Ghulam Nabi Azad quits Congress saying Rahul Gandhi destroyed party’s consultative mechanism
Launching a scathing attack against Rahul Gandhi in his resignation letter sent to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad alleged that she was merely “a figurehead and all decisions were taken by Rahul Gandhi or his personal assistant and security guards” and asserted that the Congress had reached this state because it wanted to foist a “non-serious” individual on the party for the past eight years.
Pendency of court cases ‘huge challenge’: Chief Justice N. V. Ramana
“We have to admit the fact that the pendency is a huge challenge before us. I must admit that issues of listing and posting of matters is one of the areas on which I could not pay much attention. I am sorry for that,” Chief Justice of India N. V. Ramana said, adding, “We are busy in fire-fighting on all days”. The CJI, who is to demit office on Friday, said there is a need to deploy modern technology tools and artificial intelligence to find a solution.
A Bench led by the Chief Justice of India, N.V. Ramana, ordered a three-judge Bench to be set up to review the court’s earlier position that such pre-poll promises made by political parties to entice voters do not fall within the ambit of Section 123 (corrupt practices) under the Representation of the People (RP) Act.
Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, set to take oath as the 49th Chief Justice of India on Saturday, said a clear-cut mechanism would be in place to allow lawyers to mention urgent matters, which includes bail petitions, etc., before the respective Benches for early listing. He said he has already discussed these issues with the Supreme Court Bar leaders.
Delhi Assembly Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla marshals out BJP MLAs for entire day of session
Delhi Assembly Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla on August 26 marshalled out all BJP MLAs for the entire day of the special session over a video recording by saffron party legislator Ajay Mahawar. Ms. Birla asked Mr. Mahawar if he made a video recording of the Assembly proceedings by going against the laws. “Have you done the video recording? If you have, then why should your phone not be seized? This is against the laws of the House,” she said.
Attempt to topple AAP government shows how dangerous ‘Operation Lotus’ is for democracy: Shiv Sena
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena accused the BJP of trying to topple the AAP government in Delhi by using the Enforcement Directorate, and said it shows how dangerous ‘Operation Lotus’ is for the democracy in the country. The editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana said the BJP was worried about 2024 Lok Sabha elections and scared of rival leaders such as Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee and Nitish Kumar.
Lokpal to accept corruption complaints filed in prescribed format only
All complainants have to mandatorily give an affidavit on a non-judicial stamp paper, that among other things mentions, “making any false and frivolous or vexatious complaint is punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year and with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees”, according to the form prescribed for filing the complaint.
BJP’s Sonali Phogat was drugged by accused before death: Goa Police
BJP leader Sonali Phogat was drugged at a party by her two associates who have been now named as accused in the case related to her ‘murder’, Goa Police said. Both the accused were seen mixing “some obnoxious chemical substance” in the liquid which was fed to her at the party at a restaurant in Anjuna, said Inspector General of Police Omvir Singh Bishnoi.
The Delhi High Court’s verdict came while dismissing appeals of WhatsApp and Facebook against an order rejecting their challenge to a probe ordered by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) into the instant messaging platform’s updated privacy policy of 2021. A Bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said the single judge’s April 22, 2021 order was well-reasoned and the appeals are devoid of merit and substance that would warrant the interference of this court.
The analysis conducted on the basis of the parties’ Income Tax Returns (ITR) and donations statements filed with the Election Commission of India (ECI) found that between FY 2004-05 and 2020-21, the national parties have collected ₹15,077.97 crore from unknown sources. The national parties comprised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), Community Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (CPI) and National People’s Party (NPEP).
Net zero emissions by 2050 can boost India’s GDP by 7.3% by 2032: Report
Achieving net zero emissions by 2070 could boost India’s economy by as much as 4.7% above the projected baseline growth in GDP terms by 2036 — worth a total of $371 billion, illustrates modelling and research commissioned by the High-level Policy Commission on Getting Asia to Net Zero.
Pakistan declares national emergency as flood death toll rises
According to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority, the country received 166.8 mm of rain in August, as opposed to the average of 48 mm - an increase of 241%. Sindh and Balochistan - the worst-hit regions - witnessed a 784% and 496% increase in the monsoon deluge, respectively, the Dawn News reported.
Iraq | Explosive detonates in Baghdad, targets Australian diplomats
The blast happened amid Australia’s diplomatic mission’s efforts to mediate between influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and an Iran-backed faction of rival Shiite parties, according to the security officials, to end one of Iraq’s worst political crises in recent years.
IAEA mission seeks to visit Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant amid concerns
A mission from the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant next week after it was temporarily knocked offline and more shelling was reported in the area overnight, Ukrainian officials said. Fire damage to a transmission line at Europe’s largest nuclear plant caused a blackout across the region on Thursday and heightened fears of a catastrophe in a country still haunted by the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
U.K.’s Liz Truss under fire over ‘jury’s out’ remark on French President Macron
Britain’s prime ministerial hopeful and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the “jury is out” on whether French President Emmanuel Macron is a “friend or foe” of the U.K. and that if she becomes the PM, she will “judge him by deeds, not words”.
India to grow at 7.4% in FY23, continue at same level next year as well, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman
“Our own estimates have also shown based on the developments, that we are definitely at that range...7.4 (per cent) and that level will continue even next year,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, speaking at the FE Best Banks Awards event in Mumbai. She said the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have projected India’s growth to be the fastest for the next two fiscal years, and their estimates are in sync with that of the Reserve Bank of India as well.
Adani group asserts RRPR is bound to transfer NDTV shares to VPCL
Adani Group’s subsidiary Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VCPL) has responded to the stock exchange filing by RRPR- promoter group vehicle of New Delhi Television (NDTV) and contended that RRPR is not a party to the SEBI order dated November 27, 2020 and and it is not under any restrain by the market regulator. It has also asserted that the RRPR is obligated to comply with contractual obligations.
RBI Board reviews current economic situation, impact of geopolitical crises
The Board also discussed various areas of operations of the Reserve Bank of India, including the functioning of the local boards and activities of select Central office Departments, the Central bank said in a statement. The 597th meeting of the Board was held at the RBI’s Regional Office in Jaipur. The meeting was chaired by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.
Badminton | Satwik-Chirag ensure India’s first men’s doubles medal at World Championships
The world number 7 Indian combination of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, which had claimed the Commonwealth Games gold medal earlier this month, outwitted world number 2 Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi of Japan 24-22 15-21 21-14 in an hour and 15 minutes to claim its maiden medal at the prestigious tournament.
Asia Cup 2022 | Injury scare for Pakistan as pacer Mohammad Wasim suffers back pain in training
After pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was ruled out of the Asia Cup, Pakistan were handed another injury scare with fast bowler Mohammad Wasim pulling out of practice with back pain ahead of their opening cricket match against India. The 21-year-old was sent for a MRI scan to determine the severity of his injury after he complained of lower back pain during a net session at the ICC Academy in Dubai.
Audi to finally enter F1 after years of waiting in the wings
After years of exploring a possible entry into Formula One, Audi, the German automobile company, announced that it will be entering the sport in 2026. Markus Duesmann, CEO of Audi in a press conference at Spa Francorchamps said, “Audi has officially registered as a Formula One Power Unit manufacturer and will start racing from 2026.”
