Elon Musk’s social media giant X has clashed with Justice Alexandre de Moraes (in picture) over its reluctance to comply with orders to block users. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Senior ICAR scientists hired laterally without reservation

More than 2,700 scientists at India’s top farm research body — accounting for an overwhelming majority of senior-level hires at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) – have been recruited through lateral entry since 2007, undermining the goals of the reservation policy, documents accessed by The Hindu reveal.

Brazilian Judge Alexandre de Moraes suspends Elon Musk’s X platform after it refuses to name a legal representative

A Brazilian Supreme Court justice has ordered the suspension of Elon Musk’s social media giant X in Brazil after the tech billionaire refused to name a legal representative in the country, according to a copy of the decision seen by The Associated Press. The move on Friday (August 30, 2024) further escalates the monthslong feud between the two men over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation.

At 6.7%, growth slid to five-quarter low in Q1

Signalling a moderation in the economy’s growth momentum, India’s real GDP rose 6.7% in the April to June 2024 quarter, the slowest in five quarters, and well below the Reserve Bank of India’s expectation of a 7.1% uptick as well as the 7.8% uptick registered in the preceding quarter.

Cyclone Asna forms over Kutch; rain continues in Gujarat

Cyclone Asna has formed over the Kutch coast in Gujarat and adjoining areas of Pakistan, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday. The cyclonic storm – a rare land-originating one in August and headed to the Arabian Sea – is expected to move further away from the western coast in the next 48 hours.

India yet to take a decision on Pakistan invite to SCO meet

The government confirmed on Friday (August 30, 2024) that it has received an invitation from Pakistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Heads of Government (HoG) meeting in Islamabad on October 15-16. However, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it did not have a decision yet on whether India would participate and at what level that would be, even as it outlined other travel scheduled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September and October this year.

Uniform Civil Code is a small measure of justice for women: Vice-President

Echoing President Droupadi Murmu’s remarks on the rape and murder at the R.G. Kar hospital Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday said a society where “women and girls do not feel safe is not a civilised society”. He also backed a Uniform Civil Code, calling it a “small measure of justice” for women. 

Protests continue to rock Kolkata; Mamata writes to PM Modi again on ‘stringent’ laws

More than 20 days after the rape and murder of a doctor at the R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, protests continued to rock the city on Friday (August 30, 2024) with leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s women’s wing putting a giant-sized model of a lock on the gate of the West Bengal State Women’s Commission.

Ahead of Assembly elections, Congress expels two MLAs from Maharashtra

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole announced on Friday (August 30, 2024) the expulsion of MLAs Zeeshan Siddique and Jitesh Antapurkar from the party, just ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Mr. Patole did not provide specific reasons for their expulsion, though the move comes over a month after it was revealed that seven Congress MLAs had cross-voted in the biennial elections for 11 Legislative Council seats.

Joint panel meeting on Waqf Bill witnesses heated debate

At a stormy eight-hour-long second sitting of Parliament’s Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024, there was a heated exchange between the Opposition and the government members, especially on the clause allowing the District Collector to be the final arbitrator on Waqf properties. 

People in queer relationships can open joint bank accounts, nominate their partners: FinMin clarification

People from the LGBTQIA+ community and those in queer relationships cannot be prevented from opening joint bank accounts, the Union government said in an advisory issued this week, making it clear that they can also nominate each other as beneficiaries.

Security forces kill 5 militants in intel operations Pakistan’s violence-hit Balochistan province

At least five terrorists of a banned militant group were killed and three were injured in ongoing intelligence-based operations in multiple districts in Balochistan following a string of terror attacks last weekend.

2024 Paris Paralympics: Resilient Avani Lekhara fires India to a golden start

Be it the Olympics or the Paralympics, shooting has seen encouraging results for the Indian contingent at the Paris Summer Games. Avani Lekhara, Mona Agarwal and Manish Narwal all made the podium on the first day of shooting on Friday.

Former Jharkhand CM Champai Soren meets Union Home Minister Amit Shah on August 26, 2024. Photo: X/@himantabiswa

Champai Soren to join BJP on Aug 30: Himanta

“Former Chief Minister of Jharkhand and distinguished Adivasi leader of our country, Champai Soren ji met Union home minister Amit Shah ji… He will officially join BJP on August 30,” Assam Chief Minister Himanta Sarma wrote on his official X handle

Modi briefs Biden on Ukraine visit in call, discusses ‘shared concerns’ about Bangladesh

India and the United States have “shared concern” about developments in Bangladesh, particularly over the safety of minorities, said the government after U.S. President Joseph Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to each other over the telephone on Monday (August 26, 2024).

Centre yet to list violation of ground rules by Kuki-Zo insurgent groups: senior leader of Kuki National Organisation

The Union Home Ministry is yet to list and convey the violations of ground rules committed by Kuki-Zo insurgent groups, Seilen Haokip, spokesperson and senior leader of the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), said in an interview with The Hindu.

Three dead as tractor-trailer swept away amid rain in Gujarat 

At least three persons were killed and seven went missing after their tractor-trailer was swept away in floodwaters amid heavy rain in Gujarat on Monday (August 26, 2024). The incessant rainfall inundated low-lying areas in over a dozen districts while officials shifted over 18,000 people to safety.

National Conference, Congress announce seat-sharing deal for J&K polls

After hectic negotiations, the National Conference (NC) and the Congress on Monday announced a seat-sharing formula for the coming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls. While the NC will contest 51 seats, the Congress will field its candidates in 32 seats. One seat each has been allotted to the CPI(M) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP).

Education Ministry defines ‘literacy,’ ‘full literacy’

In a letter to all States, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has defined ‘literacy,’ and what it means to achieve ‘full literacy,’ in the light of the renewed push for adult literacy under the New India Literacy Programme (NILP), a five-year programme (2022-27), which aims to onboard one crore learners per year above 15 years across all States and union territories.

Video of man asking for rape of Trinamool leader Abhishek Banerjee’s daughter goes viral; rights body takes suo motu case

The West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights registered a suo motu case after a video went viral on social media where a man can be seen asking for the rape of the 11-year-old daughter of Trinamool Congress MP and National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

Bail should not suffer for lack of people to stand surety: SC

For Girish Gandhi, the problem was too much bail and too few people to stand surety for him. Gandhi got bail in 13 separate cases of criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal intimidation, but could only get two pairs of people to stand surety for his bail. He faced the prospect of staying behind bars for his inability to find 22 others to sign as surety for the remaining 11 First Information Reports (FIRs).

Rahul Gandhi says running Jammu and Kashmir from Delhi does not make sense

Reiterating the demand for the restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said it does not make sense to run J&K from Delhi. Mr. Gandhi made these remarks during an interaction with Kashmiri women during his recent visit to Srinagar, a video of which was released on Monday (August 26, 2024).

Unified Pension Scheme brings the focus back to Old Pension Scheme in Punjab and Haryana

Several State government employees and pensioners in Punjab and Haryana, who have been demanding restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), have dismissed the Centre government’s latest Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), even though in Punjab, where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government announced the restoration of the OPS in 2022, its implementation is yet to see the light of day.

Social platform X edits AI chatbot after election officials warn that it spreads misinformation

Social media platform X has made a change to its AI chatbot after five secretaries of state warned it was spreading election misinformation. Top election officials from Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington sent a letter this month to Elon Musk complaining that the platform’s AI chatbot, Grok, produced false information about state ballot deadlines shortly after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.

J&K polls: Congress announces first list of 9 candidates

The Congress on Monday (August 26, 2024) issued its first list of nine candidates for the three-phase Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, fielding party general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir from Dooru and former State unit chief Vikar Rasool Wani from Banihal.

Surat, Gujarat:

With heavy rain lashing Gujarat since Sunday, 11,900 people living in low-lying areas in Vadodara, Bharuch, Narmada, Dahod, Panchmahal, Anand and Gandhinagar districts have been shifted to shelter homes while 270 stranded citizens were rescued.

In a statement, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said work is on to clear roads by removing fallen trees.

According to officials, more than 6,000 people living along the banks of the Narmada River in the Bharuch district have been shifted to safer places in the last two days after the water level rose to 40 feet due to discharge from the Sardar Sarovar Dam.

Several areas in Bharuch city and tehsil and many localities and villages in Ankleshwar are still under knee-deep water even though the water level has been decreasing slowly since Monday morning.

Narmada Above Danger Mark

The current water level of the Narmada River is 37.72 feet, nearly 10 feet above the danger mark of 28 feet, at the Golden Bridge that connects Ankleshwar to Bharuch, said an official of Bharuch District Emergency Response Centre (BDERC).

On Sunday, the water level of the river went up to 40 feet at the bridge due to heavy discharge of water from the Sardar Sarovar Dam (SSD) located upstream.

Dandiya Bazaar and other areas in Bharuch city, and several societies and villages in Ankleshwar city and taluka are still inundated in knee-deep water. The situation is improving gradually as water is slowly decreasing, the BDERC official said.

In view of heavy rains in different parts of Gujarat, the Chief Minister said he has been in constant touch with collectors of the affected districts.

“Relief and rescue operations are being carried out wherever needed with the help of 10 teams of both NDRF and SDRF. In all, nearly 11,900 persons living in low-lying areas of Vadodara, Bharuch, Narmada, Dahod, Panchmahal, Anand and Gandhinagar districts were shifted to shelter homes.

“As many as 270 stranded citizens were rescued by the administration while work is on to clear roads by removing fallen trees,” CM Patel said.

Meanwhile, Army personnel rescued 12 people stranded on a small island in the Narmada river passing from Karjan taluka in Vadodara district after a 48-hour operation, a government release said.

“After 48 hours of the rescue operation, Army personnel successfully rescued and brought these 12 people, including women and children, on the shore on Monday morning using boats,” it stated.

More Rains In Gujarat

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said “extremely heavy rainfall” occurred at isolated places in Arvalli, Mahisagar, Panchmahal, and Sabarkantha districts during the last 24 hours ending at 8:30 am (on Monday).

The IMD predicted “light to moderate” rain at several places across Gujarat on Monday and Tuesday.

As per the rainfall data shared by the State Emergency Operations Centre, 29 tehsils received more than 40 mm downpour between 6 am and 2 pm on Monday.

Visavadar taluka in Junagadh district received 283 mm of rainfall in the eight hours till 2 pm.

Visavadar was followed by Mendarda taluka in Junagadh (165 mm), Radhanpur in Patan (156 mm), Bhabhar in Banaskantha (144 mm), Vanthali in Junagadh (129 mm), Deodar in Banaskantha (108 mm), Deesa in Banaskantha (91 mm), Mehsana tehsil (91 mm) and Bagsara in Amreli district (91 mm).

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)