Current News

  In a latest development in the inquiry agaiant former Mumbai top cop Param Bir Singh, the  Central Bureau of Investigation  (CBI) has registered three Preliminary Enquiries (PEs) against him and others following directions from the apex court. The PEs are not FIRs but a process to collect and check prima faice evidences on the basis of witnesses’ account, documents etc. If prima facie a case is made out, the  CBI  will then convert these PEs into FIRs. A top source said that the PEs were initiated against Singh, Jitendra Navlani, former cop Pradeep Sharma and others. They all have been accused of taking bribe, extorting money and indulging in criminal misconducts. To know more:  https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/cbi-registers-three-preliminary-enquiries-against-param-bir-singh-others-122042700944_1.html

  More than 400 events will be be held across seven days at this year’s Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, which will take place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from May 23 to 29. Organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, part of the Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi, the event, now in its 31st year, will bring together literary figures, Nobel laureates, academics and industry professionals from around the world, hosting more than 1,000 publishers from 80 countries. The programme will include literary and cultural seminars, creative workshops, panel discussions, poetry evenings, educational events, book signings by 80 authors and children’s activities presented by renowned writers, experts and entertainers. Germany will be Guest of Honour this year, and will be the focus of more than 15 cultural events, which will feature publishers, intellectuals and creators from the country. Special activities will include screenings of German films, as well as e...

  Writers facing deadlines go to Tokyo’s “Manuscript Writing Café” with an understanding – they can’t leave until their work is done. Oh, and there’s prodding thrown in to make sure they buckle down and finish. The clean, well-lit place in western Tokyo has 10 seats reserved for writers, editors, manga artists and anybody else grappling with the written word and deadlines. Coffee and tea are unlimited and self-serve, and high-speed Wi-Fi and docking ports are installed at every seat. To know more:  https://english.alarabiya.net/life-style/2022/04/26/Japan-s-anti-procrastination-cafe-helps-writers-meet-deadlines

  New Delhi:  The Justice K.U. Chandiwal Commission, set up to probe allegations of corruption levelled against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh by former Mumbai police commissioner Parambir Singh, has given Deshmukh a “clean chit”, the  Free Press Journa l  reported . On Tuesday, April 26, the commission submitted its report on the probe to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and home minister Dilip Walse Patil, which was 201 pages long and included 1,400 pages of annexures. Retired Justice of the Bombay high court Chandiwal was appointed to lead the probe on March 30 last year after Singh, in a letter addressed to the chief minister and other high-ranking officials, accused Deshmukh of running an extortion racket wherein he asked police officials to collect Rs 100 crore from bar and restaurant owners every month. Singh’s allegations in the letter were reportedly made on the basis of statements by the then assistant commissioner of police Sanja...

  Authorities were investigating Thursday after former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson was recorded on video punching a fellow passenger on board a plane at San Francisco International Airport. The video shows Tyson leaning over the back of his seat repeatedly striking the unidentified man in the head, drawing blood. The footage was first shared by TMZ, which said it was recorded on a Jet Blue plane bound for Florida. To know more :  https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/04/22/Mike-Tyson-punches-fellow-airline-passenger-video-surfaces

  Russia denied accusations on Wednesday that it was using natural gas supplies as a tool of blackmail after energy giant Gazprom  halted flows to Poland and Bulgaria , and the Kremlin said other countries refusing to pay for gas in rubles could face the same outcome. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Gazprom’s announcement was yet another attempt by Russia to use gas as an instrument of blackmail. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected this, telling reporters: “Russia was and remains a reliable supplier of energy resources to its consumers and remains committed to its contractual obligations.” To know more:  https://english.alarabiya.net/business/energy/2022/04/27/Russia-denies-gas-blackmail-after-halting-flows-to-Poland-and-Bulgaria

  The Bangalore bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has deleted an income tax addition made against former Chief Minister of Karnataka for want of documentary evidence supporting the addition. Last year, a five-day search operations conducted by the Income Tax department in Karnataka and three other states have resulted in the detection of a huge amount of undisclosed income. The raids were carried out in 47 locations, including at the house of a close aide of former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa. Read More:  https://www.taxscan.in/lack-of-evidence-itat-deletes-income-tax-addition-against-karnataka-ex-cm-b-s-

  OPEC+ is likely to stick to its existing deal and agree another 432,000 barrel per day oil output increase for June when it meets on May 5, six sources from the producer group told Reuters on Thursday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, have been unwinding record output cuts in place since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in 2020. To know more:  https://english.alarabiya.net/business/energy/2022/04/28/OPEC-likely-to-raise-June-output-by-432-000-bpd-at-next-meet-sources-say

  Last week, 24-year-old Elise Clougherty, a Stanford neuro-engineering graduate and former Ford print model, filed a lawsuit against Joseph Lonsdale, a powerful Silicon Valley entrepreneur who, along with Peter Thiel, co-founded the secretive data-mining company Palantir Technologies. The graphic suit alleges that from February 2012 to February 2013, Lonsdale took advantage of his position as Clougherty’s mentor in a Stanford mentorship program to physically, emotionally, and sexually abuse her. Less than two days after Clougherty’s suit was made public, Lonsdale set up a defense website featuring a long letter that framed Clougherty as a vindictive ex-girlfriend with mental issues whose overbearing mother was intimately involved in her life. He then filed his own defamation countersuit, claiming their relationship was consensual and furnishing email correspondences and a signed statement from one of Clougherty’s close friends to discredit her allegations. Lonsdale doesn’t come w...

  Israeli private detective Aviram Azari is being charged in relation to BellTroX InfoTech Services, which was behind a hacking campaign that targeted lawyers, government officials, businessmen, investors and activists around the world. Washington: An Israeli private detective detained in New York since 2019 on charges of involvement in a hacker-for-hire scheme wants a plea deal, according to a letter filed in court by his lawyer. The unusual case has revealed the impacts of a secretive but thriving cyberespionage industry in India. Federal prosecutors say the jailed detective, Aviram Azari, organised a series of hacking missions through unnamed third parties against American companies base. To know more: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/information-tech/israeli-linked-to-indias-belltrox-in-global-hacker-for-hire-scheme-seeks-plea-deal-in-us/articleshow/84010073.cms

  Anurag Batra Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of the BW Businessworld Group Anurag Batra is a serial entrepreneur, media mogul, a journalist and an eternal optimist rolled into one. He is a B. Tech graduate in Computer Sciences, a degree which he acquired before joining Management Development Institute MDI Gurgaon, one of India's leading Business School. He is a first-generation entrepreneur and he acquired the iconic business media and magazine brand BW Businessworld. Anurag Batra forecasts his views on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on the world economy. According to him, information wars are preceding real conflicts, and then escalating them. Anurag Batra is a successful entrepreneur, media magnate, journalist and a perpetual optimist rolled into one. He is a B. Tech graduate in Computer Sciences, a degree which he acquired before joining Management Development Institute MDI Gurgaon, one of India's leading Business School. He is a first-generation entrepreneur ...

  SINGAPORE: A Malaysian man convicted of drug trafficking was executed on Wednesday in Singapore despite appeals for clemency on the grounds that he had an intellectual disability, his family said. Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, 34, had been on death row for more than a decade for trafficking 44 grams (1.5 oz) of heroin into Singapore, which has some of the world’s toughest narcotics laws. His lawyers had filed multiple appeals against his execution saying he was intellectually disabled. To know more:  https://www.arabnews.com/node/2071456/world

  DAMASCUS, Syria: Four Syrian soldiers were killed and three others wounded in an Israeli air strike, a Syrian military source told state news agency SANA on Wednesday. “The Israeli enemy carried out an air assault at dawn… targeting several positions around Damascus,” the military source said. “The investigation indicated that four soldiers were killed, three others injured and material damage noted.” To know more:  https://www.arabnews.com/node/2071416/middle-east

  SAWA LAKE, Iraq: A “No Fishing” sign on the edge of Iraq’s western desert is one of the few clues that this was once Sawa Lake, a biodiverse wetland and recreational landmark. Human activity and climate change have combined to turn the site into a barren wasteland with piles of salt. Abandoned hotels and tourist facilities here hark back to the 1990s when the salt lake, circled by sandy banks, was in its heyday and popular with newly-weds and families who came to swim and picnic. But today, the lake near the city of Samawa, south of the capital Baghdad, is completely dry. To know more:  https://www.arabnews.com/node/2071441/middle-east

  New Delhi: A massive fire broke out at the Bhalswa landfill site in north Delhi on Tuesday, officials said. The fire department received information about the blaze around 5.47 pm following which 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot, they said. Officials said presently 13 fire tenders are working at the site to douse the flames. Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday asked the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to submit a report on the Bhalswa landfill fire within 24 hours. This year, three incidents of fire were reported in east Delhi’s Ghazipur landfill site, including the one on March 28 which was finally doused over 50 hours after it broke out. To know more:  https://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/massive-fire-breaks-out-in-delhi-landfill-site-2922543

  At least 11 people were electrocuted after a temple chariot came in contact with a high voltage electric wire during a chariot procession in Thanjavur district. The incident took place at Kalimedu when the chariot procession of Appar Swamy Mutt was under way. Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin announced Rs 5 lakh compensation for families of the victims of the Thanjavur electrocution accident. Stay with TOI for all the latest updates To know more:  https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/tamil-nadu-chennai-weather-covid-19-cases-school-reopening-m-k-stalin-news-live-updates-27-april-2021/liveblog/91113573.cms

  WASHINGTON: The White House is worried Iran could develop a nuclear weapon in weeks, press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday, after Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted earlier in the day the country has accelerated its nuclear program. “Yes it definitely worries us,” Psaki said, adding the time needed for Iran to produce a nuclear weapon is down from about a year. Earlier, Blinken said the US still believes a return to a nuclear deal is the best path with Iran, amid a prolonged standoff in talks. Facing criticism of the deal during an appearance before Congress, Blinken called the 2015 agreement imperfect but better than the alternatives. To know more:  https://www.arabnews.com/node/2071241/middle-east

  LONDON: British government borrowing in the recently ended 2021/22 financial year was almost 20 percent higher than forecast by the country’s budget office last month, according to figures published on Tuesday. The data underscored the challenge for finance minister Rishi Sunak who is under pressure to give new help to households and businesses hit by surging inflation, but who says he wants to fix the public finances after his COVID-19 borrowing surge. To more more:  https://www.arabnews.com/node/2070786/world

  TEHRAN: A court in Iran has sentenced two students to 16-year prison terms each on charges of endangering national security, the judiciary’s spokesman said Tuesday. According to the spokesman, Zabihollah Khodaeian, the two sabotaged public facilities, tried to cooperate with opposition groups and spread propaganda against the system. These actions translated to 10-year, five and one -year prison terms, he added. To know more:   https://www.arabnews.com/node/2070796/world

  DUBAI: Half a century after astronauts last walked on the Moon, a new age of space exploration is dawning with Japan among several nations, including Saudi Arabia, who are focused on gathering data about life beyond planet Earth. Japan’s Asteroid Explorer Hayabusa was the first to bring asteroid dust back to Earth after touching down on Itokawa in 2005. On Feb. 22, 2019 the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2, the successor to the first mission, completed a touchdown on the surface of the asteroid Ryugu where it retrieved samples. To know more:  https://www.arabnews.com/node/2070836/world

  Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has fined 10 Umrah companies $13,000 each for failing to provide adequate services to pilgrims.  The companies were fined for negligence, breach of duties, and failure to fulfill their obligations to pilgrims in terms of transportation and housing, the ministry said in a statement on Monday.  To know more:  https://www.arabnews.com/node/2070781/saudi-arabia

  RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s new investment law is expected to increase international business by 50 percent, as it treats both local and foreign investment equally, removing any commercial advantage previously extended to Saudi companies, said Sovereign Saudi Arabia.  “By legally enforcing the principle of competitive neutrality to public and private investors, this removes any previous commercial barriers to entry,” said Paul Arnold, managing director of Sovereign Saudi Arabia. 

  DUBAI: After taking the landmark step in 2019 to open its doors to international tourism as part of a strategy to diversify its economy, Saudi Arabia is now fast-tracking measures to streamline its air connectivity network, making it faster and cheaper to visit the Kingdom. A recently signed agreement between the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) and Emirates, one of the biggest commercial carriers in the world, promises to boost the number of international travelers opting to vacation in the Kingdom, while benefiting both economies. To know more:  https://www.arabnews.com/node/2070521/saudi-arabia

  SAN FRANCISCO: Billionaire Elon Musk has reached an agreement to acquire Twitter for approximately $44 billion, the company said. The outspoken Tesla CEO, the world’s wealthiest person, has said he wants to buy Twitter because he thinks it’s not living up to its potential as a platform for “free speech.” He says it needs to be transformed as a private company in order to build trust with users and do better at serving what he calls the “societal imperative” of free speech. To know more:  https://www.arabnews.com/node/2070436/media

  LVIV/KYIV, Ukraine: Russia told the world not to underestimate the considerable risks of nuclear war that it said it wanted to reduce and warned that conventional Western weapons were legitimate targets in Ukraine, where battles raged in the east. “The risks now are considerable,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russia’s state television according to a transcript of an interview on the ministry’s website. To know more:  https://www.arabnews.com/node/2070651/world

  The estranged sixth wife of Sheik Mohammed al-Maktoum is being supported in her secret London hideaway by her Jordanian prince brother, it was revealed today. Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, 45, is battling Dubai’s billionaire ruler in the High Court to secure a forced marriage protection order for their two children – and stop them leaving Britain. And today she was supported by her younger brother Prince Ali bin Hussein, 43, who hugged her as she wore a fleece with the Jordanian flag on her sleeve in a picture he shared on Twitter from her bolthole. Princess Haya claims to have fled Dubai with her two children to hide in the UK ‘in fear of her life’ after becoming estranged from Sheik Mohammed. Haya and Prince Ali are the children of King Hussein, who was succeeded on the throne in Amman by Abdullah II in 1999. King Abdullah has visited Sheik Mohammed’s UAE twice in the past month – including one Abu Dhabi trip on the eve of the first hearing – in what diplomatic sources said we...

  Gustavo de Aristegui Gustavo Manuel de Arístegui is a Spanish politician, diplomat, an international analyst and the former ambassador of Spain in India. Gustavo de Arístegui, the former spokesman of Popular party, opens up on the daunting factors of jihadist terrorism. He says that Kashmir is a very attractive because of global jihadist terrorism. Gustavo de Arístegui, the former spokesman of Popular party and the Spanish ambassador to India, rightly points out the factors that keep Kashmir as the attraction of global jihadist.   Gustavo de Arístegui , from his investigation, says that Kashmir is an attractive cause’ for global jihadist. Gustavo had an article written about combating terrorism referring to this. Gustavo de Arístegui feels that some of India’s friends have not understood the Kashmir problem like those who have wanted to stay ‘neutral’ dubbing the Indian State as ‘disputed territory’, or those who have analyzed it exclusively as Indo-Pakistani struggle to con...

  US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a   new pledge of $800 million in military aid   for Ukraine as Russia shows no signs of ending its invasion of the country. Asked about how long the US would be able to continue supplying Ukraine with weapons, Biden said Washington had “the capacity to do this for a long time.” But he warned that the aid for Ukraine, which was approved in a bipartisan manner in Congress, was “almost exhausted.” Biden thanked Congress and voiced his hope that more assistance would be approved. The Pentagon released a statement saying the latest drawdown of military aid for Ukraine would include: 72 155mm Howitzers and 144,000 artillery rounds 72 Tactical Vehicles to tow 155mm Howitzers Over 121 Phoenix Ghost Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems Field equipment and spare parts To Know More: https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/04/21/Biden-announces-new-pledge-of-800-mln-in-military-aid-for-Ukraine