Nepal plane crash: 18 dead as Saurya Airlines plane crashes during takeoff in Kathmandu; pilot lone survivor
At least 18 people were killed when a domestic airline plane crashed during takeoff at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, on July 24. The pilot survived and is receiving treatment at a hospital, officials said. There were 19 people onboard the plane, which was headed to Pokhara, a tourist destination which is a 25-minute flight from Kathmandu. The incident took place at 11:11 a.m. (local time).
Budget 2024: Opposition walks out of Rajya Sabha over ‘neglect’ of States; Nirmala Sitharaman hits back
The INDIA bloc parties, led by the Congress, staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha on July 24, in protest against all States, except two, being “ignored” in the Union Budget, an allegation termed “outrageous” by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who said all the States never found a mention in any of the previous Budgets, including those presented by the Congress. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Sonia Gandhi, Congress President and Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, party General Secretary K. C. Venugopal, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC MP Dola Sen were seen participating in the protest.
Supreme Court directs Haryana, Punjab to maintain status quo at Shambhu border
Observing that there is a trust deficit between the farmers and the government, the Supreme Court on July 24 proposed constitution of an independent committee comprising eminent persons to reach out to the protesters to find a solution to their demands. A three-judge Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant said there is a need for a “neutral umpire” who can inspire confidence between the farmers and the government.
Farmer leaders from six States meet Rahul Gandhi
A delegation of farmer leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka met Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in Parliament House complex on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, and apprised him of the issues being faced by the tillers. Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal, former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Congress leaders Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa,Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Dharamvir Gandhi, Amar Singh, Deepender Singh Hooda and Jai Prakash were also present in the meeting.
No wrongdoing found in issuance of locomotor disability certificate to Puja Khedkar: Hospital authorities
A civic hospital near Pune, which had issued a 7% locomotor disability certificate to IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, has found in its internal probe that the document was as per the rules and there was no wrongdoing in its issuance, a senior official said on July 24. The Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital, run by the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) near Pune city, had issued the certificate to Khedkar in August 2022.
Bihar Assembly passes Bill to prevent question paper leaks in government recruitment exams
The Bihar Assembly on July 24 passed a Bill aimed at curbing the scourge of question paper leaks and other malpractices in government recruitment examinations in the State. The Bihar Public Examinations (PE) (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, was tabled by State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and passed with voice vote amidst a walkout by the Opposition. The new legislation aims at curbing malpractices in competitive examinations, including the leak of question papers, in the State which, incidentally, has been at the centre of the NEET 2024 question paper leak controversy.
Supreme Court to examine the right of an accused to be forgotten after acquittal in criminal case
The Supreme Court agreed on July 24 to examine an issue related to the right to be forgotten of an accused who seeks removal of judgments containing names from the public domain, saying this will have “serious ramifications”. A bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud also stayed a judgment of the Madras High Court that had asked a law portal to remove a verdict that had acquitted a man in a rape case from its website. “The judgments are part of public records and the orders for their removal by the courts will have serious ramifications,” the CJI said.
Dhruv Rathee summoned by Delhi court in defamation case filed by BJP spokesperson
Saket Court of Delhi has issued a summon to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and others on a defamation suit filed by Suresh Karamshi Nakhua, a spokesperson of the Bhartiya Janata Party Mumbai unit for allegedly referring to him as a violent and abusive troll. The District Judge Gunjan Gupta in an order passed on July 19, 2024, issued summons of the suit and notice of the application u/o 39 Rule 1 and 2 CPC to the Dhruv Rathee and Social media intermediaries for 06.08.2024. Advocates Raghav Awasthi with Mukesh Sharma appeared for the plaintiff in the matter.
Delhi riots 2020: High Court seeks police’s stand on Umar Khalid’s bail plea in UAPA case
The Delhi High Court sought the city police’s stand on July 24 on the bail plea of former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid in a UAPA case related to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the February 2020 riots in New Delhi. A bench of judges comprised of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Girish Kathpalia issued a notice to the Delhi Police on the bail plea and asked the agency to file its reply.
Centre says all departments asked to identify backlog reserved vacancies
All Central Government Ministries and departments have been asked to form an in-house committee for the identification of backlog reserved vacancies and fill them through special recruitment drives, the Lok Sabha was informed on July 24. In a written reply, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said the occurrence and filling of vacancies, along with backlog reserved vacancies, is a continuous process.
Hundreds relocated in Gujarat as heavy rains flood districts, disrupt daily life
Hundreds of people were evacuated after swollen rivers and overflowing dams cut off several villages and inundated low-lying areas in many parts of Gujarat amid torrential downpours on July 24, officials said. Normal life was thrown out of gear as heavy rains pounded the south and central Gujarat districts like Surat, Bharuch and Anand since morning, prompting the authorities to declare a holiday for schools and colleges in some places, they said. Train services were also affected in some areas.
600 schools with zero, low enrolment shut in Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh Education Minister Pasang Dorjee Sona on July 24 said the State Government has shut around 600 schools, which were either non-functional or had zero enrolment. Replying to a question from lone Congress MLA Kumar Waii in the Assembly, Mr. Sona said the government is planning to close more such schools with zero or low enrolment. Nearly 600 such schools have already been shut or merged with other schools, he said.
C.T. Kurien, distinguished economist, no more
C.T. Kurien, distinguished economist and former professor of Madras Christian College, is no more. He died due to age related ailments at 11 pm on July 23, 2024. He was 93. Prof. Kurian had got his Master’s degree in Economics from Madras Christian College in 1953. He had pursued economics as major field of study in college with the hope that through the study of economics he would be able to understand the causes of poverty and contribute to its eradication.
Bangladesh partially restores telecommunication services as protests taper off
Bangladesh partially restored telecommunication services on July 24 although internet connection was slow and social media remained suspended, days after deadly protests against reservations for government jobs killed almost 150 people. The country has mostly been calm since Sunday when the Supreme Court scaled down reservations for various categories to 7%, overruling a high court verdict reinstating a 56% quota in government jobs that had been scrapped in 2018.
Trump campaign files complaint to block Biden’s campaign funds being transferred to Harris
The Trump campaign has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission arguing that money raised for U.S. President Joe Biden’s 2024 reelection bid could not be transferred to Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. The complaint was filed on Tuesday by the Trump campaign’s general counsel David Warrington and argues that transferring the funds to Harris’s presidential campaign would amount to “flagrantly violating” the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.
Jailed former PM Imran Khan refuses to undergo polygraph test linked to May 9 riots
Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan has refused to undergo polygraph and voice matching tests as part of an investigation by Lahore police in connection with a dozen cases related to the unprecedented May 9 riots last year. A 12-member forensic team reached Adiala Jail on July 23 to conduct the polygraph test on the 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician. The May 9 riots in 2023 were triggered across the country after the Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf founder was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau in a 190-million-pound corruption case. He faces over 200 cases and has been in jail since August last year.
WHO sees ‘high risk’ of polio virus spreading across Gaza, assessment underway
The World Health Organization said on July 23 that there was a high risk of the polio virus spreading across the Gaza Strip and beyond its borders, due to the dire health and sanitation situation in the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave. Ayadil Saparbekov, team lead for health emergencies at WHO in Gaza and the West Bank, said circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 had been isolated from environmental samples from sewage in Gaza.
SCO countries hold first joint live anti-terror drills with all member states
Security officials from the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held the first joint anti-terrorism drill in China focussing on live drills and specialised operations such as “the eradication of terrorist groups.” The ‘Interaction-2024’ joint counter-terrorism exercises were held recently in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China’s Ministry of Public Security said. “The exercise marks the first time the relevant agencies from all SCO member states have participated in a joint counter-terrorism live drill,” the state-run Xinhua news agency reported on July 23.
Snipers, divers and AI: securing the Paris Olympics opening ceremony
On the water, perched on rooftops and operating AI-augmented cameras, French security forces will lock down central Paris during the opening ceremony of the Olympics on July 26 aiming to prevent an incident that would ruin the biggest show on earth. The figures tell only part of the story of the colossal effort made to protect the river parade along the Seine, the first time a Summer Olympics has started outside a stadium. About 45,000 police and paramilitary officers will be on duty, along with 10,000 soldiers and 20,000 private security guards.
