The Evening Wrap: Apple changes ‘state-backed’ hacking language months after India ‘pressure’

Apple, Inc. is now calling “state-backed attackers” “mercenary” hackers in email alerts to affected customers, and has changed this language on support documentation on its website as well. This change from the iPhone maker comes months after a report of “pressure” from the Indian government to give authorities deniability for hacking attempts on political leaders, journalists and activists, who have repeatedly been alerted of unauthorised intrusions into their phones from spyware like Pegasus, which the Intelligence Bureau acquired in 2017. The change, which now takes direct heat off of any individual nation-states following hacking attempts, coincided with media reports on Thursday morning claiming that a fresh batch of such notifications were sent to users in India and 91 other countries. However, hours after these reports came up, not a single user in any of these countries has publicly reported receiving such an alert. Last November, Apple and the Union government misleadingly claimed that users in 150 countries received such hacking alerts, when in fact only users in India reported receiving them that week. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the record on the change in language. Three people who have received such alerts previously in India told The Hindu that they didn’t receive any in the last day. London-based rights group Amnesty International has opened a digital security helpline for individuals who received the alert. Last December, The Washington Post had reported that “senior Modi administration officials called Apple’s India representatives to demand that the company help soften the political impact of the warnings,” referring to November’s alerts. At least two individuals who received the alerts that month — the Congress party’s Praveen Chakravarty and news portal The Wire’s founder editor Siddharth Varadarajan — found in separate forensic examinations that their phones had traces of the Pegasus spyware. If farm output returns to trends, retail inflation to ease to 4.6% this year and food inflation to cool 5.7%, ADB projects India’s economy is expected to remain robust over the next two years, even though headline growth in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is forecast to slow from 7.6% in 2023-24 to 7% this year before improving to 7.2% in 2025-26, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said. In its Asia Development Outlook report released on April 11, the Bank said it expects retail inflation to ease to 4.6% this year and 4.5% in 2025-26. India’s ‘persistent’ food inflation is expected to drop to 5.7% as farm output returns to trends this year. A projected normal monsoon this year will also help revive rural consumption, which was muted last year due to erratic rainfall affecting the farm sector, with greater demand for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act signalling the resultant stress. “In India, growth is forecast to remain strong as rising consumption complements continued investment growth,” said Abdul Abiad, director of ADB’s macroeconomics research division. As India accounts for 80% of South Asia’s GDP, it is still the fastest-growing sub-region with improving domestic demand as prices moderate in most economies, he noted. South Asia is expected to grow 6.3% this year and 6.6% in 2025. Higher incomes will spur consumer demand and confidence levels in urban consumers has improved, so demand is expected to rise from those areas with falling inflation and a gradual improvement in cities’ labour markets, the ADB reckoned. However, a rise in imports to meet domestic demand could widen the Current Account Deficit moderately to 1.7% of GDP this year and next year, it said. India’s growth, the report said, will be driven by public and private sector investment demand and by gradual improvement in consumer demand as the rural economy improves. While exports are likely to be relatively muted this year as growth in major advanced economies slows down, they will improve in 2025-26. “Foreign direct investment inflow will likely remain muted in the near term due to tight global financial conditions but will pick up in 2025-26 with higher industry and infrastructure investment,” the report averred. India’s growth, the report said, will be driven by public and private sector investment demand and by gradual improvement in consumer demand as the rural economy improves. While exports are likely to be relatively muted this year as growth in major advanced economies slows down, they will improve in 2025-26. Stressing that India’s economic outlook depends on price and financial market stability that are crucial for consumer and business confidence, the ADB said its projections face a downside risk from global shocks such as a spike in crude oil and energy prices leading to higher global inflation and tighter financial conditions. “On the domestic side, there is a risk of underperformance in agriculture due to weather shocks that can affect demand and inflation,” it noted. Among upside risks to its forecast, the Bank said, was faster-than-expected FDI inflow, particularly into manufacturing, which would improve output as well as productivity. “Better- than-expected global growth could boost exports and thus growth,” the ADB added. Delhi Waqf Board case: ED moves court seeking arrest warrant against AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, moved a Delhi court seeking arrest warrant against AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in appointments in the Delhi Waqf Board. Special Judge for CBI and ED, Rakesh Syal, posted the matter for April 18 after the ED sought time to file certain documents in support of the application. “Fresh application for issuance of open ended non-bailable warrant against Amanatullah Khan has been received from the Bail and Filing Section. It be checked and registered as per rules SPP (special public prosecutor) for ED seeks some time to file certain documents in support of the application. Heard. As requested, put up for consideration on April 18, 2024,” the judge said. Khan, the Okhla MLA of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was not named as an accused in a recent chargesheet filed by the ED. The ED, however, moved a magisterial court recently seeking prosecution of Khan for allegedly evading the agency’s summons in the case. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra has summoned Khan on April 20 in the case. The federal probe agency also alleged before the ACMM that Khan has elevated his role from witness to accused by filing an anticipatory bail plea and running away from the investigation. The ED had also stated that the agency was not able to conclude probe against Khan because he was not presenting himself before it. “All the other persons are the aides of this particular person. His role is much larger than the other accused persons who have been already arrested and chargesheeted,” the ED had said. The agency has named five entities in its prosecution complaint (the ED’s equivalent of a chargesheet), including three suspected associates of Khan -- Zeeshan Haider, Daud Nasir and Jawed Imam Siddiqui. The agency had, after conducting raids on premises linked to Khan and some others in October last year, claimed that the AAP MLA had acquired “huge proceeds of crime” in cash through illegal recruitment of staff to the Delhi Waqf Board and invested those for purchasing immovable assets in the name of his associates. The searches were conducted in the case related to the illegal recruitment of staff and illegitimate personal gains made by the accused by unfairly leasing out the Waqf Board properties from 2018 to 2022 when Khan was its chairperson, the ED has alleged. The money laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and three Delhi Police complaints. Several “incriminating” material in the form of physical and digital evidence were seized during the raids, indicating Khan’s involvement in the offence of money laundering, as per the agency. 6,000 workers from India to be brought to Israel during April-May More than 6,000 Indian workers will arrive in Israel during April and May to help the country’s construction sector meet a labour shortage following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict. They will be will be brought to Israel on “air shuttle” following a joint decision by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Finance Ministry and the Construction and Housing Ministry on subsidising charter flights, a statement issued by the Israeli government late Wednesday said. The construction industry of Israel employs workers in specific fields where there is a lack of Israeli workers. The largest group of about 80,000 workers came from the Palestinian Authority-controlled West Bank and another 17,000 from the Gaza Strip. But a huge majority of them had their work permit revoked after conflict started in October. The statement said this is the “largest number of foreign workers arriving in Israel for the construction sector in a short time”. “Thanks to the joint financing of the PMO, the Finance Ministry and the Construction and Housing Ministry, it was agreed approximately one week ago on the arrival of over 6,000 workers from India during April and May on an ‘air shuttle’ following the subsidising of charter flights,” it said. The statement was released after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting at the PMO here amid an acute shortage of workers that has stalled several projects, causing concerns of increasing cost of living and also friction between various government bodies and businesses. The workers from India are being brought to Israel under a government-to-government (G2G) agreement between to the countries. On Tuesday last week, 64 construction workers from India arrived in Israel under the agreement. There will be a series of arrivals in the coming weeks, a total of 850 by mid-April. A little over 900 construction workers have arrived from India during the last few months through the B2B route, involving human resources agencies in both countries. PM Modi’s remarks on China feeble, says Congress The Congress on April 11 slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “ineffective and feeble” response to China over alleged border incursions and demanded an apology from him. Commenting on the Prime Minister’s interview to U.S.-based magazine, Newsweek, Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh claimed, “the Prime Minister was at his cowardly worst”. “His only comment on China’s repeated infringements on Indian sovereignty was that the India-China border situation needs to be addressed urgently to resolve the ‘abnormality’ in the bilateral interactions,” Ramesh said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The Congress leader claimed that the PM had a chance to send a powerful message to China but his “ineffective and feeble response” is likely to encourage China further in asserting its claim on Indian territory. “The Prime Minister’s reaction to the China issue is not only disgraceful but also disrespectful to our martyrs who made the supreme sacrifice in defending our borders,” Ramesh said. Referring to Modi’s statement at an all-party meeting post the Galwan clashes, the Congress leader said Modi should apologise for keeping “the nation in dark about his failures in protecting the borders with China”. “The Prime Minister should apologise to the 140 crore Indians for deceiving them on national television on June 19, 2020, with his statement Na Koi Ghusa Hai, Na Hi Koi Ghus Aaya hai [None has entered inside our territory]…” Ramesh said. Poll roundup RJD leader Misa Bharti’s statement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go to jail if the INDIA bloc won the Lok Sabha election has caused a flutter in Bihar. While campaigning in the Maner block on Sunday, Ms. Bharti, the eldest daughter of Lalu Prasad Yadav and the Pataliputra candidate, had said, “Who will answer on electoral bonds? Whenever he (Mr. Modi) comes to Bihar, he makes allegations of corruption against our family. If the INDIA bloc is voted to power, all the BJP leaders including the Prime Minister will go to jail.” Unemployment and inflation are the two biggest issues but there is a conspiracy of silence in the media to hide the failures of the Narendra Modi government in solving issues of the people, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said at an election rally in Rajasthan on April 11. Addressing a rally in Rajasthan’s Anupgarh in support of Govind Ram Meghwal from Bikaner and Kuldeep Indora from Ganganagar Lok Sabha seats, Gandhi said farmers are asking for a minimum support price (MSP) for their crops, youth are seeking employment, and women want relief from inflation but no one is listening. “The amount of money that the Modi government has given to billionaires, we will give the same amount of money to the poor, the backward, Dalits and Adivasis,” Gandhi said, reiterating the promises made in the Congress manifesto that are based on “five pillars of justice and 25 guarantees”. In Brief Six schoolchildren were killed and around 20 sustained injuries after a bus carrying them overturned in Haryana’s Mahendragarh on April 11, police said. The Haryana government has ordered a probe into the incident following the registration of an FIR, officials said. The bus belonged to a private school and was being driven rashly at a high speed due to which the driver lost control and rammed the vehicle into a tree after which it overturned, police said, citing reports. Reports also suggest that the driver was under the influence of alcohol, police said, adding that he has been arrested and his medical report is awaited. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 11 April 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Apple changes ‘state-backed’ hacking language months after India ‘pressure’ [Apple, Inc. is now calling “state-backed attackers” “mercenary” hackers in email alerts to affected customers, and has changed this language on support documentation on its website as well](. This change from the iPhone maker comes months after a report of “pressure” from the Indian government to give authorities deniability for hacking attempts on political leaders, journalists and activists, who have repeatedly been alerted of unauthorised intrusions into their phones from spyware like Pegasus, which the Intelligence Bureau acquired in 2017. The change, which now takes direct heat off of any individual nation-states following hacking attempts, coincided with media reports on Thursday morning claiming that a fresh batch of such notifications were sent to users in India and 91 other countries. However, hours after these reports came up, not a single user in any of these countries has publicly reported receiving such an alert. Last November, Apple and the Union government misleadingly claimed that users in 150 countries received such hacking alerts, when in fact only users in India reported receiving them that week. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the record on the change in language. Three people who have received such alerts previously in India told The Hindu that they didn’t receive any in the last day. London-based rights group Amnesty International has opened a digital security helpline for individuals who received the alert. Last December, The Washington Post had reported that “senior Modi administration officials called Apple’s India representatives to demand that the company help soften the political impact of the warnings,” referring to November’s alerts. At least two individuals who received the alerts that month — the Congress party’s Praveen Chakravarty and news portal The Wire’s founder editor Siddharth Varadarajan — found in separate forensic examinations that their phones had traces of the Pegasus spyware. If farm output returns to trends, retail inflation to ease to 4.6% this year and food inflation to cool 5.7% , ADB projects [India’s economy is expected to remain robust over the next two years, even though headline growth in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is forecast to slow from 7.6% in 2023-24 to 7% this year before improving to 7.2% in 2025-26, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.]( In its Asia Development Outlook report released on April 11, the Bank said it expects retail inflation to ease to 4.6% this year and 4.5% in 2025-26. India’s ‘persistent’ food inflation is expected to drop to 5.7% as farm output returns to trends this year. A projected normal monsoon this year will also help revive rural consumption, which was muted last year due to erratic rainfall affecting the farm sector, with greater demand for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act signalling the resultant stress. “In India, growth is forecast to remain strong as rising consumption complements continued investment growth,” said Abdul Abiad, director of ADB’s macroeconomics research division. As India accounts for 80% of South Asia’s GDP, it is still the fastest-growing sub-region with improving domestic demand as prices moderate in most economies, he noted. South Asia is expected to grow 6.3% this year and 6.6% in 2025. Higher incomes will spur consumer demand and confidence levels in urban consumers has improved, so demand is expected to rise from those areas with falling inflation and a gradual improvement in cities’ labour markets, the ADB reckoned. However, a rise in imports to meet domestic demand could widen the Current Account Deficit moderately to 1.7% of GDP this year and next year, it said. India’s growth, the report said, will be driven by public and private sector investment demand and by gradual improvement in consumer demand as the rural economy improves. While exports are likely to be relatively muted this year as growth in major advanced economies slows down, they will improve in 2025-26. “Foreign direct investment inflow will likely remain muted in the near term due to tight global financial conditions but will pick up in 2025-26 with higher industry and infrastructure investment,” the report averred. India’s growth, the report said, will be driven by public and private sector investment demand and by gradual improvement in consumer demand as the rural economy improves. While exports are likely to be relatively muted this year as growth in major advanced economies slows down, they will improve in 2025-26. Stressing that India’s economic outlook depends on price and financial market stability that are crucial for consumer and business confidence, the ADB said its projections face a downside risk from global shocks such as a spike in crude oil and energy prices leading to higher global inflation and tighter financial conditions. “On the domestic side, there is a risk of underperformance in agriculture due to weather shocks that can affect demand and inflation,” it noted. Among upside risks to its forecast, the Bank said, was faster-than-expected FDI inflow, particularly into manufacturing, which would improve output as well as productivity. “Better- than-expected global growth could boost exports and thus growth,” the ADB added. Delhi Waqf Board case: ED moves court seeking arrest warrant against AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan The [Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, moved a Delhi court seeking arrest warrant against AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan in a money laundering case]( related to alleged irregularities in appointments in the Delhi Waqf Board. Special Judge for CBI and ED, Rakesh Syal, posted the matter for April 18 after the ED sought time to file certain documents in support of the application. “Fresh application for issuance of open ended non-bailable warrant against Amanatullah Khan has been received from the Bail and Filing Section. It be checked and registered as per rules SPP (special public prosecutor) for ED seeks some time to file certain documents in support of the application. Heard. As requested, put up for consideration on April 18, 2024,” the judge said. Khan, the Okhla MLA of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was not named as an accused in a recent chargesheet filed by the ED. The ED, however, moved a magisterial court recently seeking prosecution of Khan for allegedly evading the agency’s summons in the case. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra has summoned Khan on April 20 in the case. The federal probe agency also alleged before the ACMM that Khan has elevated his role from witness to accused by filing an anticipatory bail plea and running away from the investigation. The ED had also stated that the agency was not able to conclude probe against Khan because he was not presenting himself before it. “All the other persons are the aides of this particular person. His role is much larger than the other accused persons who have been already arrested and chargesheeted,” the ED had said. The agency has named five entities in its prosecution complaint (the ED’s equivalent of a chargesheet), including three suspected associates of Khan -- Zeeshan Haider, Daud Nasir and Jawed Imam Siddiqui. The agency had, after conducting raids on premises linked to Khan and some others in October last year, claimed that the AAP MLA had acquired “huge proceeds of crime” in cash through illegal recruitment of staff to the Delhi Waqf Board and invested those for purchasing immovable assets in the name of his associates. The searches were conducted in the case related to the illegal recruitment of staff and illegitimate personal gains made by the accused by unfairly leasing out the Waqf Board properties from 2018 to 2022 when Khan was its chairperson, the ED has alleged. The money laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and three Delhi Police complaints. Several “incriminating” material in the form of physical and digital evidence were seized during the raids, indicating Khan’s involvement in the offence of money laundering, as per the agency. 6,000 workers from India to be brought to Israel during April-May [More than 6,000 Indian workers will arrive in Israel during April and May to help the country’s construction sector meet a labour shortage following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict.]( They will be will be brought to Israel on “air shuttle” following a joint decision by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Finance Ministry and the Construction and Housing Ministry on subsidising charter flights, a statement issued by the Israeli government late Wednesday said. The construction industry of Israel employs workers in specific fields where there is a lack of Israeli workers. The largest group of about 80,000 workers came from the Palestinian Authority-controlled West Bank and another 17,000 from the Gaza Strip. But a huge majority of them had their work permit revoked after conflict started in October. The statement said this is the “largest number of foreign workers arriving in Israel for the construction sector in a short time”. “Thanks to the joint financing of the PMO, the Finance Ministry and the Construction and Housing Ministry, it was agreed approximately one week ago on the arrival of over 6,000 workers from India during April and May on an ‘air shuttle’ following the subsidising of charter flights,” it said. The statement was released after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting at the PMO here amid an acute shortage of workers that has stalled several projects, causing concerns of increasing cost of living and also friction between various government bodies and businesses. The workers from India are being brought to Israel under a government-to-government (G2G) agreement between to the countries. On Tuesday last week, 64 construction workers from India arrived in Israel under the agreement. There will be a series of arrivals in the coming weeks, a total of 850 by mid-April. A little over 900 construction workers have arrived from India during the last few months through the B2B route, involving human resources agencies in both countries. PM Modi’s remarks on China feeble, says Congress The [Congress on April 11 slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “ineffective and feeble” response to China]( over alleged border incursions and demanded an apology from him. Commenting on the Prime Minister’s interview to U.S.-based magazine, Newsweek, Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh claimed, “the Prime Minister was at his cowardly worst”. “His only comment on China’s repeated infringements on Indian sovereignty was that the India-China border situation needs to be addressed urgently to resolve the ‘abnormality’ in the bilateral interactions,” Ramesh said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The Congress leader claimed that the PM had a chance to send a powerful message to China but his “ineffective and feeble response” is likely to encourage China further in asserting its claim on Indian territory. “The Prime Minister’s reaction to the China issue is not only disgraceful but also disrespectful to our martyrs who made the supreme sacrifice in defending our borders,” Ramesh said. Referring to Modi’s statement at an all-party meeting post the Galwan clashes, the Congress leader said Modi should apologise for keeping “the nation in dark about his failures in protecting the borders with China”. “The Prime Minister should apologise to the 140 crore Indians for deceiving them on national television on June 19, 2020, with his statement Na Koi Ghusa Hai, Na Hi Koi Ghus Aaya hai [None has entered inside our territory]…” Ramesh said. Poll roundup - RJD leader [Misa Bharti’s statement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go to jail if the INDIA bloc won the Lok Sabha election]( has caused a flutter in Bihar. While campaigning in the Maner block on Sunday, Ms. Bharti, the eldest daughter of Lalu Prasad Yadav and the Pataliputra candidate, had said, “Who will answer on electoral bonds? Whenever he (Mr. Modi) comes to Bihar, he makes allegations of corruption against our family. If the INDIA bloc is voted to power, all the BJP leaders including the Prime Minister will go to jail.” - Unemployment and inflation are the two biggest issues but there is a conspiracy of silence in the media to hide the failures of the Narendra Modi government in solving issues of the people, former Congress chief [Rahul Gandhi said at an election rally in Rajasthan]( on April 11. Addressing a rally in Rajasthan’s Anupgarh in support of Govind Ram Meghwal from Bikaner and Kuldeep Indora from Ganganagar Lok Sabha seats, Gandhi said farmers are asking for a minimum support price (MSP) for their crops, youth are seeking employment, and women want relief from inflation but no one is listening. “The amount of money that the Modi government has given to billionaires, we will give the same amount of money to the poor, the backward, Dalits and Adivasis,” Gandhi said, reiterating the promises made in the Congress manifesto that are based on “five pillars of justice and 25 guarantees”. In Brief [Six schoolchildren were killed and around 20 sustained injuries after a bus carrying them overturned in Haryana’s Mahendragarh]( on April 11, police said. The Haryana government has ordered a probe into the incident following the registration of an FIR, officials said. The bus belonged to a private school and was being driven rashly at a high speed due to which the driver lost control and rammed the vehicle into a tree after which it overturned, police said, citing reports. Reports also suggest that the driver was under the influence of alcohol, police said, adding that he has been arrested and his medical report is awaited. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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