Your News Expresso is served! The Indian Express brings to you the latest breaking news with exclusive developments from the world of Politics, Sports, Finance & Business and Entertainment.
Top News Highlights: Supreme Court to deliver verdict on same-sex marriage, Congress to release election manifesto, US President Biden to visit Israel and affirm its right to self-defence, and more.
Today’s Latest News Transcript at 10:30 AM on 17 October 2023
In top national news: All eyes are on the Supreme Court as it gears up to pronounce its verdict on a batch of petitions seeking marriage equality in India. In a hearing that spanned 10 days in April-May, the proceedings before a five-judge Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud were live-streamed for the public. The right to marry will mean LGBTQIA+ couples can avail the benefits and rights that come with the institution of marriage, such as insurance, adoption, and inheritance. The petitions argued that marriage brings with it several rights, privileges, and obligations “bestowed and protected by the law”.
In other news: The Enforcement Directorate’s proposal in the Supreme Court to name the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as an accused in the Delhi excise policy case will place the Election Commission (EC) in uncharted territory as there’s no prescription in the electoral rules and laws on what should be done when a political party is accused of any illegality. According to former officers of the poll panel, in terms of punitive action against a party, the options available to the Commission are rather limited. The EC is, at best, empowered to suspend or withdraw a party’s recognition under The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order.
Here is what to expect in politics today: Having kicked off its poll campaign in Madhya Pradesh with the announcement of tickets to 144 seats, the Congress will be releasing its “Vachan Patra” (manifesto) for next month’s Assembly elections in the state. The document will be unveiled by state Congress president Kamal Nath and AICC general secretary Randeep Surjewala in Bhopal. Among other things, conducting a caste census has been one of the prominent promises made by the Congress. Party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have announced a string of “guarantees”, including the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), free electricity up to 100 units if the Congress wins in the state.
In other news: The newest Indian Institute of Management (IIM) of India – IIM Mumbai which received its IIM status only in August this year, has fixed its fee structure at Rs 21 lakh for two-year courses commencing from the academic year 2024-25. The fee structure is only less than IIMs Ahmedabad (31.5), Calcutta (31) and Bangalore (24.5); whereas among the highest in new generation IIMs. Earlier this year, the city’s National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) was given the status of IIM, following approval of the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill 2023. After having acquired the new title of IIM Mumbai, the institute held its first board meeting on Monday which included fixing the fee-structure among other details.
In top international news: US President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and make clear Israel has the right to defend itself, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday. Blinken said after lengthy talks with Netanyahu that Biden will reaffirm solidarity with Israel, which has widely been expected to launch a ground assault in Gaza. Israel has vowed to annihilate the Hamas movement that rules Gaza after fighters burst into Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,300 people, mainly civilians, in the deadliest day in the country’s 75-year-old history. Biden will make clear that “Israel has the right and indeed the duty to defend its people from Hamas.”
Palestinians in besieged Gaza crowded into hospitals and schools on Monday, seeking shelter and running low on food and water. More than a million people have fled their homes ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion aimed at destroying Hamas after its fighters rampaged through southern Israel. As the enclave’s food, water and medicine supplies dwindled, all eyes were on the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, where trucks carrying badly needed aid have been waiting for days as mediators press for a cease-fire that would allow them to enter Gaza and allow foreigners to leave. Rafah, Gaza’s only connection to Egypt, was shut down nearly a week ago because of Israeli airstrikes.
In other news: Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet this week with Chinese leaders in Beijing on a visit that underscores China’s support for Moscow during its war in Ukraine. The two countries have forged an informal alliance against the United States and other democratic nations that is now complicated by the Israel-Hamas war. China has sought to balance its ties with Israel with its economic relations with Iran and Syria, which are strongly backed by Russia. Putin’s visit is also a show of support for Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road initiative to build infrastructure and expand China’s overseas influence.
Lastly, Japan criticised Russia’s announcement that it’s joining China in banning the imports of Japanese seafood in response to the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant. Russia said it will start implementing import restrictions on Japanese seafood on Monday, nearly two months after the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant started releasing treated and diluted radioactive wastewater into the ocean. The wastewater discharges, which are expected to continue for decades, have been strongly opposed by fishing groups and neighbouring countries including South Korea, where hundreds of people have protested. China immediately banned all imports of Japanese seafood the day the release began in August, badly hurting Japanese seafood producers and exporters.
Click to listen to yesterday evening’s bulletin
Today's Top News Headlines and Latest News at 10:30 am on 17 … – The Indian Express
Leave a comment