<br /> The past few weeks seem to reflect the reality of the <keyword id="94534" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="indian-media">Indian media</keyword> and its relationship (if indeed there is one) with the Indian government and the broader public service it is expected to deliver. No, we are not talking about the one-page ads of government success stories though those too offer a sneak peek at the relationship between the two pillars of Indian democracy. We are talking more from the content/editorial side. These stories pertain to drought-like conditions in Marathwada, statements made by RBI governor and government reactions thereof and Press Freedom Index released two days ago which paints a not so good picture of press freedom in India, to put it mildly.<br />
 <br />
The Latur district in Marathwada where the water crisis accentuated is a case in point. It was a disaster that was waiting to happen as drought-like conditions had existed for some time in the region. With Maharashtra receiving roughly 70 percent below normal rainfall in 2014 and approximately 60 percent below normal rainfall in 2015 compared to 12 and 14 percent for respective periods for the country, the signs were ominous. The fact is some print media did see it coming. A few media reports were published in 2015, but mainly the matter did not receive the attention it ought to have received considering the disastrous consequences. The situation worsened when Manjara Dam, which supplies to Latur city, got completely dry and had been so ever since Feb 25th. Latur also saw the imposition of section 144 of CRPC (now removed) relating to unlawful assemblies for preventing water-related riots, just one day before the World Water Day on March 21. The government has meanwhile supplied Jaldoot trains to the drought affected region which is an innovative strategy to deal with the situation. The crisis came to the forefront of news reporting with the Bombay High Court ruling that no Indian Premier League Cricket Matches should be held in Maharashtra as roughly 60,000 litres a day would be used for maintenance of pitches. It is interesting to note that post this a lot of articles /coverage has happened on the issue. But a broader question is what are the solutions so that another Latur like situation does not arise in the future? Few seem to be thinking about that aspect. Maybe this will happen with farmers and people becoming lesser dependent on monsoons alone for their livelihood. What are the governments and we as citizens doing about it? It is a question we must ponder over.<br />
 <br />
The second issue which has been in news recently has been Raghuram Rajan and his remarks in US. The comments caused a butterfly effect and resulted in an ensuing political storm with ministers in the Central Government responding to the fact that they don’t agree with Rajan’s analogy of India being a one-eyed king in the land of the blind. Rajan further in a convocation address at the National Institute of Bank Management on April 20, 2016, put the title of his speech as ‘Words Matter but so Does Intent’. He clarified his position by stating that "Growth... is just one measure of performance, the level of per capita GDP is also important.” He also lamented the fact that in a ‘news-hungry country, however, our domestic papers headlined the phrase I used. To be fair, they also offered the surrounding context, but few read beyond the headline.’ So what does it tell about Indian media, not much but the fact that headlines can indeed be deceptive and can very often not end up portraying what the background context of comments was? Rajan was ‘not denigrating the success’ of India or its policymakers rather he was ‘emphasizing the need to do more’.<br />
 <br />
The third issue is about the release of the Global Press Freedom Index in which Indian ranked a dismal 133. The 2016 ‘World Press Freedom Index’ was published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and was lead in country rankings by Finland, which retained its top spot for the sixth consecutive year, followed by Netherlands and Norway. India’s rank has improved three positions since 2015 from 136. India’s neighbours were also placed similarly with China being ranked 176th. The report also said that PM Narendra Modi seems to be “indifferent” to the threats against journalists. The report also shows a disturbing decline in respect for media freedom at both global and regional levels.<br />
 <br />
Broadly speaking these three stories offer a look at the role that media plays and ought to be playing in the Indian democracy. It needs to improve further. The role ought to be more constructive and in the interests of various sections of the population, and the need is to go 'beyond headlines' to find the real intent of policymakers and policies. Over the next decade, media must regain its credibility by doing on the ground coverage of rural areas and noticing lapses so that India’s development reaches rural India where the majority of India still resides.<br />
 <br />
(The article is co-authored with Sankalp Sharma, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Competitiveness, India. Amit Kapoor is Chair, Institute for Competitiveness &amp; Editor of Thinkers. The views expressed are personal. Amit can be reached at <a href="mailto:amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in">amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in</a> and tweets @kautiliya) <br />
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<a href="http://news24-d50.kxcdn.com/media/uploads/2015/05/25/news2-1-of-1.jpg"><em>Image source</em></a><br />

The State of Indian Media

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>President Xi Jinping wants his people to know that the greatest threat to China is an insidious export from the West - ideas that could lead to a Color Revolution.</p><p>"The one non-neglectable factor [in the development of] color revolutions in these countries is the spreading of Western ideology, especially from the US," wrote Xu Songwen, of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Sunday in <a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1822063/communist-party-paper-sees-red-over-colour-revolutions?utm_source=The%20Sinocism%20China%20Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=afcc1e0324-Sinocism06_15_156_15_2015&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_171f237867-afcc1e0324-29652241&amp;mc_cid=afcc1e0324&amp;mc_eid=f4df4b6d0d">The People's Daily (via the South China Morning Post).</a></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The People's Daily is a Chinese Communist Party paper known to reflect the sentiments of Jinping's regime. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Songwen wasn't alone either. Four other academics also shared their thoughts on the dangers of Color Revolutions in the same issue. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The message was clear. There will be no non-violent political movements in China. There will be no regime change. This will not be Lebanon or Ukraine in 2005. This will not be the Middle East in 2011.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Don't even think about it.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">That's where the danger is, after all - in the thinking.</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">China has been systematically shutting out Western ideals from think tanks, school curriculums and higher learning for some time now, but this is the first time a government mouthpiece has made it clear that these thoughts are an intentional aggression from the West.</span></p><p>The basic gist of all of the papers in Sunday's People's Daily is fairly simple. It's like this: the proliferation of Western democratic ideals are a Cold War tactic that helped bring about the end of the former Soviet Union.</p><p>The ideas bring unrest and discontent to populations, and ultimately lead to bloodshed. They also tend to end in failure (see: The Arab Spring). Those who foment this kind of unrest are enemies of the state.</p><p>There is "a high price to pay for nations that fall into the trap of colour revolutions," said one article, according to the South China Morning Post.</p><p>Besides, said a People's Daily <a href="http://en.people.cn/n/2015/0615/c98649-8906742.html">commentary that ran on Friday</a>, the Chinese Communist Party is "rigid enough to protect against threats, and resilient against internal problems and external shocks."</p><p><span>So don't even try it.</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><br /></span></p><p>China is taking a play right out of Russia's book with this one. <a href="http://en.people.cn/n/2015/0326/c90777-8868752.html">In March The Security Council of Russia</a> railed against the U.S. security strategy writing: <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"In relation to Russia, there is a high probability of the U.S. using extensively advanced means for 'color revolutions' to eliminate unwanted political regimes."</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">So where do color revolutions start?</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Aside from schools and think tanks, they start on the internet. The People's Liberation Army knows that all too well, having released <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-army-declares-internet-war-2015-5">a chilling memo last month</a> that said that "the internet has become the main battlefront for struggle in the ideological area."</span></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>Western hostile forces and a small number of "ideological traitors" in our country use the network</strong><span>, and relying on computers, mobile phones and other such information terminals, maliciously attack our Party, blacken the leaders who founded the New China, vilify our heroes, and arouse mistaken thinking trends of historical nihilism, with the ultimate goal of using "universal values" to mislead us, using "constitutional democracy" to throw us into turmoil, use "colour revolutions" to overthrow us, use negative public opinion and rumours to oppose us, and use "de-partification and depoliticization of the military" to upset us.</span></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Hours after these papers appeared in The People's Daily, Hong Kong authorities said they'd taken nine people into custody for potentially attempting to plan an attack on a legislative building on the island. Officials think that they may be advocates of "localism" - the belief that the main land should stay out of Hong Kong affairs, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/world/asia/hong-kong-police-arrest-suspects-after-finding-possible-explosives.html?smid=tw-share&amp;_r=1&amp;utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=afcc1e0324-Sinocism06_15_156_15_2015&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_171f237867-afcc1e0324-29652241&amp;mc_cid=afcc1e0324&amp;mc_eid=f4df4b6d0d">according to the New York Times.</a></span></p><p>Bad timing.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bethenny-frankel-huge-business-mistake-lost-millions-real-housewives-2015-5">How one simple mistake cost 'Real Housewives' superstar Bethenny Frankel millions</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="treGpzdDrlNasuxsLTPw1AeeqbEP3zlz" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

China has taken up Russia's deepest fear

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer</span></p><p class="caption">A giant poster depicting Chinese President Xi Jinping is seen next to the Eiffel tower during a protest by activists from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in Paris March 27, 2014. The Chinese President is on a three-day visit to France. </p></div><p></p></div></div>Good morning! Here's what you need to know.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/report-walmart-suing-visa-for-5-billion-over-unreasonably-high-fees-2014-3#ixzz2xFkloRbX">Wal-Mart suing Visa.</a> </strong>The retail giant is accusing the credit-card behemoth of violating antitrust statutes by setting uncompetitive swipe fees. Wal-Mart is seeking $5 billion in claims. Visa shares were down 1% this pre-market.</p>
<p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304418404579466381735394874?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories&amp;mg=reno64-wsj"><strong>Hilsenrath.</strong></a> WSJ's Jon Hilsenrath says the Fed has begun pondering what a rate increase would look like when the time comes to raise them. "<span>When the Fed first raises the rate, it will have several choices," he writes. "It could first firm the rate at the upper end of that range, 0.25%, and proceed later to lifting it higher. Alternatively, it could go straight to a higher level of 0.5%. Or it could lift the fed funds rate from a range of zero to 0.25% to a range of 0.25% to 0.5%."</span><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-planning-a-free-video-service-2014-3#ixzz2xFliSx2g">Amazon denies TV report.</a> </strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Amazon is denying a report from Greg Bensinger at The Wall Street Journal reports that it is planning to release a free video-streaming service. In an email to Variety, Amazon spokesperson Sally Fouts said, "We're often experimenting with new things, but we have no plans to offer a free streaming-media service."</span></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/euro-falls-march-28-2014-3">Spanish deflation and the Euro.</a> </strong>Spain has officially entered deflationary territory as consumer prices contracted 0.2% YOY in March. As a result, the Euro is getting crushed on expectations the ECB will move aggressively to counteract the development.  </p>
<p><strong><a href="http://on.ft.com/1eYJKb0">Record UK trade deficit.</a> </strong>The UK's current account deficit now totals $71 billion, or 5.4% of GDP, said to be a record. "<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">However, relatively little of this is due to deteriorating net trade," the FT says. "Most of the decline stems from falling income from UK assets overseas, compared with income from foreign-owned assets in the UK." S</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">ervices and consumer spending are continuing to drive the UK economic recovery. Services activity kicked up 3.2% YOY.</span></p>
<p><strong>Markets. </strong>Stocks were mostly higher across the world, led by Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Germany's Deutsche Boerse, both at 1%. U.S. futures are higher. Gold is up slightly. Lumber contracts were up 3%.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://businessincanada.com/2014/03/28/blackberry-q4-earnings-results-john-chen/">Blackberry earnings.</a> </strong>Blackberry turned a Q4 adjusted loss of $0.08, beating expectations for a loss of $0.57. Revenues of $976 million just missed expectations. Shares were up 4% pre-market.  </p>
<p><strong>Personal income. </strong>At 8:30 a.m. we get personal income and outlays for February. Income and spending are both expected to have increased 0.3%. Core PCE is expected to be up 0.1%.  </p>
<p><strong>Consumer confidence. </strong>The University of Michigan will release its consumer confidence survey for March just before 10 a.m.. Consensus is for an increase of 0.6 to 80.5.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1dc73242-b5cf-11e3-a1bd-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2xFooszyQ"><strong>FT: Banks hit back at Fed stress tests. </strong></a>Wall Street is complaining that the process lacks transparency. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"It's not a game," said one executive at a bank which passed the test. "If they want to strengthen the system they should say beforehand where they don't agree with the way you measure or forecast." And an official at Citi, whose capital plan the Fed flunked, said </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"every year the Fed has to pick on someone and this year it was us - it seems because of our global complexity".</span></p>

10 Things You Need To Know Before the Opening Bell

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Justin Sullivan/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Google CEO Sundar Pichai.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>A group of 14 human rights organizations have written an open letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai demanding Google kill plans to create a censored search engine in China.</strong></li><li><strong>Codenamed "Dragonfly," Google's plans to create a search engine compatible with China's stringent laws were revealed by the Intercept in early August.</strong></li><li><strong>The letter, signed by the likes of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, asks Google to clarify its position on censorship and put safeguards in place for whistleblowers.</strong></li></ul><p><br />A group of 14 human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and PEN International, have <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/28/open-letter-google-reported-plans-launch-censored-search-engine-china">written an open letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai</a> demanding he reverse plans to launch a censored search engine in China.</p><p>News broke in early August that <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/google-reportedly-launching-censored-search-engine-china-2018-8">Google was planning to re-enter China after an eight-year hiatus.</a> The Intercept obtained leaked documents showing that firm is working on a new search service, codenamed "Dragonfly," and that Pichai met with a Chinese government official in December 2017.</p><p>In their letter, the human rights groups said the plan would be an "an alarming capitulation by Google on human rights," as it would mean accommodating "one of the world's most repressive internet censorship and surveillance regimes."</p><p><strong>The letter demands three things:</strong></p><ul><li>That Google kills plans for a censored Chinese search engine.</li><li>That the company clarifies its position on censorship in China and outlines any steps it is taking to "safeguard against human rights violations" linked to Dragonfly and its other Chinese mobile apps.</li><li>Finally, it asks that Google guarantees protections for any internal whistleblowers.</li></ul><p><a href="https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-approach-to-china.html">Google announced it was leaving the Chinese market in 2010</a> after it detected a "highly sophisticated and targeted attack," the primary goal of which was to infiltrate the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.</p><p>"If Google's position has indeed changed, then this must be stated publicly, together with a clear explanation of how Google considers it can square such a decision with its responsibilities under international human rights standards and its own corporate values," the letter said.</p><p>It added that protections for whistleblowers are essential, pointing out that Google staff were instrumental in raising concerns about its involvement in military drone programme "Project Maven." The company has since set out ethical guidelines on the use of AI and <a href="https://gizmodo.com/google-plans-not-to-renew-its-contract-for-project-mave-1826488620?rev=1527878336532&amp;utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_twitter&amp;utm_source=gizmodo_twitter&amp;utm_medium=socialflow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plans to withdraw from the Pentagon project in 2019.</a></p><p>The letter concludes: "As it stands, Google risks becoming complicit in the Chinese government's repression of freedom of speech and other human rights in China. Google should heed the concerns raised by human rights groups and its own employees and refrain from offering censored search services in China."</p><p>Business Insider has contacted Google for comment.</p><h2>Here's the letter in full:</h2><p>Dear Mr Pichai</p><p>(cc: Ben Gomes, Vice President of Search; Kent Walker, Senior Vice President of Global Affairs)</p><p>Like many of Google's own employees, we are extremely concerned by reports that Google is developing a new censored search engine app for the Chinese market. The project, codenamed "Dragonfly", would represent an alarming capitulation by Google on human rights. The Chinese government extensively violates the rights to freedom of expression and privacy; by accommodating the Chinese authorities' repression of dissent, Google would be actively participating in those violations for millions of internet users in China.</p><p>We support the brave efforts of Google employees who have alerted the public to the existence of Dragonfly, and voiced their concerns about the project and Google's transparency and oversight processes.</p><p>In contrast, company leadership has failed to respond publicly to concerns over Project Dragonfly, stating that it does not comment on "speculation about future plans". Executives have also refused to answer basic questions about how the company will safeguard the rights of users in China as it seeks to expand its business in the country.</p><p>Since Google publicly exited the search market in China in 2010, citing restrictions to freedom of expression online, the Chinese government has strengthened its controls over the internet and intensified its crackdown on freedom of expression. We are therefore calling on Google to:</p><ul><li>Reaffirm the company's 2010 commitment not to provide censored search engine services in China;</li><li>Disclose its position on censorship in China and what steps, if any, Google is taking to safeguard against human rights violations linked to Project Dragonfly and its other Chinese mobile app offerings;</li><li>Guarantee protections for whistle-blowers and other employees speaking out where they see the company is failing its commitments to human rights.</li></ul><p>Our concerns about Dragonfly are set out in detail below.</p><p><strong>Freedom of expression and privacy in China and Google's human rights commitments</strong></p><p>It is difficult to see how Google would currently be able to relaunch a search engine service in China in a way that would be compatible with the company's human rights responsibilities under international standards, or its own commitments. Were it to do so, in other words, there is a high risk that the company would be directly contributing to, or complicit in, human rights violations.</p><p>The Chinese government runs one of the world's most repressive internet censorship and surveillance regimes. Human rights defenders and journalists are routinely arrested and imprisoned solely for expressing their views online. Under the Cybersecurity Law,[1] internet companies operating in China are obliged to censor users' content in a way that runs counter to international obligations to safeguard the rights of access to information, freedom of expression and privacy. Thousands of websites and social media services in the country remain blocked, and many phrases deemed to be politically sensitive are censored.[2] Chinese law also requires companies to store Chinese users' data within the country and facilitate surveillance by abusive security agencies.</p><p>According to confidential Google documents obtained by The Intercept, the new search app being developed under Project Dragonfly would comply with China's draconian rules by automatically identifying and filtering websites blocked in China, and "blacklisting sensitive queries". Offering services through mobile phone apps, including Google's existing Chinese apps, raises additional concerns because apps enable access to extraordinarily sensitive data. Given the Cybersecurity Law's data localization and other requirements, it is likely that the company would be enlisted in surveillance abuses and their users' data would be much more vulnerable to government access.</p><p>Google has a responsibility to respect human rights that exists independently of a state's ability or willingness to fulfil its own human rights obligations.[3] The company's own Code of Conduct promises to advance users' rights to privacy and freedom of expression globally. In Google's AI Principles, published in June, the company pledged not to build "technologies whose purpose contravenes widely accepted principles of international law and human rights". The company also commits, through the Global Network Initiative, to conduct human rights due diligence when entering markets or developing new services. Project Dragonfly raises significant, unanswered questions about whether Google is meeting these commitments.</p><p><strong>Transparency and human rights due diligence</strong></p><p>Google's refusal to respond substantively to concerns over its reported plans for a Chinese search service falls short of the company's commitment to accountability and transparency.[4]</p><p>In 2010, the human rights community welcomed Google's announcement that it had "decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn", citing cyber-attacks against the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists and attempts by the Chinese government to "further limit free speech on the web".</p><p>If Google's position has indeed changed, then this must be stated publicly, together with a clear explanation of how Google considers it can square such a decision with its responsibilities under international human rights standards and its own corporate values. Without these clarifications, it is difficult not to conclude that Google is now willing to compromise its principles to gain access to the Chinese market.</p><p>There also appears to be a broader lack of transparency around due diligence processes at Google. In order to "know and show" that they respect human rights, companies are required under international standards to take steps to identify, prevent and mitigate against adverse impacts linked to their products - and communicate these efforts to key stakeholders and the public.[5] The letter from Google employees published on 16 August 2018 demonstrates that some employees do not feel Google's processes for implementing its AI Principles and ethical commitments are sufficiently meaningful and transparent.[6]</p><p><strong>Protection of whistle-blowers</strong></p><p>Google has stated that it cannot respond to questions about Project Dragonfly because reports about the project are based on "leaks".[7] However, the fact that the information has been publicly disclosed by employees does not lessen its relevance and rights impact.</p><p>In relation both to Project Dragonfly and to Google's involvement in the US government's drone programme, Project Maven, whistle-blowers have been crucial in bringing ethical concerns over Google's operations to public attention. The protection of whistle-blowers who disclose information that is clearly in the public interest is grounded in the rights to freedom of expression and access to information.[8] The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises recommend that companies put in place "safeguards to protect bona fide whistle-blowing activities".[9]</p><p>We are calling on Google to publicly commit to protect whistle-blowers in the company and to take immediate steps to address the concerns employees have raised about Project Dragonfly.</p><p>As it stands, Google risks becoming complicit in the Chinese government's repression of freedom of speech and other human rights in China. Google should heed the concerns raised by human rights groups and its own employees and refrain from offering censored search services in China.</p><p><strong>Signed, the following organizations:</strong></p><p>Access Now<br />Amnesty International<br />Article 19<br />Center for Democracy and Technology<br />Committee to Protect Journalists<br />Electronic Frontier Foundation<br />Human Rights in China<br />Human Rights Watch <br />Independent Chinese PEN Centre<br />International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)<br />PEN International<br />Privacy International<br />Reporters Without Borders (RSF)<br />WITNESS</p><p><strong>Signed in individual capacity (affiliations for identification purposes only):</strong></p><p>Ronald Deibert<br />Professor of Political Science and Director of the Citizen Lab<br />University of Toronto</p><p>Rebecca MacKinnon<br />Director, Ranking Digital Rights</p><p>Xiao Qiang<br />Research Scientist<br />Founder and Director of the Counter-Power Lab<br />School of Information, University of California at Berkeley</p><p>Lokman Tsui<br />Assistant Professor at the School of Journalism and Communication<br />The Chinese University of Hong Kong</p><p class="tagline">Get the latest Google stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/GOOG-Quote"> here.</a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-galaxy-note-9-review-worth-it-2018-8">The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is a $1,000 phone that's actually worth it</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

14 powerful human rights groups write to Google demanding it kill plans to launch a China search engine

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div>Today, Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti <a href="http://freebeacon.com/national-security/obama-attends-prayer-breakfast-with-sudanese-official-accused-of-genocide/">reportedly attended the annual National Prayer Breakfast</a>, along with president Barack Obama and numerous members of Congress.</p>
<p>Karti is a high-ranking official from a <a href="http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/pages/sudan.aspx">US-sanctioned government</a> and a <a href="http://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/c14151.htm">State Department-listed state sponsor of terrorism</a>. Karti's specific rap sheet is fairly long as well, and includes "<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/world/2015/02/04/3619125/7-things-need-know-prayer-breakfasts-second-controversial-guest/">spearhead[ing] efforts to kick out senior UN officials</a>" and overseeing brutal local militias during the Sudan's long-running north-south civil war.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">His presence at one of Capitol Hill's major annual events was notable enough for him to be uninvited to a more exclusive pre-breakfast meeting, according to multiple sources Business Insider consulted.</span></p>
<p>But the question of what Karti was doing at the prayer breakfast is perhaps less interesting than what he was doing in the US, period. Karti is a prominent official from a US-sanctioned government. And he was apparently allowed to travel to the US in a private capacity and without any official diplomatic business.</p>
<p class="p1">"The directors of the National Prayer Breakfast invited Foreign Minister Karti to attend their event, taking place today," a State Department official told Business Insider. "To our knowledge, he is not meeting with any administrative officials."</p>
<p class="p1">Bart Fisher, whose law firm <a href="http://www.fara.gov/docs/6076-Exhibit-AB-20111110-1.pdf">provides legal advice</a> to Sudan's government with the aim of "untangling" the US sanctions regime, told Business Insider that he did not know who invited Karti to the prayer breakfast and was not aware of the purpose of Karti's visit to the US. "T<span style="color: #000000;">hat's news to me that he attended the National Prayer Breakfast," Fisher said when reached for comment this morning. "H</span><span style="color: #000000;">e's a fine man and if he's in the US, I'm sure it's for a good purpose."</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="color: #000000;">Karti is not the only high-ranking Sudanese official in Washington this week. Ibrahim Ghandour, a close advisor to Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, is also in the US to meet with the office of the US's Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan. Ghandour is reportedly in the US so that American officials can discuss the Khartoum regime's refusal to allow US special envoy Donald Booth to visit Sudan and to figure out ways to improve ongoing bilateral dialogue between the countries. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="color: #000000;">The State Department might have decided that blocking Karti from visiting the US would jeopardize their objectives in meeting with Ghandour and would have been needlessly provocative in the run-up to this fairly high-level diplomatic meeting. And as Fisher told Business Insider, he's noticed the Obama administration's attitude toward Sudan soften somewhat since his firm began advising the Sudanese government. Fisher says that the administration has been receptive in reconsidering whether certain Sudanese entities should remain under US sanctions. "I<span> say I think we're going in the right direction - I believe more positive than when i started on this exercise three years ago," he told Business Insider.</span></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="color: #000000;"><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">This also isn't the only time in the past year that Karti has traveled within the United States in a less-than-official capacity. In September, Karti addressed the opening of the UN General Assembly in New York. Shortly afterwards, he delivered a keynote address at a World Peace Day event organized by the </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/UriCharlotte/timeline">Charlotte Cooperation Council</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> in Charlotte, North Carolina.</span></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="color: #000000;">According to the AP, the US will often issue visas that limit diplomats from "countries it disfavors" to <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/white-house-iran-no-visa-un-envoy-pick">a 25-mile radius of New York</a>, in order to allow those countries to maintain a UN mission. Sam Wazan, who extended the speaking invitation to Karti, told Business Insider that both law enforcement and local government in Charlotte were informed of Karti's visit and organizers were</span><span style="color: #000000;"> "unaware of any limitations on his visa."<br /></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="color: #000000;">The semi-recent visit to Charlotte, along with this second, also unofficial trip, suggests that Karti is under a visa regime that allows him to travel to the US without an official invitation or an explicit diplomatic mission</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> - and that lets him go places other than New York and Washington. And if it turns out Karti traveled for the prayer breakfast without having to apply for a US visa or inform the State Department ahead of time, it suggests that he possesses a multi-entry visa and has remarkably broad latitude to enter the US.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">When asked whether Karti was visiting the US on a multiple entry visa, a State Department official told Business Insider that</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> "Visa cases are confidential under US law," adding that "We cannot discuss the details of individual cases."</span></p>
<p class="p1"> </p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Several advocates believe that Karti shouldn't have any right to enter the United States. Eric Reeves, a Smith College professor and researcher who has proven influential in shaping both official and US public opinion around Sudan-related issues, </span><a href="http://sudanreeves.org/2015/02/05/ali-karti-at-the-national-prayer-breakfast-the-story-keeps-getting-uglier-5-november-2015/">argues that Karti's presence</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> violates the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office's own rules preventing the admission of "</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">foreign war crimes suspects, persecutors, and human rights abusers into the United States."</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Esther Sprague, a co-founder of <a href="http://actforsudan.org/">Act for Sudan</a> and founder of <a href="http://sudanunlimited.tumblr.com/">Sudan Unlimited</a>, also objects to Karti's presence in the US. "I<span>t doesn't make sense to reward the regime that's committing ongoing violence against the S</span><span class="il">udanese</span><span> people with visits to the US, which is a reward," she told Business Insider.</span></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>She believes it's wishful thinking to believe that someone like Karti - who represents a US-sanctioned government and has been accused of war crimes - is capable of visiting the US in anything like a non-official capacity. "He</span></span><span style="color: #000000;">'s a public figure. And he has blood on his hands."</span></p>

A high-ranking official from a US-listed state sponsor of terrorism has an easy time visiting the United States

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Saudi Arabia <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/yemen-war-and-saudi-arabia-and-iran-2015-3">began a military operation in Yemen</a> on March 25 to counter Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who have dissolved the Yemeni state and forced president Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi to flee the country by boat.<p>The operation is a Saudi attempt to reclaim a strategic frontier from its primary regional adversary, or to at least limit Iran's potentially reach into the Arabian peninsula.&#xa0;</p><p>But it's also becoming rapidly apparent that the Yemen operation, called Operation Decisive Storm, is driven by something more than just Saudi-Iranian competition.</p><p><a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2015/03/saudi-ambassador-announces-military-operation-yemen-150325234138956.html">Every single Arab monarchy</a> (except for Oman) is involved in the effort, including distant Morocco - a sign that governments ruling a combined 90 million people across 8 countries believes that the prestige and core interests of traditional conservative powers are at stake in Yemen.&#xa0;</p><p>Furthermore, there's one extremely curious participant in the anti-Houthi coalition - and its presence is the clearest sign of just how seriously Saudi Arabia and the Arab monarchies are taking the Yemen crisis.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>The fact that Sudan <a href="http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/yemen/egypt-warships-head-to-gulf-of-aden-sudan-to-take-part-in-operation-storm-of-resolve-1.1479293#.VRQMuEeAJVM.twitter">is sending 3 warplanes to the operation</a> - and is even <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/26/us-yemen-security-sudan-forces-idUSKBN0MM19720150326">deploying ground troops</a> that would fight alongside the Egyptian military - is a revealing glimpse into how events in Yemen are being interpreted in the Middle East's Sunni centers of power.</p><p>Sudan's participation in the war against the Houthis, along with the government's <a href="http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/03/26/Sudan-closes-offices-of-all-Iranian-missions-and-groups.html">reported closure</a> of the offices of Iranian organizations and groups, indicates a possible re-alignment of Khartoum's loyalties, and a Gulf-state effort to pry Sudan and Iran away from one another.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>Sudan is the only Sunni Arab government allied with Iran. The country is ruled by an internationally sanctioned, nominally Islamist government whose human rights abuses in Darfur and southern Sudan and support for terrorist groups like Hamas have turned it into one of the region's pariah states.</p><p>I<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">t's facing civil wars in multiple theaters, while South Sudanese Independence in mid-2011 and ensuing instability in the newfound country has threatened Khartoum's oil revenues, which were plunging to begin with. Khartoum's oil revenue went from $11 billion in 2010 to less than $1.8 billion in 2012, while still accounting for a crucial 27% of government cash flow.</span></p><p>Fiscally threatened and internationally scorned, Sudan's National Congress Party regime has allowed the Iranians to operate weapons facilities in Khartoum, including an installation that was <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/10/what-are-the-odds-that-israel-just-attacked-sudan/264082/">the target of a 2012 Israeli bombing attack</a> and that a <a href="https://cablegatesearch.wikileaks.org/cable.php?id=06STATE203861&amp;q=sudan%20yarmouk">US diplomatic cable</a> published by WikiLeaks implicated in the production of chemical weapons for the Iranian and Syrian regimes. Iranian warships have been <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/iranian-warships-dock-at-port-sudan/">allowed to dock in Port Sudan</a> in May of 2014.</p><p>And Sudan is a staging area for the transiting of Iranian weapons to both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=yTJeAQAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA271&amp;lpg=PA271&amp;dq=sudan+hezbollah&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=E3f98we2pj&amp;sig=fNkqYcvdZIMLQ1jzlXXuiWAJIuQ&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=tz0UVfXYI4qQsQS57oHIAw&amp;ved=0CE4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&amp;q=sudan%20hezbollah&amp;f=false">and to Hezbollah</a> in Lebanon.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/an-intimate-look-inside-the-sudanese-regime-2014-9">According to minutes</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> of a high-level August 2014 meeting </span><a href="http://sudanreeves.org/2014/09/29/arabic-original-and-hand-written-english-translation-of-31-august-2014-meeting-pages-3-6/">leaked to researcher Eric Reeves</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> in September, Sudanese Minister of <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">Defense</keyword> </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">A</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">bdal-Rahim Mohammed Hisen believes the country's "relation with Iran ... is strategic and everlasting. We cannot compromise or lose it. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">All the advancement in our military industry is from Iran."</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">&#xa0;There have even been rumors of Khartoum rendering forms of support to the same Houthi rebels that they are now fighting in Yemen.</span></p><p>Sudan's relationship with Iran has come at a cost: The Gulf States had cut off the vast majority of their financial support for the Sudanese regime by 2012. Qatar, the last Gulf donor willing to work with Khartoum, has earmarked much of its aid to reconstruction projects in the war-torn Darfur region.</p><p>Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir figured that he needed the unconditional assistance and the ideological backing of a fellow revolutionary-Islamist rogue regime like Iran more than he needed the help of the more demanding Gulf monarchies. But Bashir's regime is in even worse shape now than it was in the aftermath of the country's 2011 split.</p><p>As a March 2015 Enough Project report detailed, with the oil industry suffering Sudan's government is now <a href="http://www.enoughproject.org/reports/sudan-gold-brief">almost entirely dependent</a> on the smuggling of artisanal gold as a source of foreign currency. It's hard enough to fight wars on multiple fronts without <keyword id="6356001" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">international</keyword> sanctions and a domestic economic crisis. But it's nearly impossible without any real government revenue streams or foreign cash to fall back on.</p><p>Bashir now realizes that his survival depends more on the Gulf countries than it does on Iran. Saudi Arabia can solve his regime's problems with a single stroke of the pen. Iran can't do that.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>And at the same time, the Saudis realize that their own prestige depends on an ability to beat back Iranian advances in their strategic backyard, which only increases the urgency of shearing allies away from Tehran.</p><p>There's indication that the Gulf states were trying to recruit Sudan into their anti-Houthi push: Bashir, who is still under International Criminal Court indictment for crimes against humanity committed in Darfur, has traveled to <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/business-31658182">both the United Arab Emirates</a> <a href="http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2431770&amp;Language=en">and Saudi Arabia</a> in recent weeks.</p><p>The Sunni Gulf countries understand the value of lining up an Iranian ally behind a war effort targeting a second Iranian ally. And in Sudan's case, they had the leverage needed to affect such a dramatic and apparently rapid strategic shift.&#xa0;</p><p>Militarily, the current coalition doesn't need Sudan. Khartoum's regular military is a thoroughly corrupt and compartmentalized institution, and most of the heavy fighting (and the alleged war crimes) in Darfur and the South has been carried out by proxy groups and militias.</p><p>But the coalition was apparently eager for an immediate sign that Iran has lost the strategic initiative. With Sudan joining the fight in Yemen, they now have one - if only for the time being.</p><div><div></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-headphones-tricks-2015-2">14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="o2OGM3czpWcydnvhjbkDBd6feXPuExiD" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

The new war in Yemen has already shifted the tide in the Middle East

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>For a few hours, the future of a country of 38 million people may have hinged on the decision of a South African judge.</p><p>Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president who is <a href="http://www.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/icc/situations%20and%20cases/situations/situation%20icc%200205/related%20cases/icc02050109/Pages/icc02050109.aspx">currently under indictment by the International Criminal Court for alleged genocide and crimes against humanity</a>, was in South Africa for an African Union Summit on June 15. South Africa is a <a href="http://www.un.org/law/icc/index.html">signatory to the Rome Statute</a>, meaning it has submitted to the ICC's jurisdiction and committed itself to executing the court's arrest warrants.</p><p>Bashir's visit - like his past appearances in ICC member states since his 2008 indictment - both flouted the court's authority and put South Africa in a vexing diplomatic and legal bind.</p><p>If South Africa arrested Bashir, it would uphold principles of <keyword id="6356001" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">international</keyword> justice while violating diplomatic protocol, detaining a visiting head of state and inserting its legal system into the affairs of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/sudan">perhaps the most violent and complicated country in the continent</a>.</p><p>If it didn't arrest Bashir, it would flout the order of the ICC, weakening the court and further establishing the legal impunity of a dictator <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-worlds-worst-dictator-came-to-power-25-years-ago-today-2014-6">responsible for millions of deaths</a> during brutal counter-insurgency campaigns in Darfur, the Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile, and present-day South Sudan.</p><p>This week, South Africa's judicial system attempted to detain Bashir, only for the country's political leadership to allow the Sudanese leader <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/world/africa/omar-hassan-al-bashir-sudan-south-africa.html">to leave the country just hours after a crucial court appearance</a>. In a single stroke, this disastrous middle path somehow weakened the ICC and domestic rule of <keyword id="6355470" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Law">law</keyword>, empowered one of Africa's absolute worst leaders, and reportedly endangered South African peacekeepers deployed in Sudan.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">On Sunday, the high court in Pretoria </span><a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/africa-court-rule-arrest-sudan-bashir-150615065923527.html">issued an order barring Bashir from leaving the country</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">, in response to a number of civil society organizations that had petitioned the court to execute the ICC arrest warrant during Bashir's visit.</span></p><p>Though Bashir was never in custody, this was the closest any country had ever come to acting on the ICC warrant. When Bashir <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33130843">appeared in court the next day</a> for a preliminary hearing on the order to remain in South Africa, it was the greatest degree of legal accountability the long-serving dictator had ever faced for his government's actions.</p><p>The hearing was a shocking and even surreal development. Bashir had visited numerous countries since the 2008 indictment and arrest warrant, including <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-11117662">Kenya</a> and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/22/chad-refuses-arrest-omar-al-bashir">Chad</a>, which are both Rome Statute signatories. The ICC <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30458347">essentially suspended its Darfur file in late 2014</a>, and the indictment had taken on a kind of zombie existence, remaining in effect on paper even as the actual behavior of ICC states proved that they weren't willing to execute a warrant on such a powerful and controversial figure.</p><p>South Africa was no exception, and president Jacob Zuma and the ruling African National Congress clearly had no intention of following the ICC order, which would have invited the diplomatic crisis that comes along with detaining a recognized head of state for crimes allegedly committed far from the country's borders. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Bashir even appearing in a courtroom was historic on its own. It sets a precedent that all but guarantees Bashir can't travel to an ICC member state - outside of the Persian Gulf states whose </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-war-in-yemen-has-already-shifted-the-tide-in-the-middle-east-2015-3">loans and largesse helps fund the Sudanese regime</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">, along with the small handful of countries to which Khartoum sells oil - without the very real possibility of detainment or harassment. And it proved that the ICC dock is slightly more than just a bureaucrat's wish-list. The court ordered the arrest of a sitting head of a state, and a real-world legal process unfolded as a result - however delayed or incremental it turned out to be.</span></p><p>What happened next was no less important. After the hearing, Bashir's motorcade immediately proceeded to a nearby South African Air Force base, where Bashir's delegation to the AU summit promptly boarded the Sudanese president jet and left the country.</p><p>It didn't seem to matter that South Africa's judicial system had barred Bashir from leaving. The South African military and political leadership facilitated his departure in open defiance of a domestic legal injunction.</p><p>The implications of the episode are troubling for South Africa, Sudan, and the future of the ICC.</p><p>In trying to acknowledge the ICC warrant, South Africa ended up exposing the weakness of its judiciary, which had its explicit orders ignored. South African peacekeepers deployed in western Sudan were also <a href="http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/EXCLUSIVE-Sudan-held-SA-hostage-20150616">reportedly surrounded by Sudanese troops as Bashir's status remained in limbo</a>, raising a precedent for regimes using the threat of violent coercion to weaken the ICC's reach.</p><p>In Sudan, the ordeal <a href="https://twitter.com/ikushkush/status/610384465320349696">may only deepen Bashir's ever-tenuous hold on power</a>, rallying support for the regime and mobilizing nationalistic sentiment among the government's supporters. Bashir's <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/04/sudan-bashir-elected-94-percent-vote-150427101259060.html">re-"election" with 94% of the vote in April</a>, along with his successful defiance of the ICC indictment this week, makes it less likely that figures within the military or Sudan's ruling National Congress Party will attempt to depose him. Within Sudan, and inside the ruling clique, the president's hand has likely been strengthened.</p><p>For the ICC and supporters of some kind of robust international justice mechanism, it is likely dispiriting that this brief episode will be the closest the court will ever come to executing a warrant that has become a drawn-out test of the court's actual authority. It can't be encouraging that a quickly-disregarded hearing is the closest Bashir will ever come to answering for his regime's decades of alleged crimes.</p><p>The ICC was supposed to make the entire world directly accountable to international humanitarian law. The Bashir incident shows how that's played out in reality, with a South African court potentially gutting its own authority and empowering an autocratic regime, all in a vain attempt to exercise power over another country's internal affairs.</p><p>Bashir's ordeal was a historic high-point for the court's most troublesome case. But it's a reminder of the inherent weaknesses and dangers of the current system of international justice. And it demonstrates why justice for Bashir's millions of victims will probably never be meted out in a courtroom.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/new-omega-globemaster-watch-unboxing-2015-5">Forget the Apple Watch - here's the new watch everyone on Wall Street wants</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="5iaDNwdDrYYMm2yipFb14ndbRkPnemqO" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

You Searched For "rsf" and got 7 results

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