Breaking News, October 21

Four persons allegedly linked to the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) were arrested on Friday from Kamrup district of Assam, police said. Special Director General of Assam Police (Law and Order) Gyanendra Pratap Singh said in a tweet that the "four members of the banned PFI" were apprehended from different parts of the district.

Ten members of a gang allegedly selling fake platelets to patients were arrested here on Friday, police said. Senior Superintendent of Police Shailesh Kumar Pandey said the accused used to take plasma from different blood banks and then put it in pouches and sell the plasma as platelet.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Friday said the Centre's blunt refusal to provide cash incentive to farmers in Punjab for not burning crop residue has impacted the campaign against stubble burning in the agrarian state.

A 31-year-old food delivery executive, reported missing since earlier this week, was found dead in a nullah in Maharashtra's Pune city on Friday, police said. Sanjay Kumar Yadav, an employee of an online food aggregator app, had accepted the last food delivery order around 10.45 pm on October 17 and had since been missing, an official said.

Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa said on Friday that he is retiring in another five weeks and will not be seeking an extension in service, according to a media report. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would pick the new army chief after Gen Bajwa’s term is scheduled to end on November 29.

The Madras High Court has directed the authorities concerned to award 4 grace marks to an unsuccessful SC aspirant for MBBS course for prescribing a wrong question in NEET conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

Arguments concluded on Friday (October 21) on Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut's bail plea before a special court here in a money laundering case pertaining to the Patra Chawl redevelopment project. However, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the case, sought time to file a written submission. Special judge M G Deshpande adjourned the matter till November 2 and extended the judicial custody of the accused until then. The Rajya Sabha member was arrested in July for his alleged role in the financial irregularities pertaining to the redevelopment of Patra Chawl in Goregaon area of north Mumbai. Last month, the Sena leader had sought bail from the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court.

The Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government has reversed the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) dispensation's decision of withdrawing the general consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate cases in the state. The Shinde government restored the general consent given to the central probe agency, an official said. CM Shinde cleared the proposal of the home department headed by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to reverse the decision of MVA government to withdraw the general consent to the CBI to probe cases in the state, the official from the Chief Minister's Office told news agency PTI.

Alert issued on Indo-Nepal border after ISIS operative's arrest

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said terrorism is the biggest violator of human rights as he urged Interpol and its member countries to join hands for cross-border cooperation so that cross-border terrorism can be defeated. Addressing the 90th Interpol General Assembly on its concluding day here, Shah said criminal syndicates are working in a nexus and hence, global police and intelligence agencies should work together. "Terrorism is the biggest violator of human rights.... The narrative of good terrorism and bad terrorism, small terrorism and big terrorism cannot go together," he said, addressing the delegates from 164 countries. The Interpol general assembly is being organised in New Delhi to coincide with the 75th anniversary year of India's independence.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said officials had been directed to ensure that the Yamuna was not polluted during Chhath. "Chhath Puja will be celebrated like before on the ghats of the Yamuna. Orders have been given to all officers that all arrangements are made to ensure that the Yamuna is not polluted," he said in a tweet in Hindi. Chhath will be celebrated on October 30 and 31. It involves the offering of "arghya" to the Sun god by fasting women in knee-deep water. The festival is hugely popular among Purvanchalis living in Delhi. 

The government has extended the deadline for filing GST returns for the month of September by a day to October 21, the CBIC said on Friday. On Thursday, taxpayers faced a slow functioning of the GST portal, which was the last date for filing monthly GST returns for some taxpayers. Following that, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) had said that an extension of the due date was being considered.

Delhi's PM2.5 pollution average for the July-August-September quarter this year stood at 37 microgram per cubic metre, only marginally higher than the five-year low of 36 microgram per cubic metre recorded during 2020, according to an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Pollution levels in the July-August-September quarter were preceded by one of the most polluted summers this year, unlike in 2020 when the trimester followed the cleanest ever summer (March-May) due to extraordinary conditions created because of hard pandemic lockdowns, the green think tank said. "Therefore, it is important to understand what aided in cleaning up the Delhi air. Looking at the rainfall data it becomes evident that distribution of rainfall has a relatively higher impact on seasonal air quality than the absolute quantity of rainfall," it said.

The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to hear a fresh plea moved by a women's organisation, challenging the remission of sentence and the release of convicts in the 2002 Bilkis Bano gang-rape case, which also involves the killing of seven of her family members during the Gujarat riots. A bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and C T Ravikumar tagged the matter with the main petition and said it would be heard along with it. The top court was hearing a plea filed by the National Federation of Indian Women, challenging the remission of sentence and the release of convicts in the case.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has been served a notice to vacate her official bungalow in the high-security Gupkar area here. "The notice to evict from Fair View was served to me a few days ago. This has not come as a surprise and is along the expected lines," the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister told. She said although the notice mentions that the bungalow is meant for the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, that is not the case.

A notorious criminal, who was carrying a cash reward of Rs 50,000 on information leading to his arrest, has been held following a brief exchange of fire in this Uttar Pradesh district, police said on Friday. The criminal, identified as Ajay alias Ajit, was involved in several cases of murder and loot. He was wanted in connection with the killing of a government teacher, Radhey Shyam, who was shot dead and his body dumped in the Ganga canal in 2021. The exchange of fire took place near Mirapur Dalpat village on the Khatoli-Miranpur road, located within the Jansath police station limits, police said.

Serum Institute of India (SII) had to defer HPV vaccine production by two years due to the focus on COVID, and will start supplying small quantities of the dose to the Indian government in early 2023, a top official has said. Exports will have to wait till 2024, its chief executive Adar Poonawalla told reporters here on Thursday evening, adding that the company has to build a scale of manufacturing to over 150 million for that. HPV vaccines prevent certain kinds of cervical cancer. SII is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer which rushed with the production of multiple COVID vaccines at its facilities located here once the shot was approved for use.

The global watchdog on terror financing and money laundering, FATF, is likely to free Pakistan from its inglorious "grey list" on Friday, allowing the country to try to get foreign funds for tiding over its precarious financial situation. The move may come more than four years after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) put Pakistan on its "grey list" for its failure to check the risk of money laundering, leading to corruption and terror financing. The FATF had found Pakistan's deficiencies in its legal, financial, regulatory, investigation, prosecution, judicial and non-government sectors to fight money laundering and combat terror financing, which are considered serious threats to the global financial system.

Two private security guards of a housing complex here were taken into police custody over clashes between two groups of residents, officials said on Friday. The two groups of the residents of Hyde Park in Sector 78, located within the Sector 113 police station limits, clashed on Thursday night, resulting in minor injuries to two women, they added. "The clashes broke out between the residents over the post of president of the society's Apartment Owners' Association (AOA). The guards also got involved in the fight, leading to injuries to two women," a police official said. 

The rupee depreciated 12 paise to 82.91 against the US dollar in morning trade on Friday tracking a firm American currency in the overseas market. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.89 against the dollar, then lost further ground to 82.91, registering a loss of 12 paise over its previous close. The local unit also touched 82.75 against the American currency in initial deals. On Thursday, the rupee rebounded from its lifetime low to close 21 paise higher at 82.79 against the US dollar. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.11 per cent to 113.

SpiceJet, the only carrier that runs daily flights to and from the greenfield airport in Sikkim's Pakyong, will suspend services in the hill state from October 30 due to "operational constraints". According to a spokesperson of the budget airline, bad weather and low visibility were bottlenecks that led to the decision. "SpiceJet flights to and from Pakyong airport have been temporarily suspended with effect from October 30, 2022, due to operational constraints owing to the bad weather condition and low visibility at Pakyong. "Pakyong is a VFR (Visual Flight Rules) airport and does not have instrument landing facilities… To avoid inconvenience to our passengers, flight operations have been temporarily suspended. We will share an update once the services resume," the spokesperson said.

Diwali celebrations have started in the United States from the iconic Times Square in New York, with the US Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump celebrating the festival of lights at their residences on Friday. Eminent Indian-Americans from across the country started flying into the American Capital from Thursday night which now appears to be a week-long Diwali celebration by the Biden Administration and members of the Congress. Harris and the Second Gentleman have invited scores of eminent Indian-Americans, diplomats and members of the administration for the Diwali celebrations at VP residence on Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the famous Kedarnath temple in this Uttarakhand district on Friday. The prime minister will perform a "puja" at the temple, before proceeding towards Badrinath. During his two-day tour of the state, Modi is scheduled to inspect various ongoing development projects and lay the foundation stones of some new projects. Security has been tightened around the two famous temples of Kedarnath and Badrinath in view of the prime minister's visit. Both the temples have been decorated with flowers. The prime minister is also scheduled visit the Samadhi Sthal of Adi Guru Shankaracharya. 

Elon Musk plans to lay off most of Twitter's workforce if and when he becomes owner of the social media company, according to a report by The Washington Post. Musk has told prospective investors in his Twitter purchase that he plans to cut nearly 75 per cent of Twitter's employee base of 7,500 workers, leaving the company with a skeleton crew, according to the report published on Thursday. The newspaper cited documents and unnamed sources familiar with the deliberations. San Francisco-based Twitter and a representative for Musk attorney Alex Spiro did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

A shooting at a Cleveland barber shop on Thursday left five people wounded, authorities said. The shooting at the IFixUgly shop occurred around 3.10 pm when a man entered the business and began shooting at people inside the shop. The gunman fled the scene in a car, city police said, and he remained at large Thursday night. A 29-year-old woman and four men ranging in age from 19 to 34 were taken to a hospital with gunshot wounds. One man was listed in critical condition with a chest wound, police said, while the conditions of the other victims have not been released.

The Samajwadi Party's Sambhal MLA Iqbal Mehmood Thursday claimed that Muslims can never vote for BJP "since they can never trust people who worship Nathuram Godse", the man who shot dead Mahatma Gandhi. He also accused All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen led by Asadudding Owaisi the "B team" of BJP. Referring to the recent meeting the BJP held with Pasmanda Muslims in Lucknow, Mehmood said, "A true Muslim can never vote for BJP. This is because BJP and RSS can never be of Muslims. Muslims can never trust people who worship Godse the killer of Mahatma Gandhi." About Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, he alleged that its supremo Mayawati is afraid of central agencies like the CBI and ED "which is why she never speaks against the BJP".  "Samajwadi Party is the only party that is fighting BJP," he claimed. 

The Delhi Police has arrested a Chinese woman for staying in India under a false identify and allegedly indulging in "anti-national activities", officials said on Thursday. The woman has been identified as Cai Ruo and is a native of Hainan province in China, they said. The woman was residing in India as a Nepalese citizen and was detained from Majnu ka Tila in north Delhi, police said. During verification, a Nepalese citizenship certificate in the name of Dolma Lama, was recovered from her. However, when enquired with Foreigners Regional Registration Office, it was revealed that she is a Chinese citizen and had travelled to India in 2019, police said.

A 30-year-old woman was allegedly raped by a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) constable on the pretext of marriage, police said on Thursday. According to the police, the victim woman has filed a complaint against CRPF constable Vijay Kumar (33) for refusing to mary her after raping her many times on the pretext of marriage. She alleged that her phone number has also been blocked by him. Both of them established physical relationships many a times at various places in Delhi as well as outside, a senior police officer said.

High drama was witnessed at the site of the sit-in by TET candidates here on Thursday midnight as police dispersed the protesters, saying section 144 of the CrPC had been imposed in the area. A strong police contingent led by senior officers removed the 500-odd protesters, who claimed to have qualified the 2014 TET exams but were still omitted from the merit list, from near the head office of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education. Section 144 of the CrPC prohibits the assembly of four or more people in an area. Violation of the order is punishable under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code.
 

The Palestinian Health Ministry said early Friday that a Palestinian youth died shortly after being wounded by Israeli gunfire in the occupied West Bank as Israeli-Palestinian tensions surge. The increase in tension is over Israeli raids and an uptick in shooting attacks by Palestinians. The ministry said the 19-year-old suffered a mortal wound in the neck, while three others were wounded by live gunshots to their limbs. The violence happened as Israeli forces staged an arrest raid in the Jenin refugee camp, a spot in the northern West Bank that has been a flash point in recent fighting. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.