Former BJP MLA, Prahlad Gunjal, who recently joined the Congress party, will take on outgoing Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in Rajasthan’s Kota Lok Sabha seat, as the Congress announced its sixth list of candidates on March 25. With five names in the fresh list, the Congress has, so far, announced a total of 190 candidates. In Rajasthan, the party also fielded Ramchandra Choudhary from Ajmer, Sudarshan Rawat from Rajsamand and Damodar Gurjar from Bhilwara.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun to step down in management shakeup amid safety crisis
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will step down by year-end, in a broad management shake-up brought on by the planemaker’s sprawling safety crisis stemming from a January mid-air panel blowout on a 737 MAX plane. The plane-maker also said that Stan Deal, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO, would retire, and Stephanie Pope would lead that business. Steve Mollenkopf has been appointed the new chair of the board.
Jaishankar meets Singapore PM Lee and senior Ministers to further deepen bilateral ties
External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar on March 25 called on Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and other senior ministers and discussed ways to further the strategic bilateral ties, and the situation in the Indo-Pacific and West Asia regions. Apart from foreign minister Balakrishnan, Jaishankar held separate meetings with Minister of Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong and Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean.
ED takes cognisance of directions issued by Kejriwal to Delhi govt from custody
The Enforcement Directorate has taken cognisance of Delhi Minister Atishi’s statement that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sent her directions from the agency’s custody to initiate public welfare works related to water and sewerage, official sources said. The federal agency will conduct an investigation to ascertain if these directions from the arrested Chief Minister were in line with the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court’s order issued to the ED and Mr. Kejriwal during his custody period, the sources said.
Mahakal fire | 14 injured; CM announces assistance of ₹1 lakh each, free treatment
Fourteen priests, including assistants, were injured in a fire that broke out in the Mahakal Temple in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh on March 25 during ‘bhasma aarti’. The blaze took place in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple at 5:50am, Ujjain Collector Neeraj Kumar Singh said. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said the injured will be given assistance of ₹1 lakh each as well as the best available treatment for free. The administration will take all efforts to ensure such an incident does not take place again, the CM added.
India-Sri Lanka joint working group on fisheries will meet soon, Centre tells Madras High Court
The Centre on Monday informed the Madras High Court that though it had proposed to conduct the sixth meeting of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on Fisheries in November or December last year, the proposal did not fructify due to internal issues in the island nation. The submissions were made in a counter-affidavit filed in response to a public interest litigation petition filed by Fishermen Care, a private organisation, complaining about frequent arrest of fishermen from Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan Navy and the damage caused to their boats.
Ph.D. student from India Cheistha Kochhar dies after being run over by truck in London
An Indian student died after being run over by a truck while cycling back to her apartment in London last week, according to a social media post by Niti Aayog former CEO Amitabh Kant. 33-year-old Cheistha Kochhar was a Ph.D. student at the London School of Economics, her father retired Lieutenant General Dr. S.P. Kochhar said in a post on LinkedIn. Cheistha Kochhar, who had previously worked with the public policy think-tank NITI Aayog, was pursuing her Ph.D. in Behavioural Science from LSE.
BRS completes announcement of candidates for all 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi has officially declared its candidates for all 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana for the 2024 general elections. The announcement of Gaddam Srinivas Yadav for the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat on March 25 marks the culmination of the candidate selection process. It appears that BRS president and former CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao had explored all avenues for ‘social equity’ in the selection process.
Janardhana Reddy rejoins BJP, merges his KRPP with saffron party
Mining baron and Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha MLA G. Janardhana Reddy on March 25 merged his party with the BJP and formally rejoined the saffron party along with his wife Aruna Lakshmi and other followers. Though Mr. Reddy had formally quit the BJP by floating his own political outfit in December 2022 ahead of the previous Assembly elections, in reality he had disassociated himself from the BJP for more than a decade, ever since legal issues related to mining had impacted his political position and relations with the party.
Four men accused of staging the Russia concert hall attack that killed more than 130 people appeared before a Moscow court on March 24 on terrorism charges showing signs of severe beatings. One appeared to be barely conscious during the hearing. Court statements said two of the suspects accepted their guilt in the assault, though the men’s condition raised questions about whether they were speaking freely. There had been conflicting reports in Russian media outlets that said three or all four men admitted culpability.
President Emmanuel Macron says IS behind Russia attack, also targeted France
French President Emmanuel Macron on March 25 said France has information that Islamic State (IS) carried out the deadly attack in a Moscow concert hall on March 22, warning Russia against exploiting the attack by blaming it on Ukraine. France has intelligence that “it was an entity of Islamic State that planned the attack and carried it out,” Mr. Macron said.
Philippines lodges its ‘strongest protest’ against China over a water cannon assault in disputed sea
The Philippines lodged its “strongest protest” against Beijing on March 25 and summoned a senior Chinese diplomat over a water cannon assault by the Chinese coast guard that injured Filipino navy crew members and heavily damaged their boat in the disputed South China Sea, officials said. Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Theresa Lazaro in a phone call with her Chinese counterpart expressed “the Philippines’ strongest protest against the aggressive actions undertaken by the China coast guard and Chinese maritime militia against the rotation and resupply mission undertaken by the Philippines,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena arrives on six-day visit to China
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena arrived at Beijing on March 25 for a six-day official visit during which he will hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on ways to further deepen bilateral ties. “Mr. Gunawardena was received on his arrival by Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister and former Ambassador to India Sun Weidong,” Chinese official media reported.
Magnitude of 6.9 earthquake rocks Papua New Guinea; five killed, 1,000 homes destroyed
At least five people were killed and an estimated 1,000 homes destroyed when a magnitude 6.9 earthquake rocked Papua New Guinea, officials said on March 25 as disaster crews poured into the region. Dozens of villages nestled on the banks of the country’s famed Sepik River were already battling soaking floods when the quake struck early on March 24 morning. “So far, around 1,000 homes have been lost,” said East Sepik Governor Allan Bird, adding that emergency crews were “still assessing the impact” from a tremor that “damaged most parts of the province”.
In a first, Amul to launch fresh milk in U.S. within a week: MD Jayen Mehta
For the first time, Amul fresh milk will be available outside India, with the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation launching four variants of milk in the U.S. market within a week, to cater to Indian diaspora and Asian population. “We have been exporting dairy products for many decades. This is the first time we are launching fresh milk outside India,” GCMMF MD Jayen Mehta told PTI. He said “the GCMMF has tied up with 108-year old cooperative organisation Michigan Milk Producers Association to launch fresh milk in the U.S. market.”
IPL 2024 | BCCI releases full schedule; Chennai to host final on May 26
Chennai was on March 25 named the venue of this year’s IPL final on May 26 and was also awarded hosting rights of the second qualifier on May 24 as the BCCI unveiled the tournament’s complete schedule, factoring in the polling dates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Chennai has been awarded the final as the Chennai Super Kings are the defending champions. The title-holders get to host the opening and the final game of the tournament as per established convention. The other two marquee play-off matches will be hosted by Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on May 21 and 22 respectively.
