2023 Assembly elections | Tripura to vote on February 16, Meghalaya and Nagaland on February 27
The Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for Nagaland, Tripura, and Meghalaya Assembly polls. Tripura will vote on February 16, Meghalaya and Nagaland will vote on February 27, and the counting for all three States will be held on March 2. The term of the three Assemblies is set to end on different dates in March. While Tripura has a BJP government, in Nagaland, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party is in power. Meanwhile, National People’s Party, the only party from the North-East to have a national party recognition, runs the government in Meghalaya.
Ukraine Interior Minister among 16 killed in Kyiv helicopter crash
A helicopter crashed near a kindergarten outside the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, causing casualties, the region’s Governor has said. Sixteen people, including Ukraine’s Interior Minister and other senior Ministry officials, were killed, the national police chief said. The Governor of the Kyiv region said that a helicopter crashed near a nursery and a residential building earlier on Jan. 18. Two children were among the dead and 10 of them were in hospital, officials said.
Union vs Delhi government | Centre surprises with a plea to refer case to a seven-judge Bench
The Centre has surprised the Supreme Court by suddenly seeking a reference of the Lieutenant Governor versus Aam Aadmi Party regime dispute to a larger Bench of seven judges on what may be the last day of the hearing. “We may not be remembered in history for having handed over the National Capital to a complete anarchy,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, told a five-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud.
Joshimath a natural disaster, not a political matter, says Uttrakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami
As Opposition continued to crticise the State government for the Joshimath land subsidence situation, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that “this is a natural disaster. This is not a political matter”. He said, “Everybody should come forward and help in finding a solution to it.” Saying that the State government is monitoring the situation in Joshimath, he added, “We’re receiving all necessary co-operation from Central government. PM Modi is reviewing the case regularly. Soon we’ll have the reports and arrange for rehabilitation of residents there.”
Bombay High Court adjourns Enforcement Directorate’s plea to cancel Sanjay Raut’s bail
The Bombay High Court has adjourned a plea for cancellation of bail granted by a special trial court to Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) leader and Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut in an alleged money laundering case related to the Patra Chawl redevelopment project to February 3. On November 11, 2022 a special court granted bail to Mr. Raut in the case and noted, “He was arrested for no reason and the arrest was illegal.” Soon, the Enforcement Directorate moved the High Court seeking a stay on the execution of the bail order.
Sammed Shikhar will remain only a religious place, not a tourist place: Union, Jharkhand governments
The Union and Jharkhand governments have collectively decided that Sammed Shikhar will remain only a ‘religious place’ and not a tourist place, said Iqbal Singh Lalpura, chairman National Commission of Minorities (NCM) in Delhi on January 18. He added that people of Jain community are happy with the decision. The members of the Jain community January 17 told the NCM that they don’t want the sacred Parasnath hill to become another Joshimath because of the ‘excessive tourism activity’ in the region.
Punjab Congress leader Manpreet Singh Badal quits Congress, joins BJP
The former Finance Minister of Punjab, Manpreet Badal, joined the BJP has just hours after quitting the Congress over what he termed as a “disappointing” attitude within the Congress towards Punjab and rife factionalism within the leadership. He joined the BJP at the party’s headquarters in New Delhi with Union Minister Piyush Goyal and party general secretary Tarun Chugh present at the event. Mr. Badal, who is the nephew of Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal, had begun his electoral career in 1995 by winning the Gidderbaha bye-election as part of the SAD. BJP is the fourth party to which Mr. Badal is swearing loyalty to, starting SAD to floating his own outfit, the Punjab People’s Party and later merging that entity with the Congress.
Shraddha Walkar’s father demands action against policemen who did not act on complaints
Vikas Walkar, father of Shraddha Walkar who was murdered allegedly by her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawala, met Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar police chief Madhukar Pandey and demanded action against the policemen who apparently did not act swiftly on two complaints. Pandey has assured action against the erring officials, Vikas told reporters outside the MBVV police commissioner’s office at Vasai in Maharashtra’s Palghar district on Tuesday. This was the second meeting between the two.
U.S.-China officials to meet on economy, aim to ease tension
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sits down with her Chinese counterpart has in the highest-ranking contact between the two countries since their Presidents agreed to look for ways to improve relations that have grown increasingly strained in recent years. Ms. Yellen’s first face-to-face meeting with Vice-Premier Liu He comes as the U.S. and Chinese economies grapple with differing but intertwined challenges on trade, technology and more.
At Davos, U.N. chief warns the world is in a ‘sorry state’
The world is in a “sorry state” because of myriad “interlinked” challenges including climate change and Russia’s war in Ukraine that are “piling up like cars in a chain reaction crash,” the U.N. chief has said at the World Economic Forum’s meeting. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered his gloomy message on the second day of the elite gathering of world leaders and corporate executives in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. Sessions took a grim turn when news broke of a helicopter crash in Ukraine that killed 18 people, including Ukraine’s interior minister and other officials.
Tough year ahead: Gita Gopinath on IMF outlook for 2023
Describing the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) outlook for 2023, Gita Gopinath, Deputy Managing Director of the IMF said, “We have a tough year ahead, but there are signs of resilience.” She tweeted a video from Davos, where she is attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023. Rising inflation, the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, would make 2023 a tough year, she said in the video message. However, a strong labour market in several countries, including the U.S., and consumption holding up in several parts of the world indicated resilience.
Wrestlers, including Olympians Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, are holding a sit-in protest against the alleged arrogance of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) at Jantar Mantar. The first Indian woman wrestler to win a gold medal at both the Asian and Commonwealth Games, Vinesh Phogat, alleged that coaches are harassing women. “Some coaches who are favourites of the federation misbehave with women coaches as well. They sexually harass girls. The WFI president has sexually harassed so many girls,” she told ANI.
