The Latest Breaking News from Newslaundry

From Bhutan and Kuwait to Ukraine and the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s whirlwind diplomatic tours in 2024 dominated headlines. Replies to RTI queries by transparency activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd) now provide a glimpse into the cost of this 16-nation outreach.

For the latest episode of Aaj Ka AQI, Newslaundry visited the Wazirpur bus depot on Thursday.

Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos has announced a “significant shift” to the paper’s opinion page which has triggered the resignation of the paper’s editorial page editor David Shipley.

The first two days of the first assembly session under the new BJP government in Delhi have triggered concerns about press freedom with several journalists temporarily blocked from entering the assembly premises. These journalists include those with an accreditation – which should have allowed them unrestricted access. 

Whenever they are publicly asked about the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde are quick to point to a “Fevicol bond”. But signs of a rift on top suggest the alliance may not be strongly glued together.

Despite India’s claims of progress in reducing air pollution through the National Clean Air Programme, the country is far behind targets and even ranked among 10 most polluted nations last year. But this is a problem compounded by many unimplemented recommendations – made by government committees, non-government organisations, and research…

The Karnataka police recklessly booked Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami in a fake news case to settle scores with him, the Karnataka High Court said, according to Bar and Bench.

After recording the highest number of internet shutdowns globally for six consecutive years, India was replaced by Myanmar last year. It was also the worst year on record for internet shutdowns. 

The government had advertised the Maha Kumbh as “divine, grand, digital” with arrangements for cyber security, land digitalisation, and enhanced devotee security. Among such measures were 10 lost and found centres, but relatives of the missing have now filed complaints against the poor functioning of these facilities.

In his pursuit to ‘Make America Great Again,’ one of the first things US President Donald Trump did on assuming office was to impose an immediate freeze on all US foreign assistance, including halting the disbursal of $40 billion for international projects funded by USAID. 

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Anand Vardhan are joined by former Chief Election Commissioner Dr SY Quraishi and cartoonist Rachita Taneja.