News Dabba for 15 April 2024: Five stories for a balanced news diet

Indie Journal brings you the daily updates that the internet is talking about through various news websites. Here's a glance through some of the National and International news updates, from Assam Rifles' shocking report on Manipur conflict, SC seeking ED’s response in Kejriwal’s plea, to Iran-Israel conflict.

Indian Express: SC seeks ED’s response in Kejriwal’s plea against arrest

The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s response in a plea filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal against his arrest in the excise policy case, Indian Express reports. The court has asked for the response to be filed on or before April 24, and a rejoinder by April 27. The court will hear the matter on April 29 again. On April 15, the Delhi High Court dismissed Kejriwal’s plea challenging his arrest, saying the ED was in “possession of enough material” to arrest him, the report adds. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 and is currently lodged in Tihar jail, under judicial custody. Read the full report here.

Al Jazeera and The Reporters' Collective's joint investigation on Assam Rifles report on Manipur conflict

An investigative report by Al Jazeera and The Reporters Collctive stated that the Manipur government played a role in inflaming conflict in Manipur. An assessment prepared by Assam Rifles officials in Manipur put part of the blame state government, headed by Chief Minister N Biren Singh, a member of Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and his “political authoritarianism and ambition”, the report says. It is the first candid assessment from a federal government agency that has made it into the public domain. The report mentions that the Assam Rifles is the federal government’s paramilitary force with a long and controversial history in the state. It also points to the role of armed groups from the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities in the prolonged violence in northeastern India. Read the full report here.

UN chief calls for maximum restraint after Iran's attack on Israel: The Straits Times

The Straits Times reports that the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday issued a reminder that acts of reprisal involving the use of force are barred under international law after Iran's attack on Israel. The US warned the Security Council it would work to hold Tehran accountable at the UN. Guterres, speaking to a meeting of the UN Security Council, told member states that the UN charter bars the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state as he condemned Iran's attack on Israel and warned against further escalation. Iran launched a swarm of explosive drones and fired missiles on April 13 in its first-ever direct attack on Israeli territory, the report says. The attack was in response to an Israeli strike on Iran's embassy compound in Syria on April 1. Read the full report here.

Rahul Gandhi's helicopter checked by election officials in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris, Hindustan Times

Flying squad officials of the Election Commission conducted checks in a helicopter carrying Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris on Monday. Hindustan Times reported that the flying squad officials searched after the helicopter landed in Nilgiris. Rahul Gandhi was on his way to his parliamentary constituency, Kerala's Wayanad, where he has a slew of campaign activities, including public meetings. Rahul Gandhi is fighting the April 26 Lok Sabha elections from Wayanad, seeking a successive term, the report adds. Read the full report here.

Reuters on British PM Sunak's Rwanda scheme

The British parliament is set to finally approve a divisive law this week to pave the way for asylum seekers to be deported to Rwanda, Reuters reports, but further legal hurdles could yet hold up or derail one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's key policies. Sunak has invested huge political capital in the Rwanda scheme whose success or failure might be crucial to his Conservative party's fortunes in an upcoming election. The new legislation is poised to get lawmakers' approval, unamended, by the end of the week, the report adds. The first planned deportation flight in June 2022 was blocked by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), before the UK Supreme Court last year declared the scheme unlawful. Read the full report here.