American billionaire Elon Musk escalated his criticism of the telecommunications sector in India, accusing senior businessmen of obstructing the entry of the “Starlink” satellite Internet service into the Indian market, before singling out the billionaire Mukesh Ambani with a sarcastic comment in which he asked whether he was “the de facto ruler of India,” according to the Independent newspaper.
Musk's comment, who heads SpaceX, came a day after he accused what he described as Indian "oligarchs" of obstructing his efforts to launch the "Starlink" high-speed Internet service in the country.
“Is Ambani the de facto ruler of India?” Musk wrote, referring to the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries.
Musk had accused some senior Indian businessmen of obstructing his efforts to launch the service, saying that his efforts were “obstructed by some oligarchs to maintain their stifling monopoly over the Indian people.”
“You can guess who they are,” he added in a statement he made on Wednesday, without naming anyone.
SpaceX, owned by Musk, is seeking the necessary regulatory approvals to launch satellite internet service in India.
These endeavors come in a market dominated by Reliance Jio, affiliated with Ambani, and Bharti Airtel, affiliated with businessman Sunil Bharti Mittal, after they spent years consolidating a position approaching a monopoly in the market between them, according to The Independent.
Together, the two companies account for about 910 million subscribers to broadband Internet services, exceeding 80 percent of the total subscribers, according to the latest government data.
Criticizing the delay in granting a license to his company, Musk said: “Starlink has obtained licenses in more than 165 countries, and has spent five years complying with all the laws and requirements set by the Indian government. Why has the license not been granted yet?
Musk's statements sparked political controversy in India, and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi entered the debate, saying: "Wait until you meet (the other)."
Gandhi's comment was an apparent reference to billionaire Gautam Adani, a businessman in India who, like Ambani, has close ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Musk responded to Gandy's comment, saying: "This is really disturbing."
On the other hand, the Indian government rejected Musk’s accusations, describing them on Thursday as “baseless and based on a wrong understanding.”
The Indian Ministry of Communications explained, in a statement issued without referring to Musk by name, that a post circulating on social media questions the fairness of the Indian regulatory framework for satellite communications services, and hints at its application in a discriminatory manner.
The Ministry confirmed that it had established a “fair and non-discriminatory framework for granting licenses” for these services.
It revealed that three entities have submitted applications to obtain licenses to provide communications services via satellite, and their applications are still awaiting approval, without revealing the names of those entities.
Earlier on Thursday, Lauren Dreyer, Vice President of Commercial Operations at Starlink, confirmed the American company’s readiness to enter the Indian market, saying, “Starlink is ready to serve India as soon as India is ready to do so.”
While Mel Ismail, a survivor of a shark attack, was struggling with the predatory fish that amputated his leg, he noticed something strange.
“I saw her eye,” Ismail said. “It was a big black eye.” But she was winking at me. “I was trying to put my fingers in her eyes and push her hard, while she was pulling me,” according to what was reported by the Associated Press.
Ismail, a professional surfer and firefighter, added in an interview that revealed new details about an encounter in which he almost lost his life, that when the shark moved away, he was able to return with difficulty to shore.
He was surfing at Glenfield Beach near Geraldton, on the west coast of Australia, when he was attacked on September 14. He lost his right leg below the knee.
Ismail recalled, in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which was broadcast yesterday, Thursday, that he was resting, when he spotted a group of about 20 dolphins before something huge collided with him. This is the first time he has spoken publicly about the attack.
He added: “At first I thought I had bumped into a dolphin.” He continued: “Suddenly, something grabbed me and pulled me down into the water. "I knew it was a shark."
Ismail said the shark seemed to wink at him before biting his leg.
British Prince Harry revealed his emotional attachment to an old photo of his late mother, Princess Diana, explaining that he often contemplates it and wonders what she would think about his life today, and how he sometimes looks at the photo anticipating the change in her facial expressions, according to the “Big Six” website.
During a new session of one of the programmes, which dealt with the topic of grief and loss, the Duke of Sussex spoke about his feelings towards the image, saying: “I can really connect with her visually, and there is a touch of fun and mischief in her smile... I feel a very strong connection that brings me together with her.”
The photo was taken by French photographer Patrick Demarchelier, and was published in a special issue of Harper's Bazaar in December 1995.
Harry added: "I find myself looking at her and wondering: What is she thinking about what I'm doing now?"
The 42-year-old author of the book “Spear” revealed that he sometimes looks at a photo of his mother “to see if her facial expressions change, but they never change.”
Harry was 12 years old when Princess Diana died at the age of 36, following a car accident in Paris in August 1997.
During his conversation with neuroscientist Dr. Mary Frances O'Connor, Harry recalled memories of the period following his mother's death, explaining that he found it very difficult to look at pictures of her at that time.
He said: “Although there are pictures of her in my room at school, I clearly remember that I was not thinking about my mother; Because thinking about something so sad will never bring her back to me.”
He admitted that for years after Diana's passing, he lived in a state of "emotional dullness," to the point that he felt "betrayed and guilty" at the mere thought of the possibility of regaining his feeling of happiness.
He explained: “I felt that I had to remain sad and remain in a state of emotional insensitivity; To prove to her that I miss her.”
But he eventually realized that his mother would have wished him to be happy, which he described as a “huge mental shift” in his life.
“It liberated me and gave me a completely different outlook on life,” he said.
Harry, who recently returned to the United Kingdom with his wife, Meghan Markle, and their two children, despite the tensions and disagreements with his family, revealed that he thinks about his mother “almost every night and most mornings,” and seeks her help in difficult times.
