On Wednesday (1st November), lyricist Javed Akhtar went on an unhinged rant against the Jewish State of Israel over its retaliation against the Gaza-based Hamas terror group.
In a tweet (archive), he claimed, “So now Israel is justifying its indiscriminate round the clock bombing on helpless civilians of Gaza by giving example of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”
“And the so-called civilised world is listening. They are the same people who teach us human rights,” Javed Akhtar brazened out.
So now Israel is justifying its indiscriminate round the clock bombing on helpless civilians of Gaza by giving example of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . !!! .. and the so-called civilised world is listening . They are the same people who teach us human rights .
Social media users were quick to lambast the lyricist over his biased take on the Israel-Hamas war. “Where was Mr. Javed akhtar on 7th October? He didn’t tweet on #HamasTerrorrists . Why they skip what happened on 7th?” tweeted one Amit Jha.
Where was Mr. Javed akhtar on 7th October? He didn't tweet on #HamasTerrorrists . Why they skip what happened on 7th ?
“You liars are like weeds popping up everywhere. There is not “indiscriminate round-the-clock bombing”. ISRAEL provided advanced notice and Hamas uses human shields and does not allow human shields to heed Israeli warnings,” one user debunked the claims of the Bollywood lyricist.
You liars are like weeds popping up everywhere. There is not "indiscriminate round the clock bombing". ISRAEL provided advanced notice and Hamas uses human shields and does not allow human shields to heed Israeli warnings.
“This one parades as an atheist but when it comes to ummah the Ms inside screams and comes rushing out!” one Kuldeep Gaurav called out the hypocrisy of Javed Akhtar.
This one parades as an atheist but when it comes to ummah the Ms inside screams and comes rushing out!https://t.co/kshfiG1owj Always remember: once a Ms, always a G-hadi! (Q 2:216).
“Just yesterday, an entire Hindu Village was burned down in Sindh, Pakistan. Persecution of minorities have been happening for decades in Pakistan & Bangladesh. Why do Javed ignores atrocities on minorities in Islamic county?” asked popular X handle ‘Incognito.’
Just yesterday, an entire Hindu Village was burned down in Sindh, Pakistan. Persecution of minorities have been happening for decades in Pakistan & Bangladesh.
Why do Javed ignores atrocities on minorities in Islamic couny?
OpIndia did not find any tweet by Javed Akhtar condemning Hamas and its attack on Israel, which claimed the lives of 1400 people.
Screengrab of the tweets by Javed Akhtar on Hamas
On October 7, over 2,500 Hamas terrorists invaded Israel by land, air, and sea, killing 1,400 people, the vast majority of whom were civilians, and kidnapping 230 people, including 30 children. The smallest is nine months old. Entire families were massacred in their homes, and over 260 people were slaughtered at an outdoor music festival.
The terrorists raped the Israeli women and also didn’t spare the elders and the children. The videos of these horrific incidents were also made viral. The attack on Israel by the Hamas terrorists marks the most brutal attack against Jews after the Holocaust.
On 31st October, several MPs, politicians, and other prominent persons claimed to have received an alert from Apple suggesting that ‘state-sponsored threat actors’ might have been trying to access their phones. The generic warning quickly turned into a political outrage where the opposition blamed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for trying a so-called cyber attack on their Apple devices, including iPhones.
Notably, Apple itself on its website states that these alerts regarding the so-called “state-sponsored threats” to their users’ devices are not reliable.
It has now come to light that the security threat messages were from a Soros-linked NGO named Access Now. Notably, the screenshots of the message shared on social media mentioned that those who received the warning message could contact the 24×7 helpline of Access Now.
The message read, “Enlist expert help such as the rapid-response emergency security assistance provided by the Digital Security Helpline at the nonprofit Access Now. If you are an activist, independent journalist, or non-profit worker – you can contact them 24 hours a day, seven days a week through their website*: accessnow.org/help.”
Access Now link and recommendation in the Apple alert, image shared by Shashi Tharoor on X
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India, Sanjeev Sanyal, pointed out the connection. He wrote, “Very curious indeed. The security threat messages being received by some prominent Apple users is not quite from Apple but from a Soros-linked NGO called http://accessnow.org. How is this external agency able to send such authentic-looking messages through the system??”
Very curious indeed. The security threat messages being received by some prominent Apple users is not quite from Apple but from a Soros-linked NGO called https://t.co/6Lc3ZlnxTQ. How is this external agency able to send such authentic looking messages though the system??
Access Now is a non-governmental organisation that claims to defend digital civil rights. It operates on a multifaceted mission with primary areas of focus on shaping policy guidelines that respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The group offers advocacy campaigns to promote these policies in governmental and corporate arenas. Apart from the policy and advocacy, it claims to provide vital technical support to those facing online risks. The NGO claims that their support ensures that the communication remains open, free and secure. They have a Digital Security Helpline available around the clock and offers technical guidance and incident response to many individuals and organisations, including journalists, activists, human rights defenders and civil society actors.
Access Now claims that it addresses five key issues with online security, which include business and human rights, digital security, freedom of expression, net discrimination, and privacy. The organisation has offices in New York, Washington DC, Brussels, San Jose, Manila, and Tunis.
Access Now funding raises serious questions about its neutrality
Notably, Access Now is funded by several organisations, including George Soros’ Open Society Foundations. On the “Funding” page of the website Access Now, it is mentioned that OSF has donated USD 700,000 to the NGO in 2023 itself. Furthermore, In December 2022, the organisation received USD 140,815 in December 2022, USD 350,000 in July 2022, USD 298,112 in June 2022, USD 400,000 in December 2021, USD 700,000 in September 2021, USD 250,000 in July 2021, USD 145,000 in March 2021, USD 145,000 in November 2020, USD 200,000 in August 2020, USD 87,500 in July 2019, USD and 87,500 in May 2019. That means, the organisation has received USD 3,503,927 or over 3.5 million USD from George Soros’ OSF in less than five years.
OSF donations to Access Now
Apart from OSF, Ford Foundation has donated USD 775,000 in 2023, USD 350,000 in 2022, USD 350,000 in 2021, USD 100,000 in 2020, USD 75,000 in 2019 and USD 25,000 in 2018. In short, in the past five years, the Ford Foundation has donated USD 1,775,000 or 1.7 million USD to the organisation.
The program is also funded by several government departments, including The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Global Affairs Canada, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the German Federal Foreign Office, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and more. Notably, SIDA was the largest donor in 2023, with a donation of over 2.4 million in July 2023. Large tech companies like Meta, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others are among the donors.
OSF and Ford Foundation are known for funding anti-India elements.
Access Now targetted India for internet shutdowns
An X user who goes by the handle I_am_the_Story wrote a detailed thread on Access Now, and its links to anti-India reporting. In February 2023, The Wire published a report, “India Remains Internet Shutdown Capital”. It was based on the data compiled by Access Now and the KeepItOn coalition. Similar reports were published by several other Western publications based on the same research.
KeepItOn Coalition is hosted by Access Now. It was started in 2016 as a campaign against Internet shutdowns. There are 220 members in to coalition as of now. Furthermore, Access Now has a Shutdown Tracker Optimization Project (STOP) that records the instances of shutdowns and identifies the possible emerging challenges. Interestingly, in 2016, the UN passed a resolution on the Promotion, protection, and enjoyment of human rights on the internet, condemning internet shutdowns and urging states to refrain from ordering such measures.
According to the Wire’s report based on Access Now and KeepItOn data, India had 84 internet shutdowns in 2022, the highest worldwide. The report suggested that the shutdowns were used for various reasons and had significant consequences for digital communication and democratic movements. The #KeepItOn campaign identified India as the primary offender, responsible for 58% of documented shutdowns. The report further noted that the legal challenges against shutdowns persist due to a lack of transparency from the central government.
India’s high number of internet shutdowns in 2022 has been scrutinised, but it’s essential to view this fact from a nuanced perspective. As the world’s most populous and diverse nation, India faces multifaceted challenges, ranging from regional unrest to national security threats, communal clashes, riots, and terrorism-related issues.
Though the number of shutdowns was high, it is worth noting that it decreased over the years. It shows that the government is working to reduce reliance on such measures and has been responsive to the concerns raised by the concerned parties and the Supreme Court. This shows that the government is committed to enhancing transparency and upholding freedom of expression.
CPI(M)’s General Secretary’s wife is Access Now’s board Member
Another point that needs to be discussed here is that the wife of General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Sitaram Yechury, Seema Chishti, is a board member of Access Now. Chishti is also an editor at The Wire and joined the publication in January 2023.
Source: Access Now
Access Now’s profile page of Chishti describes her as a highly experienced multimedia journalist with over 30 years of experience in print, radio, and television. The profile pointed out that she has worked with BBC, HTV and The Indian Express, covering an array of news on topics including cultural change, minority communities, youth, and India’s major political developments.
Interestingly, Seema Chishti’s husband Sitaram Yechury was one of the politicians who claimed to have received the alert message that mentioned Access Now.
In February 2023, Chishti sent a legal notice to The Organiser’s editor, Vijay Patel, and Twitter for exposing her connections with a foreign-funded NGO allegedly involved in a hitjob against businessman Gautam Adani. An article titled ‘Decoding the hit job by Hindenberg against Adani Group‘ was published in The Organiser on its website on 4th February 2023. Also, Vijay Patel – the founder of fact-checking website ‘Only Fact India’ – wrote a thread on 2nd February 2023, exposing the connections between the torchbearers of the anti-Adani propaganda campaign and foreign-funded NGOs. Seema Chishti has also made Twitter an answerable party for publishing the thread by Patel.
Geroge Soros wants to topple democratically elected Modi government in India
In February 2023, George Soros inadvertently revealed what we have known for a long time – that the billionaire is eyeing a ‘colour revolution’ in India. The term ‘colour revolutions’ originated from a series of popular uprisings in the early 2000s in Eastern Europe following the fall of communism.
It has since been used to describe similar movements in the Middle East and Asia. The protests often involve mass demonstrations disguised under calls for free and fair elections or for the removal of authoritarian leaders. These types of uprisings have been criticised as foreign-instigated attempts to destabilise regimes for the benefit of Western powers.
George Soros and his vicious ecosystem of NGOs, activists and journalists had been trying to prove PM Modi as an ‘electoral autocrat’ who needed to be ousted for this country’s ‘greater good’. And it has been a work in progress for a long time. Even though India holds regular elections at the state and central level and no party has so far been able to prove any kind of election rigging, Soros and his network of Leftists propagate the narrative that the Modi government in India is ‘fascist’, and autocratic, and hence needs to be ousted.
The Hungarian-American billionaire has several intellectuals on his payroll, including the former PM Manmohan Singh’s daughter Amrita Singh. Not to forget the curious case of ‘author’ and ‘social activist’ Harsh Mander, who had been at the forefront of creating civil unrest during the Anti-CAA protests.
In 2018, George Soros-funded NGO Sherpa attempted to thwart India’s defence deal with France and stall the delivery of Rafale fighter jets.
Moreover, Open Society Foundations (OSF) run by the billionaire had funded the Socio-Legal Information Centre (SLIC), which had been active in seeking the repeal of the sedition law currently used against anti-India elements.
On 31st October, Mosab Hassan Yousef, the disowned son of a senior Hamas terrorist group leader, lauded the Indians and praised the Hindu community for raising their voices against the Hamas terrorists. In an exclusive interview to Times Now, Yousef who is known for writing a book named ‘Son of Hamas’ stated that Islamists cannot and they don’t want to co-exist.
“Hindus have no problem, Christians and Jews also co-exist. So why does the violence only come from Islamists? I don’t have a problem with the rest of the world. Indians have no problem. Christians, Jews, we all co-exist. It is the need to eradicate Hamas and any other Islamist movement. We have to say it very clearly and loudly. Religious terrorism is not accepted,” he could be heard saying.
Hindus have no problem with the rest of the world, they happily coexist. It's only IsIamist who can't coexist with non-believers & do violence all the time – Mosab Hassan Yusuf (Son of Hamas founder)#HamasTerrorrists toilet cleaners may declare this guy an Islamophobic too! pic.twitter.com/xI1OnvuV08
He stated that he rejected the Islamist ideology and had to almost die to say no to violence. “My entire country shunned me. I was branded Satan. This is because I said no to violence, no bloodshed, and suicide bombing attacks. This is what they do to everybody who differs their way. I know both sides and on this authority, I say we have to stand united behind Israel,” he said.
In the interview further, Yousef also said that the Hamas mentality needs to be eradicated. “They need to be told that this is not the way of life. Their acts are brutal. We don’t accept a group that wants to dominate and rule over the entire race to build an Islamic state. Mother Earth does not belong only to one religion. It does not belong to Hamas or Islamists,” he added.
“Hamas are not ‘freedom fighters’ as is being claimed by many. They are a bunch of clowns who are living in denial. Hamas has a long history of brutally attacking civilians,” he added.
He later urged the Indians and Hindus who follow Lord Krishna, Geeta, and Upanishads to raise their voices against the Islamist ideology. “My army in India, those who understand Krishna and Geeta and Upanishads need to gear up and show this minority in the world that Islamists are not acceptable. The way they create violence and the way they want to achieve their agenda is not acceptable. Indians should rise, not by the means of violence. But they should stand firm and not accept any form of Islamist interference,” he added.
Earlier the day, Mosab Hassan Yousef revealed that Yahya Sinwar who is the current Palestinian leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip is hiding under the Al-Shifa Hospital. Yousef also said that he is using the patients at the hospital as a shield to protect himself.
He also added that Hamas is not just a political terror group. It is a religious terror group. “If it was a political terrorist group, we could have put enough pressure on them to compromise and come up with a solution and drop violence. But Hamas, cannot bend because they prefer to die and not to drop their ideology. They think of themselves as holy warriors,” he added.
He further added that Hamas’ only mission is to destroy Israel. “They want to force 10 million Israelis to relocate as a condition to build their Islamic state. We cannot give them what they are asking for,” he was quoted.
Yousef is a descendant of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a co-founder of Hamas. He is known for writing books named ‘Son of Hamas’ and ‘Preach the Word Prophecy Conference’. For his efforts to assist the Shin Bet in thwarting terror attacks during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s, he was dubbed “Green Prince”, which is also the title of a 2014 documentary based on his autobiography. The 45-year-old Ramallah native vividly recalls Hamas’s inception in 1986.
On October 7, over 2,500 Hamas terrorists invaded Israel by land, air, and sea, killing 1,400 people, the vast majority of whom were civilians, and kidnapping 230 people, including 30 children. The smallest is nine months old. Entire families were massacred in their homes, and over 260 people were slaughtered at an outdoor music festival.
The terrorists raped the Israeli women and also didn’t spare the elders and the children. The videos of these horrific incidents were also made viral. The attack on Israel by the Hamas terrorists marks the most brutal attack against Jews after the Holocaust.
After the attack by Hamas, Israel launched a counter-attack on Gaza. Over 5,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, including women and children as well as journalists, medical workers, and first responders, with more than 15,000 injured. IDF has been asking Gazans to move away from Northern Gaza but Egypt has closed the Rafah crossing and has declared that it won’t allow any refugees from Gaza.
Former Indian Test cricketer Ashok Omprakash Malhotra courted controversy after he termed the cricket players of Assam ‘second-class citizens’ in a match between Assam and Bengal on 31st October during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 cricket tournament. However, he posted an apology on social media after the matter gained traction and the Assam Cricket Association submitted a complaint to BCCI. He stated that his comments were “totally unintentional” and that he was referring to the progress of the Assamese team. “I am sorry”, he tweeted, adding “I regret it and give an unconditional apology.”
His shocking statement came while attempting to compare the Assam and West Bengal cricket teams during their T-20 on 31 October encounter in Mohali. Doing the commentary on the match when the Assam team was batting towards the end of the match heading towards a victory, Ashok Malhotra was heard saying, “What I liked about Assam because we have been playing for Bengal, we have played a number of matches against Assam. I would always say they were like second-class citizens. They are beaten comfortably by the Bengal side and as Rohan has been saying that they have come up. They are standing toe to toe with Bengal boys and today the body language of Assam boys is much better than the former.”
The video of the match containing his remarks has gone viral on social media.
Assam past cricketers are 2nd class citizens?
While praising Assam's game in Syed Mustaq Ali, commentator says that Assam cricketers earlier were second class citizens infront of Bengal.
While he was trying to state that earlier the Assam Cricket Team was very poor and now it has improved a lot, his choice of words to express the same generated a widespread outrage in Assam. This has also not gone well with Taranga Gogoi, the president of the Assam Cricket Association.
He has slammed the contentious remarks in a letter addressed to the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI). “Regarding this matter, the ACA has written a letter to the BCCI seeking strict action in this regard. I have also talked with Jay Shah regarding this and he has assured that strict action will be taken in this matter,” he informed.
Notably, the cricket commentator made the analogy as Assam thrashed Bengal by eight wickets in the game. Riyan Parag, the T20 captain of the Assam team, put on an outstanding effort which helped his team advance to the quarterfinals of the competition with an eight-wicket victory over its competitor. Bengal set a 139-run goal for Assam while batting first. However, the northeastern state for their part showed off their potent batting ability as they easily chased down the mark with 13 balls remaining.
Ashok Omprakash Malhotra made the comments when the Assam team was batting at 121 for 2 after 15 overs, with Riyan Parag and Bishal Roy in the middle. Assam finished the match 2 overs later, scoring 142 for 2 in 17 overs and 5 balls.
The Personal Identifiable Information (PII) of approximately 81.5 crore Indian citizens, including their Aadhaar cards have been allegedly put on sale on the dark web, News18 reported on 30th October (Monday). According to the report, citing sources and findings of an American cyber security and intelligence agency Resecurity, this is suspected to be the biggest data leak case in the country so far.
In early October, Resecurity’s HUNTER (HUMINT) unit identified millions (allegedly 81.5 crore) of PII records, including Aadhaar cards, belonging to Indian residents being offered for sale on the Dark Web, as claimed by the American cybersecurity sleuth.
According to the News18 report, the allegations are grave in nature that sensitive data of 81.5 crore Indians which allegedly originated from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) database are on sale. Based on the seriousness of the allegations, the News18 report asserted that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) could likely probe the matter once ICMR files a complaint.
CERT-In is investigating the alleged data leak, says Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Following the reports of the data leak, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar told NDTV that the government’s Computer Emergency Response Team, or CERT, is investigating the alleged data leak.
He, however, didn’t confirm or comment on the size of the alleged leak. But he asserted that the government is working to ensure private data including that collected by the centre or state for administrative purposes, or by businesses for commercial reasons – is maintained in a “bulletproof” ecosystem”.
On Tuesday evening (31st October), Minister Chandrasekhar said, “Not something I am very happy about, (but) CERT (In) is investigating, as its mandate. (I am) still not privy to exact details… only understand it is an alleged leak or breach. I have no idea about the size of the (alleged) leak… don’t want to speculate.”
Stressing that we should not speculate till CERT-In submits its report, he added, “CERT(In) is investigating… to understand what was leaked, where it has been leaked, and what caused it… whether it was a hack or an operating system vulnerability. Will wait till they give a report.”
The Minister emphasised that the government is still working on moving large amounts of data, including legacy data collected over the past decades, to safe storage.
He further added, “I think we have to recognise the government ecosystem will take a little longer to transition to a bullet proof set-up… one which manages data and keeps it in a safe and responsible manner.”
American cyber security and Intelligence research group Resecurity unearthed the alleged data being put on sell on the dark web
Earlier, the Resecuirty findings claimed to reveal that on 9th October, a threat actor going by the alias ‘pwn0001’ posted a thread on Breach Forums on the dark web. In the post, the ‘threat actor’ put on sale access to 815 million “Indian Citizen Aadhaar and Passport” records along with other PII details like names, phone numbers, and addresses.
(Image Source – American Cyber security and intelligence agency, Resecurity)
The ‘threat actor’ also claimed that the data extracted from the COVID-19 test details of citizens was sourced from ICMR.
Citing sources, News18 reported that ICMR has been facing multiple cyber-attack attempts since February and central agencies as well as the council were aware of it. Last year, the ICMR servers faced over 6,000 attempts of cyber hacking prompting various agencies to ask ICMR to take remedial action to avert any data leak.
As per the News18 report, CERT-In has informed ICMR about the breach. It has also verified sample data, which is on sale, that it matches with the actual data of ICMR following which all security agencies and top officials of different agencies and ministries have been roped in.
According to News18 sources, foreign actors are involved in the leak which is why it is important to get it probed by a premier agency. Meanwhile, remedial measures have been put in place and the required standard operating procedures (SoPs) have been deployed to control the damage.
However, News18 reported that the epicentre of leakage has not been identified as parts of the Covid-19 test data go to the National Informatics Centre (NIC), ICMR, and Ministry of Health, citing sources.
American cyber security agency added that HUNTER investigators established contact with the threat actor. During their interaction, they learned that the threat actors were willing to sell the entire Aadhaar and Indian passport dataset for $80,000.
(Purpoted interaction between Resecurity’s Hunter unit and threat actor)
The ‘threat actor’ Pwn0001 shared spreadsheets that contain four large leak samples with fragments of Aadhaar data as proof. Resecurity said, “One of the leaked samples contains 100,000 records of PII related to Indian residents. In this sample leak, HUNTER analysts identified valid Aadhaar Card IDs, which were corroborated via a government portal that provides a “Verify Aadhaar” feature. This feature allows people to validate the authenticity of Aadhaar credentials.”
(Spreadsheet of purported data put on sale shared by Resecurity, blurred for data safety purposes)
Similarly, on 30th August, another online user by the pseudo name ‘Lucius’ claimed that they had a big leak of data. Dubbed as “India internal law enforcement organisation,” the storage of the leak was reportedly about 1.8 terabytes.
According to the report, the alleged second leak had even more sensitive database than threat actor pwn0001’s leak. It had Aadhaar IDs, Voter IDs, and driving license records.
The HUNTER team claimed that they found some records with the word “PREPAID”, indicating that it could even mean the leak came from a company that offers pre-paid SIM cards. It added that these companies collect personal information to check their customers before they start their mobile services.
However, this alleged attack or data breach is not the first time that hackers have targeted India’s health system. Last year, AIIMS faced a cyber-attack triggering changes in various systems. Earlier, OpIndia had reported that AIIMS servers were targeted by Chinese hackers as agencies had found an IP address originating from there.
It began on 23rd November when the servers went down and it affected the outpatient department (OPD) and sample collection services. A few days later, AIIMS had to finally restart its OPD through online booking.
Dramatic scenes unfolded during the Pakistan vs Bangladesh World Cup cricket match held at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 31st October when four individuals were temporarily detained by the local authorities for waving a Palestinian flag in the presence of other spectators and cops. However, they were eventually set free following initial interrogation.
The incident reportedly transpired near Gate 6 and Block G1 of the stadium, where the accused displayed the flag. According to accounts, the the purpose of the demonstrators was first unknown to the police stationed at Eden Gardens, nonetheless, their temporary confinement resulted after the instance.
The Palestinian flag was waved when Bangladesh was batting during the first innings of the match. It was shown as a symbol of protest against the ongoing dispute between Israel–Hamas in Gaza, the Palestinian area controlled by the terror group. The perpetrators are in their mid-twenties and were identified as residents of the Bally, Ekbalpore, and Karaya Police Station areas. Two of them were political workers who had entered the stadium after participating in a protest march.
They were taken into custody and questioned by the police at the Maidan Police Station before being released at midnight. A senior police officer informed, “After preliminary questioning, all the four have left Maidan Police Station. They are residents of the Bally, Ekbalpore and Karaya PS areas. We had detained them for waving the Palestinian flag near Gate 6 and Block G1.”
He proclaimed, “Policemen posted at Eden Gardens initially could not understand what the protesters were up to. Then they waved the Palestine flag before being detained. They, however, did not raise any slogan.”
Three or four people chose to fly the Palestinian flag in protest of the war, according to a man named Shehnaz. He added that the group did not anticipate the incident being a contentious one. “I heard that the war is going on. Everyone said that it must be stopped. We started protesting against it by waving the flag of Palestine. We did not expect that there would be a controversy while waving the flag. We also did not expect that photos and videos would go viral.”
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sishir Bajoria responded to the event by challenging the involvement of the Kolkata Police who were stationed at Eden Gardens for the World Cup match. “It is the responsibility of the police to stop this. How can anyone do this? This will have a national impact. There is appeasement politics in West Bengal. This was not expected.”
Notably, Pakistani cricketer Muhammad Rizwan dedicated Pakistan’s victory against Sri Lanka in the World Cup match in Hyderabad last month to the people of Gaza after which the country lost four straight games against other teams, including India and Afghanistan which almost ended their chances of making it to the semifinals.
This was for our brothers and sisters in Gaza. ??
Happy to contribute in the win. Credits to the whole team and especially Abdullah Shafique and Hassan Ali for making it easier.
Extremely grateful to the people of Hyderabad for the amazing hospitality and support throughout.
Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets to keep their slim hopes of qualifying in the next round alive. Bangladesh, on the other hand, has been officially eliminated from the tournament.
The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to take back the land of the Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan’s Mohammad Ali Jauhar University as he was charged with failing to uphold the lease’s conditions. The decision was approved by the cabinet on 31 October. Now, the site is ready to be handed over to the village society at a very low cost in order to establish an industry.
Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna informed, “The decision was taken due to violations of the conditions of the lease agreement. After reviewing the report submitted by a four-member inquiry committee formed by the Rampur DM, the government has decided to reclaim the land and building. The ownership of this 41,181 sqft land will be transferred back to the Secondary Education Department by the state government.”
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Rampur stated that the matter dates back to 1990 when there used to be a Government Murtaza School with 4,000 students near the Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) office in the area. The former parliamentarian from the region vacated the school and transferred the entire property to the Jauhar Trust in violation of the law. He transferred the land’s license to his private Rampur Public School following the Samajwadi Party’s return to power.
#UPCabinetMeeting योगी सरकार ने जौहर ट्रस्ट से वापस ली जमीन, कैबिनेट ने फैसले पर भी लगाई मुहर.. शिक्षा विभाग की 41181 वर्गफुट जमीन जौहर ट्रस्ट को 100 रुपए सालाना किराये पर नियमों का उल्लंघन करते हुए 30 साल के लिये लीज पर दी गयी थी।#BreakingNews#bjp#akashsaxena… pic.twitter.com/6o2XNMM6iK
The administration of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath viewed it as a fraud. The BJP lawmaker questioned how the SP leader was granted land valued at Rs 100 crore for an annual lease of merely Rs 100. Furthermore, he pointed out that the previous government adversely affected the prospects and jeopardised the future of 4,000 children by disregarding the rules. The process of recovering the land and building from the Jauhar Trust has now been initiated by the Department of Secondary Education.
The site has been turned over to the local society and there are plans to establish industries there. The action taken by the government is regarded as a serious setback for the Samajwadi Party veteran who is presently in jail. Akash Saxena has assured that no child’s education or career would be affected. The action has been taken in response to his complaint.
On the other hand, Samajwadi Party supremo has slammed the state government for its move. Akhilesh Yadav claimed that Azam Khan is a target of harassment from the current regime because he is a Muslim. He addressed the latter with honorifics such as honourable and sir as well as labelled the measures undertaken by the Bharatiya Janta Party government as wrong traditions.
The trust was granted approximately 41,181 square feet of land by the former Samajwadi Party government via two decrees issued in September 2006 and February 2007. It received a 30-year tenancy on the State Education Department’s land in exchange for an annual rent payment of Rs 100.
The ongoing protest in the state of Maharashtra by the Maratha community who wants reservation in jobs and education is slowly taking a violent turn. After vandalism and arson were reported from Jalna, Beed, Dharashiv, Pune, and several other districts of Maharashtra, Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif’s car was recently attacked by unidentified persons in Mumbai.
As per local reports, unidentified persons attacked NCP leader Mushrif’s car and vandalized the vehicle. The police took cognizance of the event and immediately detained 3 persons in the case. However, the Minister’s home and his family in the Kolhapur district of Maharashtra have also been provided with police security.
Maharashtra | Two men raising slogans for Maratha reservation seen vandalising the car belonging to State minister & NCP leader Hasan Mushrif at the MLAs' residence near Akashvani in Mumbai's Colaba, say police. Police have detained three people in this connection. pic.twitter.com/SulHanIChF
The incident happened at the MLAs’ residence near Akashvani in Mumbai’s Colaba region.
Mushrif commented on the matter and confirmed that he was safe. Meanwhile, he also appealed to the police to release all the detained persons in the case. “The government understands these people’s aggression. Don’t punish them. Maratha people are our people and we will support them until they are given reservation. Burning homes of NCP MLAs is highly condemned though. This shouldn’t happen,” the Minister said.
On the other hand Union Minister Narayan Rane’s effigy was burned in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, formerly known as the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. As exclusively reported by Republic TV, the protesters raised slogans of ‘Ek Maratha, Lakh Maratha’. They could also be seen demanding Kunbi caste certificates for all Maratha community people by default to seek the benefits of the reservations available for the Other Backward class (OBC) people.
As reported earlier, the contentious issue of Maratha reservations has once again taken the central stage in Maharashtra politics as Lok Sabha and Assembly elections draw near. On 31st October, CM Eknath Shinde met Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil and assured him that a concrete decision would be taken in the cabinet meeting regarding the Maratha reservations. He said that the matter regarding giving Kunbi certificates to the Maratha community will also be discussed. CM Shinde meanwhile also stated that the government has filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court.
Following a fruitful conversation with Chief Minister Shinde, Manoj Jarange Patil, who was on a hunger strike until his death to demand reservations for the Maratha community, ended the fast and consumed water. “The government has filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court for Maratha reservation. Therefore, I am hopeful that the Maratha community will get the reservation soon,” Patil said.
The violent protesters last week set ablaze the residential properties of 2 NCP MLAs Prakash Solanke (Ajit Pawar faction) and Sandeep Kshirsagar (Sharad Pawar faction) in Beed. Offices of former NCP MLA and minister Jaydutt Kshirsagar were also set on fire. Also, similar violence was reported in Jalna and Pune districts.
As elections draw closer, the reservation issue in the state seems to have fanned up. State leaders and opposition are racing to see Manoj Jarange Patil in person even though there is a high-level investigation underway to determine who is at fault for the recent wave of aggressiveness that resulted in violence in the Beed and Jalna districts. A detailed account of the ongoing Maratha reservation stir can be read here.
Saudi Arabia has emerged as the only bidder for 2034 football World Cup. The decision to hand over the hosting rights for the event to Saudi Arabia will be ratified officially at the end of next year, providing all of the criteria are met.
After the news was announced, FIFA President Gianni Infantino took to his official Instagram account and said that the bidding processes were approved by consensus via the FIFA Council.
“The bidding processes were approved by consensus via the FIFA Council – where all six confederations are represented – after constructive dialogue and extensive consultation. Thank you to everyone who has participated in this positive exchange,” the FIFA President wrote on social media.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia submitted their bid to FIFA to host the men’s event after the football apex body restricted the process to countries from Oceania and Asia.
Australia had also shown interest in hosting the event and was the only serious challenger to Saudi Arabia. However, before FIFA’s deadline for declarations of interest on October 31, Football Australia stepped back and decided not to place a bid.
The lack of any competition raises numerous questions about the compatibility of the tournament with FIFA’s human rights commitments.
If the bid is ratified, Saudi Arabia will become the second country in the Middle-East after Qatar to host the football World Cup. The World Cup in Saudi Arabia could also be played in the Winter months as it was in Qatar 2022.
United States of America, Canada and Mexico will host the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup. The upcoming edition of the tournament will be different from the other editions as it will be the first edition to include 48 teams, up from 32. It will also have 12 groups of four.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will begin on June 11, 2026, and the final match of the event will take place on July 19, 2026.
A new license policy for meat shops in Delhi suggests a minimum distance of 150 meters between the shops and religious places or cremation grounds. The policy is among the 54 resolutions passed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) which aims to standardise licensing fees and regulations.
The new policy reportedly aims to maintain distance between the meat shops and religious places to ensure respect for religious sentiments and public pathways. However, the MCD will reportedly not take the distance between the shops and religious places into consideration if the latter was established after the grant of the license.
The policy will allow only such meat shops to open near a mosque that sells approved species, except pork, provided the ‘no objection certificate’ has been approved by the mosque or the imam. There will be no restriction on the size of the shops in commercial areas.
Currently, in residential areas, the minimum allowed size for a meat shop is 20 square meters, as per the Delhi Master Plan 2021. However, there are no size restrictions for shops in commercial areas. The mandated minimum size for meat processing plants is 150 square meters.
The new policy reportedly seeks to eliminate the discrepancies in licensing fees and regulations among the north, south, and east corporations. The new policy also suggests fixed fees for issuing and renewing licenses up to Rs 18,000 for shops and Rs 1.5 lakh for processing units.
“Before the unification, the three civic bodies had their own policies for granting licenses to meat shops and processing units, as well as different fees and penalties. We have been advocating for a uniform policy for a long time,” an MCD official stated.
The policy will be effective after the Department of Veterinary Services issues the notification. Moreover, the policy adds that the fees and penalties will be hiked by 15 per cent after every three financial years from the date the license is issued.
Meanwhile, the meat traders’ body has reportedly threatened to move court against the policy. The Delhi Meat Merchants Association has expressed that the policy will lead to corruption.
“Why would an illegal shop owner who finds it difficult to pay even ₹2,700 will now pay ₹7,000 as renewal charges, if he can manage by paying a little amount to the local police? This will actually cause a huge loss in revenue to the MCD and also lead to corruption,” an official of the association said.
The association has also threatened to stage a demonstration.
