Mary Kom to lead Oversight Committee to probe allegations against WFI president
Boxing great M.C. Mary Kom will lead a five-member Oversight Committee that will probe sexual harassment charges against Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The government-appointed Committee will also run the day-to-day affairs of WFI for the next one month. The other members of the panel are Olympic medallist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, former badminton player and Mission Olympic Cell member Trupti Murgunde, ex-TOPS CEO Rajagopalan, and former SAI executive director-teams Radhika Sreeman.
On the occasion of Parakram Diwas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi named 21 largest unnamed islands of Andaman & Nicobar Islands after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees. During the programme, the Prime Minister via video conferencing also unveiled the model of the National Memorial dedicated to Netaji to be built on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep. The Ross Islands, part of the Andaman islands, was renamed as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Dweep by Mr. Modi in 2018, while the Neil Island and Havelock Island were also renamed as Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep respectively.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari said he has conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi his desire to step down from political responsibilities during the latter’s recent visit to Mumbai. In a statement issued by the Raj Bhavan on January 23, Governor Koshyari expressed his desire to spend the rest of his life in reading, writing and other leisurely activities. “During the recent visit of the Hon’ble Prime Minister to Mumbai, I have conveyed to him my desire to be discharged of all political responsibilities and to spend the remainder of my life in reading, writing, and other activities,” Mr. Koshyari said in a tweet.
Karnataka hijab ban | SC to consider listing Muslim students’ plea before three-judge Bench
Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on Monday said he will consider forming a three-judge Bench soon to hear afresh petitions filed by Muslim students from Karnataka who are seeking a declaration of their right to wear hijab inside their classrooms. Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora made the oral mentioning for early hearing of the case. She said the students were about to have their practicals on February 6.
Supreme Court to hear Rana Ayyub’s petition challenging PMLA summons on January 25
The Supreme Court scheduled to hear on January 23 the petition of journalist Rana Ayyub challenging the summons issued to her by a special PMLA court in Ghaziabad in a money laundering case lodged against her by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), postponed the hearing to January 25. According to the list of businesses uploaded on the apex court website, Ms. Ayyub’s petition was listed before a bench of Justices V. Ramasubramanian and J.B. Pardiwala.
The demand for Statehood is Jammu and Kashmir’s biggest issue and the Congress will use “our full power” to get it reinstated, party MP Rahul Gandhi said on January 23 as his Bharat Jodo Yatra arrived in Jammu to a grand welcome. Mr. Gandhi, who met a cross section of people from Jammu and Kashmir during his yatra, said J&K has the highest level of unemployment in the country. “The Congress party will fully support you and your Statehood [demand]. To reinstate Statehood, the Congress will use our full power,” Mr. Gandhi told a gathering at the Satwari Chowk in Jammu.
China wants to reduce India’s influence in Indian Ocean region, say papers submitted at DGPs’ meet
Chinese activities and influence in India’s extended neighbourhood have grown increasingly with the sole purpose of keeping New Delhi constrained and occupied in facing the resultant challenges, according to papers submitted at a key security meeting in New Delhi. The papers presented by Indian Police Service (IPS) officers at the just concluded conference of DGPs and IGPs submit that by providing huge amounts of money in the name of loans for developmental works in Southeast and South Asia, China wants to reduce India’s influence in the Indian Ocean region and force resolution of bilateral issues on Beijing’s terms.
Fifth Scorpene-class submarine INS Vagir commissioned into Indian Navy
The fifth Scorpène-class conventional submarine was commissioned into the Indian Navy as INS Vagir in the presence of Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R. Hari Kumar at Naval Dockyard Mumbai on Monday. The sixth and last of the French-origin Scorpène-class submarines being built in India under technology transfer is set to be delivered to the Navy by end-2023. With this, the Navy now has 16 conventional and one nuclear submarine in service. It includes seven Russian Kilo-class submarines, four German HDW submarines, five Scorpene-class submarines, and the indigenous nuclear ballistic missile submarine INS Arihant.
U.K. petition demands independent probe into BBC series on PM Modi
A new online petition has demanded an independent probe into a “serious breach” by the BBC in its duties as a public broadcaster in the U.K. over the controversial documentary series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ‘Call for an Independent Investigation into the BBC over Modi documentary’ on Change.Org, which “strongly” condemns the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC) for failing to meet the “highest standards of editorial impartiality”, has attracted over 2,500 signatures since it went online on January 22 night.
Sergey Lavrov says West prevented negotiations to end Ukraine war
Moscow was willing to negotiate with Ukraine in the early months of the war but the U.S. and other Western nations advised Kyiv against it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on January 23. Mr. Lavrov’s remarks on a visit to South Africa were similar to those made last year by Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country was for talks but Ukraine’s Western allies prevented that from happening. The U.S. and other Western nations have said that Russia is not serious about negotiations to end the war, set to mark its one-year anniversary next month.
Pakistan suffers major power outage after grid failure
Pakistan faced a major power breakdown on January 23 due to a “frequency variation” in the national grid, leaving millions of people in large parts of the country, including capital Islamabad and financial hub Karachi, without electricity. According to the Ministry of Energy, the system of frequency of the national grid went down at 7.34 a.m. local time, resulting in the breakdown. “System maintenance work is progressing rapidly,” it tweeted. Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir said the restoration work was going on.
Japan PM Fumio Kishida prioritises arms buildup, reversing low birthrate
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, on January 23, said Japan faces the severest security environment in the region since the end of World War II and pledged to push a military buildup under a newly adopted security strategy over the next five years and beyond as well as tackle rapidly declining births so the country can sustain national strength. Mr. Kishida’s government in December adopted key security and defence reforms, including a counterstrike capability that makes a break from the country’s exclusively self-defence-only postwar principle. Japan says the current deployment of missile interceptors is insufficient to defend it from rapid weapons advancement in China and North Korea.
Ind vs NZ, 3rd ODI | Middle order in focus as India eye series sweep against New Zealand
With a series sweep in sight, the middle order will be eager to give a better account of themselves as the Indian team management contemplates rotating its bowlers in the third and final ODI against New Zealand in Indore on Tuesday. Opener Shubman Gill has been in excellent form, having scored a sensational double hundred in the opener, followed by a 40-run knock in the low-scoring second ODI. Skipper Rohit Sharma, too, is having a good run. However, the home team is aware that despite enjoying an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, Shubman and Rohit have been the only two batters among runs for the hosts.
