The headlines of the week by The Indian Express

First, we talk to The Indian Express' Amitabh Sinha about MSC Elsa 3, the container ship that capsized in the Arabian Sea on Saturday. While there has been no oil spill yet, the possibility looms large. Amitabh talks about the consequences of an oil spill, the concerns and the challenges that come with it.

Next, we talk to The Indian Express' Santosh Singh about Lalu Prasad Yadav expelling his eldest son, Tej Pratap Yadav, from both the party and the family for six years. (12:01)

Lastly, we speak about Prime Minister Modi’s first visit to West Bengal since Operation Sindoor, where he launched a sharp attack on the TMC government. (23:46)

Hosted by Ichha Sharma
Produced and written by Niharika Nanda and Ichha Sharma
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

The headlines of the day by The Indian Express

First, we talk to The Indian Express' Health Editor Kaunain Sheriff about the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases. He talks about the new subvariant that has surfaced, the number of cases that have been identified in India and whether or not it is a cause for concern.

Next, we talk to The Indian Express' Devansh Mittal about Uber being sent a notice by India's consumer protection watchdog -  the Central Consumer Protection Authority regarding a feature that it rolled out last month, the feature of 'advanced tip'. (12:01)

Lastly, we speak about a  report according to which Trump officials have claimed the US president utilised his tariff power to broker a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. (19:49)

Hosted by Niharika Nanda
Produced and written by Niharika Nanda and Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things by The Indian Express and I am Ichha Sharma
Today is 28th of May and here are today’s headlines.

Amid reports of MLAs in Manipur attempting to form a government, sources at the Centre told The Indian Express that revoking President’s Rule is unlikely anytime soon. They said the current focus for both the Centre and state machinery is maintaining peace, and any political activity could disrupt the progress made so far.

And from Manipur, we turn to Assam, where a legal battle is unfolding over alleged police encounters. The Supreme Court has stayed proceedings initiated by the Assam Human Rights Commission into 171 alleged fake police encounters that occurred between May 2021 and June 2022. A petition filed by a senior advocate claimed the panel had no jurisdiction, as many of the cases were already pending before courts. The Commission had asked Assam’s top police and home officials to respond to its notice. The apex court has now called for affidavits from all parties within three weeks.

Next, in Tamil Nadu, a remark by actor Kamal Haasan has sparked a linguistic and political row. Speaking at a Tamil Sangam event, Kamal Haasan claimed Tamil predates Kannada, citing a 2,500-year-old Tamil inscription. Karnataka BJP leaders sharply objected, accusing him of stoking regional discord. CT Ravi and Basanagouda Patil Yatnal called the comment disrespectful. Haasan later clarified that he was referencing historical records, not undermining any language.

Two men in Kerala’s Palakkad district have been arrested for assaulting a 24-year-old tribal man, alleging he had stolen a hen. A video of the attack, which took place on May 18 in Malampuzha, surfaced online, prompting public outcry. The accused were identified and booked under various sections, including those of the SC/ST Atrocities Act. Police confirmed the victim belongs to the Irula tribal community.

Two Indian-origin men in the US have been sentenced to 33 and 63 months in prison for their role in a human smuggling operation. The case involved a family of four from Gujarat who died from exposure near the US-Canada border in 2022. The smugglers charged up to $100,000 for illegal crossings and had arranged the family's final, fatal attempt near Manitoba.

This was the Catch Up on 3 Things by The Indian Express

First, we talk to The Indian Express’ Soumyarendra Barik about Apple’s decision to increase iPhone production in India and the political pushback it has received from the US.

Next, we turn to Arunachal Pradesh, where protests have erupted against a hydropower project where we are joined by The Indian Express’ Sukrita Baruah to understand the strategic importance of the project, and why local communities are opposing it. (15:18)

Lastly, we discuss the Bombay High Court’s strong remarks on the arrest and rustication of a Pune engineering student over a social media post related to Operation Sindoor. (22:04)

Hosted by Ichha Sharma
Produced and written by Shashank Bhargava, Niharika Nanda and Ichha Sharma
Edited and Mixed by Suresh Pawar

The headlines of the day by The Indian Express

This is the Catch up on 3 Things by the Indian Express and I am Ichha Sharma
Today is the 27th of May and here are today’s headlines

For the first time, Operation Sindoor — the military strike launched by India earlier this month against terror targets in Pakistan — employed the concept of “red teaming” as part of its operational planning, The Indian Express has learnt. Red teaming involves embedding a small group of experts familiar with the adversary’s mindset, tactics and response patterns into the planning process. Their role is to critically challenge the plan, simulate enemy reactions, and help test the robustness of the intended military strategy. According to sources, this is the first time the Indian military has tested this concept in an actual operation, marking a shift in India’s strategic doctrine, bringing in a more dynamic and anticipatory approach to such cross-border operations.

The Supreme Court Tuesday issued notice to the Centre and states on a petition challenging the Waqf Act, 1995. A bench of Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justice A G Masih issued the notice on the plea by Delhi resident Nikhil Upadhyay, and tagged it with a similar petition by Advocate Hari Shankar Jain and another person. Hearing writ petitions challenging the recent amendments made to the Waqf Act, the bench of Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justice Masih had earlier asked why the 1995 Act is being challenged now after so many years.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) Tuesday placed Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri districts under ‘red’ alert for the next 24 hours, while Raigad has been kept under an ‘orange’ alert. While the ‘red’ alert in Mumbai comes to an end today morning, generally cloudy skies, moderate spell of rainfall, accompanied by thunder, lightning, and gusty winds at isolated places will continue throughout the day. In the past 24 hours, the IMD’s observatories at Mumbai’s Colaba and Santacruz recorded 161.9 mm and 144.2 mm of rainfall – highest 24 hours rainfall recorded since 2021 during the month of May, and second highest in the past decade. According to the BMC, Mumbai’s island city recorded 106 mm of rainfall, followed by 72 mm at western suburbs and 63 mm in the eastern suburbs.

Even as the Indian Navy and Coast Guard race to contain any oil spill from the MSC Elsa 3 container ship, which sank Sunday, marine biology experts said that authorities must try to contain as much oil and pollution as possible offshore, as onshore clean-up has limitations—especially during the monsoon season. Meanwhile, teams of scientists from the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), under the Agriculture Ministry, have fanned out across three locations on Kerala’s coast to collect water and sediment samples to examine onshore impacts.

A mass shooting was reported in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park on Monday night which left at least two people dead and nine others wounded, reports stated. The incident took place around 10:30pm on Lemon Hill Drive at Poplar Drive. Police have said that at least two of the shooting victims are believed to be juveniles. Police added that all the nine victims of shooting are in a stable condition. The exact age of the victims, who died in the mass shootout in United States’ Philadelphia, is not known yet but a police officer during a press briefing said the two deceased victims were adults, a male and a female. The police added that no arrests have been made till now in the mass shooting incident.

This was the Catch up on 3 Things by the indian express

First, we talk to The Indian Express' Amrita Nayak Dutta about the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan and the situation on the borders. Two weeks into the pause that was agreed upon by both the countries, the Indian Army is considering a rebalancing of troop deployments along the border to prevent any kind of escalation. Amrita shares more details on the same.

Next, we talk to The Indian Express' Sanath Prasad about the annual issue of waterlogging and flooding in Bengaluru. The flooding in the city causes damage to human lives and property. He talks about the way it impacted the city, the general public and why it is a recurring problem. (8:55)

Lastly, we speak about a civil judge who was removed by the High Court following a string of complaints about his conduct in court. (18:51)

Hosted by Niharika Nanda
Produced and written by Niharika Nanda, Ichha Sharma and Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

The headlines of the day by The Indian Express

First, we talk to The Indian Express’ Deeptiman Tiwary about a major encounter in Chhattisgarh in which security forces claimed to have killed top Maoist leader Nambala Keshava Rao, alias Basavaraju.

Next, we speak to The Indian Express’ Dheeraj Mishra about the Indian Railways’ Amrit Bharat Station Scheme and the rollout of Amrit Bharat Express trains. (09:55)

And in the end, we discuss the fallout from the capsizing of a container vessel off the Kerala coast and the emergency response now underway. (20:04)

Hosted by Ichha Sharma
Produced and written by Shashank Bhargava, Niharika Nanda and Ichha Sharma
Edited and Mixed by Suresh Pawar