Andaman Airspace Closed Till Saturday For Inter-Island Missile Test

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 23, 2025 | top-stories

New Delhi:

The airspace over Andaman and Nicobar islands has been closed for today and tomorrow to likely conduct an inter-island missile test. As part of a Notice to Airmen or NOTAM, no aircraft will be allowed above the islands at any altitude.

The possible land attack missile test will come at a time peace prevails at the India-Pakistan border, but the government continues to assert that Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 with strikes on terror targets in the neighbouring countries, is on.

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“Relations Built On Sensitivities To…”: India On Turkey's Support To Pakistan

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 22, 2025 | top-stories

New Delhi:

In a strong message to Turkey over its support to Pakistan in recent times, the Government of India said on Thursday that New Delhi expects Ankara to encourage Pakistan to address the problem of cross-border terrorism emanating from it.

New Delhi also asked Turkey to dissuade Pakistan from using terrorism as an instrument of state policy and take credible and verifiable actions against the terror ecosystem that Islamabad and Rawalpindi have harboured for decades.

As ties between India and Turkey have taken a hit with Ankara’s tilt towards Pakistan after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, India made it clear that relations between two countries are built on mutual respect and sensitivities of each other’s concerns.

“We expect Turkey to strongly urge Pakistan to end its support to cross-border terrorism and take credible and verifiable actions against the terror ecosystem it has harbored for decades. Relations are built on the basis of sensitivities to each other’s concerns,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly press briefing today.

Turkey’s role in Pakistan’s escalations against India, which started with the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, came under focus during India’s Operation Sindoor response. Besides ideological and moral support to Islamabad, Turkey provided arms and weapons to Pakistan as well.

300-400 drones used by Pakistan in its military escalation against India were mostly provided by Turkey. These drones targeted both military and civilian areas in India. The drones were used to carry out multiple intrusions and violations of Indian airspace along the entire western border – from Leh in Ladakh to Sir Creek in Gujarat – at 36 locations, the government had said in its Op Sindoor press briefing.

In addition to this, Turkey stood in solidarity with Pakistan when India eliminated more than 100 terrorists taking shelter in terror camps destroyed by India in its precision missile strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. At the same time, Turkey did not condemn the Pahalgam terror attack, which was carried out by Pakistan-linked terrorists associated with The Resistance Front – an offshoot of the UN-banned Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Turkey has, for long, backed Pakistan in its invasion and illegal occupation of Indian territory in Jammu and Kashmir.

Turkey also indulged in military posturing during Operation Sindoor by sending its warship to Karachi Port, which it called a “routine port call”. Ankara also reportedly sent military aircraft containing arms and weapons to aid Pakistan in its misadventure against India – reports that Trukey has denied, saying the aircraft landed for refuelling purposes.

After India eliminated over 100 terrorists, a note of solidarity sent by Turkish President Erdogan to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated that “I pray for Allah’s mercy for our brothers who lost their lives in the attacks, and I extend my condolences to the brotherly people and state of Pakistan.”

Amid growing anti-Turkey sentiments in India, activists and citizens have called for a total boycott of Turkish goods and services in India. People have also urged fellow Indians to avoid Turkey as a holiday destination and appealed to filmmakers to avoid shoots in that country.

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Hacker Steals Data From US Government Through App Used By Trump Aide

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 21, 2025 | top-stories

Quick Read

Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed.

A hacker breached TeleMessage, a messaging platform used by U.S. officials, leaking data from over 60 government users, including disaster responders and diplomats. The incident raises cybersecurity concerns, though no sensitive content was confirmed.

Washington:

A hacker who breached the communications service used by former Trump national security adviser Mike Waltz earlier this month intercepted messages from a broader swathe of American officials than has previously been reported, according to a Reuters review, potentially raising the stakes of a breach that has already drawn questions about data security in the Trump administration.

Reuters identified more than 60 unique government users of the messaging platform TeleMessage in a cache of leaked data provided by Distributed Denial of Secrets, a U.S. nonprofit whose stated mission is to archive hacked and leaked documents in the public interest. The trove included material from disaster responders, customs officials, several U.S. diplomatic staffers, at least one White House staffer and members of the Secret Service. The messages reviewed by Reuters covered a roughly day-long period of time ending on May 4, and many of them were fragmentary.

Once little known outside government and finance circles, TeleMessage drew media attention after an April 30 Reuters photograph showed Waltz checking TeleMessage’s version of the privacy-focused app Signal during a cabinet meeting.

While Reuters could not verify the entire contents of the TeleMessage trove, in more than half a dozen cases the news agency was able to establish that the phone numbers in the leaked data were correctly attributed to their owners. One of the intercepted texts’ recipients – an applicant for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency – confirmed to Reuters that the leaked message was authentic; a financial services firm whose messages were similarly intercepted also confirmed their authenticity.

Based on its limited review, Reuters uncovered nothing that seemed clearly sensitive and did not uncover chats by Waltz or other cabinet officials. Some chats did seem to bear on the travel plans of senior government officials. One Signal group, “POTUS | ROME-VATICAN | PRESS GC,” appeared to pertain to the logistics of an event at the Vatican. Another appeared to discuss U.S. officials’ trip to Jordan.

Reuters reached out to all the individuals it could identify seeking comment; some confirmed their identities but most didn’t respond or referred questions to their respective agencies.

Reuters could not ascertain how TeleMessage had been used by each agency. The service – which takes versions of popular apps and allows their messages to be archived in line with government rules – has been suspended since May 5, when it went offline “out of an abundance of caution.” TeleMessage’s owner, the Portland, Oregon-based digital communications firm Smarsh, did not respond to requests for comments about the leaked data.

The White House said in a statement that it was “aware of the cyber security incident at Smarsh” but didn’t offer comment on its use of the platform. The State Department didn’t respond to messages. The Secret Service said TeleMessage products had been used “by a small subset of Secret Service employees” and that it was reviewing the situation. FEMA said in an email that it had “no evidence” that its information had been compromised. It didn’t respond when sent copies of internal FEMA messages. A CBP spokesperson repeated a past statement noting that it had disabled TeleMessage and was investigating the breach.

METADATA RISK

Federal contracting data shows that State and DHS have had contracts with TeleMessage in recent years, as has the Centers for Disease Control. A CDC spokesperson told Reuters in an email Monday that the agency piloted the software in 2024 to assess its potential for records management requirements “but found it did not fit our needs.” The status of the other contracts wasn’t clear. A week after that hack, the U.S. cyber defense agency CISA recommended that users “discontinue use of the product” barring any mitigating instructions about how to use the app from Smarsh.

Jake Williams, a former National Security Agency cyber specialist, said that, even if the intercepted text messages were innocuous, the wealth of metadata – the who and when of the leaked conversations and chat groups – posed a counterintelligence risk.

“Even if you don’t have the content, that is a top-tier intelligence access,” said Williams, now vice president of research and development at cybersecurity firm Hunter Strategy.

Waltz’s prior use of Signal created a public furor when he accidentally added a prominent journalist to a Signal chat where he and other Trump cabinet officials were discussing air raids on Yemen in real time. Soon after, Waltz was ousted from his job, although not from the administration: Trump said he was nominating Waltz to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

The circumstances surrounding Waltz’s use of TeleMessage haven’t been publicly disclosed and neither he nor the White House has responded to questions about the matter.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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'Golden Dome' Missile Shield To Be 1st US Weapon In Space. All About It

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 21, 2025 | top-stories

Washington:

United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday unveiled new details on his plan for a missile defence system known as “Golden Dome”, which is estimated to cost a total of some $175 billion. The “Golden Dome” will be the first weapon the US puts in space, and it should be operational in about three years, by the end of his time in office, the President said.

Trump said his team has officially finalised the architecture of the futuristic defence system that he announced just days after returning to the White House in January. At the time, the Republican said the system would be aimed at countering “next-generation” aerial threats to the US, including ballistic and cruise missiles.

“In the campaign, I promised the American people I would build a cutting-edge missile defence shield…Today, I am pleased to announce we have officially selected architecture for this state-of-the-art system,” Trump said at the White House.

What Is The Golden Dome System?

The Golden Dome will be a ground- and space-based missile shield system that will detect, track and stop missiles at multiple stages of flight, potentially destroying them before takeoff or intercepting them in mid-air. Calling the new system “very important for the success and even survival” of the United States, Trump said that once fully constructed, it will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world, and even if they are launched from space.

Golden Dome has more expansive goals, with Trump saying it “will deploy next-generation technologies across the land, sea and space, including space-based sensors and interceptors.”

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, speaking alongside Trump, said the design for the Golden Dome will integrate with existing ground-based defence capabilities and is aimed at protecting “the homeland from cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, drones, whether they’re conventional or nuclear.”

How Much Will It Cost?

The system will cost over $500 billion, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. However, Trump has, so far, announced $25 billion in initial funding for the plan, which he said could eventually cost a total of some $175 billion.

When Will It Be Completed?

Trump said the system will be operational in about three years, by the end of his time in office. However, Forbes reported that the cost of the project will be absorbed over 20 years.

Who Will Lead The Project?

Trump said US Space Force General Michael Guetlein will lead the effort. A four-star general, Guetlein had a 30-year career in the Air Force before he joined the Space Force in 2021. He reportedly specialises in missile defence and space systems.

Countries Covered Under the Golden Globe

The System is meant to protect the United States from all kinds of missile or drone attacks, but Trump said that Canada has expressed interest in being part of it as “they want to have protection also.”

Idea Behind The Golden Globe

The plan’s Golden Dome name stems from Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system that has intercepted thousands of short-range rockets and other projectiles since it went into operation in 2011. The United States faces various missile threats from adversaries, but they differ significantly from the short-range weapons that Israel’s Iron Dome is designed to counter.

The 2022 Missile Defence Review pointed to growing threats from Russia and China.

Who Opposes The Plan?

Russia and China earlier this month slammed the Golden Dome concept as “deeply destabilising,” saying it risked turning space into a “battlefield.”

It “explicitly provides for a significant strengthening of the arsenal for conducting combat operations in space,” said a statement published by the Kremlin after talks between the two sides.

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Visa Applications By Indians For Turkey, Azerbaijan Drop By 42%: Report

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 20, 2025 | top-stories

New Delhi:

In the wake of recent geopolitical developments that shifted Indian traveler sentiment dramatically, there has been a sharp 42 per cent decline in visa applications to Turkey and Azerbaijan, a report said on Tuesday.

As both countries publicly expressed support for Pakistan, Indian travelers responded swiftly.

Within just 36 hours, the number of users exiting the visa application process midway surged by 60 per cent, according to data provided by Atlys, a visa processing platform.

“The reaction wasn’t scattered; it was sharp and behavioural. People didn’t need to be told to avoid certain destinations. They simply moved on, guided by instinct, information, and access to alternatives. That’s what modern travel looks like,” said Mohak Nahta, Founder and CEO of Atlys.

In the same spirit, “we also paused all marketing efforts for Turkey and Azerbaijan, standing by India and in solidarity with national sentiment,” he added.

Travelers from metro cities like Delhi and Mumbai showed a 53 per cent drop in Turkey-bound applications, while interest from tier 2 cities such as Indore and Jaipur remained more resilient, falling by only 20 per cent.

There was also a shift in the kind of travelers rethinking their plans.

Group visa requests, including family trips, fell by nearly 49 per cent, while solo and couple applications declined more gradually at 27 per cent.

This suggests that larger group travelers, often planning further in advance and more sensitive to political sentiment, reacted more decisively than individual travelers.

Atlys data also revealed early signals around age and intent. Travellers aged 25 to 34 were the most likely to change course quickly, accounting for over 70 per cent of mid-process application drop-offs for Turkey.

Interestingly, women travellers were more likely to switch destinations entirely, with a 2.3 times higher tendency to reinitiate applications for Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, or Thailand.

As Turkey and Azerbaijan lost favour, alternate destinations surged in popularity. In the subsequent days, applications to Vietnam, Indonesia, and Egypt rose by up to 31 per cent, the data showed.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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“Who Are Bigger Sharks”: Vice President On Delay In FIR In Judge Cash Row

by Hansraj Agrawal | May 19, 2025 | top-stories

New Delhi:

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar dwelt at length on the finding of cash at the premises of Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, pushing for a police investigation and a relook at the Supreme Court judgment that ruled prior sanction be required to prosecute judges of the high court and the Supreme Court.

Speaking at a book release function, he said the move of the three-judge in-house committee probing the case to recover electronic equipment from witnesses as a “serious issue” and questioned how it could have been done.

“The entire nation was worried. An incident took place on the night intervening 14th and 15th of March. A nation of 1.4 billion did not come to know about it. Till after a week. Just imagine how many such other incidents may have taken place of which we are not in the know… every such transgression of integrity impacts common man, impacts those who believe in rule of law… therefore we have to be unsparing about it,” he said.

The Vice President said the people were questioning how criminal justice system “was not operationalised as it would have done for every other individual”. Only the President of India and the Governors are exempt from a police investigation, he said, and that too only while they hold office.

“This issue for which people are waiting with bated breath, the money trail, its source, its purpose… Did it pollute the judicial system? Who are the bigger sharks? We need to find out. Already two months have gone by,” he said.

The Supreme Court, he said, has done what it could under then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna. But it has a “legacy issue” of judgments imparted in 1990s and “now is the time to take a call”.

Unaccounted case was found from a store-room in near the gate of the bungalow of Delhi High Court’s Justice Yashwant Varma in March. The money was found by firefighters called to put out a blaze during the Holi break of the court.

Following this, the Supreme Court Collegium decided to transfer Justice Varma back to his parent court — the Allahabad High Court. Despite Justice Khanna taking a dim view of the matter, the judge has not resigned.

Mr Dhankar stressed there is a need to revisit the Supreme Court judgment of 1991 in the case of K Veeraswami vs Union of India, which established the mechanism for the in-house probe. The judgment provides cover and immunity to judges but it can, in cases like Justice Varma, become a liability to the judiciary and erode the people’s confidence in the law.

Emphasizing on the significance of rule of law in a democracy – “the very foundation of society” — the Vice-President said the “surest way to degenerate an individual or bring down an Institution is to keep it away from probe, keep it away from scrutiny”.

To nurture democracy, “it is inescapable that we hold every institution and every individual accountable,” he added.

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