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India struck a balancing act between Israel and Palestine at the UN

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India struck a balancing act between Israel and Palestine at the UN

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement read out at the UN signals that India has not totally abandoned the aspirations of the people of Palestine

~By Seema Guha

India’s reiteration of its support for the creation of an independent state of Palestine to exist side by side with Israel, would have come as a surprise to those who believed that Delhi has shifted its historical support for their cause.

India made its position clear in a message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, read out on his behalf at the United Nations, ahead of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. “We hope for early realisation of a sovereign, independent, united and viable Palestine, co-existing peacefully with Israel,” Modi’s statement said.

Successive Indian governments had supported the 1947 UN Resolution which supports a two-state solution for the long standing Israel-Palestine dispute.

There is fresh global movement on getting the dialogue started between the two sides. US President Donald Trump is keen on resolving the issue during his term in office. Apart from US officials he has directed his Jewish son-in-law Jared Kushner and now an adviser to the President to try and break the deadlock. Behind the scene diplomacy is said to be on. This is why Modi’s statement includes the lines: “India hopes for early resumption of dialogue between the Palestinian and the Israeli sides to move towards finding a comprehensive negotiated resolution.”

Modi also mentioned Delhi’s involvement in development activities in Palestine: “India is an active development partner of Palestine, engaged in extending technical and financial assistance to improve the lives of the Palestinian people. We will continue to support the development and nation-building efforts of Palestine.”

The statement will have made the Palestinian leadership as well as the people happy. This is because in the last two decades India was perceived to be lukewarm to the Palestinian cause. Even the Congress party, which had been an ardent supporter of Palestinian rights during Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi’s term, was less vocal about its support.

The BJP, even when not in power had been an ardent advocate of Israel. But full diplomatic ties with Israel were carried out done under the Congress government of PV Narasimha Rao in 1992. Since then there have been no looking back. Relations with Israel had thrived both during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh era.

Narendra Modi was the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel earlier this year. He was given a red carpet welcome by Prime Minister Benjamin Nethanyahu. For the first time, Delhi which had previously balanced all previous visits to Israel by dignitaries with a simultaneous trip to Ramallah – the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority, had a stand-alone visit to Tel Aviv.

However, despite the BJP’s strong stand on Israel, Narendra Modi took care not to turn his back to Palestine. President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, was in India on a four day visit before Modi’s trip to Israel in July.

India’s balancing act with both Israel and Palestine is continuing, despite the BJP’s government’s admiration for Israel and desire to forge long lasting understanding with Tel Aviv.

Modi like PV Narasimha Rao before him is a pragmatic politician, who will not allow ideological considerations to come in the way of his diplomacy.

The BJP has always had a special affinity to Israel, because of its strong militarist approach to Palestine. Many in the RSS admire Israel’s anti-Muslim stand, considering that most Palestinians follow Islam. The RSS is known to be against Muslims.

Yet Modi has gone out of his way to befriend the Gulf nations. He has visited UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and built relations with the ruling families of each of these countries.  He is well aware that over seven million Indians live and work out of the region and send back remittances varying from $35 to $40 billion each year.

Modi’s statement read out at the UN signals that India’s support for Palestine may not be as strong as it was during the past, but it has not totally abandoned the aspirations of the people of Palestine.

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ChatGPT outage affects thousands of users globally, OpenAI reacts

OpenAI swiftly acknowledged the outage, publishing updates on their dedicated status page. This transparency, while offering little in the way of immediate solutions, served to reassure users that the company was actively addressing the situation.

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On January 23, OpenAI’s popular AI chatbot, ChatGPT, suffered a significant global outage, leaving millions of users unable to access the service. The disruption affected multiple access points, including the web interface, the mobile application, and even integrations on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter). This widespread failure quickly drew significant attention, with reports flooding in from users worldwide.

The outage tracking website, Downdetector, registered a surge in user reports, exceeding a thousand complaints within a short period. This volume underscored the scale of the disruption and the significant impact on ChatGPT’s user base.

The majority of these reports indicated a complete inability to use the chatbot, highlighting the severity of the problem. A smaller percentage of users reported encountering difficulties with the website or API, suggesting a less comprehensive but still noticeable impact.

OpenAI swiftly acknowledged the outage, publishing updates on their dedicated status page. This transparency, while offering little in the way of immediate solutions, served to reassure users that the company was actively addressing the situation.

The official statements consistently described the problem as “degraded performance” and “elevated error rates” within the API, hinting at underlying technical issues that required investigation. However, specific details regarding the root cause remained undisclosed, pending a more thorough examination.

According to reports, the outage commenced around 5 PM IST and persisted for several hours. The lack of a definitive timeline and the ongoing nature of the disruption underlined the complexity of the problem and the challenges faced by OpenAI’s engineering teams in resolving the issue.

As of the latest updates, the exact cause of the outage remains under investigation by OpenAI. The company is actively working to restore full functionality and provide a more comprehensive explanation once the underlying problem has been identified and rectified.

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Prince Harry, Rupert Murdoch’s UK group reach settlement in surveillance case

The relentless media attention, he has claimed, also contributed to the intense pressure that led him and his wife, Meghan Markle, to step back from royal duties and relocate to the United States in 2020.

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Prince Harry has reached a settlement with Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN), bringing an abrupt end to a high-profile lawsuit alleging widespread phone hacking and unlawful surveillance.

The settlement, announced just as the trial was about to commence, includes substantial financial compensation for the Duke of Sussex and a formal, unequivocal apology from NGN. This marks a significant victory for Harry, who had accused the media giant of years of intrusive and illegal activities targeting his private life.

The apology, issued directly to Harry’s legal team, explicitly acknowledged the serious breach of privacy inflicted by both The Sun and the defunct News of the World. It detailed unlawful actions perpetrated between 1996 and 2011, including phone hacking, surveillance, and the use of private investigators to obtain sensitive information.

The statement specifically addressed the intrusive activities carried out by private investigators employed by The Sun, emphasizing the severity of the intrusion into Harry’s private life during his formative years. The apology extended to the distress caused to his late mother, Princess Diana, highlighting the impact of the media’s actions on the young prince.

This settlement represents one of three lawsuits filed by Harry against British media outlets, all stemming from accusations of privacy violations. He has consistently blamed the media for the relentless pursuit of his mother, Princess Diana, ultimately leading to her tragic death in a car crash in Paris while being chased by paparazzi.

The relentless media attention, he has claimed, also contributed to the intense pressure that led him and his wife, Meghan Markle, to step back from royal duties and relocate to the United States in 2020.

The case underscores the wider issue of phone hacking and media intrusion, exemplified by the notorious scandal that forced the closure of News of the World in 2011. The hacking of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler’s phone, during the police investigation into her disappearance, remains a particularly egregious example of the unethical practices employed by some sections of the British press.

Harry’s legal battle has brought renewed focus to this issue and the need for greater accountability within the media industry. The settlement, while ending this particular legal chapter, leaves a lasting legacy concerning media responsibility and the rights of public figures to privacy.

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China reacts to Donald Trump’s 10% tariff remarks, says it would protect its national interest

While acknowledging a willingness to maintain open communication channels and collaborative efforts with the U.S., China firmly rejected the notion of a trade war, emphasizing that such conflicts ultimately yield no winners.

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China has issued a firm response to US President Donald Trump’s renewed threat to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese imports, beginning February 1. The statement, released by the Chinese foreign ministry, underscores Beijing’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding its national interests amidst escalating trade tensions with the United States.

While acknowledging a willingness to maintain open communication channels and collaborative efforts with the U.S., China firmly rejected the notion of a trade war, emphasizing that such conflicts ultimately yield no winners.

The statement directly addresses Trump’s justification for the proposed tariffs, citing the flow of fentanyl from China through Mexico and Canada into the United States. This latest escalation marks a significant development in the long-standing trade dispute between the two economic giants.

The proposed tariffs, scheduled for implementation on February 1st, echo a similar threat made by Trump earlier, targeting Canada and Mexico with 25% tariffs over concerns about illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking.

This consistent pattern of utilizing tariffs as a tool to address broader geopolitical concerns highlights the complex and multifaceted nature of the relationship between the United States and its major trading partners.

China’s economy, heavily reliant on exports to sustain its economic growth, faces significant vulnerability to such protectionist measures. Despite ongoing efforts to diversify its economy and boost domestic consumption, exports remain a crucial pillar of China’s economic engine. The potential impact of a 10% tariff on Chinese goods entering the U.S. market could trigger substantial ripple effects throughout the global economy.

The current trade tensions represent a continuation of a protracted struggle dating back to the Trump administration’s first term, marked by the imposition of substantial tariffs on Chinese imports over alleged unfair trade practices.

These actions were further reinforced by the subsequent Biden administration, which implemented sweeping measures aimed at restricting Chinese access to critical high-tech components.

Trump’s recent pronouncements signal a potential further escalation of these long-standing trade disputes. China’s response clearly indicates its readiness to defend its economic interests and navigate the complex landscape of international trade relations.

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