JAISHANKAR MEETS CHINA’S QIN, AND RUSSIA’S LAVROV

Two months after they met for the first time, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang held talks in Goa Thursday. Jaishankar said the focus of the meeting was on “resolving outstanding issues” and “ensuring peace and tranquillity in the border areas”.

Jaishankar also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and they went for a “comprehensive review” of “bilateral, global and multilateral cooperation”.

These meetings took place ahead of the Friday huddle of the Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) countries.

Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said, “A detailed discussion with State Councillor and FM Qin Gang of China on our bilateral relationship. Focus remains on resolving outstanding issues and ensuring peace and tranquillity in the border areas. Also discussed SCO, G20 and BRICS.”

After their meeting on March 2 on the sidelines of the gathering of G20 Foreign Ministers in New Delhi, Jaishankar had described the current state of the bilateral relations as “abnormal” as they discussed the border standoff. He had said that the “bulk of our conversation” was on the “current state of our relationship” which he called “abnormal”. “Those are the adjectives I used in that meeting,” Jaishankar said, adding that there are “real problems” and the two sides “need to talk about it openly and candidly”.

No such strongly-worded articulation was made Thursday.

After meeting Lavrov, Jaishankar said, “Comprehensive review of our bilateral, global and multilateral cooperation with FM Sergey Lavrov of Russia. Appreciated Russia’s support for India’s SCO presidency. Also discussed issues pertaining to G20 and BRICS.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said “a trust-based exchange of views on the main issues of bilateral relations, including the schedule of upcoming contacts, as well as topical issues on the global and regional agenda took place. The ministers praised the dynamics of cooperation in key areas of the special and privileged strategic partnership between our countries.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan's foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari arrived in Goa on Thursday, becoming the first senior leader from the neighbouring country to visit India in almost 12 years.

MANIPUR ON A BOIL; VIOLENCE OVER QUOTA ROW

From the hill district of Churachandpur to the capital Imphal, violence between Manipur’s Kuki tribe and the majority Meitei community continued to rage for the second day in several parts of the state. The Army and Assam Rifles were deployed to quell the situation on Wednesday night. As the situation worsened on Thursday, the state’s Home Department issued “shoot-at-sight” orders “in extreme cases”.

Clashes between the two groups were first reported in an area bordering Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts on Wednesday, following a ‘tribal solidarity march’ organised by the All Tribal Students’ Union of Manipur (ATSUM), the state’s apex tribal body. The participants were protesting the demand for inclusion of the state’s Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category, following an April 19 Manipur High Court directive.

The development has reopened an old ethnic faultline in the state between the plain-dwelling majority Meitei community and the hill tribes. While the Meiteis have long demanded to be included in the ST list for more protection, the state’s tribes — primarily Nagas and Kukis — have strongly opposed it.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah Thursday held two video conference meetings and spoke with the chief ministers of Manipur and its neighbouring states.

The Congress on Thursday hit out at the Centre and the BJP, saying that both PM Narendra Modi and Shah are busy campaigning in Karnataka even as Manipur is burning.

With the BJP seeking a renewed mandate in Karnataka with the slogan of “double engine government,” the Congress said Manipur was the reality of its “double-engine” government.

“In less than 15 months of BJP forming the government, the entire state of Manipur is in flames. The society is in foment, internet and social media is suspended, the chief minister is under siege, MLAs resigning right, left and centre and what does the prime minister and the home minister do…they are busy going around Karnataka…polarising Karnataka,” Congress communication head Jairam Ramesh said.

OVER 3000 INDIANS EVACUATED FROM SUDAN SO FAR

Multiple alerts from the Indian embassy in Sudan’s capital Khartoum; a risky operation carried out at night on an airstrip with a degraded surface; and a 850-km bus journey — Operation Kaveri, which entered its ninth day on Thursday, marks one of the biggest evacuation operations executed by India in recent times.

So far, over 3,000 Indian nationals or people of Indian origin have been evacuated from the troubled African nation.

Officials said the planning of the operation was fraught with dangers and major logistical challenges and its execution involved round-the-clock monitoring from Day 1.

Multiple control rooms were set up at Port Sudan, Jeddah and in Delhi to monitor and coordinate the operation minutely.

According to officials privy to the details of the operation, a major challenge was to safely transport Indian nationals to Port Sudan from different pockets of Khartoum. Amid reports of fighting, additional buses were deployed to take the evacuees to Port Sudan, 850 km northeast of Khartoum, a journey that took them 12-18 hours.

WILL STICK TO CONSTITUTIONAL VALIDITY OF 'TALAQ-E-HASAN', NOT CASES, SAYS SC

The Supreme Court said on Thursday it will examine the larger constitutional issue of challenge to the validity of extrajudicial divorce like 'talaq-e-hasan' among Muslims.

'Talaq-e-hasan' is a form of divorce by which a man can dissolve the marriage by pronouncing the word 'talaq' once every month over a three-month period.

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, which was hearing a batch of eight pleas challenging extrajudicial divorce, including one filed by Ghaziabad resident Benazeer Heena, however, said it will not go into individual matrimonial disputes.

It must be mentioned here that what the parliament banned in July 2019 was the instant Triple Talaq, where a man could utter Talaq thrice in an instant and it resulted in divorce.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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RUSSIA CLAIMS US ‘DICTATED’ DRONE HIT, ORDERS TERROR PROBE

Russia blamed the US on Thursday for the apparent drone attack on the Kremlin, doubling down on accusing Washington of “direct involvement” in the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin’s spokesman alleged, without providing evidence, that the United States “dictated” Ukrainian strikes inside Russia — a charge a top US official vehemently denied.

Dmitri Peskov, the spokesman for President Vladimir V. Putin, repeatedly told reporters in a daily conference call that the United States was behind the episode at the Kremlin. “We know well that the decisions about such actions and such terrorist acts are made not in Kyiv, but in Washington,” Peskov said. “Kyiv then does what it’s told. ” He added that an urgent investigation was under way and that any response would be carefully considered and balanced.

Leaked secret Pentagon documents show that while the American military is indeed providing battlefield targeting data to Ukraine, American officials have worked to dissuade Ukraine from potentially provocative strikes on Moscow. And American officials admonished Ukraine over the killing in August of Daria Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian ultranationalist, which American intelligence agencies believed was authorized by parts of the Ukraine.

THE REST

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DELHI POLICE BUNKER UP FOR WRESTLERS' STIR

A day after a scuffle between agitating wrestlers and police personnel, the police Thursday beefed up security and surveillance at Jantar Mantar and at Delhi borders, deploying additional manpower, bolstering CCTV coverage and raising barricades to prevent the entry of farmers who were coming to support the grapplers.

The late night ruckus on Wednesday at Jantar Mantar left injured two wrestlers, and according to the police five of their personnel as well. Amid the high drama, the wrestlers had appealed to farmers and their leaders to come to the protest site Thursday morning.

The police said as a precautionary measure barricades have been put up at several locations across the city to ensure no untoward incident precipitates.

Notwithstanding the tight police vigil, a large number of people from different walks of life including Delhi University students and farmers from neighbouring states reached there to express solidarity with the wrestlers. The police said that there was no restriction on individual entry.

SC SHUTS PROCEEDINGS ON WRESTLERS' PLEA; SAYS DEMAND FOR FIR MET

The Supreme Court on Thursday closed the proceedings on a plea filed by women wrestlers against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and asked the protesting grapplers to approach a lower court.

"We have only said that we are closing the proceedings at this stage, confining ourselves to the prayers. We have not said that this is not worthy of being monitored. You can approach the Magistrate or the Delhi High Court if there are any issues," the CJI said.

The bench also noted in the order that the Delhi Police have recorded the minor's statement on April 29 and the statements of four others on May 3 and that the police are taking steps to record statements before a magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi Police, told the bench that security arrangements have been made for the minor complainant as per the directions of the court and security has also been provided for six other girls at Jantar Mantar.

STAY ON BIHAR CASTE-BASED SURVEY

Concerns raised by two voluntary groups and three social activists prompted the Patna High Court to issue an interim order staying the caste-based survey in Bihar 11 days before its completion.

The Patna High Court had clubbed five petitions challenging the state government’s decision to undertake the two-phase caste survey. ‘Youth for Equality’, one of the five petitioners, is a voluntary organisation set up on April 4, 2006, by students of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), IITs and IIMs and some other central university students amid the then UPA government’s decision to give 27 per cent reservation to OBCs in all central educational institutions.

Abhinav Srivastava, the petitioner for Youth for Equality, said: “Our main contention was against the process that does not ensure the enshrined principle of equality. The state government is not specific and clear behind its idea of caste-based survey.” The Other petitioners are Delhi-based voluntary group ‘Ek Soch Ek Prayas’ and three activists from Bihar – Akhilesh Kumar, Muskan Kumar and Reshma Prasad.

Dinu Kumar, a lawyer representing one of five petitioners, raised questions on Rs 500 crore cost being incurred on the caste survey process.

The state government completed the first phase of the caste survey between January 7 and 21 and had been conducting the second phase from April 15, which was to be completed on May 15.

SHIMLA CIVIC POLLS: CONGRESS WINS 24 OF 34 SHIMLA WARDS

The Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government in Himachal Pradesh Thursday swept the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) polls by winning 24 of 34 wards. The BJP won nine while CPI(M) managed to bag one ward.

With Thursday’s landslide victory, Congress regains control over the civic body after over 10 years. The corporation had been a Congress bastion from 1986 (when the first election took place) to 2012. 

The election—a litmus test for the newly-formed Sukhu government—is being seen as a big boost to the Congress and a blow to BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In December 2022, the party had won 40 out of 68 assembly seats in the state polls.

AAP CLAIMS DELHI POLICE SPYING ON CM ARVIND KEJRIWAL; FORCE DENIES CHARGE

The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday alleged Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was being spied on by the Delhi Police with its Special Cell officials in plainclothes “roaming around” his residence the whole day, a claim denied by the force.

AAP chief spokesperson and Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj told a press conference here the party’s Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh have written to Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora in connection with the matter.

Police sources rejected the charges of spying, saying Special Branch officials, and not Special Cell officials, are deployed for assessing security arrangements around the houses of dignitaries as part of a protocol.

PRESIDENT DROUPADI MURMU REJECTS MERCY PETITION OF RAPIST-KILLER

President Droupadi Murmu has turned down the mercy plea of Vasanta Sampat Dupare (61), sentenced to death for raping and killing a four-year-old girl in Maharashtra in 2008. This is the first mercy petition rejected by Murmu after she assumed office as the 15th President of India on July 25, 2022.

Dupare had stoned the child to death in a brutal killing, with the Supreme Court on dismissing his review petition in May 2017 ruling. “The aggravating circumstances and the barbaric manner in which the four-year-old was killed, clearly outweighs the mitigating circumstances,” the SC had said.

SENIOR DRDO OFFICIAL HELD IN SUSPECTED HONEY TRAP CASE WITH PAKISTAN LINKS

The Maharashtra State Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested a senior Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) official in Pune, for allegedly indulging in “wrongful communication” with Pakistan-based intelligence operatives in a suspected case of honey trap.

The official has worked on several strategically significant projects of the DRDO including several missiles. He has been booked under Official Secrets Act.

A senior ATS officersaid that the investigation was launched following a complaint received in this regard from the DRDO. “He was placed under arrest on Wednesday and was produced before a court in Pune on Thursday, where his custody was secured by the ATS. The DRDO had approached with the preliminary information,” said the officer.

‘ALL INDIA RADIO’ NO MORE, IT’S AKASHVANI NOW

India’s public service broadcaster Prasar Bharti has decided to drop references to its radio service as ‘All India Radio’ and substitute it with ‘Akashvani’, said an internal order. “This is a very old decision of the government which was not operationalised earlier. We are now operationalising it,” said Prasar Bharati CEO Gaurav Dwivedi.

The Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990, mentions that ‘Akashvani’ means the offices, stations and other establishments, by whatever name called, which, immediately before the appointed day, formed part of or were under the director-general, All India Radio, of the Union ministry of information and broadcasting.

The internal order said:“The aforesaid statutory provision which has replaced the name AIR to the ‘Akashvani’ may be brought to the notice of all so that names and titles get in tune with the provisions of the Prasar Bharati Act of 1990 passed by the Parliament. ”

DEALS BY CA, CS FOR CLIENTS NOW UNDER MONEY-LAUNDERING LAW

The government has mandated that chartered accountants, company secretaries and cost and works accountants making certain financial transactions on behalf of their clients during the course of their profession will be covered by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The law specifies that in case a transaction that has undertaken by client appears to be suspicious or involves ‘proceeds of crime’, the reporting entity will have to increase future monitoring of business relationship. A failure to meet the requirements can result in a penalty.

‘THE KERALA STORY’: PILs TO STALL THE RELEASE FALL FLAT

The Supreme Court on Thursday scotched attempts for the second consecutive day to stall the release of controversial film ‘The Kerala Story’ by refusing to entertain a fresh petition challenging its certification by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

A bench headed by CJI D Y Chandrachud had asked another petitioner on Wednesday to move the Kerala high court which is hearing similar petitions seeking stay on release of the film on Friday.

The filmmaker’s counsel pointed out that that the Kerala HC had passed a detailed order declining to stay release of the film while posting it for further hearing on May 5, the day of the film’s release.

Yesterday, Madras high court also dismissed a PIL that sought to stall the release of the movie in Tamil Nadu.

IPL MATCH 47: SRH'S SELF-DESTRUCTING BATTERS GIFT KKR CRUCIAL WIN

The self-destructing batters let Sunrisers Hyderabad down again to hand a Kolkata Knight Riders a much needed five-run win, in Hyderabad on Thursday, keeping the Nitish Rana-led side alive in the tournament.

Rana and Rinku Singh came up with a fruitful 61-run partnership to help KKR post 171 for nine and then their bowlers, especially Shardul Thakur (2/23) and Vaibhav Arora (2/32), helped the two-time IPL champions limit Sunrisers Hyderabad to 166 for eight in 20 overs.

Varun Chakaravarthy bowled a brilliant 20th over to eke out a welcome win for his team - SRH needed 9 for a win, with 3 wickets in hand. They managed to get only 3 in that last over.

Wins Tally: KKR 4/10 (Currently Placed 8th); SRH 3/9 (Currently Placed 9th)

INDICATORS

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Bitcoin - USD 28,916, Dollar Index 101.01, Brent Crude 72.57, BDI 1,545.00

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 2,050 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 6,218 / 5,700, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 77,100

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence. - Henri Frederic Amiel

OFF TRACK

Three old ladies are sitting in a diner, chatting about various things. One lady says, "You know, I'm getting really forgetful. This morning, I was standing at the top of the stairs, and I couldn't remember whether I had just come up or was about to go down."

The second lady says, "You think that's bad? The other day, I was sitting on the edge of my bed and I couldn't remember whether I was going to sleep or had just woken up!

The third lady smiles smugly, "Well, my memory is just as good as it's always been, knock on wood," she says as she raps on the table. Then with a startled look on her face, she asks, "Who's there?"