Top U.K. Ministers Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid resign
Two of Britain’s most senior Cabinet ministers resigned on Tuesday, a move that could spell the end of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s leadership after months of scandals. Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid resigned within minutes of each other after a day in which the prime minister was forced to acknowledge he had to change his story on the way he handled allegations of sexual misconduct by a senior member of his government.
U.K.’s opposition leader says he would welcome snap national election
The leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, said he would welcome a snap election and the country needed a change of government after Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost two of his key ministers who quit on Tuesday.
Environment Ministry proposes more fines, less imprisonment for violations
The Environment Ministry proposes to soften the provisions of the Environment Protection Act (EPA) by replacing a clause that provides for imprisoning violators with one that only requires them to pay a fine. This, however, doesn’t apply to violations that cause grave injury or loss of life. The proposed fines, in lieu of imprisonment, are also 5-500 times greater than those currently levied.
China backs Pakistan in opposing G20 Kashmir meetings
China’s state media and officials have lent support to Pakistan’s opposition to India hosting any G20-related meetings in Jammu and Kashmir next year. Those statements came even as the Chinese government has hailed the completion of its first major hydropower project under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on the Jhelum river on the border of Punjab and the western part of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), what Pakistan calls “AJK”. The dam was built by China Three Gorges Corporation.
Amravati chemist’s murder | NIA takes custody of all accused
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over custody of all the seven accused in the murder of Amravati-based chemist Umesh Kolhe, a police official said on Tuesday. The NIA took custody of all the accused, who were granted four days’ transit remand on Monday after they were produced before the Amravati court, he said.
Jaishankar to visit Indonesia on July 7 to attend G20 Foreign Ministers’ meet
External Affairs Minister is expected to attend the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Bali this week along with Chinese FM Wang Yi, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as Ministers of the world’s largest economies are hosted by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.
Sri Lanka admits bankruptcy, warns of crisis through 2023
Sri Lanka is bankrupt and the acute pain of its unprecedented economic crisis will linger until at least the end of next year, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament on Tuesday. The island nation’s 22 million people have endured months of galloping inflation and lengthy power cuts after the government ran out of foreign currency to import vital goods.
Twitter moves Karnataka High Court over government’s content blocking orders
Alleging “disproportionate use of power”, Twitter has moved the Karnataka High Court, seeking review and relief from “overbroad and arbitrary” content blocking orders from the government.
Homeless do not live, merely exist; life envisaged by Constitution unknown to them: Delhi HC
Homeless does not live but merely exist and life, as envisaged by Article 21 of the Constitution, is unknown to them, observed the Delhi High Court which directed the relocation of five persons who were shifted from one slum site to another at the time of the expansion of the New Delhi Railway Station.
FIR against director Leena Manimekalai for depicting derogatory image of Hindu deity
Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit has lodged a case against documentary filmmaker Leena Manimekalai for allegedly posting a derogatory image of a Hindu deity on her Twitter handle and “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion”.
COVID-19 triggered stigma, discrimination may keep testing rate low: study
Alongside the fear that India may not be conducting enough COVID-19 tests, the pandemic triggered stigma and discrimination against individuals infected with or vulnerable to SARS COV-2 virus, may be further slowing down voluntary testing, suggests top scientist from the ICRM-National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT), who in a study ‘COVID-19 stigma: Correlates and Mitigation Strategies’ found that 80.5% of the recovered participants of the study — that was conducted in seven States across the country in 18 districts — reported to have experienced at least one form of stigma. Further 51.3% of the respondents from the community reported severe stigma attitude towards those diagnosed with COVID-19.
Eng vs Ind fifth Test | England grounds India as Bairstow, Root score tons in landmark win
Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root, who have made chasing tricky targets in Test matches fashionable, put famed Indian pace attack to sword with imposing hundreds as England recorded their highest ever chase of 378 runs with minimum fuss to level the five-match series 2-2. It is fourth straight successful chase for England, having accomplished tricky fourth innings targets of 278, 299, 296 against New Zealand in the previous series.
Prannoy regains his place in world’s top 20
Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy on Tuesday regained his place in the world’s top 20, riding on his consistent show in the international circuit this season. The 29-year-old from Kerala, who had played a pivotal role in India’s monumental Thomas Cup win in May, improved two places to 19 in the men’s singles rankings.