Leader highlights potential for enhanced Iran-Turkmenistan relations


Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (R) holds talks with Turkmenistan’s National Leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow (C) in the presence of President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran on August 28, 2024. (Photo: Khamenei.ir)

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has placed a premium on the expansion of relations between Iran and Turkmenistan.

Speaking during a meeting with Turkmenistan’s National Leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow in Tehran on Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei said while relations between Iran and Turkmenistan have grown significantly in recent years, there remains substantial capacity for further cooperation.

“We hope that under the new administration of President Pezeshkian, the expansion of relations between the two countries continue more vigorously,” the Leader stated.

Ayatollah Khamenei highlighted joint development projects, including the construction of a highway linking the two countries and the expansion of a shared gas pipeline, stating that the implementation of these projects, with the involvement of Iranian experts, would further strengthen the bonds of friendship between the two countries.

For his part, Berdimuhamedow said he had held “good and constructive” negotiations with President Masoud Pezeshkian and expressed hope that the agreements signed between the two sides would yield positive results.

The Turkmen leader also remembered the late President Ebrahim Raeisi and praised his efforts to strengthen ties between the two nations.

Berdimuhamedow affirmed that the long border between Iran and Turkmenistan will always remain a “border of peace and friendship,” and emphasized his government’s readiness to expand ties in various fields.

Berdimuhamedow arrived at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran on Wednesday morning to hold high-level talks with Iranian officials.

Earlier in the day he held talks with Pezeshkian, and the two sides signed four cooperation documents in various fields, including gas and customs.


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

PCB Concerned Over Fast Bowler Ihsanullah's Recovery From Injury

File photo of Ihsanullah.© X (formerly Twitter)




The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is concerned over young fast bowler Ihsanullah’s prolonged recovery from an elbow injury, which has persisted for a year. A reliable PCB source told PTI that senior officials are frustrated with Ihsanullah’s recent behavior, particularly after he contradicted a statement made by his father. Ihsanullah’s father visited Lahore a few weeks ago to meet with PCB officials, requesting that his son continue his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) rather than in his hometown of Swat. He informed the media that Ihsanullah also preferred to continue his rehab at the NCA.

However, the next day, the 21-year-old Ihsanullah tweeted that he was comfortable with continuing his rehabilitation in Swat and did not see the need to travel to Lahore, directly contradicting his father’s statement.

“The board officials are worried with the sincerity and hard work Ihsan is putting into his rehab program which was designed for him by experts after he was sent to the UK for an appointment with a specialist,” the source said.

He added that the recommendation for Ihsanullah to continue his rehab in Swat, under the supervision of an assigned trainer, was made by an independent medical panel appointed by the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi.

“But with fitness tests to be held before the Champions Cup domestic event there is growing concern over whether Ihsanullah himself is taking his rehab process seriously,” the source said.

Ihsanullah emerged as a promising talent for Pakistan during last year’s Pakistan Super League and was quickly integrated into the national white-ball squad for T20 and ODI matches before suffering his elbow injury.

The handling of Ihsanullah’s injury also led to the resignation of the PCB’s head of the medical panel, Dr. Sohail Saleem, after an independent panel was formed to review the diagnosis and treatment recommended for the fast bowler.

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

Topics mentioned in this article

Why Telegram CEO Pavel Durov's Arrest Raises 'Red Flags' For Tech Bosses

Why Telegram CEO Pavel Durov's Arrest Raises 'Red Flags' For Tech Bosses

For one, Durov is a French citizen, making him a much likelier target in France

Paris, France:

Now that France has charged Telegram’s founder with failing to stop illegal activity on his platform, other tech bosses may have reason to weigh the wisdom of jetting into Europe themselves.

Russia-born Pavel Durov is accused of “complicity” in running an online platform that allowed illicit transactions, child sex abuse images and other illegal content.

French lawyers told AFP it was “unprecedented” for an individual to be held criminally liable for what users chose to do on a tech platform.

Chat apps like Telegram — which boasts having more than 900 million users — were almost certainly hosting illegal content whether the bosses knew it or not, experts told AFP.

“It’s clear that if they take this case against Pavel Durov all the way, any other platform could be threatened with the same thing,” lawyer Guillaume Martine told AFP.

However, the idea of X owner Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg, whose Meta group includes Facebook and WhatsApp, being arrested in Europe remained beyond the realms of likelihood.

“I would be very surprised if any EU member state, including France, arrested Elon Musk under similar charges,” Jan Penfrat of the European Digital Rights (EDRi) advocacy group told AFP.

“But then again, I was also surprised that they arrested Durov.”

‘Limited cooperation’

Although comparing these platforms is superficially appealing — like its competitors, Telegram is not based in France, and Durov is an ally of Musk — there are key differences.

For one, Durov is a French citizen, making him a much likelier target in France.

But also, although Musk trumpets an extreme free-speech position, he generally complies with government takedown orders on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter.

Telegram, however, refuses on principle.

“It’s true that Telegram is characterised by extremely limited cooperation, if any at all,” said digital rights lawyer Alexandre Lazaregue.

“They don’t respond to letters, they don’t respond to summonses, they don’t even have legal representation in court… Whereas Facebook, Twitter, etc still have well-known lawyers in Paris.”

And Penfrat said comparisons with services like Signal or WhatsApp were also misleading as they are encrypted by default — unlike Telegram.

“So Signal and WhatsApp can say: ‘We’re cooperating, we just don’t have the information,'” he said.

“But Telegram says: ‘Well, we could give you all that information because it’s in plain text on our servers, but we’re not going to, sorry.'”

‘Red flags’

The particular position of Durov and Telegram suggests other tech bosses do not have anything immediately to worry about.

But Penfrat said he was concerned that the move against Telegram could be used as a precedent to go after other encrypted services.

Law enforcement agencies across the world have long argued they need access to encrypted messages to stop criminal activity.

But services like WhatsApp and Signal have pushed back, saying the only way to do that would be to outlaw encryption.

“It does raise a lot of red flags to see these charges, which seem random and also are just not very convincing,” said Penfrat, suggesting it was like trying to blame a knife-maker for a stabbing.

Lawyer Martine said it was “extremely dangerous” to try to hold Telegram accountable for the actions of its users, likening it to prosecuting Europcar for renting a vehicle to a drug trafficker.

Lazaregue concluded that the charges against Durov were pushing the legal definition of “complicity” to breaking point.

“To be convicted of complicity, you still need to be aware that a crime is happening and intend to participate in it,” he said.

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

Jewish Voice for Peace: US must stop arming Israel's 'genocidal violence'

Jewish activists have called on the United States to stop arming the Israeli regime amid a major military assault in the occupied West Bank as Tel Aviv’s genocide continues in Gaza.

Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a US-based advocacy group, in a series of social media posts on Wednesday said that Washington has long “facilitated” Israel’s “genocidal violence” against Palestinians, adding that the flow of US weapons to Israel must urgently stop.

“From Gaza to the occupied West Bank, genocidal violence against Palestinians is allowed, permitted, and facilitated” not only by the Israeli cabinet, but by the United States, JVP said.

Pointing to Washington’s ironclad support for the Tel-Aviv regime’s genocidal campaign in the Gaza Strip, the organization further called for a global landscape free from Zionism and colonialism, urging the US government to halt arms shipments to the Israeli military.

“This massive and coordinated invasion is a direct result of our government’s continual enabling and co-signing of the Israeli … genocidal actions across all of occupied Palestine,” JVP added.

The Jewish activist organization further wrote that the recent attacks mark a significant intensification of violence across the occupied West Bank, while Jewish settlers are collaborating with Israeli soldiers to rapidly steal more land for their illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank.

“With the US as its collaborator, the Israeli military and settlers are carrying out the goal of Zionism: maximum land with minimum Palestinians, meaning the complete and total ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their land,” it added.

In the early hours of Wednesday, the Israeli army conducted its biggest operation – dubbed “Camps of Summer” – in the West Bank in over 20 years, deploying hundreds of troops and airstrikes on Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tubas, which are major centers of Palestinian resistance against the occupying entity.

At least 18 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli raids and strikes in several towns, with many more sustained injuries. 

As major raids continue in Jenin and Tulkarem, Israeli forces have also stormed al-Khalil and arrested at least 12 people, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a statement said he is “deeply concerned” over Israel’s all-out military assault on the occupied West Bank, calling for a swift end to the aggression in the Palestinian territory.

Violence by settlers and raids by Israeli forces have surged in the West Bank since Israel launched its barbaric military campaign in the besieged Gaza Strip in early October 2023. 

According to medical sources, 667 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank ever since the Gaza war began. 

Zomato Gets GST Tax Demand Notice Of Rs 4.59 Crore

Zomato Gets GST Tax Demand Notice Of Rs 4.59 Crore

Zomato say it has a “strong case to defend the matter” (Representational)

New Delhi:

Online food delivery platform Zomato has received GST tax demand orders of over Rs 4.59 crore, including applicable interest and penalty, from Tamil Nadu and West Bengal authorities.

The company said it plans to appeal against the demand orders passed by the Assistant Commissioner of GST and Central Excise, Nungambakkam Division, Tamil Nadu and Assistant Commissioner of Revenue, Government of West Bengal.

The Tamil Nadu tax authority passed an Adjudication Order under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, for GST of Rs 81,16,518, with applicable interest (not quantified) and penalty of Rs 8,21,290.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal authority passed an adjudication order under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 for GST of Rs 1,92,43,792 with interest of Rs 1,58,12,070 and a penalty of Rs 19,24,379.

In a regulatory filing, Zomato said it has clarified in its response, along with relevant documents and judicial precedents, “which appears to not have been appreciated by the authorities while passing the order”.

“The Company believes that it has a strong case to defend the matter before the relevant appellate authority and does not expect any financial impact on the Company,” Zomato stated.

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

Why Telegram CEO Pavel Durov's Arrest Raises 'Red Flags' For Tech Bosses

Why Telegram CEO Pavel Durov's Arrest Raises 'Red Flags' For Tech Bosses

For one, Durov is a French citizen, making him a much likelier target in France

Paris, France:

Now that France has charged Telegram’s founder with failing to stop illegal activity on his platform, other tech bosses may have reason to weigh the wisdom of jetting into Europe themselves.

Russia-born Pavel Durov is accused of “complicity” in running an online platform that allowed illicit transactions, child sex abuse images and other illegal content.

French lawyers told AFP it was “unprecedented” for an individual to be held criminally liable for what users chose to do on a tech platform.

Chat apps like Telegram — which boasts having more than 900 million users — were almost certainly hosting illegal content whether the bosses knew it or not, experts told AFP.

“It’s clear that if they take this case against Pavel Durov all the way, any other platform could be threatened with the same thing,” lawyer Guillaume Martine told AFP.

However, the idea of X owner Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg, whose Meta group includes Facebook and WhatsApp, being arrested in Europe remained beyond the realms of likelihood.

“I would be very surprised if any EU member state, including France, arrested Elon Musk under similar charges,” Jan Penfrat of the European Digital Rights (EDRi) advocacy group told AFP.

“But then again, I was also surprised that they arrested Durov.”

‘Limited cooperation’

Although comparing these platforms is superficially appealing — like its competitors, Telegram is not based in France, and Durov is an ally of Musk — there are key differences.

For one, Durov is a French citizen, making him a much likelier target in France.

But also, although Musk trumpets an extreme free-speech position, he generally complies with government takedown orders on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter.

Telegram, however, refuses on principle.

“It’s true that Telegram is characterised by extremely limited cooperation, if any at all,” said digital rights lawyer Alexandre Lazaregue.

“They don’t respond to letters, they don’t respond to summonses, they don’t even have legal representation in court… Whereas Facebook, Twitter, etc still have well-known lawyers in Paris.”

And Penfrat said comparisons with services like Signal or WhatsApp were also misleading as they are encrypted by default — unlike Telegram.

“So Signal and WhatsApp can say: ‘We’re cooperating, we just don’t have the information,'” he said.

“But Telegram says: ‘Well, we could give you all that information because it’s in plain text on our servers, but we’re not going to, sorry.'”

‘Red flags’

The particular position of Durov and Telegram suggests other tech bosses do not have anything immediately to worry about.

But Penfrat said he was concerned that the move against Telegram could be used as a precedent to go after other encrypted services.

Law enforcement agencies across the world have long argued they need access to encrypted messages to stop criminal activity.

But services like WhatsApp and Signal have pushed back, saying the only way to do that would be to outlaw encryption.

“It does raise a lot of red flags to see these charges, which seem random and also are just not very convincing,” said Penfrat, suggesting it was like trying to blame a knife-maker for a stabbing.

Lawyer Martine said it was “extremely dangerous” to try to hold Telegram accountable for the actions of its users, likening it to prosecuting Europcar for renting a vehicle to a drug trafficker.

Lazaregue concluded that the charges against Durov were pushing the legal definition of “complicity” to breaking point.

“To be convicted of complicity, you still need to be aware that a crime is happening and intend to participate in it,” he said.

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

Congress Reveals Money Rahul Gandhi Received To Fight Lok Sabha Polls

Congress Reveals Money Rahul Gandhi Received To Fight Lok Sabha Polls

Rahul Gandhi had won from Rae Bareli as well as Wayanad (File)

New Delhi:

The Congress gave its leader Rahul Gandhi Rs 70 lakh each for fighting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Wayanad and Rae Bareli, the party has disclosed to the Election Commission.

The only Congress candidate to get a higher amount was Vikramaditya Singh, who was given Rs 87 lakh from the party fund but he lost the election from Mandi seat in Himachal Pradesh to actor Kangana Ranaut of the BJP.

Other leaders to get Rs 70 lakh included Kishori Lal Sharma, who defeated BJP’s sitting MP Smriti Irani, K C Venugopal (Alappuzha in Kerala) and Manickam Tagore (Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu).

Congress candidate from Gulbarga in Karnataka Radhakrishna and Vijay Inder Singla (Anandpur Sahib in Punjab) also got Rs 70 lakh each.

Senior Congress leaders Anand Sharma and Digvijay Singh, both of whom lost the elections, got Rs 46 lakh and Rs 50 lakh, respectively.

Mr Gandhi had won from Rae Bareli as well as Wayanad, but he retained the Uttar Pradesh seat.

The party had won 99 seats in the parliamentary polls with Mr Gandhi winning from the two seats.

While there is a ceiling on expenditure a candidate can incur on electioneering, there is no such limit for political parties.

In January 2022, based on the recommendation of the EC, the government had hiked the election expenditure limit for candidates to Rs 95 lakh from Rs 70 lakh for Lok Sabha elections and to Rs 40 lakh from Rs 28 lakh for assembly elections.

For Lok Sabha polls, the revised expenditure limit now stands at Rs 90 lakh for bigger states and Rs 75 for smaller states.

The 2024 Lok Sabha elections were held in seven phases and the results were announced on June 4.

Congress had last month submitted its ‘part election expenditure statement’ for Lok Sabha elections and polls to the legislative assemblies of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to the poll panel.

The statement pertained to the ‘lumpsum amount paid to candidates by the party’ to contest polls.

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

Rajiv Gandhi statue controversy: Dasoju writes to Rahul and Kharge

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader Dasoju Sravan on Thursday said the Telugu Thalli statue represented the unique identity of Telangana and it should be installed where it was proposed originally.

Published Date – 29 August 2024, 09:27 PM


Rajiv Gandhi statue controversy: Dasoju writes to Rahul and Kharge

BRS leader Dasoju Sravan

Hyderabad: Drawing the attention of AICC leadership to the controversy revolving around Congress government’s move to install the statue of Rajiv Gandhi in the place where in the Telugu Thalli statue was to be installed in the new Secretariat.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader Dasoju Sravan on Thursday said the Telugu Thalli statue represented the unique identity of Telangana and it should be installed where it was proposed originally.


In an open letter to Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, he said the move was being opposed by intellectuals and various other groups.

He wanted the Congress leadership to ensure that the statue of Rajiv Gandhi was installed at a different place.

He urged Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to guide the Chief Minister towards a more respectful and inclusive approach in resolving the issue.

Iran: MKO terrorists, supporters will fail to achieve 'sinister' objectives

Iran slams the West’s solid political and financial support for the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization group, saying the absurd and sinister dreams of the MKO terrorists and their supporters will never come true.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani made the comment in a post on his official X account on Thursday on the occasion of the National Day of Fight against Terrorism.

The occasion commemorates the 1981 assassination of then president Mohammad-Ali Rajaei and prime minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar. The two and several other officials had convened at the Tehran office of the Iranian prime minister in a meeting of Iran’s Supreme Defense Council when a bomb explosion ripped through the building.

Kan’ani pointed to the dark record of the MKO’s criminal acts against the Iranian people, and said as mercenaries of the US and Israel, the terrorists have created and promoted state terrorism and played a role in assassinating Iran’s nuclear scientists.

He added that the disgraceful existence of the MKO, which is backed by certain Western countries claiming to advocate human rights, and their political and financial aid to the terrorists have led to the martyrdom of 17,000 Iranian people.

In line with enemies’ plots, the MKO sought to gain power in the Islamic and the Islamic establishment which was formed based on people’s vote, he noted.

Having failed to achieve the goal, the MKO terrorists resorted to “indiscriminate and organized” assassination of Iranian people and officials, the spokesman said.

He added that after fleeing to France, MKO terrorist leaders continued their criminal acts against the Iranian government and nation through the West financial support.

They also sided with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in his 1980-88 war on the Islamic Republic, Kan’ani emphasized.

The MKO has conducted numerous assassinations and bombings against Iranian statesmen and civilians since the 1979 victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution. Its members fled Iran in 1986 to Iraq, where they enjoyed Saddam’s backing.

The anti-Iran cult was on the US list of terrorist organizations until 2012. Major European countries, including France, have also removed it from their blacklists.

A few years ago, MKO elements were relocated from their Camp Ashraf in Iraq’s Diyala Province to Camp Hurriyet (Camp Liberty), a former US military base in Baghdad, and later sent to Albania.

MKO terrorists enjoy freedom of activity in the US and Europe, and even hold meetings with American and EU officials.

India Star, Who Holds Record Of Best T20I Figures On Debut, Retires




Left-arm fast bowler Barinder Sran, who played six ODIs and two T20Is for India in 2016, has announced retirement from all forms of the game. In all, he picked 13 wickets while representing India in both white-ball formats. Sran holds the record for the best T20I figures by an Indian male cricketer on his debut. He achieved the same against Zimbabwe on June 20, 2016, where he picked up a four-wicket haul by giving away just ten runs.

“As I officially hang up my cricket boots, I look back at my journey with a heart full of gratitude. Since switching from boxing in 2009, cricket has gifted me innumerable and incredible experiences. Fast bowling soon became my lucky charm and opened doors to represent prestigious IPL franchises, ultimately culminating in the highest honour of representing India in 2016.”

“Even though my international career was brief, the memories created will be forever cherished. I am eternally grateful to the almighty for getting me the right coaches and management, who have supported me throughout my journey.”

“As I embark on this new chapter, I carry immense gratitude for the opportunities that cricket has afforded me. Lastly, as the saying goes, “Just like the sky, dreams have no limits”, so keep dreaming,” wrote Sran on his Instagram account.

Sran represented Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai Indians (became a member of the 2019 edition winning team) and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, picking 18 wickets in 24 matches at an economy rate of 9.40. He was initially a boxer at the Bhiwani Boxing Club, which produced 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Vijender Singh.

But an advertisement by Punjab Kings calling youngsters for trials got into cricket and fast bowling. He later won the India Under-19 leg of the Gatorade Speedster competition and got a chance to go to Dubai, where he trained at the ICC academy.

From there, he rose through the ranks and overcame injuries to play domestic cricket for Punjab and later Chandigarh, IPL and then for India.

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

Topics mentioned in this article