News Dabba for 02 April 2024: Five stories for a balanced news diet

Indie Journal brings you the daily updates that the internet is talking about through various news websites. Here's a glance through some of the National and International news updates, from the discussion on Katchatheevu, Israeli strikes killing aid workers in Gaza, to the Supreme Court slamming Patanjali co-founders.

Sri Lanka minister says no word from India on Katchatheevu, Indian Express 

India has not sent any official communication yet on the Katchatheevu island issue, a senior Sri Lanka minister told The Indian Express on Monday. The report says that the BJP also scaled up its attack on the Congress in this regard, accusing it and the DMK of giving away the island. The party’s Tamil Nadu unit chief K Annamalai claimed that the Centre is taking all possible measures to reclaim the territory. However, the report quotes Jeevan Thondaman, a Tamil-origin minister in President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Cabinet, saying that there has not been an official communication or request from India to return the powers of Katchatheevu island. "As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, Katchatheevu island falls within the Sri Lankan line of control. Narendra Modi’s foreign policy with Sri Lanka is organic and healthy," he said. This came on a day External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar added his weight to the BJP claims that the Congress government led by Indira Gandhi had given away the Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka in 1974. Read the full report here.

Supreme Court slams Ramdev in misleading ads case, NDTV reports

NDTV reports that the Supreme Court today came down heavily on Patanjali Ayurved's co-founder Ramdev and Managing Director Balakrishna for their "absolute defiance" in not filing proper affidavits over the company's misleading advertisements. "Not just the Supreme Court, every order passed by the courts across this country has to be respected. This is absolute defiance," the top court said. The report adds that the top court observed that advertisements issued by Patanjali are in the "teeth of law" of the land. The court also told Ramdev to be ready for the action, as per the report. Read the full report here.

Record wildfires hit Venezuela, The Straits Times

Venezuela is battling a record number of wildfires, as a climate change-driven drought plagues the Amazon rainforest region. The Straits Times reports that satellites registered more than 30,200 fire points in Venezuela from January to March, the highest level for that period since records started in 1999, according to Brazil’s Inpe research agency, which monitors all of South America. That includes fires in the Amazon, as well as the country’s other forests and grasslands. In Venezuela, over the Easter holiday weekend, roughly 400 firefighters fought a major blaze, the report says. Read the full report here.

Hindustan Times: ECI appoints Special Observers to oversee Lok Sabha polls

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced the deployment of Special Observers to ensure smooth execution of upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Hindustan Times reports. Special Observers (General and Police) have been deployed in states of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, with a population of more than 7 crore and in states like Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, where simultaneous elections to the Assemblies are to be held. The report says the observers will be supervising the randomisation of personnel, security forces and voting machines. Read the full report here.

The Guardian on seven Gaza aid workers killed in Israeli strike

Seven people working with World Food Kitchen, the charity spearheading efforts to alleviate looming famine in Gaza, have been killed in an Israeli airstrike, the charity said. The Guardian reports that this has thrown humanitarian relief efforts in the beleaguered Palestinian territory into chaos after the organisation said it would suspend operations. The workers were travelling in two armoured vehicles branded with the charity’s logo, according to a statement early on Tuesday from World Central Kitchen. WCK said those killed were from the UK, Australia, Poland, and Palestine, as well as a US-Canada dual citizen, the report adds. The Charity said that despite coordinating movements with the Israeli army, the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse. The report mentions that the team had just unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route. WCK has paused its operations immediately in the region. Read the full report here.