Month: April 2022

On the instructions of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the district administration in Khargone and police demolished illegal buildings of miscreants involved in the attack on a Ram Navami procession.

The authorities ran the bulldozer over about 45 houses and shops. Around 16 houses and 29 shops were demolished on Monday.

Pawan Sharma, Divisional Commissioner of Indore said, “Khargone administration has decided to demolish the properties of stone pelters during the Ram Navami procession. Police have brought the situation under control. 84 accused have been arrested. Curfew has been imposed in Khargone.”

As many as four houses and three shops near Mohan Talkies, 12 houses and 10 shops in Khaskhas Badi area, three shops in Aurangpura area and 12 shops in Talaab Chowk were demolished. Approximately 16 illegal sites were demolished near Ganesh Temple in Khargone.

The incident took place on Sunday when several people, including police personnel, were injured in a Ram Navami procession after a group of people pelted stones at each other. The stone-pelting started at the very beginning of the procession leaving around four people injured including a police inspector, police said.

After the miscreants set four houses on fire, the administration imposed a curfew in Talab Chowk, Gaushala Marg, and Motipura areas.

Chief Minister Chouhan condemned the act and termed it “unfortunate”. He said that the damages caused to public and private assets will be recovered from rioters.(ANI)

United States President Joe Biden on Monday held a virtual meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he is looking forward to meeting him during Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) summit in Japan on May 24.

“It’s always good to see you. I am looking forward to seeing you in Japan on 24th May (Quad summit),” Biden said.
The meeting was held ahead of the 2+2 dialogue between the two countries.

Biden said the US and India share a strong and growing “major defence partnership”.”We take the same concerns about the global challenges we face for COVID-19, advancing health security and tracking the climate crisis and we share a strong and growing major defence partnership,” Biden said.

The US President also referred to the Ukraine conflict and said India and US will continue close consultation on how to manage the destabilising effects of “Russian war”.

“I want to welcome India’s humanitarian support for the people of Ukraine, who are suffering a horrific assault, including a tragic shelling in a train station last week that killed dozens of innocent children and women and civilians attempting to flee the violence,” Biden said.”

The United States and India are going to continue our close consultation on how to manage the destabilizing effects of this Russian war,” he added.

He said at the root of the bilateral partnership is a deep connection between “our people, ties of the family of friendship and of shared values”.

A virtual summit of Quad leaders was held in March amid Russia’s military action in Ukraine.

Quad Leaders – Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, and President Joe Biden of the United States took part in the summit. (ANI)

American multinational tech conglomerate Apple will now be manufacturing the iPhone 13 locally in India at a Foxconn plant near Chennai.

According to GSM Arena, this news comes after earlier reports already confirmed that the Cupertino based company had started trial production of the iPhone 13 in India back in December.

Older models like the iPhone 12, iPhone 11 and iPhone SE (2020) are also manufactured in India and Apple is estimated to make 70 per cent of the phones it sells in India locally.

Reports had previously suggested that iPhone 13 Pro series is next in line to be manufactured in India.

Smartphone manufacturers prefer to assemble their devices in India as they get the incentive of saving up on import duties which include a 20 per cent import tax.

As per GSM Arena, in the near future, Apple is rumoured to move up 20 per cent of its iPhone production from China to India.

The iPhone 13 was announced on September 14 with a handful of new features including a lightning-fast A15 Bionic chip, advanced camera systems, great battery life, impressive durability, and 5G. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the newly elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif and said that India wishes for peace and stability so that both the countries can work towards mutual development challenges.

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi wrote, “Congratulations to H. E. Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on his election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. India desires peace and stability in a region free of terror, so that we can focus on our development challenges and ensure the well-being and prosperity of our people.”

Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif took oath as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan on Monday evening hours after being elected by the National Assembly of the country.

Prime Minister-elect Shehbaz Sharif was administered the oath by the Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani after President Arif Alvi fell ill.

Shehbaz Sharif, President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and former leader of the Opposition, was elected the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan by the National Assembly of the country earlier today.

“Mian Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif has secured 174 votes,” announced PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq, who was chairing the session after the resignation of Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri ahead of the vote. (ANI)

About 20 to 30 protestors from All India Students Association (AISA) were detained by Delhi Police in the Ashoka Road area on Monday. They had come to protest in front of the Delhi Police headquarters (PHQ) against the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) violence on Sunday.

Protestors were detained near Sardar Patel Bhawan when they were heading toward Police Headquarters. They were taken in two buses to different police stations in New Delhi. According to protesters, ABVP members who were involved in the attack should be behind bars. “We are here to save secularism. In JNU, students have the right to religious freedom but yesterday’s incident shocked us all. All ABVP members should be arrested, ” protestors claimed.
The police said they have not given any permission to protest and since the morning, they had deployed forces including Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), CRPF in front of PHQ to ensure no untoward incident takes place.

On Sunday night, a scuffle between two student groups was reported at JNU allegedly over serving of non-veg food during Ram Navami. The police on Monday registered a case under sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint),509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of IPC. (ANI)

Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and former leader of Opposition, was elected the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan by the National Assembly of the country on Monday.

“Mian Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif has secured 174 votes,” announced PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq, who was chairing the session after the resignation of Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri ahead of the vote.
Ahead of the voting, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) legislators resigned en masse from the National Assembly and walked out of the National Assembly after a speech by former Foreign Minister and PTI candidate for prime ministerial post, Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Earlier, former Prime Minister Imran Khan had resigned from the membership of the House after holding a meeting with his parliamentary party delegation.

The younger brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was set to grab the top post after former Prime Minister Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was ousted from power following the no-confidence motion against the regime.

The voting on the no-confidence motion had resulted in the Imran Khan-led government losing with 174 votes in favour of the no-confidence motion.

Sharif’s candidature as the Opposition’s choice for the Prime Ministership was revealed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari during a joint press conference of the opposition parties on March 30.

He was elected as the Prime Minister in the same National Assembly session which saw the ouster of Imran Khan, in accordance with the order of the Pakistan Supreme Court.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court in a historic judgement on Thursday had called for the convening of the session of the National Assembly “not later than 10:30 AM on Saturday” after setting aside the April 3 ruling of the Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri against the no-confidence motion on “Constitutional grounds”.

Declaring the ruling of the Deputy Speaker “to be contrary to the Constitution and the law and of no legal effect”, the Court set aside all the subsequent steps taken, including the dissolution of the National Assembly, while also restoring Prime Minister Imran Khan and all the Federal Ministers to their respective positions as of April 3.

The court also fixed the Saturday session with the conditions that the session cannot be prorogued unless the motion is voted upon, and in case Imran Khan loses the no-trust vote, the next PM had to be elected in the same session.

Shehbaz Sharif, born in an industrialist family in Lahore in 1950, is the younger brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has served for three terms. Shehbaz Sharif has been the Chief Minister of the crucial Punjab province of Pakistan for three terms.

Having made a reputation as an administrator, Shehbaz Sharif had staked claims for the Prime Minister’s chair in August 2018. But the decision of the Bilawal Bhutto-led PPP to abstain from the PM vote in the last hour paved the way for the comfortable election of PTI’s Imran Khan as the Prime Minister. Shehbaz Sharif had then settled as the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly.

A graduate of the Government College University, Lahore, Shehbaz Sharif initially joined his family’s steel business, while also becoming the president of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industries in 1985.

The political fortunes of the Sharif family rose considerably in the 1980s under the dictatorship of Zia-ul-Haq, with elder brother Nawaz Sharif inducted into the Punjab Provincial Cabinet as Finance Minister in 1983.

Shehbaz Sharif entered the Punjab Provincial Assembly in 1988 while he was elected to the National Assembly in 1990. In 1993, he again stood for a Provincial Assembly seat and became leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly.

He became the Chief Minister of Punjab for the first time after the 1997 elections. However, his term was cut short by Pervez Musharraf’s military coup of 1999 after which he became the CM of the Punjab province again in 2008, returning from almost a decade long political exile.

Shehbaz Sharif was elected unopposed as the President of PML-N in February 2018 following his elder brother, and then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification from holding key positions after being implicated in the ‘Panama Papers’.

Like his elder brother, Shehbaz Sharif also faces serious corruption charges. In December 2019, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) froze 23 properties belonging to Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Hamza, accusing them of money laundering.

He was arrested by the NAB in the same case in September 2020 and incarcerated pending trial. In April 2021, the Lahore High Court released him on bail in the money laundering case.

The factors favouring the younger Sharif, however, include the Opposition unity against Imran Khan’s ‘vindictive politics’ as well as the tactic support of the military establishment, which seems to be keen to unseat Imran Khan from power, especially after his recent vitriolic comments against the US, including raising the foreign conspiracy charge.

With the Sharif family back in power in Pakistan amid the fast-deteriorating economic situation and political instability, it is to be seen if Shehbaz Sharif infuses fresh energy into the system, or the much-tainted family continues to resort to its old ways. (ANI)

With only a few days left for Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt’s speculated marriage, preparations for the upcoming festivities seem to be in full swing as the groom’s wedding outfit arrived on Monday at his residence.

A car was spotted today at Ranbir’s house in Mumbai and it was loaded with Sabyasachi outfits apparently for the bride and groom.

It had previously been reported that for her special day, Alia would be donning a Sabyasachi lehenga and this latest development seems to have only fuelled that speculation.

Sources suggest that Ranbir and Alia’s wedding will be a 4-day-long affair at the RK house. The functions will start from April 13 onwards with the Mehendi ceremony followed by a sangeet ceremony on the next day and finally the wedding on April 15.

They had fallen in love with each other on the sets of their upcoming film ‘Brahmastra’. The two made their first appearance as a couple at Sonam Kapoor’s wedding reception in 2018.

Apart from Alia, earlier, in December 2021, Bollywood star Katrina Kaif had chosen a red bridal Sabyasachi lehenga made of handwoven matka silk for her wedding to actor Vicky Kaushal.

Actor Patralekhaa, who tied the knot with ‘Badhaai Do’ star Rajkummar Rao in November 2021, had also dressed in a red lehenga from the ace designer. (ANI)

An Anti-Tank Guided Missile ‘HELINA’ was successfully launched from an indigenously-developed helicopter at high-altitude ranges on Monday, informed the officials.

The flight trials were conducted from an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and the missile was fired successfully engaging a simulated tank target. The missile is one of the most advanced Anti-Tank weapons in the world and was guided by an Infrared Imaging Seeker (IIR) operating in the Lock on Before Launch mode.
The flight test was jointly conducted by the teams of scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Army and Indian Air Force, as part of the user validation trials.

In continuation to validation trials conducted at Pokhran, proof of efficacy at high altitudes paves the way for its integration on ALH. The trials were witnessed by senior Army commanders and senior scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO and the Indian Army for the maiden achievement through joint work.

Secretary of Department of Defence Research and Development (R&D) and Chairman, DRDO, G Satheesh Reddy, congratulated the teams for the commendable job performed in difficult conditions. (ANI)

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Monday issued a warning to the Centre over its paddy procurement policy and said that they would “go after the government” if crops are not “procured uniformly” within the next 24 hours.

The TRS MPs, MLCs, MLAs and other elected representatives are taking part in the “dharna” while raising claims that the “Centre’s policy is discriminatory towards Telangana farmers”.
Addressing the protest, Rao said, “I request Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Piyush Goyal to procure crops uniformly across the country including Telangana. Please buy our food grains. We will wait for the next 24 hours after that we will make a decision and will go after you.”

“I will come back and will discuss the presidential elections and other issues. We will make a decision in the next 2-3 days and then will decide,” he added.

The Chief Minister also warned the Prime Minister against “messing up with the farmers”.

“We have come 2,000 km away from Telangana amid this heat. I warn PM Modi that you can’t mess with farmers. Indian history is a testament that wherever farmers cried, the government loses power. Nobody is permanent…When in power, don’t treat farmers unfairly,” he said.

KCR also hit out at Piyush Goyal and claimed that the latter reacted “harshly” when the state Agriculture Minister had met the Union Minister.

“When our agriculture minister came to Delhi, Piyush Goyal reacted harshly. Goyal asked him to eat broken rice. Piyush Goyal is Piyush Golmaal, I don’t know what he understands,” he said.

Notably, KCR was joined by farmer leader Rakesh Tikait in the protest against the Centre. KCR welcomed his presence and assured him of his state’s support.

“Rajesh Tikait, I want to assure you that the whole of Telangana is with you. Everyone saw the way you protested in Delhi. You also made the Prime Minister apologise,” he said.

Slamming the BJP for the procurement policy, the Chief Minister said that if the government does not frame a new agriculture policy, the public will remove the government.

“Telangana demands its right. I would urge PM to frame a new agriculture policy and we will contribute. If not then the public will remove you and frame a new agriculture policy,” he added. (ANI)