Month: August 2023

US court stays extradition of 26/11 accused Tahawwur Rana pending his appeal

Manish Kumar

Overriding the Biden administration’s appeal, a US court has ordered a stay on the extradition of Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, to India.  The extradition of Rana to India is stayed pending the conclusion of his appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  In doing so the judge overrode the government’s recommendations that there should be no stay on Rana’s extradition.  Rana faces charges for his role in the Mumbai attacks and is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley.  India’s National…

Putin ‘fully aligned’ with his military leaders , Russia seeks to ban footage of increasingly regular drone attacks on its soil

Manish Kumar

Vladimir Putin has fully aligned himself with his top military brass, despite their failure to stop a Wagner coup to topple them, according to the Institute for the Study of War.  Mr. Shoigu and General Gerasimov have “decisively won” Mr. Putin’s favour.  There is a degree of regularity now to the drone attacks against Moscow which are pretty much a nightly occurrence.   Most are downed by Russian air defence, and some cause damage. No one in Moscow or the Moscow region has been killed but the vulnerability of the…

Spanish FA chief apologizes for kissing World Cup winner at the post-match ceremony

Manish Kumar

Luis Rubiales kissed World Cup-winning player Jenni Hermoso on the lips  He was also seen planting a kiss on the cheek of the goal scorer Olga Carmona  And video emerged of him appearing to grab his crotch next to the Queen  Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales has apologized for kissing player   The football chief had faced a wave of criticism and resignation calls after the incident   In a video address today after leading politicians said he should quit or apologize, Rubiales admitted he had made a mistake.  The president…

India’s Chess Star Playing in World Cup Final vs Magnus Carlsen; Read to Know him

Manish Kumar

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa takes on world no. 1 Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in the final of the 2023 Chess World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan.  This will be the 20th time Praggnanandhaa takes on Carlsen, with the latter holding a slight advantage in head-to-head.  R Praggnanandhaa started playing chess at the age of 5, before winning the World Youth Chess Championship Under-8 title in 2013.  At 10 years, 10 months, and 19 days, Praggnanandhaa is the youngest international master in the history of the sport.  R Praggnanandhaa is the youngest Indian…

ED Raids Premises of Kerala MLA in ₹100 Crore Cooperative Bank ‘Fraud’

Manish Kumar

ED raids premises of MLA A C Moideen, and others in Kerala in Rs 100 Crore cooperative bank “fraud” linked money laundering case.  The federal agency is covering about half-a-dozen premises in the state as part of the fresh searches being conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).  The residence of Moideen, a former minister of local self-government, industries, and cooperation, at Wadakkancherry in Thrissur district and those linked to him are being searched for evidence of gathering details of “benami” assets.  The agency said…

PM Modi departs for Johannesburg to attend BRICS Summit: India’s key expectations

Manish Kumar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left for South Africa to participate in the much-awaited BRICS Summit.  During his visit, the Indian Prime Minister will also participate in the BRICS–Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue event that will be held as part of the BRICS Summit activities.  No mention of a bilateral meeting with the Chinese President   The BRICS is a group of countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.  BRICS Sherpa said that several issues including the next expansion of BRICS on the agenda and the use of…

Russia’s Medvedev says the Russia-Ukraine war may last decades, West’s support will dry up soon

Manish Kumar

Ex-president pessimistic West and Russia can agree  Says tensions higher than the 1962 Cuban missile crisis  Warns of risks of nuclear war, but says talks better  Says Moscow cannot accept Ukraine as a NATO member  Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president, has warned that Moscow’s confrontation with the West will last decades and that its conflict with Ukraine could become permanent. Medvedev, once seen in the West as a liberal modernizer, has emerged as one of Russia’s most outspoken hawks since Moscow launched what it called a “special military operation” in…

North Korea’s First International Commercial Flight post COVID-19 curbs, Lands in China

Manish Kumar

North Korea has been largely closed off from the outside world since early 2020 when it shut its borders in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.  After a hiatus of three years post the extensive COVID-19 curbs, the first North Korean international commercial flight landed in Beijing.  China gives the nod for flight resumption.  As Air Koryo was set to return to the Chinese skies on August 21, there was an abrupt cancellation of flights.   After a hiatus of three years post the extensive COVID-19 curbs, the first North Korean…

Rahul Gandhi alleges RSS is Running Ministries in the country by ‘placing its own people

Manish Kumar

The Congress leader alleged that the RSS is running everything in the country.  Rahul Gandhi is visiting Ladakh for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories.  Rahul Gandhi has said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was placing its own people in every institution of the country.  Rahul Gandhi was also engaged with youth during an event in Leh, media reported.  The RSS is widely considered as the ideological wing of the Bharatiya Janata…

Russian space agency chief cites reason for mission failure; whereas top Scientist Hospitalized

Manish Kumar

The chief of the Russian space agency Borisov went on to blame the country’s decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mission’s failure.  A day after the ‘Luna 25’ had crashed, the chief of the agency vowed to “stay in the lunar race”.  “Interrupting the lunar programme for almost 50 years is the main reason for the failure of Luna 25,” He said.  Mikhail Marov, 90, was taken to the hospital on Saturday due to a sharp deterioration in his health following the failure of the mission.  The astronomer told…