Does China Still Stand By its No-first-use Policy? | Vantage with Palki Sharma

[Music] hello namaskar this is first post and you're watching vage with me py [Music] [Music] Sharma it's International yoga day I'm sure you've seen the pictures and social media hashtags and posts and WhatsApp forwards it's truly a global celebration but what does it mean for India how does yoga boost India's soft power and what can New Delhi do to build on it we'll discuss that tonight also India's Tibet policy is it being recalibrated Prime Minister Modi has hosted the US delegation that just met the Dalai Lama in China Xi Jinping is visiting a Tibetan school and Temple meanwhile Bangladesh Prime Minister shik Casina is in India for the second time in 2 weeks we'll tell you what's on the agenda will China use nukes against Taiwan the Americans ask them we'll tell you what their response was how Putin's visit to Asia has rattled American Allies in the region is Israel heading into a war with the hisbah can it afford a two-front war what is the sagales president doing in France why Kenya is witnessing deadly protests how weight loss drugs are changing the food market and what is gender washing a new survey shows how companies only talk of equality but do not do very much to ensure it all this and more coming up the headlines first Armenia announces its recognition of the State of Palestine the move follows a similar decision by Norway Spain and Ireland last month Israel summons The Armenian ambassador to register a protest now 145 countries recognize a Palestinian State Iran has summoned the Italian Ambassador who represents Canadian interests in thean Iran is upset that Canada has listed the re evolutionary guards as a terrorist entity tensions have been high between the two countries which broke off diplomatic ties in 2012 since then ottawa's interests in thran have been represented by Italy the new leader of Solomon Islands to visit Australia this weekend it will be his first visit there as prime minister after he replaced pro-china leader manaog gavare in May security issues will be on top of the agenda in 2022 the Pacific Nation signed a sec secretive pact with China which set alarm bells ringing in the west a big win for the lgbtq community in Namibia a top Court strikes down colonial era laws criminalizing same seex relationships Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990 but has still retained most of its laws which date back to 1927 and youth activists win a landmark climate settlement in Hawaii the US state will now be forced to move towards a zero emission transport portation system officials in Hawaii will also have to release a road map on how to achieve this goal by 2045 [Music] [Applause] [Music] today is all about an Indian success story yoga it is many things rolled into one it's a trend a lifestyle a tradition a culture and a science it is also India's gift to the world this project began in 2014 prime minister modi's government proposed a resolution at the United Nations that call for June 21st to be declared International yoga day it's been 10 years since that declaration in this time yoga has grown a lot today the world celebrates this day the whole world celebrates it the Prime Minister himself was in Jammu and Kashmir as always he joined other yoga enthusiasts take a look at this [Music] [Music] [Music] the Indian military also joined in soldiers performed yoga at their postings from the snow Capa mountains of Himalayas to the deserts of Rajasthan to aircraft carriers at Sea it was truly a nationwide celebration [Music] not just India Yoga Yoga day is a big deal outside the country as well especially in the west yoga culture has caught on well in countries like the United States in fact Prime Minister Modi marked last year's yoga day in New York this year too events were organized there take a look right arm High Press into upward facing dog open the stretch your left right arm up to the sky one more big breath l through the sides of your waist from here hand comes to the rightward through for CRA POS exhale curl the toes take it to downward so that was yoga day in a nutshell a lot of events across the world plus some great pictures but tonight we're going beyond the Optics what has yoga done for India's brand how it has it helped India diplomatically first let's look at some numbers globally around 300 million people regularly do yoga that's more than 8% of the world population many of them do it at home but some also prefer Studios there are more than 48,000 yoga studios in the us alone more than 2,000 in Canada more than 4,000 in Britain and more than 2,000 in Australia it tells you how popular yoga is all this reach also means that yoga is a money spinner you have the studios you have yoga matths you have instructors and put together it is a big economy the yoga Market is worth 107 billion doar and it's growing at nearly 99.4% per anom yoga mats alone are a big business its Market size is nearly $14 billion so to sum it up yoga is popular and lucrative but how has it helped India in broadly two ways one is the messaging yoga has popularized Indian philosophies whether it's tolerance or Harmony or nonviolence or honesty it's like a window to indianness and that's very important Today We Live in Times where propaganda is rampant rals are always is trying to defame you so it is important to tell your side of the story and yoga can do that it tells people what real Indian values are benefit number two it has boosted India's Global standing not just as a country but as a civilization look at how complex you guys how scientific the poses are all of this was developed thousands of years ago it tells you how advanced ancient India was at the same time yoga has embraced change look at all the types of the new types of Yoga you have hot yoga you have yoga with puppies yoga with goats and couples yoga and India has never questioned any of these new types or methods instead we have accepted them and by doing that yoga's reach has expanded Reports say India is planning another move to boost yoga's popularity and that is inclusion in the Olympics India is bidding for the 2036 games it is pushing for the inclusion of six disciplines among them is Yoga well it's not clear how yoga competition will unfold but if successful it will boost India's and yoga's popularity the question is what more can be done yoga tourism is one Avenue it's already happening in some parts of the country Prime Minister Modi also talked about it [Music] [Music] [Music] the pit should be simple come to India to learn authentic yoga but that also needs Investments more yoga centers More Travel facilities and more instructors but if India cracks it there is a lot of money to be made the global Wellness tourism Market is huge it's worth almost 814 billion $814 billion a second focus should be diplomacy right now the focus on yoga disappears after yoga day it doesn't extend to India's normal diplomatic engagements maybe New Delhi can rethink that other countries regularly leverage their soft power Finland has Sona diplomacy China has Panda diplomacy France has food diplomacy Brazil has food football diplomacy so why can't India build a new brand of yoga diplomacy it fits India's policies too flexible and peaceloving so my point here is quite simple every year yoga Day brings the same pictures and headlines and yes a lot of Goodwill for India but after 10 years it is time to leverage that to get some tangible benefits from yoga if India doesn't do it others will political messaging comes in many shapes from a yoga post to a social media post like this one that's Prime Minister Modi with a group of American lawmakers they met the delai Lama earlier this week and then they met the Indian Prime Minister along with India's national security adviser rajit doal this delegation had both Republican and Democrat leaders including former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi New Delhi has not issued a detailed statement about the meeting all we have is this post on the official handle of the Indian Prime Minister it says the Prime Minister I'm quoting the Prime Minister had a very good exchange of views with friends from the US Congress that's all and yet it's quite a statement the US is poking China on Indian soil it is calling out beijing's rights abuses in Tibet and India is quietly facilitating all of this by giving these American lawmakers a platform understand this his Holiness the Dal with his message of knowledge and tradition and compassion and purity of soul and and and love he will live a long time and his legacy will live forever but to you president of China you'll be gone and nobody will give you credit for anything Xi Jinping got the message and he's issued a response in the form of a visit to Chai in western China where he held engagements with Tibetans the Chinese president visited middle school for Tibetans he also went to a temple the Buddhist hongu temple it is a Tibetan Buddhist heritage site Beijing released some pictures from the visit along with a statement during this visit Xi Jinping also met with some Communist Party officials and government representatives and what did he discuss with them the need to cize religion in China to cyze is to make something Chinese in character and form Beijing wants to cze religion by taking away the unique aspects and giving it chinesee characteristics they also had a message for the Dalai Lama the so-called Tibetan government in Exile is an out andout separatist and political group with regard to the contacts and negotiations between the Chinese government and the 14th Dalai Lama our policy is consistent and clear the key is that the 14th Dalai Lama must fundamentally reflect on and thoroughly correct his political views now the message is loud and clear Xi Jinping will not accept any other version of Buddhism other than the one that he has complete control over where loyalty to the Communist Party Supreme he stressed on the same point in 2021 during a visit to Tibet his first visit as a president of China and a very significant one for the first time in three decades a Chinese president was visiting Tibet Shing Ping's plane landed in ningi a city which is less than 20 km from the border with India the Indian state of arunachal Pradesh it's along this border now the visit coincided with the 70th anniversary of tibet's takeover of course China doesn't call it a takeover they call it the peaceful liberation of Tibet No One Believes them because the world knows the truth China took Tibet by force in 1951 Chinese troops invaded Tibet at led to the signing of the 17-point agreement this agreement was forced upon Bor Tibetan Leaders The Pact guaranteed autonomy for Tibet and religious freedom for Buddhists in return China was allowed to set up a civil and Military headquarters in Lassa now throughout the 1950s the Communist Party faced widespread resistance in Tibet China refused to honor its Promises of autonomy in 1959 Tibetans led a mass Uprising against them it was violently crushed by the Communist party this forced the Dal Lama to leave along with some 880,000 Tibetans they left they came to India and India gave them Refuge they were allowed to stay in dhamala and Himachal Pradesh where they established the Tibetan government in Exile this week American lawmakers went there to meet the Dalai Lama Washington is bringing Tibet back on the geopolitical radar it's a way to build pressure on China recently American lawmakers also passed a law it's called the resolve Tibet bill it basically calls on China to resolve the Tibet issue it demands that Beijing open a dialogue with the Dal Lama but American laws aren't binding on China and it has swiftly rejected this demand but the law is still important apart from political messaging it has financial implications this bill authorizes the US government to use money to counter Chinese disinformation disinformation about the history of Tibet the Tibetan people and their institutions also disinformation about the dalay Lama himself so this law is a valuable tool to challenge Chinese narratives about Tibet including the claim that Tibet was liberated peacefully US President Joe Biden is yet to sign this bill into law but that's just a formality and India too appears to be making a shift here it seems more willing to work with like-minded partners and taking steps to build pressure on China facilitating this visit and meeting this delegation were both welcome moves India will need multiple strategies and decisive moves to contain a Wy and belligerent neighbor like China staying with Indian diplomacy New Delhi is hosting a very special guest the prime minister of Bangladesh shik Hina now I know what you're thinking didn't Hina just visit India well she did she was among the leaders who attended prime minister Narendra Modi swearing in ceremony and two weeks later she's back here and that in itself tells a story shik hassa landed in New Delhi earlier today she also met foreign minister SJ Shanker but tomorrow is a crucial day she will get a ceremonial welcome at the rashtrapati bav after that she will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Modi so Saturday is the moving day and what can we expect let's talk symbolism first this is the first incoming bilateral visit of modi's thirdd term it tells you about India's priorities as the Prime Minister says its neighborhood first secondly shik Hina is visiting India before China her trip to Beijing was announced earlier this month she's expected to travel in the second week of July and before that she's decided to come to India what does that tell you Daka too is showing its priorities India before China now we come to the specifics what are the expected outcomes Reports say 10 Agreements are in the pipeline they cover multiple sectors like energy connectivity and trade some joint projects are also will also be announced like the India Bangladesh friendship Bridge it connects India's Northeast to ramar in Bangladesh the idea is to give Northeastern states access to the Sea now this project began in 2021 Hina and Modi are expected to inaugurate it both leaders have clear expectations from this visit we look at shikina first what are her expectations her biggest demand is a water sharing agreement for Tista now Tista as you would know is a major river in South Asia it originates in the Indian state of Sikkim it flows V West Bengal and Bangladesh and finally empties into the Bay of Bengal right now India gets almost 55% of tista's water but Daka wants India to share more Northern Bangladesh faces water shortage in the summer so H is pushing for a water sharing agreement just one problem though West Bengal is not on board until the state government agrees a deal cannot be struck which is why Daka is pursuing Alternatives mainly a river restoration project Bangladesh wants to improve tista's water flow they want to dredge the river bed build embankments and reclaim land near the river again just one problem this project will cost a lot of money around $1 billion that will be the bill China has already filed a proposal to do it for Bangladesh the Chinese want to build it and this has spooked India last month New Delhi rushed its foreign secretary to Dhaka he too expressed interest in this project so water sharing is shik hina's top demand I guess it was expected Bangladesh has more than 170 million people and most of them live near river basins now we come to Prime Minister Modi what will be his expectations May assurances China's footprint has grown in Dhaka they have invested close to $30 billion in Bangladesh this money has gone into crucial projects like rail Bridges and tunnels then you have loans Daka owes around $17 billion to China and they want more money Hina has requested China for another loan it's worth almost $5 billion even military contact is increasing this year China and Bangladesh held a joint military drill the first such exercise by both countries now if you add all of this up one thing becomes very very clear Bangladesh cannot pick between India and China it may prioritize India but it cannot abandon China that is why this visit is important India's neighborhood policy has come under criticism China has made significant gains in Nepal the Maldives and Sri Lanka so in many ways Dhaka is the last Ally standing and that gives shik Hina a lot of Leverage it also puts the ball in New delhi's Court Modi sent a positive signal by inviting India's neighbors to his inauguration the key is to build on that we'll be tracking this visit closely our next story is about a meeting that took place in shangai recently a meeting between the US and China these were informal talks no government officials were involved nonetheless they were important it was the first such conversation in 5 years and it focused on one key aspect nuclear weapons America wanted to know two things will Beijing issue a nuclear threat over Taiwan and does its no first use policy does China's no first use policy still stand and what was beijing's response our next report tells you it was an intense discussion for 2 days the setting was a conference room in a Shanghai Hotel on the US side there were about half a dozen delegations that include former officials even Scholars on beijing's side too it was a mix Scholars analysts and former pla officers so what were the two countries talking about it was nuclear arms the focus was mainly on Taiwan China claims the island as part of its territory a claim that taipe refutes in recent years Beijing has ramped up its ante around Taiwan whether it's through statements or military exercises but is Beijing about to make a nuclear threat threat its officials say no Washington raised concerns that if China was defeated in a conflict over Taiwan it might use or even threaten to use nukes but Beijing has denied any such claims it's also given Washington reassurances reports claim its officials say it will not resort to Atomic threats now these are called track two talks the people taking part are former officials even academics they may not set policy but they speak with authority on the government's position so these are sort of semi-official talks they are not track one talks those are what happened between governments in November last year the countries resumed track one talks on nuclear arms but those discussions have stalled so these track two talks are a step in the right direction these are the first informal talks between the US and China in 5 years and it focuses on a key issue nuclear arms in the last last century the US and Russia ramped up their nuclear Arsenal China was far behind it didn't focus on nukes it focused on growth instead China's first nuclear weapons test was in 1964 but since then Beijing has built hundreds of nuclear weapons yet called its Arsenal modest Beijing has stressed on two things no first use that is it will never go first in a nuclear conflict and the second is minimal deterence that is have having just enough nukes to dissuade adversaries according to the Pentagon Beijing is on track to double the number of its nuclear warheads by the end of the decade so from 500 to 1,000 by 2030 most of its nukes will likely be held at higher Readiness levels so a key question on the US side is does China still stand by its no first use in minimal deterant policies Beijing says it's still business as usual nothing has changed that's China's stance for now but most analysts believe China's no first use policy is conditional what those conditions are is something the world is yet to figure out what can one visit achieve well if you're an isolated wartime leader a lot I'm talking about Vladimir Putin he has wrapped up his much hyped Asia tour he visited two countries North Korea and Vietnam and tonight we're looking at the Fallout what has changed after Putin's visit well South Korea is spooked Moscow and Pyongyang have upgraded their ties they now have a mutual defense PCT meaning Russia could give weapons to North Korea maybe even strategic technology which is why South Korea is lashing out and I would like to emphasize once again that any direct or indirect uh uh assistance or cooperation that enhances North Korea's military capability is a clear violation of the multiple un secur Council resolutions and it is indeed Deo that a permanent member of the SEC Council which had agreed to the adoption of the these resolutions is now acting in in violation of the resolutions beyond the statement Soul has made two moves first they summoned Russia's Ambassador a formal protest was lodged but the second move is even more important South Korea is thinking about sending weapons to Ukraine and this would be huge Soul has promised some $2.3 billion do for Ukraine but that is non-lethal Aid nothing that can harm Russia or its soldiers non-lethal Aid $2.3 billion but now South Korea is rethinking that sort of like a tit fortat you give weapons to our enemy so we give weapons to yours and Putin is not happy about this he says arming Ukraine would be a serious mistake as for the supply of lethal weapons to the war zone in Ukraine that would be a very big mistake I hope that this will not happen and if it does happen then we will also take appropriate decisions which are unlikely to please the current leadership of South Korea support has stirred the pot and things are already escalating on Thursday North Korean soldiers tried to cross the Korean Border in response Soul fired warning shots it was the third such incident this month you also had joined drill s South Korean and American war planes combined forces they practiced live fire exercises like firing laser guided bombs and launching air to ground missiles basically they tested their preparedness but it's not just Korea Putin made moves in Vietnam as well the US is hoping to cultivate Vietnam as a key Ally last year Joe Biden visited this country he upgraded bilateral relations with Hanoi but Putin's visit has complicated matters it has certainly made one thing clear Vietnam will not abandon Russia there is a Russian proverb that all the money in the world cannot compare with a friendship and one old friend is better than two new friends the Vietnamese people are always deeply grateful and remember the close and loyal feelings of Russian friends in the context of many complicated developments in the world and region how about that Vietnam's president used a Russian proverb to praise Russia that doesn't sound like a US Ally and none of this is random it's all part of Russia's long-term plan there are three parts to it the first is to tie the us down in Asia whether it's in the Korean Peninsula or in the South China Sea or in Taiwan if Biden is more focused on Asia he is less focused on Ukraine that is Putin's calculation we see what is happening in Asia a block system is being put together NATO is already moving to Asia as if to to a permanent place of residence this of course creates a threat to all countries in the region including the Russian Federation we are obliged to respond to this and we'll do it and he's right Biden is sending a high ranking Diplomat to Vietnam this week why to shore up the partnership the second part is weakening America's Asian Alliance two countries are key to this South Korea and Japan by visiting pongyang Putin has already spooked Soul his next Target is Japan in March Russia held military drills in the Sea of Japan they've started another drill this week again near Japan Reports say around 40 warships 40 40 warships are involved Moscow is also reopening an old territorial dispute it concerns an island near the Russian Far East it's called kurl Island Russia occupies it but Japan claims it last year Moscow banned foreign ships from sailing near the kural island they basically told Japan stay away so Russia's strategic goal is quite clear keep needling America's allies and eventually weaken their support for Ukraine which brings us to the final part of Putin's plan his pivot to the east you see Western markets are shut for Russia Western Investments are also not an option so Putin is pivoting to Asia Russia is the top seller of weapons to Vietnam meanwhile India and China buy most of their energy so Putin knows that his future lies in Asia hence the focus of course this is Putin's best case scenario things could also backfire his Asian Adventures could embolden America's allies it could make them more anti-russia I guess that's a risk that he's willing to take but either way one thing is clear Putin's designs have just made Asia even more dangerous you will see more military exercises more defense spending and more saber rattling now to another region where tensions are also escalating this is West Asia there's a risk of a wider war between Israel and hisbah it's an iran-backed group based in Lebanon that is to the North of Israel and they've been exchanging fire and threats yesterday there were fresh air strikes in Lebanon Israeli forces hit hisbah Targets in response hisbah launched dozens of rockets into Northern Israel and their Chief has issued a warning his name is Hassan nasar allaha he says he won't spare Israel if there's an attack Israeli officials say they're ready for an all-out War but the thing is is hisbah is not Hamas it's a bigger better equipped and more powerful group so is Israel biting more than it can chew can it fight a war on two fronts our next report explores tension has returned to the streets of Beirut newspaper headlines are reflecting The Bleak mood after the warning from the Hezbollah Chief the locals are afraid about a wider conflict breaking out among them is 32-year-old Tara Tabit situation the situation is a little disgusting because when you see everything that happened from 8 months to now I don't understand how no one has stopped them and of course we don't want to go into a war with them but if that's solidarity with the people in Gaza so be it tensions on Lebanon Southern borders remains High Israel and the Hezbollah continue to trade fire yesterday the Israeli forces claimed that they struck more Hezbollah bases the Lebanese group responded with more Rockets both sides have been exchanging fire for months now but in recent weeks these strikes have intensified so has the war of words Israel is now dropping hints it is not afraid of a full-blown offensive we are completing the land and air Readiness strengthening the intelligence systems and preparing for any possibility we have to remember the basic situation that Hezbollah started a war against us we have an obligation to change the situation in the north but compared to the Hamas the Hezbollah is a far more formidable enemy for starters Hezbollah has a bigger Arsenal with the assistance of allies like Iran Russia and Syria the Hezbollah has accumulated at least 130,000 rockets and missiles potentially the stockpile can overwhelm Israel's air defenses earlier this week the Hezbollah issued a grim reminder of these capabilities they released a video which is believed to be surveillance footage it features prominent Israeli locations Israeli military sites residential cities with high populations of civilians malls and high-rise buildings and the port of hia on the ground Hezbollah has a large number of Fighters in 2021 their Chief Hassan nasala had claimed that the group had some 100,000 Fighters but it is widely believed that more Fighters have joined the ranks since they are unfaced by Israel's threats earlier this month an Israeli strike killed a senior Hezbollah Commander at his funeral the group issued a rallying call if the enemy as is broadcast by media Outlets every day the enemy is screaming and moaning about what happened to him in Northern Palestine let him prepare himself to cry and whale the Hezbollah sees its crossb attacks as lwi intensity conflict designed to convey their support for Hamas only a truce in Gaza can put a permanent end to these hostilities but with the chances of a ceasefire fading the risk of an Israel hasah escalation remains High our next story is about senagal it's a nation in West Africa one of the many former French colonies in the region and one of the many that are angry with France so it may be surprising to see this [Music] happen that was sagal's recently elected president basiru de my Fay he met French president Emanuel macron yesterday at the LC palace in Paris a few months ago this would have been surprising because of the hostilities between macron and the new sagales government Fay became president in April just days after he was released from prison Fay had been imprisoned by sagal's former president macki Saul a leader perceived to have been close to France and macron and it wasn't just Fay who was in prison it was also his political mentor Osman sonko who fade prime minister of Sagal sonko is the prime minister now listen to this to get an idea of their anger towards macron and worst of all and worst of all it was at the height of this persecution that President maon welcomed president makisa to congratulate him on having done what he had to do to save his country it's an incitement to repression instead of criticizing sagal's former president for repression macron congratulated Saul for imprisoning opposition leaders like sonko and Fay now that's one reason for the anti- France sentiment in Sagal the other is more deeproot you see Sagal became independent in 1960 but for decades it has been dependent on the French for everything from trade to security to even their currency and this is no accident it was by design a way to enforce closed ties between France and its former colonies but this spell has started to break a number of former French colonies saw military coups recently since 2021 the military has taken over Mali ner and Burkina Faso all three nations then confronted the French and demanded that French troops leave their soil sagol did not have a coup but the new government has the same sensibilities last month prime minister sonko said and I'm quoting I reiterate sagal's wish to determine its course when which is incompatible with the entrenched presence of foreign military bases senagal is also planning to house the French army there are about 350 French troops in this country president Fay and prime minister sonko want them out reports say that a plan is already in motion to reduce that number to 100 from 350 to 100 so with all of this in mind let's look at the meeting between macron and Fay again you can see that macron is vying for a good photo op he's asking F to turn and face the camera shake his hand the sagales president does not seem really interested but he's playing along why would he bother with all of this perhaps because president Fay is looking at the bigger picture macron was hosting a summit an African vaccine Summit it was an opportunity for Sagal and other African nations Africa produces only 2% of the VAC it uses our goal is to produce 60% of these vaccines by 2040 the disparity is Bleak it is one of the reasons that the African continent has a low vaccination rate and why infant mortality is high macroon announced a $1.2 billion program to boost vaccine production in the African continent so it seems that Fay decided it was worth it to play nice it ties in with sagal's bigger strategy trying to unite African nations and changed the Dynamics of their relationship with the West Fay has been saying this since he took office I will always be available to work with you our European Partners towards a win-win partnership that is mutually beneficial for our respective peoples Sagal isn't going for the scorched Earth tactic it isn't planning to sever ties with France and the West it wants to redefine those ties and turn them into win-win propositions instead of the current exploitative relationship hopefully senagal succeeds with this plan now let's turn to the other side of Africa to Kenya in the East the nation has been rocked by protest this week and today they turned deadly at least one person has died and hundreds of others have been injured this occurred as the protest spread to every corner of Kenya the people are protesting against new taxes Kenya's government wants to raise an extra $2.7 billion in the next financial year and it plans to to do this by hiking taxes yesterday Kenya's new finance bill passed its second reading meaning the taxes are a step closer to becoming law that is why the protests have intensified and now turned deadly here's our report Nairobi Elder kisumu all over Kenya you can hear people chant Ruto must go the Kenyans are talking about their President William Bruto that's not his only name in Kenya though he has also been likened to a Biblical tax collector zakas or zakayo as he's known in Kenya Ruto is often compared to this figure because of his penchant for taxation the protests that you see are directed against new taxes brought in Via this year's finance bill which is like Kenya's annual budget order honorable members the results of the division on second reading of the finance bill 2024 is as follows eyes 204 nay 115 abstention nail so the eyes have [Music] it order take your seats the finance bill 2024 passed a second reading in Parliament yesterday it's one step closer to becoming a law which is what sparked the latest round of demonstrations and the latest police retaliation the police have been attacking the protesters with tear gas water cannons and according to some reports even bullets at least one person is dead hundreds of people have been [Music] injured the Kenyan protesters are mostly gen Z they're young techsavvy and informed they organize through social media social media I'm telling you agopa jzi agopa jzi can you see this is like Twitter Tik Tok Instagram everywhere online the protests broke out on Tuesday and initially seem to have worked the Kenyan government withdrew some of the more controversial taxes like a 16% tax on bread but the Kenyan protesters aren't convinced we don't deny there things that they changed in the finance bill but as an stod they changed from one tax to another the protesters don't want the finance bill amended they want it rejected outright but Kenya's president looks set to fight them till the end so help me God William Ruto became president in 2022 and every year he raises taxes borne by The Common People taxes on food Fuel and even Medical Treatments Ruto wants to tax it all his reason isn't the worst Kenya has a high debt burden Ruto inherited much of it from the previous administration and he wants to lower it to do that he needs money but here's the problem the burden of ruto's taxes falls on everyone including the poor and marginalized and especially the salaried class Kenyans have been suffering through a cost of living crisis many can barely make ends meet as it is and on top of all called this come ruto's taxes the taxes have broken the backs of local businesses they keep shutting down by the hundreds the people are hurting and they feel that Ruto and his government aren't doing their part the president has been under scrutiny for frequent foreign trips sometimes aboard luxury Jets on the taxpayers dime so the message from the protesters is simple cut on your expenditure do not over tax us that's the laziest way for the government to earn Revenue over taxation Ruto doesn't seem likely to take this advice his finance bill is going through the motions there will be a third and final hearing on the bill this coming Tuesday then it'll head to ruto's office for his signature Kenya's anti-tax protesters don't have much time left so expect the demonstrations to get bigger in the days ahead what do you think about when I say fast food big burgers a huge bag of fries maybe a can of soda to go with it fast food is all about big offers and even bigger promotions but weight loss drugs could be changing that globally over a billion people are obese many more are overweight millions of them are taking weight loss drugs now the likes of OIC Wei Elli Lily and many more these drugs suppress your appetite that means people are eating less their tastes are changing and they're choosing healthier Alternatives and it's changing the way the food industry works from snacks to grocery Staples companies are launching new products to make it more diet friendly our next report tells you how Once Upon a Time all was well in the Kingdom of cholesterol it was an Empire of excess and reigning Supreme was just one thing fast food big burgers bigger fries and the idea of diet soda would make people cringe fast food was all the rage cheap satisfying and Incredibly filling but deep fried land now has a new enemy its weight loss drugs the likes of OIC and wovi more and more people are turning to these appetite suppressing wonders and why wouldn't they globally 1.1 billion people are obese that's 14% of the global population by 2035 over half of the world's population 4 billion people will be overweight or obese weight loss drugs have shown promise they have been Swift in helping people lose weight but that's not to say they haven't had side effects they do in fact the who has issued a global alert it was issued over fake OIC drugs the global body said the fake medicines could pose a danger to health but warning or not people are still using them now most of these drugs have a common feature they suppress appetite when you consume them you feel very full after meals and then you start shedding the kilos but that doesn't mean you don't eat with weight loss drugs you do but you just eat smaller portions and that's what companies are now catering to take Nestle for example it's launching a new line of frozen meals for people taking weight loss medications they will be high in protein they will have more fiber and nutrients but Nestle is not naming the weight loss drug then there are others like biocare a drink that's particularly catering to people taking weight loss drugs these drugs have gastrointestinal side effects so the maker says the drink will alleviate the side effects for people taking semog glues again no direct mention of weight loss drugs but some like Herbalife are more direct they mention glp1 drugs and how their product can help people who are taking them and it's not just specifically catered products weight loss drugs could change the entire food industry according to a new report grocery spending has dropped by almost 9% in households that use weight loss drugs and guess what's taking the biggest hit it snacks and sweets the consumption of soft drinks baked goods and salty snacks could fall up to 3% by 2035 so it's clear that that the food industry is undergoing a sesmic shift it's driven by the rise of weight loss drugs and the changing tastes of a more health conscious public whether this will lead to a fitter Society remains to be seen but one thing is for certain the days of guilt-free indulgence are behind us and the future of food is where less is more have you heard about green washing it is everywhere and it is effective because it is a marketing spin companies mislead consumers about their environmental credentials and it's difficult to see through such claims which makes green washing successful so successful that now it is lending the same strategy to other corporate clap trap like gender washing now this is a relatively new term and it works exactly like green washing over the past few years gender washing has seen a dramatic rise more companies are claiming that they support gender equality they're committing to increased gender balance they're t gender diverse leadership they're curating women's Summits press conferences equality podcasts but are they walking the talk are they practicing what they preach not particularly according to research these commitments are not translating into reality there is little progress and in some cases it's one step forward followed by two steps back look at the US for example 2023 was almost historic for us for for women in the US Workforce but in a really bad way across all sea Suite positions women lost seats for the first time in two decades women's representation across senior leadership role saw a drop the growth rate fell to its lowest in more than a decade it dropped to 0.5% in 2023 as compared to 1.2% average in the Years prior so the rate was poor from the get-go and now it has become worse so much for all the tall claims on gender parity and this is not an isolated scenario in fact it is better than the situation in many other countries in the US women hold 27% of sea Suite positions seite roles 27% of them in the UK this number stands at 25% and France 24% Germany 19% India 15% if these numbers look bad trust me it gets worse because seite is a broad term it includes all upper levels of management Like Chief Finance officers or marketing officer as you go up the ranks to Chief Executive Officer gender equality becomes increasingly invisible globally only 5.4% CEOs are women so there is a clear disconnect here companies are committing to better gender balance but women's participation remains stubbornly low why is that I'll give you three reasons why first many of these claims are Hollow empty promises are made to get stakeholders off the company's back the second reason is the labor market itself it has certain Dynamics there are entrenched biases stereotypes and ways of working undoing even some of this needs more than bold public claims because words mean nothing if they're not backed by actions which brings me to the third reason gender Equity fatigue most companies have what they call Dei initiatives Dei stands for diversity equity and inclusion Dei in the past few years Dei has become a legal and political Target many say that it is a waste of time and money others believe it should not even exist because the inclusion of women would lead to the exclusion of men which is not true at all but when top CEOs like Elon Musk criticize diversity and inclusion publicly logic goes out the window and such actions come with repercussions for starters reputation takes a hit because empty promises are not a good look then there are the financial consequences study after study proves this firms with more women in senior positions are more profitable more socially responsible more Innovative and more resilient the funny thing is most people want the same thing they want competitive organizations they want successful leaders meritocracy this in itself should be a rallying call for gender equality instead it makes the shape takes the shape of an empty promise because it is easy to say the right thing but doing doing the right thing takes a lot of work and now it's time for Vantage shots images that tell the story the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's Works printed 400 years ago goes on display in the United States wildfires in New Mexico damage hundreds of homes causing 8,000 residents to evacuate and it's not Zoro or a Ninja Turtle it's French football player Killian mbapp he's back to practice with a mask after he broke his nose in the opening Euro match finally we're taking you back in history on this day in 1990 a massive earthquake devastated Iran nearly 50,000 people were killed more than 150,000 were injured and millions were left homeless the Iran received assistance and aid from across the globe including from the United States we're leaving you on that note thanks for watching have a great weekend e we that's [Music] onday the T20 World Cup B has move across to the West new hello I'm Al GRE coming to you from D South Africa today we have a special we start with an report on India shifting nuclear the first time hello and welcome to First P America I'm Eric ham coming to you live from the nation's capital in Washington DC

Channel: Firstpost

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Id: WfLfz1zkVRM

Length: 56min 1sec (3361 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 22 2024