Evening News Wrap: Top Stories of the day in a capsule
Ayushman Bharat healthcare scheme approved by cabinet
The cabinet on Wednesday approved the centrally-sponsored Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) which was announced in the budget. The scheme will provide a health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year. The existing Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), which provided a health cover of Rs 30,000, and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS) will be included in the new scheme. It would take care of almost all secondary care and most of the tertiary care procedures, the government said. There will be no cap on family size and age. The benefits cover will include pre and post-hospitalization expenses. All pre-existing conditions will be covered from day one of the policy. A defined transport allowance per hospitalization will also be paid to the beneficiary.
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5 soldiers martyred and 5 terrorists killed in J&K's Kupwara
Three Army Jawans and two policemen lost their lives in a fresh exchange of fire between militants and security forces in the Kupwara district of J&K on Wednesday. Five unidentified terrorists have been killed in the operation which began last night in a forest area in the district. On Tuesday, four militants were killed in an encounter in the same area. Security forces launched a fresh operation in Arampora area in the wake of militants opening fire at an Army patrol party. The army spokesperson said the anti-militancy operation, which continued overnight, was going on when reports last came in.
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Zuckerberg admits mistake over Facebook data breach
As Facebook got mired into its biggest-ever controversy, its CEO Mark Zuckerberg has now admitted that the social media giant "made mistakes" over the Cambridge Analytica scandal and a "breach of trust" had occurred between it and its users.The controversy surrounding Facebook data leak took a fresh turn, on Wednesday, when Union IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad accused that the Congress party of colluding with the data firm to influence elections in 2019. Questioning the role of the Cambridge Analytica- the data firm at the center of the controversy- Prasad alleged that the Congress Party president Rahul Gandhi was seeking the help of the firm to improve his image on social media. However, the Congress denied that it has any link with the firm and has blamed the BJP of partnering with the Indian arm of the firm for winning the 2014 elections. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that it was the BJP that had aligned with the said firm and said that this is a fake agenda by BJP and a white lie. Facebook, the largest social networking giant, has come under the radar for using user data to influence the US 2016 elections. Some media reports suggested that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg could be called for questioning about the same. Cambridge Antartica's Indian arm, Ovleno was pulled down. The site showed both BJP and Congress as their clients.
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Jharkhand’s top Maoist commander Arvindji died of heart attack: Reports
Top Naxalite 'commander' Arvindji alias Dev Kumar Singh alias Nishant, operating in Jharkhand, is reported to have died of a heart attack in the jungles of the state, claimed reports from official sources. He was in his 50's and was suffering from several diseases, including diabetes, and had his hand behind a number of killings and attacks on security forces including the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the state. "We have reports to confirm that Arvindji is dead. It is understood that he suffered a heart attack today that claimed his life while he was in the Budha Pahar area," a senior security official said. Security officials in Delhi confirmed the Maoist commander’s death, saying his family members in Jehanabad had left for the jungles on the Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh border for his cremation. However, security agencies and police did not make an independent confirmation on the development.
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Investigate before assuming: Kangana Ranaut on CDR case
Reacting to her name being brought up in the Call Detail Records (CDR) case, Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut, on Wednesday, said that a thorough investigation must be done before dragging her into the controversy. "Proper investigation should be carried out before making assumptions," Kangana said in a statement. Her statement came after reports that Thane Crime Branch Deputy Commissioner of Police Abhishek Trimukhe said the actor had shared actor Hrithik Roshan's number with advocate Rizwan Siddiqui. Siddiqui, arrested for alleged illegal possession of CDRs of actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui's wife, was released by Thane police today, after a Bombay High Court directive.
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Sanjay Dutt slams writer against unauthorized biography
Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt is planning legal action against writer Yasser Usman and publishers of his upcoming biography, saying that he has not authorized it. He also promised to release his own, official autobiography soon. In Sanjay Dutt: The Crazy Untold Story of Bollywood’s Bad Boy, Yasser Usman tells Sanjay’s story - the good and the bad. The book, published by Juggernaut, talks about Sanjay’s ladies, drugs, drinking the blood of a monitor lizard etc. Sanjay Dutt has said that parts of the book seem to be based on his old interviews, but the rest is all hearsay, gossip magazines and tabloids of the 90’s which are not true.
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PM Modi puts 91 loan defaulters in no-fly list
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ISIS suicide bomber kills 26, injures 18 in Kabul
A suicide bomber blew himself up killing at least 26 people and injuring others in Kabul on Wednesday. The blast occurred near a Shi’ite shrine as the Afghan capital celebrated the Nawruz holiday marking the start of the Persian new year. Militant group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the blast and an affiliate group to the ISIS has claimed the responsibility for previous such attacks. Kabul had been on alert for attacks over the Nawruz holiday but the bomber was still able to detonate his explosives near the shrine.
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11 sentenced to life imprisonment for lynching meat-trader
A fast-track court in Ranchi has sentenced 11 people for lynching a meat-trader Alimuddin Ansari in June 2017. The court had held 11 out of the 12 guilty – the first conviction in any case of cow vigilantism-related violence in India. Alimuddin was killed by a mob of at least 10 on suspicion of carrying beef in his Maruti van on 29 June last year. Last year, Alimuddin’s brother Jalil Ansari could not depose before the court because his wife Julekha was killed in an accident outside the courtroom. Forensic tests later confirmed that the meat he was carrying was beef. The sale of beef is banned in the State.
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