The deputy head of Myanmar’s election commission was shot dead in Yangon on  April 22  by rebel fighters, the military said.

It is the latest killing of a high-profile individual linked to the country’s junta.

Myanmar’s military has led a bloody crackdown on dissent after seizing power in a coup more than two years ago, sparking social unrest and an economic crisis.

Self-declared civilian “People’s Defence Forces” have sprung up in opposition to the junta, with their fighters targeting officials perceived to be working with the military.

Deputy director Sai Kyaw Thu of the Union Election Commission was shot dead in the township of Thingangyun in eastern Yangon, the army’s information team said in a statement. It said anti-coup “People’s Defence Forces” were responsible but did not give further details.

The military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in February 2021 over allegations of voter fraud in elections the previous year.

Myanmar’s main military-backed party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, has already registered. The group was trounced by  Suu Kyi’s NLD at elections in 1990, 2015 and 2020.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military’s power grab.

UK Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab resigned  on Apr 21  after an independent investigation found he bullied civil servants.

Raab’s announcement the day after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak received findings into eight formal complaints that Raab, who is also justice secretary, had been abusive toward staff members during a previous stint in that office and while serving as Britain’s foreign secretary and Brexit secretary.

Raab, 49, denied claims he belittled and demeaned his staff and said he “behaved professionally at all times,” but had said he would resign if the bullying complaints were upheld.

The harrowing image of emergency workers carrying a pregnant woman through the shattered grounds of a maternity hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol has won the World Press Photo of the Year award.

The image by Associated Press photographer Evgeniy Maloletka was taken in the chaotic aftermath of a Russian attack.

The Ukrainian photographer’s March 9, 2022, image of the fatally wounded woman, her left hand on her bloodied lower left abdomen, drove home the horror of Russia’s brutal onslaught in the eastern port city early in the war.

The 32-year-old woman, Iryna Kalinina, died of her injuries a half-hour after giving birth to the lifeless body of her baby named Miron.

In the three other global categories announced , two-time World Press Photo winner Mads Nissen of Denmark won Photo Story of the Year for his series for Politiken and Panos Pictures, titled “The Price of Peace in Afghanistan,” about daily life in Afghanistan in 2022.

Anush Babajanyan of Armenia won the Long-Term Project award for “Battered Waters” for VII Photo and National Geographic Society, and Egyptian photographer Mohamed Mahdy won the Open Format award for “Here, The Doors Don’t Know Me.”

The four global winners were selected from more than 60,000 entries submitted by 3,752 entrants from 127 countries.

Pakistan announced that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would participate in the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) meeting in India next month.

Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahrah Baloch announced it at a weekly media briefing .

She said the Pakistan foreign minister would be attending the meeting as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had invited him to attend the SCO moot.

It would be the highest-level visit to India by any Pakistani leader in recent years and a possible opportunity to break the ice between the two nations.

The ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India's warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Pakistan's Balakot in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack.

The relations further deteriorated after India announced the withdrawal of Jammu and Kashmir's special powers and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into Union territories in August 2019.

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Over the years, it has emerged as one of the largest trans-regional international organisations.

India and Pakistan became permanent members of the Beijing-based SCO in 2017.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its latest monthly bulletin released on  Apr 21, said monetary policy has been successful in lowering the prices substantially and that it will continue to make its efforts to bring down inflation to 4%. The government has mandated the RBI to ensure retail inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI) remains at 4% with a margin of 2% on either side.

“Monetary policy is at work. Substantial disinflation has been achieved, but the road to be travelled stretches ahead till inflation is at or close to the target of 4%,” noted the RBI’s bulletin. In response and aided by supply-side measures, headline CPI inflation has gradually declined from its peak of 7.8% in April 2022 to 5.7% in March 2023 and is projected to ease further to 5.2% in January-March quarter of 2024, a reduction of 260 basis points.

Inflation during January-February 2023 exceeded the upper tolerance limit of 6% after a transitory respite during November-December 2022. The central bank, which effected six back-to-back hikes in the key short-term lending rate (repo) since May 2022 to check high inflation, decided to pause early this month. The cumulative rate hike since May 2022 is 250 basis points.

The retail inflation in March fell to a 15-month low of 5.66% and came back to the central bank’s comfort level of 6%. The article authored by a team led by RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra noted that the global economic conditions are beset by heightened uncertainty as financial conditions remain volatile and financial markets are on edge.

The bulletin said that in time, enduring price and financial stability will strengthen the foundations of the economy and provide a fillip to growth. Central banks across the world that are invested with dual mandates are at a fork in their course. “The RBI has taken the road that is less travelled by, balancing and calibrating both actions and pace,” noted the bulletin.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has invited the board of directors of public and private sector banks next month to discuss issues relating to governance and supervision of banks.

The meeting, scheduled on May 22, is first of its kind as the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das will interact with the top officials of banking sector.

From RBI’s side, deputy governors and executive directors from the Department of Supervision, Department of Regulation and the Enforcement Department will take part in the event. According to the bankers, it is rare for the governor to meet the entire board of banks. 

The first-ever Women's Blind Cricket Team will represent India in a bilateral series against Nepal which will be played at Pokhara and Kathmandu in Nepal from April 25 to April 30.

The team will play five T20s announced Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) in a press conference . This is a major development in the efforts of CABI and Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled to uplift the women players in the game.

The probables for the team were selected from the National Championships held earlier in the year and the final team was selected after a national camp held in Bhopal. The team will be captained by Sushma Patel who is a B3 Category player. The 17 players are from 10 different states of India and the Indian team is gearing up to give their best in the bilateral series.

Harmanpreet Kaur, Captain of the Indian Women's Team is the Brand Ambassador of the Indian Women's Blind Cricket Team.

India will play Nepal in five T20s in which the first two matches will be played at the Pokhara Cricket Ground, Kaski and the remaining matches will be played at the Mulapani Cricket Ground, Kathmandu.

The Inauguration for the Women's Bilateral T20 Cricket Series for the Blind 2023 will be held on 25th April at the Pokhara Cricket Ground followed by the opening match. The team will arrive on 23rd April in Kathmandu.

Indian Women's Blind Cricket Team Squad:

B1 Category (Completely blind): Varsha U, Valasanaini Ravanni, Simu Das, Padmini Tudu, Killaka Sandhya, Priya

B2 Category (Partially blind- Vision upto three meters): Gangavva Neelappa Harijan - Vice Captain, Pritiben Babubhai Desai, Sandra Davis Karimalikkal, Basanti Hansda, Prity Prasad

B3 Category (Partially blind- Vision upto six meters): Sushma Patel (C), M Satyavathi, Phula Saren, Jhili Birua, Ganga Sambhaji Kadam, Deepika T C

In the U17 Cadet Championship, the wrestlers bagged two gold medals and four bronze medals, respectively. Shweta Sanju Annikeri (49 kg), a resident IIS wrestler hailing from Karnataka, bagged gold in her weight category.

This is her third significant national championship medal after winning a bronze at the Cadet National Championship in 2022 and a bronze at the Sub-Junior National Wrestling Championship in 2021. In the girl's category, the second medal was a bronze won by Liza Tomar in the 61 kg category.

While in the boy's category, gold was bagged by Sonu Hooda in the 60 kg category. The remaining three bronze medals were won by Harshvardhan Bhoyar (65kg), Mohammed Shazad (71kg) and Ashvani Yadav (71kg).

The accolades weren't restricted to the Cadet championships. The Senior Open National Ranking Championship held simultaneously at the same venue saw two silver medals go to the upcoming women's wrestling stars from IIS, Pushpa Yadav (53kg) and Harshita (72kg) bagged silver medals in their respective weight classes.