Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya holds a meeting with trade union members on the proposed employment-linked incentive (ELI) scheme, on Wednesday (August 28, 2024).
| Photo Credit: ANI

Telegram founder-CEO Pavel Durov charged, banned from leaving France

France on Wednesday (August 28, 2024) charged Pavel Durov, the founder and chief of Telegram, with a litany of violations related to the messaging app and banned him from leaving the country while allowing the billionaire to walk free after four days under arrest.

Centre agrees to further discussions with trade unions on Labour Codes

Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has agreed to hold further discussions on the implementation of the four Labour Codes with the Central Trade Unions, union leaders said on Wednesday. The Minister’s assurance came during a round table meeting with the CTUs, where ten unions alleged that the Codes are in favour of big corporations.

Bengal bandh disrupts life as Trinamool takes on BJP

Normal life was paralysed in different parts of West Bengal on Wednesday (August 28, 2024) due to a 12-hour bandh called by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in protest against alleged police excesses on protesters during the march to the State Secretariat on Tuesday (August 27, 2024).

Probe into sexual abuse in Kerala film industry gathers pace

The sweeping investigation into the complaints of sexual exploitation and abuse in the Malayalam film industry gathered pace on Wednesday. The special investigation team (SIT) probing the accusations recorded the statement of the woman artist who had publicly accused veteran actor and former general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, Siddique, of raping her at a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram under the pretext of auditioning her for a movie project. 

Jharkhand police snooping on Champai Soren: BJP

Two Jharkhand police officers suspected of spying on former Chief Minister Champai Soren in the national capital were questioned by the Delhi police, officials said on Wednesday. According to Delhi police sources, the two sub-inspectors were staying at a five-star hotel in the city for the past few days and were taken to the Chanakyapuri police station for questioning.

India, Russia sign working plan to handle emergencies

India and Russia signed the working plan of the Joint Russian-Indian Commission on the Cooperation in the Field of Emergency Management for 2025-2026 on Wednesday (August 28, 2024). Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai and Kurenkov Aleksandr Vyacheslavovich, Minister of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters (EMERCOM of Russia) signed the agreement in Moscow. 

India signs repeat order for 73,000 SIG716 assault rifles, to be delivered by end-2025

The Ministry of Defence has signed a repeat order for 73,000 SIG716 rifles from Sig Sauer of the U.S. and deliveries are expected to completed by end-2025.“The contract was signed in June 2024 and delivery is within 18 months of contract,” a defence official said. The Army has earlier procured and inducted 72,400 SIG-716 rifles from Sig Sauer of the U.S. through fast track procurement under a ₹700 crore contract signed in February 2019.

Cabinet approves ₹6,456 crore for three Railway projects

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved three projects of Ministry of Railways with total estimated cost of approximately ₹6,456 crore. The three projects covering seven Districts in four States – Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Chhattisgarh will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 300 kilometres. 

With the latest elections, NDA crosses the majority mark in the Rajya Sabha

With the latest round of elections to the Rajya Sabha, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance has reached the majority mark in the House, after adding 12 more members to its ranks. The BJP, which has been the single largest party in the Upper House for some time, has increased its strength to 96 and along with allies, six nominated members and two Independents, the NDA now has the support of 119 members.

EC notice to BJP for using a child in Saini’s campaign video

The Election Commission of India has taken a serious view of the BJP’s Haryana unit using a child in a social media campaign video and issued a notice the party’s State president. The post on X, which features Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini interacting with children at various social events, begins with a child saying, “Apki baar Saini sarkar (this time Saini government)”.

BJP MP Brij Bhushan moves Delhi HC against trial in local court

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the ongoing trial before a local court in relation to the sexxual harassment allegations against him levelled by women wrestlers.

On Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Kursk

The attack caught Moscow off-guard and raised questions of an intelligence failure. According to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the aim of the operation is to “create a buffer zone” that would prevent further attacks from Russia across the border

Paris Paralympics 2024 open in City of Light

The opening ceremony of the Paris Paralympics got underway on Wednesday (August 28, 2024) in the centre of the French capital, firing the starting gun on 11 days of intense competition. Just as for the opening ceremony of the Olympics on the River Seine in July, it took place away from the main stadium for the first time at a Paralympics.

Gunman in Trump assassination attempt saw rally as ‘target of opportunity,’ says FBI official

The gunman in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump searched online for events of both Mr. Trump and President Joe Biden, looked up information about explosives over the last five years and eyed the Pennsylvania campaign rally where he opened fire last month as a “target of opportunity,” a senior FBI official said on Wednesday (August 28, 2024) Investigators who have conducted nearly 1,000 interviews do not yet have a motive for why 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Mr. Trump during a July campaign rally but they believe that he conducted “extensive attack planning,” including looking up campaign events involving both the current President and former President, particularly in western Pennsylvania.

An Indian Army jawan looking at the India-China border through his telescope in Arunachal Pradesh. File.
| Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR

Assam Rifles files defamation suit against Manipur politician, seeks apology

Assam Rifles, the oldest paramilitary force in the country, has slapped a legal notice against a Manipur politician for causing “considerable harm to the reputation and standing of the organisation in the public eye.” It said the notice is being served for tarnishing the reputation and “discouraging and demoralising” the Central armed police force. Assam Rifles sought a “written” and “public” apology for the false allegation and defamation asking him to retract the statement he made at ‘Condolence of Meitei Martyrs’ in Delhi on June 30.

China releases new official map, showing territorial claims

China’s government released the “2023 edition of the standard map of China”, which continues to show the entire State of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region within China’s borders. The latest map follows Beijing in April announcing it would “standardise” the names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, including a town close to the Arunachal Pradesh capital of Itanagar. This was the third such list “renaming” places in Arunachal Pradesh, and was seen by observers as a response to India holding events in the lead-up to the G-20 summit in the State, which Beijing had opposed. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the September 9-10 summit in New Delhi.

Only Centre can conduct census, Union tells SC in Bihar caste survey case

The Union government saidonly the Centre is entitled to conduct census, in its reply to the Supreme Court on the Bihar government’s caste-based survey. The Centre had filed an affidavit earlier on August 28 morning which said in its penultimate paragraph that “no other body is entitled to conduct the exercise of either census or any action akin to census”. Earlier, the Supreme Court had refused to stay the uploading of data collected in the recently concluded Bihar caste-based survey while debunking claims that the Nitish Kumar government had violated the fundamental right to privacy by compelling people to reveal their caste.

Rajnath Singh to visit Sri Lanka this weekend, say defence sources

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka over the coming weekend, defence sources confirmed. The visit comes at a time when the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry is considering a fresh request from China to allow the visit of a research ship. Last week, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry acknowledged receiving a request from the Chinese Embassy. The research vessel Shiyan-6 is expected to arrive in October. 

Article 35A took away fundamental rights while giving special rights to permanent residents of J&K, says CJI

Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said Article 35A, which empowered the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature to define “permanent residents” of the State and provide them special privileges, denied fundamental rights to others. “Article 35A gave special rights and privileges to permanent residents and virtually took away the rights for non-residents. These rights included the right to equal opportunity of State employment, right to acquire property and the right to settle in Jammu and Kashmir,” Chief Justice Chandrachud, heading a Constitution Bench, observed on August 28.

India’s population growth alone is not enough to make its economy stronger, says Moody’s

India’s population growth would raise its labour force availability but that alone won’t be enough to make the economy stronger or improve fiscal outcomes, due to the quality of education in the country, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report on Monday. In a report on Sovereigns in South and South East Asia, titled ‘Population growth alone will not drive credit benefits for emerging economies’, the rating major said it expects continued population growth in the region to support economic expansion as working-age populations will remain large compared with younger and older citizens.

Warming Pacific points to rise in cyclones over India: Study

Tropical cyclones that originate near the Equator, while being devastating, have been unusually subdued in recent decades. The last major cyclone of this kind in the Indian neighbourhood was the 2017 Cyclone Okchi which devastated Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. However, a combination of global warming and a cyclical event called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) that repeats every 20-30 years, could make such cyclones more frequent in the coming years, a study published on Monday in the journal Nature Communications said.

Federal Judge sets March 4 date for historic Donald Trump trial

A federal judge has set a date of March 4, 2024, for Donald Trump’s election subversion conspiracy trial — placing one of the biggest criminal cases in American history at peak election season. Special counsel Jack Smith had asked for the trial of the 45th US president to begin on January 2, while Mr. Trump’s attorneys countered with a proposed date of April 2026 — 17 months after the election.

Fire in coach: Five from Uttar Pradesh arrested in Madurai by Tamil Nadu Railway Police

The Tamil Nadu Railway Police, have arrested five persons from Uttar Pradesh in connection with the fire that broke out in a coach and claimed nine lives near the Madurai railway junction on Saturday. The arrested persons have been accused of having carried inflammable articles on the train, in violation of Section 164 of the Railway Act.

U.S. raises concerns on India’s decision to curb tech imports

With the U.S. flagging concerns over India’s decision to impose import restrictions on certain electronic devices, both countries have agreed to find a solution to the issue that addresses the concerns of both nations, according to a statement of USTR. The issue was flagged during a meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai here on August 26.

Foxconn billionaire Terry Gou says he will seek Taiwan’s presidency as independent candidate

Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of the electronics giant Foxconn, declared that he will run as an independent candidate for president in Taiwan’s 2024 election, ending months of speculation. Mr. Gou’s Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., is a major supplier to Apple and has factories in China. He has long had presidential aspirations. He ran in the 2019 election but lost as Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party easily won re-election.

I have no personal desire to hold any post in INDIA, says Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday categorically said that he had no “personal desire” to hold any post in the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) ahead of the upcoming third meeting of the Opposition bloc in Mumbai on August 31 and September 1. The buzz in political circles was that Mr. Kumar might be appointed as INDIA convener at its Mumbai meeting. Earlier, Mr. Kumar had initiated the meeting of Opposition parties in Patna on June 23 in which altogether 16 parties, including Congress, participated. The second meeting was held in Bengaluru on July 18.

WB fireworks blast: toll climbs to nine, one arrested

The death toll in an explosion at an illegal fireworks factory at Mochpol area under Duttapukur police station in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district rose to nine on Monday with one more person succumbing to injuries. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her disappointment at a meeting of the State Cabinet today. She wanted to know why steps were not taken after she had sought action following an explosion at Egra in Purba Medinipur district. An explosion at an illegal fireworks factory at Egra on May 16 claimed 12 lives.