NATIONAL NEWS
India blocks 22 YouTube Channels, 3 Twitter Accounts
India has blocked 22 YouTube channels for spreading fake news related to India’s national security and foreign relations to mislead viewers and jeopardize India’s foreign relations with other countries. The YouTube channels include 18 Indian YouTube Channels and 4 Pakistan-based YouTube channels. India has also blocked 3 Twitter accounts, 1 Facebook account and one news website.
Bharat Biotech to temporarily slow down Covaxin production
Bharat Biotech has informed that it is temporarily slowing down Covaxin production for facility optimisation, as it will focus on pending facility maintenance, process and facility optimisation activities. The company said that it will rectify issues raised by WHO regarding its COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin. The company though clarified in a statement that there is no impact on efficacy and safety of Covaxin.
Lieutenant General Manoj Pande will be India’s next Army Chief.
Lieutenant General Manoj Pande is all set to become India’s next Chief of the Indian Army Staff. This comes as the incumbent Army Chief General MM Naravane is due to retire by the end of April 2022. MM Naravane is seen to be the frontrunner for the post of Chief of Defence Staff, which has been vacant since the untimely demise of Gen. Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash in December 2021.
Vinay Mohan Kwatra is the new Foreign Secretary of India
Vinay Mohan Kwatra, who was India’s Ambassador to Nepal, has been named as the new Foreign Secretary of India. He will be succeeding Harsh Vardhan Shringla who will retire from his position at the end of April 2022. Vinay Kwatra has considerable expertise in dealing with the United States and China and has superseded at least 8 Indian Foreign Service Officers.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal leaves for Australia for a 3-day visit
Union Minister Piyush Goyal left on April 5, 2022, for a 3-day visit to Australia. His visit has come days after the two countries signed the ‘Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement’. Piyush Goyal, during his visit, will take the significance of ECTA to the people and will interact with the business leaders, Indian diaspora, and Indian students in Australia. Goyal will also hold wide-ranging discussions with his Australian counterpart on carrying forward the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. ECTA is the first trade agreement of India with a developed country after more than a decade.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Russia punished for Bucha massacre
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of war crimes in the town of Bucha, just outside the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, where hundreds of residents were found dead in a month-long Russian occupation. Bodies of civilians were found lying on the streets of the town, some with their hands tied, some with gunshot wounds and some hastily buried in mass graves after Russians withdrew from the town. The Ukrainian authorities describe it as a ‘scene from a horror movie’ and accused the Russian forces of carrying out a massacre.
President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ruling coalition loses majority
The ruling coalition of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa lost its majority in Parliament on April 5, 2022, after at least 41 lawmakers walked out of the alliance. However, the President has said that he won’t resign and is ready to hand over the government to whoever proves 113 seat majority. An emergency health situation has been declared in Sri Lanka because of the severe drug shortage in the country. Earlier, the Finance Minister of Sri Lanka Ali Sabry had resigned just a day after he was appointed by the Sri Lankan President as the country suffers a crippling economic crisis.
