Morning digest: 10 patrolling points in eastern Ladakh blocked by China, says official; MI-CSK clash to kickstart IPL 2020 in Abu Dhabi today, and more

A select list of stories to read before you start your day

Time for Whistle Podu : With the IPL all set to begin today, Chennai Gaga, the official super store of CSK is gearing up to sell merchandise like T-shirts, cups, badges and mouse pads to the die-hard fans of the Chennai team. Mumbai Indians take on last year’s runner-up Chennai Super Kings at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Saturday night.

LAC standoff | 10 patrolling points in eastern Ladakh blocked by Chinese People’s Liberation Army

There are at least 10 patrolling points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh that have been blocked by Chinese troops, a senior government official told The Hindu . Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that face-offs with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) happened because “patrols were interrupted.” There was no commonly delineated LAC and there was an overlap in LAC’s perception in many areas, he noted.

Congress responsible for farm Bills, says Akali Dal

A day after Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) quit the government over three agriculture sector Bills, pushed by the NDA government, the party has decided to “expose” the Congress party, which it accused of adopting ‘double-speak’ on the issue. At meeting of its core committee on Friday, the party discussed the different aspects of the alliance with the NDA, but the focus remained on sorting out the challenges that have currently come to the fore in the backdrop of farm legislations.

Cricket’s oasis in the desert: Bio-secure IPL set to quench fans’ thirst

Rohit’s Mumbai Indians and Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings, with seven titles between them, will kickstart the 2020 edition in Abu Dhabi.

Ground Zero | Kannada film industry and drugs | Cracking the world of make-believe

The Bengaluru Central Crime Branch arrested two actors while chasing a drug syndicate in the Kannada film industry. The police say there is a serious drug problem while the Opposition sees an attempt to divert attention from more pressing issues. K.V. Aditya Bharadwaj and Imran Gowhar piece together the details

Sudarshan TV’s ‘UPSC Jihad’ programme | Media should not target minorities: Supreme Court

A message needs to go out to the media that it cannot make a religious minority the target of its attacks, the Supreme Court said on Friday. The dignity of a community is as important as journalistic freedom , it noted. The court was hearing a plea for pre-telecast ban on a programme partially aired by Sudarshan TV on “UPSC Jihad”.

Nirmala Sitharaman rebuts Opposition criticism on ‘act of God’ remark

As Opposition MPs slammed the Centre’s handling of COVID-19 , the economic crisis, the GST stand-off with States and the lack of data on migrant worker deaths and job losses in the Lok Sabha on Friday, speaker after speaker poured especial scorn on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement terming the impact of the pandemic as an “act of God” . Those criticising her “act of God” statement were acting with condescension towards a woman Minister, said Ms. Sitharaman, noting that it had the same meaning as the “force majeure” clause repeatedly invoked in legal arguments.

Hyderabad-based Islamic State handler operates from Tihar through smartphone

Hyderabad-based Abdullah Basith (26), an alleged key Islamic State handler in India, currently lodged in Tihar jail as an undertrial, is proving time and again that jail is no bar to radicalise young minds and carry out his operations. Popular as Khattab Bhai or Khurasani among militant groups, Basith has turned his confinement cell into a broadcasting centre where he is preparing highly explosive messages to indoctrinate young minds from Kashmir to Kanyakumari to sympathise with IS, sources in the National Investigation Agency said. He is a resident of Gulshan Iqbal Colony of Chandrayangutta in Old City.

Adityanath govt. mulls ordinance against ‘love jihad’

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked officials to formulate a strategy and “bring an ordinance if required to prevent religious conversions in the name of love”, an official said on Friday. “It has been seen in the recent past that women have been made to convert in the name of love and marriage and later subjected to cruelty and even murder,” the official, who did not wished to be named, said.

Multipolar world should include multipolar Asia: Jaishankar

A multipolar world must have its foundation in a multipolar Asia, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Friday. Addressing a virtual event on India-Japan relationship, the Minister said the relations between the two sides should be expanded to include other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

s at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Saturday night

Karnataka had 5,02,982 cases as of Friday, as 8,626 people tested positive for COVID-19 . The State reported 179 more deaths, the highest on a single day.

HC asks Gunjan Saxena for her view on Netflix biopic

The Delhi High Court on Friday asked former Flight Lieutenant Gunjan Saxena, based on whose life Netflix movie Gunjan Saxena - The Kargil Girl was made, to give her stand on the allegations that the movie depicted the Indian Air Force (IAF) in a bad light.

Bamboo shoots can be among cheapest immunity boosters, say experts

The tallest grass on earth at its smallest could be among the cheapest immunity boosters for increasing the human body’s resistance to viral attacks, experts have said.The bamboo, considered the grass of life in the northeast, takes care of almost every requirement from birth to death. But the focus of more than 25 experts from 11 countries who converged digitally to mark ‘World Bamboo Day’ on Friday was on the nutraceutical bamboo shoot.