Friday, April 19, 2019

It's Gandhi against Gandhi and Gandhi in Kerala’s Wayanad

Voters in Kerala's Wayanad constituency are going to have plenty of Gandhis to choose from when they go to polls on April 23.
Out of the 20 contesting candidates, three are namesakes of Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty.
Rahul Gandhi K E, Raghul Gandhi K, and K M Sivaprasad Gandhi are the other three men who will be competing against the leader of India’s main opposition party, Congress.
The more famous Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s main opponent, is contesting elections from two seats, one from his traditional seat in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh Kerala's Wayanad -- which he chose during this election cycle.
The idyllic district set among the mountains in India’s southern state of Kerala is set to receive more attention than it has ever received before.
In a statement, Gandhi said that he is contesting from the southern state to illustrate the importance of South India -- which critics say does not receive as much attention from the central government compared to states in the Hindu heartland.
2 hr ago

India suspends cross-border trade with Pakistan

From CNN's Swati Gupta
India has suspended cross-border trade across its de-facto border with Pakistan in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Ministry of Home Affairs said Thursday.
The suspension, which took effect on Friday, will shut down trade for four days every week. It was not clear for how long the suspension would last.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the government had been receiving reports that trade routes across the Line of Control were "being misused by the Pakistan based elements for funnelling illegal weapons, narcotics and fake currency.”
Leaders in Kashmir criticized the move as an opportunistic ploy by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government at the expense of peace in the state.
Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, tweeted that the state had been asking for full truck scanners at trade points to stop illegal activity, but "rather than install the scanners the Govt has taken the regressive & highly unfortunate step of throwing the baby out with the bath water."
The suspension of trade comes exactly three months after the deadly Pulwama terror attack in Kashmir that killed 40 Indian soldiers and escalated tensions between India and Pakistan.
“It has been revealed that the trade has changed its character to mostly third party trade, and products from other regions including foreign countries, are finding their way through this route. Unscrupulous and anti-national elements are using the route as a conduit for Hawala (black) money, drugs and weapons, under the garb of this trade,” said the ministry statement.
Two crossings on the Kashmir border will be affected by the latest order.
6 hr 4 min ago

How one of India's biggest airlines imploded

From CNN's Rishi Iyengar
Jet Airways struggled in the face of increasing competition, a volatile currency and higher oil prices.
Almost 26 years to the day after its first flight, one of India's biggest airlines has thrown in the towel.
Jet Airways announced late Wednesday that it was indefinitely suspending all flights after it ran out of cash, marking a swift downfall for an airline that dominated India's fast-growing aviation industry for years.
What happened?
Airline founder Naresh Goyal began operating Jet Airways in 1993 after India liberalized its economy, and over the next two decades he grew it into one of India's top airlines.
But as millions more Indians started taking to the skies, newer players like SpiceJet and IndiGo burst onto the scene providing no-frills flights that were cheaper alternatives than Jet Airways.
Foreign carriers also offered stiff competition on international routes, and government taxes on fuel added to costs.
Despite posting mounting losses and racking up debt reportedly worth $1.2 billion, Jet Airways clung on. 
Until now.

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