A select list of stories to read before you start your day
Challenge before parties is to keep voter interest alive
Speaking to The Hindu, Sanjay Kumar, Director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies said the schedule, despite having fewer phases than 2014, appeared to be one that would not encourage a high turnout. “If you look at the dates carefully, there are two Sundays and Mondays. Generally off days and holidays see a lower turnout. I am not saying there is a causal relationship but this is what is usually observed. Similarly, polling dates on Monday could be taken as extended weekend,” Professor Kumar said.
Three militants killed in Pulwama operation
Security personnel killed three militants holed up in a residential area in Pulwama’s Tral area in Jammu and Kashmir in an operation on Sunday, a Srinagar-based Army spokesman said.
The mysterious disappearance of tigress F03
A Royal Bengal tigress, F03, that strayed out of north-central Assam’s Orang National Park 16 months ago, had set off one of the biggest operations in the State to trap the big cat. For more than a year, the tigress outsmarted some of the country’s best feline experts and made the Assam Forest Department spend a fortune in the effort.
Sukhois hobbled by lack of blast pens near LoC
“Owing to the bureaucratic delays, we could not develop blast pens for Su-30 MKIs near the Line of Control (LoC). The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) sanctioned the project only at the end of 2017,” a source said. Hence, the jets could not be forward-deployed along the LoC, and they were scrambled from behind to intercept the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jets that tried to bomb Indian military installations, the official said, explaining why the MiG-21 jets were the first responders during the aerial combat a day after the Balakot air strikes.
North Koreans vote for Parliament with ‘single-minded unity’
North Koreans went to the polls Sunday for an election in which there could be only one winner. Leader Kim Jong-un’s ruling Workers’ Party has an iron grip on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Every five years, it holds an election for the rubber stamp legislature, known as the Supreme People’s Assembly.