The reality is that far from being friendless, India is better positioned in the world than at any point post-Cold War, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday produced WhatsApp chat records between former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and a close associate where information related to transfer and posting of state government officials involving 'huge amount of money' is alleged to have been discussed.
Comedian Kunal Kamra has revealed that he was approached to be a contestant on the reality show "Bigg Boss", but he declined the offer. Kamra, known for his anti-establishment views, is currently facing multiple FIRs for his comments and has been embroiled in controversy over his recent stand-up show "Naya Bharat". He shared a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation with someone claiming to be handling casting for the show, where he stated that he would "much rather check into a mental hospital" than participate. It remains unclear whether the offer was for the 19th season of "Bigg Boss" or the fourth season of its OTT version.
The Supreme Court of India will hear a batch of pleas seeking a probe into the alleged unauthorised use of Pegasus spyware for the surveillance of journalists and others next week. The court had previously ordered a technical panel to investigate the matter but received no reports. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for some petitioners, urged the court to pass directions as the reports were not shared. The court has now listed the matter for hearing on April 29.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has demanded the removal of decorations and installation of CCTV surveillance at the tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, Maharashtra. The party also wants a board to be installed at the site stating that Aurangzeb was buried there after trying to "finish" the Marathas. The demands come amid a push by right-wing outfits to remove the tomb. The MNS's memorandum comes amid demand by right-wing outfits to remove Aurangazeb's tomb. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said whether people like the Mughal emperor or not, his tomb is a protected monument, but his glorification will not be allowed.
The accused, a post-graduate in commerce, who had also worked as a driver at Dubai airport, learnt the theft techniques from information available on social media platforms like YouTube and WhatsApp.
The high point of the 19 Shastri months was the 22-day war that he fought against great odds and won in principle, even if military historians often call it a stalemate. Pakistan saw a great opportunity to conquer Kashmir and lost. It was the last time they had the relative strength militarily and diplomatically to take Kashmir. Shastri's resolve buried that dream forever, points out Shekhar Gupta.
'We can't care about the reasons or whatever happened to Hans. We don't care. We have to focus on our tournament.'
The Delhi Police will investigate claims by TMC MP Mahua Moitra that right-wing individuals attempted to force the closure of fish shops in South Delhi's Chittaranjan Park. Moitra posted videos and messages alleging the incident, while Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva denied the claims and called for community harmony. The police are verifying the incident's authenticity and the market's licensing status.
After the Competition Commission imposed a Rs 213-crore penalty on Meta in relation to WhatsApp privacy policy, the company said it disagrees with the watchdog's decision and plans to appeal. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday asked WhatsApp to refrain from sharing user data with other applications, owned by Meta, for advertising purposes for a period of five years.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday imposed a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore on social media major Meta for unfair business ways with respect to WhatsApp privacy policy update done in 2021. Besides, the competition watchdog has directed Meta to cease and desist from anti-competitive practices.
The Whatsapp helpline of Mumbai traffic police received a message from a Pakistan number containing a threat to blow up Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' office in Mantralaya, an official said on Friday.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sougata Roy has demanded the removal of Kalyan Banerjee as the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha after a spat with fellow MP Mahua Moitra. Roy accused Banerjee of "uncivilised" behaviour on multiple occasions and cited incidents of Banerjee breaking a bottle and throwing it at the chairman of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) meeting and making inappropriate remarks about Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. The spat between Moitra and Banerjee reportedly occurred on April 4 when a TMC delegation met the Election Commission over duplicate voter ID numbers. Banerjee was tasked with collecting signatures from TMC MPs on a memorandum to be submitted to the Election Commission, and Moitra alleged that she was not included in the signatories, leading to a heated exchange. Roy, who was present at the time, said he saw Moitra crying and complaining about Banerjee's behaviour. Roy believes that Banerjee's actions warrant his removal as chief whip and left the decision to Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee. The incident has also been highlighted in leaked WhatsApp messages, where Banerjee engaged in heated exchanges with another TMC MP, Kirti Azad, leading to further accusations of uncivilised behaviour.
While six of them have been held from Punjab, five were nabbed from neighbouring Haryana, and one from Uttar Pradesh.
A retired school headmaster from Jhalda, West Bengal, mourned the loss of his 33-year-old son, an Intelligence Bureau officer, who was killed in a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir. The incident sparked outrage and calls for justice as families and political leaders expressed grief and condemned the attack. The victims' families recounted the horrifying details of the attack and praised the courage of a local taxi driver who rescued survivors and provided support.
At 250 million unique visitors a month, MX Player has for long been in the same bracket as YouTube (454 million) and Meta (324 million) in reach.
'Even known names and social media handles went berserk by stating that Karachi has been attacked and an F-16 was shot down.'
'Muskaan brutally stabbed Saurabh in his heart, puncturing it. His neck was severed and both palms were cut off. The body was cut up into four pieces to fit it in the drum'
WhatsApp Pay India Vinay Choletti has resigned just after four months he was elevated to the position, according to his details on a professional social media platform. Choletti's resignation is the fourth high-profile exit in about one and half months from Meta in India after its country head Ajit Mohan stepped down in November. After Mohan, WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose and Meta India Public Policy Head Rajiv Aggarwal also resigned from the company last month.
Senior RSS leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi's call to drop the Aurangzeb tomb controversy challenges decades of communal rhetoric in Maharashtra, igniting hopes for unity and a balanced historical narrative.
The poll authority had received several complaints that such messages highlighting the government's initiatives were still being delivered on citizens' phones despite the announcement of the General Elections 2024 and the MCC coming into force.
WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose and Meta's public policy head Rajiv Aggarwal have resigned from their positions, social media major Meta said on Tuesday. The development comes within a week of Meta announcing 11,000 lay-offs across the globe. The company has given charge of Meta India Public Policy to Shivnath Thukral who is currently serving as Director of WhatsApp Public Policy in India.
Fish sellers of Chittranjan Park found themselves in a state of disbelief last week when the anti-meat overdrive of the Hindu right hit the local markets with a warning to shut shops because they were close to a temple.
The Bombay High Court ruled that a comment on a woman colleague's hair, even if accompanied by a song, does not constitute sexual harassment at work. The court set aside a bank's internal report and an industrial court order that had found a senior executive guilty of misconduct under the POSH Act, arguing that the alleged actions did not amount to sexual harassment. The court noted that the complainant herself had not perceived the comment as sexual harassment at the time and later expressed gratitude to the executive.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has alleged that leaders of the opposition Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) were involved in a "conspiracy" against his cabinet colleague Jaykumar Gore in a case involving a woman. Fadnavis said there was proof of communication between NCP leaders Supriya Sule and Rohit Pawar, and one of the accused in the case where three persons, including the woman, have been arrested for trying to extort money from Gore. He also pointed to Gore's acquittal more than five years ago in a case involving the woman's allegations of harassment. Fadnavis emphasized that opposition and ruling parties are political opponents and not enemies. The CM also criticized the behavior of some opposition members in the state assembly, accusing them of insulting the House and pressuring ministers.
'Indian players in the digital market should not be dominated by global players, and they should not dominate the smaller players -- these discussions are on.'
'The country is a good test bed for enterprise adoption, but to scale rapidly, companies will need to look outside the country for customers.'
Bisht used the fake profiles to connect with women aged between 18 and 30 years on various onlione dating platforms.
The controversy also prompted a wave of support for Nafeesumma from various sections of society on social media on Thursday.
There's not any effort -- not even a smidgen -- to resurrect a superstar on the wane in Sikandar, sighs Sukanya Verma.
Meta, which owns the popular messaging app, said it has fixed the glitch, and the service was back.
The government will investigate a claim that WhatsApp accessed the microphone of smartphone users while the phone was not in use, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Wednesday.
"The initial plan was to dispose of the body parts in a secluded location, but the duo eventually decided to keep it inside a large blue drum, filling it with cement and sand," said SP Singh.
Group admins may now face legal consequences for failing to delete any "objectionable" content posted on the group.
The chargesheet in the murder case of Santosh Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, reveals horrific details of the torture he endured at the hands of his abductors. The accused recorded 15 videos, clicked eight photos, and even made two video calls, documenting the brutality. Deshmukh was abducted and killed in December for attempting to foil an extortion bid on an energy company. Seven men, including a close aide of state minister Dhananjay Munde, have been arrested so far.
rediffGURU Major Inderpaul Singh (retd) offers career guidance and helps students and individuals handle challenges in their professional lives.
'I am determined now to celebrate all festivals together.' 'People don't respond much when you try to convince them by talking about principles of secularism etc. But if we revive our shared cultural practices, specially food, we may get a better response.'
The banned WhatsApp accounts in India include 13.89 lakh accounts which were barred proactively before being flagged by users.
Mumbai Police arrested a budding songwriter for allegedly sending threat messages to Bollywood actor Salman Khan and demanding Rs 5 crore from him in the name of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. Sohail Pasha, held from Raichur in Karnataka, wanted a song written by him to become famous and used this ploy for the purpose, police claimed.
'The startup ecosystem, the government, and the owners of large pools of Indian capital need to actively support the creation of these local champions, not pull down the teams that are trying hard to get there.'
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