#1 It is unfair to target me just because I refused to oblige a big builder: Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan
Prithviraj Chavan appears to be rattled by reports that he may be replaced as chief minister of Maharashtra. He has admitted that the report distracted him from his work, but he would abide by whatever decision the Congress party leadership may take on the matter. Read more
#2 BJP gets down to business on seat sharing and exchange
With the countdown to the state assembly polls having begun, the BJP is getting down to the brass tacks on contentious issues like seat-sharing and exchange of seats. The party's core committee for Maharashtra on Thursday decided to undertake a study to take a call on seats that can be claimed by the party and exchanged with its allies like the Shiv Sena. Pankaja Munde Palve, daughter of senior leader and former Union minister Gopinath Munde, who died in a road mishap, has also been inducted into the core committee. The state BJP will also request party president and Union home minister Rajnath Singh to induct Pankaja as a minister. Read more
#3 UPA Political Appointments and the NDA: Heads roll, bodies change
After prodding governors posted during UPA's tenure to leave, the BJP-led NDA government has widened its focus and has started knocking at the doors of other bodies seeking resignation of officials who were appointed by its predecessor. The latest additions to the fallen heads are nine members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), including its vice chairman Shahshidhar Reddy, president of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Dr Karan Singh, chairperson of National Commission for Women Mamata Sharma and chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes PL Punia. Read more
#4 FIFA World Cup 2014 Uruguay's Luis Suarez exposes England's soft centre
"England's defensive frailties" is probably the most oft-repeated phrase in the country's soccer journalism and the 2-1 loss to Uruguay at the World Cup on Thursday underlined why. Man-of-the-match Luis Suarez, back from injury and the focus of intense media attention in the buildup to a game both sides desperately needed to win, scored twice to put England on the brink of elimination from Group D. Both goals underlined his attacking brilliance – peeling off a defender for a well directed header in the first half, and rifling an angled shot past Joe Hart after a speedy run on goal in the second. And he was not even fully fit. Read more
#5 Iraq Crisis: Barack Obama announces US will send up to 300 military 'advisers'; Pressure builds on Indian government to get nurses out
Not a month into his tenure and prime minister Narendra Modi is facing his biggest challenge to date. Forty Indian construction workers have been kidnapped from Mosul in Iraq. And 46 Indian nurses are under siege in a hospital in Tikrit. One of the nurses reminded Modi of his "duty" as prime minister.
Forty Indian nationals, mostly construction workers hailing from northern India, are also currently trapped in Iraq, abducted by the jihadist militant ISIL, also abbreviated to ISIS. The Indian government is concentrating all its efforts in order to ensure the rescue of the abducted Indians as well as the safe return of all its other citizens from the war-torn country. Read more
#6 Coal India revamp put on backburner, government seeks ways to boost output
Focus will be on faster coordination with environment ministry for quicker approval of mining projects to boost output holds key. The much-anticipated breaking up of Coal India into independent mining companies with a view to raise overall coal production through higher efficiency appears to have been put on the backburner with the government now becoming more concerned on how to raise output through faster environmental approvals. Read more
#7 #dnaEdit: Unable to bear tremendous burden of population, Mumbai is crumbling
In the next three years, the city’s slum population would increase to 20.5 million. After being ravaged for years, Mumbai is finally dying. There is only so much a city can take, and Maharashtra’s glittering capital with towering buildings, sprawling slums and crumbling infrastructure cannot bear the burden any further. Read more
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