Top Stories on April 3 in a capsule

Four injured in shooting at YouTube US HQ, suspect dead

Four people were reported injured, with one critical as the US headquarters of popular video sharing website YouTube came under the attack from a shooter on early Wednesday. The alleged accused, a female suspect was reported dead from self-inflicted injuries. The office in San Bruno, North California was locked down and all employees were asked to stay away from the spot.
___________________________

Sehwag extends help to family of Kerala adivasi man killed by mob

Veteran cricketer Virendra Sehwag on Tuesday made a kind gesture in favour of the family of a tribal man, who was lynched in Kerala. According to media reports, quoting activist Rahul Easwar that cricketer has reportedly donated Rs 1.5 lakh for the mother of the deceased. In February, Madhu, an advasi youth was accused of stealing food, was held captive and beaten to death by a group of men in the name of moral policing. Reacting to the incident, Sehwag took to Twitter to condemn the act but was criticised for highlighting names only of the Muslim accused. Sehwag later apologised for the same.
___________________________

Rajasthan MLA's house set ablaze in retaliation to dalit agitation

Fresh violence broke out in the state of Rajasthan on Tuesday as non-dalit protesters set ablaze the residence of two MLAs, both dalits, in response to the damage done to Bharat bandh protests that was carried out by dalit organizations a day before. Houses of sitting BJP MLA Rajkumari Jatav and former MLA from Congress Bharosilal Jatav were burned by a mob of 5,000 people in Hindaun town. Following the violence, curfew was imposed in Hindaun, District Collector of Karauli district Abhimanyu Kumar told media agencies. In Alwar district, people held a sit-in protest with dead body of a man who was killed during Monday agitation.

___________________________

Karnataka Polls 2018: Congress govt scores 7/10 in pre-poll survey

A survey conducted by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and DAKSH, a civil society organization has ranked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah government a decent ‘7 out of 10’ in state governance. The tally of over 13,244 interviewees from 225 Assembly constituencies of the state has ranked the sitting Congress government high in terms of its performance on education, electricity supply and water management. But the numbers come down when it comes to creating jobs and tackling corruption, scams and frauds. Meanwhile, Congress President Rahul Gandhi and BJP Chief Amit Shah are both touring the state, keeping their respective distance while visiting the same venues and taking potshots at one another at rallies.

___________________________

US declares Hafiz Saeed’s party a ‘terror outfit’, India applauds

India on Tuesday, lauded its ally the USA government for declaring Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saaed’s political outfit Mili Muslim League (MML) a terrorist organisation. “The move is cognizance of the fact that terrorist individuals and entities can change names and operate within Pakistan,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. Seven members of the MML were also designated as international terrorists. The move from America comes a day after the Election Commission of Pakistan had asked Saeed’s party to get a ‘clearance certificate’ from their Interior Ministry to be registered as a political party. Based on US’ decision now, the Interior Ministry can reject MML for having ties with banned terror groups, like it did earlier.
___________________________

10 lakh compensation for 38 Indians killed in Iraq in 2014 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the victims who were abducted and killed by ISIS members in Iraq in 2014. The ex gratia payment to the families of deceased excludes the amount they will be getting from their respective state governments. The move comes a day after Minister of State for External Affairs, VK Singh, who had traveled to Iraq, brought back the mortal remains of the deceased. Singh had courted controversy after termed the compensation for families of victims as "biscuits."
___________________________

Malaysia passes Anti-Fake news bill, sets jail term of 6 years

Malaysian parliament on Monday approved the Anti-Fake News 2018 bill that would punish citizens on social media or those working at a digital publication for spreading fake news. The bill sets fines of up to 500,000 ringgit ($123,000) and a maximum six years in jail. The first draft of the bill had proposed a jail term of up to 10 years. The government also said the law would not impinge on the freedom of speech and cases under it would be handled through an independent court process. The law defines fake news as “news, information, data, and reports which is or are wholly or partly false” and includes features, visuals, and audio recordings.
___________________________

Indian companies reduce H1B Visa filings: Reports

Indian IT companies have drastically reduced their H1B filings and other professionals are reluctant to join US companies, several media reports said on Tuesday. This was a result of the immense scrutiny that has been put on visa applications by American President Donald Trump. He had stated that there will be zero tolerance even on minor errors during visa filings. The updated policy is a part of Trump’s “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, which wants to protect the interests of US workers. The scrutiny affected both the applicants and the companies that employ them. Another report added that foreign-born workers are good for the US economy and good for US-born workers.
__________________________

Sex with wife without consent is not rape: Gujarat HC

The Gujarat High court on Monday said that intercourse by a husband with his wife above the age of 18 years without her consent cannot be dubbed as rape. However, it also stated that forcing his wife to have oral or unnatural sex was cruelty. The court observed that though a husband had the right to have sex with his legally wedded wife, she was not his property and it should not be without her consent. The court made these observations regarding a lady doctor’s complaint of rape and physical abuse against her husband, who is also a doctor. The court directed the police to instead book the husband for sexual harassment, and cruelty. The judge also added “Such an action raises moral boundaries that inform the society that a punishment results if the boundary is transgressed. The husbands may then begin to recognize that marital rape is wrong.
________________________

Tamil Nadu CM conducts hunger strike over Cauvery Management board issue

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami and Deputy CM O Paneerselvam, leading the ruling state party of AIADMK staged a hunger strike over the setting up of the Cauvery Management board on Tuesday. The party conducted the strike to urge the PM Modi Central government to set up the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee as directed by the Supreme Court on its February 16 verdict. The AIADMK has alleged that the government is not setting up the CMB as they want to please voters for the upcoming elections in Karnataka. The apex court, in its February 16 verdict had given a larger share of the river water to Karnataka following a 122-year-old dispute.
_____________________________

Indian Olympic Association relents after Saina Nehwal slams them on Twitter

Indian badminton player and Olympic medalist Saina Nehwal on Tuesday, took to microblogging site Twitter to express her anger over her father’s name not being included in the list of officials/non-athletes attending the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. In a series of tweets on Monday evening Nehwal vented her frustration as her father Harvir Singh, was a ‘confirmed team official’ when they started their tour from India but upon reaching the Games Village he was denied entry and accomodation. In less than 24 hours, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) sprang into action and cleared Singh’s name following which Nehwal’s father received the necessary accreditation to enter the village.
_____________________________