U.S. ‘rejects’ Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s visa request
The United States rejected Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s recent request for a visa, The Hindu learns from a top official, amid growing speculation over the besieged leader’s “attempts to flee” the country after promising to quit office. Mr. Gotabaya’s youngest brother and ex-Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa was also prevented from leaving the capital after immigration staff refused to stamp his papers. Mr. Basil is a dual citizen of Sri Lanka and the U.S.
Opposition, activists object to muscular, aggressive lions in national emblem
Opposition members and activists among others on July 12 accused the government of distorting the national emblem by replacing the “graceful and regally confident” Ashokan lions with those having menacing and aggressive posture and sought immediate change. Responding to the criticism, the BJP said that the national emblem unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was an exact replica of the one in Sarnath and accused the Opposition of deliberately trying to create one controversy after another for political reasons.
Election Commissions dispatches ballot boxes, papers for Presidential poll
The Election Commission has kicked off the distribution of ballot boxes, ballot papers, pens and other sealed materials for the Presidential polls to be held in the State Assemblies on July 18.
Shiv Sena to back Droupadi Murmu for President, says Uddhav Thackeray
Mr. Thackeray said Sena is announcing support to Ms. Murmu without any pressure. “Nobody pressured me in the meeting of Sena MPs,” he added.
Goa Congress manages to avert split for now; 10 MLAs attend party meet
Except for former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, all the other Congress MLAs, including Michael Lobo, were present at the meeting late on July 11 which went on for over two hours at the State party headquarters.
Stay away from those who practise short-cut politics: PM Modi
The PM was in Bihar’s Deoghar to inaugurate and launch development projects worth ₹16,835 crore, including the airport and the AIIMS.
The World Population Prospects 2022 report released on July 11 said that India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country next year. According to the report, India’s population stands at 1.412 billion in 2022, compared to China’s 1.426 billion.
Rishi Sunak hits threshold for U.K. PM race as nominations open
The 42-year-old British Indian maintains his lead in the race to replace Boris Johnson as nominations formally opened for the contest.
Vladimir Putin set to visit Iran next week
During a trip to Tehran, Mr. Putin will attend a trilateral meeting with the leaders of Iran and Turkey, the so-called Astana format of meetings for Syria-related talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Ukrainian rocket strike targets Russian ammunition depot
Video on social media showed a massive explosion. The nature of the strike suggested that Ukrainian forces used U.S.-supplied multiple-launch High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, to strike the area.
Retail inflation eases marginally to 7.01% in June
Inflation in the food basket in June 2022 was 7.75%, compared to 7.97% in the preceding month, as per the National Statistical Office (NSO) data.
Industrial production grows 19.6% in May
As per the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the manufacturing sector’s output grew 20.6% in May 2022. Mining output climbed 10.9%, and power generation increased 23.5%.
