Special

Can America ban India? India is going to buy missile system S-400 from Russia. But US officials say that if India buys this missile, then the US can ban it.

Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, who visited the US, had said that he thought he would convince the US for the deal, but on the same day, the US Ministry of External Affairs told The Hindu newspaper via email that any such deal was made by India There can be trouble and the United States can ban it.

In this email, a spokesperson for the US State Department wrote, "We appeal to our allies to refrain from entering into any deal with Russia that would result in them being banned under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA)." There is a danger of getting engaged. ''

These restrictions will apply to every country that violates the US CAATSA law.

In the case of Russia, this law of the United States prevents countries that deal with Russia in arms.

The US Parliament passed this law in 2017 after Donald Trump came to power.

Ever since this law came into force on 2 August 2017, there has been speculation in India as to how this will affect India-Russia's defense relations, especially the potential purchase of the S-400 missile system.

Earlier, the US banned the Equipment Development Department and its directors of the Central Military Commission of China under this law. These restrictions were imposed on China because it had purchased SU-35 aircraft and S-400 systems from Russia.

The S-400 is a long range surface to air missile system to be built in Russia. The Indian government wants to buy.

The S-400 is considered to be the world's most effective air defense system. It has stand-off jammer aircraft, airborne warning and control system aircraft. It will destroy ballistic and cruise missiles even before they hit the target. The S-400 can be carried anywhere by road. It can be deployed within five to 10 minutes.

Defense analysts believe that the arrival of the S-400 will increase the strength of the Indian Air Force. But Russia has already given S-400 to China. Now Russia has contracted to supply S-400 to India. Russia can also give S-400 to Pakistan as Russia now has a good relationship with Pakistan.

The Indian government has asked for five S-400 systems from Russia for the Indian Air Force. India has contracted to supply the S-400 system with Russia.

No official announcement has been made as to how much India will have to pay for this defense system. But some reports have stated that India will have to spend more than $ 5.4 billion for this.

As soon as the first installment of this missile system is repaid, US sanctions may apply to India.

One way to avoid these restrictions is that the President of the United States should give India a discount.

But American officials have been saying continuously that India should not think that it will get this exemption automatically. America will decide what to do?

Section 235 of CAATSA mentions 12 types of restrictions. If India deals with Russia, then the President of the United States can impose five or more of these restrictions on India. like -
- The one who is banned will not be given loan.
- The export-import bank will not get any assistance to export any goods where it is banned.
- Which is banned, the US government will not take any goods or services from there.
- No person associated with it will be granted a visa.

Ten of these restrictions will not have much difference in Indo-US and Indo-Russian relations. But two restrictions can have a big impact on mutual relationships.

One of these is that 'banking transactions will be banned'. So that India will not be able to pay Russia in US Dollars for S-400.

The second ban will have a profound effect on Indo-US relations. Under this, 'export ban' will be imposed. Meaning that the United States will not import anything from it, nor will it license it.

These two sanctions will severely affect the strategic and defense partnership between India and the US.

Britain's opposition Labor Party passed an emergency resolution on Kashmir on Wednesday, asking party leader Jeremy Corbyn to let international observers into the area and demand the right of self-determination of the people there.

Representatives of the Indian community criticized it, calling it 'based on wrong ideas' and 'misleading information'.

Meanwhile, India has criticized the proposal of Britain's Labor Party seeking international intervention on the Kashmir issue.

India's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ravish Kumar called the Labor Party's move a 'vote bank interest'.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has asked India to cease its operations in Kashmir.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, an organization of Muslim countries, discussed the Kashmir issue during a meeting on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.

The OIC requested India to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions following its decision to cease operations in Kashmir and New Delhi's withdrawal of special state status from Jammu and Kashmir.

The Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Kashmir discussed the removal of Article 370 of the Government of India from Jammu and Kashmir and divided the state into two union territories. The meeting was held on Wednesday, off the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

In a press release issued later, the organization expressed concern over the human rights situation in Kashmir.

He also discussed restrictions on communication in Kashmir.

Currently, OIC consists of 57 countries.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Rechep Tayyip Ardoan on Tuesday raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and appealed to hold talks between India and Pakistan to resolve the dispute.

Till now Turkey is the only country which has raised the issue of Kashmir in UNGA. This is not the first time Turkey has said anything on Kashmir. Earlier on August 6, the Turkish Foreign Minister had expressed concern over the repeal of Article 370 and said it could "exacerbate existing tensions".

Rechep Tayyip Ardoan said on Tuesday that the international community had failed to pay adequate attention to the Kashmir conflict where it has not been resolved for 72 years.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday thanked Turkish President Rechep Tayyip Ardoan for raising the Kashmir issue in the General Assembly.

The drone attack on the world's largest oil plant has led to a spurt in oil prices. This is the fastest boom in the last few decades and has threatened a new conflict in the Middle East.

But its effect is being felt till several thousand kilometers away.

On Saturday 14 September, several drones were attacked in Saudi Arabia's Baqiq oil plant and the Khuras oil field. The attack adversely affected Saudi Arabia's total production and 5 percent of the world's oil supply.

The Houthi rebels of Yemen have claimed responsibility for the attack.

India imports around 83 percent oil. India is one of the largest importers of oil in the world.

Most of the crude oil and cooking gas in India comes from Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

He used to import more than 10 percent of his oil from Iran.

However, in the beginning of the year, after the US broke out of the nuclear deal, it put pressure on India to stop buying oil from Iran.

India also imports from other countries like USA, but at higher prices.

BJP spokesperson and energy expert Narendra Taneja said, "India has two major concerns. First, we believe that Saudi Arabia is a very reliable supplier. India sees Saudi Arabia as the safest supplier in the world."

But the way these attacks were carried out, it seems that Saudi plants are no longer as safe as before. This has worried other big importers like India.

"Secondly, the economy of India and the people here are very sensitive to prices, so today there is more concern about the price."

In addition, the price of oil has increased drastically following the drone attack in the global oil market. Prices have risen for the first time since the Iraq invasion of Kuwait. There was no such upheaval in the prices of crude oil in the last 28 years.

Saudi Arabia has not yet fully responded to the attack. So, we do not know what is going on in the minds of Saudis? Will they answer in a military manner? If so, this would increase tensions in the region, disrupting supplies from the entire Gulf region, including Iraq and Iran.

So there are many untold questions, which are yet to be answered.

2/3 of India's demand is met by this region and any kind of tension will have a negative impact on India.

If you look at the fastest emerging economies and their dependence on imported oil. No one is in a weak position like India in terms of dependence on imports and all these upheavals will definitely affect India.

It will now depend on how long the production is interrupted. Saudi Arabia says it will take a few days to fix the plants. But if it takes more time, it will affect oil prices further and it may increase the cost of imports in India.

The Indian government is already going through a bad phase in terms of economy and if prices rise then India's difficulties will also increase.

If the prices of crude oil increase globally, then the prices of petrol and diesel will also increase. If the price of fuel increases, it will affect many industries including manufacturing and aviation, it will increase inflation.

Crude oil by-products are used in products like plastics and tires, these things will also become more expensive.

The rising prices of oil also affect the currency. If the dollar price of crude oil increases, India will have to buy more dollars for that same oil. This will reduce the value of the rupee against the dollar.

Further weakness has already been seen in India's stock market. Fearing further damage to the economy from rising oil prices, it declined for the second time in a row.

Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Care Ratings Ltd, says, "The government will not be able to do much right now. It can supply from the reserves we have, which can help for about a month. If the crisis persists, it will pay taxes." "But it will affect the revenue and then the fiscal deficit. But as long as the price remains below $ 70 per barrel, this setback can be endured."

The Government of India has become increasingly concerned about China's decision to end Kashmir's special status. China has expressed its opposition through separate statements over the last four weeks.

On August 5, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government of India abolished Article 370 giving semi-autonomy to the then Jammu and Kashmir state.

After this, a law was passed and the state was divided into two union territories.

One of these union territories is Ladakh. China has control over a part of it and claims this entire area.

China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Khwa Chunying used strong words about India's decision.

She said, "China has always opposed the Indian takeover of China's territory in the western sector of the Sino-India border. There has been no change in our strong and consistent position."

Khwa Chunying went on to say, "By changing its law, India has recently continued to ignore China's territorial sovereignty. This approach is unacceptable and will not materialize."

Meanwhile, senior BJP leaders in India welcomed the move with nationalist statements. Some leaders expressed the hope that the part of the region which is under the control of China and Pakistan will also come to India.

These leaders included Aksai Chin, a region of Ladakh controlled by China, and Pakistan's Kashmir, which India calls "Pakistan-occupied Kashmir" or "PoK".

India Today magazine quoted Union Minister of India and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Giriraj Singh as saying, "200 percent sure that PoK and Aksai Chin will also be reunited with the country very soon."

Regarding Ladakh, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, "The Indian government's declaration of making Ladakh (which includes China's region) a union territory has challenged China's sovereignty and it has violated the agreement between the two countries to maintain peace and stability in the border region.''

On the Kashmir issue, Khwa Chunying said, "China's position on the Kashmir issue is clear and uniform. Even internationally, it is agreed that the issue of Kashmir between India and Pakistan is pending from the past."

China has been saying that the Ladakh region, including Aksai Chin, is part of a border dispute that has not been decided yet.

Currently, Aksai Chin is included by China in its Xinjiang region and considers it extremely important. The reason is that through this, there can be movement of troops between Xinjiang and Tibet.

China does not recognize the Simla Agreement. This agreement was signed between Tibet and the British administration of India in the year 1914. In which Ladakh is recognized as being a part of India.

China says that this treaty was not made with the then Chinese government and therefore it is invalid.

Wang Yi said, "India's move is not acceptable to China and this will not change China's position in the sovereignty and administrative juridiction of the region."

The Global Times, a newspaper controlled by the Chinese government, wrote, "When India's Home Minister Amit Shah loudly claims that India wants to rule the Xinjiang Weigar Autonomous Region of Northwest China, it shows a sense of enmity against China.''

Quoting Zhao Gancheng, a research fellow at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, the Global Times wrote, "China will retaliate strongly if India advances its irrational claims and provokes us with military action."

India's foreign ministry has responded to China's criticisms. The Ministry of External Affairs says, "The formation of the new Union Territory of Ladakh is an internal matter of India."

India's Home Minister Amit Shah said in Parliament, "The people of Ladakh have been demanding for a very long time, to give the region the status of Union Territory, now they will be able to fulfill their aspirations."

India has also been saying that China's claim on Aksai Chin is illegal and is a violation of the Simla Agreement.

This dispute has been further compounded by China's close ally and India's rival Pakistan. Pakistan had handed over a part of Trans Karakoram to China in the year 1963. This area is close to Aksai Chin. India calls Pakistan's move illegal.

Reiterating India's position on the matter for a long time, Amit Shah said in Parliament, "Kashmir is an inseparable part of India. There is no doubt about it. When I talk of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin also comes in it.

He is also following what China has said. Pakistan's request was held in a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council. Pakistan has a dispute with India over Kashmir.

Just a few days before this meeting, India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Beijing. According to the Global Times, he had said using the compromised language, "Amending the Constitution of India will not create a new claim to sovereignty. It will not change the Line of Control in the Kashmir region (on the Pakistan border) and the Line of control on the border of China-India will not change.

Pakistan has long been trying to internationalize the Kashmir dispute. The United Nations meeting appears to be an effort in that direction. India opposes making the issue an international matter.

But opinion was divided in this meeting. According to reports, Russia supported India. At the same time, Britain supported China in the demand that a public statement be issued after the meeting.

Apart from China, the remaining four permanent members of the UN Security Council asked India and Pakistan to resolve their disputes in a two-way manner.

Eventually, the meeting ended without issuing any statement. However, China and Pakistan later issued statements on their behalf. After this, India also issued a statement.

India's Gross Domestic Product i.e. GDP in the first quarter of FY 2019-20 has been weaker than the corresponding period of the previous year.

Data for the first quarter of 2019-20 has been released. According to which the economic growth rate is 5%. The growth rate during the same quarter of the previous financial year was 8 percent.

At the same time, the growth rate was 5.8 percent in the last quarter of the last financial year.

According to economist Vivek Kaul, this was the slowest quarterly growth in the last 25 quarters and the lowest during the Modi government.

Experts say that the pace of growth in the country's economy is slowing down. This has been happening for the last three years.

He says that the rate of growth in many sectors of industries has reached the lowest level in many years. The country is moving towards recession.

The Indian economy grew at a slower pace in the second quarter. So, with the slowdown in the growth rate of the economy for the second consecutive quarter, should we assume that we are moving towards economic recession?

Mumbai-based Vivek Call, an expert on economic affairs, says there has been a slowdown in the growth rate of India's economy, but it will not be called recession. He says, "The recession means negative growth for two consecutive quarters. India's economy has slowed down but there cannot be negative growth."

According to NITI Aayog Deputy Chairman Rajiv Kumar, the decline in growth rate in the first quarter of the year ending in June should not mean that the country's economy has fallen into recession.

He says, "There are many reasons for slow growth in India, among which the slowness in all the economies of the world is a big reason."

Rajiv Kumar says that the fundamentals of India's economy are strong. He says, "The Finance Minister announced several steps last week that will have a positive impact on the mood of investors and customers. We are entering the festive season and we hope to see a growth rate by the second quarter. ''

What is the Definition of Recession? This is a thorny question on which experts are still not completely unanimous.

Technically, India's economy has grown in slowdown for the second quarter in a row, ie the growth race has been declining for six consecutive months but if the growth rate increases in the next three quarters of this financial year then it will not be called a recession.

Are there various forms of recession? Absolutely. The economy may shrink for two consecutive quarters, but then recover in the next two quarters of the financial year, then growth will actually increase for the entire year.

In Western countries, it is called a mild recession. If there is a complete decline in economic growth on a year-to-year basis, it can be called a severe recession.

This also leads to depression, ie negative growth for years.

The greatest crisis in the American economy came in the 1930s, which is remembered today as the Depression. Depression has inflation, unemployment and poverty at its peak.

Economic experts say that the economy may also suffer from psychological depression.

According to Vivek call, if the customer becomes alert and postpones the purchase, then it will reduce the demand, due to which the economic growth rate may decrease. If inflation starts rising and there is an atmosphere of uncertainty, then people feel that they are living in recession.

When did the recession come in India? The biggest crisis in the Indian economy came in 1991 when the country's foreign exchange reserve for imports was reduced to $ 28 billion. Today this amount is 491 billion dollars.

There was a global recession in 2008-09. At that time India's economy grew at a rate of 3.1 percent which was lower than in its earlier years but according to Vivek Call India was not a victim of recession at that time also.

The Reserve Bank of India has decided to pay $ 24.8 billion or about 1.76 lakh crore rupees as dividend and surplus capital to the Modi government.

It is being claimed that this will help the Modi government in curing the critical condition of public financial institutions. But the opposition Congress party is pointing fingers at the Modi government in this matter.

At a press conference on Tuesday, former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said, "The RBI board, together with the recommendation of the Jalan Committee, transferred Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the Government of India. All this was a plus." The risk buffer ie CRB has been transferred to RBI. In this, all the earnings of RBI's 2018 and 2019 were given to the government.

Anand Sharma further said, "A few days ago the committee head Vimal Jalan said that this money will be given within four-five years. That money was given in one place instead of four-five years. It was for that situation when there is an economic crisis on the country. This confirms the deep crisis on India's economy. The money that is being given to the government was for emergency. "

But at the same time, concern is also being raised about the autonomy of the Reserve Bank of India. Last year, the then RBI Governor Urjit Patel and the Modi government had disagreed at the policy level and Patel resigned before his term ended.

Vivek Dahejia, Professor of Economics at Carlton University, Canada, told the Financial Times on the RBI's decision, "The central bank is losing its executive autonomy and becoming a means to fulfill the greed of the government." The activities of RBI are monitored.

"This will weaken the credibility of the Reserve Bank," he said. Investors who are looking towards India will say that RBI is completely under government control. I don't think it's good for the economy. ''

In a statement issued on Monday, the RBI said that in the last financial year, total income of $ 17.3 billion and surplus amount of $ 7.4 billion i.e. Rs 1.76 lakh crore is going to be handed over to the government. The Reserve Bank said that the transfer is under the New Economic Capital Framework which has recently been accepted.

A committee was formed under the chairmanship of former RBI Governor Vimal Jalan and the same committee recommended the New Economic Framework. The recommendations of this committee have been accepted by RBI.

RBI has agreed that it will give the entire income of the last financial year to the government. A dispute arose with the Reserve Bank in October last year over the use of safe money.

The then Deputy Governor of RBI, Viral Acharya, warned the government that if the government increased its intervention at the policy level in the RBI, it would have very bad consequences. Viral Acharya had said that the government wants to get the money secured with RBI.

Two months later, Urjit Patel resigned from RBI. After this, the Modi government made Shaktikanta Das the governor.

Senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, who deeply understood the ups and downs in the economy from the BBC when Shaktikanta Das was made governor, said, "The day Shaktikanta Das became RBI governor, it was clear that whatever the government would like the RBI to do. Have to do it.

"Shaktikanta Das has been an IAS officer and worked as a spokesperson in the Ministry of Finance," says Thakurta. When demonetisation took place, Das supported. Shaktikanta Das was studying history at St. Stephen's College, Delhi. Das has worked as a government official. It is very important to have money with the Reserve Bank because if there is anything in the foreign market, the rupee will be weak. Government figures are already questionable. This matter has also been raised by the former Economic Advisor of the Modi government.

The government is under pressure due to the weakness in the Indian economy. The Indian currency rupee has crossed 72 against the US dollar. Economic growth rate has not picked up pace in the fourth consecutive quarter. But the question still remains whether Modi will be able to strengthen the economy by taking money from RBI. The government has failed to achieve the target of tax collection.

The RBI pays dividends to the government every year on the basis of its investment income and printing of notes. For the last few years, the finance ministry was seeking a larger payment from the RBI.

The Reserve Bank says that it has more money than needed, which is why the government has given such a huge amount. It is said that there was a dispute between former RBI Governor Urjit Patel and the government about this.

The Vimal Jalan committee had recommended that RBI should have 5.5 to 6.5 percent of its balance sheet. Earlier this amount was 6.8 percent. The government aims to reduce the 2020 budget deficit to 3.3% of GDP.

India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said last week that the government would soon inject 700 billion rupees into government banks. India's banking sector is going through a period of crisis.

Viral Acharya came into the limelight as the deputy governor of RBI on October 26, 2018, when he heard the Modi government scandalously accusing the RBI of compromising autonomy. His speech took place exactly three days after the Reserve Bank board meeting.

In his nearly one-and-a-half-hour speech, he said that governments that do not respect the autonomy of their central banks have to face the brunt of financial markets sooner rather than later.

That address by Acharya was seen as a ruckus in the relationship between the RBI and the Modi government.

Indeed, shortly before this speech there were differences of opinion between the government and the Reserve Bank on several issues. For example, the government wanted a reduction in the interest rates, and was advocating to give more cash to the non-banking finance companies, ie NBFC, and also wanted the RBI to give some part of its reserves to the government.

Security forces have opened fire on demonstrators as thousands of people took to the streets of Srinagar to protest against India's stripping of the region's autonomy, local sources have told Al Jazeera.

The protests in the main city of Indian-administered Kashmir took place after Friday prayers, Al Jazeera's Priyanka Gupta said, reporting from the Indian capital, New Delhi.

"Despite the unprecedented security lockdown, thousands of people demonstrated in Srinagar and were met with live fire, tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets," she said, citing sources in the city.

The protest was the "largest of its kind" since the Indian government's move on Monday.

Al Jazeera's Priyanka Gupta reports live from New Delhi.

India's government has moved to scrap parts of the constitution which grant Indian Kashmir significant autonomy.

The disputed territory of Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain.

Both countries claim it as their own and control parts of it.

Indian Kashmir was granted special autonomy that allowed it to function largely without direct interference from New Delhi.

But that has now changed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government has revoked the special status.

And sent additional troops to the area and put the region on lockdown.

It's a move that could have widespread consequences.

So, what's behind this decision? and does it abide by the longstanding consensus over the territory?

Money laundering, bribery and corruption at Brazil's state-owned energy company Petrobras are just some of the crimes uncovered in the biggest political corruption scandal in the country's history. Back in 2014, the judge appointed to preside over the Car Wash investigation, also known as Lava Jato, was Sergio Moro.

It resulted in the arrest of hundreds of politicians and business figures, led to the fall of one President - Dilma Rousseff - and landed another former President - Lula Da Silva - behind bars.

Moro was lionised by Brazil's mostly right-wing media - TV channels like Globo and Record, and magazines like Veja. And a few years later, when far-right Jair Bolsonaro was elected Brazil's leader, he selected Moro as his justice and public security minister.

But now Moro is facing a scandal of his own which demolishes his reputation as an anti-corruption crusader, scrubbing Brazil clean of corruption. The Intercept Brasil published a series of exposes from text messages they obtained showing Moro's communication with prosecutors that indicate he was conspiring with them, rather than being an impartial judge.

"The most important revelation is that Sergio Moro was in cahoots with the prosecution. It's entirely forbidden to have a judge who is in constant conversation with the prosecution in order to arrange outcomes," Joao Feres, a professor with Rio de Janeiro State University, tells Al Jazeera.

The messages also appear to confirm the suspicion that - throughout the Car Wash investigation - Moro and the prosecution were trying to manipulate press coverage to turn it against members of the leftist PT party and to pave the way for Bolsonaro.

"What this whole Lava Jato campaign as a media campaign produced was a devaluation of institutional politics, of party politics in Brazil to a degree in which the electorate became so sceptical that in the end, they elected extreme right-wing outsider Bolsonaro. So Bolsonaro and his election should be seen as a product of this long campaign against institutional politics," adds Feres.

But not all media outlets followed up on The Intercept Brasil's reporting alleging Moro's collusion with prosecutors.

"In Brazil, there exists a section of right-wing media that invested a lot in the Car Wash story and there is no way they will ever let go of this narrative," says Alexandre Santi, deputy editor at The Intercept Brasil, who noted, on the other hand, the reaction of many international news outlets to their expose on Moro was "incredible".

The country's most powerful broadcaster, Globo, focused on the legalities of The Intercept Brasil's journalism rather than the content. This past Wednesday, a judge ordered the arrest of four people on charges of hacking Moro's phone.

In a comment to Al Jazeera, Globo defended its stance: "It would be considered bad journalism in any part of the world, including in Qatar, to ignore that the cellphones of the authorities were hacked."

"In a story of such magnitude as #VazaJato, which involves the hacking of several authorities - including the most famous judge in Brazil, the current minister of justice, the biggest news I believe is not the content of the alleged conversations but rather the hacking of these conversations. This is very serious," says Rodrigo Constantino, a columnist with Brazil's Gazeta do Povo.

But back in March of 2016, when Moro released a tape of a private phone call between Dilma Rousseff and Lula Da Silva, Globo was less concerned about the journalistic ethics. It ran with that story, as did Veja and many other Brazilian news outlets.

"Much more serious was when Moro leaked a conversation between presidents; this was not in the public interest," says Carolina Matos, a media scholar at City University. "Moro had the chance of a lifetime to go down in history as someone who has combated corruption. You had all the power at your disposal … all the media attention … all the public support. And, no, instead of that, you chose a political project. You chose to align yourself to a particular group."

Fifty years ago this week, Neil Armstrong became the first man to step onto the moon. Since then, only a dozen men have walked on the moon - the last in 1972.

Now, there is renewed interest.

China plans to build a lunar base by 2030 and NASA hopes to have men and women on the moon by 2024.

Over the next five years, the space agency is expected to spend $30bn on this. It is funding several projects from lunar landers to a mini-space station that will allow spacecraft to dock around the moon.

Billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are also spending billions to get to the moon and Mars.

But there is a new emerging power. India is trying to become the fourth nation to land a probe on the moon.

The Chandrayaan-2 mission hopes to land a lunar rover close to the South Pole - a previously unexplored area - some time in September.

There, India hopes to find signs of water and helium-3. There is thought to be one million metric tonnes of helium-3 on the moon - each tonne estimated to be worth about $5bn.

Realistically, only about 250,000 tonnes of it could potentially be mined; but that would be enough to power the earth for at least two centuries.

The Indian Space Research Organisation's mission is expected to cost just $125m. India has built a reputation for its low-cost space exploration. Its budget of $1.7bn a year is just a tenth of NASA's $19bn.

Why is world hunger back on the rise?
The number of people going hungry has risen for the third year running after a period of improvement, the United Nations (UN) says.

The world body blames conflict, climate change, and an economic slowdown for the new uptick.

More than 820 million people, or 11 percent of the global population, suffer from hunger.

Africa has the highest numbers, with one in five people going hungry. In East Africa, the figure rises to nearly one in three people.

According to five UN agencies, more than two billion people worldwide cannot get safe, sufficient or nutritious food.

Big brands and the Muslim fashion industry
Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana and DKNY have all attempted to crack one of the fastest-growing markets - Islamic fashion.

What started as brands targeting wealthy Muslims with one-off fashion lines for religious occasions, has grown to a global trend for women who prefer to dress conservatively.

According to the Pew Research Center, Muslims are the world's fastest-growing major religious group. By 2050, it estimates there will be 2.7 billion Muslims worldwide, making up 29.7 percent of the global population.

And when it comes to the Islamic or modest fashion sector, spending is forecast to grow five percent annually to $361bn by 2023.

Turkey is the biggest spender on modest fashion: $28bn a year. This is followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia. But it is not a one-size-fits-all-trend; what is popular in Indonesia may not have the same appeal in the Middle East.