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Afternoon briefing: PIL filed in SC to probe Hathras stampede; Bengal Guv vs Mamata Banerjee over defamation suit, more
A shortlist of the biggest headlines, recommended stories, and a special collection of news items you should check out.
A lawyer on Wednesday filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court seeking the appointment of a former top court judge-led five-member expert committee to probe into the lapses which led to the stampede at a religious gathering in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras that left 116 people dead a day earlier. Vishal Tiwari, the petitioner, sought directions from the court for guidelines for public safety at gatherings to prevent such incidents in the future and a status report from the Uttar Pradesh government on the negligent conduct of those involved in the incident. Dig deeper
More news | Hathras satsang stampede: 121 die; FIR filed. Where is Bhole Baba? | 10 updates
The Calcutta high court is set to hear a defamation suit on Wednesday, July 3, filed by West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose against chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The hearing for the case is listed for hearing before the bench of Justice Krishna Rao, according to the high court's website. On June 28, CV Ananda Bose filed a defamation case against the chief minister, a day after she claimed that women did not feel safe visiting the Raj Bhavan. In an administrative meeting in the state secretariat, Mamata Banerjee said, "Women have informed me they are afraid to visit Raj Bhavan due to recent incidents reported there". Dig deeper
More news | Bengal Governor files defamation case against chief minister Mamata Banerjee
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Madhya Pradesh: 5 children dead, 38 hospitalised due to suspected food poisoning at Indore shelter home Dig deeper
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India News
Speaker Om Birla says first session of Lok Sabha had 103% productivity Dig deeper
Hathras stampede: Gandhi asks INDIA bloc workers to provide relief and rescue Dig deeper
Trending
A special Air India flight has landed in Barbados to evacuate Team India amid Hurricane Beryl. The team will fly back to India on this flight, reported news agency ANI. Team India has been stranded in Barbados after winning the T20 World Cup 2024 due to Hurricane Beryl - a category 4 hurricane. The special Air India flight was arranged by the BCCI for the coaches, cricketers and their families to return to India. Hurricane Beryl had led to a complete shutdown of airports in Barbados, where the nail-biting final of the World Cup took place on Saturday. Indian took on South Africa to win the T20 trophy. The Men in Blue are expected to land in Delhi tomorrow (July 4). The special charted flight arranged by BCCI secretary Jay Shah will also be carrying members of Indian media who went to cover the tournament but got stranded due to the hurricane, ANI reported. Dig deeper
Business News
Indian microblogging platform Koo, an alternative to X (formerly Twitter), is shutting down, The Morning Context reported, citing an unnamed source. The four-year-old startup’s decision to wind up was triggered after acquisition talks with online media firm Dailyhunt fell through, the report claimed. Koo was launched as a homegrown alternative to X and was promoted extensively by celebrities and ministers. The company even managed to garner investor attention and expand to Nigeria and Brazil. Dig deeper
Global Matters
An illegal immigrant accused of brutally raping and killing Maryland mom Rachel Morin was indicted this week. An attorney of the victim’s family has called this a “crucial step.” A Maryland grand jury voted to formally charge 23-year-old Victor Martinez Hernandez with two counts of murder, two counts of rape and one count each of sex offense and kidnapping for the ruthless attack on Morin in 2023. Martinez-Hernandez allegedly ambushed and killed her on a Maryland hiking trail last year. Dig deeper
Entertainment Focus
Aamir Khan's eldest son Junaid Khan is basking in the appreciation for his acting debut in Maharaj. However, in a new interview with The Times of India, Junaid revealed that he was initially in consideration to make his debut with a different film altogether, 2022's Laal Singh Chaddha. The film starred Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor in lead roles. Speaking to The Times of India, Junaid said: “I had actually auditioned for Laal Singh Chaddha, which Papa has talked about publicly, but it didn’t work out. Papa (Aamir Khan) was very keen that I do the film.” Maharaj director Siddharth P Malhotra then revealed that it was Aamir Khan's part for which Junaid had auditioned. Interestingly, it was the same audition clip that led him to be cast in Maharaj. “It was this audition that Adi (Aditya Chopra) and I saw, and what an audition that was! It was outstanding and if that clip can be released at some point in time… it would be great.” Dig deeper
Lifestyle and Health
Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas are spending quality time with their family in Australia. The couple took their daughter Malti and family for a fun outing at the Gold Coast beach. Priyanka wore a printed white bikini, white shorts and cute accessories to style the beach look. A fan page of Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas shared pictures from the couple's beach outing with their daughter and family. Priyanka's printed white bikini features spaghetti strap ties, a plunging neckline, a multi-coloured herringbone pattern, and triangle bust cups. She paired the bikini top with white linen shorts featuring a high-rise waist, relaxed fitting, and a waist tie on the front. Dig deeper
Sports Goings
India will have to wait further to welcome their heroes as Rohit Sharma's T20 World Cup-winning team's return got delayed. About 70 people of the Indian contingent, including the cricketers, the support staff, their families and BCCI top officials, have been stuck in Bridgetown and Barbados for the last three days. They became world champions by beating South Africa in the final on June 29 (IST) but have not been able to return home due to Hurricane Beryl. The Barbados airport remained closed for two days. It became functional only on Wednesday morning (IST) but the Indian team will have to wait further to leave the island. According to Sports Tak, the special charter flight arranged by BCCI, which was supposed to reach the Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados at around 3 am on Wednesday (IST) to take the Indian contingent out, will now reach about four hours later. Dig deeper
