Maoists to release abducted Hikaka

April 25, 2012
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Bhubaneswar, April 25: Maoists holding the ruling BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka for over a month on Wednesday decided to release the tribal leader on Thursday, a lawyer, who fights cases for the Maoists, said.

“The Maoists have held their ‘praja (people’s) court’ which has pronounced its verdict for releasing the Laxmipur MLA,” said Koraput-based lawyer Nihar Ranjan Patnaik.

“A senior leader of the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee of CPI (Maoist) called me and conveyed the verdict of the praja court,” he said.

The praja court was held for two days from April 23 and it was decided that the 37-year-old first-time legislator would be released on Thursday morning at Balipeta in the naxal hotbed of Narayanpatna area of Koraput district, Patnaik said.

Mr. Hikaka, who had been abducted in the early hours of March 24 in Koraput, “would be set free in the presence of his wife, Kaushalya Majhi and myself,” he said, adding the Maoists were likely to issue a detailed statement soon.

The lawyer, who fights cases for the rebels and their frontal organisation Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha (CMAS), claimed that during trial in the ‘praja’ court, Mr. Hikaka stated neither the State government nor the legislators helped him during his captivity and only the tribals came to his rescue.

The legislator had also given an undertaking that he would try to get the demands of the Maoists fulfilled and would resign as MLA if he failed, the lawyer claimed.

While the Maoists had demanded release of 29 prisoners in exchange for the MLA’s freedom, the state government had decided to facilitate release of 25 jailed people, including eight Maoists.

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News Network
June 17,2020

New Delhi, Jun 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called for an all-party meeting to be held on June 19 to discuss the situation at the border areas with China.

The virtual conference meeting, presided by PM Modi, will be attended by presidents of various political parties in the country.

"In order to discuss the situation in the India-China border areas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for an all-party meeting at 5 PM on 19th June. Presidents of various political parties would take part in this virtual meeting," a tweet by the PMO India read.

At least 20 Indian Army personnel, including a Colonel rank officer, had lost their lives in the violent face-off in the Galwan valley area of Ladakh on June 15.

The violent face-off happened on late evening and the night of June 15 in Ladakh's Galwan Valley as a result of an attempt by the Chinese troops to "unilaterally change" the status quo during de-escalation in Eastern Ladakh and the situation could have been avoided if the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side, India said on June 16.

The Chinese side also suffered casualties, including the death of the commanding officer of the Chinese Unit involved in the violent face-off with Indian troops, sources confirmed to news agency.

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News Network
May 24,2020

New Delhi, May 24: India witnessed the biggest ever spike of 6,767 positive cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases to 1,31,868, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As many as 147 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 3,867.
Out of the total number of cases, 73,560 are active and 54,440 have been cured/discharged and one migrated.

Maharashtra continues to remain the worst-affected state with 47,190 COVID-19 cases. It is followed by Tamil Nadu (15,512), Gujarat (13,664), and Delhi (12,910).

The nationwide lockdown imposed as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of COVID-19 has been extended till May 31.

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Agencies
March 9,2020

Mumbai, Mar 9: The mayhem in domestic stock markets deepened with the BSE Sensex falling over 2,400 points and the Nifty50 trading below 10,400 points.

The plunge in the domestic indices was in line with the global markets on persistent fears of economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic.

Stocks of Reliance Industries registered the biggest fall in over 10 years as it fell to Rs 1,094.95 per share. At 1.34 p.m., it was trading at Rs 1,100, lower by Rs 170.05 or 13.39 per cent from its previous close. The stock fell most since October 2008.

The benchmark index of BSE Sensex was trading at 35,232.67 points, lower by 2,343.95 points or 6.24% from the previous close of 37,576.62 points. 

It had opened at the intra-day high of 36,950.20 and has so far touched a low of 35,109.18.

The Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange was trading at 10,314.25 points, lower by 675.20 points or 6.14% from the previous close. 

It was a sell-off across sectors, led by financial, metal, energy and IT stocks - which weighed on the markets.

Further, crude oil prices also slumped around 30% on Monday as Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OEPC) failed to agree on an output cut deal, eventually causing Saudi Arabia to cut its prices as it is likely to increase its production. Saudi Arabia's stance has already raised concerns of an all-out price war.

Brent crude futures are currently trading around $34 per barrel.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia announced massive discounts to its official selling prices for April, and the nation is reportedly preparing to increase its production above the 10 million barrel per day mark, according to reports.

As per analysts, the oil market witnessed the worst price fall on Monday since the 1991 Gulf War.

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