Depending on whom you ask, the short-form video platform TikTok is either a showcase for goofy dances and makeup tutorials or a sophisticated threat to US national security. Because TikTok Inc. is owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance Ltd. — and because China requires its companies, upon request, to share any national security-related data with the government — TikTok’s popularity among Americans carries implications beyond the mobile-phone screen. That’s on top of hand-wringing by parents, educators and mental-health experts about whether TikTok’s content and addictive nature are unhealthy for young minds. Renewed efforts by Congress to force TikTok to sell or face a ban in the US have the backing of the White House, even as President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has started to use the platform to reach younger voters. 1. What makes TikTok different from other social media sites? All social media platforms collect user data. But TikTok is viewed as the most advanced, and uncannily effective, at learning about your interests — based on how long you stay with a video and whether you like, forward or comment on it. That enables its algorithm to deliver more items of interest to what it calls the “For You” feed. The resulting stream of diverse yet personalized content can be intoxicating enough that it’s hard to stop scrolling. Two-thirds of American teens use TikTok every day, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey, with 16% saying they’re on the platform almost constantly. 2. What are the biggest worries about TikTok? The national security concerns involve hypothetical though not implausible scenarios in which China’s government employs its influence over ByteDance to turn TikTok into an instrument of harm against American interests, through such channels as: Data collection. Along with what you seem to be interested in, TikTok learns your computer’s unique internet protocol (IP) address and — if you choose to let it — your precise location data and who is on your contact list. TikTok critics say that information could be used to develop profiles of select Americans and subject them to blackmail. Espionage. A 2020 executive order by then-President Donald Trump broached the possibility that China could use TikTok’s data to “track the locations of federal employees and contractors” and to “conduct corporate espionage.” Influence operations. US national security officials are concerned that TikTok could try to shape US public opinion by strategically suppressing or promoting certain videos. One official called the app a “Trojan horse” through which China could manipulate American thought. 3. Is there any evidence to back up those concerns? In December 2022, the chief executives of ByteDance and TikTok admitted that ByteDance employees had inappropriately accessed the IP addresses of American users, including journalists writing critical stories about the company. The Justice Department was investigating whether that amounted to improper surveillance of Americans. 4. What does the company say? “Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” TikTok CEO Shou Chew testified in March 2023 to a US congressional panel investigating the company. TikTok notes that Chew is based in Singapore, the company’s chief operating officer in the US and its global head of trust and safety in Ireland. Chew said TikTok poses no greater risk than US-based video-sharing apps such as Instagram and YouTube. In a bid to assuage worry, TikTok said sensitive data on US users was being moved to servers controlled by Austin, Texas-based Oracle Corp., in an effort known as Project Texas. TikTok also said its source code would be made available for third-party review. 5. What are the other worries about TikTok? Like most platforms, TikTok welcomes users as young as 13. There are concerns about how much time young people spend watching videos and whether the content undermines their self-esteem by, say, warping their sense of body image. In November, a US judge ruled that TikTok and rival social media platforms must face claims in hundreds of federal lawsuits blaming them for addicting young people to social media. EU regulators have fined TikTok for alleged lapses in protecting the personal data of minors. In July, authorities in the bloc said TikTok needed to do more to comply with its new Digital Services Act, which covers children’s safety online and content moderation. Some viral TikTok trends have proved dangerous. A particularly notorious one, called the blackout challenge, was linked to the deaths of at least 20 children under the age of 15 over an 18-month span. 6. Are governments taking any action against TikTok on national security grounds? Citing national security, India in 2020 banned the use of TikTok and dozens of other apps developed by Chinese companies. The US has prohibited downloading or using TikTok on federal government devices; the UK, Canada, Belgium and Taiwan, have enacted similar bans. One US state, Montana, went so far as to enact a law prohibiting the download of TikTok by the general public beginning in 2024; TikTok swiftly challenged the law on free-speech grounds. President Joe Biden’s administration has pressed for TikTok to become independent of ByteDance or face a US ban. The Energy and Commerce Committee of the US House of Representatives voted 50-0 in favor of legislation that would force ByteDance to sell the company within six months. If ByteDance fails to comply, TikTok would be blocked from app stores such as those operated by Apple and Google as well as internet service providers in the US. Additional congressional action is expected in the coming weeks, though the bill does not have any sponsors in the Senate and is sure to be subject to court challenges. Even so, Biden said he would sign the bill if Congress passes it. 7. Can the US really ban an app? There’s no direct precedent for banning a free consumer technology in the US. It’s more of a thing that would happen in China, which has banned Facebook since 2009. If a US ban were to survive legal challenges, the government could seek to force app store operators to remove TikTok from their menu of offerings. That would become an obstacle to people becoming new TikTok users. More challenging would be finding ways to stop existing users from continuing to access the service.   Source: Bloomberg

No doubt at all that AR Rehman is a legendary musician. He became known all over India at the age of 21/22 because of his composition in the movie  'Roja' in the early nineties of the last century. Born and raised as a Hindu and later converted to Islam along with other family members and named himself after Sura 'Ar Rahman'. Films like 'Roja', 'Bombay', 'Dil Se', 'Paradesh', 'Slumdog Millionaire', 'Rockstar', etc. brought him solid seats, gave money and honored with Oscar even. AR Rehman now recreated a song of Bangladesh national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. He dissected one of the milestones of India's awakening song 'Karar Oi Lauhakpat' in his own style. The song has been used in the movie Pippa, released this week. Sorry to say the Pippa version of the song is not even close to the original tune. He has assassinated an immortal and historic song. The interesting thing is that no one would have remembered the low budget movie Pippa directed by Rajakrishna Menon if this particular song had not come up with chaos. It seems that no one in Bangladesh has heard about the story of this movie made about the liberation war of Bangladesh.  But it is sad to see Bollywood's negligence towards Nazrul. Deshbandhu CR Das was also neglected through this incident. Because the poet wrote the song at the request of Chittaranjan Das's wife Smt. Basanti Devi. Everyone is more or less aware of Nazrul's relationship with Deshbandhu and at least those who keep track of literature know this story. Saddened by his untimely death, the poet composed an entire book of poetry 'Chittanama' and dedicated to his memories. We know about 'Karar Oi Lauhakpat' that this song became the language of protest of those who were in jail.  It was first used in the movie 'Chittagong Armory Loot' in 1949. Then in 69-70, Zaheer Raihan used this song in his epic movie 'Jiban Theke Neya'. The most important thing is that this song and Nazrul are almost synonymous. Like his rebellious poem The Rebel, 'Karar Oi Louhakpat' is a representational creation of the poet. But AR Rehman has buried the song by recreating a distorted tune. Here is our protest. If the controversy over the song 'Karar Oi Louhakpat' had not started, a positive discussion could have started in Bangladesh about the movie 'Pippa'. The movie is about the 'Garibpur War' that took place in the liberation war. This heroic battle was initiated under the leadership of Sector Commander General Manzoor on the banks of Kapotaksha in Jessore. Captain BS Mehta of the Indian Army was the vice-captain. The war took place in November 1971. A few days later, India formally declared war against Pakistan on 3 December. BS Mehta i.e. Balram Singh Mehta later retired as Brigadier. A wonderful book written by him about the Gharibpur War is 'The Burning Chafees'. Chafee is an American made tank. Gharibpur battle crushed Niazi's pride. Pakistan's tanks were reduced to ashes. He made heroic contributions as vice-captain. And the General Manzoor (then Lt. Col.) was praised. India captures this unique contribution of its Eastern Command on celluloid. The script is written according to The Burning Chafees. The film is produced by actress Vidya Balan's husband Siddharth Roy Kapur and Ronnie Screwwala. Mahesh Bhatt's wife Soni Razdan played an important role. The song 'Karar Ai Louhakpat' was used in the movie Pippa in a distorted tune. What should we do now? Poet Nazrul family, Kabi Nazrul Institute, Churulia Nazrul Academy, Dhaka University Bangla Department, Mymensingh Nazrul University, Asansol Nazrul University, Prasanga Nazrul Sangeet (PNS)- Every organization and all Nazrul lovers should protest this incident. The song should be withdrawn from the film Pippa and its use by following the original tune (Girin Chakraborty) should be ensured. I know one person from Moghbazar who could not understand the poet even after being associated with Nazrul for more than four decades. I used to think of A.R. Rehman as he used to find gold wherever he put his hands. Tanha Tanha, Dil Hai Choutacha, Rang Rangila Re, Tal Se Tal Mila, Maa Tujhe Salaam, Mustafa Mustafa, Zia Jwale etc. he kept us in awe throughout the nineties. But he has been failed completely whenever came to work with our national poet. Nazrul is an unquenchable flame. Not everyone can reach to his precious creation. The poet himself said in a poem : 'You have borne the fruit, but you have not got the juice, alas, the basket of fruit, A pebble does not get juice after being submerged in a fountain for millions of years.' Rafique Sulayman : Nazrul lover and art-critic

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the United States’ visa policy is an internal matter of that country on Saturday, September 24. Home minister said this after inaugurating the indoor playground at Satkhira Police Lines. He said, “To whom USA will issue visa or not is completely the decision of that country and Bangladesh has nothing to do with the matter.”  According to the US officials the visa policy will be applied against the persons who will create barrier on holding next general election, he said. Asaduzzaman said it is quite natural that political parties would place and agitate on the street with their demands ahead of the next elections. He hoped that the polls would be held in a free, fair and peaceful manner as per the constitution and all registered political parties would participate in it. Local Awami League leaders Md Nazrul Islam, Asaduzzaman Babu, Mujibur Rahman and Khulna Range DIG Mainul Haque were present. About BNP’s road march programme, the minister said if BNP tries to carry out any subversive activities or arson attack in the name of politics, the law enforcing agencies will deal with them accordingly.

Chinese President Xi Jinping assured that his country will always stay beside Bangladesh in its needs including providing support in joining the BRICS and ensuring permanent solution to the Rohingya issue. Reports BSS   "I will always support you (Sheikh Hasina) as you can join the BRICS," Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen quoted Xi as telling Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a bilateral talks on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS Summit. The Chinese president also said, "China will help Bangladesh bring a permanent solution to the Rohingya issue---we don't want instability in the region". After the meeting at the Hotel Hilton Sandton here last (Wednesday) evening, Momen said in a media briefing that Xi wants to resolve the Rohingya issue through tripartite engagement of China, Bangladesh and Myanmar. According to Momen, the Bangladesh premier said her government wants to repatriate Rohingyas to their homeland citing that the displaced Myanmar nationals are becoming threats for the regional peace as many of them are engaged in illegal drugs and arms trading.   "Peace is imperative for development," Sheikh Hasina said.   The Chinese president assured that they will always support Bangladesh in solving Rohingya issue, expressing his country's keenness to help Dhaka in the development of energy, renewable energy and infrastructure. Xi also gave assurance of cooperation in making Bangladesh a developed and prosperous Sonar Bangla. He continued: "China will help you to materialise your dream to build a developed and prosperous 'Sonar Bangla' at the quickest possible time."   Sheikh Hasina has sought Xi's help in quick implementation of some Chinese funded projects which are now being stuck for fund crisis while the Chinese president assured of looking into the matter. During the talks, the prime minister stressed the need for reducing the trade gap between Bangladesh and China citing that Bangladesh imports Chinese goods worth about 20 billion US dollars every year while China imports Bangladeshi goods worth only 700 million US dollars. The Chinese president then assured of taking initiative to reduce the imbalance in China-Bangladesh trade. He said his country has given duty and quota free access of 98 percent Bangladeshi products to the Chinese market.   "The trade gap between Bangladesh and China will be reduced if some Chinese investments come into Bangladesh," Sheikh Hasina said. She also stressed the need for signing the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between the two countries.   In reply, the Chinese president said, "We will take measures to quicken the signing of the Preferential Trade Agreement between the two countries." Momen also said Bangladesh in the bilateral meeting has expressed its eagerness to export fresh fruits such as mango, jackfruit, guava, fresh vegetables, cattle and poultry feeds to China.   The Chinese president assured Bangladesh of considering the issue prominently, the Bangladesh foreign minister said. The Bangladesh premier also invited the Chinese president to visit Bangladesh to witness the opening of the Padma Rail Bridge to be held in October next.   In reply, the Chinese president said, "I will definitely come to your country. But the time of visit will be fixed through talks between foreign ministers of both the countries".   Xi also invited the Bangladesh premier to visit China while Sheikh Hasina said she will visit China, but it may take time as she will be busy with the polls campaign as the national election is knocking at the door, Momen said.   The Bangladesh premier as well urged the Chinese president to widen the scope for Bangladeshi students to study in China while Xi assured of looking into the matter.   Sheikh Hasina arrived in Johannesburg on August 22 to attend the BRICS summit being held on August 22-24.   She will deliver a speech today on behalf of Bangladesh as a member of the "New Development Bank of BRICS" at Friends of BRICS Leaders Dialogue (BRICS-Africa Outreach and the BRICS Plus Dialogues) comprising representatives from 70 countries. Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, PM's daughter and Thematic Ambassador of Climate Vulnerable Forum and Chairperson of the National Advisory Committee for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Saima Wazed, PM's Principal Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah and Senior Secretary of Foreign Affairs Masud Bin Momen, were present at the meeting.

August 3 marked the beginning of a new wave of unrest in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) as thousands of people took to the streets in Muzafarabad, Kotli, Mirpur, Dadyal, Tatapani, Chaksawari, Khuirata and Nakyal to vent their anger against added taxes to their electricity bills, wheat shortages, cuts in subsidies, load shedding and the ever-rising cost of living. The protests were taken out in all three divisions of Mirpur, Poonch and Muzafarabad. An ultimatum was issued to the PoJK government to withdraw extra-added taxes in two weeks or face a state-wide shutter-down strike accompanied by the siege of the legislative assembly building in Muzafarabad, the capital city of PoJK. Among the protestors were people from all walks of life. Students, lawyers, transporters, pensioners, traders and different sections of civil society blocked roads, observed sit-ins and held rallies at each and every road crossing and town/city square in the above-mentioned urban and semi-rural centres. This is not the first time that PoJK has been engulfed in state-wide demonstrations against the same. Only this time round the anger of the masses seems more coherent in terms of cross-state networking and coherent demands. However, it still lacks a political programme that would lead the anger of the masses towards change in the legal status quo of PoJK. Therefore, each time previous protest movements have lost their momentum and have proven to serve as a mechanism to exhaust their frustration. Seventy five years of Islamic/two-nation theory-based brainwashing engineered by the Pakistan military establishment and replacing facts with false narratives regarding the reality of the political crisis of Jammu and Kashmir is proving to be the biggest obstacle in unifying the population of PoJK on a consensus about the actuality of the so-called Kashmir issue. The only way to overcome this obstruction is to consistently, persistently and patiently explain the true nature of the issue that on October 22, 1947, Pakistan attacked and forcibly annexed western parts of Jammu province and Gilgit-Baltistan thereby creating a hostile regional environment. The purpose of the annexation was simple. Firstly, the purpose of annexation was to block India’s access to central Asia via land route. But more importantly, the occupation was to plunder the natural resources of the region. According to estimates derived from geological surveys, it is revealed that PoJK is rich in precious stones and both metal and non-metal natural resources as well as in forest wood and river water. It is estimated that PoJK has roughly Rs 78 trillion worth of minerals and precious stone deposits. These include Ruby, granite, limestone, coal, marble and others. The total value of Granite deposits alone is estimated at Rs 40 billion. The total population of PoJK is around 4.5 million out of which 700,000 of our youth are unemployed and two million are working in foreign countries. Hundreds of our youth are fleeing PoJK in desperation for a better future. Millions of rupees are handed over to dodgy human traffickers who promise to take them to Europe. Recently, on June 14, at least 166 young men drowned in the Mediterranean Sea after a boat carrying illegal immigrants capsized due to overloading. 385 Pakistani illegal immigrants were rescued on July 31 from a warehouse near Tabrouk in Libya where human traffickers had kept them before embarking on a similar journey. It is understood that among these 385 many would be from PoJK. Under such desperate circumstances, it is high time that the Indian government takes the lead in addressing the crisis we face in PoJK. After all, they are Indian citizens. And what makes them all Indian citizens is the instrument of accession signed between King Maharaja Hari Singh, and the last governor-general of India, Lord Mountbatten. Therefore, 4.5 million PoJK and 2 million Gilgit-Baltistan residents are all Indian citizens by default. The humanitarian crisis that the people of PoJK face today is caused by the 75 years of looting of natural and human resources. Unless a coherent policy of mass education is introduced in PoJK and Gilgit-Baltistan, any adventurous attempt to regain PoJK could easily backfire. And unless the false narrative of 75 years is countered by a historical and factual-based counter-propaganda campaign, it will not be possible to link today’s plight of the people of PoJK with a political program that advocates reunification of these occupied territories with mother India. Whether the recent wave of unrest in PoJK is the final countdown toward the final goal only time will tell. But without a mass education campaign, the chances of achieving the desired result could be a far-fetched thought. Dr Amjad Ayub Mirza is an author and a human rights activist from Mirpur, PoJK. He currently lives in exile in the UK.

The Quad leaders, in their third in-person summit, held in Hiroshima on Saturday, affirmed that the four countries are committed to bringing enduring benefit to the Indo-Pacific region by providing options that build resilience, open communication and economic growth as they issued Joint Principles for Secure Software, Principles for Critical and Emerging Technology Standards and Principles for Clean Energy Supply Chains in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad leaders also announced the evolution of Quad Vaccine Partnership into a broader Quad Health Security Partnership. Through this partnership, Quad will strengthen coordination and collaboration in support of health security in the Indo-Pacific. The Quad leaders expressed serious concerns over militarisation in the Indo-Pacific region and call for joint action against terrorism. The Indo-Pacific region is an "engine" of global trade, innovation and development and its success and security are important for the whole world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his opening remarks at the Summit. Modi said that India will be happy to host the Quad Summit in 2024. The Principles on Critical and Emerging Technology Standards announced on Saturday intended to promote interoperability, innovation, trust, transparency, diverse markets, security-by-design, compatibility, inclusiveness and free and fair market competition. "We are committed to supporting industry-led, consensus-based multi-stakeholder approaches to the development of technology standards, and we recognise the importance of procedures that ensure trust, transparency, openness, impartiality and consensus," according to Principles on Critical and Emerging Technology Standards. "The Quad partners recognize the security risks posed by lack of adequate controls to prevent tampering with the software supply chain by adversarial and non-adversarial threats. By leveraging the voice of the Quad, we can promote and strengthen a culture where software security is by design and default...," according to the Quad Joint Principles for Secure Software issued after the Summit. The statement outlined certain principles to create deterrence. The Quad intends to pursue certain high-level secure software development practices and to adopt them into existing government policy, acquire software that meets these practices, and encourage software developers/suppliers to implement them. This would entail ensuring that people are adequately trained, processes are defined, and technology solutions are in place to perform secure software development; Protecting the Software and Software Development Environment; Producing Well-Secured Software; Identifying vulnerabilities in software releases and respond appropriately to continuously address those vulnerabilities and prevent similar ones from occurring in the future. Each member of the Quad intends to pursue the minimum guidelines for government procurement of software or a product containing software. This would entail “Require self-attestation by the software producer, unless a third-party certification is provided, stating that the software’s development complies with secure software development practices; Encourage the software developer to report to a respective national vulnerability disclosure program that includes a reporting and disclosure process.” The Quad identified five security measures for government software use including ensuring adequate controls and processes to protect software and software platforms from unauthorized access and usage and ensuring adequate controls and processes to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data used by software and software platforms. The Quad Principles on Clean Energy Supply Chains in the Indo-Pacific aimed to expand manufacturing of clean energy technologies in parallel with exponentially increasing demand and enable commercial-scale production capabilities for critical devices, components, and systems. Without directly referring to Chinese ambitions the Quad leaders stated that it intended to maintain and strengthen stability in the Indo-Pacific where competition is managed responsibly, in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Charter. The Quad announced cooperation with Palau to establish a deployment of Open Radio Access Networks (Open RAN), the first in the Pacific. Source: The Economic Times

Banning females from attaining education is a very serious issue for Afghanistan and the children of our country, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in a statement to a Canada-based news organisation, reported Khaama Press on Tuesday. Calling girls’ education a ‘primary concern’ for the Afghan people, he added that education is the foundation of a country’s well-being, not only for Afghanistan but for every other society. He also expressed his concern about how young people are leaving the country at a tremendous rate since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, which in return has proved to be a massive loss for the country. “Leaving people from the country, especially young, educated ones adding that this is a disaster and a massive loss for the country, as it is already suffering the lack of proper human capital,” Khaama Press quoted Karzai as saying. The de facto authorities of Afghanistan, after seizing power in August 2021 have restricted women’s and girls’ freedom of movement, barred girls from attending secondary school, excluded women from the majority of the workforce, and forbade women from using public restrooms and gyms, reported the Afghan news agency. Taliban has imposed draconian restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and movement for women and girls. The Taliban’s decision to ban female students above grade six from going to school has drawn widespread criticism at the national and international levels. A number of international bodies, including the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, expressed concern over restrictions on women’s and girls’ education and work. Since the Taliban took control, the basic rights of women and girls have been violated.

In February this year Income Tax authorites had conducted searches at the offices of the British broadcaster in New Delhi and Mumbai British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Wednesday said that the issue of searches on BBC offices in India was raised with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during a bilateral meeting today. Cleverly is currently in India to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting brought up the issue of the BBC tax searches during his meeting with Jaishankar, sources told ANI. “He was firmly told that all entities operating in India must comply fully with relevant laws and regulations,” according to sources. In February this year Income Tax authorites had conducted searches at the offices of the British broadcaster in New Delhi and Mumbai. Speaking to ANI in an exclusive interview, Cleverly said that BBC is an independent organisation and is separate from the UK Government. “I didn’t see the documentary but I’ve seen reactions in UK and India. BBC is an independent organisation and separate from government. I enjoy a strong personal relationship with Dr Jaishankar…relationship between UK-India growing stronger by the day,” said Cleverly when asked about the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BBC had in January this year released the documentary film titled ‘India: The Modi Question,” which features the Gujarat riots of 2002. The film caused controversy for alluding to the leadership of Modi as chief minister during the riots while disregarding the clean chit given by the Supreme Court. Meanwhile speaking on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the UK, Cleverly said, “We do a lot of business with India and are working extensively. I’ll be meeting India’s trade secretary. We want to make sure this trade agreement really benefits both the countries and unlocks billions of pounds of bilateral trade.” Cleverly added that the UK looks forward to bringing the trade agreement to conclusion in due course of time. Commending India’s G20 presidency Cleverly said it is quite exciting and the event holds has fantastic opportunities. “This is a great opportunity to talk about sustainable economic agenda and green agenda,” he said. The G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM) is scheduled to take place in physical format from March 1-2, 2023 in New Delhi under India’s presidency. Representatives of 40 countries, including non-G20 members have invited by India, and multilateral organisations will attend. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the foreign ministers of the member countries of G20 and he will talk about India’s growing influence globally. The foreign ministers are also likely to discuss ways to deal with falling economic growth, increasing inflation, lower demands for goods and services as well as increasing prices of food, fuel and fertilisers.

The plane-maker said there was no "safety or flight" concern, but it is not the first time deliveries of the 787 have been paused. Boeing has suspended deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner following a new issue that was found in a part used near the front of the plane, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Thursday. Boeing is "conducting additional analysis on a fuselage component," the FAA said. "Deliveries will not resume until the FAA is satisfied that the issue has been addressed," it added. Boeing said the fault would lead to delivery delays but added there was no broader safety issue. "There is no immediate safety or flight concern for the in-service fleet," the company said. The problem stems from an analysis error by a supplier related to the 787's forward pressure bulkhead, the planemaker said. 787 Dreamliners deliveries suspended before Deliveries of the long-haul plane, which airlines mostly use on international routes, have been held up in the past. The company stopped supplying 787s to customers in May 2021 to allow Boeing to fix several production flaws. Deliveries resumed more than a year later, in August 2022, after the FAA found "Boeing has made the necessary changes." Boeing said it discovered the latest error in the past week. The company delivered 31 787s in 2022 and had expected to deliver up to  80 Dreamliners this year. However, the Wall Street Journal reported that Boeing has not handed over a plane from the production line since January 26. The company's reputation has been damaged by deadly crashes involving its 737 MAX airplane.

Switzerland’s ambassador to India Dr. Ralf Heckner stated that black money is no longer a problem in Switzerland-India financial relations because both parties have previously shared multiple batches of information. In an interview with ANI, Ralf Heckner explained that he has been the Swiss ambassador for more than two years but he heard hardly anything about black money. "The black money issue has been dealt with by a bilateral treaty between Switzerland and India in 2018 on the automatic exchange of bank information between Switzerland and India. We had several batches of information exchange between Switzerland and India, so the black money issue isn't the issue anymore. There is not even one cloud over bilateral relations when it comes to financial relations," he said. According to some reports, Indian investment in the Swiss banking system witnessed a sharp rise in 2021. Switzerland had shared information about Indian account holders in four batches since the automatic exchange of bank information agreement was signed in 2018. Traditionally, Switzerland was seen as a safe tax haven for Indian businessmen, politicians and industrialists. According to a release by the Federal tax administration of Switzerland, in 2021, it exchanged information on financial accounts with 101 countries. The exchange took place within the framework of the global standard on the automatic exchange of information (AEOI). Switzerland says it has committed to adopting the global standard for the international automatic exchange of information in tax matters. The legal basis for the implementation of the AEOI in Switzerland came into force on January 1, 2017. Identification, account and financial information are exchanged, including name, address, country of residence and tax identification number, as well information concerning the reporting financial institution, account balance and capital income. The exchanged information allows the cantonal tax authorities to verify whether taxpayers have correctly declared their financial accounts abroad in their tax returns. The OECD's Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum) reviews the implementation of the AEOI. Swiss ambassador further said, "I see a lot of convergence now because sustainability is very dear to honourable prime minister and the same applies to the Swiss government. Our government came up with a strategy for Switzerland's financial centre. The Swiss government wants to see a shift toward sustainability. We are not talking USD 100 billion being invested in climate mitigation or climate adaptation, we are talking about trillions of US dollars being managed by Swiss banking funds, insurance and banks that according to the Swiss government be invested in a sustainable manner." He also elaborated on the opportunities for Indian investors in the sustainable financial model. "What does it mean for India, for example, if you are a sustainable Indian company, you might be the company that the Swiss center would like to invest in. You are an Indian fin-tech company and you have data on sustainable companies and sustainable business models. You might be the company of choice for banks insurances and pension funds in Switzerland to direct money flows to sustainable business solutions," he said. Source:ANI