Maharashtra issue, Hera Pheri 3, Afghanistan Earthquake: Top Headlines | Let's Catch Up Ep - 33

Episode Description

Top Weekly Headlines

International News

The death toll from a devastating earthquake in Afghanistan continued to climb days after it happened killing 1,150 people and wounding many more, according to the latest figures carried in state media on Friday.

The magnitude 6 quake on Wednesday struck in the night as people were sleeping, leaving thousands who survived without shelter. State media reported that close to 3,000 homes were destroyed or badly damaged. Aid organisations like the local Red Crescent and World Food Program have stepped in to assist the most vulnerable families with food and other emergency needs like tents and sleeping mats.

India sent family tents, blankets and other relief supplies for a team to distribute in eastern Afghan villages where the earthquake collapsed thousands of timber and stone homes to rubble.

As for the updates from the Russia Ukraine, Ukraine's parliament and various government agencies are working in overdrive to adopt European-style standards, including approving the Istanbul Convention on gender-based violence prevention. A summit later this week will consider Ukraine's European Union candidacy.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said they expected unanimous support of all EU members for Ukraine to be put on the lengthy path toward potential membership in the bloc. An EU summit begins in Brussels on Thursday.

Ukraine and Moldova have both been granted EU candidate status, President of the European Council Charles Michel has announced. The European Commission president said the accession process would be "merit-based" and "by the book", and that formal negotiations would not begin until conditional reforms are carried out. These include bolstering the rule of law, and fighting corruption. The Commission is due to take stock at the end of 2022.

Ukraine's military says it carried out strikes against Russian positions on Snake Island, an outpost in the Black Sea, suggesting the use of longer-range weapons recently provided by Western countries. In northern Ukraine, Russia has stepped up shelling of Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, where Ukrainian officials say long-range Russian shelling has killed at least 15 civilians this week. Ukraine pushed back Russian troops from the outskirts of the city more than a month ago.

The US Senate has passed a gun control bill - the most significant legislation in terms of gun violence in nearly 30 years. It imposes tougher checks on young buyers and encourages states to remove guns from people considered a threat. In a rare breakthrough on gun control measures, 15 Republicans joined Democrats in the Senate to approve the bill however it needs the endorsement of the lower house before becoming a law by President Joe Biden.

Leaders of Commonwealth nations are meeting in Rwanda on Friday in a summit that promises to tackle climate change, tropical diseases and other challenges deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The summit for Commonwealth heads of state in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, is the culmination of a series of meetings earlier in the week that have reported some success in efforts to improve the lives of people in the 54-nation bloc that is home to 2.5 billion people.

National News

The biggest news this week has been the Maharashtra Political crisis. Senior shiv Sena minister Eknath Shinde and a sizable number of MLAs belonging to the Uddhav Thackeray-led party have gone on a rebellion. Shinde and the party rebels, who are currently camping in Guwahati, has said he has 46 MLAs supporting him. This happened bcoz Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra was an "unnatural alliance" and it was imperative for his party to walk out of the coalition with the NCP and the Congress for its own sake and that of party workers. Amid the intensifying political crisis in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on 22 June asserted that Uddhav Thackeray will continue to be the chief minister of the state.

The devastating floods have claimed 107 lives since April, affecting more than 45 lakh people across 30 districts of the state.The worst-affected is Silchar town in Barak Valley where the situation remains extremely grim for four days now. Nearly three lakh people are affected as the overflowing Barak River inundated the major town in southern Assam, while more than 71,000 people have been shifted to relief camps.

As for the presidential elections, this week, Gopalkrishna Gandhi Opts Out As Joint Opposition Candidate For President Polls Gopalkrishna Gandhi said that he was grateful for being considered for the highest office but felt that the Opposition's candidate should be someone who will generate a national consensus. The BJP has chosen former Jharkhand governor Draupadi Murmu as the party’s pick for the upcoming Presidential elections on a day when the Opposition also chose Yashwant Sinha as its candidate. The decision was taken at the BJP's parliamentary board meeting chaired by PM Narendra Modi. Addressing the press conference, BJP president JP Nadda said that after extensive discussions with the NDA allies, it was felt that the Presidential candidate should come from the eastern part of India and should be a woman tribal candidate.

The government on Friday appointed former drinking water and sanitation secretary Parameswaran Iyer the new chief executive officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog. Iyer, a 1981-batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre and a well-known sanitation specialist, has been appointed for a term of two years. The Department of Personnel and Training announced his appointment. His term will begin upon the completion of current CEO Amitabh Kant's tenure on June 30, 2022.

The three military services earlier on Tuesday said the Agnipath scheme will not entail any change in the existing system of recruitment of soldiers and will not at all impact their combat capabilities and operational readiness. At a media briefing, additional secretary in the defence ministry's department of military affairs Lt Gen Anil Puri addressed various issues raised about the new scheme, asserting it has not been brought to "right-size" the armed forces but to lower their age-profile and enhance their overall capability. However, The Rajasthan Congress has said that they will hold demonstrations against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme across the state on June 27.

India reported 17,336 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours with 13 more deaths. This is the highest daily figure reported since mid-February, as the country is witnessing an upward tick in infections amid fears of a new wave. The 24-hour figure indicates a massive 30 per cent jump since yesterday's infections.

Sports News

International chess master Nitin Senthilvel’s winning run was halted as he drew his eighth-round game in 68 moves against top-seed Boris Savchenko on Friday at the 13th Chennai OpenInternational Grandmaster Chess tournament. Nitin continued to top the standings with 7.5 points, a full point ahead of his nearest rivals.

Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to stay at Manchester United this summer and will report back for pre-season training at the beginning of July, despite reports he is ready to quit the club due to lack of signings.

IND vs LEI, Tour Match, Day 2: Heading into Lunch, Leicestershire were four wickets down against India on Da 2 of the ongoing four-day tour game at the Uptonsteel Cricket Ground.

ndia on Thursday (July 23) named an 18-member women's hockey team for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, with star striker Rani Rampal left out yet again for failing to regain full fitness after an injury. The side will be captained by goalkeeper Savita Punia while experienced defender Deep Grace Ekka will be her deputy in the Birmingham CWG, to be held from July 28 to August 8.

Fifa brought out its world rankings which had Brazil on the top, Belgium on the (2nd). Argentina at and France on (4^th positions. The Indian football team reaped a good harvest from its impressive Asian Cup qualification campaign as it gained two places to jump to 104th 

Entertainement and Pop Culture News

Hera Pheri, the cult classic comedy is getting another sequel. The first film which was released in 2000 featured Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal., producer Firoz Nadiadwala has confirmed Hera Pheri 3 with Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal returning to the comedy film franchise. He said that fans will get to see the film "very soon with the same star cast."

Jug Jugg Jeeyo starring Varun Dhawan Kiara Advani Anil Kapoor Neetu Kapoor manish Paul and Prajakta Kholi has released with over 11,000 shows across the country and the movie has taken a decent start at the box office. According to early trends, Jug Jugg Jeeyo is looking at an opening day in the range of Rs 8.25 to 9.25 crore, and this lays the platform for the film to grow over the weekend.

According to reports, Malaika Arora and Arjun Kapoor have chosen Paris as their holiday destination to celebrate Arjun Kapoor’s birthday. Arjun will be turning 37 on June 26. The couple was spotted at the Mumbai Airport together.

Euphoria star Hunter Schafer has joined the cast of Lionsgate's The Hunger Games prequel movie The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The movie is being adapted from Suzanne Collins' 2020 book of the same name, which takes place decades before Katniss Everdeen's (Jennifer Lawrence) adventures in The Hunger Games.

American singer-songwriter Charlie Puth has dropped on June 24 his new song made in collaboration with BTS’ Jungkook. The song “Left and Right (feat. Jungkook of BTS)” has been released on various platforms including Spotify, YouTube Music and Korea’s Melon. This is the second time in four years that Puth and Jungkook have worked together. They performed together “We Don’t Talk Anymore” at the 2018 MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards in 2018 in South Korea.

Popular rapper Raftaar and his wife Komal Vohra have decided to part ways six years after their marriage. If a report by Hindustan Times is to be believed, the two have been living separately for quite some time now and already filed for divorce in 2020. While the proceedings of their separation were then delayed by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Raftaar and Komaw will be signing divorce papers in October this year.

Host and Producer: NiharikaNanda2 

Sound designer: lalit1121992