India sends third ship to Port Sudan to evacuate Indians
INS Tarkash from the Indian Navy has reached Port Sudan on April 27 to help in the evacuation of stranded Indians, said Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra. Announcing the latest developments regarding “Operation Kaveri” that is currently under way, Mr. Kwatra said India is “extremely grateful” to Saudi Arabia for the support that it has provided to the evacuation of its citizens so far and assured that India will do “all that it requires to be done” to help its citizens in Sudan.
Wrestlers protesting on streets tarnishing India’s image, says IOA president P.T. Usha
Coming down heavily on the aggrieved wrestlers, Indian Olympic Association president P.T. Usha on April 27 said the grapplers protesting on the streets amounts to indiscipline and is tarnishing the country’s image. Decorated wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia are among the central characters in the renewed protests against Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation by the grapplers.
Have sought report from Delhi Police on sexual harassment charges against WFI head: NCW chief
National Commission for Women chairperson Rekha Sharma on April 27 said she has sought an action taken report from the Delhi Police Commissioner on the complaints filed by women wrestlers about alleged sexual harassment. “Not talking to the media doesn’t mean we are not doing anything about it. We have written to the commissioner of Delhi Police, asking for an action taken report. We have also asked them why they have not registered an FIR,” Ms. Sharma said.
Congress president M. Mallikarjun Kharge on April 27 likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a poisonous snake, drawing the BJP’s ire. Addressing a public meeting at Ron in Gadag district, as part of the party’s campaign for the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka, he said: “Don’t make a mistake. Modi is like a poisonous snake. If you say, ‘no, it’s not poisonous. let’s lick it and find out.’ Don’t go to lick it. If you lick, you die.” Mr. Kharge further added, “[If you think that] No, no, this is not a poison because Modi has given it, ‘good man’ Prime Minister has given it, let’s try it and lick it’. If you lick that poison then you will sleep forever”.
The Union Government told the Bombay High Court on April 27 that it will not notify till July 5, a fact-checking unit to identify fake news against the government on social media under the recently amended Information Technology Rules. A Division Bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale accepted the statement and said since the amended rules would be inoperable in the absence of a fact-checking unit, no urgent hearing was required on stay of the rules as sought by stand-up comic Kunal Kamra.
States clear all hurdles in path of projects listed for review under PRAGATI, says PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 27 said the Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI) multi-nodal platform has had such an impact that when a project is listed for review under it, the state governments work hard to remove obstacles in its path. He was speaking virtually at a programme to mark the completion of 20 years of the ‘State Wide Attention on Grievances by Application of Technology’ (SWAGAT), a grievance redressal platform he started as Gujarat Chief Minister in 2003.
Madhya Pradesh Court frames defamation charge against Digvijaya Singh in case filed by BJP leader
A special court in Bhopal has framed charge against Congress Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh under IPC Section 500 for defamation in a case filed by a BJP leader whom he had accused of being involved in the Vyapam scam that rocked Madhya Pradesh in 2013. The court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Vidhan Maheshwari, dealing with cases against MPs and MLAs, framed the charge against Mr. Singh on April 27 and posted the case for trial from July 1.
Many overcrowded Bihar jails have double or more than double prisoner capacity
Amid a raging debate over the release of 27 convicted prisoners in Bihar, the latest figures released by the state home department underscore the need for decongesting 59 jails where nearly 62,000 inmates are currently lodged. The figures uploaded by the state home department on its website till March 31 pegged the capacity of 59 jails, including eight central prisons, at 47,750. However, 61,891 prisoners are languishing in these prisons. This means the prisons have nearly 30% more prisoners than they should be housing.
Exercise of veto in UNSC driven by political considerations and not by moral obligations: India
India has emphasised that the exercise of veto in the UN Security Council is driven by political considerations and not by moral obligations, saying that only five permanent members being given the privilege of using the veto goes against the very concept of sovereign equality of States. Addressing the UN General Assembly plenary on ‘Use of the veto’ on April 26, a year since the adoption of the ‘veto initiative’ by the 193-member UN body, Counsellor in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN, Pratik Mathur said that over the last 75 years, all five permanent members have used the veto to achieve their respective political ends.
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif secures vote of confidence in National Assembly
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on April 27 secured a vote of confidence from the National Assembly, with 180 lawmakers expressing “full confidence” in his leadership, in a surprise development amidst an increasing confrontation between the government and the top judiciary. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, tabled a resolution in the lower house, stating that the National Assembly of Pakistan “reposes its full confidence in the leadership of” Prime Minister Sharif.
NATO allies send 1,500 combat vehicles, 230 tanks to Ukraine
NATO countries have delivered more than 98% of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine amid its war with Russia, the military alliance’s chief said on April 27, giving Kyiv a bigger punch as it appears poised to launch a counteroffensive. Along with more than 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 tanks and other equipment, member nations have sent Ukraine “vast amounts of ammunition” and also trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian brigades, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.
Lucknow Super Giants would be looking to move on from an inexplicable batting performance when they take on Punjab Kings in a crucial mid table clash in the Indian Premier League in Mohali on April 28. Halfway into the competition, both teams have four wins from seven games and would be aiming to find consistency in the tight race to the IPL play-offs. Though Lucknow pitch has not been ideal for batting, skipper K L Rahul’s strike rate became the talking point again as his team failed on Saturday last to chase down 136 against Gujarat Titans from a commanding position.
