ABP Live News Shots: Wrestlers' Protest, India-China Defense Talks, Jiah Khan Case — Top Headlines From The Week

ABP Live News Shots: Bringing to you all the big news that made headlines this past week, in case you missed it.

New Delhi: Headlines over the past week ranged from the arrest of fugitive pro-Khalistan preacher Amritpal Singh in Punjab's Moga to Operation Kaveri under which, India is bringing back its nationals from Sudan. In poll-bound Karnataka, the Congress and the BJP sparred over INC President Mallikarjun Kharge's remark calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "venomous snake". Meanwhile, the wrestlers resumed their protest over allegations against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Singh. In another development, a special CBI court acquitted Sooraj Pancholi of abetment charges in the Jiah Khan suicide case citing a lack of evidence against him. 

INDIA

Delhi Police on Friday filed two FIRs against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh on charges of sexual harassment levelled against him by seven women wrestlers. According to news agency PTI, the first FIR pertains to allegations of a minor wrestler and was registered under POCSO Act, while the second was related to outraging modesty. The FIRs were registered hours after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Delhi Police, told a Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha, that a case will be registered later on Friday. "We have decided to register an FIR. It will be registered today," Mehta told the SC bench.

Shiromani Akali Dal patron Parkash Singh Badal's was cremated with full state honours at his ancestral village of Badal in Punjab's Muktsar district. Badal breathed his last at the 95 on Tuesday at a private hospital in Mohali. He was admitted to the hospital a week back and was moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on Friday. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal lit the pyre at the funeral with thousands of mourners in attendance including leaders across the political spectrum. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gahlot, Bharatiya Janata Party national president JP Nadda, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, and former Haryana Cheief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda paid their last respects.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met Chinese Defence Minister and State Councillor Li Shangfu Thursday and held “frank discussions” on the ongoing military standoff at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). “The two Ministers had frank discussions about the developments in the India-China border areas as well as bilateral relations. The Raksha Mantri categorically conveyed that development of relations between India and China is premised on prevalence of peace and tranquillity at the borders,” said an official statement issued by the Ministry of Defence. According to official sources, the meeting between the two defence minister will result in the gradual de-escalation and disengagement of forces by both sides even as both New Delhi and Beijing have pushed in more troops at the LAC, which witnessed a major clash in June 2020 in which India lost 20 of its soldiers.

WORLD

India has launched Operation Kaveri to rescue its citizens stranded in war-torn Sudan, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday. Jaishankar said the government was "committed to assist all our bretheren in Sudan". The government has said it was focusing on the safety of over 3,000 Indian citizens presently located throughout Sudan. Under the evacuation, India is taking the evacuees from Sudan to the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah from where they are returning home. India has set up a transit facility at Jeddah and Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan is overseeing the evacuation mission from the Saudi Arabian city. India began efforts to evacuate Indians from Sudan as a 72-hour truce was agreed to between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) following intense negotiations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed that he had a "long and meaningful" phone call with China's Xi Jinping, marking their first contact since the start of Russia's war. Zelenskyy tweeted that the call, coupled with the dispatch of an ambassador to Beijing, would "give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations". China confirmed the call and stated that it "always stood on the side of peace". However, until now, Beijing has maintained a neutral stance on the Russian invasion, showing no inclination to condemn it. Last month, Chinese President Xi was in Russia on a two-day state visit, during which he referred to President Vladimir Putin as his "dear friend" and put forth a 12-point peace plan. He also claimed that China stood on the right side of history but did not make any commitments to provide weapons to Russia.

Amid a severe economic downfall, Pakistan has now reached out to the United States of America to stabilise its cash-strapped economy. The neighbouring country urged the US on Thursday to restore military financing and sales that were suspended by formers US President Donald Trump, reported the Dawn citing Pakistan’s envoy in Washington, Masood Khan. Khan said at a seminar in Washington, “It is important that the US restores — for Pakistan — Foreign Military Financing and Foreign Military Sales, suspended by the previous administration.” However, US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Elizabeth Horst focused more on the need to help rebuild the troubled Pakistani economy and asked Islamabad to work with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to do so. 

SPORTS

A gate named after Sachin Tendulkar was unveiled on Monday (April 24) at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground to mark the 50th birthday of the batting legend. Also, to mark 30 years of Brian Lara's innings of 277 at the SCG, a gate named after the legendary West Indies batsman was also unveiled. All visiting players at the venue will now take to the field through the Lara-Tendulkar Gates.

BCCI Announce India Women's Annual Contracts, Harmanpreet, Smriti, Deepti In Grade A

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced player contracts for India Women for the 2022-23 season on Thursday (April 27). Deepti Sharma has been promoted to Grade A- the highest bracket of annual retainers. She joins the women's team captain Harmanpreet Kaur and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana in this top bracket (₹50 lakh). 5 cricketers- Renuka Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Varma, Richa Ghosh and Rajeshwari Gayakwad feature in Grade B (₹30 lakh). Furthermore, 9 players are part of Grade C bracket (₹10 lakh).

Delhi Capitals reportedly issued a strict 'Code of Conduct' for its players after one of their star cricketers was involved in misbehaving with a woman at a party. The Indian Express report stated that players are now not allowed to bring any visitors to their room after 10 pm. Instead, they have been told that if they want to meet their guests after the allotted time, they can call them at the team hotel restaurant or coffee shop. 

BUSINESS

India's core sector output clocked growth of 3.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in March as against 6 per cent in the previous month, according to a data released by the government on Friday. However, the growth rate declined as compared to the preceding month of February 2023, when it stood at 6 per cent.The production of coal, fertilisers, steel, natural gas and refinery products increased in March 2023 over the corresponding month of last year, data showed. 

At a time when geopolitical uncertainty and talks of a possible economic slowdown have resulted in many big firms laying off employees and cutting costs, management guru Dr Ram Charan says that companies should manage their business on a cash basis rather than on an earning-per-share basis. He advises businesses to follow the path of the likes of "Birlas, Modis, Bharat Ram, and Tatas." Speaking to ABP Live, the top advisor to global CEOs said, "In the past, businesses like the Birlas, Modis, Bharat Ram, and Tatas used to manage their businesses on a cash basis rather than on an earning-per-share basis. Cash is cash, and if you manage your business in cash, you can't go wrong unless there is fraud."

The government has decided to roll out a commemorative Rs 100 coin to mark the 100th edition of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’. The programme is set to complete its 100th episode this Sunday, on April 30. The Centre is organising various events starting from Wednesday with the National Conclave on Mann Ki Baat. The Rs 100 coin is said to be different from the normal coins in currency. The coin which will be released will feature a microphone and the year ‘2023’ written on it. According to a notification issued by the government, only one hundred rupees coin will be minted.

TECH

India's smartphone shipments suffered the highest-ever decline and fell 19 per cent YoY in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, a new report said on Thursday. According to Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service report, this was the highest-ever Q1 decline witnessed by India smartphone market, besides being the third consecutive quarterly decline.

Amazon Prime subscription price has been hiked in India, with the new plans becoming effective immediately. This development comes as Amazon announced a rebranding of its Prime Video streaming service, which will be known as Amazon TV from the coming month. The monthly plan has gone up from Rs 179 to Rs 299, representing an increase of Rs 120 per month.

Reliance-owned Viacom18 has struck a deal with Warner Bros Discovery Inc. to bring popular Hollywood content to its streaming service, JioCinema. Viacom18 on Thursday announced that it has entered into a deal with Warner Bros to bring HBO, Max Original, and Warner Bros. content to the JioCinema app in May. The deal will allow popular shows such as "Succession", "House of the Dragon", the upcoming "Harry Potter" series, as well as DC Universe movies, to be available on the platform. The financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed by either party.

ENTERTAINMENT

Actor Sooraj Pancholi released a statement after being acquitted by the court in the Jiah Khan Suicide case and mentioned that he has won not only the case but also his dignity and confidence back.  Sooraj Pancholi was charged under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 306 (abetment of suicide). Jiah Khan's mother Rabia Khan had been refuting the prosecution's case that this was a case of suicide and claimed that her daughter was killed. Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court judge A S Sayyad while pronouncing the verdict, said that due to paucity of evidence, the court can't hold Sooraj Pancholi guilty.  

Leading Malayalam film bodies admitted on Tuesday that drug usage in the business had increased, and they said they would contact the state government to conduct a thorough investigation. Producer Renjith stated that the behaviour of actors Shane Nigam and Sreenath Bhasi has crossed all boundaries and that no one from the industry will cooperate with them until they change their ways. This was after a meeting of the various film bodies, including the AMMA (representing the actors), the FEFKA (19 different organisations ranging from drivers to directors), and the producers association.

The famed K-pop group BTS member Jungkook might soon be heading to India. According to the paparazzi account Manav Manglani, Jungkook could visit for an important event later this year. Furthermore, the K-pop idol will attend the event with reality TV star Kylie Jenner. The announcement has sparked a frenzy among BTS fans who are looking forward to the chance to see the worldwide icon perform live in India. The coronavirus outbreak forced BTS members to cancel their planned global tour for 2020. However, the band members had made it clear that they would like to travel to India, and group leader RM had even mentioned that they intended to hold a concert in Mumbai.

 

HEALTH & SCIENCE

India’s monsoon is dependent on several factors, including climate change, Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), El Niño and La Niña, among others. This year, there will be lots of variability in rainfall during the southwest monsoon season due to climate change, which is making weather patterns unpredictable. El Niño is the phenomenon in which trade winds weaken, as a result of which warm water is pushed back east, toward the west coast of the Americas, where the Pacific Ocean is present. Since warm water is pushed back east due to El Niño, the monsoon in India can be affected.  The periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific is referred to as the La Niña effect. La Niña causes warm water to be pushed toward Asia. The El Niño effect is likely to start impacting India from July 2023. According to experts, an El Niño year following La Niña is the worst-case scenario for monsoon deficits. But certain factors can offset the impact of El Niño for India. These include the accumulation of snowfall over Eurasia and a positive IOD. The IOD is defined as sea surface temperature differences between two poles or dipoles: a western pole in the Arabian Sea, and an eastern pole in the eastern Indian Ocean south of Indonesia. The western pole is located in the western Indian Ocean. Due to the change in temperature gradients across the Indian Ocean, changes occur in the ascent and descent of moisture and air in certain regions. When the western Indian Ocean becomes cooler than the eastern Indian Ocean, a sea surface temperature gradient is created, which can affect the atmospheric circulation and rainfall patterns over the Indian subcontinent. Since the western Indian Ocean experiences higher-than-normal rainfall during a positive IOD event, India can receive increased rainfall. "The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is a climate phenomenon that affects the sea surface temperature and rainfall patterns over the Indian Ocean. A positive IOD occurs when the western Indian Ocean becomes cooler than the eastern Indian Ocean, leading to a gradient in sea surface temperature across the Indian Ocean. This temperature gradient can affect the atmospheric circulation and rainfall patterns over the Indian subcontinent. During a positive IOD event, the western Indian Ocean experiences higher-than-normal rainfall, while the eastern Indian Ocean experiences drier-than-normal conditions. This can lead to increased rainfall over India and can offset the effects of El Niño, which usually brings drier-than-normal conditions to India,” Dr Anjal Prakash, Research Director, Bharti Institute of Public Policy, Indian School of Business and IPCC Author, told ABP Live. However, this year, there is a neutral IOD condition, which means that there is no significant sea surface temperature gradient across the Indian Ocean. Also, a neutral IOD condition can have a mixed effect on India’s monsoon. But it may strengthen the monsoon winds, leading to increased rainfall over India.

British chemist Rosalind Franklin was an X-ray crystallographer best known for discovering the molecular structure of DNA (deoxyribose nucleic acid), and making clear X-ray diffraction images of DNA molecules which helped lay the foundation for the Watson and Crick DNA model. It is a popular belief that American biologist James Watson and English physicist Francis Crick stole Franklin's data, and did not give her credit for her work. However, a previously overlooked letter and a news article, which were written in 1953, the year in which Watson and Crick published a paper explaining the double helix structure of DNA, provide evidence to show that Franklin was an equal contributor in the discovery of the structure of DNA. While the article was never published, two scientists have written a comment article in the journal Nature, stating that not only was Franklin an equal contributor in the discovery of DNA structure, but was also not a victim, contrary to popular belief. The new article, written by Matthew Cobb, a professor of zoology at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, and Nathaniel Comfort, a professor of history of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, United States, was published April 25, 2023 in Nature. Cobb and Comfort concluded that Franklin deserves to be remembered not as the victim of the double helix, but as an equal contributor to the solution of the structure.

Since the year 1700, habitats for Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) across Asia have declined by more than 64 per cent, coinciding with colonial-era use of land and agricultural intensification in South Asia, according to a new study. The total area of the habitats lost is equal to about 3.3 million square kilometres of land, a study published in the journal Scientific Reports says. Habitat loss started from 1700, after centuries of relative stability. The colonial-era practices which are believed to have led to habitat loss for Asian elephants include timber extraction, and farming and agriculture. These activities cut the average habitat patch size more than 80 per cent, from 99,000 to 16,000 square kilometres. After comparing an area within 100 kilometres of the current range of elephants in Asia, the authors found that in 1700, 100 per cent of the area would have been considered suitable. However, by 2015, less than half of the area was considered suitable. Only 48.6 per cent of the area remained suitable for elephants. According to the study, mainland China, India, Thailand, Sumatra, Bangladesh, and Vietnam have each lost more than half of their suitable elephant range. The greatest declines in elephant habitats have occurred in China and India. In China, there was around 94 per cent of suitable habitat loss, and in India, there was around 86 per cent of suitable habitat loss. The major reasons which led to accelerated decline of elephant habitats over the past century are human interventions and climate change. However, it is difficult to study the result of these changes on wildlife over the long term due to the lack of historical data. In the past three centuries, there has been a loss of traditional systems of management. This is another significant reason behind the loss of habitats of Asian elephants.