Newsreel: 01.06.03

• WITH poll plans looming large, the BJP gets itself into a controversy that splits open the differences within the party leadership. I...

• WITH poll plans looming large, the BJP gets itself into a controversy that splits open the differences within the party leadership. It all begins when party president M Venkaiah Naidu, who had stated not too long ago that the party would contest the next elections on the plank of ‘‘Vajpayee ka naam aur Vajpayee ka kaam’’, changes his tune and says: ‘‘The focus of our election campaign will be a combination of both the Vikas Purush and Lauh Purush.” Analysts read the statement as a big leap forward by the Sangh to propel Advani into prime ministership at an appropriate time. The tempo picks up as PM Atal Behari Vajpayee compounds the situation and says: ‘‘Let us surge towards victory under the leadership of Advani.’’ But all was not over yet. HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, the self-styled Vigyan Purush takes the lead in assuring Vajpayee that he alone was the leader of the party, government and nation.

• The infamous MiG list notches another kill when a Type 75 variant, one of the oldest versions of the aircraft, crashes shortly after take off from the Uttarlai Air Force base in Barmer district of Rajasthan, killing its pilot Flt Lt Deepankar Singh Jamwal. On a routine sortie, 25-year-old Jamwal left the base at 7 am but 25 minutes later his aircraft crashed in a field west of Uttarlai.

• The New York Times’ top two editors resign after a tumultuous five weeks that began with the exposure of staff reporter Jayson Blair’s journalistic fraud and grew into a drumbeat of criticism of the management style at one of the world’s most distinguished newspapers.

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Executive Editor Howell Raines and Managing Editor Gerald Boyd leave moments after speaking to hundreds of staffers in an emotional meeting in the Times newsroom — the same spot where they celebrated a record seven Pulitzer Prizes just a year ago.

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) forms an Economic Intelligence Wing to tackle ‘‘white-collar crimes’’ even as a list of run away economic offenders is being readied for extradition. Agency sources say the CBI has recruited a senior official of the RBI as a technical officer to the wing.

• M K Stalin, son of DMK President M Karunanidhi, is projected as the next leader of the party. Karunanidhi, who had been heading the party for the last 34 years and was re-elected unanimously for a record ninth term, tells reporters that Stalin had been elevated as Deputy General Secretary.

• THE Gujarat High Court orders the release of 65 persons being held under preventive detention law as the state failed to explain why they were being held. Acting Chief Justice J.N. Bhatt orders their release on May 27 on the grounds that the Home Department had not considered representations made by the detainees and had not filed the reply on affidavit.

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Some of those released had been arrested as long back as November. The Prevention of Anti-Social Activities (PASA) Act, 1985, allows detention of habitual offenders without bail for upto six months. Like in the Goonda and Rowdy Acts of other states, the power to detain is vested with police commissioners (in commissionerate areas) and district magistrates after clearance by a PASA review committee of the Home Department.

• Doyen of the advertising industry in India, RK Swamy, chairman, RK Swamy BBDO Advertising Pvt Ltd, passes away in Chennai at the age of 80. Swamy promoted RK Swamy Advertising Associates Pvt Ltd about three decades ago after spending the first part of his career with JWT/HTA. The agency grew to be among the top 10 agencies within the first five years of its operations. His pioneering publication RK Swamy Guide to Market Planning in 1989, provided for the first time in the country, a quantitative market potential value for the districts of India.

H-1B $100,000 entry fee explained: Who pays, who’s exempt, and what’s still unclear?

Explained7 hr ago

The White House's decision to impose a $100,000 entry fee on H-1B visa holders has sparked worry among Indian tech workers and students. While uncertainties remain about its implementation and exemptions, major tech companies have cautioned employees against traveling. The policy could lead to a shift towards other visa categories and potentially change the STEM immigration pipeline.

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