PAKISTAN FIRES AT INDIAN FISHING BOAT, ONE DEAD

India has taken a serious note of the “unprovoked firing incident” in which a Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) vessel fired at an Indian fishing boat, killing one fisherman and injuring another.

While Pakistan said six Indian fishermen were taken into custody, there was no official word from the Indian side. The PMSA fired at the Indian fishing boat near the international maritime boundary line in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Gujarat on Saturday evening, the Coast Guard and Gujarat Police said in separate statements.

The deceased was identified as Shridhar Chamare, 32, from Palghar district of Maharashtra. He was on vessel ‘Jalpari’, which had sailed from Okha on October 25 with seven crew members, five from Gujarat and two from Maharashtra,” said Dwarka SP Sunil Joshi. Chamre’s body was brought to the Okha port on Sunday and an FIR registered with the police station with jurisdiction over any incident that occurs beyond 12 nautical miles off the Gujarat coast.

Pakistan claimed its ships first attempted to interdict the boat, but it did not respond or change course even after repeated warnings. After warning shots failed to force the boat to shut off its engines, the PMSA opened fired on the boat. One person on board was killed and six occupants were taken into custody for questioning, it said.

INDIAN ECONOMY TO SURVIVE HEADWINDS FROM A LIKELY TAPER, SAYS FINMIN

The Indian economy, unlike in 2013, is not vulnerable now to the possible move by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to taper its loose monetary policy, even as oil and gold may bring down the country’s balance of payments (BoP) position, say finance ministry officials.

According to reports, the Fed this week is likely to announce the start of a drawback in its monthly purchase of bonds and securities, which it began in March last year to prevent the economic crisis on account of the pandemic from aggravating.

Officials scotched the possibilities of any harm the taper could do because the situation today is not like the one in 2012-13 (FY13), when the country had a huge current account deficit and the Centre was running a high fiscal deficit.

“If there is a taper, are we vulnerable like we were in FY13? The answer is no,” said an official, adding, “We have been rated as one of the conservative spenders. At that time (2013), we were one of the profligates, and were seen as an outlier. We are now seen as an outlier in this direction (conservative spending).”

The country’s current account balance was in surplus — 0.9 per cent of GDP — in the first quarter of the fiscal year. However, as gold and oil imports rise, the surplus is set to give way to a deficit in the remaining three quarters.

SWISS OKs COVAXIN, UK NOD LIKELY SOON

Days after the WHO issued emergency use listing for Covaxin, Switzerland has recognised Covaxin while the UK — one of the biggest destinations for Indians — is also likely to do the same shortly.

Meanwhile with the WHO emergency use listing for Covaxin going to lead to increased international travel, a senior aviation ministry official said “we are adding capacity depending on demand” for flights under air bubble agreements with various countries. International airfares have been very high during Covid and only increased capacity can lead to lower fare, say airlines.

Foreign tourists will be allowed in from mid-November on non-charters. The US is opening up for international travellers from Monday. “India has an open sky agreement with US (meaning no restriction on number of flights Air India and US carriers can operate between the two places),” said the official.

Before WHO approved Covaxin, about 16 countries had accepted the Bharat Biotech jab for the purpose of allowing vaccinated travellers from India.

BJP UPBEAT AT NATIONAL EXECUTIVE

The BJP on Sunday said the party is headed towards a “big victory” in the states due for polls next year, giving ambitious organisational targets to cadres ahead of elections to key Assembly polls in 2022 and the general elections in 2024.

Repeating Home Minister Amit Shah’s words as the president, BJP president JP Nadda said ‘utkarsh abhi baki hai’ (the best is yet to come). In his valedictory speech at the party national executive meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence in the “reporting” by leaders of five poll-bound states and told the cadres to become a “bridge of faith for common man”.

In his presidential address, Nadda said BJP has constituted booth-level committees for 85 per cent of the 10.40 lakh booths in the country and the remaining 15 per cent will be completed by

Significantly, the political resolution moved by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath included the “resolve of victory in upcoming elections”. “We are headed towards a big victory in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur on the strength of development work of our governments and the organisation. All the surveys are also pointing towards this,” stated the 18-point resolution.

Praising the Prime Minister, the resolution slammed Opposition parties, condemning their “opportunist politics”, accusing them of “derailing India’s vaccination programme”. “They were not to be seen on the streets during Covid, but did everything to create confusion on Twitter. At a time when Prime Minister was trying so hard to build trust within the country and image of the country, they were trying to weaken it,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, briefing about the resolution

It lauded the Prime Minister, including for India’s position at COP26 in Glasgow and foreign policy, Covid management and vaccination programmes, providing “corruption-free government”, welfare and development works and pro-farmer steps. “Under the leadership of PM Modi, an atmosphere of safety, peace and prosperity has been created in J&K,” it said.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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PALESTINIANS, ISRAEL SPAR OVER U.S. MISSION IN JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said late on Saturday there was no room in Jerusalem for another American mission.

The Trump administration shuttered the U.S. Jerusalem consulate, an office that for years served as the de facto embassy to the Palestinians. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pledged to reopen it, a move that Israel says would challenge its sovereignty over the city.

In a statement, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it views the reopening of the consulate as part of the international community’s commitments to ending Israel’s decades-long occupation of territories the Palestinians seek for their future state. “East Jerusalem is an inseparable part of the occupied Palestinian territory and is the capital of the state of Palestine. Israel, as the occupying power, does not have the right to veto the U.S. administration’s decision,” the statement said.

COVID-19: US TO FINALLY REOPEN LAND, AIR BORDERS AFTER 20 MONTHS

The United States reopens its land and air borders today to foreign visitors fully vaccinated against Covid-19, ending 20 months of restrictions on travel from around the globe that separated families, hobbled tourism and strained diplomatic ties.

The ban, imposed by former president Donald Trump in early 2020 and upheld by his successor Joe Biden, has been widely criticised and become emblematic of the upheavals caused by the pandemic.

The restrictions were particularly unpopular in Europe and US neighbours Canada and Mexico.

Meanwhile, a US federal appeals court on Saturday halted a vaccine mandate by President Joe Biden’s administration that is intended to push millions of workers at businesses with more than 100 employees into getting Covid-19 shots.

THE REST

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DOWNPOUR BATTERS CHENNAI, FLOOD ALERT SOUNDED

Heavy rains lashed Chennai and its suburban areas overnight leading to all round water-logging and authorities on Sunday sounded a preliminary flood alert to people as three city reservoirs were opened in a phased manner to release surplus water.

Chief Minister M K Stalin inspected several inundated areas in Chennai along with top officials and directed authorities to take swift action to drain flood water.

Health Minister Ma Subramanian said Chennai experienced 20 cm rain in about 12 hours since Saturday night.

4% OF CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS IN INDIA ACUTELY MALNOURISHED, DOWN FROM 21%

Days after the Global Hunger Report ranked India at 101 position among 116 nations, the government on Sunday released real time data on severely wasted children which shows 4 per cent of India’s nearly 8.19 crore under five children are suffering from severe acute malnourishment (SAM).

This is significantly lower than the proportion of SAM children estimated at 21 per cent by the latest round of National Family Health Survey, 2015. Among 8.19 crore under five children in India’s anganwaris, 33 lakh are suffering from a condition called severe acute malnourishment (severe wasting), shows government’s real time Poshan nutrition tracker launched last year.

“In the context of total figures for wasting in India for children which give a figure of about 21 per cent in NFHS, the latest figures show real improvement. Only 4 per cent children are severely acutely malnourished as per data from the Women and Child Development Ministry,” a top government official said.

CONGRESS QUESTIONS GOVT OVER NCRB DATA ON SUICIDES

The Congress on Sunday questioned the rising number of deaths by suicide in India and asked where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise of good days had vanished.

In a statement, Congress media chief Randeep Surjewala said the recent National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Report on “Suicides and Accidental Deaths in India”, released by the government was frightening to say the least.

“The report, with its figures regarding suicide underlines the unprecedented tragedy that is ruining India. Hapless citizens, grinded under extreme apathy and insensitivity of the government are losing hope and taking their lives. Be it farmers, labourers, daily wagers, housewives or unemployed educated youth, it is a saga of unending hopelessness all across. Opportunities for the aspiring have been converted into cesspools of suicidal depression,” Surjewala said.

GOV SATYA PAL MALIK SLAMS MODI GOVT

Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik on Sunday attacked the Centre and the BJP over the farmers’ issue and the Central Vista project, declaring that he is not scared of being asked to step down from his post.

In a series of provocative remarks here, he said leaders in Delhi send their condolences even when a dog dies but none of them expressed grief on the death of “600” farmers over the course of the agitation against the Centre’s three agri-marketing laws.

Appointed Governor—in Jammu and Kashmir and Goa, before being posted to Meghalaya—during the Narendra Modi term, Malik has been taking swipes at the government.

The latest remarks were made during an address to the Jat community in Jaipur.

Malik said he is not afraid of losing his position as Governor for targeting “Delhi leaders” over the farmers’ issue and will step down whenever he is asked to do so.

The Meghalaya Governor said the protesting farmers will not return from Delhi empty-handed, but after gaining success.

CENTRE ORDERS 1 CR NEEDLE-LESS SHOTS OF ZYDUS CADILA VACCINE

Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi exhorted officials to scale up door-to-door Covid vaccination to achieve full adult inoculation target by the year-end, the Health Ministry this week ordered one crore doses of the world’s first and India’s indigenously developed DNA-based shot ZyCOV D developed by Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila.

The order was placed after the pharma firm said it could deliver one crore shots a month. Sources said the inclusion of ZyCOV D in India’s inoculation programme, alongside Covaxin and Covishield, would help expand the vaccination drive with 77 per cent adults having received the first dose, but the second dose coverage hovering below 35 per cent.

Sources said the government had negotiated the purchase order at Rs 358 a dose for the three-dose regime.

The per dose cost is non-inclusive of taxes, but it covers the cost of a needleless applicator that would be used to administer the three shots at a difference of 28 days each. ZyCOV D is a needleless vaccine.

IT WAS A PLOT TO 'KIDNAP' ARYAN; MINISTER NAWAB MALIK’S LATEST ALLEGATION

In the latest 'disclosure', Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Sunday claimed that the purported cruise ship 'rave' party was a plot to 'kidnap' Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan for ransom and NCB Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede was part of this conspiracy.

Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Malik, who is the spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party, claimed that Mohit Bharatiya, former president of Mumbai BJP’s youth wing, was the 'mastermind' of this conspiracy.

Malik also claimed that an amount of Rs 25 crore was sought but the deal was finalised at Rs 18 crore and a sum of Rs 50 lakh was given. However, the deal got spoilt because the selfie of K P Gosavi (NCB's witness in the cruise drugs case) with Aryan Khan, after his arrest, became viral.

The minister further said there have been attempts to frighten Shah Rukh Khan that since he 'gave an amount of Rs 50 lakh', he too becomes an accused.

AMAZON, FUTURE RETAIL TRADE CHARGES, WRITE LETTERS TO REGULATORS

US e-commerce giant Amazon has written to Ajay Tyagi, chairman of market regulator SEBI and Manmohan Juneja, director general of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, to withdraw any permission and consents granted to Future Retail Limited (FRL) related to the $3.4-billion merger deal between Future Group and Reliance.

The letter alleged that, regrettably, FRL and its promoters have been able to induce many regulators to give permissions to FRL in relation to the composite scheme of arrangement between, inter alia, FRL and other entities of the Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani Group. It alleged this is done on the basis of various misrepresentations made by FRL, and its promoters as to the nature, scope and extent of the EA Award and the prohibition contained therein.

The case centres on Amazon challenging FRL’s merger with RRL (Reliance Retail), alleging that the transaction breached an agreement with the American e-commerce firm. Amazon had cited its non-compete agreement with the Biyani-led chain.

In a letter dated November 7, 2021, the independent directors of Future Retail Ltd have complained to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) saying that Amazon has violated the foreign direct investment (FDI) norms when it picked up 49 per cent stake in the company's promoter entity, Future Coupons Pvt Ltd and applied for CCI's approval by concealing facts.

Asking the CCI to revoke the approval granted to Amazon to buy stake in Future Coupons, the independent directors said the CCI should act to stop Amazon from perpetuating "its evil non-desirable designs" against the Indian company.

BOLLYWOOD IS BACK WITH A BANG: SOORYAVANSHI STRIKES GOLD AT BOX-OFFICE

After 19 months and multiple postponements due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Sooryavanshi, the first big-budget film after cinema halls opened in Maharashtra, has hit gold and is projected to garner box-office collections of Rs 125 crore in the first seven days. That will be enough for producers to break even, despite the long wait to release the film.

Sooryavanshi comes with a stiff price tag of around Rs 260-270 crore, which includes its marketing and the holding cost for 19 months. But the film has already recovered part of the cost by selling its digital rights to Netflix and broadcasting rights to Zee, apart from its music rights, at a hefty price.

According to industry estimates, these three rights have been sold for roughly Rs 200 crore. So a BO collection of Rs 120 crore, which is shared equally between producers and exhibitors, will be enough to cover the total cost of the film. Its share from additional BO collections in the domestic and overseas markets will be its profit. Hence, if it hits a BO collection of Rs 200 crore, it would have a profit of Rs 40 crore.

CRICKET SELECTION SCAM: SPORTS FIRM, OFFICIALS, EX-IPL PLAYER INVOLVED

Officials of three state cricket associations, a suspected match-fixer, a former convenor of selectors of Delhi cricket, a one-time IPL cricketer, a Bengal under-19 player and the operators of a sports management company that brought all of them together.

This is the cast of characters so far in an alleged “cash for selection” scam to dupe aspiring cricketers around the country, which came to light after a complaint was filed four months ago by a club player from UP with the police in Gurgaon where the management company is based.

In his complaint filed on July 9, the UP player Anshul Raj accused Ashutosh Bora, the president of Gurgaon-based Secure Corporate Management, of allegedly defrauding him of Rs 10 lakh with the promise of getting him a slot in the Himachal Pradesh Under-23 side for the BCCI-mandated CK Nayudu tournament.

Last week, the police filed a chargesheet in the case. And to connect the dots, notices have been issued to cricket officials in Delhi, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and those that run the T20 Bihar Cricket League.

T20 WORLD CUP: INDIA OUT OF RECKONING AS NZ BEAT AFGHANISTAN

New Zealand easily defeated Afghanistan by eight wickets in their concluding Super 12s match to qualify for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, in Abu Dhabi, on Sunday.

The result ended India’s hopes of going through.

The Kiwis chased down a paltry target of 125 with 11 balls to spare and secured a top-2 finish in Group 2, with eight points from five matches. They join Pakistan, England and Australia in the last four stage.

In the second match yesterday, Shoaib Malik blasted six sixes in an unbeaten 18-ball 54, after Babar Azam's fourth half-century of the tournament, as Pakistan trounced Scotland by 72 in their final Super 12s match, in Sharjah, on Sunday.

Thanks to Malik's blitz, Pakistan finished their 20 overs at 189 for 4.

In reply, the Scots could only muster 117 for 6.

Pakistan won all 5 matches in Super 12s thus topping Group 2. New Zealand won 4 of their 5 matches, losing only to Pakistan. India, who play their last match today, against Namibia, can at best hope to end 3rd, having already lost to Pakistan and New Zealand.

England will meet New Zealand in the first semi-final on Nov 10.

Pakistan meet Australia in 2nd Semi-final on Nov 11.

Final will be played on Sunday.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

There's harmony and inner peace to be found in following a moral compass that points in the same direction regardless of fashion or trend. - Ted Koppel

OFF TRACK

Since spaghetti is now 'pasta' and a TV set is a 'home entertainment system,' a grocery store here has done his best to jazz up the lowly egg. 

A sign he put up above the egg trays reads: "Boneless Chicken."