The Hindu Morning Digest: January 19, 2024

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi visit the accident site where a boat, carrying school students, capsized in a lake, in Vadodara, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

12 school students, 2 teachers killed in Gujarat boat capsize

A school picnic turned into a tragedy on Thursday as 16 people — 14 school children and two teachers — died after a boat carrying over 20 children and several adults overturned in a lake in Gujarat’s Vadodara.

India says it hopes to resolve issue of troops in Maldives

India on Thursday said it continues to hope for a resolution of the tussle with the Maldives over stationing of Indian troops in the islands, despite the Maldivian government setting a deadline of March 15 for their removal. Answering a number of questions about the tensions between the two countries, that have visibly increased since the new President Mohamed Muizzu took power and made sending back Indian military personnel attached to Indian aircraft given to the Maldives for humanitarian and maintenance operations a priority, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson said India remains “committed” to its partnership with the Maldives. 

Arvind Kejriwal arrives in Goa with Mann for three-day visit amid ED summons

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann on Thursday arrived in Goa on a three-day visit during which they will take stock of the Aam Aadmi Party’s preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, a party functionary said.

Delhi High Court refuses to stay notice asking Mahua Moitra to vacate government accommodation

The Delhi High Court on Thursday rejected Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra’s plea against a notice issued by the Directorate of Estates to vacate the allotted government bungalow here following her expulsion from the Lok Sabha over cash-for-query allegations.

NAM Summit | Jaishankar holds bilateral meetings with counterparts from Egypt, Maldives, Angola & Belarus in Uganda

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Egypt, the Maldives, Angola and Belarus during which he discussed with them issues of mutual interests and expanding cooperation in the multilateral fora.

Israeli strike kills 16 in southern Gaza; no word on whether medicines reached hostages

An Israeli airstrike on a home killed 16 people, half of them children, in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, medics said early Thursday. The military continued to strike targets in areas of the besieged territory where it has told civilians to seek refuge.

There was meanwhile no word on whether medicines that entered the territory Wednesday as part of a deal brokered by France and Qatar had been distributed to dozens hostages with chronic illnesses who are being held by Hamas.

Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute | Plea in Allahabad HC for revenue survey of mosque

A plea has been moved in the Allahabad High Court seeking the appointment of a revenue surveyor to inspect premises of the Shahi Idgah mosque, which stands next to the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura, to ascertain the mosque’s actual location.

Seat-sharing talks hit a road block in U.P. as Congress ‘unhappy’ with SP offer

The negotiations between the Congress and Samajwadi Party, for seat-sharing in Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, have hit an impasse. According to sources, at the end of the third round of talks which concluded on January 18, the SP is offering less than ten seats, a tally which the Congress finds unacceptable.

Australian Open | Blinkova upsets 2023 finalist Rybakina in a wild, record-long tiebreaker

Her hand and her legs were shaking, she’d missed nine match points but also saved six, and Anna Blinkova was 41 points into a wild tiebreaker that was the longest ever in a women’s Grand Slam event.