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Category: India

  • Expelling Iran’s Ambassador to Australia

    The rank odour of opportunity seems to have presented itself to Australia’s Albanese government. To balance its apparently principled promise to recognise Palestinian statehood come the 80th United Nations General Assembly next month, it seemed only fair that some firm measure be taken against another Islamic outfit to balance the ledger. The Israelis were watching closely, and a sense of concern had started to bubble along the diplomatic channel that Canberra was proving wobbly. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had made his views felt: “History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.”

    On August 26, it all came to the fore. Iran had become the latest, if only briefest, of bogeymen for political consumption in Australia. The Islamic Republic, charged the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, had “directed at least two” attacks of an “appalling” and “antisemitic” nature. Expecting revelations of gleeful massacres involving whole families including livestock and uprooted orchards, we are told that these outrageous incidents were ones of arson: an attack on Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in Sydney in October last year, and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne last December. “These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil. They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community.”

    Mike Burgess, the domestic spy chief, confirmed the claim that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had identified “at least two and likely more attacks on Jewish interests in Australia.” These were linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and found through “painstaking investigation” (good to see that investigations at the spy agency are painstaking). The IRGC had been fiendish in concealing its role, using “a complex web of proxies to hide its involvement.” With shamanistic self-confidence, Burgess revealed that he had warned of this very thing earlier in the year. For a sense of restrained balance, he stated that Tehran may not necessarily be “responsible for every act of antisemitism in Australia.”

    The action undertaken seemed outsized, involving the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi along with three other embassy officials. They have been given seven days to exit the country. The IRGC is also slated for proscription as a terrorist organisation.

    The head scratching question in all of this is: Why bother? The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have larger fish to skin, fry and broil. Tehran, for all its appetites in seeking power and influence in the Middle East, has tended to keep its targets beyond the region to Israeli embassies and property and, most notably of all, dissidents. To target the Australian Jewish community would seem to be a needless expenditure of effort and resources. Australia’s resident talking head on the wickedness of the mullahs, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, herself having spent time incarcerated in Iran on suspicions of espionage, is hardly illuminating in her explanation. “It’s difficult to say what Iran’s direct motivations are, other than to undermine Australia’s social cohesion.” She opts for the primary colour approach, streaked with syllogism: as the Iranian regime is antisemitic, and as Israel is the main enemy, it follows that all Jews, according to the dotty haters in Tehran, are “an extension of Israel.”

    The expulsion’s salience would have been more significant if it had been done in response to activities undertaken against members of the Iranian Australian community, a far more widespread and evident problem. Yet on this point, the Albanese government proved tardy, despite ample evidence of harassment and surveillance orchestrated at Tehran’s behest. In February 2023, the then Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil stated in her Australian National University address that ASIO had “disrupted the activities of individuals who had conducted surveillance in the home of an Iranian-Australian, as well as conducted extensive research of this individual and their family.” The previous month, a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressed deep concern at “reports of foreign interference, including the harassment and intimidation of Australians online and in-person.” These matters had been raised with Iran “in no uncertain terms.”

    Iran had also proved to be a more convenient, if selective target. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, for instance, Indian intelligence operatives have been creating much mischief, snooping, harassing and leaving their warning signs, most notably when it comes to the global Sikh diaspora. Concerned about the pangs of longing for the independent state of Khalistan, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not been above resorting to assassination. Melbourne taxi driver Harjinder Singh is one who can attest to threats from the Indian authorities regarding his pro-Khalistan activities, notably to his family back in India.

    To add to this, India was found to have engaged in such friendly activities as cultivating access to sensitive defence technology in Australia and securing airport security protocols. In 2020, Burgess announced that his agency had “confronted” the spies in question “and quietly and professionally removed them.” Despite this fuss, there were no diplomatic expulsions. A façade of excruciating politeness was maintained.

    Least surprising of all was the hearty approval of the Australian move by Israel. With Netanyahu venomously spouting at the Australian Prime Minister that he was feeble and incapable of protecting Jews in Australia, the expulsion was automatically assumed to be a product of constructive Israeli interference. Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer, after explaining the reasons for Netanyahu’s hectoring, thought it a “positive outcome” that Australia was “taking the threats against Israel and the Jewish people, Jewish Australians living in Australia […] seriously”.

    Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke dismissed efforts on the part of the Israeli government to claim the lion’s share of credit as nonsense. “We’ve taken this action because Iran has attacked Australians. No other country is involved in terms of that conclusion.”

    Short of WikiLeaks finding out the inner strangeness of this, we await further evidence why Iran would ever bother to expend any time on focusing on a country so far from its interests as to be satirically irrelevant. That said, the nature of much intelligence is that it is often short of being particularly intelligent.

    The post Expelling Iran’s Ambassador to Australia first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • British F-35Bs experience problems during Operation Highmast

    The UK-led international carrier strike group (CSG25), led by the carrier HMS Prince of Wales, commenced operations in the Indo-Pacific in June. However, its embarked F-35B fighters have experienced a couple of dramatic episodes since then. The deployment, known as Operation Highmast, includes ships from Canada, Norway and Spain, and it was also joined by […]

    The post British F-35Bs experience problems during Operation Highmast appeared first on Asian Military Review.

    This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.

  • Inside India’s First Cultivated Chicken Competition for Chefs

    great indian cultivated chicken cook off
    5 Mins Read

    Biokraft Foods held a Great Indian Cultivated Chicken Cook-Off last week, with young chefs showcasing the future of food in the Navi Mumbai event.

    For the most part, cultivated meat companies have relied on chefs to flaunt the full potential of their products. The majority of launches have been held at innovative restaurants in the US, Singapore and Australia. Only two of these innovations have entered a supermarket, and one was for pets.

    Biokraft Foods is taking the same approach in India. The Mumbai-based maker of cultivated chicken held a cooking competition for its product, dubbed the Great Indian Cultivated Chicken Cook-Off, at the DY Patil School of Hospitality & Tourism Studies last week.

    The final involved 10 culinary students, who were tasked to create an appetiser using the cultivated meat as a hero ingredient for a four-strong panel of leading chefs.

    “We wanted to show that cultivated chicken is real food with real culinary potential. By bringing cultivated chicken meat to young chefs, we encouraged them to reimagine cultivated chicken through creativity, culture, and tast,,” Biokraft Foods founder and CEO Kamalnayan Tibrewal tells Green Queen.

    “These young chefs represent the future of the food ecosystem, and it is important that they engage with ideas that go beyond cooking and that sustainability, ethics, and delicious new ingredients are equally important,” he adds. “The cook-off was our way of making the idea tangible and sparking conversations about how cultivated meat could fit into India’s food future.”

    lab grown meat india
    Courtesy: Biokraft Foods

    The cook-off’s winning cultivated chicken dishes

    The competition saw participants from some of India’s leading culinary schools, and the dishes were judged with several criteria in mind, including hygiene and food waste management, taste and texture, innovation and creativity, and presentation.

    The winning dish, called Masalon ka Safar (Hindi for ‘A Journey of Spices’), came courtesy of Issa Patel, a student at the Patkar-Varde College Department of Hospitality and Catering. He won a prize of ₹40,000 ($455). It brought together flavours from across India: saffron naan from the north, Champaran chicken from the east, tangy tomato chutney from the south, and green chilli thecha from the West.

    “Cultivated chicken felt no different from conventional chicken, tasty, tender, and satisfying. The real plus is that it’s an ethical and sustainable way to enjoy meat,” Patel tells Green Queen.

    cultivated meat india
    Issa Patel’s winning dish, Masalon ka Safar | Courtesy: Biokraft Foods

    Another student from the same institute, Shlok Khedekar, secured second place and ₹30,000 ($340) for his creation, Nawabi Yakitori with Miso-Caramel Sauce. “For me, cultivated chicken represents a step towards modern gastronomy, meeting protein needs, delighting taste palettes, and offering a humane, cruelty-free way to enjoy meat,” he says.

    The third prize (worth ₹20,000/$230) went to Vedika Sakpal, a student from the host institute, who made Malai Rose Dumplings. The Kohinoor College of Hotel and Tourism Management Studies’s Shravan Kadam, meanwhile, won ₹10,000 ($115) as part of a special innovation prize for his dish, called Sanjeevani Jugalbandi.

    “As a chef, it is inspiring to see cultivated chicken, just like farmed chicken, being marinated, grilled, spiced, and plated with pride, using different techniques, in a commercial environment,” says Demetrius Cordeiro D’Souza, new product development chef at Biokraft Foods.

    “This competition proves that innovation and tradition can share the same plate, thus opening doors to a revolutionary culinary experience in the future,” he adds.

    biokraft foods
    Courtesy: Biokraft Foods

    Biokraft Foods charts path to market for cultivated meat

    The winners of Biokraft Foods’s cook-off will receive a sponsored visit to the Merck Life Science facility in Bangalore, giving them a glimpse of the food science behind cultivated meat.

    “This is just the beginning. We see the winners as ambassadors of what is possible with cultivated meat,” says Tibrewal. “We would love to involve them in future collaborations, whether through recipe development, showcasing cultivated chicken at pop-ups, or even supporting our eventual market entry. Their creativity helps us connect with consumers in ways science [or] food tech alone cannot.”

    In addition to the cook-off, Biokraft Foods also hosted Forkward, a series of panels highlighting the views of stakeholders across the food industry. They included discussions about modernising menus with cultivated meat, the health and sustainability potential of these proteins, and the bridge between innovation and consumer trust.

    lab grown meat chefs
    Courtesy: Biokraft Foods

    This series of talks gave chefs the chance to “learn directly from diverse voices across the food ecosystem, including non-profits, foodtech pioneers, founders, and leaders from hospitality”, according to Tibrewal. “This is just the beginning of many such conversations that will shape India’s journey towards sustainable proteins,” he said.

    Speaking to Green Queen after hosting India’s first public tasting for cultivated meat in April, he said the two-year-old startup planned to file for regulatory approval with the Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) of India this year.

    “The approval pathway calls for thorough safety evaluations, detailed scientific evidence, and transparency in production practices, with the dual aim of safeguarding consumers and fostering innovation,” he says now.

    biokraft india
    Courtesy: Biokraft Foods

    “FSSAI has already set up a scientific working group to create clear evaluation frameworks for cultivated meat, and these frameworks reflect the country’s forward-looking stance on regulation and willingness to engage with next-generation food solutions. This is also complemented by industry efforts to provide strong data on safety, nutrition, and sustainability.”

    An update on its regulatory progress is expected soon, but in the meantime, Biokraft Foods is already plotting its path into the market. “Chefs, hotels and restaurants are the best partners to introduce cultivated meat to consumers because they shape taste experiences and build trust,” says Tibrewal. “Once acceptance grows, we would then look at retail formats.”

    The post Inside India’s First Cultivated Chicken Competition for Chefs appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • India to grow Tejas fighter fleet with 97 additional aircraft

    On 19 August, an additional purchase of 97 Tejas Mk1A light fighters for the Indian Air Force (IAF) received the approval of India’s apex Cabinet Committee on Security, a body headed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The procurement decision was reported by Indian media, quoting official sources, with the total value pegged at an […]

    The post India to grow Tejas fighter fleet with 97 additional aircraft appeared first on Asian Military Review.

    This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.

  • Bollywood Star Ranveer Singh Launches Fermented Yeast Protein Powder in India

    superyou pro
    4 Mins Read

    SuperYou, the Indian protein startup co-owned by Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh, has launched a yeast protein powder big on gut health and sustainability.

    Depending on who you ask, India may or may not have a protein deficiency problem. Regardless, people in the world’s most populous nation are consuming more protein than ever before.

    The issue is, animal-based sources are growing at a faster rate, a blight on the country’s climate ambitions. Agriculture accounts for 15% of India’s emissions, but two-thirds of this comes from livestock farming.

    Still, research shows that 37% of these consumers want to add more plant proteins to their diet, and more Indians want to increase their intake of protein from plant-based sources over that from animals.

    Responding to India’s protein demand, Mumbai-based SuperYou is bypassing both plants and animals, and betting big on yeast.

    Co-founded by Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh, the startup has unveiled SuperYou Pro, a vegan protein powder made from biofermented brewer’s yeast, with added probiotics for gut wellness.

    “When we learnt about it, the innovative bio-fermented yeast protein, we knew we had something revolutionary on our hands,” he said. Singh called SuperYou Pro “a breakthrough” that outperforms plant-based proteins and whey. “It’s a great gut-loving, clean and complete protein powder; it’s the love your muscles deserve.”

    How SuperYou’s yeast protein powder is made

    superyou protein powder
    Courtesy: SuperYou

    Founded in 2023 by Singh and co-founder Nikunj Biyani, SuperYou has previously launched chips with plant proteins and a wafer line blending milk protein with its fermented yeast protein. Now, it’s spotlighting the latter in protein powder form.

    To make the ingredient, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (brewer’s yeast) is mixed with molasses, then fermented in bioreactors to produce proteins and other nutrients. The yeast protein is then separated and purified, before being shipped to SuperYou’s facilities in India. The waste from this process is used as bio-organic fertiliser.

    SuperYou Pro is available in four variants: chocolate, coffee, masala chai, and unflavoured. Each contains a base of fermented yeast protein, chicory root fibre, monkfruit powder (for sweetening), bromelain and papain for enhanced digestion and anti-inflammation benefits, and a probiotic for gut wellbeing.

    It’s free from soy, dairy and gluten, and contains 24-27g of protein per 36g serving. SuperYou Pro is a complete protein with all nine amino acids and a PDCAAS score of 1.0 (the same as whey, casein, and egg whites). The product is designed to enhance absorption and digestibility, and aid gut health and muscle recovery.

    “When I discovered biofermented protein technology, the most advanced and gut-friendly protein innovation, I knew we had to bring it to India,” said Biyani. “We wanted to create a protein powder that delivers clean nutrition, tastes great and performs even better. SuperYou Pro is exactly that.”

    The protein is verified by India’s National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, with quality backing from agencies in China and Australia. It’s manufactured in a GMP-accredited facility certified by the US Food and Drug Administration, and is available online, on grocery delivery apps, and in retail stores across India for ₹3,000 ($34.34) per kg.

    SuperYou looks to lead India’s protein race

    yeast protein powder india
    Courtesy: SuperYou

    SuperYou is targeting India’s growing performance nutrition market with the new protein powder, suggesting that it is suitable for gym-goers, athletes chasing their personal best, post-run recovery, or even for those simply looking to keep active.

    “It performs like whey, tastes great, but without any of the gut discomfort. Our goal with Pro is to make high-performance protein inclusive, clean, and easy to consume without the fuss,” said Biyani.

    SuperYou also claims the new product has sensory benefits. “It’s got none of that grainy, chalky texture that we’re used to when we’re drinking protein. It’s just a smooth, flavourful protein that you will actually enjoy,” said Singh.

    Plus, it requires much less land and water than animal protein, while generating far fewer greenhouse gas emissions. With the new product, SuperYou is aiming to capture 10% of India’s $1.5B protein market within the next 12 months.

    Fellow protein firm Cosmix also sells a range of protein powders blending yeast protein isolate with pea protein, and Soulfuel also sells a protein powder made from brewer’s yeast. Meanwhile, sports nutrition brand Unived has also teased a yeast protein product launch.

    According to Ipsos, India’s alternative protein ecosystem is “on the brink of transformation”, complemented by more awareness around lactose intolerance (which 60% of Indians suffer from) and a concerted effort to eat more protein.

    It’s not just brands looking for a slice of India’s protein pie – restaurants are getting in the act too. Last month, McDonald’s launched vegetarian slices (made from soy, pea and whey) to add 5g of protein each to any burger at all its stores in West and South India.

    The post Bollywood Star Ranveer Singh Launches Fermented Yeast Protein Powder in India appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Tibetan youth protest China minister visit to India | Radio Free Asia (RFA)


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Radio Free Asia.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Trump’s Tariffs Backfire: India Moves Closer To China

    US President Donald Trump is a very contradictory leader. He constantly implements policies that go against his stated goals.

    The perfect example of this is how Trump has treated BRICS, the Global South-led organization that now represents the majority of the planet.

    Trump sees BRICS as a major threat to US hegemony, and, in particular, the dominance of the US dollar as the global reserve currency.

    The US president has openly threatened members of BRICS to try to stop them from seeking alternatives to the dollar.

    In a press conference at the White House on July 8, Trump complained (emphasis added):

    BRICS was set up to hurt us. BRICS was set up to degenerate our dollar, and take our dollar as the standard, take it off as the standard.

    The post Trump’s Tariffs Backfire: India Moves Closer To China appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • India Opens First Animal Stem Cell Biobank, With Cultivated Meat A Key Focus

    cultured meat in india
    4 Mins Read

    India’s cultivated meat industry just got a big boost, with a first-of-a-kind animal stem cell biobank listing proteins as a key priority.

    India has opened its first animal stem cell biobank at the National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) in Hyderabad, earmarking cultivated protein production as a major focus.

    The centre was inaugurated by science and technology minister Jitendra Singh last weekend, and is aimed at revolutionising animal health, regenerative medicine, and agricultural productivity, in line with the country’s growing emphasis on biotech.

    The 9,300 sq ft biobank was built with a ₹1.85 crore ($210,000) investment from the government. The NIAB is an autonomous institute of the Department of Biotechnology’s Biotechnology Research Innovation Council.

    Biobank will supply stem cells and culture media

    animal stem cell biobank india
    Courtesy: National Institute of Animal Biotechnology

    The laboratory will provide high-quality stem cells of various animal origins, as well as indigenous, cost-effective culture media, to research institutions, veterinary clinics, hospitals, and industry. It will support disease modelling, reproductive biotechnology, and tissue regeneration, with plans to expand under the National Biopharma Mission for biobanking animal stem cells and their derivatives.

    Some of its priorities include accelerating advances in veterinary medicine, regenerative therapies, and cultivated protein production, in a bid to reduce the dependence on imports and foster the country’s biomanufacturing capacity.

    The biobank is equipped with a stem cell culture unit, a 3D bioprinter for tissue engineering, a bacterial culture lab, cryostorage facilities, autoclave rooms, advanced air handling systems, and uninterrupted power backup.

    Singh suggested that these innovations will boost the country’s agriculture-linked GDP, labelling the opening as an “evergreen revolution”.

    “With 18% of GDP from agriculture and 60% of our workforce depending on it, innovations in veterinary health will have a transformative impact. ₹1 spent on agricultural research yields a return of ₹13, and linking industry partners from day one ensures these technologies reach the ground,” he said.

    “The economy will shift from manufacturing to regenerative and genetic processes, and India has already initiated this transition,” he added. “We will not lag behind when the next industrial revolution – driven by biotechnology – takes over.”

    Building on India’s BioE3 strategy and cultivated meat developments

    lab grown meat india
    Courtesy: Biokraft Foods

    Alongside the biobank, Singh also launched five diagnostic tools to enhance animal health “The innovations align with the government’s BioE3 policy, focusing on economy, employment, and environment, to create sustainable, knowledge-based livestock health solutions, from disease control to smart protein production,” said NIAB director G Taru Sharma.

    Short for Biotechnology for Economy, Employment, and Environment, the BioE3 strategy was announced 12 months ago to foster high-performance biomanufacturing, with a focus on accelerating tech development and commercialisation by setting up biomanufacturing hubs and biofoundries.

    Among the policy’s six pillars are smart proteins and functional foods. “By providing dedicated R&D and innovation support, the policy will accelerate the development of new technologies and processes that can pave the way towards the nutrition, price, and taste parity of smart protein products, making them a truly competitive alternative to their animal-derived counterparts,” Sneha Singh, managing director of the Good Food Institute India, told Green Queen last year.

    “Smart protein startups will gain significant momentum through dedicated R&D and innovation support, greater investments, and a nurturing ecosystem. The policy will foster a collaborative environment, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and resources between industry and academia, and encouraging public and private partnerships, leading to faster development and commercialisation of smart protein technologies with biohubs and biofoundries.”

    The new biobank is the latest in a list of developments signalling the advancement of India’s future food economy. Two alternative protein centres opened in Bengaluru in 2024, just as the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) worked on establishing a regulatory framework for novel foods.

    In December, Biokraft Foods held the country’s first public tasting of cultivated meat, presenting hybrid chicken to over 30 attendees in Mumbai. And this year, it unveiled cultivated fish products as part of a project with a government-backed research institute, while announcing its intention to file for regulatory approval with the FSSAI.

    Biokraft Foods aims to achieve a commercial rollout of both its meat and seafood products by 2026. The market seems ready. A 2024 survey found that over 60% of Indians are willing to buy cultivated meat, with 59% identifying it as an alternative to conventional meat that promotes nutritional security.

    The post India Opens First Animal Stem Cell Biobank, With Cultivated Meat A Key Focus appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • Chris Hedges Report: When Religious Mafia And Rightwing Extremists Take Over

    One of the most stark examples of the expanding tide of authoritarianism worldwide was the 2017 murder of Gauri Lankesh, an Indian journalist and activist, allegedly assassinated by a far-right religious group in India for her fearless journalism.

    Joining host Chris Hedges on this episode of The Chris Hedges Report is Rollo Romig, a journalist whose Pulitzer Prize-finalist book, I Am On the Hit List: A Journalist’s Murder and the Ruse of Autocracy in India, examines the historic and political context of Lankesh’s murder.

    Romig chronicles the rise of Hindu nationalist extremism in India, linking it to India’s current authoritarian policies under Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

    The post Chris Hedges Report: When Religious Mafia And Rightwing Extremists Take Over appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Viral cartoon mocking Donald Trump over India tariff is doctored

    A cartoon mocking US President Donald Trump’s recent decision to impose steep tariffs on India is viral on social media. The illustration, which is in the style of an editorial cartoon, has the headline “How Tariffs Work”. It depicts Trump urinating into a table fan, only to have it redirected onto his own face. The fan features an Indian flag, perhaps implying that the imposition of tariff on Indian exports to the US has backfired on him.

    Several social media users have claimed that this cartoon was originally published by international news outlets.  An Instagram user, Chola Ram Jain, shared the cartoon illustration on August 7, 2025. The caption of the post says, “This is a cartoon published in an American newspaper…” (Archive)

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by Chola Ram Jani (@cholaramjani08)

    On Facebook, an account named Indori Bhiya shared the purported cartoon and claimed that a Chinese social media handle had shared this post in support of India. (archive)

    Funny Cartoon in Chinese social media on 02 August , supporting India and shaming Donald Trump.🤣🤣

    Posted by Indori Bhiya on Friday 8 August 2025

    Alt News has received several requests to fact-check these claims on the WhatsApp helpline number (7600011160).

    Fact Check

    To verify the authenticity of the cartoon, we conducted a reverse image search. This led us to an X post by Bruce MacKinnon, an editorial cartoonist for the Halifax Chronicle Herald, from February 3, 2025.

    In the original illustration, the fan features a red maple leaf, which stands as Canada’s national symbol.

    Note the difference in the side-by-side comparison below:

    As readers can see, the original illustration was signed by MacKinnon and dated ’11/26/2024′. The edited version, too, has the same signature. If one observes carefully, one would also notice that the Indian flag is not drawn, instead, a digital image has been superimposed on the original illustration.

    According to MacKinnon, the cartoon was created in November 2024 as a reaction to Trump’s tariff measures against Canada, but he was sure that no “self-respecting family newspaper” in Canada would print it. However, given the events that unfolded on February 1st, the cartoon became relevant again. 

    On February 1, 2025, Trump imposed a 25% additional tariff on most imports from Canada and Mexico to hold them “accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into (our) the country..” 

    To sum up, the viral cartoon being circulated as a commentary on US imposing tariff on Indian imports is not authentic. The image is a digitally manipulated version of an illustration which featured a maple leaf from the Canadian flag, and not the Indian Tricolour. Needless to say, the claim that international news outlets published the illustration is also false.

    The post Viral cartoon mocking Donald Trump over India tariff is doctored appeared first on Alt News.


    This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Ankita Mahalanobish.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • A Drugmaker Failed to Fix Safety Violations. The FDA Repeatedly Let It Slide.

    The dispatches from one of India’s most troubled generic drug makers were contrite, filled with far-reaching promises to clean up its factory, stop contamination and send safe medication to Americans counting on the company’s drugs. “We have started addressing FDA concerns very aggressively and comprehensively,” an executive from Sun Pharma wrote to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Pakistan inducts first Chinese-built Z-10ME attack helicopters

    Pakistan has formally introduced Chinese-manufactured Z-10ME attack helicopters into service. Field Marshal Asim Munir, the Chief of Army Staff, presided over an induction ceremony for the new attack helicopters at Multan Garrison on 2 August. Afterwards, Munir witnessed a firepower demonstration by new Z-10MEs at the Muzaffargarh Field Firing Ranges. As per an announcement from […]

    The post Pakistan inducts first Chinese-built Z-10ME attack helicopters appeared first on Asian Military Review.

    This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.

  • Man slapped on Indigo flight: Misleading to claim incident shows ‘plight of Muslims’ in India

    After the video of a man being slapped on an Indigo flight went viral recently, several social media users highlighted the incident as showing the plight of Muslims in India.  

    Thirty-two-year-old Hussain Ahmed Majumdar from the Cachar district of Assam began suffering from a panic attack on an Indigo Airlines flight from Mumbai to Kolkata on July 31. As cabin crew members came forward to help Ahmed and were trying to calm him down, another passenger slapped him. In the now-viral video which was recorded by another passenger, co-passengers can be seen expressing their anger at the unprovoked attack and asked the person who slapped Majumdar why he had done so. In response to this, the passenger in question stated that he was getting disturbed at Majumdar’s behaviour.

    A panic attack is a sudden feeling of intense fear or anxiety that can cause severe physical reactions despite there being no real danger. The symptoms of a panic attack may consist of rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath and dizziness.

    As soon as the visuals began circulating online, social media was flooded with a range of reactions. Many users condemned the violence and expressed sympathy for Majumdar. Since the victim was wearing a skullcap associated with the Muslim religion, some users gave it a communal spin. Some began claiming that this incident happened due to discrimination on the basis of religion. (Archived link)

    Many users clearly termed it as an incident of ‘Islamophobia’ and claimed that the accused was a Hindu, and it reflected the social status of Muslims in India.  (Archived link 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

    Click to view slideshow.

    Fact Check

    Alt News performed a keyword search using terms related to the incident. This led us to several news reports which identified the person who slapped Majumdar as Hafizul Rehman. After landing in Kolkata, Hafizul was detained by the authorities. However, he was later released. It is clear that both the victim and the accused belong to the same community, and there does not appear to be any communal angle to the attack.

    Indigo Airlines issued a statement condemning the incident and called such behaviour unacceptable.

    In another post, Indigo reported that in line with its commitment to discouraging unruly behavior on flights, the accused passenger had been suspended from flying with the airline.

    To sum up, in the Indigo slap case, both the victim and the accused are Muslims. The attack was not motivated by communal hate. However, once the video went viral, the incident was given a communal spin on social media. It is misleading to suggest that the slapping showed the plight of Muslims in India. Besides, the politicization of the incident diverted attention from the main issue, which is the need for awareness about panic attacks and related health issues. 

    The post Man slapped on Indigo flight: Misleading to claim incident shows ‘plight of Muslims’ in India appeared first on Alt News.


    This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Abhishek Kumar.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Indo-Pak Leaders Should “Have a Nice Dinner Together”

    Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (left) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi IMAGE/PPI/AFP/The News

    Troublemakers

    Many leaders1 are averse to running their countries in a peaceful and progressive manner. Instead of concentrating on the problems the majority of their people face, they create trouble by introducing or undoing things, in order to gain political mileage and divert the public’s attention from important issues requiring government focus. The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is one such leader.

    In the Indian Lok Sabha, on August 5, 2019, Modi’s Home Minister Amit Shah announced revocation of Article 370 which had granted limited autonomy to the Indian occupied Kashmir.

    Constitutional expert and eminent scholar A. G. Noorani told Akshay Deshmane what that revocation meant:

    It is utterly and palpably unconstitutional. An unconstitutional deed has been accomplished by deceitful means. For a fortnight, the Governor and other people told a whole load of lies. And I am sorry that the Army Core Commander (Chief) was also enlisted to spread this false thing of inputs from Pakistan. It was all a falsehood. They have undermined the Army’s non-political character. This is patently unconstitutional. Thing is that I had always predicted that they are out to fulfill their Saffron agenda: Uniform Civil Code, Ayodhya and Abrogation of Article 370. It remains to be seen how they accomplish the Ayodhya agenda.

    The Revocation of Article 370 was in complete violation of the 2018 Indian Supreme Court ruling which stated that Article 370 was a permanent part of the Indian Constitution and the only way it could be revoked was through the legislative body that had drafted the Article originally- only they could rescind it. That body, however, stopped functioning in 1957.

    India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said in the Lok Sabha on June 26 and August 7, 1952.

    “I say with all respect to our Constitution that it just does not matter what your Constitution says; if the people of Kashmir do not want it, it will not go there. Because what is the alternative? The alternative is compulsion and coercion…” “We have fought the good fight about Kashmir on the field of battle… (and) …in many a chancellery of the world and in the United Nations, but, above all, we have fought this fight in the hearts and minds of men and women of that State of Jammu and Kashmir. Because, ultimately – I say this with all deference to this Parliament – the decision will be made in the hearts and minds of the men and women of Kashmir; neither in this Parliament, nor in the United Nations nor by anybody else,”

    — Selected works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Vol. 18, p. 418 and vol. 19 pp. 295-6, respectively in A. G. Noorani, “Article 370: Law and politics,” Frontline, September 6, 2000.

    That has never happened. The Kashmiri people have never been given a choice to decide their own destiny. Immediately after revoking Article 370, political leaders and thousands of Kashmiri civilians, including those who want Kashmir to be a part of India, were arrested. Kashmir and Jammu was locked down and all communication was blocked for eighteen months. Kashmir was cut off from the rest of the world.

    Pahalgam

    In September 2024, Kashmir Times’ editor Anuradha Bhasin told Al Jazeera:

    “For the last five years, all Kashmiris have seen is an arrogant bureaucracy and the important missing layers of a local government.”

    Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition in parliament, addressing a rally in the Jammu region said:

    “Non-locals are running Jammu and Kashmir.” “Your democratic right was snatched. We have given priority to the demand for restoration of statehood.” “If [Modi’s party BJP] fails to restore statehood after the elections, we will put pressure on them to ensure it.”

    Bhasin painted a gloomy picture:

    “The hands of the clock have never moved back. Whatever has been taken from the people, in terms of their autonomy or democratic rights, has never been given back. I doubt that would change in the near future.”

    In May 2024, Omar Abdullah, prior and the current Chief Minister since October 2024, had warned about presenting a rosy picture:

    “The situation [in Kashmir] is not normal and talk less about tourism being an indicator of normalcy; when they link normalcy with tourism, they put tourists in danger.” “You are making the tourists a target.”

    Praveen Donthi, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group:

    “New Delhi and its security agencies started buying their own assessment of peace and stability, and they became complacent, assuming that the militants will never attack tourists.” “But if pushed to the wall, all it takes is two men with guns to prove that Kashmir is not normal.”

    While Modi was in Saudi Arabia, on April 22, 2025, terrorists associated with The Resistance Front killed 26 tourists in Pahalgam, a beautiful hill station and a favorite destination for visitors. The victims were asked about their religion and were killed on communal basis.

    Modi cut short his Saudi Arabia visit and flew back to India’s capital city, Delhi where he didn’t mention Pahalgam at all.

    However, Modi’s divisive inflammatory rhetoric and strategy is well known to the Bihar-based Rashtriya Janata Dal who predicted Modi’s politics:

    “The pyres of the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack have not yet been lit, but the country’s Prime Minister will come to Bihar tomorrow to campaign and deliver speeches because Bihar is holding elections this year.”

    Modi, as if on an election campaign in Bihar, the second most populous state (with a large Dalit and Muslim population), gave a fiery speech:

    “Today from the soil of Bihar I say to the whole world. India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the earth.”

    Veteran journalist Jawed Naqvi points out that in foreign countries Modi typically gives his speeches in Hindi but he gave this address using English to Bihar’s Hindi speakers (perhaps, to fully capitalize from the foreign press present.)

    The accusing finger immediately implied Pakistan, rather than question the security lapse of the Indian security forces or trying to determine the perpetrators. Pakistan has been involved in the past but, this time no proof exists of its involvement. The rhetoric reached fever pitch and culminated in India’s attack on its neighbor, and when Pakistan asked for evidence of the accusation, India didn’t provide it.

    Pakistan also offered to join a “neutral and transparent” investigation but India refused the offer.

    India blamed Pakistan’s military chief Asim Munir’s speech of April 15, 2025 for the Pahalgam tragedy.

    It’s a well known fact that Kashmir is the world’s most militarized zone with very numerous Indian check points all over the state. The question: where was Indian security? was not addressed by the government. Two months later, on June 22, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two persons who provided shelter to three persons involved in the act, according to NIA allegations.

    Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced 5 major decisions taken by the Indian Government in April, 2025:

    1. Suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (1960) with Pakistan.

    2. Immediate closure of the Atari Integrated Checkpost.

    3. Cancellation of all SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme visas for Pakistani nationals.

    4. Expulsion of defense, naval, and air advisors from the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi.

    5. Reduction of staff in both High Commissions from 55 to 30.

    The CCS reaffirmed India’s resolve to bring perpetrators to justice and hold their sponsors accountable.

    These are extreme measures that, if implemented, especially the water treaty suspension, will undoubtedly create more trouble and could result in a bigger war in the future.

    On July 28, Indian government said its security forces killed three persons responsible for the April 22 killing.

    Asim Munir

    On April 15, while addressing the Overseas Pakistanis (OPs), Munir came out as Indian Hindu Modi’s2 Pakistani version: full of hate, divisiveness, and communalism.

    “Our forefathers thought that we are different from the Hindus in every possible aspect of life. Our religion is different. Our customs are different. Our traditions are different. Our thoughts are different. Our ambitions are different.”

    “… we are two nations, we are not one nation.”

    The army, not popular in Pakistan for its constant interference in politics and disappearing critics and people as Balochis, seemingly, feels driven to frequently do something to make itself relevant. Munir’s speech to OPs was one such attempt.

    India blaming Munir for Pahalgam attack does not seem very credible. The oppressed people, Kashmiris in India or Balochis in Pakistan, don’t need any inciting speech to fight back; they’re just waiting for the right time because they don’t have the luxury of attacking at will, like the governments do, in the name of “national security.” The oppressed can’t reach the state so they attack innocent people to communicate their plight.

    In Pakistan, Baloch separatists have stopped buses and killed Punjabis after checking their IDs, perhaps in revenge as Punjab is Pakistan’s most populous and dominant province, and has a strong hold over the central government.

    The attacks are cruel, but these kind of ugly incidents may continually occur if governments involved refuse to negotiate and reach amicable solutions.

    War

    On 29 April, Indian government sources quoted Modi: “They [the Indian army] have complete operational freedom to decide on the mode, targets, and timing of our response,”

    On May 7, India struck some sites in Pakistan, that then counter-struck.

    India’s Israeli Ambassador Reuven Azar posted on X: “Israel supports India’s right for self-defense. Terrorists should know there’s no place to hide from their heinous crimes against the innocent.”

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Modi: “Israel stands with India in its fight against terrorism.”

    There can be no better person than Netanyahu, the great terrorist and genocider, to advice another terrorist.

    Trump’s ceasefire

    The four-day-war ended when US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire on his Truth Social media site:

    “I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE.”

    Propaganda

    In 2014, when Modi was to become Prime Minister for the first time, Amit Shah had bragged about BJP having 3.2 million WhatsApp groups who could instantly turn anything into believable stuff. In May 2024, BJP had at least 5 million WhatsApp groups and its infrastructure is so strong that any message relayed from Delhi could circulate all over India within 12 minutes.

    Kiran Garimella of Rutgers University who researches WhatsApp in India, warned that WhatsApp is not an open social media like X or Facebook which is worrying and a cause for concern for many people.

    “It is concerning that such a huge ‘hidden’ infrastructure plays a huge role in how the public consumes information.” “Only the creators of these groups know the extent to which the tentacles of this WhatsApp infrastructure are spread.”

    What is the result?

    War is like a game to the war inciters, war lovers, war media, and common people under the spell of the media frenzy and are most interested in the one question, who won and who lost?

    The winners

    There were two clear winners: Indian news media and the Pakistan army and its Chief of Army Staff: Asim Munir.

    False news stories and AI generated images came from both sides but India was way ahead in fake news:

    • Indian Navy destroyed sea port Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and financial center, with “over ten blasts.”
    • The city of Peshawar was turned to “dust.”
    • Pakistani soldiers were “deserting” and generals were “fleeing” the country,
    • Some channels announced destruction of 5 cities where as another settled for 26 cities
    • India’s fake news-master Arnab Goswami also declared a huge blast was heard outside Pakistan PM’s house and he was taken away to a place “20.5” kilometers (12.74 miles) away. Goswami also said it’s not clear whether it was for a safety reason or was it a coup.
    • Zee News declared a coup happened resulting in the arrest of General Asim Munir.
    • and so on…

    For a very long time now, most Indian media has turned into “Godi Media,” a term used by Ravish Kumar, the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award winner. (Kumar was NDTV India’s Managing Editor but left when it was bought by billionaire Gautam Adani, a Modi supporter and fellow Gujarati.)

    Kumar queried as to who should get an award for riveting fake news?

    • News Nation who gave news of Sharif on the run or,
    • Zee News who located Sharif, who was never missing?

    Sumitra Badrinathan, an assistant professor at the American University, observed in an interview with the New York Times that in India “previously credible journalists and major media news outlets ran straight-up fabricated stories [on the 4 day war].”

    The losers

    The victims of the bombings, dead or wounded, are always the first ones to endure the horrors of war. They are the losers.

    Pakistan said 40 civilians and 13 military personnel were killed. India’s figure was 21 civilians and 8 military and paramilitary personnel died. Hundreds of people on both sides got injured.

    The politicians and generals on both sides claimed victory. The war was of a very short duration, thus politicians and generals didn’t feel populace hostility or face dire consequences like resignations.

    Winner and loser honor

    That honor goes to Modi. He was a winner and also a loser.

    • Modi the winner. To his followers, Modi’s heroism enhanced when the Indian news media falsely started giving way too inflated stories of India beating Pakistan.
    • Modi also succeeded in cutting off whatever little cooperation existed between Indians and Pakistanis through arts and sports. The Indian government ordered all Pakistani songs removed from Spotify. All media streaming services, digital intermediaries, and OTT platforms were ordered to discontinue Pakistani films, web series, songs, etc. Pakistani TV channels and dramas, very popular in India, were banned and still are. Pakistani artists and sportspersons social media accounts were blocked and still are.
    • The extent of Modi’s hatred can be gauged from the following film posters: before and after.

    Indian actor Harshvardhan Rane and Pakistani actress Mawra Hocane in Indian film poster of Sanam Teri Kasam IMAGE/BrandSynario/Duck Duck Go

    In an Orwellian move, Pakistani actress Mawra Hocane was removed from the film poster of Sanam Teri Kasam IMAGE/Hindustan Times/Duck Duck Go

    The original film poster had Mawra Hocane but in the revised one, Hocane disappeared in an Orwellian manner. Shah Rukh Khan‘s movie posters of Raees with Pakistani actress Mahira Khan have faced the same fate.

    • Indian singer, actor, producer Diljit Dosanjh film Sardaar Ji 33 with the Pakistani actress Hania Aamir got banned in India. The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar and Minister of Information & Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw to revoke passports of Daljit Dosanjh, Gunbir Singh Sidhu, Manmord Sidhu and Director Amar Hundal. Just for working with a Pakistani artist, thus displaying the toxic mixture of hate, idiocy, and faulty logic.
    • FWICE’s letter contained many lies about Hania Aamir who had lamented the loss of life: “I don’t have fancy words right now. I just have anger, pain, and a heavy heart. A child is gone. Families are shattered. And for what? This is not how you protect anyone. This is cruelty – plain and simple.

    Mind you, Modi personally may not be giving orders, but, people get emboldened to inflict damage as they know they won’t be stopped.

    Many fields of life, from economics to education and from culture to cricket, have suffered due to rigidity, egotism, and ideology of politicians on both sides. Pakistani military’s control over politicians has never let both countries cooperate and utilize fully the trade, talents, and technology. Hardly a 100 or so Pakistani artists and playback singers have ever worked in Indian films.

    Official trade between both countries has dropped and is routed through Singapore, Colombo (Sri Lanka), and Dubai (UAE), costing more money. Even in peace times, these routes are used for trade due to some or other reason. It’s foolish, but than you can’t make people with power to understand, because the powerful don’t allow discussions or arguments.

    Modi the loser. On May 10, 2025, at 6:55 A.M. Eastern Time (that is 4:55 P.M. Pakistan time and 5:25 P.M. Indian time) on his Truth Social site, Trump announced:

    “After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE. Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

    It was sobering news for Modi. Modi has created an image of himself as Indian superman with broad 56-inch chest who is globally famous giving hugs to presidents, prime ministers, billionaires, whether they want it or not. He has made 91 foreign trips till July 2025. He has made India a superpower not in reality but by creating such perception. Modi who likes to control the narrative and who desperately wanted to announce victory had to get a ceasefire order from Trump. Trump is such a character that you can’t argue with him because then you face more humiliation — not because Trump is more vitriolic than Modi but because US is economically much more stronger than India, who is economically heavily interconnected with the US.

    Imbecile

    Then there is Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He got so carried away by Pakistan army’s downing of less than half a dozen Indian fighter planes that he equated it as a victory compensating for the loss of half the country (55% of its population in 1971) when East Pakistan seceded with Indian help to become independent Bangladesh.

    That is clearly just a fictional ego boosting comparison.

    Unpredictable Outcome

    Who could have predicted that Modi’s war would give Pakistan army and Munir a new lease on popularity?

    Avoid war

    Poet Sahir Ludhianvi’s poem O Decent People has a quatrain:

    whether the blood spilled is ours or theirs

    it is the blood of Adam’s progeny, after all

    whether the war is in the east or west

    it is the murder of world peace, after all

    War should be avoided at all cost. All wars between Pakistan and India inflict tremendous cost in lives and finances, and, affect the entire South Asian region.

    Both possess nuclear weapons which if, by mistake or bravado, get deployed in the war, would end in great disaster for the entire world. According to climatologist Alan Robock, 1,000,000,000 to 2 billion people would face starvation worldwide, in such case, there would be immediate climate changes, leading to much colder weather than the Little Ice Age and many other disasters, including destruction of ozone layer.

    Dinner date

    Trump advised Indian and Pakistani leaders to go for a dinner date.

    “Maybe we can even get them together a little bit, Marco [Rubio, the US Secretary of State], where they go out and have a nice dinner together. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

    Improve relations

    The population of South Asia, including Afghanistan, comprises 25% of global population. With China’s 17% added, the percentage shoots up to 42%.

    The World Inequality Lab study observed that income and wealth contrast in Modi’s India is worse, more than it was during the British colonial rule. Other countries in the region are not any better.

    Suggestions:

    • If 42% of people increase trade in way that exchange of dollars is minimized, either through barter trade or using own currencies, this would save them hustle for dollars and foreign exchange.
    • Increased trade also brings people closer and aids in creating more understanding and tolerance.
    • In the best interest of both countries and the entire South Asian region, it would be better if SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation) is revived.
    • Visas should be issued to enjoy tourism and appreciate each other’s natural beauty of land, flora and fauna and cultures
    • Exchange student programs should be initiated
    • Joint cultural, artistic, sports, entertainment, and other such events should be organized and promoted.
    • India and Pakistan should avoid competing to get in the good books of US administration and try to sort out their problems themselves.
    • Pakistan feels insecure when Trump is close to Modi and vice versa.
    • India is the most populous country and Pakistan is the fifth most populated nation, both are made of many nations held together with very weak ties. They should concentrate on making that connection stronger by addressing the problems of various ethnic, caste, gender, and religious groups and by improving relations between the countries of SAARC.

    Gur Mehar Kaur, whose father died during one of the Indo-Pak wars when she was 2 year old, wishes peace:

    “… Only mutual cooperation can drive South Asia ahead. A peaceful subcontinent is the greatest gift we can give our families, our soldiers and ourselves.”

    “Hate is the most anti-national force that we face. The worst thing the BJP under Modi did was nurture a mob that can only be satisfied with blood, killings and hate. For 10 years, this mob has been empowered.”

    Notes:

    The post Indo-Pak Leaders Should “Have a Nice Dinner Together” first appeared on Dissident Voice.
    1    In the Shanghai Communique, 1972, the US declared:

    The United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The United States Government does not challenge that position.

    For almost five decades, peace prevailed between China and the United States on the issue of Taiwan. The above policy was maintained without any serious incident. It could have gone on for decades but for some US generals and others who visited Taiwan in March 2022. Author Eve Ottenberg surmised, “to beat the war drums and provoke China.” Same year in August, Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan too, to incite China.

    The “world’s greatest democracy” seems devoid of a peace gene; it follows it’s own motto: “I war, therefore I am.”
    2    In 1924, 1,165 in-person hate speech events took place in India; 259 were openly calling for violence. Many important BJP leaders, including Modi, his Home Minister Amit Shah, and Yogi Adityanath, the rogue governor of largest state Uttar Pradesh, were involved in these events.
    3    The 2016, the Indian film Sanam Teri Kasam had a Pakistani actress Mawra Hocane as the female protagonist. The film was re-released in February and became highest-grossing re-released Indian film. They are making a sequel but now without Hocane because of the war. (VIDEO/Soham Rockstar Entertainment/Youtube)Dosanjh made a great move. He didn’t implore authorities for the film to be released in India but instead had it released worldwide, including Pakistan, where it became the second highest-grossing film in Pakistan’s history. It is also the highest-grossing Punjabi language film internationally. The film has made almost double the money it cost to make the movie. (VIDEO/White Hill Music/Youtube) Dosanjh’s actions will encourage those Indian and Pakistani artists who wants to collaborate to release their work worldwide to cover the cost and make profit internationally, rather than be at the mercy of local politicians’ whims. Indian film Abir Gulaal with Indian actress Vaani Kapoor and Pakistani actor Fawad Khan was to release on May 9 but was postponed indefinitely. The makers should think of forgoing the Indian market and releasing it worldwide if possible and if it won’t hurt them financially.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Philippines, India conduct joint exercises in South China Sea

    Indian and Philippine naval crews sailed together for the first time in the South China Sea, officials said on Monday, one of several joint exercises the Philippine navy has held to counter China’s far-reaching maritime claims.

    The two-day joint sail included three Indian ships. It began on Sunday, a day before Philippine Prime Minister Ferdinand Marcos left for a five-day state visit to New Delhi that will include talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    Before departing, Marcos lauded the two countries’ “shared values” and “steadfastness in upholding international maritime law.”

    China claims almost all of the South China Sea, a critical shipping route that’s also partially claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, despite an international arbitration court in 2016 ruling that its assertions had “no legal basis.” Beijing did not accept the ruling.

    A spokesperson for China’s military on Monday said that Chinese ships had conducted patrols in the South China Sea during the same period as the joint exercises. The spokesperson said those patrols were “routine,” but said that the joint exercises “disrupted regional peace and stability.”

    This image released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Aug. 4, 2025, shows the joint India-Philippines naval exercise in the South China Sea.
    This image released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Aug. 4, 2025, shows the joint India-Philippines naval exercise in the South China Sea.
    (Armed Forces of the Philippines via X)

    The Philippines has pressed its claims over the disputed waterway in recent months, enacting new laws, pushing for a maritime code of conduct, and considering new international lawsuits. Since 2023, it has conducted joint exercises with partners including the U.S., Japan, Australia, France and Canada.

    This year, Manila and Beijing have expressed their quarrel in the physical world — with each country’s coast guard unfurling a flag on a contested sandbank in April — and in cyberspace, jousting over a Google Maps update labeling part of the waterway the “West Philippine Sea.”

    Includes reporting from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Defending Asian skies

    The rapid proliferation of long-range threats such as ballistic and cruise missiles, loitering munitions and unmanned aerial vehicles in the Asia-Pacific region has prompted development of a range of indigenous countermeasures. This threat environment is demonstrated in the region’s perceived need for stronger air defence capabilities to protect national interests and assert territorial claims. Indeed, […]

    The post Defending Asian skies appeared first on Asian Military Review.

    This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.

  • Death threats target India journalist Sneha Barve, weeks after assault

    New Delhi, August 1, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges the chief minister of the western state of Maharashtra to take immediate action to protect Indian journalist Sneha Barve, who received fresh death threats on July 24, three weeks after a brutal assault.

    “It is outrageous that journalist Sneha Barve, who was nearly killed for exposing wrongdoing, has been threatened once again, while the main suspect in her assault walks free,” said Kunāl Majumder, CPJ’s India representative. “Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis must urgently guarantee Sneha Barve’s safety to send a clear message that attacks on the press will not be tolerated and ensure those responsible are swiftly prosecuted.”

    Barve told CPJ that on July 24, Prashant Pandurang Morde – who was arrested for his role in the earlier attack on the journalist – accosted her outside her office in the town of Manchar and threatened her, saying, “This time, we should finish the matter for good.”

    On July 4, Barve, founder of the Samarth Bharat Pariwar YouTube-based news channel, was attacked by a group of men while reporting on alleged illegal construction on disputed land in Manchar, Pune district. A video of the attack shows a man striking Barwe with a wooden rod before she loses consciousness.

    Five suspects were arrested but released on bail three days later.

    The man accused of wielding the rod, Pandurang Sakharam Morde, a businessman with alleged political connections, was named in the First Information Report opening the investigation, but has not been arrested.

    On July 18, Prashant Morde, son of Pandurang Sakharam Morde, went to Barve’s father’s office and threatened to harm the entire family, the journalist told CPJ. In a complaint to police, reviewed by CPJ, Barve said the three suspects had been collecting information about her family and requested police protection.

    CPJ’s WhatsApp messages requesting comment from Fadnavis’ media advisor, Ketan Pathak, did not receive any reply. Pune Rural Superintendent of Police Sandeep Gill told CPJ by WhatsApp that he would reply, but did not immediately respond to queries. CPJ was unable to immediately source contact information for Morde.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Death threats target India journalist Sneha Barve, weeks after assault

    New Delhi, August 1, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges the chief minister of the western state of Maharashtra to take immediate action to protect Indian journalist Sneha Barve, who received fresh death threats on July 24, three weeks after a brutal assault.

    “It is outrageous that journalist Sneha Barve, who was nearly killed for exposing wrongdoing, has been threatened once again, while the main suspect in her assault walks free,” said Kunāl Majumder, CPJ’s India representative. “Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis must urgently guarantee Sneha Barve’s safety to send a clear message that attacks on the press will not be tolerated and ensure those responsible are swiftly prosecuted.”

    Barve told CPJ that on July 24, Prashant Pandurang Morde – who was arrested for his role in the earlier attack on the journalist – accosted her outside her office in the town of Manchar and threatened her, saying, “This time, we should finish the matter for good.”

    On July 4, Barve, founder of the Samarth Bharat Pariwar YouTube-based news channel, was attacked by a group of men while reporting on alleged illegal construction on disputed land in Manchar, Pune district. A video of the attack shows a man striking Barwe with a wooden rod before she loses consciousness.

    Five suspects were arrested but released on bail three days later.

    The man accused of wielding the rod, Pandurang Sakharam Morde, a businessman with alleged political connections, was named in the First Information Report opening the investigation, but has not been arrested.

    On July 18, Prashant Morde, son of Pandurang Sakharam Morde, went to Barve’s father’s office and threatened to harm the entire family, the journalist told CPJ. In a complaint to police, reviewed by CPJ, Barve said the three suspects had been collecting information about her family and requested police protection.

    CPJ’s WhatsApp messages requesting comment from Fadnavis’ media advisor, Ketan Pathak, did not receive any reply. Pune Rural Superintendent of Police Sandeep Gill told CPJ by WhatsApp that he would reply, but did not immediately respond to queries. CPJ was unable to immediately source contact information for Morde.


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Mirror or Mirage? The Future of Truth and Freedom of the Press Today

    Truth or Perception?

    True to the words of the legendary 19th-century French novelist Gustave Flaubert, “there is no truth. There is only perception”. The truth may sound or taste bitter. But in reality, there is no singular truth and perception about anything and everything in this divine universe, even about the most abstract ones. Inherent truth is subjective, which lies in the hands of an individual’s interpretation. Together, they have a profound influence on shaping people’s views.

    Its real-life exponent is none other than the dictator Hitler⸺thanks to his exceptional oratory skills, once dangerous and fascinating. On the other side of the coin lies the legacy of the great American social and civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. His non-violent liberal views on racial equality echoed deeply. Both historical figures left an indelible mark on the world courtesy of their respective mindsets strategically manifested, intertwined with truth and perception.

    To shape public perception, key news sources include print and electronic media. These include newspapers, television, books, magazines, and radio. Newspapers and television are naturally the most widely ubiquitous, commanding massive audience coverage and deep penetration.

    India has one of the largest newspaper circulations in the world. It endures and reveres the media, but here is the catch. According to media literacy index data, our homeland, India, ranked at a very low level globally. The magnitude of freedom is handy to the journalists at large, and it is alarming! Sadly, in India’s context, it is directionless. Ultimately, it is a wake-up call. The freedom of the press is inextricably linked to the democracy of a country. Apart from this, news channels on television are not behind in the rat race with their contemporaries. Selling content to the audience instead of ensuring quality content that informs them the most. Running for TRP, the real news gets diluted. The essence of informing and information gets killed long before through various media.

    India’s complex emotional landscape

    In a country as emotionally vulnerable and socially heterogeneous — as India. The longstanding challenges, such as Hindu-Muslim tensions, population explosion, poverty, illiteracy, and more. Labyrinths of other enigmas are often engulfed, which causes reactive, colloquial responses. They manifest vividly during nightmarish, complex — Kafkaesque episodes. Numerous instances of public unrest like riots, rapes, suicides, and more are evidence to it. Such emotionally charged reactions complicate the government’s ability to implement and administer policies in a consistent, transformative manner. This is where the truth and the press hold a critical role. In these complexities, the leakages of the internal machinery get highlighted.

    A Press Under Siege

    Having such a media state has major concerns and equally questionable consequences. They often tend to leave a painful scar later in the long term. On the contrary, the case is very different in countries as Russia, China, the US, and the U.K. They usually have concrete, strong, hassle-free, definite political motives and policies. They refrain from the ways India often tends to follow. The typical Indian answer to our emotional country goes back to our heated history textbooks. There have been countless deliberate attempts the whole world has made to conquer the roots of our ‘bhāratavarṣa’. It was not only for centuries but for millennia indeed. Starting from the advent of Alexander the Great in 326 BCE to the British Empire in 1947. The continual cycle of ‘sought and fought’ had fragmented and fractured the internal cohesion. This legacy left the nation in a difficult yet diverse situation. Still, it often backfires, creating an ironic, complicated situation of unity in diversity. Unlike other countries, the US and Russia. Unfortunately, India hasn’t enjoyed an uninterrupted political lineage with a uniform singularity of purpose. In our case, the press doesn’t report the truth. It often has to wrestle for it amid the noise of unresolved historical background, painstakingly.

    Indispensable, twin forces — the truth is an expression, the press is the medium. Shaping and reshaping our views, then our beliefs. Eventually, it solidifies respective ideologies. The media are the purveyors of truth and freedom. Conveying information concisely under the instructions of the government. With such a vital authority and verdict resting on the press, it is a transparent, crystal-clear mirror of the country. It is a double-edged sword, bridging the supreme authority with the assurance of the people. Just exactly like Snow White’s enchanted mirror, today’s press undergoes examination, “Mirror, mirror on the wall: Who tells the truth among us all”? Publicly, things get amplified and complicated with social media. It affects the scenario, which itself is in an uneasy, lopsided state.

    Social Media Perils and Content Pollution

    True to the words of the legendary English poet Alexander Pope, the warmth of his lines is produced in his thought-provoking work, ‘An Essay on Criticism’. The lines “A little learning is a dangerous thing.” These are so apt to the complex content we consume today. The essence of the magnum opus is deeply felt even today in the 21st-century modern world.

    In the essence of the digital age today, Social Media is the online medium that makes shallow learning among the masses a dangerous thing! It has a profound impact and internal pressure on one’s daily life. The ignorance of countless posts on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and so on, will undoubtedly be bliss. In shades of innumerable benefits, it often results in ruining one’s privacy. Social media validation and accumulating more and more followers are blinding. It is infused with overloaded fake news, intense addiction, and the urge to form opinions and criticism (trolling). Everyone wants to express something without having the real knowledge about it. With this huge confusion and anxiety, it has emerged everywhere like wildfire. All of this has created misconceptions, prejudice, manipulation, censorship, ambiguity, rumours, and misuse. This mess is one of the major grey shades of social media.

    Content is not just consumed; it is exaggerated, engineered, and fabricated. All this is exercised under legitimate knowledge claims. Ultimately, this flooding mechanism has blurred the line between what is reel and what the actual reality is. It has adulterated information to an unprecedented level. India itself produces a large number of content creators globally. In turn, Indians also tend to consume a huge volume of content. Thanks to insanely addictive reels and posts on apps like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, and more. As a result, India also leads in average mobile screen time. The estimated screen time is more than 5 hours daily. Even sometimes creating obscene content for the sake of likes and comments is considered normal! At least for disseminating genuine content, social media proves to be an easy yet complex option. Consequently, it has driven the Indian media into peril.

    The Collapse of Free Speech

    Unearthing the truth in the crossword and its clues embedded in a web of lies is hard. It has paradoxically suffocated the very freedom of speech within the compound chaos altogether. Truth is born out of freedom and courage. The press, which once investigated the unknown, unbelievable, and the unthinkable, now tirelessly circles. Just hunting for the truth for the sake of real, meaningful truth. But alas, today, there is both speech and courage immersed deep. The axis of profoundly malicious, politically motivated actions and intentions is strongly holding it. Both truth and press now operate in a system they once sought to expose. Here, language often bought through bribes speaks loudly and boldly to rule over everyone. Often, institutions buy and sell the freedom of speech, putting their agenda forward to the masses. This dirty, unethical transaction not only trades monetary value but also corrupts the system. It hollows the society morally, emotionally, and socially, both intentionally and unintentionally, like a parasite.

    The voice of the innocent (media professionals), who dare to speak the truth, often embraces unjust retribution and tyrannical faith. Their remarkable efforts peel back those thick layers of deception, corruption, and bribery, but go in vain. Pressure groups and others often bury uneasy truths and astonishing facts under the guise of national interest and public welfare. The beautiful irony is just showcased as normal in thin air! The menace is that it is paraded to the audience as a sideshow spectacle. Such skillful, shrewd wordplay and rhetorical acrobatics contribute significantly to it. As a result, even the sharpest person in the room can’t pose a question. This puppetry media manipulation in a performative democracy becomes art, not for informing, but for controlling.

    The Legal Lens: Indian Constitution and the Press

    Laws and the press share a valiant, intertwined relationship where both have the power and potential in society. The law acts as a watchdog over the duty of both the people and the press. The freedom of the media is not only linked to journalism but to the vocal freedom of a country. Leaving it in a deadly dilemma of oblivion if left unchecked.

    Resorting to legal methods for a hand-to-hand confrontation and cleansing it eventually may be the tedious yet best remedy. Highlighting the pitfalls and sorting them to the roots, as there is no smoke without fire. Although this is an even bigger headache since the magnitude of the Indian media industry is a whopping amount of more than a billion dollars.

    By turning through the pages of the most voluminous rulebook of the world, the Indian Constitution. It offers us both a better, comprehensive, and far-sighted view. Indian law is just and faithful enough to meet both ends and refine its application by drawing the light of wisdom over the respective case.

    Article 19(1)(a) relates to the independent freedom of voice and their respective opinions against the actions of the government. The media is legally backed up to highlight the plight of truth ‘lying’ beneath the surface and above it. Likewise, some notable eye-opening cases include the Romesh Thappar vs State of Madras and the Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) (P) Ltd. vs Union of India. These astounding cases had thrust the freedom of the press and media into the limelight, concreting their status even more. These cases and many more are at the confluence of the political and social environment. The emancipation to advance facts and reports without any intervention, but with reasonable restrictions behind the fences.

    Freedom and truth in the press should be carried sensibly within the thin line of legal demarcation relative to the audience. Sensitive news often triggers harmful ideas, and it can lead to both psychological and mental pain directly. Avoiding the spread of any fake news, defamation, contempt of court, blasphemy, voyeurism, and any threat to the sovereignty and integrity of India is of utmost national significance. There has been some progress over time to overcome the stagnant debacle; there is a long road to travel.

    Press, Sacrifice, and Political Ironies

    Dubbed as the 4th pillar of democracy, the press and media enjoy an ironic status owing to their gullible volatility. There remain shining examples of fearless Indian journalism that delivered the truth at the right place and at the right time, undeterred by mental pressure. But ironically, the most staggering report gathered is that our motherland, India, stands amongst the top countries to have the most journalist deaths.

    Renowned cases of such ill-fated scapegoats include Gauri Lankesh, J.Dey, and Daniel Pearl; the list goes on. Their “sacrifice” bears a thought-provoking lesson. These media professionals fearlessly tried to unmask the bitter truth of the wrongdoers and guilty minds. To combat such authoritarian regimes, often influential political ideals march forward carrying the baton, calling for a major upheaval or revolution. In the process, this leads to doublespeak from the other side in a counterreaction. Often, when things take a U-turn, these political ideals later turn into political prisoners! Eventually, their descendants find their lives embroiled, burdened with defining and redefining their ideologies and legacy.

    Such a misuse or mistake can lead to an Orwellian dystopia in a totalitarian manner, as pointed out by the great 20th-century English author George Orwell. In his magnum opus novel, 1984, he showcases the political nightmare the caged media and press cast upon it.

    In the dynamics of India, the silver lining is certainly visible. The architectural Gandhian values of truth and freedom will be followed and resonate. Both the sanguine prospects and outputs of journalism will emerge rooted in integrity and moral duty, without fleeting urgency. But rather with an imperative role, a pillar of democracy, not with transience but with transparency.

    The post Mirror or Mirage? The Future of Truth and Freedom of the Press Today first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Indian Army receives its first Apaches, while S. Korea dithers

    The first three AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters for the Indian Army arrived in the country, even as South Korea has changed its mind over a repeat order for the Boeing-built platform. The trio of Indian Apaches arrived at Hindon Air Force Station near Delhi on 22 July, carried aboard an Antonov An-124 transport aircraft. […]

    The post Indian Army receives its first Apaches, while S. Korea dithers appeared first on Asian Military Review.

    This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.

  • Repressive Laws Are Increasingly Being Used to Silence Activists Across Asia

    Josef Benedict and Rajavelu Karunanithi published a piece in the Diplomat of 18 July 2025 describing how from Hong Kong to India, governments are passing and weaponizing new laws to pursue and jail whoever speaks up for human rights.

    Four years ago, on the 32nd anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, plain clothes police arrested human rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist Chow Hang-tung outside her office in Hong Kong. Her alleged crime? Publishing two social media posts advertising a public vigil to remember the notorious crackdown in Tiananmen Square. At the time, Chow was the vice-chair of the now defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement of China, the main organizer of annual Tiananmen vigils…

    Sadly, such repression is not unique to Hong Kong. Across Asia, authoritarian and democratic governments alike are passing and weaponizing new laws – in clear violation of international law and standards – to pursue and jail whoever speaks up for human rights. Today, on Nelson Mandela International Day, we call for the release of Chow Hang-tang, who is part of CIVICUS’ Stand As My Witness campaign, as well as other human rights defenders unjustly locked up in Asia around the world.

    The CIVICUS Monitor, which tracks civic space conditions across the world, now rates Hong Kong’s civic space as “closed,” the worst possible ranking. Hundreds remain behind bars as police systematically use the new laws to arrest and prosecute people on trumped-up charges. Often, the process itself becomes the punishment as activists spend years in detention before they are even tried…

    Meanwhile, Hong Kong authorities are trying to take their repression international, by offering bounties for activists-in-exile charged under the National Security Law and by arresting the father of a prominent U.S.-based activist, Anna Kwok.

    ..Hong Kong’s National Security Laws have become something of a model for other Asian governments looking to stifle dissent.

    Look no further than India, often called the world’s largest democracy, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government resorts to similar laws to consolidate power and silence his critics. Dozens of activists have been jailed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), a draconian anti-terror law. Under the UAPA’s provisions, activists remain in pre-trial detention for long periods and are denied bail, including human rights defender Khurram Parvez, who was arrested in November 2021. His trial has yet to start, four years on. [see also: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/laureates/81468931-79AA-24FF-58F7-10351638AFE3]

    In neighboring Pakistan, the government also weaponizes anti-terror legislation against activists like Mahrang Baloch, who languishes in prison on terror charges for speaking out against ongoing violations of ethnic minority rights by the Pakistan security forces in Balochistan. [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2025/05/28/un-experts-alarmed-by-arbitrary-detention-of-azerbaijani-human-rights-defender-mammadli/]

    In Thailand, more than 270 individuals have been arrested or prosecuted under lese-majeste or royal defamation laws since early 2020, many of whom have received long consecutive sentences from the courts. Human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, for instance, received multiple convictions and 26 years in jail for calling for democratic reforms and reforms of the Thai monarchy. [see also: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/laureates/1e7ce01b-7927-41f1-b7d4-2c563ee235cc]

    Meanwhile, Cambodia’s Han Manet regime has used “incitement” laws as their weapon of choice to silence activists, journalists, and members of the opposition.

    With legal repression spreading across Asia, the international community must do more to push back and stand with these brave activists. Foreign governments must not only speak out when activists are convicted, but step in much earlier when these human rights defenders are arrested. Diplomats should visit wrongly arrested activists in detention, monitor their trials, and engage with their families. Foreign governments must also use international platforms like the United Nations Human Rights Council and bilateral meetings to highlight their cases and call for their release. 

    Activists-in-exile also need support and assistance, especially when they face transnational repression. The recent G-7 Leaders’ Statement on Transnational Repression was a good start, but strong rhetoric must now turn into serious action. Failure to undertake such actions will see a further regression of democracy and repression of civic freedoms in Asia and elsewhere.

    https://thediplomat.com/2025/07/repressive-laws-are-increasingly-being-used-to-silence-activists-across-asia/

    This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.

  • McDonald’s India Unveils with Vegetarian ‘Protein Plus’ Slices to Meet Skyrocketing Demand

    mcdonalds india protein plus
    5 Mins Read

    McDonald’s is targeting India’s protein craze with a meat-free Protein Plus range to boost the nutritional content of its burgers.

    The latest company to hop on India’s protein train is the world’s largest food corporation.

    McDonald’s India, already home to one of the chain’s most extensive meat-free menus globally, has launched a Protein Plus range to power up its existing burgers with vegetarian protein slices.

    While the slices aren’t vegan-friendly – they’re made from a mix of soy, pea and whey protein – their rollout comes amid rising demand for plant proteins in India. This year, 37% of its citizens are looking to add more of these to their diets.

    The circular slices can be added to any burger, each adding five grams of protein. They’re a result of McDonald’s ongoing collaboration with the CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), part of the national science and technology ministry.

    “We believe in giving our customers choices, and this time, we are giving them the power to personalise their protein intake,” said Akshay Jatia, CEO of Westlife Foodworld, which operates McDonald’s stores in West and South India. “The Protein Plus range allows them to enjoy their favourite McDonald’s burgers without compromising on their protein needs or taste.”

    Protein Plus looks to tackle India’s deficiency

    mcdonalds protein plus
    Courtesy: McDonald’s India

    Swathes of studies suggest that India has a protein problem. According to one survey, 73% of the country has a deficiency. That said, a separate analysis of household food intakes reveals that the risk of protein deficiency, when adjusted for digestible quality, is low in adults and non-existent in young Indians.

    But the protein trend isn’t going anywhere. And in a country with the world’s largest vegetarian population, the appetite for meat may be shrinking. Research shows that more Indians want to increase their intake of vegan meat alternatives (43%) than conventional meat (36%), while two in five want to cut back on the latter.

    It’s why McDonald’s is going big on meat-free. The Protein Plus slices are part of its Real Food, Real Good philosophy, a quality-focused initiative that ensures menu items are free from artificial colours, flavours, and preservatives.

    The slices contain gluten and refined soybean oil, and carry a cheesy base flavour and buttery top note. They can be found across all McDonald’s stores in West and South India, and are available in Protein Plus Meals (the vegetarian version pairs a protein-enriched veggie burger with a protein-rich corn cup and Coke Zero).

    Customers can add multiple Protein Plus slices to their burgers, with each setting them back ₹25 ($0.29). Among its vegetarian options, a Veg Maharaja Mac with one protein slice will contain 29g of protein, while a double patty of the McSpicy Paneer burger will pack around 45g of protein. The new innovation is so popular, it sold out on day one.

    The slices are the second product to come out of McDonald’s India’s collaboration with CFTRI, following the launch of the Multi-Millet Bun. “We are grateful to CSIR-CFTRI for partnering with us to bring this forward-thinking product to life,” said Jatia.

    “Together, we remain committed to crafting menu items that are wholesome and delicious, combining locally available ingredients in a way where great taste and nutrition go hand in hand.”

    Can McDonald’s lead India’s meat-free protein space?

    mcdonalds india protein
    Courtesy: McDonald’s India

    Sridevi Annapurna Singh, director of CFTRI, said: “The Protein Plus slice is an outcome of science-backed formulation and a shared vision to elevate everyday meals through nutrition. This partnership showcases how the food industry and scientific institutions can come together to bring meaningful nutritional upgrades to mainstream eating.”

    The new range was unveiled at an event in Mumbai last week, which was attended by Yogesh Kadam, the minister for the state’s Food and Drug Administration. He noted that the initiative reflected the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s Eat Right India movement, which aims to promote safe, nutritious and sustainable food choices.

    “It is heartening to see scientific research institutions and industry leaders come together to contribute towards national nutrition goals,” he said. This partnership model is vital for strengthening our public health landscape.”

    The move comes just as India’s foodservice industry amps up its protein focus. Such is the demand that Swiggy, one of India’s two major food delivery platforms, launched a dedicated High Protein category on its app this month.

    “As consumers become aware of the importance of protein in their diets, we know that they would not immediately shift away from their favourite items,” said Sidharth Bhakoo, chief business officer at Swiggy Food Marketplace. “The launch of this new [Protein Plus] range is a step forward in upping the protein consumption of consumers, while also enabling them to enjoy their favourite burger.”

    Last year, a report by the Good Food Institute (GFI) India suggested that there’s a “lack of consumer demand” for meat analogues at restaurants, prompting the call for better education and menu integration.

    “The real barrier is not the lack of awareness but the need for a mindset change,” noted Pranav Rungta, vice-president of the National Restaurant Association of India. “With the foodservice industry growing and becoming more organised, educated restaurateurs who understand the impact of health, nutrition, and alternative proteins are also growing.”

    Within McDonald’s, the fortunes of plant proteins are topsy-turvy. The company has seen strong sales of the Beyond Meat-containing McPlant in most parts of Europe, though the vegan burger failed to take off in the US. Now, it has reportedly removed it from its Austrian menu too, opting to run out its contract with the plant-based meat maker instead of renewing it.

    In Canada, the McPlant did not find much success either. McDonald’s chose instead to focus on vegetable-led offerings in that market, trialling a McVeggie burger at dozens of locations earlier this year.

    The post McDonald’s India Unveils with Vegetarian ‘Protein Plus’ Slices to Meet Skyrocketing Demand appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • FDA Knew Drugmaker Had Poor Record. It Waited Four Years to Inspect One Factory.

    The Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on a generic drugmaker that was the subject of a ProPublica investigation last year, citing problems with safety tests that delayed the recall of a medicine linked to deaths in the U.S. In December, ProPublica reported that a Glenmark Pharmaceuticals factory in central India was responsible for an outsized share of recalls for pills that didn’…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • These Animal Welfare NGOs Put 150 Hackers in A Room. These Are the AI Tools They Built

    code 4 compassion
    4 Mins Read

    In a hackathon hosted by AI-for-good organisations Electric Sheep and Open Paws, around 150 coders came up with compassionate tools for animal justice.

    What do you get when you put 150 young hackers in a room to develop tech-led solutions for animal welfare and climate justice?

    That was the basis of the hackathon organised by Electric Sheep and Open Paws on the sidelines of the Vegan India Conference in Mumbai this month.

    Called Code 4 Compassion, it was the third such hackathon after events in San Francisco and London earlier this year. The series focuses on building technical infrastructure for animal advocacy, with participants collaborating to create automations, AI prototypes, and no-code tools to support animal protection and food system innovation efforts.

    In Mumbai, the event grouped young software engineers, coders, and mission-driven developers from across the country in 25 teams to solve problem statements around cruelty, animal-related policies, and veganism over a 24-hour period.

    “From what we’ve seen and done here, it’s clear that India is rapidly becoming the epicentre of AI for impact,” Electric Sheep CEO Ash Singh told Green Queen. “Electric Sheep and Open Paws are excited about the work of these brilliant young developers and what they can do for animal protection and climate change. The change starts here.”

    India’s coders create a diverse range of advocacy tools

    code for compassion
    Courtesy: Electric Sheep

    Code 4 Compassion’s aim was to uncover real-world AI tools for NGOs, civil society organisations, and citizen-led movements – and many of the resulting prototypes garnered international investors.

    One team created RescueRadar, an AI-led cruelty report processing system that categorises cruelty incidents, extracts key details, and scans complaints for the most urgent cases that need the attention of rescue organisations and the appropriate authorities.

    Another group developed SufferingWatch, which leverages machine learning to monitor regulatory filings and flag potential animal welfare violations in industries like meat and dairy. AnimalParliament, meanwhile, is a natural language processing system that tracks animal-related state and national bills and monitors news.

    The coders also created SaferStrays, a digital interface to map stray animals and connect citizens with local rescue centres, while building a census database for welfare programmes.

    Plus, the hackathon led to the creation of VeganMe, a culturally adapted chatbot that provides round-the-clock support for people transitioning to plant-based diets, and IndiaForAnimals, a multilingual content generation platform to build animal welfare education.

    Developers also built software and websites like FirstHello, a cold outreach automation system that identifies leaders of target organisations and generates personalised advocacy messages for corporate engagement campaigns. Another team built Profilr, a fundraising agent that analyses potential donors’ philanthropic histories to generate compelling outreach pitches.

    Organisers in talks to integrate AI tools in real-world applications

    ai hackathon india
    Courtesy: Electric Sheep

    The event was co-hosted by Craigslist CF, ProVeg, Kickstarting for Good, Stray Dog Institute, People for Animals and Bharat Accountability Initiative, and is part of a push to integrate India’s AI prowess with social justice movements that remain underfunded and overstrained.

    “This is India’s moment to lead,” said Sam Tucker-Davis, executive director of Open Paws. “We’re not just mentoring coders – we’re brokering lifelong collaborations between India’s tech community and movements that need AI the most.”

    He added: “The mentorship model we’ve developed allows participants to achieve remarkable results, and the solutions created here will have lasting impact across the movement.”

    Open Paws and Electric Sheep are now planning to make several of the new tools open-source, launch an AI-for-impact incubator, and conduct future events in the cities of New Delhi and Bangalore, according to the Deccan Chronicle. They’re also in talks with civic organisations and advocacy groups to integrate some of these solutions into governance and public outreach systems.

    There’s already precedent for this: a prototype from the Code 4 Compassion event in San Francisco has been adopted by a British NGO to oppose the construction of new factory farms.

    “The innovation and ingenuity that these young coders demonstrated represent a quantum leap in how technology can serve animal and climate advocacy,” said Electric Sheep’s Singh. “India’s combination of tech talent and mission alignment can drive impact as we’ve never before seen. We’ve worked in Silicon Valley and across Europe, and India’s AI talent is right up there in terms of proficiency and creativity.”

    The post These Animal Welfare NGOs Put 150 Hackers in A Room. These Are the AI Tools They Built appeared first on Green Queen.

    This post was originally published on Green Queen.

  • India’s Dual Drone: Stealth Coating

    Hyderabad Firms Unveil India’s First Dual Stealth Drone Two tech companies from Hyderabad have joined forces to create India’s first “dual stealth drone,” a platform designed to evade both radar and infrared (IR) detection by combining autonomous flight with advanced stealth materials. RAMA: Next-Generation Stealth Coating The breakthrough lies in a material called RAMA (Radar Absorption […]

    The post India’s Dual Drone: Stealth Coating appeared first on Asian Military Review.

    This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.

  • How Farmers Defeated The Land Grab By India’s Karnataka State

    On the 1,198th consecutive day of protest, farmers in Karnataka declared victory on July 15, forcing the south Indian state’s government to retreat from the plan to grab 1,777 acres of fertile, multi-cropped farmland across 13 villages.

    Meeting their representatives on Tuesday at Vidhana Soudha – the seat of the legislature in the state capital, Bangalore – Chief Minister (CM) Siddaramaiah announced the scrapping of land acquisition notices, recognizing the farmers’ struggle against the land grab as “historic”.

    He acknowledged that “writers, artists, communist party, people’s movements,” and the historically oppressed Dalit castes had all struggled alongside the resisting farmers, whose leaders emerged from the conference hall, triumphantly whirling their green neck scarves overhead.

    The post How Farmers Defeated The Land Grab By India’s Karnataka State appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Claim that India has invented a ‘self-sustaining’ generator that runs for 700 years without power/ fuel is fabricated

    On social media as well as messaging platform WhatsApp, many shared a video of a ‘self-sustaining’ magnetic power generator with claims that it can run for 700 years without any power supply or fuel. Hailing this as one of the biggest achievements of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government, those sharing this claim also said that the invention has thrown global superpowers, such as the US, China, and Russia, into disarray.

    X user @mRupeshVerma posted the video with the viral claim on July 8, 2025, highlighting remarkable inventions under Modi’s tenure as Prime Minister. (Archive)

    The video was also viral on Facebook with similar claims. Screenshots below:

    Click to view slideshow.

    Alt News also received multiple requests on its WhatsApp helpline (+91 76000 11160) to verify the video and the claims.

    Click to view slideshow.

     

    Fact Check

    To check the authenticity of the claims, we ran a keyword search to look for any verified media reports on the invention, but found none.

    Thereafter, we ran a reverse image search on one of the key frames from the viral video, which led us to this YouTube video, uploaded in March 2007.

     

    According to the caption, the video demonstrates the ‘Searl effect’.

    Taking cue from this, we ran a relevant keyword search and found that the device seen in the video, developed by John Searl, is a Searl Effect Generator (SEG). It uses rotating magnets arranged in a ring to generate energy by harnessing electrostatic charges from the atmosphere. This was developed in the 1940s.

    Notably, this invention was critiqued for its use of ‘fraudulent science’. Many allege that the SEG’s magnetic phenomenon has not been constructively demonstrated or tested.

    Thus, claims that India invented a magnetic generator under the Modi government are baseless and fabricated. No credible media outlets have reported this. Besides, the device shown in the video shared with the viral claim is a Searl Effect Generator (SEG), a controversial invention by John Searl in the mid-20th century.

    The post Claim that India has invented a ‘self-sustaining’ generator that runs for 700 years without power/ fuel is fabricated appeared first on Alt News.


    This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Prantik Ali.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Indonesia keeps options open with bewildering fighter smorgasbord

    If the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) could have its way, it would be operating fighters galore from aerospace companies emanating from Asia, across Europe and all the way to the USA. However, fiscal realities mean such ambitions remain a pipe dream. In recent times, Indonesia has been linked to the following proposed purchases: American F-15EXs, […]

    The post Indonesia keeps options open with bewildering fighter smorgasbord appeared first on Asian Military Review.

    This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.

  • X accuses India of press censorship after it blocks news outlets’ accounts

    New Delhi, July 10, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for greater transparency and due process in how Indian authorities handle social media restrictions, following reports of the temporary block of multiple international news organizations’ X accounts over the weekend. X accused the Indian government of censoring the press. 

    “This incident once again underscores the serious lack of transparency and accountability in how the Indian government issues and enforces orders for the removal of social media content and the blocking of accounts,” said Kunāl Majumder, CPJ’s India representative. “Any action affecting journalists or news organizations must be based on clear legal grounds, be subject to independent judicial oversight, and not infringe on press freedom. India still lacks a credible mechanism to review or challenge these opaque and arbitrary orders.”

    On July 5, two of Reuters’ handles, @Reuters and @ReutersWorld, were blocked, with X saying the accounts were obstructed “due to legal demands.” Several reports also suggest that accounts of Turkish broadcaster TRT World and the Chinese state media outlet Global Times were censored. The accounts were restored the next day. A government official speaking on condition of anonymity told CPJ that the authorities had not issued any orders to block the accounts and that they were engaging with X to get them restored. 

    However, in a July 8 post, X countered the Indian claim and said that on July 3, the Indian authorities had ordered the platform to block 2,355 accounts. X also expressed concerns about “ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders.” X has already sued the Indian government over a new official portal that it says grants “countless” government officials expanded powers to issue takedown orders.

    The Indian government denied issuing any recent blocking order against Reuters and others and said the accounts were unintentionally restricted due to a previously issued directive that was part of broader digital enforcement measuresimplemented in the wake of heightened national security concerns. 

    Authorities said they’d asked X to restore access immediately and blamed a 21-hour delay on the platform for the continued impediment.

    In May 2025, X expressed concern about the Indian government’s demand to block over 8,000 accounts, and asked for such executive orders to made public.

    X and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology did not reply to CPJ’s emails seeking comment. 


    This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • PIB’s claim that India is fourth most equal country citing World Bank data is misleading

    On July 5, 2025, the Press Information Bureau (PIB)—the official media and public relations arm of the Indian government—published a press release titled “World Bank Places India Among World’s Most Equal Societies.” Citing a World Bank report, PIB published a misleading claim that “India ranks fourth globally in income equality with a Gini score of 25.5,” after the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Belarus.

    Click to view slideshow.

    After PIB’s release, several media outlets, including Times of India, Moneycontrol, The Hindu, Mint, Deccan Herald, Indian Express and Republic published reports that India ranked fourth in terms of income equality, with some directly attributing it to the World Bank. Among them, The Hindu and Deccan Herald had PTI copies while Mint had an ANI copy. Largely, they all parroted the PIB release.

    Also Read | Op Sindoor: As Indian media made false, outrageous claims, PIB looked the other way

    Click to view slideshow.

    Why PIB’s Claim Is Misleading

    Comparing India’s Gini score (25.2) with the United Kingdom (32.4), the United States (41.8) and China (35.7), PIB said that India’s income equality outshone major economies.

    Source: PIB press release

    The World Bank defines the Gini as an index that measures the “extent to which the distribution of income or consumption among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution”. A Gini score or coefficient is expressed as a percentage. The number 0 denotes a perfectly equal society (where everyone has the same level of income or consumption), while a score of 100 denotes extreme inequality (where some have nothing and the rest have all).

    Also Read | India is not the fourth-largest or a $4-trillion economy yet; NITI Aayog CEO’s claim citing IMF data misleading

    However, the PIB seems to have cherry picked some information from the World Bank report and misrepresented it.

    Here’s what the World Bank’s April 2025 Poverty & Equity Brief for India says:

    “…India’s consumption-based Gini index improved from 28.8 in 2011-12 to 25.5 in 2022-23, though inequality may be underestimated due to data limitations. In contrast, the World Inequality Database shows income inequality rising from a Gini of 52 in 2004 to 62 in 2023. Wage disparity remains high, with the median earnings of the top 10 percent being 13 times higher than the bottom 10 percent in 2023-24…”

    So, there are two Ginis—one based on consumption and the other on income. Clearly, the World Bank says that India has improved in one and done worse in the other.

    But PIB has compared the consumption-based Gini score of India (where India fares slightly better in 2022-23 than 2011-12) with the income-based Gini scores of UK, US, Slovenia and Slovak Republic (where India is worse off now than before).

    The World Bank itself warns against comparing Gini coefficients of different countries for this very reason, because the underlying data used in surveys for these calculations varies. Note that the World Bank does not collect data itself; it measures inequality based on household survey data provided by governments. From the World Bank glossary:

    “Because the underlying household surveys differ in methods and types of welfare measures collected, data are not strictly comparable across countries or even across years within a country.”

    The reason such a comparison is problematic follows:

    “… Surveys can differ in many respects, including whether they use income or consumption expenditure as the living standard indicator. The distribution of income is typically more unequal than the distribution of consumption.”

    So, in comparing India’s consumption inequality with more developed countries’ income inequality, we are essentially comparing two different units. And inequality based on consumption data will, by default, appear more equal.

    Let’s understand why this is so.

    Inequality Based on Consumption vs Income

    Most developed, wealthy or high-income countries use income-based household surveys because their economies are formalised and tracking incomes is not a challenge. Developing, middle and lower-income groups use consumption-based household surveys owing to challenges with collecting data on incomes (some reasons could be a sizeable proportion of the labour force being deployed in informal sectors, more cash transactions, less access to banking, etc).

    But when we track inequality based on the two different surveys, the results are different. Countries that use income-based surveys appear to be more unequal. There are three main reasons for this:

    First, income-based surveys include all means through which one earns (such as salary, capital gains, additional earnings) whereas consumption-based surveys take account only of households’ expenditure. To put it another way, one measures a household’s potential purchasing power while the other only measures how much is actually used or spent. While those with higher incomes may consume more, they also have a greater propensity to save. So, just looking at households’ consumption data cannot give us a clear picture of their potential purchasing power.

    Let’s take an oversimplified example. A poor household spends around Rs 15,000 a month or 75% of its income, while a wealthy household spends Rs 50,000, which is 10% of its monthly income. At a glance, just based on their expenditure or consumption, it is hard to gauge the level of inequality between the two, even when there is a significant difference in their spending. But if we conflate their monthly incomes—Rs 20,000 and Rs 5 lakh, respectively—the level of inequality is stark.

    Two, according to a 2024 paper on the Gini coefficient titled “The World Bank’s New Inequality Indicator: The Number of Countries with High Inequality” (Haddad et al.) households’ incomes can sometimes be extremely low or even negative, due to unemployment, loss in business, or other temporary shocks but they would still need to maintain a basic level of consumption for sustenance. This keeps consumption levels from falling sharply. 

    Three, wealthier households have a greater propensity to save. As incomes grow, the proportion of what is spent on essentials diminishes and the proportion devoted to savings rises. For instance, a household might receive a large one-time income from investments but won’t necessarily spend all of it right away. Instead, they may save most of it for future needs or emergencies.

    Because of these differences, income and consumption inequality are not directly comparable—income can fluctuate sharply, while consumption tends to be smoother since everyone depends on at least a minimum level of subsistence.

    What PIB Got Wrong

    The Press Information Bureau took the 25.5 figure, which is the consumption-based Gini and compared it with the income-based Gini of the United States of America and the United Kingdom. It also claimed that India stands fourth globally in income equality, after the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Belarus.

    As established earlier, income inequality is typically higher than consumption inequality. This means that when the Gini for a country is calculated using income data, it will appear more unequal and thus have a higher score than when it is calculated using consumption data.

    • For example, the United Kingdom’s score on the Gini index (calculated in 2021) is 32.40, which makes it seemingly more unequal than India’s consumption-based Gini index score of 25.5. The footnote in the World Bank data clearly states that the UK’s Gini score is based on income data.
    Click to view slideshow.
    • Similarly, the United States of America’s latest score on the Gini index (calculated in 2023) is 41.80, which is higher (and hence more unequal) than India’s consumption-based Gini index score of 25.5. US’s Gini coefficient is also based on income data.
    Click to view slideshow.

    Like we mentioned before, this is similar to comparing absolute numbers of different units. For instance, it’s like saying 100 grams is more than 50 ounces. What is comparable, however, is India’s income-based Gini, which is 62, much higher than those of the UK and the USA.

    • Similarly, the Slovak Republic, in 2022, had an income-based Gini of 24.10. When compared with India’s income-based Gini of 62, the Slovak Republic is far ahead in terms of equality.
    Click to view slideshow.
    • Slovenia, as of 2022, had an income-based Gini of 24.30. Again, income equality there is far less than in India, with a Gini of 62.
    Click to view slideshow.
    • As of 2020, Belarus had a consumption-based Gini Index of 24.40. This is comparable to India’s consumption-based Gini of 25.5. Belarus fares better than India.
    Click to view slideshow.
    • China’s Gini Index of 35.70 is comparable to that of India’s 25.5, since China also has a consumption-based Gini.
    Click to view slideshow.

    We’ve ranked the countries mentioned in the PIB press release below, distinguishing their most recent available consumption-based and income-based scores on the Gini index.

    To put things in perspective, India’s income inequality has actually risen from 2004 to 2023. The World Bank brief clearly says this. Even the improvement in consumption inequality is very marginal—from 28.8 in 2011-12 to 25.5 in 2022-23. This is hardly celebratory; it rather shows that India’s consumption is facing strain.

    Economist Surbhi Kesar, who was the first to point out PIB’s misrepresentation of World Bank data on X, writes that we might even be underestimating India’s consumption inequality due to data limitations. The 2022–23 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey introduced several changes in methodology compared to the earlier 2011–12 survey, making direct comparisons on poverty reduction unreliable.

    Also, the Gini index is one inequality indicator, just like income and consumption are a few metrics to measure inequality. Like economist Santosh Mehrotra points out in The Wire, inequality manifests in various ways such as social inequality (owing to caste, ethnicity, class, etc) and wealth-based inequality (when wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few over the years and then passed down as inheritence), which are often beyond the scope of the Gini index but crucial for developing economies like India to take into account.

    Importantly, these surveys and numbers do not highlight enough just how stark inequality is in India, in terms of wealth concentration. These issues have been widely flagged by economists and statisticians on several occasions.

    (With inputs from Diti Pujara)

    The post PIB’s claim that India is fourth most equal country citing World Bank data is misleading appeared first on Alt News.


    This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Shinjinee Majumder.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.