Top news of the day: September 3, 2024

Anti-rape bill passed in West Bengal Parliament

The West Bengal Assembly unanimously passed the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024, by voice vote on September 3. The state's Law Minister Moloy Ghatak had introduced the anti-rape bill during a special session of the Assembly, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee calling it “historic”. The bill was introduced in the wake of the rape and murder of a doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August.

TMC government wants to divert attention from RG Kar incident with new anti-rape bill: BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari

Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on September 3 alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government brought the anti-rape bill to divert public anger and protests over the murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. While discussing the bill, the BJP leader said, “We will fully support the new law and will not call for a vote on it.” He alleged that the TMC government failed to prevent rape and sexual abuse of women during its tenure.

According to Zelensky, at least 41 people were killed and over 180 injured in the Russian missile attack on Poltava.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said dozens of people were killed in a Russian attack on the central Ukrainian city of Poltava on September 3 that hit a military educational institution. “More than 180 people were injured. Unfortunately, there are many dead. So far, 41 deaths have been reported,” Mr Zelensky said.

Prime Minister Modi arrives in Brunei, first leg of bilateral visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 3 said he looked forward to close ties with Brunei, particularly strengthening trade and cultural ties, as he arrived in Bandar Seri Begawan, the first leg of his tour of both countries during which he will hold talks with the country's top leadership. Mr Modi, the first Indian prime minister to visit Brunei on a bilateral visit, said he looked forward to his meetings with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and other members of the royal family to take the historic ties to a new level.

Three members of the Indian Coast Guard missing after ALH accident off the coast of Gujarat

The search for three missing crew members of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is on after a Dhruv Advanced light helicopter with four crew members on board made an emergency landing off the Gujarat coast. Four vessels and two aircraft have been deployed for the search operation, the ICG said on September 3. “One crew member has been recovered, search for the remaining three crew members is on. Wreckage of the aircraft has been found,” the ICG said in a statement.

Non-compliance with income tax law, irregularities in “retirement provision”: Congress questions “no salary paid” claim to Buch

On September 3, the Congress questioned ICICI Bank's claim that it had not paid SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch salary or ESOPs after her retirement and asked why, if the amount paid to her was her 'retirement benefit', it was neither uniform in frequency nor in amount. Mr Khera had pointed out the discrepancies in the payments paid to Ms Puri Buch. After ICICI Bank stated that the ₹5.03 crore received by Ms Buch was her retirement benefit, the Congress statement pointed out that after receiving the amount in 2014-2016, it had received the amount again from 2016 to 2021.

AAP MP Amanatullah Khan dealt with ‘tainted’ cash transactions; probe avoided: ED

AAP MP Amanatullah Khan was dealing in “ill-gotten” money and making “impure” cash transactions to buy a property in Delhi, the Enforcement Directorate alleged on September 3. The federal agency arrested the 50-year-old MP from Okhla on Monday (September 3, 2024) after raiding his house. He was produced before a local court the same day, which remanded him in judicial custody for four days.

IMD issues severe weather warning for four districts in Telangana

Rainfall intensity has decreased in Telangana over the past few days. However, the IMD has issued a severe weather warning for four districts on September 4. According to the IMD bulletin, heavy rain is expected at isolated places in Kumuram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Jayashankar Bhupalpally and Mulugu. Thunderstorms with lightning and strong surface winds are also expected at isolated places in Adilabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Khammam and Mahabubabad districts.

Controversy over “IC814: The Abduction of Kandahar”: Netflix updates the disclaimer at the beginning to include the names and aliases of the kidnappers

Netflix India announced on September 3 that it has updated the disclaimer at the beginning of its latest series IC814: The Kandahar Hijack, which had sparked controversy for using the hijackers' code names. “For the benefit of viewers unfamiliar with the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, the disclaimer at the beginning has been updated to include the real and code names of the hijackers,” said Monika Shergill, Vice President, Content at Netflix India.

Karnataka classifies dengue as an epidemic disease after an unprecedented 25,408 cases reported this year

With an unprecedented 25,408 dengue cases reported in Karnataka this year, the state has declared dengue, including severe forms of this vector-borne disease, as an epidemic disease. The state has amended the regulations under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 2020. The Karnataka Epidemic Diseases (Amendment Regulations), 2024, were published in the official gazette last week.

New MBBS curriculum riddled with errors, say transgender and disability rights groups

Sodomy and lesbianism are sexual offences while transvestism (cross-dressing) is a sexual perversion; the mandatory seven hours of competency for the disabled has been removed from the foundation course – these are some of the key points that need to be corrected in the recently released new guidelines of the National Medical Commission (NMC) competency-based curriculum for medical education (CBME 2024) for MBBS students. CBME 2024 will replace the earlier NMC curriculum guidelines and will be implemented from the MBBS class of 2024-25.

Child injured in fresh wolf attack in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh; frightened villagers recite 'Sundarkand Paath'

The Uttar Pradesh Police and the Forest Department are continuing their search for two killer wolves in Bahraich district as part of Operation Bhediya. The Forest Department had earlier caught four wolves. The wolf pack is believed to be behind several attacks on villagers in the region. Meanwhile, a five-year-old girl was injured in another suspected wolf attack in the same area late on Monday night (September 2). The girl was taken to the Community Health Centre Mahasi where she is currently undergoing treatment.

Several people infected in residential area in Noida, residents suspect water pollution

Several residents, mostly children, of a residential complex in Noida Extension have fallen ill. Residents suspect that water contamination is the cause. Raj Kumar, a media professional and resident of Supertech Ecovillage 2, said the problem came to light when residents discussed water shortages in a WhatsApp group on the evening of September 2. “One resident mentioned that his child had diarrhoea and vomiting. Soon after, another resident reported the same symptoms in his child and more people started sharing similar experiences. It soon became clear that hundreds of residents had fallen ill,” Mr Kumar said.

WHO: Polio vaccination targets for children in Gaza Strip exceeded

The World Health Organization said it had already exceeded its polio vaccination targets in Gaza, vaccinating about a quarter of children under 10, on the third day of a mass vaccination campaign on September 3. The campaign, which was accelerated after the first case of polio in a baby was detected in Gaza last month, is based on daily eight-hour pauses in fighting between Israel and Hamas militias in certain areas of the besieged enclave.

In a hospital in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Mpox patients lack medicines and food

Dozens of feverish patients lie on thin mattresses on the floor of a makeshift Mpox isolation ward in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, as overstretched hospital staff struggle with drug shortages and a lack of space to accommodate the influx. Congo is the epicenter of an Mpox outbreak that the World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency last month. Vaccines to combat the new strain of the virus are expected to arrive within days, while Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi has approved an initial disbursement of $10 million to combat the outbreak.

Brazil's Supreme Court unanimously upholds a judge's decision to ban X nationwide

A panel of Brazil's Supreme Court on Sept. 2 unanimously upheld the decision of one of its judges to block billionaire Elon Musk's social media platform X nationwide, according to the court's website. The broader support among the judges undermines efforts by Musk and his supporters to portray Judge Alexandre de Moraes as an authoritarian renegade bent on censoring political speech in Brazil.

World Bank raises India’s growth forecast for FY25 to 7%

Due to the recovery in the agricultural sector and rural demand, the World Bank on September 3 raised its growth forecast for the Indian economy to 7% in the current fiscal year. In June, the World Bank had forecast growth of 6.6% for fiscal year 2024. According to the World Bank report released on September 3, India's growth remains strong despite a challenging global environment.

Test series PAK vs BAN: Bangladesh beats Pakistan in the second Test and secures the historic victory

Bangladesh delivered a crushing thrashing of Pakistan in the second Test during the two-match Test series on September 4 in Rawalpindi. Bangladesh defeated Pakistan by six wickets. It was a historic series win for Bangladesh, which is battling a political crisis at home. Interestingly, this was Bangladesh's first Test series win against Pakistan. It was indeed an impressive performance by the Bangladesh cricket team, and that too against a mighty Pakistani team.