Author: synergia
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RTI Amendment: Threat to autonomy?
The Lok Sabha has passed the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which seeks to make changes to the statutorily fixed tenure and service conditions of Information Commissioners.
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Tanker tussle in the Strait of Hormuz
A British oil tanker and a British-owned Liberian-flagged ship were seized by the IRGC in the Strait of Hormuz. Is Iran leveraging its geostrategic advantage in the Strait of Hormuz as tensions with the US and its allies continue to rise?
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Israeli spyware targets cloud services
Israeli company NSO whose spyware hacked Whatsapp claimed that it could gather an individual’s data from servers of Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon.
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The Essar insolvency saga
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, in a recent ruling has removed the historical separation between secured and unsecured creditors. The ruling stated that all creditors of Essar Steel India Ltd would be treated equally in the $6 billion sale of the company’s plant to Arcelor Mittal.
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Chinese cameras ban at U.S. facilities
U.S. federal agencies are yet to comply with a mandate on Chinese made surveillance cameras which was imposed by the Congress in 2018. The agencies are required to remove the cameras before the August 13th deadline.
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The reset in US-Pakistan ties
With the Trump administration desperate for a quick and honourable exit from Afghanistan, the role of Pakistan is to facilitate it by bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table. Can the unique compulsions of the two countries put back on track what has been a dysfunctional marriage for the best part of the decade?
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Tolerating intolerance in the US
A Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed a resolution to condemn President Donald Trump’s “racist comments” towards four Democratic congresswomen of colour. Does the American President’s actions signal not just growing intolerance but also its sanction by the holder of the highest office in the US?
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Facebook to be fined $ 5bn
US regulators have approved a forfeit of $5bn on Facebook to settle an investigation into data privacy violations. Would this fine deter Facebook? What are the implication of other restrictions and government oversight that might follow suit?
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Taliban negotiates with Afghanistan
An Afghan delegation (not representing President Ashraf Ghani) met Taliban officials in Qatar to seek a political solution to end the 18 year long conflicts in the country. Can the negotiation with Taliban’s top political leader Mullah Abdul Gani Baradar and US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad provide a framework for a ceasefire and direct negotiation…
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Universities under scrutiny for foreign funding
The U.S. Education Department has opened an investigation into Georgetown, Texas A&M University over foreign funding from Qatar Foundation and Chinese Telecom company, Huawei. What is the impact of foreign funding on universities and would there be a national security implication?