Month: March 2023

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before US Congress amid growing security concerns and potential Chinese government influence over the company.
Chew faced hostile questioning from the House Energy and Commerce Committee as he verbally danced to make the case that the social media giant is taking “real action” to address national security concerns from the US.

During a four-hour long hearing, Chew time and again stressed that the TikTok app, which is owned by the Chinese technology company Bytedance, has long maintained that it does not share data with the Chinese government and it doesn’t pose a risk to its 150 million users in the U.S. nor share their data with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

US Lawmaker Debbie Lesko during her line of questioning quoted India and other countries that have recently banned TikTok in some form.

“This (TikTok) is a tool which is ultimately under the control of the Chinese government and screams out with national security concerns Mr Chew, how can all of these countries and our FBI director be wrong? asked Lesko.

“I think a lot of risks pointed out are hypothetical and theoretical risks. I have not seen any evidence,” Chew responded.

The Congresswoman once again reiterated and stressed on the India ban. “India banned TikTok in 2020. In March 21, a Forbes article revealed how data of Indian citizens who used TikTok remained accessible to employees at the company and its Beijing-based parent. A current TikTok employee told Forbes that nearly anyone with basic access to company tools can easily look up the closest contact and other sensitive information about any user,” Lesko informed her colleagues.

“This is a recent article; I have asked my team to look into it. We have rigorous data access protocols. There is no such thing that anybody can access the tools. So, I disagree with a lot of the conclusions,” Chew responded.

India imposed a nationwide ban on TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps, including the messaging app WeChat, in 2020 over privacy and security concerns. The ban came shortly after a clash between Indian and Chinese troops at LAC that killed 20 Indian soldiers and injured dozens. The companies were given a chance to respond to questions on privacy and security requirements but the ban was made permanent in January 2021.

“You damn well know that you cannot protect the data and security of this committee or the 150 million users of your app because it is an extension of the CCP,” Lawmaker Kat Cammack of Florida told Chew after playing a threatening video that was still on the platform more than a month after it had been posted, despite community guidelines barring violence or threats.

Asked during a hearing in Congress by Republican representative Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, TikTok’s chief was unable to “100 per cent guarantee” that Beijing was not influencing parts of the app. Chew said the company is committed to firewalling U.S. user data from “all unwanted foreign access” and would keep content “free from any manipulation from any government.”

Another lawmaker from New Jersey said he wasn’t convinced that TikTok’s security plans would work. “I still believe that the Beijing communist government will still control and have the ability to influence what you do,” he said, pushing back on what he said was TikTok’s attempt to portray itself as “a benign company that’s just performing a public service … I don’t buy it.”

Hours before the hearing, China repeatedly said it wouldn’t oppose any forced sale of TikTok, with its Commerce Ministry saying that any sale would involve the export of Chinese technology and must be approved by the Chinese government.

TikTok is already banned on federal government devices, including military devices, and a growing number of states in the US are banning it on state government devices. (ANI)

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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday, will move the Finance Bill 2023, to give effect to the financial proposals of the central government.

This comes a day after the demand for grants was passed in Parliament.
The Finance Bill 2023, gives effect to the financial proposals of the central government for the financial year 2023-24 to be taken into consideration.

Earlier on Thursday, the Lok Sabha on passed demands for grants authorising expenditure of about Rs 45 lakh crore for 2023-24. The proposal was passed by voice vote amid protests by opposition members over their demand for a JPC probe into the Adani issue.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla applied for the Guillotine when the House met at 6 pm following two adjournments earlier.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved the Bill to authorise payment and appropriation of certain sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India for the services of the financial year 2023-24 for passage in the House amid the din. It was passed amid the din and the House was later adjourned for the day.

The two Houses of Parliament have been witnessing adjournments over the repeated logjam. While the BJP has been demanding an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks in the United Kingdom, the opposition has been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Hindenburg-Adani row.

The second half of the budget session began on March 13 and will commence on April 6.

The Finance Minister presented the Union Budget on February 1. (ANI)

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Noted Bengali director Pradeep Sarkar passed away on Friday. He had directed films like, ‘Parineeta’, ‘Laaga Chunari Mein Daag’, and ‘Mardaani’. He was 67. The cause of his death is still awaited.

Director Hansal Mehta took to Twitter on Friday morning to confirm Pradeep’s death. Sharing a picture of the director, Hansal wrote, “Pradeep Sarkar. Dada. RIP.”

Sharing Hansal’s tweet, Manoj Bajpayee wrote, “Ohh! That’s so shocking! Rest in peace Dada!”

Pradeep made his debut in the Hindi film industry with the screen adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s ‘Parineeta’. Vidya Balan, Saif Ali Khan, and Sanjay Dutt played pivotal characters in the film. His last directorial on the big screen was ‘Helicopter Eela’ starring Kajol and Riddhi Sen in the lead roles.

Ajay Devgn wrote on Twitter, “The news of Pradeep Sarkar’s demise, ‘Dada’ to some of us is still hard to digest. My deepest condolences. My prayers are with the departed and his family. RIP Dada.”

Lyricist Swanad Kirkire paid his tribute saying, “Filmmaker and dearest friend Pradeep Sarkar the mad man left us this morning. Rest in peace Dada your passion for the art of cinema will stay in your works! Duniya bhar ki mitti ikatthi karte the ab jannat ki mitti dibiya mein bharna. Thank you for loving me and my words.”

Director Kunal Kohli wrote, “Shocked & Sad to hear about Dada Pradeep Sarkar. Really sweet man. Had lovely conversations about the cinema with him. RIP Dada. Here’s a song from your film to celebrate you & your cinema…”

Pradeep has also directed ‘Laga Chunari Mein Daag’ starring Rani Mukherjee, Konkona Sen Sharma, Abhishek Bachchan, Kunal Kapoor, ‘Lafangey Parindey’ featuring Deepika Padukone and Neil Nitin Mukesh. He has directed web series namely, ‘Coldd Lassi Aur Chicken Masala’, ‘Forbidden Love’, and ‘Arranged Marriage.’

The mortal remains of the director will be cremated at Santacruz Hindu Crematorium around 4 PM on Friday. (ANI)

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An alert has been issued in Dehradun, Haridwar, and Udhamsinghnagar districts of the Uttarakhand as a precaution in view of the possibility of pro-Khalisthan Amritpal Singh entering the state, the state’s Director General of Police Ashok Kumar has said.

“An alert has been issued in Dehradun, Haridwar, and Udhamsinghnagar districts of the state as a precaution in view of the possibility of pro-Khalisthan Amritpal Singh entering the state,” the DGP told ANI.
He said that the police conducting intensive checking on the borders of all three districts and in other areas.

Significantly, all three districts of the State have been affected by terrorism in the 90s, he added.

On Thursday, Punjab’s Inspector General of Police (IGP), Headquarters, Sukhchain Singh Gill said that a total of 207 persons have been arrested for disturbing peace and harmony in the state, of which, 30 have been found in substantive criminal activities, while, remaining are under preventive arrest.

“Police teams are doing a thorough screening of all the arrested persons and soon they will be released from police custody,” he said.

The IGP said that this operation was carried out on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann with an aim to save the innocent youth of Punjab from playing into the hands of Anti-National Forces.

“Punjab Police have clear instructions from the Chief Minister not to harass any innocent person during the ongoing operation. Police teams have even not harassed the family members of Amritpal Singh,” he said.

Divulging more details, IGP Gill said that the Punjab Police in a joint operation with Haryana Police have arrested a woman identified as Baljeet Kaur for harbouring Amritpal Singh and his aide Pappalpreet Singh at her home in Kurukshetra, Haryana on March 19. Accused Baljit Kaur revealed that Pappalpreet was in touch with her for the last two and a half years,” he said.

In a major breakthrough in the ongoing manhunt for fugitive pro-Khalistan leader and radical preacher Amritpal Singh, Sukhchain Singh Gill revealed that the Waris Punjab De chief’s last location was in Haryana.

Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh on Thursday, the IGP said, “We are still actively searching for Amritpal Singh and have come to know that its last location was in Haryana. We have taken a woman named Baljeet Kaur into custody. Amritpal stayed at this woman’s house in Kurukshetra (Haryana) and the Waris Punjab De chief and his close aide had been in touch with her for the last two-and-a-half years.” The IGP said Baljeet Kaur disclosed during questioning that both Amritpal and his key aide, Papalpreet Singh, had stayed at her house on the night of March 19.

“We arrested Baljeet Kaur with the help of Haryana Police. She disclosed during interrogation that on the night of March 19, both Papalpreet Singh and Amritpal had put up at her place. She said she had Papalpreet for more than the last couple of years and he had stayed at her house on several occasions,” the IGP said.

“After staying the night, they moved out of there (her house) the next day. We are examining the CCTV footage and are hopeful of arresting Amritpal soon,” he added.

The Punjab IGP informed further that Amritpal and his aide changed their two-wheeler near a gurdwara at Sehowal village in Jalandhar and tried to get a boat to get across a river.

“Our team continues to be in his trail. We are examining CCTV footage retrieved from several locations in a bid to trace his whereabouts. They changed their two-wheeler at a gurdwara at Sehowal village and tried to get a boat to cross the river. However, they failed to get one and eventually used an overbridge to get across the river,” the IGP added.

“After roaming around in another two-wheeler, they hired an auto-rickshaw. After this, they were located at Kurukshetra. Gurpej (one of the four men arrested for allegedly helping Amritpal escape), who is currently in our custody, told us about another woman, apart from Baljeet Kaur, who he may turn to for refuge,” the IGP added.

He said that, during the ongoing operation, Khanna Police have also another Amritpal’s close associate identified as Tejinder Singh Gill alias Gorkha Baba (42) of village Mangewal in Khanna. Police teams have also recovered some incriminating material including holograms of Anandpur Khalsa Fauj (AKF) and weapon training videos, from his possession.

An FIR on March 22 has been registered under sections 188 and 336 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 27 of the Arms Act at Police Station Malaud in Khanna,” the IGP said. (ANI)

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Pro-Khalistan supporters and associates of Amritpal Singh were shifted out of Punjab after Central Intelligence agencies raised concerns over possible jailbreak and repeat of the Ajnala incident.

Thousands of Amritpal’s supporters had entered the Ajnala police station in Amritsar on February 23 this year to free a member, who had been arrested in an abduction case.

A source in Intelligence agencies has confirmed that after they had a meeting with state police officers and shared their intelligence report on arrested ‘Waris Punjab De’ (WPD) associates under the National Security Act (NSA) and recommended shifting them out of Punjab.

Associates of Amritpal Singh have been shifted to the Dibrugarh jail in Assam due to security reasons.

The report said that the arrested persons would have indulged in jailbreak, had they been put in jail in Punjab.

“They would have radicalized other jailed criminals and would have associated them in Anandpur Khalsa Fauj/AKF,” the report said.

It further read that they would have created a law and order situation by mobilizing support against the arrest as seen in the Ajnala incident. Either they would have run their criminal activities from within the jail in Punjab.

The report read that the arrested persons were charged under NSA because they are using youth for violence and promoting gun culture by naming his private militia as Anandpur Khalsa Fauj/AKF, a threat to national integrity by openly declaring that they do not believe in State and defying orders of Punjab Government not to display weapons in open, beating youth so-called drug de-addiction centres who did not toe the line of WPD etc.

“Had action not been taken under NSA, goons of Waris Punjab De would have repeated such incidents as they did not believe in the majesty of the law. Their links with proscribed outfit SFJ (Sikhs for Justice) who have now come in open support of WPD,” it said.

In the Ajnala incident, the supporters of Amritpal brandished swords and high-calibre firearms and threatened the police with dire consequences if they did not release Lovepreet Toofan.

The supporters, brandishing swords and guns, broke through police barricades erected outside the Ajnala police station. (ANI)

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The Asia Cup 2023 is likely to be held in Pakistan, with another overseas venue to host India games.
After a brief stalemate, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are working quickly to broker a compromise that could result in both teams playing their tournament matches against one another outside of Pakistan. India is likely to play their Asia Cup 2023 matches in England, Oman, Sri Lanka or UAE.

“A meeting between the boards had been done a few days back and the tournament will be allowed to be held in Pakistan. India will play their matches at a neutral venue and will not travel to Pakistan, the venues where India could play their matches are likely to be Oman, UAE, England, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Though the decision will be decided later,” a source told ANI.

The foreign location is still to be determined, although the UAE, Oman, Sri Lanka, and possibly England are viable candidates to host India’s matches, including at least two matches between India and Pakistan. The neutral venue is not confirmed but the UAE, Oman, Sri Lanka and even England are potential contenders. If India book their place in the Asia Cup final, the summit clash will take place at a neutral venue.

The six-nation Asia Cup, which will be played in a 50-over format in the first part of September this year, has grouped India and Pakistan together with a qualifier. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are part of the other group.

The final will be one of a total of 13 games that are played over the course of 13 days. The top two teams from each group proceed to the Super 4s, where the top two teams compete in the final, according to the 2022 Asia Cup format.

After the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in Bahrain in mid-March ended without a resolution, members converged for two further rounds of informal discussions in Dubai.

The BCCI team included Arun Dhumal, the head of the IPL governing council, and the BCCI secretary Jay Shah. The PCB, which will host the 2023 Asia Cup, was represented by its chair Najam Sethi.

Last October, the PCB was caught off guard by Jay Shah, who stated that the 2023 Asia Cup would be held in a “neutral” venue. The PCB, under the then chairman Ramiz Raja, promptly responded that Pakistan will withdraw from the competition if it was taken outside of the nation.

The proposal for the Asia Cup to be co-hosted by a neutral country was presented and considered at the official ACC meeting.

Last year, Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairperson Jay Shah had stated that India will not travel to Pakistan for Asia Cup due to security reasons and the tournament will be played at some neutral venue, which is to be decided in the second round of the Executive Board meeting of ACC members this month. (ANI)

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In a major breakthrough in the ongoing manhunt for fugitive pro-Khalistan leader and radical preacher Amritpal Singh, Punjab’s Inspector General of Police (IGP), Headquarters, Sukhchain Singh Gill, on Thursday revealed that the Waris Punjab De chief’s last location was in Haryana.

Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh on Thursday, the IGP said, “We are still actively searching for Amritpal Singh and have come to know that its last location was in Haryana. We have taken a woman named Baljeet Kaur into custody. Amritpal stayed at this woman’s house in Kurukshetra (Haryana) and the Waris Punjab De chief and his close aide had been in touch with her for the last two-and-a-half years.”

The IGP said Baljeet Kaur disclosed during questioning that both Amritpal and his key aide, Papalpreet Singh, had stayed at her house on the night of March 19.

“We arrested Baljeet Kaur with the help of Haryana Police. She disclosed during interrogation that on the night of March 19, both Papalpreet Singh and Amritpal had put up at her place. She said she had Papalpreet for more than the last couple of years and he had stayed at her house on several occasions,” the IGP said.

“After staying the night, they moved out of there (her house) the next day. We are examining the CCTV footage and are hopeful of arresting Amritpal soon,” he added.

The Punjab IGP informed further that Amritpal and his aide changed their two-wheeler near a gurdwara at Sehowal village in Jalandhar and tried to get a boat to get across a river.

“Our team continues to be in his trail. We are examining CCTV footage retrieved from several locations in a bid to trace his whereabouts. They changed their two-wheeler at a gurdwara at Sehowal village and tried to get a boat to cross the river. However, they failed to get one and eventually used an overbridge to get across the river,” the IGP added.

“After roaming around in another two-wheeler, they hired an auto-rickshaw. After this, they were located at Kurukshetra. Gurpej (one of the four men arrested for allegedly helping Amritpal escape), who is currently in our custody, told us about another woman, apart from Baljeet Kaur, who he may turn to for refuge,” the IGP added.

Gill said as many as 207 persons have been detained and of them, 30 have been arrested in different cases. They were involved in criminal cases, the IGP informed.

“We’ve detained 207 people so far. Of them, 30 have been arrested in different cases. They were found involved in criminal cases. Another 177 persons have been placed under preventive detention in the interest of maintaining peace, as well as law and order,” said Gill.

Earlier in the day, Punjab police arrested an associate of the fugitive Waris Punjab De chief. Police identified the arrested person as Tejinder Singh aka Gorkha Baba, a resident of Punjab’s Mangewal village.

“He often lived with Amritpal and was involved in the Ajnala violence as well. Gorkha Baba used to be Amritpal’s gunman for a long time. Tejinder was also active on social media. Pictures of him holding weapons would often surface on social media. A separate case was registered against Tejinder in Malaud police station after the pictures surfaced,” DSP Payal Harsimrat Singh told ANI.

The police informed that action has been taken against him under sections 107 and 151 of the Indian Penal Code (IPS).

“Two other people accompanying Tejinder were detained and are being interrogated,” added the DSP.

The DSP informed further that Tejinder was named in an assault case and another case of liquor smuggling was also registered against him. Tejinder had served a sentence in the latter case.

On March 18, Punjab Police launched an operation against Amritpal and his aides. The crackdown came almost over three weeks after Amritpal’s supporters clashed with uniformed personnel at the Ajnala police station on February 23, on the outskirts of Amritsar, demanding the release of one of his close aides, Lovepreet Toofan.

Thousands of his supporters stormed the Ajnala police station, flashing swords and high-calibre firearms and threatening the police with dire consequences if they did not release Lovepreet Toofan, who was arrested for allegedly assaulting and abducting a man. (ANI)

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Actor Bhumi Pednekar, who is known to lend her voice to environmental campaigns, has dropped an important post highlighting what the film industry can do to save the planet.

Taking to Instagram, Bhumi uploaded a video in which she is seen urging the film industry to get into the habit of reading paperless scripts.

“Our Indian film industry can take an important & necessary step to protect the planet. Let’s get into the habit of reading paperless scripts – let’s go soft on the planet,” she said in the caption.

Meanwhile, on the film front, Bhumi will be seen sharing screen space with Rajkummar Rao in ‘Bheed’. She also has ‘The Ladykiller’ in her kitty. The film also stars Arjun Kapoor in the lead role.

Bhumi made her Bollywood debut with ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ in 2015.

Helmed by Sharat Katariya, ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ revolves around a school dropout named Prem, essayed by Ayushmann Khurrana, who reluctantly marries the educated but overweight Sandhya (Bhumi). The couple came closer when they take part in a race, which involves Prem carrying Sandhya on his back.’Dum Laga Ke Haisha’, a critically acclaimed movie, received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.(ANI)

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