In a change in strategy, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, announced that the House will hold a formal vote on the impeachment inquiry. The vote, which is planned for Thursday, comes some five weeks after House Democrats launched an inquiry into whether President Donald Trump …
Read More »Yearly Archives: 2019
Post-monsoon season sees excess rainfall
A prolonged south west monsoon, the onset of the north east monsoon, and cyclone Kyarr have resulted in a wet October across the State. October to December is considered the post-monsoon period, which includes the north east monsoon. Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/post-monsoon-season-sees-excess-rainfall/article29828073.ece
Read More »Justice Bobde appointed next CJI
The most senior judge of the Supreme Court will take charge on November 18 from Ranjan Gogoi Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde was appointed the next Chief Justice of India (CJI) on Tuesday after President Ram Nath Kovind signed the warrant of his appointment. The 63-year-old judge will take oath as …
Read More »City’s air quality dips with spike in stubble burning
Delhi’s air quality deteriorated further on Tuesday and remained one notch short of the ‘severe’ category (AQI 401), the worst for this season so far. The Air Quality Index on Tuesday was recorded at 400, ‘very poor’ category, at 4 p.m., which is the average of the past 24 hours, …
Read More »Questions grow over NGO’s invite to MEPs
NGO inviting MEPs claimed PM wanted to meet them, promised “VIP” visit The Members of European Parliament (MEPs) visiting India were promised a “prestigious VIP meeting” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the NGO that organised the visit claimed that he wanted to meet them as “influential decision-makers from the …
Read More »‘Kudankulam nuclear plant didn’t come under cyberattack’
Officials deny that the power unit site was hacked Hours after a cybersecurity expert claimed on Twitter that the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant’s (KKNPP) domain controller-level access could have been compromised, officials categorically denied it on Tuesday. KKNPP Site Director Sanjay Kumar said the totally isolated network of KKNPP could …
Read More »India, Saudi Arabia constitute Strategic Partnership Council
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the formation of the India-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council that will be led by the leaderships of both countries. The announcement was made in Saudi capital Riyadh where Prime Minister Modi paid a visit during October 28-29. The Indian leader thanked the hosts for …
Read More »European lawmakers begin J&K visit
As many as 23 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) arrived in Kashmir on a two-day visit on Tuesday to assess the ground situation after scrapping of J&K’s special status and recorded the feedback from the Army, local officials and 15 delegations, as the Valley observed a complete shutdown and …
Read More »Hartal to mourn Pheruman
Hartal was observed throughout Punjab today [October 28] in memory of Mr. Darshan Singh Pheruman, who died in Amritsar yesterday on the 74th day of his fast for the inclusion of Chandigarh in Punjab. The offices of the Punjab Government also remained closed. The last rites of Mr. Pheruman were …
Read More »Death of a terrorist
The death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the founder-leader of the Islamic State, is a major setback to the dreaded terrorist organisation. Baghdadi, who rose to international notoriety in July 2014 when he appeared in the pulpit of Mosul’s grand al-Nuri mosque as the leader of the new ‘Caliphate’ announced by …
Read More »Limits of hype
While retaining power via a post-poll tie-up, BJP will have to recognise the mandate’s nature By winning the support of the JJP to form a government in Haryana, the BJP has surmounted its failure in the recent Assembly election to win a clear majority from the people directly for a …
Read More »Vaping is injurious to health
Measures being taken against e-cigarette companies in the U.S. could result in a dip in sales The absence of vaping-related illnesses in the last 10 years that have seen increased use has often been cited to silence the critics of electronic cigarettes. But that is changing today. As of October …
Read More »The many gaps in NCRB data
While the 2017 reports released last week by the National Crime Records Bureau present numbers on different aspects of the criminal justice system, there are crucial gaps in the data collected. Further, the opacity surrounding the methodology for collection and compilation makes the data obscure and renders them ineffective for …
Read More »Election takeaways for the Congress
For the Indian National Congress that was anticipating a wipe-out in Maharashtra and Haryana, the Assembly elections that just concluded in these two States have revived hope in an organisation that has been in a comatose state since the general election earlier this year. In Maharashtra, the party, in partnership …
Read More »The power of ordinary people
When Gandhi went to England in 1931 to attend the Second Round Table Conference, one of his close aides suggested that he retreat for the weekend to Oxford in order to reflect on the “big questions of principle involved in negotiations”. It would also afford an opportunity to have informal, …
Read More »Settling the Ayodhya case once and for all
The Ayodhya issue is tantalisingly poised and there are only guesses about how the case could pan out — the Supreme Court of India had allowed arguments before the court and mediation talks to proceed simultaneously. It has been an unusual step. The dichotomy of this approach could perhaps be …
Read More »‘Deep discounts by e-com firms hitting GST revenue’
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has written to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman alleging loss of GST revenue to the government due to deep discounting by e-commerce firms, particularly Amazon and Flipkart. Seeking investigation into the business model of both the players, CAIT said e-commerce companies sell goods much …
Read More »Third Brexit delay comes with conditions
French President Emmanuel Macron had been the main hurdle to giving Britain a Brexit extension, arguing there had to be a good reason for a delay and that the British needed to break their own political deadlock. But a source close to Mr. Macron said the prospect of an election …
Read More »Second round of Smart Cities may roll out in 2020
He said the exact number of cities to be covered — whether 50 or all the remaining 35% — would have to be decided. Another option, he said, would be to include the projects under the newly formed Jal Shakti Ministry’s mandate. “In some respects we have been overtaken by …
Read More »AIUDF chief Ajmal rejects Assam two-child policy
Lok Sabha member and president of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) Badruddin Ajmal said the Assam government’s two-child policy for job eligibility will not stop Muslims from producing children. The State’s junior Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Pijush Hazarika, termed his view “provocative” and “insensitive” to the …
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