HC acquits academic, 5 others in ‘ Maoist link ‘ case
· The Nagpur bench of Bombay High court on Monday acquitted former Delhi University Professor G. N .Sai Baba and five others in a case under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act ( UAPA ) for alleged connection with Naxak groups.
· The court said that the prosecution could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt Maharashtra govt has reached Supreme Court against the acquittal .
· In 2017 ,A sessions court of Gadchiroli , Maharashtra had convicted G.N. Saibaba and five others indulged in activities that accounted for waging war against the country .
· They were also held guilty of possessing Naxal literature that they were planning to circulate underground Naxals .
Foreign state actors stashed illicit fund in Paytm funds in Paytm bank accounts
· “Extensive illegal activities “ perpetrated by multiple businesses managed by “ syndicate of individuals connected to foreign states “ were behind recent action by the Financial Intelligence Unit ( FIU ) against PayTM Payment payments Bank Limited (PPBL ).
· Individuals connected to foreign nationals were involved in cheating lakhs of Indians by offering “ fraudulent services , including prevalent gambling activities and dating services “ .This has been said in an FIR filed against PPBL under PMLA .
· FIU had earlier imposed ₹5.49 crore fine on PPBL .FIU is a branch under the Revenue department of the Ministry of Finance .
Seven more Indians forced to fight in Russia seek govt help
· A group of seven more Indians have released a video in recent weeks , seeking govt intervention in returning to India .
· Among the seven five are from Punjab while two are from Haryana . They alleged that Russia. Police forced them to join the Russian army or face imprisonment .
Indian troops out, Maldives ink defense pact with China
· Maldives and China on Monday signed a major defense cooperation agreement. Beijing will provide free military assistance to Maldives to foster ties between the two countries .China donated 12 Green ambulances to the Maldives health ministry .
· This is in line with the commitments made in Maldivian President Muizzue’s recent visit to China in which the two countries had agreed to “ elevate “ relations to a “ Comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership “ .
· India is pulling its military personnel out of Maldives . In a rally on Monday Muizzue reassured that Indian soldiers will not longer be stationed in Maldives “ either in Uniform or in civil clothes “ .
Google reinstates. Indian apps ‘in spirit of Cooperation‘
· Google is reinstating dozens of apps that were delisted by the company on March 1 for resisting the firm’s platform fees on in app payments .
· “ In the spirit of cooperation , we are temporarily reinstating the apps of the developers ,with appeals pending in the Supreme court “.
· Google spokesperson referred to apps by developers of Bharat Matrimony and Kuku FM The announcement remains a setback for developers who have moved the court to what they had called High fees by Google .
· IT Minister Ashwani Vaishanw after meeting with both the parties said “ We believe that both startup companies , and Google will come to a long term solution “ .
· Google collects 11-30 % of charges from platforms using it .
World
Philippines and Chinese vessel collide in disputed South China sea
· A Chinese and Philippines Coast guard vessel collided in the disputed South China sea , four Filipino crew members were injured in this . The incident occurred near second Thomas Shoal island .
· In another incident another Chinese coast guard ship first blocked and then collided with a supply boat in South China sea .
· The Philippines task force in its statement called it “ another attempt to illegally impede or obstruct a routine resupply and rotation mission “ .
· Manilla summoned China’s deputy ambassador to express its protest to the incident .
· The US, Japan and Australia have criticized the incident and have expressed their concern.
· This comes just before the ASEAN summit to be held in Melbourne .
· The Second Thomas Shoal is a submerged reef in spratly island in South China sea .The Second Thomas Shoal is under Phillipines control right now . The Philippines Navy had docked a ship named BRP Sierra Madre to establish its claim over the island in 1999 . The ship requires regular delivery of essential items for the personnel residing in the ship . China has been obstructing supply of items .China claims the Second Thomas Shoal as it’s own .
China defense budget up by 7.2% , targets 5% GDP growth
· China on Tuesday announced an increase of 7.2 % in its defense budget to 1.6 trillion yuan ( 222 billion dollars ) . China has the second highest defense budget after the US .
· For comparison, the US defense budget was 886 billion dollars in 2023 . India’s defense budget stood to be 69 billion dollars in 2023 .
· Chinese Premier Li Qiang in his address has put the GDP target this year to be 5 % .
Russia hacks unsecured German line discussing Ukrainian arms aid
· A German Military officer used an unsecured phone line in a Singapore hotel and talked to three other military officials including the German Air Force chief about deployment of Taurus missiles in Ukraine .
· Russia hacked the line and a 38 minute audio call was put on social media .
· Germany has agreed that the incident happened .
· The officials were talking about hypothetical deployment and use of Taurus long range cruise missiles against Russia .
· Russia’s foreign ministry has treated Germany for “ dire consequences “ in connection with the leak .
· Germany is the second biggest arm supplier to Ukraine after the USA .
· Despite repeated requests by Ukraine it has not supplied cruise missiles to Ukraine . Taurus in talk is a long range cruise missile .
Australia proposes to grow trade ties at ASEAN forum
· Australia unveiled plans to ramp up investment in South Asia on Tuesday , setting aside 1.3 billion dollars to bolster a region of rising economic might .
· The ASEAN Australia summit just started in Melbourne on Tuesday .
· The ASEAN bloc is largely seen as emerging economic powerhouse , with vast reserves of critical minerals.
