![School Assembly guide [27 June 2024]: Thought for the Day, news headlines and more](https://images.news9live.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Untitled-design-2024-02-28T110608.020.jpg "School Assembly guide [27 June 2024]: Thought for the Day, news headlines and more")
1. Om Birla was re-elected as Lok Sabha Speaker yesterday. He criticised the Congress-led government for implementing the Emergency in 1975, describing it as a troubling phase in India’s democratic journey. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, a period widely recognised as contentious in Indian political history.
2. The death toll in the Kallakurichi toxic liquor incident in Tamil Nadu has reached 61, according to the Kallakurichi District Collectorate. Currently, 91 individuals are receiving treatment at the Government Kallakurichi Medical College and Hospital, where 32 fatalities have occurred. Hospital authorities have discharged 20 individuals so far.
3. A 46-year-old doctor and his teenage daughter in Pune have tested positive for Zika virus. Their health is stable, according to an official report today. The man was admitted to a private hospital after developing symptoms such as fever and rashes.
4. IRCTC has dismissed rumours about e-ticket booking restrictions, labelling claims that passengers with different surnames cannot book tickets together as “false and misleading.” According to IRCTC, booking tickets on personal user IDs for friends, family, and relatives is unrestricted by surname requirements. They emphasised that their booking procedures adhere to transparent Railway Board Guidelines available to the public.
5. In Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district, one terrorist was killed in a gunfight with security forces, while two were still engaged in the gunfight as per the local police.
International news headlines in English for school assembly
1. Protests in Kenya against tax hikes turned deadly with at least 13 people killed, including three victims who were shot by police during clashes that saw parliament damaged and prompted military deployment.
2. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has been unanimously appointed as NATO’s next Secretary General amid ongoing conflict in Ukraine and uncertainties over U.S. commitment to the alliance, following the withdrawal of his sole competitor, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
3. In West Virginia, a wealthy white couple face charges of human trafficking and child neglect for allegedly treating their five adopted black children as slaves, with some confined in a shed and others living in squalid conditions within their home. According to WNews, Donald Ray Lantz (63) and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather (62) reportedly forced their five adopted black children, aged 6-16, into labour and kept them confined in distressing living conditions. The report detailed that two teenagers were confined in a dirty shed lacking basic necessities, while another child was found in a loft within the main house.
4. North Korea experienced a failed missile launch as a hypersonic missile exploded midair shortly after launch from Pyongyang, according to South Korean and Japanese military sources. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missile was launched from a location near Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital. Japan’s Defence Ministry reported that the missile reached an altitude of approximately 100 km (62 miles) and travelled a distance exceeding 200 km.
5. According to a Geo News report on Wednesday, Karachi is facing a troubling trend with the discovery of 22 unidentified bodies across different parts of the city. The report noted that five additional bodies were found on Tuesday, contributing to the increasing number of unexplained deaths. The Chhipa Welfare Association, a non-profit organization in Pakistan, indicated that three of the recent victims seemed to be individuals struggling with drug addiction.