To snap up fish,
bottlenosed dolphins may rely on more than just sharp sight and sonar
detection. The creatures might also pick up on the weak electric pulses prey
produce each time their hearts beat or air filters through their gills.
In a new experiment, two bottlenosed dolphins named Dolly and Donna reliably sensed faint electric fields on the scale of microvolts, says Tim Hüttner, a sensory biologist formerly affiliated with the University of Rostock in Germany. That puts the marine mammals’ Spidey sense on par with egg-laying mammals like platypuses and the Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis). The ability to detect the electrical signals living things give off is called electroreception. It has been previously documented in fish, amphibians and sharks (SN: 6/27/16). But it was only in 2011 that the Guiana dolphin made the list, as researchers discovered telltale sensory receptors hidden in an organ on the animals’ snouts (SN: 7
For the new study, the
researchers trained Dolly and Donna to position their snouts in a metal
apparatus and to swim away if they could sense an electrical impulse delivered
to their sensory organs. The dolphins proved sensitive to both direct current
and alternating current, two forms of electricity that living things generate.
The dolphins excelled, however, at detecting direct current, which produces a
steady signal. Donna picked up on fields as low as 5.5 microvolts and Dolly on
those of 2.4 microvolts.The study provides solid evidence for an intriguing
theory, says Paul Nachtigall, a marine biologist at the University of Hawaii at
Manoa. Scientists have long regarded dolphins’ sensory organs, pits on their
snouts, which prior to birth carried whiskers, as vestigial structures. It’s
plausible that the organs may have evolved to fit another purpose, he says.
Electroreception may
come in handy in situations where sight and echolocation are impaired. For
instance, Guiana dolphins are benthic feeders, primarily hunting for food on
the seafloor, where the sediment can muck up their senses.
Bottlenosed dolphins
don’t hunt the same way but do often reside in murky waters and occasionally
stick their heads into the sand to look for fish, in a hunting method called
crater fishing. Echolocation stops working close up, but electroreception
allows dolphins to spot prey a few centimeters away. The ability may just give
the creatures the last push they need to nail a target, Hüttner says.
To test this idea, the
team would like to study the dolphins’ electroreception while they are moving,
Hüttner says. Other species of dolphins
have pits on their snouts as well, raising the possibility that
electroreception is more widespread, he notes. Given that these creatures adopt
different hunting strategies, the ability may serve an additional function:
helping dolphins to orient themselves along Earth’s magnetic field lines as
they migrate.“There’s just so much to find out,” Nachtigall says. “This study
is just the first page of a book.”
2) More than a
meteorite: New clues about the demise of dinosaurs :by Keila DePape, McGill
University
 |
| IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Deccan Traps large igneous province overview. (A) Present-day distribution of the Deccan Traps in India. Samples investigated in this study come from the WG Escarpment, where the thickest and most complete lava piles are preserved. (B) Schematic volcanostratigraphy for the Main Deccan Volcanic Province (MDVP) in the WG . Ten lava formations and three subgroups are reported along with the number of samples analyzed for each formation. In this list, and in the dataset, we include three samples (D231, D241, and D244) collected at Mahabaleshwar that were previously analyzed by our group. Credit: Science Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg8284 |
What wiped out the
dinosaurs? A meteorite plummeting to Earth is only part of the story, a new
study suggests. Climate change triggered by massive volcanic eruptions may have
ultimately set the stage for the dinosaur extinction, challenging the
traditional narrative that a meteorite alone delivered the final blow to the
ancient giants. That's according to a study published in Science Advances
co-authored by Don Baker, a professor in McGill University's Department of Earth
and Planetary Sciences. The paper is titled "Recurring volcanic winters
during the latest Cretaceous: Sulfur and fluorine budgets of Deccan Traps
lavas."
 |
| deccan_traps_0 |
The research team delved
into volcanic eruptions of the Deccan Traps—a vast and rugged plateau in Western
India formed by molten lava. Erupting a staggering 1 million cubic kilometers
of rock, it may have played a key role in cooling the global climate around 65
million years ago.The work took researchers around the world, from hammering
out rocks in the Deccan Traps to analyzing the samples in England and Sweden.
'Volcanic winters':
A new season?
In the lab, the
scientists estimated how much sulfur and fluorine was injected into the
atmosphere by massive volcanic eruptions in the 200,000 years before the
dinosaur extinction.
Remarkably, they found
the sulfur release could have triggered a global drop in temperature around the
world—a phenomenon known as a volcanic winter.
"Our research
demonstrates that climatic conditions were almost certainly unstable, with
repeated volcanic winters that could have lasted decades, prior to the
extinction of the dinosaurs. This instability would have made life difficult
for all plants and animals and set the stage for the dinosaur extinction event.
Thus our work helps explain this significant extinction event that led to the
rise of mammals and the evolution of our species," said Prof. Don Baker.
Uncovering clues within
ancient rock samples was no small feat. In fact, a new technique developed at
McGill helped decode the volcanic history.
The technique for
estimating sulfur and fluorine releases—a complex combination of chemistry and
experiments—is a bit like cooking pasta.
"Imagine making
pasta at home. You boil the water, add salt, and then the pasta. Some of the
salt from the water goes into the pasta, but not much of it," explains
Baker.
Similarly, some elements
become trapped in minerals as they cool following a volcanic eruption. Just as
you could calculate salt concentrations in the water that cooked the pasta from
analyzing salt in the pasta itself, the new technique allowed scientists to
measure sulfur and fluorine in rock samples. With this information, the
scientists could calculate the amount of these gases released during the
eruptions.The study involved researchers from Italy, Norway, Sweden, the U.K.,
the United States and Canada. Their findings mark a step forward in piecing
together Earth's ancient secrets and pave the way for a more informed approach
to our own changing climate.
3) Genetic research
into a 9,000-year-old shaman burial in Germany:by Oliver Dietrich, Landesmuseum
für Vorgeschichte
 |
IMAGE DESRIPTION OF BURIAL-GERMANY1 The shaman of Bad Dürrenberg are the remains of a 25-35 year old woman, who was buried during the Mesolithic in Germany. Around her, were the remains of an extraordinary head-dress, made from the bones and teeth of different animals such as deer, wild boar, crane and turtle. |
The double burial of an adult woman and an infant, dating to about 7000–6800 BCE, discovered in 1934 during construction works at the spa gardens of Bad Dürrenberg, is regarded as one of the outstanding burial finds of the Mesolithic in Central Europe. Because of the unusual equipment with the woman, who was buried in a seated position, and her bodily anomalies, the burial is interpreted as that of a shaman.
Genetic research now
reveals the relation of the woman and the child: the boy is not her son, but is
a fourth- or fifth-degree relation. The phenotypic variants analyzed in the
woman's genome inform us that she had a relatively dark skin complexion, dark,
straight hair, and blue eyes.
Subsequent excavations
at the site as part of the preparations for the State Garden Exhibition 2024
brought not only new revelations about the deposition and positioning of the
body to light, but also revealed a multitude of new finds, which could be
clearly attributed to the burial. Besides the pierced animal teeth, remains of
fauna, lithic artifacts and a large amount of human skeletal remains could also
be recovered.
A recent article,
published as a chapter in the conference proceedings Propylaeum, by Jörg
Orschiedt (State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt,
LDA), Wolfgang Haak (Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology),
Holger Dietl (LDA), Andreas Siegl (LDA), and Harald Meller (LDA) details the
results of recent work on the find, which included a DNA-analysis.
The shaman
The study finds that the
30- to 40-year-old woman was a gracile person with a body height of about 1.55
m, typical for the period. Notably, her skeleton lacked distinct muscle
attachments, especially on the lower extremities, which are commonly found in
hunter–gatherers.
At the base of the
skull, there is an anomaly at the edge of the great occipital hole, in the form
of a small constriction. This area is the imprint of an abnormally developed
blood vessel. The first cervical vertebra is incompletely formed due to a congenital
growth defect and has only reached 40% of the arch. The rounded end of the
vertebral arch corresponds to the previously observed defect at the large
occipital hole.
In this context, the
researchers hypothesized that a pinching of the blood vessel with various
sequelae appears possible with a corresponding head posture. The discovery of
the second cervical vertebra among the finds of the re-excavation confirmed
this. This vertebra also shows an anomaly, which is limited to the vertebral
process in the form of a protruding bone clasp. This makes a blockage of one of
the blood vessels leading to the brain plausible.
This can be caused
intentionally by adopting a certain head posture. The consequences are unlikely
to have been serious or hazardous to the person's health. However, it is
conceivable that a nystagmus, i.e., an involuntary movement of the eyeballs,
could be caused by the blockage of a blood vessel. This unusual feature might
have been perceived as uncanny and when initiated on purpose may have reinforced
or even justified her role as a shaman.
Genetic research
revealed that the genomic ancestry profile of the shaman falls squarely within
several dozen other Mesolithic hunter-gatherer individuals from central and
western Europe, a profile which is commonly called Western (European)
hunter–gatherer ancestry.
The phenotypic variants
analyzed in the Bad Dürrenberg genome reveal that the shaman had a relatively
dark skin complexion, dark, straight hair and blue eyes. This combination was
quite common among hunter–gatherer individuals from Western Europe and the
shaman lady shared this appearance with contemporaneous Mesolithic individuals
from sites such as Loschbour, Mullerthal (Luxembourg), La Braña, Asturias
(Spain), or Cheddar Man in Somerset (Britain).
The child
During re-excavations of
the Bad Dürrenberg site, the partially preserved skeleton of an infant was
discovered. The discovery of the petrosal enabled a genetic analysis of this
individual. Since high-quality data from both individuals, and especially from
the female, was available, researchers could also employ a newly developed
method to scan the genome data for the presence, amount and length of tracts in
the genome that are shared by two individuals, so-called identity-by-descent
(IBD) tracts. This method, optimized to deal with missing data, as is common in
fragmented ancient DNA, allows the detection of biological higher degree
relatedness, and with reservations, up to the 10th degree
Concerning the two Bad
Dürrenberg individuals, the researchers found that the number and length
distribution of identify-by-descent tracts that are shared between the pair is
equivalent to genetic relatedness of the fourth or fifth degree. This degree of
relatedness could be equivalent to four or five generations apart, assuming a
direct line, which would make the adult female the potential
great-great-(great)-grandmother of the boy.
4) Scientists discover rare six-planet system that moves in strange synchrony :by University of Chicago
.jpg) |
| An artist's illustration of the six newly discovered planets circling their star in resonance. Image by Roger Thibaut (NCCR PlanetS) |
Scientists have
discovered a rare sight in a nearby star system: Six planets orbiting their
central star in a rhythmic beat. The planets move in an orbital waltz that
repeats itself so precisely that it can be readily set to music. A rare case of
an "in sync" gravitational lockstep, the system could offer deep
insight into planet formation and evolution.
The analysis, led by
UChicago scientist Rafael Luque, was published Nov. 29 in Nature."This
discovery is going to become a benchmark system to study how sub-Neptunes, the
most common type of planets outside of the solar system, form, evolve, what are
they made of, and if they possess the right conditions to support the existence
of liquid water in their surfaces," said Luque.
A rare resonance
The six planets orbit a
star known as HD110067, which lies around 100 light-years away in the northern
constellation of Coma Berenices.In 2020, NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey
Satellite (TESS) detected dips in the star's brightness that indicated planets
were passing in front of the star's surface. Combining data from both TESS and
the European Space Agency's CHaracterizing ExOPlanet Satellite (Cheops), a team
of researchers analyzed the data and discovered a first-of-its-kind configuration.
While multi-planet
systems are common in our galaxy, those in a tight gravitational formation
known as "resonance" are observed by astronomers far less often.
In this case, the planet
closest to the star makes three orbits for every two of the next planet
out—called a 3/2 resonance—a pattern that is repeated among the four closest
planets. Among the outermost planets, a pattern of four orbits for every three
of the next planet out (a 4/3 resonance) is repeated twice.And these resonant
orbits are rock-solid: The planets likely have been performing this same
rhythmic dance since the system formed billions of years ago, the scientists
said.
Formation stories
Orbitally resonant
systems are extremely important to find because they tell astronomers about the
formation and subsequent evolution of the planetary system. Planets around
stars tend to form in resonance but can be easily perturbed. For example, a
very massive planet, a close encounter with a passing star, or a giant impact
event can all disrupt the careful balance.
As a result, many of the
multi-planet systems known to astronomers are not in resonance but look close
enough that they could have been resonant once. However, multi-planet systems
preserving their resonance are rare.
"We think only
about one percent of all systems stay in resonance, and even fewer show a chain
of planets in such configuration," said Luque. That why HD110067 is
special and invites further study: "It shows us the pristine configuration
of a planetary system that has survived untouched."
More precise
measurements of these planets' masses and orbits will be needed to further
sharpen the picture of how the system formed.
5) Durable,
inexpensive electrocatalyst generates clean hydrogen and oxygen from water :by
Tsinghua University Press
 |
| IMAGE DESCRIPTION1 : Natural clay magadiite containing silicon (Si) was heated in a sealed vessel in a water-based solution containing iron chloride (FeCl3) and nickel chloride (NiCl2) to create a metallic silicate made up of nickel (Ni), iron (Fe) and Si. The metallic silicate was then reduced by adding electrons to metallic silicate atoms with magnesium, salt and heat to create the more organized intermetallic silicide (ferric-nickel silicide) structure. The graph illustrates the lower voltage required for the ferric-nickel silicide (FeNiSi) alloy electrocatalyst to produce hydrogen and oxygen gas compared to NiSi and FeSi alloys. Credit: Nano Research Energy, Tsinghua University Press |
A new electrocatalyst
made of nickel (Ni), iron (Fe) and silicon (Si) that decreases the amount of
energy required to synthesize H2 from water has been manufactured in a simple
and cost-effective way, increasing the practicality of H2 as a clean and
renewable energy of the future. Hydrogen is a highly combustible gas that can
help the world achieve its clean energy goals if manufactured in an
environmentally responsible way. The primary hurdle to creating hydrogen gas
from water is the large amount of energy required for the electrolysis of
water, or splitting water molecules into hydrogen gas (H2) and oxygen (O2).
Most H2 produced today
is derived from fossil fuels, which contributes to global warming.
Manufacturing H2 from water through the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER)
requires the use of a catalyst, or agent that lowers the amount of energy
required for a chemical reaction. Until recently, these catalysts were made up
of rare earth metals, like platinum, reducing the cost-efficiency and practicality
of clean hydrogen production.
A group of material
scientists from Dalian University of Technology in Dalian, China manufactured
an electrocatalyst, or a catalyst that uses electricity, using inexpensive
materials and methods to effectively decrease the energy required to generate
clean H2 from water. Importantly, the ferric-nickel silicide (FeNiSi) alloy, or
mixture, also reduces the energy required to generate O2 from water, making the
catalyst bifunctional.
The researchers
published their study in Nano Research Energy.
"What really limits
the development and practical application of water electrolysis technology is
electrocatalytic materials. At present, common catalysts, such as precious
metals… are mostly single-function catalysts, which limits the practical
application of water electrolysis for hydrogen production. Therefore, the
research and development of efficient, stable, cheap and environmentally
friendly bifunctional electrocatalytic materials is a primary goal in the field
of electrocatalysis," said Yifu Zhang, senior author of the study and
researcher in the School of Chemistry at Dalian University of Technology.
Transition metal silicide alloys are unique compounds that are commonly used in
energy-related fields, are cheaply produced and show promise as potential water
hydrolysis electrocatalysts. These alloys are made from transition metals,
which are excellent catalysts that freely donate and accept electrons in
chemical reactions, and Si atoms, which enhance the stability, heat resistance
and accessibility of alloy transition metal atoms when electricity is
applied.Fe and Ni, two transition metals, are well-suited for use in a
transition metal silicide for water splitting. "Nickel silicide has been…
deeply studied for its low resistance and high metal activity, especially… in
electrochemical fields. In addition, many recent studies have shown that Fe-Ni
based materials have considerable potential in the field of electrochemical
water splitting. The aim of this work was to develop a low-cost,
environmentally friendly route to prepare iron nickel silicide as a
bifunctional electrolytic water catalyst (EWS)," said Zhang.The research
team manufactured FeNiSi in two steps. First, natural clay magadiite, a source
of silicon, iron chloride and nickel chloride were heated under pressure to
create a ferric-nickel silicate. The ferric-nickel silicate was then combined
and heated with magnesium and sodium chloride (table salt) to develop the
ordered structure of the FeNiSi alloy. Importantly, this was the first time a
metallic silicide alloy had been manufactured using this type of chemical
reaction using metallic silicates as a reaction material.
Electron microscopy and
X-ray characterization techniques revealed that the manufacturing process
created many pore structures in the final FeNiSi alloy, increasing its surface
area and overall electrocatalytic performance. The FeNiSi alloy lowers the
potential required to split oxygen and hydrogen from water by 308 mV for the
oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and 386 mV for the HER, respectively, at a
current of 10 mA·cm−2. The electrocatalyst also demonstrated sufficient
durability after 15 hours of use.
The research team looks
forward to FeNiSi and other transition metal silicates contributing to the
synthesis of clean hydrogen gas for future energy needs.
"This work not only
provides an easy method for the synthesis of intermetallic silicide with
considerable porous structures but also allows the intermetallic silicide to be
considered as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for EWS. Low-cost and efficient
intermetallic silicide electrocatalysts will provide new opportunities for…
renewable energy conversion," said Zhang.
Other contributors
include Xuyang Jing, Yang Mu, Zhanming Gao and Xueying Dong from the School of
Chemistry at Dalian University of Technology in Dalian, China; Changgong Meng
from the School of Chemistry and the College of Environmental and Chemical
Engineering at Dalian University of Technology; and Chi Huang from the College
of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences at Wuhan University in Wuhan, China.
6) Using the
world's three most powerful particle accelerators to reveal the space-time
geometry of quark matter :by Eötvös Loránd University
 |
| IMAGE DESCRIPTION 1 : A montage of reconstructed tracks from actual collision events and photographs of the respective detectors, at the Brookhaven National Laboratory and at CERN. Credit: Montage made by Máté Csanád / Eötvös Loránd University. Original photos for the montage: STAR és PHENIX: Brookhaven National Laboratory and CMS és NA61: CERN |
Physicists from the
Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) have been conducting research on the matter
constituting the atomic nucleus utilizing the world's three most powerful
particle accelerators. Their focus has been on mapping the "primordial
soup" that filled the universe in the first millionth of a second
following its inception.Intriguingly, their measurements showed that the
movement of observed particles bears resemblance to the search for prey of
marine predators, the patterns of climate change, and the fluctuations of stock
market.
In the immediate
aftermath of the Big Bang, temperatures were so extreme that atomic nuclei
could not exists, nor could nucleons, their building blocks. Hence, in this
first instance the universe was filled with a "primordial soup" of
quarks and gluons.
As the universe cooled,
this medium underwent a "freeze-out," leading to the formation of
particles we know today, such as protons and neutrons. This phenomenon is
replicated on a much smaller scale in particle accelerator experiments, where
collisions between two nuclei create tiny droplets of quark matter. These
droplets eventually then transition into the ordinary matter through
freeze-out, a transformation known to researchers conducting these experiments.
 |
| IMAGE DESCRIPTION 2 :1 / 1Researchers of the Eötvös University working on the data taking of the STAR experiment at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Credit: Máté Csanád / Eötvös Loránd University |
However, the properties
of quark matter vary due to differences in pressure and temperature that result
from the collision energy in particle accelerators. This variation necessitates
measurements to "scan" matter in particle accelerators of different
energies, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) in the U.S., or the Super
Proton Synchrotron (SPS) and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland.
"This aspect is so
crucial that new accelerators are being constructed all over the world, for
example in Germany or Japan, specifically for such experiments. Perhaps the
most significant question is how the transition between phases occurs: a
critical point may emerge on the phase map," explains Máté Csanád,
professor of physics at the Department of Atomic Physics, Eötvös Loránd
University (ELTE).
The long-term goal of
the research is to deepen our understanding of the strong interaction that
governs the interactions in quark matter and in atomic nuclei. Our current
level of knowledge in this area can be likened to humanity's grasp of
electricity during the eras of Volta, Maxwell or Faraday. While they had a
notion of the fundamental equations, it took a considerable amount of
experimental and theoretical work to develop technologies that have profoundly
transformed everyday life, ranging from the light bulb to televisions,
telephones, computers, and the internet. Similarly, our understanding of the
strong interaction is still embryonic, making research to explore and map it
vitally important.Researchers from ELTE have been involved in experiments at each
of these accelerators mentioned above, and their work over the past few years
has led to a comprehensive picture of the geometry of quark matter. They
achieved this through the application of femtoscopy techniques. This technique
utilizes the correlations that arise from the non-classical, quantum-like wave
nature of the particles produced, which in the end reveals the femtometer-scale
structure of the medium, the particle-emitting source.
"In the previous
decades, femtoscopy was operated on the assumption that quark matter follows a
normal distribution, i.e., the Gaussian shape found in so many places in
nature," explains Márton Nagy, one of the group's lead researchers.
However, the Hungarian researchers turned to the Lévy process, which is also familiar
in various scientific disciplines, as a more general framework, and which is a
good description of the search for prey by marine predators, stock market
processes and even climate change.A distinctive trait of these processes is
that at certain moments they undergo very large changes (for example, when a
shark searches for food in a new area), and in such cases a Lévy distribution
rather than a normal (Gaussian) distribution can occur.
This research holds
significant importance for several reasons. Primarily, one of the most studied
features of the freeze-out of quark matter, its transformation into
conventional (hadronic) matter, is the femtoscopic radius (also called
HBT-radius, noting its relation the well-known Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect
in astronomy), which is derived from femtoscopic measurements. However, this
scale depends on the assumed geometry of the medium.
As Dániel Kincses, a
postdoctoral researcher in the group, summarizes, "If the Gaussian
assumption is not optimal, then the most accurate results from these studies
can only be obtained under the Lévy assumption. The value of the 'Lévy
exponent,' which characterizes the Lévy distribution, also may shed light on
the nature of the phase transition. Thus, its variation with collision energy provides
valuable insight into the difFerent phases of quark matter."
Researchers from ELTE
are actively participating in four experiments: NA61/SHINE at the SPS
accelerator, PHENIX and STAR at RHIC, and CMS at the LHC. The NA61/SHINE group
of ELTE is led by Yoshikazu Nagai, the CMS group by Gabriella Pásztor; and the
RHIC groups by Máté Csanád, who is also coordinating ELTE's femtoscopy
research.
The groups are making
substantial contributions to the success of experiments in various capacities,
ranging from detector development to data acquisition and analysis. They are
also engaged in many projects and theoretical research. "What is unique
about our femtoscopy research is that it is carried out in four experiments in
three particle accelerators—giving us a broad view of the geometry and possible
phases of quark matter," states Máté Csanád.
1) US links Indian
official to murder plot that India calls 'contrary to policy'
An Indian government official directed an unsuccessful plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on U.S. soil, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday, in announcing charges against a man accused of orchestrating the attempted murder.
Federal prosecutors in
Manhattan said Nikhil Gupta, 52, worked with the Indian government employee,
whose responsibilities included security and intelligence, on the plot to
assassinate the New York City resident who advocated for a sovereign Sikh state
in northern India.Responding on Thursday, India expressed concern about one of
its government officials being linked to the plot, from which it dissociated
itself, as being against government policy.
Prosecutors did not name
the Indian official or the target, although they did describe the latter as a
U.S. citizen of Indian origin. U.S. officials have named him as Gurpatwant
Singh Pannun, a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.Gupta was arrested
by Czech authorities in June and is awaiting extradition. He could not be reached
for comment.
News of the incident
comes two months after Canada said there were "credible" allegations
linking Indian agents to the June murder of a Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep
Singh Nijjar, in a Vancouver suburb, a contention India has rejected.
On Wednesday, Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, said, "The defendant conspired from India to assassinate, right here in New York City, a U.S. citizen of Indian origin who has
 |
| MAGE DESCRIPTION :An undercover U.S. law enforcement officer is handed $15,000, described by the U.S. Department of Justice as the advance cash payment, by an associate of Nikhil Gupta, who was charged with orchestrating the attempted murder of a Sikh separtist, in a car in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S. June 9, 2023, in a photograph An undercover U.S. law enforcement officer is handed $15,000, described by the U.S. Department of Justice as the advance cash payment, by an associate of Nikhil Gupta, who was charged with orchestrating the attempted murder of a Sikh separtist, in a car in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S. June 9, 2023, in a photograph |
The charges come after a
senior Biden administration official said last week that U.S. authorities had
thwarted a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in the United States and warned India
over concerns the government in New Delhi was involved.
Biden told CIA director
Bill Burns to contact his Indian counterpart, then travel to India to deliver a
message that "we will not tolerate such activities and that we expect
those responsible to be held fully accountable," a senior U.S. official
said Wednesday.
 |
| Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a still image ofthe Advance Payment as shown in the DoJ indictment of Nikhil Gupta, and Hardeep Singh Nijjar |
Biden also raised the
issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 summit, where he
"emphasized the seriousness of this issue and the potential repercussions
for our bilateral relationship were similar threats to persist," the
official said.National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State
Antony Blinken also discussed the issue with India's foreign minister.Director
of National Intelligence Avril Haines also traveled to India to aid the
government in an internal investigation, the official said.
 |
| U.S. officials have named him as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun |
DELICATE DIPLOMATIC
ISSUE
The issue is highly
delicate for both India and the Biden administration as they try to build
closer ties in the face of an ascendant China perceived as a threat for both
democracies.It was a "matter of concern" that an Indian government
official was linked to the plot, foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi
said on Thursday, adding, "This is also contrary to government
policy."
On Wednesday, India had
said it would formally investigate the concerns aired by the U.S., and take
"necessary follow-up action" on the findings of a panel set up on
Nov. 18.
 |
| foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday adding This is also contrary to government policy |
Bagchi declined to elaborate on the investigation.
Adrienne Watson,
spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said that after the
defendant "credibly indicated" he was directed by an Indian
government official, "we took this information very seriously and engaged
in direct conversations with the Indian government at the highest levels to
express our concern.""The government of India was clear with us that
they were taking this seriously and would investigate," she said, adding:
"We will continue to expect accountability from the government of India
based on the results of their investigations."In a statement after the
indictment, Pannun told Reuters that the alleged attempt on his life was a
"blatant case of India's transnational terrorism, which has become a
challenge to America's sovereignty and threat to freedom of speech and
democracy".
'WE HAVE SO MANY
TARGETS'
According to U.S.
prosecutors, the Indian official recruited Gupta in May 2023 to orchestrate the
assassination. Gupta had previously told the official he had been involved with
trafficking drugs and weapons, prosecutors said.
Gupta then reached out
to someone he believed was a criminal associate for help hiring a hitman, but
that associate was actually a Drug Enforcement Administration undercover agent,
prosecutors said.The day after Nijjar was killed, Gupta wrote to the undercover
DEA agent saying Nijjar "was also the target" and "we have so many
targets," prosecutors said.Gupta faces two counts of murder-for-hire and
murder-for-hire conspiracy. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years if
convicted.India has complained about the presence of Sikh separatist groups
overseas, including Canada and the United States. The groups have kept alive
the movement for Khalistan, or the demand for an independent Sikh state to be
carved out of India.The movement is considered a security threat by India,
although the cause now has hardly any support within the country, having been
crushed in the 1990s.Sikh militants were blamed for the 1985 bombing of an Air
India Boeing 747 flying from Canada to India that killed all 329
aboard.Reporting by Luc Cohen; Additional reporting by Krishn Kaushik and
Shivam Patel in New Delhi and Jeff Mason, David Brunnstrom and Doina Chiacu in
Washington; Editing by Heather Timmons and Clarence Fernandez
 |
| Pannun-Khalistan |
The following is a timeline of events, as alleged by the US Department of Justice. It begins with CC-1 recruiting Nikhil Gupta in early May this year, to the filing charges related to the thwarted plot on November 29. The Indian government official and Gupta also drop hints, as per the charges, that Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed in a shooting outside a gurdwara in British Columbia in June, was their ‘target’, as well plans to hit other ‘targets’ in Canada.
2) How the
Uttarakhand tunnel rescue operation transpired in 17 days. Here's the timeline
%20personnel%20wait%20to%20enter%20a%20tunnel%20during%20rescue%20operations%20for%20trapped%20workers,%20after%20the%20tunnel%20collapsed,%20in%20Uttarkashi%20in%20the%20northern%20state%20of%20Uttarakhand,%20India,%20on%20November%2028,%202023.jpg) |
| National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel wait to enter a tunnel during rescue operations for trapped workers, after the tunnel collapsed, in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, on November 28, 2023 |
The rescue team employed
vertical drilling alongside manual excavation using the rat-hole mining method,
which commenced on Monday. Twelve experts in rat-hole mining were called upon
to utilise handheld tools in confined spaces, although this method is
contentious and poses risks due to miners working in tight underground
passages.
National Disaster
Response Force (NDRF) personnel entered a steel chute that had been pushed into
the drilled passage over several days, systematically bringing each worker out.
Ahead of the rescue, a
specialised ward with 41 oxygen-supported beds had been set up at the community
health center in Chinyalisaur, approximately 30 kilometres from Silkyara, to
accommodate the rescued workers. Medical staff were on standby, and
arrangements were in place to transport workers to more advanced hospitals if
required. Reflecting on the timeline of the rescue operation from the initial
entrapment of 41 workers in the collapsed debris at the Silkyara Tunnel in
Uttarakhand, let's delve into the process and its progression.
Here's the timeline of
what happened from Nov 12
November 12: Following a
landslide at the Silkyara-Dandalgaon tunnel on the Brahmkhal-Yamunotri highway
in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi, 41 labourers got trapped. A rescue operation was
initiated to free them.
November 13: Uttarakhand
chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the site where workers were trapped
and established communication with them using an oxygen supply pipe.
November 14: Efforts
involved bringing in 800- and 900-millimetre steel pipes for horizontal digging
using an auger machine. However, further rubble caused minor injuries to two
workers, hindering progress. Supplies of essential items like food, water, and
medicine were ensured for the trapped workers. November 15: Dissatisfied with
the initial drilling machine's performance, the National Handloom Development
Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) requested a more advanced auger machine from
Delhi, airlifting it to expedite the rescue process.
November 16: The new
drilling machine was assembled, and installation began, after which the
operation commenced past midnight.
November 17: The
drilling machine progressed around 24 metres through the rubble stretch but
halted when the fifth pipe encountered an obstacle. Another high-performance
auger machine was flown in from Indore to aid the rescue efforts. However,
operations ceased when a significant cracking sound emerged from the tunnel in
the evening.
 |
| Manual drilling underway in the Silkyara tunnel, Uttarkashi, November 28, 2023 |
November 18: Officials
from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and experts devised five evacuation
plans, exploring alternative methods such as vertical drilling to rescue the workers.
November 19: Drilling activities remained suspended. Union minister of road
transport and highways Nitin Gadkari reviewed the rescue operation and
emphasised the potential success of horizontal drilling with the auger machine.
November 20: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi spoke to chief minister Dhami to assess the Silkyara tunnel
rescue operations and highlighted the importance of maintaining morale among
rescuers.
November 21: Rescuers
released the first video of trapped labourers in the Silkyara tunnel, showing
them receiving supplies and communicating through the pipeline. Simultaneously,
drilling began at the Balkot-end for an alternative tunnel on the Char Dham
route.
 |
| Rescue workers packed rice to be sent to the workers stuck in the tunnel in Uttarakhand, India |
November 22: Horizontal
drilling progressed to about 45 metres, with around 12 metres of debris
remaining. However, iron rods obstructed the auger machine's progress in the
evening.November 23: The obstruction caused by iron rods was removed, allowing
for the resumption of rescue operations. Officials reported reaching the
48-meter mark but had to pause due to cracks appearing in the drilling
machine's resting platform.
November 24: Drilling at
the collapsed tunnel ceased as the auger machine encountered a hurdle,
potentially a metal object, after resuming operations.
November 25: International tunneling expert Arnold Dix reported the auger machine used for drilling had malfunctioned, prompting consideration of alternative methods like vertical or manual drilling.
November 26: Rescuers
commenced drilling into the hill above the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel, needing to
penetrate 86 meters to reach the tunnel. By evening, the equipment had drilled
approximately 19.5 meters. Additionally, two BRO officials sustained injuries
in a collision near the Silkyara tunnel site. November 27: A group of 12
rat-hole mining specialists arrived at the site, initiating the manual drilling
and excavation process to clear the final 10- to 12-metre stretch of debris.
November 28: Following
the manual drilling, rescuers inserted a pipe into the tunnel, reaching the
breakthrough point at 57 meters. This enabled the evacuation of the first
worker at 7.56 pm on Tuesday, with all the other trapped workers emerging in
good health.
3) Telangana
Assembly Election 2023 Highlights: Voter turnout of 63.9% recorded till 5 pm
Telangana Assembly
Election 2023 Live Updates: Results for Telangana, along with Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram to be announced on Dec 3.
On Thursday, 32.6 million voters in Telangana
will determine the fate of 2,290 candidates vying for 119 assembly seats. The
intense campaign, featuring prominent national leaders like Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi of the Congress, and K Chandrashekar Rao of the
ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), culminates in this election.
Voters wait in queues at
a polling station to cast their votes for Telangana Assembly elections in
Kukatpally Assembly constituency on November 30.
Voters wait in queues at
a polling station to cast their votes for Telangana Assembly elections in
Kukatpally Assembly constituency on November 30.(PTI)
Results for Telangana,
along with those for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram,
where voting occurred between November 7 and November 25, will be announced on
December 3. Telangana is the final state among these to conduct its elections.
“The polling will start
at 7 am and will end at 5 pm in 106 constituencies and from 7 am to 4 pm in 13
Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas. More than 250,000 staff will be
engaged in poll duties for the assembly elections,” chief electoral officer
Vikas Raj said.
The ruling BRS has
candidates in all 119 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Jana Sena,
led by actor Pawan Kalyan, are contesting in 111 and 8 seats respectively.
Additionally, the Congress has allocated one seat to its ally, the Communist
Party of India (CPI), while fielding candidates in 118 other constituencies.
queues were seen outside the polling stations in towns and rural parts of Telangana since early this morning as the polling for the State Assembly at 7 am.
Till 1 pm, a total of
36.68% of voter turnout was recorded in the state, data from the Election
Commission showed.
Among the 2,290
contestants in the fray are Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, his
Minister-son K T Rama Rao, State Congress President A Revanth Reddy and BJP Lok
Sabha members Bandi Sanjay Kumar and D Arvind.
Several big names
including KCR, state minister KT Rama Rao, YSR Telangana Party president YS
Sharmila, BJP's Arvind Dharmapuri and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy exercised
their franchise today.
4) BJP, Congress
2-2 tie in 4 states, say exit polls:
Elections to the five states took place between November 7-November 30. After the polling was concluded in 119-seat Telangana assembly on Thursday, the exit polls for all the five states which went to the polls namely Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Mizoram and Telangana were out yesterday predicting a mixed bag for the BJP and Congress.
The exit polls of five
states, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh were out
on Thursday.
The exit polls of five
states, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh were out
on Thursday.(File)
An aggregate of exit polls predicted that the saffron party is likely to retain power in Madhya Pradesh and may form the government in Rajasthan. Most exit polls predicted an edge to the Congress in Chhattisgarh and Telangana.
While in Mizoram, Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) was locked in a close race with the Mizo National Front (MNF).
Elections to the five
states took place between November 7-November 30 and the counting of votes
would take place on December 3. Mizoram assembly polls: Counting of votes
deferred by a day to Monday
The counting of votes in
Mizoram will take place on December 4, a day after it was originally scheduled,
the Election Commission said on Friday.
It said the decision was
taken following representations from various quarters requesting for a change
in the date of counting from December 3 on the ground that Sunday holds a
special significance for the people of Mizoram, a Christian-majority state.
5) Amit Shah's big
CAA dare to Mamata in Kolkata rally: ‘No one can stop it’
The home minister also alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been unable to stop infiltration in the state.Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday declared that the Narendra Modi government will implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and no one can stop it. Addressing a rally in Kolkata to launch the party's Lok Sabha campaign, Shah alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been unable to stop infiltration in the state.
He alleged that voter
and Aadhaar cards are being openly and illegally distributed to infiltrators in
the state.“In the state in which so much infiltration occurs, will development
take place there?” Shah asked. “That is why Mamata Banerjee is opposing CAA...
But I would say that CAA is the law of the country, and no one can stop it. We
will implement it…”
Passed by Parliament in 2020, CAA offers citizenship to religious minorities who entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh before 2015. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) insists that CAA is unconstitutional saying that it excludes Muslims and links citizenship to faith in a secular country.
The Centre earlier said
that it is in the process of framing laws for the CAA. On Sunday, Union
minister of state for home affairs, Ajay Kumar Mishra had said that the rules
for the CAA will be framed by March 30, 2024.On Wednesday, Shah, during his
address at the Esplanade alleged that Banerjee's government, along with communists
“ruined” the state of Bengal.
“Figures as regards
election violence stands the highest in Bengal on national levels,” he said.The
home minister also expressed confidence that the BJP would form the government
in Bengal with a two-thirds majority in the state Assembly elections in
2026.“But before that, you all have to ensure that the BJP wins with flying
colours in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections! I sincerely request you all to make PM
Modi Ji the Prime Minister again!” he said.Shah further added: “Bless him
(Modi) with such number of votes that following his oath-taking ceremony, he
ends up saying that he became the Prime Minister due to Bengal!” The BJP had
won 18, its highest ever, of the state's 42 seats in the last Assembly
elections in 2019.
6) To put pressure
on...': Kamal Nath lambasts Madhya Pradesh exit polls
In a video on his X handle, he said Congress workers must ensure an impartial counting on December 3. Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and Congress leader Kamal Nath on Friday questioned the exit poll results of agencies that predicted a BJP win, saying they were creating a "false atmosphere". He said the BJP would lose the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections. He said some exit poll agencies wanted to put pressure on poll officers.
In a video on his X
handle, he said Congress workers must ensure an impartial counting on December
3.
"All Congress
workers should get into the field with full force. The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) has lost the elections. Some exit polls have been deliberately created so
that Congress workers get disappointed and to put pressure on the officers by
creating a false atmosphere. This conspiracy is not going to succeed," he
said.
He added that all
Congress officials should be geared up for the counting day.
"We are all ready
to win and are all united. If you (party workers) feel any problem then please
talk to me directly or inform the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) office on
December 3. The Congress Party is going to be in power in the state on December
3," he added. Many exit polls predicted a BJP victory. Dainik Bhaskar
predicted 95-115 seats for the BJP and 105-120 seats for the Congress. India
Today-Axis My India gave 140-162 seats to BJP and 70-89 seats to the Congress.
Today's Chanakya said the BJP will get 151 seats and the Congress 74, Jan Ki
Baat exit poll predicted that the BJP would get 100-123 seats and the Congress
102-125, Republic TV-Matrize gave 118-130 seats to the BJP and 97-107 to the
Congress.
Other exit polls also
predicted similar results.
Meanwhile, CM Shivraj
Singh Chouhan said the BJP would retain power in the state.The results are
likely to be declared on December 3.
7) Rahul Gandhi in
Kerala pushes for more women leaders in Congress
Rahul Gandhi, who is on
a two-day visit to Kerala, inaugurated ‘Utsaah,’– a Kerala Mahila Congress
Convention in Ernakulam and said there are numerous women leaders in the
Congress who possess the qualities necessary to become chief ministers
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi on Friday said that the party should actively promote women within their
organisational structure and set a target to have 50% of women as chief
ministers within the coming 10 years.Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to
Kerala, inaugurated ‘Utsaah,’– a Kerala Mahila Congress Convention in Ernakulam
and said there are numerous women leaders in the Congress who possess the
qualities necessary to become chief ministers.
“Today, we do not have a
single woman chief minister. But I know many women in the Congress party have
the qualities to be very good chief ministers,” Gandhi said.
Highlighting the
importance of women’s participation in the political structure in India, Gandhi
said that Congress would ensure that there are more women participants at every
level in the Congress party in the years to come.“A good target for the
Congress would be that ten years from today, 50% of our chief ministers are
women,” he said.“We have to ensure that at every level, there are more and more
women in the organisation,” he added.
Highlighting the major
roles that women have played previously in the Congress party as prime
ministers and presidents of the country and the party, Gandhi said that the
Congress fundamentally believes that women should share the power in the
country and that women are not inferior but, in fact, superior to men in many
ways.
“They have more patience
than men, they have a longer-term vision than men, they are more sensitive,
they’re more compassionate…today we don’t have a single chief minister who is a
woman,” he said.
While drawing the
distinction, Gandhi slammed the Rashtriya Swamyamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Hindu
right-wing nationalist organisation, for their lack of inclusion of women in
their organisation and claimed that this is what distinguishes Congress from
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).“The central fight between BJP and Congress is
about how women should be treated…In its entire history, RSS has not allowed
women into its rights…the RSS is purely a male organisation. We believe that
women should be allowed to make choices,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi further
criticised the BJP-led central government for putting on hold the
implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill despite receiving approval from
Parliament.
“I have never seen any
other Bill passed in Parliament that says it will be implemented only ten years
later. The only Bill that the BJP is implementing after ten years after passing
is the one that has to be with women’s power,” he said.
“I have heard statements
of leaders from the right-wing — senior leaders — where they will say that a girl
would not have got raped if she had been dressed properly. This is an insult to
every single woman in the country. It is turning the victim into the villain.
And this is the difference between us and the RSS,” Gandhi said.The Congress
leader concluded his speech by highlighting the various schemes such as the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) or the Right
to Food, which are particularly directed towards women. He urged women to fight
the “atmosphere of hatred and violence”, propagated by the Opposition.
More than 50,000 Mahila
Congress workers, apart from 10,000 Congress workers, were present at the
event.
All Indian Congress
Committee general KC Venugopal, Mahila Congress national president Neta
D’Souza, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K Sudhakaran, and
Opposition leader V D Satheesan, were also present at the event.
8) Tamil Nadu
police arrest ED officer for accepting bribe of ₹20 lakh
 |
| ED Officer, Ankit Tiwari, Arrested By TN Police For Taking ₹20 Lakh Bribe; ID Card Of Official Goes Vira |
D officer Ankit Tiwari
was caught on Friday by the DVAC accepting a bribe of Rs.20 lakh from a doctor
in Dindigul, said a state government official, who did not wish to be named
Tamil Nadu’s anti-corruption wing– the Directorate of Vigilance and
Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Friday arrested an officer of the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) in a bribery case, officials aware of the matter said.ED
officer Ankit Tiwari was caught on Friday by the DVAC accepting a bribe of
Rs.20 lakh from a doctor in Dindigul, said a state government official, who did
not wish to be named.
According to the
official, Tiwari, along with his team, has been threatening people and taking
bribes to close their ED-related cases.
The official said that
DVAC caught Tiwari with the help of Dindigul police, and he is being interrogated.
This action comes amidst
the Tamil Nadu government accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union
government of using the ED and Income Tax department to “harass” its officials
and elected representatives ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
There has been no
response from ED officials.
 |
| DVAC officials search the office of Directorate of Enforcement in Madurai on December 1, 2023 |
1) India vs
Australia 3rd T20I Highlights: Maxwell ton single-handedly leads AUS to
stunning victory
India vs Australia 3rd
T20I Highlights: Glenn Maxwell finished unbeaten on 104 off 48 and helped
Australia pull off a chase of 223. Glenn Maxwell almost single-handedly led an
extraordinary run chase from Australia as they beat India by five wickets. A century
from Ruturaj Gaikwad helped India put up a score of 222/3. While Australia lost
wickets frequently, Australia's batters kept themselves within sights of the
required run rate. It eventually ended up becoming almost a one-man show with
Maxwell almost single-handedly keeping their run rate up while Marcus Stoinis
struggled at the other end. Captain Matthew Wade also took time to get going
but he eventually started ably assisting Maxwell in his assault. Maxwell
finished off with a six and three fours off the last four balls of the match,
finishing unbeaten on 104 off 48 balls while Wade was on 28 off 16.
India earlier got off to
a shaky start batting first with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ishan Kishan falling
early. Suryakumar and Ruturaj Gaikwad then steadied the ship. The pair put up
57 off 47 balls for the third wicket before SKY fell for 39 off 29. Gaikwad has
soldiered on and put up an even bigger stand with Tilak Varma since then,
crossing his half-century in the process. Gaikwad accelerated dramatically after
that and eventually went past 100 in 52 balls. The last over of the Indian
innings was bowled by Glenn Maxwell and it went for a whopping 30 runs. India
ended up with a score of 222/3 with Gaikwad finishing unbeaten on 123 off 57
balls. Tilak Varma scored just 39 in 29 balls in a 141-run partnership with
Gaikwad that came in just 59 balls.
2) India vs
Australia 4th T20I Highlights: IND beat AUS by 20 runs, seal series win
India vs Australia 4th
T20I Highlights: AUS were restricted to a total of 154/7 and IND have taken an
unassailable 3-1 lead in the series. Spinners Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi led
the way to ensuring a 20-run win for India after Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma and
Yashasvi Jaiswal helped India set up a target of 175 for Australia to chase in Raipur.
India scored 174/9 in their 20 overs and then restricted Australia to a score
of 154/7. They have thus confirmed victory in the series as well, having taken
an unassailable 3-1 lead with one match to go. Matthew Wade won the toss and
chose to bowl first. Both sides made a number of changes, four for India and
five for Australia. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad put up a 50-run
opening partnership before the former fell off the last ball of the powerplay.
India were pegged back with Suryakumar and Shreyas Iyer both falling within a
few balls of each other but Rinku Singh led a fightback with a 48-run stand for
the fourth wicket with Gaikwad that came in 31 balls. Jitesh Sharma then stayed
up with Rinku's strike rate and the pair put up 56 runs fort the fifth wicket
off just 32 balls. It was a bit of a collapse for India after that with Ben
Dwarshuis and Jason Behrendorff taking two wickets each in the 19th and 20th
overs. Rinku couldn't quite stay till the end, falling off the first ball of
the last over bowled by Behrendorff on 46 off 29. Deepak Chahar then fell off
the third ball and Ravi Bishnoi was run out off the last, thus leaving India's
tally at 174/9 in 20 overs.
Travis Head got
Australia off to an absolute flier, especially when he smashed a whopping 22
runs off the third over from Deepak Chahar. However, spinners Ravi Bishnoi and
Axar Patel pulled things right back for India with a flurry of wickets after
the first five overs. While it looked like India might be in trouble after the
pair was done with their four overs, pacers Deepak Chahar, Mukesh Kumar and
Avesh Khan kept the pressure up and restricted Australia to 154/7. India thus
won the match by 20 runs and confirmed victory in the series as well.
3) I was thrilled
to beat the Chinese shooters at their home twice: Sift
 |
| ndian shooter Sift Kaur Samra( |
Over the past 12 months
the three positions shooter has won an Asian Games gold with a world record and
sealed an Olympics quota place Sift Kaur Samra barely has time to reflect on a
gruelling season but she is not complaining. Because the past 12 months have
been nothing short of spectacular establishing her as India's best rifle three
positions shooter. It has come on the back of an Asian Games gold with a world
record score, a Paris Olympics quota place and the small business of defending
her national title at home earlier this week. the pressure of the biggest of
all events – the Olympics in Paris.
"I have to prepare
well and continue doing what I have done this year. I want to be in top form in
the trials. Whether it is an international competition or domestic trials, I go
with the mindset of taking each match with the same seriousness and putting in
the hard yards," said the 22-year-old.
"I would be
competing in a few international events and want to keep the winning momentum
going. It is good to be in the habit of winning medals at international events.
Yes, there will always be pressure in big matches and you need to know how to
handle it.” At the Asian Games, Sift overcame early jitters with fearless
shooting, beating world champion Qiongyue Zhang of China by a long margin. She
had taken the lead after kneeling and prone positions and raced ahead of the
field in the elimination round (standing). When she stopped it was on a score
of 469.6, a world record.
“The qualification round was good and I finished on top. Before the final we came to know that we have
won the team silver. I enjoyed the moment. I could feel the pressure when the final started. We were yet to win an individual gold in shooting. It was all coming in team events.
“After the first five
shots I could see that the scores were nothing extraordinary and I was doing
well. I told myself I can handle it, I can perform well here. Then, my focus
was on getting my technique right,” said Sift.
4) FIH Hockey
Women's Junior World Cup: India crash to narrow 3-4 defeat vs Germany
India went down 3-4
against Germany in their FIH Hockey Women's Junior World Cup fixture.India
squandered a two-goal advantage to go down 3-4 to last edition's runners-up
Germany in a thrilling FIH Hockey Women's Junior World Cup match. Annu (11’),
Ropni Kumari (14’), and Mumtaz Khan (24’) were the goal scorers for India,
while Sophia Schwabe (17’), Laura Pluth (21’, 36’), and Carolin Seidel's (38’)
found the net for Germany on Thursday. India quickly settled into a passing
rhythm, dominating the game in the opening quarter by controlling possession
and continuously testing Germany's defensive line. But despite their early
efforts, India were thwarted by Germany's sturdy defence, which prevented them
from scoring until the closing minutes of the quarter.
It was during this
period of sustained pressure that the Indian team secured consecutive penalty
corners, and Annu capitalised on the second opportunity with a powerful shot,
finally putting her team in the lead.
Shortly after breaking the deadlock, India further solidified their position as Ropni found the net with a well-executed shot from another penalty corner to give them a 2-0 lead after the first quarter.
Germany, determined to
turn the tide, approached the second quarter with renewed zeal. Their efforts
bore fruit as Sophia scored an impressive field goal, reducing the deficit for
Germany. Building on this momentum, Laura fired a powerful strike to level the
score. However, India swiftly responded as Mumtaz skillfully put the ball past
the opposition’s goalkeeper, shifting the momentum back in India's favour and
putting them in front again as they went into the half-time break with a 3-2
lead. Determined to maintain their lead, India prioritised ball possession in
the third quarter, yet Germany managed to level the score. Laura struck for the
second time, equalising the game.
Motivated by their
resurgence, Germany intensified their attacks, seizing the lead with Carolin
goal from a penalty corner. India increased their frequency of attacks. But,
despite their efforts, the score remained 4-3 in favour of Germany by the close
of the third quarter.The final quarter witnessed an aggressive display from
both sides, with Germany coming close to extending their lead. However, Indian
goalkeeper Madhuri Kindo's exceptional save in a one-on-one situation denied
Germany a chance to extend their lead.
Meanwhile, India earned
consecutive penalty corners in the dying minutes but failed to convert. The
fourth quarter concluded without any goals. The Indian team will next take on
Belgium in their third match of the tournament on Saturday.
5) Syed Modi
International Badminton: Priyanshu, Ashwini-Tanisha enter semi-finals
Syed Modi International
Badminton: Priyanshu Rajawat will next face either Chinese Taipei's Chi Yu Jen
or Chia Hao Lee in his semi-final match. Priyanshu Rajawat proceeded to the
semi-finals of the Syed Modi India International Badminton Championships after
a 21-15, 21-16 win over Indonesian Alwi Farhan on Friday. Having lost in the
second round in the BWF World Super Series 300 event in 2022, the 21-year-old
is making amends with his stellar show this year.
A trainee at Pullela
Gopichand’s academy, Rajawat's win at the Uttar Pradesh Badminton Academy Hall
keeps Indian interest alive in the men’s singles section of the tournament.
“It’s like a dream come true, and I would like to finish off with a title win
here,” Rajawat said after notching up a victory against world junior champion
Farhan, who managed to stretch his Indian opponent to a certain extent,
levelling the score at 16 in the second game.
“In my first appearance
at this event last year, I couldn't get the desired result, but this time I
wanted to prove a point, and I am happy that I have done well so far even after
having some pain in the ankle today in the second game,” said Rajawat, who has
been training in Hyderabad for the last 13 years. A member of the gold-winning
Indian team at the Thomas Cup last year, Rajawat, who won gold at the Orleans
Masters Super 300 event this year, raced to a 12-6 lead before grabbing three
consecutive points at 18-14 to finish off the first game in just 20 minutes.
But the 31st-ranked Farhan, 18, didn’t allow Rajawat an easy passage in the
second game. At 16-all, ankle pain forced Rajawat to take a small break, but
the Indian shuttler managed to win five consecutive points on resumption and
storm to victory.
“I didn’t want to lose
to a junior player. There was no pressure in the first game, but I felt this in
the second game, especially after having ankle pain. But a break did help me
regain my confidence and win,” said Rajawat, who meets Chinese Taipei's Chi Yu
Jen in the semi-final. Jen defeated compatriot Chia Hao Lee 21-12, 13-21, 21-13
in another quarter-final. The seventh-seeded pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini
Ponnappa, meanwhile, registered a 21-19, 21-8 win over compatriots Treesa Jolly
and Gayatri Gopichand in the women’s doubles quarter-finals.
While Jolly and
Gopichand kept their rivals on their toes in the first game, Crasto and
Ponnappa had it all too easy in the second game as the match finished in 35
minutes. All semi-finals will be played on Saturday.
Sam Bahadur:
Release Date
1 December 2023
Cast
Vicky Kaushal, Sanya
Malhotra, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub, Neeraj Kabi, Naoya Ishida,
Edward Sonnenblick, Jaskaran Singh Gandhi, Richard Bhakti Klein, Keita Arai,
Col Ravi Sharma, Sammy Jonas Heaney, Krishnakant Singh Bundela, Jeffrey Goldberg,
Rohan Verma, Ed Robinson, Rajiv Kachroo, Upen Chauhan, Richard Maddison, Nabjot
Kaur Tiwana, Paul O'Neillmore...
Director Meghna Gulzar
Writer Bhavani Iyer,
Shantanu Srivastava, Meghna Gulzar
Cinematography Jay I.
Patel
Music Shankar Ehsan Loy
Producer Ronnie
Screwvala
Production RSVP Movies
Certificate U/A
Sam Bahadur is a biopic
film based on the life of late Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, one of the most
decorated army officers in India, with Vicky Kaushal in the titular role.
Popular by the title of Sam Bahadur, Manekshaw had served the Indian army for
over four decades and fought valiantly in a total of five wars- World War II
(1942), Indo-Pak Partition War (1947), Sino-Indian War (1962), Indo-Pak War
(1965), and the War of Bangladesh Liberation (1971). Known to have cheated
death innumerable times during his tenure, he was awarded some of the most
prestigious awards including Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, and a Military
Cross for gallantry (World War II). He was also the first army officer to be
promoted to the rank of a Field Marshal in the Indian Army.
Bagla Mama Yug Yug
Jio(Bengali movie)
is an upcoming Bengali
language Indian comedy film. It is directed by Dhruv Banerjee based on the
story written by Rajkumar Maitra.
Co-produced by Geo Studios and SVF Productions. Kharaj Mukhopadhyay
played the role of the original 'Heron Mama' in it . The film is based on the
colorful fashion of the eighties, laughter, fun, love, love and the popular
music genre of the time.
Mission Raniganj:
Netflix
The Akshay Kumar-led
drama, Mission Raniganj is up for its digital premiere on December 1 on
Netflix. The film is based on a true event that occurred in November 1989 in
Raniganj, West Bengal, when 65 workers found themselves trapped inside a
flooded coal mine. Upon its release in theatres in September, the film didn’t
receive a favourable review from the film critics. The Indian Express’ film
critic Shubhra Gupta wrote in her review of the film, “Despite Akshay Kumar’s
sincere performance, the film comes off as a tiresome plod.”
Dhootha: Prime
Video
Actor Naga Chaitanya’s
debut web series is a supernatural suspense thriller. The eight-episode series,
directed by Vikram K Kumar, also stars Parvathy Thiruvothu, Priya Bhavani
Shankar, and Prachi Desai. According to the official synopsis, death starts to
follow people around Sagar (Naga Chaitanya), as he discovers “shreds of
newspapers predicting horrific incidents that go beyond his worst nightmare.”
Pyre (PB) Paperback
:by Perumal Murugan (Author)
Saroja and Kumaresan are in love. After a hasty wedding, they arrive in Kumaresan's village, harboring a dangerous secret: their marriage is an inter-caste one, likely to upset the village elders should they get to know of it. Kumaresan is naively confident that all will be well. But nothing is further from the truth. Despite the strident denials of the young couple, the villagers strongly suspect that Saroja must belong to a different caste. It is only a matter of time before their suspicions harden into certainty and, outraged, they set about exacting their revenge.
A devastating tale of
innocent young love pitted against chilling savagery, Pyre conjures a
terrifying vision of intolerance.
Perumal Murugan (born 1966) is an Indian writer, scholar and literary chronicler who writes in Tamil. He has written twelve novels, six collections of short stories, six anthologies of poetry and many of the non-fiction books. Ten of his novels have been translated into English: Seasons of the Palm, which was shortlisted for the Kiriyama Prize in 2005, Current Show, One Part Woman, A Lonely Harvest, Trail by Silence, Poonachi or the Story of a Goat, Resolve, Estuary, Rising Heat, and Pyre He was a professor of Tamil at the Government Arts College in Salem Attur and Namakkal.
Early life
Perumal Murugan was born
in 1966 to a family of farmers who had small land holdings near Thiruchengodu,
a town in Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu. His father, a farmer, supplemented the
family's income by running a soda shop in a cinema theatre in Thiruchengode. Murugan
began writing from his early age, and some of his early lyrics of children's
songs were featured on programmes broadcast by All India Radio
Education
Murugan initially
studied Tamil literature both as an undergraduate, in Erode and as a
postgraduate in Coimbatore. He went on to obtain an M.Phil. degree from Madras
University in Tamil studies, and followed by a Ph.D. His doctoral thesis
focused on the works of author R. Shanmugasundaram.
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