Defence, business ties in focus as Macron visits India
French President Emmanuel Macron, who will attend India’s 75th Republic Day celebrations as chief guest today, arrived in Jaipur on Thursday and will hold in-depth talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to further bilateral cooperation and finalise new initiatives in various key areas.
The talks will cover defence cooperation, the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, poverty eradication and strengthening business ties and cross-investments.
India is looking to buy 26 Rafale M fighters from France for the navy’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, the INS Vikrant.
The country is also planning to build three more Scorpene-class submarines with technology from France to enhance the Indian Navy’s undersea capabilities.
Myanmar plane crash-lands into bush at Mizoram airport
All 14 passengers of a small Myanmar military plane had a miraculous escape on Tuesday after it overshot the table-top Lengpui airport runway near Aizawl in Mizoram and crash-landed into a bush, officials said.
Eight passengers sustained minor injuries and were treated at a local medical centre.
The Y-8 cargo aircraft had arrived to retrieve 92 Myanmarese soldiers who crossed over to India last week following gunfights with an ethnic insurgent group.
Karpoori Thakur to be conferred Bharat Ratna posthumously
Former chief minister of Bihar Karpoori Thakur was chosen for India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, on Tuesday, a day ahead of his birth anniversary.
The announcement by the Central government was greeted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said in a tribute article: “Karpoori Thakur Ji’s relentless pursuit of social justice was a positive impact on the lives of crores of people. He belonged to one of the most backward sections of society. Overcoming numerous obstacles, he achieved a lot and worked for societal betterment.”
Mamata rules out alliance with Congress in West Bengal
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said the TMC would not form an alliance with the Congress for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, a day ahead of the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’s scheduled entry into the state.
“I had no discussions with the Congress party. I have always said that in Bengal, we will fight alone. I am not concerned about what will be done in the country, but we are a secular party, and in Bengal, we alone will defeat the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party),” she said.
Residents protest as Mumbai’s Air India colony demolished
Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) on Wednesday started the demolition of 20 uninhabited and dilapidated buildings at Air India colony as part of its comprehensive redevelopment plan.
The housing colony forms part of the airport land and was built on land parcels licensed to Air India and Indian Airlines. In 2022, MIAL issued a notice to both asking them to vacate the land.
Residents had moved the court against eviction and on Wednesday tried to stop the bulldozers from carrying out demolitions.
Sony ends $13.4 billion merger with Zee, setting stage for legal row
Japan’s Sony Group on Monday scrapped plans for a US$10 billion ($13.4 billion) merger of its Indian unit with Zee Entertainment, ending a deal that could have created one of India’s biggest TV broadcasters.
The collapse of the deal in content-hungry India creates more uncertainty for TV broadcaster Zee, especially as competition heats up, with Disney also seeking to merge its Indian businesses with the media assets of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance.
Zee told Indian stock exchanges that Sony was seeking US$90 million in termination fees for alleged breaches of their merger agreement.
Zee said it denies all claims made by Sony and would take appropriate legal action.
Thousands of Indians keen on jobs in Israel despite safety concerns
More than 2,000 men, clutching passports, queued at a recruitment camp in Rohtak, Haryana, on Wednesday hoping to find employment in Israel, which is looking to India to replace thousands of deported Palestinian construction workers following Hamas’ attack on the country on Oct 7.
The lure of handsome pay in Israel has made the Indian daily-wage workers, who mostly earn around Rs25,000 or less for 30 days of work, overlook the danger of working in Israel amid the continuing conflict there.
Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam, a state government recruitment agency that co-organised the job camp, has advertised a monthly pay of Rs137,000 for various construction sector roles in Israel.
Maharashtra engineer arrested for sending money to ISIS three times
Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested a 32-year-old engineer from Nashik city on Wednesday for allegedly supporting and funding proscribed terror organisation ISIS, an official said.
With the arrest of the man, who runs an import-export business in the city around 200km from Mumbai, the ATS said it has unravelled “international links to ISIS support and funding”.
Investigations have revealed that the accused transferred funds to the global terrorist group three times.
Four cheetah cubs born at Kuno National Park
Namibian cheetah Jwala has given birth to four cubs at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh and not three, as reported previously, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Wednesday.
The births, first reported on Tuesday, came just weeks after three cubs were born to another Namibian cheetah, Aasha.
Mr Yadav said in a post on X: “Wildlife wonders! As frontline wildlife warriors managed to get closer to Jwala, they found she has given birth to four, not three, cubs.
“Congratulations all. We pray the cubs thrive and prosper at their home in India.”
Mother dies trying to save drowning daughter
A 19-year-old woman in Karnataka died on Tuesday, after being pushed into a lake allegedly by her brother after a fight over her decision to marry a man from another religion, the police said.
The woman’s 43-year-old mother, who jumped into the lake, near their village in Hunsur, in a bid to save her also died.
The brother, Nitin, was arrested.
Cricketer’s Ram temple video actually a Durga Puja pandal
Cricketer Harbhajan Singh shared a video with the caption “Jai Shree Ram” on Facebook on Monday, hours after the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The 31-second video showed a well-lit Ram temple at night with a bhajan playing in the background.
But the only problem: It was a Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata modelled on the Ram temple.
