Government likely to appoint new Election Commissioners by March 15
The two vacancies in the Election Commission (EC), created by the surprise resignation of Arun Goel and the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey, are likely to be filled by March 15, sources indicated. A high-level selection committee, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and comprising a Union Minister and Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, is likely to meet on March 14. Keen to fill up the vacancies at the earliest, sources told The Hindu that the Opposition leader has been sounded out about a change of date to advance the meeting date by a day or two.
Electoral bonds: SC to hear SBI's plea seeking extension to disclose details on March 11
The Supreme Court will on March 11 hear the application filed by the State Bank of India (SBI) seeking extension till June 30 to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties before the scheme was scrapped last month. In a landmark verdict delivered on February 15, a five-judge constitution Bench scrapped the Centre's electoral bonds scheme that allowed anonymous political funding, calling it "unconstitutional" and ordered disclosure by the Election Commission of the donors, the amount donated by them, and the recipients by March 13.
In re-constituted National Commission for Scheduled Castes, govt. ensures a place for Madiga member
With the Lok Sabha election around the corner, the Union government has chosen to constitute the most-recent National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) by ensuring the presence of at least one member from the Madiga community, one of the most populous Scheduled Caste communities in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The Madiga community has argued that despite being among the most populous of the SCs, they are routinely crowded out of benefits and reservation by the relatively dominant Mala community.
Uttar Pradesh Congress passes resolution for candidature from Gandhi family
The Uttar Pradesh unit of the Congress unanimously passed a resolution for the candidature from the Gandhi family in Amethi and Raebareli seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Congress Pradesh Election Committee (PEC) refrained from officially naming the candidates from the family but sources confirmed the push is for Rahul Gandhi to contest from Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra from Raebareli.
Cheetah Gamini gives birth to five cubs at MP's Kuno National Park; big cat count rises to 26
Cheetah ‘Gamini’ on Sunday gave birth to five cubs in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district, taking the total number of the big cats in the country to 26, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav said. This is the fourth cheetah litter on Indian soil and the first litter of cheetahs brought from South Africa, Mr. Yadav informed. In March last year, cheetah Jwala (Namibian name Siyaya) had given birth to four cubs but only one managed to survive. Jwala gave birth to her second litter of four cubs in January this year., which was followed by cheetah Aasha delivering three cubs.
Haryana BJP MP Brijendra Singh resigns from party, joins Congress
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Hisar Lok Sabha member Brijendra Singh quit the party due to “compelling political reasons” and joined the Congress within a few hours. He later also resigned as the Lok Sabha member. Formally joining the Congress in the presence of party’s national president Mallikarjun Kharge, Mr. Singh said that he took the decision to quit the BJP as he was “uncomfortable” and “not in agreement” over a few issues, including the farmers movement, the Agniveer scheme and the wrestlers protest.
Worst fears about presence of drugs in Tamil Nadu confirmed, says Governor R.N. Ravi
Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi, said the recent interdictions of sizeable quantities of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and apprehension of members of international drug cartels in Tamil Nadu and other places by the central agencies had “confirmed the worst fears about prevalence of drugs in the State.
Hours after the Trinamool Congress announced its candidates for all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, the Congress said an alliance with Trinamool is possible until withdrawal of nominations. The party also asserted that any agreement has to be finalised through negotiations and not unilateral announcements. “Our doors are always open and an alliance can happen anytime before withdrawal,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said.
Muslims spot Ramadan crescent moon in Saudi Arabia, month of fasting starts Monday for many
Officials saw the crescent moon on Sunday night in Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest sites in Islam, marking the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan for many of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims. Saudi state television reported authorities there saw the crescent moon. However, there are some Asian countries, like Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, that will begin Ramadan on Tuesday after failing to see the crescent moon.
Nepal PM 'Prachanda' to seek third vote of confidence by March 13: report
Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' is seeking to hold his third vote of confidence in Parliament by March 13, days after he forged a new alliance with the CPN-UML, a media report said. The third round of vote of confidence comes after Mr. Prachanda, a former guerilla leader, dumped the Nepali Congress and forged a new alliance with the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) – the second-biggest party – led by former premier K.P. Sharma Oli on Monday.
Portugal votes with centre-right poised to oust Socialists
Voters in Portugal go to the polls on March 10 in an early election that could see the country join a shift to the right seen across Europe after eight years of Socialist rule. Final opinion polls published on March 8 show the centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) narrowly ahead of the Socialist Party (PS) but short of an outright majority in parliament, which could make the far-right party Chega a kingmaker for forming a governing coalition.
Satwik-Chirag win French Open doubles title
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty continued their love affair with Paris, lifting the French Open badminton crown for the second time with a dominating straight game win over Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan in the men's doubles final.The world No. 1 Indian pair had finished runners-up in the French Open in 2019 before winning the title in 2022.
