1. Election 2024: The 6th phase on Sat saw a voter turnout of 61.2%, the lowest among all phases
2. 2 Days, 2 Separate Fire Tragedies, around 30 deaths
3. Army chief General Manoj Pande gets one-month extension
4. WHO negotiators fail to draft pandemic treaty
5. Swati Maliwal alleges rape and death threats, blames AAP, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee

What Else

• WB: BSF arrest smuggler with 89 gold biscuits worth Rs 12 crore on Indo-B’desh Border
• Bangladesh: Plot afoot for new state carved out of Bangladesh, Myanmar
• Bangladeshi MP murder: Dhaka police to seek Interpol’s help to nab mastermind
• Pakistan: Attack on Pakistan army post near Afghan border kills seven, military says
• Pakistan seeks $17b from China
• Chinese spies breach US military bases, gov’t sites 100 times, officials say: Report

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Election 2024: The 6^th phase on Sat saw a voter turnout of 61.2%, the lowest among all phases

• In the 5^th phase, the turnout was slightly higher at 62.2%.
• The Poll Body EC said these figures are approx and will be updated.
• On Sat, 58 seats in eight states and Union Territories voted in the sixth phase.
• In 2019, the turnout for the same phase (59 seats across 7 states) was 64.4%
• In the last phase, WB recorded the highest voter turnout of 79.47%, and UP lowest turnout of 54.03%.
• Whereas Bihar recorded a voter turnout of 55.24, Haryana 60.4, J&K of 54.3, JH of 63.76, Delhi of 57.67, and Odisha of 69.56%
• The next and final phase — Phase 7 — of voting is scheduled for Jun 1 in 57 constituencies across 8 states and UTs.
• “If INDI alliance wants to accept servitude of their vote bank, perform mujra…”: PM: PM Modi on Sat launched a scathing attack on the India bloc for appeasement politics, saying that they are performing “mujra to keep their vote bank” intact, adding that till Modi is alive, he won’t allow the rights of ST, SC or OBC to be snatched away.
• PM Modi said that UP witnessed huge riots under SP rule as they nurtured mafias (here)
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sun alleged that Delhi CM and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal has turned Punjab into an “ATM of corruption” and that he has been relying on it to pay the legal fees to fight his court cases. (here)
• Kushwaha calls collegium system ‘undemocratic’ in presence of Shah: Former Union minister and NDA candidate Upendra Kushwaha slammed the collegium system of appointment of judges in the higher judiciary and called it “undemocratic”.
• During a rally in Bihar’s Karakat, from where he is contesting the Kushwaha said, “It is undemocratic. It has shut the doors of judgeship in the higher judiciary on Dalits, OBCs, and even the poor among the upper castes.” (here)
• Heard of work from home, 1^st time hearing work from jail: Rajnath in dig at Kejriwal: Chandigarh, Def Min Rajnath Singh on Sun took a dig at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, saying he had heard about “work from home” but it is the first time that he is hearing of “work from jail”. (here)
• Amit Shah makes big promise on Uniform Civil Code, One Nation, One Election: HM Shah on Sun declared that the Uniform Civil Code will be implemented across the country within the next 5 years following consultations with all the stakeholders if the Modi govt returns to power.
• The minister also said that the govt will also implement the ‘One Nation, One Election’ for simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the country.
• Citing Uttarakhand which recently implemented UCC, Shah said that the law made by the Pushkar Singh Dhami government should undergo social and legal scrutiny.
• He added that the religious leaders should be consulted. (here)

2 Days, 2 Separate Fire Tragedies, around 30 deaths

• At least 27 people, including 12 children, were killed after a massive fire broke out at a gaming zone in Gujarat’s Rajkot city on Sat.
• The manager of the TRP game zone Nitin Jain and one of the partners in the facility Yuvraj Singh Solanki were arrested by the police on Sun.
• At least 27 people, including 12 children, were killed after a massive fire broke out at a gaming zone in Gujarat’s Rajkot city on Saturday evening.
• An FIR has been registered in the incident. Rajkot Game Zone manager Nitin Jain and Game Zone partner Yuvraj Singh Solanki have been detained by the police (here)
• 7 newborn babies die in Delhi hospital fire, govt orders investigation; No fire NOC, no registration:
• At least 7 newborns died in a massive fire that broke out at a children’s hospital in the Vivek Vihar area of East Delhi late Saturday.
• The owner of the baby care center, who was absconding since Sat night, was apprehended by Delhi Police on Sunday.
• Delhi Baby Care Centre was a tragedy in the making which killed 7 kids
• New details have emerged about the owner of the Delhi children’s hospital where a fire incident ended up killing 7 newborns Sat.
• According to media reports, New Born Baby Care Hospital and its owner Naveen Khichi are serial offenders and not new to controversies.
• Khichi was arrested by Delhi Police on Sun.
• According to previous media reports, he had fled to Jaipur after the fire incident. Delhi Police had dispatched a team to Rajasthan to nab the doctor.
• Earlier in 2021, Khichi was booked as his center was not registered with the authorities.
• The center also faced allegations of manhandling a child and causing a fracture in the baby’s left hand during treatment. (here)
• PM Modi, CM Kejriwal condoles death 
• PM Modi on Sun said the fire tragedy at a hospital in east Delhi is heart-rending, and his thoughts are with the bereaved families in this incredibly difficult time.
• Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said in a post on X, “This incident of fire in a children’s hospital is heartbreaking.”
• Several residents of the area where the hospital was located alleged that oxygen cylinders were traded at the care centre and the authorities had been informed about this earlier. (here)

Army chief General Manoj Pande gets one-month extension

• The central govt on Sun extended the tenure of Army Chief Gen Pande for a period of one month.
• General Pande was to retire from service on May 31 after a 25-month tenure.
• The announcement came at a time when the two seniormost officers after General Pande would also be due for superannuation in Jun.
• Gen Pande was commissioned in December 1982 in the Corps of Engineers
• He held the post of Vice-Chief of the Army Staff before taking over the reins of the 1.2 million-strong force in April 2022 (here)

WHO negotiators fail to draft pandemic treaty

• Two years of negotiations ended Friday without a final draft of a global agreement on how to best handle the next pandemic that public health officials say is sure to come.
• After the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO was asked to write an agreement on how to respond to the inevitable next one and avoid the missteps and disparities of the last one.
• “We are not where we hoped we would be when we started this process,” Roland Driece, co-chair of WHO’s negotiating board for the agreement, said Friday.
• A final draft treaty was scheduled for presentation at next week’s World Health Assembly, the yearly meeting of health ministers in Geneva.
• “This is not a failure,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva after the talks ended.
• “We will try everything — believing that anything is possible — and make this happen because the world still needs a pandemic treaty,” he said.
• Agence France-Presse said it saw a draft agreement of which a large portion was approved, but several other sections had not been approved. (here)

Swati Maliwal alleges rape and death threats, blames AAP, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee

• AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Sun claimed that she has been receiving rape and death threats following a ‘character assassination’ campaign allegedly orchestrated by AAP leaders and volunteers.
• She further accused YouTuber Dhruv Rathee of further escalating the hate campaign by posting a ‘one-sided’ video against her.
• Maliwal reveals what Sanjay Singh of AAP told her on phone when she reached PS
• While sharing several screenshots of abusive messages and rape threats which she had received on social media platforms, on her X handle, the AAP MP said that she has been subjected to character assassination and victim shaming allegedly by her own party leaders.
• The former Delhi Commission For Women chief further claimed that the party headship is trying to intimidate her into withdrawing her complaint against CM Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar.
• Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar was sent to 4-day judicial custody (here)

WB: BSF arrest smuggler with 89 gold biscuits worth Rs 12 crore on Indo-B’desh Border

• The Border Security Force seized 89 gold biscuits valued at Rs 12 crore from the India-Bangladesh border of North 24 Parganas of West Bengal during the 6^th phase voting.
• BSF of Border outpost Gunarmath, 05 Battalion under S Bengal Frontier, conducted an operation in village Haldarpada in the area of the Border outpost and recovered 89 gold biscuits from the house of Paul (name changed) after smuggling this gold consignment from Bangladesh to India, was hiding it in his home before further delivery.
• During interrogation, Paul revealed that in the last week of Mar 2024, he came in contact with a gold smuggler from Bangladesh.
• On May 25, 2024, at around 12:40 pm, the same smuggler had given him 89 Gold Biscuits and Bricks of different shapes & sizes to hide in the house. (here)

 [Neighborhood]

Bangladesh: Plot afoot for new state carved out of Bangladesh, Myanmar

• PM Sheikh Hasina alleged that a plot is on to carve out “a Christian state like East Timor” taking parts from Bangladesh and Myanmar.
• She also claimed that she was offered a hassle-free reelection in the Jan 7 polls if she allowed a foreign country to build an airbase in Bangladesh territory.
• But she did not mention the country’s name.
• Hasina, also the Awami League president, was delivering her introductory speech at the 14-party meeting at the Gono Bhaban last night.
• It was the 14-party’s first meeting with the AL president after the national polls.
• The premier said she faces challenges both at home and abroad and the conspiracy is afoot, reports UNB.
• She said, “Like East Timor … they will carve out a Christian country taking parts of Bangladesh [Chattogram] and Myanmar with a base in the Bay of Bengal.”
• Hasina mentioned that business activities have been going through the Bay and the Indian Ocean since ancient times.
• “Many have their eyes on this place. There is no controversy here, no conflict. I won’t let that happen. This is also one of my crimes [in their eyes],” she said.
• About the proposal for the airbase, she said, “The offer came from a white man.”
• “There will be more trouble. But don’t worry about it.”
• She alleged that the BNP had conspired to prevent the election.
• Hasina also mentioned that she made the same reply as she did in 2001 when the US offered to sell the country’s gas to India. (here)
• Bangladeshi MP murder: Dhaka police to seek Interpol’s help to nab mastermind
• Bangladesh police have said that it would seek help and assistance from Interpol and the Criminal Investigation Department to nab the main conspirator behind the brutal murder of MP Anwarul Azim Anar, whose chopped body was found in an apartment in Kolkata earlier this week.
• Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch (DB) chief claimed that the fugitive mastermind might have fled the country after committing the crime.
• The main conspirator Akhtaruzzaman may have escaped from Kathmandu to the US via Dubai…We are trying to trace him through Interpol.
• We will go to the CID office. (here)

Pakistan: Attack on Pakistan army post near Afghan border kills seven, military says

• An armed group attacked a military post in NW Pakistan near the Afghan border using a vehicle laden with explosives as well as suicide bombs, killing 7 security forces.
• Troops responding to the attack on Sat in North Waziristan, a district in the restive province of KP, killed 6 attackers, some of who were wearing suicide vests
• A clearance operation was still underway in the area.
• Residents told the Reuters news agency that an explosion shook doors and damaged windows during the attack.
• North Waziristan long served as a base for the Pakistani Taliban and other groups until the army claimed a few years back that it had cleared the region of rebel groups.
• Occasional attacks have continued, however, raising concerns that the Pakistani Taliban are regrouping in the area. (here)

Pakistan seeks $17b from China

• Pakistan requested China on Friday to begin construction work on three electricity generation projects totaling 2,100 MW and proposed 7 infrastructure schemes for Chinese financing – in a move that appears to further expand Phase-I of the CPEC.
• Islamabad requested China to fund the  Diamer Basha dam, Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway, and Mainline-I project of the Pakistan Railways, in addition to four other roads and bridge projects.
• The estimated value of these nine energy and infrastructure projects exceeds $17 billion, including the $4.5 billion cost of the energy schemes.
• The request was made during the 13^th JCC meeting, the highest decision-making body of the CPEC.
• The Pakistani side was headed by Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, while the Chinese team was led by the chairman of Beijing’s NDRC during the JCC meeting.
• The minister mentioned that China has raised the issue of the repayment of their Rs523 billion dues on account of electricity purchases, but the country can only make these payments when the economic situation improves.
• The planning minister also stated that China has agreed to study a proposal to convert imported coal projects to local coal for coal-based power generation.
• This move would save $1 billion per annum in coal costs and facilitate timely payments to Chinese energy suppliers. (here)

Chinese spies breach US military bases, gov’t sites 100 times, officials say: Report

• The FBI and Dept of Defense have documented over 100 incidents of Chinese nationals posing as tourists to gain unauthorized access to U.S. military bases and other federal sites.
• Labeled as “gate crashers” by U.S. officials, these individuals have employed various methods, from crossing into restricted missile ranges to swimming near key rocket launch sites, – The Wall Street Journal.
• Recent attempts include a group of purported tourists trying to force their way into Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
• The DoD conducts more than 10,000 ‘controlled turnarounds’ each day to ensure unauthorized individuals are prevented from entering any of its 1,400 gates.
• The FBI has identified China as “the greatest long-term counterintelligence threat to our nation’s information and intellectual property.”
• Joint efforts between the FBI, DoD, and other agencies are in place to enhance the protective posture of military installations. (here)