Several attempts were made to attack Sidhu Moosewala during the Punjab assembly elections in April and the Aam Aadmi Party-led state “government too left no stone unturned” to curtail his security and “publicised” the withdrawal of his security, said Balkaur Singh, father of the Punjabi singer-politician.

Balkaur Singh

“60 to 80 people were after him (Sidhu Moosewala) to kill him. Efforts were made at least eight more times during the elections to kill him. The government too left no stone unturned, withdrew his security and publicised it,” Balkaur Singh said on Monday. Moosewala, the 28-year-old singer, was gunned down near his village in Mansa on 29 May, a day after his security was scaled down by the newly formed Bhagwant Mann government.

“Gangsters are running a parallel government (in Punjab). Young men are dying. Vicky Middukhera’s revenge was taken, tomorrow someone will do it for Sidhu. But it is our houses being destroyed,” Singh said while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a road in Mansa district’s Burj Dalwa village.

The murder of Moosewala saw several arrests. Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, the mastermind in the case, is under police remand till 6 July. A special cell of the Delhi Police recently apprehended two most wanted criminals of the Lawrence Bishnoi-Goldy Brar Gang.

Adani University hosts Global Education Forum Focused on Educational Transformation and Global Sustainability in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. This was organised ahead of the academic year 2022-23 by the Global Education Forum – a platform to share ideas and initiatives.

It was themed on Educational Transformation and Global Sustainability. The forum brought together renowned national and international academicians and industry experts from diverse fields to deliberate on Education for Transformation and Transformation for Sustainability.

The forum was inaugurated by Dr Priti G. Adani, President, Adani University, with distinguished plenary speaker Padma Vibhushan, Dr. Anil Kakodkar, Dr Victoria GalanMuros, Chief Research and Analysis, UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in America and the Caribbean, Dr Arun Sharma (Vice-Chancellor, Adani University) and Prof. Dr M. Muruganant (Provost, Adani University) in the presence of other eminent speakers and panellists, people from academia, industry, and students.

In his opening remarks Padma Vibhushan, Dr Anil Kakodkar said, “The development of new technology depends upon new knowledge created. So, research & development is the main engine in the knowledge era. Knowledge in action, a knowledge that delivers.” He added, “When we think about the sustainable goal, it is the university who shall play an important role in the strengthening human values to eliminate exploitation which has to go concurrent with technological empowerment. We should try to provide quality higher education accessible to all and is key to eliminating disparity.”

During her presidential address, Dr Priti G. Adani (President, Adani University) said, “For India to become a manufacturing hub at the intersection of global supply chains — very much in line with Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make for the World’ – the most important requirement will be the ability to educate and scale up its human capital to a new breed of professionals. Professionals who are resilient, entrepreneurial, and ready to thrive in a volatile and uncertain world. We strongly believe that the most important task of nation building is the development of human capital, and the establishment of Adani University provides us with a unique opportunity to do so.”

As a part of the forum wo separate panel discussions were organised, Education for Transformation and Transformation for Sustainability, where eminent speakers from academia and industry shared their insights. These discussions brought out essential parameters which are required for this transformation from industry-based education modules to sustainability-oriented education modules, transformation within the system through skilling, reskilling of faculty, and the innovative education system. Human values were also discussed as part of a transformation journey as to how first we need to be sustainable from within ourselves.

It also highlighted why the seed of sustainability needs to be nurtured at the cognitive level from childhood development.

Even as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi prepare to speak face-to-face in Bali on the sidelines of the G-20 Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM), India wants Blinken to highlight Washington’s concerns over China’s “growing aggressiveness” in the Indo-Pacific region. “Blinken should use the upcoming bilateral meeting with Wang in Bali to raise some key issues related to Chinese challenges in the Indo-Pacific,” sources said. Top sources told The Daily Guardian Review that India through diplomatic channels has apprised the US of what it expects in terms of the upcoming bilateral talks between Blinken and Wang.  

“The message that the diplomats in Washington have shared with the Biden administration is that if Blinken refers to some of the issues pertaining to Chinese aggressive agenda, it will help mount pressure on Beijing,” sources said. “With Jaishankar set to give a strong message on the Indo-Pacific and LAC during his talks with Wang in Bali, Blinken’s tough talk on the same will add to pressure on Beijing,” sources added.  

There is no denying Blinken will focus on Russia’s military operation against Ukraine and China’s close ties with Moscow. “But what India expects is that Blinken should not ignore the Indo-Pacific issues completely, as it will give a wrong message, with the US being a key member state of the QUAD,” says an official. Sources told TDGR that Jaishankar and Blinken will also meet on the sidelines of the G-20 FMM in Bali, during which China-specific issues will also come up.

The US seeks to dissuade Beijing from deepening ties with Moscow, and Blinken will pitch for it during the meeting with Wang Yi. However, China is not going to give Washington any good news on the same, sources said. Since this is going to be the first face-to-face between Blinken and Wang since last October, the meeting acquires tremendous significance. India will keep a close eye on this meeting, says a diplomat.    

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will pay a two-day visit to Indonesia beginning Thursday to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the G20 countries. Foreign ministers of China and Russia are also likely to attend the meeting that is set to discuss pressing global challenges, including the food and energy security arising out of the Ukraine crisis. Announcing Jaishankar›s visit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday that he is expected to hold several bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other G20 member states.

The G20 is a leading grouping that brings together the world›s major economies. Its members account for more than 80 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of global trade and 60 per cent of the population of the planet. Indonesia is holding the meeting in its capacity as its current chair. Italy held the G-20 Presidency in 2021 while Indonesia is playing the role in 2022 and India will assume the charge in 2023. Italy, Indonesia and India are the troika countries at present.

Making an attempt to clear the confusion over the last-minute surprise by the BJP to make Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde as the chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, who is now the deputy of Shinde, said he had proposed to BJP leadership to make the rebel leader the new CM.

Fadnavis also admitted that he was not mentally prepared to assume the post of deputy chief minister, but changed his decision after a discussion was held with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and intervention by BJP president JP Nadda and Union home minister Amit Shah.

Fadnavis said that the BJP leadership believed that he should be part of the government as it was not right to run the government through an “extra-constitutional authority”.

Talking to reporters in Nagpur, Fadnavis said the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance had won the 2019 elections, but the mandate was “stolen”. So his party and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction came together for a “common ideology and not for power”.

“Our leaders Narendra Modi ji, Amit Shah and JP Nadda ji, and with my approval (the decision to make Shinde the chief minister was taken)…. It will not be wrong if it is said that I took this proposal (to the BJP leadership) that Shinde is made the chief minister and they (the leadership) accepted it,” Fadnavis said.

Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister on June 30 with Fadnavis as his deputy, a day after Uddhav Thackeray resigned as the CM ahead of the floor test.

“It was also decided that I will stay out of the government. But BJP president JP Nadda called me and said the party has decided to make me the deputy chief minister. Even Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke to me,” Fadnavis said. “I changed my decision obeying the orders of my leaders,” he added.

Twitter Inc. on Tuesday moved a petition in the Karnataka High Court challenging Centre’s orders directing the social media platform to take down content critical of government policies. The social media giant’s move came after the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in June 2021 issued a last notice warning Twitter of penal action if the company failed to comply with the Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code that the Ministry had issued in February last year.

The guidelines mandated all social media platforms, with more than 50 lakh users in the country, to appoint a resident grievance officer, a chief compliance officer and a nodal contact person. The ministry had given all social media platforms 90 days to comply with the guidelines. In the event of failure in compliance, protections provided to them under Section 79 of the IT Act would stand withdrawn, the ministry had warned. However, Twitter did not comply with the Centre’s notice.

The ministry had in January last year asked the U.S. micro-blogging site to block around 250 tweets and Twitter accounts that were making allegedly “fake, intimidatory and provocative tweets” against the government during farmers’ protest in Delhi, setting off a confrontation with blogging platform, even though the social media platform suspended over 500 accounts in February 2021. Twitter also took down accounts belonging to some BJP ministers and RSS leaders, which were restored following an uproar.

In its petition to the High Court seeking a judicial review of government order, Twitter has argued that in several cases, there were demands for entire accounts to be blocked, which were arbitrary. According to Twitter, several accounts might carry content posted by official handles of political parties and blocking of such information was a violation of the freedom of speech guaranteed to citizens using the platform. Reacting to Twitter moving the High Court challenging the Centre’s guidelines to tame social media, Union Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said, “Be it any company, in any sector, they should abide the laws of India. This is the responsibility of everyone to abide by the laws passed by the Parliament.” The minister said that the government will make social media accountable for its content. “Social media accountability has become a valid question globally. It is important to hold it accountable, which will first start with self-regulation, then industry regulation, followed by government regulation,” Vaishnaw added.

Meanwhile, the Centre on Tuesday the Union government has issued notification for the amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Also on the card is setting up of a Grievances Appellate Committee for the resolution of grievances against officials. According to the draft proposals, the committee shall have to dispose of complaints within 30 days.

The Centre is gearing up to finalize the proposed amendments to the social media rules by July end, said government sources. According to Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the government is planning to put in place a mechanism for self-regulation to better address complaints with regard to social media use.

Low cost carrier SpiceJet’s Delhi-Dubai flight was diverted to Karachi on Tuesday as the fuel indicator started malfunctioning. Hours after, SpiceJet reported a glitch in its Kandla-Mumbai flight as the windshield outer pane of got cracked during the cruise.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered a probe into the incident relating to Delhi-Dubai flight. More than 150 passengers are onboard. “On July 5, 2022, M/s SpiceJet B737-8 Max aircraft VT-MXG while operating flight SG-011, Delhi – Dubai, the crew observed unusual fuel quantity reduction from the left tank. They carried out a relevant non-normal checklist, however fuel quantity kept on decreasing. PIC decided to divert the aircraft to Karachi (KHI). Aircraft diverted in coordination with ATC and landed safely at KHI,” said DGCA statement.

India’s low-cost carrier SpiceJet said the flight was diverted when it was on the way to Dubai and flying on 5000 ft.

The conversation between the SpiceJet pilot and ATC Karachi which has been accessed by ANI, shows that the pilot has asked for a precautionary landing after suspected fuel leakage in the aircraft.

“The SpiceJet pilot is heard telling ATC Karachi that the fuel leakage in the aircraft, requesting it for precautionary landing,” ATC conversation read.

“Karachi ATC confirming him whether any dangerous good on board. The pilots responded negatively. Later Karachi ATC confirms SpiceJet for landing after two

minutes,” the conversation further read.

The plane landed safely at Karachi airport at around 8 am (local time), 53 minutes after being airborne.

“SpiceJet has been on-ground for the past four hours. Passengers are being looked after. The plane has been parked in the designated area where engineers are assessing the problem,” Pakistan’s civil aviation authority (CAA) official said.

According to SpiceJet, no emergency was declared and the aircraft made a normal landing at Karachi airport. “No emergency was declared and the aircraft made a normal landing. There was no earlier report of any malfunction with the aircraft. Passengers have been served refreshments. A replacement aircraft is being sent to Karachi that will take the passengers to Dubai,” SpiceJet spokesperson said.

In the second incident related to Kandla – Mumbai flight, SpiceJet said P2 side windshield outer pane of SpiceJet Q400 aircraft operating as SG 3324 Kandla – Mumbai flight got cracked during the cruise on Tuesday. Thankfully, the aircraft landed safely in Mumbai.

“On July 5, 2022, SpiceJet Q400 aircraft was operating SG 3324 (Kandla – Mumbai). During cruise at FL230, P2 side windshield outer pane cracked. Pressurization was observed to be normal. The aircraft landed safely in Mumbai,” SpiceJet spokesperson said.

Earlier on Saturday, a domestic flight made an emergency landing after its cabin filled with smoke soon after take-off for the central city of Jabalpur, the airline said.

A senior DGCA official said that they are investigating all six incidents on SpiceJet aircraft reported in the last 17 days.

“We are concerned over passengers’ safety and a team has been formed to investigate all the incidents thoroughly and submit the report at the earliest,” he said.