News Dabba for 04 March 2025: 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 Dhananjay Munde resignation, Supreme Court slamming states on affordable drugs, to China and Canada's retaliation against Trump.

Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resigns amid row over sarpanch murder, Hindustan Times

Maharashtra state minister Dhananjay Munde submitted his resignation on Tuesday to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis amid a row over the murder of the sarpanch of Beed, Hindustan Times reports. Dhananjay Munde tendered his resignation to CM Fadnavis at his official residence through his private secretary Prashant Bhamre and officer on special duty Prashant Joshi. Fadnavis announced that Munde had been relieved from his post, as the state minister of food and civil supplies, on the premises of the state legislature. Read the full report here.

Supreme Court slams states on affordable drugs, medical equipment, NDTV reports

State governments have failed in ensuring affordable medical care and infrastructure, the Supreme Court said Tuesday. NDTV reports that it offered scathing criticism of states' failure to deliver reasonably-priced medicines, particularly in case of essential drugs, for people from poorer sections of society. This failure, the court noted had "facilitated and promoted private hospitals". The report says that a bench of Justice Surya Kant and NK Singh was hearing a Public Interest Litigation arguing that private hospitals were compelling patients, and their families, to buy medicines, implants, and other medical care items from in-house pharmacies that imposed exorbitant mark-ups. The PIL sought direction to private hospitals to not compel the patients to purchase only from the hospital pharmacies. Read the full report here.

BBC on China and Canada's retaliation as Trump tariffs take effect

China and Canada announced retaliatory action as US President Trump's tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China take effect, BBC reports. Trump's long-threatened 25 percent tariffs against Canada and Mexico began at midnight in Washington DC, as did a new 10 percent levy against China. US markets dropped and Asian markets have become jittery at the possibility of a trade war, the report adds. Read the full report here.

Indian Express: Bombay HC stays order directing FIR against Madhabi Puri Buch, others

Indian Express reports that the Bombay High Court on Tuesday stayed an order passed by the special ACB court on Saturday, which had directed the filing of an FIR against six people, including former Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, in a case of alleged stock market fraud and regulatory violations. “It appears that the Learned Judge has passed the order mechanically without going into the details and without attributing any specific role to all the applicants, hence order is stayed till the next date,” ordered Justice Shivkumar Dige, granting four weeks’ time to the complainant to file a reply on the petitions filed by the six. On Saturday, special ACB judge S E Bangar had directed the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to file an FIR based on a complaint by Dombivali resident Sapan Shrivastava. Read the full report here.

Firefighters still struggling to contain Japan’s biggest wildfire in half a century, The Straits Times

Japanese firefighters are struggling to contain a week-long wildfire on the country’s north-eastern coast that has spread to become the worst the country has seen in half a century. The Straits Times reports that the blaze near Ofunato in Iwate prefecture had engulfed 2,600ha as of Tuesday – close to half the area of Manhattan – and was continuing to grow. The report said this made it the biggest fire in Japan since 1975. Residents have been instructed to evacuate, as more than 2,000 firefighters use helicopters and hoses to douse the flames approaching urban centres. Read the full report here.