Day after Putin meet, PM underlines: Loss of innocent lives unacceptable

A day after he met Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russia-Ukraine war continued to dominate Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in Vienna where he said "This is not a time for war", "problems cannot be solved on the battlefield" and "loss of innocent lives, anywhere, is unacceptable".

Muslim women can seek maintenance from their husband under CrPC: SC

The Supreme Court ruled that all married and divorced women, including Muslim women illegally divorced by the pronouncement of "triple talaq", are entitled to claim maintenance from their husbands under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, "irrespective of her personal law".

In separate but concurring judgments, a Bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih held that the right of Muslim women to seek recourse to Section 125 will not be eclipsed by the provisions of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, enacted by the then Rajiv Gandhi government after the landmark Shah Bano judgment of 1985.

"The rights created under the provisions of the 1986 Act are in addition to, and not in derogation of, the right created under Section 125 of the CrPC," Justice Nagarathna wrote.

Ready to work with India to handle situation in border areas: Wang to Doval

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has expressed readiness to join hands with India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to "properly handle" issues related to the situation in the border areas, amid the standoff in eastern Ladakh.

In a congratulatory message to Doval on his reappointment as India's National Security Advisor and Special Representative for the India-China boundary question, Wang noted that China and India share a relationship that transcends bilateral boundaries and holds increasing global significance.

Besides being the Foreign Minister, Wang is also China's Special Representative of the India-China border talks mechanism. In his message to Doval, Wang said China and India share a relationship that transcends bilateral boundaries and holds increasing global significance.

MESSAGE TO MOSCOW

New Delhi's Gradual move from its Cold War-era principle of non-alignment to the more pragmatic multi-alignment could well have hit a wall in 2022. 

The war in Ukraine sharpened the renewed great power rivalries and India had significant partnerships with both sides - the traditional relationship with Russia on the one hand, and deepening ties with the US on the other. 

Two and a half years later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first visit to Russia since the conflict began shows that New Delhi is getting more adept on the diplomatic tightrope: While the visit saw warmth between PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin and a slew of announcements on trade, technology and the defence partnership, India also chided Moscow as it made a stronger pitch for peace. 

However, the vexed challenges of multi-alignment, of balancing competing and sometimes contradictory interests, remain. Two formulations by PM Modi during the visit are symptomatic of the complexity that India must navigate.

IT'S HEATING UP

The average global temperature between July 2023 and June 2024 was the highest on record, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service's latest bulletin. 

The agency, among the World Meteorological Organisation's key sources of climate data, has revealed that in the past 12 months, the planet was 1.64 degrees Celsius hotter than in the fossil fuel era. 

The findings do not immediately mean that the world has defaulted on the Paris Climate Pact's 1.5 degrees threshold - that target is measured in terms of decadal averages and not yearly temperature. 

The onset of La Nina might bring relief to people in several parts of the world. Nevertheless, there are enough reasons to see the EU agency's data as a continuing shift in global temperatures. The "temporary" breaches of the 1.5-degree target over the past two years are warnings to brace for a warmer world and bolster adaptation mechanisms.

Russia's razor's edge

While the content of the Modi-Putin chat on China is unlikely to come into the public domain for some time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's recent utterances on the subject suggest that there is no change in its long-standing stance. 

When referring to the India-China border clashes, at the recent Primakov Readings, Lavrov said that Russia looks at, 'with understanding', India's current views on talks with China.

A plan for national well-being

On this World Population Day, we reflect on India's journey in family planning and reaffirm our commitment to address the challenges that lie ahead.

As endorsed in the United Nations International Conference on Population Development (ICPD) in May, India has not only provided leadership to the ICPD agenda but has also demonstrated progress through improved family-planning services and improving health outcomes, especially maternal health and child health.

In India, people are opting for smaller families, averaging just two children. This trend reflects a significant shift over the past decade, during which more than half of women (57 per cent) in their reproductive age (15 to 49 years) have actively used modern contraceptives. 

This widespread use of contraceptives highlights the success of India's family planning programme. However, family planning is much more; it is integral to the health and well-being of communities and empowering women by providing them with rights and choices. With 369 million young people aged 10-24, India is on the brink of a transformative demographic shift.

Drone with 25-kg payload tested at world's highest pass

A Bengaluru-based firm has claimed to have successfully tested a 100-kg Max Take Off Weight (MTOW) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) at an altitude of 19,024 feet at Ladakh's Umling La pass, which also happens to be the highest motorable pass in the world.

MTOW includes the weight of the drone and the payload. The NewSpace Research and Technologies claimed to conducted the test flight. 

The CEO of NewSpace, Sameer Joshi said the company has successfully demonstrated carriage of 25 kg of useful payload from the 5.800m high pass, with a radius of action greater than shown by the DJI FlyCart 30 drone of China at Mount Everest base camp in April 2024. During the flight testing in Ladakh, the NewSpace drone flew to an altitude of 6,200m, said Joshi, a former IAF fighter pilot.

CrPC & personal law: Divorced Muslim women's right to alimony

The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by a Muslim man against a Telangana High Court order allowing his ex-wife to seek maintenance under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC).

A two-judge Bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and George Masih reiterated that a Muslim woman is entitled to seek maintenance from her husband under Section 125 of the CrPC - a secular legislation - even if they were divorced under religious personal law.

Mega dam, protest in Arunachal

Two anti-dam activists from Arunachal Pradesh were put in preventive detention on Monday, ahead of Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's visit to the state.

The police claimed to have received reports that the duo was "likely to attempt to cause a public order issue". The activists, however, said that they simply wanted to hand a memorandum to the minister regarding the contentious proposed Upper Siang Multipurpose Storage Project.

Biden, NATO set to announce Ukraine aid, vow membership

Us President Joe Biden and leaders of other NATO member states are set to announce new aid and stress a membership pledge for Ukraine at a summit in Washington after Biden promised to defend Kyiv against the Russian invasion.

As Biden welcomed NATO leaders, the United States and Germany announced that the U.S. would start deploying longer-range missiles in Germany in 2026 in an effort to demonstrate its commitment to NATO and European defence.

A joint US-German statement said the "episodic deployments" were in preparation for longer-term stationing of such capabilities that would include SM-6, Tomahawk and developmental hypersonic weapons.

Indian refiners likely saved $10.5 bn by buying discounted Russian oil

Oil has traditionally not been a major pillar of the India-Russia relationship, with the commodity languishing somewhere in the depths of the trade list between the two countries. But the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and what followed changed that completely, bringing oil to the very top of the trade relationship between Moscow and New Delhi.

During his visit to Moscow earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged that Russia's support helped India provide fuel to its vast population even as many countries faced an energy crisis. Modi also said that the world should accept that the India-Russia oil trade brought stability to global energy markets.

$100-bn FDI pledge by EFTA: Goyal to visit Switzerland soon

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal will visit Switzerland to take forward a $100 billion investment commitment for India made by the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA) under a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).

In the FTA that India signed in March with EFTA -which apart from Switzerland includes Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein - India secured the investment pledge from EFTA over the next 15 years in return for tariff concessions to the members of the grouping.