Microsoft Global Outage: Windows Devices, Airline and Banking Operations Disrupted 2
Amid a massive global outage that hit the operations of airlines, banks, and businesses across the globe, Microsoft said on Friday that it is aware of the issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform.
A Microsoft spokesperson said, “We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming.”
“We’re aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform,” the spokesperson said.
The outage put the operations of businesses and systems across the globe in a state of limbo.
Airport and airline operations faced significant disruptions due to the outage, with airlines issuing advisories to passengers. IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Akasa saw disruptions in their online check-in and boarding processes across their networks, forcing them to switch to manual mode.
Several users reported disruptions on outage-tracking website Downdetector, and many took to X (now Twitter) to vent their frustration on the ‘Blue Screen of Death’ error messages.
However, the country’s largest lender, the State Bank of India (SBI), said its systems are unaffected by the Microsoft global outage. Stock exchanges NSE and BSE, too, said they were not impacted by the global outage of Microsoft systems.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the IT ministry is in touch with Microsoft regarding the global outage and added that the NIC network is not affected.
In a post on X, IT minister Vaishnaw said that the reason for this outage has been identified and updates have been released to resolve the issue.
CERT is issuing a technical advisory, he wrote.
“MEITY is in touch with Microsoft and its associates regarding the global outage… NIC network is not affected,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, CERT-In has issued an advisory on the Microsoft outage caused by the Crowdstrike update and rated its severity as “critical.”
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a key aide of designated individual Khalistani terrorist Lakhbir Singh Sandhu, alias Landa, in a major terror network case involving the supply of deadly weapons, the agency said on Friday.
Identified as Baljeet Singh alias Rana Bhai alias Balli, hailing from Badwani district of Madhya Pradesh, was arrested on Thursday from Punjab and found to be a major weapons supplier to Landa’s agents in Punjab.
As per the anti-terror agency, these supplied weapons were used to carry out large-scale terror activities, including extortions from businessmen and others.
NIA’s investigations in the case (RC 21/2023/NIA/DLI) led to the arrest of one Gurpreet Singh Gopi, identified as an associate of Landa and of another Khalistani terrorist, Satnam Singh Satta.
Investigations into the case, registered by NIA suo moto on July 10 last year, revealed that Baljeet Singh had provided weapons to Satta too as part of the larger conspiracy of various banned Khalistani terrorist organisations to destabilise India by unleashing violent acts in Punjab and other places.
“Both Landa and Satta are believed to be operating from foreign soil to promote terror in India,” said the NIA, adding it is continuing with its investigation as part of its crackdown on the Khalistani terrorist outfits.
North Korea Installing More Landmines Despite Accidents, South Korea Says 6
North Korean soldiers have been installing landmines and barriers and creating wasteland along the front line for months despite accidents, South Korea’s military said on Wednesday.
North Korea’s military has continued its work forcibly despite multiple casualties caused by some 10 accidents involving landmine explosions and heat illness, according to a statement provided by the defence ministry, citing the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
Female soldiers were also deployed for the work in some areas, the ministry added.
In a meeting held on the same day on North Korea’s “provocations,” South Korea’s Defence Minister Shin Won-sik said the military faces a “complex crisis” further complicated by unpredictable natural disasters, according to a separate statement released by the ministry.
Heavy rain battered Seoul and surrounding areas on Wednesday with downpours expected for North Korea, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.
South Korea’s military was preparing to respond to the possibility of surprise dam water releases by the North during heavy rain and landmines being washed away, the statement read.
It was also preparing for the possibility of North Korean soldiers accidentally defecting amid poor working conditions, as well as crossing the Military Demarcation Line running through the middle of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) while working, the statement added.
Last month, South Korea’s military fired warning shots after several North Korean soldiers crossed the border then retreated after the shots were fired.
Although deadly clashes have occasionally occurred over the decades since open fighting between the countries stopped at the end of the 1950–1953 Korean War, the recent incidents mark a rare uptick in activity close to the demarcation line.
Karnataka Approves 100% Job Reservation for Kannadigas in Key Sectors 8
In a significant move, the Karnataka government has approved a bill ensuring 100% reservation for Kannadigas in Category C and D positions within all state industries. The bill also seeks to reserve 50% of management and 75% of non-management jobs for locals in the private sector.
Chief Minister Siddaramiah took to social media platform X to announce the development. He emphasized that the government’s top priority is the welfare of Kannadigas, ensuring they find employment in their native land. “Our government is committed to protecting the interests of Kannadigas,” he posted.
The decision stems from the Labour Department’s report, which indicates that most jobs in state industries are being filled by workers from North India. The bill, named the State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories, and Other Establishments Bill, 2024, was previously supported by the Sarojini Mahishi Committee report but lacked formal policies.
In addition to this bill, seven other bills, including the Karnataka Goods and Services (Amendment) Bill and the Karnataka Irrigation (Amendment) Bill, 2024, were approved during the cabinet meeting.
Setback to Ajit Pawar: NCP's Pune Student Wing Chief and Others Return To Sharad Pawar 10
Several Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders and corporators returned to the Sharad Pawar camp a day after resigning from the Ajit Pawar faction on Wednesday.
At Sharad Pawar’s residence in Pune, the former NCP’s Pimpri-Chinchwad unit chief, Ajit Gavhane, was among the leaders who joined his faction.
Three other senior leaders of the NCP’s Pimpri-Chinchwad unit–Rahul Bhosale, Pankaj Bhalekar, and Yash Sane–who quit the party on Tuesday also joined the founder’s camp.
In reaction to this, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) working president Supriya Sule said that Sharad Pawar has been working for development in Maharashtra and at the Centre for the last 60 years, and even people from the opposition look at him with great hope.
“I think many people in the party have different experiences. We have always ensured that our ideology of development remains strong. Pawar sahab (Sharad Pawar) has been continuously working for development in Maharashtra and at the Centre for the last 60 years.
“We have faith in Pawar sahab’s ideology, and at the same time, many people in the opposition also look towards him with great hopes, which is why people are joining him,” Sule said, speaking to ANI on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Ajit Gavhane said that he, along with some other party workers who have also resigned from their posts, will be seeking blessings from NCP founder Sharad Pawar.
“I resigned yesterday, and today all the ex-corporators will be holding a meeting and strategizing our next moves. We will also take the blessing of Sharad Pawar,” Gavhane said, speaking to ANI on Wednesday.
The Nationalist Congress Party split last year when Ajit Pawar led some MLAs and joined the ruling Eknath Shinde Sena and BJP government.
Gavhane claimed that the development work done by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation was different from that done by both Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar.
“If you look at Pimpri-Chinchwad, both Ajit dada and Pawar sahab had contributed to its development. But since 2017, the Bharatiya Janata Party has been ruling PPMC (Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation). The development work here was done in the wrong way, especially if you look at other constituencies. There was rampant corruption here, and the sitting MLA is responsible for it,” Gavhane said.
District Training Halted for Controversial IAS Officer Puja Khedkar Amid Probe 14
The government has put the district training program for controversial IAS officer Puja Khedkar on hold. Khedkar is currently under investigation for allegedly forging disability certificates to pass the Civil Services examination.
She has been directed to report back to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration by July 23, according to a state government official. The academy has decided to take further necessary actions.
A letter from Additional Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, Nitin Gadre, confirmed that Khedkar’s district training program has been suspended, and she has been recalled for further actions.
“You are hereby relieved from the district training program of the state government of Maharashtra. You are instructed to join the academy at the earliest but not later than 23rd July 2024 under any circumstance,” the letter stated.
Trainee IAS officer #PujaKhedkar relieved from District Training Program.
The letter from Nitin Gadre, Additional Chief Secretary (P) reads, "LBSNAA, Mussoorie has decided to keep your District Training Program on hold and immediately recall you for further necessary action…" pic.twitter.com/N2kEpEP1w6
Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand’s comments on the Kedarnath gold scam have gone viral. The truth is that the gold plating on the walls of the sanctum sanctorum of the Kedarnath Mandir is actually made of brass and was only gilded. Be it the vagaries of weather or the continuous burning lamp in the sanctum sanctorum, the gold plating slowly turned black. It was never gold, nor is there any confirmation of the existence of such gold. There is no record in the temple trust either, which can verify that there was a significant amount of gold and where it came from.
Gold plating on the four walls was carried out by a businessman from Mumbai in 2022. It was done in the presence of an expert team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). However, Badri-Kedar Temple Committee Chairman Ajeyndra Ajay denied the charges, claiming that the exact quantity of the gold plating was not as stated. According to him, it weighed less than 220 kilograms.
Since Uttarakhand is ruled by the BJP ahead of state elections, this is an attempt to put the government in an awkward situation. There is no doubt about the 228 kilograms of gold that went missing from the Kedarnath Mandir sanctum sanctorum. The temple committee had issued a receipt for the gold plates provided by the donor businessman,” Vinod Shukla, a senior functionary of the local priest’s body, Kedar Sabha, told the Statesman.
The Kedarnath Mandir is one of Sanatana Dharma’s most revered sites. It is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas, where people from across the globe travel to seek blessings from Bhagwan Bholenath. However, the mandir has recently come under public scrutiny due to allegations of a Rs. 1.25 billion gold scam.
The gold plating was opposed by several local pandas at Kedarnath, who claimed that the shrine was known as an abode of penance and salvation and regarded as Muktidham, as per Sanatan traditions and beliefs. According to them, “being a place of salvation, gold plating was not needed in the temple as it is considered worldly glitter, and decoration is not acceptable to Lord Shiva.”
Badrinath Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati is known for courting controversies with his statements from time to time. He was one of the prominent speakers against the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22, as the temple structure was still under construction. The political turmoil over the construction of a temple like Kedarnath in Burari, Delhi, is intensifying. Opposition parties and pilgrimage priests have raised their voices against it. Meanwhile, Surendra Rautela, founder of Shri Kedarnath Dham Delhi Trust, has made an important comment regarding the controversy over the Kedarnath temple being built in Burari. He said that if sentiments are being hurt by naming the temple to be built in Delhi as Kedarnath Temple, then the trust will change the name of the temple. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is the protector of religion, so he was invited to the foundation stone laying program of the temple. Chief Minister Dhami has nothing to do with the temple trust.
Another heated controversy has arisen following the foundation stone laid for a new Kedarnath temple in Delhi, with objections raised by Swami Avimukteshwaranand, Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath. The Shankaracharya vehemently opposed the construction, arguing that Kedarnath’s sanctity cannot be replicated in the national capital while also hinting at an “ongoing gold scam.”
Kedarnath is a town and Nagar Panchayat in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India, known primarily for the Kedarnath Mandir. It is approximately 86 kilometers from Rudraprayag, the district headquarters. Kedarnath is the most remote of the four Chota Char Dham pilgrimage sites. It is located in the Himalayas, about 3,583 meters (11,755 feet) above sea level, near the Chorabari Glacier, which is the source of the Mandakini River. The town is flanked by snowcapped peaks, most prominently Kedarnath Mountain. The nearest roadhead is at Gaurikund, about 16 km away. The town suffered extensive destruction during June 2013 from the flash floods caused by torrential rains in Uttarakhand state.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued an administrative warning to One 97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, for related party transactions conducted with Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) during the fiscal year 2021-22 without due approval from the audit committee or shareholders.
In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), One 97 Communications stated its consistent compliance with SEBI regulations and its commitment to the highest compliance standards. The company has assured that it will submit a detailed response to SEBI.
SEBI’s letter dated July 15 revealed findings of non-compliance regarding financial disclosures and related party transactions. SEBI identified transactions worth Rs 360 crore conducted without the necessary approvals and warned the firm to enhance its compliance standards to prevent future violations. The letter also mandated the firm to inform its board and take corrective actions within 10 days.
Hardik Pandya Leads India for Sri Lanka T20 Series as Rohit Sharma Takes a Step Back 19
Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is poised to lead India in the upcoming three-match T20 International series against Sri Lanka, beginning on July 27.
Despite his T20 World Cup heroics last month, Pandya will be taking a break during the three-match ODI series in August, citing personal reasons.
A senior BCCI source confirmed Pandya’s role as India’s T20I captain and clarified that he is fit and ready for the series.
Rohit Sharma, who recently retired from T20 Internationals, will be missing from the lineup.
The T20Is will run from July 27 to 30 in Pallekele, while the ODIs will take place from August 2 to 7 in Colombo, with the squad announcement anticipated soon.
Questions remain about Pandya’s deputy, with Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav as potential candidates.
Pandya has already communicated his break from the ODIs to regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who is also taking a break.
KL Rahul and Gill are considered for the ODI leadership in Pandya’s absence.
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah emphasized that star cricketers must participate in domestic games when not on national duty, except for a few notable exceptions like Rohit, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah.
The board wants Test specialists to play at least one Duleep Trophy game in August as preparation for the upcoming Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand.
