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Supreme Court seeks report from Jharkhand on judge killing
Rising number of attacks on judges and lawyers compelled a worried Supreme Court on Friday to take suo motu cognisance of the alleged killing of Dhanbad additional district judge Uttam Anand and order the Jharkhand chief secretary and the DGP to submit the status of the investigations within a week.
Biden names Indian-American to be first Muslim religious freedom ambassador
US president Joe Biden on Friday nominated Indian-American Rashad Hussain as the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. Hussain is the first Muslim to be nominated to head US diplomacy for advancing religious liberties.
Shilpa’s suit: Press freedom must be balanced with privacy, says HC
In some relief to Shilpa Shetty Kundra, the Bombay high court on Friday asked a TV channel based in Uttar Pradesh to take down a video content which it observed “clearly portrays her as duplicitous at a personal level” and noted that two others—an “online journalist” and a host of an online entertainment channel—have themselves removed their content after the actor filed a defamation suit on Thursday. The two undertook not to upload the content back.
India’s 7-day average of Covid cases crosses 40,000 again
Kerala reported a slight drop in fresh Covid-19 cases on Friday but numbers rose for the second straight day in Tamil Nadu even as India’s daily case count dipped marginally but remained above 41,000 for the fourth day running. India reported 41,454 fresh cases of the virus on Friday, down from 44,681 on the previous day, breaking a three-day streak of rising infections in the country.
Mizoram CM says no harm to anyone, but armed cops stay put
Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga has assured that there will be “no restrictions” and “no harm” to non-Mizos entering the state. However, the CM’s assurance on Friday coupled with his reiteration from his Twitter handle that “NorthEast India Will Always Be One” came even as his government refused to withdraw its armed policemen deployed at Vairengte town on the outskirts of Cachar (Assam) border.
Win-win for all: CBSE Class 12 has near-perfect pass score
A pandemic year that confined students to their homes, with the classroom going online, had stoked anxiety and fear. The Class XII students, poised to embrace college life, were on tenterhooks. It turns out that all those fears were misplaced. The results announced by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Friday revealed that virtually everyone was a winner with few feeling disappointed.
NSO has blocked Pegasus use by some governments: Reports
Israeli surveillance software company NSO Group has temporarily blocked several government clients around the world from using its Pegasus spyware as the company investigates its possible misuse, Washington-based non-profit media outlet NPR reported.
No deaths due to oxygen shortage in state: Goa health minister
In a major U-turn on the floor of the assembly, Goa health minister Vishwajit Rane, who was the first to announce that many Covid-19 patients were dying in the state due to oxygen interruption at the state’s premier hospital Goa Medical College (GMC) during the second wave, on Friday denied any oxygen shortage-related deaths.
At least 22 people taken to hospital after Boston transit trains collide
Multiple people are being evaluated by Boston EMS for injuries, according to a tweet from the Boston Fire Department, after the Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority said two B Line trains collided with one another on the Commonwealth Avenue rail line.
Blue Origin protest of NASA's SpaceX moon contract denied
When NASA returns humans to the moon, SpaceX will build the vehicle to land the first woman and next man on the lunar surface. The US Government Accountability Office denied protests that were filed by Blue Origin and Dynetics on Friday.
Biden says US will 'in all probability' see more guidelines and restrictions amid rising Covid cases
President Joe Biden said Friday the US will, "in all probability," see more guidelines and restrictions amid rising coronavirus cases and the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
Hansal Mehta comes out in support of Shilpa Shetty
Hansal Mehta has come out in support of Shilpa Shetty. The actress has been getting trolled over social media since the arrest of her husband Raj Kundra in a pornography case. The actress also filed a defamation suit against several media outlets for defamatory reports. However, the HC has noted that passing a blanket gag order on the media against reporting anything against Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty shall have a "chilling effect on the freedom of the press.
Susan Rice: Biden is keeping his promises to Americans with disabilities
After the accident, Tyree Brown could barely write her own name. The 2015 car crash injured her spine and rendered the 26-year-old Maryland artist quadriplegic, paralyzing parts of her upper and lower body. Lengthy stints in rehab and a nursing home followed, coupled with painstaking occupational therapy. Beautiful portraits that had once taken Tyree five days to draw can now take her up to a month.