News Dabba for 09 January 2025: 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 updates on LA wildfires, Tirupati stampede, to Omar Abdullah's statement on AAP-Congress clashes in Delhi.

Farmer, who attempted suicide at Shambhu border, dies at Patiala hospital: Hindustan Times

Hindustan Times reports that a 55-year-old farmer protesting at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana allegedly died by suicide. It is the second such incident at the protest site within three weeks. According to the report, the farmer, who hailed from Pahuwind in Punjab's Tarn Taran district, took the extreme step at the Shambhu border point where the farmers have been protesting for almost a year now. The farmer was reportedly upset with the Centre for not resolving the issues despite the protests, it adds. Read the full report here.

The Hindu on Tirupati stampede: Andhra government announces ex-gratia of ₹25 lakh

The state Government has announced an ex-gratia Rs 25 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased in the stampede witnessed in the centres meant to distribute tokens for Vaikunta Ekadasi darshan, The Hindu reports. The kin of the deceased and the relatives of those undergoing treatment were seen sobbing inconsolably at the hospital premises, the report says. A pall of gloom descended over SVIMS super specialty hospital and SVR Ruia Government General Hospital campuses in Tirupati over the death of six devotees in a stampede for tokens late on Wednesday, just two days ahead of the auspicious ‘Vaikunta Ekadasi’. Read the full report here.

China discovers cluster of new mpox strain, The Straits Times

The Chinese health authorities said they had detected the new mutated mpox strain clade Ib, The Straits Times reports, as the viral infection spreads to more countries after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global public health emergency in 2023. China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said it had found a cluster outbreak of the Ib subclade that started with the infection a foreigner who has a history of travel and residence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The report mentions that four further cases have been found in people infected after close contact with the foreigner. Read the full report here.

NDTV on Omar Abdullah's statement on AAP-Congress Delhi fight

There is no clarity about INDIA alliance's leadership or agenda and the Opposition bloc must be dissolved if it was just formed for the Parliament election last year, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said today. NDTV reports that the National Conference leader was responding to a question on Delhi Assembly polls, which is witnessing a three-cornered fight between the AAP, BJP and the Congress. Interestingly, the AAP and the Congress tied up for the Lok Sabha election months back. Over the past few weeks, leaders of the AAP and Congress have been targeting each other in their campaign for the capital contest, the report adds. Read the full report here.

Hollywood Hills evacuated as LA fire spreads, BBC reports

BBC reports that a mandatory evacuation order has been issued in the Hollywood Hills following the spread of the wildfires raging across Los Angeles.  The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) said there was an "immediate threat to life" in the area and that it was being legally closed to the public. At least five fires are currently active across Los Angeles, with five people confirmed to have been killed. The report says that more than 1,30,000 people have already had to evacuate, and the homes of a number of celebrities - including Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal - have been destroyed. The first fire began on Tuesday in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, near Malibu, with others subsequently breaking out across the north of the city. Read the full report here.