General News Hop

In an unexpected twist, Twitter was able to file its response to Musk before Musk’s own counterclaims have been made public. Twitter has filed a response to claims by billionaire Elon Musk that he has legitimate reasons for wanting to back out of his $44 billion deal to buy the social media company. In an unexpected twist, Twitter was able to file its response to Musk before Musk’s own counterclaims have been made public. A judge ruled on Wednesday that Musk’s counterclaim will be made public by Friday. In a reply filed Thursday in Delaware Chancery Court, Twitter calls Musk’s reasoning “a story, imagined in an effort to escape a merger agreement that Musk no longer found attractive once the stock market — and along with it, his massive personal wealth — declined in value.” “The Counterclaims are a made-for-litigation tale that is contradicted by the evidence and common sense,” Twitter’s response says. “Musk invents representations Twitter never made and then tries to wield, selectivel...

  Taiwan said it was closely watching the Chinese drills and that it was prepared for conflict, but would not seek it. Beijing: China’s largest-ever military exercises encircling Taiwan kicked off Thursday, in a show of force straddling vital international shipping lanes after a visit to the island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi left Taiwan Wednesday after a trip that defied a series of stark threats from Beijing, which views the self-ruled island as its territory. Pelosi was the highest-profile elected US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years, and said her trip made it “unequivocally clear” that the United States would not abandon a democratic ally. It sparked a furious reaction from Beijing, which vowed “punishment” and announced military drills in the seas around Taiwan — some of the world’s busiest waterways. The exercises, which began around 12 pm (0400 GMT), involve “live-firing”, according to state media. “Six major areas around the island have been selected fo...

 After nine hours of search at his residence and six hours of questioning at the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED’s) zonal office in south Mumbai, Shiv Sena Member of Parliament (MP) Sanjay Raut, belonging to the Uddhav Thackeray faction, was arrested by the directorate. The case pertains to money laundering linked to irregularities in a chawl redevelopment scam. The Case Of Money Laundering There were financial irregularities found in more than Rs 1,000 crore Patra Chawl redevelopment project, commissioned in 2002. A tripartite agreement was signed by Guru Ashish Constructions Private Limited, a subsidiary of Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL), with the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA). The aim was to provide flats to 672 tenants of Patra Chawl, develop flats for MHADA, and sell the remaining area to private developers. As per ED investigation, the directors of Guru Ashish Constructions, including a close associate of Sanjay Raut, Pravin R...

The Tamil Nadu Police is among the few police forces in the country to receive the coveted ‘President’s Colours’ Vice-President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu presented the prestigious ‘President’s Colours’ for the Tamil Nadu Police to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in a customary ceremony in Rajarathinam Stadium in Chennai on Sunday. Mr. Stalin announced that a medal would be awarded to every police personnel in the force to mark the feat. The Tamil Nadu Police is among the few police forces in the country to receive the coveted ‘President’s Colours’. Though the ‘President’s Colours’ for the Tamil Nadu Police was approved as early as August 19, 2009 when late leader M. Karunanidhi was the Chief Minister, it could not be presented in all these years. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Naidu said the Tamil Nadu Police was one of the best in the country, which was known for its commendable service. Even as he noted that Tamil Nadu had the first women commando unit in the country, he said, “a lot rema...

 Shyam Maheshwari serves as the Founder and Partner of SSG Capital Management (Singapore) Pt. Limited, and is primarily responsible for SSG’s investment activities in India. He has 17 years of experience in the deal sourcing, analysis and investing industry. Shyam Maheshwari studied at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai for his graduation and Indian Institute of Management Bangalore for his post graduate MBA. Shyam Maheshwari holds 4 board and advisor roles including Director at Holiday break and Associate Member at The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Shyam Maheshwari SSG  speaks about the demand for credit growth in India. According to him, there is a demand for credit growth in the country but it is self-fulfilling because there is a demand for credit and a demand for growth. “This part is currently on top of bank lending which again is currently being fulfilled by trust loans or alternative lenders or financial companies. Because they ar...

 QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Separatist insurgents in Pakistan's resource-rich Balochistan province said they shot down a military helicopter that went down during a flood relief operation on Monday, killing all six on board including a top army commander. A senior military official dismissed the insurgents' claim as propaganda and fake news. The military said the helicopter crashed during bad weather. The Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS), an umbrella group of Baloch insurgent groups, said in a statement sent to Reuters late on Tuesday that its fighters shot down the "low flying helicopter" with an anti-aircraft weapon. The group provided no evidence and Reuters could not independently verify the claim. Ethnic Baloch militants have for decades waged an insurgency against the Pakistani government in the southwestern province, complaining that its rich gas and mineral resource are unfairly exploited to the benefit of other parts of the country. The province is also hom...

 The UN sanctions monitoring team’s latest report in July this year concluded that AQIS reportedly has 180-400 fighters, primarily from Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Pakistan. Within hours of US President Joe Biden announcing the death of Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in a precision drone strike, speculation circled around a possible successor, with another Egyptian Al Qaeda figure, Mohammed Salahaldin Zidan, who goes by the assumed name of Saif al-Adel, emerging a likely candidate, according to security officials who monitor the region. There is no clarity on current whereabouts of Adel, who for long was rumoured to be in Iran. The people cited above also said that al-Zawahiri’s death will hit morale of the group’s supporters and cadres in India but there is also the concern of disenchanted fighters possibly shifting allegiance to the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP). An official involved in tracking global terrorism and the activities of international terror groups, on ...

 SpiceJet Ltd promoter Ajay Singh is exploring the possibility of a partial stake sale, sources told news agency ANI, adding that the company continues to be in discussions with various investors to secure sustainable financing and will make appropriate disclosures in accordance with applicable regulations. Shares of SpiceJet jumped more than 10% on the BSE to ₹48 apiece in Wednesday's early deals after the reports of the possibility of stake sale. The airline stock is down over 28% in 2022 (YTD) so far, whereas in a year's period the counter has declined about 35%. The low-cost carrier on Tuesday said it has entered into a full and final settlement with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and has cleared all outstanding principal dues of the airport operator. With this, SpiceJet will no longer remain on 'cash and carry' at AAI-run airports across the country and will revert to an advance payment mechanism for daily flight operations. In another big boost for the airl...