Junior Digest

New Delhi, Feb 26 : India on Tuesday carried out a major anti-terror strike against Pakistan based and Pakistan-sponsored group Jaish-e-Mohammad destroying a key camp run by UN proscribed terrorist Masood Azhar’s kin Maulana Yousuf Azhar, alias Ustad Ghouri.
“The selection of the target was conditioned by our desire to avoid civilian casualties. The facility is located in thick forest on a hilltop far away from any civilian presence,” Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters here.
“In an intelligence-led operation in the early hours of today, India struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot…..Credible intelligence was received that JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country, and the ‘fidayeen jihadis’ were being trained for this purpose. In the face of imminent danger, a preemptive strike became absolutely necessary,” he said.
“In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated. This facility at Balakot was headed by Maulana Yousuf Azhar alias Ustad Ghouri, the brother-in-law of Masood AZhar, Chief of JeM.
“The Government of India is firmly and resolutely committed to taking all necessary measures to fight the menace of terrorism. Hence this non-military preemptive action was specifically targeted at the JeM camp,” he said.
“This organization (JeM), which is proscribed by the UN, has been responsible of a series of terrorist attacks, including on the Indian Parliament in December 2001 and the Pathankot airbase in January 2016,” he said.
On February 14, a suicide terror attack was conducted by JeM leading to the martyrdom of 40 brave jawans of the CRPF. “JeM has been active in Pakistan for the last two decades, and is led by Masood Azhar with its headquarters in Bahawalpur”.
“Information regarding the location of training camps in Pakistan and PoJK (Pak-Occuppied Jammu and Kashmir) has been provided to Pakistan from time to time,” Mr Gokhale said, adding that Pakistan, however, denies their existence.
“The existence of such massive training facilities capable of training hundreds of jihadis could not have functioned without the knowledge of Pakistan authorities,” he said.
He further said, “India has been repeatedly urging Pakistan to take action against the JeM to prevent jihadis from being trained and armed inside Pakistan. Pakistan has taken no concrete actions to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism on its soil”.
The operation was carried out in the wee hours. Sources said it was a “pre-dawn strike”.
The Prime Minister chaired a crucial meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security which was attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval also.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Home Minister Rajnath Singh — all members of CCS were present at the meeting.
Former Army chief Gen (Retd) V K Singh, now MoS External Affairs Minister in a tweet said, “They say they want India to bleed with a 1,000 cuts. We say that each time you attack us, be certain we will get back at you, harder and stronger. Salute the brave pilots of the Indian Air Forces that carried out the strike”.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is likely to meet leaders of all political parties in the afternoon, sources said.
Unlike the 2016 September surgical strike, when Pakistan was in a denial mood, on Monday it rather helplessly admitted about the strike saying the Indian aircraft “intruded” from Muzaffarabad sector and also “released payload”.
“Facing timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot. No casualties or damage,” Major General Asif Ghafoor, spokesperson of Pakistan Armed Forces claimed in his early morning tweet.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has reportedly postponed his visit to Japan and said, “India has conducted a violation of the Line of Control and Pakistan reserves the right to an appropriate response”.
Foreign Secretary Gokhale said, “The Government of Pakistan had made a solemn commitment in January 2004 not to allow its soil or territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India. We expect that Pakistan lives up to its public commitment and takes follow up actions to dismantle all JeM and other camps and hold the terrorists accountable for the actions.”

New Delhi:  India reiterated on Thursday the country’s plan to restrict the flow of water to Pakistan from its share of rivers, the latest effort by New Delhi to pressure its neighbour after a militant attack in Kashmir.

“Our government has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan,” Nitin Gadkari, transport and water resources minister, said in a tweet. He added that the country would divert water from eastern rivers and supply it to its people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab states.

Gadkari did not elaborate but officials from his ministry said he was re-stating decisions already taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including a dam project cleared by his cabinet last December. Officials said no new decision had been taken on Thursday.

Gadkari’s comments underlined New Delhi’s anger over an attack by a Pakistan-based militant group last week in the disputed region of Kashmir, which killed 40 paramilitary police. India has accused Pakistan of not doing enough to control such groups, while Pakistan has denied involvement.

The sharing of water supplies from the Indus River and its tributaries between the two countries is regulated under the 1960 Indus Water Treaty. In recent years India has begun ambitious irrigation plans and construction of many upstream dams, saying its use of upstream water is strictly in line with the treaty.

Following an attack on security forces in the Kashmir town of Uri in 2016, India began to fast-track development of some of the dam projects, escalating tensions between the arch-rivals.

Pakistan has opposed some of these projects saying they violate the World Bank-mediated treaty on the sharing of the Indus waters, upon which 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture depends.

On Thursday, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan authorized the country’s armed forces to hit back against India if attacked but repeated a call for an investigation into the attack in Kashmir.

“I am reminded of the cruel religious practice, once widespread in certain cultures, of sacrificing human beings – frequently children – in pagan rites,” he added.

Francis was speaking after a four-day meeting which he had opened by calling for “concrete measures” on tackling priests and handing 114 senior bishops a roadmap to shape the debate on how to stop a global scandal.

“If in the Church there should emerge even a single case of abuse – which already in itself represents an atrocity – that case will be faced with the utmost seriousness”.

The ongoing scandals have hit countries around the world, with recent cases affecting Australia, Chile, Germany and the US.

Francis said those who priests who pray on children are “tools of Satan”.

“No explanations suffice for these abuses involving children,” the Argentine pontiff said.

“The echo of the silent cry of the little ones who, instead of finding in them fathers and spiritual guides encountered tormentors, will shake hearts dulled by hypocrisy and by power.

“It is our duty to pay close heed to this silent, choked cry,” he added.

A member of the Saudi royal family, the divorced mother-of-two is a vociferous advocate of women’s rights and previously worked at the kingdom’s General Sports Authority, where she led a campaign to boost sports education for girls in schools despite opposition from hardliners.

The princess has an entrepreneurial background, having once served as the chief executive of luxury lifestyle store Harvey Nichols in Riyadh, according to Saudi state media, and has actively campaigned to raise awareness about breast cancer.

She has no diplomatic experience but spent several years in the United States during her youth as the daughter of Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to Washington from 1983 to 2005.

She received a bachelor of arts degree from Mount Vernon College at George Washington University in 1999.

A Saudi official who knows her told AFP she seems well-versed with the American political scene, as she takes on her role in Washington.

The new envoy has worked as an advisor to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has faced virulent criticism from US lawmakers over Khashoggi’s murder in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate last October.

But the princess, fluent in English, has strongly defended the crown prince in international circles, describing his social reforms such as ending a ban on women drivers as “evolution, not Westernisation”.

“You ask us to change, but then when we begin to exhibit change you come to us with cynicism,” she said during the last World Economic Forum.

“I don’t know how to explain how destructive that is when you wake up every morning and you go into the office and you’re motivating people to make a change for their community… Then the article comes out and it says ‘This was fabulous, but…’

“Why but? Do you say that to anyone else?”

The princess has spoken of “monumental leaps” for women’s rights, but has refrained from commenting publicly on the arrest of several female activists last May and subsequent claims that some of them faced sexual abuse and torture in detention.

New Delhi , Feb 25: In the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said it is evident now that post-Cold War rules no longer maintain global nuclear order and that India is a “reluctant” nuclear weapons state.
Addressing a gathering at the launching of the book “Nuclear Order in the 21st Century” by Rakesh Sood, Singh said, “Today’s nuclear age is best described as an age of asymmetry, asymmetry in terms of doctrines, arsenals and technology. This is why the most important challenge today is to ensure that the nuclear taboo that has prevented its use since 1945 continues to be preserved.”
The former Prime Minister added, “The world is becoming increasingly concerned about growing nuclear risks. Many countries are modernising their nuclear arsenals with tactical and low yield weapons, increasing the likelihood of their use. Nuclear deterrence theories developed to address the US –USSR Cold War rivalry, are being redefined by strategic thinkers in a world grappling with the threats of rising nationalism, extremism and terrorism.”
He claimed, “New nuclear order will not be shaped by the Cold War prescriptions. India is a sui generis nuclear weapon state. It is a reluctant nuclear weapon state. India is the only country that had an extensive and advanced peaceful nuclear programme before we were compelled to shift in response to security threats and the only one that exercised nearly a quarter century of restraint after having demonstrated its technical capability. This is why we decided to base our nuclear doctrine on a credible, minimum deterrent and successive governments have also reiterated India’s commitment to a no-first-use policy.”
The economist prime minister lauding India’s policy and said its doctrinal approach has accordingly reflected a degree of continuity. “The special waiver given to India by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2008 is a clear acknowledgment of our impeccable non-proliferation credentials and our responsible posture. It is a matter of deep personal satisfaction that my government was able to bring the long negotiations with the US and other major powers to a satisfactory conclusion that has enabled India to conclude over a dozen agreements for civilian nuclear commerce and cooperation during the last decade.
Asserting that the political dynamics have changed over time, he stated, “Just as the political dynamics of the 21st century have changed dramatically compared to the Cold War era, so has the technological arena. Nuclear science and technology has matured over the last seventy years and is easier to access and acquire. This generates new proliferation risks and challenges.”
Furthermore, “Many leaders are concerned that these lead to greater unpredictability and compress the timelines for decision making. It can lead to unintended escalation, increasing the likelihood of a nuclear strike, something the world has not seen since 1945.”
The Cold War nuclear order was shaped by the rivalry of two nuclear superpowers, the US and the USSR, their nuclear parity and mutual vulnerability, Singh said.

The team behind the discovery believes the new dinosaur — whose name means “harbinger of doom” — offers clues as to how its more famous cousin reached its epic size.

“Early in their evolution, Tyrannosaurs hunted in the shadows of (dinosaurs) such as Allosaurs that were already established at the top of the food chain,” said Lindsay Zanno, paleontologist at North Carolina State University and lead author of the study detailing the findings.

By the time of the Cretaceous period — around 80 million years ago — Tyrannosaurs had evolved into the enormous, iconic predators so well known today.

But the discovery of Moros intrepidus shows they achieved such size and dominance in a relatively short time-scale of roughly 15 million years.

“When and how quickly Tyrannosaurs went from wallflower to prom king has been vexing paleontologists for a long time,” said Zanno.

“Moros is key to understanding how quickly Tyrannosaurs ascended from minor players in the ecosystem to top of the food chain,” she told AFP.

The specimen found by Zanno and the team would have weighed a shade less than 80 kilogrammes (175 pounds), making it extremely nimble.

“We know that Moros was lightning fast and likely hunted on smaller prey,” she said.

“Although the earliest Cretaceous Tyrannosaurs were small, their predatory specialisations meant that they were primed to take advantage of new opportunities when warming temperatures, rising sea-level and shrinking ranges restructured ecosystems.”

The study was published in the journal Communications Biology.

European Union countries view the summit as a way to protect their traditional diplomatic, economic and security interests while China and Russia move to fill a vacuum left by the United States.

Tusk, the president of the European Council who organises summits for EU countries, acknowledged “there are differences between us” but said neighbours had more at stake than distant powers.

“We need to cooperate and not leave it to global powers far from our region,” the former Polish premier told leaders from about 40 countries.

He did not name those powers but an EU source confirmed he meant China and Russia. China is increasing trade with the region and has established a military base in Djibouti.

Russia militarily backs Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad in his civil war.

EU sources said the first EU-Arab summit is all the more important as the United States “disengages” from the region while Russia and China make inroads.

“We don’t want to see this vacuum soaked up by Russia and China,” one of the sources told AFP.

The summit in the southern Sinai desert is heavily guarded by Egyptian security forces who are fighting a bloody jihadist insurgency a short distance to the north.

Diversity, though, was perhaps the biggest winner on a night when a beloved black filmmaker won his first competitive Oscar, a superhero blockbuster set in Africa scored big, and two black actors and an Egyptian first-generation American won three of the four acting prizes.

The wide range of films honored at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on Sunday bridged the divide between art house fare and popular blockbusters.

“I grew up watching foreign language films, learning so much from them, being inspired — films like ‘Citizen Kane,’ ‘Jaws.’ And there are no waves, there’s only the ocean,” an emotional Cuaron said.

“I think the nominees tonight have proven that we are part of the same ocean.”

– Story ‘about loving each other’ –

“Roma” was the frontrunner going into the night with 10 nominations, despite spending little time in movie theaters, in keeping with Netflix’s customary release strategy.

But “Green Book” — the real-life story of a celebrated black pianist who befriends his white driver as they tour the segregated American South in the 1960s — overcame a series of controversies to win the top prize.

“The whole story is about love. It’s about loving each other, despite our differences, and finding out the truth about who we are,” said director Peter Farrelly.

“Green Book” also won a widely expected best supporting actor trophy for Mahershala Ali, and a best original screenplay award.

But many criticized it as a feel-good movie that suffered from the so-called “white savior” complex, and veteran director Spike Lee made comments that suggested he was upset by its coronation.

New Delhi/Prayagraj, Feb 25: Displaying an unparallel humility and recording his appreciation to sanitation workers for their service to humanity Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday washed the feet of five Safai karmacharis – including two sanitation workers – and said he would cherish the moments for “my entire life”.

“Moments I’ll cherish for my entire life,” Prime Minister tweeted posting a video of the momentous occasion in the life of an incumbent Prime Minister.

“Honouring remarkable Safai Karmacharis, who have taken the lead when it comes to realising the dream of a Swachh Bharat! I salute each and every person making a contribution towards a Swachh Bharat,” he said.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, a nation-wide campaign in India for the period 2014 to 2019, aims to clean up the streets, roads and infrastructure of cities, towns, and rural areas.

The objectives of Swachh Bharat include eliminating open defecation through the construction of household-owned and community-owned toilets.

The Mission aims to achieve an “open-defecation free” (ODF) India by 2 October 2019, the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi.

The government has also set a target of constructing 90 million toilets in rural India at a projected cost of Rs 1.96 lakh crore and is expected to help India reach the Sustainable Development Goal 6 as announced by the UN.

There were five sanitation workers whose feet were washed by Prime Minister.

The video went viral on social media too.

Prime Minister took a ‘snaan’ – holy dip – at the Triveni Sangam at Prayagraj.

He participated in the Swachh Kumbh Swachh Aabhaar event, organised by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.

“Had the good fortune of taking a holy dip at the #Kumbh. Prayed for the well being of 130 Crore Indians,” earlier he tweeted also posting the video of his ‘snan’ – holy dip.

Washington, Feb 22: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will provide daily weather reports for Mars, thanks to the Red Planet’s newest robotic resident, InSight, mission scientists announced Thursday.

“The InSight lander is close to the Martian equator — just north of the equator — so it is experiencing Martian winter,” said Don Banfield, the mission’s lead for the lander’s Auxiliary Payload Subsystem (APSS).

APSS is a suite of meteorological sensors on the lander’s deck that also helps with quake detection.

“For our mission, APSS will help us filter out noise in our data and know when we’re seeing a Mars quake and when we aren’t,” said Banfield, a principal research scientist at Cornell University in the US.

“But by operating continuously, we’ll also see a more detailed view of the weather than most surface missions, which usually collect data for just a few hours at a time,” Banfield said in a statement.

Currently, Mars’ northern hemisphere sits in winter — the stormy season, researchers said.

“Since the lander is close to the equator, I did not think we would see any evidence of the storms that are 60-degrees north latitude, but we are already seeing evidence of the high and low pressure-signal waves that create weather on Mars,” Banfield said.

“We can see those waves all the way down near the equator, as the waves are big enough that they have a signature. That was a surprise,” he said in a statement.

The pressure signals oscillate every 2.5 sols (the name for days on Mars), and the waves are easier to predict as opposed to how pressure waves behave on Earth. One sol is about 24 hours, 39 minutes long.

“High and low pressure is indicative of the weather systems,” Banfield said.

“Compared to Mars, Earth is pretty chaotic. Mars has a nearly perfect, smooth sinusoidal (up and down) waves — it is a very regular seesaw guided by a metronome on Mars. On Earth, the pressure is guided by a hyperactive child,” he said.

Mission scientists said the coldest temperatures — as cold as minus 59 degrees Celsius — occur at around 5 am local time. The warmest temperatures have been minus five degrees Celsius.

When the sun heats up the Martian surface, scientists have observed strong convective overturning.

“Think of a pot of water boiling — the water is overturning vigorously. That happens on Mars, too,” Banfield said.

“The atmosphere near the ground bubbles up like a buoyant plume of air. It happens on Earth, too, but you don’t feel it as much. On Mars it happens with a lot more vigour,” he said.

In another surprise, mission scientists are observing many “dust devils” — those ghostly, low-pressure, tornado-like whirls of Martian soil.

“They spin at nearly 96 kilometres per hour. They do shake the lander, and we have seen a lot of that. They even tilt the ground, because we have such a sensitive seismometer,” Banfield said.

“On Earth, the desert’s dust devils would be likely 15 metres across and almost a kilometer tall. On Mars, they can be five to 10 kilometers tall. Big ones are 100 metres or more in diameter,” he said.

The InSight craft landed on Mars in late November and is preparing to monitor the geologic interior of the planet.

New Delhi, Feb 24: In a dramatic development after the US President Donald Trump described the face-off between the two South Asian neighbours as “very, very bad” and stated that the hostilities should end, a Pakistani Hindu lawmaker from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party Ramesh Kumar Vankwani met Indian leaders including foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State for External Affairs Gen V K Singh.
Posting a snap of his meeting with Ms Swaraj, Mr Vankwani  tweeted: “Nice meeting with @Sushma Swaraj. Peace is in the best interest of people of both countries, Pakistan and India”.
Mr Vankwani was here as part of a large international visiting team of foreign nationals who were on a day-long trip to Prayagraj Kumbh on Friday.
Vankwani’s Twitter profile also describes him as a Patron-in-chief of Pakistan Hindu Council.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj among others met the visiting foreign nationals from as many as 182 countries. There was no confirmation till evening on whether Mr Vankwani met Prime Minister Modi separately.
A resident of Karachi Mr Vankwani had a brief interaction with MoS External Affairs V K Singh during the lunch break.
When asked to comment on the present impasse in ties between India and Pakistan, the visiting lawmaker (member of the National Assembly of Pakistan) said – “my government in Pakistan does not want any problem….and I can speak to Indian leaders and Prime Minister Narendra Modi if there are problems between the two countries”.
Indian officials declined to divulge details about the visiting MP, who is also the chairman of Pak National Assembly Standing Committee on Statistics.

New York , Feb 22 : China has also backed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution on the “heinous and cowardly” Pulwama terror attack that was unanimously adopted by permanent and non-permanent member countries of the global body, according to sources.
On February 14, in an attack by a terrorist of Pakistan-sponsored JeM terrorist organisation, 40 CRPF personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
While condemning the attack, the UNSC resolution on Thursday underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice.
The global body’s security council further asked all countries to cooperate actively with the Indian government and all other relevant authorities in this regard.
Further, members of the Security Council said that any acts of terrorism are “criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.”
“They reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts,” the statement said.
Soon after the attack, Pakistan-sponsored Jaish-e-Mohammed terror outfit claimed responsibility.
“The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the Indian people and the government of India, and wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured,” the statement further added.
Several countries including the United States and various Arab nations criticised the ghastly Pulwama attack.
On February 15, China, which has been blocking efforts to get Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar sanctioned by the United Nations, had conveyed to India its condemnation of the Pulwama attack and claimed that it “strongly condemns all forms of terrorism”.

Caracas, Feb 22 : Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has announced that he will close the border with Brazil as as a row over foreign humanitarian aid continues.
On Thursday night, Nicolás Maduro went on TV to say that he was also considering shutting the border with Colombia to stop the opposition bringing in relief.
He denies any crisis and calls the aid delivery plans a US-orchestrated show, reported BBC.
Opposition leader Juan Guaidó is leading a convoy to the Colombian border from the capital Caracas.
Mr Guaidó declared himself interim leader during anti-government protests last month and is recognised by dozens of foreign states.
Mr Guaidó and his allies hope to collect food and medicine in defiance of President Maduro.
The Venezuelan military has so far managed to block shipments of US aid from coming across the border with Colombia.
Despite denying there is any humanitarian crisis, Mr Maduro announced this week that 300 tonnes of aid would be shipped to Venezuela from its ally Russia.

Khartoum, Feb 24: Day after declaring a year-long state of emergency to counter protests calling for his removal from office, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Saturday appointed Mohamed Tahir Ella, the former governor of El-Gezira State and Red Sea State, as new Prime Minister of Sudan and also issued a Republican decree appointing Lt Gen Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf as first Vice President and defence minister of the Sudan.

Earlier on Friday, the President declared state of emergency all over Sudan for one year and dissolved the central and states’ governments in the wake of popular protests which the country has been witnessing since Dec 19 last year over the deteriorating economic conditions and price hikes.
In a televised address to the nation, the 75-year-old President urged his opponents to join a “path of national reconciliation” and called on parliament to postpone constitutional amendments that would have allowed him to seek another term in a presidential election in 2020.
Hours after his address, Bashir issued two decrees which set up a caretaker administration comprising a senior official from each ministry and kept the defence, foreign and justice ministers in place, AlJazeera said in a report.

New Delhi , Feb 25: Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran on Sunday said that now was not an appropriate time for dialogue as the deadly Pulwama attack had really changed the sentiment in India with respect to its relationship with Pakistan.
“There is a need to find a solution for the peace between India and Pakistan but this is not an appropriate time for a dialogue. This is because the Pulwama terror attack has really changed the sentiments of India with respect to the relationship with Pakistan,” Shyam Saran told ANI.
Hoping for peace between the two countries and stressing on war cannot be a solution, the former foreign secretary said: “Let’s hope that in future we will be able to create an environment where both countries see their interest in sitting down and having a dialogue. At this time, there is a great deal of anger and despair about these relations but ultimately we have to manage the relationship between the two countries. I would hope that the current standoff resolves.”
About the steps taken by Modi-led government to isolate Pakistan, Saran said, “The Prime Minister is taking the whole series of action and he is doing what he should do. I think it is appropriate including mobilizing diplomatic and international opinion against Pakistan behaviour. Modi has already said that India will give a befitting response to what Pakistan has done.”
“The incident at Pulwama was a tragic incident for the whole country. Our sympathies are with the families. I think the answer to this has to reflect on what are the ways in which we strengthen our own security and make sure these kinds of the incident don’t take place in future,” he added.
As many as 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives in the dastardly terror attack which took place in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14. The Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attack.

Take-off was followed live back in Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu watching alongside engineers from the control center of the Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI).

The Israeli craft has been placed in Earth orbit, from where it will use its own engine to undertake a seven-week trip to reach the Moon and touch down on April 11 in a large plain.

The rocket also contains an Indonesian satellite and a satellite of the US Air Force Research Laboratory.

The unmanned mission is part of renewed global interest in the Moon, sometimes called the “eighth continent” of the Earth, and comes 50 years after American astronauts first walked on the lunar surface.

“This is history in the making – and it’s live! Israel is aiming for the #moon and you’re all invited to watch,” said a Twitter message from SpaceIL, the non-profit organization that designed the Israeli craft.

It was backed notably by businessman and philanthropist Morris Kahn, who financed the development of a craft. “Make us proud,” he said Thursday.

Entrepreneurs, not government space agencies, financed the mission, which was initially projected at $10 million but eventually grew to $100 million.

Other partners are Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Israel’s space agency, and the country’s Ministry of Science and Technology.

So far, only Russia, the United States and China have made the 384,000-kilometer (239,000-mile) journey and landed spacecraft on the Moon.

China’s Chang’e-4 made the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the Moon on January 3, after a probe sent by Beijing made a Lunar landing elsewhere in 2013.

Kabul: Afghanistan began exports to India through an Iranian port on Sunday, official said, as the landlocked, war-torn nation turns to overseas markets to improve its economy.

Officials said 23 trucks carrying 57 tonnes of dried fruits, textiles, carpets and mineral products were dispatched from western Afghan city of Zaranj to Iran’s Chabahar port. The consignment will be shipped to the Indian city of Mumbai.

At the inauguration of the new export route, President Ashraf Ghani said Afghanistan was slowly improving its exports in a bid to reduce its trade deficit.

“Chabahar port is the result of healthy cooperation between India, Iran and Afghanistan this will ensure economic growth,” he said.

The Iranian port provides easy access to the sea to Afghanistan and India has helped developed this route to allow both countries to engage in trade bypassing Pakistan.

Last year the U.S. government granted an exception to certain U.S. sanctions that allowed development of Chabahar port as part of a new transportation corridor designed to boost Afghanistan’s economy and meet their needs of non-sanctionable goods such as food and medicines.

India has sent 1.1 million tonnes of wheat and 2,000 tonnes of lentils to Afghanistan through Chabahar.

Both countries established an air corridor in 2017. Afghan exports to India stood at $740 million in 2018, making it the largest export destination, officials said.

Nainital , Feb 22 : In the aftermath of the Pulwama terror strike, the authorities here are closely monitoring the situation with regard to the safety and security of the Kashmiri students, a police official said.
“Here too the situation had turned sensitive like everywhere else in the country after the Pulwama attack. It is better now and Kashmiri students here are safe. There is no rumour regarding them. We are monitoring the situation and are ready to deal with all type of situations,” SSP Nainital S K Meena said.
The Supreme Court will on Friday hear a plea seeking its intervention to prevent attacks on Kashmiri students.
According to the plea, Kashmiri students had to lock themselves up in order to remain safe as mob violence erupted in Dehradun in Uttarakhand after the terror attack in Pulwama in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed on February 14.
The petition has sought the court’s direction to the authorities, including heads of educational institutions, for immediate steps to prevent attacks against Kashmiris and other minorities, their social boycott, ostracisation, eviction and other coercive acts.
It has said those indulging in hate speech and targeting of Kashmiris should be prosecuted.

New Delhi, Feb 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the National War Memorial near India Gate on February 25, officials said Friday.

The memorial will honour soldiers who have laid down their lives for the country since Independence.

“The prime minister will dedicate the memorial to the nation on February 25. The defence minister, chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force will be among the dignitaries present on the occasion,” a senior official said.

Some other cabinet ministers are also likely to attend the event, he said.

“The National War Memorial will include a wall that will carry the names of those soldiers who have laid down their lives for the country,” Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat had earlier said.

“The memorial would be iconic and serve as a new landmark, which would attract people from near and far,” he had said.

Acceding to a long-pending demand of the armed forces, the government in 2015 had approved the project for building a National War Memorial and a National War Museum near India Gate in memory of over 22,500 soldiers who laid down their lives post-Independence.

“This government will be establishing a war memorial and a museum with a deep sense of gratitude to honour those brave soldiers, who laid down their lives,” an official statement released after the Cabinet meeting, chaired by Modi, had then said.

“The memorial will promote a sense of patriotism in the minds of visitors, and will award an opportunity to citizens of this vast nation, to express their token sense of gratitude to the brave soldiers, who laid down their lives for the motherland,” it said.

India Gate itself is a war memorial built during the British Raj as the All India War Memorial Arch to honour the soldiers who died in the First World War (1914-1918) and the Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919). The landmark has the names of soldiers inscribed on its surface.

Washington, Feb 24: President Donald Trump has nominated his envoy to Canada Kelly Knight Craft as the next US Ambassador to the UN to succeed Indian-American Nikki Haley.

In October, Haley announced that she was leaving the post by the end of the year.

The 46-year-old former South Carolina governor has served nearly two years in the post. She was the first Indian-American ever appointed to a Cabinet position in any US presidential administration.

If confirmed by the Senate, Craft, 56, would replace Haley.

“I am pleased to announce that Kelly Knight Craft, our current Ambassador to Canada, is being nominated to be United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump announced on Twitter Friday night.

“Kelly has done an outstanding job representing our nation and I have no doubt that, under her leadership, our country will be represented at the highest level. Congratulations to Kelly and her entire family!” Trump said.

Haley congratulated Craft shortly after the president’s online announcement.

“She’s done a great job representing us as @USAmbCanada and we know she’ll be a strong voice for America at the United Nations. #USstrong,” the former ambassador said in a Tweet.

A former businesswoman, Craft is the country’s first woman ambassador to the Canada.