TODAY NEWS ON June 27, 2024

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National News

• Arrest: The CBI arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on June 26 in the Delhi excise policy case and obtained three days of custody for interrogation.
• Supreme Court Plea Withdrawal: Kejriwal withdrew his petition from the Supreme Court, promising to return with a new challenge against the Delhi High Court's stay on his bail.
• The CBI questioned the principal of a school in Jharkhand and several bank officials in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case.
• India requested Italy to take prompt action against those responsible for the death of a 31-year-old Indian farm worker.
• The Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Union government to conduct a caste-based census along with the general population census.
• The Bombay High Court dismissed a petition by nine women students against a Mumbai college's ban on hijab, burka, and naqab.
• A court in Uttar Pradesh ordered Rahul Gandhi to appear on July 2 in a defamation case concerning remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
• Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district killed a militant during a firefight on June 26.
• Polling for 25 civic bodies in Nagaland concluded on June 26 after a 20-year hiatus.
• Former Foreign Secretary Muchkund Dubey passed away on June 26.
• The police are preparing for the new criminal laws set to take effect on July 1, with updates to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network Systems (CCTNS).

International News

• The US criticized India in its annual religious freedom report, expressing concern over rising bigotry against Jews and Muslims globally.
• WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange returned to Australia after pleading guilty to charges in the US.
• NATO appointed outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as its next secretary-general.
• The US Deputy Secretary of State mentioned potential institutional reforms in India amidst issues like the Pannun matter and assassination attempts.
• An apparent coup attempt against Bolivian President Luis Arce failed as he urged citizens to mobilize against threats to democracy.
• Sri Lanka finalized a debt restructuring agreement following its financial crisis.
• Kenyan President William Ruto withdrew a controversial finance bill after deadly protests.
• An investigation revealed that Foxconn systematically excluded married women from jobs at its main iPhone assembly plant in India.
• Australia's Travis Head replaced India's Suryakumar Yadav as the top T20 batter, while Jasprit Bumrah moved to 24th position.

Headlines in Detail

Delhi Excise policy case: CBI arrests Arvind Kejriwal, gets three-day custody
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) formally arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case on June 26, and was granted three days to interrogate him in its custody. The day also saw Mr. Kejriwal withdraw his petition from the Supreme Court, while promising to return with a fresh challenge against the stay of his statutory bail by the Delhi High Court on June 25.

Arvind Kejriwal withdraws plea from Supreme Court against Delhi HC’s interim stay on bail order
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwalwithdrew from the Supreme Court on June 26 saying “events are overtaking” him rapidly with the Central Bureau of Investigation reviving a 2022 interrogation to arrest him shortly after the State High Court pronounced a judgment staying the bail granted to him by a trial court in money laundering charges linked to the excise policy case. “On a 2022 interrogation and notice by the CBI, I [Kejriwal] have been arrested… re-arrested yesterday [June 25] while still under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act [PMLA]… A judgment [of the Delhi High Court] has come… The judgment has all kinds of issues,” senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, for Mr. Kejriwal, conveyed to a Vacation Bench of Justices Manoj Misra and S.V. Bhatti.

CBI questions Jharkhand school principal and bank officials in NEET case
A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team probing the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) paper leak case on Wednesday reached Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh Oasis School over allegations of tampering of question papers. The CBI is conducting a nationwide probe into alleged malpractices in medical entrance exam NEET-UG and has taken over cases probed by the police in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar.

India asks Italy to take prompt action against persons responsible for Indian farm worker’s death
India on Wednesday asked Italy to take prompt action against those responsible for the death of a 31-year-old Indian worker who died after he was dumped on the road without medical assistance by his employer after his arm was severed by heavy farm machinery.

Tamil Nadu Assembly: Resolution urging Centre to undertake caste-based census adopted unanimously
The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, on June 26, unanimously adopted a resolution proposed by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, urging the Union government to conduct a caste-based census along with the general population census. “This House considers that a caste-based population census is essential to formulate policies in order to ensure equal rights and equal opportunities in education, economy and employment to every citizen of India. This House, therefore, unanimously urges the Union government to commence the census work immediately, which has been due from 2021, along with a caste-based population census, this time,” the resolution said.

Bombay High Court refuses to interfere in hijab ban decision of Mumbai college
The Bombay High Court on June 26 dismissed the petition filed by nine women students from a city-based college to impose a ban on hijab, burka and naqab in its premises. A division bench of Justices A.S. Chandurkar and Rajesh Patil said it was not inclined to interfere in the decision taken by the college and dismissed a petition filed against it by nine girl students, who are in the second and third year of a science degree course.

Defamation case: Uttar Pradesh court orders personal appearance of Rahul Gandhi on July 2
An MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh’s Sultanpur on June 26 asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to appear before it on July 2 in a defamation case filed against him for alleged objectionable remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Complaint lawyer Santosh Kumar Pandey said that one Ram Pratap had demanded that he be made a party in the case. Opposing the plea, Mr. Pandey said Pratap is neither a victim nor has anything to do with the matter.

Militant killed in anti-militancy operations in J&K’s Doda: officials
Security forces, engaged in a firefight with hiding militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district since June 26 morning, have spotted a body of a suspected militant at the encounter site, officials said. Heavy gunfire resounded in Gandoh area of Doda after the security forces spotted and established contact with militants hiding in a forest area. Officials said the body of one militant was spotted at the encounter site.

Held after 20 years, polling for Nagaland civic bodies ends
The polling for 25 civic bodies in Nagaland, held after a gap of two decades on June 26, came to a close, officials said. The final poll percentage is not immediately available, officials said. Around 20% of the 2.23 lakh electors exercised their franchise on Wednesday in the first two hours of the civic body polls being held for the first time in Nagaland in 20 years, an official said. Voting began at 7.30 am with tight security arrangements in place and will continue till 4 pm.

Former Foreign Secretary Muchkund Dubey, at the helm when Cold War ended, passes away
Former Foreign Secretary Muchkund Dubey, who steered India’s foreign affairs establishment towards the end of the Cold War and the post-Cold War phase in the early 1990s, passed away here on Wednesday at a private hospital, Research and Information System for Developing Countries, a think tank he was associated with, announced.

With dummy FIRs and pocket guides, police get ready to switch to new criminal laws
Ahead of the implementation of the new criminal laws from July 1, at least 23 modifications have been made to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network Systems (CCTNS), an online platform used by more than 16,000 police stations across the country to register first information reports. From July 1, the FIRs will be registered under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), instead of Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

U.S. issues rare criticism of India in religious freedom report
The United States offered rare criticism of close partner India in a report published Wednesday on religious freedom, while also voicing alarm over rising bigotry worldwide against both Jews and Muslims. Secretary of State Antony Blinken unveiled the annual report and said that the United States was also facing its own sharp increase of both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in connection to the Gaza war.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange returns to Australia a free man
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange returned to his homeland Australia aboard a charter jet on June 26, hours after pleading guilty to obtaining and publishing U.S. military secrets in a deal with Justice Department prosecutors that concludes a drawn-out legal saga. The criminal case of international intrigue, which had played out for years, came to a surprise end in a most unusual setting with Mr. Assange, 52, entering his plea in a U.S. district court in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands. The American commonwealth in the Pacific is relatively close to Mr. Assange’s native Australia and accommodated his desire to avoid entering the continental United States.

NATO appoints outgoing Dutch PM Mark Rutte as next secretary-general
NATO appointed Mark Rutte as its next secretary-general on June 26, putting the outgoing Dutch prime minister in charge of the world’s biggest security organisation at a critical time for European security as war rages in Ukraine. Mr. Rutte’s appointment was sealed by NATO ambassadors during a meeting at the 32-nation alliance’s headquarters in Brussels. U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts will formally welcome him to their table at a summit in Washington on July 9-11.

India is looking at ‘potential’ institutional reforms: U.S. official
India is looking at “potential” institutional reforms against the backdrop of the Pannun issue and alleged assassination attempts, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell said on June 26, adding that the U.S. seeks “accountability” from the Indian government and has “consistently” asked for updates on the committee investigating the matter.

Coup attempt in Bolivia fails as president urges people to mobilize against democracy threat
Armoured vehicles rammed the doors of Bolivia’s government palace Wednesday in an apparent coup attempt against President Luis Arce, but he vowed to stand firm and named a new army commander who ordered troops to stand down. The soldiers later pulled back as supporters of Arce waved Bolivian flags and cheered in a central square.

Sri Lanka finalises debt restructuring agreement after financial crisis
An auction of radiowaves that carry voice and data signals for mobile phones ended within two days on June 26, garnering less than 12% of the ₹96,238 crore minimum value that the government had estimated for the spectrum on offer. “The auction, where a total of 10 GHz of spectrum ranging between 800 MHz to 26 GHz was offered, got total bids worth ₹11,340 crore,” sources said. Five rounds of bidding happened on the opening day on June 25, but on June 26, there was not much action, leading to officials declaring the end of the auction at around 11.30 hrs.

Kenya’s president withdraws finance bill that prompted deadly protests
Kenyan President William Ruto said on June 26 he won’t sign into law a finance bill proposing new taxes, a day after protesters stormed parliament and several people were shot dead. It was the biggest assault on Kenya’s government in decades. The government wanted to raise funds to pay off debt, but Kenyans said the bill caused more economic pain as millions struggle to get by. The chaos on Tuesday led the government to deploy the military, and Ruto called protesters’ actions “treasonous.”

Apple supplier Foxconn said to reject married women from India iPhone jobs
A Reuters investigation has found that Foxconn has systematically excluded married women from jobs at its main iPhone assembly plant on the grounds they have more family responsibilities than their unmarried counterparts. S. Paul, a former human-resources executive at Foxconn India, said the company’s executives verbally convey the recruitment rules to its Indian hiring agencies, which Foxconn tasks with scouting for candidates, bringing them in for interviews and employing them.

ICC T20 rankings: Travis Head replaces Suryakumar Yadav as top T20 batter, Jasprit Bumrah moves to 24
Australia opener Travis head on June 26 toppled India’s Suryakumar Yadav as the number one batter in the latest ICC T20 rankings. Suryakumar was holding the number one spot since December 2023 but Head’s splendid run at the T20 World Cup catapulted him to the top even as his team has been knocked out. Head scored 255 runs with two half centuries, including a 76 against India in a Super Eight contest.

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