News Dabba for 18 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 Supreme Court hearing on VVPAT slips counting, MCC violation in Goa, to volcano erupton in northern Indonesia.

Telangana school attacked over saffron clothing row, Indian Express

A school run by a missionary congregation in Telangana’s Mancherial district was vandalised on Tuesday by a group of villagers belonging to another community, Indian Express reports. The report says this was after some students wearing saffron-coloured religious attire were allegedly told that their parents had to seek prior permission if they wanted to come to school without wearing uniforms. The incident took place on April 16 at St Mother Teresa English Medium School, Luxettipet, in Kannepalli village in the north Telangana district. The video of the vandalism by a mob of saffron-clad villagers shouting ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogans is being widely shared on social media, the report says. Read the full report here.

The Hindu: SC asks EC to check reports of EVMs registering ‘extra votes’ for BJP in Kerala mock polls

The Supreme Court, on Thursday, asked the Election Commission to look into media reports about four electronic voting machines having erroneously logged in votes in favour of BJP during mock polls held in Kerala, The Hindu reports. The attention of Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta was drawn to the reports by advocate Prashant Bhushan. The Bench is hearing petitions seeking 100% cross-verification of EVM votes with VVPAT slips. The petitioners, including Association for Democratic Reforms, the report adds, have urged the court to allow voters physical access to the VVPAT slips to confirm the votes they have cast before putting the slips into the sealed ballot boxes. Read the full report here.

Ukraine warns of WW3 ahead of long-stalled Congress aid vote

Ukraine's prime minister has told the BBC there will be a "Third World War" if Ukraine loses its conflict with Russia, BBC reports, as he urged the US Congress to pass a long-stalled foreign aid bill. Denys Shmyhal expressed "careful optimism" that US lawmakers would pass the hotly contested measure, which has $61bn earmarked for Kyiv. The House of Representatives is set to vote on the package this Saturday. The report further says that the proposal includes funding for Israel as well as the Indo-Pacific. Read the full report here.

Goa election office red-flags mining lease with Vedanta: Hindustan Times

Goa’s additional chief electoral officer has referred to the Election Commission of India (ECI) a complaint against the state government for signing a mining lease deed with Vedanta Ltd on March 22, Hindustan Times reports, allegedly in violation of the model code of conduct (MCC). In response to a notice earlier, the department of mines defended its decision to go ahead with the agreement, saying that signing the lease deed was a “contractual obligation” as part of the ongoing process to restart mining via auctions. MCC came into force on March 16, the report adds, the day general elections were announced. Read the full report here.

More than 11,000 evacuated in northern Indonesia as volcano erupts, Al Jazeera reports

Al Jazeera reports that more than 11,000 people have been told to evacuate and air travel in the region has been disrupted after a volcano in northern Indonesia erupted multiple times. Mount Ruang, located in North Sulawesi Province, first erupted at 9:45pm local time on Tuesday, sending billowing clouds of smoke and ash high into the sky. After four more eruptions on Wednesday, Indonesia’s volcanology agency raised the alert level for the 725-metre high mountain to four, the highest on the scale. Officials said on Thursday morning that more people would need to be evacuated as a result of the widening exclusion zone, the report says, and would be taken to Manado. Read the full report here.