News Dabba for 26 April 2023: 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 blast by Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada, the Taliban killing the head of Islamic State cell, to Singapore hanging man for trafficking 1kg of cannabis.

The Straits Times: Taliban kills head of Islamic State cell that bombed Kabul Airport

The Taliban have killed the leader of the Islamic State cell responsible for the suicide bombing at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021, The Straits Times reported. The attack had killed 13 United States troops and as many as 170 civilians, four senior American officials said on Tuesday. The administration on Monday began calling relatives of the US troops who died in the attack to tell them that the leader of the terrorist cell had been killed by Taliban security forces in recent weeks. The report says it was unclear whether the Taliban were specifically targeting the insurgent or if he was killed in one of the increasing number of attacks. Read the full report here.

10 Cops, Driver killed in blast by Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada, NDTV

NDTV reports 10 policemen and their driver were killed on Thursday when their minivan was blown up by an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. The policemen were returning from an anti-Maoist operation that was launched after intelligence inputs, officials said. The report added that the policemen belonged to the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a special force of the Chhattisgarh police that comprises mostly local tribals who have been trained to combat Maoists. Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel following the attack. Read the full report here.

Singapore hangs man for trafficking 1kg of cannabis, Al Jazeera reports

Singapore has hanged 46-year-old Tangaraju Suppiah who was found guilty in 2018 of trafficking more than 1kg (2.2 pounds) of cannabis, Al Jazeera report adding that the action was taken despite last-minute appeals for clemency from his family and activists. His family said they had been given Tangaraju’s death certificate, anti-death penalty campaigner Kirsten Han wrote on Twitter. Tangaraju Suppiah was sentenced to death in 2018 for abetting the attempted trafficking of just more than 1kg of cannabis. As per the report, a spokesperson for the country’s prison service told the AFP news agency that the sentence had been carried out at Changi prison in the island’s east. Tangaraju’s family and activists had argued the 46-year-old was not provided with adequate legal counsel, the report adds. Read the full report here.

The Hindu reports AAP’s Shelly Oberoi wins Delhi Mayoral election unopposed

Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Shelly Oberoi will continue to hold the office of the National Capital’s Mayor. The Hindu reports that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced its withdrawal from the Delhi Mayor and Deputy Mayor elections to be held today. Oberoi therefore won the contest unopposed. The report says that Presiding officer Mukesh Goel declared that AAP candidate Shelly Oberoi is the Capital’s next Mayor. Read the full report here.

Indian Express report: WHO warns against another substandard cough syrup made in India

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued another alert for an India-manufactured, contaminated cough syrup sold in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia. Indian Express report on this states that this is the third such alert within seven months for contaminated cough syrups produced in India. The previous cases have been identified in the Gambia and Uzbekistan. The alert says that the syrup Guaifenesin—used to relieve chest congestion and cough—was found to contain “unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol” by the quality control labs of the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia. The report adds these are the same contaminants that were found in syrups allegedly linked to the deaths of 70 children in the Gambia and 18 children in Uzbekistan due to acute kidney injury. Read the full report here.