Pioneer in short
FIVE Indians injured in Abu Dhabi
Five Indian nationals were among 12 people reportedly injured in Abu Dhabi on Friday by debris from an intercepted missile. Local authorities said the people sustained minor to moderate injuries in the incident. The incident caused minor to moderate injuries to five Indian and six Nepali nationals, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said on social media. It said another Nepali citizen sustained a major injury. The incident occurred in the Ajban area of Abu Dhabi when debris fell following a “successful interception by air defence systems”, it added. There was no word from the Indian side on the incident. Since the conflict in West Asia began on February 28, eight Indian nationals have been killed and several others injured in the region. The UAE air defences on Friday engaged 18 Ballistic missiles, 4 cruise missiles and 47 UAVs launched from Iran, according to the Ministry of Defence of the United Arab Emirates. Since the start of the Iranian attacks, UAE air defences have engaged 475 ballistic missiles, 23 cruise missiles and 2,085 UAVs. The attacks resulted in the killing of 2 members of the armed forces while performing their national duty.
Annamalai not in electoral fray
The BJP on Friday announced names of 27 candidates for the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, including Union Minister L Murugan from the Avanashi seat and former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan from Mylapore, but its former state president K Annamalai is not in the electoral fray. The absence of Annamalai, a former IPS officer who was the face of the party during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, from the list of candidates comes amidst reports of differences over seat allocation.
“In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, they asked me to contest. Now, nobody has asked me to contest. I did not seek an opportunity, and I am carrying out the tasks assigned to me. If the party decides and asks me to contest, I will,” Annamalai told reporters in Coimbatore last month.Annamalai unsuccessfully contested from Aravakurichi in the 2021 Assembly election and also lost the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Congress MLA disqualified
Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti has been disqualified from the State Legislative Assembly following his conviction in a case involving the tampering of bank records to secure illegal interest payments, officials said on Friday. The disqualification, however, has triggered a political row, with the Opposition party terming the “midnight” move a “blatant violation of the democratic process”. Following deliberations on the issue on Thursday night, the Vidhan Sabha authorities issued a notification annulling Bharti’s membership from the Datia Assembly seat, after his conviction in a case involving the tampering of bank records to secure illegal interest payments, officials said. The Congress leader had defeated former MP home minister Narottam Mishra of the ruling BJP from the seat in the 2023 Assembly polls.
