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Republican senators write to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, tell him Chinese aggression against India and Taiwan is unacceptable

OpIndia Staff
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Republican senators write to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, tell him Chinese aggression against India and Taiwan is unacceptable

Republican lawmakers in the USA have sought Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s intervention in China’s aggression against India and Taiwan. Influential Republican lawmakers have urged Blinken to tell the Chinese leadership that its aggressive attitude in Asia is unacceptable. This demand has been made at a time when Blinken is going on a visit to China.

Republican senators, led by Marco Rubio of Florida, have written a letter to Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. In this letter, the Republican legislators have requested Blinken and Yellen to inform the Chinese leadership that their brazen aggression towards Taiwan and India is unacceptable.

The Senators have also urged both leaders to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) responsible for its egregious human rights violations, unfair trade practices, a starring role in the fentanyl crisis, and aggression toward allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific. The letter says the CCP has stepped up its attack in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.

The senators added in the letter, “As we have seen recently, General Secretary Xi has engaged in unacceptable and provocative behavior in the Taiwan strait and along the Himalayan border with India. Beyond the Indo-Pacific, the CCP has intelligence collection outposts in the United States, Japan, and throughout Europe to suppress dissidents and keep tabs on those who Beijing deems a threat. It is evident that General Secretary Xi is determined to use coercion and aggression against the US and our allies and partners to achieve his geopolitical goals. Deterring the CCP from achieving these goals, therefore, must be our top priority.”

Along with Marco Rubio, other senators who signed the letter include Chuck Grassley, Bill Cassidy, Eric Schmitt, Dan Sullivan, Kevin Cramer, Ted Budd, Rick Scott, Marsha Blackburn, Lindsey Graham, Shelley Moore Capito, Pete Ricketts, John Hoeven, and Bill Hagerty.

It is notable that China has border disputes with many countries. It claims almost all disputed areas of the South China Sea. However, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has also built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea to expand its control. Even, China has territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea as well.

Meanwhile, India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken before his upcoming visit to Beijing. In this meeting, the two discussed a wide range of global and regional issues, and both committed to deepening the bilateral strategic partnership.

After this meeting, Antony Blinken tweeted, “The United States is expanding cooperation with India to address global challenges. I had a good meeting with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval today to discuss deepening our strategic partnership.”

The Indian Embassy tweeting about the meeting said, “NSA Ajit Doval met Secretary of State Antony Blinken today. Both sides exchanged views on a wide range of global and regional issues of mutual interest and how to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.”

Antony Blinken will be in China on the 5th and 6th of February. Blinken’s agenda is expected to include Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s nuclear arsenal, and US citizens held in China.

J&K Police demolishes Hurriyat leader Qazi Yasir’s shopping complex built on encroached government land in Anantnag

OpIndia Staff
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J&K Police demolishes Hurriyat leader Qazi Yasir’s shopping complex built on encroached government land in Anantnag

On Thursday, a bulldozer was rolled over a business complex owned by Hurriyat leader Qazi Ahmed Yasir in Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir, after the authorities proved that he had illegally encroached on public property.  Qazi Ahmed Yasir is the son of slain politician Qazi Nisar.

According to the reports, a JCB bulldozer was used to partially demolish sections of the structure, which had allegedly been built illegally on government property near the stadium in Anantnag. The demolition was carried out on Thursday morning by Jammu and Kashmir police and officials from the Anantnag district administration’s revenue department.

The complex has six shops in its basement but they were not yet rented out. The shops were not demolished, however, the building’s second storey was completely demolished. An official said that the shops in the complex have been sealed, and they will be handed over to the Municipal council Anantnag.

Hurriyat leader Qazi Ahmed Yasir is the former Mirwaiz of South Kashmir, and he was suspended from the post in 2018 after a purported video surfaced showing him in an obscene act with a woman. The case is currently under investigation by a body of socio, political, legal and religious activists from the Kashmir valley. Yasir is in jail since 2018. He was a member of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) led by its chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

The National Investigating Agency (NIA) recently seized the office of the All Party Hurriyat Conference in Srinagar’s Rajbagh area in compliance with a Delhi court’s directions in a case concerning terror funding. The Jammu and Kashmir administration’s latest land eviction effort is part of a crackdown on unlawful buildings in the Valley.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Jammu and Kashmir government launched an anti-encroachment campaign to reclaim state land allegedly occupied by three significant political and business families.

During the demolition operation in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, authorities reclaimed land from the possession of two former MPs and the heirs of a former Chief Minister. Furthermore, the authorities recovered 52 kanals of state land and razed structures in Srinagar allegedly established by two business families. The government also confiscated a Pahalgam guest house built on state land.

Germany: Iraqi woman Shahraban along with her boyfriend kills Instagram ‘lookalike’ by stabbing her more than 50 times, to fake her own death

OpIndia Staff
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Germany: Iraqi woman Shahraban along with her boyfriend kills Instagram ‘lookalike’ by stabbing her more than 50 times, to fake her own death

In a horrific incident, Shahraban K, a 23-year-old German woman of Iraqi origin has been accused of mercilessly killing her doppelganger in an attempt to fake her own death. As per details disclosed by the German authorities on Monday (January 30), the accused took the assistance of her boyfriend Sheqir K to execute the heinous crime in the month of August last year.

Sharaban K and her friend Sheqir K, accused of assisting in the plot, were arrested on August 19, 2022, but the entire scope of the investigation and their alleged intentions were not made public by officials until Monday this week.

Veronika Grieser of the Ingolstadt state prosecutor’s office was quoted by The Guardian as saying on Monday, “Investigations have led us to assume that the accused wanted to go into hiding because of a family dispute and fake her own death to that effect.”

According to reports, in the week before the murder, the accused, who lived in Munich in Germany, contacted several women who resembled her and were operating on social media sites under numerous aliases on Instagram. The accused then narrowed down on the victim- a cosmetics blogger and an Algerian citizen Khadidja O (23), who lived about 100 miles away.

According to authorities, Shahraban K and her boyfriend, Sheqir K approached Khadidja O and lured her by offering her cosmetic products. Khadidja O agreed to meet the duo. The accused, on the day of the murder, went to Khadidja’s house to pick her up.

On their way back, when the car reached a section of woodland between Heilbronn and Ingolstadt, the accused duo reportedly drew up an excuse for the Algerian woman to step outside the vehicle. As soon as she got down, the accused brutally stabbed the victim around 50 times, leaving her face completely disfigured.

Reportedly, before going to meet the victim, accused Shahraban had told her husband that she was going to see her ex-husband. However, when Shahraban didn’t return, her parents began searching for her in Ingolstadt, a city in Bavaria, Germany. Upon searching, they came across her Mercedes car near the banks of the famous Danube river.

As they approached the car, they saw the body of a dark-haired young woman brutally murdered in the back seat of the car, and they thought it was their daughter.

According to police, several knives were found near the car, which was reportedly discovered not far from Shahraban’s boyfriend Sheqir K’s flat.

Initially, due to the uncanny resemblance between the deceased and the accused, the latter’s family members identified the body. However, an autopsy report that came in the next day and subsequent DNA reports proved that the body was actually Khadidja O, an Algerian beauty blogger from Heilbronn in the neighbouring state of Baden-Württemberg.

The German police arrested Shahraban K and Sheqir K for the brutal murder.

“The crime weapon has not been found, but the evidence is overwhelming,” a police spokesperson, Andreas Aichele, told the tabloid Bild. “The victim was killed with over 50 thrusts of the knife, the face completely disfigured.”

Iran threatens to impose $18 billion penalty on Pakistan: Here is why

OpIndia Staff
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Iran threatens to impose $18 billion penalty on Pakistan: Here is why

The troubles of an already financially struggling Pakistan are unlikely to end anytime soon.  A crisis-hit Pakistan may soon have to pay a penalty of $18 billion as Iran has warned the country to either complete the construction work on a multi-billion dollar gas pipeline project or pay the penalty.

As per Pakistani media reports, Iran’s Ministry of Energy has given Pakistan a deadline of February-March 2024 to build a portion of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project on its territory or else pay a heavy penalty.

Notably, Iran has already finished construction on their part of the pipeline, which stretches from the gas fields in the west of Iran to its eastern neighbour Pakistan.

Time and again, Pakistan has expressed its inability to complete the construction of the pipeline project due to US sanctions imposed on Iran. 

Iran-Pakistan Pipeline Project

The Iran-Pakistan Pipeline Project, also known as Peace Project, had initially included India as well. The plan was to export Iranian gas via a pipeline running through Pakistan to India. The $7.5 billion construction project, extending to 1700 miles, was to bring gas from the South Pars gas field through Balochistan into India.  A deal between the three countries was signed, however, India pulled out of the deal owing to security concerns and high tariffs being levied by Pakistan. 

After India pulled out of the deal, Pakistan and Iran went ahead with the plan and signed a deal in 2009, the project was supposed to be completed by 2014-15. However, Pakistan failed to fulfill its commitment due to the US sanctions imposed against Iran. 

In September 2019, Iran and Pakistan signed a revised deal, wherein, the two countries decided to mutually chalk out a plan to complete the construction work of the project. According to the agreement signed between Inter State Gas Systems (ISGS) of Pakistan and the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), Iran also agreed not to approach any International court if Pakistan completes the project by 2024. 

As the deadline for Pakistan to complete the project is approaching, Iran has warned Pakistan to fulfill its commitment by March 2024 or be ready to pay a penalty of $18 billion. Currently, it looks beyond Pakistan’s capabilities to pay the amount due to the ongoing economic crisis in Pakistan.

Economic crisis in Pakistan 

Pakistan is experiencing its worst economic crisis in years as the country is dealing with a shortage of food, shortage of power, sky-high inflation, and a collapsing currency. The economy of Pakistan has been spiraling out of control due to the vicious cycle of debt and partial payments. 

In addition to running out of money, Pakistan has also run out of flour to feed its population, and the country is facing massive power cuts as well.

With expanding debt, rising energy import costs, depleted foreign reserves, political instability, a protracted decline in GDP growth millions losing jobs, the country desperately needs a bailout.

The situation in several cities of Pakistan is so grave that flour is being rationed and guarded by armed guards. Prices of flour and wheat have witnessed a dramatic surge. 

VHP and Bajrang Dal demand ban on non-Hindu vendors from temple fair in Karnataka’s Gubbi, submit memorandum with DC

OpIndia Staff
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VHP and Bajrang Dal demand ban on non-Hindu vendors from temple fair in Karnataka’s Gubbi, submit memorandum with DC

The demand for banning non-Hindus from Hindu temples and temple festivals continues in Karnataka. The latest is the demand to ban non-Hindu traders from the fair in a temple in Gubbi in Tumakuru District. On February 1, Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) petitioned the Tumakuru District Collector YS Patil to forbid non-Hindu vendors from participating in Thursday’s fair at the Gosala Sri Channabasaveshwara Swamy Temple in Gubbi. One of the numerous well-known festivals held in the Tumakuru district is the Shree Channabasaveshwara Mandir Mela.

Hindu organizations appealed to the Collector in a memorandum, requesting that non-Hindu traders not be permitted to conduct business within 100 metres of the temple grounds. The fair is held at this temple, which is in the Muzrai division. The Hindu leaders said that if non-Hindu traders are found doing business in the mela, they will remove such vendors from the premises.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal activists had earlier, on January 14, raised ‘boycott banners’ in opposition to Muslim vendors at a religious fair in Kavuru, outside of Mangalore. The banner was displayed on the grounds of the Department of Religious Endowments’ Shree Mahalingeshwar Temple, from January 14 to January 18, as part of the religious fair.

The Bajrang Dal workers said, that the temple management committee meeting was where the boycott decision was made.

The banner had read, ‘Anyone who views idol worship as “haram” has no place in society.’

Forbes speculates that Adani bought his own now-withdrawn FPO, calls it “evidence” of wrongdoing

OpIndia Staff
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Forbes speculates that Adani bought his own now-withdrawn FPO, calls it “evidence” of wrongdoing

On February 1, Adani Group called off the fully subscribed FPO and said it would have not been morally correct to go ahead with the FPO after the share prices declined. Soon after, Forbes published a report claiming there was evidence that Adani brought shares worth $2.5 billion to the FPO to make it look “successful” and 100% subscribed. In an article titled, “There’s Evidence That The Adani Group Likely Bought Into Its Own $2.5 Billion Share Sale,” Forbes insinuated wrongdoings by Adani group while providing no such evidence to support the claim.

The usual suspects were quick to share this article gleefully. Author Saba Naqvi said, “Apparently this is what finally led to them calling off FPO. What I ponder about in the tweet below.”

Source: Twitter

The News Minute journalist Dhanya Rajendran shared the report without any additional comments.

Source: Twitter

Propagandist journalist Nikhil Wagle also shared it on his Twitter handle.

Source: Twitter

Hinduphobic Sweden based ‘professor’ Ashok Swain said, “Rules are missing in the rule books of Modi and his crony, Adani!”

Source: Twitter

Journalist Priyanka Pulla said, “So wait. *After* the first round of Hindenburg accusations of insider trading came out, Adani did it all over again in the FPO?”

Source: Twitter

Dr Prakash Kashwan wrote, “And, this is how it went — the corrupt billionaire was forced to cancel a $2.5 billion share sale after reports of more corruption surfaced. #Shame”

Source: Twitter

However, if they would have read the article they would have realised Forbes provides no such evidence for its claim.

‘Speculations’ were presented as ‘evidence’

The report authored by John Hyatt for Forbes titled “There’s Evidence That The Adani Group Likely Bought Into Its Own $2.5 Billion Share Sale”, was based on speculations which were being passed off as evidence. The so-called evidence was based on the speculations made by some ‘experts’ and the fact that the two companies that were mentioned in the Hindenburg report were mentioned in the document listing underwriters for the sale.

In its report, Forbes said Elara Capital (India) Private Limited, a subsidiary of London-based investment firm Elara Capital, and Monarch Networth Capital, an Indian brokerage firm, were two of the underwriters in the list of ten companies provided disclosed by Adani.

In its report, Hindenburg claimed that Elara Capital’s India Opportunities Fund serves as a “stock parking entity” for Adani companies. Further, it claimed that Monarch Networth Capital has been partially owned by Adani Properties Private Limited. Also, it claimed Albula, an offshore fund identified as a proxy of Adani held a 10% ownership in Monarch.

Based on this information provided by Hinderburg in the report, Forbes speculated that the inclusion of these companies “could” mean Adani bought into its shares. The report read, “The involvement of Elara Capital and Monarch Networth Capital, however, raises questions about whether any of Adani’s funds were deployed to help meet the $2.5 billion target.”

Forbes claimed IHC (Abu Dhabi) offered a last-minute injection of $400 million after a call from Gautam Adani himself. Similar claims were made about Sajjan Jindal and Sunil Mittal, two well-established business tycoons in India. No such evidence of ‘last minute calls’ by Adani were given.

Forbes also quoted two experts in the report to give it weightage. A former investment banker with Citigroup and director of Australia-based Climate Energy Finance Tim Buckley was quoted saying, “It would be my speculation that there were insiders.” Forbes also quoted US hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman saying, “I would not find it surprising if the @AdaniOnline offering was rigged with affiliated buyers.”

The entire report was based on speculations made by the “experts” and information provided by Hindenburg and not any ‘evidence’ as the title suggested.

Twitter Blue subscription service to launch soon in India, price and other details yet to be revealed

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter Blue subscription service to launch soon in India, price and other details yet to be revealed

The micro-blogging social media platform Twitter will soon roll out its Twitter Blue services in India, as the page related to the service is visible on the platform’s web view now. While no subscription prices or the exact date of its launch are known, the Twitter Blue web page reads that ‘Blue subscribers with verified phone numbers will get a blue check mark once approved’.

On December 13 last year, the social media company launched its third iteration of Twitter Blue and said that users now can buy Twitter’s blue tick for $8 (on a browser) or $11 (on an iOS device) per month. However, the service was limited only to a few countries like the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.

Screenshot of Twitter Blue on web

Twitter owner Elon Musk said at the time that he would remove all legacy blue checks in a few months. According to him, how the blue ticks were given out earlier was corrupt and nonsensical. He also said that the company would expand its services to other countries shortly.

Twitter Blue is a premium subscription service that offers a blue tick to verified users along with an option to edit tweets, publish high-resolution 1080p videos, and more. At present, those user accounts in India who have managed to subscribe, may have used VPN services to show that their accounts are being operated from one of the countries with the subscription service available.

When a user would subscribe to Twitter Blue, they will have access to subscriber-only features such as the option of editing tweets, 1080p video uploads, reader mode, and a blue checkmark. This blue tick is provided after a verified phone number is added to the account, and once the account has been evaluated.

It also appears like Twitter is putting further restrictions on who may use the service. It says the account seeking the service must be at least 90 days old to have access to the premium service. It also demands the user be active in the past 30 days and that there should be no recent change in the profile photo, display name, or username (@handle).

Twitter Blue will not be ad-free, however, subscribers may see less advertising in the future. Meanwhile, Twitter Blue for Businesses is a new service that is being tested for corporate organizations on the platform. Subscribers to this service receive a gold checkmark that distinguishes the account as an official business on Twitter. 

18-year-old ISIS terrorist Md Irfan was radicalised by Zakir Naik videos, was planning to carry out three deadly attacks in Singapore: Details

OpIndia Staff
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18-year-old ISIS terrorist Md Irfan was radicalised by Zakir Naik videos, was planning to carry out three deadly attacks in Singapore: Details

Security officials in Singapore informed on Wednesday that an 18-year-old ISIS terrorist named Muhammad Irfan Danyal bin Mohamad Nor was arrested in December for allegedly planning to carry out three targeted attacks in the island country.

According to media reports, the 18-year-old teenager was apprehended by Singapore Internal Security Department (ISD) a few days before he planned to take the ‘bai’ah’ (pledge of allegiance) to then-ISIS leader Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Quraishi. He has been detained under the Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial for up to two years.

Youth radicalised after watching Zakir Naik’s video: Singapore authorities

As per authorities, the teenager, who studied in Singapore, was a supporter of ISIS. He began getting radicalised in 2020 after viewing videos of Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and Islamic State group propaganda online. Besides watching many videos of the radical preacher Naik, Irfan also watched videos of other foreign extremist preachers such as Ahmed Deedat.

By late 2021, the teenager became completely radicalised and highly influenced by ISIS. He began photographing himself in a ski mask, index finger raised to illustrate the concept of ‘tawhid,’ in the style of ISIS terrorists he had seen online.

ISIS terrorist wanted to establish an Islamic caliphate in Singapore, was planning three terror attacks

Irfan wanted to live in an Islamic caliphate governed by Syariah (Islamic law) and establish an Islamic caliphate in Singapore. He also wanted to recruit Muslims to join the caliphate, so he started using social media to gather supporters to carry out terrorist attacks in Singapore.

Authorities confirmed that Muhammad Irfan Danyal Mohamad Nor planned to stab and kill ‘kaafirs’ (non-believers) and carry out a large-scale attack at Amoy Quee Camp by recruiting a suicide car bomber. He wanted to build a C4 explosive device to bomb the Keramat Habib Noh grave site at Haji Muhammad Salleh Mosque in Tanjong Pagar.

The teenager also intended to designate Coney Island as an ISIS wilayat (province) in the hope that it would be recognised by ISIS as an official affiliate.

On August 9, 2022, on Singapore’s National Day, he put up his designed flag on Coney Island, patterned on the flag of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham- the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist organisation in Syria. He claimed this represented the beginning of his own caliphate, which he titled the “Islamic State of Singhafura,” and posted photographs of the flag on social media to encourage others to join, according to ISD.

The self-designed flag out up by Irfan on Coney Island (Source: The Straits Times)

“Irfan believed that it was his religious obligation to spread ISIS’ radical ideology. He planned to upload his video to various social media platforms to galvanise support for ISIS, and to recruit an ISIS army of between 100 and 500 fighters to assist him in conducting attacks in Singapore,” said ISD, adding that this led the 18-year-old to plan the three attacks in Singapore.

Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam said during a media conference at Masjid Khalid in Joo Chiat Road on Wednesday: “At the point of arrest, he was determined to commit violence. He is, in our assessment, likely to have carried out a knife attack at some point… We assessed him to be an imminent security threat. That is why he was arrested.”

Notably, this is the third such arrest in Singapore in the last two years. In 2020, authorities nabbed a 16-year-old who planned to attack two mosques in Singapore after being influenced by the New Zealand mosque massacre. The following year, officials detained a 20-year-old Singaporean Muslim under the same law, charging him with plotting a lethal stabbing rampage against Jews at a synagogue.

Kharagpur Data Science Hackathon reaches the finale: 3500 sharpest minds, 700 teams and much more. Read about the event

OpIndia Staff
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Kharagpur Data Science Hackathon reaches the finale: 3500 sharpest minds, 700 teams and much more. Read about the event

With 3500+ of the sharpest minds, 700+ of the best teams, 2 competitive online rounds and a challenging presentation round, the country’s biggest hackathon – the Kharagpur Data Science Hackathon 2022 – finally reached its grand conclusion with an explosive Finale! Kharagpur Data Analytics Group, IIT Kharagpur successfully conducted the 3rd edition of its flagship event – the Kharagpur Data Science Hackathon (KDSH), sponsored by Axtria, Ingenious Insights; media partnered with The Global Hues & OpIndia and in collaboration with Kshitij, Asia’s largest Techno-Management fest.

The Hackathon aims to bring together some of the brightest minds in the country to compete on challenging real-world problems and transform their innovative ideas into practical solutions.

This year, powered by our sponsor – Axtria, Ingenious Insights, the hackathon reached even newer heights as it saw an overwhelming response by teams competing from some of the best institutions in the country, such as IIT Bombay, IIM Ahmedabad etc.

The first round of KDSH was an online quiz on Unstop and saw over 3500+ participants. Selected students proceeded to the next round – where they were presented with a Problem Statement prepared by experts from Axtria. The problem statement was immensely challenging and perplexed even the best of the teams. The teams with the most accurate solutions were selected for the Final round, held at IIT Kharagpur.

For the Final Round, Kshitij also organised a Tech Summit where Mr Puneet Singh Bhatia, Senior Director, R&D at Axtria, graced the event as an esteemed panellist. The Summit featured some of the most prominent industry leaders across different companies and sectors. Speaking at the event, he shared his vast knowledge and invaluable insights on various topics like Industry 4.0, Advanced Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and its rapidly growing influence on IoT Integration, Automation, Supply Chain and Commercial Operations across different industries – small and big.

The Final Round of KDSH was a Presentation round where the selected teams had to present their solutions to a panel of judges. The round saw a neck-to-neck competition among the best teams for the ultimate prize. After a gruelling round of presentations, three teams – Lunatic Bytes, StatisticalBros and Data Hackers- were crowned winners of the Kharagpur Data Science Hackathon 2022.

Speaking about the Hackathon, Mr Joginder Tuteja, Head – Campus Recruitment at Axtria, shared his valuable thoughts: “Axtria has always been supportive of talent and opportunities for people to excel in the field of data analytics and machine learning. IIT Kharagpur has been shaping young minds and moulding them for the future. Courses like data analytics and machine learning are what Axtria has been focusing on and has built its business on, as they are the needs of the future. We are delighted to encourage and interact with such brilliant minds.”

Kharagpur Data Analytics Group and Axtria heartily congratulate the winners of the Kharagpur Data Science Hackathon for their incredible efforts and hard work that went behind the Hackathon. We also thank all the participants for their time and effort and wish them the best. We thank Kshitij, 2023, for providing us with a platform to conduct this event. Finally, we express our immense gratitude to Axtria for their constant guidance and support throughout KDSH, without whom the Hackathon wouldn’t have been successful. We promise to come back with an even bigger bang next time!

Pakistan: Former interior minister Sheikh Rashid arrested for saying that former President Asif Ali Zardari conspired to assassinate Imran Khan

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Former interior minister Sheikh Rashid arrested for saying that former President Asif Ali Zardari conspired to assassinate Imran Khan

In the early hours of Thursday, Pakistan’s former Interior Minister in the Imran Khan-led government and Awami Muslim League leader Sheikh Rashid was arrested by Islamabad Police. Rashid was arrested for alleging that the former President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari had hatched a conspiracy to assassinate former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Sheikh Rashid, an ally of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and a close aide of Imran Khan was arrested on the complaint filed by Raja Inayat-ur-Rehman, a vice president of Rawalpindi Division of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) on January 27.

Rehman said in the FIR filed at the Aabpara Police Station that the AML chief attempted to disparage a former president and put the PPP co-chairman and his family in “permanent danger”.

The FIR was registered under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups, etc) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

FIR filed by PPP leader Raja Inayat-ur-Rehman (Image via Geo News)

Meanwhile, the PTI chief Imran Khan has condemned the arrest of his ally and slammed the alleged “vindictive and biased caretaker government.”

“Never in our history have we had such a biased, vindictive caretaker government appointed by a totally discredited ECP. Question is: can Pak afford a street movement which we are being pushed towards at a time when we have been bankrupted by the imported government?” he tweeted.

Notably, the police reportedly told journalists that they had found a bottle of liquor and a weapon in Rashid’s possession. The former interior minister was allegedly “intoxicated” when he was apprehended, according to the police.

He was initially detained by the Muree Police, who then turned him over to the Islamabad Police, who then transferred him to the Aabpara Police Station.

After his medical examination was conducted at the Policlinic Hospital, Sheikh Rashid was moved to Secretariat Police Station. Rashid has claimed that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah is behind his arrest.

The arrest comes after PTI chief Imran Khan had in a statement claimed that Asif Ali Zardari has hatched a ‘Plan C’ to assassinate him and for this purpose, Zardari has given the money of the Sindh government to a terrorist organisation. 

Interestingly, On January 25, Pakistan’s former information minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhary was arrested for threatening members of the country’s Election Commission and their families.

Chaudhary had claimed that the Shehbaz Sharif-led government was planning to get PTI chief and former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan arrested.

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