Daily wrap: SC asks Kerala to move HC on Sabarimala, Trump's wall gets nod

Six die after inhaling noxious gases while cleaning sewage tank in TN

A man, his two sons, and three others died of noxious gas inhalation and asphyxiation while cleaning the sewage tank of their apartment, near Sriperumpudhur, in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu on March 26.

The deceased were identified as V Krishnamurthy, 53, his sons Kannan, 23, Karthik, 21, V Paramasivam, 31, and Lakshmigandhan. The identity of the sixth victim could not be ascertained.

On March 26, Krishnamurthy, tried to clean the septic tank in front of his house. As he pulled open the lid, he reportedly inhaled noxious gases. He raised an alarm but fell inside, the police said.

11 TN fishermen arrested by Lankan Navy

Eleven Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on March 26 for fishing in the territorial waters of the island nation, official sources said. The fishermen from Jegadapattinam in Pudukottai district were detained when they were fishing near Neduntheevu near Sri Lanka, they said.

Karti Chidambaram declares assets worth ₹47 crore in poll affidavit

The Congress candidate from Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu for the April 18 Lok Sabha polls, Karti Chidambaram, has declared movable and immovable assets valued at around ₹47 crore. Karti’s annual income showed a nominal increase in the last five years. While it was a little over ₹1.68 crore in FY 2013-14, it rose to ₹1.75 crore in FY 2017-18. In his affidavit, he declared that the gross total value of his movable assets stood at ₹24.13 crore.

The current market value of his immovable assets was ₹22.88 crore. This included his joint ownership in a UK property, the affidavit said. In addition to these, he owned agricultural land in Karnataka and a commercial building in Chennai, Karti said. His grand total liabilities stood at ₹8,97,44,503.

SC asks Kerala to move HC in Sabarimala case

The Supreme Court on March 25 asked the Kerala government to move the high court seeking modification in the order relating to the entry of devotees into the Sabarimala temple. The Kerala High Court had passed a slew of directions with regard to entry of devotees to the hill-top shrine and set aside “all unilateral restrictions imposed by police” to deal with the issue.

SC dismisses plea challenging validity of ‘triple talaq’ ordinance

The SC dismissed a plea challenging the constitutional validity of an ordinance that makes the practice of instant ‘triple talaq’ a punishable offence. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi dismissed a plea by a Kerala-based outfit and said it would not like to interfere. The ordinance making the practice of instant ‘triple talaq’ a punishable offence was issued for the third time in less than a year on February 21.

Pakistan receives $2.1 billion from China

Pakistan received $2.1 billion from its all-weather ally China to help it in making international payments, mainly on import and debt repayment counters. Finance Ministry Spokesperson Khaqan Hassan Najeeb said the funds deposited in the State Bank of Pakistan would strengthen the stability of the country. Pakistan has so far received a total of $ 9.1 billion in financial assistance packages from friendly countries during the current fiscal year to date, including $4.1 billion from China, $3 billion from Saudi Arabia and $2 billion from United Arab Emirates.

Pentagon approves $1 billion for Trump’s wall

Acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan announced that the department has authorised $1 billion towards the construction of a part of the wall along the US-Mexico border proposed by US President Donald Trump. A Pentagon budget reprogramming sent to Capitol Hill on March 25 mentions that up to $1 billion will be spent on building almost 92 km of the 18-foot-high wall and improving roads on the southern border.

VVIP choppers case: Enforcement arrests defence agent

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested a defence agent from Delhi in the ₹3,600-crore VVIP choppers deal case, officials said on March 26. They said Sushen Mohan Gupta was arrested late in the night of March 25 by agency sleuths under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.