Top stories on 4 May in a capsule

Series of earthquakes triggered in Hawaii after volcanic eruption

Around two earthquakes jolts were felt in Hawaii on early Saturday morning (IST), within a span of an hour, following the Kileau volcano that erupted a day before. A 5.9 magnitude earthquake was set off at first, followed by a massive 6.9 jolt, according to the US Geological Survey. Over 1500 population of Pahoa town were asked to leave their homes as lava poured out in around 180 kms in the nearby property. The volcano comes after hundreds of earthquakes, most of them about 2.0 magnitude was recorded in the area since Monday. News reports quoted residents saying the sound of the eruption was like “putting a bunch of rocks into a dryer.” Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, located in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which has closed off nearly 6,350 hectares due to “unstable geologic activity”.

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Ministers brave mosquitoes in Dalit houses: BJP UP Minister

In a shocking remark on Friday, BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh Anupama Jaiswal said their ministers have to brave mosquito bites when visiting a Dalit house. "We are working to ensure that the schemes of the government reach every section of society. Our ministers are staying at the homes of Dalits despite being bitten by mosquitoes all night," Jaiswal said who is the Minister of Basic Education in the UP government. The comment comes in the light is certain instances where the ministers have visited Dalit homes. On Wednesday, UP Minister Suresh Rana visited the house of a backward class person only to have the food delivered from outside. 

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Uber fires driver for masturbating to woman passenger in Mumbai

Global cab aggregator company, Uber on Friday sacked a driver from its Mumbai branch after a woman passenger complained of being sexually harassed during a trip as the driver masturbated in front of her. According to the complaint, in the incident that took place in Andheri East, as she sat in the cab, the driver suddenly exposed himself and started doing the objectionable activity, while the vehicle had stopped at a traffic signal. The woman rushed out of the car while the driver started hurling abuses at her. Taking action, Uber reportedly removed the driver’s access to the app. "What's been described has no place on our App,” an Uber spokesperson was quoted by media agencies.

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Jharkhand: Man burns 16-year-old to death after being fined for rape

At a time when crimes against women and especially minors seems to be under the scanner, a 16-year-old was burned to death by a man who had allegedly raped her in Jharkhand’s Chatra district on Friday. According to the police the accused was fined over the rape charges which caused his agitation leading to the crime. The accused Dhanu Bhuiyan had kidnapped the victim from a wedding party on Thursday night and assaulted her. After the matter was bought to Village Panchayat, the charges and fine were levelled against Bhuiyan. Calling the crime ‘barbaric’ Chief Minister Raghubir Das has ordered for strong action against the accused.

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Thousands of TN students forced to travel outside state for NEET exams

Opposition political parties of Tamil Nadu including that of actor turned politician Kamal Haasan and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagm (DMK) on Friday slammed the state government of AIADMK for forcing thousands of National Eligibility cum English Exam (NEET) aspirants to travel out of the state, like in Kerala and Rajasthan, to give their exams. The students were given second class tickets and Rs 1000 as assistance for travelling. The CBSE, who is in charge of allotting the exam centres has defended the move saying ‘it doesn't have sufficient time to arrange for exam centers in Tamil Nadu against a PIL in Madras High Court. Haasan called the move ‘unfair’, while DMK chief MK Stalin criticised the state or not making necessary arrangements.

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Nobel Prize in literature delayed amid sexual scandal row

Following the string of sexual allegations on members, reports of corruption and resignations, the Swedish Academy on Friday stalled the Nobel Prize in Literature this year, in a first since 1943. “The present decision was arrived at in view of the currently diminished academy and the reduced public confidence in the academy,” the jury responsible for the most prestigious literary award said. The Academy further said that it will award two prizes, including this year’s and that of next year, together in 2019. The controversy arose after sexual allegations were charged against Jean-Claude Arnault, an influential personality in Sweden’s cultural scene and husband of Academy member Katarina Frostenson. 

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Met Dept issues fresh warning of thunderstorms for 5 states

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday issued a fresh warning for the states of West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in wake of the powerful dust storm that took several lives in the north and west India, since Wednesday. IMD has also issued a warning of hailstorms in J&K, and rainfall and thunderstorms in the northeastern belt. The dust storm on Wednesday, that occurred most powerfully in UP and Rajasthan, killed 124 by Friday, the home ministry said. The powerful winds traveling at the speed of 130 km per sq, uprooted hundreds of trees, damaged crops and destroyed several homes, the official number of which is yet to be compiled.
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Bihar Train Coach breaks down due to passenger overweight

The coach of Sampark Kranti Express broke down on Tuesday due to overweight from a large number of passengers on board. The general coach of the Delhi-bound train was packed with passengers to an extent that the coach could not handle the heavy pressure. When the train was about to depart from the Patna station, some railway workers noticed the problem and informed it to the Mechanical Department. The authorities said that the train could easily derail and thus canceled the departure of the train. Passengers were evacuated from the coach, and the train started its journey at 7.15 PM in the evening after repairs were made.
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Karnataka Polls 2018: Cow slaughter bill, pro-farmer schemes in BJP’s manifesto

The BJP released their manifesto, 'Namma Karnataka Namma Vachana', for the upcoming polls in Karnataka on Friday that most prominently featured Karnataka Cow Slaughter and preservation Bill, 2012 and relaunch of 'Gau Seva Aaayogs' to protect the local cow breeds. The manifesto continues to be ‘Kannada-centric’ as special funds have been allocated for restoration of temples and literature. The manifesto also promised farm loan waiver up to Rs 1 lakh. The party which earlier promised that the election is ‘about women and farmers and not MLAs’, also assures a lot of sops for women such as free sanitary napkins (for BPL families), security measures and scholarships among other schemes.
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Chhagan Bhujbal receives bail after 2 years in money-laundering case

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former deputy CM of Maharashtra Chhagan Bhujbal was granted bail on Friday by the Bombay High Court after spending 2 years in jail. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in 2016 in connection with a money laundering case. According to the ED, the Bhujbal family had conspired to make money in the contract for construction of ‘Maharashtra Sadan’ and allotment of a prime piece of land in Kalina to a leading developer. Besides these cases, he is also accused of taking money for construction of Andheri RTO office and another guest house in south Mumbai, and several other projects when he was in the Public Works Department office.
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Flipkart board approves $15 billion deal with Walmart

Flipkart online services Pvt. Ltd on Friday agreed to sell 75% to Walmart-led group for $15 billion. Earlier, the e-retailer bought back shares worth $350 million from investors to become a private limited firm. This deal will create the most problems for Amazon.com Inc, which is Flipkart’s biggest competitor in the Indian market. The world’s largest retailer Walmart was suffering due to increasing number of consumers preferring online purchasing. Under the proposed deal, Japanese investor Softbank will sell all of the 20-plus percent stake it holds in the company through an investment fund at a valuation of roughly $20 billion. Google-parent Alphabet Inc. is likely to participate in the investment with Walmart.
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SC bans mining baron J. Reddy to campaign for his brother in Bellary

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected mining baron Janardhan Reddy’s request to campaign for his brother in the upcoming Karnataka elections. In 2009, Janardhana Reddy was sent to jail for being involved in illegal mining of iron ore in Bellary and Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh. He was granted bail in 2015 on the condition that he would not enter Bellary. Reddy was requesting a 10-day relief from the orders to campaign for his brother Somasekhara Reddy, a BJP candidate, and cast his vote in the election next Saturday. "There is no need for him to campaign in the elections”, the top court said. Reddy has been campaigning for the party from his office just 45 kms away from Bellary, even though BJP President Amit Shah said he has ‘nothing to do with the party’.

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