News Dabba for 14 October 2022: 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 EC declaring the schedule for the Himachal Pradesh elections, to Bombay HC acquitting GN Saibaba.

EC declares schedule for Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, the Hindu live updates

The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls on Friday. The Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election will be held in a single phase on November 2. The counting will take place on December 8. While Gujarat elections are also due this year, the EC did not declare dates for the same. The report adds, when asked why the schedule for Gujarat elections was not announced on Friday, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said there are factors like the weather in Himachal and reducing the long election period. Read the full report here.

Japan set to scrap remarriage restrictions on pregnant women

Japanese cabinet ministers on Friday approved the scrapping of a law that stipulates women pregnant at the time of a divorce must wait 100 days before marrying again. The Straits Times reported that the law does not apply to men and was originally intended as a way to aid the identification of the father who is financially responsible for a newborn baby. Critics have campaigned for a withdrawal of the 1896 law which had banned remarriage for six months until being revised in 2016. The report adds that the change will also remove a rule that grants parents the right to "discipline children to whatever necessary extent". Read the full report here.

Live Law: Varanasi Court rejects Hindu worshippers' plea for scientific probe into 'Shiva Linga'

A district court in Varanasi Friday rejected the Hindu worshippers’ plea seeking a ‘scientific investigation’ of ‘Shivling’ claimed to be found on the Gyanvapi mosque premises, Live Law reported. The report refers to this as a significant order. The court rejected the plea in view of the Supreme Court’s May 17 order to protect the site where the ‘Shivling’ was reportedly found while conducting a survey in the mosque. The Hindu worshippers had sought a scientific investigation to determine the age of the structure in question, which they claim to be a 'shivling', while the Muslim side has maintained that it is a fountain. Read the full report here.

Nigeria university strike ends after eight months, BBC

Lecturers in Nigeria say they will go back to work on Monday after a strike that closed most of the country's universities for eight months. BBC reports that the strike left hundreds of thousands of students angry and frustrated. The strike which began in February was the 9th in 13 years - the latest in a decades-long saga with the government about funding tertiary education in the country and this key question remains unresolved. The students have been saying that the strike wasted eight months of their lives. Read the full report here.

Bombay HC acquits Saibaba, others in ‘Maoist Link’ case, the Wire reports

Former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba and five others were acquitted in the Maoist links case by the Bombay high court, the Live Law reported. The court has allowed their appeal against conviction and life sentence. The former university professor and the others were convicted in March 2017 and are lodged at the Nagpur Central Jail. The report adds that after acquitting the six people, the high court said that due process of law cannot be sacrificed at the altar of “perceived peril to national security”. The bench directed the convicts to be released forthwith from jail unless they are accused in any other case. Read the full report here.