Israel-Hamas war | Hamas tells Gaza residents to stay home as Israel warns them to leave
Hamas on October 13 called on Palestinians to stay in their homes after Israel, a day earlier, ordered mass evacuation of civilians from the Gaza strip. More than 1,300 people have been killed in Israel since Hamas militants unleashed a massive attack from the blockaded Gaza Strip, the Army said on October 13, raising an earlier toll by 100. Over 3,200 other people had been wounded, the Israeli Army said on X, formerly Twitter, while families of 120 hostages have been contacted since the attack. Gaza’s Health Ministry said on October 13 that 1,799 Palestinians had been killed and 6,388 wounded in Israeli air strikes on the blockaded enclave since the weekend.
International Olympic Committee approves cricket for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Cricket’s more than 100-year Olympic exile moved closer to ending after the sport was approved for inclusion at the 2028 Los Angeles Games by the International Olympic Committee’s executive board. IOC president Thomas Bach, speaking after the second day of an executive board meeting in Mumbai on October 13, said officials had accepted a proposal by LA organisers for Twenty20 cricket to be included as one of five new sports together with baseball/softball, flag football (non-contact American football), squash and lacrosse.
Terrorism against humanity, have to move forward with human-centric approach: PM Modi at P20 Summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 13, inaugurating the ninth Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit of G20 nations, said that ‘terrorism, no matter where it happens or for what reason, it is against humanity’. He lamented that there isn’t unanimity on the definition of terrorism even in the United Nations. He cautioned that conflicts and confrontations being faced by the world today do not benefit anyone, saying the world has to move forward with a human-centric approach.
The Supreme Court on October 13 listed on November 2 a petition highlighting the concern expressed by the academia about the seizure of mobile phones and computers of the academia as “electronic evidence” by investigating agencies during raids. The case was orally mentioned for early hearing by senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan and advocate Prasanna S ,appearing for Professors Ram Ramaswamy, Sujata Patel, M. Madhava Prasad, Mukul Kesavan and Deepak Malghan.
Supreme Court dismisses plea on banning screening of children for nursery admissions
The Supreme Court on October 13 dismissed a plea challenging the Delhi High Court’s decision refusing to direct the Lieutenant Governor to give assent to or return a 2015 Bill which proposed a ban on screening children for nursery admissions. A bench of Justice SK Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia said it cannot pass a direction to enact a law. “Can there be a mandamus to enact a law? Can we direct the government to introduce the Bill? Supreme Court can’t be the panacea for everything,” the Bench said.
CJI says India’s abortion law is liberal, pro-choice and far ahead of other countries
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on October 13 said India’s abortion law was liberal, pro-choice and far ahead of other countries while hearing the case of a married woman who wants to medically terminate her 26-week pregnancy. “There is no doubt that our law is far ahead of other countries. We will not have a Roe versus Wade situation here. Our law is liberal and pro-choice,” Chief Justice Chandrachud observed in court. The remarks by Chief Justice Chandrachud was in reference to submissions led by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati that the provisions in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act allowed women to opt for abortion even after the 24-week limit if a board of doctors agree that the continuation of pregnancy was a risk to her life or if a substantial anonymity was medically detected in the foetus.
The Delhi High Court on Friday, October 13, 2023, rejected the pleas by NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and human resources department head Amit Chakravarty , challenging their arrest and police custody in a case lodged under anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Dismissing their plea challenging the police action, Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said, “The court does not find merit in both petitions.”
Bihar accident | Delhi-bound up line restored, work underway on down line
The Delhi-bound up line at the accident site near Raghunathpur railway station in Bihar’s Buxar district has been restored and work is underway to repair the down line, the East Central Railway said on October 13. The up line is ready for limited movement of trains but normal movement on this route will be allowed only after restoration of the down line.
Srinagar grand mosque ‘closed’ amid fears of protests over Palestine
The caretakers of the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar on October 13 accused the Lieutenant Governor’s administration of closing the mosque for prayers and placing Valley’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, also chairman of the Hurriyat, under house arrest. It comes amid fears over post-prayers protests in the Valley over Palestinian deaths in the past one week. A spokesman of the Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid, the caretaker body of the mosque, said police officials closed the gates of the mosque and conveyed “Friday prayers will not be allowed today”.
FiberNet scam case: Supreme Court draws assurance from State not to arrest Naidu before hearing
The Supreme Court on October 13 agreed to hear, on October 17, a plea for the anticipatory bail filed by former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in the FiberNet scam case even as it drew an assurance from the State to not press for the TDP leader’s arrest in a trial court hearing due on October 16. A Bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi took note of a submission by senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, for Mr. Naidu, that his client’s plea for anticipatory bail would become infructuous if he was arrested on October 16, a day before the scheduled Supreme Court hearing. The trial court had directed the Andhra Pradesh CID to produce Mr. Naidu before it on October 16.
Vivo PMLA case: ED seeks 10-day extension of accused’s custody
The ED on October 13 sought extension of the custody of four people arrested in a money laundering case against Chinese smart phone maker Vivo, including the managing director of Lava International mobile company and a Chinese national, by 10 days. Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala had on October 10 sent the accused to ED’s custody for three days. The four accused- Hari Om Rai, the MD of Lava International company, Chinese national Guangwen alias Andrew Kuang, and Chartered Accountants Nitin Garg and Rajan Malik- were produced in the court on Friday on expiry of their custody.
Glad to be home and traumatised by what they had seen in the last few days, the first batch of around 200 Indians returned from Israel on October 13 with the sound of air raid sirens, rocket fire and screams ringing loud in their ears. Many students who returned home recalled the fateful night of Saturday and how they had to rush to shelters multiple times in the wake of rocket attacks by Hamas. Meanwhile, Keralites among the first batch of Indian evacuees to reach the Cochin international airport at Nedumbassery from conflict-ridden Israel on October 13, painted a picture of a country where life continues to be largely peaceful despite the intense battle with Hamas.
U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived, on October 13, at the Israeli city of Tel Aviv to meet with senior government leaders and see firsthand some of the U.S. weapons and security assistance that Washington rapidly delivered to Israel in the first week of its war with the militant Hamas group. Mr. Austin is the second high-level U.S. official to visit Israel in two days. His quick trip from Brussels, where he was attending a NATO Defence Ministers meeting, comes a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the region on October 12.
Teacher killed in knife attack in school in northern France
A teacher was killed and several people injured in a knife attack in a school in the northern France city of Arras on October 13, BFM TV said. Local police confirmed there had been a knife attack. Regional authorities said the attacker had been arrested. Police could not confirm media reports that the assailant had shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’. France’s anti-terrorism prosecution office said it would start an investigation after a school attack in the northern town of Arras killed at least one person.
South Korea says North Korean defectors in China sent back to the North
South Korea said on October 13 it believed a large number of North Korean defectors in China have been forcibly returned to the North and had sent a strong protest to China over the move, the Unification Ministry said. Ministry spokesman Koo Byoung-sam said any deportation of North Koreans back to the country against their will goes against the international norm that bans such moves and South Korea viewed it as a regrettable decision.
Nigeria air strikes kill about 100 bandit fighters in northwest: army sources, residents
Nigerian military jets have carried out air strikes on a gathering of bandit militias, killing around 100 gunmen in the country’s northwest, two army sources with knowledge of the operation and local residents said. Nigeria’s air force confirmed it had carried out bombardments in northwestern Zamfara State on Tuesday, but a spokesman said he could not yet provide details on the numbers killed.
Adani group shares fall after media report on alleged over-invoicing of coal imports
Shares of Adani Group companies on October 13 came under selling pressure and were trading at losses with flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd tanking over 3% a day after Financial Times reported that the Gautam Adani led group was allegedly over-invoicing imported coal prices to enrich it and to make electricity consumers in India to pay more. The Adani Group in a statement issued last week, much ahead of publication of this report had rejected the allegations.
World Cup | Can India extend its lead to 8-0 against Pakistan?
The cricketing relation between India and Pakistan is, perhaps, the most bizarre in the long history of the sport. At once, it is a force of unity and a sharp-edged exclusionary tool between the two nations, which are madly in love with cricket. Those idiosyncrasies do not get a clearer reflection anywhere else than in the 50-over World Cup, where India enjoy a 7-0 edge over Pakistan in the ODI World Cup.
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