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Israel-Hamas war: EU urges Sundar Pichai to combat disinformation on YouTube

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Web Team
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Israel-Hamas war: EU urges Sundar Pichai to combat disinformation on YouTube 2

European Commissioner Thierry Breton has sent a letter to Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, reminding him about the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) to keep illegal content and disinformation from being shared on YouTube related to the Israel-Hamas war.

In the letter, also addressed to YoutTube CEO Neal Mohan, Breton said that following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, “we are seeing a surge of illegal content and disinformation being disseminated in the EU via certain platforms”.

“I would like to remind you that you have a particular obligation to protect the millions of children and teenagers using your platforms in the EU from violent content depicting hostage taking and other graphic videos,” the commissioner said late on Friday.

It means having appropriate and proportionate measures in place to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors, he added.

Breton has already warned X, Meta and TikTok on removing terrorist propaganda and manipulated content, such as repurposed videos or clickbaits, from their respective platforms.

He told Pichai that “when you receive notices of illegal content in the EU, you must be timely, diligent and objective in taking action and removing the relevant content when warranted”.

“Given the urgency, I also expect you to be in contact with the relevant law enforcement authorities and Europol and ensure that you respond promptly to their requests,” said Breton.

In the context of elections, he told Pichai that the DSA requires that the risk of amplification of fake and manipulated images and facts generated with the intention to influence elections is taken extremely seriously in the context of mitigation measures.

“I invite you to inform my team on the details of the measures you have taken to mitigate any deepfakes, also in the light of upcoming elections in Poland, The Netherlands, Lithuania, Belgium, Croatia, Romania and Austria, and the European Parliament elections,” said Breton.

“As you know, following the opening of a potential investigation and a finding of non-compliance, penalties can be imposed,” he added.

Earlier, Meta said that since the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel and Israel’s response in Gaza, “expert teams from across our company have been working around the clock to monitor our platforms, while protecting people’s ability to use our apps to shed light on important developments happening on the ground”.

“In the three days following October 7, we removed or marked as disturbing more than 795,000 pieces of content for violating these policies in Hebrew and Arabic,” the social network said in a blog post.

As compared to the two months prior, in the three days following October 7, “we have removed seven times as many pieces of content on a daily basis for violating our Dangerous Organisations and Individuals policy in Hebrew and Arabic alone,” Meta added.

Woman job aspirant dies by suicide in Telangana; Oppn attacks BRS govt over postponement of exams

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ANI
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Woman job aspirant dies by suicide in Telangana; Oppn attacks BRS govt over postponement of exams 4

A 23-year-old woman, who was preparing for competitive exams, allegedly died by suicide at her hostel in Ashok Nagar, sparking protests by government job aspirants against the BRS dispensation, police said on Saturday.

As soon as news of the woman’s death broke on Friday night, a large number of students staged protests in the area and raised slogans against the state government.

The agitators also tried to prevent the police from shifting the woman’s body to the hospital.

TV visuals showed police dispersing the crowds, though the former denied any lathicharge.

A police official told reporters that in the suicide note that was recovered, the woman had offered an apology to her parents for being unable to do anything for them.

The victim’s friends at the hostel said she took the extreme step owing to personal reasons.

According to police, the woman, a native of Warangal, hung herself from a ceiling fan of her hostel room on Friday night due to personal issues. However, the protesters claimed that the woman ended her life as she was dejected over not being able to get a job and the postponement of the Group-2 exam by the Telangana State Public Service Commission again.

The opposition parties held the K Chandrasekhar Rao-headed government in the state responsible for the death of the young woman. BJP MP K Laxman claimed on social media platform X that he demanded that the woman’s suicide letter be made public but was ”arrested”.

”She was diligently preparing for government examinations for many months. But due to repeated cancellations and postponements of exams by the BRS government, she took the extreme step,” he said.

The BJP MP sought justice for the woman and also others affected by the ”sheer negligence” of the state government.

Congress leader M Anil Kumar Yadav, who also joined the protesters, claimed that the woman ended her life upset over the cancellation of the TSPSC exam twice.

He sought a judicial inquiry into the incident and financial assistance for her family.

Telangana Congress president A Revanth Reddy expressed anguish over the suicide and alleged that the BRS government has failed to conduct recruitment exams properly.

Reddy urged the people to make the ‘rasta roko’ (road blockade), proposed to be organised today by Congress and other parties seeking abolition of the incumbent Public Service Commission members and appointing members afresh, a success.

The BRS government had come under fire from the opposition parties over the question paper leak of recruitment exams conducted by the Telangana State Public Service Commission.

Hamas’ attacks most murderous assault on Jews since Holocaust: US Congressmen

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PTI
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Image: Reuters / Mahmoud Issa

The brutal attacks by Hamas are the most murderous assault on the Jews since the Holocaust in Europe, influential lawmakers told eminent Indian-Americans who have rallied behind Israel.

Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a barrage of air strikes in Southern Israel on Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), in response, launched multiple attacks targeting Hamas’ key infrastructure. So far, over 2,000 people have been killed in Israel and the Gaza Strip, the biggest escalation in decades between the two sides.

“The terrorist attacks in Israel committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians over the last week are the most sweeping, murderous assault on Jews that have taken place since the Holocaust in Europe,” Congressman Jamie Raskin told a group of Indian-Americans at an event organized by the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS).

Addressing a group of Indian-Americans from across the country, Ruskin said there is a need to distinguish between Hamas and the Palestinian people. “Hamas does not speak for the Palestinian people and the Palestinian people are not responsible for the crimes of Hamas,” he said.

“We need to ruthlessly pursue and destroy Hamas and everybody who is part of it. At the same time, we respect the laws of war. As President Joe Biden has said, civilian life in the Palestinian community. Israel is our ally because it is a liberal democracy committed to the rule of law, bound by laws of war and committed to the protection of human rights and security for all people,” Ruskin said.

“We are in very tough times, but we are all absolutely committed to seeing the destruction of Hamas, which has conducted these utterly savage and inhuman acts of terror on the civilian population of Israel.

It’s completely intolerable and Israel has an absolute right to self-defense and America stands shoulder to shoulder and arm in arm with Israel in pursuing this brutal terrorist act,” Ruskin said.

Describing it as the worst attack against the Jews since the Holocaust, Indian-American Congressman Shri Thanedar said there is bipartisan support for Israel.

“We are going to support Israel in every possible way to ensure that Israel is able to fight these terrorists and eliminate Hamas entirely. We cannot live through another such horror and such an attack on civilians, on people, women, men, babies.., 40 babies being headed,” he said.

“These are clearly terrorists and they need to be stopped. We stand firm, no mincing of words. This is not the time to talk about anything else, not talk about a two-state solution, but just to ensure that Israel has a strong and proper response and help Israel fight this terrorism,” Thanedar said.

Jason Isaacson from the American Jewish Committee applauded the Indian-American community for staying behind Israel during this crisis.

“In this extremely dark time, in this extremely threatening time, perilous time to know that our brothers and sisters in the Indian-American community are standing with us means a great deal to all of us,” he said during the FIIDS event.

“I should also say that many of us have been just so struck by the immediate and heartfelt comments made by Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi just within hours I believe of the attacks last Saturday, October 7th. I’ve got his tweet in front of me here. “We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour, deeply shocked by the news of terrorist attacks in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families.” I think just a few days later, he tweeted again his solidarity with Israel, Israel’s right to defend itself,” Isaacson said.

“This is that kind of expression by the prime minister of the most populous nation on earth with an increasingly important relationship. Strategic partnership with Israel also means a great deal and was very deeply appreciated,” the Jewish leader said.

Ohio State Senator Niraj Atani said “Hamas is a network of global Islamic jihadist”.

“I do not see the Palestinian people taking up arms against Hamas. I do not see a resistance in Gaza or the West Bank against Hamas. I don’t see a resistance in Lebanon against Hezbollah. All I’ve seen from the Palestinian people is support and sympathy for these terrorists. That is what they are. They are not militants. They are terrorists and they must be treated as such.

“And I also want to caution us, yes, this is a particular terrorist group called Hamas, but this is part of a global network of Islamic terrorists that have struck us here on 9/11 in the United States that struck India and 2008 with the Mumbai terrorist attacks where my cousin had to take shelter in the train station that was under attack as she saw her fellow Indians being killed,” Atani said.

“This is a network of global Islamic jihadists. Until we can say that we cannot move forward. So Israel absolutely has the right to hunt down and kill all of these terrorists wherever they may be,” he said.

Armed Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip blasted through the Israeli security fence and streamed into Israel by land, air and sea on Saturday, in what is now described as an unprecedented attack.

Since then, the attack has killed more than 1,300 people in Israel while the Israeli counter-airstrikes have killed more than 1,530 people in Gaza. Israel has claimed roughly 1,500 Hamas militants were killed inside Israel.

Photojournalist killed, 6 others injured in Israel’s attack on Lebanon

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Web Team
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Photojournalist killed, 6 others injured in Israel's attack on Lebanon 7

A Lebanese photojournalist was killed and six other reporters were injured in Israeli attacks on Lebanon’s southern village of Alma al-Shaab, the media reported.

Israeli forces attacked a vehicle carrying journalists, killing Issam Abdallah, a Lebanese photojournalist working for Reuters, and injuring six other reporters working for international agencies that include Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Al-Jazeera TV channel, it said on Friday. It was reported that the injured people had been transferred to hospitals, as quoted by the Xinhua news agency report.

In a statement released by Lebanon’s Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned Israel for “directly targeting journalists” in its attacks on Lebanon, and wished “a speedy recovery” of the wounded reporters.

Israel stepped up its assault on southern Lebanon on Friday by bombarding the area around the towns of Al-Dhahira, Alma al-Shaab, and Yarin, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA). According to NNA, the bombing on the outskirts of Alma al-Shaab led to a massive fire.

In response, Hezbollah announced that its fighters had attacked four Israeli border sites in response to Friday’s attacks on several southern Lebanese towns, prompting the Israeli Army to use a drone to attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

The tension on the Lebanese-Israeli border escalated after Hezbollah on October 8 fired dozens of missiles toward military sites in Shebaa Farms in support of the surprise attack on Israeli towns launched by Hamas on the morning of October 7.

The situation escalated again on October 9 after members of Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement (PIJ), infiltrated northern Israel from Lebanon and clashed with Israeli forces, prompting the Israelis to hit several areas in southern Lebanon, killing three Hezbollah members.

In return, Hezbollah attacked the Israeli Pranit and Avivim barracks in northern Israel on the evening of October 9 with guided missiles and mortar shells.

On October 11, Hezbollah attacked the Israeli military site of Al-Jardah near the Lebanese border with guided missiles, claiming the shelling caused “many” casualties among the Israeli forces.

16 students fall ill after consuming mid-day meal at Mumbai’s BMC-run school

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ANI
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16 students fall ill after consuming mid-day meal at Mumbai's BMC-run school 9

Sixteen students of a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)-run school allegedly fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Mumbai’s Anik village on Friday, an official said.

“The 16 students were brought to the hospital after they complained of vomiting and abdominal pain following the mid-day meal at school. They have been admitted to the paediatric ward,” said Sunil Phakle, Dean, Jan Shatabdi Hospital, Chembur.

The condition of the children is stable, he said.

Presently, these 16 children have been kept in the paediatric ward for observation, he added.

SC issues notice to UP govt on Mukhtar Ansari’s plea challenging 5-year imprisonment in Gangster Act case

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ANI
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SC issues notice to UP govt on Mukhtar Ansari's plea challenging 5-year imprisonment in Gangster Act case 11

The Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government on an appeal filed by gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari challenging an order of the Allahabad High Court sentencing him to five-year imprisonment in a 23-year-old case related to the Gangster Act.

A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi issued notice to the state government on the plea filed by Ansari.

The high court reversed Ansari’s acquittal in the case by a special Lucknow MP-MLA court in December 2020 on an appeal filed by the state government.

The special court had acquitted Ansari, a five-time MLA from Mau Sadar constituency, stating that the “prosecution could not prove the offence against him beyond reasonable doubt”.

Sena disqualification row: SC says Maharashtra speaker cannot defeat orders of apex court

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ANI
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Sena disqualification row: SC says Maharashtra speaker cannot defeat orders of apex court 13

The Supreme Court on Friday came down hard on the Maharashtra assembly speaker for the delay in deciding the plea for disqualification of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and several MLAs, saying the speaker “cannot defeat the orders” of the top court.

“Somebody has to advise the Speaker that he cannot defeat the orders of the Supreme Court,” a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said and asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to apprise the court about the timeline for deciding the issue. A visibly irked CJI said a decision on disqualification pleas has to be taken before the next assembly elections or the whole process will become infructuous.

The bench said if it is not satisfied with the timeline of the Speaker then it would direct that the decision be taken within two months.

“The writ of this court has to run when there is a decision contrary to the Constitution of India,” the bench said, indicating that it may hear the plea on Monday or Tuesday.

On September 18, the top court had directed the Maharashtra assembly speaker to spell out the timeline for adjudication of the disqualification petitions against Shinde and other MLAs.

Pyongyang denies Hamas using North Korean weapons

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Web Team
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Pyongyang denies Hamas using North Korean weapons 15

Pyongyang on Friday dismissed speculation that the Hamas militant group used North Korean weapons for its unprecedented attack on Israel as “groundless”.

Ri Kwang-song, a North Korean commentator on international affairs, said the US is resorting to its stereotyped smear campaign against the reclusive regime to deliberately link the recent Middle East crisis to Pyongyang, reports Yonhap News Agency.

“The US administration’s reptile press bodies and quasi-experts are spreading a groundless and false rumor that ‘north Korea’s weapons’ seemed tobe used for the attack on Israel,” Ri said in an article carried by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency.

The denial came after Radio Free Asia, a Washington-based media outlet, earlier reported on the suspected use of North Korean weapons by Hamas fighters, citing a video featuring one of the fighters holding what resembles an F-7 rocket-propelled grenade launcher manufactured in the North.

In the past, suspicions had been raised that North Korea provided weapons to Hamas.

But it remains unclear whether the North directly supplied the F-7 rocket launchers to the militant group or whether they were provided through transactions involving other countries.

Earlier this week, North Korea condemned Israel for the escalating conflict with Hamas, claiming that it is the “consequence of Israel’s ceaseless criminal actions” against the people of Palestine.

Armed suspected Maoists arrive at Kerala hill resort, police launch probe

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PTI
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Armed suspected Maoists arrive at Kerala hill resort, police launch probe 17

A group of suspected Maoists, armed with sophisticated weapons, arrived at a private resort in this north Kerala district and took control of the manager’s mobile phone to send a statement to the media regarding issues faced by estate workers.

The incident occurred at a resort in Makkimala under the jurisdiction of Thalappuzha police station at approximately 6.40 pm on Wednesday, police said.

The ultras, six in number, allegedly insisted on obtaining the mobile phone from the hotel staff, subsequently instructing him to WhatsApp their statement to a select group of journalists.

According to a police source, a total of 23 journalists throughout the state received the statement from the Kabani Area Committee of the CPI(Maoist). This included a PTI journalist who received the statement on Wednesday night.
“As per the information we received, all of them possessed sophisticated weapons, including AK-47s,” a state intelligence official said.

While taking possession of the resort manager’s mobile phone, the Maoists allegedly directed him to forward a copy of their press statement to the specified journalists whose contact details they provided.

The group did not issue any threats or create panic within the resort. They left the premises after successfully sending the message to journalists.

The statement was issued by a person claiming to be the spokesperson of the Kabani Area Committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). The statement has called for a joint protest of workers for their rights.

A case has been registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Arms Act in connection with this incident, the intelligence official said.

Recently, there have been reports of suspected Maoist presence in various forest-fringe hamlets within this northern Kerala district.

China’s exports, imports fell 6.2 per cent in September as global demand faltered

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Web Team
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china | Image : ANI

China’s exports and imports both fell in September from a year earlier, though they contracted at a slower pace even as global demand remained muted.

Customs data released on Friday showed exports for September slid 6.2 per cent to USD 299.13 billion, the fifth straight month of decline. Imports also slid 6.2 per cent to USD 221.43 billion.

China posted a trade surplus of USD 77.71 billion, up from USD 68.36 billion in August.

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