By TNV Desk

This is a weekly foreign media digest that tells you how India has been covered in the global media from November 12 – November 18

AP – At a Global South summit, Modi urges leaders to unite against challenges from the Israel-Hamas war

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged leaders of developing nations to unite in the face of growing challenges due to the Israel-Hamas war as he convened a virtual summit of more than 100 countries Friday.
• “This is the time when the countries of the Global South should unite for the greater global good,” Modi said in a speech, referring to developing nations.
• The Voice of Global South Summit was convened to follow up on decisions made during the Group of 20 top world economies meeting in September that New Delhi claimed was a diplomatic success and where the African Union was added as a member.
• India has long walked a tightrope between Israel and the Palestinians, with historically close ties to both. While it has expressed solidarity with Israel after the Oct. 1 incursion by Hamas militants, it has urged that international humanitarian law be upheld in Gaza and has also sent aid to the besieged population in the enclave.

(For detailed report click on : https://apnews.com/article/global-south-modi-israel-hamas-war-e933d299717a2a4ed2c52808b08ed9f9)

Reuters – Drilling resumes to rescue 40 men trapped in Indian tunnel for fifth day

• Rescue workers renewed efforts on Thursday to reach 40 men trapped for a fifth day inside a collapsed highway tunnel in India, though progress was slow as they began drilling through rock and soil debris.
• Authorities said they were confident an advanced drilling machine flown in from New Delhi will speed up the rescue at the site in the northern state of Uttarakhand.
• The plan is to drill and create space for a pipe that can be used by the trapped men to crawl to safety.
• The 4.5 km (3 mile) tunnel is part of the Char Dham highway, one of the most ambitious projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. The $1.5 billion project aims to connect four Hindu pilgrimage sites through 890 km (550 miles) of roads.

(For detailed report click on : https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rescue-hopes-men-trapped-india-tunnel-rest-new-drill-equipment-2023-11-16/)

Independent – India and Canada investigating ‘threat’ to Air India flights by Sikh separatist group

• Indian and Canadian authorities were investigating alleged threats against Air India flights after a Sikh separatist leader warned against flying with the airline.
• Following the threats, authorities in India beefed up security at the capital New Delhi and neighbouring Punjab airports. All Air India passengers at Delhi and Punjab airports will be put through a “secondary ladder point check”, according to an order issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security
• New Delhi said it would take up the threat against Air India flights originating from and terminating in Canada with concerned Canadian authorities.
• In 1985 an Air India flight was bombed in a terrorist attack orchestrated by Khalistan leaders. The Air India flight 182 from Montreal exploded off the coast of Ireland, killing 329 people on board.

(For detailed report click on : https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/india/canada-probes-air-india-separatist-video-b2447563.html)

BBC – Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Drilling machine brings hope to trapped Indian workers

• A specialist drilling machine has been deployed to rescue 40 Indian workers trapped inside a tunnel for more than four days in Uttarakhand state.
• It was flown in from Delhi on Wednesday after attempts to drill through the debris using another machine failed. The machine will help drill a passage so that a pipe can be inserted through which the workers can crawl out.
• They have been stuck inside since Sunday, after a landslide caused a portion of the tunnel to collapse.
• Authorities told the BBC that they did not want to speculate how long the task of clearing the debris might take, but they were expecting “a positive development” by Thursday evening. However, federal minister VK Singh on Thursday told reporters that rescue operations could stretch on for another two-three days.
• The accident occurred at 05:00 local time (23:30 GMT) on Sunday in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. A portion of the Silkyara tunnel, around 200m away from its opening, collapsed while the workers were inside. The mounds of debris cut off oxygen supply to the workers.

(For detailed report click on : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-67435642)

AP – Kohli’s rare wicket entertains the India crowd in a big Cricket World Cup win over Netherlands

• Virat Kohli’s rare wicket and three-over bowling spell added a festival atmosphere to India’s 160-run win over Netherlands on Sunday in the last game before the Cricket World Cup semifinal stage.
• Described as a “wrong footed in-swinging menace” by coach Rahul Dravid, Kohli came on to bowl military medium with his inimitable action – a throwback to New Zealand all-rounder slow medium Chris Harris’ bowling in the 1990s.
• With chants from the capacity crowd at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium urging Kohli to bowl, the former India skipper obliged and threw down his first full overs in an ODI since 2017. Topping that, he picked up a wicket — his first in an ODI since January 2014, and just his fifth in 290 games in the format.

(For detailed report click on – https://apnews.com/article/kohli-wicket-bowler-cricket-world-cup-india-a7101c7a36d304777ee17cd3ea237b19)

Reuters – After battle with junta, Myanmar rebels take control of border point with India

• Two days after rebel forces in Myanmar’s Chin state overran the junta’s two military bases close to the border with India, they have taken control of a border crossing point between the two countries across the tiny hilly Indian state of Mizoram.
• While calm had largely returned to the serene valley along the Indo-Myanmar border on Wednesday afternoon, air raid sirens could be heard in India’s Zokhawthar village from the Myanmar side warning residents of potential strikes by the military.
• Among those fleeing the attacks near Zokhawthar on Monday were 43 Myanmar soldiers who escaped the surprise attack by the rebels and entered India.
• The Indian authorities eventually sent most of them back by flying them to another border crossing point a few hundred km east.

(For detailed report click on – https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/after-battle-with-junta-myanmar-rebels-take-control-border-point-with-india-2023-11-15/)

AP – Refugees who fled to India after latest fighting in Myanmar have begun returning home, officials say

• More than half of the estimated 5,000 refugees who had fled the heavy fighting in Myanmar’s western Chin state and had entered northeastern India have begun returning home, Indian officials said Thursday.
• Sunday and Monday saw heavy fighting between the rebels and the Myanmar military in the Chin state across the border from Zokhawthar, a village of around 600 households, in India’s Mizoram state. The military junta lost control of some areas after rebels, largely belonging to the Chin National Front, seized two military posts.
• “Since Wednesday, we have not heard sounds of airstrikes or gunfire across the border. We presume the situation across Mizoram border in Myanmar is returning to normal, leading to most of the 5,000 refugees returning back,” James Lalrinchhana, the Deputy Commissioner of Champhai district in Mizoram, told The Associated Press.

(For detailed report click on : https://apnews.com/article/india-myanmar-rebels-fighting-refugees-a05352c40a8bb97caf9ad78b390f5c2d)

Reuters – New Delhi smog grows more intense as farm fires rage

• Toxic smog gripping New Delhi grew more intense on Thursday as farm fires raged in nearby fields despite a court-ordered ban, making India’s capital the world’s most polluted city again.
• Pollution levels have risen since earlier this week after a brief respite and further mitigation measures are being discussed, but a plan to make rain via cloud seeding to battle the smog has been pushed back due to unfavourable weather.
• The city held the top spot on a real-time list of the world’s most polluted cities on Thursday, with an air quality index of 509 around noon, according to Swiss group IQAir which categorised the air quality as “hazardous”.
• A northwesterly wind blowing over the city is carrying smoke from farm fires in nearby fields and the wind speed within Delhi is light and unfavourable for dispersion of pollutants, a meteorological department official said on condition of anonymity.

(For detailed report click on the link – https://www.reuters.com/world/india/new-delhi-smog-grows-more-intense-farm-fires-rage-2023-11-16/)

Independent – India minister credits his country for ‘softening’ global oil markets with Russian imports

• India’s foreign minister said his country was awaiting a “thank you” for buying sanctioned Russian oil, saying the move had eased pressure on prices elsewhere.
• Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said India should be credited with “softening the oil markets” by avoiding competition with Western nations in the scramble for alternative supplies.
• India made Moscow its top supplier of oil since Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, as traditional customers in Europe imposed sanctions on Russian exports.
• “We’ve actually softened the oil markets and the gas markets through our purchase policies,” Mr Jaishankar said.
• He praised India’s strong relations with Russia and pointed to over 70 years of stable ties with the country.
• The top Indian diplomat began his UK visit on Sunday. He then met Rishi Sunak and new foreign secretary David Cameron as the British cabinet underwent a dramatic reshuffle following the sacking of Suella Braverman.
• Mr Jaishankar described his visit as “timely” following a series of cross-party meetings and said there was “substantial progress” on continuing free trade agreement negotiations with the UK.
• India began facing questions over its dealings with Russia after the latter’s war in Ukraine.

(For detailed report click on : https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/india/india-credit-oil-inflation-russia-oil-canada-b2448369.html)

The Guardian – India presses David Cameron over protests at high commission in London

• The UK is being pressed to help provide more evidence against suspects involved in protests outside the Indian high commission in London in March.
• The pressure came as the new UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, met the Indian external affairs minister, S Jaishankar, in one of his first bilateral meetings. Jaishankar is backing demands from the Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA) for further cooperation over those involved in the violence.
• The police handling of the demonstration and its subsequent investigation has become a raw nerve in Indian-British relations, but both sides deny it is acting as a brake on the Indian-British free trade talks.
• Cameron is enthusiastic about relations with India and sought during his premiership to deepen ties, inviting the Indian PM, Narendra Modi, on a three-day state visit in 2015.

(For detailed report click on : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/nov/14/india-presses-david-cameron-over-protests-at-high-commission-in-london)

Khaleej Times – UAE: Popular Indian university alumni to celebrate unified Founder’s Day

• For years, UAE-based alumni of India’s renowned Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) were divided into two camps, each hosting separate events for their Founder’s Day. However, this long-standing practice has come to an end. This year, there will be a unified celebration to mark the 206th anniversary of the 19th-century educationist Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.
• Approximately 5,000 AMU alumni known as Aligs reside in the UAE, with about twice that number in the GCC. Globally, students and alumni of AMU come together to celebrate the birthday of the revered founder, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-1898) on October 17.
• A central aspect of these celebrations is the Sir Syed Day dinner, a cherished tradition marred in previous years by discontent and threats of event boycotts within the UAE’s AMU alumni community.
• This year, however, such concerns have been put to rest. A singular event is set to take place at Hotel Holiday International in Sharjah on November 18, albeit one month after the official Founder’s Day.
• Mohammad Haroon Akmal from the organising committee said that Dr Devesh Vasta, a retired Air Vice Marshal and ex-AMU student, will be the chief guest at the upcoming programme. Bollywood actor Jaaved Jaaferi will conduct the event.
• Highlights of the evening include a humorous skit and the release of the English translation of a book written by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. Imteyaz Siddiqui, managing director of Alnonova, expressed eagerness for the event stating: “Whatever we are in our life today is only because of the university.”

(For detailed report click on : https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/uae-popular-indian-university-alumni-to-celebrate-unified-founders-day)

Independent – Family of legendary Bengali poet protest ‘unbelievable’ use of revolutionary anthem in Bollywood movie

• Academy Award-winning singer and composer AR Rahman has been facing a massive backlash from the people of Bangladesh for his rendition of a popular Bengali song for a Bollywood film.
• The composer drew flak for “distorting” the “essence” of the revolutionary anthem “Karar Oi Louho Kopat” (which translates to the iron bars of prison) in his version of the song used in the Hindi film Pippa.
• The protest was led by the descendants of Kazi Nazrul Islam – the national poet of Bangladesh – who wrote the poem in 1922. Nazrul had written the song in protest after the British arrested freedom fighter Chittaranjan Das and sent him to prison.
• The poem calls on people to break down the iron gates of prison. Nazrul, also known as a revolutionary poet, was arrested by British colonizers in 1923 for sedition. The song got its iconic tune after it was recorded for the first time by singer Girin Chakraborty in 1949.
• The kin of the legendary poet and Bengalis, both from Bangladesh and India’s eastern state of West Bengal, have accused Rahman of messing with the symphony of the original song.
• Nazrul’s grandson Anirban Kazi said he had expressed his reservations about the recreation of the song and would continue to protest.
• “I feel deeply ashamed. How can an artist of Rahman’s caliber distort such an iconic song that has inspired people across the globe and generations this way? It is a callous attempt,” said Mistee Kazi, the Dhaka-based granddaughter of the poet.
• Chandra Kumar Bose, the grandnephew of freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose, said: “This kind of distortion of a revolutionary song which inspired many freedom fighters including the ‘Bose Brothers- Sarat & Subhas’, is an act of sacrilege.”

(For detailed report click on the link – https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/india/pippa-song-rahman-bangladesh-nazrul-islam-b2447522.html)

(The Report is curated by Dr Vinay Nalwa)