News Dabba for 12 July 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 Yamuna nearing all-time record level in Delhi, Centre's plans to check tomato prices, to protests in Kenya over tax hikes.

Centre plans to procure Tomato from Andhra, Maharashtra, Karnataka: NDTV

The central government on Wednesday announced steps to check tomato prices in the country, NDTV reports. As per the report, the Department of Consumer Affairs has asked National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation and National Cooperative Consumers Federation to procure tomatoes from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. They are then to be distributed in areas that have recorded the biggest jump in tomato rates. New crop arrivals are expected soon from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh arrivals are also expected to start. Read the full report here.

Yamuna nears all-time record level in Delhi, The Hindu reports

The Yamuna river in Delhi swelled to 207.25 metres on Wednesday. As per a report by The Hindu, government agencies said that it was flowing precariously close to the all-time record level of 207.49 metres reached in 1978. According to the Central Water Commission's (CWC) flood-monitoring portal, the water level at the Old Railway Bridge crossed the 207-metre mark at 4 am, the first time since 2013. Delhi recorded a rapid increase in the Yamuna water level over the last three days, the report adds. People living in low-lying areas have been shifted to safer places at higher altitudes. Read the full report here.

China promises ‘robust response’ to any NATO expansion in Asia, Al Jazeera

Beijing has reacted angrily to a NATO communique portraying China as a major challenge to the group’s interests and security, Al Jazeera reports. In a strongly worded communique issued halfway through their two-day summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, NATO leaders said the People’s Republic of China challenged the alliance’s interests, security and values with its “stated ambitions and coercive policies”. The NATO declaration also said China and Russia were involved in a “deepening strategic partnership”. The report adds that Chinese mission to the European Union condemned the comments. It accused NATO of distorting China’s position and deliberately trying to discredit the country. Read the full report here.

Hindustan Times: PM Modi to visit France and UAE from July 13 to July 15

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from July 13-15, Hindustan Times reports, to take forward cooperation with both countries in areas ranging from defence and security to energy. Modi will visit France at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron from July 13-14. He will be the guest of honour at the Bastille Day Parade on July 14. The report an invitation to be the chief guest at the military parade is considered a signal honour and the last foreign leader to be invited as a dignitary to the occasion was former US president Donald Trump in 2017. Macron and Modi will hold formal talks. Read the full report here.

Reuters: Kenyan police deploy in capital ahead of expected protests over tax hikes

Police deployed heavily in Kenya's capital Nairobi on Wednesday ahead of expected countrywide protests. Reuters reports that protests have been called for by the main opposition leader against a raft of tax hikes. At least two people were killed last Friday during a first round of demonstrations against the taxes, which are contained in a finance bill signed into law by President William Ruto last month. The report adds that Kenya's High Court ordered that implementation of the legislation be suspended pending a legal challenge. But the government has raised petrol prices anyway. Read the full report here.