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[00:00:09] Hello, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. These are the major news stories of Sunday, March 30, 2025. The Ministry of Home Affairs announced on Sunday that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act has been extended across the entire state of Manipur, except for 13 police station areas. The Act grants special powers to the Indian Army to maintain law and order, including the power to arrest without warrant.
[00:00:35] In Arunachal Pradesh, the Act has also been extended for six months in the districts of Tirap, Changlang, and Longding, along with three police station areas in the state, the ministry said. Manipur was placed under President's rule on the evening of February 13, with the Assembly put in suspended animation. The decision came just days after Chief Minister N. B. Rane Singh resigned from his post, leading to political uncertainty in the state.
[00:00:58] Singh, who had been heading the BJP-led government in Manipur since 2017, stepped down after nearly 21 months of ethnic violence in the state. The unrest, which began in May 2023, has claimed over 250 lives so far. Foreign rescue teams and supplies arrived in Myanmar on Sunday to help the impoverished country cope with an earthquake that killed over 1,600 and left many near the epicenter scrambling for help without proper equipment.
[00:01:25] The 7.7-magnitude quake, one of Myanmar's strongest in a century, jolted the Southeast Asian nation on Friday, leaving 1,644 people dead, 3,408 injured and 139 missing, the military government said. India, China and Thailand are among Myanmar's neighbors that have sent relief materials and teams, along with aid and personnel from Malaysia, Singapore and Russia.
[00:01:51] During his first visit to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh headquarters since becoming Prime Minister 11 years ago, Narendra Modi on Sunday described the Sangh as the Banyan Tree of India's immortal culture. PM Modi became the second sitting Prime Minister to visit the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, following Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had visited in 2000 during his third term. An RSS official noted that this marks Modi's third term as well.
[00:02:15] With a packed schedule in Nagpur from early morning, PM Modi paid homage to the founding fathers of the Sangh at the Dr. Hedgivar Smriti Mandir within the RSS headquarters. He also visited Deetsebhumi, the site where Dr. Baba Sahib Ambedkar embraced Buddhism in 1956. Seven people were injured after an express train derailed in Odisha's Katak district on Sunday, according to officials.
[00:02:39] The incident occurred at 11.54 a.m. near Nirgundi, close to Mongoli, when 11 coaches of the SMVT Bengaluru Kamakhya AC Express went off the tracks, Chief Public Relations Officer of the East Coast Railway, Ashok Kumar Mishra, stated. Odisha Fire Service Director General Sudhanshu Sarangi confirmed that seven injured passengers had been rescued and taken to a nearby hospital. He estimated that the total number of injured individuals would not exceed 10.
[00:03:05] Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force and Odisha Fire Service were assisting railway officials in the ongoing rescue operations. The train was en route from Bengaluru to Kamakhya Station in Guwahati, Assam. Amid the controversy surrounding his latest film, L2 Mpuran, Supasta Mohanlal has issued an apology, expressing regret over the distress caused to his fans. The film faced strong opposition from the RSS, while several BJP supporters criticized its political messaging.
[00:03:34] References to the Gujarat riots in the movie have sparked a political uproar, with social media users targeting both Mohanlal and director Prithviraj. Although the BJP has not officially protested against the film, State Party Chief Rajiv Chandrasekhar stated that he was disappointed and would not watch it. In a Facebook post, Mohanlal acknowledged that certain socio-political themes in the film had caused distress among his fans.
[00:03:57] He emphasized that, as an artist, he has a responsibility to ensure his films do not promote hatred towards any political movement, ideology, or religious group. He further stated that both he and the Mpuran team regret the distress caused and have decided to remove the objectionable content from the film. Mohanlal's statement was widely anticipated, as the film had been facing significant backlash on social media despite its initial box office success. That brings us to the end of this episode.
[00:04:26] Thanks for listening to Daily News Doze from On Manorama. This newscast is produced using AI Voice Tools. Follow OnManorama.com for detailed updates on the latest news and be sure to come back tomorrow.