China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 with 132 on board crashes in southern China, casualties unknown
A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 with 132 people on board crashed in the hills of southern China on Monday., This is the country’s worst air tragedy in more than a decade. China’s President Xi Jinping ordered “all-out rescue efforts” for survivors, with search teams dispatched to the crash site. As of Monday evening, there was no word on the casualties.
Developments like that in Ukraine should never be allowed to happen in the Indo-Pacific region, said Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia on March 21. Addressing the bilateral annual virtual summit, Mr. Morrison argued for greater cooperation among “like-minded democracies” to create a comprehensive partnership in the Indo-Pacific region. Prime Minister Narendra Modi focused on the Indo-Pacific region and called for global standards for emerging technologies.
Pushkar Singh Dhami to continue as Uttarakhand Chief Minister
Pushkar Singh Dhami would continue as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, it was announced on Monday during the BJP legislature meeting in Dehradun. Mr Dhami’s appointment was announced by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is also Central observer for the meet.
Pramod Sawant gets second term as Goa Chief Minister
Ending days of suspense, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday finally announced Pramod Sawant’s name as Goa’s Chief Minister. Mr. Sawant, who took charge after Mahohar Parrikar’s untimely demise in March 2019, gets a second term as Goa’s CM.
Looking into plea of Indian students who left Ukraine, Centre tells Supreme Court
The Centre on March 21 informed the Supreme Court that it has got representations to allow students who left strife-torn Ukraine to continue their studies in India. Appearing before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India N. V. Ramana, Attorney General K. K. Venugopal said the court should leave it to the government to take a call on the representations.
Also read: Russia-Ukraine crisis live updates | March 21, 2022
22,500 Indians returned from Ukraine between February 1 and March 11: Govt
Around 22,500 Indian nationals returned to India from Ukraine between February 1 and March 11, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V.K. Singh said on March 21. The Ukrainian authorities shut down the country’s airspace for civilian aircraft after the Russian invasion on February 24.
Government mulls Covid booster shots for all above 18 years
he government is considering allowing booster dose of Covid vaccine for all those above 18 years in view of a surge in infections in parts of the world and ease difficulties faced during international travel, sources said on Monday. Currently, healthcare and frontline workers and those aged above 60 years are being administered precaution doses.
Rajya Sabha polls | Harbhajan Singh, Raghav Chadha among five AAP candidates
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has nominated former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Lovely Professional University founder Ashok Mittal, AAP MLA Raghav Chadha, IIT Delhi faculty Sandeep Pathak and industrialist Sanjeev Arora for the March 31 Rajya Sabha polls. All the five party nominees filed their nomination papers at the Punjab Vidhan Sabha complex in Chandigarh.
Should MPs’ 10-seat quota in central schools end? Govt. to discuss issue with parties
The government will discuss with political party leaders the issue of whether the privilege of MPs recommending the admission of 10 students to central schools in an academic year should end. The move came after the matter was discussed in the Lok Sabha on Monday and Speaker Om Birla directed Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to hold a meeting with the leaders of political parties in the House.
India’s 95% villages have schools within 5km, government tells Lok Sabha
More than 95% of villages in the country have secondary schools within a distance of 5km, Union Minister of State for Education Annapurna Devi said on March 21. She also informed Lok Sabha that more than 90% of villages have senior secondary schools within a distance of 7km. The Minister asserted that the government is committed to providing quality education by enhancing the standard of education and school infrastructure in the country, including in rural areas.
Army recruitment suspended due to COVID–19: Rajnath Singh tells Rajya Sabha
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday the recruitment process in the Army has been suspended for the past two years due to the COVID–19 pandemic. The written answer by the Minister to a question by CPI(M)’s V. Sivadasan however said that during the same period — 2020–21 and 2021–22 — the number of recruitments made in the Navy and the IAF stood at 8,269 and 13,032 respectively.
Markets pare early gains on boiling oil prices; Sensex tumbles over 571 points
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty pared their early gains to close nearly 1% lower on March 21 as surging oil prices played spoilsport amid prolonged Russia-Ukraine war. The 30-share Sensex plunged by 571.44 points or 0.99% to settle at 57,292.49. During the day, it tanked 634.85 points or 1.09% to 57,229.08.
Expect an uptick in COVID-19 cases in US due to new BA.2 variant, warns Fauci
A highly contagious sub-variant of Omicron variant of COVID-19, known as BA.2, could soon lead to another uptick in coronavirus cases in the US, the country’s top infectious disease expert has warned. White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said the subvariant is estimated to account for around 30% of all new cases in the US, and is also the most dominant variant in the country, CNBC reported on Sunday.
ICC Women’s World Cup | India can’t afford anymore slip-ups in must-win game against Bangladesh
An inconsistent India will have no room for errors when they take on a spirited Bangladesh in their must-win ICC Women’s World Cup league match in Hamilton on March 22. India’s problems have compounded over the course of their campaign, which has seen them win two games and lose three, including back-to-back defeats against England and Australia.
The Delhi High Court Monday said it would hear on May 10, pleas by Internet and social media giants, Facebook, Twitter and Google, challenging an order directing them to remove, block or disable on a global basis links to a video containing defamatory allegations against yoga guru Ramdev.
Chennai police nab five young men for bike stunts on Marina Beach Road
The Traffic Investigation Police, Adyar have apprehended five youths, including two juveniles, who indulged in bike stunts on Kamarajar Road near Vivakananda House last week. Despite the police conducting frequent vehicle checks on the city’s roads, a few youngsters managed to take their high-end bikes and indulged in wheeling and racing on the arterial road, reportedly, on Friday night. Videos of their antics went viral on social media platforms and WhatsApp groups soon after.
Charity Cup | Praggnanandhaa stuns World No. 3 Ding Liren
R. Praggnanandhaa continued to make strides by stunning World No. 3 Ding Liren and moving to the joint sixth spot after eight rounds of the $150,000 Charity Cup online rapid chess tournament on Sunday. Vidit Gujrathi, fourth overnight, slipped to the tied 10th spot following two defeats and P. Harikrishna not only remained undefeated during the day but also scored his first victory to climb to the joint 12th spot.
