Hello, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. Tune in to get updated about the major news stories of the day.
[00:00:00] Hello, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama.
[00:00:16] I am your host Swati Adjait and these are the major news stories of Thursday, April
[00:00:20] 18, 2024.
[00:00:25] The United Arab Emirates on Thursday faced challenges in recovering from the most severe
[00:00:29] rainfall ever recorded in the desert nation.
[00:00:32] Despite efforts to restore normal operations at its main airport, floodwaters continue
[00:00:36] to flood sections of major highways and roads.
[00:00:43] Voting for the initial phase of the Lok Sabha elections covering 21 states and Union
[00:00:46] territories is scheduled to begin on April 19.
[00:00:52] Countering its own official, the Election Commission of India on Thursday informed
[00:00:57] that allegations of electronic voting machines showing one extra vote during a mock poll
[00:01:01] in Kerala's Kasargod were false.
[00:01:07] The Enforcement Directorate claimed before a Delhi court that Chief Minister Aravind
[00:01:11] Kejriwal, who is arrested in an excise scam case, was consuming food high in sugar
[00:01:15] like mangoes and sweets every day despite having type 2 diabetes to create grounds
[00:01:19] for medical bail.
[00:01:24] But Chief Minister Pindray Vijay strongly criticised the pre-poll surveys conducted
[00:01:28] by various media organisations, likening them to paid news.
[00:01:33] Let's get to the details.
[00:01:37] The United Arab Emirates struggled on Thursday to recover from the heaviest recorded rainfall
[00:01:41] ever to hit the desert nation as its main airport worked to restore normal operations
[00:01:46] even as floodwaters still covered portions of major highways and roads.
[00:01:50] Dubai International Airport, the world's PCS for international travel, allowed global
[00:01:54] carriers on Thursday morning to again fly into Terminal 1 at the airfield.
[00:01:59] The UAE typically sees little rainfall in its arid desert climate.
[00:02:02] However, a massive storm forecast as had been warning about four days blew through
[00:02:06] the country's seven shake-dumps.
[00:02:09] By the end of Tuesday, more than 142 millilitres of rainfall had soaked Dubai
[00:02:13] over 24 hours.
[00:02:17] The first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is set to kick off tomorrow across several
[00:02:22] states.
[00:02:23] A total of 102 Lok Sabha seats are up for grabs in the initial phase.
[00:02:28] Polling will take place in all constituencies of Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Arunachal
[00:02:32] Pradesh, Meghalaya, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Mysore, Nagaland, Puducherry,
[00:02:37] Sikkim and Lakshmudeep.
[00:02:39] Additionally, voting will occur in 12 seats in Rajasthan, 8 in Uttar Pradesh, 6 in
[00:02:43] Madhya Pradesh and 5 each in Assam and Maharashtra.
[00:02:47] Bihar will see polling in four seats, West Bengal in three and Manipur in two, with
[00:02:51] Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir and Chhattisgarh each having one seat in three.
[00:02:55] In the 2019 elections, the UP emerged victorious in 45 out of these 102 seats
[00:03:00] while India secured 41 seats.
[00:03:02] Notably, six of these seats have undergone redrawn boundaries as part of
[00:03:06] the delimitation exercise.
[00:03:11] Countering its own official, the Election Commission of India on Thursday informed
[00:03:15] the Supreme Court that allegations of electronic voting machines showing one
[00:03:18] extra vote during a mock poll in Kerala's Kasargaon were false.
[00:03:22] The top court was hearing a batch of pleas seeking complete cross-verification
[00:03:26] of votes cast using EVMs with voter verifiable paper on a trail, an
[00:03:30] independent vote verification system which enables an elector to see
[00:03:34] whether his vote was cast correctly.
[00:03:36] Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Nitish Kumar Vyas told the bench of
[00:03:39] Justices Sanjeev Khanna and Vibhakar Dutta that they verified the
[00:03:43] allegations from the district collector and appeared that they were false.
[00:03:49] Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, arrested in an excise scam case, is
[00:03:53] eating food high in sugar-like mangoes and sweets every day despite having
[00:03:56] type 2 diabetes to create grounds for medical bail, the ED claimed before
[00:04:00] a court on Thursday.
[00:04:02] Kejriwal has moved the court seeking permission to consult his
[00:04:05] regular doctor via video conference because of fluctuating sugar levels.
[00:04:10] The judge directed the authorities concerned to file the report by tomorrow
[00:04:14] when the court is likely to take up the matter again.
[00:04:17] The ED had arrested Kejriwal on March 21 after the High Court refused
[00:04:21] to grant him protection from the coercive action by the federal anti-money
[00:04:24] laundering agency.
[00:04:26] He is currently lodged in Dihar jail under judicial custody.
[00:04:32] Kerala Chief Minister Pindra Vijay on Thursday strongly criticised the
[00:04:35] pre-poll surveys conducted by various media organisations, likening them to
[00:04:39] paid news.
[00:04:42] The veteran CPM leader was reacting to a question about pre-poll surveys
[00:04:45] carried out by various media outlets which indicated a clear lead for the
[00:04:49] congress-led UDF in the Lok Sabha polls in Kerala.
[00:04:52] Just as certain news items are labelled as paid news due to their lack
[00:04:56] of credibility or biased nature, some surveys have surfaced that share
[00:05:00] similar characteristics, Vijay and told reporters.
[00:05:02] Referring to the results of the 2021 assembly polls when people voted
[00:05:06] for the LDF rejecting the surveys conducted by various media organisations,
[00:05:10] he alleged that people are beginning to question whether current surveys
[00:05:13] are similar to paid news.
[00:05:15] The Chief Minister accused the media for not disclosing to people
[00:05:18] the scientific analysis behind such conclusions.