SEVERE EARTHQUAKE IN TURKEY AND SYRIA

Three big earthquakes – of 7.8, 7.6 and 6.0 magnitude – hit Turkey yesterday killing more than 4,000 people and injuring thousands. The deaths and destruction are in Turkey and neighbouring Syria. The last two earthquakes hit hours after the first killer temblor of 7.8 magnitude. Bad weather in the quake-hit regions worsened the plight.

India and other countries are rushing aid. PM Narendra Modi reached out to quake hit-Turkey. “India stands in solidarity with the people of Turkey and is ready to offer all possible assistance to cope with this tragedy,” the PM said. The government has decided to send rescue teams, medical teams and relief material.

A top UN humanitarian official said damage to roads, fuel shortages and harsh winter weather in Syria were hampering the agency's response even as millions are in need of aid.

US President Joe Biden spoke with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday to offer condolences and reaffirm Washington's readiness to assist in rescue efforts

The UK said it is providing the support that the Turkish government has asked for.

GOVT REACHES OUT TO OPPOSITION TO END PARLIAMENT LOGJAM OVER ADANI ISSUE

After three days of disruptions on the Adani issue, Parliament could begin a discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address from today as the government reached out to the opposition yesterday. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal on Monday held meetings with floor leaders of opposition parties to end the logjam after both Houses were adjourned for the day.

Joshi and Meghwal met floor leaders, including the Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the TMC’s Sudeep Bandopadhyay and the DMK’s TR Baalu, among others.

On Monday, opposition parties stalled proceedings for the third consecutive day in both Houses on the Adani Group issue to demand a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe.

PM MODI UNVEILS BIG HELICOPTER MANUFACTURING FACILITY

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s helicopter factory in Tumakuru district of Karnataka. Bengaluru-headquartered HAL plans to produce more than 1,000 helicopters in the range of 3-15 tonne with a total business of more than Rs 4 lakh crore over a period of 20 years at this facility.

PM Modi unveiled the Light Utility Helicopters (LUH).which has been flight tested. The LUH is an indigenously designed and developed three-tonne class, single-engine multipurpose utility helicopter. Initially, the factory will produce around 30 helicopters per year and can be enhanced to 60 and then 90 every year in a phased manner, according to the Defence Ministry.

The factory will be augmented to produce other helicopters such as Light Combat Helicopters (LCHs) and Indian Multirole Helicopters (IMRHs). It will also be used for maintenance, repair and overhaul of LCH, LUH, Civil Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and IMRH in the future.

Modi also took a dig at the Opposition over the Rafale deal and said it spread misinformation about HAL. “The Centre improved government defence companies and opened doors for the private sector...A few years ago, false allegations were hurled against our government by making HAL an excuse. People were provoked and the precious time of Parliament was wasted,” he said after inaugurating India’s largest helicopter unit at HAL’s plant in Tumakuru, Karnataka.

“No matter how big the lie is, eventually it is defeated. The HAL’s helicopter factory and its rising power will unveil (lies of) those who levelled false allegations,” Modi said, adding HAL was boosting self-reliance in defence.

Modi was referring to then Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s remarks made before the 2019 General Election. In 2019, Gandhi had said: “HAL is India’s strategic asset. The future of India’s aerospace industry has been destroyed by snatching Rafale from HAL and gifting it to Anil Ambani.”

‘PM MODI WILL DO HIS BEST TO AVERT DISCUSSION ON ADANI ISSUE IN PARLIAMENT’

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said PM Modi will do his best to avert a discussion on the Adani issue in Parliament, asserting that the country should know what power is behind the billionare businessman.

“Modi himself won’t allow discussion, and everyone knows the reasons. I am raising this issue for over two years now. Discussion should be allowed so that ‘Doodh ka doodh aur paani ka paani ho jaye’.”

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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BANGLADESH ASKS PAKISTAN TO APOLOGISE FOR 1971 KILLINGS TO IMPROVE TIES

Bangladesh has asked Pakistan to apologise for the atrocities committed by its armed forces in 1971 in order to enhance ties between the two countries.

The issue was raised during a meeting between Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and Pakistan Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar in Colombo where they attended the Sri Lanka’s Independence Day.

“Pakistan wants to increase diplomatic relations with Bangladesh. I told her that you have to apologise publicly first. If you do that, I will advocate this for you. Otherwise, we have a political reason,” Momen told newspersons in Dhaka after returning from Colombo where he had met Rabbani on Saturday.

Asked about her reply, he said Rabbani had avoided a direct answer and said, “We have some limitations.”

BEIJING CONFIRMS BALLOON OVER LATIN AMERICA IS CHINESE

China confirmed on Monday that a balloon identified by Washington and Bogota flying over Latin America is Chinese, after a similar device was shot down by the US over the weekend.

The Pentagon said on Friday that a second suspected Chinese spy balloon had been seen across Latin America.

Colombia’s airforce air force said it was conducting investigations in coordination with other countries and institutions “to establish the origins of the object”.

Beijing’s foreign ministry on Monday said the object was “from China” . Spokesperson Mao Ning said the object was an unmanned civilian airship on a test flight that “severely deviated and unintendedly entered the space above Latin America because it was affected by the weather and because it has limited self-steering capability”. “China is a responsible country and has always abided by international law,” she added. “We’ve communicated with the relevant parties and are handling appropriately, and won’t cause any threat to any country. ”

THE REST

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AAP TO MOVE SUPREME COURT AFTER THIRD ATTEMPT TO ELECT MAYOR FAILS

After the Delhi municipal House was adjourned for the third time in a month without electing a mayor, the AAP on Monday said it would move the Supreme Court so that the polls could be held in a "court-monitored manner".

The municipal House failed to elect a mayor on Monday after a ruckus erupted over the nominated members being allowed to vote in the election to the post.

Soon after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House assembled at around 11.30am, after a delay of half an hour, Presiding Officer Satya Sharma announced that aldermen would be allowed to vote in elections to the posts of mayor, deputy mayor and Standing Committee members which would be held simultaneously.

After emerging from the House, AAP leader Atishi told reporters, "We will go to the Supreme Court, and we will go today itself so that the mayoral elections can be held in a court-monitored manner." "Our demands are that the mayoral election be held in a time-bound manner in the next two weeks and the aldermen not be allowed to vote," she said.

THAROOR HITS BACK AT BJP: IF MUSHARRAF WAS ANATHEMA...

With several BJP leaders accusing him of "eulogising" Pervez Musharraf in his condolence message, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday asked if the former Pakistan president was anathema to all patriotic Indians, why did the then BJP-led government negotiate a ceasefire with him in 2003 and sign a joint statement in 2004.

\Tharoor's remarks came after several BJP leaders accused the Congress of "Pakistan parasti (worship)" and Union minister Jyoritiraditya Scindia asked if this was part of the "Haath Se Haath Jodo Abhiyan" with enemies.

"An Indian 'national' party's leader first casts doubts on our soldiers' act of bravery in Pulwama," Scindia said in an apparent reference to Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's remarks recently. "Then another one eulogises Pervez Musharraf who was responsible for the Kargil war. Haath se haath jodo abhiyaan with enemies?" Scindia tweeted on Monday.

AMID RISING CRITICISM, HIMANTA CITES DATA, SAYS 16.8% PREGNANCIES AMONG TEENS

In the face of growing political criticism of Assam government’s crackdown on child marriage, with a total 2,442 arrests made as of Monday evening, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the ratio of teen pregnancies in the state — at 16.8% of total registered pregnancies — is “alarming”.

Data shared by Sarma shows that out of 6,20,867 pregnancies registered in 2022 in the state, 1,04,264 were pregnant girls aged 19 and below, accounting for 16.8% of the total.

According to the National Family Health Survey-5 data, 11.7% girls between 15 and 19 in Assam were already mothers or pregnant at the time of the survey, against the all-India average of 6.8%.

“We are resolved to continue this drive until we fulfil our objective. I urge people to cooperate with us in controlling this harmful trend,” Sarma said.

On Monday, state TMC president Ripun Bora wrote to the Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court and sought the court’s intervention given the “gross abuse of law and violation of human rights”. He wrote, “Without creating any awareness among the public about the Act [Prohibition of Child Marriage Act], Assam Police indiscriminately arrested several thousand people, those who married few years back now their wives are fully in major age.”

He claimed this has resulted in a situation of “unrest”.

Calling the government’s actions “Tughlaqi”, Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi said, “That child marriage should stop is our demand but we don’t agree with the arrangement made by Assam government to tackle it. We think it’s illegal. Without following the law, Himanta Biswa Sarma (is) arresting people for marriages done seven-eight-nine-10 years ago. Under law, he can only take action on marriages which took place within two years.”

NO SCOPE FOR HATE CRIMES ON BASIS OF RELIGION: SUPREME COURT

The Supreme Court on Monday observed that there is a growing consensus around hate speech and stressed there is no scope for hate crimes on the basis of religion in a secular country such as India.

“There cannot be any compromise on hate speech at all,” the top court said and added that it is only if the State acknowledges the problem of hate speech that a solution can be found.

It also said it is the primary duty of the State to protect its citizens from any such hate crimes.

A bench of justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna said, “When action is not taken against hate crimes then an atmosphere is fostered which is very dangerous and it has to be rooted out from our lives. There cannot be any compromise on hate speech at all.”

The top court was hearing a plea of a Muslim man who has alleged that he was assaulted and abused in the name of religion on July 4, 2021, by a “screwdriver gang” of criminals as he had boarded a car to go to Aligarh from Noida, and that the police has not bothered to register any complaint of hate crime.

The bench told Additional Solicitor General (ASG) KM Nataraj, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, that, “Nowadays there is a growing consensus around hate speech.

The bench, which sat till 6 pm hearing the matter, said, “Will you not acknowledge that there is a hate crime and you will sweep it under the carpet? We are not saying anything adverse. We are only expressing our anguish. That is all.”

Nataraj conceded that there were lapses on part of police officials and said a special investigation team has been constituted headed by an ACP-rank officer and disciplinary action has been taken against erring police officials.

SANGH JOURNAL PUSHES FOR UCC, THROUGH STATES, NOT CENTRE

Why should mosques, churches and gurdwaras be allowed to manage their affairs and finances, while the government exercises control over affairs of temples, and why should Muslim women be deprived of alimony after divorce, when Hindu women are entitled to it?

These are among questions that RSS-linked magazine ‘Indraprastha Samwad’ has raised in the editorial of its latest issue, pushing for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

“Democracy and rule of law means everyone is equal before the law without any discrimination. But is this the reality? Unfortunately, despite 73 years since the Constitution came into effect, UCC has not been implemented,” the monthly wrote in its editorial.

Last year, the Uttarakhand government formed a committee for implementation of UCC, and the panel is currently taking suggestions from across the country on the issue. The Madhya Pradesh government has also announced the formation of a committee.

The Sangh believes the best way to push the UCC at the moment is through the states, and not through an all-encompassing Central legislation.

“The law for this needs far deeper study and wider consultation. This is not Article 370, which was just a matter of taking a decision — the UCC concerns every section of the society, and so taking everyone’s views is necessary. It is good that a debate is taking place in the country over it,” an RSS leader said.

DRAMA OVER APPOINTMENT OF A NEW JUDGE IN MADRAS HC

The past few months have seen rising tension between the Centre and the Supreme Court over the issue of appointments, but this story has now taken a curious unprecedented twist at the helm of which hangs the appointment of one, Advocate Victoria Gowri, scheduled to be sworn in as a judge of the Madras High Court today at 10:35 am.

On January 17, 2023, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended the name of Mrs. Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri to be appointed as a judge of the Madras High Court. This came amidst ongoing tension between the Centre and the Collegium over constant delays in the Centre clearing names recommended by the Collegium. The Collegium, in a series of resolutions published online, urged the Centre to act expeditiously regarding certain appointments.

Soon after Advocate Gowri’s name was recommended, lawyers at the Madras High Court began protesting against her appointment. The reason? Protesting lawyers said that her past public speeches hint at strong prejudices against citizens on grounds of their religious affiliations. They cite two interviews given by Gowri in the past where she had allegedly indulged in hate speech against Muslims and Christians. Amidst these protests, lawyers from Madras wrote to the CJI and the Collegium to reconsider their decision.

Shortly after 10:30 am on Monday, the lawyers from Madras through Senior Advocates Raju Ramachandran and Anand Grover sought an urgent hearing from the Supreme Court on the issue. In a dramatic twist, however, just a few minutes after CJI Chandrachud agreed to hear the petitions on Friday, the Centre issued a notification clearing Advocate Gowri’s name for appointment, paving the way for her to take oath.

The lawyers rushed back to the Chief Justice of India at noon, citing an ‘urgency’, seeking ‘extraordinary indulgence’. “We’ve already taken cognisance of this matter”, the CJI said. “We’ll hear you tomorrow morning.”

Advocate Gowri’s swearing in ceremony scheduled for 10:35 am today. The Supreme Court may be completely out of bounds indulging into the issue at all, if not done before the swearing-in ceremony. Since the Constitution categorically says that a sitting judge of any High Court or the Supreme Court can only be removed through the process of impeachment, the Supreme Court cannot possibly strike down the Presidential order of appointment after the oath has been taken.

GOOGLE TO LAUNCH CHATGPT RIVAL BARD, RELEASES AI SERVICE TO EARLY TESTERS

Google-parent Alphabet is planning to launch a chatbot service and more artificial intelligence for its search engine as well as developers, marking a riposte to Microsoft in a rivalry to lead a new wave of technology. In a blog post on Monday, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the company is opening a conversational AI service called Bard to test users for feedback, followed by a public release in the coming weeks.

Bard from Google is Alphabet's competition to OpenAI's ChatGPT, headed by Microsoft. ChatGPT has been in news for becoming the fastest-growing consumer application in history, beating TikTok and Instagram. ChatGPT is estimated to have reached 100 million monthly active users in January, just two months after launch.

OpenAI, a private company backed by Microsoft, made ChatGPT available to the public for free in late November. The company has rolled out a ChatGPT Plus services to users in US at subscription fee of $20.

CRICKET AUSTRALIA TWEET DRAWS A RESPONSE

India and Australia are all set to renew their rivalry for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which gets underway in Nagpur from Thursday.

Australia began the banter on Monday with Cricket Australia's media wing sharing a video of India being bowled out for 36 runs in the Adelaide Test on December 19, 2020.

Former India opener and popular cricket commentator Aakash Chopra was quick to remind the Aussies of the final scoreline of the series, which India won. Since the Aussies have such poor memories, we'd like to reiterate it again: India defeated Australia 2-1.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Negative people need drama like oxygen. Stay positive, it’ll take their breath away. - Tony Gaskins

OFF TRACK

A man, whose level of drunkenness was bordering on the absurd, stood up to leave a bar and fell flat on his face.

"Maybe all I need is some fresh air," thought the man as he crawled outside.

He tried to stand up again, but fell face first into the mud.

"Screw it," he thought. "I'll just crawl home."

The next morning, his wife found him on the doorstep asleep.

"You went out drinking last night, didn't you?" she said.

"Uh, yes," he said sheepishly. "How did you know?"

"You left your wheelchair at the bar again."