LIVE! Cong releases 2nd list of 17 candidates for HP poll

LIVE

Thu, 20 October 2022

Cong releases 2nd list of 17 candidates for HP poll

Timeline Refresh

23:50 Cong releases 2nd list of 17 candidates for HP poll

The Congress on Thursday released its second list of 17 candidates for the November 12 assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh.

The party has fielded former minister Thakur Singh Bharmouri from Bharmour-SC seat and Harish Janartha from the Shimla assembly constituency, according to the list issued by the party here.

Bharmouri had lost the seat last time. The HP youth Congress leader Surjit Bharmouri was seeking the party ticket from Bharmour.

The party, which had earlier released a list of 46 candidates, has so far released names of 63 candidates.

The hill state has 68 assembly constituencies. -- PTI

Senior Congress leader Shivraj Patil on Thursday claimed that the concept of jihad was not just in Islam but also in Bhagavad Gita and in Christianity.

The Bharatiya Janata Party hit out at the Congress over Patil's remarks and accused it of playing vote bank politics.

Speaking at the launch of Congress veteran and former Union minister Mohsina Kidwai's biography, the former Lok Sabha Speaker and Union minister Patil stated that it is said there is a lot of discussion of jihad in the religion of Islam. The concept comes to the fore when despite having the right intentions and doing the right thing, nobody understands or reciprocates, then it is said one can use force, he said.

"It is not just in Quran, but in Mahabharata also, the part in Gita, Shri Krishna also talks of jihad to Arjun and this thing is not just in Quran or Gita but also in Christianity," he claimed in his remarks in Hindi.

"If after explaining everything, people are not understanding, they are coming with weapons then you cannot run, you cannot call that jihad and you cannot call it wrong, this is what must be understood, there should not be this concept of making people understand with weapons in hand," the 87-year-old leader said.

Patil further said Mohsina Kidwai's book also talks about respecting all religions while following your own. He also said there is a need for peace in the world.

Hitting out at the Congress over Patil's remarks, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said in a tweet, "After AAP's Gopal Italia & Rajendra Pal, not to be outdone in Hindu hatred & votebank politics, Congress' Shivraj Patil says Shri Krishna taught 'Jihad' to Arjun!

"Congress coined Hindu/Saffron terror, opposed Ram Mandir,Questioned Ram JI's existence, said Hindutva=ISIS," Poonawalla tweeted.

In his speech, Patil also said he voted for Mallikarjun Kharge in the Congress presidential polls. He, however, mistakenly referred to Kharge as Khandelwal a couple of times in the speech.

Patil spoke at length and talked about disparate topics in his address. -- PTI

23:12 Only green crackers in Haryana on Diwali: CM

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said that this Diwali, only green crackers will be allowed in the state.

A complete ban has been imposed on the manufacturing, sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers except for green crackers. Other kinds of firecrackers create highly toxic gases and pollutants that poison the air, hence only green crackers will be allowed, he said, according to an official statement here.

Khattar said that open spaces have been earmarked for the sale of green crackers in each district.

More and more information related to these places is being publicized. Strict action will be taken against those selling firecrackers without licence.

"While enjoying the festive fervour, it becomes our utmost duty to take care of the environment," he added.

The Chief Minister said that Haryana is taking concrete steps for stubble management and improving air quality.

"To control stubble burning, the State Government has implemented a framework which includes in-situ crop residue management, ex-situ management, effective monitoring, enforcement and wide reach of Information Education and Communication (IEC) activities," said the chief minister.

He further informed that under in-situ management, 23 lakh metric tonne (MT) crop residues will be utilized through various machines and decomposers and 13 lakh MT crop residues will be utilized under ex-situ management.

"Farmers are being continuously made aware of the ill effects of stubble burning. A total of 72,777 machines have been provided to farmers through Custom Hiring Centres and individually for stubble management in the last four years.

"However, this year only, 7,146 machines have been made available, these include baling unit, super seeder, zero till seed cum fertilizer drill etc," said the chief minister. -- PTI

India's talks with the United Kingdom on the proposed free trade agreement is well on track, but New Delhi will have to "wait and watch" the ongoing political developments in Britain, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

Embattled British Prime Minister Liz Truss has resigned as the Conservative Party leader saying she can no longer deliver the mandate she was elected on last month, ending her humiliating tenure at 10 Downing Street on her 45th day in the job following an open revolt against her chaotic leadership.

The 47-year-old outgoing prime minister will stay in charge until her successor is elected by the governing Tory party, with a speeded-up leadership election to be completed by next week.

"We will have to wait and see...what happens, whether they have a quick change of the leadership, whether it goes to the whole process...So let us see who comes into the government and what their views are. It's only after that we will be able to formulate a strategy vis a vis the UK," Goyal said here at CII's national exports summit.

However, he added that politicians and businesses across the board in the UK recognised that it is "very" important for them also to do an FTA (free trade agreement) with India.

"So my own sense is that whoever comes into the government will be wanting to engage with us," he added.

The minister said that the trade pact should be fair, equitable and balanced.

It has to be a win-win for both sides and there is no deal, unless both are satisfied, he said.

"So we will have to wait and watch. But I would believe that our FTAs with the UK, Canada, EU, one or two more we may announce soon, all that is well on track," Goyal said.

He was replying to a question about developments in the UK and its FTA talks with India.

Further, he said that USD 2 trillion exports target for goods and services by 2027 "looks challenging" and "we can do it by 2030".

If the situation becomes favourable to India and if the industry exert a lot of effort, "I will be the happiest person if we can do it by 2027" but sadly we have lost the time during Covid and are losing the momentum because of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which has caused so many economic stresses worldwide -- inflation, supply chain disruptions, energy issues.

He added that if goods exports were to grow 12 per cent CAGR in dollar terms and services at 18-19 per cent, both may touch USD 1 trillion by 2030.

22:48 SpiceJet suspends operations in Sikkim

SpiceJet, the only carrier that runs daily flights to and from the greenfield airport in Sikkim's Pakyong, has decided to suspended operations in the hill state from October 30 due to "operational constraints".

Officials in the state lamented that the decision will deal a blow to the state's tourism industry.

According to a spokesperson of the budget airline, bad weather and low visibility were two bottlenecks that had led to operational constraints.

"SpiceJet flights to and from Pakyong airport have been temporarily suspended with effect from October 30, 2022 due to operational constraints owing to the bad weather condition and low visibility at Pakyong.

"Pakyong is a VFR (Visual Flight Rules) airport and does not have instrument landing facilities. Required minima to operate from this airport is 5,000 feet, which is difficult to achieve on most days in a year, especially during the winter months. To avoid inconvenience to our passengers, flight operations have been temporarily suspended. We will share an update once the services resume," the spokesperson said.

A notice to this effect by the airline has been put up at the reception and the ticket counter of the airport.

An airport official said on the condition of anonymity that Spice jet has suffered significant losses during the monsoon season when the carrier had to cancel flights due to bad weather.

The airline, which started operations from the table-top airport in 2018, currently operates daily direct flights to Delhi and Kolkata.

Officials said the service withdrawal will not just inconvenience locals, who avail flight services as and when available, besides adversely affecting the tourism industry in the land-locked state. -- PTI

22:08 Some countries may see another Covid wave: WHO

Chief scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Soumya Swaminathan, on Thursday said some countries may see "another wave of infections" with the XBB subvariant of Omicron, a variant of COVID-19 virus.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN) in Pune, she clarified that as of now, there was no data from any country to suggest that these new variants are clinically more severe.

"There are over 300 subvariants of Omicron. I think the one that is concerning right now is XBB, which is a recombinant virus. We had seen some recombinant viruses earlier. It is very immune-evasive, which means it can overcome the antibodies. So slightly that we may see another wave of infections in some countries because of XBB," she said.

Swaminathan said they are also tracking derivatives of BA.5 and BA.1, which are also more transmissible and immune-evasive.

As the virus evolves, it is going to evolve more and more transmissible, she said.

"As of now, there is no data from any country to suggest these new subvariants are more clinically severe," she clarified.

Suggesting the measures that need to be taken, Dr Swaminathan said monitoring and tracking are the key steps.

"We need to continue to monitor and track. We have seen that testing has gone down across countries, the genomic surveillance has also gone down over the last few months. We need to maintain at least a strategic sampling of genomic surveillance so that we can keep tracking the variants as we have been doing and studying," she said.

According to her, the Director General of the WHO has said that COVID-19 continues to be a public health emergency of international concern.

She added that 8,000 to 9,000 deaths are being reported every week worldwide due to the infection.

"So we have not said that the pandemic is over, which means that all precautions and tools continued to be used. Good thing is that we have now many tools and the most important thing is vaccines," Dr Swaminathan said.

"As far as vaccine coverage is concerned, our goals are 100 per cent of people over the age of 60 and 100 per cent of health care and frontline workers. Then we have a goal of achieving 70 per cent of the country, but subgroups are more important because they are most likely to face morbidity and mortality," she said.

She said that a number of deaths from elderly groups were seen when Omicron spread as they were not fully vaccinated.

21:43 Pakistan may exit FATF's grey list on Friday

After four years, Pakistan on Friday may exit the grey list of the global watchdog on terror financing and money laundering Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a development that will allow it to try to get foreign funding to tide over its precarious financial situation.

Till June, Pakistan had completed most of the action items given to it 2018 by the Financial Action Task Force and a few item which were left unfulfilled including its failure to take action against United Nations designated terrorists, including Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, Lashker-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and his trusted aide and the group's 'operational commander' Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.

Azhar, Saeed and Lakhvi are most wanted terrorists in India for their involvement in numerous terrorist acts, including 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and bombing of a CRPF bus at Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.

Pakistan was put in the inglorious list in 2018 for its failure to check risk of money laundering, leading to corruption and terror financing.

The FATF had found Pakistan's deficiencies in its legal, financial, regulatory, investigations, prosecution, judicial and non-government sector to fight money laundering and combat terror financing considered serious threat to global financial system.

The Paris-based global watchdog on money laundering and terrorist financing had recently said that the "first FATF Plenary under the two-year Singapore Presidency of T. Raja Kumar will take place on October 20-21" in Paris.

Pakistan has made high-level political commitments to address these deficiencies under a 27-point action plan. But later the number of action points was enhanced to 34.

With Pakistan's continuation on the grey list, it had increasingly become difficult for Islamabad to get financial aid from the IMF, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Union, thus further enhancing problems for the cash-strapped country.

Pakistan needed 12 votes out of 39 to exit the grey list and move to white list. To avoid black list, it needed support of three countries. China, Turkey and Malaysia are its consistent supporters.

Pakistan was placed on the grey list by the FATF in June, 2018 and was given a plan of action to complete it by October, 2019. Since then the country continues to be in that list due to its failure to comply with the FATF mandates. -- PTI

Congress president-elect Mallikarjun Kharge Thursday took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a Union minister defending the release of convicts in the Bilkis Bano case and asked if this was the respect for women he was preaching.

Citing Modi's remarks that respect for women is important for India's growth, he said alleged that BJP leaders are attending events hosted by another rape convict out on parole.

"PM Modi said respect for women is an important pillar for India's growth. A cabinet minister defends the release of convicts in the Bilkis Bano Case. BJP leaders attend an event hosted by another rape convict who's out on parole. Is this the respect for women that PM was preaching," Kharge asked on Twitter.

Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five-month pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing the riots that broke out after the Godhra train burning incident. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed.

The 11 men convicted in the case walked out free from the Godhra sub-jail on August 15 after the Gujarat government allowed their release under its remission policy.

The Gujarat government has told the top court that the Ministry of Home Affairs approved the premature release of the 11 convicts vide letter dated July 11, 2022. It also disclosed the proposal was opposed by the Superintendent of Police, CBI, Special Crime Branch, Mumbai and the Special Civil Judge (CBI), City Civil and Sessions Court, Greater Bombay.

The Congress has hit out at the BJP and Prime Minister Modi over the early release of convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case and said it is for the people of the country to judge if the action was right.

"It is repugnant, reprehensible and revolting that an elected government chose to release these convicts in such a cavalier manner. The grant of premature release to the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case is a stain on this government's legacy that will never wash off," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi has said. -- PTI

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who lost the party's presidential poll against Mallikarjun Kharge, said he talked about the election's outcome with Sonia Gandhi on Thursday and she stated that it was not surprising that "people would back one of their own".

In the poll, winning candidate Kharge was backed by several senior leaders while Tharoor had pitched himself as the candidate of change, largely supported by lesser known party workers.

Speaking at the launch of Congress veteran and former Union minister Mohsina Kidwai's biography, Tharoor also said he was not disappointed about the result as the poll had galvanised party workers.

Asked if he was disappointed and disheartened with the result, Tharoor, said, "No, I am not disappointed because I think it was very clear from the earliest moments of the campaign that the establishment, minus the rare case of a Mohsina Kidwai or a Saifuddin Soz or a few other fellow MPs, was going to rally behind him (Kharge) and that inevitably happened and I have no complaints about that."

"In fact, Sonia ji and I were talking today about the election and she was saying it's not surprising that people would sort of back one of their own and I said 'absolutely, I wasn't surprised'," the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

After the event, he said that he had met Sonia Gandhi.

Tharoor said he was gratified by the extent to which the entire election process galvanised people on both sides and party workers.

"I have now made new relationships with our party workers all over the country that I would never have had a chance without this election," he said.

"I feel that many of them have touched me and I have touched them in ways that I believe would have a lasting value in our respective political innings in the party. So, I was very pleased about all of that and I believe there is a lot to be learnt in the positive sense from having an exercise like this," the Congress leader said.

Tharoor also said he was quite amused to see the ruling party BJP's spokespeople attacking the Congress for his mistreatment to which he had responded that "we can fight our own internal battles but try holding your own election first before you comment on ours". -- PTI

India suffered an income loss of $159 billion, 5.4 per cent of its gross domestic product, in the service, manufacturing, agriculture, and construction sectors due to extreme heat in 2021, according to a new report.

Heat exposure in the country led to the loss of 167 billion potential labour hours, a 39 per cent increase from 19901999, said the Climate Transparency Report 2022 compiled by an international partnership of organisations.

Labour productivity in India is projected to decline by five per cent from the 19862006 reference period if global temperatures increase by 1.5 degrees Celsius, it said.

The decline in labour productivity will be 2.1 times more if the global temperatures increase by 2.5 degrees Celsius, and 2.7 times at a three degree Celsius scenario.

Between 20162021, extreme events such as cyclones, flash floods, floods, and landslides caused damage to crops in over 36 million hectares, a USD 3.75 billion loss for farmers in the country, the report said.

The annual damage from river flooding in the country is likely to increase by around 49 per cent at 1.5 degree Celsius of warming. The damage from cyclones will increase by 5.7 per cent.

"The annual expected damage from tropical cyclones and river flooding at three degrees Celsius is 4.6 to 5.1 times that from 1.5 degrees Celsius," the report read.

"Precipitation is projected to increase by six per cent from the reference period of 19862006, at 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming. Under a three degrees Celsius warming scenario, precipitation will increase by three times the precipitation anticipated at 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming," it said.

The rainfall pattern in India has changed in the past 30 years, impacting many economic activities such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

"Snowfall in India is expected to decrease under 1.5 degrees Celsius scenario by 13 per cent when compared with the reference period's snowfall levels. At three degrees Celsius of warming, the decrease is expected to be 2.4 times the 1.5 degrees Celsius scenario," the report said.

Earth's global surface temperature has increased by around 1.1 degrees Celsius compared with the average in 18501900.

To address climate change, countries adopted the Paris Agreement in 2015 to limit global temperature rise in this century to well below two degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. -- PTI

The Congress on Thursday hit out at the Narendra Modi government over the "continuous fall" of the Indian Rupee and accused it of always being in electioneering mode and having no focus on economic issues.

Alleging that the "inept" Modi dispensation is clueless about macroeconomic management, Congress leader Anshul Avijit feared that the worst on the economic front is yet to come.

He said the Rupee "continues its free-fall against the dollar with disastrous consequences for our fragile economy", as it has now breached the Rs 83 mark versus the US dollar and shows no signs of abating.

The Congress leader claimed the Rupee has fallen more than 10 per cent so far in this calendar year and has reached lows of Rs 83.12. By comparison, during the UPA, the rupee was Rs 58.4 to a dollar in May 2014 on the eve of Narendra Modi becoming prime minister, he said.

The Congress' president-elect Mallikarjun Kharge said the rupee again reached a record low of Rs 83 against the dollar, noting that it can prove to be "very dangerous" for India's economy.

"The (Union) finance minister said that the rupee is not weakening, the dollar is getting stronger. Mere statements will not work, the central government will have to take concrete steps soon," Kharge said in a tweet in Hindi.

The Rupee depreciated 6 paise to a record low of 83.06 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday due to a stronger greenback overseas and unrelenting foreign fund outflows.

"This is the proverbial perfect storm - weakening rupee, high levels of inflation, rising unemployment, poverty and hunger. The inept Modi government is clueless about macroeconomic management as this government is always in electioneering mode having no focus or concern on the economic issues. We fear the worst is yet to come," Avijit told reporters.

The Congress leader said PM Modi has completely forgotten his own narrative when the BJP was in opposition and recalled his words on August 20, 2013, when he as Gujarat chief minister had said: "It is unfortunate that the leadership in Delhi is neither bothered about the security of the country nor about the decline in the value of the rupee."

"With China in our territory and the rupee-affected inflation, the irony of Shri Modi's statement cannot be starker," Avijit noted.

The Congress leader also hit out at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying, "With her irresponsible and misguided statements, she is not ready to accept the reality of this government's failure to control the falling rupee."

"Her comparisons with developed countries having smaller populations and much higher GDP per capita than India are grossly misplaced."

Claiming that the falling Rupee has an inverse relationship with inflation levels, Avijit said according to the RBI, a 5 per cent weakening of the rupee increases inflation by 20 bps.

That is because imports, in particular, fuel, fertilisers and cooking oil, become that much costlier. These commodities directly affect the common man and have a cascading effect on prices, he noted.

"The finance minister's outrageous comment that, 'Rupee is not sliding and the dollar is strengthening', ignores the fact that emerging economies such as Mexico and Brazil have actually strengthened their currencies vis a vis USD during this critical period. Further, the US policy regarding the dollar volatility is well encapsulated in former treasury secretary John Connally's famous statement in 1971: 'The dollar is our currency, but it's your problem'," he noted. -- PTI

There will be no change of guard ceremony on October 22 and 29 due to ongoing rehearsals for the presentation of the Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner to the President's Bodyguard, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a statement on Thursday.

The change of guard ceremony is a military tradition that is held every week to enable a fresh group of the President's Bodyguards to take charge.

"The change of guard ceremony will not be held on October 22 and 29, 2022, at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan due to ongoing rehearsals for the presentation of Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner to the President's Bodyguard," it said.

The President's Bodyguard has the unique distinction of being the only military unit of the Indian Army privileged to carry the President's Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner.

The Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner presentation ceremony is one of the highlights of each presidency.

The ceremony is a gala event held at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan and is witnessed by a large crowd including dignitaries from other nations.

The ceremony begins with the Regiment falling 'On Parade', with the troopers in their impressive ceremonial attire mounted on their splendid steeds.

On arrival, the president inspects the bodyguards. Subsequently, the parade forms a 'Hollow Square' and the president presents the Silver Trumpet with the Banner to the Trumpet Major, according to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

In recent times the Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner presentation ceremony is followed by an audio-visual presentation covering the saga and the present-day role of the President's Bodyguard. Another highlight of the ceremony is the display of traditional equestrian skills including trick riding and tent pegging.

A musical ride showcases the bond between the rider and the horse at its finest and is a visual treat to watch. -- PTI

20:27 Chandrayaan-3 launch in June next year: ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch Chandrayaan-3, its third mission to the moon, in June next year with a more robust lunar rover onboard which is crucial for future inter-planetary explorations.

The space agency has also lined up the first test flight of the 'abort mission' for Gaganyaan, the country's first human spaceflight, early next year.

"Chandrayaan-3 (C-3) launch will be in June next year onboard the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3)," said ISRO chairman S Somnath while interacting with media personnel on the sidelines of an event here.

He said ISRO plans to fly Indian astronauts into orbit by the end of 2024 after carrying out successful abort missions and uncrewed test flights.

India's maiden attempt to land a rover on the moon ended in failure after the Vikram lander onboard the Chandrayaan-2 mission crashed on the surface of the moon in September 2019.

"C-3 is ready now. It is not a replica of C-2. The rover is there. The engineering is significantly different. We have made it more robust so that it does not have problems like last time," Somnath said.

"There are many changes. The impact legs are stronger. It will have better instrumentation. In case something fails, something else will take over," the ISRO chairman said.

He said the rover will also have different methods to calculate the height to be travelled, identify hazard-free locations and have better software.

On the human spaceflight Gaganyaan, Somnath said ISRO would carry out six test flights before actually flying humans into orbit.

Somnath said the preparations for the Gaganyaan mission were progressing at a "slow and steady pace".

"This is the right way to put it. It is a very complex mission. We cannot boast about it. It requires very critical steps to be crossed," he said.

The first un-crewed flight of Gaganyaan will be after two abort missions to demonstrate that the space agency has the capabilities to rescue the crew in case of any eventuality.

The first abort mission is likely to be carried out in trans-sonic conditions when the spacecraft is travelling at the speed of sound after reaching an altitude of 10-15 kms, Somnath said.

Britain's third female Prime Minister, Liz Truss, is out of office on Thursday after one of the shortest tenures at 10 Downing Street in London and without a cherished India-United Kingdom free trade agreement (FTA) under her belt as a Brexit prize.

Truss, who until Wednesday insisted in Parliament that she was a "fighter and not a quitter", resigned after just six weeks after her position became untenable after a series of policy U-turns, Cabinet upheavals and an open revolt against her ability to lead a deeply divided Conservative Party.

Truss, who in her innings as foreign and trade minister batted for stronger bilateral ties with India, took charge at 10 Downing Street last month after defeating Indian-origin ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak in the Conservative Party leadership race.

The 47-year-old was faced with one of the toughest in-trays in the top job as a result of the spiralling cost-of-living crisis in the country, which rivalled any of the issues faced by her women predecessors in office, Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.

She also had to contend with a fractious party that gave her a smaller margin of victory at 57 to 43 per cent than most recently elected Tory party leaders.

On the India front, the former International Trade Secretary who signed off on the India-UK Enhanced Trade Partnership for the Boris Johnson led government in May last year was determined to pursue the ongoing FTA negotiations towards a year-end deadline as a major post-Brexit achievement for the UK.

She has described India as a "big, major opportunity" and believes the UK and India are "in a sweet spot of the trade dynamics that are building up."

"We are looking at a comprehensive trade agreement that covers everything, from financial services to legal services to digital and data, as well as goods and agriculture. We think there is strong possibility for us to get an early agreement, where we lower tariffs on both sides and start to see more goods flowing between our two countries," she said soon after signing the ETP.

On the campaign trail, Truss reaffirmed that she remains "very, very committed" to strengthen bilateral ties at a hustings event of the party's Conservative Friends of India (CFIN) diaspora group. She also committed herself to getting the India-UK FTA done, preferably by Diwali the deadline set by predecessor Boris Johnson but "definitely by the end of the year."

She has repeatedly flagged enhanced defence and security cooperation with the Indo-Pacific region in order to meet her "network of liberty" goals as a counter-balance to the aggression of Russia and China and also promised to ensure the UK's visa regime continues to attract the "best and brightest" from India.

As foreign secretary, she was at the forefront of the UK's response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, imposing tough sanctions and cracking down on Russian assets in the UK. It is this crisis that marked what was described as one of the worst in-trays that any new British Prime Minister has faced, given the spiraling energy costs that have triggered a cost-of-living crisis in the UK largely as a result of the ongoing conflict in Europe.

Pattali Makkal Katchi President Anbumani Ramadoss on Thursday alleged that the Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry into the death of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa was not "professional" and that it can be used only for political purpose.

Without any in-depth details, the report presented by retired judge Justice A Arumughaswamy will not succeed in the Legislative Assembly, Ramadoss told reporters in Coimbatore.

The Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry, which was constituted to probe the death of former AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa, on Tuesday called for an investigation against V K Sasikala, among three others in connection with the death of the former chief minister. The report of the panel was tabled in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Regarding the report presented by Justice Aruna Jagadeesan over the Thoothukudi firing, he said that the commission's findings should be accepted by the government and added that this would be a lesson to police personnel. -- PTI

Chief Executive Officer of Serum Institute of India, Adar Poonawalla, on Thursday said the vaccine manufacturer stopped the production of Covishield vaccine starting December 2021, and of the total stock available at that time, around 100 million doses had already got expired.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network in Pune, he said booster vaccines have no demand as there is general lethargy among people and also because they are fed up with the pandemic.

"Since December 2021, we stopped the production (of Covishield). We had a stock of a few hundred million doses at that time and of that, 100 million doses have already expired," said Poonawalla when asked about the update on the Covishield vaccine.

He said the SII's vaccines are allowed to be mixed.

"Now, Covovax should be allowed in two weeks. So I think they will and should probably have the policy to mix boosters. If WHO allowed it, then maybe the Indian regulator will and should allow it. But again, boosters have no demand at the moment. There is lethargy generally. People are fed up of COVID, vaccines. To be honest, I am also fed up with it. We all are," he said.

Going forward, when people take a few shots every year, they may take anti-coronavirus vaccines and other shots together, Poonawalla said, adding, "It will become that kind of a product."

"In India, there is no culture of taking flu shots as we see it in the West. We tried when we launched a few vaccines in 2010. During the H1NI pandemic in 2011, no one took it. Flu is not something that sounds scary to people. They just do not want to take it," he said.

Covishield was produced at the SII's Pune facility with a master seed from Oxford University and AstraZeneca. The SII had announced its partnership with Oxford University to manufacture the vaccine in April 2020. -- PTI

Representative image

19:10 Helicopter services to Kedarnath resume 2 days after chooper crash

Helicopter services to the Uttarakhand's Kedarnath temple resumed, two days after a chopper crash in the area killed a pilot and six pilgrims.

On Wednesday, a day after the accident, various aviation companies resumed helicopter operations and 981 pilgrims were taken to Kedarnath, according to officials.

Aryan Aviation, the company to which the ill-fated helicopter belonged, also resumed the service from Masta-Guptkashi to Kedarnath.

An Aryan Aviation official said on Thursday that a team from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) inspected the company's helipad at Masta. He said after the completion of their inspection and investigation, the helicopter services restarted.

The company's second helicopter made at least six sorties till Thursday afternoon.

At present, eight companies are providing helicopter services to Kedarnath.

Since the opening of the doors of the Kedarnath shrine in May this year, 1,44,832 pilgrims have travelled to the temple by helicopter.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to reach the temple on Friday morning.

During his two-and-a-half-hour programme in Kedarnath, Modi will lay the foundation stone. -- PTI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the Arvind Kejriwal-led party wanted Delhi to be 'AAP Nirbhar' while the Bharatiya Janata Party wanted the national capital to be Atmanirbhar, and asked people to choose between the two in the MCD elections.

Speaking at the launch of a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant in Tehkhand here, Shah accused the Kejriwal government of step-motherly treatment to the erstwhile three civic bodies and said it owed Rs 40,000 crore to the municipal corporations.

"They (Kejriwal-led party) want Delhi to be AAP Nirbhar. We want it to become Atmanirbhar. In the next Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls, people will have to decide if they want to be AAP Nirbhar or Atmanirbhar," Shah said at the south Delhi event.

Alleging that the AAP government had been spending heavily on publicity, he claimed Kejriwal was under the impression that development came from advertisements, but said "this illusion can last only for five to seven years".

"People will have to choose between 'Vigyapan ki Rajniti' (politics of advertisement) and 'Vikas ki Rajniti' (politics of development)," he added.

Shah assured that the BJP would be ready with a plan to make Delhi garbage-free by the time MCD elections are held and that the city would be in a position to process 100 per cent of its daily waste by 2025.

The Home minister said the WTE plant would help address the problem of waste processing and further strengthen Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Mission.

He said the WTE in Tehkhand would process 2,000 metric tonne garbage daily and produce 25 MW electricity.

The senior BJP leader added that when required, the city's waste processing capacity could be further increased by 500 metric tonne. Another WTE plant with a capacity of 3,000 metric tonne will come up in Narela by August 2024, Shah said.

The Union Home minister also hoped that the reunified MCD would successfully bring an ecosystem that would make Delhi the world's best capital.

The MCD was trifurcated in 2012 during Sheila Dikshit's tenure as chief minister. It was reunified by merging three civic bodies -- North, South and East Municipal Corporations -- through the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022. -- PTI

18:36 Next PM's election in a week, says Liz Truss

Liz Truss, who resigned as British PM on Thursday, was in office for just 45 days -- the shortest tenure in office by any British PM.

There will a leadership election within a week, Truss, who bested Indian-origin Rishi Sunak in the Conservative Party leadership race, announced on Thursday.

However, Labour leader Keir Starmer, sensing an opening for his party perhaps, demanded that a general election should be held now.

In the meantime, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced that he will not be in the running for the next leader of the Conservative Party, the BBC reported.

18:17 Liz Truss quits as British PM after 45 days

Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss, who defeated Rishi Sunak to emerge as the Conservative Party leader, has resigned after a mere 45 days in office.

Truss announced on Thursday evening that she will remain as PM till a successor was chosen.

She said she was brought down by her economic programme that had roiled the markets.

Details soon.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy

18:02 TV journo apologises to British minister for off-air expletive

A prominent Indian-origin television news journalist in the UK has been forced to apologise to a British minister after their heated interview ended in him swearing about the politician off-air.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy was grilling Tory MP Steve Baker, minister of state for Northern Ireland, at Downing Street about Suella Braverman resignation as UK Home Secretary on Wednesday evening for his Channel 4 show when the incident occurred.

A clip of him using a four-letter expletive, which was not aired, later emerged online from a separate live feed.

"After a robust interview with Steve Baker MP I used a very offensive word in an unguarded moment off air, Guru-Murthy tweeted as the clip went viral. While it was not broadcast that word in any context is beneath the standards I set myself and I apologise unreservedly. I have reached out to Steve Baker to say sorry," he said.

Baker replied that he appreciated the apology and thanked the veteran broadcaster.

It came at the end of another extraordinarily chaotic day at the heart of the UK government after Braverman's exit left British Prime Minister Liz Truss on the brink of being forced out of her own job.

The Indian-origin former home secretary quit with a brutal attack on her boss, flagging the government was going through a tumultuous time.

-- Aditi Khanna in London/PTI

Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Thursday took a fresh jibe at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his former mentor, reiterating that the latter may ditch the 'Mahagathbandhan' and return to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.

Kishor, who had on the previous day claimed that Kumar could do yet another volte face and return to the NDA, attacked the Janata Dal-United de facto leader for letting party MP Harivansh continue as the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman.

The election strategist had also told PTI on Wednesday that Kumar has kept a line of communication open with the BJP through Harivansh.

"After having snapped ties with the BJP, Nitish Kumar should have asked Harivansh to step down. If he insisted on occupying the post, he could have been expelled from the JD-U. But Nitish is having this arrangement to keep options open for the future," Kishor alleged at a public meeting in West Champaran district, where he has been for three weeks as part of a state-wide 'padayatra', after which he is expected to float a political party.

Kishor, who seems to have a love-hate relationship with Kumar, added on Thursday that the Bihar CM "sought votes in the name of defeating BJP in 2015 assembly polls, but cheated the public to realign two years later. He is pretending to be at war with BJP again. But he may again do a turnaround".

"And this man has the temerity to call me a stooge of the BJP," fumed the celebrated political strategist, asking with rhetorical flourish "who had gone to assist Mamata Banerjee in defeating BJP in the assembly polls last year? Was it Nitish, Lalu or Tejashwi?"

Kishor, who has handled many a successful election campaign of leaders as diverse as Narendra Modi, Jagan Mohan Reddy and Captain Amarinder Singh, had announced his retirement from political consultancy after the West Bengal polls last year.

"Had we not beaten BJP in West Bengal, NRC would have been clamped on the country and there would have been long queues of people filling up forms," said Kishor who was expelled from the JD-U following differences with Nitish Kumar, then the party president, over the Citizenship Amendment Act.

"So you have on one hand those who merely promise to defeat the BJP. On the other hand you have the one who had actually beaten them. Make a choice between the two. By supporting me, you (people) will be empowering yourselves," said the 45-year-old who has vowed to come up with a "better alternative" in his home state. -- PTI

17:24 'Ganguly being deprived': Mamata slams BJP

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday targeted her guns on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government for allegedly depriving former Indian cricket skipper Sourav Ganguly by not nominating him for the ICC chairman's post, terming it an act of "shameless political vendetta".

Banerjee, who said she would have spoken out on the issue even if master batsman Sachin Tendulkar was similarly deprived, alleged that Ganguly was deprived of the chance to fight the election to "secure someone else's interests".

"Why was he not sent to ICC? It is to secure someone's interest (in the cricket board). I had spoken to various BJP leaders, but he was not allowed. He has been deprived.... This is a shameful political vendetta," she told reporters in Kolkata.

Earlier this week, the TMC boss expressed shock over Ganguly's "removal" as BCCI President and sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention so that he is allowed to contest the elections for International Cricket Council head.

Roger Binny, a 1983 World Cup-winning squad member, has been elected as the 36th president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), taking over from Ganguly. However, the sports body's AGM on Tuesday concluded without discussing the ICC election. -- PTI

The black diamond being mined in Bihar

16:57 India to stop coal imports by 2024: Govt

Coal minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday said that the import of dry fuel which has declined considerably will be stopped by 2024.

Speaking at an event at the office of the Comptroller & Auditor General of India here to release a 'Compendium of Asset Accounts on Mineral and Energy Resources', the minister said commercial coal mine auction which was institutionalised by the present government has made the auctioning process totally transparent.

Joshi also complemented CAG's office for bringing out the first ever compendium of asset account on mineral assets of the country. The minister said that the report presents comprehensive picture of the mineral resources spread across different states in the country.

He said that the compendium will help in further strengthening sustainable mining process which is of great importance for ecology and future generation. -- PTI

Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is fighting a legal battle to claim the legacy of the Shiv Sena founded by his father late Bal Thackeray, on Thursday claimed that not just the future of party but democracy in the country was at stake.

Thackeray was addressing a function at the Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar area of Mumbai where he inducted former minister Sanjay Deshmukh from Yavatmal into his faction.

Addressing a gathering after the induction, Thackeray said despite claims that the Shiv Sena had split and was finished, people were still coming to him.

The Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government collapsed in June this year after a rebellion led by MLA Eknath Shinde. Shinde was later sworn in as the chief minister with the BJP's support.

The Election Commission earlier this month barred the Shiv Sena factions led by Thackeray and Shinde from using the party name and its election symbol 'bow and arrow' in the November 3 Andheri East Assembly bypoll. It allotted 'ShivSena - Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray' as the party name for the Thackeray faction, and 'Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena' (Balasaheb's Shiv Sena) as the name for the Shinde group.

The EC also allotted new poll symbols to the rival groups. Thackeray on Thursday said, "The common man and especially civilised people of the state are not agreeing with what has happened and are extending their support. They tell me don't give up, fight, we are with you. We don't agree with what's happening."

"People whom I thought would never be politically close are coming out in support. Similarly, people of different religions and regions are extending support. It is not just the future of Shiv Sena but the democracy of the country is at stake," the former chief minister added.

He said people need to ask themselves whether democracy will stay alive or they would go back to slavery. "My future and that of my party will be decided by the people and the party cadre," he said.

Deshmukh, who joined the Thackeray faction on Thursday, was an MLA for two terms from Digras in Yavatmal. He had earlier been with the Shiv Sena and also served as a minister in the Congress-led Democratic Front government between 2002 and 2004. He was also with the BJP for a brief while. PTI

Representational image

16:30 LIVE! IED found in C'garh, major tragedy averted

Security forces on Thursday recovered a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) -- suspected to have been planted by Maoists -- in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, police said.

The explosive packed in an iron pipe, weighing 10 kg, also called a pipe bomb, was seized near Tekapar village under Koyalibeda police station limits when a team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) was out on a search operation, said Amarnath Sidar, Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Antagarh.

While cordoning off a forested hill, the patrolling team detected the bomb hidden under bushes along a dirt track to target security forces, he said, adding that a major tragedy was averted with the recovery.

The explosive was later neutralised by the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), he added. Maoists generally plant explosives and iron spikes on such tracks to target security personnel during their long search operations in jungles, the official said. PTI

15:57 Kharge to assume office as Cong prez on Oct 26

Newly elected President of INC Mallikarjun Kharge to take charge on 26th October at the AICC headquarters. All CWC members, MPs, PCC presidents, CLP leaders, former CMs, former State presidents & other AICC office bearers have been invited to the programme.

Congress central election authority chairman Madhusudhan Mistry's reply to the chief election agent of Shashi Tharoor on irregularities in conduct of elections.

"We accommodated your request and despite that you went to media alleging that the Central Election Authority was conspiring against you. I am sorry to say that you had one face before me which communicated that you're satisfied with all our answers and a different face in the media which made all these allegations against us," Mistry tells Salman Soz, Tharoor's chief election agent.

As the counting of votes in the Congress presidential poll progressed on Wednesday, candidate Shashi Tharoor's team wrote to the party's chief election authority, flagging 'extremely serious irregularities' in the conduct of the election in Uttar Pradesh and demanded that all votes from the state be deemed invalid, sources said.

Tharoor's campaign team also raised 'serious issues' in the conduct of the election in Punjab and Telangana.

Mallikarjun Kharge was elected the Congress president after defeating Tharoor, who got 1,072 of over 9,500 votes.

In his letter to Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry, Tharoor's chief election agent Salman Soz has said the facts are 'damning' and the election process in Uttar Pradesh is 'devoid of credibility and integrity', they said.

15:32 A house for Mr Naidu

Former Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu moves into his new home. "I have moved into my newly allotted official residence, 1, Thyagaraja Marg, New Delhi & look forward to welcoming my friends & well-wishers here," he tweeted.

The bungalow was earlier home to former Union minister DV Sadananda Gowda, who held charge of chemical and fertilisers ministry during the second term of the Narendra Modi government, till July 2021.

File pic of Yasin Malik

15:18 Rubaiya Sayeed case: Yasin Malik appears virtually

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief, Yasin Malik who is currently lodged in Tihar Jail on Thursday appeared virtually before a special court in Jammu in connection with the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case, in which he is an accused.

Malik appeared today in a TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act) court in connection with the 1989 kidnapping case, according to CBI lawyer Monika Kohli. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had issued directions restricting the movement of the founder of JKLF to appear in person before a special court in Jammu.

"Hearing was held in Rubaiya Sayeed abduction case. Yasin Malik was to be produced in court as per the production warrant by the court but due to the MHA order of restrictions on his movement, he was not produced and attended the hearing virtually," the chief prosecutor Kohli said.

The lawyer said that Rubaiya has filed an exemption application, which was approved by the court so she did not appear in court. The next date for the hearing is November 24, Malik said.

Rubaiya Sayeed, the sister of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti and daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was abducted by JKLF militants on December 8, 1989. -- ANI

Rajkumar Singh Dhanora

14:31 Was removed like an insect: It's BJP vs BJP in MP

The Bharatiya Janata Party has been facing internal conflict in Madhya Pradesh after it expelled Rajkumar Singh Dhanora for making "indisciplined" comments and remarks on his social media against Surkhi MLA and minister Govind Singh Rajput.

For his alleged remarks against the Surkhi MLA, the state president of BJP in Madhya Pradesh VD Sharma expelled Dhanora from the party for six years. Soon after his expulsion from the party, Dhanora addressed a press conference in a hotel in Sagar and made a veiled attack on the party.

He asked if the discipline and norms have been made for the "small leaders" only."

"When Kailash Vijayvargiya said that the MP government was run by officers and when former Chief Minister Uma Bharti made comments during her liquor prohibition movement, no action for their indiscipline was taken by the organisation, is it fair that their action is only for the small workers? The state leadership should reply to this," he said adding that he was expelled only for performing his role.

Dhanora said that his post sought support for the demands of the regional candidate from Surkhi assembly constituency.He also made a scathing attack on Surkhi MLA and Revenue and Transport Minister Govind Singh Rajput for his expulsion from the party, while he broke into tears while expressing his pain and anger against his exclusion from the party for six years.

He said, "I even apologised if I have committed any mistake but still I have faced atrocities. I have spent 30 years with utmost loyalty and they removed me like an insect."

Notably, Dhanora has deleted the social media post for which he has been removed from the party

13:50 Delhi govt withdraws Rs 500 fine for no masks

The Delhi government on Thursday issued an order withdrawing the Rs 500 fine for not wearing masks in public places in the national capital.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) had in a meeting last month decided to stop levying the penalty after September 30 amid a decline in COVID-19 cases in the national capital. However, no official notification had been issued. PTI

China, which came under condemnation for opening illegal police posts across the world, is now deploying consulates and overseas courts in several countries -- to crush dissent against the Chinese Communist Party, according to a report shared by Investigative Journalism Reportika.

The report says that China is doing so to influence the overseas Chinese, crush dissent against CCP in a foreign country and meddling with the democratic processes of the respective countries.

It cited an October 16 incident in which, a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester was pulled into Chinese consulate grounds in Manchester and was beaten up.

This reports reached the UK Parliament and the government called it extremely concerning.

Greater Manchester Police has launched an investigation.

The consulate, in their defence, said that protesters displayed an insulting portrait of China's president Xi Jinping.

Meanwhile, fake Ttwitter accounts were created to give a positive image of Chinese consulates involved in the crime using heavily edited images and video clips, reported Investigative Journalism Reportika.

This is not the first incident when consulates had been embroiled in controversy.

Earlier, in 2021, Twitter locked the official account of the Chinese embassy in the United States after a tweet describing Uyghur women as 'baby-making machines'.

Twitter removed the post later.

In another tweet, Chinese embassy in the Netherlands were seen targeting researchers and think tanks.

Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, paid a visit to the controversial Confucius Institute at Ravenswood School for Girls.

The ambassador was accompanied by Consul Liu Jianbo from the Education Office of the Chinese Consulate-General in Sydney.

The Chinese consulates and embassies also indulge in establishing Legal Service Stations or courts in other countries, according to Investigative Journalism Reportika.

China has opened courts/legal service stations in several countries under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Chinese overseas associations and its embassies and consulates establish these centres.

Even the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy have the presence of these courts.

According to reports in several local media channels, they indulge in meddling in the elections, influencing local politics, influencing the youth towards communism, and controlling the dissent against Xi Jinping from outside China.

In its previous report, the Investigative Journalism Reportika detailed that earlier the Chinese government had opened numerous illegal police stations across the world including in developed countries like Canada and Ireland, triggering concerns among human rights campaigners.

The organisation cited local media to say that such informal police service stations affiliated with the Public Security Bureau (PSB) across Canada have been set up to antagonise China's adversaries.

According to local media reports, Fuzhou has established informal police service stations affiliated with the Public Security Bureau (PSB) across Canada.

At least three of these stations are located in the Greater Toronto Area only.

Moreover, the Chinese government is also influencing the elections in certain countries through these illegal police stations, the Investigative Journalism Reportika said.

The Fuzhou police say it has already opened 30 such stations in 21 countries.

Countries like Ukraine, France, Spain, Germany, and the UK have such arrangements for Chinese Police Stations and the leaders of most of these countries question the rise of China and its worsening human rights records on public platforms and are themselves a part of that issue. -- ANI

BCCI secretary Jay Shah is also the chief of the Asian Cricket Council

13:08 HM to decide if India will go to Pak for Asia Cup

Home Ministry Amit Shah to decide whether the Indian cricket team will travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup. Players' security is important, says Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur.

Asian Cricket Council president Jay Shah yesterday said that India will not travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023 and that the continental tournament will be held at a neutral venue.

"BJP leaders are telling nobody's safe. We know what will happen next. Even if the courts strike down the release of these rapists and murders, nothing will happen. They have already vanished," writes Vir Sanghvi. Read the column here.

Noting the pendency of issues related to firecrackers before the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to entertain a petition challenging Delhi Pollution Control Committee's complete ban on sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers.

Justice Yashwant Varma dismissed the petition by two merchants who sought to "purchase, sell and store only green crackers" during the festive season, and said it was not appropriate for the high court to independently examine such a challenge when the issue "does appear to be engaging the attention" of the top court.

The court, however, said the petitioners were free to initiate appropriate proceedings under the law to seek redressal of their grievances. "From the material placed on record, the court notes the issue of pollution as a result of use of firecracker during Diwali was first considered by the Supreme Court (in a case).

The petitioner remains pending on the board of the Supreme Court.

Subsequently, another writ petition came to be preferred before the "Supreme Court seeking the issuance of guidelines in respect of sale, purchase and bursting of permissible firecrackers. The writ petition also produces some of the banning orders issued by few states," the court noted.

"In view of the aforesaid, it would not be appropriate for this court to entertain an independent challenge, especially since the issue does appear to be engaging the attention of the Supreme Court.

Accordingly, while this writ petition stands dismissed, this order shall not preclude the petitioner from initiating such proceedings as may be permitted in law," it said. -- PTI

Don't miss the irony.

The Bombay High Court on Thursday said it would hear after Diwali holidays a public interest litigation challenging the practice of courts taking long vacations, thereby affecting filing and hearing of cases.

The high court's Diwali vacation is from October 22 and it would reopen on November 9.

The PIL filed by Sabina Lakdawala challenged the vacations taken by the high court, claiming it was in violation of the fundamental rights of litigants whose rights to seek justice will be affected.

Lakdawala's lawyer Mathews Nedumpara said the petitioner was not against judges taking holidays but members of the judiciary should not take leave at the same time so that the courts remain functional throughout the year.

Nedumpara mentioned the plea on Thursday before a division bench of Justices S V Gangapurwala and R N Laddha seeking urgent hearing.

The bench asked the lawyer why the PIL was filed now when the high court calendar for 2022 was made available in November last year itself. The HC said it would hear the PIL on November 15.

The high court takes three breaks every year - summer vacation (one month), Diwali vacation (two weeks) and Christmas break (one week).

During the holidays, special vacation benches are available for urgent judicial work.

Lakdawala in her petition said the long court vacations are relic of the colonial era and have contributed to a collapse of the judicial delivery system.

The plea has sought for a declaration that closing courts for more than 70 days for any kind of vacation is a violation of fundamental rights of litigants because it leads to courts becoming unable to hear cases for lack of time. "Such practice of long vacations is liable to be brought to an end," the plea said. -- PTI

11:53 Cyclone alert in Odisha during Diwali

A low pressure area has formed in the Bay of Bengal on Thursday, and is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm over the next four days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The low pressure area, which has been formed over southeast and east-central Bay of Bengal, is likely to deepen into a depression by October 22 and into a cyclonic storm by October 24.

"Under the influence of the cyclonic circulation over north Andaman Sea and its neighbourhood, a low pressure area has formed over north Andaman Sea and adjoining areas of south Andaman Sea and southeast Bay of Bengal with the associated cyclonic circulation extending up to 7.6 km above the mean sea level," IMD said in a statement.

"It is very likely to move west-northwestwards and concentrate into a depression by October 22 over central and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal. It is very likely to intensify further into a cyclonic storm over west-central Bay of Bengal during the subsequent 48 hours," it said.

Meanwhile, the Odisha government has put the administrations of seven coastal districts on alert in view of the IMD's forecast of a possible cyclone. The districts that may be affected are Ganjam, Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Bhadrak, and Balasore.

Authorities have been asked to remain alert and closely monitor the situation. The weather office has also predicted heavy rainfall in Puri, Kendrapada, and Jagatsinghpur districts on October 23. The weatherman, however, has not predicted the intensity, path and wind speed of the system, which is likely to bring heavy rain in coastal Odisha. PTI

11:35 NIA files charge sheet for Sunjwan conspiracy

National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday filed a charge sheet against twelve accused persons including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists, in the Sunjwan Terrorist attack case, informed NIA in a press release.

The charge sheet was filed in NIA Special Court, Jammu against the 12 persons in connection to a case related to the conspiracy hatched among Kashmir-based terrorist operatives, Pakistan-based handlers and terrorists of proscribed terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

As a part of the conspiracy, two JeM terrorists infiltrated India through a tunnel. The release stated that the tunnel was excavated on the International Border in the area falling under BOP Chack Faqira in the Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

The release stated that the security forces intercepted the movement of the said terrorists and both terrorists were killed in an encounter with the security forces in the area of Sunjwan, Jammu.

Investigation has revealed that the accused persons entered into a criminal conspiracy to transport and provide logistic support to newly infiltrated JeM terrorists, who entered into Indian territory to execute a suicidal attack on the security forces and other vital installations in Jammu region with a view to disrupt the scheduled visit of Honble Prime Minister of India on April 24, 2022.

11:12 Kashmir gets a light white coat

North Kashmir's Machil in Kupwara district makes it to the news for something other than encounters. The district receives its first snowfall of the season!

Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge, a staunch Gandhi family loyalist from Karnataka, has become the Congress' first non-Gandhi president in 24 years.

Here's look at his predecessors.

10:43 Modi meets UN chief at Statue of Unity

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Antnio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations at the Statue of Unity in Ekta Nagar, Kevadia.

Prime Minister will have a bilateral meeting with UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres in Kevadia.

Thereafter, the launch of Mission LiFE will be done by PM Modi, in the presence of the UN Secretary-General at the Statue of Unity, Ekta Nagar, Kevadia.

It is expected to be an India-led global mass movement that will nudge individual and collective action to protect and preserve the environment, said Prime Minister's Office.

Later on the day, PM Modi will participate in the 10th Heads of Missions Conference, which is being organized from 20-22 October 2022 in Kevadia by the Ministry of External Affairs.

The Conference will bring together 118 Heads of Indian Missions (Ambassadors and High Commissioners) from all over the world.

10:40 A brilliant meme from Mr Singhvi

Congress MP Abhishek Singhvi shares this image alongside without comment.

Presumably, its a jibe at FM Nirmala Sitharaman's ingenious statement that the Rupee was not falling, but it was the dollar that was rising.

In fact, the rupee hit a record low of 83.06 against the US dollar today.

10:33 Akhilesh performs his duties as a son

Akhilesh Yadav performs the last rites of his father Mulayam Singh Yadav at the Sangam at Haridwar. He tweets, Aaj Sangam par Netaji ki smriti ke saath. At the Sangam today with the memories of Netaji."

Samajwadi Party founder and three-time Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, who spawned the state's most prominent political clan and played a key role on the national stage, died last week after a prolonged illness. He was 82.

10:25 Satya Nadella receives Padma Bhushan in US

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has said it is an honour for him to receive the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award and he looks forward to continuing to work with people across India to help them use technology to achieve more.

Nadella, who plans to visit India next January, formally received the award for distinguished service, from India's Consul General in San Francisco, Dr T.V. Nagendra Prasad, last week.

The 55-year-old CEO of Microsoft was named one of 17 awardees earlier this year.

On receiving the award, Nadella said: "It's an honour to receive a Padma Bhushan Award and to be recognised with so many extraordinary people. I'm thankful to the President, Prime Minister, and people of India, and look forward to continuing to work with people across India to help them use technology to achieve more."

During the meeting, Nadella discussed with Prasad the critical role digital technology plays in empowering inclusive growth in India.

The discussion focused on India's growth trajectory and the country's potential to be a global political and technology leader, according to Microsoft. We are living in a period of historic economic, societal and technological change, said Nadella following his meeting with Dr Prasad.

The next decade will be defined by digital technology. Indian industries and organisations of every size are turning to technology to help them do more with less, which will ultimately lead to greater innovation, agility and resilience, Nadella said.

Hyderabad-born Nadella was named CEO of Microsoft in February 2014. In June 2021 he was also named the company's Chairman, an additional role in which he will lead the work to set the agenda for the board. -- PTI

09:55 India asks its citizens to leave Kyiv ASAP

The Indian embassy in Ukraine has asked Indian nationals to leave the country at the earliest in view of a fresh wave of hostilities. In an advisory, the mission also called upon Indian nationals not to travel to the Eastern European country.

"In view of the deteriorating security situation and recent escalation of hostilities across Ukraine, Indian nationals are advised against travelling to Ukraine," the embassy said.

"The Indian citizens, including students, currently in Ukraine are advised to leave Ukraine at the earliest by available means," it added.

There has been intensification of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, with Moscow carrying out retaliatory missile strikes targeting various Ukrainian cities in response to a huge blast in Crimea nearly two weeks ago. Moscow blamed Kyiv for the blast. PTI

Image: Firefighters work to put out a fire in a thermal power plant in Kyiv. Pic: State Emergency Service of Ukraine

09:45 Rupee hits record low of 83.06 against USD

The rupee depreciated 6 paise to a record low of 83.06 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday due to a stronger greenback overseas and unrelenting foreign fund outflows.

Besides, a sell-off in domestic equities and risk-averse sentiments weighed on the local unit, forex traders said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 83.05 against the dollar, then slipped further to quote 83.06, a fall of 6 paise over its previous close.

The local currency also hit a high of 83.07 in early deals. In the previous session on Wednesday, the rupee plunged 60 paise to end at 83 against the dollar. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.07 per cent to 113.06. -- PTI

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Bihar Lalan Paswan courted controversy by making bizarre statements about Hindu deities. Paswan's statement sparked an outrage. People held a protest at Shermari Bazar in Bhagalpur and burnt the effigy of the BJP MLA.

Paswan, who is an MLA from Pirpainti Assembly constituency in Bhagalpur district raised questions on Hindu beliefs and argued with evidence to prove his stance.

He further raised questions on Lakshmi Puja on Diwali. Paswan said, "If we get wealth only by worshipping Goddess Lakshmi, then there would have been no billionaires and trillionaires among Muslims. Muslims do not worship Goddess Lakshmi, are they not rich? Muslims do not worship Goddess Saraswati. Are there no scholars among Muslims? Do not they become IAS or IPS?"

The BJP leader said everything is people's belief. He said the affair of "Atma and Paramatma" is just people's belief.

He said, "If you believe then it is a goddess and if not then it is just a stone idol. It is up to us whether we believe in Gods and Goddesses or not. We have to think on a scientific basis to reach a logical conclusion. If you stop believing, then your intellectual capacity will increase."

"It is believed that Bajrangbali is a deity with power and bestows strength. Muslims or Christians do not worship Bajrangbali. Are they not powerful? The day you stop believing, all these things will end," added Paswan.

PFI activists protest

09:24 Maharashtra ATS arrests 4 PFI activists from Raigad district

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad has arrested four activists of the proscribed Popular Front of India (PFI) from Panvel in neighbouring Raigad district, an official said on Thursday.

Those arrested include a local member of the banned outfit's state expansion committee, a local unit secretary and two other workers, he said.

The ATS had specific information about a meeting of two functionaries of the PFI and few workers in Panvel, even as the organisation has been banned by the Government of India, the official said.

Accordingly, an ATS team conducted a search in Panvel, located about 50 km from Mumbai, and apprehended the four PFI activists, he said. After questioning, all the four were placed under arrest in a case registered at the Kalachowki unit of the ATS in Mumbai under section 10 of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the official said.

Further probe into the case is on, he added. The government had last month banned the PFI and several of its associates for five years, accusing them of having "links" with global terror groups like ISIS. More than 250 people allegedly linked with the PFI were detained or arrested in raids across multiple states last month. PTI

The giant dome of the Jakarta Islamic Centre Grand Mosque in Indonesia collapsed on Wednesday after a major fire broke out. Dramatic social media footage showed the moment the mosque's dome collapsed, however, officials said that there were no casualties, reported Gulf Today.

The dome was destroyed by a fire during its renovation. Firefighters were alerted about the blaze shortly after 3 pm local time, with at least ten fire engines being dispatched to the scene, Indonesia media reported.

Video footage showed flames and smoke billowing from the mosque's dome just before it collapsed. The cause of the fire is not yet known. Media reports suggest that the Islamic Centre was undergoing renovations at the time.

The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) and other doctors' associations have opposed the move of the AIIMS director's letter on standard operating procedures (SOPs) for sitting members of Parliament.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi, Director, Dr M Srinivas on Wednesday wrote a letter to Y M Kandpal, Joint Secretary, Lok Sabha over streamlining of Outpatient Department (OPD) and emergency consultation, inpatient hospitalisation services for members of Parliament, following the SOPs issued.

'We condemn VIP culture. No patient should suffer at the cost of another's privileges. That being said, having a protocol to streamline things should not be viewed as derogatory, provided it doesn't hamper patient care,' FORDA said in a tweet.

The FAIMA doctors association questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the VIP culture.

'On one side, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji says 'There is no VIP Culture in India!,' but on the other hand, AIIMS New Delhi Director Dr M Srinivas releases a letter to promote VIP Culture! Like past we still stand against VIP Culture!' the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) said in a tweet.

The doctors of the country are constantly tweeting and opposing the decision taken by the AIIMS Director.

In a letter, Dr Srinivas said, 'In case a sitting member of Parliament requires OPD consultation from a speciality / super speciality department the Lok Sabha/ Rajyasabha secretariat or personal staff of the MP will contact the duty officer and provide him requisite details about the ailment and specialist/superspecialist doctor to be consulted.'

'The SOPs include duty officers who are qualified medical professionals from the department of hospital administration will be available in the control room AIIMS Hospital around the clock and the duty officer on duty will be the nodal officer to coordinate and facilitate requisite medical care arrangements for on sitting MPs,' the letter reads.

He further said that the landline telephone numbers of the control room and mobile phone number of the duty officer on duty will be constant respective of the person on duty.

According to the letter by Dr Srinivas, 'The duty officer will speak to a concerned specialist or super specialist doctor or head of the department and will fix up a requisite appointment. In case it is so required we can speak to the Chief of Centre or Head of the concerned department as well.'

'In case of an emergency situation where the people's representative requires immediate medical management, the Lok Sabha/Rajyasabha secretariat or personal staff of the MP will contact the duty officer and provide him with requisite details about the ailment. So that the duty officer can guide them as to which emergency services the MP should be brought to main emergency or Trauma Centre emergency or an Eye emergency,' the letter reads further.

'In case of inpatient hospitalisation MP, the treating faculty will send a brief note to the medical superintendent about the ailment or illness that MP is suffering from the proposed line of management and expected duration of stay. it will be countersigned by the medical superintendent and will be sent to the Lok Sabha/ Rajyasabha secretariat given email id by the medical superintendent's office,' said Dr Srinivas in a letter.

After the circulation of the letter, AIIMS New Delhi tweeted, 'AIIMS New Delhi has always had a 24x7 Control Room for co-ordination of medical care of patients from all walks of life Residents and Faculty from Department of Hospital Administration work here to ease logistics and expedite treatment for poorest of the poor.' -- ANI

08:34 Downpour floods Bengaluru, yellow alert issued

Heavy rains across Bengaluru on Wednesday lead to collapse of a wall near the Majestic that resulted in damaging several four-wheelers parked on the road.

Incessant rains battered Bengaluru Wednesday, with downpours resulting in waterlogging in several parts of the city. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had already issued a yellow alert in the city.

According to IMD, light rainfall is likely to hit Bengaluru during the next five days.

The maximum temperature ranges from 27-29 degrees Celcius and the minimum of 15-17 degrees Celcius.

Relative humidity of 60-89 percent during morning hours and 26-48 per cent during noon is also expected by the weather department.

Last month, Bengaluru experienced a flood-like situation after the city was reeled under severe waterlogging due to incessant heavy rains which continued to affect traffic in several areas of the city.

Locals in Bengaluru continued to bear the brunt of severe waterlogging as water is yet to recede from roads and bylanes after Monday's downpour.

Many parts of the state are witnessing flood-like situations due to heavy rains.

With Bengaluru reeling under severe waterlogging due to incessant heavy rains, on Monday many IT professionals in India's Silicon Valley resorted to tractors to reach their workplaces.

Yemalur which is close to the HAL Airport was submerged in water.

Many employees of IT companies living in the area took tractors to reach their offices.

Earlier in July, Karnataka suffered heavy floods due to rains, after which rescue missions and relief work had to be carried out. Chief Minister Bommai also had to seek financial assistance from the Centre. -- ANI

IMAGE: Some vehicles were damaged after a wall collapsed due to heavy rains near Majestic in Bengaluru city. Photograph: ANI

Two teenage Hindu girls have allegedly been abducted in Pakistan's Sindh province, prompting their mother to stage a protest on Wednesday after police purportedly refused to register an FIR about the incident, which is the latest in a string of such atrocities against members of the minority community in the country.

The mother claimed the incident occurred last week in the Salah Pat area near Sukkur when they were returning home.

She said that three men forcibly took away her daughters -who are 17 and 18 years old - and also pushed and hit her when she tried to stop them.

The helpless mother on Wednesday protested against the refusal of the police to register a first information report about the incident.

"I have named the masked men who abducted my daughters but the police are doing nothing. I appeal to the court to do something and give me back my daughters," she said.

The abduction and forcible conversion of young Hindu girls have become a major problem in the interior of Sindh province which has a large Hindu population in Thar, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Ghotki and Khairpur areas. Most of the Hindu community members are labourers.

Pakistan's Sindh government this month ordered a high-level probe into reports of the abduction of a 14-year-old Hindu girl from the city of Hyderabad in Sindh province.

Last month, a woman and two teenage girls belonging to the Hindu community were kidnapped with two of them forcibly converted to Islam and married to Muslim men.

On July 16, 2019, the issue of abducting and forcibly converting Hindu girls in various districts of Sindh province was taken up in the Sindh Assembly, where a resolution was debated and unanimously passed after it was modified over objections of certain lawmakers that it should not be restricted to Hindu girls only.

But the bill which criminalised forcible religious conversions was later rejected in the assembly. A similar bill was again proposed but rejected last year. -- PTI

Timeline Refresh

TOP STORIES