Top news of the day: At least two dead and over 40 feared buried after landslide in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district; Parliament passes Constitution amendment bill on State OBC lists, and more

The major news headlines of the day, and more.

At least two dead, over 40 feared buried as landslide hits Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur

A Himachal Pradesh Road Transport with several passengers and at least two other vehicles were badly hit by heavy boulders, following a landslide in Nigulseri in Kinnaur district on August 11. The landslide occurred just before noon in Chaura village in Kinnaur, officials said. The bus was on its way from Reckong Peo in Kinnaur to Shimla Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner (Kinnaur) Abid Hussain Sadiq said.

Parliament proceedings | Rajya Sabha passes Constitution 127th Amendment Bill, 2021; Lok Sabha adjourns sine die

The Rajya Sabha took up the bill to restore the powers of States to have their own lists of OBCs for reservation in jobs and educational institutions, ending a three-week deadlock between the government and the Opposition in the House over various issues. The Lok Sabha, which passed the Constitution 127th Amendment Bill, 2021 on August 10, adjourned sine die.

Parliament proceedings | Spent sleepless night after ‘sacrilege in temple of democracy’: Venkaiah Naidu

In a voice choked with emotion, the Rajya Sabha Chairman castigated House members for the August 10 events that saw some members protesting, standing from the Secretary-General’s and reporters’ table.

Communal slogans at Jantar Mantar | Delhi court grants bail to former BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay

A video showing anti-Muslim slogans being raised during a protest at Jantar Mantar was widely circulated on social media

Removed offending tweet by Rahul Gandhi, Twitter tells Delhi High Court

Twitter further said the account of Mr. Gandhi has also been blocked as his August 5 tweet was in breach of its policy.

Coronavirus | Active cases in India lowest in 140 days

The active cases comprise 1.21% of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate stands 97.45%, the Health Ministry said. A decrease of 2,157 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, data updated at 8 a.m. on August 11 showed.

Journalist’s body found in Bihar’s East Champaran district, two arrested

The two arrested have been identified as local mediapersons Amrendra Kumar and Asjad Alam with whom Manish Kumar Singh was last seen in a CCTV footage.

Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, Supreme Court’s ‘Renaissance Man’, retires on August 12

His professional trajectory, for lack of better words, has been path-breaking. In 1993, then Chief Justice of India M.N. Venkatachaliah amended the court’s rules to designate him senior advocate at the age of 37. He was appointed Solicitor General of India in 2011. He became only the fifth lawyer in the nation’s history to be directly appointed as judge of the Supreme Court in 2014.

Weak rainfall activity over country to continue till August 15: IMD

However, the intense rainfall spell over northeast and adjoining east India, northern parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, is expected to last till August 14 and reduce thereafter, the IMD said.

Countdown for launch of EOS-03 satellite begins: ISRO

The launch of the satellite would be the second for ISRO in 2021 after its successful mission in February, which was Brazil’s earth observation satellite Amazonia-1 and 18 co-passenger satellites.

Biden to host democracy summit virtually in December

It would focus on three themes: defending against authoritarianism, fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights.

U.S. lawyers appeal U.K. decision to block WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange extradition

A British judge ruled in January that Mr. Assange was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions.

Afghan’s Army Chief of Staff replaced: local media reports

This move comes in the backdrop of the Taliban seizing three more provincial capitals in Afghanistan.

Herd immunity not a possibility with Delta variant, warns U.K. vaccine expert

Professor Andrew Pollard, who led the team behind the Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine, said there was no cause for “panic” as he expressed his doubts over the U.K. government’s proposed third booster dose of vaccines.

Economy picking up pace, industry needs to increase risk-taking appetite: Modi

He said India is receiving record foreign direct investment (FDI) because of reforms done in the last few years.

Chip shortage prompts production halt at Volvo Cars in Gothenburg

“Production at Torslanda will be paused temporarily from this evening due to a material shortage linked with the semiconductor issue,” Volvo Cars said in an emailed statement.

Mankind Pharma to give ₹11 lakh each to 20 players who missed medals at Tokyo Olympics

Each player of the Women’s Hockey team, a total of 16 players, will be given ₹11 lakh each. Boxer Satish Kumar, wrestler Deepak Punia, shooter Saurabh Chaudhary and golfer Aditi Ashok, will also be given ₹11 lakh each, it added.

Neeraj Chopra’s gold winning feat named one of 10 magical moments of track and field in Olympics

“Most keen followers of the sport had heard of Neeraj Chopra before the Olympic Games. But after winning the javelin in Tokyo, and in the process becoming India’s first athletics gold medallist in Olympic history, Chopra’s profile sky-rocketed,” World Athletics said on its website.

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