March 16-22: The week in news

Every Sunday, HT brings to you an e-bulletin to ensure you do not miss big stories that broke during the previous seven days. Sit back and take a look at the week that was.

Every Sunday, HT brings to you an e-bulletin to ensure you do not miss big stories that broke during the previous seven days. Sit back and take a look at the week that was.

March 16
Kejriwal says ready to contest against Modi if people of Varanasi want
Varanasi will be the most watched constituency this Lok Sabha elections with AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on March 16 saying he would take on BJP's PM candidate Narendra Modi in the holy city.

Rahul rakes up riots, says clean chit to Modi 'far too premature'
In one of his sharpest attacks on Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said a "clean chit" to the BJP's prime ministerial candidate in the 2002 Gujarat riots was "far too premature".

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi during interaction with a group of women who collect tendu leaves at a village in Mandla, Madhya Pradesh. (PTI Photo)

March 17
Co-pilot spoke last words from missing MH370
The co-pilot of a missing Malaysian jetliner spoke the last words — an informal "all right, good night" — heard from the cockpit, the airline's chief executive said on March 17, as investigators consider suicide by the captain or first officer as one possible explanation for the disappearance.

Never said Modi incorruptible: WikiLeaks
Whistle-blower Julian Assange's WikiLeaks on March 17 said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had pushed fake endorsement in support of its prime minister nominee Narendra Modi. In a series of tweets, WikiLeaks claimed it never said Modi was incorruptible, a stand contrary to what a section of BJP supporters allegedly believes. Some BJP posters have also allegedly used the 'endorsement'.

March 18
Leaked China war report blames govt, military
A controversial report that blames India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the defeat in the 1962 Indo-China war was made public by Australian journalist Neville Maxwell on March 18. The Henderson Brooks report — still classified 'top secret' by the government — blames Nehru's policies for India's worst military defeat, HT has learnt.

MS Dhoni sues Zee, 3 others for Rs 100 crore
The Madras high court on Tuesday restrained Zee TV and News Nation from telecasting or publishing for two weeks any news linking MS Dhoni to the IPL fixing scandal after the Indian cricket captain sought ` 100 crore in damages from the broadcasters and two others.

March 19
V for Vadodara and Varanasi for Modi; Advani gets Gandhinagar
After Varanasi, it's Vadodara for BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, while party patriarch LK Advani will be fielded from Gandhinagar despite expressing a sudden "desire" to move to Bhopal.

Russia storms Crimea base, Kiev plans military pullout
Pro-Russian forces seized two Crimean navy bases and captured Ukraine's naval chief on Wednesday as Moscow tightened its grip on the flashpoint peninsula despite Western warnings.

Armed men, believed to be Russian servicemen, supply an armoured personnel carrier (APC) in front of a Ukrainian marine base in the Crimean port city of Feodosia. (Reuters photo)

March 20
Advani agrees to fight from Gandhinagar in Gujarat
After an entire day of being placated by top BJP leaders, sulking party patriarch LK Advani on Thursday came around and accepted the party's decision to field him from Gandhinagar for the Lok Sabha elections.

A file photo of senior BJP leader LK Advani. (PTI Photo)

Mumbai's Shakti Mills rapists guilty
A Mumbai court on Thursday convicted five men of the gang rape of a photojournalist and a telephone operator at the abandoned Shakti Mill last year. The quantum of punishment will be awarded on Friday.

March 21
Beeline to BJP leaves 2 state govts on the brink of collapse
Exodus to the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections has triggered a crisis for the Uttarakhand and Jharkhand governments, leaving them staring at an uncertain future.

Cong's Punjab punch: Amarinder agrees to take on Modi
It's official. Congress heavyweight and former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh will take on senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley in Amritsar.

March 22
Fresh BJP controversy as Jaswant denied Barmer ticket
Barely had the Advani crisis blown over, a fresh one showed the BJP as a house divided on Saturday. Senior party leader Jaswant Singh, denied the Barmer ticket, attacked the BJP leadership while keeping up the suspense on whether he would quit in protest. Party chief Rajnath Singh denied any rift but his senior colleague Sushma Swaraj seemed to point to the contrary, as she expressed "pain" at the ticket decision and said it was not taken by the election committee.

A file photo of senior BJP Jaswant Singh whom the party denied a ticket in the Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan. (PTI Photo)

Sunanda's viscera report rules out poison, hits probe
The mystery surrounding the death of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Union minister Shashi Tharoor, deepened Saturday as the viscera report concluded that there was no sign of poison in her body.