Hathras rape case | Plea in Supreme Court for CBI or SIT probe
A writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking a probe by the CBI or a Special Investigation Team into the brutal gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh. The petition filed by Delhi-based activist Satyama Dubey, through advocate Sanjeev Malhotra, said the investigation should be monitored by a former Supreme Court or High Court judge. It said the trial of the accused persons in the case should be shifted to Delhi.
Unlock 5.0 | Cinema halls, entertainment parks, swimming pools allowed to open with riders
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued “guidelines for reopening” on Wednesday, permitting cinema halls, entertainment parks, and swimming pools for sportspersons to open, and gave States the flexibility to decide if they wanted to open schools from October 15. Higher education institutions in the science and technology stream, where research scholars and post graduate students need to access the laboratory, will be permitted to open from October 15.
LAC standoff | India, China hold another round of diplomatic dialogue
Indian and Chinese officials stressed the need to “strengthen communications” between ground military commanders and comply with the 5-point Jaishankar-Wang Moscow agreement, during a meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on Wednesday. In separate statements issued in New Delhi and Beijing, the two sides appeared to soften their language a day after they exchanged sharp words over the status of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and China’s claim that it does not “recognise” the Union Territory of Ladakh.
Farm Bills | Akalis to reach out to regional parties
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which recently pulled out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Central government over the new farm laws, plans to bring regional parties across the country on one platform to fight the “anti-farmer” laws.
The U.S. administration and U.S. Congress have been “very, very closely” following the closure of Amnesty International in India following the freezing of its bank accounts by the government. The issue has received attention at the “highest levels” of the U.S. government as per a senior U.S. State Department official.
Australia’s participation in Malabar Exercise still under discussion, says U.S. official
The inclusion of Australia in the Malabar Exercise - trilateral naval exercises between India, the U.S. and Japan – was still being discussed, a senior U.S. State Department official told reporters on a briefing call on Wednesday . The official’s remarks also included India-U.S. interactions at multilateral forums, Amnesty International India halting its activities and the India-China border standoff.
Centre sticks to target for borrowing
India’s fiscal deficit went further past the Budget target of nearly ₹8 lakh crore in the first five months of 2020-21, touching ₹8.7 lakh crore or 109.3% of the deficit target. Revenue receipts stood at just 18.3% of the Budget targets, while expenditure touched 41%.
Reliance Retail to get ₹5,550 cr. investment
Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) and Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. (RRVL) on Wednesday announced that co-investors of Silver Lake will invest an additional ₹1,875 crore into RRVL, a subsidiary of RIL. This brings the aggregate investment by Silver Lake and its co-investors in RRVL to ₹9,375 crore, translating into a 2.13% equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis.
Indian Premier League 2020 | Knight Riders bring high-flying Royals crashing down to earth
Kolkata Knight Riders brought Royals, who had won both their games in Sharjah, crashing down to earth at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday, winning their IPL encounter by 37 runs. Responding to Knight Riders’ 174 for six, Royals finished with 137 for nine.
Spanish League | Real Madrid beats Valladolid 1-0; Atlético draws with Huesca
Vinícius Júnior scored after coming off the bench as Real Madrid defeated Valladolid 1-0 on Wednesday for its second win in a row in the Spanish league, while Atlético Madrid was held to a scoreless draw against promoted Huesca in a disappointing first start for Luis Suŕrez.