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Morning Brief: B-Card At UN; Af Pivot; Triple Talaq; Bayer-Monsanto Deal; Bird-Flu Free
- Good Morning, Swarajya Readers! Here’s What You Need To Know Today.
Photo: STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images
Baluchistan Violations Called Out
India has started raising human rights violations of Pakistan’s politico-military establishment in Baluchistan at international forums. The latest such platform being the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) where India lashed out at Pakistan for its authoritarianism, absence of democratic norms and widespread human rights violations across the country.
Apart from Baluchistan, India also advised Pakistan to focus its energies on improving the human rights situation in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
Afghan Pivot
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is in Delhi. He met Prime Minister Modi yesterday. Both leaders signed various pacts. They discussed the regional situation and expressed grave concern at the continued use of terrorism and violence in the region by Pakistan and called for an end to sponsorship and support of militants.
India has offered Afghanistan a fresh $1 billion in economic assistance, which takes the total aid to $2 billion. The latest assistance is aimed at strengthening Afghanistan’s education, health, agriculture and other sectors.
No More Triple Talaq?
Top Union ministers, including Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Manohar Parrikar and Maneka Gandhi met yesterday to discuss the government’s response to the Supreme court’s notice on the clutch of public interest litigations filed by several Muslim women requesting the abolition of triple talaq in the country.
It seems that the Centre is likely to bat against the practice and in favour of women’s rights. It will look at international practices, including those in Islamic nations like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Iraq, which have either banned or restricted this practice. However, it is unlikely to recommend a law to ban unilateral triple talaq.
Bayer-Monsanto Deal
German drugs and crop chemicals company Bayer AG finally reached an agreement to buy U.S. seeds firm Monsanto Co. for $66 billion. However, the $128/share deal will likely face an intense and lengthy regulatory process in the United States, Canada, Brazil, the European Union and elsewhere. Both the firms will need to file in about 30 jurisdictions for the merger.
The deal will create a company commanding more than a quarter of the combined world market for seeds and pesticides.
India Is Bird-Flu Free!
India has declared itself free from avian influenza (H5N1), or bird-flu, from 5 September and notified the same to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). However, the government has emphasised the need for continued surveillance especially in the vulnerable areas bordering infected countries and in areas visited by migratory birds.
Bird flu affects mainly the domestic poultry. The disease spreads from infected birds to other winged creatures through contact with nasal and respiratory secretions and also due to contamination of feed and water.
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We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief. Have a great day ahead!
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