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Syria heads UN conference on disarmament and the latest episode of Trump’s ‘Spygate’ saga

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Amid international uproar, Syria is heading the UN conference on disarmament

In a surprising turn of events, Syria has assumed the rotating presidency of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva. Ironically, this is the same committee that had negotiated the global ban on chemical weapons, reports the South China Morning Post.

According to UN human rights investigators, the Syrian government is suspected of using chemical weapons several times during its civil war. Syria’s envoy in Geneva denied the charges.

The move was met with outrage from Western governments, but there was little they could do to prevent Syria from taking over the world’s only permanent multilateral body for negotiating arms control agreements for four weeks.

The change in presidency happens as the head of the conference changes every four weeks among UN member countries in alphabetic order.

However, according to reports by BBC, ensuring the Syrian presidency “cannot inflict damage” on CD work will not be too difficult. The CD has been stalled on all major issues for many years now, something UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres lamented just last week, pointing out that it had “produced very little” for decades, and calling for it be “reinvigorated”.

 

Is Trump a victim of Watergate-type political spying?

US President Donald Trump’s lawyer and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani recently likened the FBI using an informant to speak to members of the Trump campaign to the Watergate scandal, according to New York Post. But Rudy painted Trump as the victim in this case.

However, according to The Washington Post, the statements are based on “malevolent intent”. The burglars in Watergate were paid by then President Nixon’s reelection campaign to break into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee to obtain information about its political opponents.

But the FBI’s alleged acts of omission and commission are different, the newspaper adds.

“The episode arose from the entirely understandable and legitimate concerns sparked at the FBI… about the prospect that Russian operatives were trying to interfere in the election and that members of the Trump campaign had either a history of unsavoury dealings with Russians or had been dangled the prospect of Russian “dirt” on Clinton.”

Giuliani, however, seems to have let his intention behind the statements known in an interview to CNN. “… To a large extent…we are defending here; it is for public opinion, because eventually the decision here is going to impeach, or not to impeach…”

China touches $4.5 trillion in e-commerce trade

China’s e-commerce trade volume has reached a whopping 29.16 trillion Yuan (around 4.5 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2017, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua.

According to China’s ministry of commerce, e-commerce has shown a steady rise of 11.7 per cent in trade volume, year on year. This boom has contributed to the growth in China’s digital economy which in turn has helped to alleviate poverty in the countryside.

“In 2018, China’s e-commerce is still expected to grow rapidly. We expect e-commerce to expand further in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America,” the official added.

China looks inward to reduce reliance on US

Chinese president Xi Jinping is responding to China’s trade war with the US by asking scientists and engineers to up the country’s technology game.

Uptill now China has heavily depended on the US for hi-end technology, according to The New York Times. In fact, the reliance was exposed when US denied supply of components to ZTE, one of China’s largest producers of telecom equipment which completely halted the company’s operations.

“The White House appears determined to contain China’s ambitions to be a leading power in various technologies, including aerospace, industrial robots, software, high-speed trains and semiconductors,” writes South China Morning Post.

That’s why Xi is emphasising the need to make breakthroughs in technology. The issue is ‘pressing’ and self-reliance will pave the way for China to be a global leader when it comes to technology, Xi believes.

Saudi has a ‘progressive’ leader, but his actions speak louder than his words

Since he became Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman has been hailed as Saudi Arabia’s next revolutionary. However, if reports are to be believed, all may not be looking well. According to an opinion piece published in The New York Times, the man who was pegged to lead Saudi into a more progressive time, may just end up doing the opposite.

Till May 15, as many as ten human rights activists have been arrested in Saudi Arabia, less than a month before the kingdom is set to lift the world’s only ban on women driving report CBC news and Al Jazeera.

Saudi prosecutors have not disclosed the names of those arrested or the charges filed against them. But news reports said the list included a high-profile feminist, Loujain al-Hathloul, who had been detained for more than 70 days in 2014 for trying to post an online video of herself driving into the kingdom from the UAE.

Pro-government media outlets have publicised photos of the detained activists and accused them of being traitors. This is not the first time Prince Mohammed has undermined the reformist credentials on which he is trying to build a new image of his country. Last year, he is also reported to have overseen the arrest of dozens of writers, intellectuals and moderate clerics who were seen as critics of his foreign policies.

Anything I say will bring on the crazy people, says Sheldon Pollock

Sanskrit scholar, Sheldon Pollock, who had taken on the mammoth task of translating classical texts in various Indian languages said in an interview to news agency LiveMint that Indian classical texts were treasures which should be available for everyone.

Pollock was in India to speak at the convocation ceremony at Ashoka University, last week.

“Anything I will say will bring out the trolls; the crazy people who will come after me again saying a videshi (foreigner) is stealing our culture. They will question who am I to speak about Indian culture,” he said.

Pollock came into the line of fire after he translated the texts for the Murty Classical Library of India, founded by Narayan Murthy’s son, Rohan Murthy.

Many criticised Infosys for investing $5.2 million in a foreigner when less expensive brain power could be found in India and because Western writers had historically been biased in their portrayal of the Indian subcontinent, the Indian Express reported.

But Pollock pointed out that people had not been interested in the subject until someone came along and opened there eyes to it.

“I am just baffled by the situation of classical studies in India today and astonished at the virulence of the rage at somebody who dares to point that out,” he said.

He added that the MCLI’s aim was to turn Indian classics texts into English versions that were as respectable and respectful as possible.

“It is not an attempt to hegemonise, to overpower, to impose, to steal. It’s simply an attempt to give back to the people of India the texts that are theirs and also the ones we love,” he said.

Written by Divya Narayanan, Kaveesha Kohli and Yashasvini Mathur 

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