The Evening Wrap: Modi-Biden talk ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the latest updates and the big news stories to follow today [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Tuesday 09, February 2021 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap Here are the biggest news stories of the day [alt_text]( Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Biden underscores desire to defend democratic institutions on call with Modi: White House U.S. President [Joe Biden discussed his democratic institutions and norms with Prime Minister Narendra Modi](, as per a White House readout of the call between the two leaders. While the White House said the two leaders talked about a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” it also said that Biden underscored “his desire to defend democratic institutions and norms around the world.” He also “noted that a shared commitment to democratic values is the bedrock for the U.S.-India relationship.” This is suggestive of an added emphasis in the bilateral relationship, relative to the Trump administration, which had focused on the security aspect, driven in large measure by growing Chinese aggression and assertiveness. The language of the readout is significant in the context of the farmers’ protest around Delhi as this has gained visibility in the U.S., with celebrities and members of the U.S. Congress making references to them on social media. The MEA readout of the call said the two leaders, “noted that the India-U.S. partnership is firmly anchored in a shared commitment to democratic values and common strategic interests”. ED raids premises of NewsClick and its promoters in Delhi on money laundering charges The [Enforcement Directorate (ED) on February 9 conducted searches]( on the premises of a Delhi-based news portal and its promoters on charges of alleged money laundering, official sources said. They said the premises of the website, NewsClick, and its promoters in South Delhi’s Saidullajab and some other areas are being searched. The action is being undertaken to collect additional information to probe money laundering charges against the news company and its promoters, the sources said. They said the probe is linked to some suspect foreign funding. The homes of some of Newsclick’s senior management, including human resources head Amit Chakravarty, editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha, and one of the editors, Pranjal, were also raided. Senior journalists such as Abhisar Sharma, Urmilesh Singh, and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta have been regularly hosted by NewsClick. NewsClick is one of the news platforms that has, over the past three months, been relentless in its close coverage of the farmers protests. It is noted for its focus on working class issues, including labour rights issues, and problems faced by sanitation workers. Uttarakhand flood disaster: Toll rises to 31, 175 remain missing The [death toll from the Uttarakhand flood disaster]( rose to 31, with five more bodies being recovered, officials said on Tuesday as multiple agencies raced against time to reach about 30 workers trapped inside a tunnel in a power project site and 175 people remained missing. Two of the bodies were recovered from the debris in Raini village, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials said, two days after a portion of the Nanda Devi glacier possibly burst its banks and triggered an avalanche and floods in the Alaknanda river system. The State Emergency Operation Centre said five bodies were found in the morning, taking the death toll to 31, and estimated that 175 people are still missing. [ ITBP personnel use torches to gain access inside a tunnel to rescue around three dozen power plant workers trapped inside it in the Tapovan area of Uttarakhand on February 9, 2021. Photo: Indo Tibetan Border Police via AP ] ITBP personnel use torches to gain access inside a tunnel to rescue around three dozen power plant workers trapped inside it in the Tapovan area of Uttarakhand on February 9, 2021. Photo: Indo Tibetan Border Police via AP With the hours ticking by inexorably, fears escalated about those missing since the disaster struck on Sunday morning, according to officials who stepped up efforts to locate survivors. The missing people include those working at NTPC’s 480 MW Tapovan-Vishnugad project and the 13.2 MW Rishiganga Hydel Project and villagers whose homes nearby were washed away. Teams of the Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) coordinated efforts to rescue about 30 people who were working in a tunnel at the Tapovan-Vishnugad project when the waters came rushing in. The workers are trapped in the 12-ft-high and about 2.5-km-long ‘head race tunnel’ (HRT). “Clearing of debris and slush continued the whole night. About 120 metres of the tunnel entrance stretch is now clear,” ITBP spokesperson Vivek Kumar Pandey said in Delhi. “The height of the accumulated slush has reduced more. ITBP personnel are waiting to enter as soon as any movement deep inside the tunnel is possible,” he said. A senior official added that the rescuers have not been able to make any contact with those stuck inside but are hopeful for “signs of life”. Coronavirus unlikely to have leaked from Chinese lab, says WHO team The [coronavirus is unlikely to have leaked from a Chinese lab]( and is more likely to have jumped to humans from an animal, a World Health Organisation expert said on Tuesday. WHO food safety and animal diseases expert Peter Ben Embarek made the assessment at the end of a visit to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where a team of scientists is investigating the possible origins of the coronavirus. The first cases were discovered in the city in December 2019. The Wuhan Institute of Virology has collected extensive virus samples, leading to allegations that it may have caused the original outbreak by leaking the virus into the surrounding community. China has strongly rejected that possibility and has promoted other theories that the virus may have originated elsewhere. The team is considering several theories for how the disease first ended up in humans. [The P4 lab inside the Wuhan Institute of Virology after a visit by the World Health Organisation team at Wuhan in China’s Hubei Province on February 3, 2021.]The P4 lab inside the Wuhan Institute of Virology after a visit by the World Health Organisation team at Wuhan in China’s Hubei Province on February 3, 2021. “Our initial findings suggest that the introduction through an intermediary host species is the most likely pathway and one that will require more studies and more specific, targeted research,” Embarek said. “However, the findings suggest that the laboratory incidents hypothesis is extremely unlikely to explain the introduction of the virus to the human population.” Transmission through the trade in frozen products was also a likely possibility, Embarek said. Along with the institute, the WHO team that includes experts from 10 nations has visited hospitals, research institutes, a traditional market tied to the outbreak and other sites on their visit. Modi gives a tearful farewell to Azad; Why can't he shed some tears for farmers, asks TMC Prime Minister [Narendra Modi broke down several times]( in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while reminiscing about his close association with Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, whose term is coming to an end next week. The prime minister was participating in the farewell speech for Leader of Opposition Azad and three other members from Jammu and Kashmir — Nazir Ahmad Laway, Shamsher Singh Manhas, Mir Mohammad Fayaz — whose terms in the Upper House are coming to an end. [Prime Minister bids farewell to Ghulam Nabi Azad in the Rajya Sabha on February 9, 2021.]Prime Minister bids farewell to Ghulam Nabi Azad in the Rajya Sabha on February 9, 2021. Modi said it would be difficult for anyone to fill the shoes of Azad as he cared not only about his political affiliation but also about the country and the House. “I worry that after Azad whosoever will take over from him will have to fill very big boots because he cared not only about his party but about the country as well as the House. This is not a small thing, this a big thing,” Modi said. Commenting on Modi’s tears, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said, “Farmers have been on an agitation. Why can’t the PM withdraw the bill and not stand on ego? I heard PM cried in the other house. Why can’t he shed some tears for farmers?” Kashmir will soon have no representation in Rajya Sabha With the retirement of four MPs this month, the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir, for the first time, will be left with no representation in the Rajya Sabha. The terms of two PDP Rajya Sabha MPs—Nazir Ahmed Laway and Mir Mohammed Fayaz— are ending on February 10 and 15 respectively, while Azad’s term ends on February 15. BJP MP Shamsher Singh Manhas’ term on February 10. Since J&K does not have an elected Assembly yet and elections are on hold, the Union Territory will remain without a voice in the Upper House of Parliament. More than 6 lakh Indians renounced Indian citizenship in the last five years In the years 2015-2019, as many as 6,76,074 Indians renounced Indian citizenship and took up citizenship of other countries, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Lok Sabha today. Interestingly, these are also the years that saw the rise of hyper-nationalism as a major force in national politics and culture. A 2018 report by an investment firm had reported that India had lost 23,000 dollar millionaires since 2014, ranking at top in the list of countries seeing an exodus of the well-to-do. SC panel meets agribusinesses for views on farm laws The Supreme Court-appointed panel to examine the three contentious farm reform laws [met representatives of 18 agribusinesses]( on Tuesday, as part of its consultations with stakeholders. It has previously met some farmers’ associations and farmer-producer organisations that were largely in favour of reforms but is yet to meet any of the unions that have been protesting on Delhi’s borders for two and a half months, demanding the repeal of the laws. [Farmers at Singhu border in New Delhi on February 9, 2021.]Farmers at Singhu border in New Delhi on February 9, 2021. At its sixth round of consultations on Tuesday, the panel met representatives of Amul, ITC, Suguna Foods and Venkateshwara Hatcheries, as well as industry lobby groups such as the CII and the FICCI. Other stakeholders who gave their views included associations representing seafood exporters, rice millers and exporters, poultry feed makers, grain and pulses trader , cotton mills and traders, and manufacturers of tractors and fertilisers. State-run bodies such as the Food Corporation of India, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority and the Marine Products Export Development Authority were also asked to give their views on the laws. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The [number of reported coronavirus cases from India]( stood at 1,08,47,807 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,56,555. In Brief: The Supreme Court on Tuesday [refused to entertain a plea by a group of lawyers]( to re-examine the validity of Section 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad A. Bobde said the lawyers have not shown any specific cause of action that prompted them to file the writ petition in the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution. “We don’t have a case before us of persons rotting in jail. You come before us in a concrete case. Dismissed,” Chief Justice Bobde addressed senior advocate Anoop George Chaudhari, appearing in the petition. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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