Akashvani , National news, All India Radio News

NAMASKAR! A warm welcome to 'World News: an Indian perspective on All India Radio. This is RAMYA and with me is RENUKA bringing glimpses of the major developments of the day from across the globe. Over the next half an hour, we shall bring to you the latest from the world of politics, economy, sports, entertainment and more.

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THE HEADLINES:

⦁ Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches 5G mobile services in India.

⦁ President Droupadi Murmu presents awards to cleanest States and cities in Swachh Survekshan 2022 in New Delhi.

⦁ External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar slams Pakistan over terrorism says, India expert in IT, but its neighbours specialises in international terrorists.

⦁ India condemns killings of innocent students in blast at educational places in Afghanistan.  

⦁ Islamabad magistrate issues arrest warrant against Imran Khan over controversial remarks against female judge.

⦁ In Women's Cricket, India defeat Sri Lanka by 41 runs in opening match of T20 Asia Cup in Bangladesh.

⦁ And, Men in Blue to take on South Africa in second T20 International at Guwahati tomorrow.

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PM-5G

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched the 5G services  at a function at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. 5G technology will provide seamless coverage, high data rate, low latency, and highly reliable communication. It will also increase energy efficiency, spectrum efficiency and network efficiency.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Modi said, the launch of 5G services is a gift from the telecom industry to 130 crore Indians and  a step towards the new era and also the beginning of infinite opportunities.

 The Prime Minister said, at the time of 2G, 3G and 4G services, India was dependent on other countries for technology but with the launch of 5G services, the country has created a new history. He added that with 5G, India is setting a global standard in telecom technology for the first time.

Touching upon the vision of Digital India programme, the Prime Minister said, the initiative has a very big vision of development.

Mr Modi mentioned that Digital India's success is based on four pillars which include cost of digital device, digital connectivity, data costs and digital first approach and the government has focussed on all of them.

Regarding the first pillar, the Prime Minister said that the low cost of devices can only be achieved through Aatmnirbharta. He said, from 2 mobile manufacturing units in 2014 and zero exporting of mobile phones, the country now has over 200 mobile factories and has become a mobile phone exporting country worth thousands of crores. On the second pillar of digital connectivity, the Prime Minister informed that internet users have now increased to 80 crores from six crores in 2014.  

Regarding the third pillar which is the cost of data, Mr Modi said, the industry was given a slew of incentives and policy support was provided to 4G technology for its expansion. He said, this brought down the price of data and a data revolution was ushered in the country and these three pillars started showing their multiplier effect everywhere.

Prime Minister Modi also said, the cost of data in the country is among the lowest in the world. On average, a person in India consumes 14 GB per month which would have cost about  4200 rupees per month in 2014 but now it costs 125 to 150 rupees.

On the topic of the fourth pillar - the idea of 'Digital First, the Prime Minister recalled the time when a handful of the elite class questioned whether the poor would even understand the meaning of digital and doubted their potential.

Mr Modi said, India may not have benefitted from the first three industrial revolutions, but he is confident that India will take full benefit of the 4th industrial revolution and in fact, the country will lead it.

Prime Minister Modi informed that the use of 5G technology will not be limited to speedy internet access, but it has the capability to change lives.

Our correspondent reports 5G services have the potential to create new age businesses, generate additional revenue for enterprises and provide employment arising from the deployment of innovative use-cases and technologies. A report:

The Prime Minister also inspected an exhibition at Pragati Maidan. He declared open the sixth edition of the Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) which is being held till 4th of October with the theme of New Digital Universe.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said, the 5G technology will bring a fundamental change in various sectors.

Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Aditya Birla Group Kumar Mangalam Birla, and Founder of Bharti Enterprises Sunil Bharti Mittal also shared their view on the occasion.

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PREZ-AWARD

President Droupadi Murmu has said that the continuous efforts of central and state governments and all citizens in the last eight years are behind the success of the Swachh Bharat Mission. President Murmu was speaking after presenting the Swachh Survekshan Awards 2022 at a function in New Delhi this evening.

Our Correspondent reports that Madhya Pradesh got the first position among States, followed by Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Indore was adjudged the cleanest city for the sixth time in a row followed by Surat and Navi Mumbai with populations of above one lakh. Panchgani in Maharashtra, Patan in Chhattisgarh, and Karad, Maharashtra bagged the top three awards in the cleanest cities category with a population of below one lakh. Haridwar is the cleanest Ganga town in the category with more than one lakh population, followed by Varanasi and Rishikesh. Tirupati of Andhra Pradesh got the award for the Best City in 'Safai Mitra Suraksh'a. Deolali in Maharashtra was adjudged the country's 'cleanest Cantonment Board'. Tripura got the award in the small State category. Karnataka's Shivamogga won the 'Fastest Mover City' Award.

Addresing the gathering, Ms Murmu said, Swachh Survey is promoting healthy competition among States and cities for cleanliness.

The President said, the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 was launched on the 1st of October last year with the aim to make all cities garbage-free by 2026. She said, from tomorrow, a campaign is being launched in cities to make all citizens aware of segregating wet and dry waste at home for better waste management. She urged everyone especially the youth to participate in this campaign and increase awareness about cleanliness in society.

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JAISHANKAR

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday took a veiled swipe at Pakistan saying one of India's neighbours specialises in international terrorists and that countries using terrorism are under pressure due to New Delhi's stand against it at international platforms.

While addressing a gathering in Gujarat's Vadodara,he said that, It's going on for years but  India could explain to world that terrorism is terrorism, today it's being done against India, tomorrow it will be against the world.

The External Affair Minister also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's approach while procuring oil during Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Centre's dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

S Jaishankar said, During the Russia-Ukraine conflict, PM Modi called both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a ceasefire for some time so that we can safely evacuate our students.

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HOTSPOT

 In today's Hotspot Section, we bring for you News Commentary- Role of India in the United Nations.

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INDIA AFGHANISTAN

India has strongly condemned the continued targeting of innocent students at educational places in Afghanistan.  In a tweet,  External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi expressed sadness at on Friday terror attack at the Kaaj Educational Center in Dasht-e-Barchi of Kabul. He extended  India's condolences to the families of the victims.

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KABUL BLAST-UPDATE

The death count from a suicide bombing on a Kabul classroom has risen to 35, the UN said on Saturday. Shiite Hazara women who bore the brunt of the attack staged a defiant protest against the genocide of their minority community.

On Friday a suicide attacker blew himself up in a Kabul study hall as hundreds of pupils were taking tests in preparation for university entrance exams in the city's Dasht-e-Barchi area.

The latest casualty figures from the attack number at least 35 fatalities, with an additional 82 wounded, said the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in a statement. More than 20 of the killed were girls and women, it said.

The UN Mission's casualty figure is higher than the toll Kabul authorities have given.

Since returning to power last August, security has been a sensitive topic for the Taliban and the hardliners have often been keen to downplay attacks challenging their regime.

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IMRAN-ARREST WARRANT

A magistrate of Islamabad's Margalla Police Station has issued an arrest warrant for Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan, on Saturday.

The area magistrate issued an arrest warrant in the case registered on the 20th of August against the PTI Chief for his remarks regarding Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry.

The FIR includes four sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), including 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 189 (threat of injury to public servant), and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant).

The former Prime Minister is facing contempt charges for his controversial remarks about additional district and sessions judge.

The court has issued an arrest warrant for Khan due to his non-appearance in court.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued the warrant hours after the former Prime Minister submitted an affidavit in a contempt case against him.

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IMRAN-APOLOGIZE

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf chief Imran Khan submitted an affidavit in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday in a contempt case for threatening Additional District and Sessions judge Zeba Chaudhry. In the affidavit, Mr.Khan stated that he had realised he might have crossed a line at a public rally on the 20th of August in the capital, according to local media.

Mr. Khan also said that he would fully follow what he said before the court in the last hearing and added that was ready to take further action to satisfy the court in this regard. The ex-premier further said that he was "willing to apologise" if the judge thought that he crossed a "red line".

Mr.Imran Khan's affidavit has come after a day he appeared before an Islamabad lower court to personally apologise to Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry, who was not present there at the time, as per the publication.

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US-RUSSIA

US President Joe Biden has warned Russia that the United States will not be intimidated by reckless threats after President Vladimir Putin annexed four occupied regions of Ukraine.

The US President said that the America and its allies are not going to be intimidated. America is fully prepared, with our Nato allies to defend every single inch of Nato territory, he said. However, top US national security official said while there was a chance of Moscow resorting to nuclear weapons, there did not appear to be an imminent threat.

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IRAN-PROTESTS

In Iran, Intelligence Ministry said on Friday that nine foreign nationals had been arrested in connection with the ongoing protests in the country. The ministry in a statement said that citizens from Germany, Poland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and other countries had been detained.

Iran has been rocked by widespread protests for three weeks. Protesters have often been met with violence from security forces leading to dozens of recorded deaths. Protests began three weeks ago, triggered by the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini. She had been arrested by Iran's morality police for allegedly wearing the mandatory Islamic headscarf too loosely.

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CYCLONE-IAN

The Cyclone Ian is lashing South Carolina in its second US landfall after carving a swathe of deadly destruction across the state of Florida. Local media reports that it struck near Georgetown, about 60 miles northeast of Charleston, packing maximum sustained winds of 85 miles an hour, after regaining strength Thursday evening over the Atlantic. It was expected to dissipate by Saturday night near the border of North Carolina and Virginia.

More than 365,000 electricity customers in the Carolinas were without power by late Friday. The storm’s high winds caused the Charleston International Airport to shut down for the day. Florida's emergency officials has said that 21 deaths reported as of Friday morning. Ian was one of the strongest storms ever to hit the US when it struck Florida as a category four hurricane on Wednesday.

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NORTH KOREA-MISSILE TESTS

South Korea's military in a statement said that North Korea fired two ballistic missiles in the wee hours on Saturday, marking the fourth round of such test in a week. The statement said that it had  detected two short-range missiles fired from the Sunan area in Pyongyang into the East Sea. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, the military is maintaining the utmost readiness in close coordination with the United States.

Japanese vice defense minister, Toshiro Ino called the missile launches as one-sidedly and persistently escalating provocations.

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NATIONAL GAMES

Haryana lead the National Games 2022 medals table with 16 medals, including nine golds, three silvers and four bronze. Hosts Gujarat won the first gold medal clinching the men’s table tennis team title after beating Maharashtra in the finals.

Top Indian athletes Weighlifter Mirabai Chanu, Shooter Elavenil Valarivan and Fencer Bhavani Devi lived up to their expectations as they all bagged gold medals in their respective events on Friday. 

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WOMEN'S CRICKET-ASIA CUP

In Women's Cricket, India defeated Sri Lanka by 41 runs in their opening match of T20 Asia Cup at Sylhet in Bangladesh. Chasing a target of 151 runs, Sri Lanka were bundled out for 109 runs in 18.2 overs. Earlier, put into bat, India posted 150 runs in the stipulated 20 overs. Jemimah Rodrigues was the top scorer with 76 runs and Harmanpreet Kaur contributed 33 runs.

In the opening game of the tournament, earlier in the day, defending Champions Bangladesh beat Thailand by nine wickets .

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IND-SA-T20 CRICKET

In cricket, Indian Team will play their second T20 against South Africa tomorrow at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati. The team will be led by Rohit Sharma while South Africa team by Temba Bavuma. The match will start at 07:00 PM IST.

In the first match played on the 28th of September, the host defeated visitors by eight wickets at Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.

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REPEAT HEADLINES

⦁ Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches 5G mobile services in India.

⦁ President Droupadi Murmu presents awards to cleanest States and cities in Swachh Survekshan 2022 in New Delhi.

⦁ External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar slams Pakistan over terrorism says, India expert in IT, but its neighbours specialises in international terrorists.

⦁ India condemns killings of innocent students in blast at educational places in Afghanistan.  

⦁ Islamabad magistrate issues arrest warrant against Imran Khan over controversial remarks against female judge.

⦁ In Women's Cricket, India defeat Sri Lanka by 41 runs in opening match of T20 Asia Cup in Bangladesh.

⦁ And, Men in Blue to take on South Africa in second T20 International at Guwahati tomorrow.

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And now, before we end, let us listen to Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajan Vaishnav Jan, by artiste from BOTSWANA

AND WITH THAT, WE END THIS BULLETIN. WE'LL BE BACK AT THE SAME TIME TOMORROW WITH THE NEXT EDITION OF WORLD NEWS.

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