Exports cross $400 billion annual target as goods shipments jump
India’s annual goods exports crossed the $400-billion mark for the first time ever, the government announced on Wednesday, buoyed by an increase in shipments of merchandise, including engineering products, apparel and garments, gems and jewellery and petroleum products.
Health Ministry issues updated guidelines for imposing COVID-19 curbs
With the country all set to relax the COVID-19 restrictions, the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday wrote to the stakeholders, specifying how decisions should be made to identify areas where curbs need to be imposed/continued. Stating that there was need to continue evidence-based decision on restrictions and relaxation, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, in a letter, said a test positivity rate of 10% or more in the last week or bed occupancy of more than 40% on either oxygen supported or ICU-beds were grounds for imposing restrictions.
Birbhum violence | Baktui resembles a village under siege
With charred walls, broken window panes and heaps of ash-strewn around, Sona Sheikh’s single-storeyed house stands out in Baktui village in Rampurhat town of West Bengal’s Birbhum district. Drones were flying atop the house guarded by policemen from all sides as a delegation from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) thronged to the damaged dwelling on Wednesday.
Chinese FM Wang Yi to meet Jaishankar, Doval on March 25 to discuss LAC resolution, Ukraine crisis
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is expected to land in Delhi on Thursday evening for the first such visit by a Chinese official since PLA transgressions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in April 2020 led to a standstill in political ties.
Foreign Secretary Shringla calls for alignment between UN, League of Arab States
Speaking at a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States (LAS), Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla said India and the Arab world share a “civilisational relationship”, as he welcomed the normalisation of relations between countries in the region and reiterated India’s support for a two–state (i.e., Palestine and Israel) solution.
Pandits faced worst losses in Kashmir conflict: Mehbooba
Former Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday said the Pandit community saw the worst losses in the Kashmir conflict compared to others and their migration weakened the education system of the Valley.
Need a new reservoir instead of Mullaperiyar dam, Kerala tells Supreme Court
In the Supreme Court, Kerala on Wednesday pitched for building a new dam downstream on its side instead of the existing 126-year-old Mullaperiyar dam.
Madeleine Albright, 1st female U.S. secretary of state, dies
Madeleine Albright, a child refugee from Nazi- and then Soviet-dominated eastern Europe who rose to become the 1st female U.S. secretary of state and a mentor to many current and former American statesmen and women, has died of cancer, her family said Wednesday. She was 84.
China Eastern crash | Digital trail may unravel mystery
On March 21, 2022, a B737-800 aircraft of the China Eastern Airlines flight MU 5735 plunged into the ground killing all 132 on board. Flightradar24 tracking of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) taken from the Mode-S transponder on board indicated a sudden drop in speed coupled with loss of altitude. The resultant steep descent, arrested for a short period with increase in speed, followed by another steep drop in altitude and speed, before the impact, indicates a probable “loss of control”.
Chinese authorities have grounded the B737-800 pending investigation and India’s Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has announced increased surveillance of B737-800 aircraft operations. Is the aircraft system suspect?
Poland expels 45 Russian diplomats
Poland on Wednesday said it had expelled 45 Russian diplomats for espionage, an allegation immediately dismissed as baseless by Russia’s Ambassador to Poland.
Indians tighten belts as Ukraine war drives up prices of necessities
Many Indians are cutting down on fried food and even vegetables as the Ukraine war inflates the prices of items from edible oils to fuel, threatening a sputtering recovery in the consumption-based economy after two years battling COVID-19.
Ash Barty retires from tennis at age 25
Ashleigh Barty surprisingly retired from tennis at age 25 while ranked No. 1 and less than two months after winning the Australian Open for her third Grand Slam singles title.
