TODAY NEWS ON April 17, 2024

News Headlines for CAT,CLAT and IPM aspirants

Supreme Court says EVMs are accurate unless they are maligned by human bias

The Supreme Court on Tuesday disagreed with the idea of a return to paper ballots to restore the “little man’s” confidence in the electoral process, saying machines give “absolutely accurate results” unless human bias maligns them. “Human weaknesses, including bias, may lead to a problem. Machines without human intervention would give absolutely accurate results,” Justice Sanjiv Khanna, heading a two-judge Bench, observed.

X takes down four posts by leaders of BJP, AAP, YSR Congress, TDP on Election Commission of India order

Social media platform X (formerly Twitter), released a letter by the Election Commission of India (EC) ordering a takedown of four posts on the platform by political leaders in the YSR Congress Party, the Telugu Desam Party, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party. The company said that it disagrees with the takedown order issued by the EC, and that “freedom of expression should extend to these posts and political speech in general”. The company has taken the tweets down in India, but they are visible from non-Indian Internet connections.

Heavy floods hit Dubai, airport as Oman toll rises to 18

Torrential rain flooded roads, homes and malls and briefly halted operations at Dubai’s airport as storms lashed the Gulf on Tuesday, after leaving at least 18 dead in Oman. The airport began diverting all incoming flights.

In letter to Irish newspaper, Indian Ambassador Akhilesh Mishra praises PM Modi, criticises Opposition

The Indian Ambassador to Ireland Akhilesh Mishra has come into international attention after he wrote a letter to a prominent Irish newspaper defending Prime Minister Narendra Modi which also criticised the Congress era as a rule “by a single dynastic party”. The issue acquired prominence after the Embassy of India in Dublin on April 15 used the official handle of the mission on social media platform ‘X’ to put out a letter that Mr. Mishra had written to the editors of The Irish Times protesting against a recent editorial which took note of the arrest of the serving Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and said ‘an intolerant Hindu-first majoritarianism is the order of the day’ in India.

Centre says it does not maintain record of CAA applications

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has said the government does not have a provision to maintain the record of applications received under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). In a Right to Information query, Ajay Bose, a resident of Amravati in Maharashtra, had sought information about the total number of persons who have applied for citizenship after CAA rules were notified on March 11.

Police in some States are recording mob lynching cases as brawls or accidents, Supreme Court told

The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard a petitioner’s contention that mob lynching incidents are recorded by the police in certain States as brawls or accidents. Appearing before a three-judge Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai, advocate Nizam Pasha, representing the petitioner, the National Federation of Women, claimed that this was a deliberate ploy by authorities to skirt their responsibility under the court’s Tehseen Poonawala judgment.

Germany’s Scholz seeks Chinese role in ‘just peace’ for Ukraine

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday he hoped Berlin and Beijing could help achieve a “just peace” in Ukraine, as he met President Xi Jinping in the Chinese capital. The Chancellor arrived in China on Sunday, accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and business executives on his second visit to the country since taking office. Meeting with Mr. Xi at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on Tuesday, Mr. Scholz told the Chinese leader he hoped to discuss “how we can contribute more to a just peace in Ukraine”.

ZEE withdraws from NCLT application to merge operations with Sony

ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd on Tuesday said it has withdrawn its application, seeking implementation of the merger with Sony, filed before the National Company Law Tribunal Mumbai bench. The company filed an application with the NCLT on January 24, 2024, seeking directions on the implementation of a composite scheme of arrangement between ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) and Sony group firms Culver Max Entertainment Pvt Ltd and Bangla Entertainment Pvt Ltd.

Chhattisgarh | At least 18 Naxalites killed in encounter with security personnel in Kanker

At least 18 Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district on April 16, police said. Three security personnel suffered injuries in the fierce gun-battle and a large quantity of weapons was also recovered from the spot, they said. The gunfight took place at around 2 pm in Hapatola forest between Binagunda and Koronar villages under Chhotebethiya police station limits, when a joint team of the Border Security Force and the state’s District Reserve Guard was out on an anti-Naxal operation, a senior police official said.

UPSC Civil Services 2023 results declared, Aditya Srivastava secures top rank

The Union Public Service Commission on April 16 declared the results for the Civil Services Exam 2023, with Aditya Srivastava securing the top rank. Animesh Pradhan and Donuru Ananya Reddy secured the second and third ranks respectively, it said. Srivastava qualified the examination with Electrical Engineering as his optional subject. He has done his graduation (B Tech.) in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur.

Patanjali advertisements case | Supreme Court gives penitent Ramdev a week to take redeeming steps

Facing contempt action, a visibly contrite Baba Ramdev and his associate Acharya Balkrishna unconditionally apologised in an open court room on Tuesday for violating a Supreme Court order to not advertise the herbal wares of their company, Patanjali Ayurved, even as the Supreme Court said they are still “ not off the hook”. A Bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah gave the self-styled yoga guru and his associate a week to prove they were truly apologetic.

Lok Sabha polls | ECI bans Randeep Surjewala from campaigning for 48 hours over remarks on Hema Malini

The Election Commission of India on April 16 barred Congress leader Randeep Surjewala from campaigning for 48 hours over his alleged derogatory remarks against BJP MP Hema Malini. This is the first campaign ban imposed by the poll body in this Lok Sabha election cycle. The ECI on April 9 issued a show-cause notice to Mr. Surjewala for his alleged “undignified, uncivilised and vulgar” remarks against Ms. Hema Malini.

Further escalation of tension between Iran and Israel may push up oil prices, says External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has expressed fear that any further escalation in the tension between Iran and Israel may have big consequences for India as it may push up oil prices. In an informal interaction with media persons in Bengaluru on April 16, Mr. Jaishankar observed that any escalation of the Middle East tension would translate to an increase in import costs, shipping costs, insurance costs and energy costs besides pushing up oil prices.

India aims to achieve debris-free space missions by 2030

India has made a declaration to achieve debris-free space missions by 2030. Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman S. Somanath made the declaration on April 16, at the 42nd Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee annual meet. “This initiative aims to achieve debris-free space missions by all Indian space actors, governmental and non-governmental, by 2030. India encourages all state space actors to follow this initiative for long-term sustainability of outer space,” Mr. Somanath said.

Sri Lanka to resume talks with bond holders soon

The Sri Lankan government, which is trying to finalise a debt treatment plan with its private creditors, will resume talks with them in London after the World Bank’s Spring Meetings in Washington DC concludes later this week, authorities said. “We are confident that we will be able to talk to ISB holders and come to a final settlement before the IMF holds their next meeting in June where Sri Lanka’s third tranche will be released,” Sagala Ratnayake, Senior Adviser to the President on National Security and Chief of the Presidential Staff told local media on April 15.

Israel’s military chief says that Israel will respond to Iran’s weekend missile attack

Israel’s military chief said on April 15 that his country would respond to Iran’s weekend attack, but he did not elaborate on when and how as world leaders urged against retaliation, trying to avoid a spiral of violence in the Middle East. The Iranian attack on April 13 came in response to a suspected Israeli strike two weeks earlier on an Iranian consular building in the Syrian capital of Damascus that killed two Iranian generals. It marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel despite decades of enmity dating back to the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Biden unlikely to enforce existing U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil exports after Israel attack

Iran’s missile and drone strike on Israel is unlikely to prompt dramatic sanctions action on Iran’s oil exports from the Biden administration due to worries about boosting oil prices and angering top buyer China, said analysts. Shortly after Tehran launched its weekend attack — retaliation for Israel’s suspected April 1 strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus — House Republican leaders accused President Joe Biden of failing to enforce existing measures and said they would take up this week a series of bills to sharpen sanctions on Iran.

IPL-17: GT vs DC | Gujarat Titans, Delhi Capitals search for consistency

Gujrat Titans will be striving for much needed consistency when they meet Delhi Capitals in an Indian Premier League match in Ahmedabad on April 17. Unlike the past two editions, the Gujarat Titans have not been able to play like a well-oiled machine though they still have time to fix the flaws.

IPL-17: KKR vs RR | Buttler nails an improbable chase with a Royal ton

Jos Buttler played one of the greatest IPL knocks on Tuesday night. His sensational 107 not out (60b, 9x4, 6x6) gave Rajasthan Royals an unforgettable — and for much of the match — an unlikely last-ball win against Kolkata Knight Riders. The two-wicket victory has consolidated Royals’ position at the top of the table.

Champions League | Mbappe scores twice as PSG beats 10-man Barcelona to reach semifinals

Paris St Germain’s Kylian Mbappe scored twice in the second half to help guide his side to a 4-1 comeback win at 10-man Barcelona in their Champions League quarter-final, second leg to wrap up a 6-4 aggregate victory on Tuesday. PSG will play Borussia Dortmund, which beat Atletico Madrid in a thriller.

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