India Should Be On UN Security Council Permanently: Russia's Top Diplomat

Russia's top diplomat has said that his country believes that India, Brazil and African countries should be represented in the UN Security Council on a permanent basis to ensure the representativeness of the global majority, state-owned TASS news agency reported on Sunday.

"Countries such as India, Brazil, as well as representatives of Africa should have been on a permanent basis in the Security Council for a long time. This is necessary to ensure representativeness, representation of the global majority," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told aif.ru. in an interview, TASS reported.

India has been at the forefront of years-long efforts calling for reform of the Security Council, including expansion in both its permanent and non-permanent categories, saying the 15-nation Council, founded in 1945, is not fit for purpose in the 21st Century and does not reflect contemporary geo-political realities. Delhi has underscored that it deserves a permanent seat at the horse-shoe table.

Last month, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron in backing India's bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

India last sat at the UN high table as a non-permanent member in 2021-22. There has been a growing demand to increase the number of permanent members to reflect the contemporary global reality. 

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Raise A Glass To International Gin And Tonic Day With These G and T Recipes

A gin and tonic is a classic, refreshing summer cocktail-so classic that the combination is over 100 years old. It has a crisp, slightly bitter flavour and is quite easy to make. A classic G and T cocktail is made with gin and tonic water poured over a large amount of ice. Most recipes call for a ratio between 1:1 and 1:3. Gin and Tonic fans celebrate October 19 every year as International Gin and Tonic Day. The day is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy this historic drink and celebrate gin distillers and tonic producers worldwide. If you, too, are a Gin and Tonic fan, read on to learn about its history and some fabulous ways to spruce up your favourite cocktail.

Origin of Gin and Tonic:

The classic gin and tonic combination has a complex history. One of the first known instances of this combination was drinking it to help combat malaria in Holland in the 1840s. Tonic water contains quinine, the bitter element of this drink, which was believed to treat malaria. In the 19th century, the British Army in India also added gin to tonic water to improve the taste of this remedy drink.
Also Read: Unlock The Secrets of Gin - History, Types, And Tips For Perfect Gin Cocktails

Who Started International Gin and Tonic Day?

A woman named Jayne Withers launched Gin and Tonic Day in 2012 in honour of her grandmother, Mary Edith Keyburn, who loved G and T. Jayne writes, "Mary Edith was a remarkable woman who loved to have the occasional tipple of Gin and Tonic. She passed away in the hospital on October 19, 2010, at the age of 95, with a Gin and Tonic at her side that was smuggled into the hospital in a water bottle and served in a teacup," quoted The Gin Guide.

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Celebrating International Gin and Tonic Day 2024:

This October 19, host a Gin and Tonic tasting and gather all your friends and family for a fun evening. You can also take pictures from the event and post them on social media using the hashtag #internationalginandtonicday. For your special tasting, here are some fun ways to upgrade the classic Gin and Tonic.

5 Fun Ways to Jazz Up Your Good Old G and T:

1. Cool as a Cucumber

Cut a cucumber into thin ribbons and arrange them in a highball glass. Add a handful of ice cubes. In a cocktail shaker, squeeze the juice of half a lime, then add gin, a splash of elderflower liqueur, a few basil leaves, and some cucumber chunks. Muddle the mixture thoroughly, then add ice. Shake well and strain the mixture into your glass. Finish by topping it with tonic and garnishing with more basil leaves.

2. Berry Berry Tasty

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Wash the strawberries and cut off the tops. Next, cut them in half or into quarters. Muddle the strawberries with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Transfer the mixture to a glass filled with ice. Stir in the gin and top with tonic. Garnish with a strawberry and enjoy.

3. Mint Meets Chocolate

Pour herbal-style gin into a glass and add a few leaves of fresh mint. Add a tablespoon of chocolate liqueur. Pour in the tonic and garnish with a few sprigs of mint and grated dark chocolate. Your mint-meets-chocolate G and T is ready.
Also Read: The Ultimate Guide To 2024's Gin Trends: How India Is Changing The Sipping Game

4. Peachy Not Preachy

If you like the fruity peach flavour, this cocktail is for you. Pour your gin and tonic over ice and add the peach slices. Garnish with a sprig of thyme. For a more pronounced peach flavour, you can blend the fruit and strain it into the glass before adding the other ingredients. Stir until the drink is infused with the juice.

5. Pine-ing for the Apple

^{Photo: iStock}

Smoky, caramelized, and grilled pineapples make a fantastic G and T. Begin by grilling the pineapple wheels for 5 minutes until lightly browned. Cut one wheel of pineapple and muddle it into a cocktail shaker. Add ice, gin, lemon juice, and pineapple juice. Shake for two minutes. Strain it into a glass with ice. Top with tonic water. Garnish with another grilled pineapple wheel and serve!

What is your favourite Gin and Tonic cocktail? Share with us in the comments section. Happy G and T Day!

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BJP Blames Delhi Government For Yamuna Pollution, AAP Hits Back

East Delhi MP Harsh Malhotra on Saturday blamed the Aam Aadmi Party government for pollution in the Yamuna, saying cleaning the river has never been its priority.

Responding to the BJP's allegations, the AAP in a statement said, "The BJP is only indulging in dirty politics. The Aam Aadmi Party government is working at a war level against pollution... The BJP government is polluting the Yamuna by sending dirty water from Uttar Pradesh while their leaders are merely putting on a show in Delhi," AAP said.

Mr Malhotra made the remark after going to the banks of the river at Kalindi Kunj, accompanied by BJP spokesperson Anil Gupta and local councillor Brahm Singh.

Referring to the thick white froth covering the Yamuna River said, "The Arvind Kejriwal government has only spread lies and illusions about cleaning the Yamuna. When the Lieutenant Governor initiated steps to clean the Yamuna, the Kejriwal government approached the Supreme Court to block them. Cleaning the river has always been a political issue for AAP, not a priority."

He said that despite a decade of promises, pollution in the Yamuna has only worsened, posing serious health risks to people living near it.

Since Friday morning, the Yamuna River has been covered with a thick layer of white froth. Experts have warned against taking a dip in the river, even as people gear up for the Chhath Puja.

The Delhi government on Friday said it is closely monitoring the situation.

Mr Malhotra also questioned the AAP government's handling of the Rs 1,000 crore collected as pollution cess, intended for tackling air and water pollution.

"The Delhi government should clarify what happened to these funds," he said.

The MP also highlighted the severe drop in oxygen levels in the Yamuna as it flows through Delhi and the absence of sewage treatment plants at critical drainage points.

The oxygen content of the river's water drops from 9 units when it enters Delhi to zero as it leaves, making it hazardous for both residents and the environment, he told PTI Videos.

AAP leader Reena Gupta said, "Whether it's the issue of water pollution or air pollution, these issues cross administrative boundaries. There is an airshed within approximately 300 kilometres of Delhi, and the Supreme Court has consistently stated that all state governments need to work together to address this issue."

"However, only the AAP governments in Delhi and Punjab are actively tackling it. In Haryana, there has been a 30 per cent increase in stubble-burning incidents, while Uttar Pradesh has seen a 70 per cent increase. In contrast, Punjab has experienced a 30 per cent reduction in such incidents, she claimed. 

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Watch: Stokes Suffers Funniest Dismissal Of All Time, Internet In Splits

England suffered defeat to Pakistan by a mammoth 152 runs in the second Test in Multan, failing to chase down a target of 297. But despite the middle order failing, England's captain Ben Stokes -- returning from injury -- held strong with 37 at one end, at a rate of more than run-a-ball. However, his knock came to a rather hilarious end, as not only did he lose his wicket, but also flung his bat out of control into the air as he attempted the shot.

Trying to step out and slog Pakistan spinner Noman Ali for six, Stokes miscalculated it completely. As he attempted his shot, he lost control of his bat, which ended up flying a long way apart. Sadly for Stokes, he lost his balance too. Being outside his crease, he was promptly stumped by wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan.

Watch: Ben Stokes loses bat, loses balance and loses his wicket against Pakistan

Ben Stokes lost his bat, his balance and his wicket in a single ball. pic.twitter.com/3Gns0SDXvu

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 18, 2024

Stokes was the seventh English batter to depart and the last of the recognized batters. His dismissal left England at 125/7, still needed 172 runs.

It wasn't the happiest return to Test cricket for Stokes, who had missed England's previous series against Sri Lanka due to injury.

Pakistan scripted victory thanks to the efforts of their newcomers. Ahead of the game, the decision to drop Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah faced backlash. However, each of their replacements impressed in the second Test.

Babar's replacement -- debutant Kamran Ghulam -- made a century in the first innings. With the ball, spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali picked up all 20 England wickets. Sajid was the star of the first innings getting seven, while Noman picked up eight in the second.

At the age of 38, Noman shone on his return to the Test side. He picked up 11 wickets in total. However, it was bowling partner Sajid, who picked up the Player of the Match award after his first innings heroics.

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What If Trump Refuses To Accept A Loss? Could It Lead To Civil Unrest?

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has never been one to abide by rules. Four years ago he cried fraud and did not accept the presidential election result and there could be a possibility of him doing the same this time around after the November 5 election.

This time the only difference will be that Trump will not have his presidential levers of power which he had in the 2020 elections. Moreover, new laws have been implemented in the US to make it more difficult to influence election results.

THE DENIAL

"If I lose - I'll tell you what, it's possible. Because they cheat. That's the only way we're gonna lose, because they cheat," Trump said at a Michigan rally in September. Trump's team filed over 60 lawsuits, but none of them succeeded in altering or delaying the vote count.

After losing the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump and his supporters launched an unprecedented effort to overturn the results. This endeavor involved spreading baseless claims of election fraud and rigging through the "big lie" propaganda technique.

CIVIL UNREST?

In 2021, Republican supporters charged the US Capitol in an effort to stop Mike Pence from confirming Joe Biden's victory.

Any effort by Trump to suggest the election was rigged could potentially lead to civil unrest, as it did on Jan. 6, 2021.

According to Reuters, experts who monitor violent groups and militia, such as Peter Montgomery of the People For the American Way, a liberal think tank, say they are less concerned about a violent response from these groups than they are about threats against election workers counting votes. There also could be violent demonstrations in the capitals of battleground states, Montgomery said.

Still, Trump and his allies have been crafting a blueprint for months to cry if he loses on November 5th.

Following the November 5 election, Republicans and Democrats anticipate a potentially lengthy vote-counting process that may extend well beyond Election Day, as mail-in ballots are processed and other votes are carefully verified and tallied.

In case it seems like Trump is losing, the delay in counting will give him a window to claim fraud while sowing seeds of doubt about election officials and although he has been threatening to put election workers and public workers behind bars, he would need to win the election first in order for that to be materialised.

BUILD-UP IN KEY BATTLEGROUNDS

In anticipation of potential election controversies, Republicans have preemptively filed more than 100 lawsuits in crucial battleground states. These lawsuits seek to establish a basis for post-election challenges, including claims - thus far unsupported by evidence - of widespread voting by non-citizens.

Both major parties are gearing up to deploy thousands of trained volunteers, known as poll watchers, to keep a close eye on voting and vote counting during the upcoming election. These volunteers will be tasked with reporting any irregularities they spot. However, some voting rights advocates are sounding the alarm, worried that Republican poll watchers might disrupt the process, even though the Republican Party noted that the volunteers have been instructed to abide by the law.

States must submit their election results by December, ahead of the Electoral College meeting. Electors will then cast their votes, which are subsequently sent to Congress for formal verification in January, marking the final step in confirming the presidential election outcome.

DELAYS AND MISSED DEADLINES

Efforts to contest election results, fueled by Trump's influence, may cause certification delays and missed deadlines. This could provide grounds for Republican lawmakers to dispute the outcome, with uncertain legal consequences due to potentially biased judicial decisions.

In response to Trump's 2020 election challenges, Congress enacted reforms to prevent similar disruptions. The new law clarifies the vice president's limited role, prohibiting them from delaying certification or discarding state results, as Trump had urged Pence to do.

The measure also requires that an objection to a state's electoral count cannot be brought unless one-fifth of the members of each house of Congress agrees. After that, it takes a majority vote in each house for an objection to be found valid.

In the unexpected outcome that enough electoral votes are tossed so that neither candidate reaches the majority, the newly elected US House of Representatives would choose the next president.
 

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"Ready To Pay Back Lenders Before Taking A Single Rupee Out": Byju's Founder

Byju Raveendran, the founder of troubled edtech firm Byju's, on Thursday said that he is willing to pay back all the money owed to lenders if they are willing to work with him.

During a two-and-a-half-hour call with the media, Mr Raveendran said lenders will not get any money if the process of insolvency against the company continues.

"If they are willing to work with me, I am willing to give them money back before I take a single rupee out. We paid $140 million but they wanted the entire $1.2 billion which we had already committed or invested by then. There is no way we could have given them back for a long time. Most lenders wanted to settle but one or two wanted to make a killing out of it," Mr Raveendran said.

At present, Byju's is undergoing insolvency proceedings, triggered after the BCCI approached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal to recover its Rs 158.9-crore dues. The company settled the dispute with BCCI after paying the entire dues following which NCLAT revoked the insolvency proceedings.

However, US lenders through their agent Glas Trust challenged the NCLAT order in the Supreme Court which restored the insolvency proceedings against the edtech firm.

Byju's has raised a $1.2 billion Term Loan B (TLB)-- a loan which is issued by institutional investors --through its holding company Byju's Alpha, from US-based lenders.

The trouble for Think and Learn, which owns the Byju's brand, began after the lenders through Glas Trust approached Delaware Court of Chancery alleging default in the payments under the loan agreement and sought early payment of the $1.2-billion TLB.

The US-based lenders through Glas have filed claims of $1.35 billion dues in Indian courts during ongoing insolvency proceedings against the edtech firm.

In the latest statement, the lenders have raised their total claim to $1.5 billion.

Mr Raveendran said that no money raised from US lenders has come to India as it also needs permission from the Reserve Bank of India.

He said that there are some aggressive lenders who initiated a case against the company and they don't care about stakeholders in the business as it is their business model to make money out of distress.

Mr Raveendran said that all the deals and acquisitions were approved by the Byju's board, which included leading investors.

"Most of the acquisitions were brought in by the investors and we got carried away. Investors wanted us to launch in 40 countries together. Investors celebrated when we raised a $1.2-billion loan," Mr Raveendran said.

Byju's board member representing Peak XV Partners, earlier known as Sequoia Capital India, Prosus and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative resigned from the company in June 2023.

Mr Raveendran said that investors resigned from the board after Glas Trust filed a case in the Delaware court assuming that the liability to pay back the loan would fall on them.

He said that, over the years, only managers have left the company and five out of six owners of Byju's are still with the firm.

Mr Raveendran said that he is hopeful of making a big comeback after the insolvency issue is resolved.

"Our subsidiary has not taken any hits. At a consolidated level, we will have more than Rs 5,000 crore in revenue. We are struggling in the core business which has become zero. Still, there are 200 million kids who come to our platform every month. We have to revamp and revive," he said.

Mr Raveendran said that whatever may be the result of litigation, he will continue to teach and nobody could stop him from teaching students.

"Investors will come back when they see value," he said. 

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"Beaten For Not Removing Clothes": UP Student Files Case Against 8 Seniors

An FIR was registered on Thursday against eight final-year engineering students of Harcourt Butler Technical University (HBTU) on the charge of attempt to murder for allegedly beating their juniors when they did not adhere to their instructions to "remove clothes".

The FIR has been registered against the seniors by a third-year student of BTech Electronics at Nawabganj police station, under BNS sections 109 (attempt to murder), 115 (2) voluntarily causes hurt, 125 (an act so rashly as to endanger human life), 191 (2) rioting, 351 (3) criminal intimidation and 352 (intentionally insults) apart from ragging charges in this connection, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Dinesh Tripathi said.

All those named in the FIR are fourth-year students.

In his FIR, the student alleged that his classmate got a call from seniors to come with him and another classmate to Abdul Kalam Hostel to enjoy a 'birthday party" which is a "code language" for ragging.

The situation escalated when the seniors asked them to take off their clothes, which they refused. "We told them that they should be spared as they had already faced ragging in the first year of their admission. Angry over the refusal, the seniors came with sticks, belts, and iron rods and started beating them," the FIR said.

Instructions have been issued to call the accused students. They will be questioned to work out the case, the DCP said.

The HBTU administration has also started the inquiry into the matter to ascertain whether it was a ragging case or not, said an official.

In ragging, generally, first-year students are victims but in this case, the FIR was lodged by the third-year student against final-year students, he said. 

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