News18.com Daybreak : Chidambaram Says No FIR Against Him in Aircel-Maxis Case & Stories You May Have Missed

In case you missed it

World Environment Day 2018: Even as India hosted this year’s World Environment Day on Tuesday and pledged to fight plastic pollution, the country is still beset with microbeads, one of the most insidious forms of the polluting compound to ever exist. Though the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) banned the use of microbeads in cosmetics in October 2017, the ban will only be implemented in 2020. 

Odisha’s Koraput forest division is going to be buying plastic bottles from people till June 7 as part of a campaign which started on June 1. The novel endeavour to dissuade plastic use coincided with the Environment Day pledge to ban plastic.

In a special series called #ClimateChangeArt, we have put together the works of different artists and musicians who are affecting the way the world looks at climate change.

Aircel-Maxis Scam: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, who was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Aircel-Maxis money laundering case on Tuesday, said all the answers he gave to the probe agency were already recorded in government documents. Slamming the ED for the 6-hour long questioning session, the former Finance Minister tweeted that though there was no FIR against him, he was nevertheless being investigated.

Rahul’s Headache: When HD Kumaraswamy and G Parameshwara took their oaths as Karnataka chief minister and deputy chief minister two weeks ago, Congress’s crisis manager DK Shivakumar was visibly upset and his supporters angry. Shivakumar had been hoping to be appointed Deputy CM after capping the victory over BJP in Karnataka. He is now demanding that a meaty portfolio like Bengaluru Development or Water Resources should be given to him as compensation. Whether party President Rahul Gadhi would accede to the demands of the 7-time legislator is yet to be seen.

Horror cab: A 26-year-old woman in Benglauru had a traumatic experience while she was going to the airport as she was held hostage, molested and forced to strip for photos by an Ola cab driver. Based on her complaint, the driver has been arrested, police said on Tuesday.

Scaling Glory: Scaling Mount Everest is no mean feat. But a BSF team, led by Assistant Commandant Lovraj Singh Dharmshaktu, not only climbed the world’s tallest peak but also set a record by bringing down 700 kg garbage within two days. The-15 member team along with the 7 sherpas who assisted them, went back and forth from base camps to the peak at least four times on May 20 and 21, in order to collect the garbage.

Baggage Control: As a result of numerous complaints regarding excess baggage being towed into train compartments, the Indian Railways has decided to strictly enforce its over-three-decades-old baggage allowance rules. Passengers will have to pay up to six times the stipulated amount as penalty, if caught travelling with overweight luggage.

Powering on: Despite the US threatening sanctions against Russia, India announced that it will go ahead with its defense deals with the country. The deals include the one for the S-400 Triumf air defense missile systems for the Air Force.

Betting Racket: After actor and filmmaker Arbaaz Khan and producer Parag Sanghvi, another name from Bollywood has surfaced in connection with the Indian Premier League betting racket. Kingpin of the racket, Sonu Jalan, told investigators that filmmaker Sajid Khan was one of his clients and he used to place bets for him on cricket matches. However, Sonu said that he had not placed any bets for the past seven years.

Fatal Crash: An Indian Air Force Jaguar fighter jet on Tuesday crashed soon after it took off from the Jamnagar airbase in Gujarat, killing the pilot. A Court of Inquiry into the incident has been ordered by the air headquarters to investigate the cause of the accident.

Agree or Disagree?

The Kaala row: The decision of the fringe groups to target Tamil movies over inter-state disputes is not new. This has happened with Rajinikanth before in 2008. At that time, after Rajini's comment on the Hogenakkal row, Kannada outfits refused to allow the release of 'Kuselan' in Karnataka. Rajini had to apologise for hurting the sentiment of Kannadigas. Did Kamal Haasan act selfish in not using his newly-struck rapport with Kumaraswamy to talk about 'Kaala'? Senior journalist TS Sudhir explores the question in depth.

Left vs Right: There has been an unseemly outrage among certain sections of the political class against former President Dr Pranab Mukherjee's acceptance of an invitation as chief guest for the concluding ceremony of RSS's Tritiya Varsh Training programme. Dr Manmohan Vaidya, the Joint General Secretary of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh talks about the lazy assumption that ideological worlds exist in strict binaries of left and right wings.