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July’s controversy over Pegasus spyware, that affected thousands of people in 45 countries including India, has now attracted even UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms Michelle Bachelet’s call for a moratorium on sale and deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems until adequate safeguards are put in place, opining that the AI applications that cannot be used in compliance with human rights laws should be banned.

Top Congress leader and Wayanad Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi insists that the “fake Hindus” of the RSS and BJP are “doing dalali” for the Hindutva. This was in Delhi on September 15. A day before that, the Gandhi scion spoke of how the Modi Government had with its actions and policies diminished the powers of goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has once again used his favourite analogy of “double engine growth” delivering “double profit” in Uttar Pradesh. Speaking at the foundation laying ceremony of the Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University in Aligarh, the underlying theme of the speech also made it clear what ‘double engine’ actually means. It is a combination of rank communal and caste appeal.

Tamil Nadu government has passed an Act delinking the state from NEET ushering a successive litigations on two important issues in contemporary India. One, this brings to public domain the Emergency era Constitutional amendment removing education from the state list. Two, the present BJP government’s overreach in usurping the powers of the state to conduct tests and admit students of the state not only in their Medical and other professional colleges, but also implementing social justice clauses of each state as per the proportion of the populations of the identified SC, ST, OBC and EBC groups. In this context, Tamilnadu legislation and the initiative taken by Stalin government brings in a new epoch in centre -state relations.

Monetisation, a recent step by the government, aims at the dilution of public sector units. Each of the units is on sale. In last seven decades, these industrial units were founded to develop the country’s infrastructure, to cater to the basic needs to evolve economy. With public money, the basics of industrial development were built. The tax money of the vast masses was spent to build roads, improve power sector, energy sector, health services, education, airports, railways, and many such initiatives.

Kolkata: In an incident marred match, in which three red cards were flashed, former ISL Champions Bengaluru FC (BFC) commenced their campaign on a winning note overpowering Kerala Blasters 2-0 in the 13oth Duran Football Cup at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) on Wednesday.

NOIDA: Unheralded Lakhmehar Pardesi carded 75 but still led by two shots as the fancied as fancied players struggled in the first round of the ninth leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the NOIDA Golf Course on Wednesday.

New Delhi: India lost to the USA in a hard-fought semi-final in blitz tie-break and settled for a Bronze medal in the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad last evening.

Srinagar: Pune-based Udayan Mane, fired a sublime seven-under 65 to emerge round one leader of the J&K Open at the Royal Springs Golf Course in Srinagar.

Mullah Hassan Akhund is the Prime Minister of war-ravaged Afghanistan. He is the chief of the Taliban’s powerful decision-making body ‘Rehbari Shura’. He has served as foreign minister under Taliban’s old regime, and is said to be close to Taliban’s spiritual leader Akhundzada. Known to be more of a religious than military leader, he is on UN blacklist. He is from Kandahar, the birth place of Taliban and believed to have sanctioned the destruction of Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001. He is believed to be highly respected within the movement.