

The 1963 Elysee treaty marked the post- 

World War II reconciliation between 

France and Germany. In approving the joint 

Franco-German resolution acknowledging 

the treaty’s importance, German lawmakers 

called for a new accord to “deepen” the 

partnership. 

Later in the day, German lawmakers led 

by Bundestag speaker Wolfgang Schaeuble 

participated in a French parliament session 

in Paris. 

Schaeuble said in a speech to French 

lawmakers at the National Assembly that 

“the Franco-German cooperation is a success 

story.” “Neither Germany nor France have a 

future without Europe,” Schaeuble insisted 

in a speech delivered entirely in French. 

German and French lawmakers decided to 

pass the resolution asking their governments 

to “adapt the founding principles of the 

Elysee Treaty” to meet the new challenges 

of globalization, he said. 

Schaeuble listed world migration, “the 

dangers of international terrorism,” armed 

conflicts at Europe’s external borders, 

pressure from authoritarian regimes and 

separatist aspirations and the evolution of 

international financial markets as among 

those challenges. 

French lawmakers then voted 133-12, with 

two abstentions, to approve the resolution 

passed by their German counterparts earlier. 



6 


I 

Delhi/NCR News 

India joins Australia group (AG) 




n what is being hailed as a major 

diplomatic victory for the country, on 

19th January 2018 India has officially joined 

the Australia Group (AG), an informal 

forum of countries which, through the 

harmonisation of export controls, seeks 

to ensure that exports do not contribute to 

the development of chemical or biological 

weapons. All states participating in the 

Australia Group are parties to the Chemical 

Weapons Convention (CWC) and the 

Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), 

and strongly support efforts under those 

Conventions to rid the world of CBW. 

According to a Press Release issued by 

the AG: “n warmly welcoming India to 

the Group, the other Australia Group 

members recognised the Government of 

India’s commitment to bring India’s export 

control system into alignment with the 

Australia Group and India’s determination 

to contribute to the global effort to prevent 

the proliferation of CBW in the security 

interests of all members of the international 

community. 

In joining the Group, the Government of 

India said its entry into the Group would be 

mutually beneficial and would contribute 

further to international security and nonproliferation 

objectives; and, that India’s 

law-based export control system enables 


the Government of India to implement 

the obligations arising from the Australia 

Group’s Guidelines and Common Control 

Lists including its reporting requirements, 

information exchange and principles. 

With its admission into the AG, India has 

demonstrated the will to implement rigorous 

controls of high standards in international 

trade, and its capacity to adapt its national 

regulatory system to meet the necessities of 

its expanding economy. India is also aware 

of the need to constantly adapt its export 

controls in the face of rapidly evolving 

scientific and technological challenges, 

and in this regard, affirmed its readiness to 

act in close cooperation with all members 

towards the furtherance of Australia Group 

objectives”. 

The other Australia Group members are: 

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, 

Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Republic of 

Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, 

European Union, Finland, France, Germany, 

Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, 

Japan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, 

Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, 

New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, 

Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, 

Sweden, Switzerland, Republic of Turkey, 

Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States. 

Ministry of External Affairs, India thanked 

each of the AG Participants for their 

support for India’s membership and said 

that India’s entry into the Group would be 

mutually beneficial and further contribute to 

international security and non-proliferation 

objectives. 

With its admission into Australia Group, 

India is now part of three of the four key 

export control groups in world dealing with 

non-proliferation. 

This includes Missile Technology 

Control Regime (MTCR) and Wassenaaar 

Agreement. India’s entry into the Australian 

Group will provide a boost to India’s bid to 

join the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG). 


Six Delhi 

government 

school teachers 

receive Fulbright 

fellowship 

S 




ix teachers from government schools 

in Delhi have received the ‘Fulbright 

Teaching Fellowship’. The six teachers who 

have received the fellowship include Manu 

Gulati (English), Anju Pathak (Mathematics) 

and Deepti Chawla (English) among others. 

These teachers from Delhi are the only 

Indian teachers who have been chosen 

for the programme. They will travel to the 

US to attend special programs at various 

universities. 

“These teachers will receive intensive 

training in teaching methodologies, lesson 

planning, teaching strategies for their home 

environment, teacher leadership, and the use 

of instructional technologies,” an official 

statement said. 

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Education 

Minister Manish Sisodia congratulated 

the teachers. He tweeted: “Proud moment 

for Delhi. 6 govt school teachers hv got 

prestigious ‘Fulbright Teaching fellowship’ 

for their work in Education. 


They’re going to join teachers from 40 

countries at Washington. Wishing all the best 

for their enriching international exposure”. 

NGT sends notice to 

Delhi government over 

rainwater harvesting 

N 




ational Green Tribunal (NGT) has 

sought a response from the Delhi 

government regarding the installation of 

rainwater harvesting system in schools. 

The response has been sought after a 

plea was filed by city resident Mahesh 

Chandra Saxena seeking implementation 

of November 16, 2017 order of the NGT 

directing government and private schools 

and colleges to install rainwater harvesting 

systems in their premises within two months 

at their own cost. 

A bench headed by acting Chairperson 

Justice U D Salvi issued notices to the 

Public Works Department, Directorate of 

Education, Central Groundwater Authority, 

Delhi Jal Board and others while seeking 

their replies before March 20. 




Delhi/NCR News 


At New Delhi Summit, India and ASEAN 

Seek to Build Closer Maritime Ties 

W 

ith an eye on China, Indian Prime 

Minister Narendra Modi and leaders 

of southeast Asian nations agreed during a 

summit in New Delhi to strengthen maritime 

ties. 

“India shares ASEAN’s vision for peace 

and prosperity through a rules-based order 

for the oceans and seas,” Modi said on 25th 

January, as he spoke to the 10-member 

Association of Southeast Asian Nations. 

Calling for greater security cooperation with 

ASEAN, he emphasized that freedom of 

navigation will be a key focus. 

The summit came a day before India’s 

annual Republic Day parade, to which all 10 

leaders of ASEAN countries were invited. 

The event marks the first time that New 

Delhi hosted such a large group of foreign 

leaders at the annual parade that showcases 

its military strength. New Delhi’s outreach 

signals that both sides want to expand the 

relationship to balance out China’s growing 

assertiveness and dominance of the region, 

according to observers. 

Maritime cooperation also was a key focus 

at a series of bilateral meetings Modi held 

with the southeast Asian leaders, according 

to Preeti Saran, an official in the Indian 

Foreign Ministry. Without elaborating, she 


said they addressed “both traditional and 

non-traditional challenges all of us face 

collectively.” 

Several countries that participated at summit 

are locked in territorial disputes with 

China — India in the high Himalayas, and 

southeast Asian countries like Vietnam 

in the South China Sea. Observers say 

China’s aggressive stance in these disputes 

is prompting India and ASEAN to reach out 

to each other. 

Beijing has expanded its coast guard and 

military presence in the South China Sea, a 

3.5-million-square kilometer tract of water 

rich in fisheries and fuel reserves. Claims 

by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the 

Philippines overlap with those of China, 

which calls nearly the whole sea its own. 

China began to expand in the sea in 2010 

by reclaiming land to build artificial 

islands, some apparently for military use. 

It’s ready to deploy radar systems and 

fighter jets on some, according to the Asia 

Maritime Transparency Initiative under 

American think tank Center for Strategic and 

International Studies. 

“I think it has taken a strategic dimension 

now and India wants a larger footprint in 

southeast Asia,” said Harsh Pant, with New 

ASEAN leaders watch 

India’s national day parade 

T 

en Southeast Asian leaders watched 

a parade and stunt performances as 

India celebrated anniversary of its national 

constitution taking effect. 

Marching bands, floats, military hardware, 

camels and stunt performers on motorbikes 

were paraded from the president’s palace 

through the tree-lined roads of central Delhi. 

Flags of the Southeast Asian group of 

countries fluttered at the 90-minute parade. 

The celebrations also included aerial 

displays and floats from Indian states. 


India’s Constitution came into effect on Jan. 

26, 1950. It won independence from British 

colonialists in 1947. 

Leaders from Vietnam, Myanmar, the 

Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, 

Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia 

were invited by Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi to commemorate the 25th anniversary 

of ASEAN-India ties. 

India looks to deepen bonds with its eastern 

neighbors amid its wariness over China’s 

growing influence in the region. 

With competing territorial claims in the 

Asia-Pacific region, Modi said India favored 

a “rules-based order for the oceans and seas” 

and respect for International law. He was 

speaking at the plenary session of the India- 

ASEAN summit on 25th January. 

China’s building of artificial islands on 

disputed features in the South China Sea, 

which Beijing claims almost in its entirety, 

has alarmed ASEAN. But China’s economic 

and political clout has also divided the bloc 

in how to deal with an assertive Beijing. 

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong 

said there was “significant potential” for 

expanding trade and economic cooperation 

between India and ASEAN. 

“Southeast Asia and India together represent 

a quarter of the world’s population, about 

1.8 billion people, and a combined GDP of 

more than 4 and a half trillion US dollars,” 

he said. 

A declaration at the end of the summit on 

25th January reaffirmed the importance of 

promoting maritime safety and security, 

freedom of navigation and overflight in the 

region. It also underlined the lawful uses of 

the seas and maritime commerce and called 

for peaceful resolutions of disputes. 

In 2016, French President Francois Hollande 

was the guest of honor at India’s Republic 

Day parade. In 2015, former President 

Barack Obama viewed the display. 


Delhi’s Observer Research Foundation. “The 

rise of China is in many ways creating issues 

for both India and ASEAN.” Southeast Asian 

countries also worry about whether they can 

continue to rely on the United States for 

their security, according to Pant. “There is a 

perception in the region that America might 

be retreating, that America is unwilling to 

hold up to its role as security guarantor. That 

balance is changing at some level. It is in 

this context that they have reached out to 

countries like India also.” 

India already has strong naval ties with 

countries such as Singapore, Vietnam, 

Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. In the 

T 




past three years, Indian naval ships have 

visited ports in several of these countries, 

and joint naval exercises in the Malacca 

Straits may occur in the near future. 

New Delhi also has been deepening military 

cooperation with some countries, including 

Vietnam. 

At the summit, Modi emphasized growing 

economic ties with the region — India’s 

trade with the ASEAN countries has been 

increasing, but is considered far below 

potential and is dwarfed by that of China. 

Credit : Voice of America (VOA) 


AAP in trouble as HC declines 

stay over disqualification, asks 

EC to not announce bypoll dates 

he Delhi High Court has refused to stay 

the disqualification of 20 Aam Aadmi 

Party MLAs who have been disqualified by 

the Election Commission in the office of 

profit case. 

It also restrained the Election Commission 

(EC) from taking any “precipitate measures” 

like announcing dates for by-polls till 

January 29. 

The court directed the EC to submit the 

entire records pertaining to the proceedings 

leading to the recommendation to the 

President before the next hearing. 

The disqualified legislators have contended 

that there was “gross and serious” violation 

of the principle of natural justice as they 

were not given a hearing before the EC 

formed its opinion. 

They said the EC proceeded with forming an 

opinion against them despite a case pending 

in the High Court challenging the same. 

On January 19, the poll panel had made the 

recommendation for the disqualification of 

the 20 legislators, which was given assent by 

the President. 

On January 20, the Ministry of Law and Justice 

issued a notification that the President 

held that the 20 MLAs stand disqualified 

under Section 15(1)(a) of the Government 

of National Capital Territory of Delhi 

(GNCTD) Act. 

The controversy started in 2015, when 

the AAP came to power with a whopping 

majority of 67 out of 70 seats and appointed 

21 lawmakers as parliamentary secretaries. 

One out of these 21, Jarnail Singh, left his 

position to fight elections from Punjab. 

Former President Pranab Mukherjee refused 

to approve the proposal of AAP governments 

to exclude the post of the parliamentary 

secretaries from the ambit of ‘office of 

profit’. 

Articles 102 (1) and 191 (1) of the Indian 

Constitution give effect to the concept of 

office of profit and prescribe restrictions 

at the central and state level on lawmakers 

accepting government positions. 

Any violation attracts disqualification of 

MPs or MLAs, as the case may be. 

According to Article 102 (1) (a), a person 

shall be disqualified as a member of 

Parliament for holding any office of profit 

under the government of India or the 

government of any state, “other than an 

office declared by Parliament by law not to 

disqualify its holder”. Article 191 (1) (a) has 

a similar provision for the members of state 

assemblies. 


8 


Neighbourhood News 

More Rohingya flee to Bangladesh 

R 

P 


despite repatriation deal 

ohingya refugees are continuing to flee 

from Myanmar into Bangladesh, even 

after the two countries said they will begin 

repatriating members of the minority ethnic 

group next week, a Bangladesh official said. 

Over 650,000 Rohingya Muslims poured 

into Bangladesh after Myanmar’s military 

launched a brutal crackdown against them 

in August. 

More than 100 Rohingya have entered 

Bangladesh in the past few days, according 

to Mohammed Mikaruzzaman, a top official 

in Bangladesh’s Ukhiya sub-district, where 

the refugees are living in sprawling camps. 

Mikaruzzaman would not say why the latest 

refugees fled, but the Bangladeshi media 

has said some reported being forced by 

the Myanmar military to work without pay 

and food. The Associated Press could not 

independently verify those allegations. 

Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an agreement 

in November on repatriating Rohingya 

refugees, and officials said earlier this 

week that some would return to Myanmar 

beginning next week. The process is 

expected to take about two years. 

However, it’s unclear if there will be more 

than a handful of symbolic repatriations. 

Mikaruzzaman said very few preparations 

had been made. 

“I have visited some border points to see 

the possible routes for repatriation over last 

few days, but we have not finalized anything 

yet,” he said, calling it a “huge task” to 

coordinate among government departments, 

international agencies and the Rohingya. 

Many Rohingya have expressed fears about 

going back to Myanmar. A statement 

issued by nearly two dozen Rohingya 

organizations around the world demanded 

security guarantees for the refugees and 

their property before they return. 

The statement said there had been “no change 

of attitude of the Myanmar government and 

its military toward Rohingya.” 

Under the November agreement, Rohingya 

will need to provide evidence of their 

residency in Myanmar in order to return 

— something many do not have. Rohingya 

Muslims are denied citizenship in Myanmar, 

along with many basic rights, though many 

have lived in the predominately Buddhist 

country for generations. They are widely 

seen as illegal migrants from Bangladesh. 

In Myanmar, a top official insisted the 

repatriations would begin as planned, with 

the paperwork for the first 1,100 refugees 

already finished in both countries. “These 

refugees can be sent on Jan. 23 because they 

are already verified to come back,” said Win 

Myat Aye, the minister of social welfare, 

relief and resettlement. 

Rohingya began fleeing to Bangladesh when 

Myanmar’s military launched a crackdown 

after a militant group attacked police posts. 

Myanmar’s army described it as “clearance 

operations” against “terrorists,” but the 

United Nations and the U.S. have called it 

“ethnic cleansing.” 




N 




Pakistan: Security, Intelligence Cooperation With 

US Non-Existent 

akistan’s defense minister says his 

country’s deteriorating relationship 

with the United States has led to a decline 

in the security and intelligence cooperation 

between the two allies to an almost nonexistent 

level. 

Cooperation between the two allies 

increased in the aftermath of the attacks 

on the United States in September 2001 by 

al-Qaida terrorists based in Afghanistan. 

But in a Voice of America interview, 

Defense Minster Khurram Dastgir said 

recent harsh and very public criticism from 

Washington has contributed to a decline in 

the relationship. 

“The kind of language President Trump has 

been using, what Vice President Pence used 

a few weeks ago in Bagram in Afghanistan, 

reduces the freedom of action of Pakistan 

government,” he said, adding that the level 

of cooperation depended on the nature of the 

relationship with the United States. 

“The more stressful it gets, the lower the 

cooperation,” he said, describing the current 

relationship between the two countries as 

being in a state of “cold peace.” 

Additional steps needed 

Pakistan and the United States have been 

increasingly at odds since last August, when 

the administration of President Donald 

Trump announced its new South Asia 

policy. Trump promised a new, tougher 

approach toward Pakistan. Washington accuses 

Islamabad of providing safe havens to 

Afghan Taliban, who are fighting the Afghan 

government, as well as U.S. and NATO 

forces. Pakistan denies the charge, saying it 

has cleared out all safe havens on its territory 

after a military operation that began in 2014. 

Earlier this month, a State Department official, 

speaking on background, told reporters 

that although U.S. officials believe both 

countries are committed to improving their 

relationship, Pakistan must take additional 

steps to address longstanding U.S. concerns 

about militant groups operating in its 

territory. 

“We believe that there is significant evidence 

that leadership of the Haqqani Network 

resides inside Pakistan and is able to plan 

and execute from Pakistan attacks inside 

Afghanistan. 

So the disagreement is much more about 

those facts than it is on our overarching goals 

in the strategy. And we need them to address 

these sanctuaries in order for us to be able to 

be enabled to succeed in Afghanistan,” the 

official said. 

Limited response 

The level of mistrust in some security 

matters was apparent as early as May 2011, 

when the United States launched a surprise 

raid on al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden’s 

secret compound in the Pakistan enclave 

of Abbottabad, not far from a Pakistani 

military academy. U.S. officials said at the 

time Washington did not share plans of 

the raid with officials in Islamabad out of 

concern the mission would be compromised. 

Previous public comments by Dastgir about 

a suspension of security and intelligence 

cooperation with the United States 

sparked little reaction from U.S. officials 

in Islamabad, who said they had received 

no such notification from the Pakistan 

government. 

“This expectation that somehow a notice 

will be delivered from the Ministry of 

Defense to the U.S. Embassy that hereby we 

are stopping intelligence cooporation, that’s 

not going to happen because it didn’t begin 

Nepal moves 

up 5 places to 

22 in Inclusive 

Development Index 

epal has moved up 5 places to 22nd 

in the 2018 Inclusive Development 

Index (IDI) of World Economic Forum 

(WEF) among 74 emerging economies. 

Nepal occupies the first position among 

South Asian countries. According to the 

IDI, Nepal scored 4.15 out of 7 in the IDI 

2018. Higher the value in the ranking, the 

better is the performance. There was 8.53 

percent jump in the score in 2018 ranking if 

compared to the five-year trend of Inclusive 

Development. 


The Inclusive Development Index (IDI) is an 

annual assessment of economic performance 

that measures how countries perform on 

eleven dimensions of economic progress in 

addition to GDP. It has 3 pillars; growth and 

development; inclusion and; intergenerational 

equity – sustainable stewardship of natural 

and financial resources. 

with a notice that hereby we are beginning 

intelligence cooperation,” Dastgir said. 

Limited choices 

Still, Pakistan continues to allow the United 

States to use its territory to re-supply its 

troops in Afghanistan. 

It’s a card the country’s leadership said 

it might use if needed but not without 

serious contemplation about the possible 

consequences. 

The U.S. has limited choices when it comes 

to supplying its troops in this region. The 

alternatives require dealing with either Iran 

or Russia, two countries that have a worse 

relationship with the U.S. than even Pakistan. 





T 

Canada News 

Deaths of Canadian billionaire, 

wife a tantalizing mystery 

here were no signs of forced entry on 

the cold December morning when a 

Canadian billionaire businessman and his 

wife were found dead inside their mansion, 

reportedly hanging from a railing at the edge 

of their indoor pool. 

Since that time, investigators have scoured 

the 12,000-square-foot home, hauled away 

the couple’s cars and even checked the 

sewers in one of Toronto’s most exclusive 

neighborhoods for clues. But police haven’t 

made any arrests or announced a search for 

any suspects nor have they said practically 

anything publicly about the deaths of drug 

company founder Barry Sherman and his 

wife, Honey. 

Sherman was a fiercely competitive businessman, 

once musing that a rival might want to kill 

him. The day after the bodies were found, 

prominent media outlets, including the 

Toronto Star, quoted unidentified police 

officials as saying it appeared to be a 

murder-suicide. But that theory, which was 

never publicly confirmed by authorities, was 

dismissed out of hand by people who knew 

the philanthropic and politically connected 

couple, saying it would be wildly out of 

character. 

enemies in “Prescription Games,” a 2001 

book about the industry. 

“The branded drug companies hate us. They 

have hired private investigators on us all the 

time,” he said. “The thought once came to 

my mind, why didn’t they just hire someone 

to knock me off? For a thousand bucks paid 

to the right person you can probably get 

someone killed. Perhaps I’m surprised that 

hasn’t happened.” 

but was outgoing and friendly. Friends and 

family say the couple was busy making plans 

for the future. They had recently listed their 

home in Toronto for 6.9 million Canadian 

dollars and they were building a new home 

in the city. 

“They loved each other. They loved life,” 

Frum said. “Almost every conversation I 



ever had with Barry was about how much 

left he had to do in his life.” 

2 Canadians 

indicted in 2012 

Montana oil plant 

explosion 

A 

federal grand jury has indicted two 

Canadians and an oil recycling 

company on criminal charges including 

conspiracy and endangerment in an 

explosion that injured three workers at an 

eastern Montana oil plant. 

Custom Carbon Processing Inc., its 

president Peter Margiotta and project 

manager Mark Hurst face charges of 

conspiracy, endangerment and Clean Air Act 

violations, according to a redacted copy of 

the indictment that was unsealed last week. 

They could face up to 15 years in prison and 

a $1 million fine on the most serious charges. 

The 2012 explosion near Wibaux sparked 

a fire that burned eight days and drew 

attention to the potential dangers of the oil 

boom then sweeping through the remote 

Northern Plains along the Montana-North 

Dakota border. 

Margiotta and Hurst did not appear for their 

Jan. 11 arraignment and they could not be 

located for comment. Court documents 

show they have not been served with the 

indictment. 

They would have to be extradited to face 

trial if they don’t appear voluntarily. 

Such a scenario was also ruled out by the 

couple’s four adult children, who hired their 

own investigator and pathologist to conduct 

second autopsies on the Shermans, who 

were killed days before heading south to 

their winter home in Palm Beach, Florida. 

“Nobody will support a theory of either 

murder-suicide or double suicide,” 

said Brian Greenspan, a lawyer for the 

family. “To everyone who knew them it’s 

inconceivable.” 

Toronto police, called “irresponsible” by 

the family for the early reports of a murdersuicide, 

have declined to make any more 

public statements, aside from calling the 

deaths “suspicious,” leaving the media and 

people who knew the couple to speculate 

about what has become a tantalizing mystery. 

The Star, citing unidentified experts hired by 

the family, reported that the couple were tied 

to the rail with men’s belts, which resulted 

in the “ligature compression” that was the 

cause of death. The paper also said they had 

marks on their wrists that suggested their 

hands had been tied together, were wearing 

winter coats that had been pushed down 

their shoulders, as if to restrain them, and 

had no drugs in their system that would have 

caused their deaths. Greenspan declined to 

confirm the report. 

Citing an unidentified source, Canadian 

Broadcasting Corp. said the family’s private 

investigators believe the Shermans were 

murdered by multiple killers but provided 

no evidence to back up the claim. Those 

investigators have not been to the house. 

Sherman, 75, was known for litigiousness 

and aggressive businesses practices as 

he developed generic drug manufacturer 

Apotex Inc., which has a global workforce 

of about 11,000. He conceded he made 

Canadian Sen. Linda Frum, a close friend of 

the Shermans, said the comment is chilling 

in retrospect. “That sets off alarm bells for 

me,” she said. “The fact that he identified 

that as a possible threat to his life has to be 

taken seriously.” 

Sherman also faced legal action from 

cousins who said they had been cut out of the 

company over the years. A judge dismissed 

the claim just months before the couple was 

found dead. 

A Toronto-born graduate of MIT and the 

University of Toronto, Sherman founded 

the company in 1974. He married Honey in 

1971. 

Canadian Business magazine recently 

estimated his worth at 4.77 billion Canadian 

dollars ($3.65 billion), making him the 

15th richest person in the country. As they 

became wealthy, the couple became known 

in Canada for philanthropy. They gave tens 

of millions to the United Jewish Appeal, 

gave money to a geriatric hospital in Toronto 

and sent medicine to disaster zones. Prime 

Minister Justin Trudeau attended the funeral 

and Sherman is posthumously due to receive 

one of the country’s highest civilian honors 

this year. 

Frank D’Angelo, a close friend of Sherman, 

said the businessman complained of fatigue 

but he chalked it up to working long hours 

and not eating well. “It was never about 

depression,” he said. “I never heard that in 

almost 20 years.” 

Honey Sherman, 70, a University of Toronto 

graduate who met her husband while 

volunteering at a local hospital, spent her 

time raising money for charities and was 

active in Toronto’s Jewish community. She 

had recently been treated for cancer and 

suffered from a serious form of arthritis 

She is angry police haven’t publicly rejected 

the theory of murder-suicide and have been 

quiet since their early leaks. 

“Now they are overdoing it in the other 

direction, having been too loose lipped in 

the first place about their foolish theories. 

It’s definitely been a case of how not to 

handle a police investigation,” Frum said. 

Their bodies were discovered Dec. 15 by a 

maid and a real estate agent. 

Today, the home remains cordoned off 

behind yellow police tape and under constant 

watch by officers, and the family’s private 

investigators haven’t been allowed inside. 

Police are still apparently searching the 

tree-lined streets of the northern Toronto 

neighborhood for clues. Greenspan said the 

family was told twice that police were done 

with the property, only to have them insist 

they need more time. 

“We’re encouraged that they are being 

thorough,” Greenspan said. “We don’t 

believe there has been a conclusion reached. 

I don’t want to get into it further, but there’s 

no question that our pathologist and our 

officers and the people who are involved in 

our side of this investigation, we all have a 

view.” 

Former Toronto homicide detective Mark 

Mendelson said the fact that police initially 

said they weren’t looking for any suspects 

and there were no signs of forced entry 

supports the idea of a murder-suicide or 

double suicide but says those preliminary 

statements may not give the whole picture. 

“The other side of the equation is that 

maybe those two statements came out a little 

prematurely given that the investigation was 

really in its infancy,” Mendelson said. 


Prosecutors said the two men ignored 

warnings from a company foreman about 

hazards at the plant. 

The plant, built on the site of a former 

disposal well, recycled so-called “slop oil” 

that comes from oil fields into higher-quality 

crude oil that could be sold. 

The documents say the foreman told the 

defendants the use of highly flammable 

natural gas condensate to thin slop oil at the 

plant was creating a dangerous situation. 

The foreman attempted to refuse shipments 

of the condensate, but Hurst ordered him 

to continue taking them, according to the 

indictment. 

In the lead-up to the explosion, vapors from 

a condensate shipment spread through the 

building, reached an ignition source and 

blew up both the plant and the tractor trailer 

that had delivered the fuel. Three workers 

who had been installing insulation were 

injured. 

Margiotta and Hurst also are accused of 

opening the plant even though they knew it 

did not have appropriate wiring, ventilation 

and other safety measures. 

The documents state that Hurst sent an email 

to Margiotta saying some control panels 

“must be moved asap with the explosion 

proof wiring. We run the risk of killing 

someone, not only our operators but also 

customers.” 

The driver of the tractor trailer, Kelly Steen, 

was sentenced in 2015 to three years of 

probation and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine 

for transporting hazardous materials without 

warning placards. 

Green Oasis Environmental Inc. was the 

Alberta, Canada-based parent company of 

Custom Carbon Processing. Its website is no 

longer active and phone numbers listed for 

the company do not work. 




10 


Africa News 

‘I love Trump,’ 

Uganda’s 

leader says, 

despite vulgar 

remark 

ganda’s president says he loves 

U 

President Donald Trump and that he 

should be praised for not mincing words. 

“I love Trump because he tells Africans 

frankly,” President Yoweri Museveni said 

on 23rd January, shortly after the U.S. 

ambassador apologized for Trump’s recent 

reference to African nations as “shithole 

countries.” 

“I don’t know whether he was misquoted or 

whatever. But he talks to Africans frankly,” 

Museveni said. “In the world, you cannot 

survive if you are weak.” 

The Ugandan leader was addressing members 

of the regional East African Legislative 


Liberia swears in ex-soccer star 

F 

George Weah as new leader 

ormer international soccer star George 

Weah was sworn in as Liberia’s new 

president, taking over the impoverished 

West African nation from Africa’s first 

female leader. 

The 51-year-old, who was FIFA’s 1995 

player of the year, took the oath of office 

dressed in all white at the Samuel Kanyon 

Doe Sports Complex to cheers from tens of 

thousands Liberians. 

“I fully believe that the overwhelming 

mandate that I received from the Liberian 

people is a mandate to end corruption in 

public service; I promise to deliver on 

this mandate,” he said. “As officials of 

government it is time to put the interest of 

our people above our own selfish interests. It 

is time to be honest with our people.” 

Weah, who has been a senator and run for 

Liberia’s presidency before but is relatively 

new to national politics, inherits a weak 

economy along with poor health and 

educational sectors. 

unfolded and hoisted to signify the start of 

Weah’s new administration. 

This is Liberia’s first peaceful transfer of 

power from one government to another in 

more than 70 years. 

Many of Weah’s critics are still skeptical 

about his ability to deliver in a country 

that is faced with youth unemployment and 

other challenges. His running mate, Vice 

President-Elect Jewel Howard-Taylor, has 

political experience that surpasses his. She 

Liberians should not see Weah as “a 

magician” who can solve all Liberia’s 

problems alone, said Florence G. Dukuly , a 

public administrator. 

“Liberians have this dependency syndrome,” 

depending on the government to do all, she 

said. “We have to help him make it.” 

The stadium’s playing pitch was transformed 

by a huge, raised platform from where guests 

were entertained by live performances. 

Liberia’s red, white and blue colors adorn 

Assembly. Several African nations have 

expressed shock and condemnation at 

Trump’s remark. 

He has denied using that language while 

others present says he did. 

Museveni, one of Africa’s longest-serving 

leaders, also called Trump an honest man 

during his State of the Nation address on Jan 

1. 

Earlier, U.S. Ambassador Deborah Malac 

met Uganda’s speaker of parliament, 

Rebecca Kadaga, and described Trump’s 

controversial remark as “obviously quite 

disturbing and upsetting.” 




“I do not promise you quick fixes or 

miracles. Instead my pledge to you today is 

that my administration, with your help, will 

make steady and deliver progress toward 

achieving the hopes and aspirations that you 

cherish in your heart for Mama Liberia,” he 

said. 

Weah then switched seats with his 

predecessor, Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen 

Johnson Sirleaf, who was president for 12 

years, lifting Liberia from the destruction 

of back-to-back civil wars and facing the 

challenge of the Ebola crisis that killed 

thousands here. 

After Chief Justice Francis S. Korkpor, 

Sr., swore in Weah, Liberia’s flag was 

lowered and folded to signify the end of 

the presidency for Sirleaf, who stood with 

Weah on a raised platform. A new flag was 

T 

was married to the nation’s former leader 

Charles Taylor during his time in power. 

After they divorced, she was elected senator 

in 2005, building a political career in her 

own right. 

Thousands of people stormed the sports 

stadium on 22nd January to see the new 

president sworn in. 

Weah’s new government should launch 

a “self-sufficiency in food program” to 

boost agriculture and tackle the problem 

of unemployment, said James Mulbah, an 

agricultural extension expert. 

“Any country that does not feed itself, you 

are at the mercy of those that will feed you, 

that has been the problem in this country and 

it has continued to exist,” he said. 

the VIP block and giant-sized portraits 

of Weah and Taylor are planted along the 

perimeters. 

Young supporters of Weah’s Congress for 

Democratic Change party carried out a 

national cleanup ahead of the ceremony. 

“We are all overwhelmed with joy,” said 

Janjay Jacobs, a former midfielder and now 

coach. He said Weah can bring growth and 

development to Liberia. 

“He has been a very inspirational person, 

very much motivating, never gives up in 

any situation,” Jacobs said. “If all odds are 

against him, he still stands up for what he 

believes in.” 



Car bombs kill at least 27 in east Libya 

city of Benghazi 

win car bombs exploded as people 

left a mosque in a residential area of 

the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, killing 

27 and wounding over 30 in an attack 

timed to cause mass casualties among first 

responders, officials said. 

Capt. Tarek Alkharraz, spokesman for 

military and police forces in Benghazi, said 

the first explosion went off in the Salmani 

neighborhood around 8:20 p.m. on 23rd 

January and the second bomb went off a half 

hour later as residents and medics gathered 

to evacuate the wounded. 

Local health official Hani Belras Ali said 

at least 27 people were killed and 32 were 

wounded. 

No group immediately claimed responsibility 

for the bombings. The United Nations 

condemned the attack on social media, 

saying that direct or indiscriminate attacks on 

civilians are prohibited under international 

humanitarian law and constitute war crimes. 

Libya fell into chaos following the ouster 

and killing of longtime dictator Moammar 

Gadhafi in 2011, and since 2014 it has 

been split between rival governments and 

parliaments based in the western and eastern 

regions, each backed by different militias 

and tribes. 

Islamic State fighters had established 

footholds amid the disorder but have been 

mostly driven out of the main cities. 

Benghazi remains a trouble spot, where 

bombings and attacks still occur. The city 

has seen fighting between forces loyal to 

local strongman Khalifa Hifter, a former 

U.S.-based Libyan opposition member who 

leads remnants of Libya’s National Army in 

the east, and Islamist militia opponents. 





North America News 

Guatemala 

prosecutors 

detail probe into 

Odebrecht bribes 

P 

rosecutors revealed details of an 

investigation into $17.9 million in 

bribes allegedly paid by the Brazilian 

company Odebrecht to local officials, politicians 

and private citizens in Guatemala. 

Odebrecht has admitted paying bribes 

across Latin America to win government 

contracts, and Guatemalan chief prosecutor 

Thelma Aldana said at a news conference 

that investigators have records for bank 

accounts used for their payment and 

receipt in the Central American nation. 

Former Communications Minister Alejandro 

Sinibaldi is alleged to have coordinated 

receipt and distribution of the money and 

to have taken in $9 million. Sinibaldi 

is currently a fugitive from justice. 

Also purportedly involved was former 

presidential candidate Manuel Baldizon, 

who was detained recently in Florida on an 

international arrest warrant. 

Baldizon is alleged to have received at least 

$1.3 million as a product of bribes. Another 

suspect is Arturo Batres Gil, an alleged 

frontman for businesspeople who is believed 

to have received $4.9 million. 

Prosecutors have not ruled out that more 

people may have been involved. Aldana said 

two people of Brazilian origin acknowledged 

delivering bribes and paid $68,000 in fines 

apiece. By law they could not be tried in 

Guatemala since they are already facing a 

legal case in Brazil. 


Jamaica imposes 

curfew in Montego 

Bay amid rise in 

A 

crime 

uthorities in Jamaica have declared a 

state of emergency in areas including 

the popular tourist town of Montego Bay 

amid a rise in violent crime. 

Police said that they will take a zero 

tolerance approach to crime in the parish of 

St. James, where Montego Bay is located, 

and nearby communities that have seen an 

increase in killings that officials blame on 

gangs and lottery scams. 

Police said businesses and recreational areas 

are under a temporary curfew, and the state 

of emergency allows them to search areas 

without a warrant. 

Authorities also have imposed a curfew in 

parts of St. Catherine parish located just 

west of the capital of Kingston. 


N 

$2.25M for family of 

disabled man who died 

while aide texted 

ew York state will pay $2.25 million 

to settle a lawsuit filed after a disabled 

man choked to death in a state-run group 

home while an aide allegedly texted her 

boyfriend from the bathroom. 

Eddie Velasquez’s death in 2014 came 

one day after choking on sliced turkey he 

took from the kitchen of an Ithaca group 

home. The 48-year-old man, who could not 

speak and was born with developmental 

disabilities, was considered a choking risk 

and was not to be allowed in the kitchen or 

near food without supervision. 

The Associated Press obtained a state 

investigator’s confidential report that found 

the aide who was supposed to be watching 

him sent or received 137 text messages and 

talked on her personal phone more than 10 

times. A co-worker told the investigator the 

aide was having problems with her boyfriend 

and “spent most of the day in the bathroom 

texting” him. 

The investigation also cited the staff for 

failing to follow procedures for securing 

food. In addition, a bag ventilator that 

was supposed to be on hand to resuscitate 

choking residents couldn’t be found. 

“So much abuse and neglect of people with 

disabilities remains in the shadows,” said 

Ilann Maazel, the attorney who represented 

Velasquez’ sister in her negligence lawsuit 

against the state. “We need to bring it to light 

and hold those responsible accountable.” 

Denise DeCarlo, a spokeswoman for the 

Office for People with Developmental 

Disabilities, the agency that oversees the 

Ithaca group home, said one aide was 

suspended for six months and another was 

fined $5,000 following an investigation. 

Both individuals were allowed to return to 

their jobs. Attempts to contact the aides were 

unsuccessful. 

DeCarlo said staffers at the group home 

were retrained on choking prevention, food 

storage and resident supervision. 

Velasquez was missing many of his teeth and 

had no molars, making it difficult for him to 

chew. Under his individualized care plan he 

wasn’t supposed to eat anything that wasn’t 

cut into half-inch pieces. His aides were 

also required to supervise him whenever he 

was eating or around food, to observe him 

for 30 minutes after he ate, and to check on 

him every 15 minutes throughout the day. 

On the day he choked he entered the kitchen 

and took a large amount of sliced deli turkey 

from the refrigerator. An aide witnessed the 

incident and seized some of the turkey from 

Velasquez but did not ask him to open his 

mouth to reveal its contents. Velasquez then 

went to common area, where he choked and 

was found unresponsive several minutes 

later. Paramedics arrived but could not clear 

his airway; he did not regain consciousness 

and died the next day. 

Lily McArdle said her brother’s death shows 

the need to improve the vetting and training 

of state workers who take care of New 

York’s most vulnerable residents. 

“He brought so much joy. He loved to be 

kissed and he loved to hold our hands,” 

McArdle, a New Jersey resident, said of her 

brother. “We felt like he was the angel of the 

house.” 




Cuban state music company 

expands deal with Sony 

C 

uba’s main state-run music company is 

expanding its business with entertainment 

giant Sony in a sign of continuing progress 

in U.S.-Cuban business relations. 

Cuba’s Musical Editions and Recording 

Company, known by its Spanish acronym 

EGREM, holds the rights to works by 

thousands of Cuban artists, including renowned 

musicians such as Benny More, Chucho 

Valdes and Omara Portuondo. 

Under a deal signed on 24rd January, U.S.- 

based Sony/ATV, the world’s leading music 

publisher, will license rights to songs in 

EGREM’s catalog to clients in the television 

and film industry, and streaming services, 

among other clients. Sony/ATV officials said 

they were receiving a standard commission 

from sales of EGREM property but declined 

to discuss the precise terms of the deal. 

Sony Music signed a 2015 deal to distribute 

EGREM artists’ albums worldwide. 



Mexico’s 

Teotihuacan ruins 

may have been 

S 

“Teohuacan” 

panish chroniclers may have altered 

the name of the pre-Hispanic city of 

Teotihuacan to erase its importance as a 

place of governance, Mexican experts said 

on 23rd January. 

The Aztecs may have called the city 

“Teohuacan” — literally “the city of the 

sun.” That contrasts with “the city of the 

gods” or “the place where men become 

gods” as Teotihuacan is translated. 

Veronica Ortega, an archaeologist at the 

National Institute of Anthropology and 

History, said a lesser-known Aztec document 

contained a pictogram referring to the city as 

a combination of sun, temple and ruler signs. 

In the Xolotol Codex, which is in France, the 

word “Teohuacan” is written underneath. 

But later Codices — Aztec pictographic 

documents drawn up to inform the Spanish 

about the land they had conquered — contain 

the spelling “Teotihuacan.” 

Ortega said the Spanish were uncomfortable 

with “Teohuacan” because the sun was 

a symbol for rulers and they wanted to 

concentrate all power in nearby Mexico 

City, the Aztec capital they conquered in 

1521. 

“They wanted people to see Teotihuacan as 

a place of worship, but not as a place where 

rulers were anointed, because they wanted 

to keep the political center in Tenochtitlan” 

— the Aztec name for Mexico City, Ortega 

said. 

The debate may seem somewhat academic, 

because nobody knows what name the 

inhabitants of the city called it during its 

apex between 100 B.C. and A.D. 750, when 

it had about 100,000 residents. 

The city was abandoned long before the 

rise of the Aztecs in the 14th century. Both 

Teotihuacan and Teohuacan are words in 

the Aztec’s Nahuatl language, and nobody 

knows what language the people of 

Teotihuacan. 

While she doesn’t want to change road signs, 

or the official name of the ruins, Ortega said 

the implications of the name are important 

because the Aztec rulers continued to go to 

the city to legitimize their rule. 

She said Montezuma, the last Azteca ruler, 

“led processions to Teotihuacan every 20 

days,” the length of an Aztec calendar 

month. 





12 


A 

I 

Editorial 

◆◆ 

By David Kilgour 

Author & Lawyer 

woman of indomitable spirit and 

Europe’s most consistently stable 

leader, Angela Merkel was recently named 

‘the world’s most powerful woman’ for the 

eleventh time in twelve years by Forbes 

Magazine. 

Germany’s economy is one of the strongest 

in the world. Its successes include record 

low unemployment (5.6%), a favourable 

trade balance in the US$ 250 billion range 

and a federal budget surplus today of a 

record 18.3 billion euros ($21.6 billion) 

for the first half of 2017. The world needs 

Merkel’s economic skills and self-discipline 

as German chancellor in the immediate 

years ahead. Her steady hand on the tiller 

and Germany’s strong economy have both 

been stabilizing agents since 2005. 

If Merkel should ever lose power, a 

leadership vacuum in Europe will arise, 

according to Alexandra Borchardt, journalist 

for Süddeutsche Zeitung: “Merkel is very 

pragmatic, ... exactly what’s needed in a 

union with so many countries with diverging 

interests. She can make things work for a 

continent facing crucial questions ....” 

There has been in recent years an unravelling 

of the liberal democratic post-second world 

war into conflict and authoritarianism. 

Democracy and social harmony as defended 


◆◆ 

By Mark Parkinson 

@Mark_Parkinson 

markp.india@gmail.com 

markparkinson.wordpress.com 

n many schools across Asia, the 

announcement by school leadership 

that they plan to launch a specialist 

‘Giftedness Programme,” stimulates lots of 

excitement on the part of a proportion of the 

parents. Of course, these are most usually 

the ones who have been declaring for ages to 

anyone who would listen that their child was 

‘special’, that the material being learned in 

the class is beneath their child and that really 

there should be a special programme that 

will tap in to the unique needs and abilities 

of their child. 

Some years ago I was attending a dinner in 

Delhi, India that was held in honour of a 

very prominent Harvard professor renowned 

for his writings that shaped the work of 

many teachers and educators. His wife is 

also an educator of some renown – her 

specialisation being in the field of giftedness. 

I found myself sitting opposite her. During 

conversation at dinner, I clearly managed 

to ask the question she’d been asked before 

(and probably since) that was not welcome 

– “If we’re differentiating effectively for all 

our pupils, meeting them where they are, 

then do we really need specialist giftedness 

programmes?” 

I know, I shouldn’t have done it. It was 

naughty of me. But, it just sort of slipped 

out. To be fair, the withering look I got was 

Angela Merkel’s Legacy 

by Merkel need to thrive again in 2018 

across the world, including Europe. David 

Leonhardt of the New York TImes terms what 

is occurring as “creeping authoritarianism”. 

It is Angela Merkel who can best confront 

this trend in Germany and across Europe. 

An uneasy Europe would benefit from her 

continued leadership and refusal to kowtow 

to autocrats such as Vladimir Putin and 

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. 

In her new book, Red Famine:Stalin’s War 

on Ukraine, historian Anne Applebaum has 

underlined how the genocidal murder of 

millions of Ukrainians in the 1930s is now 

affecting Ukraine. She also warns about an 

“anti-pluralist and anti-democratic mood” 

in some European countries. Who can better 

oppose such social influences than Angela 

Merkel? 

Although pessimists warn that her popularity 

has waned, thereby signifying the beginning 

of “Merkeldaemmerung”, translated as the 

“Merkel twilight”, the pastor’s daughter, 

after three terms in office, is undeterred. 

Financial Times journalist Guy Chazan 

emphasizes that she is still ...a rock of 

stability ... a bastion of liberal values in a 

turbulent, Trumpian world. She 

steered Europe through the euro crisis and 

has presided over a long boom at home, 

cementing Germany’s reputation as the 

continent’s powerhouse. 

Last May, following President Trump’s first 

visit as president to Europe, Merkel noted 

only second on the night to the one she gave 

the enthusiastic school principal who kept 

trying to engage her in discussion about her 

husband’s work, instead of hers! 

Giftedness 


However, I think it’s a perfectly acceptable 

and genuine question that needs to be asked, 

and I know that there’s more than enough 

evidence that others are also questioning the 

traditional orthodox approaches. 

I worry on a number of grounds. Firstly, I’m 

ultra cautious of anything that seeks to put 

labels on the children or to conveniently 

pigeon-hole them in to categories or 

‘types’. Secondly, I fear that putting this 

that the continent would have to become 

more self-reliant. Another European view 

is that the trans-Atlantic relationship will 

be quickly restored after Trump. Merkel is 

needed to argue this issue. 

The current delay in forming a government 

in Berlin is a problem for Germans, the EU 

and democratic world in general, partly 

because Angela Merkel is an acknowledged 

advocate for democratic principles, such as 

the fair and free elections and the rule of law. 

To govern, Merkel needs to form a new 

“grand coalition” (GroKo) with the centreleft 

Social Democrats (SPD) as it has done 

from 2005-2009 and again from 2013-2017. 

She stresses that Germany needs a stable 

government - a majority coalition rather 

than a minority government. 

On January 7th, her CDU/CSU bloc and the 

SPD started exploratory talks on forming a 

new government aiming to decide whether 

or not to enter full coalition talks by 

January 12th. After twenty-three hours of 

negotiations, they came to an agreement, the 

terms of which the SPD Congress will have 

to approve on January 21st in Bonn. Some 

600 SPD delegates will vote on whether or 

not to proceed to full negotiations. 

If Merkel’s bloc is unable to form a 

“grand coalition” with the SPD, German 

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier could 

still nominate her to serve a fourth term as 

chancellor. The nomination would then be 

put to vote, which could result in her leading 

a minority government - something new for 

particular label on to children can be another 

simple way like stating a child is SEN that 

exonerates the teacher from putting in the 

hard miles to reach, engage and help that 

child to learn. 

Often, it even leads to that child being taken 

out of the mainstream classroom, thereby 

reducing the class of remaining children to 

a more homogeneous core that can then all 

be delivered the syllabus in a standardised 

‘one size now fits all’ way. The risk is these 

processes are used to clear the classroom of 

outliers, to simplify the teaching process. 

Nobody’s doing that consciously, but it can 

be the end effect. 

Then there’s the issue of whether ‘Gifted’ 

programmes really work. What would we 

mean by working? If we are identifying 

these children as advanced, ahead of their 

peers, of higher intelligence and capable 

of transacting syllabus material faster and 

to more advanced levels than other pupils, 

then surely it would be appropriate to look 

for evidence of those students out-achieving 

their peers in to adulthood – both because of 

the attributes identified that justified putting 

them on a special programme and because 

of the fact that the programme should enable 

them to flourish and to fulfil the greater 

potential identified. 

However, the evidence shows very little 

evidence of these outcomes. In fact, my 

understanding is that most studies of long 

term impact of giftedness programmes show 

very weak evidence of positive gains or 

outcomes. 


Germany. Or - Steinmeier could call a new 

election - an almost unprecedented move. 

A multi-tiered process, it could drag out 

into spring and might help the the far-right 

Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) to make 

gains. 

Paul Mason from the Guardian suggests, 

“The only thing that’s going to (stop)... the 

AfD is an alternative for the people, for 

internationalism, for the active embrace of 

multicultural values and refugee support – 

and for social justice.” 

Although neither a minority government nor 

new elections would be desirable, neither 

would result in a constitutional crisis. 

Merkel’s acting government has carried on 

day-to-day business in Europe’s biggest 

economy for four months. 

Merkel has wryly observed, “I don’t think 

I’m exaggerating when I say the world is 

waiting for us to be able to act.” 

The world is indeed waiting for this 

remarkable leader to be able to act, and all 

those who cherish democracy and social 

harmony are rooting wholeheartedly for her. 

David Kilgour, a lawyer by profession, 

served in Canada’s House of Commons for 

almost 27 years. In Jean Chretien’s Cabinet, 

he was secretary of state (Africa and Latin 

America) and secretary of state (Asia- 

Pacific). He is the author of several books 

and co-author with David Matas of “Bloody 

Harvest: The Killing of Falun Gong for 

Their Organs.” 

Here’s a very interesting article from The 

Guardian, published about 6 months ago: 

The Guardian – Education – Why There’s 

No Such Thing As A Gifted Child 

The article carries some interesting evidence 

about how so many of the most exceptional 

adult achievers were very often average 

performers who didn’t stand out much 

during their school days. 

It also highlights something that is also 

reinforced in much of the research associated 

with growth mindset – IQ is not fixed and 

the attributes that might lead teachers to 

wish to identify a child as ‘gifted’ might be 

potentially capable of development in every 

child. 

Therefore, I firmly believe that instead of 

seeking to compartmentalize those children 

who appear to be at one end of the bell 

curve at the moment, educators should be 

seeking to put across a message to every 

child in their care that emphasises that their 

potential is limitless, that their opportunities 

and abilities will flow out of their effort and 

application over time and that all can excel 

at something if they are motivated and ready 

to work at it. 

I have added links below for three articles 

I wrote as part of this blog in earlier years. 

Especially interesting is the one that 

highlights that being labeled and separated 

as gifted can be seen as much as a curse as a 

blessing for many children. 



Think - Tanks 

“T 

G 

◆◆ 

By Dr. Pramila Srivastava 

@PramilaBK 

ps.a@iins.org 

he meaning of life, the reason I made 

this whole universe, is for you to 

mature.” 

– The Egg (by Andy Weir) 

Indian philosophy unlike the Western philosophy 

has always believed in the impossibility of 

the ultimate knowledge of the state of being 

and the cosmology of the universe. Rig-Veda 

in Nasadiya Sukta says that we know not 

who has created the universe or is treading 

it, we know not the form of the creator or 

his name but it acknowledges that there is a 

higher force that leads ways and takes us to 

our purpose. This infinite God that forms the 

basis of eastern philosophy is what governs 

the energy laws of the universe. 

The universe is connected through infinite 

loops of energy that manifest transgressing 

the boundaries of time and space into 

the smallest of particles and the largest. 

However, our knowledge of cosmology 

would remain limited to the manifestations 

of energy that in some form are active and 

would never go beyond that to the source 

pool of energy that we term God as that is 

infinite and still in which it encompasses 

all that we can perceive and are made of. 

Time, space, dimensions and form all form 

the subsets of this pool and rather than 

mastering and controlling the knowledge 

of this form we should become a part of 

it. When we acknowledge and connect to 

this infinite cosmology the tranquillity of 

it seeps into our lives pacifying into a more 

peaceful and calm perspicacity into the 

forces that surrounds us.This is what should 

bind the modern life obsessed with the idea 

◆◆ 

By International Institute 

for Non - Aligned Studies 

@iinsNAM 

iins@iins.org 


Living the Egg 

of tangible knowledge of spirituality and 

scientific explanations of faith. 

Religion as it is a social phenomenon evolving 

from this acceptance of a superior force 

should form our basis of faith and not the 

manifestation of our hunger for power. It 

should not be an institution of people trying 

to master what they know is beyond their 

perception and failing at that manipulate 

the facts, create myth and rule the masses. 

It should be your personal gratitude to the 

energy that is within you and that which 

governs it, your surreal experiences in the 

moments that give you the time you govern. 

This freedom from the institutionalised 

religion would take us a step closer to 

the forces that are as it would give us the 

liberty to connect to our energy in our own 

ways than trying to mould our aura into 

the socially accepted framework. For this 

reason, many big thinkers and philosophers 

have often been associated with the occult 

despite the ridicule that it brings into their 

lives for it may not be the right way but it is 

for sure an alternate way that opens up their 

persona to the strength of treading into the 

unknown. 

The occultists have often been great thinkers 

and discoverers as they no longer remain 

docile bodies that are tamed for power 

centralisation but thinking, feeling minds 

that seek their own God and their own truths 

in a world that takes religion and rituals for 

given to be the divine hierarchy.W. B. Yeats 

is one such western philosopher who along 

with his wife used to indulge in automated 

writing where they let themselves serve 

as a medium for the spirits to deliver their 

wisdom in coded messages. His structure 

of Gyres that he gave in his book ‘A 

Vision’ compiled from these writings gave 

an accurate two dimensional structure of 

the worm hole that is believed by several 

scientists too be the pathway to another 

dimension. This structure also explains the 

energy pattern of the universe that works in 

an infinite loop of transgression, formation 

and collapse. 

Therefore, for achieving spiritual serenity 

the defiance of conventional wisdom is a 

necessity and once we have done that we 

can take a path where our deeds of kindness 

won’t be for salvation and our weaknesses 

won’t be demonic. In such a space, our 

choices will make our religious path and our 

deeds will make us divine. This concept of 

‘karma’ that governs the discourse of eastern 

philosophy has always been debated upon in 

the western discourse with the arguments 

being formed upon around “Predestination 

and Free Will” where thephilosophies of 

church rendered the individual meaningless 

in the greater cosmological order. Gita, 

however, is truly modern in its take where 

it debates ‘karma’ in its entirety and the role 

of consciousness in our lives. It gives us 

the freedom to choose and follow our own 

truth. ‘Dharma’ in Mahabharatais dynamic 

and subjective too and much more vast than 

what any ritual or worship could reduce it to. 

‘Dharma’ is a way of living that shapes the 

significant occurrences of our life and the 

lives of all others around us. It brings into 

action the interdependent patterns of energy 

in action in the universe and then it gives us 

the agency to choose our life through our 

deeds. 

This idea of taking to the higher deeds 

despite knowing the transient nature of 

the influences that we create in the larger 

cosmological order is where the final stages 

of spirituality rests. The nature of spirituality 

lies not in the heavy beliefs and the stagnation 

of religious practices but in the smaller kind 

deeds that we do in the knowledge of the 

fact that they may not be acknowledged or 


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noticed. This will transform us into higher 

beings and mature our consciousness. 

The very famous story- ‘The Egg’ by Andy 

Weir too takes us through an introspective 

journey for us to learn the value of spiritual 

living through inclusive de-familiarisation. 

It talks about changing the perspective of 

kindness and gratitude which should not 

be something that we can boast upon but 

that it should be an intrinsic quality to our 

everyday existence. The fact that the energy 

and soul that dwells in all of us is part of the 

greater pool of being and that the deeds we 

do to others we do to ourselves when would 

form our subconscious, we will prosper 

emotionally and spiritually. 

This unifying approach on religion and 

existence takes into account both the 

destructive and the constructive energies of 

nature and describes their strong existence 

through all the times and cosmological 

phenomenon that are a part of our existence. 

Living the egg(universe) thus should always 

take us in the direction of light with the 

knowledge simultaneously of the darker 

energies that very much form a part of 

the energy cycle. Understanding this and 

thereafter striving to be our higher selves 

forms the basic principle of our spiritual 

journeys. 

Worsening climatic condition and global warming worries NAM 

lobal warming has really affected and 

forced the climate to change over the 

last century throughout the world. Unusual 

increase in the earth’s average temperature 

is because of the high amount of greenhouse 

gases released due to burning fossil fuels 

and other human activities. According to 

several researches, it has been recorded that 

almost 30 percent of the heat by incoming 

sunlight gets reflected back to the space 

through clouds and ice but because of global 

warming the existing ice caps are melting, 

leaving no sources to send heat back to the 

space and therefore affecting the earth’s 

climate. It is one of the most important 

global problems with unique characteristics. 

The developing countries are especially 

vulnerable because a large share of their 

economy is in climate-sensitive sectors and 

their adaptive capacity is low due to limited 

human, financial and natural resources and 

institutional and technical capacity. As has 

been repeatedly addressed, the developing 

nations will be the first to face adversity 

due to our changing natural environment. 

Costal nations like Sri Lanka, Maldives, 

Bangladesh and seven out of ten countries in 

the African continent will be submerged due 

to the rising sea level and changing climate. 

NAM which was born as a result of pure 

political issues now has evolved to address 

issues that are threatening the contemporary 

world at large. Problems like the increasing 

population, unemployment, illiteracy, gender 

equation, conflict resolution, poverty etc are 

identified as priorities. Among such topics is 

another issue that has drawn attention over 

the last couple of decades that needs to be 

addressed by the NAM member states is 

‘Climate Change’. In the year 2009 NAM 

member states presented themselves as 

an outspoken critic of any legislation that 

wouldn’t cap carbon dioxide emissions and 

establish a national program for trading 

pollution allowances. 

On 25 May 2011 at NAM’s 50th Anniversary 

meeting in Bali, the United Nations 

Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon called on 

the Non-Aligned Movement compromising 

of more than 100 countries to assist in 

“urgent global action” to combat the threat 

posed by climate change. The UN secretary 

General urged the Non-Aligned countries 

to come to a resolution on the future of the 

Kyoto protocol and on ways to engage the 

NAM member states in an emerging global 

framework.The UN Secretary General 

further called the Nam member countries 

to curb emissions and strengthen climate 

resilience. 

According to the UN Secretary General, 

it was in the best interests for developing 

countries if NAM worked in support of the 

United Nations in areas of energy access, 

energy efficiency and clean efficiency. 

On 27th September 2013, President of 

the UN general Assembly Dr. John Ashe 

said that against a backdrop of increasing 

impact of climate change, inequality 

between and among countries and more 

than a billion people living in extreme 

poverty, the cooperation between NAM 

countries-founded on a virtue of solidarity 

was imperative for improving the socioeconomic 

development for their citizens. 

The Non-Aligned Movement should play 

a more constructive role with regard to 

climate change as members from the Non- 

Aligned world are most vulnerable from 

threats emanating due to the phenomenon. 

The World Bank has made a list of the main 

five threats arising from the climate change: 

(in arrangement with 

News from Non-Aligned World) 

www.iins.org 

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droughts, floods, storms, rising sea levels, 

and agricultural products deficit. 

Not surprisingly, members of NAM have 

topped the list of the 12 countries at the 

highest risk. 

NAM must pursue an effective policy to 

reduce the hazards of climate change within 

a multilateral framework, as environment 

policy is not an isolated object and cooperation 

between developing countries in this 

regards will result in positive spill-over 

effects in achieving the other Millennium 

Development Goals (MDGs) and providing 

the basis for livelihoods, health and security, 

particularly for the poor. 


14 


A 

G 

Technology & Health 

◆◆By Smt. Maneka 

Sanjay Gandhi 

@ManekaGandhiBJP 

hundred years from now, if scientists 

have their way, many humans will be 

partly pig and baboon. I mean really, not 

metaphorically. 

Scientists are working on transplanting 

entire hearts, liver, kidneys, pancreas 

and lungs from animals to humans. The 

increasing demand for organs, tissues, and 

cells, and the dearth of available human 

organs, have focused scientific interest in 

taking organs from animals . The term for 

the transplanting of organs from one species 

to another is called xenotransplantation and 

so far it has not worked at all. However 

entire corporations are at work, slicing and 

dicing animals so that one day humans can 

be part pig and part baboon. 

The arguments, in favour of animal to 

human organ transplantation, is that these 

organs would be available whenever 

required, instead of making patients wait 

for months. An immediate transplantation 

would perhaps result in improved survival. 

Instead of waiting for a dead human, whose 

organs are already slightly damaged, the 

organs could be taken from healthy animals 

under anaesthesia. 

The pig has become the animal of choice 

for most companies. Thousands of pigs 

are being killed to use in human bodies. 

But, before they get to humans, scientists 

first transplant their organs into the bodies 

of baboons to see if they can go into a 

different species. Why baboons? Humans 

and baboons have 90 percent of their DNA 

in common, so the captive animal becomes 

a stand in for a human. Why pigs ? Their 

◆◆ 

By Dr. Anveeta Agarwal 

@AnveetaAgarwal 

anveeta@dantah.com 


For Full Article : http://www. 

newdelhitimes.com/the-risks-ofxenotrasplantation 

To join the animal welfare movement 

contact gandhim@nic.in, 

www.peopleforanimalsindia.org 

Acid Reflux and Dental Decay: Are they related? 

astroesophageal reflux disease 

(GERD) is fairly common today 

among children and adults. But what 

exactly is GERD? Esophagus is the food 

pipe that carries food from your mouth to 

your stomach. The muscle at the end of the 

esophagus (lower esophageal sphincter) 

relaxes during swallowing to allow food 

to pass and then tightens up to prevent 

flow in the opposite direction. When this 

muscle randomly opens up or does not shut 

properly, the acidic contents of the stomach, 

including highly acidic digestive juices, 

gush back into the esophagus, resulting in 

a burning sensation in the chest or throat 

known as heartburn. When these symptoms 

are experienced often, the patients is said to 

be suffering from GERD. The incidence of 

GERD increases markedly after the age of 

40. Not just adults are affected; even infants 

and children can have GERD. 

These refluxed acidic contents have adverse 

effects on the mucosa of the esophagus, 

oropharynx, and respiratory system. In the 

mouth, the refluxed acidic content leads 

to dissolution of the enamel of the tooth, 

with eventual loss of tooth substance, 

The Risks of Xenotrasplantation 

organs are of the same size as humans. 

Which is the ideal animal species for organ 

transplants. The animal should have the 

same sort of anatomy, so that the organ can 

function well in humans. He should not 

have any disease that can be transmitted to 

humans. He should be immune to human 

diseases. He should have no genes that 

affect human immune systems. He should 

be inexpensive to breed and keep and have 

lots of babies every year. And he should be 

an animal that humans don’t mind killing. 

There is no such animal. 

Primates may be somewhat alike in anatomy, 

but they give and get human infections 

easily. They don’t breed quick enough and 

humans ( except scientists) don’t like killing 

them. 

The pig has large litters several times a year 

and is cheap to feed. The problem is that its 

blood and all its genetics are far too different. 

The pig is an entirely different species . It 

has been 80 million years since the pig and 

human diverged on the evolutionary scale. 

Is it possible to “outwit evolution.” Not so 

far. Millions of killed animals later scientists 

and resulting tooth erosions, decay and 

hypersensitivity. These patients experience 

dry mouth, which increases the bacterial 

load and can lead to an increase in tooth 

decay. Many a times; dentists are the first 

health care professionals to diagnose GERD 

in patients because of widespread tooth 

erosion. 

Persistent GERD causes irritation and 

inflammation of the esophagus, and increases 

the chances of esophageal cancer and other 

diseases. It can cause a slew of medical and 

dental issues and has to be addressed at the 

earliest. 

What are the signs and symptoms of GERD? 

• Heartburn 

• Regurgitation 

• Loss of appetite 

• Chronic cough 

• Hoarseness of voice 

• Non cardiac chest pain 

• Acidic taste in the mouth 

• Belching 

• Unpleasant odor in the mouth 

• Tooth Erosion 

A gastroenterologist can diagnose and 

help treat the condition. Few lifestyle 

are no further along. The very basic aim – to 

replace a baboon’s heart with a pig heart – 

has still not been achieved. 

Organ transplants fail because each mammalian 

species has a system and blood unique to 

itself and its immune system is built to reject 

foreign organs. As soon as human blood is 

sent through pig organs, the antibodies in the 

human blood cells are activated against pig 

cells. 

Companies are working to add human 

thrombomodulin protein to pig 

cells to make them seem more 

human, so that human cells are 

less likely to reject them. Through 

microinjection techniques, and 

in vitro fertilization, five human 

genes have been added to the 

pigs’ livers, kidneys and hearts. 

The pig has a galactose 

oligosaccharide enzyme, Gal, which 

humans don’t. When a pig organ 

or cells are transplanted into 

a human, this enzyme causes 

immediate rejection. Scientists 

have genetically created a pig 

that “almost” doesn’t have Gal. 

However, clinical testing has not finished. 

The genetically manipulated pigs are called 

GalSafe pigs. 

Unfortunately for the scientists, pigs also 

have retroviruses in the genome of every 

porcine cell. These will inevitably be 

transferred with the donor tissues. This is 

a grave potential risk, as retroviruses don’t 

create illnesses in their natural hosts but are 

devastating to humans. 

The scientists have discovered a retrovirus 

in the pig called PERV. Research – published 

in the journal Science – shows that Perv 

can make their way from pigs into humans. 

modifications that can be done are: 

• Refraining from eating three hours prior 

to bedtime. This reduces the production of 

hydrochloric acid in the stomach. 

• Refrain from lying down right after having 

a meal. 

• Eating smaller, more frequent meals 

throughout the day helps reduce reflux. 

• Avoiding fatty foods, chocolate, caffeine, 

spicy foods, citrus foods. 

• Avoiding alcohol ingestion. 

• Quitting smoking. Smoking weakens the 

lower esophageal sphincter and increases 

reflux. 

• Shedding off that excess weight. 

Certain medications like aspirin, ibuprofen, 

anti asthmatics etc irritate the stomach 

mucosal lining and can exaggerate reflux 

symptoms. These should be discussed with 

the doctor and alternative medications be 

taken. 

To prevent tooth surface loss, few precautions 

that can be taken are: 

• Refrain from brushing your teeth 

immediately after a reflux episode. Brushing 

may damage enamel that has already been 

weakened by acid. 

Opponents of xenotransplantation fear that 

these viruses, when introduced into a human 

system, might cause epidemics of diseases 

for which we have no immunity and no cure. 

Large commercial companies like eGenesis 

claim that they have removed these 

threatening viruses from the animals’ DNA. 

They have cut out genes and blasted the rest 

to eradicate all Perv activity to make Perv 

free piglets. 

Scientists say major obstacles remain. “Even 

if organs from these gene-edited pigs could be 

safely used to overcome virus transmission, 

there remain formidable obstacles in 

overcoming immunological rejection and 

the physiological incompatibility of pig 

organs in humans.” 

Experts in these fields worry that transgenic 

pig organs, whose organs are no longer 

completely porcine genetically, may be even 

more susceptible to viral infections. 

The humans that get these genetically 

modified organs would have to be on 

immunosuppressants for the rest of 

their lives. While xenotransplantation may 

theoretically increase the survival time, it is 

unclear whether the negative impact on the 

human’ quality of life would be worth it. 

The risk of getting and transmitting disease 

to the recipient and to society cannot be 

accurately estimated. What impact will 

it have on the human race, should a new 

zoonotic infection be introduced, for which 

we have no cure? Ebola and Aids have killed 

millions. 

• Chew sugar-free gum. Chewing gum 

stimulates the production of saliva and 

reduces acid content in the mouth. 

• The dental surgeon would prescribe mouth 

rinses and toothpastes containing fluoride to 

make the teeth resistant to demineralization. 

• Refrain from drinking carbonated drinks. 

Unexplained widespread tooth surface loss 

can indicate the possibility of GERD and 

medical and dental management of this 

reflux disease is mandated. With proper 

medications, GERD is treatable, but 

relapses are occur. 

Depending on the extent of tooth loss, resin 

restorations to occlude the exposed tooth 

surfaces or full crowns might be advised 

by the dental surgeon. The main aim of the 

dental treatment is to protect the exposed 

dentin and prevent further breakdown. 

In addition, fluoride treatment to allow 

remineralization of the tooth surfaces would 

also be recommended 

Regularly scheduled dental and medical 

appointments will help reduce the episodes 

of reflux and allow you to live a reflux free 

comfortable life! 

By Dr. Anveeta Agarwal, BDS, MDS, 

Consultant Oral Pathologist, Associate 

Dental Surgeon & a Specialist at 

Dantah 




Entertainment & Lifestyle 


‘Hobbit’ director Peter Jackson making 

Jackson’s movie, announced on 22nd January, 

is among dozens of artworks commissioned 

by British cultural bodies to commemorate 

100 years since the final year of the 1914- 

18 war. 

The New Zealand-based director of “The 

Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings” series has 

restored film from the Imperial War Museum 

using cutting-edge digital technology and 

hand coloring, pairing it with archive audio 

recollections from veterans of the conflict. 

He said the aim is to close the 100-year time 

gap and show “what it was like to fight in 

the war.” 

“We all know what First World War footage 

looks like,” Jackson said in comments broadcast. 

WWI documentary 

“T 

he Lord of the Rings” director Peter “It’s sped-up, it’s fast, like Charlie Chaplin, 

Jackson is going from Middle Earth grainy, jumpy, scratchy, and it immediately 

to the Western Front, transforming grainy blocks you from actually connecting with 

black-and-white footage of World War I into the events on screen. 

3-D color for a new documentary film. 

“But the results we have got are absolutely 

unbelievable. They are way beyond what 

I expected. “This footage looks like it was 

shot in the last week or two, with high 

definition cameras.” 

Singer Ed 

Sheeran 

announces 

engagement on 

Instagram 

E 

d Sheeran has announced his engagement 

to girlfriend Cherry Seaborn. 

The Grammy-winning singer posted a 

picture of the two on his Instagram page 

saying the two got engaged right before the 

new year. 

He said they are “very happy and in love” 

and that their “cats are chuffed as well.” 

Sheeran said last fall how Seaborn inspired 

his song “Perfect,” which is Number One on 

the Billboard Hot 100 charts. 

Sheeran and Seaborn were friends when the 

two attended school in Suffolk, England. 

They reconnected years later. 



The film will premiere during the London 

Film Festival in October before being 

broadcast on BBC television. Every school 

in the U.K. will also receive a copy. 

The film is part of the government-backed 

14-18 Now project, which has presented 

works by more than 200 artists over four 

years to remember a conflict in which 20 

million people died. 

Other works premiering this year include 

a large-scale performance piece by South 

African artist William Kentridge about 

G 

African porters who served in the war; 

processions to mark the 100th anniversary 

of some British women winning the right to 

vote; and a performance celebrating wartime 

homing pigeons that includes birds fitted 

with LED lights. “Slumdog Millionaire” 

director Danny Boyle — who helmed the 

2012 London Olympics opening ceremony 

— will create a mass-participation work to 

be performed on the anniversary of the Nov. 

11, 1918, armistice that ended the war. 



Del Toro’s ‘Shape of Water’ Lands 

Leading 13 Oscar Nods 

uillermo del Toro’s lavish monster 

romance “The Shape of Water” fished 

out a leading 13 nominations, Greta Gerwig 

became just the fifth woman nominated 

for best director and “Mudbound’” 

cinematographer Rachel Morrison made 

history as the first woman to earn a nod in 

that category in nominations announced for 

the 90th annual Academy Awards. 

Oscar voters put forward nine best-picture 

nominees: “The Shape of Water,” “Three 

Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” 

“Lady Bird,” “Get Out,” “The Post,” 

“Dunkirk,” “Call Me By Your Name” and 

“Phantom Thread.” 

The cascading fallout of sexual harassment 

scandals throughout Hollywood put 

particular focus on the best director 

category, which for many is a symbol of 

gender inequality in the film industry. 

Gerwig follows only Lina Wertmuller, 

Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola and Kathryn 

Bigelow, the sole woman to win (for “The 

Hurt Locker”). 

Also nominated for best director was “Get 

Out” director Jordan Peele. He becomes the 

fifth black filmmaker nominated for best 

director, and third to helm a best-picture 

nominee, following Barry Jenkins last year 

for “Moonlight.” 

Though all of the front-runners _-Frances 

McDormand (“Three Billboards’’), Gary 

Oldman (“Darkest Hour’’), Allison Janney 

(“I, Tonya’’), Sam Rockwell (“Three 

Billboards’’) - landed their expected 

nominations, there were surprises. 

Denzel Washington (“Roman J. Israel, 

Esq.’’) was nominated for best actor, likely 

eclipsing James Franco (“Disaster Artist’’). 

Franco was accused of sexual misconduct, 

which he denied, just days before Oscar 

voting closed. Last year’s Oscars broadcast, 

hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, drew 32.9 million 

viewers for ABC, a four percent drop from 

the prior year. More worrisome, however, 

was a steeper slide in the key demographic 

of adults aged 18-49, whose viewership was 

down 14 percent from 2016. 

Though the show ran especially long, at 

three hours and 49 minutes, it finished with a 

bang: the infamous envelope mix-up that led 

to “La La Land” being incorrectly announced 

as the best picture before “Moonlight” was 

crowned. 

This year, the academy has prohibited the 

PwC accountants who handle the envelopes 

from using cellphones or social media 

during the show. The accounting firm also 

unveiled several reforms including the 

addition of a third balloting partner in the 

show’s control room. Neither of the PwC 

representatives involved in the mishap last 

year, Brian Cullinan or Martha Ruiz, will 

return to the show. 

But the movie business has larger accounting 

problems. Movie attendance hit a 24-year 

low in 2017 despite the firepower of “Star 

Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Beauty and the 

Beast” and “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 

2.” An especially dismal summer movie 

season was 92 million admissions shy of 

summer 2016, according to the National 

Alliance of Theater Owners. 

Still, the summer produced one best-picture 

favorite, “Dunkirk,” which grossed $525.6 

million worldwide. Warner Bros.’ Patty 

Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman,” released in June 

to $821.8 million in ticket sales, became the 

highest grossing movie ever directed by a 

woman, though it did not receive any Oscar 

nods. 

But the box-office hit that carved the most 

unlikely path to the Oscars is “Get Out.” It 

opened back in February on Oscar weekend, 

and went on to pocket $254.7 million 

worldwide. 

Though “Get Out” and “Dunkirk” lend a 

blockbuster punch to the best-picture field 

- something that has historically helped 

ratings of the broadcast - the other films in 

the mix are smaller indies. 

It was a dominant if bittersweet day for 

20th Century Fox. Its specialty label, 

Fox Searchlight, is behind both “Three 

Billboards” and “The Shape of Water,” and 

Fox released The Post.” Yet those wins may 

soon count for the Walt Disney Co., which 

last month reached a deal to purchase Fox 

for $52.4 billion. 

Both Amazon and Netflix failed to crack the 

best picture category but earned nominations 

elsewhere. Netflix’s “Mudbound” scored 

a best-supporting nod for Mary J. Blige 

and Amazon’s “The Big Sick” grabbed a 

nomination for Holly Hunter in the same 

category. “The Big Sick” also scored an 

original screenplay nod. 




16 


H 

M 

Sports 

Welcome Ruling 

by CAS on IAAF 

Hyperandrogenism rule 





yperandrogenism is a condition which 

causes a woman to produce roughly 

three times more testosterone than an 

average female. This term came to be 

increasingly associated with Athletics with 

the performance of athletes like Castor 

Semanya at the international level, and 

Dutee Chand at the national level. Believing 

that hyperandrogenism gave athletes an unfair 

advantage, The International Association of 

Athletics Federations (IAAF) introduced its 

hyperandrogenism regulations in 2011. Under 

the rules, the IAAF would initiate a three-stage 

medical examination process if it suspected a 

female athlete had hyperandrogenism. Often 

a sudden and dramatic improvement in 

performance led to the suspicion. The IAAF 

believes testosterone is the most significant 

factor influencing athletic performance, and 

so feels hyperandrogenic women have an 

unfair athletic advantage over other female 

athletes and their testosterone should be 

lowered. This entailed the conduct of gender 

test for female athletes with high level of 

testosterone. 

Indian female sprinter Dutee Chand was 

the first athlete to challenge these rules. 

Chand, a national champion in the 100 

meters and an Olympic hopeful, was found 

to have hyperandrogenism and barred 

from competing against women in 2014 

because her natural levels of testosterone 

exceeded guidelines for female athletes. 

On 24 July 2015, the Court of Arbitration 

for Sport (CAS) issued an Interim Award 

in the arbitration procedure between the 

Indian athlete Dutee Chand, the Athletics 

Federation of India (AFI) and the International 

Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). 

The CAS Panel in charge of the procedure 

(The Hon. Justice Annabelle Claire 

Bennett AO, Australia (President), Prof. 

Richard H. McLaren, Canada, and Dr 

Hans Nater, Switzerland) suspended the 

“IAAF Regulation Governing Eligibility 

of Females with Hyperandrogenism to 

Compete in Women’s Competition” (the 

“Hyperandrogenism Regulations”) until 24 

July 2017. 

In a welcome move, the Court of Arbitration 

for Sports on January 19, 2018 has suspended 

the Hyperandrogenism Regulation of the 

International Association of Athletics 

Federations (IAAF) for another six months. 

The CAS has now issued an order by consent 

of the parties by which this proceeding is 

suspended for a period of six months, 

during which the IAAF Hyperandrogenism 

Regulations remain suspended. A media 

release by CAS states; “During this period, 

the IAAF is to advise the CAS as to how 

it intends to implement its regulations 

moving forward. If the IAAF decides not 

to withdraw its current Hyperandrogenism 

Regulations, then these proceedings will 

resume before the same Panel of arbitrators. If 

the IAAF withdraws the Hyperandrogenism 

Regulations and/or replaces them with the 

proposed draft regulations it has submitted, 

then these proceedings will be terminated”. 

The issue will continue if IAAF decides not to 

withdraw the contentious Hyperandrogenism 

regulations. However such regulations have 

faced a multitude of criticisms. One major 

criticism is that such regulations unlawfully 

against female athletes and also against those 

athletes who possess a peculiar biological 

feature. Moreover, experts have shown that 

dividing line between men and women when 

it came to testosterone wasn’t as clear as 

the IAAF suggested. This was also a major 

argument advanced by the legal experts for 

Dutee Chand in CAS. Going by known 

cases, hyperandrogenism regulations also 

seem to be discriminatory against women 

from developing countries and low income 

societies. 

Garcia starts new year with victory 

in Singapore 

asters champion Sergio Garcia began 

his 20th year as a pro by closing with 

a 3-under 68 for a five-shot victory at the 

Singapore Open. 

Garcia won for the 28th time in his career, 

and in his fourth Asian country. 

Starting the final round of the rain-delayed 

event at Sentosa Golf Club, the Spaniard 

birdied his first hole, picked up two more 

birdies before the turn and made all pars on 

the back nine. 

He won by five shots over Satoshi Kodaira 

(71) of Japan and Shaun Norris (70) of 

South Africa. 

Jazz Janewattananond, a 22-year-old Thai, 

was among four players who earned spots in 

the British Open. 

The others went to Danthai Boonma of 

Thailand, Lucas Herbert of Australia and 

American Sean Crocker. 



Holland, Richardson in 

Aussie squad for South 

Africa series 

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Published at A-2/59 Safdarjung Enclave New Delhi-110029. Ph.: 26102520, 26105846 Fax: 26196294 Email: info@newdelhitimes.com, Vol. 27, No. 52 Editor : Dr. Ankit Srivastava 

A 

ustralia selectors have recalled Jon 

Holland and added Jhye Richardson to 

expand the squad which won the Ashes for 

the upcoming four-test tour to South Africa. 

Steve Smith’s Australians beat England 4-0 

in the five-test series to regain the Ashes and 

have stuck with the winning formula with a 

few additions in the 15-man squad. 

Cameron Bancroft was retained as an 

opening partner for vice-captain David 

Warner, again at the expense of Matt 

Renshaw. 

Peter Handscomb, who lost his place in the 

starting XI when allrounder Mitch Marsh 

was recalled during the Ashes, is again the 

backup batsman. 

The bowling attack, which featured Mitchell 

Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and 

off-spinner Nathan Lyon, will have Jackson 

Bird, left-arm orthodox spinner Holland and 

paceman Richardson as backup. 

Australia selector Trevor Hohn said 

Holland, who has played two tests, deserved 

a place as the second-leading wicket taker 

in the Sheffield Shield domestic first-class 

competition last season and Richardson was 

had been impressive during his chances in 

the one-day format 

“We envisage the wickets we will see in 

South Africa will not warrant the need 

to play two spinners,” Hohn said in a 

statement. “Therefore, should (Lyon) not be 

able to play at any stage, we wanted to have 

the best specialist spinner available to us and 

based on current red-ball form Jon warrants 

that spot.” 

The test squad leaves for South Africa on 

Feb. 15 with the exception of Warner, who 

will lead the Australian Twenty20 squad 

which will be involved in 

a tri-series against New 

Zealand and England. 

The test series in South 

Africa starts March 1 in 

Durban. 

“The South Africa series 

is a very important one 

and we have made no 

secret of our desire to 

improve our record away 

from home,” Hohn said. 

Bancroft’s selection was 

under a cloud after a moderate Ashes series. 

Apart from his unbeaten 82 in the second 

innings of the first test at Brisbane, Bancroft 

had scores of 5, 10, 4, 25, 26, 27 and a duck. 

Meanwhile, D’Arcy Short, Alex Carey and 

Ben Dwarshuis are the only uncapped players 

included in the Twenty20 squad also announced 

on the same day. 

Glenn Maxwell has been recalled to that 

squad after missing selection for Australia’s 

current one-day international series against 

England. 

“D’Arcy’s selection speaks for itself,” 

T20 selector Mark Waugh said. “He is the 

leading run-scorer in the (Big Bash League) 

and has also taken valuable wickets when 

handed the ball. He is in outstanding form 

and we look forward to seeing what he can 

bring to this T20 side.” 

The 23-year-old Dwarshuis wins his first 

Australia call-up before playing in the 

domestic first-class competition. 

___ 

Test squad: Steve Smith (captain), David 

Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, 

Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh 

Hazlewood, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, 

Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, 

Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc. 

Twenty20 squad: David Warner (captain), 

Aaron Finch, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Ben 

Dwarshuis, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn 

Maxwell, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, 

Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, 

Adam Zampa.

29 January - 4 February 2018 - 16-min

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