By TNV Desk
This is a weekly foreign media digest that tells you how India has been covered in the global media from May 28 to June 03, 2023
BBC – Franco Mulakkal: Pope accepts resignation of bishop accused of rape
- The Vatican has announced that it has accepted the resignation of an Indian bishop accused of raping a nun between 2014 and 2016.
- Franco Mulakkal, 54, was the bishop of Jalandhar in the state of Punjab.
- The Vatican’s diplomatic representative in India said that an appeal against Mulakkal’s acquittal had been admitted in the high court in Kerala.
- On Thursday, Mulakkal confirmed his resignation and thanked his supporters for standing by him in difficult times.
- Given the “still divisive situation”, Mulakkal’s resignation was requested “for the good of the Jalandhar diocese” and to make way for a new bishop, the Vatican’s diplomatic representative said in a statement. It was not a disciplinary action against Mulakkal, he said.
- The Joint Christian Council, a federation of Christian organisations, said it welcomed the decision.
- The nun who accused Mulakkal of rape belonged to the Missionaries of Jesus, a congregation in Kerala that is part of the Jalandhar diocese.
- She had alleged that the bishop raped her 13 times and the assaults happened when he visited the convent where she lived in the city of Kottayam, in Kerala.
- She petitioned the Vatican and wrote an open letter to the Pope’s representative in the Indian capital of Delhi in 2018 – which she claimed was her fourth letter to them. This led to unprecedented protests by nuns and activists who came out in support of the woman.
- Several other nuns who protested against the bishop had accused the church in Kerala as well as Vatican officials of turning a blind eye towards the rape allegations.
- Mulakkal was arrested in Kerala in 2018. The Vatican had temporarily relieved the bishop of his duties.
(For detailed report click on the link – https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65784713 )
Independent.co. – Muslim Council of Britain concerned over chair of review into Leicester unrest
- The Muslim Council of Britain has expressed “deep concern” over the appointment of the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Israel as the chair of a review into civil unrest between Muslims and Hindus in Leicester last year.
- Lord Ian Austin has been appointed to chair the independent review, announced on Friday, into the unrest between British Pakistani Muslim and Indian Hindu communities that descended into widespread violence and vandalism, including attacks on places of worship.
- He caused controversy in 2021 when he posted a tweet showing a fake new flavour for Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for people in Gaza, named “Hamas Terror Misu” after the company announced it would stop selling its products in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
- Speaking on Wednesday, the Muslim Council – an umbrella organisation representing Muslim groups across the country, said “it expresses deep concern” over Lord Austin’s appointment and urged the Levelling Up Minister, Michael Gove, to reconsider. We call upon the Secretary of State for Communities, Michael Gove, to reconsider the appointment of Lord Austin and select an independent reviewer who can command the confidence and support of the diverse communities in Leicester”.
- Lord Austin had previously been Labour MP for Dudley North from 2005 until 2019, sitting as an independent for his last nine months as MP after resigning from the party due to what he claimed was a “culture of extremism, antisemitism and intolerance”.
- Speaking on Friday, he said: “Acceptance of each other’s background and beliefs is at the heart of our national identity. Communities living and working together have formed some of the most vibrant societies across the country and cities such as Leicester have proud histories of tolerance and diversity.
- “This makes the scenes we witnessed in Leicester last year all the more worrying and it is therefore so important that we listen to people in Leicester to get to the bottom of what happened and why.”
- The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said that the review will be led by a panel of experts which once appointed will aim to understand the causes of the unrest and provide recommendations on how to improve relations between Muslim and Hindu communities.
- The violence, which erupted last September, was sparked by a cricket match between India and Pakistan. At least 47 people were arrested.
- Officers from across the East and West Midlands, and horses from Thames Valley, were brought in to help deal with the unrest, with officers diverted from the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
(For detailed report click on the link – https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ian-austin-muslim-council-of-britain-leicester-lord-prime-minister-b2349778.html)
Reuters : Foxconn to make iPhones in India’s Karnataka by next April
- Apple Inc (AAPL.O) supplier Foxconn (2317.TW) will start manufacturing iPhones in the southern Indian state of Karnataka by April 2024, the state government said on Thursday.
- The land for the factory would be handed over to Foxconn by July 1, the government said, adding that the project, valued at 130 billion rupees ($1.59 billion), is expected to create around 50,000 jobs.
- Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, has set a target of manufacturing 20 million iPhones a year at the plant in Devanahalli, on the outskirts.
(For detailed report click on the link – https://www.reuters.com/world/india/foxconn-make-iphones-indias-karnataka-by-next-april-state-govt-2023-06-01/ )
Reuters – Google leads funding round for Indian space startup Pixxel
- Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google is leading a $36 million funding round for Bengaluru-based Pixxel, a satellite-image startup, in the first major investment in the Indian space sector since the government launched its privatisation policy in April.
- Pixxel, founded in 2019, is building a constellation of satellites that have the ability to identify mineral deposits or the productivity of crops by analysing the spectral signature of an image.
- Google said it had made the investment in Pixxel through its India Digitalisation Fund, which focuses on investment in India-based startups
(For detailed report click on the link – https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-leads-funding-round-indian-space-startup-pixxel-2023-06-01/ )
DW – Teaching farmers to shift to natural farming
- An organization in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is educating local farmers — helping them move away from unsustainable, high-yield cultivation and towards more sustainable, natural farming methods.
(For detailed report click on the link – https://www.dw.com/en/teaching-farmers-to-shift-to-natural-farming/video-65729429 )
DW – The millet man of Tamil Nadu
- An engineer in Tamil Nadu is promoting the cultivation of traditional seed varieties of millet. And local farmers are reaping the benefits: more and more are growing millet and increasing their income.
(For detailed report click on the link – https://www.dw.com/en/traditional-millet-farming-in-tamil-nadu/video-65729394 )
AP NEWS : India, Nepal prime ministers meet to deepen ties as China’s influence grows in region
- Nepal’s prime minister held talks with his Indian counterpart on Thursday as India and its rival China bid for influence in the tiny Himalayan nation as part of a greater regional power struggle.
- Pushpa Kamal Dahal met Narendra Modi in New Delhi during a four-day visit to India, his first trip abroad since taking office last December. After the meeting, the two prime ministers remotely inaugurated several projects, including a cargo railway line and two border checkpoints, and oversaw the signing of a slew of agreements.
- Modi said they agreed to further deepen their historic ties and “take our relations to Himalayan heights.” He said they agreed to resolve all their outstanding issues, including a border dispute.
- Dahal said at a joint news conference that they reviewed ongoing projects and discussed ways to further cooperate in connectivity, energy and people-to-people contact. Nepal is bordered on three sides by India, with an open frontier allowing traffic without passports or visas.
- Until recently, India was a dominant force in Nepal, but China’s involvement has grown in the last few years. China has invested in the building of airports, highways and hydropower projects. Landlocked Nepal, however, remains dependent on India for all its oil needs and many other necessities.
- In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Nepali Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud said his country will work to enhance its relations with both India and China while maintaining a policy of nonalignment
(For detailed report click on the link : https://apnews.com/article/india-nepal-china-prime-minister-750fdf6c3e9a1e45275a2e0870ab5f28 )
Bloomberg.com : Modi Unveils New Parliament, Reshaping India’s Power Center
- India’s corridors of power are getting a makeover — part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to cement his legacy as he looks to a third term in office in national elections next year.
- Sunday’s ceremony was held on the 140th birth anniversary of Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, popularly known as Veer Savarkar. Modi had marked the start of the construction of the new building with a Hindu prayer ceremony in December 2020. On Sunday, Modi inaugurated the new building in the presence of Hindu priests chanting ancient Vedic scripts.
(For detailed report click on the link – https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-28/modi-to-unveil-new-parliament-reshaping-india-s-power-center#xj4y7vzkg )
The New York Times : Overcrowded India? This State Is Desperate for More Babies.
- India will soon be history’s most populous country. But the growth is uneven, and the Himalayan state of Sikkim is offering cash incentives to encourage births.
- Sikkim, nestled in the Himalayas and surrounded on three sides by Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, stands out in the teeming diversity of India’s states. It has the country’s tallest peak. It is the world’s largest producer of smoky black cardamom. It also has India’s smallest population, not even three-quarters of a million people, and its lowest birthrate.
- That last distinction has state leaders worried about the survival of the unique culture produced by Sikkim’s blend of ethnic groups, religions and geography. And they are taking action.
(For detailed report click on the link – https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/29/world/asia/india-fertility-rate.html?searchResultPosition=2 )
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