Category: Politics

On Thursday, the NDA’s presidential candidate, Draupadi Murmu, emerged victorious with 64.03% of the vote in the presidential election. She created history by becoming the first tribal woman to win President-elect. Belonging to a tribal community in the Mayurbhanj district in Odisha, Smt. Murmu fought against all odds to become the 15th President of India.

The 64-year-old Murmu bagged 6,76,803 votes against her opponent, Yashwant Sinha, who could manage only 3,803,177 votes. In the election counting, Murmu received votes from 2824 electors, including 540 MPs, out of 4809 electors, including 776 MPs, for a total vote value of 10,723,377. However, ballots from 53 electors, including the maximum of 15 MPs, were ruled illegal.

According to BJP sources, about 125 MLAs across different assemblies voted for her. Murmu also benefited from cross-voting from 17 MPs, as indicated by the counting of votes. An overwhelming number of opposition MLAs voted for the National Democratic Alliance candidate in Assam, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh.

Mos Tribal Affairs Renuukaa Singh congratulated Murmu, saying, “With Modi, everything is possible.” His dream has become a reality that our sister will sit in the highest constitutional position.”

The European Commission (EU), on Monday, struck a deal with Azerbaijan to double natural gas imports by 2027.

The agreement was made after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Baku in an attempt to reduce the European Union’s dependence on Russian gas.

According to Reuters, the deal between both countries will increase energy supply into the bloc through the Southern Gas Corridor pipeline.

Azerbaijan began exporting natural gas to Europe through the Trans Adriatic Pipeline at the end of 2020. In 2021, the pipeline delivered 8 billion cubic meters of gas to the EU. It is expected that Azerbaijan’s gas imports to the EU would cross 20 billion cubic meters by 2027.

“Today, with this new memorandum of understanding, we are opening a new chapter in our energy cooperation with Azerbaijan, a key partner in our efforts to move away from Russian fossil fuels,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a joint news conference with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev post the signing ceremony in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan. She added, “Azerbaijan is a crucial energy partner for us that has always been reliable.”

 The Azeri gas imports will rise to 12bcm next year, which “will help compensate for cuts in supplies of Russian gas and contribute significantly to Europe’s security of supply,” she added.

Italy has sealed a series of agreements with Algeria, as European countries intensified their efforts to sidestep Russia after it invaded Ukraine and fix alternative energy supplies.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi during his visit to Algiers as part of the fourth Italy-Algeria intergovernmental summit met Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Monday. They signed fifteen agreements and memorandums of understanding in versatile areas such as energy, sustainable development, justice, and micro-enterprises.

The finalization of the deal sees many energy companies, including Italy’s Eni, invest $4bn in a site to produce one billion oil-equivalent barrels.

Toufik Hakkar, chief executive officer of Sonatrach, Algeria’s state oil and gas producer told reporters that American energy firm Occidental and France’s TotalEnergies were also among the investors.

P.M Draghi said that Algeria has ‘become in recent months the biggest supplier of gas to Italy. “Algeria is a very important partner for Italy, in the energy sector, in the industry and business fields, in the fight against criminality, and in the search for peace and stability in the Mediterranean,” he said. The agreements are “fundamental for the European Union and Italy,” and “a testament to our determination to achieve even more in this domain,” he added.

Bangladeshi’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to launch diplomatic interactions beginning with a visit to India in September. It was originally scheduled for July. New Delhi sources indicate the visit will now take place from September 6 to 7.

Currently, her party is being criticized by the western power for the democracy deficit before next year’s elections.

Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen announced, “The possible dates of the Prime Minister’s New Delhi visit could be within the first 10 days of September”. According to him the capitals have decided to implement the bilateral decision ahead of PMs visit and will hold the Joint River Commission meeting.

A visit to India will be part of a broader international engagement that will include Ms. Hasina’s visit to the United Nations, as well as possible trips to other capital cities, as domestic and international “pulls and pressures” mount on the Awami League government ahead of next year’s elections.

The two sides will have the opportunity to engage in political discussion about India’s relationship with the Awami League and how the PM can combat the threat of fundamentalism while upholding democratic values and human rights, which have become points of contention among her current administration and the West.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have conveyed their interest and devotion to securing the stability of global energy markets.

US President Joe Biden held talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other top Saudi officials in Jeddah. In a joint statement carried out by the Saudi state news agency (SPA), the US welcomed Riyadh’s dedication to supporting balanced international oil markets to attain sustainable economic growth. The two countries agreed to strategically collaborate as partners in dealing with climate and energy issues and would consult often on global energy markets in the short and long term.

Experts have said Biden was eager to travel to Saudi Arabia based on his energy interest and to see Saudi Arabia and its Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) partners generate more oil to help reduce the high cost of gasoline and bring down the highest US inflation rate in four decades. However, The US national security adviser said he did not expect Saudi Arabia to take any immediate action to boost oil output and would rather wait for an OPEC+ meeting on August 3.

This was Biden’s first visit to the Kingdom after becoming the president of the USA.

The US House of Representatives passed a legislative amendment on Thursday, July 14, that approves a waiver to India against the harsh CAATSA sanctions for its acquisition of the S-400 missile defense system from Russia to help scare off aggressors like China.

The legislative amendment was passed as part of an en bloc (as a unit) amendment in the middle of floor consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Written and introduced by Indian-American congressional representative Ro Khanna, the amendment requests the Biden administration to use its power to offer India a Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) waiver to help put off aggressors like China.

CAATSA is a stringent US law that allows the US administration to thrust sanctions on countries that buy important defense hardware from Russia following Russia’s seizure of Crimea in 2014 and its claimed intrusive interference in the 2016 US presidential elections.

“The United States must stand with India in the face of escalating aggression from China. As Vice Chair of the India Caucus, I have been working to strengthen the partnership between our countries and ensure that India can defend itself along the Indian-Chinese border,” said Khanna. “This amendment is of the utmost importance, and I am proud to see it pass the House on a bipartisan basis,” he said.

On Friday, in an apparent gesture of openness towards Israel ahead of US President Joe Biden’s visit, Saudi Arabia lifted restrictions on “all carriers” using its airspace.

The US president praised Riyadh’s “historic” decision, the latest conciliatory move concerning the Jewish state, which Riyadh has refused to recognize despite Israeli efforts to establish ties with the Arab world.

In a statement on Twitter, the Saudi civil aviation authority stated that it has decided to open its airspace to all airlines meeting the requirements for overflying its airspace.

In addition to efforts to expand the Kingdom’s role as a global hub connecting three continents, the decision was made “to complement the Kingdom’s efforts”. US National security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in the statement, “this decision is the result of the President’s persistent and principled diplomacy with Saudi Arabia over many months, culminating in his visit today”.

The White House had hinted to the Arab world that more nations could pursue relations with Israel before Biden’s arrival in Israel at the end of his Middle East trip on Wednesday, raising speculation about whether Riyadh would reconsider its long-held stance of not establishing formal bilateral relations until the dispute with the Palestinians is settled.

Bali will host the G20 finance leaders this week for talks that will tackle topics such as global food security and inflation.

Wempi Saputra, Indonesia’s deputy for finance in the G20, said the group will be seeking to ensure the supply and affordability of food and fertilizers in poor countries to cope with a possible food crisis.

In addition to debt relief for poor countries, the summit will discuss the creation of a future pandemic fund at the World Bank, as well as the Resilience and Stability Trust at the International Monetary Fund.

When talks end on Saturday, Indonesia expects to issue a communiqué, but its central bank governor said that if that’s not possible, he will issue a chairman’s statement.

The central bank governor of Indonesia said if a communique could not be issued, the meeting would be summed up in a statement issued by the chair. The governor of Indonesia’s central bank said, “We hope for the best but certainly prepare for the worst.” He added that he doesn’t wish to speculate and that the bank is still working on the best possible way to reach a release.

On Tuesday, the European Union accepted Croatia as the 20th eurozone member. It will allow the nation to adopt a single currency from 2023.

According to the European Council, Croatia has passed the final three legal measures necessary for the country to join the euro. Among the acts, one euro will be converted into 7.53450 Croatian kunas. It will take some months to determine the practicalities of switching currencies.

European Commission VP Valdis Dombrivskis said that this was particularly important at such a challenging time when Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is continuously sending shock waves around the world. Dobrovskis spoke at a ceremony celebrating Croatia’s accession to the eurozone, the first since 2015.

The finance minister of Czechia Zbynek Stanjur is currently holding the six-month rotating presidency of the EU. He congratulated his Croatian counterpart and said, “Adopting the euro is not a race, but a responsible political decision. Croatia has successfully completed all the required economic criteria and they will pay in euros as of 1 January 2023”.

One of those acts set the conversion rate for entry at one euro to 7.53450 Croatian kunas, with Croatia now having a few months to prepare the practicalities for the currency switch.

Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Monday said he hoped a visit to Israel by U.S. President Joe Biden this week would result in a common Middle East market including Saudi Arabia.

Biden is to visit Israel on Wednesday and move to Saudi Arabia on Friday. The White House has said the purpose of the visit is to boost regional economic and security cooperation.

Questioned at an economic conference hosted by the Calcalist newspaper what he hopes to gain from Biden’s visit, Lieberman said: “It is time to create a new, common market in the Middle East – Israel, Saudi Arabia, Gulf countries, and Jordan. That’s the big challenge.” He elaborated, “It will change the reality here from end to end, in both the fields of security and economics. Therefore, I hope the emphasis during Biden’s visit will be on creating this new market in the Middle East.”

Israel restored ties with four Arab countries under a 2020 U.S. diplomatic drive, which was welcomed by Riyadh. In another remark at the conference, Israeli National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata said that Biden’s visit would make it possible to achieve certain breakthroughs in the potential expansion of the regional markets.