Daily wrap: 8 Indians among those killed in SL; BCCI shifts IPL final

BCCI shifts IPL final to Hyderabad after TNCA fails to get permission on locked stands

The Indian Premier League final scheduled on May 12 was shifted from Chennai to Hyderabad after the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) failed to get requisite permission from the government to open the three closed stands.While the Chennai Super Kings still have a chance to play Qualifier 1 at home if they finish among the top two teams in the league but the Eliminator (May 8) and Qualifier 2 (May 10) has been shifted to Visakhapatnam. “We had to shift the matches from Chennai to Hyderabad after TNCA intimated us that they have not procured the requisite permission to open the three stands I, J and K,” Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai told PTI on Monday (April 22). “Since the gate sales of the knock-out matches is BCCIs prerogative, we had to take a call. We would be having two knock-out matches in Vizag,” he added.

Jet employees stage demo, appeal to govt to bail out airline

Around 100 staff members of the ailing Jet Airways on Monday (April 22) staged a demonstration here, urging the government to intervene and bail out the airline.Jet Airways had on April 17 announced temporary suspension of operations after it failed to receive emergency funds from lenders, leaving about 23,000 employees to face a bleak future. On April 22 evening, the employees, dressed in their uniforms, staged the demonstration at Town Hall in the heart of the city. Holding aloft placards, they raised slogans.

8 Indians among those killed in Easter blasts in Sri Lanka

At least eight Indians are among the dead after a string of devastating suicide blasts struck churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, killing 290 people on Easter on April 21, officials said on Monday (April 22).”Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry has confirmed the death of one more individual – H Shivakumar – in the blasts on April 21, taking the total number of Indian deaths in the tragedy to 8 till now,” the Indian High Commission in Colombo tweeted.

Sri Lanka: When ‘hurt’ is globalised, revenge crosses borders

The scale, spread, and intensity of the terror attacks in Sri Lanka, which have left more than 300 dead and many more injured, has been marked with a ruthlessness and elaborate organisation rarely seen in today’s conflict-hit world. The motive behind the attacks is mystifying, especially since no one has formally claimed responsibility for the attacks. And, the other question: why Sri Lanka? While Sri Lanka’s security forces and the intelligence infrastructure are undoubtedly straining every nerve to nab the perpetrators and get to the heart of the attacks, what is shocking is that the attackers were able to carry out their plans without any obstacles.

Dynasty politics worsens as you head north in Karnataka

Keeping political power within the family is quite common in Karnataka. The past elections witnessed key leaders passing on their constituencies to second, third generation family members (sons and daughters), spouses, or field candidates based on lost political legacies of a particular family. While South Karnataka, which went to polls on April 18, witnessed Janata Dal (Secular) party leader HD Deve Gowda contest along with his two grandsons, North Karnataka, which goes to polls on April 23, sees an even more fierce battle on dynasty lines. Seven candidates in six of the 14 constituencies that go to polls have family members who either are or were in in politics.

SC directs Madras HC to decide plea of TikTok app on April 24

The Supreme Court on April 22 directed the Madras High Court to decide on April 24 a plea of TikTok app seeking vacating of its ban order. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said if the Madras High Court fails to decide on the plea of TikTok app then its ban order will stand vacated. The apex court had earlier refused to stay the Madras High Court order that directed the Centre to ban the Tiktok app over concerns about access to pornographic content through it. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Chinese company ByteDance, had told the top court earlier that there were over billion downloads of the mobile app and ex-parte orders were passed by the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court.

Indian woman scientist of Royal society rues lack of investment in S&T in India

Dr Gagandeep Kang, the first Indian woman scientist to enter the Royal Society as a fellow, hopes that her entry opens gateway for many more women to enter the coveted circle.The Royal Society is the oldest scientific academy in the world that has been working continuously for almost four centuries now. Nobel laureate Venki Ramakrishnan, who is the president of the Royal Society, announced the fellowships. Dr Kang, who is the executive director of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (An autonomous institute of the Department of Biotechnology, Government Of India) was one among the 51 scientists were elected Fellows of the Royal Society last week. Dr Kang, who has been working in the field of research relating to viral infections in children and testing of rotaviral vaccines, has more than 300 published papers to her credit. She has also been chairing the WHO SEAR’s Regional Immunisation Technical Advisory Group, since 2015.