News18 Daybreak | Will China Lift Hold on Masood Azhar's Blacklisting? UN Meet Today and Other Stories You Need to Watch Out For

1. Cyclone ‘Fani’, which intensified into a 'severe cyclonic storm' on Monday evening, is now headed towards the Odisha coast, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said, adding that it could take the shape of an 'extremely severe cyclone' by Wednesday.

The IMD has issued a formal cyclone alert for Odisha, West Bengal and parts of Andhra Pradesh, and suggested evacuation of coastal areas.

The Odisha government has issued a high alert in the coastal districts in view of the intensifying cyclonic storm which is headed towards the Odisha coast. It is likely to make landfall by Friday afternoon. Disaster management teams have been kept on standby.

2. A day before the UN sanctions committee meeting, China on Tuesday said the vexed issue of designating Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN will be "properly resolved", but did not give any timeline.

China had put a technical hold in March on a fresh proposal to impose a ban on the head of Pakistan-based JeM, which claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack. It was for the fourth time that China blocked Azhar's listing as a global terrorist by the UN. "I can only say that I believe that this will be properly resolved," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing, days after Chinese President Xi Jinping met Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at Maharashtra's Wardha, where he accused the Congress of insulting the Hindus through its party chief Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Kerala's Wayanad, does not violate the Model Code, the Election Commission said on Tuesday. This is the first time the Commission took a call on the several complaints pending against the Prime Minister.

The Commission said after examining the Prime Minister's speech at Maharashtra's Wardha in accordance with the Model Code guidelines, it was of the view that "in this matter no such violation has been noticed".

Earlier on Tuesday, the Commission got a notice from the Supreme Court over a petition that accused it of "inaction" regarding complaints against PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. Several complaints are pending in the commission that accuses them of delivering hate speeches and using armed forces for "political propaganda".

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it would hear the case next on Thursday. The Congress had said that even though the complaints have been pending for three weeks, the Commission has not responded.

Yesterday, the Commission had said it was examining the complaints against the Prime Minister and was likely to take a call on the matter on Tuesday.

After being pulled up by the Supreme Court earlier this month over allegations of inaction in cases of Model Code violation, the Commission had handed penalties to several leaders.

The list includes Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union minister Maneka Gandhi, Mayawati and Congress's Navjot Sidhu, who were temporarily banned from campaigning. On Tuesday, Samajwadi leader Azam Khan was banned for a second time.

4. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who has been facing the ire of the Supreme Court for attributing the ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ jibe aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi to it, apologised to the court on Tuesday

As Gandhi agreed to file a fresh affidavit, expressing apology, the Supreme Court asked him to keep his political stand to himself.

On April 22, Gandhi had expressed regret for his attribution and given an undertaking to the Supreme Court that he will not attribute any views to the court in his political addresses unless there are specific orders.

The home ministry has issued a notice to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, asking him to explain his "factual position" over a complaint filed by BJP parliamentarian Subramanian Swamy that he holds British citizenship. The Congress chief has been given a fortnight to respond to the notice.

The government notice comes right in the middle of a bitterly contested Lok Sabha election, in which Rahul Gandhi is contesting from two seats – Amethi in UP and Wayanad in Kerala.

5. The Supreme Court Tuesday directed the Centre to file response by May 4 to the petitions seeking review of last December's verdict by which the apex court had dismissed the pleas challenging India's deal to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi did not allow the plea of the Centre that it be granted four weeks to file its response to the pleas. It asked it to submit the response latest by Saturday.

The bench, which also comprised Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, has now fixed on May 6 the petitions seeking review of the verdict