UN urges US to drop charges against Julian Assange

In a media statement on Friday, Irene Khan, UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression, warned of serious implications for freedom of expression due to the potential extradition and impending prosecution of Julian Assange in the US

Updated On – 2 March 2024, 09:17 AM


UN urges US to drop charges against Julian Assange


Geneva: A UN expert has urged the UK authorities not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and the US government to drop the charges.

Irene Khan, UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression, said on Friday in a media statement that the possible extradition to and imminent prosecution in the US of Julian Assange could have serious implications for freedom of expression.


Assange is awaiting the decision of the High Court in the UK on his appeal against extradition to the US, where he is facing charges for publishing classified information on the WikiLeaks platform, Xinhua news agency reported.

“I call on the US and the UK, which profess to uphold the right to freedom of expression, to uphold these international standards in the case of Julian Assange,” she emphasised, noting that Assange, if extradited, would be the first publisher to be prosecuted in the US under an espionage act.

Khan was appointed UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression in 2020.

Canada announces additional ban on imports of Russian diamonds-Telangana Today

Ottawa: Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly has said that Canada is imposing additional import restrictions on Russian diamonds. This ban further builds on Canada’s December 2023 import restrictions on diamonds and diamond-jewellery-related products from Russia by targeting indirect imports of Russian diamonds weighing 1 carat and above, Joly said on Friday in a […]

Published Date – 2 March 2024, 09:21 AM


Canada announces additional ban on imports of Russian diamonds


Ottawa: Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly has said that Canada is imposing additional import restrictions on Russian diamonds.

This ban further builds on Canada’s December 2023 import restrictions on diamonds and diamond-jewellery-related products from Russia by targeting indirect imports of Russian diamonds weighing 1 carat and above, Joly said on Friday in a statement.


It is consistent with the commitments made in February, May and December 2023 by the G7 leaders to reduce the revenues from the export of non-industrial diamonds from Russia, she added as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

According to the statement, Russia is the world’s largest rough diamond producer and also a significant global exporter of diamonds and diamond products.

The value of Russia’s total exports exceeded nearly 5.2 billion Canadian dollars ($3.8 billion) in 2022.

Together, G7 countries represent 70 per cent of the world diamond market, the statement added.

"Suspect Had Rava Idli And Left The Bag": Bengaluru Cafe Owner On Blast

Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe blast suspect was caught on CCTV

New Delhi:

The owner of the Rameshwaram cafe in Bengaluru, where a low-intensity bomb blast left 10 people injured on Friday, spoke to NDTV and recounted the sequence of events that led to the explosion at her Whitefield outlet.

The owner, Divya Raghavendra Rao, said that the suspect was seen having rava idli before leaving his bag in the restaurant.

“My mobile phone was not with me when the blast took place and when I picked it up, there were too many missed calls. When I called back my team, they told me that there was a blast in the restaurant,” she said.

“The first thing that I thought was that maybe the blast took place due to something inside the kitchen. But then we found out that there were no injuries or blood inside the kitchen and that the blast took place in the customer area,” Ms Rao added.

She said that after looking at the CCTV footage, they saw that a guy wearing a mask and muffler came to the billing counter and ordered a rava idli.

“He took his order and then sat in a corner. He finished his meal and then left a bag in the corner before exiting the restaurant,” Ms Rao said, adding that the blast then took place after some time.

She said that luckily there were no cylinders kept where the blast took place.

‘Rameshwaram Cafe Is My Baby’

Ms Rao said that she recently gave birth to her baby and that there was no difference between the Rameshwaram cafe and her newborn.

“My business is also my baby and the damage to my outlet equally hurts me,” she said.

In a gritty message to her customers, she said that the Rameshwaram cafe would come back very shortly and strongly.

“The Whitefield outlet will operate the same way it was operating with more tight security and more safety systems in place. We will be back,” she said.

‘Will Help People Injured In Blast’

Thanking God that there were no fatal injuries in the Rameshwaram cafe blast, Mr Rao said that she would help the injured persons.

“There were no serious injuries. Some people who have received some injuries are likely to recover in 15-30 days,” she said.

“We will take care of them to make sure that they are back to their normal lives,” she added.

In an official statement, she said she is cooperating with the authorities and officials in their investigations.

“We are deeply saddened by the unfortunate incident at our Brookefield branch today… Our thoughts are with the injured and their families, and we are offering them all the support, assistance and care they need and pray for their speedy recovery,” Ms Rao said.

Six killed in Rajasthan lightning strikes: Official

In Lalsot, Dausa, a 17-year-old female student and a 25-year-old young person lost their lives. Additionally, in Daulatpura, another female student was struck by lightning as she journeyed home from school.

Updated On – 2 March 2024, 09:04 AM


Six killed in Rajasthan lightning strikes: Official

Representational Image

Jaipur: A total of six persons on Friday were killed in lightning strikes in different places in Rajasthan, an official said.

A 17-year-old girl student and a 25-year-old youth were killed at Lalsot in Dausa. In Daulatpura, another girl student was struck by lightning while she was on her way home from school.


In Sawai Madhopur, a husband and wife — Rajendra (30) and Jalebi Meena (28) died when they were working in the field.

Besides, a youth identified as Dhannalal was also killed in a lightning strike in the same district, the police said.

Another woman, Beena Devi, was also killed while she was working in the field.

Meanwhile, officials said that people should take shelter in a safe place during thunderstorms and lightning, and avoid sitting or standing near/ beneath trees.

The Met Department had earlier sounded ‘orange alert’ in seven districts including Karauli, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Sawai Madhopur, Jaipur, Tonk and Dausa.

Intermittent rain along with wind was witnessed in Ajmer, Jaipur, Tonk, Sawai Madhopur and Dausa on Friday.

Telangana News Today: Gruha Jyothi Scheme Bills, MLA Lasya Nanditha Accident, KTR Criticize Congress

Today’s Telangana News includes zero electricity bills with the Gruha Jyothi scheme, Truck seizure that involved MLA Lasya Nanditha accident, and KTR criticizing Congress on farmers’ issues.

Published Date – 2 March 2024, 09:10 AM


Telangana News Today: Gruha Jyothi Scheme Bills, MLA Lasya Nanditha Accident, KTR Criticize Congress


Today’s Telangana News includes zero electricity bills with the Gruha Jyothi scheme, Truck seizure that involved MLA Lasya Nanditha accident, and KTR criticizing Congress on farmers’ issues.


Gaza death toll hits 30,228: Ministry

The Ministry stated in a press release on Friday that since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October last year, 71,377 Palestinians have been injured in the coastal enclave, as reported by Xinhua news agency.

Updated On – 2 March 2024, 09:07 AM


Gaza death toll hits 30,228: Ministry


Gaza: The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,228 as the Israeli military killed 193 in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.

In a press statement, the Ministry added on Friday that 71,377 Palestinians have been wounded in the coastal enclave since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October last year, Xinhua news agency reported.


Israeli forces killed 193 Palestinians and wounded 920 others in the past 24 hours. Some victims remain under the rubble because of heavy bombardment and lack of civil defence and ambulance crews, the Ministry said.

The Hebrew public radio reported that the Israeli army was continuing its military operations in the Gaza Strip for the 147th consecutive day, adding that 450 Palestinians were killed during the last 10 days.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, said in a press conference on Thursday that Israel’s military operation will continue until total victory is achieved.

Hawk-Eye Founder Slams Vaughan's 'Uneducated' Opinion On DRS Transparency

Hawk-Eye founder Paul Hawkins has slammed Michael Vaughan for the former England player’s remark on the technology following Joe Root‘s controversial dismissal in Ranchi Test against India. During the guests’ second innings, a Ravichandran Ashwin delivery crashed into Root’s pad but the umpire was not convinced about the LBW shout. India went for a review. Although it seemed like the majority of the ball was pitched outside the leg-stump, the technology deemed it fair and gave it out. Some experts and fans were not happy with the decision with Vaughan asking for more transparency in the system so that the viewers also get to see what happens during the tracking process to put “the noise to bed”.

Hawkins, in a recent interaction, revealed how the Hawk-Eye technology actually works during a Decision Review System (DRS) and the measures that are taken to maintain transparency and minimize errors.

“For every day, the guys will go out and measure the width of the stumps. And so that gets entered into the system. So you’re working off of the actual width of those stumps… So you calibrate the system for the environment that it’s there,” said the technology founder on The Analyst podcast.

“A good process that’s evolved in terms of quality control is that there is a van camera, which is more an internal process, making sure people aren’t on their phones. But the best thing in terms of quality control is an automatic screengrab of the tracking system is taken and that automatically goes to the ICC. So whilst it will never go to broadcast because there’s lots of intellectual property within those screengrabs for the internal quality control for the people that need to make sure that the technology providers are providing accurate answers, that’s all done,” he added.

Hawkins, particularly, also reacted to Vaughan’s suggestion and criticised the ex-player’s “unfortunate” view.

“The commentary, I think, is a little bit uneducated. It is unfortunate from Vaughan, because, obviously he was a fantastic player, really enjoyed watching him play, and a great commentator, very entertaining. But I think it’s a responsibility to the game, in terms of journalism. Perhaps a little bit more preparation in terms of his role as a journalist may help him explain what’s happening to the huge fan base of cricket so that what he writes is factually correct. In the same way as Hawk-Eye has an obligation to be factually correct, perhaps journalists do too,” said Hawkins.

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US To Probe If Chinese Cars Pose National Data Security Risks

US To Probe If Chinese Cars Pose National Data Security Risks

There are relatively few Chinese-made light duty vehicles being imported into the US. (Representational)

The United States is opening an investigation into whether Chinese vehicle imports pose national security risks and could impose restrictions due to concerns about “connected” car technology, the White House said on Thursday.

The US Commerce Department probe is needed because vehicles “collect large amounts of sensitive data on their drivers and passengers (and) regularly use their cameras and sensors to record detailed information on U.S. infrastructure,” the White House said.

As vehicles could “be piloted or disabled remotely” the probe will also look at autonomous vehicles.

“China’s policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “I’m not going to let that happen on my watch.”

White House officials told reporters it was too early to say what action might be taken and said there was no decision on a potential ban or restrictions on connected Chinese vehicles.

Officials told reporters the US government has wide legal powers and could take action with a potentially “large impact”.

Biden called the effort an “unprecedented action to ensure that cars on US roads from countries of concern like China do not undermine our national security.”

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen and nearly all major automakers, said the Commerce Department should “work closely with the auto industry to determine the scope of any action.”

The group urged the Commerce Department to target transactions that pose “undue risk to U.S. economic and national security” but don’t “capture low-risk transactions that could have unintended near-term impacts on advanced vehicle safety technologies.”

There are relatively few Chinese-made light duty vehicles being imported into the United States. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the administration was taking action before they become widespread and “potentially threaten our privacy and national security.”

Chinese EV makers have been counting on Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe as their largest exporting markets. BYD, the world’s largest EV maker by sales, has repeatedly said it has no plan to sell its cars in the US market, but on Wednesday said it was looking for a location in Mexico to locate a plant to build cars for that market.

BYD also said Wednesday it would begin selling its Dolphin Mini EV in Mexico at 358,800 Mexican pesos ($21,019.33), less than half the price of the cheapest Tesla.

The Chinese foreign ministry on Friday said Chinese cars were popular globally not because of “so-called unfair practices” but because they had emerged out of fierce market competition and were technologically innovative.

“China urges the US to respect the laws of the market economy and principles of fair competition, stop overstretching the concept of national security, stop its discriminatory suppression of Chinese companies and uphold an open fair and non-discriminatory business environment,” ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular press briefing.

Among all vehicles equipped with intelligent sensors, it is unfair to target cars from a specific country and impose restrictions on them exclusively, said Cui Dongshu, secretary general of China Passenger Car Association.

Separately, the Biden administration is considering imposing new tariffs on Chinese-made vehicles and officials face new pressure to restrict Chinese electric vehicle imports from Mexico.

The U.S. has adopted rules designed to wean the US electric vehicle battery chain away from China and excluded companies and consumers from tax benefits if they include materials in their supply chains from China, which dominates the EV battery supply chain.

Last December, China said that violated international trade rules and would disrupt global supply chains.

In November, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers raised alarms about Chinese companies collecting and handling sensitive data while testing autonomous vehicles in the United States.

The Commerce Department will seek comments for 60 days and then consider drafting regulations to address concerns. The probe will also seek details about current US-assembled vehicles including where automakers license software.

The United States previously barred Chinese telecom companies from its market citing concerns about data, and designated Huawei and ZTE as threats, requiring US carriers to remove their equipment from US networks.

The White House said China poses significant restrictions on US autos and other foreign autos operating in China. “Why should connected vehicles from China be allowed to operate in our country without safeguards?” Biden said.

China has in recent years strengthened its oversight over data management within the country and most industries must apply for permission before data can be transferred abroad.

In May, authorities tightened data rules for the auto industry and proposed to ban smart vehicles in China from transferring data directly abroad, pushing them instead to use domestic cloud services.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Video: UP Congress Leader Barges Into Office, Threatens Employees With Gun

Ambuj Shukla’s licensed revolver has also been seized.

Lucknow:

A Congress leader has been arrested for barging into the office of a construction company near Kanpur and brandishing a revolver to threaten its employees. The act has been caught on a  CCTV camera. 

The footage shows Ambuj Shukla – a Congress leader who had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly election from the Kanpur Govindnagar seat on the party’s ticket in 2017 – walking into the office with at least three of his aides. He is seen holding a revolver to his side and then pointing it at the employees while wagging his hand in a threatening gesture.

Shukla heads for the door before turning back and pointing the revolver at the employee again. The office, located in Kalyanpur, belonged to a company called Atharva Construction Pvt Ltd.

“A complaint was filed by an employee of the company. We checked the CCTV footage and saw Ambuj Shukla and his aides threatening the employees using his licensed revolver. Shukla and his aides have been taken into custody and the revolver has been seized,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Abhishek Kumar Pandey.

(With inputs from Arun Agrawal)

Rolls Royce, Lamborghini, Crores Of Cash Seized From Tobacco Baron's Home

A fleet of luxury cars were recovered from Shivam Mishra’s Delhi home.

New Delhi:

A Rolls Royce, a Porsche, a Lamborghini – all bear ‘4018’ on the licence plates and in front of them poses a man with the flamboyance of Hrithik Roshan’s character in a hit song from ‘Kaho Na Pyaar Hai’. He is Shivam Mishra, the scion of a tobacco company at the centre of multi-state raids by the income tax department.

The Income Tax department executed a series of raids on Banshidhar Tobacco Company, unearthing a complex web of financial manipulations that extend across various states and even overseas. The raids, spanning 20 locations including Kanpur, Delhi, Mumbai, and Gujarat, have exposed alleged discrepancies in the company’s reported turnover, with sources revealing a staggering difference between the declared income and the actual turnover.

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Fifteen to 20 teams carried out raids across five states, metaphorically shaking down every tobacco leaf linked to Banshidhar Tobacco Company, to stumble upon a treasure trove of luxury cars worth a staggering Rs 50 crore; among them, a Rolls-Royce Phantom, priced at a cool Rs 16 crore, found at Shivam Mishra’s home in Delhi’s Vasant Vihar.

Other luxury cars recovered from Shivam Mishra’s home were a McLaren, a Porsche, and a Lamborghini. The IT teams have reportedly confiscated Rs 4.5 crores in cash during the raids, along with several documents.

The epicentre of the scandal is KK Mishra, the patriarch of the tobacco business. Banshidhar Tobacco Private Limited is a big player in the tobacco industry and is known for supplying products to major pan masala groups. Reports suggest that the company has a declared income of Rs 20 to 25 crore when the actual turnover was pegged at Rs 100-150 crore.

The raids have revealed that the company has not only evaded Income tax laws but also violated Goods and Services Tax (GST) rules.