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Dalai Lama’s Inner World album tops US’ billboards

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
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After attaining spiritual enlightenment and sharing the same through his speeches and discourses worldwide, His Holiness The Dalai Lama has now taken to music to share the same with his new album titled the Inner World. Having been a global figure since the age of two, he had been awarded the highest doctorate in Buddhist philosophy at the age of 23. This music album is the latest feather in the cap of the renowned spiritual leader and is taking the world by storm.

In this music debut, he has launched the album containing 42 minutes of mantras and chants. It also contains 11 songs, under the themes of compassion, courage, healing, and wisdom.

All of these recordings had been done at the Dalai Lama residence in Dharamshala and has been in the making for five years now. It is now available on all platforms. This was ideated and curated by musician Junelle Kunin.

https://twitter.com/DalaiLama/status/1281521048022728704

Although it is popularly believed that music is prohibited in Buddhism, the relationship between these two entities is fairly complex. The basic idea of music being associated with worldly pleasures was the reason for its prohibition, but the concept of paradise in Buddhism is widely associated with music. Similarly, a lot of Buddhist rituals also contain music and have been modified so over the years.

Meanwhile, this album is topping billboard charts and that’s not music to China’s ears.

Source: WION

Modi Govt fast-tracks capital procurements to improve operational readiness of military

By
The Commune
-

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ladakh on July 3 to pay respects to Indian soldiers martyred in Galwan Valley clash , Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Ladakh this week.

The visit will be important as the Defence Minister would be taking stock of the ground situation and ensure our troops have all the necessary equipment with tensions still prevailing.

The Defence Minister will be accompanied by Army Chief General M M Naravane and will brief Singh about the operational readiness along both the fronts with China and Pakistan.

On Wednesday (July 15), the Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC) chaired by Singh delegated the powers for “progressing urgent capital acquisition cases up to ₹ 300 crore”.

According to an MoD official“This will shrink the procurement timelines and ensure placement of orders within six months and commencement of deliveries within one year. The special DAC meeting was convened due to the prevailing security situation along the northern borders (with China) and the need to strengthen the armed forces for the defence of our borders,”.

Several weapons acquisitions are being finalized from “Spike Firefly loitering munitions” and additional “Spike” anti-tank guided missiles and launchers from Israel to small hand-launched Raven drones and 72,000 SiG Sauer assault rifles from the US.

To have a tactical advantage in high altitude, India plans to purchase lightweight tanks along with Israeli “Heron” surveillance as well as missile-armed unmanned aerial vehicles.

In September 2018, India placed orders for 93,895 close-quarter battle (CQB) carbines from United Arab Emirates (UAE) company Caracal is also on the cards.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on July 2 had also approved procurement projects worth ₹ 38,900 crore. These monies will be used to buy 21 additional MiG-29 and 12 Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets as well as 300 Nirbhay long-range land-attack cruise missiles and 250 Astra air-to-air missiles, as was then reported by TOI.

The Doklam standoff of 2016, Balakot airstrikes and the Galwan Valley clash in June have acted as signs to build our military capabilities so that India is able to stand ground on two active borders with China and Pakistan.

China to fund Pakistan’s dam in PoK

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
-

Pakistan’s government declared on Wednesday that China will be funding its dam, which is to be constructed in PoK. This is touted to be the country’s biggest dam in all of its history. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was in conversation with this controversial Diamer-Bhasha dam and said that it will be built upon the Indus River in Gilgit-Baltistan.

It is speculated that this dam to be completed in 2028 and will be the world’s highest roller compacted concrete dam. Imran Khan has also promised that it will provide cheap electricity and irrigation for Pakistan’s farmlands, in addition to creating jobs.

Earlier this dam along with Azad Pattan and Kohala projects were left in a standstill due to the unavailability of funds.

Although this project has been inaugurated 4 times before this by four other Prime Ministers, it was dismissed due to lack of funding. During one of these instances in 2018, Pakistan’s top judge even order to kick-start a crowdfunding campaign to fund the project.

This time around, Pakistan’s PM confirmed that the construction of the dam was possible only because of China. Notably, this dam is projected as a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Because of the fact that China is the major shareholder in this case with an equity of 70%, it would technically be China’s dam. So, this dam, although projected as a matter of National Pride for Pakistan, is more of a liability than an asset.

(Source: Wion news)

India proposes to build road in Bhutan’s ‘Yeti territory’ claimed by China

By
The Commune
-

India has proposed to build a road in Bhutan’s ‘Yeti territory’ which China is claiming as its territory.

The ‘Yeti territory’ called after the the mythical creature ‘Yeti’ lies in the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan.

Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has been chosen for this project and will also prove beneficial for Bhutan. The proposed road will connect Lumla near Tawang with Trashigang in Bhutan.

If this road is built which has strategic significance, it will allow India to gain quick access to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China. The construction of this new road will reduce the distance between Guwahati and Tawang by 150 kilometres, reported the Economic Times.

This road which India has proposed to build will give easy access to Tawang, but also towards the eastern region of Bhutan.

India in the last six years has been building roads in the northeast to bolster its infrastructure. The main reason for such urgency is to deploy troops faster at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

If forces can be deployed quickly at the LAC, it will act as a deterrent, and allow our military to be in a position to respond to any military moves by China.

It must be noted that till last month, China never registered or staked a claim on Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary or any other area in eastern Bhutan. This is a completely new border dispute with Bhutan

PM Modi has a message for students and parents

By
The Commune
-

Arriving a little late due to COVID19, the season of board exam results is here. Over the past few days, results of those who appeared for class 10 and 12 board examinations earlier this year are being released. On July 15, the CBSE declared the results of Class 10 examination. Two days prior to that, it released the results of class 12 board examinations. Today, the Tamil Nadu government has released the results of Class 12 board examinations.

These are anxious times for both children and parents. Parents tend to compare their wards’ results over others. Children are put through immense pressure as friends, relatives, every person they meet inquire about their results. Students get clouded by the thought that a number is about to determine their fate.

It is in light of this that Prime Minister Modi has sent a message to students.

On July 15, PM Modi congratulated those who had passed the CBSE class X and class XII examinations.

However, the Prime Minister’s next message was noteworthy giving a message of hope. He said that a single examination doesn’t define who you are and that everyone is blessed with numerous talents. He urged students to live life to the fullest, never lose hope and to always look ahead.

Dear parents, are you listening?

7 year old girl raped and murdered near Sathankulam, 2 youth held

By
The Commune
-

The police have arrested two youths – Muttheeswaran and Nithish for raping and murdering a child near Sathankulam.

The 7 year old girl child was living with her mother and brother in Kalvilai near Sathankulam. The girl after informing her mother had reportedly gone to Muttheeswaran’s house to watch when the latter had raped her.

Worried about her child not returning for a long time, the mother had gone to Muttheeswaran’s house to inquire where she was told that the child was not there. The panicked mother went around the area searching for the child.

Later, the child’s body with injuries on her body was found near a forest area. The police reached the spot and recovered the body which was later sent for post mortem.

The police then took Muttheeswaran into custody on suspicion. Muttheeswaran confessed to the crime during the investigation. He along with his friend Nitish had put the body inside a water drum and took it in a bike to be thrown near a forest area.

More details about how the child was raped and killed are being investigated.

A case has been registered on the two men under 6 sections of the IPC.

Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Apple, Warren Buffet, Joe Biden Twitter accounts hacked

By
The Commune
-

Twitter accounts of high profile individuals and companies were hacked in a freakish cyberattack where these accounts were used to promote a bitcoin scam.

All these accounts carried a similar message that said: “I am giving back to my community due to Covid-19! All Bitcoin sent to my address below will be sent back doubled. If you send $1,000 I will send back $2,000!” followed by bitcoin wallet address. “Only doing this for the next 30 minutes! Enjoy.”, the message carried.

Elon Musk, Apple, Warren Buffet, Barack Obama, Mike Bloomber, Wiz Khalifa, Jeff Bezos, Kanye West  and Joe Biden are some of the accounts that were compromised.

Some people fell for the scam and had sent money to the bitcoin address. It is estimated that, the scammers have so far amassed nearly $120,000. It seems as if the account owner is indeed sending money back out as the daily final balance has fluctuated up and down throughout the afternoon.

Following this, Twitter tweeted that they are aware of the incident and taking steps to fix it.

Twitter halted the ability of some accounts to post tweets. “You may be unable to Tweet or reset your password while we review and address the incident,” Twitter Support tweeted.

Climate change: More extreme dry and wet seasons on the way

By
The Commune
-

A new study has once again come out with the finding that the world is expected to see more extreme weathers in the coming years due to climate change. More rainfall, more evaporation of water will complicate reservoir management and irrigation of crops thereby affecting lives and livelihood. The study was led by Clemson University researcher whose latest work has been published in the journal ‘Nature Communications’.

Ashok Mishra, who is the corresponding author of the article, said that the new study examined the magnitude and variability of precipitation and evaporation and how much water will be available during the wettest and driest months of the year.

Most of the Eastern United States, including all of South Carolina has high precipitation. The greatest concern for these regions will be more flooding.

The regions where climate change will be seen having the greatest impact are the areas that gets lashed during rainy season with floods and draught during dry seasons, said Mishra. This includes India and its neighbors to the east, like Bangladesh and Myanmar, along with an inland swath of Brazil, parts of east-west across Africa, and northern Australia.

“The regions which already have more draught and flooding relative to other regions will further see an increase in these events,” Mishra said. “The availability of the resources is an issue. We need to take optimum precautions to optimally use how much water we have. As the climate changes and population increases, we should be preparing for the future by improving the technology to efficiently use water for crops,” he said.

The researchers had divided the the entire world into 9 regions for their study and analyzed their annual precipitation data from 1971 to 2000.

Relief for Indian students as US drops deportation order

By
The Commune
-

Coming as a sigh of relief, Trump dropped the idea of deportation of students who are undergoing full-time online study in the US. The decision had sparked nationwide outrage and a number of lawsuits filed against the decision, led by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

American IT companies like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft also joined MIT and Harvard in the US District Court of Massachusetts against the decision.

“I have been informed by the parties that they have come to a resolution. They will return to the status quo,” Judge Allison Burroughs, the Federal District Judge in Boston, said in a surprise statement at the top of the hearing in the lawsuit. The announcement comes as a big relief to the international students, including India. According to the recent report of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), 194556 Indian students were enrolled in various academic institutions in the US in January.

Earlier, India’s Foreign Secretary Mr. Harsh V Shringla had raised the matter with  US Under Secretary of the State of Political Affairs David Hale regarding the matter.

In the last week, more than 136 Congressmen and 30 senators wrote to the Trump administration to rescind its order on international students. “This is a major victory for the students, organizers, and institutions of the higher education in the #MA7 and all across the country that stood up and fought back against this racist and xenophobic rule,” said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.

“Taking online classes shouldn’t force international students out of our country,” Congressman Miki Sherrill said in a tweet.

Corona virus recovery rate reaches 63.02 % in India

By
The Commune
-

The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has said that the difference between the active cases and recovered cases are increasing progressively and the total recoveries have reached 1.8 times of the active cases in the country.

There are 3,11,565 active corona cases where as 5,71,460 affected people have been recovered. The Health Ministry has informed that India has 657 cases per million in comparison to the global average of one thousand 638 cases per million and the country is with 17.2 deaths per million as compared to the global average of 73 deaths per million due to Coronavirus. The daily growth rate of new cases is now low to 3.24% as compared to 31% in March.

The Ministry said the fatality rate has also declined to 2.61%. 30 States and Union Territories have a lower fatality rate than the national average. 20 States and Union Territories have a better recovery rate than the national average of 63.02%. Ladakh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, and Haryana have a 75 percent recovery rate.

Overall 201 tests per million are carried out on an average. There are over 1400 labs doing the testing.

To contain the overpricing of the drugs for treatment, companies are asked to start helpline numbers and distribution through their websites. The Health Ministry said that a sero survey has been conducted in Delhi and 22 thousand 800 blood samples are collected which are due for the results under a different kind of stratification of the data.

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The Commune is a news and views portal focusing on social and political issues of the southern part of India with a focus on Tamil Nadu.
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