2 min readMay 4, 2026 06:24 AM IST First published on: May 4, 2026 at 06:24 AM ISTThe crisis in the eight-month-old Barnala ministry deepened further when the Minister of State for Tourism, Suchha Singh Chhotepur, and a number of party functionaries quit their posts in protest over the police entry into the Golden Temple. The Chief Minister, Surjit Singh Barnala, however, announced he had an “overwhelming” majority in the party’s legislative wing and alleged that his opponents were trying to sabotage his plans to deal with extremists.Muslim Women BillThe opposition parties have decided to press for a division when the controversial Muslim Women (Protection on Divorce) Bill is voted on in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Even though the Bill’s fate is a foregone conclusion with the ruling party — which has a two-thirds majority in the House — having issued a whip to all its members to support it, the opposition parties expect to win a moral victory.Air Lanka plane blastAdvertisementTwenty-two people were killed and 24 injured when an Air Lanka Tristar aircraft exploded at Colombo international airport in Katunayake, 35 km from the city. The Sri Lankan government said it suspected that an “Eelam terrorist group” was responsible for the blast. A National Security Ministry release said the explosion occurred as passengers were boarding flight number UL 101 to Malé. There was a loud explosion five minutes before its scheduled takeoff.Anand routs grandmasterVladimir Tukmakov, the mightiest dragon ever to have invaded the Indian chess circuit, was prostrated at the Bhilwara tournament. His conqueror was a 16-year-old knight in shining armour, Viswanathan Anand. Of such stuff are legends made. Tukmakov’s fiery breath had consumed every single opponent in the tournament, except his own compatriots. Even as the Russian manoeuvred his pawns to control the all-important “centre”, Anand fired his first salvo.