17 Indians...
Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries, a container ship associated with Londonbased Zodiac Maritime.
Zodiac Maritime is part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group. Zodiac declined to comment and referred questions to MSC. Genevabased MSC later acknowledged the seizure and said 25 crew had been aboard the vessel. IRNA said the Guard would take the vessel into Iranian territorial waters. Earlier, a Middle East defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, shared a video of the attack with The Associated Press. In it, the Iranian commandos are seen rappelling down onto a stack of containers sitting on the deck of the vessel.
A crew member on the ship can be heard saying: “Don’t come out.” He then tells his colleagues to go to the ship’s bridge as more commandos come down on the deck. One commando can be seen kneeling above the others to provide them with potential cover fire.
The video corresponded with known details of the MSC Aries. The helicopter used also appeared to be a Soviet-era Mil Mi-17 helicopter, which both the Guard and the Iranian-backed Houthis of Yemen have used in the past to conduct commando raids on ships.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations described the vessel as being “seized by regional authorities” in the Gulf of Oman off the Emirati port city of Fujairah, without elaborating.
The MSC Aries had been last located off Dubai heading toward the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. The ship had turned off its tracking data, which has been common for Israeli-affiliated ships moving through the region. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on nations to list the Guard as a terrorist organisation.
Iran “is a criminal regime that supports Hamas’ crimes and is now conducting a pirate operation in violation of international law”, Katz said. Iran since 2019 has engaged in a series of ship seizures and attacks on vessels that have been attributed to it amid ongoing tensions with the West over its rapidly advancing nuclear programme.
Since November, Iran had dialled back its ship attacks as the Houthis targeted ships in the Gulf of Aden and the
Red Sea. Houthi attacks have slowed in recent weeks as the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan ended and the rebels have faced months of US-led airstrikes targeting them.
In previous seizures, Iran has offered initial explanations about their operations to make it seem like the attacks had nothing to do with the wider geopolitical tensions — though later acknowledging as much. In Saturday’s attack, however, Iran did not explain the seizure other than to say the MSC Aries had links to Israel.
For days, Iranian officials up to and including Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei have been threatening to “slap” Israel for the Syria strike. Western governments have issued warnings to their citizens in the region to be prepared for attacks. However, Iran in the past largely has avoided directly attacking Israel, despite it carrying out the targeted killing of nuclear scientists and multiple sabotage campaigns against Iran’s atomic sites. Iran has however targeted Israeli or Jewish-linked sites through proxy forces over the decades.
Earlier this week, Guard Gen. Ali Reza Tangsiri, who oversees its naval forces, criticised the presence of Israelis in the region and the United Arab Emirates. The UAE reached a diplomatic recognition deal with Israel in 2020, something that long has enraged Tehran.
“We know that bringing Zionists in this point is not merely for economic work,” Tangsiri reportedly said. “Now, they are carrying out security and military jobs, indeed. This is a threat, and this should not happen.”
The US, Israel’s main backer, has stood by the country despite growing concerns over Israel’s war on Gaza killing more than 33,600 Palestinians and wounding over 76,200 more. Israel’s war began after Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage.
On Friday, President Joe Biden warned Iran not to attack Israel and said he felt an Iranian attack on Israel likely would happen “sooner than later”.
“We will help defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed,” Biden added.
The Gulf of Oman is near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all globally traded oil passes. AGENCIES
CBI books...
received Rs 73.85 lakh bribe. The agency has also named two officials of
MECON Ltd - AGM (contracts) Sanjeev Sahay and DGM (contracts) K Illavarsu - who allegedly received payment of Rs 5.01 lakh against the payment of Rs 174.41 crore by NMDC Ltd to MEIL against 73 invoices from Subhash Chandra Sangras, general manager, MEIL and Megha Engineering and unknown others. Chandra and Megha Engineering have also been named as accused in the case. WITH AGENCY INPUTS
Sydney...
but it was too early to know the condition, she said.
“We are confident that there is no ongoing risk, and we are dealing with one person who is now deceased,” Webb said in a later briefing. She added: “It’s not a terrorism incident.”
She said police wouldn’t identify the man yet and were still working to determine his motivation.
Cooke said a “lengthy and precise” investigation was just beginning.
Cooke said the police inspector, a senior officer, was alone when she confronted the suspect and engaged him soon after her arrival on the scene, “saving a range of people’s lives.”
The officer “showed enormous courage and bravery,” Webb said.
Video showed many ambulances and police cars around the shopping center, and people streaming out.
Paramedics were treating patients at the scene. Roi Huberman, a sound engineer at ABC TV in Australia, told the network that he sheltered in a store during the incident. “And suddenly we heard a shot or maybe two shots and we didn’t know what to do,” he said. “Then the very capable person in the store took us to the back where it can be locked. She then locked the store and then she then let us through the back and now we are out. AGENCIES
SC to hear...
Kejriwal has described his arrest by the ED ahead of the general election as an “unprecedented assault on the tenets of democracy” and urged the apex court to release him by declaring the case against him as “illegal”.
In the appeal filed in the top court, Kejriwal has said his arrest on March 21 after the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls was “obviously motivated by extraneous considerations”.
“The intervention of this court is
urgently warranted, as over and above the issue of illegal curtailment of liberty, the petitioner’s arrest also constitutes an unprecedented assault on the tenets of democracy, free-and-fair elections and federalism, both of which form significant constituents of the basic structure of the Constitution,” the plea has said.
The arrest was made solely relying on subsequent, contradictory and highly-belated statements of the coaccused who have now turned approvers, it has said.
Moreover, such statements and material were in possession of the ED for nine months and still the arrest was made illegally days before the general election, Kejriwal has said in his plea.
“The petitioner’s arrest bears serious, irreversible ramifications for the future of electoral democracy in India and if he is not released forthwith to participate in the upcoming elections, it will establish a precedence in law for ruling parties to arrest heads of political opposition on flimsy and vexatious charges before elections, thereby eroding the core principles of our Constitution,” the plea has said. MPOST
AI in legal...
He said in the realm of AI, indirect discrimination can manifest in two crucial stages — firstly, during the training phase where incomplete or inaccurate data may lead to biased outcomes and secondly, during data processing often within opaque “black-box” algorithms that obscure the decision-making process from human developers.
Black box refers to algorithms or systems where the internal workings are hidden from users or developers, making it difficult to understand how decisions are made or why certain outcomes occur, he said.
The CJI said facial recognition technology serves as a prime example of high-risk AI, given its inherently intrusive nature and potential for misuse.
He said the full realisation of AI’s potential hinges on global collaboration and cooperation.
Capacity building and training play a crucial role in ensuring the ethical and effective utilisation of AI technologies and by investing in education and training programs, one can equip professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the complexities of AI, identify biases and uphold ethical standards in their use of AI systems, he said.
The CJI said there is a fear that adoption of AI may lead to the emergence
of two-tiered systems, where access to quality legal assistance becomes stratified based on socio-economic status.
“The poor may find themselves relegated to inferior AI-driven assistance, while only affluent individuals or highend law firms can effectively harness the capabilities of legal AI. Such a scenario risks widening the justice gap and perpetuating existing inequalities within the legal system,” he said.
Justice Chandrachud said in the legal domain, adoption of AI might accentuate inequality by favouring those with access to advanced technology, but it also opens the door for new players and services, disrupting existing hierarchies.
Referring to the adoption of hybridmode hearings, which allow virtual participation, by the Supreme Court, he said that the apex court has removed geographical barriers and this democratised access to the apex court.
“As we navigate the integration of AI into the legal domain, it is imperative that we remain vigilant in addressing the systemic challenges and ensuring that AI technologies serve to enhance, rather than undermine, the pursuit of justice for all,” he said.
The CJI said the advancement of technology and AI is inevitable and it holds the potential to significantly change professions and make service delivery more accessible to people.
“In the field of law, this translates to the potential for AI to expedite and streamline justice delivery,” he said.
The CJI said with a population of over a billion people and a rapidly growing economy, India presents enormous opportunities to adopt technology within the judicial system.
He referred to the e-Courts project and said it aims to computerise court processes, digitise case records and establish online case management systems across all levels of the judiciary.
BJP to release...
Party sources said measures for the youth, women, farmers and the poor — four “castes” Modi has often spoken about — will be among the highlights of its poll pledges.
The BJP had appointed a 27-member manifesto committee headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh that met twice to deliberate on its contents after the party had launched multiple exercises, including vans sent across the country and social media campaigns, to seek people’s suggestions.
With the census and delimitation
exercise likely to be held on the watch of the next government, political watchers are keeping an eye on whether the BJP will touch on issues like concerns of southern states over the delimitation exercise.
The party is likely to underline its support for the “one-nation one-election” idea, sources said.
With its senior leaders, including Modi, stressing the need for population control, it will be seen whether the ruling party proposes any policy measures for this. The issue of Uniform Civil Code, which remains a work in progress with the BJP pushing it in some of the states ruled by the party, may also feature in the manifesto.
Mamata...
elections will be conducted in three months. There are panchayats and municipal elections as well. Elections will be going on for almost a year. How will the development take place?” She further stated: “Have those who are doing such planning ever thought that when works will be done.”
She also said that she will go to Assam on April 17 to campaign for 4 of her party candidates who are contesting there and then she will return to North Bengal on April 18.
She will hold rallies in North and South Dinajpur and also in Malda.
Attacking Modi and Home minister Amit Shah, Banerjee said: “PM is saying that he will put everyone in jail after the election.
Home minister Shah said that he would hang people upside down. I tell them that such things do not happen in Bengal. It can happen in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. Bengal does not believe in revenge politics.”
Referring to the poor results of Trinamool Congress in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in North Bengal and Jangalmahal areas, Banerjee said: “What mistake Trinamool Congress committed that they did not get seats in North Bengal and Jangalmahal. Please do not cast your votes in favour of BJP because it is Trinamool Congress that works for the people.”
Regarding the INDIA bloc, Banerjee said that although Trinamool Congress is contesting independently in Bengal, she will help the INDIA bloc to form government at the Centre.
“The national scenario is different. But in Bengal Congress and CPI(M) are equal opponents to us like BJP,” she added.