News Dabba for 1 May 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 air strikes in Khartoum, Supreme Court's huge decision on divorce, to India banning 14 apps.

NDTV on Supreme Court's order on 6-month waiting period for divorce

The Supreme Court today held that it can dissolve marriages on the ground of "irretrievable breakdown of marriage" invoking powers under Article 142, NDTV reports. It further held that the mandatory waiting period of six months for divorce through mutual consent can be done away with, subject to conditions. The bench has also laid out how to balance out equities, specifically with regard to maintenance, alimony, and the rights of the children, the report adds. Read the full report here.

Air strikes hit Khartoum despite truce, BBC reports

BBC reported that air strikes have pounded Sudan's capital, Khartoum, despite a truce aimed at allowing civilians to flee. The army said it was attacking the city to flush out its paramilitary rivals, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The report says fighting intensified even as the warring sides said they would extend the truce by another three days. More than 500 deaths have been reported. Read the full report here.

Hindustan Times: Centre blocks 14 mobile messenger apps

The Centre on Monday banned 14 mobile messenger services because they were being used by terrorists to communicate in Jammu and Kashmir and with their handlers in Pakistan. Hindustan Times reports that The ministry of electronics and information technology (MEITY), the governing authority, issued an order under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act blocking access to the 14 mobile apps. They were blocked on the grounds that they were being used to engage in activities “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”. As per the report, a government official said the applications were also being used by overground workers of terrorist groups based in J&K. Read the full report here.

Al Jazeera reports dozens of flights cancelled at Manila airport after power outage

Dozens of flights have been cancelled at the Philippines’s biggest international airport following an unexplained power outage. About 40 domestic Cebu Pacific flights were cancelled on Monday following the power cut at Manila airport’s Terminal 3, Al Jazeera reports. Manila Electric Company said it was looking into the cause of the power outage. The report said it disrupted the travel plans of many Filipinos trying to return home after the three-day Labor Day weekend. Read the full report here.

Climate change could derail India’s plans to grow oil Palm domestically, The Wire

India’s ambitious drive to expand domestic palm oil production fails to consider the subcontinent’s changing climate, an analytic report by The Wire said. It’s an oversight which may derail the country’s plans to become self-sufficient in the oil, the analysis adds. 2021, India is the world’s biggest buyer of palm oil, mostly from Indonesia and Malaysia. The country plans to increase its cultivation of Palm trees. As climate change alters weather and water patterns across the globe, the report adds that it will become difficult for researchers to identify suitable ecosystems for increasing cultivation. Read the full report here.