News Dabba for 14 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 Parliamentary panel on vacancies in research posts, blasts in Pakistan, to Ukraine truce deal.

Pune ZP engineers held for accepting bribe from contractor: Indian Express

Indian Express reports that the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Maharashtra arrested three engineers of the Pune Zilla Parishad (ZP) on Thursday for allegedly demanding and accepting bribe from a government contractor. The accused have been identified as executive engineer Baburao Krushna Pawar, 57, deputy engineer Dattatreya Bhagwanrao Pathare, 55, and junior engineer Anjali Pramod Bagade — all attached to the construction wing of the Pune ZP. As per the report, Pune Police stated that the complainant contractor won the tender from Pune ZP to build two roads in Daund taluka last year and he submitted bills worth Rs 40 lakh for the work. Read the full report here.

HT: Parliamentary panel flags delay in filling vacancies in research posts

A parliamentary committee has expressed concern over posts of scientists in the Department of Health Research lying vacant for an "unacceptably" long time and the continued exodus of trained and talented Indian professionals to developed countries. Hindustan Times reports that The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, in its report presented in the Rajya Sabha this week, recommended urgent measures to address the issue, adding that the practice of contractual appointments be stopped to prevent desertions. Read the full report here.

Blast targeting local leader at mosque in Pakistan, India Today

A local Islamist leader and three others, including children, were injured after a blast ripped through a mosque in Pakistan’s Waziristan region during Friday prayers, India Today. Officials believe the blast targeted Abdullah Nadeem, a local leader of the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) political party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the northwestern part of the country. The report says that Nadeem has been hospitalised, and according to local media, his condition remains serious. Two children were also among the injured in the blast at the Maulana Abdul Aziz Mosque, the South Waziristan district police chief said. Read the full report here.

NDTV reports, drunk driver kills woman in Vadodara, screams 'another round'

A road accident in the Karelibag area of Gujarat's Vadodara has left one dead and several others injured, NDTV reports, after an allegedly drunk driver crashed his car into multiple vehicles late on Thursday night. Captured on CCTV, the driver's disturbing reaction following the crash has sparked outrage. The accident occurred near Amrapali Chaar Rasta in Karelibag, a busy intersection in Vadodara city. According to eyewitnesses and CCTV footage, a high-speed black car lost control and rammed into a 2-wheeler, hitting several bystanders in the process. Read the full report here.

Russia says more work to do on Ukraine deal after Putin meets Trump envoy, BBC reports

Russia said there is "cautious optimism" over a ceasefire deal with Ukraine, but there is "a lot ahead to be done". BBC reports that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that Prisident Vladimir Putin still needs answers, after the Russian president raised several questions about how a US-brokered truce would work. US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin on Thursday and is now on his way back to the US with information to pass to US President Donald Trump. The report also adds that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Putin's response was "manipulative" and called for more sanctions on Russia to force a deal. Read the full report here.