
India directs ports, terminals and shipyards to increase security levels
NEW DELHI: India directed all ports, shipping terminals and shipyards to implement increased security measures, according to a government order issued on Thursday, amid heightened tensions with its neighbour Pakistan. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma, Writing by Surbhi Misra; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

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Gulf Today
3 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Climate change heightens risk of Indian farmer suicides
On a small farm in India's Maharashtra state, Mirabai Khindkar said the only thing her land grew was debt, after crops failed in drought and her husband killed himself. Farmer suicides have a long history in India, where many are one crop failure away from disaster, but extreme weather caused by climate change is adding fresh pressure. Dwindling yields due to water shortages, floods, rising temperatures and erratic rainfall, coupled with crippling debt, have taken a heavy toll on a sector that employs 45 percent of India's 1.4 billion people. Mirabhai's husband Amol was left with debts to loan sharks worth hundreds of times their farm's annual income, after the one-hectare soybean, millet and cotton plot withered in scorching heat. He swallowed poison last year. "When he was in the hospital, I prayed to all the gods to save him," said 30-year-old Mirabai, her voice breaking. Amol died a week later, leaving behind Mirabai and three children. Her last conversation with him was about debt. Their personal tragedy is replicated daily across Marathwada, a region in Maharashtra of 18 million, once known for fertile farmland. Last year, extreme weather events across India affected 3.2 million hectares (7.9 million acres) of cropland - an area bigger than Belgium - according to the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment research group. Over 60 per cent of that was in Maharashtra. "Summers are extreme, and even if we do what is necessary, the yield is not enough," said Amol's brother and fellow farmer Balaji Khindkar. "There is not enough water to irrigate the fields. It doesn't rain properly." Between 2022 and 2024, 3,090 farmers took their own lives in Marathwada, an average of nearly three a day, according to India's Minister of Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan. People walk across the dried-up Godavari river in Beed district in Maharashtra. File / AFP Government statistics do not specify what drove the farmers to kill themselves, but analysts point to several likely factors. "Farmer suicides in India are a consequence of the crisis of incomes, investment and productivity that you have in agriculture," said R. Ramakumar, professor of development studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Farming across many Indian smallholdings is done largely as it has been for centuries, and is highly dependent on the right weather at the correct time. "What climate change and its vulnerabilities and variabilities have done is to increase the risks in farming," Ramakumar said. This "is leading to crop failures, uncertainties... which is further weakening the economics of cultivation for small and marginal farmers." The government could support farmers with better insurance schemes to cope with extreme weather events, as well as investments in agricultural research, Ramakumar said. "Agriculture should not be a gamble with the monsoon." Faced with uncertain weather, farmers often look to stem falling yields by investing in fertilisers or irrigation systems. But banks can be reluctant to offer credit to such uncertain borrowers. Some turn to loan sharks offering quick cash at exorbitant interest rates, and risking catastrophe if crops fail. "It is difficult to make ends meet with just farming," Mirabai said, standing outside her home, a tin-roofed hut with patch-cloth walls. Khadija Bi (right), whose son Shaikh Latif Sheru, a farmer who committed suicide due to mounting financial loans, sits under the shade of a tree along with her family members at their farmland in Mochi Pimpalgaon village of Beed district. File / AFP Her husband's loans soared to over $8,000, a huge sum in India, where the average monthly income of a farming household is around $120. Mirabai works on other farms as a labourer but could not pay back the debt. "The loan instalments piled up," she said, adding that she wants her children to find jobs outside of farming when they grow up. "Nothing comes out of the farm." The agricultural industry has been in a persistent crisis for decades. And while Maharashtra has some of the highest suicide rates, the problem is nationwide. Thirty people in the farming sector killed themselves every day in 2022, according to national crime records bureau statistics. At another farm in Marathwada, 32-year-old farmer Shaikh Imran took over the running of the family smallholding last year after his brother took his own life. He is already more than $1,100 in debt after borrowing to plant soybean. The crop failed. Meanwhile, the pop of explosives echoes around as farmers blast wells, hoping to hit water. "There's no water to drink," said family matriarch Khatijabi. "Where shall we get water to irrigate the farm?" Agence France-Presse


Zawya
4 hours ago
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Ali Al Nuaimi receives Indian Foreign Secretary in Abu Dhabi
Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Defence, Interior, and Foreign Affairs Committee at the Federal National Council (FNC), received today in Abu Dhabi India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. During the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to enhance parliamentary cooperation between the Federal National Council and the Indian Parliament, in line with the strategic partnership between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of India. The discussions aimed to strengthen coordination and exchange of expertise on issues of mutual interest.

Crypto Insight
7 hours ago
- Crypto Insight
South Korea moves to legalize stablecoins with new crypto bill
South Korea's newly elected president Lee Jae-myung is fast-tracking his campaign promise to allow the issuance of domestic stablecoins, as his party has moved forward with a crypto bill. Lee's ruling Democratic Party proposed the Digital Asset Basic Act on Tuesday, aimed at improving transparency and encouraging crypto sector competition, Bloomberg reported. The bill stipulates that local companies can issue stablecoins with a minimum equity capital of 500 million won ($368,000). They must also guarantee refunds through reserves and get regulatory approval from the Financial Services Commission, the country's finance regulator. South Korean stablecoin trading is surging with transactions involving the leading US dollar stablecoins reaching 57 trillion won ($42 billion) on five main domestic exchanges in the first quarter, according to Bank of Korea data. The new legislation is expected to bolster such trades and boost one of the region's largest crypto markets, with more than a third of the population, or around 18 million people, reportedly participating. Lee works to fulfill election promises South Korea's opposition leader Lee was sworn in as president following a decisive snap election victory on June 3. In addition to his plans for a local currency stablecoin, Lee also advocated for South Korea's national pension fund to invest in Bitcoin and crypto, in addition to pledges to permit the launch of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the country. 'We need to establish a won-backed stablecoin market to prevent national wealth from leaking overseas,' he said during a policy discussion in May. Bank of Korea opposes stablecoin policy Lee's crypto ambitions are facing central bank opposition, with Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong warning that non-bank stablecoins could weaken monetary policy effectiveness. The central bank argued that it should take the lead in regulating a local currency stablecoin. South Korean investors could still be burned from their investments in the multibillion-dollar Terra blockchain and its algorithmic stablecoin that was co-created by local Do Kwon, which collapsed in May 2022. South Korean crypto stocks react South Korea's crypto push is fueling a rally in local stocks such as mobile payment and digital wallet service KakaoPay, which has seen shares jump as much as 45% over the past five days, according to Google Finance. However, JPMorgan analysts Stanley Yang and Jihyun Cho said, 'The rally in Kakao-related shares is fundamentally unjustifiable, as any concrete benefit from Lee's stablecoin policy remains uncertain.' Source: