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Twitter Account Blocked IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

Twitter denied Union Electronics and IT and Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad access to his own account on the micro-blogging site.  Though the Twitter account of the minister was visible for public viewing, Twitter did not permit anyone authorized to access this account to log in or make any post.  About an hour later, Twitter unlocked access to the account by posting a warning message to the minister’s account stating. IT RULE OF INDIA ON BLOCKING Rule 4 (8) of the newly notified Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 clearly stipulates that, whenever content that does not belong to the user is shared on a social media platform the social media intermediary shall ensure that prior to removing or disabling access, it has provided the user who has shared such content with a notification explaining the action being taken and the grounds or reasons for such action. Slamming the move, Prasad said, “Twitter’s ...
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Pakistan remains on FATF's grey list

Pakistan continues to remain on Financial Action Task Force or FATF's grey list even as it is still to implement its action plan.  The country has to work towards complete implementations till the next FATF plenary meet that will take place in which will take place from October 17 to October 22.  Pakistan was put on the FATF grey list in June 2018. Being on the grey list is a signal that money in the country is being used for financing terrorism.  This impacts foreign investment flow in the country impacting the economy.  FATF The FATF is a global watchdog for money laundering and terror financing.  The inter-governmental body sets international standards that aim to prevent these illegal activities and the harm they cause to society.  As a policy-making body, the FATF works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in these areas. The organisation was established by the G-7 Summit that was hel...
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India’s first maritime arbitration centre to come up in Gandhinagar

The Gujarat Maritime University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Financial Services Centres Authority in GIFT City to promote the Gujarat International Maritime Arbitration Centre (GIMAC).  This will be the first centre of its kind in the country that will manage arbitration and mediation proceedings with disputes related to the maritime and shipping sector. The GIMAC will be part of a maritime cluster that the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) is setting up in GIFT City at Gandhinagar. There are over 35 arbitration centres in India.  However, none of them exclusively deals with the maritime sector. The arbitration involving Indian players is now heard at the Singapore Arbitration Centre.
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Ebrahim Raisi to be the president of Iran

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Ebrahim Raisi has been declared the winner of Iran's 13th presidential elections. Iran’s president oversees the civilian arm of the country’s government.  The president sets domestic policy. THE CONTROVERSIAL ELECTIONS The reformists, a powerful constituency, have pushed for gradual reforms by rallying behind leaders like Mohammad Khatami and Hassan Rouhani, the conservatives always pushed back. There were allegations that the June 18 election was rigged in favour of Mr. Raisi even before the first ballot was cast. The Guardian Council, which vets potential candidates, had rejected almost all major reformists, leaving him the only prominent figure on the ballot.  This led to opposition activists calling for an election boycott, which seems to have had an impact on the voting — the turnout was 48.8%, an all­-time low. A significant number of people did not cast their votes this time because they believe that the elections are rigged and do not trust the election watchdog calle...
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India abstain on UNGA resolution on Myanmar

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The UN General Assembly adopted the draft resolution 'The situation in Myanmar' with 119 Member States voting in favour, including Myanmar. The diplomat Kyaw Moe Tun is still recognized by the United Nations as Myanmar’s ambassador, although he was pushed out and charged with treason by his country’s military leaders. 36 nations abstained, including Myanmar's neighbours - India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Laos, Nepal and Thailand, Russia also abstained.  Belarus was the sole country voting against it. THE RESOLUTION The resolution was introduced by Liechtenstein, whose representative warned that there is a “real and present danger of a full-fledged civil war” in Myanmar.  It is non-binding resolution condemning the military regime in Myanmar. The resolution expressed "grave concern" at the February 1 coup and called upon Myanmar's military junta to immediately and unconditionally release President Win Myint, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and other governme...
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Delta Plus variant

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Scientists around the world and in India are concerned about ‘Delta plus’, an emerging form of the Delta variant of the novel coronavirus.  This variant allows the virus to “escape” antibodies in recently approved treatment regimes.  WHAT IS DELTA PLUS VARIANT? Formally known as AY.1 or B.1.617.2.1, it’s a variant of Delta (B.1.617.2), which was first identified in India. It has an additional mutation called K417N, which has previously been identified in the Beta variant (first found in South Africa) and the Gamma variant (first detected in Brazil). The K417N, along with another mutation called K417T, is a mutation in the spike protein of the novel coronavirus. These variants are characterized as being highly infectious and may reduce the potency of vaccines.  WHY THE CONCERN? The Delta variant is now regarded as the most prevalent one in India, comprising nearly 31% of the 21,000 community samples processed until late May.  This variant has significant differen...
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Delhi HC’s order surprising, says SC

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The Supreme Court issued notice on Delhi Police appeals against the Delhi High Court order granting bail to student-activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha.  They were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, in a Northeast Delhi riots conspiracy case. SC declined to interfere with the bail order, but the bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian said “in a bail application, a 100-page judgment discussing all laws is surprising us” and “can have pan-India ramification”. It directed that the judgment shall not be treated as a precedent and may not be relied upon by any of the parties in any of the proceedings. HC RULING The court reasoned that “the more stringent a penal provision, the more strictly it must be construed”.  By doing so, it raised the bar for the State to book an individual for terrorism under the UAPA. The three orders by Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani. The court held that the phrase ‘te...
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