News Dabba 21 June: 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 troubling emails revealing that US is alarmed over the China-Solomon pact, the MVA government on shaky grounds in Maharashtra, Indian pregnant women denied employment, study on farmers' death from 2000-2018, to Francia Marquez becoming Colombia’s first Black Vice President.

NDTV coverage of the political turmoil in Maharashtra

NDTV reports that the Maharashtra coalition drama played out at a five-star hotel in Gujarat's Surat this evening, hours after Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde checked in along with 21 other MLAs. The Uddhav Thackeray-led coalition has been threatened. Shinde reportedly took off from Mumbai late last night after being reprimanded by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray over the Legislative Council election.  Shiv Sena lost a seat to the BJP yesterday allegedly because of cross-voting. Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra which is an alliance of Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress is in the middle of a crisis with at least one-and-a-half dozen Shiv Sena MLA’s indicating that they are unhappy with the government and having to shift to a luxury hotel in Gujrat’s Surat district. Read the full report on NDTV.

Emails reveal US alarmed over China-Solomons pact, reports Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera talks about the bilateral security cooperation agreement between China and Soloman Islands that was signed in April. According to the report, the officials at the US foreign aid agency reacted with alarm to news of a controversial security pact, by describing the agreement to be ‘very troubling’ and ‘unfortunate’ as stated in the newly revealed internal emails. Additionally, these emails obtained by Al Jazeera show how officials at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) struggled to respond to reports earlier this year that Beijing was seeking to reinforce security ties with the Pacific Island nation. Read the full report on Al Jazeera.

The Swaddle reports that many banks in India are denying work to pregnant women

The Swaddle’s report says that the Indian Banks' hiring guidelines are refusing to hire pregnant women who have crossed the 12-week-mark of their pregnancy. They say that the candidate is “temporarily unfit until the confinement is over” and these women can re-enter their jobs only after they produce a fitness certificate validated by a medical practitioner. As per the report, the State Bank of India also declared that pregnant women are temporarily unfit and offered the option of employment only four months after the delivery. The report mentions that while some banks and companies continue to exercise these biases in their hiring guidelines, others simply continue to exercise a pervasive bias against pregnant women rather unofficially. Read the full report on The Swaddle.

88 percent of over 9,000 Punjab farmers who died by Suicide in 18 years were debt-ridden, The Wire

The Wire in today’s report analyses the Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) study that examined deaths by suicide among farmers between 2000 and 2018 in six districts. It states that about 9,291 farmers died by suicide between the years 2000 and 2018. About 88 percent of these deaths incurred against loans from non-institutional sources, while the marginalised and small farmers were the main victims. These were the farmers who owned fewer than two hectares of the land, as mentioned in the report. The report of the field study also reveals that around 93 percent of the affected households were those where one death by suicide had occurred. Read the full report on The Wire.

Gulf News reports Francia Marquez becomes Colombia’s first Black Vice President

Gulf News reports that Gustavo Petro becomes the first leftist elected president of Colombia and his running mate Francia Marquez likewise made history as she becomes the first Black Colombian and second woman to ascend to the vice presidency. The report has also mentioned that this is a momentous occasion not just for a woman who had to deal with racism, classism, and even an assassination attempt, but also for an entire community that has been politically marginalised in Colombia. Read the full report on Gulf News.