New Delhi, Nov 18: Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, addressed the High-Level Ministerial Segment on the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) at the UNFCCC CoP30 on November 17, 2025.

Calling for renewed international cooperation, he urged the global community to protect big cat species and their habitats as a vital component of integrated climate and biodiversity action.

The session was also attended by Madan Prasad Pariyar, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Government of Nepal.

Thanking Brazil for hosting the event, Yadav said the theme ‘Protecting Big Cats, Protecting Climate and Biodiversity’ was timely and relevant.

He emphasised that the world’s ecological challenges are deeply interconnected and require coordinated, nature-based solutions.

Big cats, he noted, are apex predators and guardians of ecosystem health.

“Where big cats thrive, forests are healthier, grasslands regenerate, water systems function, and carbon is stored efficiently in living landscapes,” he said.

Declines in their populations, he warned, lead to destabilize ecosystems, weakened climate resilience, and reduced natural carbon sinks.

The minister highlighted ‘Big Cat Landscapes’ as Nature-Based Climate Solutions, urging countries to integrate nature-based action into future Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

He remarked, “What we often call wildlife conservation is, in fact, climate action in its most natural form.”

Conserving big cat habitats, he said, directly supports carbon sequestration, watershed protection, disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, and sustainable livelihoods.

He further outlined IBCA’s potential in assisting nations through technical support, standardised tools, capacity building, south-south cooperation, and innovative biodiversity-carbon financing mechanisms.

Minister Bhupender Yadav shared India’s achievements as home to five of the world’s seven big cat species.

He said that India doubled its tiger population ahead of schedule, while its Asiatic lion population continues to rise.

India has built one of the world’s most comprehensive wildlife databases, conducting nationwide assessments of tigers, lions, leopards, and snow leopards, and has expanded protected areas, secured wildlife corridors, and partnered with local communities for conservation-led livelihoods.

Emphasising that the International Big Cat Alliance was a vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, rooted in the philosophy ‘One Earth, One World, One Future’, the minister informed that 17 countries are already formally associated with IBCA, and over 30 more have expressed interest in joining.

India aims to bring all big cat range nations – and all countries committed to climate and biodiversity security – under the alliance.

NEW DELHI TO HOST GLOBAL BIG CATS SUMMIT IN 2026

In a major announcement, Minister Yadav said that India will host a Global Big Cats Summit in New Delhi in 2026, inviting all range countries to collaborate, share best practices, and strengthen conservation partnerships.

He urged nations worldwide to join IBCA and work collectively to protect big cats and their habitats.

Calling for international unity, the minister said the world is at a critical ecological juncture.

“We must collaborate, not compete. We must find strength not in isolation, but in solidarity,” he stressed, concluding with a powerful message. “Protecting big cats is protecting our shared planet. Protecting big cats is protecting our future.”

New Delhi, Nov 18: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, Chairman of the Al Falah Group and Managing Trustee of the Al Falah Charitable Trust, in connection with an alleged money-laundering racket linked to fake accreditation claims, diversion of funds, and massive financial irregularities.

ED in a statement according to news agency Kashmir Dot Com said, Siddiqui was taken into custody under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, following extensive searches and the examination of evidence recovered during raids at premises linked to the Al Falah Group earlier in the day.

The ED initiated its probe on the basis of two FIRs registered by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police, which accused Al-Falah University, Faridabad, of fraudulently claiming NAAC accreditation and making misleading assertions about its recognition under Section 12(B) of the UGC Act, 1956—an eligibility clause for receiving government grants.

The UGC, however, clarified that the university was recognised only under Section 2(f) as a State Private University and had never applied for 12(B) status, calling the alleged claims deceptive and unlawful.

The ED stated that the Al-Falah Charitable Trust—established in 1995 with Siddiqui as Managing Trustee—controls all educational institutions under the group. Despite its rapid growth over the decades, the agency claims the group’s rise is not supported by legitimate financials.

During today’s searches at 19 locations in Delhi, including university premises and residences of key individuals, the ED said it seized over Rs 48 lakh in cash, numerous digital devices, incriminating documents, and uncovered multiple shell companies allegedly used to siphon funds.

The agency alleges that crores of rupees in “proceeds of crime” were diverted from the trust to entities linked to Siddiqui’s family, including contracts for construction and catering awarded to firms owned by his wife and children. Investigators also say they have detected violations under several other laws.

According to the ED, evidence such as cash recoveries, diversion of trust funds, and “layering” through family-owned entities points toward Siddiqui’s “effective control” over the alleged laundering operations.

After establishing his “culpability,” the ED claims Siddiqui was arrested following due procedure and produced before a court to seek custodial remand.

The agency said further investigation is ongoing. (KDC)

Washington, Nov 18: Internet infrastructure provider Cloudflare says it is investigating an issue that caused outages for social media platform X, some multiplayer games and ChatGPT.

Cloudflare said on its status page earlier on Tuesday that it was aware of and investigating an issue that was impacting multiple customers. There were reports of widespread 500 errors as well as Cloudflare Dashboard and API failing.

Cloudflare then provided an update that a recovery was underway, but reverted to messaging that indicates they are still investigating the cause of the issue.

Cloudflare did have scheduled maintenance for the SCL (Santiago) data centre on Tuesday.