1. At Amrit Kalash Yatra event, PM Modi says ‘beginning of new resolution’
2. Agartala-Akhaura international railway link: PM Modi, his Bangladesh counterpart to open route Wed
3. ‘Pak’s ISI funds Khalistani Pannun’: Forged referendum figures to immigration racket, Intel Sources Decode Strategy
4. ‘Phone Hacking’ Row: Minister accuses Oppn of doing ‘Destructive Politics’; Apple issues Statement
5. After Sri Lanka, Thailand waives visas for Indian tourists

What Else

6. EAM emphasizes close cooperation between democracies with Portugal’s Assembly President
7. J&K Police head constable shot dead in 3rd targeted killing in last 72 hrs
8. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to embark on 3-day visit to Sri Lanka on Wed
9. Manipur police officer shot dead by suspected tribal militants at Moreh
10. Rapper Shubh slammed for wearing hoodie that mocked Indira Gandhi’s assassination
11. Bangladesh: Dialogue with opposition only if Biden sits with Trump: PM
12. Pakistan: Govt tightens noose around migrants as ‘refoulement’ commences
13. Chinese officials must feel they are being ‘followed by shadows’, President Xi Jinping says

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At Amrit Kalash Yatra event, PM Modi says ‘beginning of new resolution’

• PM Modi on Tue offered soil into the Amrit Kalash to mark the culmination of the ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ campaign.
• He offered soil into the Amrit Kalash and then applied a ’tilak’ on his forehead with the ‘mitti’.
• The PM also launched an autonomous body — Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) — which will set the focus of the govt on youth-led development
• PM Modi watched a digital exhibition of ‘Meri Mati Mera Desh’ campaign and laid the foundation stone of Amrit Vatika and Amrit Mahotsav Memorial.
• Union ministers Amit Shah and Meenakshi Lekhi were also present at the event. (here)

Agartala-Akhaura international railway link: PM Modi, his Bangladesh counterpart to open route Wed

• PM Modi and his B’desh counterpart Sheikh Hasina are all set to virtually inaugurate an Indo-Bangla train route between Agartala, Tripura, and Akhaura in B’desh.
• Tripura CM Dr Manik Saha is also scheduled to join the inaugural ceremony virtually at 11.30 am.
• The first trial run on the route was conducted Mon with a goods train from Bangladesh reaching Nischintapur railway station.
• Passenger train services are yet to be tested on this route.
• The international immigration center of the Agartala-Akhaura railway link would be set up at Nischintapur, which is India’s last railway station along the border.
• Tripura shares an 856-km-long international border with Bangladesh, parts of which are still unfenced due to local disputes.
• After the Agartala-Akhaura rail route is opened, the travel time between Agartala and Kolkata via Dhaka is estimated to be reduced from 38 hours to roughly 10 hours. (here)

‘Pak’s ISI funds Khalistani Pannun’: Forged referendum figures to immigration racket, Intel Sources Decode Strategy

• A designated terrorist in India, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, (banned pro-Khalistan gr SFJ) is being funded by Pakistan’s ISI, according to top intelligence sources.
• The numbers he gives out on Khalistani referendums, too, are fabricated, they said.
• Initially, Pannun had denied his association with the ISI, but he recently attended the Pakistan HC Kashmir Day event in London.
• The ISI has approved the plan. “… However, by just spending USD 20,000 on Pannun’s propaganda war against India, they are getting big results,” they said.
• Pannun is getting money from innocent youths and donations in the name of war.
• Sources said that Pannun’s actions serve ISI’s purpose in India too.
• Pannun’s referendum rallies in Canada were complete failures, adding the numbers being given out, alleging public support for Khalistan, too, is fake.
• In the Sept 10 poll, the SFJ claimed they got 1.35 lakh votes, but in reality, only 2,398 people came out to vote.
• In the case of the Oct 29 poll, contrary to the claims of 2 lakh voters, only 2,000 voters, mostly students and an old set of supporters, voted. (here)

‘Phone Hacking’ Row: Minister accuses Oppn of doing ‘Destructive Politics’; Apple issues Statement

• Expressing “concerns” over the snooping claims made by some opposition leaders, the central govt on Tue ordered an investigation and asked Apple to join the investigation with real, accurate information on the “alleged state-sponsored attacks”.
• Meanwhile, Apple stated that it does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker.
• This came as several Oppo MPs claimed to have received messages from Apple warning them of “state-sponsored attackers trying to remotely compromise” their iPhones.
• “While this may be a false alarm, please take this warning seriously,” the message read further.
• Apple’s statement suggests that they started sending threat notifications in 2021, and accounts in 150 countries have received the same till now.
• Apple categorically has not said whether these notifications across the world are being sent at the same time as users in India.
• Speaking on the issue, Minister for Comm, IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “The govt is concerned about this issue and it will go to the bottom of it.” (here)
• The alerts were sent a year after a committee of SC-appointed experts found inconclusive evidence of the presence of Pegasus in the 29 phones it analyzed. (here)
• [Interestingly, some claimants are the same, claimed for Pegasus, so “Govt couldn’t hack at that time?]

After Sri Lanka, Thailand waives visas for Indian tourists

• Indian tourists will be allowed visa-free entry to Thailand for six months starting Nov 10, local media reported on Tue.
• The announcement was followed by a decision by the Thai Cabinet.
• Thailand’s existing policy allows 59 countries to enter without an visa.
• In response to certain challenges, particularly a drop in Chinese tourists, the Cabinet previously decided to extend similar visa exemptions to China and Kazakhstan
• Concerns regarding safety, as amplified by Chinese social media, and a slowdown in China’s economy contributed to the decline in Chinese arrivals.
• Last week Sri Lanka announced visa-free entry to visitors from India and six other countries- China and Russia- with immediate effect till Mar 31, 2024. (here)

EAM emphasizes close cooperation between democracies with Portugal’s Assembly President

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar who is on a visit to Portugal and Italy from Oct 31 to Nov 3 on Tue met with the President of the Assembly of Portuguese in Lisbon.
• Jaishankar will have discussions with his counterpart, Joao Gomes Cravinho, covering a wide range of bilateral and global issues of mutual interest, emphasizing India’s commitment to strengthening diplomatic relations with its European partners.
• Jaishankar will remain in Portugal for 2 days, till Nov 1.
• He is expected to meet the Portuguese leadership, members of the Portugal-India Parliamentary Friendship Group, and the Indo-Portuguese and Indians. (here)

J&K Police head constable shot dead in 3rd targeted killing in last 72 hrs

• A policeman was shot dead by terrorists on Tue in the Baramulla district of J&K
• Head Constable Ghulam Mohammad Dar was shot at by the terrorists outside his residence at Kralpora in Pattan area of the district, the officials said.
• They said Dar was rushed to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to injuries.
• This is the 3^rd such terrorist attack in as many days in Kashmir Valley.
• While a police officer was critically injured in firing by terrorists on Sunday in Srinagar, a laborer from Uttar Pradesh was shot dead in Pulwama district the next day. (here)
• RR Swain Takes Over As Director General of Jammu And Kashmir Police

• IPS officer R.R Swain today took over as 17^th Director General of J&K Police.
• A 1991 batch IPS officer of J&K cadre came back to the state in Jun 2020, after a successful stint at the centre for years, as head of the CID wing. (here)

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to embark on 3-day visit to Sri Lanka on Wed

• Union Fin Min Nirmala Sitharaman will on Wed embark on a 3-day visit to Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Finance said in a press release.
• During the visit, she will deliver an address as the guest of honor at the ‘NAAM 200’ organized by the Sri Lankan govt to commemorate the 200^th anniversary.
• Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, PM Dinesh Gunawardena, senior leaders across political parties, and several other dignitaries will attend “NAAM 200.
• Other invitees from Indian political parties and a representative of the Malaysian Tamil Congress will attend the event, according to the Ministry of Finance press release.
• She will witness the exchange of the MoU for solar electrification of religious places in Sri Lanka, according to the Ministry of Finance press release.
• India will allocate Rs 82.40 crores out of the GOI grant assistance of Rs 107.47 crores earmarked for the promotion of Buddhist ties (here)

Manipur police officer shot dead by suspected tribal militants at Moreh

• A police officer was shot dead by suspected tribal militants at Moreh in Manipur’s Tengnoupal on Tue.

• The incident took place when SDPO, along with others was inspecting the newly constructed helipad at the Eastern ground in the border town, dominated by Kuki-Zo community people.
• A senior police official said that after being shot at, the SDPO was immediately rushed to a primary health center in Moreh where he succumbed to the bullet injury.
• More than 180 people were killed in the ethnic violence that erupted in the state on May 3 after the ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organized on the hill. (here)

Rapper Shubh slammed for wearing hoodie that mocked Indira Gandhi’s assassination

• Punjabi-Canadian rapper Shubhneet Singh, popularly known as Shubh, allegedly sported a hoodie that mocked the assassination of former Indian PM Indira Gandhi.
• The event that had severe repercussions in India and worldwide shook the world at the time when her bodyguards, 2 Sikh men opened fire on her and she died.
• At a concert, Shubh was allegedly seen sporting a black-colored hoodie that showed the map of Punjab, asking for freedom, as Sikh men murder Indira Gandhi in the foreground of the picture.
• A picture and a video from the concert that took place in London is now going viral as a pro-Khalistani handle named SherePanjabUK, shared the same on social media. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

Bangladesh: Dialogue with opposition only if Biden sits with Trump: PM

• “Is (US President) Biden holding dialogue with Mr Trump?. If Biden sits with Trump for dialogue, then I will hold the dialogue (with the opposition),” she told in a presser regarding US Envoy‘s call to hold dialogue with the opposition.
• Following a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner, the US envoy to B’desh Peter Haas expressed hope that all sides going forward will engage in a dialogue without preconditions to de-escalate tensions.
• Meanwhile, the PM has reiterated that the people of Bangladesh do not want any dialogue with the killers.
• Election will be held and it will be … on due time, she added.
• The PM has accused the BNP of wanting to create an unusual situation ahead of the national election.
• “BNP is a terrorist party, as a terrorist party they need to get a good lesson,” she said during the press conference. (here) [US is actively involved in the country’s election]

Pakistan: Govt tightens noose around migrants as ‘refoulement’ commences

• Although the govt deadline for illegal foreigners residing in Pakistan to leave the country, voluntarily, technically expired at Tue midnight, action against those who refused to leave would begin in earnest within the next 24 hours.
• Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Tue that the govt’s crackdown against dawdlers would begin after the deadline, including Afghan refugees, ended on Oct 31.
• However, officials claimed that those who continued to exit the country of their own accord on Nov 1 would not be bothered, but those who did not make it would be placed in ‘holding centers’ set up in all four provinces, as well as AJK and GB.
• In his remarks minister directed officials and agencies to be respectful to undocumented immigrants while rounding them up for detention in ‘holding centers’ (here)
• But while the govt continued to ramp up its deportation efforts, rights groups and civil society organizations reiterated their concern over the action, HRCP Pakistan (here)
• Afghan migrants launch protest over deportation: Over 1.7 million undocumented migrants in Pakistan were given until Nov 1 to depart by the country’s temporary administration, less than a month ago.
• Pakistan issued a warning to migrants, threatening to arrest and deport them if they do not leave the nation. (here)

Chinese officials must feel they are being ‘followed by shadows’, President Xi Jinping says

• Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on the country’s auditors to make officials feel like they are being “followed by shadows”.
• The directives were made by Xi in a speech he gave at a meeting with the Central Auditing Commission in May.
• The previously undisclosed speech was published in Qiushi, a top theoretical journal of the Communist Party, on Tue.
• In his speech, Xi said that they must live up to their responsibilities by ensuring there are no blind spots in their work and party’s policies are implemented as intended.
• Xi highlighted 5 policy areas for auditors to focus on finance, monetary policy, industry, technology, and social affairs. (here)