Bishan Singh Bedi, former India captain and legendary spinner, passes away at 77
Former India captain and legendary spinner Bishan Singh Bedi passed away on October 23. He was 77-years-old. Born in Amritsar in 1946, Bedi played 67 Tests for India and took 266 wickets with 14 five wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul. He was the part of Indian cricket’s golden quartet of spinners, others being Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chadrasekhar and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, who formed the core of India’s bowling unit for more than a decade between 1966 and 1978.
Congress attacks government on issue of income inequality
The Congress on October 23 charged that the gap between the ultra-rich and the middle class in the country is widening under the Modi government. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said an analysis of the publicly available data on income tax returns for the period 2013-14 to 2021-22 confirms one of the essential themes of the Bharat Jodo Yatra — that of increasing income inequality. “The widening gap between the ultra-rich and the middle class under the Modi government is more and more apparent,” he said in a post on X.
Deep depression over Bay of Bengal may turn into cyclone by October 23: IMD
The deep depression formed over the Bay of Bengal may intensify into a cyclone by Monday evening (October 23), the IMD said in a bulletin. The cyclonic storm, after its formation, will be called ‘Hamoon’, a name given by Iran. The system is currently located in west-central Bay of Bengal after moving northeastwards on October 22 night. It lies centred around 400 km from Odisha’s Paradip and 550 km south-southwest of Digha in West Bengal.
Even bad Constitution turns out to be good if those running it are good, says CJI; quotes Ambedkar
However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those responsible for its functioning happen to be a “good lot,” Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud said while citing B. R. Ambedkar and hailing his idea of constitutionalism as being responsible for dismantling deeply entrenched caste hierarchy in India. The CJI made the observations during his keynote address at the Sixth International Conference on the ‘Unfinished Legacy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’ at the Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, in the U.S. on October 22.
Cooperation Minister Amit Mr. Shah on October 23 said the newly established National Cooperative for Exports Ltd. (NCEL) has bagged orders of ₹7,000 crore so far. Mr. Shah, who launched the new logo and website of NCEL in New Delhi, said the cooperative will ensure that benefits of exports reach member farmers of cooperatives and will share with them about 50% of the export profit over and above the minimum support price.
Ahmedabad industrialist Parag Desai dies of head injuries, sustained while escaping stray dog attack
Ahmedabad-based Parag Desai (49) Executive Director of Wagh Bakri Tea Group, succumbed to head injuries he had sustained after he fell down while trying to escape an attack by street dogs during his morning walk near his residence in Ambali Road area in the heart of the city. He had suffered a brain hemorrhage after a fall last week, and died in hospital on October 22.
At least two dead, three hurt in fire in residential building flat in Mumbai
Two persons, including an eight-year-old boy, died while three others were injured after a blaze broke out in a flat located on the first floor of an eight-storey residential building in suburban Borivali here on Monday afternoon, civic officials said. The fire erupted in a first-floor flat of Veena Santur Cooperative Housing Society at around 12:30 pm and spread to the electric wiring and installations on that floor, according to officials.
West Bengal passport scam: CBI arrests four officials
The CBI has arrested four officials of the Regional Passport Office in Kolkata in connection with a racket in which passports were issued to Nepalese citizens based on forged documents, officials said. The arrested officials — senior passport assistants Uttam Kumar, Debasis Bhattacharjee and Nishit Baran Saha and stenographer Manish Kumar Gupta — were presented before a special court in Gangtok recently, which remanded them to CBI custody till October 25, they said.
Delhi Govt identifies eight more pollution hotspots; will use dust suppressants: Gopal Rai
The government has identified eight more pollution hotspots in addition to the existing 13 in the national capital, and special teams will be deployed there to check pollution sources, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on October 23. After a meeting with 28 departments to ensure the effective implementation of pollution mitigation measures in the capital, Mr. Rai said the government has also decided to use dust suppressant powder to prevent dust pollution in the city.
In 2018 rerun, Bhupesh Baghel promises farm loan waiver if Congress wins Chhattisgarh Assembly polls
In a major announcement ahead of the next month’s assembly polls, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel on October 23 said if his party Congress retains power in the state, loans of farmers will be written off. The Congress had made a similar promise ahead of the 2018 assembly polls to farmers, a move which contributed in the party recording a landslide win and ending the 15-year rule of the BJP. The Baghel government had earlier said it fulfilled the 2018 promise and waived agriculture loans worth ₹9,270 crore of 18.82 lakh farmers in the State.
An Indian-American man Jasmer Singh living in Queens, New York has died following an attack that followed moments after his car accident, as per the police, CBS News reported. The accident took place on October 19 while Jasmer was driving his wife home from a doctor’s appointment in preparation for a trip to India this coming week. On the Van Wyck Expressway, Jasmer’s car bumped into another driver and that driver went on a rampage against him, according to CBS News.
Israel-Hamas war | Israel mounts limited Gaza ground raids, puts hostage number at 222
Israel’s military said on October 23 its ground forces had mounted limited raids into the Gaza Strip overnight and said their air strikes were focusing on sites where Palestinian militants were assembling to attack any wider Israeli invasion. Palestinian group Hamas said on October 22 that its fighters had engaged what it described as an armoured force infiltrating a southern area of Gaza and had destroyed some Israeli military equipment. Also, in a televised briefing, chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said 222 people had now been confirmed as taken hostage by the Hamas. Meanwhile, a third convoy of aid trucks entered the Rafah crossing from Egypt on the day bound for the besieged Gaza Strip, an aid worker and two security sources said.
15 killed, several injured in train accident in Bangladesh
At least 15 people were killed and several others injured on October 23 when a freight train collided with a passenger train in Bangladesh, officials said. The accident took place when the freight train headed towards Chattogram collided with the Dhaka-bound Egaro Sindur Express around 3.30 pm (local time) in Bhairab upazila, Kishoreganj, Bhairab Railway Police Station duty officer Sirajul Islam told the media.
May 9 violence | Pakistan Supreme Court declares military trials of civilians ‘null and void’
Pakistan’s Supreme Court on October 23 declared the trial of civilians arrested following the violent protests on May 9 in military courts as “null and void” and ordered authorities to conduct their hearing in ordinary courts. A five-member bench of the Supreme Court led by Justice Ijazul Ahsan in its short verdict ordered that 102 accused arrested under the Army Act be tried in the criminal court.
Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan charged in cipher case
A special court in Pakistan on October 23 indicted that former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the cipher case for allegedly violating the secret laws of the country. Mr. Khan, 71, was arrested in August after a case was filed against him for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act by disclosing a secret diplomatic cable (cipher) sent by the country’s embassy in Washington in March last year. Former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also indicted along with Khan.
India will remain fastest-growing major economy in FY’24: Finance Ministry report
India will remain the fastest-growing major economy in the world in 2023-24 fiscal on the back of strong domestic fundamentals and benign inflation expectations, a Finance Ministry report said on October 23. The September edition of the Monthly Economic Review also flagged that global uncertainties have been compounded by recent developments in the Persian Gulf and depending on how the situation develops, crude oil prices may push higher.
PAK vs AFG | Fifties from Babar, Shafique help Pakistan post 282/7
Opting to bat, Pakistan scored 282 for 7 in their World Cup match against Afghanistan in Chennai on October 23. Captain Babar Azam top-scored with 74 off 92 deliveries while opener Abdullah Shafique contributed 58. Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed made 40 each down the order to take the score past 280. Noor Ahmad was the most successful Afghan bowler with figures of 3/49 while Naveen-ul-Haq chipped in with 2/52.
