[NEWS OF THE DAY]

1. Modi offers prayers at Kedarnath, lays foundation stone for ropeway
2. After Army chopper crashes in Arunachal, 2 bodies found: Report
3. On cough syrup deaths in Gambia, WHO chief scientist says ‘need to prove…’
4. India successfully testfires Agni Prime new generation missile off Odisha Coast
5. Chinese woman, living in India as Buddhist monk, held in Delhi for involvement in ‘anti-national activities’

What Else

6. Pak: Imran Khan disqualified in Toshakhana reference
7. China’s yuan falls to lowest level against US dollar since 2008 global financial crisis
8. Indian Navy ship intercepts suspicious boat in Palk Bay; probe on
9. Competition Commission slaps Rs 1,337.76 crore fine on Google for ‘unfair business practices’
10. ‘Some people are justifying killings’: L-G Sinha warns action after ex-CM remark
11. Mumbai: Section 144 Imposed From Nov 1 To 15 | Move After Intel Inputs
12. US charges 7 in the alleged plot to repatriate US residents to China
13. Nepal : The election authority recommends action against Madhav Nepal

Modi offers prayers at Kedarnath, lays foundation stone for ropeway

• PM Narendra Modi on Fri offered rudrabhishek at Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath shrine and laid the foundation stone for a ropeway to be built at a cost of ₹1267 cr for the pilgrims.
• A 9.7 km ropeway to Kedarnath will cut the time to reach the shrine from Gaurikund.
• Modi took stock of the reconstruction and development works in Kedarnath.
• He will take stock of the works being undertaken under the Badrinath Master Plan, and address a public meeting at Mana, the last village on China border.
• Officials said the reconstruction works under the 1^st phase in Kedarnath have been completed, while the 2^nd phase, worth ₹188 cr, will be completed by Dec 2023. (here)

After Army chopper crashes in Arunachal, 2 bodies found: Report

• Hours after an Army chopper crashed in Arunachal Pradesh on Fri, two bodies were reported to be found amid massive search operations.
• An Advanced Light Helicopter ‘crashed’ on Fri near Siyyan village, 25 km away from the Tuting HQ in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh at around 10:40 am.
• The site of the accident is not connected to the road. Further details are awaited.
• Earlier on Oct 5 this year, an Indian Army pilot lost his life in a Cheetah helicopter crash near the Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh. (here)
• [This is a serious trend, and the Chinese angle can’t be ruled out]

On cough syrup deaths in Gambia, WHO chief scientist says ‘need to prove…’

• The chief scientist at the WHO said on Thu, the death of children in the Gambia, potentially linked to 4 Indian-made cough syrups, was a serious issue.
• It was on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network.
• As reported earlier the WHO has linked the death of 66 children in the Gambia to four Indian-made cough syrups.
• “Certainly, the govt is in touch with WHO as WHO actually provided the report, which proves that it was because of the diethylene glycol contamination.” said the scientist.
• “There are no mechanisms where regulators of different states can actually work together, do the inspections on each other’s products,” she said.
• ‘To remain a leader in generic medicines, it is important to prove that India has a very strong regulatory system,’ says the scientist.(here)
• four medicines: Promethazine Oral Solution BP, KOFEXNALIN Baby Cough Syrup, MaKOFF Baby Cough Syrup, and MaGrip n Cold Syrup [DEG is prohibited for oral use]
• “The company has not performed quality testing of propylene glycol for diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol,” mentioned the show-cause notice. (here)

India successfully testfires Agni Prime new generation missile off Odisha Coast

• India successfully testfired the Agni Prime New Generation Ballistic Missile off the coast of Odisha on Fri, Defence officials said.
• This missile was testfired at around 9.45 am today and during the test flight, the missile traveled its max range [1000 to 2000 km] and all its test objectives were also met successfully.
• It further read that the performance of the system was validated by using the data obtained by various range instrumentations including the 2 down-range ships at a terminal point. (here)
• “With this 3^rd consecutive successful flight test of the Agni Prime missile, the accuracy and reliability of the system have been established,” officials said.
• Earlier, two missiles were successfully tested in June and Dec last year.
• The nuclear-capable missile has been designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Indian Navy ship intercepts suspicious boat in Palk Bay; probe on

• An Indian Navy ship intercepted a suspicious boat in Palk Bay near Lanka Maritime Line, during the early hours of Fri, and observed a suspicious boat while patrolling.
• The boat did not halt despite repeated warnings, thus as per protocol, the Navy ship fired warning shots to stop the boat.
• As per reports, one of the crew onboard the said boat sustained injuries in the firing and received first-aid treatment on the ship. (here)

Chinese woman, living in India as Buddhist monk, held in Delhi for involvement in ‘anti-national activities’

• The Delhi Police have arrested a Chinese woman, Cai Ruo, who claimed to be a Buddhist monk and is suspected of being a Chinese spy for allegedly being involved in anti-India activities.
• (sources) Cai is a “well-trained individual who tried to mislead the investigators by claiming that CCP leaders wanted to kill her and therefore, she fled to India”.
• The woman had been residing in India as “Dola Lama, a Nepalese national,” based on a ‘Nepalese Identity Card’ to prove that she was a resident of Kathmandu.
• She conversed fluently in English and Chinese with the Delhi Police personnel but did not know the Nepali language.
• She resides in the Hainan Province in China and had a Chinese passport in her name.
• She had been residing in India based on that passport, and entered India through the W Bengal border, in 2020. (here)

Competition Commission slaps Rs 1,337.76 crore fine on Google for ‘unfair business practices’

• The Competition Commission of India on Thu imposed a penalty of Rs 1337.76 crore on Google for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in the android mobile device ecosystem, apart from issuing cease and desist order.
• The commission also directed Google to “modify its conduct within a defined timeline”.
• Smart mobile devices need an operating system to run applications (apps) and programs.
• Android is one such mobile operating system, which was acquired by Google in 2005.
• The CCI examined various practices of Google concerning licensing of this Android mobile operating system and various proprietary mobile applications of Google. (here)
• Also, the US State of Texas allegedly sues Google for using biometric information without ‘consent’

‘Some people are justifying killings’: L-G Sinha warns action after ex-CM remark

• Jammu and Kashmir Lt Gouv Manoj Sinha on Fri warned those trying to jeopardize communal harmony by “justifying the killings of innocent citizens”.
• Addressing an event organized on the occasion of Police Commemoration Day, Sinha asserted that action will be taken against those who jeopardize the integrity of the nation by their statements or acts. (here)
• This came in the wake of several civilian killings, which have sparked protests across the Valley, in which a Kashmiri Pandit and 2 non-locals had been killed by terrorists in the last fortnight.
• J&K administration serves notice to PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, asking her to vacate her official bungalow in Srinagar’s high-security Gupkar area.

Mumbai: Section 144 Imposed From Nov 1 To 15

• As per the latest news, Section144 is to be imposed onto Mumbai for 15 days from Nov 1^st to 15^th based on the warnings of multiple agencies of law and order disturbances.
• Apart from prohibiting the public gathering of more than 5 people, the order also states that there will be a ban on processions and the bursting of firecrackers.
• The prohibitory orders are issued under section 37 of the State Police Act. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

Pak: Imran Khan disqualified in Toshakhana reference

• A 4-member bench, headed by the Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified PTI chief Imran Khan in the Toshakhana reference on Fri.
• Strict security measures are in place at the ECP ahead of the ruling.
• Before the ECP’s statement, TV footage should PTI leaders climbing over the gate to reach the commission’s secretariat.
• The reference was filed in Aug against Imran by the coalition govt, for “not sharing details” of Toshakhana gifts and proceeds from their alleged sale.
• Established in 1974, the Tosha­khana is a department under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division and stores precious gifts given to rulers by heads of other govts.
• Barrister Ali Zafar explained to ECP why the case against Imran had no legal grounds but this is all abt political vendetta by a biased ECP led by Quisling CEC. (here)
• Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff Gen QJ Bajwa said he would not be seeking another extension in his tenure, which ends on Nov 29, asserting that the army had decided to distance itself from politics.

China’s yuan falls to lowest level against US dollar since 2008 global financial crisis

• China’s onshore yuan closed at 7.2494 per US dollar on Fri, representing the weakest close since Jan 14, 2008
• Reports said Chinese state-owned banks were seen selling US dollars in the onshore foreign exchange market on Fri in an apparent attempt to stabilize the currency
• Major Chinese state-owned banks were seen selling US dollars in the onshore foreign exchange market on Fri, in an apparent attempt to stabilize the local currency. (here)

US charges 7 in the alleged plot to repatriate US residents to China

• The US unsealed criminal charges on Thu against 7 Chinese nationals accused of waging a surveillance and harassment campaign against a US resident and his family, in a bid by the Chinese govt to repatriate one of them back to China.
• 2 Chinese nationals were arrested while 5 remain at large, in the latest case targeting Beijing’s ‘Operation Fox Hunt’ for overseas fugitives
• Lead defendant Quanzhong An is accused of harassing and intimidating a Chinese man and his son living in the US. (here)

Nepal: The election authority recommends action against Madhav Nepal

• Amid criticisms that the Election Commission shies from taking stern actions against the candidates breaching the election laws and code of conduct, the election authority on Thu recommended legal action against CPN, Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal.
• In a first for the November elections, the Election Commission on Thu wrote to the District Police, to take action against Nepal,
• Nepal is a candidate for the House of Representatives from Rautahat-1, as per the Election (Offence and Punishment) Act.
• Nepal, during his election campaign on Wed, had assured his voters that they would get job opportunities abroad for free. (here)