News Dabba for 07 September 2023: Five stories for a balanced news diet

Indie Journal 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 India dropping tariff hikes on some US goods, Japan's 'moon sniper' launch, to a Myanmar journalist jailed for covering Cyclone Mocha.

Gabon’s military says ex-president Ali Bongo ‘free’ to travel abroad, Al Jazeera

Gabon’s former president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, has been released from house arrest and is free to leave the country for medical treatment, the military has said, as per an Al Jazeera report The military removed him from power last month. Bongo, who had been held under house arrest since a military coup on August 30, was toppled from power shortly after he was declared the winner of much-criticised elections. The report says that the statement announcing Bongo’s release from house arrest was signed by General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, who was sworn in as Gabon’s new head of state on Monday. Read the full report here.

India drops tariff hikes on US almonds, apples, walnuts and lentils, The Hindu reports

India has dropped the retaliatory customs tariffs it had imposed on imports of some American goods like almonds, apples, walnuts and lentils, effective September 6, 2023. The Hindu reports that this comes two days before US President Joe Biden arrives in New Delhi for a bilateral meeting as well as the G-20 Summit. India had raised import duties on 28 American products in June 2019, after the United States had hiked its customs duties on certain steel and aluminium products, the report mentions. Read the full report here.

Reuters: Japan launches 'moon sniper' lunar lander SLIM into space

Japan launched a lunar exploration spacecraft on Thursday aboard a homegrown H-IIA rocket, Reuters reports. It hopes to become the world's fifth country to land on the moon early next year, the report says. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said the rocket took off from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan as planned and successfully released the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM). Dubbed the "moon sniper", Japan aims to land SLIM within 100 metres of its target site on the lunar surface, the report mentions. Read the full report here.

False tsunami alert triggers panic in Goa's Porvorim: Hindustan Times report

A siren giving a warning about tsunami erroneously started playing from the Early Warning Dissemination System at Porvorim near here, triggering panic among the local residents. Hindustan Times reports that he siren started sounding the alert after 9 pm on Wednesday and it continued for more than 20 minutes. The Early Warning Dissemination System (EWDS) is installed on a hillock at Porvorim in North Goa on the outskirts of state capital Panaji. The report says  state WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar said he has sought a report from his office. Read the full report here.

Myanmar journalist jailed for 20 years for cyclone coverage: The Guardian

A Myanmar court has sentenced a photojournalist to 20 years in prison with hard labour over his coverage of the aftermath of a deadly cyclone, The Guardian reports according to Myanmar Now. The journalist Sai Zaw Thaike worked for the organisation. The sentence given to Sai Zaw Thaike, a photographer for the independent online news service, appeared to be the most severe for any journalist detained since the military coup. The news outlet said Sai Zaw Thaike was arrested on 23 May in Rakhine’s capital of Sittwe while recording the damage caused by Cyclone Mocha. Read the full report here.