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In a tote-for-tat move, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj reached the Parliament Annexe building today to attend a Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting on ‘One Nation One Election’ with a tote bag that had ‘National Herald Ki Loot’ written on it. The bag statement, clearly aimed at the Gandhi family and the Congress, is also a swipe at Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, known to send a message with her bags.

In December, Ms Vadra had sparked a row by carrying a bag with “Palestine” written on it. The bag had drawn sharp reactions from BJP leaders, who accused her of communal posturing and remaining mum on issues related to Bangladeshi Hindus.

The Congress leader trashed the barbs. “Who is going to decide what clothes I wear now? Who is going to decide that? That’s typical patriarchy that you decide what women wear. I don’t subscribe to that. I will wear what I want,” she said. “I have said many times what my beliefs are regarding this. If you look at my Twitter handle, all my comments are over there.”

The next day, sending another strong message, she carried a bag that had “stand with Bangladeshi Hindus and Christians” written on it. The reference was to the incidents of attacks on minorities in Bangladesh following the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Countering the Congress leader’s bag moves, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi gifted her a bag with ‘1984’ written in red font, a reference to the anti-Sikh riots in the aftermath of the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Several Congress leaders were found to have engineered the violence that left thousands of Sikhs dead. Ms Sarangi had told NDTV that Ms Vadra took the bag and walked away.  

Bansuri Swaraj’s bag move uses Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s bag tactic to take a swipe at her family. Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have been chargesheeted by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper. It is alleged that the Gandhis took over properties worth Rs 2,000 crore for a paltry sum.

The BJP has targeted the Gandhis and the Congress over the alleged irregularities in the National Herald case. The main Opposition has responded by accusing the ruling party of political vendetta and misuse of probe agencies to frame its leaders.

In a twist, after a couple serving in the Indian Air Force was assaulted in Bengaluru, a new video has emerged showing one of them thrashing the alleged attacker. Both sides attacked each other, cops have confirmed, suggesting it was not one-sided violence. 

Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Devraj D clarified that it was not a case of Kannadigas vs non-Kannadigas, as claims emerged on social media when the video went viral.

The development comes after Wing Commander Shiladitya Bose posted a video, with blood on his face and neck, narrating the incident. The accused has also filed a counter-complaint against the Air Force officer.

Yesterday, Wing Commander Bose alleged that “A bike came from behind and stopped our car… the guy started abusing me in Kannada. When they saw the DRDO sticker on my car and said ‘You DRDO people’, and they abused my wife and me, I couldn’t bear it. The moment I got out of my car, the biker hit me with a key on my forehead, and there was blood.”

Read more: “God Help Us”: Air Force Officer Assaulted, Wife Abused In Bengaluru

The officer’s wife, Squadron Leader Madhumita Bose, was taking her husband to the airport early morning from DRDO Colony in Bengaluru’s CV Raman Nagar.

The video went viral, but initially it was unclear what triggered the assault.

A new video has emerged showing the accused, Vikas Kumar, and the officer attacking each other on a pavement in Bengaluru. The accused, in a green neon jacket, was pushed by the officer, who grabbed his neck while his wife was trying to stop him. Bystanders on the footpath intervened to stop the fight, talking to Wing Commander Bose. The accused was seen calling someone, after which the officer punched him. The man fell to the ground and kicked the officer who went after him as locals tried to stop him.

At least four CCTV footage of the “road rage” emerged, showing both parties attacking each other. The officer in the video alleged that people came and “started abusing” them, and the man picked a stone and tried to smash it on his car’s window, and it hit his head.

Squadron Leader Madhumita filed a complaint with the cops alleging that the biker was riding rashly and almost hit her car. She looked at him, and the biker crossed our car and stopped it in front of us and started abusing her and her husband. The officer alleged that when they got out of the car, the biker hit her husband with a stone and said, “You are from DRDO, I can see the sticker. This is Kannada land. I will see you.” “I told my husband to sit in the car, but he came again and dragged him on the road…the mob was hitting us.”

‘Case Of Road Rage’

Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Devaraj D said, “This is a case of road rage. An altercation took place, and both sides attacked each other…His wife was driving, and he was seated beside her. An altercation broke out between the couple and a bike rider.”

Wing Commander Bose suffered injuries to his face and head.

“When they came to the police station, the police officer advised him to get first aid, as he was bleeding, and return to file the FIR. But he was getting late, and he left for the airport. After he went live with the video, we found Madhumita’s details and contacted the DRDO quarters. She came to the station and complained. We have registered an FIR,” the DCP told PTI.

During questioning, the accused claimed he was passing by when the woman allegedly remarked. He said, he asked, “What are you talking about?” and then approached the officer, asking, “What is madam saying?” An argument followed. “We have ample video evidence and will proceed with the investigation,” the DCP added.

Wing Commander Bose in the video said “Thankfully, my wife was there to take me out and we went to the police station to file a complaint, but there is no response from there,” he added. “This is what Karnataka has become, seeing the truth, the reality…I couldn’t believe it. God help us. God give me the power not to retaliate. Tomorrow, if law and order don’t help us, I will retaliate,” the officer said while he recorded the video in a car.”

The news of Pope Francis’ sudden demise on Easter Monday, sent shockwaves around the world. Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, serving as Vatican camerlengo, delivered the announcement of Pope Francis’s death on Easter Monday, stating: “The Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church.
“He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with faithfulness, courage, and universal love, especially for the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite, merciful love of God, One and Tribune.”
Following the passing of Pope Francis, cardinals must convene in the Sistine Chapel for a confidential assembly to select his successor. The selection process involves specific protocols and ceremonial practices, alongside particular requirements for potential candidates.
The papal position necessitates that the individual be a baptised Catholic male without marital commitments. He must hold a position as a bishop, cardinal, priest, deacon or layman. The exclusion of women from papal candidacy stems from the Catholic Church’s restriction on female priesthood, the Express reported.
Canon Law (Canon 1024) states: “Only a baptised man can validly receive sacred ordination.” The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus chose only men as apostles, a tradition reinforced by Pope John Paul II in 1994.
Since the early Church, no woman has been ordained a priest. While a legend claims a woman, Pope Joan, once became pope disguised as a man, historians dismiss it as a myth. Women, however, play key roles in the Church as theologians, abbesses and nuns.
According to Michele Dillon, a University of New Hampshire sociologist studying American Catholic culture, Catholics prefer these words to be spoken by men because Jesus was male.
In 2023, Pope Francis reaffirmed the male-only ordination rule. His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, had similarly maintained this position.
Additional requirements for papal candidates include a minimum age of 35 and formal education in Biblical studies, theology or canon law.

A nonprofit watchdog group, American Oversight, expanded a lawsuit on Monday aimed at several senior national security officials in the Trump administration, requesting a federal judge to mandate the preservation of all messages sent via the encrypted communications app Signal.
The lawsuit was filed in US District Court in Washington, DC, and focuses on messages related to official business that have been sent using Signal, an app with an auto-delete feature and no apparent record-keeping system for federal records.
The amended lawsuit follows a New York Times report revealing that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared details about military strikes in Yemen on March 15 in a private Signal group chat. The chat, which also included Hegseth’s wife, brother, and personal lawyer, was part of a broader issue of government officials using Signal for official communications.
The suit expands on an earlier version filed by American Oversight in response to the revelation that Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Vice President JD Vance were part of a separate Signal chat where they discussed sensitive matters about military strikes in Yemen against Houthi rebels. The lawsuit contends that the use of Signal by top officials for official government business is widespread and may violate federal records retention requirements.
American Oversight’s new request asks Judge James Boasberg, who is overseeing the case, to preserve messages sent by or received from Hegseth, Ratcliffe, and other officials, including National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Late last month, Boasberg had already ordered the preservation of messages from the “Houthi PC Small Group Chat,” where officials discussed the Yemen strikes.
Hegseth’s use of Signal for these communications raised further concern when it was revealed that a second chat—dubbed “Defense ‘Team Huddle’”—included details of the same Yemen strikes and involved 13 individuals, including Hegseth’s family members and other personal associates. The group was not authorized to use Signal for sensitive or classified information, raising questions about the handling of government communication.
In response, the White House and Pentagon dismissed concerns, accusing former employees of spreading false information. White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly argued that “no classified information was shared” in the chats and claimed that disgruntled ex-employees were attempting to undermine the administration.
President Donald Trump publicly defended Hegseth, calling any concerns over his actions a “waste of time.” Speaking on the South Lawn after the Easter Egg Roll, Trump expressed confidence in Hegseth’s handling of military operations. “He’s doing a great job – ask the Houthis how he’s doing,” Trump remarked, referring to the Yemen rebel group targeted in the strikes.
Trump’s backing of Hegseth is part of a broader pattern of standing by his top officials, despite controversies. Sources close to the president have stated that Trump is determined to resist any pressure to dismiss Hegseth, emphasizing that he does not want to provide satisfaction to “fake news” outlets by firing a key figure in his administration.

US President Donald Trump defended his Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, following reports of the Pentagon chief disclosing sensitive military information in a second Signal chatroom with his family members and other staffers. Echoing the President’s remarks, the White House also rallied behind Hegseth and tried to divert attention away from the national security implications of the alleged leak. 

Trump’s comments came after a former top Pentagon spokesperson slammed the US’s top military official’s leadership of the Department of Defence.

Trump said Hegseth was “doing a great job” despite what appear to be attacks from “disgruntled employees”.

“I guess it sounds like disgruntled employees…You know, he was put there to get rid of a lot of bad people, and that’s what he’s doing. So you don’t always have friends when you do that,” Trump told reporters at the annual Easter egg roll event at the White House on Monday.

Trump on Pete Hegseth: “He is doing a great job … Ask the Houthis how he’s doing.”
pic.twitter.com/aniQBfbR47

— 💋🇺🇸 Country Over Party🇺🇸🇮🇱🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@gagirlpolitics) April 22, 2025

“Ask the Houthis much dysfunction there is,” he added, referring to the military’s attacks on Houthi militants in Yemen.

Echoing Trump’s remarks, the White House also tried to frame the controversy as a bureaucratic battle between Hegseth and the disgruntled Pentagon workforce.

“This is what happens when the entire Pentagon is working against you and working against the monumental change that you are trying to implement,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. 

Without going as far as denying the existence of a second Signal chat, Hegseth himself blamed “disgruntled former employees” and the media for trying to ruin his reputation. 

“What a big surprise that a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax…This is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations,” Hegseth said at the same event.

This came after John Ullyot, who resigned last week after serving briefly as Pentagon spokesman, said in an opinion piece published by Politico on Sunday that the Defence Department has been overwhelmed by “staff drama” in the initial months of the second Trump administration.

Calling the situation a “full-blown meltdown”, Ullyot wrote that it could cost Hegseth his job as Defence Secretary.

“It’s been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon. From leaks of sensitive operational plans to mass firings, the dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president, who deserves better from his senior leadership,” Ullyot wrote.

Forty-four-year-old former Fox News host and National Guard officer, Hegseth, has a combat record but limited management experience. The Pentagon chief was already under scrutiny for sharing confidential information in a Signal chat group detailing an imminent attack against the Houthis. The group included top Trump administration officials as well as The Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, who was mistakenly added to the group chat. 

Now, reports have emerged about Hegseth sharing similar information about the pending strikes in Yemen on a chat group that included his wife and brother.

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Monday took adverse note of comedian Samay Raina ridiculing the exorbitant treatment cost of people suffering from spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and asked an NGO, which sought regulations of free speech to curb taunting of disability, to list incidents of vacuous comments along with transcripts for consideration of appropriate action.
Seeking to intervene in the pending petition filed by influencer Ranveer Gautam Allahbadia, who faces FIRs in Maharashtra and Assam for his crass comments on parental sex during an ‘India Has Latent’ show, senior advocate Aparajita Singh told a bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh that free speech must be regulated to the extent of curbing insensitive remarks on the disabled, who have a right to live with dignity.
The senior counsel, appearing on behalf of NGO Cure SMA Foundation, said the insensitive comments by the comedian had a debilitating effect as such remarks – for a two-month-old child, a treatment of Rs 16 crore! – result in perpetuating lack of receptivity towards the seriousness of the illness and impedes resource management for treatment of the person afflicted with the disease. The NGO alleged that the same comedian had even attempted to ridicule a visually challenged person.
It also drew the court’s attention to a widely circulated video on social media in which former cricketers Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina were seen limping and holding their backs to depict the impact of cricketing careers on their bodies.
“Unfortunately, the aforesaid video clips are only a drop in the bucket and there are numerous other instances where the media platforms have treated persons with disabilities (and their issues) as objects of derision, pity, or public entertainment. It is humbly submitted that free speech does not entail within its scope the liberty to speak loosely on such serious issues and sliding such statements off as humour or satire,” it said. The bench asked the senior counsel to prepare a list of such videos being circulated on social media, along with transcripts, and file it in the court along with her suggestions for further course of action.
Meanwhile, solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for both Maharashtra and Assam where Allahbadia is facing investigation on FIRs lodged for his crass comments on parental sex, informed the court that while Maharashtra Police have completed probe and are ready to file chargesheet, Assam Police are awaiting questioning of one of the co-accused.
The bench posted the matter to be heard on April 28 to consider Allahbadia’s request for release of his passport as his counsel Abhinav Chandrachud said it was part of his livelihood to enable him travel abroad and fix interviews for his shows.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has ensured that his party – the Liberal Party of Canada – has come from behind and taken the lead just a week ahead of the parliamentary election in Canada, opinion polls suggest.

This is a significant achievement for Prime Minister Carney as his Liberal Party was miles behind the opposition Conservative Party just over a month ago, when he took over from Justin Trudeau, who was much to blame for the Liberal Party’s misery over the last year.

Justin Trudeau, who was in power for more than nine years, was facing a massive anti-incumbency and backlash from the opposition and Canadian citizens alike over inflation, high immigration levels and a housing crisis.

LIBERALS OVERTAKE CONSERVATIVES, SAY POLLS

But under Mark Carney, the Liberals have come a long way. A rolling three-day Nanos poll released on Monday put the Liberals at 43.7 per cent public support compared to the Conservatives at 36.3 per cent. Jagmeet Singh’s left-leaning New Democrats, who compete with the Liberals for the center-left vote, trailed at a distant 10.7 per cent.

If this is how the numbers stand on voting day, the Liberal Party of Canada will get a clear majority in the 343-member Canadian Parliament.

MARK CARNEY SHIFTS GEARS FOR THE LIBERALS

Mark Carney, 60, who was a former banker in Canada’s central bank, has had no prior political experience. But he has described himself as “someone who knows how to negotiate and how to manage a crisis.”

Mr Carney, who has taken some strong measures against US President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs and threats to takeover his country and make it the 51st state of the United States, appealed again to fellow Canadians on Monday, asking them to come out in large numbers and vote for him.

He has been demanding a decisive mandate – a majority government for Canada – to ensure that the next government can withstand pressure from President Trump and his administration, which has made Washington’s intentions clear about annexing Canada.

Canada needs to drastically reduce its dependence on America and completely restructure its economy, Mr Carney has said. “We need a government that has a strong mandate, a clear mandate. We need a government that has a plan that meets the moment,” Mr Carney said during a campaign event on Monday.

The Liberal platform, which promises additional spending of around C$130 billion (Canadian Dollar) over the next four years, predicts that the 2025-26 deficit will be C$62.3 billion, far higher than the C$42.2 billion forecast in December.

CANADA ELECTION: EARLY VOTING HAS BEGUN

Elections Canada, which is the official election body of the country, has said that it has already recorded the votes of more than 2 million citizens who have cast their ballots on the first day of advance voting on Friday.

Canada has a total of 28 million registered voters.

The average voter turnout in Canada’s parliamentary elections from the 1950s to the 1990s ranged between 70 per cent and 80 per cent – a high count. But since the turn of the century, the voter turnout has steadily declined. In the most recent elections in 2021, it had dropped to 62.3 per cent.

The Nanos poll, which surveyed 1,289 people, was carried out on April 17, 19, and 20. It is considered accurate to within 2.7 percentage points or 19 times out of 20.