DH Evening Brief: April 5, 2022

Here are the top stories this evening.

Fall of the Rajapaksas: From war heroes to villains of Lanka's economy

Holding placards and shouting slogans, Sri Lankans converging at the private residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Mirihana in upscale Colombo on March 31 is a defining image of the all-powerful family falling from the grace of its very own people who, not long ago, hailed them for “emancipating” the tear-shaped island from terrorism. Read more

ED attaches Sanjay Raut's property in Patra Chawl land scam case

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday attached properties of journalist-politician Sanjay Raut, the Man Friday of Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray hours after the Maha Vikas Aghadi government formed a SIT to probe the allegations of corruption against the central agency. Read more

BJP endorses Raj Thackeray's view, offers free loudspeakers to play Hanuman Chalisa

Endorsing Raj Thackeray's stand on playing Hanuman Chalisa in temples to drown out the noise from mosques, Maharashtra BJP functionary Mohit Kamboj offered to finance the installation of loudspeakers atop temples for playing 'Hanuman Chalisa' as he pitched for “Hindu unity” and also demanded the removal of “illegal” loudspeakers from mosques. Read more

Pakistan PM Imran Khan paying the price for being 'disobedient' to Washington, says Russia

Russia has criticised the US for making "another attempt of shameless interference” into the internal affairs of Pakistan and asserted that Prime Minister Imran Khan was paying the price for being “disobedient” to Washington and being punished for visiting Russia in February this year. Read more

Good news for Karnataka government employees as dearness allowance hiked

The Basavaraj Bommai administration on Tuesday issued an order hiking the dearness allowance (DA) for government employees from 24.50% to 27.25% of their basic pay. Read more

In Pics | World's largest plane destroyed in Russia-Ukraine war

The largest plane in the world, Antonov An-225 Mriya, was completely destroyed by Russian strikes in Kyiv on the fourth day of Moscow's invasion.The aircraft, which was unique to the world, could transport up to 250 tonnes (551,000 pounds) of cargo at a speed of up to 850 kilometres per hour (528 mph). See pics

The 'hair-raising' subtext of the Oscar slap

The Oscar awards of 2022 will probably be remembered most for the 'hair’-raising burst of physical (and verbal) violence by actor Will Smith, who walked up on stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock. This was because Rock, who was anchoring the show, had made a joke about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, a condition that leads to severe hair loss. Read more

Haryana Assembly passes resolution against Punjab's move on Chandigarh issue

The Haryana Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution, noting with concern the resolution recently passed by the Punjab Assembly staking claim over the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Read more

'Shoot the messenger': Yogi government's reaction to UP's exam paper leak

The leakage of examination papers is nothing new to Uttar Pradesh, where the existence of an examination mafia has been an open secret for decades. However, what is new is the drastic police action against journalists who were responsible for exposing the racket now. Read more