NATIONAL 
EXPRESS

Naval Transmitting Station commemorated its 55th Anniversary in Visakhapatnam on Sunday (7th April 2024). The activities held include Inter Departmental Sports competition, Tug of War, Best Garden Competition, and Clean-up drive with cultural show yesterday, featuring in-house performances by unit personnel and their family members. Commanding Officer INS Circars, Happy Mohan as Chief Guest urged the unit to strive for excellence, in line with its motto, “Always Strength Five.”

North America will witness a rare astronomical phenomenon – a total solar eclipse today. Beginning over the Pacific Ocean, this celestial event will traverse Mexico, United States and Canada. As per Indian Standard Time (IST), the total solar eclipse will begin at 9:12 pm tonight and will end at 2:22 am early tomorrow morning. However, it will not be visible to skywatchers in India. A solar eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon where the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and blocks the Sun’s light either entirely or partially. When the moon completely covers the sun, it casts a shadow on Earth, forming what is called a “path of totality.” The total darkening of the sky, also known as totality, will be visible across a 185-kilometre stretch between Mexico, the US, and Canada.

In Bangladesh, tens of thousands of people left Dhaka and adjacent districts on weekends for their ancestral villages and hometowns by all modes of transport as the Eid-ul-Fitr draws near. This year, the Eid holiday will merge with another national festival of Bangladesh, Pahela Boishakh, the first day on the traditional Bangla calendar. Thus, there will be almost a week long public holiday in Bangladesh starting from April 10. It is expected that the Eid will be held on April 11 in Bangladesh. Thousands of homebound people left Dhaka on Friday and Saturday while many more will leave the capital in coming days. Various stretches of the highway reported long queues of vehicles leaving Dhaka. The home-goers suffered inordinate delays as traffic crawled on these highway stretches due to heavy rush of vehicles. According to an estimate, around 15 million people, two-thirds of greater Dhaka inhabitants may travel to other parts of Bangladesh to celebrate Eid.

Indian shuttlers Anupama Upadhyaya and M. Tharun have clinched Women’s and Men’s singles titles, at Kazakhstan International Badminton Challenge tournament in Astana.Anupama defeated Isharani Baruah 21-15, 21-16 in an all-Indian women’s singles final today. In the Men’s final, Tharun beat eighth-seeded Malaysian Soong Joo Ven 21-10, 21-19. However, in mixed doubles, Sanjai Srivatsa Dhanraj and Maneesha K pair lost to Malaysia’s Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien 21-9, 7-21, 12-21 in the summit clash.

In Hockey, Australia defeated India 5-1 in the opening Test of the five-match series in Perth on Saturday (5th April 2024). Australia scored at least once in each quarter. India’s goal came in the fourth quarter, as Gurjant Singh found the back of the net from the edge of the circle. The second match of the series will be played tomorrow when Harmanpreet Singh led Indian squad will try to bounce back.

Defence Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh on Saturday (6th April 2024) assured the countrymen that our country’s borders are completely safe. Addressing a public meeting in Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh, he said that during the Congress government, terrorist incidents used to take place in one state or the other, but our government has strongly stopped them. Targeting the opposition, Rajnath Singh said that the leaders of Congress and its allies intimidate people and create hatred among them. Whereas BJP never discriminates on the basis of caste, religion, rather we are people who do politics of justice and humanity. He said that the double engine government of Madhya Pradesh has an important role in the progress of our country. If we look at our manifesto from the time of Jan Sangh, BJP has done what it has said. Supporting ‘one nation, one election’ policy, Mr Singh said that our party believes that ‘one nation, one election’ will strengthen the country. People will be able to use their votes better and this is also the way to stop horse-trading. Therefore, there should be ‘one nation, one election’ in the country.

U.S. stocks finished higher on Friday (5th April 2024) after a strong jobs report reinforced the view that the economy remains healthy even as it suggested the Federal Reserve could delay cutting interest rates. All major S&P 500 sectors advanced, with communication services, industrials and technology the top gainers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 307.06 points, or 0.80%, to 38,904.04, the S&P 500 gained 57.13 points, or 1.11%, to 5,204.34 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 199.44 points, or 1.24%, to 16,248.52.

Union Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman expressed dismay at the water scarcity situation in Bengaluru. Addressing media persons in Bengaluru on Saturday (6th April 2024), she said that it is worrying and sad that the global city of Bengaluru is suffering from a drinking water crisis. She further added that there seems to also be an outbreak of Cholera in the city. When there is a drinking water crisis, chances of contaminated water reaching people is also more. She lamented that it is sad to see a global city like Bengaluru suffer from this. She also charged that the Congress Government has stopped many development works. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman blamed Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for halting works worth 20,000 crore rupees in the state including water and irrigation works. She also alleged that even Jal Jeevan Mission works which bring drinking water to every house have been stalled.

Aam Admi Party on Saturday(6th April 2024) hit out at BJP for allegedly making false allegations against AAP and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Briefing media in New Delhi, party leader and Delhi Minister Atishi accused BJP of controlling state machineries to bog down AAP leaders. She claimed that ED has not found any money trail in the liquor scam case. She cited the Goa Court’s dismissal of the case against Arvind Kejriwal. Ms. Atishi asserted that if BJP wishes to participate in a political battle with AAP, it should be on the political battleground. Meanwhile, BJP has hit back at AAP and dubbed Ms. Atishi as a fake story teller. Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva alleged that the liquor policy was drafted by AAP in order to meet the need of economic resources. Mr. Sachdeva has hurled the question towards Ms. Atishi that if there were no irregularities in liquor policy then why did Kejriwal Government withdrew it as soon as CBI inquiry was ordered into the liquor policy. He termed the liquor scam as an open and shut case.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Saturday (6th April 2024) said 17 Indian workers who were lured into unsafe and illegal work in Laos, are on their way back home. In a social media post, Dr Jaishankar lauded Indian Embassy in Laos and thanked Lao authorities for their support for the safe repatriation.

In Hockey, Harmanpreet Singh-led Indian team will begin its five-match series against Australia in Perth from today. Today’s match will start at 2 P.M. (IST) at the Perth Hockey Stadium. The hosts are led by Aran Zalewski. Since 2013, the two teams have met 43 times, with Australia winning 28 matches and India winning just eight while seven ended without a result. The series is significant because India and Australia are placed in the same pool for Paris 2024.

A Delhi court has extended the judicial custody of Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia till 18th of this month in the alleged money laundering case related to the Delhi Excise Policy Scam case. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of Rouse Court extended the AAP leader’s judicial custody today after he was produced before the court on the expiry his judicial custody granted earlier. AAP leader Sanjay Singh, a co-accused in the case, also appeared before the court for the proceedings. Sanjay Singh recently got bail by the Supreme Court in the case. The Central Bureau of Investigation as well as Enforcement Directorate have charged AAP leaders with involvement in irregularities in the Excise Policy, leading to losses for the State exchequer.