Category: The News And Times – thenewsandtimes.com

Russia’s air defence systems destroyed three drones early Tuesday which were trying to reach Moscow, the Russian capital’s mayor said.

Russia tops world grain exports, ahead of Canada, Australia, US  ARY NEWS

What is the G20 logo and its significance?  The Indian Express

Despite improving living standards in India as the economy grows briskly, more than half a billion people struggled to afford food in the past year, while the numbers of those finding it difficult to get by have nearly tripled since 2016, according to a Gallup survey released Tuesday.  

That contrasting picture is highlighted in the poll, “Indians See Brighter Economic Future but Feel the Pinch Now.”

In the world’s fastest-growing economy, optimism was higher when compared to other major economies like the United States, Japan or Germany.

“For me, the key takeaway of this poll is that there is a lot to be hopeful for with regards to India’s economy, but significant challenges remain,” Benedict Vigers, author of a three-part Gallup series on India, told VOA. “Just because a nation can be optimistic about the trajectory of their economy in the future, doesn’t mean lots of people can’t be finding things hard today,” he pointed out.

The survey found that 57% of Indians said their living standards were getting better but the situation remains bleak for hundreds of millions.  

India’s mega cities reflect that dichotomy. In Gurugram, a thriving business hub adjacent to New Delhi, gleaming new office buildings and plush high-rise apartments cater to domestic and global companies and an expanding middle class.

But tucked behind the city’s glitzy façade lie crowded shanties where tens of thousands of migrant workers who work in the city cram into tiny tenements. 

They drive cabs and auto rickshaws, work as drivers, security guards, laborers, carpenters and cooks and waiters in restaurants and hotels or as household help in upmarket residential complexes. 

Among them is Durga Gautam, who trudges daily from her single room to a posh residential complex to work as a household helper – her monthly wages add up to about $150. “I have to support two daughters and two grandchildren. Everything has become so expensive – a 25-kilogram bag of rice which used to cost about $10 dollars now costs more than $12.5. My salary has not gone up much, so I have to keep tightening my budget.”  

In India’s vast rural areas, many farmers own small plots of land that generate only meager incomes. 

More than two in five people (43%) in 2022 said they had struggled to afford food at times in the past 12 months, according to the Gallup survey. Affording shelter at times posed a challenge for about one-third of the country. 

The poll also found that the proportion of Indians who are finding it “very difficult” on their present household incomes reached 31% during the past two years, up from 12% in 2016.  

Although India’s economy is faring well, it has not been immune to the high inflation that has impacted many countries in recent years. Food prices, which are a particularly sensitive issue in a country with a per capita income of about $2,100, jumped by over 11% in July. 

Economists say that for many people, inflation is part of a double whammy — the country is also grappling with high unemployment.  

It is not only joblessness though, according to economist Arun Kumar, who pointed out there is also a high level of underemployment in a country where the bulk of the workforce is self-employed.

“320 million Indians have some kind of work, but for many of them it may be only for a few hours a day or week. So in a country of 1.4 billion people, each worker has to support four people,” Kumar said. 

Despite these challenges, perceptions about economic prospects are improving according to the survey. 

Anshi Madhwar, who has been working as a management consultant for about four years is optimistic about her career. “Things have improved in recent years and there are good prospects, good opportunities to grow ahead for me,” she said. 

Experts attribute that to the economic upturn India has witnessed for most of the past two decades. That growth is expected to continue in the coming years.

The survey, however, said sharing the fruits of this growth among its 1.4 billion people will be key if India is to live up to its economic potential.

“There is still a large proportion of Indian society who are yet to fully reap the benefits of India’s impressive economic growth,” according to Vigers. “If India is to make the most of its economic growth in coming years, spreading the benefits to those unable to afford basic needs will be key.”

But more equitable distribution of income remains a challenge. Some low-income workers say they have only seen the gap widen in recent years. “The cars on the road are bigger and more expensive compared to ten years ago,” says Satinder Singh, a driver. “But my living standards have not improved, only the rich are getting richer.”

Give us 5 minutes, and we’ll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

U.S. First Lady Jill Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, the White House said on Monday, days before President Joe Biden is scheduled to travel to the G-20 summit in India.

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Biden was administered a test Monday evening and was negative, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

“The President will test at a regular cadence this week and monitor for symptoms,” she added.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the President was reconsidering his travel itinerary.

Read More: Pandemics Don’t Really End—They Echo

The President is slated to attend the G-20, which is being held on Sept. 9-10 in New Delhi. Following the summit, Biden has plans to travel to Vietnam.

The First Lady traveled with Biden to their Rehoboth home on Saturday after surveying hurricane damage in Florida. The President was in Rehoboth with her until Monday morning.

“She is currently experiencing only mild symptoms,” the First Lady’s communications director, Elizabeth Alexander, said in a statement. “She will remain at their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.”

Read More: Why Some People Don’t Get COVID-19 Symptoms

Biden last month said the White House would request additional money from Congress to fund the next round of coronavirus vaccine shots.

A new “Eris” variant of the virus has become dominant in the United States, and hospitals have reported an increase in cases.

Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister said Monday that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will invest $25 billion each in his cash-strapped country within five years.

Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar told a group of Islamabad-based foreign journalists late Monday that different sectors, such as mines and minerals, agriculture, defense production and information technology, would receive the investment. He did not elaborate.

Economic revival

The prime minister said that the Saudi and UAE investments are part of a new “strategy for economic revival” to increase foreign direct investment in Pakistan under the supervision of the recently set up Special Investment Facilitation Council, or SIFC.

Established in June, the council comprises Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership.

Kakar spoke a day after the Pakistani military chief Asim Munir, while addressing business community leaders in the southern city of Karachi, emphasized the SIFC’s potential to attract investments of up to $100 billion from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and other Middle Eastern countries.

“I can confirm it,” he said when asked for his comments on the reported remarks by his military chief that Pakistan could receive an unprecedented $25 billion each from the Saudi Kingdom and the UAE under the SIFC.

Saudi and UAE officials did not immediately comment on Kakar’s assertions.

Kakar said that Pakistan’s untapped mineral deposits are estimated to be worth around $6 trillion. He noted work on the massive Reko Diq gold and copper mines in southwestern Baluchistan province was expected to start in December.

Last month, a Saudi delegation visited Pakistan to study mining sector investment opportunities and showed its readiness to tap into the Reko Diq deposits.

Pakistan is scrambling to deal with a critical balance of payments crisis. The country of about 241 million people needs billions of dollars in foreign exchange to repay international debts and bridge its trade deficit in the current financial year.

Islamabad is implementing long-delayed economic reforms in line with IMF requirements, leading to a historic increase in energy prices when inflation is already hovering at around 29%. The tough reforms have triggered almost daily nationwide protests, bloated electricity bills and soaring fuel prices.

Political crackdown

While speaking Monday, Kakar defended an ongoing crackdown against the opposition party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, known as the Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI. 

The crackdown, led by the military, has detained thousands of PTI supporters and leaders for allegedly playing a role in street protests in May, which also saw protesters storming and vandalizing several army installations.

Kakar denounced the violence as an attack on social order.

“An attempt was definitely made that would lead to social disorder,” the prime minister asserted, saying he supports “all lawful measures” to curb such activities in the future.

The caretaker prime minister and his administration are primarily required to oversee national elections expected to be held by February.

Former Prime Minister Khan was jailed on Aug. 5 after being sentenced to three years for selling state gifts and allegedly concealing their proceeds while in office. He refuted the graft charges as politically motivated and has appealed the conviction.

Khan, 70, has rejected charges that PTI supporters were behind the May violence, alleging his party is targeted by the military to keep from contesting the next elections.

Kakar denied the allegations, stressing that all political parties, including the PTI, would be allowed “without discrimination” to participate in the elections.

“We are here just to assist the electoral process in line with our constitutional responsibilities,” he said.

Terrorism

The caretaker prime minister reiterated Monday that militants plotting terrorist attacks in his country have obtained some of the military equipment left behind by the United States in neighboring Afghanistan, enhancing their capabilities to launch more lethal attacks against Pakistani security forces.

Kakar, 52, claimed that anti-state groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, and ethnic Baluch insurgents committing terrorist acts in his country have now armed themselves with thermal weapons, assault rifles, night vision goggles, and other equipment that U.S. troops left.

He did not offer evidence to substantiate his claims, saying his country was working closely with the Taliban government in Afghanistan to persuade them to evict TTP and other insurgents sheltering there.

“We are not accusing the U.S. of anything that we would need to share evidence (for),” Kakar said.

The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021 from a U.S.-backed government in Kabul as all American and NATO troops withdrew after almost two decades of war with Taliban insurgents.

Pakistani leaders complain fugitive TTP leaders and fighters have enjoyed greater operational freedom and intensified cross-border attacks since the Taliban returned to power.

Taliban leaders deny the charges, saying no one can use Afghan soil to threaten other countries, including Pakistan.