The Hindu Editorial Analysis 28th July 2018

Table of Contents

Outbreak of peace

Ethiopia’s decision: implement an earlier peace agreement with neighbouring Eritrea
Peace agreement was brokered by the African Union
AU: continental union consisting of all 55 countries on the African continent
Algiers, December 2000: agreement signed by the two countries was intended to bring an end to a conflict triggered by Eritrea.

• The two neighbours remained deadlocked in a conflict that has over time claimed more than 50,000 lives over a dispute concerning the border town of Badme.

• The presence of Ethiopian troops served to prolong the confrontation.
• President (dictator) Isaias Afwerki expand a large conscription programme
• Hundreds of Eritrean drowned off Italy’s Lampedusa island in 2013.

Popular and young Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed: The rapprochement is part of a string of democratic reforms he has unveiled — including lifting the state of emergency, releasing thousands of political prisoners, and removing some Opposition parties from the list of terrorist groups.
Oromo & Tigrayan communities of Ethiopia: internal tensions within the governing coalition could impede the peace process.
Restoration of peace and democracy is an urgent priority in both countries, which are among the poorest in the world.
Both are gateways for global trade and for counter-terrorism operations.

Up, up and away

India’s benchmark stock indices are roaring again
Nifty : 11,200 • Sensex : 37,300
A result largely of increased buying by foreign institutional investors and expectations of strong first-quarter earnings results
This rally has been limited to a few pockets (heavy weights) of the market.
Almost half the companies in the Nifty still trade below their 200- day moving average, a sign of insufficient price strength.
The present stock market rally clearly does not yet mark a return to the good old days when investors could expect multi-bagger returns by betting on stocks across the wider market.

And it will subside…

S. Hareesh has declared that he will stop serialising his novel Meesha (Moustache), in the Mathrubhumi weekly, with its third instalment.
Authors/ novelists use dialogue as a tool for various narratives.
“S Hareesh withdraws his novel “Meesa”. Literature is being mob lynched. Darkest day in Kerala’s cultural history, lightless days to follow,” the editor tweeted.
It is a cheap trick to sustain on negative popularity by creating a controversy over something that is very normal and unproblematic.
Under the circumstances, the problems faced by Mr. Hareesh are deep.
Mr. Hareesh has denied the opportunity to fringe groups that had hoped to exploit some lines of his novel and gain influence.
Our judicial processes are tiring for the common man.
The independent mind of a writer comes in the way of working within the framework of an organisation.

Kayaking at Kodencheri

At the heart of the kayaking universe in Kodencheri is an affable 57-year-old known affectionately as Chechi, or ‘elder sister’ in Malayalam. She runs a hole-in-the-wall eatery just minutes from the Chalipuzha, which flows through the lap of the Western Ghats on the Malabar coast, India’s spice garden.
For a few weeks every year, during the monsoon season in Kerala (June to August), as the rivers swell, Chechi’s tea shop becomes the nerve centre of the kayaking community, purely by virtue of being the sole source of food by the river.
Now in its sixth year, the MRF offers among the biggest cash prizes for a paddling event worldwide, with over $20,000 to be won. This year, it brought kayaking royalty to Kodencheri, which included Dutch kayaker and freestyle European champion Martina Wegman, Mike Dawson from New Zealand, and Dane Jackson, whose family owns Jackson Kayak, an American producer of kayaks — to Kodencheri.

Life in another planet?

Nasa’s Curiosity rover has trundled across the beds of dried-up lakes on Mars, and it has been fairly clear that Mars had surface water bodies in the past.
Now, a radar instrument on the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter has detected a sizeable body of liquid water under the ice cap of the south pole of Mars
Detecting water on other planets is a foundational project of astrobiology.
It is the starting point in the search for alien life, which has been one of humanity’s obsessions.
The liquid water on Mars has been found 1.5 km under the ice, and the only way to test it for the presence of life would be to drill that deep.
That implies a separate mission with a robot capable of sinking a probe and testing the waters.

Front Page

• Protect critical personal data of citizens: draft Bill

EU observers term Pak. election ‘problematic’
• A European Union election observer mission to Pakistan has said the July 25 election was “negatively affected” by the political environment in the country and suffered from an “unequal opportunity to campaign”.
Modi meets Ramaphosa amid media row over visit
Multiple bilaterals scheduled on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg
It was reported that Mr. Radebe (Energy Minister) explained to New Delhi that the NPA was not empowered to press charges as the Indian Prime Minister was protected by the Geneva Convention governing international summits.
Modi, Xi reaffirm promise of peace
To maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
Both leaders have reaffirmed once again their readiness to give the necessary directions to their militaries to enhance communications between them and to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
‘Set deadline to fill CIC, SICs posts’
The court asked why four positions were still vacant in the CIC despite a government advertisement issued in 2016.
India to give flash-flood warning to Asian nations
India has been designated as a nodal centre for preparing flash-flood forecasts by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
That means India will have to develop a customised model that can issue advance warning of floods in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand, according to Dr. Madhavan Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Flash Flood Guidance System — aims to provide forecasts six hours in advance.
The WMO says flash floods account for 85% of flooding incidents across the world, causing some 5,000 deaths each year.
NGT red flags pollution in Ganga
“the water is unfit for drinking and bathing”.