LIVE! AIIMS-Delhi server down for 7th day; 2 suspended

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Tue, 29 November 2022

AIIMS-Delhi server down for 7th day; 2 suspended

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23:43 AIIMS-Delhi server down for 7th day; 2 suspended

The server of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi remained out of service for the seventh consecutive day on Tuesday even as official sources said e-hospital data has been restored on the servers.

The network is being sanitised before the services can be restored as all hospital services, including outpatient, in-patient, laboratories, continue to run on manual mode.

"The process is taking some time due to the volume of data and large number of servers/computers for the hospital services. Measures are being taken for cyber security," a statement issued by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences said.

A case of extortion and cyber terrorism was registered by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit of the Delhi police on November 25.

Meanwhile, two system analysts were suspended by AIIMS on Monday after being served show-cause notices for alleged dereliction of duty.

Official sources said Internet services in the hospital are blocked as per the recommendations of the investigating agencies.

According to the official sources, the NIC e-Hospital at AIIMS is using 24 servers for various hospital modules and four of these servers were infected with ransomware --primary and secondary database servers of e-Hospital, and primary application and primary database servers of Laboratory Information System.

Later, ransomware was also found in the elastic search virtual server. 1.4. All infected servers were isolated, they said. -- PTI

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23:20 Fire breaks out in Mumbai's Sanjay Gandhi National Park

A fire broke out inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai on Tuesday night, a civic official said, adding that efforts were on to douse it.

The park, spread over 87 sq km, is home to several species of wild animals including leopards.

The fire broke out around 10 pm, and four fire engines, three jumbo tankers and other assistance vehicles were immediately rushed to the spot, the fire brigade official said. -- PTI

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23:08 Maha to set up differently-abled welfare department

Maharashtra will soon get a dedicated 'divyang welfare department', deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday.

The state cabinet also decided to give a boost for filling up 75,000 posts in 14 departments in the 75th year of Independence, a statement said.

A formal announcement on setting up the divyang department will be made on December 3, Fadnavis said after attending the state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The sections looking into issues of divyang (differently-abled) people under the social justice and special assistance department will be clubbed to form the new Divyang Welfare Department, the statement said. -- PTI

YouTube has removed over 17 lakh videos uploaded from India during the July-September quarter for violating the company's community guidelines, the Google-owned firm said on Tuesday.

"Between July and September 2022, in India over 1.7 million videos were removed for violating YouTube's Community Guidelines," YouTube said in the community guidelines enforcement report for the third quarter of 2022.

Globally, YouTube removed over 56 lakh videos for violating community guidelines.

"Of the videos detected by machines, 36 per cent were removed before they received a single view, and 31 per cent received between 1 and 10 views before removal," the report said.

The video hosting platform removed over 73.7 crore comments from the platform for violation of the guidelines, the report said.

YouTube data shows 99 per cent of the comments were removed after they were flagged by its automated system and only 1 per cent were removed after they were flagged by its users. -- PTI

22:12 Daler Mehndi's farmhouse in Gurugram sealed

Authorities sealed three illegally constructed farmhouses, including one belonging to Punjabi singer Daler Mehndi, located near Damdama lake at Sohna on Tuesday, a senior official of Haryana's department of town and country planning (DTCP) said.

"These were unauthorised farmhouses in the reservoir area of the lake. All three farmhouses have been sealed. These were developed in the Aravalli range without any permission", said district town planner (DTP) Amit Madholia.

The demolition-cum-sealing drive was carried out with the help of the police against three farmhouses in compliance of the NGT orders in Sonya Gosh vs State of Haryana matter.

A team led by DTP Madholia, including ATP Sumeet Malik, Dinesh Singh, Rohan and Shubham carried out the sealing drive in the presence of duty magistrate Lachhiram, Naib Tehsildar, Sohna.

A police team was deployed there led by Sadar Sohna station house officer (SHO).

A senior officer of the department confirmed on condition of anonymity that one of the three farmhouses belonged to singer Daler Mehndi. His farmhouse was built on about 1.5 acre land, he added.

-- PTI

The Fresh Prince has finally stepped back into the spotlight.

Hollywood icon Will Smith finally made his way back to mainstream television with an upcoming interview on The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, the Variety reported.

In a conversation with late-night host Trevor Noah, the 'Aladdin' actor addressed his absence from the public eye in an amusingly brief stance.

"I have been away," he said, much to the laughter of the audience. "What have y'all been doing?" he added.

The Academy Award-winning actor then veered to the Oscar night when he infamously slapped comedian Chris Rock.

"That was a horrific night, as you can imagine. There's many nuances and complexities to it. But at the end of the day, I just -- I lost it, you know?.....I was going through something that night, you know? Not that that justifies my behavior at all... It was a lot of things. It was the little boy that watched his father beat up his mother, you know? All of that just bubbled up in that moment" he said.

According to a report by Variety, the 54-year-old admitted to having "a rage that had been bottled up for a really long time".

"That is not who I want to be," he said.

Smith also talked about his upcoming project, Emancipation.

Helmed by Antoine Fuqua, the movie stars the Bad Boys actor as a runaway slave who gets the name Whipped Peter after pictures of him with a scarred back get widely distributed, showcasing the extreme brutality meted out to him. -- ANI

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21:04 CRPF commando killed in Maoist attack in Bastar

A commando of the Central Reserve Police Force's jungle warfare unit CoBRA was killed on Tuesday when Maoists opened fire near a camp of the paramilitary force in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, the police said.

The incident took place between 4:30 pm to 5 pm between Dabbakonta and Pentapad villages under Chintagufa police station limits where the Central Reserve Police Force had set up a camp recently, inspector general of police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P said.

The deceased commando hailed from Kerala.

Personnel of the state police's District Reserve Guard and Special Task Force were also stationed at the camp, located around 450 km from capital Raipur, he said.

When a patrolling team was out on area domination operation near the camp, a group of Maoists opened fire, leading to a gun battle, the IG said.

The Maoists soon fled into the dense forest, he added.

"Head constable Suleman belonging to the 202nd battalion of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action suffered critical injuries. He was shifted to the CRPF's field hospital in nearby Bheji village where he succumbed during treatment," Sundarraj added.

The martyred head constable was a native of Palakkad district in Kerala, he added. -- PTI

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20:50 China launches three astronauts for its space station

China on Tuesday launched a spacecraft with a three-person crew to its under-construction space station amid intensifying competition with the United States.

The Shenzhou-15 spaceship carrying the aircraft was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China.

It carried three astronauts -- Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming, and Zhang Lu. Fei will be the commander of the mission, Ji Qiming, assistant to the director of the CMSA, told the media.

The launch was carried out with a Long March-2F carrier rocket.

The crew will stay in orbit for about six months, a period in which the construction of the low-orbit space station is expected to be completed. -- PTI

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20:14 Adani bags Rs 5,069-cr Dharavi redevelopment plan

The Adani Group has emerged as the highest bidder for the 259-hectare Dharavi redevelopment project, a top official said on Tuesday.

The group has put in a Rs 5,069 crore bid for the redevelopment of one of the largest slum sprawls in the world, outbidding DLF, which had quoted Rs 2,025 crore, chief executive officer of the project S V R Srinivas said.

"We will now be sending the details to the government, which will consider and give final approval," he told PTI, adding that the Eknath Shinde government will approve it in a couple of weeks.

The bid is for the entire Rs 20,000-crore project, and the total timeline for the project is seven years to rehabilitate the 6.5 lakh slum dwellers who are spread over 2.5 sq km area right now, he said.

The project, which will help the winning bidder to book high revenues by selling lakhs of square foot of residential and commercial space in central Mumbai, has been in limbo for many years now because of its complexities.

Eight bidders, including entities from South Korea and the UAE, had attended a pre-bid meet held in October and three of them actually bid for the project.

Naman Group, a city-based developer, was the third whose bid did not qualify.

The government has sought a consolidated net worth of a minimum of Rs 20,000 crore to choose the winning bid, and is likely to evaluate both technical and financial eligibility before awarding the project to the highest bidder. -- PTI

A 22-year old woman was allegedly raped by a bike taxi driver and his friend, when she had hired the service to get dropped at a friend's place, the police said on Tuesday.

They said the incident is said to have taken place during the intervening night between Friday and Saturday, in the Electronic City Police Station limits.

According to a police source, the victim is from Kerala.

"The woman had hired a 'Rapido' bike to go from one friend's house to another. On the way, the bike driver took advantage and has taken her to his place, where he along with his friend have raped her. There was another woman along with them during the crime, who cooperated and then tried to hush it up," Bengaluru police commissioner Pratap Reddy said.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said, as the victim was suffering from pain in her body parts, she visited doctors for medical help on November 26 afternoon, following which the police got the information about the incident that evening.

"The police immediately registered an FIR and swung into action and have arrested all the accused. Also evidence has been collected from the spot with the help of forensic lab experts," he said, adding that further investigations are on.

According to the police, out of two accused- one was a Rapido bike driver and the other worked at a mobile store.

One accused had a criminal case against him in the past. -- PTI

Uttarakhand Vidhansabha building/ANI

19:27 Uttarakhand introduces stricter anti-conversion bill

The winter session of the Uttarakhand assembly began on Tuesday with a more stringent anti-conversion bill among ten legislations tabled in the House.

To be called Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2022, the bill seeks to make unlawful conversion a cognisable and non-bailable offence punishable with imprisonment for a term of at least six months to a maximum of five years.

The offender will also be imposed with a fine of Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000.

"No person shall convert, either directly or otherwise, any other person from one religion to another by use or practice of misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means. No person shall abet, convince or conspire such conversion," the draft of the bill said.

Stating the objects and reasons for the bill, State Minister for religious affairs Satpal Maharaj said, "...under articles 25,26, 27 and 28 of the Constitution of India, under Right to Freedom of Religion, to equally strengthen the importance of every religion, the amendment in Uttarakhand freedom of religion Act, 2018 is necessary to remove certain difficulties in the Act."

Another important bill to be tabled in the state assembly on the opening day of the session was, the Uttarakhand Public Services (Horizontal Reservation for Women) bill, 2022 seeking to provide 20-30 per cent horizontal reservation to women permanently domiciled in Uttarakhand in direct recruitment to public services and posts. -- PTI

Nadav Lapid

18:43 Lapid should apologise for remarks: Israeli director

Veteran Israeli filmmaker Dan Wolman says it was "improper" for his colleague and friend Nadav Lapid to express his personal opinion about The Kashmir Files at the closing ceremony of the 53rd International Film Festival of India.

Lapid, who served as the chairperson of IFFI's international jury, termed The Kashmir Files a "vulgar and propaganda" movie in his speech at the award ceremony during the closing night of the nine-day film festival on Monday.

Wolman, known for directing acclaimed Israeli titles Hide and Seek, Tied Hands and An Israeli Love Story, said Lapid should apologise for his remarks.

"I think he made a grave mistake when, as part of the announcement of the prize winners, he expressed his personal opinion about one of the films that did not win a prize, claiming that the organisers made a mistake in including it in the competition.

"To my mind his announcement was improper. It made me uncomfortable and I don't share his views about 'The Kashmir Files'. I hope he will apologise," the veteran filmmaker, who was honoured with IFFI's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, said. -- PTI

18:28 Two NC leaders, many others join BJP in Jammu

Two National Conference leaders and more than 200 political and social activists joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in Jammu on Tuesday in the presence of the party's Jammu and Kashmir unit president Ravinder Raina.

The National Conference leaders who joined the BJP were provincial vice president SS Bunty and provincial secretary Pinky Bhat.

Besides them, National Justice Party president Randhir Singh Parihar and several panchayat members, doctors and retired government officials joined the party.

Former legislator Devender Singh Rana, who switched to the BJP from the National Conference last year, welcomed the new members at the party office. -- PTI

The Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri on Tuesday said he will quit filmmaking if intellectuals, including Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid, are able to prove that events depicted in his film are false.

A day after Lapid, who served as the chairperson of IFFI's international jury termed The Kashmir Files "vulgar and propaganda", Agnihotri challenged his detractors saying he will "keep fighting".

"I challenge the world's intellectuals and 'urban Naxals' as well as the great filmmaker who came from Israel if they can prove that any shot, dialogue or event of The Kashmir Files is not absolute truth, I'll stop making films. I'm not someone who will back down. Issue as many fatwas as you want, but I'll keep fighting," the Indian filmmaker said in a video statement shared on his official Twitter page.

Comments made by Lapid, viewed as an anti-establishment voice, came at the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of India in Goa on Monday.

On Tuesday morning, Agnihotri in a cryptic social media post had said "truth is the most dangerous thing" as it can make people lie.

In his video, posted in the evening, the filmmaker said being attacked by "gangs" that want to divide India was not a new phenomenon for him.

"Such things are often said by terrorist organisations, urban naxals and the 'tukde-tukde' gang who wants to divide the country. What's surprising is that how an event organised by the government of India was used to support the narrative of terrorists who want Kashmir's separation from India and how many Indians living in India used it against the country?" asked Agnihotri. -- PTI

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi (right)

17:31 Dravidian outfit claims TN Guv Ravi 'holds office of profit,' approaches HC

A Dravidian outfit has filed a writ petition in the Madras high court claiming that Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi holds an 'office of profit' as he is the chairman of the Auroville Foundation and thus he has incurred a 'disqualification' and prayed that he should, hence, be removed from his post.

In its petition, it sought a direction to Ravi, asking him to show cause and explain how he is holding the constitutional post of governor and under what authority (Quo warranto writ).

M Kannadasan, president of the Kanchipuram district unit of Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam, submitted that ever since Ravi was appointed governor in September, 2021, he 'emerged as a controversial figure.'

He suffered disqualification in 'many ways' and hence, he should be removed from the post.

The Union ministry of education had issued a notification in October 2021 nominating Ravi as the chairman of the Auroville Foundation for four years.

Along with him eight other persons were nominated as members.

From October last year, Ravi has become the 'full time chairman' of the Foundation.

"It is a public office, carrying salary, allowances and there are service conditions such as leave, pension, provident fund and other matters. Hence it is an office of profit." -- PTI

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16:55 SC allows Mumbai Metro to pursue Aarey tree felling

The Supreme Court on Monday permitted Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd to raise with the relevant authority its plea for felling 84 trees at Mumbai's Aarey Colony for constructing train ramps at its car shed project.

A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Mumbai Metro, that the felling of 84 trees were needed for constructing ramps for the trains at the car shed.

"The MMRCL should be permitted to pursue its application with the Tree Authority for felling 84 trees," the bench said and fixed the main pleas against the Metro project for final hearing in February next year.

Earlier, the apex court had in 2019 taken suo motu cognisance of a letter petition addressed to the Chief Justice of India by law student Rishav Ranjan seeking a stay on the felling of trees in the colony.

The apex court had restrained the authorities from felling any more trees after the solicitor general submitted on behalf of the state of Maharashtra that no further trees will be cut.

The felling of trees in the colony has been opposed by environmentalists and residents. -- PTI

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16:49 Dog walker beaten up, pet kicked at housing society's elevator in Mumbai

A 24-year-old dog walker was beaten up and a pet dog was kicked for refusing to alight an elevator in a housing complex in the western suburb Sakinaka in Mumbai, the police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place at Arum housing society in Nahar Amrit Shakti area on Monday night, an official said.

The victim Sunil Rathod was using the elevator to come to the ground floor to take a dog for a walk, he said.

When the elevator reached the 9th floor, a woman asked the victim to exit with the dog, as she was allergic, the official said.

The victim refused and reached the building's lobby.

Soon the woman's husband and a security guard allegedly followed him to the parking lot and started swearing at him, he said.

After slapping him twice, the accused snatched a stick from Rathod's hands and started beating him with it.

He also kicked the dog twice, the official said.

The victim approached the Sakinaka police station and a non-cognisable report under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 504 (intentionally insulting) of the Indian Penal was filed against the accused, he said. -- PTI

Yoga guru Ramdev has apologised for his remark on women for which the Maharashtra State Commission for Women had issued him a notice, the panel's chairperson Rupali Chakankar said.

At a public event in Maharashtra's Thane district last week, Ramdev said women can look good in anything, saree, salwar kameez or "even when they wear nothing".

He had shared stage at the event with state Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's wife Amruta Fadnavis.

Taking cognisance of the comment, the MSCW had issued a notice to Ramdev to which he responded with an apology.

Chakankar in a tweet on Monday said, "Baba Ramdev aka Ram Kisan Yadav used lowly language against women at a public event in Thane. The state commission for women took cognisance of it and sent him a notice seeking his response in two days. The commission has received his response and he has sought an apology for his comments."

Ramdev in his response claimed his remarks were misconstrued and apologised for the comments.

Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal had also tweeted the video of Ramdev's comments and sought an apology from him. -- PTI

The Maharashtra Police have received more than 11 lakh applications for 18,331 posts of constables, drivers as well as for personnel in the State Reserve Police Force, an official said on Tuesday.

In the wake of such a large number of aspirants trying to log on to the government portal to fill the forms, there were issues like slowing down of the website, but they were rectified, he said.

Many of the job aspirants tried to register on the website till late at night to fill their forms, he said.

Online applications were invited from November 9 and Wednesday is the last day to apply for the jobs, he said.

"Till Monday noon, we received 10.74 lakh applications, but now we can say we have already received more than 11 lakh applications," the official said.

"November 30 is the last day to apply and it seems we will get more applications," he added. -- PTI

16:11 EC to hear Shiv Sena factions on Dec 12

The Election Commission will hear the warring factions of the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde on December 12, official sources said on Tuesday.

They said the symbol dispute of the party has reached the stage of "substantive hearing". December 12 has been set as the date for first personal hearing of the two factions and the required order was issued on Tuesday.

The poll panel has also directed both the groups to submit any further statement or documents by 5 PM, December 9.

Earlier this month, the Commission had asked the Shiv Sena factions to submit fresh documents to back their claim to the party's name and its symbol by November 23.

The poll panel had also asked them to exchange the documents, submitted to the poll panel, with each other.

In an interim order in October, the Commission had barred the two factions from using the party name or its 'bow and arrow' symbol.

Later, it had 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 Eknath Shinde group of the party.

The EC had said the interim order will continue "till the final determination of the dispute".

Shinde had rebelled against Thackeray's leadership, claiming the support of 40 of the Shiv Sena's 55 MLAs and 12 of its 18 members in Lok Sabha.

The Satpura Tiger Reserve authorities have started an investigation after a video purportedly showed a vehicle, in which Bollywood actor Raveena Tandon was allegedly travelling, close to a tiger during a safari, an official said on Tuesday.

The video, which surfaced on social media platforms, showed the safari vehicle reaching close to a tiger. In the clip, camera shutters are heard making sounds and a tiger is seen roaring at them in the reserve located in Madhya Pradesh's Narmadapuram district.

Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) of Forest Dheeraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said following the directives of senior officials, he has started a probe into the alleged incident.

He said during Tandon's visit to the reserve on November 22, her vehicle allegedly reached near a tiger.

The vehicle driver and the officials on duty there will be served a notice and questioned, the official said.

The probe report will be submitted to senior officials for further action, he said.

Tandon had shared the pictures of her visit to the Satpura Tiger Reserve on her social media handles.

She had also shared the pictures of tigers which she clicked during her visit to the reserve.

Earlier this month, authorities at the Van Vihar National Park, located in state capital Bhopal, had started an investigation after Tandon shared a video and claimed some miscreants were throwing stones at a tiger enclosure in the park.

"Van Vihar, Bhopal. Madhya Pradesh. Tourists (ruffians) pelting stones at the tiger in closures. Having a good laugh when told not to do so. Screaming, laughing, shaking the cage- throwing rocks. No security for the tiger. Humiliation they are subjected to," Tandon had tweeted.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday stalled a programme in North 24 Parganas and pulled up the district magistrate over his failure to bring to the venue the blankets and winter garments she has bought for distribution among locals.

Banerjee, in the presence of locals, asked District Magistrate Sharad Dwivedi to make arrangements to bring the garments to the venue at the earliest.

Thousands of people had gathered at Hingalganj for the programme, organized for doling out government scheme benefits and caste certificates.

"I've brought 15,000 winter garments, blankets for locals. Where have you kept them? Bring them to me immediately. I'll not continue with the programme till you get those. I'll wait here," Banerjee told Dwivedi.

The CM, who is in the district on a two-day visit, also warned the DM, and other officials of stern action for such lapses.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to take action in case the DM and block development officers don't carry out their responsibilities properly," she added.

Around 15 minutes later, bunches of shawls were brought to the venue.

The CM then announced that she would be distributing 1,000 shawls among local women.

Earlier in the day, the CM, who reached here on Tuesday afternoon in a helicopter, offered prayers to local deity 'Bonobibi' at a temple here and planted a tree. -- PTI

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday accused the Congress of "insulting" every Gujarati after its president Mallikarjun Kharge threw "Ravan" barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged people to teach the opposition party a lesson through their votes.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra asked voters in Gujarat to do "100 per cent voting for the son of the soil" Modi to take "revenge" in a democratic manner for the "insult", as he invoked various objectionable remarks made by Congress members over the years against the prime minister.

Taking a swipe at Modi, Kharge had said at a public meeting in Gujarat that the prime minister asks people to vote "looking at his face" be it municipal polls or those for assemblies and Parliament. "Are you 100-headed like Ravan," he said.

Hitting out at the Congress, Patra alleged Kharge was voicing the views of former Congress presidents Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. Personal attacks on Modi started with Sonia Gandhi's "maut ka saudagar" (merchant of death) remarks during the 2007 Gujarat assembly polls, he said.

"What Kharge said is condemnable and shows the mindset of the Congress. This is not merely an insult of Modi but of every Gujarati," he said.

The Congress has denigrated the post of the prime minister, he added, holding that Modi is now recognised as a global leaders by countries around the world.

Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry had recent said Modi will be shown his "aukat", Patra noted. -- PTI

Israel director Nadav Lapid

15:12 Kashmir Files row: Complaint against Israel filmmaker

A Supreme Court lawyer on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Goa police against International Film Festival of India (IFFI) jury head Nadav Lapid for allegedly abusing Hindu community's sacrifice made in Kashmir by calling the movie 'The Kashmir Files' as 'vulgar' and 'propaganda'.

Advocate Vineet Jindal has filed a complaint against Nadav Lapid and sought registration under sections 121,153,153A and B, 295, 298 and 505 of the Indian Penal Code for his alleged comment on the movie 'The Kashmir Files' based on the true story of Hindu genocide in Kashmir, the complaint stated.

The film 'The Kashmir Files' is based on the 'exodus and killings' of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley in the 1990s by Islamic terrorists. By calling a movie based on a true story on Hindu genocide by Islamic terrorists that happened in Kashmir as 'propaganda' and 'vulgar,' he is abusing the sacrifice of Hindus in Kashmir and targeting the Hindu community by using derogatory words vulgar and propaganda upon Hindu killings just to incite hatred in our country, the complaint added.

The complaint has been addressed to the Director general of police, in Goa and stated: "the content of the statement made by him (Nadav Lapid) clearly shows his intent of instigating enmity between groups. Being a social activist and Hindu by religion, my religious sentiments are deeply hurt by the statement made by Nadav Lapid." complainant Advocate Vineet Jindal stated.

The statement given by Nadav is totally manipulated and with ill intention towards the Hindu Community in the grab of targeting movie Kashmir files which became clearer when one of the jury members at IFFI Sudipto Sen through his Twitter account said that "it is completely in a personal capacity- nothing to do with the esteemed jury board", Jindal stated further.

The statement of Sudipito Sen shows that no such statement has been approved or discussed upon Kashmir Files between jury members at IFFI but Nadav must have some hidden agenda in his mind against Hindu Community which came out during his closing speech in IFFI, it added.

Indian film director Sudipto Sen, who was part of the international film jury, distanced himself and other members from Lapid's statement.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has said he feels some changes in himself during the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra, including more patience and the ability to listen to others.

Gandhi arrived in Indore district of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday after covering a distance of more than 2,000 km as part of his ambitious foot march, a mass contact initiative which he started on September 7 from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu.

Asked about his most satisfying moment during the yatra, Gandhi told reporters on Monday, "There are many, but I instantly recall a few interesting ones, including that my patience has dramatically increased because of the yatra."

"Secondly, now I don't get irritated even for eight hours, if someone pushes or pulls me. It doesn't affect me, whereas earlier I used to get irritated even in two hours," he said.

"If you are walking in the yatra and experience pain, then you have to face it, you can't just give up," the former Congress president said.

He said thirdly, his ability to listen to others has also become better now.

"Like if someone comes to me, I listen more to him. I feel all these things are quite beneficial for me," he said.

Gandhi also said when he started the foot march, he felt a pain in his knees because of an old injury which was cured earlier.

There was a lot of discomfort because of it, he said, adding there was a fear whether he would be able to walk or not in such a condition.

"But, gradually I faced that fear as I had to walk, there was no question about it. Such moments are always good that something is disturbing you and you got adapt to it," he said.

Recalling an experience during the foot march in one of the southern states, Gandhi said when he got disturbed because of the pain as people kept pushing him, a little girl came and started walking in the yatra.

"She came to me and handed over a letter. She was probably six-seven years' old. When she left, I read the letter which said 'don't think you are walking alone, I am walking with you. I am unable to walk as my parents are not allowing me to do so, but I am walking with you'."

Gandhi appreciated the girl's gesture.

"Like this, I can share thousands of examples, but this came to my mind first," he added. -- PTI

The debate over The Kashmir Files will strengthen relations between India and Israel, Israel's Consul General to Midwest India Kobbi Shoshani said on Tuesday while distancing himself and the state from filmmaker Nadav Lapid's remarks on the film.

Shoshani, who shared the dais with actor Anupam Kher at a press conference in Mumbai, said the The Kashmir Files is not propaganda but a "strong movie" that gives place to sufferings of the people of Kashmir.

"The first person I called in the morning was Anupam Kher, my friend, just to apologise. Apologise about a speech that was a private opinion. (Lapid's remarks) have nothing to do with the state of Israel, officially and unofficially," Shoshani told reporters.

On Monday evening, he put out a Twitter post saying he shared a different opinion than Lapid on the film and had told him so after the comments at the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of India in Goa.

Lapid, viewed as an anti-establishment filmmaker, had described The Kashmir Files as "propaganda movie" and "vulgar" on Monday night. He was chairperson of the international competition jury at IFFI.

Written and directed by Agnihotri and produced by Zee Studios, The Kashmir Files portrays the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir following the killings of people from the community by Pakistan-backed terrorists. The much discussed film, which polarised opinions following its March 11 release, is one of the most successful Hindi films of the year. -- PTI

14:13 Aaftab Poonawala's narco test on December 1

A court Delhi on Tuesday allowed Delhi Police to conduct a narco test on Aaftab Amin Poonawala at the forensic science laboratory in Rohini, Poonawala's counsel said.

Abinash Kumar, Poonawala's counsel, said that the police had filed an application for taking Poonawala to FSL, Rohini, on December 1 and December 5, which was allowed by the court.

Poonawala, 28, is accused of strangling his live-in partner, Shradha Walkar, and sawing her body into 35 pieces.

He allegedly kept her body parts in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his house in South Delhi's Mehrauli, before dumping them across the city over several days in the dark of night. -- PTI

The Congress on Tuesday attacked the government over Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid's criticism of The Kashmir Files at International Film Festival of India (IFFI), calling it an "embarrassment" and saying that hate eventually gets called out.

The attack by the Opposition party leaders came after Lapid, the jury head of the 53rd IFFI, on Monday described the Hindi film as "propaganda" and "vulgar".

"PM Modi, his govt, BJP, the RW ecosystem feverishly promoted The Kashmir Files A movie rejected by International Film Festival Of India. Jury Head Nadav Lapid called it 'propaganda, vulgar movie - inappropriate for the film festival'," Congress spokesperson and head of the party's social media department Supriya Srinate said.

"Hate gets called out, eventually," Srinate said in a tweet late Monday night.

In a tweet on Tuesday, another Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed said, "International Film Festival Of India Jury President Nadav Lapid calls The Kashmir Files vulgar propaganda. In a bid to polarise the people of India, the BJP govt went all out in promoting the movie, resulting in a huge embarrassment for India on the international scale!"

In his speech at the closing ceremony of IFFI 2022, Lapid said he was "disturbed and shocked" to see the film being screened at the film festival.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday backed Nadav Lapid, International Film Festival of India (IFFI) jury head over his critisim of the film 'The Kashmir Files'.

"It's true about Kashmir Files. There was propaganda by one party against another," Raut told ANI and alleged 'maximum number of killings in Kashmir occurred after this film'.

"A party and goverment was busy with publicity... but maximum number of killings in Kashmir occurred after this film. Kashmir Pandits, security personnel were killed," he added referring to the spate of murders in the Valley - largely targeting civilians and migrant workers - that began last year.

He also demanded to know why a 'Kashmir Files 2.0' was not made.

"Where were these Kashmir Files people then? The children of Kashmiri Pandits were also agitating, where were they then? Nobody came forward then, nor were there plans for a Kashmir Files 2.0 - make that too," he said.

In a jibe against people leaving his side and joining the ruling party, senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has said that after the declaration of the results of the Rampur assembly bypolls 'Abdul' will mop up the floor for the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"Abdul (Muslim section) will no longer spread the carpet and left my side. I had spread the red carpet for him when he had come. After December 8, Abdul will mop up the floor at their (BJP's) place," Azam Khan said while addressing an election meeting in the Nalapar area of Rampur assembly constituency on Monday night without taking names.

"All the contractors and the rich could not give an account of their property and so they all left. All those who were traitors have left and now only loyalists are left," he continued.

Recently, people close to Khan, including his media in-charge, Fasahat Ali Khan, alias Shanu joined BJP on Monday with his supporters.

Rampur assembly seat has fallen vacant due to the disqualification of Azam after being sentenced to three years imprisonment in a hate speech case.

Voting will be held on December 5 and the result will be declared on December 8.

Samajwadi Party has nominated Azam's confidant Asim Raja while BJP has fielded Akash Saxena.

Targeting people belonging to the Qureshi community being seen on BJP's forums, the former minister alleged, "Those who have 50-50 cases of cow slaughter pending against them are sitting on the BJP's platform today. Where has BJP's love for cows gone?"

Khan also expressed his displeasure at the crowd present and said "What I have not done for you people, but you cheated by defeating our candidate Asim Raja in the Lok Sabha by-election."

The bypoll for Lok Sabha was held earlier this year after Azam had resigned following his election to the state assembly.

"Rampur is going through the worst phase of politics at the moment and is standing at such a point where one mistake of yours will destroy my 50 years of hard work. On December 5, you will have two paths before you. First, elect Asim Raja by giving your vote and choose the path of progress and prosperity or defeat him and get drowned in darkness.

He also cautioned the voters not to get misled, stressing that "A huge conspiracy is going on. You don't know the outcome." -- PTI

The campaigning for the first phase of elections in 89 out of the total 182 seats in Gujarat will end on Tuesday.

Elections for the first phase will be held on December 1.

Voting for the remaining 93 seats will be held on December 5.

Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda and Union minister Smriti Irani will on Tuesday campaign in Bhavnagar and Gandhidham (Kutch district), respectively, for the BJP candidates contesting in the first phase.

Among notable candidates in the first phase is Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) chief ministerial face Isudan Gadhvi, who is contesting from Khambhalia seat in Devbhumi Dwarka district.

Former Gujarat minister Parshottam Solanki, six-time MLA Kunwarji Bavaliya, Morbi 'hero' Kantilal Amrutiya, Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja's wife Rivaba and Gujarat AAP president Gopal Italia are also among the prominent candidates in the fray for the first phase of the state Assembly elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Nadda and other BJP leaders have already held rallies to garner support for their party nominees contesting in the first phase.

AAP's national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has also extensively campaigned for his party candidates and made a slew of promises to the people of Gujarat, if his party is voted to power in the state, governed by the BJP for last 27 years.

From the Congress, its president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot have been among the prominent campaigners for their party nominees.

On Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will also campaign in the state for the BJP candidates contesting in the second phase of polls on December 5. -- PTI

12:30 Insult to horror faced by KPs: BJP on IFFI row

Bharatiya Janata Party's Amit Malviya on Tuesday compared Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid's condemnation of The Kashmir Files to the denial of Holocaust, the killing of millions of Jews by Hitler's regime.

The party's IT department head said, "For the longest time, people even denied the Holocaust and called Schindler's List a propaganda, just like some are doing to Kashmir Files. Truth eventually triumphs, no matter what."

He noted that the Israeli ambassador has responded to Lapid's criticism of The Kashmir Files, a movie that highlights the violence and sufferings inflicted on Kashmiri Pandits after militancy erupted in the Valley.

BJP's Goa spokesperson Savio Rodrigues also slammed the comments of Nadav Lapid, claiming it was an insult to the "horrors faced by Kashmiri Hindus".

At the closing ceremony of the IFFI on Monday night in Goa, Israeli filmmaker Lapid termed The Kashmir Files as a "propaganda movie" and "vulgar". He had served as the jury head of the film gala.

In his speech, Lapid had said he was "disturbed and shocked" to see the film being screened at the festival.

Reacting to it, Rodrigues in a media statement issued in Goa said, "The statement made by filmmaker and IFFI jury head Nadav Lapid over The Kashmir Files is an insult to the horrors faced by Kashmir Hindus (in the past)."

"You can critique a film artistically but to term the truth about the brutality faced by the Kashmiri Pandits propaganda is shameful," he said.

The BJP leader said he disagrees with Lapid's views on The Kashmir Files.

"Having watched it twice, I did not find it to be 'vulgar or a propaganda'. It merely stated a brutal truth about a brutality that happened to the Kashmiri Pandits," Rodrigues said.

He also offered to get Lapid interact with Kashmiri Hindus.

"Israeli filmmaker Lapid must be ignorant about the truth of the horrors that happened in Kashmir," the BJP leader said.

General Asim Munir, Pakistan's former spymaster, on Tuesday assumed charge as the country's new Army chief, replacing Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa who retired after two consecutive three-year terms.

Munir assumed charge during an impressive ceremony at the General Headquarters (GHQ), becoming the 17th Chief of the Army Staff.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on November 24 nominated Munir to the most powerful position in the coup-prone country, where the military wields considerable power in matters of security and foreign policy.

He is the first Army chief who has headed both powerful intelligence agencies - the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Military Intelligence (MI). His stint as the spy chief at the ISI was the shortest ever as he was replaced by Lt Gen Faiz Hamid within eight months on the insistence of then-Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2019.

The powerful Army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 75-plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in matters of security and foreign policy. -- PTI

12:13 24 Indian fishermen arrested by Sri Lanka Navy

The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested 24 Indian fishermen and seized their five trawlers for allegedly poaching in the country's territorial waters, an official statement said on Tuesday.

The fishermen were arrested on Monday evening in a joint operation by the Navy and the Sri Lanka Coast Guard off the coast of Karainagar in the northern Jaffna peninsula, the statement said.

They were later brought to the Kankesanthurai harbour and handed over to the fishing inspectorate for further action, the Navy added.

The Navy said that a total of 252 Indian fishermen have been arrested so far this year for poaching in Sri Lankan waters.

The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka, with the Lankan Navy personnel even firing at Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait and seizing their boats in several alleged incidents of illegally entering Sri Lankan's territorial waters.

The Palk Strait, which is a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both countries.

There have been periodic instances of Indian fishermen being apprehended by Sri Lankan authorities for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line and fishing in Sri Lankan waters.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday apprised the Centre and sought action to secure the release of fishers and their boats from the neighbouring country.

Writing to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Stalin said: "In this year alone, 221 Tamil Nadu fishermen were apprehended by Sri Lankan Navy.

"The repeated instances of arrests by the Sri Lankan navy are causing severe stress and anguish among the fishermen community in Tamil Nadu who are solely dependent on fishing. The fragile coastal economy is facing a crisis and it needs our support," he said.

As of now, 105 fishing boats of Tamil Nadu are under Sri Lankan custody. The fishermen, apprehended in previous instances, were released by Lanka due to continuous efforts of the government, Stalin said.

However, their fishing boats still remained under Sri Lankan custody. "I, therefore, request you to take necessary diplomatic initiatives to restrain the Sri Lankan Navy from apprehending our fishermen and also enable the early release of all the fishermen and their fishing boats now under Sri Lankan custody," the Chief Minister urged the External Affairs Minister. -- PTI

India logged 215 new coronavirus infections, the lowest since April 2020, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,46,72,068, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

The active cases further declined to 4,982, while the death toll climbed to 5,30,615 with one fatality being reported from Delhi, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the ministry.

A decrease of 141 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,36,471, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.

According to the ministry's website, 219.91 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. -- PTI

Security has been beefed up outside the Forensic Science Laboratory in Rohini where Aaftab Amin Poonawala, accused of killing his live-in partner, was allegedly attacked by some weapon-wielding people, officials said on Tuesday.

Poonawala was attacked on Monday by some people outside the laboratory where he was taken for a polygraph test.

A senior police officer said that security has been increased in view of Monday's incident. The paramilitary force has also been deployed outside the laboratory.

On Tuesday, Poonawala again reached the laboratory for the remaining session of the polygraph test.

A car stopped the police van on Monday after overtaking it. A few people came out of the car and started attacking the vehicle carrying Poonawala.

The van was driven out of the spot while two attackers were detained, the police said, adding the incident took place around 6.45 pm.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) G S Sidhu said, "Two persons have been detained for questioning."

The two detained have been identified as Kuldeep and Nigam, police said.

A case has been registered at the Prashant Vihar Police Station in connection with the incident, police said, adding that the two detained have been sent to judicial custody.

Poonawala allegedly strangled Shraddha Walkar and cut her body into 35 pieces which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in Mehrauli in south Delhi, before dumping them across the city over several days.

Lieutenant General Faiz Hamid, the former ISI chief and one of the top military officers of Pakistan, has opted to seek an early retirement, days after he was shortlisted but not appointed as the Army chief, according to media reports on Tuesday.

Gen Hamid was one of the six senior-most generals shortlisted by the General Headquarters for the post of the Chief of Army Staff.

The list was sent to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for approval last week.

Bahawalpur Corps Commander Lieutenant-General Hamid has decided to seek an early retirement days after he was not selected as the Army chief of the country, the Dawn newspaper reported quoting its sister media outlet DawnNews TV.

Gen Asim Munir, a former ISI chief was appointed as the Chief of Army Staff by the Pakistan government on Thursday, ending intense speculation on the high-profile and sensitive post.

The report said that Gen Hamid has sent his resignation to the high command. The authorities have already accepted his resignation ahead of the new postings, expected to take place after Chief of Army Staff Gen Munir takes charge on Tuesday, it said.

There was no official confirmation from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistan Army's media wing, on the development, but the reports seem credible as neither the ISPR nor Gen Hamid himself has come out with a denial.

Geo News also reported his resignation quoting "family sources.

It also reported that Lt Gen Azhar Abbas had opted for early retirement, quoting his brother.

He was working as the Chief of General Staff at the GHQ. Both officers were among the six senior-most generals shortlisted for the post of the Chief of Army Staff.

Before assuming charge as Bahawalpur corps commander, Gen Hamid had worked in the same position in Peshawar.

He had been criticised by PML-N supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz for allegedly having a role in their convictions and for backing the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf administration led by its chairman and ousted premier Imran Khan.

It is also alleged that former premier Khan wanted to appoint him as the army chief but Khan denied having any such inclination.

A day after Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid termed his film a "propaganda", The Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri in a cryptic social media post said truth is the most dangerous thing as it can make people lie.

Agnihotri's reaction comes after veteran actor Anupam Kher, who starred in The Kashmir Files, on Tuesday said truth will always trump falsehood.

Lapid had termed The Kashmir Files as "propaganda movie" and "vulgar" at the closing ceremony of the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on Monday night in Goa. He had served as the chairperson of the international competition jury at the IFFI.

"GM. Truth is the most dangerous thing. It can make people lie. #CreativeConsciousness," Agnihotri wrote on Twitter.

Written and directed by Agnihotri and produced by Zee Studios, The Kashmir Files depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir following the killings of people from the community by Pakistan-backed terrorists.

Following its March 11 release, the film was called out for its problematic politics by a section of critics and authors, but it performed exceptionally well at the box office by minting over Rs 330 crore.

The movie had also sparked a debate among political parties after several BJP-ruled states, including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, gave it exemption from entertainment tax.

Kher too took to Twitter to share a series of stills from legendary American filmmaker Steven Spielberg's acclaimed Holocaust drama Schindler's List along with a picture from The Kashmir Files.

Schindler's List is the 1993 film which revolved around Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who saved more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories during World War II.

"No matter how big the lie is, it's always smaller than the truth in comparison," the actor, who had attended the special screening of the film at the 53rd IFFI on November 22, wrote.

Also starring Darshan Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi, the film was showcased as part of the Indian Panorama Section at the IFFI.

Mumbai has reported 11 fresh measles cases and one suspected death amid the outbreak of the viral infection in the city, a civic official said.

With the latest cases, the infection tally in the metropolis so far this year has gone up to 303. The number of confirmed deaths from measles stands at eight and the suspected fatalities are three, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official said on Monday.

The civic body in a statement said Mumbai will inoculate 1,34,833 children in the age group of nine months to five years. They will receive the additional dose (special dose) in 33 health posts from December 1.

"A total of 3,496 children in the age group of six to nine months in 13 health posts, where measles cases in the age group of less than nine months have been reported, will also be given an additional dose of Measles-Rubella vaccine," the statement said.

The BMC has surveyed 53,66,144 houses so far and 4,062 cases of fever with rash have been found, it said.

One death reported on Monday was of an unimmunised one-year-old girl residing in Andheri in the western part of the city, the statement said.

"It was a known case of congenital heart disease (ventricular septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus) and until two weeks back, the patient was admitted at a private hospital for treatment of the condition. She was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of Kasturba Hospital here on Saturday with fever, rash and difficulty in breathing," the civic body said.

Her condition deteriorated and she passed away at 1.30pm, with the cause of death being cited as acute respiratory failure, measles with bronchopneumonia in a case of ventricular septal defect with patent ductus arteriosus, the civic statement said. -- PTI

Veteran actor Anupam Kher on Tuesday said it is "shameful" on the part of IFFI (International Film Festival of India) jury head Nadav Lapid to term his film The Kashmir Files as "propaganda" and "vulgar" at the festival's closing ceremony.

Duiring the closing ceremony of the IFFI on On November 28 Lapid, termed The Kashmir Files a "propaganda, vulgar film", adding that he was "shocked" to see the film in the competition section of such a prestigious film festival.

"If the holocaust was right then the exodus of Kashmiri pandits is also right. This seems pre-planned because immediately after it the tool-kit gang became active. It's shameful for him to make a statement like this even though he comes from a community of Jews who suffered from the holocaust," Kher told ANI.

"So by making a statement like this, he has also pained those people who suffered this tragedy. I would just say may god give him wisdom so that he doesn't use the tragedy of thousands of people to fulfill his aim on stage," he added.

Released earlier this year, the 'The Kashmir Files' was listed in the line-up for IFFI's Indian Panorama segment for the year 2022.

The film is based on the life of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990, during the Kashmir insurgency.

The Border Security Force has shot down a drone that sneaked into the Indian side from Pakistan in Punjab's Amritsar district, officials said on Tuesday.

The BSF personnel fired at the drone on Monday night after they noticed it entering the Indian territory near Chaharpur village, around 40 km north of Amritsar city, they said.

During the search operation, the BSF recovered a partially-damaged hexacopter, an unmanned aerial vehicle with six rotors. A suspected item in a white-colour polythene was also attached underneath it, according to the officials.

The drone is suspected to be carrying a drugs payload and its contents are being ascertained, an officer said.

"Alert troops of BSF once again were able to capture a drone and foil smuggling attempt," a spokesperson for the force said.

On November 25, the BSF troops had also shot down a Pakistani drone near the international border in Amritsar. -- PTI

Israeli envoy Naor Gilon with I&B minister Anurag Thakur

09:18 You should be ashamed: Israeli envoy to IFFI jury head

Israel ambassador to India Naor Gilon on Tuesday slammed his fellow countryman and filmmaker Nadav Lapid for calling 'The Kashmir Files' "propaganda" and "vulgar" at the 53rd International Film Festival of India.

Gilon said that Lapid, who was the jury head at the IFFI 2022, should be ashamed of his remark on Kashmir Files as it is "insensitive and presumptuous to speak about historic events before deeply studying them and which are an open wound in India."

In a series of tweets, the Israeli envoy said he was "extremely hurt to see reactions in India to you that are doubting Schindler's List, the Holocaust and worse."

"I unequivocally condemn such statements. There is no justification. It does show the sensitivity of the Kashmir issue here," he said.

"In Indian culture they say that a guest is like God. You have abused in the worst way the Indian invitation to chair the panel of judges at @IFFIGoa as well as the trust, respect and warm hospitality they have bestowed on you." he added.

The Kashmir Files, which was released in theatres on March 11, was part of the Indian Panorama Section at IFFI and was screened on November 22.

Lapid criticised the entry saying the jury was "disturbed and shocked" by the film and deemed it "inappropriate for an artistic competitive section of such a prestigious film festival."

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reiterated the UK's commitment to a Free Trade Agreement with India as part of the country's wider focus on enhancing ties with the Indo-Pacific region.

Delivering a talk Monday night at the Lord Mayor of London's Banquet -- his first major foreign policy speech since taking charge at 10 Downing Street last month -- the British-Indian leader reflected upon his heritage and committed to promoting British values of "freedom and openness" around the world.

He also pledged to "do things differently" when it came to China, which he said poses a "systemic challenge" to British values and interests.

"Before I came into politics, I invested in businesses around the world. And the opportunity in the Indo-Pacific is compelling," said Sunak.

"By 2050, the Indo-Pacific will deliver over half of global growth compared with just a quarter from Europe and North America combined. That's why we're joining the Trans-Pacific trade deal, the CPTPP, delivering a new FTA with India and pursuing one with Indonesia," he said.

"Like many others, my grandparents came to the UK, via East Africa and the Indian subcontinent and made their lives here. In recent years, we've welcomed thousands of people from Hong Kong, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. We're a country that stands up for our values, that defends democracy by actions not just words," he noted.

On China, Sunak said he wants to "evolve" the UK's approach as he distanced his government from a slogan used by the previous Conservative Party led government to describe UK-China bilateral relations just over seven years ago.

"Let's be clear, the so-called golden era' is over, along with the naļve idea that trade would lead to social and political reform. But nor should we rely on simplistic Cold War rhetoric. We recognise China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interests, a challenge that grows more acute as it moves towards even greater authoritarianism," he cautioned.

The 42-year-old former chancellor admitted that the UK cannot simply ignore China's "significance" in world affairs, something he pointed out that other leading economies such as the US, Canada, Australia and Japan also acknowledge.

"So together we'll manage this sharpening competition, including with diplomacy and engagement. Much of this is about dramatically improving our resilience, particularly our economic security," said Sunak.

Reiterating his pro-Brexit vision, Sunak ruled out any alignment with European Union (EU) law in favour of cooperation on shared issues such as illegal migration. He also committed the UK to standing by Ukraine in its conflict with Russia as part of Europe's "collective resolve" to protect democratic values.

"After years of pushing at the boundaries, Russia is challenging the fundamental principles of the UN Charter. China is consciously competing for global influence using all the levers of state power. In the face of these challenges, short-termism or wishful thinking will not suffice. We can't depend on Cold War arguments or approaches, or mere sentimentality about the past. So, we will make an evolutionary leap in our approach," he declared.

Sunak confirmed that further detail on the UK's foreign policy outlook will be laid out in an updated Integrated Review' in the new year, which will also cover closer collaboration with the Commonwealth.

"Under my leadership, we won't choose the status quo. We will do things differently. We will evolve, anchored always by our enduring belief in freedom, openness and the rule of law and confident that in this moment of challenge and competition our interests will be protected and our values will prevail, he concluded.

The Lord Mayor's Banquet at Guildhall in the financial heart of London is an annual event where the UK prime minister addresses business leaders, international dignitaries and foreign policy experts on the subject of foreign policy. -- PTI

Anupam Kher in 'The Kashmir Files'

08:22 Anupam Kher reacts to IFFI jury head who called Kashmir Files 'vulgar'

Actor Anupam Kher, who played a key role in The Kashmir Files took a swipe at IFFI jury head Nadav Lapid for calling the film "propaganda, vulgar" at the festival's closing ceremony on Monday.

Referring to Lapid's remarks, Anupam Kher tweeted, "No matter how high the height of the lie is.. It is always small in comparison to the truth."

Meanwhile, Ashoke Pandit also slammed Lapid's remarks.

"I take strong objection to the language used by Mr. Nadav Lapid for #kashmirFiles. Depicting the genocide of 3 lakh #KashmiriHindus cannot be called vulgar. I as a filmmaker & a #KashmiriPandit condemn this shameless act of abuse towards victims of terrorism," Pandit tweeted.

In his speech at the closing ceremony of IFFI 2022, Lapid said he was "disturbed and shocked" to see the film being screened at the film festival.

"All of us were disturbed and shocked by the movie The Kashmir Files. It felt to us like a propaganda and vulgar movie that was inappropriate for an artistic and competitive section of such a prestigious film festival.

"I feel comfortable to openly share this feeling with you since the spirit of the festival can truly accept critical discussion which is essential for art and life", Lapid said.

The Kashmir Files, which was released in theatres on March 11, was part of the Indian Panorama Section at IFFI and was screened on November 22.

Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by Zee Studios, the film depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir following the killings of people from the community by Pakistan-backed terrorists.

Representational image

00:55 Jammu's biggest warehouse to issue bills in Sanskrit

In a bid to popularise Sanskrit language, a traders' body in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday announced to issue bills of products in the city's biggest warehouse in the ancient language.

The body will also inaugurate a "Sanskrit market" in the biggest and oldest grain mandi of the Union territory.

"Sanskrit market will be inaugurated in the biggest and oldest grain mandi of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday," Deepak Gupta, president, Jammu Traders Federation said.

He said on this day, commodities will be sold in the warehouse (Nehru Market) in Sanskrit and the bills will also be issued in that language.

Gupta said such a step has been taken as part of the birth centenary celebrations of Dr Uttamchand Shastri Pathak, who was a known scholar of Devvani Sanskrit.

Professor Madan Mohan Jha, director, Kendriya Sanskrit University said from November 30, Sanskrit classes will be held for traders and their staff at the warehouse from 4 to 5 pm.

Mahant Rohit Shastri, president, Shri Kailakh Jyotish and Vedic Institute Trust, said a mobile Gurukul will be started soon to teach the rich language to the entire Jammu and Kashmir. -- PTI

Representational image

00:25 Pak forces gun down TTP commander, 10 terrorists

A high-valued Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan commander was killed along with ten other terrorists in a fierce gun battle during an encounter in northwest Pakistan on Monday, security sources said.

TTP commander Tipu and ten others were killed in the shootout between Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan terrorists and security forces in the restive Lakki Marwat district bordering South Waziristan tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the source said.

The security forces have also reportedly suffered some casualties in the fierce gun battle, but this could not be confirmed until the filing of this report, the source added.

The TTP fighters pouring in from the Afghan border were trapped by the security forces which resulted in the shootout.

The terrorists were reportedly fully armed with US Night Vision Devices equipment and heavy arms.

According to independent reports, the TTP, which demands the rule of Sharia across Pakistan, has announced the end of the ceasefire agreement with the Pakistan government. -- PTI

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