Zelenskyy red-flags 'balancing' act on war as he pitches for India to host peace summit

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India can be a possible venue for a peace summit, and New Delhi is examining the of- fer to bring together the warring parties of Russia and Ukraine.

This comes even as Zelenskyy said that he needed India on his side and "not balancing between US and Russia".

SC panel stressed on environmental study for Gangotri route, BRO says not needed

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has told the Uttarakhand forest department and an Environment Ministry panel that the Chardham road project on the Gangotri-Dharasu route does not require either environment impact assessment (EIA) study or environmental clearance (EC), according to official records. 

This submission, made by the BRO last week, runs contrary to recommendations of a Supreme Court-appointed high powered committee.

The Gangotri-Dharasu route falls in the Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone (BESZ). In its report to the apex court in July 2020, the high powered committee had said that with regards to the BESZ, "road widening should only be undertaken after detailed EIAs and mitigation measures".-

On an upward arc

Despite the expansive growth of the bilateral partnership over the last two-and-a-half decades, pessimism hangs like a pall over the discourse on the prospects for the bilateral relationship in think tanks, media, and academia. 

Every dispute between Delhi and Washington is viewed as a deal-breaker even as scepticism greets every breakthrough in the relationship. 

The gap between the public discourse and the strategic evolution of India-US relations is real, but may be inconsequential as we look ahead to the next administration. 

MOMENTOUS IN KYIV

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's talks with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Kyiv must be seen as the beginning of a long overdue rebalancing in India's relations with Russia and Ukraine. 

That no Indian Prime Minister travelled to post-Soviet Ukraine, the second largest nation in Europe, underlines Delhi's self-imposed restraint in engaging Kyiv. 

The political deference to Russian sensitivities also played a role in limiting India's engagement with former members of the Warsaw Pact. 

Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to travel to Poland since 1979. That no Indian PM has travelled to the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia since the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact in 1991 underlines the long and regret- table political neglect of these countries. 

India, and Singapore to identify new areas to elevate strategic ties

India and Singapore are going to hold the second round of ministerial roundtable, which will review various aspects of their Strategic Partnership and identify new avenues to further elevate and broaden it.

According to a statement by the MEA, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Minister of Railways, I&B, and Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw will participate in the roundtable. 

India can fight the menace of drugs with strategy: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the illegal narcotics trade is not only a challenge for India but also a global issue, stressing that the country can combat the menace if it pursues it with determination and strategy.

The money generated through the illicit narcotics trade is also used for anti-national activities like spreading terrorism and Naxalism and weakening the country's economy, he said.

CHILE'S ATACAMA SALT FLAT SINKING DUE TO LITHIUM MINING: NEW STUDY

According to a new study, Chile's Atacama salt flat is sinking at a rate of 1 to 2 centimetres per year due to lithium brine extraction - a process in which salt-rich water is pumped to the surface and into a series of evaporation ponds to eventually obtain lithium.

The study, which was published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing last week, was carried out by researchers at the University of Chile.

Lithium, also known as "white gold", is one of the most sought-after metals on Earth. 

It is used in rechargeable batteries, which power not only laptops and mobile phones but also electric vehicles - a crucial part of the world's plan to tackle climate change. 

However, over the years, research has shown that lithium mining has had severe environmental fallouts, especially in countries such as Chile which are the leading producers of the metal. 

Govt announces three new Ramsar sites: Why do wetlands need protection?

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav announced three new Ramsar sites earlier this month, two in Tamil Nadu and one in Madhya Pradesh. India now boasts 85 such sites covering 13,58,068 hectares.

Ramsar sites are wetlands designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention of 1971.