A look at the headlines today:
1. In poll campaign, Rahul raises Rafale once more
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi yesterday questioned the 'purpose' of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's "unprecedented" visit to France to receive the first Rafale fighter jet, saying BJP leaders are bearing "guilt" in their minds for making "mistakes" in the controversial deal. He will campaign for the party candidates in Haryana today, before returning to Maharashtra. Addressing a poll rally in Chandivali assembly constituency in Mumbai, Gandhi raised the alleged fraud in the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank which has led to restrictions on withdrawal of money by depositors. "It seems the Rafale deal is still hurting the BJP. [If not] Why Rajnath Singh went to France to receive the first fighter jet?" he asked the audience. In Chandivali, sitting Congress MLA Naseem Khan is seeking another term against Shiv Sena's Dileep Lande. In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi had alleged "irregularities" in the Rafale deal under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
2. More lives lost in TSRTC strike as conductor hangs self to death today
A TSRTC conductor allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself at his house, hours after a driver who had set himself ablaze succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. Surender Goud, aged around 50, hanged himself from a ceiling fan at his house here even as family members broke open the door of his room and shifted him to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him brought dead around 9.30pm, an official attached to the Kulsumpura police station said. Asked about the reason behind the suicide, police said Goud was apparently depressed over the "fear of job loss and the non-payment of September salary" due to the ongoing Telangana State Road Transport Corporation strike. Earlier, a 55-year-old TSRTC driver died on Sunday, a day after he set himself ablaze, even as the strike by the transport employees in Telangana entered the ninth day. D. Srinivas Reddy, who was part of the group of employees on a state-wide strike for the last nine days, died of burn injuries, hospital sources told PTI.
3. Ayodhya hearing in SC to enter final leg today
The protracted hearing in the politically sensitive Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute at Ayodhya will enter the crucial final leg today when the Supreme Court resumes proceedings on the 38th day after the week-long Dussehra break. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, which started the day-to-day proceedings on August 6 after mediation proceedings failed to find an amicable solution to the vexatious dispute, has revised the deadline for wrapping up the proceedings and has fixed it on October 17. Fourteen appeals have been filed in the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among the three parties—the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla. Fixing the schedule for the final leg of the lengthy arguments, it had said that the Muslim side would complete the arguments on October 14 and thereafter, two days would be granted to the Hindu parties to sum up their rejoinders by October 16.
4. Nobel prize in economics to be announced today
The winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in economic sciences will be announced at a news conference today. In 2018, William D. Nordhaus won the award “for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis”, and Paul M. Romer received it “for integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis”.
5. Typhoon Hagibis: Panama-registered cargo ship found sunk in Tokyo Bay waters
A Panama-registered cargo ship, believed to have been missing with eight people onboard in Tokyo Bay after struck by Typhoon Hagibis, was found sunk in the waters. Japan on Sunday deployed thousands of troops including helicopters and boats to rescue those who were stranded by floods caused by the typhoon, with 33 dead and 19 missing according to Kyodo News Agency. The typhoon was downgraded to a tropical storm on Sunday, making landfall south of Tokyo on Saturday evening and affecting parts of central and Northern Japan. According to public broadcaster NHK, 14 rivers across Japan flooded. The country’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency (which is expected to understate figures) stated that 14 people had died, 11 were missing and 187 were injured as a result of the typhoon. It said 1,283 homes were flooded and 517 were damaged, partially or totally. Around 376,000 homes have been left without power across Japan.
6. Turkish forces push deeper into Syria, as US pulls out troops and IS prisoners escape
Turkish forces and their proxies pushed deep into Syria on Sunday, moving closer to completing their assault's initial phase, while Washington announced it was pulling out 1,000 troops from the country's north. The Kurdish administration in northern Syria said that Turkish bombardment near a camp for the displaced led to nearly 800 relatives of Islamic State group (IS) members fleeing. The Kurdish administration in northern Syria on Sunday announced a deal with the Damascus government on a Syrian troop deployment near the border with Turkey to confront Ankara's offensive. "In order to prevent and confront this aggression, an agreement has been reached with the Syrian government... so that the Syrian army can deploy along the Syrian-Turkish border to assist the (Kurdish-led) Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)," it said in a statement on its Facebook page.
7. HAL employees to go on strike today
The workers of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will go on an "indefinite strike" from today as talks held by the management over the unions' demands including wage revision, ended in a failure. While the HAL on Sunday said workers decided to go ahead with the "indefinite strike" despite it making "all out efforts" to avert it, an apex body of the employees unions said the management 'refused' to consider their "fair and reasonable demands". The employees unions of the city-headquartered HAL have served notice at all locations of the Defence PSU to go on the indefinite strike from October 14 with regard to settlement of wage revision effective from January 1, 2017. The HAL in a release said it held conciliatory talks on Saturday and Sunday in a bid to avert the strike and offered to enhance allowance under the cafeteria system and revised rate of fitment benefit at 11 per cent among others.
8. Sourav Ganguly emerges frontrunner for BCCI president
Monday is the last day to file nominations for BCCI elections, but no election will be held since all candidates have emerged unopposed after weeks of lobbying and hectic parleys. In a sudden reversal of events, Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president and former team India captain Sourav Ganguly has emerged the frontrunner for the post of the BCCI president. According to multiple reports, quoting official BCCI sources, Ganguly became the consensus candidate after stiff resistance from multiple quarters against Brijesh Patel—assumed to have the strong backing of Tamil Nadu's N. Srinivasan. "Yes, Brijesh was running for the president's post with Srinivasan actively lobbying for him. However, there was stiff resistance against him. We are happy Sourav is the new president," a senior official from a northeast-affiliated unit, told PTI.
9. Rushdie, Atwood in running for 2019 Booker prize to be announced today
The winner of the storied Booker Prize will be announced today, with Mumbai-born Salman Rushdie's tragicomic novel Quichotte in the shortlist. This year, he is shortlisted alongside another former winner, Margaret Atwood, besides Lucy Ellmann, Bernardine Evaristo, Chigozie Obioma, and Elif Shafak. "Like all great literature, these books teem with life, with a profound and celebratory humanity," said Peter Florence, founder and director of the Hay Festival and Chair of the Booker Prize judging panel this year. The shortlist was selected from 151 submitted books published in the UK or Ireland between October 2018 and September 2019.
10. India beat South Africa by an innings and 137 runs in second Test, clinch series
The Indian juggernaut continued to roll as the hosts humiliated South Africa by an innings and 137 runs in the second Test to clinch the three-match series, in Pune on Sunday. The struggling South Africa batsmen surrendered yet again against the Indian bowlers, who asserted their supremacy at home. The comprehensive victory, coming on the fourth day, has consolidated India's top position in the World Test Championship table. India now have 200 points in their kitty, a handsome 140 points away from nearest-rival New Zealand. Competing in his 50th Test as captain, Virat Kohli has now led India to their 11th consecutive series at home, a world record.
