Mughal Gardens will now be called as Amrit Udyan
The Rashtrapati Bhavan garden, popularly known as the Mughal Gardens, was renamed as Amrit Udyan on January 28. “On the occasion of the celebrations of 75 years of Independence as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the President of India is pleased to give a common name to the Rashtrapati Bhawan gardens as Amrit Udyan,” Navika Gupta, Deputy Press Secretary to President Droupadi Murmu said in a statement.
Rahul Gandhi pays homage to Pulwama terror attack martyrs
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who resumed the Bharat Jodo Yatra amid stringent security measures in Kashmir on January 28, was joined by former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and her family. He also paid tributes to 40 deceased CRPF jawans at the 2019 blast site in Pulwama’s Lethpora area. The Congress, which had alleged that “security arrangements collapsed” on Mr. Gandhi’s arrival in Kashmir’s Qazigund on January 27, expressed satisfaction on the upscaling of security measures.
Sukhoi, Mirage fighter jets crash near Madhya Pradesh’s Morena; one pilot killed
An Indian Air Force pilot was killed after two fighter jets, a Sukhoi-30MKI and a Mirage-2000, were involved in an accident near Morena in Madhya Pradesh during a routine operational flying mission on January 28. “Two fighter aircraft of IAF were involved in an accident near Gwalior today morning. The aircraft were on routine operational flying training mission. One of the three pilots involved, sustained fatal injuries,” the IAF said. An inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident.
Plea in Supreme Court seeks direction to empower citizens to petition Parliament
A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre and others to take steps to create an appropriate system which empowers citizens to petition Parliament and seek initiation of deliberations on issues highlighted by them. The plea came up for hearing on Friday before a bench comprising justices K. M. Joseph and B. V. Nagarathna. The bench asked the counsel appearing for petitioner Karan Garg to serve a copy of the plea to the Centre’s lawyer and posted the matter in February.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on January 28 declared its list of 48 candidates for Tripura Assembly elections. CPI(M) MLA Mobossar Ali, who joined BJP yesterday, will contest from Kailasahar constituency. Out of the 48 candidates, 11 are women. The list includes Union Minister of State for Social Justice Pratima Bhoumik. Congress also released its list of 17 candidates, four more than allotted 13, as part of the alliance. The Left front earlier published list of 47 candidates. Soon after, violence erupted in the State. While Congress workers vandalised Dharmanagar party office, BJP supporters set Bagbassa mandal office on fire to protest selection of candidates.
Congress must be fulcrum of any Opposition alliance for 2024 elections: Jairam Ramesh
The Congress has to be the “fulcrum” of any Opposition alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 general elections as it is the only political force with a pan-India presence, senior leader Jairam Ramesh said on January 28. The Congress general secretary also said in his view the Congress should be preparing to fight on its own in every State in the 2029 general elections. Mr. Ramesh said he would certainly put his weight behind doing another yatra from Gujarat’s Porbandar to Arunachal Pradesh’s Parshuram Kund this year but the party has to take a call on it eventually.
Donald Trump kicks off 2024 U.S. elections bid with events in early voting States
Former President Donald Trump is set to kick off his 2024 White House bid on January 28 with visits to a pair of early-voting States, his first campaign events since launching his bid more than two months ago. Mr. Trump will be the keynote speaker at the New Hampshire GOP’s annual meeting before travelling to Columbia, South Carolina, where he is set to unveil his leadership team at the Statehouse.
Israel police arrest dozens after deadly Jerusalem synagogue shooting
Israel police said on January 28 they arrested dozens of people after a Palestinian gunman killed seven people outside a synagogue in one of the deadliest attacks in Jerusalem in years. Police identified the gunman as a 21-year-old resident of east Jerusalem, the sector of the city annexed by Israel after the 1967 Six-Day War. There has been no indication that he had prior involvement in militant activity or was a member of an established Palestinian armed group. He was killed by police following a brief chase after the shooting.
Ahead of crucial talks, IMF spots PKR 2 trillion breach in Pakistan’s budgetary estimates
Ahead of its crucial talks with the cash-strapped Pakistan government, the IMF has found an over PKR 2,000 billion breach in budgetary estimates for 2022-23 in its initial assessment that might result in escalating the budget deficit and primary deficit targets with a massive margin. Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials are scheduled to kick-start parleys from Tuesday for accomplishing the ninth review under the Extended Fund Facility during which the fiscal slippages and reconciliation of figures will be the major topic of discussion. The review would lead to the release of the next tranche of funds to Pakistan which has been pending since September.
Aryna Sabalenka bludgeoned her way to a maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 win over Kazakh 22nd seed Elena Rybakina on January 28 in a thrilling final between two of the most exciting power-hitters in the women’s game. An 11th straight win of the year also means the Belarusian will return to a career-high ranking of number two behind Iga Swiatek, reaping the rewards of her improved mental stability and service to emerge as a genuine threat in big tournaments.
