News Dabba 18 July: 5 stories across the web for a balanced news diet

Anushka Vani brings you the daily updates that the internet is talking about through various news websites. Here's a glance through some of the National and International news updates, from Presidential poll live updates, a shooting in a mall in Indiana, US, a State of Emergency declared in Sri Lanka, revisions in GST for food and commodities, to UK witnessing the hottest day amid heatwave.

Presidential polls 2022: Live update by Indian Express

Indian Express covers live updates for the Presidential elections 2022. The report states that the election is underway at the Parliament House and the State Legislative assemblies. According to the report, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former PM Manmohan Singh, along with chief ministers from across the country and other Members of the Parliament (MPs) and Members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) gathered to cast their votes. The report also shared an insight into the attendance with around 4,800 MPs and MLAs who will cast their votes till 5 pm on Monday to elect the 15th President of India. Additionally, the report has also mentioned that the counting of the votes will take place on July 21 while the next President will take oath on July 25. Read the full report on IE.

The Washington Post reports a shooting incident at Indiana Mall

The Washington Post reported that a gunman shot and killed three people and injured two others in a mall in Indiana in the US on Sunday evening. The gunman was shot dead by a spectator, as mentioned by the officials. The gunman is said to have acted alone in the act. The victims include one male and four females, it is not yet specified who among these victims were injured or are dead. The two injured victims have been hospitalised. As of now no known motive behind the act has been mentioned. Read the full report on WP.

Sri Lanka puts emergency in place ahead of parliament’s vote for new president, Reuters

Sri Lanka’s acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe, ordered a state of emergency in the country as the parliament would vote to elect the new president later this week, reports Reuters. Last week, after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country to escape a popular uprising against his government, Wickremesinghe had announced a state of emergency. But it had not been officially notified as it has been now in the current state, says the report. Read the full report on Reuters.

Commodities in packs of over 25 Kg won’t attract GST, reports The Hindustan Times

The government has clarified that commodities and food items such as pulses, cereals, rice, wheat, flour in a single package containing a quantity of more than 25 Kg or 25 litres will not fall in the category of “pre-packed and labelled commodity” for the purposes of Good and Service Tax (GST) and will not attract the tax, reports Hindustan Times. For instance, the supply of packaged flour 25 Kg meant for retail sale to the consumer shall be liable to a 5 percent GST, but the supply of such product in a 30 kg pack shall not attract GST, as mentioned by the Union Finance Ministry. Read the full report on HT.

UK witnesses’ hottest day on record with 41C forecast, reports BBC

UK could have its hottest day on record this week with temperatures forecast to hit up to 41 degrees Celsius (C), reports BBC. The Met Office has issued a red extreme heat warning on Monday and Tuesday in much of England, from London and the South-east up to York and Manchester. Additionally, the report stated that the UK had recorded the highest temperature of 38.7C in Cambridge in 2019. As per the report, London is set to be one of the hottest places across the UK with yellow warnings in the rest of England, all of Wales and parts of Scotland. Read the full report on BBC.