August 18, 2025 8:57 AM

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Morning News

THE HEADLINES::

 

  • Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan to be NDA candidate for Vice Presidential election.

 

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes the decision, saying Mr Radhakrishnan always focused on community service and empowering marginalized sections of society.

 

  • Election Commission publishes list of 65 lakh voters excluded from Bihar draft electoral roll after Special Intensive Revision.

 

  • Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to be on a two-day visit to India beginning today.

 

  • Top European leaders to join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Washington today for a crucial meeting with US President Donald Trump.

 

  • Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra qualifies for Diamond League 2025 Final to be held in Zurich on August 27 and 28.

 

 

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Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan will be NDA’s candidate for the upcoming Vice Presidential Election. BJP national president and Union Minister JP Nadda announced this while addressing the media following BJP parliamentary board meeting at the party headquarters in New Delhi yesterday. Mr Nadda said that all NDA colleagues have supported the decision.                  

Our correspondent takes a look at the life and works of Mr Radhakrishnan:

 

Beginning his political journey as a student leader, Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan was actively involved in organisations such as the RSS and Jan Sangh. Since then he has used politics as a medium to serve the public.

 

Mr. Radhakrishnan was elected twice to the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore, securing victory by a record margin of more than 1.5 lakh votes. As Member of Parliament, he was part of India’s parliamentary delegation to the United Nations, and later, to Taiwan. In Tamil Nadu, he served as the State President of the BJP, where he actively raised social and developmental issues. As the Chairman of the Coir Board between 2016 and 2020, Mr. Radhakrishnan transformed India’s coir sector, taking exports to an all-time high of over two thousand five hundred crore rupees.

 

Mr. Radhakrishnan has also served as Governor of Jharkhand, Telangana, Puducherry and Maharashtra. In Jharkhand, he travelled across all 24 districts within just four months, engaging directly with citizens and officials to strengthen grassroots governance. He also made notable contributions towards tuberculosis eradication in Jharkhand, Puducherry and Maharashtra.

 

Born in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, Shri Radhakrishnan is the first OBC leader from South India nominated for the office of Vice President. An agriculturist and industrialist by profession, he is admired for his integrity, vision, and unblemished public life. With more than four decades serving people as a Karyakarta, Mr. Radhakrishnan’s journey reflects service, leadership and unwavering commitment to the nation. VISHNU P S, AKASHVANI NEWS, DELHI.

 

 

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed the decision of the NDA. In a social media post, Mr. Modi highlighted that in his long years in public life, Mr. Radhakrishnan has distinguished himself through his dedication, humility, and intellect. The Prime Minister added that Mr. Radhakrishnan has always focused on community service and empowering the marginalized during the various positions he has held. PM Modi noted that Mr. Radhakrishnan has done extensive work at the grassroots level in Tamil Nadu and has rich experience as MP and Governor of various states. The Prime Minister further expressed confidence that Mr. Radhakrishnan will be an inspiring Vice President.

 

Meanwhile, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw also congratulated Mr Radhakrishnan on being nominated as NDA’s Vice Presidential candidate.

The Vice Presidential Election will be held on 9th of next month.

 

 

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The Election Commission of India has uploaded the list of 65 lakh voters, whose names were removed from the Bihar draft electoral roll published on August 1 after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The list of voters whose names were included in the Bihar voter list till 2025, but are not included in the draft roll have been uploaded on the official website of the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Bihar.

 

The Booth Level Officers, with the help of booth-level agents appointed by political parties, and other officials, have prepared the list of voters whose enumeration slips have not been received. The notice further says that any dissatisfied person can submit their claim along with a copy of their Aadhaar card. With this initiative the downloaded list will provide details of excluded electors – serial number, EPIC number, name of voter, relation type, name of relative, old part number, old serial number, age, and gender. It also mentions the reason for their non-inclusion in the 1st August draft roll. The publication of the excluded voters under the SIR exercise in poll-bound Bihar came after the interim order of the Supreme Court. With DHARMENDRA from PATNA, This is Neelam Kaushik for Akashvani News.”

 

 

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Chinese Foreign Minister and Member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China Wang Yi will be on a two day visit to India beginning today. He is visiting India at the invitation of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. During the visit, the Chinese Foreign Minister will hold the 24th round of the Special Representatives’ Talks on the India-China boundary question with India’s Special Representative Mr Doval. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart.

 

 

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Top European leaders will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Washington today for a crucial meeting with US President  Donald Trump, as pressure mounts for a swift resolution to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

 

The high-profile delegation includes UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. The leaders are hoping to reinforce Zelenskiy’s position and ensure that any proposed peace terms do not undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty or long-term security.

 

 

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Palestinian militant group, Hamas has rejected Israel’s plan to relocate residents from Gaza City, saying the move constitutes a new wave of genocide and displacement for hundreds of thousands of residents in the area. The Palestinian militant group accused Israel of using the planned deployment of tents and other shelter equipment in southern Gaza as a blatant deception to disguise what it called preparations for a major crime against civilians.

 

 

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The India Meteorological Department has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall over Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat during the next 7 days. IMD has issued red colour warning for extremely heavy rainfall over Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Konkan, Goa, and Madhya Maharashtra today.

 

 

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Continous rain in Himachal Pradesh and cloud bursts in Jammu region have increased water levels in the rivers especially Ravi and Beas in Punjab. Villagers living near these rivers and those in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Fazilka and Ferozepur districts are having sleepless nights.

 

More than 20 villages in Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur and about 10 villages in the border district Pathankot have been affected due to overflowing of rivers. Hundreds of villagers have been brought to shelter homes and standing paddy crop has also been washed away in parts of both Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur. The concerned district administrations have put senior officials on duty for round the clock vigil and have appealed to the residents to move to shelter homes. Meanwhile, Punjab’s Water Resources Minister, Barinder Kumar Goyal has reviewed the prevailing situation and has instructed to ensure swift mitigation measures and safeguard lives of both pepole and livestock as well as property. He confirmed that around 14,200 acres of land across Kapurthala, Ferozepur and Fazilka districts have been affected by floodwaters. Rajesh Bali, Akashvani News, Jalandhar.”

 

 

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In Maharashtra, heavy rain continued to lash Mumbai, Kokan, and Ghat areas for third consecutive day. A red alert has been issued in Kokan, Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Ghat areas of Western Maharashtra for the next 12 hours. An orange alert has been issued in Palghar, Thane, Mumbai city, Mumbai suburbs, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Yavatmal, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, districts as well as Satara Ghat, Kolhapur Ghat.

 

Meanwhile, due to rough sea condition and winds are likely to blow at 50-60 km per hour,  the State Emergency Operation Center adviced fishermen to avoid  to go into the sea. The Kundalika river in Raigad district has crossed the warning level while Jagbudi river in Ratnagiri district has crossed the danger level. The state administration has instructed the National Disaster and the State Disaster Response Force to be alert for emergency situations. Bhavana, Akashvani news, Mumbai.”

 

 

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Moving on to the world of Sports, Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has officially booked his place in the 2025 Diamond League Final, set to be held in Zurich, Switzerland, on 27 and 28 of this month.

 

Despite skipping the Silesia leg, Chopra’s earlier performances were strong enough to guarantee qualification. Chopra sits on 15 points from just two appearances, thanks to his 88.16 metre winning throw in Paris, and a national record 90.23 metres in Doha, where he finished second behind Germany’s Julian Weber. Both men are level on points, trailing Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott, who leads the standings with 17 from three events.

 

In football, the Durand Cup 2025 semifinals are set. East Bengal edge past arch-rivals Mohun Bagan Super Giant 2-1 in Kolkata to reach the last four. The 16-time champions now face debutants Diamond Harbour FC, who caused a huge upset in Jamshedpur by beating ISL side Jamshedpur FC 2-0.

 

Switching to tennis where defending champion Jannik Sinner is set to face Carlos Alcaraz at the Cincinnati Open in what marks their fourth showdown of the year, each coming in a final. Alcaraz claimed wins in Rome and at the French Open, while Sinner answered back with victory at Wimbledon.

 

In the women’s draw, World No. 1 Iga Swiatek booked her first Cincinnati final with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Elena Rybakina. She will face either Jasmine Paolini or Veronika Kudermetova for the title tomorrow. WITH MAYUR JAIN, YASHSAVI KIRYAL, AKASHVANI NEWS, DELHI.”

 

 

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In our bilingual live phone-in programme “Public Speak” at 9.30 PM today, we will bring an insightful discussion on Safety from Vector Borne Diseases with Dr Puneet Misra, Professor Community Medicine, AIIMS, New Delhi.

 

During the programme, the listeners will have an opportunity to ask our experts questions related to Symptoms of Vector Borne Diseases, Prevention and Cure of such diseases.

 

To participate, simply dial the telephone numbers 011 – 23717117 and 011- 23314444 , 9:30 PM onwards tonight.

Alternatively, you can also send your queries via WhatsApp to the number 9289094044 or post your questions on X with the hashtag AskAir.

 

 

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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE,

 

  • Statesman, in a front page report, says PM Modi inaugurates 11 thousand crore rupees highway projects in Delhi.
  • The Hindu reports, Centre’s GST reforms will benefit poor and middle class, says Prime Minister.
  • The Economic Times reports, that big GST cut may rev up demand for small cars.
  • Financial Express says, Government pushing India Inc. to increase global footprint.
  • Election Commission tells Rahul Gandhi to file affidavit in 7 days or apologise to the nation, reports The Hindu.
  • All papers have covered the nomination of Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan as NDA’s vice presidential candidate. The Hindustan Times headlines “Maha guv Radhakrishanan to be NDA pick for VP Poll.
  • And finally an item in The Indian Express says North block is leaving the building with files, stationery and nostalgia. The building is being emptied as part of the government’s plan to redevelop the Central Vista Area.

 

 

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN,

 

  • Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan to be NDA candidate for Vice Presidential election.

 

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes the decision, saying Mr Radhakrishnan always focused on community service and empowering marginalized sections of society.

 

  • Election Commission publishes list of 65 lakh voters excluded from Bihar draft electoral roll after Special Intensive Revision.

 

  • Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to be on a two-day visit to India beginning today.

 

  • Top European leaders to join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Washington today for a crucial meeting with US President Donald Trump.

 

  • Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra qualifies for Diamond League 2025 Final to be held in Zurich on August 27 and 28.

  

 

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