A QATAR COURT AWARDS DEATH SENTENCE TO 8 INDIAN EX-NAVY PERSONNEL

Eight former Indian Navy personnel were on Thursday handed down death sentence by a court in Qatar, a verdict that was described as "deeply" shocking by India as it vowed to explore all legal options in the case.

The Indian nationals, who worked with private security company Al Dahra, were arrested in August last year reportedly in an alleged case of espionage. However, neither the Qatari authorities nor New Delhi made the charges against the Indian nationals public.

In its reaction, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said it is attaching "high importance" to this case and is exploring all legal options.

The former Indian Navy personnel are Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vashisht, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Amit Nagpal and Sailor Ragesh.

All of the former Navy personnel had "unblemished stints" of up to 20 years in the Indian Navy and had held important positions including that of instructors in the force.

The MEA said it will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance to the Indians. It added that it would "not be appropriate to make any further comments at this juncture" due to the "confidential nature of the proceedings".

As part of Al Dahra security company, the Indians were imparting training to Qatari naval personnel for the last few years.

The case tests India’s ties with the tiny but powerful Gulf state with whom it has tried to build friendly ties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Qatar in June 2016. Earlier, in March 2015, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, paid a State Visit to India.

Considering Qatar’s heft in international diplomacy – from hosting the Taliban’s global mission in Doha to its current role in securing the release of US hostages from the captivity of Hamas – Delhi will be working the levers with the Qatari establishment.

APPEAR ON OCT 31, ETHICS PANEL TELLS TMC'S MOITRA

The Lok Sabha Committee on Ethics headed by BJP member Vinod Kumar Sonkar on Thursday asked Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra to appear before it on October 31 to record her statement in connection with the cash-for-query charges levelled against her.

The committee also decided to write letters to the IT Ministry and the Union Home Ministry to procure details of the conversation that took place between Moitra, her Dubai-based businessman-friend Darshan Hiranandani and others, and present these details before the committee.

The decisions followed submissions made before the committee yesterday by the complainant, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai.

CANADA WELCOMES INDIA'S DECISION TO RESUME VISA SERVICES

Canada has welcomed India’s decision to resume four types of visa services in the country from Thursday, but a senior minister in the Justin Trudeau Cabinet said it did not mean “Ottawa would let New Delhi off the hook on the Harpreet Nijjar murder issue”.

“It’s good to see that they have resumed that. It would have been nice (if) they didn’t take it in the first place,” said Minister of Emergency Preparedness Harjeet Sajjan while talking to the media. The resumption would enable Indians and Canadians to travel for family events like weddings and funerals, he added, while declining to dwell on the message India is trying to send.

At the same time, he said Canada is still seeking India’s help as police investigate the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June.

INDIAN-AMERICAN SCHOLAR SLAMS ATTEMPTS TO SHOW MANIPUR CRISIS AS RELIGIOUS CONFLICT

The Manipur crisis is a complex web of internecine conflict marked by violence, mistrust, socio-political tensions and a deadly trifecta of insurgency, narcotics and illegal infiltration, which pose significant threats to India's national security, but is not a religious conflict between two communities, an Indian-American scholar told a US Congressional hearing.

Rajshree Keisham, an Indian-American scholar, said the projection of the Meitei-Kuki ethnic clash as a religious conflict by some sections "not only ignores the complex social fabric of Manipur, but also heightens tensions."

"... Efforts have been made to portray this communal conflict in reductionist terms, projected to the world as the Hindu majority prosecuting the Christian minorities. This oversimplification not only ignores the complex social fabric of Manipur, but also heightens tensions," Ms Rajshree said in the Congressional hearing, adding the attempts to project the Manipur ethnic violence as a religious one is a "classic case of Hinduphobia".

"The majority-minority debate should be examined in terms of the intersectionality of time, space, and context. For example, Christians are a minority in India, but they are a majority in the northeastern region," said the Indian-American scholar.

Ms Rajshree said Manipur's diversity is its strength, as within the Hindu community in the state, there are other ethnicities including people from Punjab, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Nepal and more. Similarly, the Christian community includes Nagas, Kuki and also Meiteis. "This diversity is not a source of division, but a testament to the harmonious coexistence that has characterised Manipur for generations," she said.

She pointed out some social activists and religious leaders of the Christian community have strongly denied the Manipur violence was based on religious lines.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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ISRAELI ATTACK KILLS HAMAS INTELLIGENCE DEPUTY HEAD; GAZA TOLL RISES TO 7K

The deputy chief of Hamas's intelligence bureau, Shadi Barud was killed in a strike in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, according to the Israel Defence Forces.

Taking to social media platform X, the IDF wrote, "Shadi Barud, Deputy Head of Hamas' Intelligence Directorate has been eliminated by an IDF aerial strike. He took part in the planning of the October 7 massacre and countless other deadly attacks carried out against Israelis…..We will continue to strike and eliminate Hamas leaders and operatives responsible for the barbaric attacks.”

The Israeli fighter jets carried out overnight airstrikes over 250 Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip including a rocket launch site that was hidden between a mosque and kindergarten, Times of Israel reported on Thursday. IDF has called this "another proof" that terror group Hamas uses "civilian sites for terror purposes".

The sites struck by Israel included Hamas infrastructure, command centers, tunnels, and rocket launchers, according to the IDF. The IDF said that the rocket launchers were "placed in the heart of civilian areas that fired toward Israeli territory throughout the war."

IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that the military has so far notified the families of 224 hostages that their loved ones are being held in the Gaza Strip. He said that the number is not final as the military investigates new information.

According to the health ministry of Hamas, the death toll in Gaza has crossed 7,000.

US PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN LINKS INDIA-MIDDLE EAST-EUROPE ECONOMIC CORRIDOR TO HAMAS ATTACK

US President Joe Biden has said that he is convinced that one of the reasons why Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel was because of the recent announcement during the G20 Summit in New Delhi on the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor that integrates the entire region with a network of railroad.

“I’m convinced one of the reasons Hamas attacked when they did, and I have no proof of this, just my instinct tells me, is because of the progress we were making towards regional integration for Israel, and regional integration overall. We can’t leave that work behind,” Biden told reporters at a joint news conference with the visiting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

The new economic corridor, which many see as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, was jointly announced by the leaders of the US, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union on the sidelines of the G20 summit in September.

The corridor comprises an eastern corridor connecting India to the Gulf region and a northern corridor connecting the Gulf region to Europe.

Biden said in the past few weeks, he has spoken to leaders throughout the region, including King Abdullah of Jordan, President Sisi of Egypt, President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia about making sure there’s real hope in the region for a better future about the need to work toward a greater integration for Israel while insisting that the aspirations of the Palestinian people will be part of that future as well.

THE REST

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ELECTION COMMISSION NOTICE TO ASSAM CM, PRIYANKA

The Election Commission on Thursday issued a show-cause notice to Assam Chief Minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma for his remarks targeting Chhattisgarh minister Mohammad Akbar during the Assembly election campaign last week.

The EC also issued a show-cause notice to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over her “envelop” remarks related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s temple visit. Both the leaders have been asked to respond by October 30.

SACHIN PILOT QUESTIONS ‘TIMING, INTENT’ OF ED ACTION AGAINST CONG LEADERS

Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot has questioned the “timing, purpose, and intent” of the Enforcement Directorate’s actions Thursday, including summons against Rajasthan CMAshok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav as well as a simultaneous raid on the properties of state party president Govind Singh Dotasra.

While Vaibhav Gehlot was summoned by the ED in a case related to alleged Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violations, Dotasra and independent MLA Om Prakash Hudla were subjected to raids linked to an alleged money laundering case.

Pilot characterised these raids as “politically motivated” and stressed the Congress party’s stance against corruption.

He pointed out that the summons to Vaibhav Gehlot concerned a 12-year-old case. “Suddenly sending a summons after the polling date is announced… everyone can understand what’s the thought behind it,” he said. “For a 12-year-old case to be brought up at the eve of election is a very telling example as to how the govt of India is operating.”

MAMATA GIVES DEADLINE TO VISVA-BHARATI: GET TAGORE NAME ON PLAQUES IN 24 HOURS OR FACE STIR

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday gave a 24-hour deadline to the Visva-Bharati, a Central university in Santiniketan, to replace the current plaques commemorating the award of ‘World Heritage Site’ by UNESCO with those inscribed with the name of Rabindranath Tagore, the founder of the university. Failing which, the chief minister said, her supporters would launch an agitation.

This comes amid widespread criticism over the newly installed plaques on the campus that bear only the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as chancellor of the university and Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty.

“Santiniketan has got the UNESCO recognition because of Rabindranath Tagore. He is the creator of Santiniketan and now his name has been removed. Since Durga Puja was being celebrated, we kept quiet. If you do not remove the plaques and put up new ones with Tagore’s name by 10 am tomorrow (Friday), our people will launch an agitation holding Kaviguru’s photos to their chests,” Banerjee said at a press conference at her Kalighat residence.

INDIA HEADING TOWARDS GROUNDWATER DEPLETION TIPPING POINT, WARNS UN REPORT

India is close to reaching its groundwater depletion tipping point, a new report published by United Nations University — Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) — has warned.

The report has also found that 27 of the world’s 31 major aquifers are depleting faster than they can be replenished.

According to the report, 78% of wells in Punjab are considered overexploited, and the north-western region as a whole is predicted to experience critically low groundwater availability by 2025.

“The excessive pumping of groundwater has also caused the Earth’s axis to tilt 4.36 cm per year. The regions where groundwater depletion is most severe include parts of India, north-eastern China, western United States, Mexico, Iran, Saudi Arabia and parts of northern Africa,’’ it said.

TAXPAYERS' INCOME DISTRIBUTION LESS TILTED TO SUPER-RICH

The distribution of gross income among individual income taxpayers has become slightly less skewed towards the super-rich over a nine-year period, compared to the bottom and middle groups of taxpayers, reveals data released by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

According to the data, gross total income of the top 1 per cent of individual taxpayers (the super-rich) as a proportion of total income of all individual taxpayers has decreased from 15.9 per cent in Assessment Year (AY) 2013-14 to 14.6 per cent in AY 2021-22.

Conversely, the proportionate contribution of gross income from the bottom 25 per cent and middle 74 per cent of individual taxpayers has moderately increased.

“The average gross total income for individual taxpayers increased by 56 per cent from about Rs 4.5 lakh in AY 2013-14 to about Rs 7 lakh in AY 2021-22. The increase in the average gross total income for the top 1 per cent of individual taxpayers is 42 per cent, while for the bottom 25 per cent of individual taxpayers, it is 58 per cent,” CBDT announced on Thursday when releasing the data.

Additionally, the number of tax filings by individual income taxpayers has surged by 90 per cent to 63.7 million in AY 2021-22 compared to AY 2013-14, thanks to improved compliance.

“During the current financial year as well, 74.1 million returns have been filed for AY 2023-24 to date, including 5.3 million new, first-time filers. This indicates an expansion of the tax base following various reform measures,” the CBDT pointed out.

There is also a positive trend of taxpayers migrating to higher income brackets. The number of taxpayers in the gross total income ranges of Rs 5-10 lakh and Rs 10-25 lakh has increased by a massive 295 per cent and 291 per cent, respectively, over nine years.

“As a reflection of the growing base of income taxpayers and their increasing wealth, the net direct collection expanded from Rs 6.38 trillion in FY 2013-14 to Rs 16.61 trillion in FY 2022-23,” noted CBDT.

NARAYANA MURTHY SUGGESTS 70-HOUR WORK WEEK TO YOUNGSTERS

Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy has said that India's work culture needs to change and youngsters should be prepared to work for 70 hours a week if the country has to compete effectively on the global stage. The 77-year-old was speaking to former Infosys CEO Mohandas Pai on the first episode of 3one4 Capital's podcast 'The Record'.

"India's work productivity is one of the lowest in the world. Unless we improve our work productivity, unless we reduce corruption in the govt at some level, because we have been reading, I don't know the truth of it, unless we reduce the delays in our bureaucracy in taking this decision, we will not be able to compete with those countries that have made tremendous progress," the Infosys founder said.

"So therefore, my request is that our youngsters must say 'this is my country. I'd like to work 70 hours a week'," he added.

"This is exactly what the Germans and Japanese did after the Second World War... they made sure that every German worked extra hours for a certain number of years," he said.

"Every govt is as good as the culture of the people. And our culture has to change to that of highly determined, extremely disciplined and extremely hard-working people," he added.

His comments sparked a debate among users on social media.

BEARS ON THE PROWL: MARKETS LOG WORST DAY IN 7 MONTHS ON FPI SELLOFF

India’s benchmarks indices fell for a sixth day on Thursday, their longest losing streak since February, as elevated US bond yields and persisting worries about the Israel-Hamas war led investors to flee risky assets.

The Sensex plunged 901 points, or 1.4 per cent, to end the session at 63,148 -- the lowest close since June 16. The Nifty50 index dropped 247 points, or 1.4 per cent, to settle at 18,875 – the lowest level since June 27. Thursday’s session was the worst for both the indices since March 13.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury hovered close to the 5 per cent mark, dampening the appetite for equities. FPIs sold domestic shares worth Rs 7,703 crore on Thursday.

FPIs have pulled out nearly Rs 23,000 crore from domestic equities so far this month.

U R Bhat, co-founder of Alphaniti Fintech, said high US bond yields meant that the bond market was expecting further tightening. “If US 10-year bonds are giving 5 per cent on a risk-adjusted basis, no market, including India, is giving that kind of return. And FPIs would rather take that 5 per cent, especially when they are sitting on decent returns from Indian equities,” Bhat said.

WORLD CUP MATCH 25: SRI LANKA HAND ENGLAND CRUSHING DEFEAT

England's reign as the 50-over World Cup champion sunk into serious jeopardy as resolute fifties by Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama, along with a set of on-the-money bowlers, spurred a tenacious Sri Lanka to an eight-wicket victory in Bengaluru on Thursday.

England, opting to bat first, suffered a baffling batting implosion and were bundled out for a paltry 156, courtesy five wickets shared among by comeback man Angelo Mathews (2/14) and the impressive Lahiru Kumara (3/35).

Despite losing a couple of early wickets, Sri Lanka confidently finished their chase as Nissanka (77 off 83 balls) and Samarawickrama (65 off 54 balls) led the process with an unbroken 137-run stand for the third wicket. They won with 8 wickets and 24 overs to spare.

England now have a mere theoretical chance to make it to the semi-finals.

Results so far: Sri Lanka Played 5 Matches, Won 2; England Played 5, won 1

INDICATORS

Sensex 63,148 (-901), Nifty 18,857 (-265)

Nasdaq 12,596 (-226) Dow 32,784 (-252), S&P 4,137 (-50)

US$-Rs. 83.23, GBP-Rs. 100.74, Euro-Rs. 87.79, UAE Dhm-Rs. 22.65, Can$-Rs. 60.23, Aus$- Rs. 52.48

GBP 0.82 /US$, Euro 0.94 /US$, Jap.Yen 150.35 /US$, Aus$ 1.58 /US$, Sing 1.37 /US$, Bang Taka 109.07 /US$, Can$ 1.38 /US$, Mal Ring 4.78 /US$, Pak Re 278.62 /US$, Phil Peso 56.95 /US$, Russian Rouble 93.69 /US$, NZ$ 1.72 /US$, Thai Baht 36.28 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 36.28 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 34,038, Dollar Index 106.42, Brent Crude 88.37, BDI 1662

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,985 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 6,196 / 5,680, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 78,000

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Solitude- a good place to visit but a poor place to stay. - Josh Billings

OFF TRACK

A new survey found that one-third of married women with pets say their animals are better listeners than their husbands. When husbands heard that they were like, 'Huh? You say something?'