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Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Indian Navy is on an official visit to Singapore from 2 to 4 May 2023. During the visit the CNS co-officiated the inaugural ceremony of the maiden ASEAN – India Maritime Exercise (AIME) 2023, held at Changi Naval Base in Singapore.

The ceremony was jointly inaugurated by Adm R Hari Kumar and RAdm Sean Wat, Chief of Navy, Republic of Singapore Navy in the presence of senior dignitaries from other ASEAN nations.

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The Congress on Tuesday accused Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP chief J P Nadda and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of making "hate speeches" in poll-bound Karnataka and urged the Election Commission to put a ban on campaigning by them in the wake of Supreme Court orders on such speeches.

A delegation of Congress leaders comprising Ajay Maken, Vivek Tankha, Salman Khurshid and Pawan Khera met the Election Commission and gave them a memorandum demanding immediate action against such "hate speeches".

"The home minister says such things which polarise the country and create division in society..., neither the Constitution provides for such a thing nor does the oath they take while assuming the high office. We have pointed this out to the Election Commission," Tankha told reporters after the meeting.

Sharad Pawar stunned his party on Tuesday by announcing that he was stepping down as chief of the NCP that he founded in 1999, leading to an outburst of emotion and cries of 'stay back' from his close aides, party leaders and activists. After their day-long clamour, Pawar in the evening agreed to do a rethink about his move. His nephew Ajit Pawar said the NCP chief would take a final call in "2-3 days".

The 83-year-old Pawar made his surprise announcement at a function held at the YB Chavan Centre to launch the updated version of his autobiography. While state NCP chief Jayant Patil and party leader from Thane Jitendra Awhad broke down on hearing the decision, NCP MP Praful Patel appealed to him to withdraw his move, saying Pawar had not taken anyone into confidence before announcing his resignation.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh handed over a Fast Patrol Vessel and a Landing Craft Assault ship to the Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF) on Tuesday. On the first day of his three-day official visit, Singh held talks with his Maldivian counterpart and Foreign Minister of Maldives Abdulla Shahid. He also met with Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and discussed the progress of various developmental projects undertaken by India in the Maldives.

As per the Ministry of Defence, the Fast Patrol Vessel, capable of coastal and offshore surveillance at high speeds, was commissioned as the MNDF Coast Guard ship Huravee.

Speaking on the occasion, Rajnath Singh described the handing over of the two 'Made in India' platforms as a symbol of the shared commitment of both nations and their objectives towards peace and security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

The Central government has blocked 14 messenger mobile applications that have been widely used in Jammu and Kashmir for spreading terror. The terrorists in the region have been using these apps to communicate with their supporters and on-ground workers (OGWs), said sources.

Some of the mobile applications that have been blocked include Crypviser, Enigma, Safeswiss, Wickrme, Mediafire, Briar, BChat, Nandbox, Conion, IMO, Element, Second line, Zangi, Threema, and others.