BJP will make backward class person as CM if elected to power, says Amit Shah
The BJP has decided to have a person from the backward classes as the Chief Minister if it is elected to power in Telangana in the current Assembly elections, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah on October 27. The ruling BRS is “anti-poor, anti-Dalit” and “anti-weaker sections” and along with the Congress Party, it was only interested in perpetuating dynastic rule. “Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s BRS and Sonia Gandhi’s Congress party are keen on making K.T. Rama Rao as Chief Minister and Rahul Gandhi as Prime Minister, respectively but not for the development or welfare of Telangana,” he charged.
Israel strikes outskirts of Gaza City during second ground raid in as many days
Israeli forces backed by fighter jets and drones carried out a second ground raid into Gaza in as many days and struck targets on the outskirts of Gaza City, the military said on October 27, as it prepares for a widely expected ground invasion of the Hamas-ruled territory. U.S. warplanes meanwhile struck targets in eastern Syria that the Pentagon said were linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard after a string of attacks on US forces by Iran-backed fighters, adding to the already high regional tensions fuelled by the three-week-old Gaza war.
Cross-border firing stops along IB in Jammu, border dwellers start returning home
The intermittent exchange of fire between Pakistani Rangers and BSF personnel along the International Border in Arnia and RS Pura sectors of Jammu district ended early on October 27, officials said. Scores of families that had fled the border hamlets overnight after the unprovoked firing by Pakistani Rangers have now started returning to their homes.
PM hails progress in 5G, electronics manufacturing in India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 27 hailed telecom operators’ progress in spreading 5G coverage in urban centres, saying that over 80% of India’s population now had access to the high speed technology. “Within a year of 5G launch, about 4 lakh 5G base stations have been built in India,” Mr. Modi said at the seventh India Mobile Congress event in New Delhi. “Improving internet connectivity and speed is not just about rankings and numbers,” Mr. Modi said, after mentioning Indian networks’ jump in global mobile data speed rankings.
Mahua Moitra writes to Lok Sabha ethics panel head seeking fresh date after November 5
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has written to the Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha stating that she cannot appear before it on October 31 in connection with cash-for-query allegations due to prior engagements and will be available only after November 5. Ms. Moitra, said in a post on X(formerly Twitter) that she eagerly look forward to physically attending and presenting her defence against the slanderous charges but was busy till November 4 on account of Durga Puja celebrations going on in West Bengal.
ED arrests West Bengal Minister Jyoti Priya Mullick in a case relating to PDS irregularities
The ED on October 27 arrested West Bengal Minister Jyoti Priya Mullick in a case relating to irregularities in the State’s public distribution system. Mr. Mullick was arrested in the early hours of October 27 after the ED conducted searches on eight of his properties for nearly 20 hours. “ I am a victim of a conspiracy,” Mr. Mullick said as he was being taken from his residence at Salt Lake in North 24 Parganas to ED office in Kolkata. When the Minister was taken for a medical check up, he blamed the BJP and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari for his arrest.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on October 27 announced five guarantees for the people of the State, including a law on Old Pension Scheme, buying cow dung and providing a laptop or a tablet to government college students, if his government is re-elected in the November 25 elections. Announcing his five guarantees, Mr. Gehlot promised school education in English medium, buying cow dung at ₹2 per kg under ‘godhan scheme’ and ₹15-lakh insurance cover for losses in natural disasters.
Punjab to allow only green firecrackers in festivals
The Punjab government has decided to allow the use of only green firecrackers on the occasions of Diwali, Gurpurab, Christmas and New Year, and any violation of the directions will invite immediate penal action. State’s Environment Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer on October 27 said the government has decided to allow only green crackers that do not use barium salt or compounds of antimony, lithium, mercury, arsenic, lead, or strontium chromate.
Shashi Tharoor’s Hamas reference at IUML pro-Palestine rally triggers political row in Kerala
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, MP, appeared to have put his party in an awkward spot by purportedly referring to Hamas as a terrorist organisation at the mammoth rally organised by the Indian Union Muslim League in Kozhikode on October 26 to proclaim solidarity with the Palestine cause. Congress leadership in Kerala was yet to react to the contentious usage, which drew onstage criticism from IUML leaders M.K. Muneer, MLA, and M.P. Abdussamad Samadani. Both termed their opposition to Israel’s expansionist policies in Gaza and the West Bank as “legitimate resistance.”
Amid massive search for mass killing suspect, Maine residents remain behind locked doors
Shocked and fearful Maine residents kept to their homes for a second night as hundreds of heavily armed police and FBI agents searched intensely for Robert Card, an Army reservist authorities say fatally shot 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar in the worst mass killing in state history. Much of Thursday’s (October 26) search focused on a property belonging to one of Card’s relatives in rural Bowdoin, where trucks and vans full of armed agents from the FBI and other agencies eventually surrounded a home. Card and anyone else inside were repeatedly ordered to surrender.
Abortion restrictions in Russia spark outrage as the country takes a conservative turn
Although abortion is still legal and widely available in Russia, recent attempts to restrict it have touched a nerve across the increasingly conservative country. Activists are urging supporters to make official complaints, circulating online petitions and even staging small protests. While only a proposal for now in Kaliningrad, private clinics elsewhere have begun to stop providing abortions. Nationwide, the Health Ministry has drawn up talking points for doctors to discourage women from terminating their pregnancies, and new regulations soon will make many emergency contraceptives virtually unavailable and drive up the cost of others.
Pakistan court rejects Imran Khan’s pleas for bail, cancellation of FIR in cipher case
A Pakistani court on October 27 rejected petitions by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking bail and cancellation of the first FIR in the cipher case for allegedly leaking state secrets and violating the laws of the country. Mr. Khan had approached the Islamabad High Court with the pleas for bail in the case as well as against the FIR which was registered by the Federal Investigation Agency in August. Chief Justice Aamer Farooq after the conclusion of the hearing had reserved judgment on October 16 which he announced on Friday.
Malaysia picks Sultan Ibrahim to be next king
Malaysia’s royalty on October 27 chose an influential sultan from the southern state of Johor to be the country’s next king. The position is largely ceremonial but oversees major appointments such as the Prime Minister and serves as the head of Islam in the Muslim-majority country and the commander-in-chief of its armed forces.
Retail onion price up 57%; Centre steps up buffer onion sale to provide relief to consumers
As the all-India average retail onion price shoots up by 57% to ₹47 per kg, the Centre on October 27 decided to step up the sale of buffer onion at a subsidised rate of ₹25 per kg in retail markets to provide relief to consumers. The all-India average retail price of onion rose to ₹47 per kg on October 27, from ₹30 per kg in the year-ago period, as per the data maintained by the consumer affairs ministry.
The Men in Blue, clad in their orange training jerseys, hit the ground running in Lucknow on October 27. As twilight merged into the night at the Ekana Stadium, frogs got busy croaking and a swarm of insects flew around the floodlights. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma’s men limbered up with a spot of fielding drills. Catches, both high and close-in, were practised and coach Rahul Dravid attempted to clear the ropes while keeping the fielders in the deep, interested. Almost the full squad, with the exception of Mohammed Shami and Ishan Kishan, were present for the optional nets at the venue, which will host Sunday’s World Cup game against a beleaguered England.
