I&B Ministry advises media to refrain from live coverage of defence operations

The Hindu

26-04-2025

The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) on Saturday issued an advisory asking all media channels to refrain from live coverage of defence operations, and the movement of security forces.
'In the interest of national security, all media platforms, news agencies, and social media users are advised to exercise utmost responsibility and adhere strictly to existing laws and regulations while reporting on matters concerning defence and other security-related operations,' the Ministry said.
The advisory, which came amid reports of the government's plans to carry out major anti-terrorist operations in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir, cautioned specifically against real-time coverage, dissemination of visuals, or reporting from 'sources-based' information related to defence operations or movement.
'Premature disclosure of sensitive information may inadvertently assist hostile elements and endanger operational effectiveness and the safety of personnel,' it said, adding that past incidents had underscored the importance of 'responsible reporting'.
The Ministry said that during some events, including the Kargil war, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, and the Kandahar hijacking, unrestricted coverage had resulted in 'unintended adverse' consequences on national interests.
'Media digital platforms, and individuals play a vital role in safeguarding national security. Apart from the legal obligations, it is a shared moral responsibility to ensure that our collective actions do not compromise ongoing operations or the security of our forces,' the advisory said.
On several occasions in the past, the Ministry has issued advisories to all the TV channels to adhere to Rule 6(1)(p) of Cable Television Networks (Amendment) Rules, 2021.
It Rule 6(1)(p) states: 'No programme should be carried in the cable service which contains live coverage of any anti-terrorist operation by security forces, wherein media coverage shall be restricted to periodic briefing by an officer designated by the appropriate Government, till such operation concludes.'
'Therefore, all TV channels are advised to be cautious of live coverage of counter-terrorist operations by security forces in the interest of national security. Media coverage may be restricted to periodic briefings by an officer designated by the appropriate government till such an operation concludes,' the I&B Ministry said.
India skirts maritime border dispute with Pakistan by fresh continental-shelf claim
India has increased its claim in the Central Arabian Sea, as part of its 'extended continental shelf' by nearly 10,000 square km but also modified an earlier claim to avoid a long-standing dispute with Pakistan over the maritime boundary between the two countries, suggest documents submitted earlier this month with the United Nations.
Coastal countries have an 'exclusive economic zone,' (EEZ) which gives exclusive mining and fishing rights, upto 200 nautical miles from their coastlines. In addition to this, such states can make claims for more area in the ocean provided they can scientifically establish to a UN body, called the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), that this claimed area extends unbroken from their landmass all the way till the sea bed.
All of this oceanic area is considered part of a country's extended continental shelf. This gives them rights to commercially mine for valuable minerals, polymetallic nodules and oil reserves. India already has 12 nautical miles of territorial sea and 200 nautical miles of the EEZ measured from the baselines.
'With the anticipated addition of approximately 1.2 million square km of extended continental shelf from the two submissions to the ~2 million sq. km of EEZ, India's seabed and sub-seabed area would become almost equal its land area of 3.274 million sq. km,' according to the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa.
India made its first claim in 2009 in vast stretches of sea spanning the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. Due to geology, the continental shelf of a country can frequently over-lap with another and the process of scrutinising and deciding upon the claims of countries can run into years.
While India's claims are still being weighed upon, Pakistan in 2021 objected to portions of India's claimed territory in the Western offshore regions on the grounds that nearly 100 nautical miles overlapped with a maritime border that was under 'dispute.'
Specifically, this referred to a dispute between the countries over the Sir Creek, a strip of water in the marshes of the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. The creek roughly separates the Kutch region in India and Pakistan's Sindh province. While India countered these objections, the net result was that the CLCS, in March 2023 rejected the entirety of India's claim in the Arabian Sea region. However, the Commission gives leeway to countries to submit 'modified claims.'
It's in response to this that on the April 3, India split its original claim (in the Western Arabian Sea) into two 'partial ones.' Doing so, said an official in the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), is to ensure that India's claim in the Central Arabian Sea region isn't affected.
'Countries can submit any number of partial claims. Overall we have increased our claim by an additional 10,000 sq km based on additional data gathered,' M. Ravichandran, Secretary, MoES told The Hindu. 'The remaining part can be discussed bilaterally. This strategy is part of our approach to ensure that at least (the region) without dispute, and which is very valuable, is awarded to us.' Institutions of the MoES, such as the NCPOR, have played a key role in the technical aspects of determining India's continental shelf.
Some parts of India's continental shelf claims in the Arabian Sea overlap with that of Oman. However the two countries have an agreement in place since 2010 that while the continental shelf between them is yet to be delimited, it is 'not under dispute.'
On the eastern and southern coast, India has claimed about 300,000 square km in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean though these have faced contests by Myanmar and Sri Lanka. The CLCS is expected to begin a new session of consultations later this year.
Centre admitted to security lapse in terror attack in Pahalgam: Kharge
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said that the Central government had admitted to security lapses in the terrorists' attack and killing of 27 tourists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking at a function in Bengaluru, Kharge said Home Minister Amit Shah had admitted that security lapse was the reason for the attack during an all-party meeting held on April 24. Despite the existence of a three-phase security, the Centre was not able to ensure the safety of tourists visiting Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
However, the Congress has decided to support the Centre in the interest of the nation and the party has supported the government's decision. The Congress was committed to coordination and cooperation with the government to eliminate terrorism from its roots, the Congress leader said.
Kharge, who is also the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, took exception to Prime Minister Narendra Modi skipping the all-party meeting, and said it was not good on the part of Mr Modi to remain abstained from the meeting. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the meeting.
'We expected Mr. Modi to chair the meeting and hold discussions with all political parties to address the challenge of terrorism. But Mr. Modi visited Bihar and delivered an election speech there. Instead of giving an election speech, the Prime Minister should have attended the all-party meeting,' Kharge said.
'Mr. Modi should have briefed the leaders about the incident and explained the reasons for the terror attack. The Opposition was keen to know the reasons — whether it was security lapse, intelligence failure, information lapse, police lapse,' Kharge said.
Noting that tourists were killed after terrorists enquired about their religion, Kharge said in Karnataka too many leaders speak on caste and religious lines. Educational institutions should not propagate any caste or religion and students too should refrain from caste and religious based interactions, he said.
Iran port explosion: At least four killed, over 500 people injured
A massive explosion and fire rocked a port Saturday in southern Iran purportedly linked to a shipment of a chemical ingredient used to make missile propellant, killing four people and injuring more than 500 others.
The blast at the Shahid Rajaei port happened as Iran and the United States met Saturday in Oman for the third round of negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.
While no one in Iran outright suggested that the explosion came from an attack, even Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is leading the talks, acknowledged that 'our security services are on high alert given past instances of attempted sabotage and assassination operations designed to provoke a legitimate response.'
For hours, authorities in Iran offered no clear explanation for what caused the blast at the port, which is just outside of Bandar Abbas, though they did deny that the explosion had anything to do with the country's oil industry.
However, the port took in a shipment of 'sodium perchlorate rocket fuel' in March, the private security firm Ambrey said. The fuel is part of a shipment from China by two vessels to Iran first reported in January by the Financial Times. The fuel was going to be used to replenish Iran's missile stocks, which had been depleted by its direct attacks on Israel during the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
'The fire was reportedly the result of improper handling of a shipment of solid fuel intended for use in Iranian ballistic missiles,' Ambrey said.
Ship-tracking data analysed by The Associated Press put one of the vessels believed to be carrying the chemical in the vicinity in March, as Ambrey said. Iran hasn't acknowledged taking the shipment. The Iranian mission to the United Nations didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
It's unclear why Iran wouldn't have moved the chemicals from the port, particularly after the Beirut port blast in 2020. That explosion, caused by the ignition of hundreds of tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate, killed more than 200 people and injured more than 6,000 others. However, Israel did target Iranian missile sites where Tehran uses industrial mixers to create solid fuel.
Social media footage of the explosion on Saturday at Shahid Rajaei saw reddish-hued smoke rising from the fire just before the detonation. That suggests a chemical compound being involved in the blast.
'Get back get back! Tell the gas (truck) to go!' a man in one video shouted just before the blast. 'Tell him to go, it's going to blow up! Oh God, this is blowing up! Everybody evacuate! Get back! Get back!'
On Saturday night, the state-run IRNA news agency said that the Customs Administration of Iran blamed a 'stockpile of hazardous goods and chemical materials stored in the port area' for the blast, without elaborating.
Shahid Rajaei has been a target before. A 2020 cyberattack attributed to Israel targeted the port. It came after Israel said that it thwarted a cyberattack targeting its water infrastructure, which it attributed to Iran.
Social media videos showed black billowing smoke after the blast. Others showed glass blown out of buildings kilometres away from the epicentre of the explosion. State media footage showed the injured crowding into at least one hospital, with ambulances arriving as medics rushed one person by on a stretcher.
Mehrdad Hasanzadeh, a provincial disaster management official, told Iranian state television that first responders were trying to reach the area while others were attempting to evacuate the site.
Hasanzadeh said that the blast came from containers at Shahid Rajaei port in the city, without elaborating. State television also reported that there had been a building collapse caused by the explosion, though no further details were offered.
The Interior Ministry said that it launched an investigation into the blast. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also offered his condolences for those affected in the blast.
Shahid Rajaei port in Hormozgan province is about 1,050 km southeast of Iran's capital, Tehran, on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil traded passes.
Pope Francis buried in Rome's Santa Maria Maggiore basilica
Pope Francis was buried inside his favourite Rome church after a funeral mass in St Peter's Square, the Vatican said on Saturday.
Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, was laid to rest during a 30-minute ceremony which started at 1:00 p.m. (1100 GMT) at the Santa Maria Maggiore basilica in the Italian capital.
Footage shared by the Holy See showed cardinals marking his wooden and zinc coffin with red wax seals.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who as camerlengo is running the Vatican's day-to-day affairs until a new Pope is elected, sprinkled it with holy water after it was lowered into a tomb set inside an alcove.
A reproduction of the pectoral cross worn by Francis during his lifetime hung above it.
Francis had asked that the tomb, located near the altar of Saint Francis, be simple and unadorned, reflecting the humble spirit of his papacy.
The tombstone bears only the inscription 'Franciscus' — the Pope's name in Latin.
Its marble is sourced from Liguria, the northwestern Italian region once home to the Argentine pontiff's Italian ancestors.
Francis, born Jorge Bergoglio, had specified in his will the exact spot he wanted to be buried, in the side nave of the beloved fifth-century AD church.
The pontiff was devoted to the worship of the Virgin Mary and made a point of praying in Santa Maria Maggiore before leaving on trips abroad and upon his return to Rome.
He declared his desire to be entombed there in 2023.
Located in the heart of Rome, the basilica already holds the tombs of seven Popes.
But the last one to be buried there was Clement IX in 1669. More recently Popes have usually been buried in St Peter's Basilica.
One of four papal basilicas in Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore also holds the remains of several other renowned figures, such as the architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who designed St Peter's Square and its surrounding columns.
Built around 432 AD under Pope Sixtus III, the basilica holds some of the Catholic Church's most important relics, including an icon of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus, attributed to Saint Luke.
Supreme Court seeks response from government on plea challenging bar on single, divorced men from becoming parents through surrogacy
The Supreme Court has sought the response of the Centre on a petition filed by a 45-year-old divorced and single man claiming his right to be a biological parent through surrogacy.
A Bench headed by Justice B.V. Nagarathna issued notice to the Union government on the plea by Bengaluru resident, Maheshwara M.V., who said it was unconstitutional to exclude single, divorced men from availing surrogacy under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, which restricts eligibility solely to legally married couples and widowed or divorced women, thereby violating the fundamental rights of the petitioner under Articles 14 (right to equality) and 21 (right to a dignified life) of the Constitution.
The petitioner, represented by advocate Mohini Priya, urged the court for a judicial declaration of his right to exercise his constitutionally protected right to reproductive autonomy and become a biological parent through gestational surrogacy using his own gametes and donor eggs, as facilitated under the Surrogacy Act.
The plea said the legitimate aspiration of single divorced men to avail surrogacy was unjustly, irrationally and arbitrarily denied solely on the grounds of gender and marital status, despite the very same Act, under Section 2(1)(s), expressly permitting divorced women aged 35-45 to access surrogacy.
The petition pointed to the rising divorce rates, especially in urban areas. 'As per the 2011 Census, over 1.36 million men were divorced or separated, a number likely higher today with increasing divorce filings (e.g., 1.7% annual rise reported in urban areas per National Crime Record Bureau data). Studies indicate remarriage is significantly harder for men due to societal stigma, age, and financial burdens post-divorce, making it a formidable task to have biological children through traditional means,' it said.
The denial of surrogacy rights to the single divorced men like the petitioner was not based on any scientific, logical, or child welfare considerations. It was a regressive, exclusionary policy rooted in outdated patriarchal norms, he argued.
'The state has no compelling interest in restricting surrogacy based on gender or marital status, making such exclusion unjustifiable, oppressive and unconstitutional,' the petition contended.
In Brief:
A Mumbai crime branch team questioned Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, for over eight hours in New Delhi where he is in the NIA's custody, officials said on Saturday. The crime branch team comprising four officers questioned Rana for his alleged role in the conspiracy of the terror attacks, an official said. During the questioning, Rana gave evasive answers and did not cooperate, the official said without giving any further information.