TODAY NEWS ON October 25, 2024

News Headlines for CAT, CLAT and IPM aspirants

Source: The Hindu

National News

• Severe cyclone Dana makes landfall along Odisha coast
• Two jawans, two Army porters injured in militant attack in J&K’s Baramulla
• India, China begin disengagement at Depsang and Demchok
• Canada backstabbed India, its behaviour ‘the pits’; Khalistan a criminal enterprise, says Sanjay Verma
• National Testing Agency remains tight-lipped on possible changes to NEET 2025 exam pattern
• Supreme Ceourt finds discrepancy in L-G’s version on when he came to know of tree-felling in ridge area
• Over 70 flights receive bomb threats on October 24 alone, taking total to 250 in 11 days
• Terrorists shoot U.P. labourer in J&K’s Tral; 3rd attack in one week
• BRICS is a statement of how profoundly world order is changing: EAM Jaishankar
• Delhi-based app developer buys JioHotStar domain, hopes to sell it to Reliance
• Former Indian women’s hockey skipper Rani Rampal announces retirement

International News

• President Muizzu to take 50% salary cut amid worsening financial crunch in the Maldives
• Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s wife released on bail in Toshkhana corruption case
• Security forces kill nine militants in northwest Pakistan
• Donald Trump accused of groping model he met through Jeffrey Epstein
• Hezbollah arms factories hit in south Beirut strikes: Israel Army

Headlines in Detail

Severe cyclone Dana makes landfall along Odisha coast

The landfall process of severe cyclonic storm Dana began on Thursday (October 24, 2024) night and was expected to continue till Friday morning, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The storm moved north-northwest at a speed of 15 kmph over the past six hours before making landfall between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district and Dhamra in Bhadrak district, with wind speeds of around 110 kmph, a senior IMD official said.

Two jawans, two Army porters injured in militant attack in J&K’s Baramulla

Two Army personnel and two porters were injured in a firefight with militants in north Kashmir’s Baramulla on Thursday, officials said. In a separate incident, a non-local worker was injured after being fired at by suspected militants in south Kashmir’s Pulwama, as the valley witnessed a sudden spurt in terror attacks over the past one week.

India, China begin disengagement at Depsang and Demchok

India and China have begun disengaging from Depsang and Demchok, the last two friction points of the 2020 standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, two official sources confirmed independently on Thursday (October 24, 2024). The process started on Tuesday and it will take few days to remove the structures erected during the stand-off and restore the landforms, one of the sources said.

Congress announces first list of 48 candidates for Maharashtra polls, retains 25 sitting MLAs

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar and State unit chief Nana Patole are among 48 candidates that the Congress announced on Thursday (October 24, 2024) for the upcoming Assembly election in Maharashtra. The party has retained 25 sitting MLAs in the first list.

Justice Sanjiv Khanna to take oath as Chief Justice of India on November 11

The Union government on Thursday notified the appointment of Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the 51st Chief Justice of India with effect from November 11. Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, who is scheduled to retire on November 10, had recommended Justice Khanna as his successor in office, on October 17.

Canada backstabbed India, its behaviour ‘the pits’; Khalistan a criminal enterprise, says Sanjay Verma

Calling Canada’s behaviour “the pits”, India’s recalled High Commissioner Sanjay Verma says India was backstabbed and treated in a most unprofessional manner by a country that is supposed to be a friendly democracy. He said that “a handful” of supporters of Khalistan have turned the ideology into a criminal enterprise, which indulges in a range of activities such as gun-running and human trafficking and yet the Canadian authorities turn a blind eye because they comprise a vocal electoral bank for local politicians.

National Testing Agency remains tight-lipped on possible changes to NEET 2025 exam pattern

Speculation about changes in the exam pattern for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2025 continues, with the National Testing Agency (NTA) only maintaining that it is awaiting a report of the high-powered expert committee, which was formed on the directions of the Supreme Court. The committee was constituted to look into measures to enhance the NEET exam process.

Supreme Court finds discrepancy in L-G’s version on when he came to know of tree-felling in ridge area

The Supreme Court on Thursday found that Delhi Lieutenant-Governor and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) ex-officio Chairperson V.K. Saxena’s version on oath in a personal affidavit about when exactly he came to know that trees were illegally felled in the protected ridge area did not match with official records.

President Muizzu to take 50% salary cut amid worsening financial crunch in the Maldives

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu will take a 50% salary cut as part of his government’s efforts to cut costs, as the country braces itself for a possibly severe financial crunch. President Muizzu announced “special measures” in line with his government’s “economic reform agenda” proposed as part of the 2025 national budget.

Over 70 flights receive bomb threats on October 24 alone, taking total to 250 in 11 days

More than 70 flights of various Indian airlines received bomb threats on Thursday (October 24, 2024), according to sources. The sources said around 20 flights each of Air India, Vistara, and IndiGo have got the threats while Akasa Air has got the threats for about 14 flights. In 11 days, nearly 250 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received the bomb threats. An Akasa Air spokesperson said some of its flights operating on October 24 have received security alerts.

Terrorists shoot U.P. labourer in J&K’s Tral; 3rd attack in one week

Terrorists shot at and injured a labourer from Uttar Pradesh in the Tral area of Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir Thursday morning, officials said. Shubam Kumar, a resident of Bijnore, received a gunshot injury in the arm when the terrorists fired at him at Batagund village, the officials said. They said Mr. Kumar has been rushed to a hospital for treatment.

BRICS is a statement of how profoundly world order is changing: EAM Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at the 16th BRICS Summit in BRICS Plus format highlighted the significant strides made by nations that have gained independence from colonial rule, noting their accelerated development and socio-economic progress and asserted that the “BRICS itself is a statement of how profoundly the old order is changing.” Addressing the summit, Mr. Jaishankar said, “On the one hand, there is the steady diversification of production and consumption. Nations that attained independence from colonialism have accelerated their development and socio-economic progress. New capabilities emerged, facilitating the harnessing of more talent.”

Delhi-based app developer buys JioHotStar domain, hopes to sell it to Reliance

A Delhi-based app developer has bought jiohotstar.com domain hoping that once the upcoming merger between Reliance’s Viacom18 and Disney+ Hotstar is finalised, Reliance will buy the domain back from him. The techie plans to use the proceeds from the possible sale to fund their higher education. The $8.5 billion merger between Viacom18 and Disney’s HotStar was signed earlier this year, and is pending regulatory approvals. The deal is expected to be finalised in November, which could create one of India’s biggest media and entertainment entities.

Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s wife released on bail in Toshkhana corruption case

Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan’s jailed former Premier Imran Khan, was on Thursday (October 24, 2024) released on bail nearly nine months after her arrest in the Toshakhana corruption case. The release came a day after the Islamabad High Court judge, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, accepted the bail plea of the 50-year-old former first lady against a surety bond of PKR 1 million.

Security forces kill nine militants in northwest Pakistan

Pakistani security forces killed nine terrorists, including two suicide bombers and a “high-value” terrorist, during an operation in the country’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said on Thursday, October 24, 2024. The intelligence-based operation was conducted late on Wednesday (October 23, 2024) in the Bajaur district of the province, according to the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Donald Trump accused of groping model he met through Jeffrey Epstein

A former model has accused Donald Trump of groping her after the two were introduced by sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein in the 1990s, The Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday (October 23, 2024). Stacey Williams said she met the Republican White House candidate at a party in 1992 after being introduced by the disgraced financier, whom she had dated. “It became very clear then that he and Donald were really, really good friends and spent a lot of time together,” Ms. Williams was quoted as saying.

Hezbollah arms factories hit in south Beirut strikes: Israel Army

The Israeli military said on Thursday (October 24, 2024) it hit several Hezbollah weapons production facilities in overnight strikes on the group’s south Beirut stronghold. “Overnight, the IAF (air force) conducted intelligence-based strikes on several weapons storage and manufacturing facilities belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation in the area of Dahiyeh,” the military said in a statement. Lebanese state media reported that six buildings were levelled in at least 17 Israeli strikes during the night.

Former Indian women’s hockey skipper Rani Rampal announces retirement

Former Indian women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal announced her retirement on Thursday (October 24, 2024), ending a glittering 16-year career during which she became an inspiration for beating abject poverty and conservative views at a small town in Haryana where her father worked as a cart-puller. The-29-year-old will sign off as one of India’s most decorated hockey players after leading the women’s team to its best-ever finish at the Olympics — a fourth place at the Tokyo Games in 2021.