Month: June 2022

Ahead of the release of her film ‘Shamshera’, Vaani Kapoor opened up about her experience working with Ranbir Kapoor in the project.

“I’m also teaming up with one of the best actors of our generation, Ranbir Kapoor in the film. This is the first time that we have been paired together on screen and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that people love our chemistry in the film. Our characters have an amazing graph and I hope people love and root for it,” she shared.

Helmed by Karan Malhotra, ‘Shamshera’, which is set in the fictitious city of Kaza, stars Ranbir in the title role of a slave, who turned into a leader to save his tribe. Sanjay Dutt plays the antagonist, Daroga Shudh Singh, who tortures people.

Vaani also shared her experience working with Sanjay.

“I got an opportunity to work with Sanjay Dutt and I have been a big fan of his over the years. I loved him in Agneepath. You have to wait and watch out for him in Shamshera because he is again going to give us a villain for the ages in Hindi cinema. He is just menacing and cunning and pure evil,” she said.

She added, “Shamshera is a film I will always cherish. It has given me memories that will last a lifetime as an actor. The entire crew has worked incredibly hard to bring this film to life and I hope that people love the effort that everyone has put in.”

‘Shamshera’ is all set to hit the theatres on July 22. (ANI)

The first-ever ‘Loya Jirga’ or grand assembly of religious scholars and elders opened in Kabul on Thursday, Xinhua reported citing the Afghan caretaker government’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid.

Around 3,500 religious scholars and elders from across the country have been invited to attend the three-day jirga, however, women have not been allowed to attend the assembly by the Taliban.
“The Jirga allows people of Afghanistan and even representatives of Iran and Pakistan-based Afghan refugees to attend it,” Xinhua quoted Mujahid, as saying.

Some 70 personalities representing Afghan refugees in Pakistan and about 30 others from refugees living in Iran have participated in the Jirga, he added.

The participants of the jirga are expected to discuss a series of issues, including reopening schools for girls from grade 7th to grade 12th, the type of government, national flag and national anthem.

This is the first nationwide gathering of Islamic clerics in the country, eleven months after the re-establishment of the Taliban in the country. Several clerics and civil rights activists have said that the gathering of Islamic scholars should be ‘inclusive’.

“One of the demands is that the decisions should be taken for the creation of an inclusive government that represents different ethnic groups,” said Sayed Javad Hosseini, a political analyst.

In another statement, Bibi Amri, a university instructor said that the male and female clerics have the vital role to announce awareness of women’s rights through mosques so women can be provided with their rights and called women’s inclusion in the Loya Jirga “important.” The gathering will be meaningless if women were not included, he added.

One of the major demands of the international community is the formation of an inclusive government. Moreover, the recognition of the current Afghan government is linked to upholding human rights and women’s rights in the country.

There will be no television coverage of the event, only radio, local media reported. (ANI)

In a bid to stake claim to form a new government in Maharashtra after Uddhav Thackeray’s resignation on Wednesday evening, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and rebel Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde are likely to meet Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari today, according to sources.

Shinde, who spent Wednesday night in a Goa hotel after returning from Guwahati with his camp, left for Mumbai this afternoon.
“I am going to Mumbai to meet Governor and MLAs are here in Goa only,” Shinde said before leaving for Mumbai.

Earlier today, spokesperson of the Shinde camp Deepak Kesarkar said that Shinde has left for Mumbai today and they have given him full authority to take a decision on the cabinet berth-sharing in the government. He said that they did not revolt for the cabinet berths, but for the development of the state.

“Eknath Shinde has left for Mumbai. He has said that whatever decision will be made, it will be for the development of the state… We have given full authority to Eknath Shinde ji in the matter relating to the cabinet berth sharing. It depends on him how much he asks for, but we are not here for a cabinet berth. Shinde ji has not gone to Mumbai to make a big stake in the cabinet, he has gone for the development of the state,” he said.

Clearing the air around the distribution of portfolios with the BJP, Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde said that there has been no discussion with the latter, but talks will happen soon. The leader also asked people not to believe in the ministerial lists and the rumours surrounding them.

He, however, added that the talks on the same will happen soon.

“There has been no discussion with the BJP about the distribution of ministerial seats which and how many ministerial posts, it will happen soon. Until then, please don’t believe the ministerial lists and rumours about it,” he tweeted.

Earlier, a meeting of the BJP core committee was held at Sagar Bungalow, the residence of former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai to further deliberate on the strategy for the course of action following Uddhav Thackeray’s resignation as the Chief Minister on Wednesday.

Party’s top leaders including in-charge CT Ravi, Chandrakant Patil, Girish Mahajan, Praveen Darekar and others were present in the meeting. Independent MLA Ravi Rana also reached his residence.

On the other hand, Eknath Shinde faction also held a meeting today in Goa today to decide on their future course of action. (ANI)

A French court on Wednesday (local time) found all the defendants in the 2015 Paris terrorist attack case guilty, including Salah Abdeslam, that organized and conducted the attack on the Bataclan theatre in Paris.

In addition to Abdeslam, 19 other men accused of playing critical roles in the country’s worst peacetime attacks were found guilty “of all charges”, reported Euronews.
Only 14 of them have appeared in court, with the other six being tried in absentia.

Abdeslam is the only survivor of the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist team that organized and conducted the attack and was sentenced to life in prison without parole, reported Euronews.

The life sentence without parole is the heaviest under French penal law, and extremely rare, as most of those given life in prison have the right to an appeal after 18 to 22 years, reported Euronews.

Being found guilty of terrorism resulting in death can raise the safety period to 30 years or no parole, however.

Mohamed Abrini was given life in prison with a possibility of parole after 22 years behind bars, with the court stating it established “his allegiance” to the so-called Islamic State.

During the trial, Abrini explained how he was supposed to take part in the attack but ended up backing out.

Mohamed Bakkali, Osama Krayem, Sofien Ayari and Ahmed Dahmani were all sentenced to 30 years in prison, with a minimum of two-thirds served.

Bakkali, who was said to have played a “fundamental role” in the attacks, purchased rifles and hired safe houses and getaway cars, the court said.

He is already serving a 25-year prison term in Belgium for a failed attack on a Thalys train bound to Paris.

Krayem, a Swedish citizen, had spent some time in Syria fighting for the so-called Islamic State. His DNA was found in apartments used by the Paris attackers, and he is believed to have participated in the 2016 Brussels airport attack.

Ayari, a Tunisian national who also travelled to Syria to join IS, was arrested together with Abdeslam in Brussels in March 2016. Together with Krayem, the two are alleged to have been plotting an attack against Amsterdam’s Schipol airport.

Dahmani, who is serving a different sentence in Turkey, provided logistical help to Abdeslam, the court stated.

The rest were given between two and 22 years in prison for a slew of charges ranging from participating in the planning and helping to acquire weapons or make suicide vests to providing logistical support before and after the attacks, reported Euronews.

On November 13, 2015, three suicide bombers struck outside Stade de France in Saint-Denis north of Paris during a busy football game.

In a simultaneous attack, a squad including another suicide bomber began indiscriminately shooting at people at cafes and restaurants in central Paris, and another terrorist group carried out a mass shooting and took hostages at a rock concert attended by some 1,500 people.

The attacks left 130 people killed and 350 others injured. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it was retaliation for French airstrikes on ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq. (ANI)

Asserting that the Indian Ocean Region was an important asset for the country, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Thursday said it was becoming competitive and has a potential for a clash of interests and the country has to be vigilant to protect it.

The NSA, addressing a meeting of the Multiagency Maritime Security Group on policy, emphasized the salience of maritime security in an increasingly complex and challenging landscape and said that defending maritime borders is complex.
During his speech, the NSA appreciated the role played by the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy in strengthening the overall maritime security of the country.

“In national security discourse importance of land and maritime borders are very different. You cannot fence them, put 24×7 vigilance, concept of sovereignty in land borders is territorial and well-defined. Its focus has been less but its importance is much more. Defending our maritime borders is complex, with problems it causes and challenges it brings. But it serves several interests, especially strategic and economic… It is an important trade route globally,” the NSA said.

Calling the Indian ocean a great asset to India, NSA Doval said, “With the cardinal principle of security, our vulnerabilities are directly proportional to our assets. More we develop, more assets we create, more prosperous we get, greater would be vulnerability and greater would be needed for security.”

He said that in the changing geopolitical scenario, the Indian ocean which has been an ocean of peace is gradually becoming competitive. “We see a potential of having a clash of interest, we need to protect it and be vigilant,” he added.

“We have a responsibility towards neighbours be it disaster management or security for them, we have been doing it. We recently had an example of countries coming together when Colombo Security Conclave was held to tackle maritime threats in the Indian Ocean,” the NSA further said.

“The trajectory of this nation is well defined, we know where we are going. And when our time comes, India will not be able to become the power it deserves to be unless it has a very strong maritime system. This is perfect timing for it,” said Doval.

“In the last few years, the Government has given special attention to the maritime domain as enunciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the SAGAR initiative in 2015, the announcement of India’s Indo-Pacific Policy in 2018 as well as growing focus on the blue economy,” he said.

He said that 95 per cent of Indian trade by volume is maritime and routed via 12 major and over 200 non-major ports.

“India is a maritime nation with interests that extend well beyond our maritime zones. 95 per cent of Indian trade by volume is maritime and routed via 12 major and over 200 non-major ports. Over 90 per cent of our hydrocarbon requirements are met through seaborne imports and offshore production,” Doval said.

He further said that with over three lakh fishing vessels, the marine fisheries sector is a major contributor to the economy and livelihood of the fishing community.

“As India’s economy grows, so will its dependence on sea-borne trade and maritime resources. Securing our maritime interests from a range of threats and challenges necessitates a coordinated approach,” Doval added.

“Maritime security has, therefore, rightfully gained prominence in India’s security discourse as well as international outreach. While chairing the UN Security Council High-Level Open Debate on Enhancing Maritime Security in August last year, the Prime Minister had exhorted for an inclusive approach for a safe, secure and stable maritime domain,” he said.

The meeting was chaired by the National Maritime Security Coordinator Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar (Retd), who assumed charge as the country’s first NMSC on February 16 this year.

The group has members from key Central Ministries, Agencies and Security Forces dealing with maritime affairs and State Maritime Security Coordinators representing all 13 coastal States and UTs. The CNS and Deputy NSAs from NSCS were also present.

In a major decision to reform coordination of maritime security affairs at the apex level, in November last year, the Cabinet had approved the creation of the post of NMSC, under the NSA, at the National Security Council Secretariat. With this decision, a longstanding recommendation of the 2001 Group of Ministers (GOM) Report on ‘Reforming the National Security System’ got implemented.

This reform is intended to ensure a seamless approach to India’s maritime security cutting across geographical and functional domains. The constitution of the MAMSG by bringing together diverse stakeholders at the Centre and coastal States/UTs is a significant step in that direction.

At the inaugural meeting, a number of crucial policy issues on maritime security were taken up, including mapping of existing orders and policies on maritime security to identify gaps, review of standard operating procedures for maritime contingencies, security of ports and coastal infrastructure, creation of a national maritime database, capacity building of coastal States and UTs, promotion of blue economy, etc. A separate session was dedicated to discussion with State Maritime Security Coordinators.

The MAMSG is envisaged to provide a standing and effective mechanism to ensure coordination of all aspects of maritime security including coastal and offshore security, as well as fill the institutional, policy, technological and operational gaps in meeting present and future security challenges. Importantly, the group will also address maritime contingencies requiring an urgent and coordinated response. (ANI)

Amid a financial crunch, rising inflation and deepening economic crisis, Pakistan is mulling oil imports from Russia.

The country’s Ministry of Energy has asked industrial experts to provide analysis for importing oil from Russia, as the country seeks to procure the commodity at a cheaper rate, reported Geo News.
While the United States has set out with allies to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war on Ukraine by sanctioning a raft of Russian companies and oligarchs and adding others to a trade blacklist, Pakistan is mulling importing Russian oil.

Pakistan’s monthly fuel oil imports are set to hit a four-year high in June. The country’s fuel oil imports could climb to about 700,000 tonnes this month, after hitting 630,000 tonnes in May, according to Refinitiv estimates. Imports last peaked at 680,000 tonnes in May 2018 and 741,000 tonnes in June 2017.

In a letter written to the managing directors of Pak-Arab Refinery, National Refinery, Pakistan Refinery, and Byco Petroleum, the Energy Ministry directed them to submit the following analysis – Technical sustainability of crude grades in view of each refinery configuration and yield (Vol per cent); Quantity and grade of the subject crude to be required by the refinery, and Transportation/freight analysis for imports from Russia in comparison with normal imports from the Middle East based on cost and benefit analysis, reported Geo News.

Speaking during Geo News’ programme “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath” a day ago, Minister of the State for Petroleum Musadik Malik had said that Pakistan was “open to the idea of importing cheap oil from Russia”.

He said that the Imran Khan’s PTI-led government had made claim in this regard, but there were no official agreements between the two states regarding the import of cheap oil, however, a letter was sent to Russia by the previous government.

“Since coming to power, the coalition government has tried following up on the letter but has so far received no response from Russia,” he said.

The state minister added that if Russia was willing to sell oil to Pakistan at cheaper rates, the government would definitely consider the option but would “ensure striking deals which would not result in any types of international sanctions on Pakistan.”

On the other hand, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail had earlier this month said that Western sanctions have made importing oil from Moscow impossible despite the Pakistani government’s request to buy wheat from Russia and Ukraine.

Miftah had also stated that Pakistan would surely consider if Russia offers oil trade at cheaper rates as there are no restrictions on buying the supply, reported Geo News.

Meanwhile, the US on Tuesday (local time) blacklisted 36 companies, including those from China and Pakistan, for supporting Russia in the Ukraine conflict.

US President Joe Biden’s administration has added five companies in China to a trade blacklist for supporting Russia’s military and defense industrial base.

The agency also added another 31 entities to the blacklist from countries that include Russia, UAE, Lithuania, Pakistan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, according to the Federal Register entry. Of the 36 total companies added, 25 had China-based operations, reported Al Jazeera. (ANI)

The flood situation in Assam has deteriorated after the flood waters of many rivers have submerged new areas affecting more than 31.54 lakh people in 26 districts.

In the Barpeta district, nearly 5.50 lakh people and 487 villages have been affected by the deluge.

A total of 26684.50 hectares of cropland of the district are currently under flood water.

Thousand of farmers of the district have suffered huge losses due to the devastating flood.

Jahidul Islam, a local resident of the Kaljahi area in the Barpeta district said it is a huge flood and he has not seen anything like this earlier in his life.

“Every house in our area has completely submerged by flood waters. There was no place where villagers can take shelter, every area was flooded. Many people are taking shelter on roads by making temporary sheds. We are facing massive problems,” Islam said.

Ilim Khan, a farmer in the Kaljahi area said that many farmers in the area lost everything in the flood.

“We are now worried about our future, what we will eat. The flood had damaged our crops. Many villagers are daily wage labourers. Due to flood, villagers will face more problems,” Khan said.

On Tuesday, the Indian Air Force (IAF) airlifted a total of 517 tons of relief material over the past six days, informed the officials.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), 2675 villages and 91349 hectares of cropland in 26 districts of the state are still under flood waters.

The devastating flood and landslides have claimed 151 lives in the state this year so far.

The overall flood situation in Assam has improved but over 33.03 lakh people in 28 districts continue to remain affected due to the natural calamity in the state, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) informed on Saturday.

According to ASDMA, a total of 117 people have lost their lives so far in the flood and landslides in the state this year; of which 100 people died in flood alone, while the remaining 17 died due to landslides. (ANI)

Maharashtra Assembly Secretary Rajendra Bhagwat has informed all state MLAs that as per the Governor’s orders the special session that was scheduled on Thursday will now not be convened.

The special Assembly was scheduled today with the only agenda of a Trust Vote against the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray Minister who resigned as chief minister late Wednesday evening.
In a circular, Rajendra Bhagwat, Principal Secretary, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, informed all state MLAs that as per the Governor’s orders, there’s no need for a floor test now, so today’s special session will not be convened.

The Floor Test that was convened by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was challenged in the Supreme Court by the Shiv Sena. The apex court, however, declined to stay the Floor Test and in its observation said that the floor of the House was the only way to settle these issues of democracy.

Minutes after the order by the top court, Thackeray addressed the people of the state via social media in which he announced his decision to step down as chief minister and as a Member of the Legislative Council.

The announcement brought an end to the political crisis that erupted in the state for over a week with a faction of Shiv Sena MLAs revolting against him for joining hands with NCP and Congress to form the government.

Meanwhile, the stage is set for the return of a BJP-led government in the state with the party, which is the single-largest party in the Maharashtra Assembly with 106 MLAs, likely to stake claim to form the government.

As Leader of the Opposition, Devendra Fadnavis is set to stake claim to the Chief Minister’s post for the third time. Fadnavis, who met the party’s top brass twice in a week in Delhi, said that the future course of action will be announced today.

The BJP, on the other hand, is likely to hold a series of meetings to deliberate on the formation of government in the state along with the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde, which had been camping in first Surat, then Guwahati and had landed in Goa on Wednesday night.

The BJP will approach the Governor to stake claim to form the government, which the Shinde faction would back with their 39 Shiv Sena MLAs and other independents. (ANI)

A massive fire broke out in Assam’s Karbi Anglong West district on Wednesday night in which properties worth several lakh rupees were gutted in the fire, the police said.

According to the Police of Karbi Anglong West district, the incident took place in the Jengkha Bazar area in Assam. Several shops and business establishments were damaged in the fire incident.
Later, locals and fire tenders managed to control the situation.

More details are awaited.

Earlier in March, a major fire broke out in the forest area of Basistha in Assam’s Guwahati, informed Assam Forest Department. (ANI)