A Pakistani spy, part of a larger espionage network, has been caught by the military intelligence from Gurdaspur in Punjab. The accused has been identified as Vipin Singh, a resident of Tibbry area of Gurdaspur.
According to an India Today report, the accused Pakistani spy was sending photographs and information related to the construction of Kartarpur corridor to his handlers in Pakistan through his WhatsApp number. The accused Vipin was promised a payment of Rs.10 lakh to supply the photos and vital information.
The accused informed the intelligence officers that his Pakistani handlers had asked him to supply some other secret information besides the Kartarpur corridor.
After the interrogation, the alleged spy has been handed over to the police. However, details are yet to emerge in the case after his interrogation. With his arrest, the suspicions of Pakistan’s intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) misusing the corridor for anti-India activities have been proved right.
Earlier, the Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh had warned the country about Pakistan’s treacherous plans to use the Kartarpur corridor to inflict terror on India, especially by reviving Khalistani terror. Captain Amarinder Singh had reiterated his position on the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor by Pakistan. He claimed that it is an ISI ploy to strengthen anti-India forces, including the Sikhs For Justice (SFJ).
“The entire affair of Kartarpur Corridor smacks off a wider conspiracy by the Pakistan Army and ISI to dismember India by reviving militancy in Punjab,” Amarinder Singh had warned.
On November 22 last year, the government of India had announced its intention to build the Indian side of the Kartarpur Corridor and had urged Pakistan to reciprocate by building the corridor on Pakistan side.
Senior Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu had caused a severe controversy after he posed with Khalistani terrorist Gopal Singh Chawla during his controversial visit to Pakistan to inaugurate the Kartarpur corridor.
As the Indian government sought permission from Pakistani authorities to allow PM Modi to fly over Pakistani airspace during his upcoming trip to the United States, social media users reminded the history of Pakistan’s monstrosity of shooting down a civilian aircraft carrying the then Gujarat Chief Minister Balwant Rai Mehta for allegedly entering its airspace.
On 19th September 1965, we were in middle of the 1965 India-Pakistan war. The then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Balwant Rai Mehta, a tall Congress leader died after the civilian aircraft he was travelling with seven others was shot down by a Pakistani airforce pilot near Indo-Pak border in the Rann of Kutch.
Mehta took the Beechcraft Model 18 twin-engine light aircraft to Mithapur near the India-Pakistan border. Former Air Force pilot Jehangir Engineer was piloting the aircraft along with a colleague.
The flight took off from Ahmedabad airport toward Mithapur with Mehta, his wife Saroj, a journalist from Gujarati daily Gujarat Samachar and three aides of Mehta. The flight was expected to land in Mithapur at around 3 PM.
At around 3:30 PM in Pakistan (3 PM IST), Flight Lt A I Bukhari and Flying Official Qais Hussain of the no. 18 Squadron were asked to check a ‘suspicious’ radar contact south-west of Bhuj in Kutch, Gujarat. The duo scrambled and around 15 minutes later, Hussain took off. Around twenty minutes later, Hussain entered Indian Air Space at 20,000 feet.
Hussain then ‘spotted the target’ read that the number started with VT and informed the air base in Pakistan about it. Hussain was asked to standby till further instructions and he kept hovering on top of the aircraft. A few minutes later, Hussain got the message he was ‘clear to shoot’.
Hussain positioned his plane behind the aircraft carrying Mehta which had begun to climb up and wagging the wings to signalling it is a civilian aircraft. Hussain paid no heed and took first shot. A splinter flew off the left wing of the plane. He then fired toward the right wing. The plane was unsteady but still flying. Soon, the right engine caught fire and the took a 90 degree vertical dive. It soon blew into a ball of fire, just off the coast.
Hussain then quickly turned back. Pakistani Air Force shot down a civilian aircraft after entering Indian Air Space because it was ‘flying very close to the border for considerable period of time’. Pakistani Air Force suspected that Indian Air Force was using a civilian aircraft for a recce.
Four days later, on 23rd September, 1965, Pakistani dictator Ayub Khan declared ceasefire.
According to Twitter user Adivaraha, Mehta’s tour to the Kutch area was already announced in newspapers.
Balwantrai Mehta – 2nd chief minister of Gujarat..His plane was shot down by PAF in 1965 while he was touring in the border area of Kutch, Gujarat, knowing fully that it was a civilian aircraft. https://t.co/j57BAd7F2c
The Pakistani military, which was already humiliated in the war wanted to capture plane carrying him and his wife as a trophy. The Pilot flying the plane carrying Gujarat Chief Minister Mehta was Jahangir Engineer, one of the celebrated pilots of the Indian Air Force.
Forty-six years after the incident the pilot of the Pakistani fighter aircraft pilot wrote a letter to the daughter of the chief pilot of the Beechcraft and apologised to her. In his letter, he went on to blame Indian media from that time for portraying the incident the way they did ‘due to lack of information’.
The letter was addressed only to Farida Singh, daughter of Jehangir Engineer, the pilot. There were seven other people, including the then Chief Minister of Gujarat and his wife, onboard who were killed because the Pakistani Air Force pilot could.
It does not appear that the pilot, who was somehow ‘forgiven’ by the Indian media for the ‘mistake’ after he offered the ‘healing touch’, or the Pakistani government, ever apologised to Balwantrai Mehta or his family. Or the other members who were killed in that ball of fire. It is almost as if they were expendable.
He became the first ever defence minister to fly the indigenous LCA. He was accompanied by Air Vice Marshal N Tiwari Project Director, National Flight Test Centre, ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency) in the familiarisation sortie.
Prior to this, former Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had flown in the Sukhoi 30 MKI jet, becoming the first ever woman defence minister to go on an all-weather, long-range aircraft sortie.
On Wednesday, the American army band played the Indian National Anthem, ‘Jana Gana Mana’, during a joint exercise between the Indian and US Army in Washington.
In a video shared on social media platforms, the US Army band can be seen playing the national anthem of India. The anthem was played on the last day of joint India-US military exercise, the Yudh Abhyas 2019.
#WATCH USA: American Army band playing Indian National Anthem during the Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2019 at Joint Base Lewis, McChord. pic.twitter.com/J9weLpKD3X
Yudh Abhyas- the joint military exercise between India and the US began on Friday in Washington as part of the ongoing defence co-operation between the two nations. It is being conducted at the Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington. The 2019 edition of Yudh Abhyas started on September 5 and ended on September 18.
Yudh Abhyas is a series of one of the longest-running joint military training and a major ongoing bilateral defence cooperation endeavour between India and the US.
During the Yudh Abhyas – 2019, the officers said that armies of India and the US will jointly train, plan and execute a series of well-developed operations for neutralization of threats of varied nature during the exercise.
A joint exercise will be undertaken by both countries in an operational setting under a UN mandate. Experts from both sides will hold academic and military discussions to share each other’s experiences on varied topics for mutual benefit.
Earlier, the Indian and American soldiers took part in the joint military exercise were seen singing and dancing to the popular ‘Badluram ka Badan’, the marching song of Assam Regiment. A video of the soldiers tapping their feet to the song went viral on the internet last week.
This year’s exercise will be the 15th edition of the joint military exercise hosted alternately by both countries. Last year, the joint military training exercise was held in the Himalayas at Chaubattia, Uttarakhand.
A Miami aircraft maintenance worker who had tampered with an American Airlines plane carrying 150 passengers has possible terrorist ties with the terrorist group Islamic State, the US prosecutors said in court Wednesday.
According to the reports, 60-year-old Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani, who was arrested in September on charges that he sabotaged the navigation equipment of an American Airlines flight, had shared videos stored on his phone of ISIS terrorists, the prosecutors said.
The prosecutors said Alani was an Iraqi born naturalized US citizen, had made statements wishing Allah would use “divine powers” to harm non-Muslims. He had recently sent money to someone in Iraq and has a brother there, who allegedly has ties to the Islamic State.
A federal judge also deemed that Alani was danger and a flight risk and denied bail to 60-year-old mechanic citing new evidence of him being a potential terrorist sympathiser.
Alani, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Iraq who has worked as an airline mechanic for 30 years, allegedly had ISIS propaganda on his phone, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Medetis said. A video depicting people being shot was allegedly sent from his phone. Alani also told the individual he sent the video to that he wanted Allah to cause harm to non-Muslims.
Reportedly, the two witnesses appeared before the court and mentioned that Alani had said to them that his brother was in ISIS. An American Airlines coworker claimed that Alani said he had to go to Iraq to visit a brother who was a member of ISIS. However, another roommate alleged that Alani said he had to go because his brother was kidnapped.
Reportedly, the American investigators did not find any evidence of Alani’s brother being kidnapped on the phone. They did provide evidence of a brother in ISIS, though. Interestingly, Alani has not been charged for a terrorism-related crime.
Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani, the mechanic is accused of sabotaging flight equipment admitted that he tampered with a navigation system on the plane so that he could collect overtime work. Abdul Majeed had confessed that he had tampered with the air data module system on Flight 2834 from Miami to Nassau in the Bahamas on July 17 because he was disgruntled about an impasse over a union contract, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.
Fortunately, none of the passengers and crew on the flight to Nassau were injured because the tampering with the air data module caused an error alert as the pilots fired up the plane’s engines on the runway July 17.
As a result, flight No. 2834, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft was aborted and taken out of service for routine maintenance at America’s hangar at Miami international airport.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who started his reelection campaign for upcoming polls in Canada on September 11, wore a racist ‘brownface’ make up at a party in the private school he worked at as a teacher back in 2001. As reported by TIME, the picture was taken at an ‘Arabian Nights’ themed gala where Trudeau had worn brown makeup on his face, neck and hands and is also sporting a turban and robes.
Trudeau, the son of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was 29-years-old back then when the picture was clicked. It appeared in the 2000-2001 yearbook of the West Point Grey Academy where he was teaching.
Following the publication of the photograph, Trudeau has apologised for the same. “I shouldn’t have done that. I should have known better and I didn’t. I’m really sorry,” he said. He even added that back then he did not consider it racist but now he “knows better”.
Trudeau, however, by his own admission been quite “enthusiastic about costumes than is sometimes appropriate.”
Reporter: “Do you want to tell Canadians about any other instances where you are concerned that you were racist?”
Trudeau: “I’ve always — and you’ll know this — been more enthusiastic about costumes than is sometimes appropriate.” pic.twitter.com/zFrW363cBE
As per reports, Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party in Canada said that Trudeau’s behaviour was “troubling” and “insulting” while National Council of Canadian Muslims found his appearance with ‘brownface’ “disgraceful”.
Turns out this was not the first time he wore such racist makeup. When Trudeau was in high school had worn the brown make up to sing ‘Day-O’, a Jamaican folk song performed by African-American singer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte. However, Trudeau “deeply regrets” he did it.
Canada is set to go to polls on 21st October and Trudeau is seeking reelection. Pollsters in Canada suggest it will be a close competition between Trudeau and his opponent Andrew Scheer.
The Union government on Wednesday banned e-cigarettes in India, citing health risk to youths and children. The cabinet approved an ordinance making the production, manufacturing, import, export, transport, sale, distribution or advertisements of e-cigarettes a cognizable offence.
16 states and 1 union territory had already banned e-cigarettes in the year 2018, following an advisory by the central government. They include Punjab, Karnataka, Mizoram, Kerala, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Odisha and Nagaland.
E-cigarette or electronic cigarette is a small electronic device which is used as an alternative to traditional cigarette. They are the most common form of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS). It is a handheld battery power vaporiser which produces an aerosol or vapour by heating a liquid, and that vapour is inhaled. This provides an experience similar to smoking cigarettes, but without burning tobacco.
An e-cigarette is made up of a mouthpiece, a cartridge where the e-liquid is stored, a heating element or atomiser, a microprocessor, a battery, and some may have a LED to simulate the burning of a cigarette. There are some mechanical cigarettes also which do not include any electronic and is activated by a mechanical switch. The atomiser heats and vaporises the liquid solution, a wicking material carries the vapour to the mouthpiece through which it is inhaled by the user. Some devices have a push button to take a puff, while others are automatic which have sensors to detect inhaling and activate the atomiser.
e-cigarettes in various shapes
The liquid used in e-cigarettes generally contain propylene glycol, glycerine, nicotine, flavourings, additives, and various amounts contaminants. E-cigarettes liquids are available in various flavours, and the various formulations of the liquid is are produced. According to a WHO report in 2014, almost 8,000 different flavours were available in the market.
Since its introduction in 2003, the e-cigarette market has expanded rapidly. They have become extremely popular among teens and youths, contributed by attractive advertisement, easy availability, variety in flavours, and the belief that they are safer than cigarettes. E-cigarettes were even promoted as a way to quit smoking.
e-cigarettes also come disguised as various objects like pen, flash drive, lipstick etc, making it easy for use by teens undetected
As most e-cigarette formulations contain nicotine, this had triggered concern that e-cigarettes will lead to nicotine addiction, and resulting in same health risks as cigarettes. Nicotine is highly addictive drug, and it is equally harmful whether it comes from burning tobacco or heating a liquid.
E-cigarette formulations also contain various kinds of additives and flavours, which pose additional health risks. Some formulations also have been found to contain known carcinogens and toxic chemicals. Dangerous metal particles also may get inhaled from the heating element and the body of the device itself. The devices contain toxic elements like nickel, chromium, cadmium etc, and their particles can get mixed with the aerosol inhaled by the ‘smoker’. E-cigarettes can also be used to inhale other narcotic substances, posing another risk.
Due to the potential health risks of e-cigarettes, many countries have regulated it, and some have banned it. Several countries like Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Singapore, Uruguay etc have banned it. Japan, Australia, Canada and few others have highly restricted it. In many other countries, including UK and US, only adults can buy e-cigarettes. The EU limits e-cigarette advertisement, and has ordered reduction in level of nicotine and flavours used. In some US states, flavoured formulations have been banned, as it has been found that various flavours make them attractive for non-smokers, which in turn make them addicted to nicotine and convert them into smokers.
The notification issued by government says that while e-cigarettes are promoted as safer alternatives to cigarettes, they actually induce non-smokers, especially teens and youths, towards nicotine use, which leads to addiction and use of conventional tobacco products.
The health risks of e-cigarettes are no longer a matter of debate, and the decision to ban it can’t be questioned. But this raises another question, why ban it when the traditional cigarettes are still allowed? This was asked by many on social media after the decision of government of India was announced. Some people argued why ban it when it can be taxed heavily like cigarettes.
Why ban when you can tax (heavily)?
Banning #ecigarettes while keeping tobacco products is bizarre. Neither health nor fiscal grounds for this decision, so what’s the logic? https://t.co/XYl6i2R9hG
Some people also wondered if the cigarette manufacturers and the tobacco lobby, including tobacco farmers, are behind the decision. The share prices of cigarette manufacturers indeed went up today after the decision was announced.
Trade bodies, users term ordinance to ban e-cigarettes a draconian move – [Seems Tobacco lobby sponsored ban without any medical or scientific study] https://t.co/VUDF12J5GB
The decision to ban e-cigarettes will restart the debate on banning cigarettes, and indeed it seems puzzling why government banned e-cigarettes citing health effects while continuing to allow the sale of cigarettes.
Although it is true that government earns huge revenue from cigarettes due to high taxes on it, it is unlikely that they are not banned due to the taxes. The government also spends huge amount of money in medical treatments of diseases arising out of tobacco consumption, which probably sets off the tax earned on cigarettes. Tobacco inhaling leads to various diseases like heart ailment, cancer, stroke etc, and many people suffering from such conditions avail treatment at government run hospitals.
Currently, most e-cigarettes are imported in India, and the ban will not affect any manufacturing, although it will have an effect on the traders. While only importers and retailers will be affected, any ban on cigarettes will have much wider implication, as lakhs of people are involved in tobacco farming, and work in cigarette manufacturing units. Cigarettes also earn export revenue, which is not the case with e-cigarettes.
Although it has been alleged, it is unlikely that the Modi government came under the pressure of cigarette manufacturers to ban e-cigarette. The government has taken several steps which were not liked by corporates, so it is unlikely for the govt to blink in front of cigarette companies. But the cigarette companies are not the only ones associated with the larger tobacco industry, it also includes the tobacco farmers and the unorganised sector involved in the beedi industry. And this is where it becomes very difficult to take a decision when the livelihood of a large number of farmers and small scale industries are at stack.
In fact, just recently the Bhartiya Kisan Union had requested the government to ban e-cigarettes in the country. In a letter sent to agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Monday, the union had said that if e-cigarettes are allowed in India, it will have a devastating effect on the tobacco farmers in India. They have said that e-cigarette companies who are trying to open shops in India are from outside India and they do not procure tobacco in India.
They had said that the extraction of nicotine from tobacco is done outside India, using tobacco grown outside India. The raw material used in the production of e-cigarette formulation is tobacco dust, which is produced during the processing of chewing and beedi tobacco, no fresh tobacco is used to extract nicotine, BKU had said.
Another important factor behind many countries prioritising ban on e-cigarettes is that, globally the use of cigarettes is coming down among teens and youths, while e-cigarettes are extremely popular among them. Due to declining popularity combined with increasing anti-tobacco campaign and rising awareness about tobacco-related diseases, cigarette sale has declined in recent years, which is a trend seen in globally too. On the other hand, the sale of e-cigarette is steadily rising, and it is more popular among teens and youths.
On the argument of why not tax e-cigarettes at high rates also like cigarettes to discourage its use, it has been seen that high taxes do not hamper the sale of cigarettes. Taxes are raised regularly on cigarettes, but it has not resulted in a decrease in cigarette consumption. Therefore, it was unlikely that imposing high taxes would have discouraged the use of e-cigarettes.
Banning cigarettes will be a highly controversial decision, and will face massive protests from farmers and other stakeholders, and that is the reason perhaps why no government has not banned it yet. As no such opposition is expected from banning e-cigarettes, it was an easier decision to take. It was a good decision to ban e-cigarette before it became difficult to do it, before the industry developed any serious clout in the country. And this is not the case with only India, cigarettes are not completely banned in any country, while several have banned e-cigarettes.
The Minister of State Defence and Minister of Ayush, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy(AYUSH) was recently seen in videos singing religious hymns about Gods and himself getting into the water to immerse the Ganesha idol.
In the above video, the former Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare can be seen singing devotional hymns to Gods.
Naik has been a passionate Ganesha devotee as in a previous video uploaded on September 7, 2019, the MoS Defence and AYUSH jumps in the water to immerse the Ganesha idol in his Adpai village in Goa.
In this video, Shripad Naik is seen diving in the water while carrying along with him a Ganesh idol. He subsequently immerses the Ganesh idol and then swims back to the shore.
In November 2014, Shripad Naik was anointed as the Minister of State Defence and five years later in 2019 after the Modi government came back to power with an even greater majority, Naik was entrusted with the Ministry of AYUSH. Naik was first elected in the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999 and since then has held his seat of North Goa winning in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2018 elections.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday (September 18) cleared the controversy fomented by the opposition over his remarks on the Hindi language. Slamming those indulging in language politics Shah said he has never asked for imposition of Hindi anywhere in the country but advocated its use as the second language after one’s mother tongue.
“I too come from a non-Hindi speaking state. I come from Gujarat where Gujarati is the language, not Hindi. One has to listen to my speech carefully. If someone wants to do politics, it is their choice,” Shah issued a clarification, as reported by ANI.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah: I never asked for imposing Hindi over other regional languages&had only requested for learning Hindi as the 2nd language after one’s mother tongue. I myself come from a non-Hindi state of Gujarat. If some people want to do politics, its their choice pic.twitter.com/JXS3VFTKUl
Amit Shah on the occasion of Hindi Diwas on Saturday appealed to the citizens to increase the use of Hindi. Speaking at a function to commemorate Hindi Diwas, Shah hailed the diversity of languages and dialects in the country that he stressed was the “strength of our nation”.
“But there is a need for our nation to have one language so that foreign languages don’t find a place. This is why our freedom fighters envisioned Hindi as ‘Raj bhasha’ (official language)” Amit Shah said at the event to mark the day the Constituent Assembly adopted Hindi written in Devanagari script as the central government’s official language.
His statement was, however, distorted and used to stir controversy. Immediately media was abuzz with reports that Amit Shah was seeking a common language for the country and had proposed Hindi’s name. This got the ball rolling and raised the hackles of political leaders in some non-Hindi speaking States, especially in South India.
This supposed proposal was criticised by South India’s actor turned politicians like Kamal Hassan and Rajinikanth who claimed that a common language cannot be implemented in India.
However, Amit Shah in its efforts to end the confusion said at an event organised by a Hindi daily: “A child can perform, a child’s proper mental growth is possible only when the child studies in the mother tongue. Mother tongue does not mean Hindi. It is the language of a particular state, like Gujarati in my state. But there should be one language in the country, if someone wants to learn another language, it should be Hindi. I have just made a request. I have failed to understand what is wrong in that,” he said.
The Tamil Nadu police have nabbed a Muslim man from Maharashtra, who was in the guise of a Hindu ‘saint’ draped in saffron clothing, at Erwadi in Ramanathapuram district in the state.
The 27-year-old man was identified as M Abdul Wahab from Sangli district in Maharashtra. Wahab was found loitering around the Erwadi Dargah, which is famous for treating mentally ill people, disguised as a Hindu sadhu.
When he visited some rural areas on Tuesday, the local people caught him on suspicion that he might have come with some ulterior motive and handed him over to the police. The police detained him for interrogation.
Superintendent of Police, Omprakash Meena, confirmed that the man was in possession of his Aadhaar card, which had the details of his name and residential address. The Tamil Nadu police have got on touch with their counterparts in Maharashtra to verify Wahab’s details. SP Meena confirmed that the future course of action will only be decided once they obtain the verification report from the Maharashtra police.
Recently, the Coimbatore city police had arrested five Muslim youths for allegedly planning to kill Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK) leader Arjun Sampath and Sakthi Sena leader Anbu Mari.
The city police had received a tip-off from Central intelligence agencies regarding the murder plan. The Coimbatore police have arrested five Muslim youth, out of which four Muslim youths have been already on the radar of the Central intelligence agencies.
Reportedly, four out of the five arrested are from Chennai and another person is resident of Coimbatore.
Moreover, last month Tamil Nadu was put on high alert following intel that members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba had infiltrated into the state. Reports had suggested six members of the terror outfit infiltrated into the state by sea from Sri Lanka and moved to different cities, including Coimbatore, according to the police.
Security had been stepped up at many places, including airports, railway stations, bus stands and places of worship across the state. An alert had been sounded, especially in coastal districts, to prevent any further possible intrusion.
