Four students dead in stampede at tech festival in Cochin University of Science and Technology
At least four students were killed and 61 were injured in a stampede at an auditorium on the main campus of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) where a tech fest was concluding on Saturday. Two of the injured are reported to be serious.
Two weeks after Silkyara tunnel collapse, NDMA says rescue is ‘dangerous’ and may take a ‘long time’
Multiple hurdles are now delaying the rescue of 41 labourers, who have been trapped inside the trapped Silkyara tunnel for two weeks now. With no sign of rescue in the next one or two days, the kin of the trapped workers are getting restless, even as Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami promised the workers that their safe evacuation was the government’s “top priority”.
IVF treatments find a place in political manifestos
The Congress party has included In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) as an area of focus in its manifesto for the Rajasthan Assembly election. Integrating infertility with political agenda is not a new development — Goa recently became the first Indian State to offer free IVF, Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), and Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) services; Maharashtra is also looking into providing financial support to people from rural areas for IVF treatments under the Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana.
Rejection by Governor does not mean death of Bill, says Supreme Court
The Supreme Court, in a 27-page judgment, has clarified that the rejection of a Bill by a Governor does not mean its death. Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, writing for a three-judge Bench, held that a law proposed by a State legislature is not extinguished merely because the Governor refuses to sign his assent.
Government convenes all party meet on December 2 ahead of Winter session
The government has convened an all-party meeting on December 2 ahead of the Winter session of Parliament according to government sources. This is the penultimate session of Parliament before the 2024 General elections. The session is expected to begin on a stormy note. It is expected that the report of the Ethics Committee on the “cash-for-query” allegations against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra will be tabled in Lok Sabha on the first day on December 4. The panel has recommended Ms. Moitra’s expulsion.
Hamas is set to exchange more hostages for Palestinian prisoners
Hamas was preparing to release more than a dozen hostages Saturday for several dozen Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, part of an exchange on the second day of a cease-fire that has allowed critical humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and given civilians their first respite after seven weeks of war. While uncertainty remained around the details of the exchange, there was optimism, too, amid the scenes of joyous families reuniting on both sides. On the first day of the four-day cease-fire, Hamas released 24 of the about 240 hostages taken during its October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war, and Israel freed 39 Palestinians from prison.
BJP files complaints against Gandhis for social media ‘campaigns’ on the day of election
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has filed separate complaints against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra with the Election Commission of India for allegedly violating “48 hours silence zone” for campaigning by posts on social media platforms to “influence voters”. The ruling party urged the poll panel to take action against both the leaders under relevant provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Jaipur’s Palawala Jatan village boycotts polls
As people queue outside polling booths across Rajasthan to cast their votes, the villagers of Palawala Jatan have boycotted the elections as a show of resentment towards public representatives in the area. The boycott is due to their demand to connect Palawala Jatan to Toonga. Since the start of the polls, not a single villager had arrived at the booth to vote.
Union Home Ministry invites civil society leaders from Leh and Kargil for talks
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has invited civil society leaders from Leh and Kargil to hold discussions on December 4. The reach out comes amid frequent protests in Ladakh demanding Statehood as well as demands to provide Constitutional safeguards for the Union Territory.
Get a flight-like feel on Vande Bharat soon
The travel experience in Vande Bharat trains is set to scale greater heights with the Indian Railways rolling out a new scheme to upgrade passenger services. As part of its initiative to bring about a qualitative shift in on-board services, the Railways has announced the launch of Yatri Seva Anubandh (YSA) as a pilot project in the Southern Railway covering six pairs of Vande Bharat Express trains.
Urban Affairs Ministry aims to provide data on Indian cities via dedicated portal
The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is making raw data from Indian cities available on a single platform for academics, researchers, and stakeholders to help data-driven policy making. The Amplifi 2.0 (Assessment and Monitoring Platform for Liveable, Inclusive and Future-ready urban India) portal was launched by the Ministry three weeks ago.
Publicity of only one person is going on, says Nitish Kumar in indirect attack on Prime Minister
In a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday said that the publicity of only one person is being carried out in the country and there are only two leaders calling the shots in the Centre. Without mentioning the names of Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah, he asserted that whenever the BJP leaders come to Bihar, they only attack him.
