Government holds all-party meet on Manipur
An all-party meeting, convened by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, began in New Delhi on June 24 to discuss the prevailing situation in Manipur. Nearly 120 people lost their lives and over 3,000 have been injured ever since the ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3. Leaders of different political parties, including the BJP, Congress, Trinamool Congress, Left parties and others, are taking part in the meeting.
Mob torches Manipur BJP Minister’s godown, tries to burn down residence
A group of people has set on fire a private godown of Manipur BJP Minister L. Susindro at Chingarel in Imphal East district, reducing it to ashes, police said on June 24. An attempt was also made to torch another property of the Consumer and Food Affairs Minister and his residence at Khurai in the same district on June 23 night but timely intervention prevented it. Security forces fired several rounds of tear gas shells till midnight to prevent the mob from gheraoing his Khurai residence, police said. No casualty was reported in the incident.
Putin vows to crush ‘armed mutiny’ as rebel Wagner chief tries to oust top military brass
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an emergency televised address on June 24 that an “armed mutiny” by the Wagner Group mercenary force was treason, and that anyone who had taken up arms against the Russian military would be punished. Mr. Putin was addressing the nation after Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin called for armed rebellion and reached a key Russian city with his troops. Mr. Prigozhin, owner of the Wagner private military company, has claimed that his forces had military facilities in Russia’s southern city of Rostov-on-Don under their control.
PM Modi arrives in Cairo on two-day state visit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Cairo on June 24 for a two-day state visit at the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Mr. Modi was welcomed at the airport in Cairo by Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly with a warm embrace. Mr. Modi inspected a guard of honour on arrival. This is the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Egypt in 26 years. Mr. Modi will meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on June 24.
Flood situation in Assam remains grave, over 4.88 lakh people affected
The flood situation in Assam remained grave on June 24 with over 4.88 lakh people affected so far, an official report said. Major rivers remained in spate across the State with the meteorological department warning of more rainfall and thunderstorm in different parts. The water level of the Puthimari and Pagladiya rivers have breached the red mark in Kamrup and Nalbari districts respectively, it added. The Regional Meteorological Centre here has issued a ‘Yellow’ alert for June 24, asking people to be on watch and remain updated for heavy rainfall and thunderstorm in some parts of the State.
Another under-construction bridge collapses in Bihar
Barely three weeks after an under-construction bridge over the Ganga collapsed in Bihar’s Khagaria district, a portion of another bridge in Kishanganj district caved-in on June 24, an official said. In the incident, which took place around 400 km from State capital Patna, a pillar of the bridge over river Mechi collapsed, said Arvind Kumar, project director of National Highway Authority of India. Claiming that nobody was injured in the accident, the official said “a five-member team” of experts has been constituted to investigate the cause.
Prime accused of Sonali Phogat murder case, Sudhir Sangwan granted bail
A court in Goa has granted bail to Sudhir Sangwan, prime accused in last year’s murder of Haryana-based BJP leader Sonali Phogat. She died in Goa’s beach village of Anjuna in August last year, after partying with her two associates, both of whom were accused of administering her banned drugs. She had arrived in Goa with the two male aides, Sangwan and Sukhwinder Singh, a day before the incident. They were accused of drugging her in a resort and later at a nightclub, where they were partying.
The World Bank has approved a $255.5 million loan for improving the quality of technical education in government-run institutions in India. Over the next five years, the project will support around 275 government-run technical institutions in selected States across the country, benefitting more than 350,000 students each year. The Multidisciplinary Education and Research Improvement in Technical Education Project will support improving student skills and employability by focusing on better research, entrepreneurship, and innovation; and improve governance in technical institutions.
Homemakers entitled to equal share in properties purchased by their spouses, says Madras High Court
A homemaker performs a multi-dexterous job round-the-clock and without any holiday. She is expected to have managerial skills, culinary penchant and a knowledge of accounts and economics too. A woman taking care of a home also performs the job of a home doctor by providing basic medical support to family members. Therefore, her contributions cannot be discounted as valueless, the Madras High Court has said. Justice Krishnan Ramasamy held that a homemaker would be entitled to an equal share in properties purchased by her husband with his earnings, because he could not have earned the money without the support of his wife in looking after the family. “The property may have been purchased either in the name of husband or wife, nevertheless, it must be considered to have been purchased with money saved by their joint efforts,” he wrote.
11 passengers injured evacuating Cathay Pacific jet after aborted takeoff in Hong Kong
A Cathay Pacific jetliner aborted its takeoff at Hong Kong International Airport on June 24 and 11 passengers were injured while evacuating the aircraft, the airline said. Flight CX880, bound for Los Angeles, returned to the gate after a “technical issue” caused the crew to abort the takeoff and “a precautionary passenger evacuation” was initiated, the airline said in a statement. It said those on board used five escape slides to exit the plane. The flight was carrying 293 passengers and 17 crew members.
Sunil Gavaskar slams selectors for dropping Cheteshwar Pujara and ignoring Sarfaraz Khan
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has lashed out at the national selectors for making Cheteshwar Pujara the “scapegoat” and ignoring prolific domestic scorer Sarfaraz Khan for the two tests in the West Indies next month. Referring to Khan’s non-selection, Gavaskar questioned the logic behind having the Ranji Trophy if performance in the country’s premier domestic tournament is not looked into while picking the Indian red-ball teams instead of taking the players IPL record.
