SATURDAY TRUMP CALLS FOR UNITY IN HIS FIRST ADDRESS AFTER ASSASSINATION BID 20 JULY, 2024 After formally accepting his third presidential nomination from the Republican Party, Donald Trump on Thursday said he would work for all epaper.morningstandard.in RECORD facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard TRUMP’S PRESIDENTIAL ACCEPTANCE SPEECH WAS THE LONGEST IN U.S. HISTORY ESPIONAGE RUSSIA CONVICTS US JOURNALIST Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was convicted on Friday of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison. PAGE 9 ‘WILL BE PRESIDENT FOR ALL OF AMERICA’ A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS NEW DELHI J8.00 PAGES 12 Hand-written boarding passes as flight ops hit, hosps impacted What exactly happened and how it created chaos A S H I S H S R I V A S TA V A @ New Delhi What is CrowdStrike that caused the chaos A chaos-like situation erupted at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday with , airlines being hit majorly due to outage. Critical systems used for flight operations, passenger check-in, and baggage handling remained hit. Passengers formed a long queue as web check-ins remained suspended. Authorities issued hand-written boarding passes as work switched to manual mode. Security check and baggage counters had long queues. “Due to the global IT issue, some of the services at the Delhi Airport were temporarily impacted. We are closely working with all our stakeholders to minimise the inconvenience to our flyers,” the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said in a statement. Among the airlines, IndiGo’s flight schedule was hit hardest, with around 200 planes being cancelled and hundreds beinbg delayed across the country “Flights are cancelled . due to the cascading effect of the worldwide travel system outage, beyond our control. You may experience slower check-ins and longer queues. We are all hands-on deck and are working relentlessly to restore stability and normalcy ,” IndiGo said in an advisory. The airlines set up war rooms at major airports. The global downtime of Microsoft servers impacted top private hospitals such as Sir Ganga Ram, Max Healthcare, Fortis and Apollo, forcing them to switch to manual processes, delaying services to patients. However, public healthcare institutes in the capital remained unaffected as they use government servers, accoding to officials. P3 Microsoft said the issue began at 1900 GMT on Thursday, after a defective update to CrowdStrike Falcon, an IT solution designed to protect Windows systems, ended up crashing the systems instead CrowdStrike is a US-based cybersecurity firm that provides incident response and threat hunting services. It is known for its expertise in detecting and responding to advanced threats Over 2,600 flights cancelled globally Passengers in front of screens, some of them showing Blue Screen errors, at T3 of Delhi international airport on Friday | PTI Out of more than 1,10,000 scheduled commercial flights on Friday, 2,691 have been cancelled globally, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium Tech outage cripples world MASSIVE TECH BLACKOUT AFFECTS AIRLINES, BANKS, MEDIA OUTLETS CHAOS AT MAJOR AIRPORTS AS OPERATIONS DISRUPTED INDIGO CANCELS OVER 200 FLIGHTS EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi/Mumbai/Bengaluru AIRLINES, banks, media outlets, and financial institutions across the world were on Friday thrown into turmoil by one of the biggest IT crashes in recent histoy, caused by an update to an antivirus programme. The mass IT outage came after some widely used Microsoft 365 applications and services shut down for hours as a result of the update. There were unprecedented chaos in major cities, including in India, with flights grounded, communication shut down, and shops closed. Millions encountered the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error, causing sudden system shutdowns or restarts. Microsoft, which said it was actively working to fix the outage, attributed the BSOD issue to a recent update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which admitted that its action affected Windows devices. In India, almost all the airlines and major airports were affected as they struggled to provide online booking, web check-ins, and flight status updates. IndiGo cancelled around 200 flights across the country . SpiceJet, Air India, Akasa, and Vistara also faced disruptions due to a technical error in Microsoft Azure, the cloud computing platform that powers critical systems. Throughout the day, airlines were seen doing manual check-ins and issuing handwritten boarding passes. Operations at key airports such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru were badly hit, leaving thousands of passengers stranded. Aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said his ministry and Airports Authority of India (AAI) are actively managing the situation. Banking regulator RBI in a statement said that critical systems of most banks are not in cloud and that only a few banks are using the CrowdStrike tool, which created the chaos. “Our assessment shows that only 10 banks and NBFCs had minor The reasons for this outage has been identified and updates have been released to resolve the issue Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Information Technology disruptions, which have either been resolved or are being resolved. Overall, the Indian financial sector in the Reserve Bank’s domain remains insulated from the global outage,” an RBI statement read. Auto major Maruti Suzuki India said it had briefly halted production and dispatch operations due to the outage. Although many IT employees found it difficult to log into Microsoft applications on Friday no major setbacks were re, ported for the IT industry except production downtime. “Those who were using Microsoft Azure were not able to login,” an IT employee said. Meanwhile, in a statement around 7 in the evening, CrowdStrike said that the issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. P9 Interstate kidney transplant SC says will examine contours of guv’s racket busted, 15 arrested immunity from criminal prosecution U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi THE Delhi Police Crime Branch has busted an interstate kidney transplant racket and arrested 15 members of the gang, including the kingpin, transplant coordinator of hospitals, patients and even donors. Describing the modus operandi of the gang, the police said the accused joined a reputed hospital as transplant co-coordinator, learned the process, found donors from economically weaker section, lured them to donate kidneys and prepared forged documents of donors to show them close relatives. The police have so far identi- fied five patients, who got kidney transplant done along with two donors. A total 34 cases of illegal kidney transplant have come to the fore so far. DCP (Crime-Branch) Amit Goel said the main accused was identified as Sandeep Arya, an MBA who worked as transplant co-ordinator in hospitals in Faridabad, Delhi, Gurugram, Indore and Vadodara. He used to charge `35-`40 lakh for each transplant, which included hospital expense, arrangement of donor, accommodation and legal documentation required for surgery. Arya used to save around `7-`8 lakh from each transplant, the police said. S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Friday decided to examine the contours of the blanket Constitutional immunity governors in harness have from criminal prosecution, after hearing a plea filed by a woman employee of West Bengal Raj Bhavan. She alleged that she was sexually harassed by incumbent Governor C V Ananda Bose. Article 361 of Constitution says no criminal or civil proceedings shall be instituted or continued against the President, or the Governor, in any court during his term of office. A three-judge bench led by CJI D Y Chandrachud, asked Attorney General R Venkataramani to assist in the case and issued notice to the state government on the plea filed by the woman staffer. “The petition raises the issue pertaining to the ambit of the protection which is afforded to the governor under clause (2) of Article 361 of the Constitution,” the bench said while issuing notice to the state government and others. The court granted liberty to the petitioner to implead the Union government as a party in the petition. Senior lawyer Shyam Divan, appearing for the petitioner, argued that Article 361 should not be a bar against investigation. “Evidence has to be gathered right now. It cannot be deferred indefinitely he said. ,” The woman employee moved court on July 4 seeking guidelines on the immunity enjoyed by governors. She claimed the governor called her on April 24 and May 2 on the pretext of offering a better job, but allegedly harassed her sexually . Starting his 92-minute speech in a soothing and calm manner, Trump promised he would be a president “for all of America”, including Democrats, saying that he wanted to heal the divided country. The 78-year-old also recounted in detail the attempt to assassinate him last Saturday, which he said deeply affected him, and narrated how sad he was about a supporter killed by the gunman. P9 Indian evacuation from Bangladesh begins, toll 105 Y E S H I S E L I A N D P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ New Delhi/Guwahati WITH the situation in Bangladesh continuing to remain volatile and the toll of the student unrest over a contentious quota order reaching 105 on Friday, hundreds of Indian students have started streaming into the country through various border crossings. India was careful not to comment on the situation, with External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal saying, “We see this as an internal matter of the country .” Till Thursday, over 300 people, mostly students from India, Nepal and Bhutan, were evacuated via Dawki in Meghalaya. The Meghalaya government said 202 Indians — 198 students and four tourists — were evacuated. The students included 67 from Meghalaya. Ninety-five others from Nepal and seven from Bhutan had entered through Dawki. “On Friday, 96 students crossed the border at GedeDarshana around 5.30 pm. None of the students waiting to cross back was left behind. Another batch of over 100 students are expected to cross into India during at night,’’ according to a source. Sources said border cross- Protesters pelt stones as they clash with police in Dhaka on Friday | AFP ings between India and Bangladesh at Benapole-Petrapole, Gede-Darshana and AkhauraAgartala remain open for students and Indian nationals. “Around 13 Nepalese students were also permitted to enter India after their embassy made an official request,’’ the source added. The Indian Railways cancelled the Kolkata-Dhaka Maitree Express on Saturday and Bandhan Express between Kolkata and Khulna on Sunday There are over 15,000 Indi. ans in Bangladesh, of which 8,500 are students. The Assam government has sought the Centre’s help for the evacuation of students stranded in the neighbouring country P9 . K A N WA R YAT R A R O U T E I N U P Display of eatery owners’ names mandatory again N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow NDA allies oppose it NDA allies JD(U) and LJP came out against the UP govt’s decision, saying it could trigger communal tension Bigotry, says Cong The Congress said the move shows bigotry, with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra terming it an attack on Constitution A day after it toned down the Muzaffarnagar police order asking eateries and shops along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their owners’ names, the Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh on Friday hardened its stance, saying that the order will now be applicable across the state. Meanwhile, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said similar orders to display the names, addresses, and mobile phone numbers of owners are already in place in his state. The Muzaffarnagar police had on Monday issued an order instructing hotels, roadside eateries, and shops that fall on the yatra route to display the names of their owners to enable the pilgrims to take informed decisions and maintain the sanctity of their faith. However, after the authorities were panned for allegedly trying to target Muslim traders, the order was reviewed on Thursday and it was left it to the ‘free will’ of the eateries owners to display their names. With the latest decision by the state government, the display will be mandatory . Kanwar Yatra will commence on July 22 with the advent of the Hindu month of Shravan and conclude on August 2. The authorities have also made it clear that stringent action would be taken against those selling ‘halal-certified’ products. EXPRESS READ NEW ASSIGNMENT SPURT IN VIOLENCE CHEATING CASE CITY, CENTRE-WISE DATA MISTAKEN IDENTITY GANGSTER NETWORK AFTER PARTY Vinay Kwatra to take charge as next India’s ambassador to US More commando forces deployed in Jammu to fight terror Delhi cops lodge FIR against IAS officer on UPSC’s complaint After top court order, NEET-UG results to be announced today Fourth shooter in GTB Hospital firing held from Ghazipur NIA: Canada-based Khalistani terrorist’s key aide arrested Train runs over 3 drunk youngsters sleeping on tracks Former foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra was on Friday appointed as India’s ambassador to the US. The MEA said that he is expected to take up the assignment shortly. The post has been vacant since Taranjit Sandhu retired in January. Kwatra served as the foreign secretary from May 1, 2022, to July 14, 2024. Kwatra joined the IFS in 1988 and served in India’s Permanent Mission in Geneva in the initial years of his service. After a spate of terror attacks in Jammu, the Centre has bolstered deployment of forces, especially special commandos, in the region, according to sources in the security establishment. Officers in the Army said a few companies of special force commandos and Brigade-size troops have been sent to Jammu in the last few days to ramp up terror fight. “Around 500 commandos and 2,000 troops have been added to the existing troop deployment,” an officer said. P7 The Delhi Police has registered an FIR against IAS officer Puja Khedkar for allegedly falsifying facts to obtain extra attempts in the UPSC examination, officials said on Friday. The case has been registered under sections of forgery, cheating, IT and disability act. Meanwhile, a Pune sessions court on Friday granted interim protection from arrest till July 25 to her father Dilip Khedkar, who contested the Lok Sabha elections, in a case where he is accused of brandishing a gun during a land dispute. P8 The National Testing Agency (NTA) is set to release the NEET UG 2024 results by 12 noon on July 20, as directed by the Supreme Court. This announcement comes after a prolonged wait for the candidates who appeared for the examination. The results will be available on the website neet.ntaonline.in. The top court has directed NTA to publish the results, masking the identity of students, and to release city and centre-wise results separately by Saturday noon. The fourth absconding accused in the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital shooting case was arrested by Delhi Police from Ghazipur area in east Delhi, the police said on Friday. The arrested, identified as Shewaj alias Aman (21), is a resident of Chauhan Bangar area in Seelampur. Earlier, three of the four accused who shot a man, having mistaken him for someone else, at the GTB hospital in broad daylight, were nabbed by the cops, four days after the incident. P4 The National Investigation Agency has arrested Baljeet Singh alias Balli, a key aide of Canada-based designated Khalistani terrorist Lakhbir Singh Sandhu alias Landa, in connection with its probe into a terrorist network case involving supply of weapons, officials said on Friday. Balli, hailing from Badwani district of Madhya Pradesh, was nabbed from Punjab and found to be a major weapons supplier to the gangster syndicate, which worked for Landa. Three youngsters, who slept on a railway track after partying, were run over by a train in Koppal district of Karnataka on Thursday night. Mounish Pattar, 23, Sunil, 23, and Venkat Bhimanaik of Hirejantakal village started partying on the railway track at an isolated place in the village in the evening. After having a couple of drinks, they slipped into slumber on the track. The train, which was proceeding to Sindhanoor from Hubballi, ran over them around 9.30 pm.
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