Afternoon briefing: India denies Bangladesh flooding due to Tripura dam; Abhishek Banerjee breaks silence; and more

A shortlist of the biggest headlines, recommended stories, and a special collection of news items that you should check out.

India on Thursday dismissed reports that the opening of a dam on the Gumti river in the northeastern state of Tripura had caused floods in Bangladesh, and said the flooding in the neighbouring country was due to waters from large catchments downstream. The external affairs ministry issued a statement on the situation after reports, mainly on social media in Bangladesh, claimed the floods were caused by the opening of India’s Dumbur dam. Some reports even implied New Delhi resorted to such a step after the fall of the government of former premier Sheikh Hasina, who stepped down and fled to India on August 5 following a student-led uprising. The statement said concerns expressed in Bangladesh about floods in some districts on the eastern borders being caused by the opening of the Dumbur dam in Tripura were “factually not correct”. Dig Deeper

TMC Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee at the Parliament House complex during the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha on June 26.(PTI)

Abhishek Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress on Thursday on reacted to reports of a number of recent rape cases across the country amid the ongoing outrage and protests over the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. According to Abhishek Banerjee, in the last 10 days, 90 rape cases were reported every day. He also urged state governments to act and urgently push the Union government for a comprehensive anti-rape law that ensures swift and strict justice. As doctors across the country continue to protest over the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, differences in the Trinamool Congress ranks have come to the fore. Dig Deeper

Just days after delivering a fighting performance at the Paris Olympics, 24-year-old Indian table tennis player Archana Kamath made a surprising decision to call time on her career. Despite helping the Indian women’s table tennis team achieve its best-ever Olympic result by reaching the quarterfinals, Archana, according to Indian Express, informed her coach, Anshul Garg, that she no longer saw a future in professional table tennis. Dig Deeper

Trending

Maria Branyas, the world's oldest living person, died at the age of 117 in Spain on Monday. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, she was the eighth-oldest person (with a verifiable age) in history. The woman, who embraced optimism and steered clear negativity, believed these traits helped her live a long life. The US-born woman had credited her longevity to various factors such as following an order and optimism. Branyas spent the last two decades of her life in a nursing home in Catalonia, northeastern Spain, where died in her sleep. Dig Deeper

Entertainment

Taapsee Pannu opened a production house called Outsider Films. Clearly, she prides herself on being an outsider to the film industry. However, in an interview with ANI, the actor confessed the one lesson she's learnt from the so-called nepo kids in Bollywood. Tapsee said that while opinions on nepotism differ, she has observed that those with family in the industry often have strong support networks, which people from outside the industry might lack. Dig Deeper

That’s all we have at this hour in our afternoon briefing. Catch you by evening.