2 min readApr 27, 2026 06:40 AM IST First published on: Apr 27, 2026 at 06:40 AM ISTAttacks on press freedom in Orissa have once again come into focus with the arrest of two journalists in Phulbam, allegedly because they have been writing about the deterioration in the law and order situation in the district. The police, however, claim that the two journalists, Bidyaadhar Pal and Patitpaban Sahu of Samaj and Matrabhumi dailies, and two lawyers were arrested as they were involved in instigating people and gheraoing the police.Committee reconstitutedThe Policy Planning Committee, headed by G Parthasarthy, has been reconstituted as the Policy Advisory Committee with wider functions covering national security and international economic aspects. Parthasarthy will continue to head the 10-member committee, which has now been attached to the Cabinet Secretariat. Of particular importance is the inclusion of Minister of Internal Security Arun Nehru, Minister of State of Defence Research and Development, and Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Sukhomoy Chakraborty, in the committee.Attack in PunjabAdvertisementThree persons, including a terrorist, were killed, and another terrorist was captured as suspected terrorists robbed a bank of Rs 2.35 lakh during the past 24 hours in Punjab. A scooter was snatched by three unidentified youths in Harchowal village near Batala.Bomb explosion in FranceA bomb explosion rocked Lyon, France, igniting a fire and slightly injuring one person with shattered glass, officials said. The early morning explosion on American Express’s fourth-floor offices came one day after the killing in this city of the head of the French division of the American firm Black and Decker. An obscure Arab group claimed responsibility for the killing and threatening of “British and American imperialists” targets around the world.