Monthly Archives: August 2018

India’s first helicopter ‘final assembly line’ in the private sector, is set to come up in Vemagal in Karnataka, the European giant, Airbus, announced on Wednesday.

In India, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) will build the Airbus H-125 helicopters.

The ‘Made in India’ H125 helicopter is not just a civilian copter. It can also meet the Indian Armed Force’s requirement for a light multi-role helicopter, especially on the icy heights of the Himalayan frontiers.

Plans for the ‘Made in India’ copter include a military version, the H125M. It will be offered out of this Indian factory with high levels of indigenised components and technologies, Airbus said.

Court grants interim bail to 26 of 50 persons arrested in connection with violence

T he Centre is learnt to have reached out to a senior leader of the Leh Apex Body (LAB), a day after two Ladakh outfits jointly announced suspension of talks in the wake of death of four protesters in firing by security personnel and detention of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk.

The outreach came as a local court in Leh granted interim bail to 26 of the around 50 persons arrested in connection with last week’s violence.

Sources said Central government officials contacted LAB co-chairman Chering Dorjay, who confirmed the development to The Tribune. Members of the apex body said Dorjay had conveyed that talks could resume only if the demands jointly raised by the LAB and KDA were met. “Dialogue can begin once the demands announced by Ladakh leaders are fulfilled,” an apex body member said.

Members of the LAB along with the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), which have been leading the agitation for Ladakh’s statehood and the Sixth Schedule status, announced the suspension of talks with the Centre. They put forward several new demands, including a judicial probe into the violence and the release of those detained after the clashes. The next high-level meeting was scheduled for October 6.

Violence broke out last week during a hunger strike by climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, when protesters, mostly youth, torched the BJP office, the Leh Hill Council building and several vehicles. Security forces opened fire, resulting in four deaths.

In the aftermath, the Ladakh Police arrested more than 50 persons. On Wednesday evening, Mohd Shafi Lassu, president of the Bar Association, Leh, said the court granted interim bail to 26 detainees, including two migrant labourers from Bihar. “We had applied for bail for 39 persons arrested on September 24. The court has granted interim bail to 26, who are likely to be released on Thursday morning,” he said. Those bailed out must appear before court again on October 4.Lassu said bail applications for others were pending. Dorjay welcomed the court’s order, calling it a “good beginning”.

Meanwhile, at least 12 youth, who had been on the run after the protests, had surrendered before a local court last week.

Wangchuk was detained under the National Security Act on September 26, two days after violent clashes in Leh town left four persons dead and scores of others injured

Sonam Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, on Wednesday sought President Droupadi Murmu’s intervention for the release of the climate activist, who has been lodged in Jodhpur jail in Rajasthan since being taken into custody following the September 24 violent clashes in Ladakh.

In a three-page letter addressed to the president, Wangchuk’s wife alleged “witch-hunt” against her husband for espousing the cause of the people over the past four years and said she was completely unaware about her husband’s condition.

“We request for an unconditional release of Wangchuk, a person who can never be a threat to anyone, leave alone his nation. He has dedicated his life to serve the brave sons of soil of Ladakh and stands in solidarity with the Indian Army in defence of our great nation,” Angmo said in the representation forwarded through the Deputy Commissioner, Leh.

Wangchuk was detained under the National Security Act on September 26, two days after violent clashes in Leh town left four persons dead and scores of others injured. The violence broke out during the protests in support of the demands, including statehood for Ladakh and the region’s inclusion in Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

She termed Wangchuk’s detention as “illegal” and said she was informed of this by a Station House Officer.

“I was also told the officer would explain to me my legal rights. Even that has not been done till today. I am shocked and devastated,” she said, adding that while being taken away, he was not even allowed to take his clothes. “I am not aware whether he has been given fresh clothes and basic amenities including medicines that he needs on a daily basis, especially after his fast of 15 days in September that has weakened him physically.”

Calling the treatment “deplorable”, she said Wangchuk had been speaking about climate change, educational reforms, and grassroots innovation, and raising his voice for the uplift of a backward tribal belt that is ecologically fragile, in a peaceful Gandhian manner for the last four years.

“To treat the son of the soil of Ladakh so shabbily is not just a sin but a strategic error for building strong borders with solidarity and peaceful coexistence,” she said, while highlighting that Wangchuk had been building shelters for the Indian Army officers and jawans.

Asking if it was a sin to fight against reckless and unchecked development activities in an ecologically fragile area of Ladakh, she said, “This country has learnt its lessons from its experiences from Uttarakhand, Himachal and the North-east of late. You, being from a tribal community background, would understand the feelings of the people of Ladakh better than anyone else.”

Angmo, who is the founder and chief executive officer of the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning (HIAL), also stated that she was put under CRPF surveillance and referred to a communication received from in-charge of the special investigation team, seeking details of students and staff residing at HIAL. She also said that two members of the institute were taken into custody three days ago.

A screengrab from a video shows Swedish activist Greta Thunberg sitting next to a person wearing tactical gear, as vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla are being intercepted by Israeli security forces, October 1, 2025. Israel Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

The Global Sumud Flotilla, comprising nearly 50 boats and 500 activists, was carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid to Gaza

A screengrab from a video shows Swedish activist Greta Thunberg sitting next to a person wearing tactical gear, as vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla are being intercepted by Israeli security forces, October 1, 2025. Israel Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

Activists on board a flotilla of vessels sailing towards Gaza said late on Wednesday that the Israeli navy had intercepted three of its boats as they approached the besieged Palestinian territory.

Israeli authorities said the activists on board, including Greta Thunberg, were safe and being transferred to Israel.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, comprising nearly 50 boats and 500 activists, was carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Sirius, Alma and Adara boats were intercepted some 70 nautical miles (80 miles) from the coast of Gaza, according to organisers who shared live positions of the flotilla.

The group, which includes Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, former Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau and several European lawmakers, said it remained undeterred in its mission to break the Israeli blockade and bring aid to Palestinians.

Greg Stoker, an American veteran aboard the Ohwayla, one of the boats in the flotilla, said around a dozen naval vessels with their transponders off had approached it.

“They are currently hailing our vessels, telling us to turn off our engines and await further instructions or our boats will be seized and we will face the consequences,” he said in a shaky video posted on Instagram while wearing a red life jacket. Israeli authorities used water cannons against some of the boats, Stoker and other activists reported on social media.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry posted a video on X showing Thunberg sitting on a ship’s deck being handed a water bottle and raincoat. “Greta and her friends are safe and healthy,” it said.

Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the Israeli operation was expected to take two to three hours. He told state TV Rai that the boats would be towed to Israel’s port of Ashdod and the activists would be deported in the coming days. He also said Israeli forces have been told “not to use violence”.

Turkiye’s Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s interception of the boats denouncing it as an “act of terrorism” and severe breach of international law. In a statement, the ministry said it was taking initiatives to ensure the immediate release of Turkish citizens and other passengers detained by the Israeli forces.

The flotilla enters a ‘danger zone’

The vessels were sailing in international waters north of Egypt and had entered what activists and others called a “danger zone”. While still in international waters, it is an area where the Israeli navy has stopped other boats attempting to break its blockade in the past and which the flotilla has been warned not to cross.

After a tense encounter with two Israeli military vessels in the early hours of Wednesday, activists had resumed their journey and were broadcasting their voyage on livestreams from several of the boats. Some activists held up messages of solidarity with people in Gaza and chanted “Free Palestine!” on camera. Music could be heard playing in the background.

As night fell, they detected via radar several unidentified vessels approaching them and put their life vests on ahead of the Israeli military’s imminent arrival. Some activists were able to broadcast the moment Israeli forces approached them live from their smartphones before tossing their devices into the water.

The flotilla, which began its journey from the Spanish port of Barcelona a month ago, was to reach the shores of Gaza by Thursday morning, organisers had said earlier.

Activists had acknowledged that scenario was unlikely and were expecting Israeli authorities to try to stop them at any moment, as they have done in past attempts.

But this flotilla, with dozens of boats, was the largest attempt yet to break the Israeli maritime blockade of the Gaza strip that has been ongoing for 18 years.