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Hindustan Times
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
‘Tharoor, Owaisi, Sule defended India abroad, Rahul Gandhi betrayed': Himanta
In a rare show of appreciation for their political opponents, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday praised Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, AIMIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi and NCP(SCP) leader Supriya Sule for defending India with dignity abroad. The BJP leader also launched a sharp attack on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for "tarnishing India's image on international platforms, while contrasting him with these other opposition leaders. Also Read | 'World now knows the truth': Shashi Tharoor-led delegation on Operation Sindoor wraps up US visit "I am thankful to Congress and other opposition leaders, especially Shashi Tharoor, who have strongly defended India's position on foreign soil. Not only him, but leaders like Asaduddin Owaisi and Supriya Sule also represented India on foreign soil and defended the nation," Himanta was quoted as saying by PTI. "They all stood for India. But the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, did not. He has betrayed the nation. He has betrayed the armed forces," Sarma further alleged. Also Read | 19 Brahmos, Crystal Maze missiles: How India brought Pakistan to its knees during Op Sindoor Himanta Biswa Sarma was referring to the all-party delegations that recently toured several countries, carrying out an anti-terror drive on behalf of the central government. Sarma further accused Rahul Gandhi of repeatedly raising doubts about India's military strength and questioning the government's response to Pakistan. During a discussion on a resolution in the state assembly over the success of 'Operation Sindoor', Sarma said Gandhi has been constantly asking about India's losses, but never wanted to know the damage incurred by Pakistan in the military conflict. Also Read | Gen Ghai, face of army during Op Sindoor, promoted as dy chief of army staff "Asking about the losses after the military conflict is a different thing, but he asked about India's losses when it was ongoing. However, he never asked about Pakistan's losses," Sarma claimed. Rahul Gandhi often stirred controversies with his remarks abroad, the most recent being his speech at the University of Texas in the United States last year. Addressing the gathering there, Gandhi said, "The West has an employment problem. India has an employment problem... But many countries in the world don't have an employment problem. China certainly doesn't have an employment problem. Vietnam doesn't have an employment problem." Also Read | Did Pakistan hit Adampur, Bhuj air bases during Operation Sindoor? Satellite images show otherwise Recently, Gandhi called out External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for his "damning silence" on the number of aircraft India lost under Operation Sindoor. The Congress MP also accused the EAM of informing Pakistan of the start of India's response in Operation Sindoor.
The Print
17-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Op Sindoor: Inside story of what led Pakistan DGMO to make frantic calls for ‘ceasefire'
'India sent out a clear message that no matter where, India can carry out pinpointed conventional strikes anywhere in Pakistan. Pakistan learnt that if needed, India can launch a barrage of missiles and not just the numbers that were used this time. The messaging was very clear to the Pakistanis,' a source in the Indian defence and security establishment told ThePrint. But what really changed in these 72 hours? New Delhi: Pakistan, which 'brusquely turned down' the request of Indian DGMO Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai on 7 May 'with an intimation that a severe response was inevitable and, in the offing,' was desperately reaching out to him on 10 May to ensure a ceasefire, ThePrint has learnt. ThePrint has also reliably learnt that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) lost at least a couple of aircraft between 8 and 10 May. Director General of Air Operations Air Marshal A.K. Bharti had publicly said that Pakistani aircraft were hit and technical analysis is being done, following which the armed forces would share more details. Asked if the Indian Air Force (IAF) shot down Pakistani aircraft, he had said 'Their planes were prevented from entering inside our border…definitely, we have downed a few planes…definitely, there are losses on their side which we have inflicted.' He added that the exact numbers are with the IAF, but it is still analysing technical details and will come out with a report soon. The IAF has also said that details of its own losses will be made public in due course. However, all pilots have been accounted for ThePrint is withholding information garnered so far of the onslaught by India and the damage caused to Pakistan since the operation is still ongoing and will wait for IAF to release the details formally. However, even as the IAF finalises its report based on technical and visual evidence, ThePrint has learnt that the strikes were much deeper and wider than what has been claimed by both sides officially. Sources said that India does not want Ops Sindoor to be about claims and counter claims and hence is very careful about the information it is putting out in public. This is directly opposite to the tactics of the Pakistan military which claimed a lot without any evidence. Pakistan even showcased forged satellite images to show damage on the Indian side but got called out by international experts. The IAF, it is learnt, does not wish to state anything which might be questioned due to lack of immediate tangible proof like what happened in the aftermath of the Balakot strikes when doubts were raised on the extent of damage inflicted. For instance, even during the strike on terror camps in Pakistan and PoK on 7 May, India used missiles like the Crystal Maze which relays back video till the second it strikes, as was visible in one of the videos released by the Indian defence ministry. Almost all strikes of 7 May were covered by high-resolution reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles and post damage satellite pictures. For all strikes post 7 May, India has claimed only those videos of which were shot by the public and shared on social media, or for which clear satellite pictures are available. There are some more strikes that Pakistan has obviously not claimed and neither has India. Talking about the operations, sources also said that the much talked-about Chinese air-to-air missile PL-15, could not score a single hit. The IAF, on the other hand, used a host of aircraft and air defence systems since 7 May with major setbacks inflicted to PAF from 8 May onwards. The initial part of Operation Sindoor focussed on nine terror camps which were taken out by the IAF and the Army in pinpointed strikes with major casualties inflicted on the terror infrastructure. From 8 May onwards, the strikes focussed on showing real raw power of the IAF to the Pakistani defence establishment, sources said. A plethora of missiles, loitering munitions were used by the IAF to strike back at the Pakistani military. It is learnt that several Chinese-supplied HQ-9B long-range air defence systems and HQ-16 medium-range air defence systems were taken out by Harpy and Harop loitering munitions—in use with the IAF for years even before the word 'drones' caught the fancy of the world in the wake of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. The Government of India had formally said last Friday that the Indian military 'bypassed and jammed Pakistan's China-supplied air defence systems', borne by the fact that loitering munitions travelled deep inside Pakistan to strike at places close to what Pakistan Army considers as its fiefdom. Missiles fired by the IAF include the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, which Pakistan claims were fired from air (IAF has both air and ground versions), SCALP long-range air-to-ground missiles, Hammer air-to-ground missiles, Rampage air-to-ground missiles and Spice 2000 among others. The Indian medium-range surface-to-air missile system (MRSAM also known as Barak 8) and the indigenous Akash too saw action, and so did the S-400. 'It was a combined shock and awe operation using long-range missiles, air defence missiles, loitering munitions and strikes at specific sites that caused wide range damage to Pakistani military forces that forced them to seek ceasefire on the fourth day itself,' said one source. Maximum damage caused to Pakistan Air Force assets on the ground was by way of missile strikes on its primary logistics hub, the Nur Khan base in Rawalpindi, and the Bholari air base. PAF Air Marshal Masood Akhtar (Retd) on a Pakistani news channel said he had information that a Saab Erieye, an Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&C), was destroyed when India struck the hangar at Bholari. It is reliably learnt that the actual loss may be higher than what Pakistan is showcasing, both officially and unofficially. Pakistan operates 9 Saab Erieye and two IL 78 mid-air refuellers. Incidentally, Pakistan has also put out names of five PAF personnel it said were killed in the strike on Bholari air base. Sources said it was on the morning of 10 December, after India carried out hits on PAF bases in Chaklala, Rafiqui, Rahim Yar Khan, Sargodha, Bhulari, and Jacobabad, that Pakistan's DGMO made frantic calls to his Indian counterpart, wanting a ceasefire. 'On 7 May when our DGMO wanted to talk, they shrugged it off vowing retaliation. On 10 May, they reached out desperately. Clearly shows that the message was overwhelmingly delivered to Pakistan,' a source said. Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif, addressing an event Friday, said that 'At around 2.30 am on 10 May, General Syed Asim Munir called me on a secure line and informed me that India's ballistic missiles have hit Nur Khan Airbase and other areas'. Incidentally, it was after that Pakistan was desperately seeking a ceasefire. As Air Marshal Bharti said earlier, 'Did we achieve our military objective? 'A thumping yes.' (Edited by Amrtansh Arora) Also Read: Operation Sindoor is a springboard in India's new confidence in Make in India weapons
The Guardian
22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Pac-Man Live: filching fruit and fleeing ghosts in human-sized video game
'There's no need to look so nervous,' says a beaming man in a radiant yellow suit, inside what is essentially a darkened warehouse. Perhaps my game face is betraying my bewilderment. I'm only loosely familiar with the concept of Pac-Man, having played it a handful of times. There is something about being relentlessly pursued around an inescapable maze that I've always found quite stressful and I am fearing that the real-life experience will be that but on steroids. Manchester's Pac-Man Live, which opened on Friday, is the latest in what is becoming a rapidly blossoming market for live experiences, following the success of immersive nostalgic exploits such as the Crystal Maze and life-size Monopoly. A total of 45 years after Pac-Man launched, the game has chomped its way into our cultural hall of fame and there is no doubt the live version will be incredibly popular. The game can accommodate up to eight players at a time – there are seven of us from the Guardian's Manchester office – and we're pitted against each other in a hyper-competitive high-energy arena with giddy lights and a barrage of sounds. Our vibrant host introduces himself as Wakka Wakka Bob, a name I assume he wasn't born with. He says we can call him Bob. We don what is perhaps best described as a digital tabard, with a yellow lit-up Pac-Man on the front, and we're handed an iPad to enter our names, which then appear on our backs. Only one of us is imaginative enough to put in a nickname, 'Jess-Man', which prompts our host to jokingly ask in a mock-Geordie accent: 'Are you from Newcastle, like?' 'Yes I am actually,' comes the reply from the Guardian's social affairs correspondent, Jessica Murray. Bob explains the rules, which are broadly the same as the traditional arcade game: each player aims to eat as many pellets as possible, collecting fruit and avoiding ghosts, which are projected on the ground. He then gives a dizzying list of different types of fruit and explains the points values associated with them. I remember cherries are 100 points but after that I'm lost. Strawberries are worth something, apples are worth more. The big one is something that looks like a grapefruit. And then there's a key and a bell? I soon realise I should probably have paid more attention to the details. Each ghost has a name, says Bob, but I don't have the brain capacity to learn them. The only bit that sinks in about the ghosts is that the red one is the worst one. I make a mental note to avoid that specific one. We stand in our spots in the maze. There's a dramatic countdown. And the game begins. Suddenly, I am no longer Robyn Vinter, the Guardian's north of England correspondent. I am a small yellow chomping machine. I am Pac-Man. Any loyalties to my colleagues are gone. It is me, alone in the maze, with a desperate hunger for fruit and a crippling terror of ghosts. Gameplay comes in the form of short rounds, each a few minutes long. Rests are built in, with water available (and gratefully received). The tabard buzzes constantly, I assume as a result of my many infractions, which include walking into the maze's walls, colliding with other players and, of course, being eaten by ghosts. Every time it does, I'm unable to score any points for a couple of seconds. I work out fairly early on that the fruit mostly appears at the centre of the maze. But that is also where the ghosts are, and after a while, I can't help feeling I am particularly appetising to them. My cavalier, and frankly, reckless, gameplay puts me in constant contact, particularly with the red one. Bob keeps telling us to pace ourselves – in theory it's walkable but we are sprinting. Time is somehow going both slower and faster. Before we know it, it's over and the final leaderboard is revealed. 'I ate so many ghosts,' says my colleague Hannah Al-Othman, uttering a sentence that does not make sense anywhere but here. I am not ashamed of the sheen over my face. It is the pink, sweaty visage of a Pac-Man champion. Pac-Man Live opens in Manchester on Friday 21 March, with tickets starting from £26 per person.
