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Showing posts from October, 2023

‘Snoopgate Sarkar’: The Apple affair is front-page news in English newspapers

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Over 10 opposition leaders and journalists yesterday said they received “threat notifications” from Apple warning that they might have been “targeted by state-sponsored attacks”. This included Mahua Moitra, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Raghav Chadha, Shashi Tharoor, Akhilesh Yadav, Pawan Khera, Siddharth Varadarajan, Sriram Karri and Samir Saran.  The central government, meanwhile, called the allegations “vague” but said it would investigate. While the debate raged on social media through the day, was it important enough to make it to the front pages of newspapers today? It was top news for The Hindu , which had the story on page 1 in its Delhi edition with the headline “Apple cyberattack alert: Opposition corners govt”.  It said “over a dozen” opposition leaders and journalists had received email alerts from Apple. Congress’s Rahul Gandhi alleged the “snooping” was carried out the moment opposition leaders “touch” industrialist Gautam Adani. On page 10, The Hindu also republished an a

6 districts fail zero farm fire goal, but rest of Punjab likely to meet 50% dip target

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Before the paddy harvest season began, the Punjab government led by the Aam Aadmi Party had set a few targets . One of them was to keep the fire count to zero in six of the state’s 23 districts. But despite improvements, that goal remains elusive. What Punjab does to reduce its farm fires also improves air quality in AAP-governed Delhi to some extent – the contribution of farm fires to the city’s air quality ranged from 0 to 38 percent on different days last year in October and November. Though the extent to which farm fires have contributed to PM 2.5, the most harmful air pollutant, this time in Delhi is not clear, the national capital’s air quality has already plunged into the ‘very poor’ zone with local emissions among other reasons.    Meanwhile, the six districts part of the Punjab government’s plan – which was earlier submitted to the Commission for Air Quality Management – included Hoshiarpur, Malerkotla, Pathankot, Rupnagar, SAS Nagar and SBS Nagar. These districts were chose

Unlike Russia-Ukraine, India’s ‘neutrality’ on Gaza truce has no good explanation

“Woh zamana gya jab log samajhte thhey videsh niti koi door ki baat hai …” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is heard saying in a video clip that surfaced on social media on Sunday. The purpose of taking the G20 meetings through the country, he says, was to “make the world India ready, and also to make India world ready”. At this time though, India seems fully out of step with the rest of the international community on an issue that threatens to cleave the world deeper than the Ukraine-Russia conflict. India’s abstention in the vote on a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly calling for a humanitarian truce in Israel’s war on Gaza recalled Delhi’s tightrope walk on the votes over the Ukraine-Russia issue.  India’s gambit in that war had paid off. All the pressure from the West could not force India to change its stance. Even in Pakistan, India’s “independent” foreign policy came in for praise, including from its then prime minister Imran Khan. However, this time th

रोज़नामचा: केरल में धमाके और आंध्र प्रदेश में भीषण ट्रेन हादसा

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हिंदी के ज्यादातर प्रमुख अख़बारों ने आज केरल के एर्नाकुलम जिले के कलमश्शेरी में रविवार को हुए धमाके की ख़बर को पहली सुर्खी बनाया है. इसके अलावा आंध्र प्रदेश में हुए ट्रेन हादसे की खबर को भी अख़बारों ने पहले पन्ने पर प्रमुखता से छापा है. आइए आज के प्रमुख अख़बारों की अन्य सुर्खियों पर भी एक नज़र डालते हैं, लेकिन उससे पहले अगर आप रोज़नामचा को अपने ई-मेल पर पाना चाहते हैं तो यहां क्लिक करें. हिंदुस्तान अख़बार ने प्रार्थना सभा में धमाकों से दहला केरल की ख़बर को पहली सुर्खी बनयाा है. अख़बार ने लिखा कि केरल के एर्नाकुलम जिले के कलमश्शेरी में रविवार सुबह एक के बाद एक तीन धमाके हुए. कन्वेंशन सेंटर में ईसाई समुदाय के धार्मिक सम्मलेन में 2300 लोगों द्वारा प्रार्थना करने के दौरान हुए इन आईईडी विस्फोटों में दो महिलाओं की मौत हो गई और 51 लोग घायल हो गए जिनमें से छह की हालत गंभीर बताई जा रही है. इस घटना के बाद केंद्रीय गृह मंत्री अमित शाह ने वहां के मुख्यमंत्री पी. विजयन से बात कर स्थिति का जायजा लिया. खुद को ईसाईयों के समूह का सदस्य बताने वाले डोमिनिक मार्टिन नाम के शख्स ने विस्फोटों की जिम्मेदारी ले

‘Delicate moment, can’t deal with aggressive muscularity’: Editorials on Qatar death sentence case

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that he has met the families of the eight former Indian Navy personnel who have been given the death sentence in Qatar.  While a report in the Financial Times said the eight Indians have been charged with espionage for Israel, the Narendra Modi government earlier said it was waiting for the detailed judgment. Editorials in prominent dailies, meanwhile, have pointed to the lack of transparency on part of the Qatari authorities as well as the government’s diplomatic challenge during a “delicate moment” in the Middle East. The Deccan Herald noted on Monday that how the “government expressed ‘shock’ at the verdict indicates that it was blindsided by the judgement, or that the verdict was contrary to assurances that Qatar might have given”.  “This is an unprecedented situation for the Modi government,” it said, adding that this case is in stark contrast to the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, where the government could dismiss Pakistan’s cla

Unacademy, Chahal Academy, IQRA IAS: The 18 IAS coaching institutes under consumer watchdog’s glare

When India’s apex consumer watchdog decided to take suo motu cognisance of the UPSC coaching industry’s malpractices, it eventually had to fine four institutes and issue a notice to 14 others over a series of allegedly misleading advertisements. Among the institutes that have been imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh by the Central Consumer Protection Authority last week are Chahal Academy, IQRA IAS, Unacademy and Rau’s IAS Study Circle. Rau’s IAS has moved the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission to challenge the penalty. During its probe, the CCPA said it found that 10 prominent institutes had allegedly claimed a total 3,500 successful candidates last year – more than thrice the actual 933. These were Vajirao & Reddy, Shankar IAS, Chahal Academy, APTI Plus, Analog IAS, BYJU’s, NEXT IAS, Drishti IAS, KSG Khan Study Group, and SRIRAM IAS.  CCPA’s chairperson Nidhi Khare said it’s the first time such an investigation has been launched against IAS coaching institutes. “We took s

Blasts at Kerala prayer meet: 1 killed, over 30 injured, state DGP confirms use of IED

Kerala DGP Shaik Darvesh Sahib has confirmed that the blasts this morning in Ernakulam were caused by an improvised explosive device, or IED.  As reported by DT Next , Sahib said a terror angle can be confirmed “only after inquiry”. He also warned the public against “spreading provocative or hateful messages” on social media, saying the police would take stringent action otherwise. A “series of blasts” had been reported at 9.30 am inside the Zamra convention centre at Kalamassery. The Hindu reported that “around 2,000 people” were inside the hall for a prayer meeting organised by Jehovah’s Witnesses when three blasts took place. One woman was killed and over 30 people were injured.  Eyewitnesses told Mathrubhumi that “people were running for their lives”. One witness said he saw “individuals on fire rolling on the floor”; another said “many people were injured in the stampede as well”.  Veena George, Kerala’s health minister, directed hospitals in Kalamassery to be on alert. Acc

TV Newsance 231: Rubika’s adventures in Israel, Suresh Chavhanke’s latest conspiracy

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Manisha is back this week to take a look at what is going on in the crazy world of TV news.  Our old friend Suresh Chavhanke made his annual appearance on TV Newsance as he came up with the most bizarre conspiracy theory of the year – that Yadav and Yahudis, or Jews, are the same. We watched his entire show about it, did a little digging, and then went straight to the source: a website called YadavHistory.com .  Meanwhile, Kangana was at the Israeli embassy to meet the ambassador, demand separate states for Hindus and Jews, and most importantly promote her film. We also looked back at the adventures of Rubika as she set new lows while reporting from Israel. We take a look at her bizarre observations, banal questions, and her American accent as she acted less like a journalist and more like an influencer.  Watch. source https://www.newslaundry.com/2023/10/28/tv-newsance-231-rubikas-adventures-in-israel-suresh-chavhankes-latest-conspiracy

Hafta letters: Caste census, Israel-Palestine conflict, Bajrang Dal

What does the job of a managing editor entail? Priyank *** Hi, your discussion on the Israel and Palestine issue was way better and informative than Charcha. In your discussion, Anand defined terrorist as per the UN and termed Hamas as a terrorist organisation. Then, according to the same definition, Bajrang Dal and the so-called cow vigilantes should also be called terrorist organisations. I want to know Anand’s views on it. Thanks.  Farqul Raizee *** Hi Team! In the previous Hafta, I found Anand’s argument for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine absurd. When you have a large neighbour who ‘expands for survival’, you will look for ways to preserve your sovereignty. An invasion because of this is unjustified. If China gets insecure due to India’s economic growth and invades India, can India be blamed? Perhaps this is why our Vishwaguru scuppered our economic growth with demonetisation - preemptively thwarting a Chinese invasion. Masterstroke, indeed! From the earlier Hafta, Mehraj’s

In MP, a ‘futile survey’, 7 changed tickets, and Congress against Congress

The Congress in Madhya Pradesh seems to be in disarray, with disgruntled ticket aspirants, intra-party fighting, and accusations about a botched up poll campaign. The party has changed seven candidates in the poll-bound state, and there is speculation about more changes on the way. Outside the office of the Pradesh Congress Committee in Bhopal, party workers burnt down the effigies of former chief minister Digvijaya Singh and his son Jaivardhan Singh last week. There were protests outside state Congress chief Kamal Nath’s house as well, apart from several constituencies in Morena, Datia, Mandsaur, and Shujalpur. And, after announcing 230 candidates in three separate lists, the party subsequently had to change tickets in Datia, Sumawali, Gotegaon, Jaora, Pipariya, Pichhore and Badnagar. In Datia segment in Datia district, Avdhesh Naik, who joined the Congress in August, was eventually replaced by Rajendra Bharati, a senior leader who had lost to BJP’s former minister Narottam Mishra

From ‘love jihad’ to killing Muslims, YouTube autogenerates videos for ‘Hindutva pop’

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This story was originally published on Bellingcat and is republished here with permission. It has been lightly edited for style and clarity.   The music videos themselves are low-budget. Just static images showing Hindu supremacist symbols and cut-out shots of singers. On occasion, they display photos of leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, the Hindu nationalist governing party in India. But the lyrics speak of the slaughter of Muslims and have been chanted at religious rallies, sparking violence . These songs are part of a genre known as “Hindutva pop”, named after a nationalist ideology associated with right-wing extremism that advocates for establishing India as a Hindu nation-state. And YouTube, one of the top music streaming platforms in the country, has helped this music expand its reach among young audiences.  YouTube not only hosts such songs; it also generates videos for them.  One YouTube-generated video is for a song by Hindutva singer Ved Prakash Shukla ti

इज़रायल-हमास संघर्ष में पत्रकार के परिवार की मौत, अल-जज़ीरा ने की निंदा

इज़रायल और हमास के बीच छिड़े खूनी संघर्ष में अब एक पत्रकार का परिवार भी मारा गया. इस हमले में उसकी पत्नी और बच्चों की मौत हो गई. अल जज़ीरा की एक खबर के अनुसार, उनके पत्रकार वाएल अल-दहदौह गाजा स्थित अल जज़ीरा मीडिया नेटवर्क में ब्यूरो चीफ के रूप में कार्यरत हैं.  हमले में मारे गए बेटे महमूद की उम्र पंद्रह वर्ष और बेटी की उम्र सात वर्ष थी. वाएल अल-दहदौह का बेटा अपने पिता की तरह ही एक अच्छा पत्रकार बनना चाहता था. अल जज़ीरा के मुताबिक, उनके बेटे, बेटी और पत्नी सहित उनके पोते एडम की भी मृत्यु हुई है.  ख़बर के मुताबिक, इज़रायली सेना द्वारा की गई अंधाधुंध बमबारी में इन लोगों की मौत हुई. जबकि परिवार के अन्य लोग मलबे के नीचे दबे हुए हैं. अल जज़ीरा के मुताबिक, यह सब कुछ तब हुआ जब इज़रायली सेना ने गाज़ा स्थित नुसीरत शरणार्थी शिविर को निशाना बनाया. मालूम हो कि कुछ दिन पहले इज़रायली सेना द्वारा गाज़ा के नागरिकों को गाज़ा के दक्षिणी इलाके को खाली करने को कहा गया था. जिसके बाद लोगों ने यहां शिविर में शरण ले रखी थी. बताया जा रहा है कि इज़रायली सेना ने इसी शिविर को निशाना बनाया. अल-जज़ीरा ने की कड़ी नि

‘Targeted attack’: Al Jazeera journalist’s wife, children killed in Gaza ‘safe area’

“Help us to stay alive,” stated Al Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh’s 15-year-old son Mahmoud and seven-year-old daughter Sham in a message on social media , days before they were killed along with their mother in what the journalist called a “targeted” Israeli airstrike in Gaza. Shortly before the deaths were confirmed, Dahdouh, a 53-year-old journalist with years of experience of conflict reportage, had been reporting on Israeli airstrikes in the area. As news about deaths in his family was telecast, an Al Jazeera anchor broke down on air. Our colleague in Gaza, journalist Wael Al Dahdouh, just lost his wife and his two kids in an Israeli raid on the house they had found refuge in. In this video: the news anchor of Al Jazeera announcing the news and crying on air pic.twitter.com/uuF3H3xxZz — Dima Khatib (@Dima_Khatib) October 25, 2023 Dahdouh’s family had left their home after initial bombardments and had reportedly been living in the United Nations-recognised Nuse