The Evening Wrap: Serial explosions kill over 100 in Iran

At least 103 people were killed in Iran on January 3 as two bombs in quick succession struck a crowd commemorating slain general Qasem Soleimani on the anniversary of his killing, state media reported. The blasts, which state television called a “terrorist attack”, came with tensions running high in West Asia a day after Hamas number two Saleh al-Aruori — an Iran ally — was killed in a Beirut drone strike, which Lebanese officials blamed on Israel. The blasts stuck near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in Kerman, Soleimani’s southern hometown where he is buried, as supporters gathered to mark the fourth anniversary of his killing in a U.S. drone strike just outside Baghdad airport. Kerman’s deputy governor, Rahman Jalali, said the explosions were a “terrorist attack”. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. “The number of people killed rose to 103 following the death of people injured during the terrorist explosions,” said official IRNA news agency. Hundreds more were wounded in the bombings, IRNA said, adding that some were in “critical condition”. Iran’s Tasnim news agency, quoting informed sources, said “two bags carrying bombs went off” at the site. “The perpetrators... of this incident apparently detonated the bombs by remote control,” Tasnim added. The ISNA news agency quoted Kerman mayor Saeed Tabrizi as saying the bombs exploded 10 minutes apart. Images on state television showed several ambulances and rescue personnel in the area. Among those killed were three paramedics, who were dispatched to the area following the first explosion, according to Iran’s Red Crescent. Supreme Court upholds SEBI probe, turns focus on ‘conduct’ of Hindenburg The Supreme Court on January 3 trained the spotlight on the “conduct” of Hindenburg Research, directing the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and investigating agencies of the Centre to probe and, if necessary, take “suitable action” if the losses suffered by Indian investors due to the short position taken by the U.S.-based firm in the Adani Group through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian traded derivative instruments involved any infraction of law. The direction came in a 46-page judgment based on petitions claiming “precipitate decline” in investor wealth and volatility in the share market due to a fall in the share prices of the Adani Group following a report published by “activist short seller” Hindenburg Research on January 24, 2023. The report had alleged that the Adani Group manipulated its share prices and failed to disclose transactions with related parties in violation of the regulations framed by the SEBI and securities’ laws. However, even as it directed the SEBI and probe agencies to open an enquiry into Hindenburg and “other entities”, a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud noted that the volatility in Adani stocks in the aftermath of the Hindenburg report had an impact only at an individual scale and did not result in volatility in the market. “While shares of the group fluctuated, it did not pose any systemic market-level risk. According to the Expert Committee [Justice A.M. Sapre Committee] the trend observed in volatility in the Indian market in comparison with the global volatility index has been consistent since the COVID-19 pandemic and was maintained even during the period when volatility was observed in the Adani stocks,” Chief Justice Chandrachud noted. The judgment said the investigation conducted by the SEBI into the Adani Group following the Hindenburg report “inspires confidence” and was prima facie comprehensive. The market regulator had already completed 22 out of the 24 investigations into the group. The remaining two were pending due to inputs awaited from foreign regulators. It dismissed the idea of transferring the investigation from the SEBI to another agency like the Central Bureau of Investigation or to constitute a Special Investigation Team. The court said such judicial powers could only be exercised in extraordinary circumstances like “glaring, willful and deliberate inaction” by an agency. The court ordered the SEBI to expeditiously complete the pending investigations, “preferably” within three months, and said the regulator could not leave the probe “open-ended and indeterminate in time”. The judgment refused to accept petitioners’ contention that the SEBI’s amendments in the Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) Regulations and Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) Regulations had been an exercise in “first opening a loophole and then plugging the loophole with deferred effect” and has now hindered the regulator’s investigation. The apex court rubbished the petitioners’ reliance on investigative findings of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) about alleged price manipulation by the Adani Group through two Mauritius-based funds and critical newspaper reports of SEBI investigation, saying no effort was made to verify the authenticity of these claims. The court referred to how the petitioners had alleged that the SEBI had “concealed” an alert received from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in 2014 about stock manipulation by the Adani Group by overvaluation. The DRI had subsequently found the allegations of overvaluation to be incorrect. The CESTAT and the Supreme Court too had dismissed the allegations. Chief Justice Chandrachud cautioned lawyers and civil society that filing public interest litigation petitions (PILs) without adequate research and based on unverified material tend to be counter-productive. The Chief Justice, along with Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said allegations of conflict of interest thrown by petitioners at the members of the Justice Sapre Committee were not even worth serious consideration. Mahua Moitra expulsion | Supreme Court seeks Lok Sabha Secretary-General’s reply The Supreme Court on January 3 gave three weeks to the Secretary-General, Lok Sabha Secretariat, to respond to a petition filed by Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra against her expulsion as an MP from the Lower House, but did not allow her the immediate interim relief of participating in the House sessions. “That will be like virtually allowing your writ petition against the expulsion,” Justice Sanjiv Khanna, heading the Bench, addressed senior advocate A.M. Singhvi and advocate Shadan Farasat, who appeared for Moitra. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Secretary General, urged the court to not issue notice. “A sovereign organ of the state under the Constitution has decided its internal discipline on evidence after giving her an opportunity… What would be the scope of the judicial review, if any at all? This will go against the very principle of separation of powers,” Mehta objected. Singhvi asked the Supreme Court whether there was no recourse to judicial review by the Supreme Court in the face of “the Parliament being denuded of Opposition MPs… If you expel MPs, it will become a rule of the majority”. Justice Khanna, along with Justice Dipankar Datta, resolved to hear the petition in the week commencing March 11. To Singhvi’s application for interim relief, Justice Khanna said it was “neither issuing notice on it now nor dismissing it”. The senior lawyer pointed out that the budgetary session of the Parliament would begin and Moitra may not be able to participate without some interim relief from the court. He asked the court to fix the hearing in February. Giving Moitra three weeks to file a rejoinder on the reply submitted by the Secretary General, Justice Khanna asked “do you think the matter is so simple?” Making his preliminary submissions during the 20-minute hearing, Singhvi said his client was expelled “for the one and only reason of sharing her log in details” to the Digital Sansad portal to businessman Darshan Hiranandani to post questions directly. “Sharing of log in details does not mean giving control of the portal. The portal required the One Time Password to be sent only to the MP concerned. No MP herself operates the portal. Out of necessity, any MP shares log in details with her secretaries, delegates or nominees. There was no code of conduct or rules for authorised or controlled access to the portal. She was expelled without there being a set of rules for sharing the access code,” Singhvi submitted. The senior lawyer said giving controlled access to log in details cannot be termed as “hacking”. There was no violation of ethics involved as there was no quid pro quo. “There was no money trail,” Singhvi said. He contended that the elementary principles of natural justice was not followed prior to Moitra’s expulsion. She was not allowed to cross-examine the complainants and Hiranandani was not summoned as a key witness. The MPs were not allowed enough time to even go through the ethics report. ED searches Jharkhand CM’s press advisor, others in ‘illegal’ mining case The Enforcement Directorate on January 3 searched the premises of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s press advisor, officials of Sahibganj district and a former MLA as part of a money laundering probe into alleged illegal mining in the State, official sources said. About a dozen locations in the State, including in State capital Ranchi and a premise in Rajasthan, are being raided by the central agency under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. The premises of press advisor Abhishek Prasad alias Pintu, collector and SP of Sahibganj district, ex-MLA Pappu Yadav, some jail department officials and a police constable are being searched by the agency officials, the sources said. An armed escort of central security forces went along with the ED officials. The agency, since 2022, has been probing a trail of ₹100 crore of “proceeds of crime” generated from illegal mining operations in the State. The money laundering probe began after the ED raided Soren’s political aide Pankaj Mishra and his alleged associates in July, 2022 and covered 19 locations in Sahibganj, Barhet, Rajmahal, Mirza Chauki and Barharwa in Jharkhand to investigate alleged irregularities in the operation of toll plaza tenders and instances of illegal mining in the State. The evidence collected during the course of the investigation, including the statements of various persons, digital evidence and documents, revealed that the funds seized from the accused was derived from illegal mining being rampantly done in the Sahibganj area, including the forest area, the ED had said. Rescuers race against time in search for survivors in Japan after powerful quakes leave over 70 dead Japanese rescue workers and canine units searched urgently through rubble on January 3 ahead of predicted bitter cold and heavy rain in what the Prime Minister called a race against time after powerful earthquakes killed at least 73 people in western Japan. Ishikawa prefecture and nearby areas were shaken by a 4.9 magnitude aftershock on January 3 — one of dozens that have followed Monday’s magnitude 7.6 temblor centered near Noto, about 300 km from Tokyo on the opposite coast. The quake set off tsunami warnings, followed by waves measuring more than 1 meter in some places. The first 72 hours are especially critical for rescues, experts say, because the prospects for survival greatly diminish after that. “More than 40 hours have passed. This is a race against time, and I feel that we are at a critical moment,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. “We have received reports many people are still waiting for rescue under collapsed buildings.” The narrow Noto Peninsula has added to the challenges in reaching some communities. Water, power and cellphone service were still down in some areas. Relief officials handed out water, blankets, food and other supplies. Search dogs joined military personnel and firefighters trying to find dozens of people who are thought to be trapped, although the exact number is unclear. Weather forecasts warned of heavy rain in Ishikawa, leading to worries about landslides and further damage to half-crumbled homes. Temperatures were expected to drop to around four degrees Celsius overnight. Of the deaths, 39 were counted in Wajima city, while 23 people died in Suzu, according to Ishikawa prefectural authorities. The other deaths were reported in five neighbouring towns. Although there has been no official number of missing, dozens are believed trapped under collapsed buildings. More than 300 people have been injured, at least 25 of them seriously. Nearly 33,000 people are staying at evacuation centres and some said they were hungry and cold, unable to sleep and afraid. Officials warned that more major quakes could follow. In Brief: The Archaeological Survey of India on January 3 filed an application in the Varanasi district court urging the Judge to delay the release of its Gyanvapi Survey Report by four weeks. The agency has made this request in order to get breathing time to file the report in the 1991 suit pertaining the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi Mosque dispute currently pending in the Allahabad High Court. “ASI is also directed by the Allahabad HC to submit the report on the scientific investigation/ survey work in the Civil Court.... in compliance of the order of the HC the survey report submitted earlier by ASI in the suit no. 18 of 2022 in the sealed cover is of vital importance,” the ASI said in its application. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 03 January 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]( Serial explosions kill over 100 at Iran memorial for slain general Soleimani [At least 103 people were killed in Iran on January 3 as two bombs in quick succession struck a crowd commemorating slain general Qasem Soleimani on the anniversary of his killing, state media reported.]( The blasts, which state television called a “terrorist attack”, came with tensions running high in West Asia a day after Hamas number two Saleh al-Aruori — an Iran ally — was killed in a Beirut drone strike, which Lebanese officials blamed on Israel. The blasts stuck near the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in Kerman, Soleimani’s southern hometown where he is buried, as supporters gathered to mark the fourth anniversary of his killing in a U.S. drone strike just outside Baghdad airport. Kerman’s deputy governor, Rahman Jalali, said the explosions were a “terrorist attack”. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. “The number of people killed rose to 103 following the death of people injured during the terrorist explosions,” said official IRNA news agency. Hundreds more were wounded in the bombings, IRNA said, adding that some were in “critical condition”. Iran’s Tasnim news agency, quoting informed sources, said “two bags carrying bombs went off” at the site. “The perpetrators... of this incident apparently detonated the bombs by remote control,” Tasnim added. The ISNA news agency quoted Kerman mayor Saeed Tabrizi as saying the bombs exploded 10 minutes apart. Images on state television showed several ambulances and rescue personnel in the area. Among those killed were three paramedics, who were dispatched to the area following the first explosion, according to Iran’s Red Crescent. Supreme Court upholds SEBI probe, turns focus on ‘conduct’ of Hindenburg [The Supreme Court on January 3 trained the spotlight on the “conduct” of Hindenburg Research, directing the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and investigating agencies of the Centre to probe and, if necessary, take “suitable action” if the losses suffered by Indian investors due to the short position taken by the U.S.-based firm in the Adani Group through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian traded derivative instruments involved any infraction of law](. The direction came in a 46-page judgment based on petitions claiming “precipitate decline” in investor wealth and volatility in the share market due to a fall in the share prices of the Adani Group following a report published by “activist short seller” Hindenburg Research on January 24, 2023. The report had alleged that the Adani Group manipulated its share prices and failed to disclose transactions with related parties in violation of the regulations framed by the SEBI and securities’ laws. However, even as it directed the SEBI and probe agencies to open an enquiry into Hindenburg and “other entities”, a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud noted that the volatility in Adani stocks in the aftermath of the Hindenburg report had an impact only at an individual scale and did not result in volatility in the market. “While shares of the group fluctuated, it did not pose any systemic market-level risk. According to the Expert Committee [Justice A.M. Sapre Committee] the trend observed in volatility in the Indian market in comparison with the global volatility index has been consistent since the COVID-19 pandemic and was maintained even during the period when volatility was observed in the Adani stocks,” Chief Justice Chandrachud noted. The judgment said the investigation conducted by the SEBI into the Adani Group following the Hindenburg report “inspires confidence” and was prima facie comprehensive. The market regulator had already completed 22 out of the 24 investigations into the group. The remaining two were pending due to inputs awaited from foreign regulators. It dismissed the idea of transferring the investigation from the SEBI to another agency like the Central Bureau of Investigation or to constitute a Special Investigation Team. The court said such judicial powers could only be exercised in extraordinary circumstances like “glaring, willful and deliberate inaction” by an agency. The court ordered the SEBI to expeditiously complete the pending investigations, “preferably” within three months, and said the regulator could not leave the probe “open-ended and indeterminate in time”. The judgment refused to accept petitioners’ contention that the SEBI’s amendments in the Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) Regulations and Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) Regulations had been an exercise in “first opening a loophole and then plugging the loophole with deferred effect” and has now hindered the regulator’s investigation. The apex court rubbished the petitioners’ reliance on investigative findings of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) about alleged price manipulation by the Adani Group through two Mauritius-based funds and critical newspaper reports of SEBI investigation, saying no effort was made to verify the authenticity of these claims. The court referred to how the petitioners had alleged that the SEBI had “concealed” an alert received from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in 2014 about stock manipulation by the Adani Group by overvaluation. The DRI had subsequently found the allegations of overvaluation to be incorrect. The CESTAT and the Supreme Court too had dismissed the allegations. Chief Justice Chandrachud cautioned lawyers and civil society that filing public interest litigation petitions (PILs) without adequate research and based on unverified material tend to be counter-productive. The Chief Justice, along with Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said allegations of conflict of interest thrown by petitioners at the members of the Justice Sapre Committee were not even worth serious consideration. Mahua Moitra expulsion | Supreme Court seeks Lok Sabha Secretary-General’s reply [The Supreme Court on January 3 gave three weeks to the Secretary-General, Lok Sabha Secretariat, to respond to a petition filed by Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra against her expulsion]( as an MP from the Lower House, but did not allow her the immediate interim relief of participating in the House sessions. “That will be like virtually allowing your writ petition against the expulsion,” Justice Sanjiv Khanna, heading the Bench, addressed senior advocate A.M. Singhvi and advocate Shadan Farasat, who appeared for Moitra. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Secretary General, urged the court to not issue notice. “A sovereign organ of the state under the Constitution has decided its internal discipline on evidence after giving her an opportunity… What would be the scope of the judicial review, if any at all? This will go against the very principle of separation of powers,” Mehta objected. Singhvi asked the Supreme Court whether there was no recourse to judicial review by the Supreme Court in the face of “the Parliament being denuded of Opposition MPs… If you expel MPs, it will become a rule of the majority”. Justice Khanna, along with Justice Dipankar Datta, resolved to hear the petition in the week commencing March 11. To Singhvi’s application for interim relief, Justice Khanna said it was “neither issuing notice on it now nor dismissing it”. The senior lawyer pointed out that the budgetary session of the Parliament would begin and Moitra may not be able to participate without some interim relief from the court. He asked the court to fix the hearing in February. Giving Moitra three weeks to file a rejoinder on the reply submitted by the Secretary General, Justice Khanna asked “do you think the matter is so simple?” Making his preliminary submissions during the 20-minute hearing, Singhvi said his client was expelled “for the one and only reason of sharing her log in details” to the Digital Sansad portal to businessman Darshan Hiranandani to post questions directly. “Sharing of log in details does not mean giving control of the portal. The portal required the One Time Password to be sent only to the MP concerned. No MP herself operates the portal. Out of necessity, any MP shares log in details with her secretaries, delegates or nominees. There was no code of conduct or rules for authorised or controlled access to the portal. She was expelled without there being a set of rules for sharing the access code,” Singhvi submitted. The senior lawyer said giving controlled access to log in details cannot be termed as “hacking”. There was no violation of ethics involved as there was no quid pro quo. “There was no money trail,” Singhvi said. He contended that the elementary principles of natural justice was not followed prior to Moitra’s expulsion. She was not allowed to cross-examine the complainants and Hiranandani was not summoned as a key witness. The MPs were not allowed enough time to even go through the ethics report. ED searches Jharkhand CM’s press advisor, others in ‘illegal’ mining case The [Enforcement Directorate on January 3 searched the premises of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s press advisor]( officials of Sahibganj district and a former MLA as part of a money laundering probe into alleged illegal mining in the State, official sources said. About a dozen locations in the State, including in State capital Ranchi and a premise in Rajasthan, are being raided by the central agency under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. The premises of press advisor Abhishek Prasad alias Pintu, collector and SP of Sahibganj district, ex-MLA Pappu Yadav, some jail department officials and a police constable are being searched by the agency officials, the sources said. An armed escort of central security forces went along with the ED officials. The agency, since 2022, has been probing a trail of ₹100 crore of “proceeds of crime” generated from illegal mining operations in the State. The money laundering probe began after the ED raided Soren’s political aide Pankaj Mishra and his alleged associates in July, 2022 and covered 19 locations in Sahibganj, Barhet, Rajmahal, Mirza Chauki and Barharwa in Jharkhand to investigate alleged irregularities in the operation of toll plaza tenders and instances of illegal mining in the State. The evidence collected during the course of the investigation, including the statements of various persons, digital evidence and documents, revealed that the funds seized from the accused was derived from illegal mining being rampantly done in the Sahibganj area, including the forest area, the ED had said. Rescuers race against time in search for survivors in Japan after powerful quakes leave over 70 dead [Japanese rescue workers and canine units searched urgently through rubble on January 3 ahead of predicted bitter cold and heavy rain in what the Prime Minister called a race against time after powerful earthquakes killed at least 73 people in western Japan](. Ishikawa prefecture and nearby areas were shaken by a 4.9 magnitude aftershock on January 3 — one of dozens that have followed Monday’s magnitude 7.6 temblor centered near Noto, about 300 km from Tokyo on the opposite coast. The quake set off tsunami warnings, followed by waves measuring more than 1 meter in some places. The first 72 hours are especially critical for rescues, experts say, because the prospects for survival greatly diminish after that. “More than 40 hours have passed. This is a race against time, and I feel that we are at a critical moment,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. “We have received reports many people are still waiting for rescue under collapsed buildings.” The narrow Noto Peninsula has added to the challenges in reaching some communities. Water, power and cellphone service were still down in some areas. Relief officials handed out water, blankets, food and other supplies. Search dogs joined military personnel and firefighters trying to find dozens of people who are thought to be trapped, although the exact number is unclear. Weather forecasts warned of heavy rain in Ishikawa, leading to worries about landslides and further damage to half-crumbled homes. Temperatures were expected to drop to around four degrees Celsius overnight. Of the deaths, 39 were counted in Wajima city, while 23 people died in Suzu, according to Ishikawa prefectural authorities. The other deaths were reported in five neighbouring towns. Although there has been no official number of missing, dozens are believed trapped under collapsed buildings. More than 300 people have been injured, at least 25 of them seriously. Nearly 33,000 people are staying at evacuation centres and some said they were hungry and cold, unable to sleep and afraid. Officials warned that more major quakes could follow. In Brief: [The Archaeological Survey of India on January 3 filed an application in the Varanasi district court urging the Judge to delay the release of its Gyanvapi Survey Report by four weeks](. The agency has made this request in order to get breathing time to file the report in the 1991 suit pertaining the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi Mosque dispute currently pending in the Allahabad High Court. “ASI is also directed by the Allahabad HC to submit the report on the scientific investigation/ survey work in the Civil Court.... in compliance of the order of the HC the survey report submitted earlier by ASI in the suit no. 18 of 2022 in the sealed cover is of vital importance,” the ASI said in its application. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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