India

Aligarh, Sep 2 (IANS) In a rare show of communal harmony, a Muslim woman in Aligarh has brought Ganpati home for seven days as part of the ongoing Ganesh Utsav.

Ruby Asif Khan, a resident of ADA colony under Rorawar police circle, brought a Ganesh idol to her home and set it up with all rituals.

"We will keep the idol for seven days before immersing it in water on September 6. I and my family do 'puja' every day as per rituals and offer 'modaks' to the Lord," she said.

Ruby said that she had immense faith in Lord Ganesh and her family did not object to her bringing the Lord home.

She said that she and her family celebrated all festivals, irrespective of religion.

Her husband, Asif Khan said that he supported his wife's belief and the whole family was participating in the festivities.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Twitter, which is locked in a legal battle with the Indian government over content blocking orders, banned 45,191 accounts of the Indian users in the month of July over violation of its guidelines, the microblogging platform said in its monthly compliance report on Friday.

Twitter suspended 42,825 accounts for promoting child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and similar content in India, while blocking another 2,366 accounts for promoting terrorism, it said in its monthly compliance report as per the new IT Rules, 2021.

The microblogging platform received 874 grievances in the country through its local grievance mechanism between June 26-July 25, and took action on 70 complaints.

In June, Twitter had banned more than 43,140 accounts of the Indian users.

"While we welcome everyone to express themselves on our platform, we do not tolerate behaviour that harasses, threatens, dehumanises, or uses fear to silence the voices of others," Twitter said in the report.

Under the new IT Rules 2021, big digital and social media platforms, with more than 5 million users, have to publish monthly compliance reports.

Twitter receives complaints in its Grievance Officer-India channel that relate to account verification, account access, or seeking assistance or information regarding an account or Twitter's enforcement actions.

In addition, Twitter processed 124 grievances which were appealing account suspensions.

"These were all resolved and the appropriate responses were sent. We overturned none of these account suspensions after reviewing the specifics of the situation," said the company.

The compliance report came as whistleblower Peiter Zatko, former head of security at Twitter, alleged that the Indian government forced the platform to "hire a government agent on its payroll" and "grant access to sensitive user data", a claim which has been dismissed by Twitter.

In May, Twitter moved the Karnataka High Court against the Indian government's order to take down some content on its platform.

--IANS
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Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 2 (IANS) Hundreds of newly-hatched Indian Cormorant chicks were killed and numerous eggs destroyed when a tree was felled for widening of the National Highway in Kerala's Malappuram district.

The Kerala Forest Department has initiated a legal action against the "guilty" contractor.

Indian Cormorant (known as Neerkaka in Malayalam) comes under Schedule 4 of Indian Wildlife Protection Act.

Expressing their ire, scores of locals gathered at the location where the chicks were lying dead.

"The Forest department officials owe us an answer on how this happened. The breeding season of these birds takes place between June and November and it is rather unfortunate that at the peak of the breeding season, this happened," the angry locals said. Better sense should have prevailed, they added.

Directing strict action against the guilty, State Public Works Minister P.A.Mohammed Riyas has sought an explanation from the National Highway Authority of India officials on the incident.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Noting the "shocking data" of decreasing water quality in Yamuna river, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has said it shows "utter lack of adequate action" and monitoring by higher authorities of Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

The green court made the remark while dealing with a plea against pollution of Yamuna.

"Delhi has many areas that don't have a proper sewer network. Over 20 per cent of the population is yet to get a proper sewer network. Moreover, over 80 per cent of the sewage treatment plants (STP) don't meet the standards," the plea pointed out referring a DPCC official.

The greivance also highlighted a media report published in January which mentioned that the pollution in Yamuna has worsened with the faecal bacteria level being at a record high of 14 times than what existed three months ago.

In the order recently passed by NGT chairperson Adarsh Kumar, it was noted that unfortunately the authorities concerned did not consider the sensitivity of the matter.

Noting that the grim situation, the tribunal directed the Chief Secretary of Delhi to ascertain latest factual position and submit his report via mail within two months with explanation as to why coercive and penal measures be not taken in terms of fixing accountability for such blatant failure of the authorities in protecting the water quality of the Yamuna.

It may also be necessary to seek similar reports from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The reports of Chief Secretaries may be in a consolidated manner in the light of inter-departmental review and ground realities, the court said.

"It remains a matter of concern that authorities should not be able to maintain river flowing in the Capital of India clean inspite of clear roadmap Afor its rejuvenation and clear directions of Tribunal," the order said.

"How the continuing loss to environment and public health should be ignored is beyond anyone's comprehension. It is shocking to note the data relating to water quality of Yamuna and the pollution load posted by DPCC on its website depicting that drains remain un-trapped even after a year of the last order. This shows utter lack of adequate action and monitoring by higher authorities," the order read.

Further the green court asked Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to review the situation at higher levels and take remedial action and also sought the earlier-appointed Central Monitoring Committee to file its latest status report.

--IANS
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New York, Sep 2 (IANS) For the first time, astronomers have used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to take a direct image of a planet outside our solar system.

The exoplanet called 'HIP 65426 b' is a gas giant, meaning it has no rocky surface and could not be habitable.

The exoplanet is about six to 12 times the mass of Jupiter, and these observations could help narrow that down even further.

It is young, about 15 to 20 million years old, compared to our 4.5-billion-year-old Earth.

"This is a transformative moment, not only for Webb but also for astronomy generally," said Sasha Hinkley, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Exeter in the UK.

The image, as seen through four different light filters, shows how Webb's powerful infrared gaze can easily capture worlds beyond our solar system, pointing the way to future observations that will reveal more information than ever before about exoplanets, the space agency said in a statement.

This image shows the exoplanet 'HIP 65426 b' in different bands of infrared light.

A set of masks within each instrument, called a coronagraph, blocks out the host star's light so that the planet can be seen.

Astronomers discovered the planet in 2017 using the SPHERE instrument on the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile and took images of it using short infrared wavelengths of light.

Webb's view, at longer infrared wavelengths, reveals new details that ground-based telescopes would not be able to detect because of the intrinsic infrared glow of Earth's atmosphere.

Since 'HIP 65426 b' is about 100 times farther from its host star than Earth is from the Sun, it is sufficiently distant from the star that Webb can easily separate the planet from the star in the image.

"It was really impressive how well the Webb coronagraphs worked to suppress the light of the host star," Hinkley said.

Taking direct images of exoplanets is challenging because stars are so much brighter than planets.

The 'HIP 65426 b' planet is more than 10,000 times fainter than its host star in the near-infrared, and a few thousand times fainter in the mid-infrared.

"Obtaining this image felt like digging for space treasure," said Aarynn Carter, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

In July, James Webb Space Telescope produced the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) The Congress on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to acknowledge the efforts of previous governments in building INS Vikrant -- India's first Indigenous aircraft.

"India's 1st indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant commissioned today is a collective effort of all govts since 1999. Will PM acknowledge? Let's also recall original INS Vikrant that served us well in 1971 war. Much reviled Krishna Menon played a key role in getting it from UK," veteran Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted.

The aircraft carrier keel was laid in 2009 during UPA government and was launched during that period, he Congress said.

Prime Minister Modi commissioned the fully indigenous developed aircraft carrier INS Vikrant this morning. After unveiling the aircraft carrier, the Prime Minister said India has joined the select club of nations who have developed indigenous aircraft carrier.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minster said: "INS Vikrant a floating airfield, a floating town and the power generated in it can light up 5,000 houses, while the cables can run to Kashi from Kochi."

He that its deck is up to the size of two football fields and its the example of government aim to make India self reliant in defence sector.

Though the security of Indo-Pacific region is our priority, but in the past it was ignored, he said.

Unveiling the new flag of the Navy, the PM said: "Indian Naval flags carried a sign of slavery which has been replaced with a new one inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj."

The new Naval Ensign that draws inspiration from the seal of great Indian emperor Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, depicts steadfastness, while the octagonal shape represents the 8 directions symbolizing multi-directional reach of the navy, Prime Minister Modi said.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 2 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will be meeting his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister is reaching Kerala to participate in the South Indian Chief Ministers' conference, also being attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The discussions between the two Chief Ministers will be mainly centred around Siruvani and Mullaperiyar water sharing issues.

Located inside deep forests in Palakkad district of Kerala, the Siruvani dam is a major source of drinking water for the people of Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu.

Notably, after the 2019 floods in Kerala, the state water resources department has been maintaining water levels below the Full Reservoir Level (FRL). The Kerala irrigation department has been maintaining the water level of Siruvani dam at 44 ft since 2019 instead of 49.5 ft which is the water level agreed between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Lowering of water level by five feet will lead to a shortage of 122.05 mcft (million cubic feet) which is 19 per cent of the storage capacity of the dam.

The Water level in Siruvani dam has gone up following incessant rains in the catchment areas of the dam and on Thursday the water level touched 43.5 ft and Coimbatore receives 101.4 MLD of water from Siruvani. However once the water level touches 44 ft, the water will be discharged.

Sources in the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department told IANS that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister will take this matter up with his Kerala counterpart and try to convince him of the necessity of maintaining the FRL of Siruvani dam so that drinking water for Coimbatore is not affected.

Mullaperiyar dam issue which is again a contentious one between Kerala and Tamil Nadu will also come for discussion during the meeting between the two Chief Ministers.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) An Udaipur-bound IndiGo flight returned to the Delhi airport due to a technical snag, a DGCA official confirmed.

The official said that the aircraft was grounded after it returned to Delhi on Thursday due to engine vibrations and a probe into is underway.

"IndiGo Airbus flight 6E-6264 from Delhi to Udaipur had returned to Delhi due to a technical snag. All passengers were accommodated on another aircraft which operated to Udaipur. We regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers," an airline spokesperson said.

Also on Thursday, a SpiceJet B737 flight operating from Delhi to Nashik returned to the national capital after the crew experienced a malfunction with the autopilot system.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) A deputy legal advisor with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) allegedly committed suicide at his south Delhi residence on Thursday, police said.

The deceased was identified as Jitendra Kumar, 48.

A senior police official said that they got a call at the Defence Colony police station at around 6.45 a.m. about a man found hanging, and a crime team, along with forensic mobile team, reached the spot.

"Kumar was posted as deputy legal advisor in the CBI. He was found hanging at his house in Hudco Place. He originally belonged to district Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. A suicide note was also found in which it was written that nobody was responsible for his death," the official said.

His wife Jyoti lives in Mandi and brother Rajender in Chandigarh. The Delhi Police also shared the information with senior officers of the CBI who came on the spot.A

"No foul play was found. The body of the deceased was shifted to mortuary. The postmortem will be conducted tomorrow (Friday)," the official said.

--IANS
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Kochi, Sep 1 (IANS) Ahead of Onam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched various projects of Kochi Metro and the railways worth Rs 4,500 crores in Kerala.

These include commissioning and also foundation stone laying of various projects which will hugely improve connectivity in the state.

The Prime Minister flagged off the extension of the first phase of Kochi Metro and laid the foundation stone for its phase 2.

Then, there were five different projects of the Indian Railways.

"These projects will speed up the ease of living and also ease of doing business. The road map for development of the country in the next 25 years is beginning in Kerala from today. The Unified Metropolitan Authority which comprises of the metro, the water metro, and the bus service in Kochi is going to be multi-model connectivity which will see faster transportation, lesser pollution, and lesser traffic congestion," said Modi.

He then pointed out that steps will begin as part of these developments to convert three railway stations -- two in Kochi and one in Kollam - in Kerala to match the facilities one sees in airports.

He also recalled that the Centre by now has invested Rs 1 lakh crore in various infrastructure projects in Kerala which includes Rs 55,000 crore, six-lane NH 66 which is the lifeline of the state and pointed out that connectivity will boost tourism and trade in the state.

Soon after arriving at Kochi in the evening, Modi addressed a meeting of his BJP workers and from there he visited Sri Adi Shankara Janma Bhoomi Kshetram, the birth place of Adi Shankaracharaya at the Kalady village, near the airport.

After the inauguration of the rail infrastructure projects, he took part in the core committee meeting of top state-level BJP leaders.

On Friday, he will commission indigenously-designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, the largest warship to be built in India, in the Indian Navy.

--IANS
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