Top news of the day: Atishi becomes Delhi’s third woman Chief Minister; Quad summit to announce joint coast guard exercises, and more

The major news headlines of the day and more

Atishi becomes Delhi’s third woman Chief Minister, 17th in India’s history

AAP leader Atishi took oath on Saturday (September 21, 2024) as Delhi's third woman Chief Minister and became the youngest of all three to hold the top office in the National Capital. She also became the 17th woman to hold the post of Chief Minister in independent India. The senior AAP leader, however, will have a brief tenure in office as Assembly elections in the National Capital are due in February. A first-time legislator, Ms. Atishi is a key face of the party and managed the AAP's operations during Arvind Kejriwal's time in Tihar jail in connection with the excise policy case. The Kalkaji MLA's name was proposed by Mr. Kejriwal, who tendered his resignation as Chief Minister, for the top post.

Quad summit to announce joint coast guard exercises, other initiatives

A Coast Guard exercise and an initiative to fight cancer will be among the new projects announced at the Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) on Saturday (September 21, 2024), when U.S. President Joe Biden hosts Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leaders of Australia and Japan. The U.S. Coast Guard will welcome Indian, Australian and Japanese coast guards on board its vessel in the Indo Pacific, with other countries then taking turns to host, a Biden administration official said, during a briefing call with reporters on Friday (September 20, 2024). In the context of China, the briefing official emphasized that the Quad continues to be defined “as a partnership, not a military alliance of any kind”. Earlier this week, White House spokesperson John Kirby had described as being “high” on the agenda for Saturday’s summit.

Sri Lanka presidential election 2024: Voting ends, people awaits result

Sri Lankans stepped out to vote today to elect their next President in a crucial election, the first to be held after the island nation’s economy crashed in 2022. A total of 38 candidates are in the fray this election, which features a three-cornered race between incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe, Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa, and prominent opposition legislator Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Voting for the crucial Presidential Elections concluded at 4 p.m. in Sri Lanka on Saturday. Officials are yet to release the final voting percentage. “By 2 p.m., more than 60% of the eligible 17 million eligible people had voted,” they said. “At 4 p.m., we will try to start postal vote counting and at 6 p.m., we would like to start normal counting. Within two or three hours after the counting of votes starts, we can display the results,” said Colombo City Deputy Election Commissioner MKSKK Bandaramapa earlier in the day.

R.G. Kar incident: Junior doctors resume duties partially at State-run hospitals in Bengal after 42 days

Junior doctors on Saturday (September 21, 2024) rejoined their duties partially at various government-run hospitals in West Bengal after a hiatus of 42 days. They were on 'cease work' in protest against the rape and murder of an on-duty woman doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. The junior doctors resumed their duties in essential and emergency services at all State-run hospitals but not in the outpatient departments (OPDs). "We have started rejoining duties today. Our colleagues have started returning to their respective departments since this morning only in essential and emergency services, but not at the OPDs. Please do not forget that this is only a partial resumption of duties," Aniket Mahato, one of the agitating doctors, told PTI.

Ernst & Young employee death: Rahul Gandhi assures Anna's parents to fight for improving working conditions

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi spoke with the parents of Anna Sebastian Perayil, who died due to alleged extreme work pressure at Ernst & Young (EY), and assured them that he will fight for the cause of improving working conditions for the millions of professionals in India on Saturday (September 21, 2024). Mr. Gandhi spoke with the parents of Anna Sebastian via a video call arranged by the Chairman of All India Professionals' Congress (AIPC), Praveen Chakravarty, who visited their home in Kochi. “He offered his sympathies at Anna’s sudden and tragic demise and lauded the family’s courage and selflessness to speak up at this extremely difficult moment about this issue in the larger interest of improving working conditions for the millions of professionals in India,” a statement issued by the AIPC said. “Rahul Gandhi assured them that he will fight for this cause in his capacity as the Leader of the Opposition,” it said.

Tirupati laddu row: Amul denies supplying ghee to TTD

Cooperative dairy brand Amul has denied supplying ghee to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) to quell speculation that the company was responsible for the use of animal fat in preparing laddus at the temple. “This is in reference to some social media posts mentioning that Amul Ghee was being supplied to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD). We wish to inform that we have never supplied Amul Ghee to TTD,” Amul said in a statement shared on X. “We also wish to clarify Amul Ghee is made from milk at our state-of-the-art production facilities which are ISO certified. Amul Ghee is made from high quality pure milk fat. The milk received at our dairies passes through stringent quality checks including adulteration detection as specified by FSSAI,” the statement added.

Manipur violence: Shun violence, find lasting peace through talks, says Kiren Rijiju

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju requested the people of ethnic violence-hit Manipur on Saturday (September 21, 2024) to shun arms and come to the negotiation table to find a lasting solution for peace in the state. Addressing the North East Students' Festival organised by NGO "My Home India", Mr. Rijiju said the northeast is witnessing unprecedented development under the Narendra Modi government, providing a golden opportunity to the people of the region. "I urge the brothers and sisters of the Kuki and the Meitei communities, the Government of India is ready to make every effort, but you will have to give up arms. There can be no solution if you pick up arms," he said. "Any solution can be found only through talks. Come what may, you cannot fight each other. If you talk to each other, come to the negotiation table, only then can we have lasting peace," the minister for parliamentary affairs and minority affairs said.

Kerala police probe Norway-based Wayanad native’s possible connection to Lebanon pager blasts

The Wayanad Special Branch (SB) police in Kerala have initiated inquiries into Rinson Jose, a 37-year-old who left Wayanad for Norway a decade ago, following reports of his alleged involvement in the recent pager blasts that shook Lebanon. Deputy Superintendent of Police, Special Branch, Wayanad, P.L. Shyju, told The Hindu that officials visited Mr. Jose’s family home at Mananthavady in Wayanad to collect information from his parents. They reported being unaware of the situation, although they have been unable to reach him by phone since the incident. Given that Mr. Jose is a foreign national, no legal action is being pursued against him, nor is he currently a target of any investigations in India, Mr. Shyju added. Reports indicate that Jose has been active within the Malayali community in Norway, where he previously operated a job consultancy.

India, South Korea discuss upgrading existing trade pact; promoting investments

India and South Korea on Saturday (September 21, 2024) held discussions on upgrading the existing free trade agreement, balancing two-way commerce and promoting investments between the two countries. The issues were discussed during a meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his South Korean counterpart Inkyo Cheong at Vientiane, Laos. "Deliberations were held on achieving more balanced trade, upgrading the India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), promoting investments linked to job creation and addressing non-tariff barriers to further strengthen our economic ties," Mr. Goyal said in a post on social media platform X. The two countries are holding review meetings to upgrade the CEPA, which was operationalised in January 2010. So far, more than 10 rounds of review talks have been held.

At least 37 killed in Israeli airstrike on Beirut, says Lebanese Health Ministry

At least 37 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb on Friday (September 20, 2024), including three children and seven women, the Lebanese health ministry said on Saturday (September 21, 2024). Hezbollah said overnight that those killed in the deadliest strike in a year of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel included 16 of its members, and that senior leader Ibrahim Aqil and another top commander, Ahmed Wahbi, were among the dead. The Israeli army, in posts on X, said the strike hit an underground gathering of Mr. Aqil and senior commanders of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan forces and had “almost completely dismantled” Hezbollah’s military chain of command. Heavy cross-border strikes continued on Saturday, with Israeli warplanes carrying some of its heaviest bombardment in 11 months of fighting across Lebanon’s south and Hezbollah claiming rocket attacks on military targets in Israel’s north.

India vs Bangladesh Test: Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill put India in command with emotional hundreds

Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill cleansed months of hurt, anxiety and disappointments of varying nature with emotional hundreds on the third day to place India in a prime position to win the first Test against Bangladesh on Saturday. Gill (119 not out) and Pant (109 led the hosts’ run glut with an alliance of 167 for the fourth wicket that helped India, overnight 81/3, declare their second innings at 287 for 4 for an overall lead of 514. Bangladesh showed some spin in their second innings to reach 158 for four when play was called off at 4.25 pm due to bad light. They still need a whopping 357 runs for the result to be in their favour. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (51) and Shakib Al-Hasan (5) were manning the crease for the visitors, and the day could have ended on a better note for them had they been a slightly more judicious in shot selection against star off-spinner R Ashwin (3/63).

Chess Olympiad: Indian teams rack up draws in the ninth round

After winning eight games back to back, the Indian men had to settle for a draw in the ninth round of the Chess Olympiad at Budapest. The second-seeded India and defending champion Uzbekistan were involved in a fierce battle, which ended 2-2. India, however, has maintained its sole lead position, with just two rounds remaining. India is on 17 points, two more than the United States, Uzbekistan and China, who are sharing the second spot. In the 10th round on Saturday, India will meet the United States, the top seed.

Published - September 21, 2024 07:48 pm IST