Quick Reads
News Dabba for 7 March 2023: Five stories for a balanced news diet
Here are the daily updates that the internet is talking about through various news websites.
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 undernutrition in mothers rising, unseasonal rains affecting crops in Maharashtra, to successful test-fires of the indigenous surface-to-air missile in India.
The Straits Times: Unicef states undernutrition in mothers is rising sharply
The Straits Times reports that the number of pregnant women and nursing mothers suffering from undernutrition has increased by 25 percent since 2020 in 12 countries, the United Nations children’s agency warned. The Unicef report estimates that more than one billion women and adolescent girls suffer from undernutrition – which leaves them underweight and of short stature. The report adds that most of these women are in the world’s poorest regions. South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa constitute 68 percent of women and adolescent girls who are underweight and 60 percent of those suffering from anaemia. Read the full report here.
Unseasonal rains affect crops in 5 Maharashtra districts, NDTV reports
Unseasonal rains along with strong winds lashed at least five districts in Maharashtra, NDTV reports, damaging standing crops just ahead of the harvest season. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde took stock of the situation on Tuesday and directed officials to conduct assessments of the losses suffered by farmers. Standing crops in several districts in the state were affected because of the unseasonal rains, the report says. Shinde said farmers should be given relief and confidence. Read the full report here.
Japan forced to destroy flagship H3 rocket in failed launch, BBC reports
Japan was forced to blow up its new rocket during a failed launch on Tuesday, BBC reports. This has set back efforts to crack a market led by Elon Musk's Space X, it says. Its space agency had to send a self-destruct command to the H3 rocket when its second-stage engine failed minutes after lift-off. Observers say it is a significant setback for Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa). As per BBC, the government called the test failure "extremely regrettable". Read the full report here.
Indian Navy successfully test-fires indigenous surface-to-air missile, The Hindu
The Indian Navy on March 7 carried out a successful test-firing of a Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) from frontline warship INS Visakhapatnam. The test firing validated the capability to engage the weapon as an anti-ship missile. The Hindu reports that MRSAM has been jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Institute of Actuaries of India (IAI), and produced at Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), reflecting the Navy’s commitment to Atmanirbhar Bharat. Read the full report here.
Suicide increases in Lebanese unable to feed their children: Arab News
At least four Lebanese people have died by suicide in the past week, as the population of the country is finding the prevailing economic and social conditions hard to bear. Arab News reports that Lebanon is in the midst of a devastating economic crisis that has plunged more than 80 percent of its population into poverty. Information International, a Beirut-based research consultancy firm, has recently published a study showing a significant rise in registered suicides following a decrease in numbers in 2022. The report says preliminary investigations revealed that last week’s figures were exacerbated by adverse economic and living conditions. The report also adds that suicide rates are high among vulnerable groups that suffer discrimination. Read the full report here.
