TODAY NEWS ON March 22, 2025

News Headlines for CAT, CLAT and IPM aspirants

Source : THE HINDU

SC for transfer, in-house enquiry into cash pile allegation on Delhi HC judge

The Supreme Court on Friday (March 21, 2025) unanimously agreed to initiate an in-house enquiry into allegations against Delhi High Court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma, following reports of unaccounted cash found in his official residence. Senior judges of the Supreme Court had met in the morning to discuss the issue. Twelve Benches of the top court did not assemble at the usual court hours. The Supreme Court Collegium is also in favour of the judge’s transfer out of Delhi back to Allahabad High Court, from where he had been transferred to the national capital in October 2021.

Trump awards next-generation F-47 fighter jet contract to Boeing

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Boeing has been awarded the contract for the Air Force’s next-generation stealth fighter plane, which the 47th US president said would be named the F-47. “Nothing in the world comes even close to it, and it’ll be known as the F-47. The generals picked a title, and it’s a beautiful number, F-47,” said Mr. Trump at the White House. The contract aims to develop the replacement for the F-22 jet — which has been in operation for some two decades — with a new, more advanced aircraft able to operate alongside uncrewed drones.

Under threat from Trump, Columbia University agrees to policy changes

Under threat from the Trump administration, Columbia University has agreed to implement a suite of policy changes, including overhauling its rules for protests and conducting an immediate review of its Middle Eastern studies department. The changes, detailed in a letter sent by interim president, Katrina Armstrong, came one week after the Trump administration ordered the Ivy League school to implement those and other changes in order to continue receiving federal funding, an ultimatum widely criticised in academia as an attack on academic freedom.

As PM Modi’s Nagpur visit draws near, police focus on restoring normalcy in RSS hub

The Nagpur Police have arrested 99 people, registered 13 first information reports (FIRs), and started an investigation into the communal clashes that wracked the city centre on March 17, Police Commissioner Ravinder Singal told The Hindu on Friday. Normalcy is gradually returning to the city just days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit at the end of the month.

There is progress on GM food crops, says official

Ahead of a fresh series of hearings in the Supreme Court next month over genetically modified (GM) food crops, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) said there was “progress” on this front. “The matter is sub judice but GM mustard stories are being taken up again,” DBT Secretary Rajesh Gokhale said at a biotechnology event on Friday. The DBT, which has for years funded research and development into transgenic and GM food crops, comes under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

It is important for Indian students in U.S. to comply with local laws: MEA

Ranjani Srinivasan, the U.S.-based Indian scholar who took refuge in Canada after Columbia University cancelled her enrollment in a PhD programme, has not yet approached Indian missions in the U.S., the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday. Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated at a media briefing that neither Ms. Srinivasan nor Badar Khan Suri, a student at Georgetown University, had contacted Indian authorities.

U.S. senators push for more funding for California fire recovery

Two Democratic U.S. senators on Friday visited the charred ruins of Altadena nearly three months after a devastating fire and made a case for more funding to rebuild the California community. With burned residences and businesses in the background, senators Alex Padilla of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey said there were bright spots in the recovery. This included faster removal of toxic debris, initially expected to take 18 months and now projected to finish in less than a year.Heathrow Airport closes for the day after a fire knocks out power, disrupting hundreds of flights

Britain’s Heathrow Airport closed for the full day Friday (March 21, 2025) after an electrical substation fire knocked out its power, disrupting flights for hundreds of thousands of passengers at one of Europe’s biggest travel hubs. Flights were diverted to Gatwick Airport, Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and Ireland’s Shannon Airport, tracking services showed. At least 1,350 flights to and from Heathrow were affected already, including several from U.S. cities that were cancelled, flight tracking service FlightRadar 24 said.

Union Minister Annpurna Devi seeks Supreme Court intervention on Allahabad HC’s ruling in sexual assault case

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annpurna Devi on Friday (March 21, 2025) said she “completely disagreed” with Allahabad High Court’s ruling on what constituted rape or an attempt to rape and urged the Supreme Court to intervene in the matter. The High Court, in an order earlier this week, ruled that mere “grabbing of breasts and snapping pyjama strings did not amount to rape or attempt to rape” but fell under the ambit of assault or use of criminal force against any woman with the intent to disrobe or compel her to be naked.

Namibia’s first woman President Nandi-Ndaitwah to be sworn in on March 21

Southern Africa’s desert nation of Namibia swears in its first woman President on Friday (March 21, 2025) after Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah won elections last year that extended the ruling party’s 35-year grip on power. Ms. Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, will become one of the few women leaders in the region when she is inaugurated at a ceremony to be attended by heads of states of neighbouring countries including Angola and South Africa.