8 MARCH 2015: PDP frees separatist leaders from prison

Ø   Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed directed the police to release political prisoners against whom no criminal charges had been registered. Sources in the Shaheed Ganj police station said Mr. Alam was released late on Saturday night. Head of the Muslim League in the State, Mr Alam was among the main organisers of pro-Azadi protests in the Valley in 2010. He was arrested along with several other leaders after those protests and remained one of the few senior leaders still behind bars.

Ø  India and Sri Lanka will soon resume ferry services between the two countries, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to make an announcement during his visit to the island nation on March 13 and 14. The resumption of the services was one of the key issues discussed at a meeting of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Sri Lankan counterpart, Mangala Samaraweera. India and Sri Lanka want to resume the services at the earliest, but the piers in Talaimannar and Rameswaram have to be repaired before that. Mr. Modi will announce new partnerships for development and areas of cooperation. The four back-to-back high-level visits — Mr. Samaraweera and Mr. Sirisena were in New Delhi, followed by the visits of Ms. Swaraj and Mr. Modi to Colombo — were not only symbolic of renewed ties but also reflected a relationship “brimming with substance,”

Ø  If Rio 2 provided a macaw’s eye view of the world, this is the story of two extremely endangered real life Spix’s macaws — which are extinct in the wild — ready to make their way to their Brazilian habitat in the not too distant future, thanks to a conservation programme. Carla and Tiago, two Spix’s macaws hatched at the breeding centre at Schöneiche, in Brandenburg, Germany, and named after the film’s heroes, have been flown to Sao Paulo from Berlin. They will be reared at a special facility till they are ready for release into a suitable area in northeast Brazil by 2021.

Ø  Reiterating that India-U.S. partnership is a “key component” of America’s “rebalance” to the Indo-Asia-Pacific, a top U.S. Admiral last week expressed concern over China’s increased “assertiveness” in enforcing its claims in the South China Sea and supported India’s increased role in the region under the principles of open sea lanes and freedom of navigation. During the visit of U.S. President Barack Obama to India in January, both sides signed a strategic vision document, “U.S.-India Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region,” which specifically referred to safeguarding maritime security in the South China Sea. It had not gone down well with Beijing. The South China seas are international waters and India should be able to operate freely wherever India wants to operate. If that means the South China Sea, then get in there and do that. At the same time, the Admiral described China’s naval presence in the Indian Ocean as “positive” as it was involved in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.