News Dabba for 20 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 RG Kar doctor rape case update, day two of Gaza truce, to Delhi's 'very poor' AQI.

Indian Express on RG Kar doctor rape case: Convict  Roy sentenced to life imprisonment

The Sealdah court today awarded life sentence to Sanjoy Roy, the convict in the rape and murder case of doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Indian Express reports. The court also ordered Roy to pay Rs 50,000 as fine and directed the state of West Bengal to pay Rs 1,700,000 as compensation — Rs 1,000,000 for death and Rs 700, 000 for rape on duty — to the victim’s family. During Monday’s hearing, the report says, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) strongly advocated for the death penalty, citing Supreme Court guidelines on capital punishment. Roy was convicted of rape and murder by a special court on Saturday, nearly six months after his arrest. Read the full report here.

Al Jazeera: Palestinians search Gaza’s rubble for the dead as truce enters Day 2

As the ceasefire in Gaza entered day 2, celebrations in the occupied West Bank continued as 90 Palestinian prisoners are freed from Israeli jails as part of a ceasefire deal in Gaza. Palestinians in Gaza are returning to their ruined homes and awaiting the delivery of much-needed food and medical assistance after Israeli forces finally ended their 15-month-long bombardment of the besieged territory. The first of a promised 600 aid trucks that will enter Gaza each day arrives as part of the first phase of the ceasefire, the report adds. According to an analysis by US-based researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek and Corey Scher, at least 60 percent of all buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed. Read the full report here.

Hindustan Times on Delhi’s ‘very poor’ AQI as minimum temperature rises to 11.4°C

Hindustan Times reports that Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘very poor’ category even as the minimum temperature rose across the city. Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 342 at 9am, which was down from 368 at 4pm on Sunday. Delhi’s minimum temperature meanwhile rose to 11.4°C, which was four degrees above normal. It was 9.2°C a day earlier, the report says. Read the full report here.

TikTok restores service in US, thanking Trump: The Straits Times

TikTok restored service in the United States on Sunday after briefly going dark, The Straits Times reports, as a law banning the wildly popular app on national security grounds came into effect. The report says that TikTok credited US President-elect Donald Trump, who retakes power on January 20, for making the reversal possible – though the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden had earlier said that it would not enforce any ban. The video-sharing app had shut down in the US late on January 18 as a deadline for its Chinese owners ByteDance to sell its US subsidiary to non-Chinese buyers loomed. Read the full report here.

The Wire on disappearance of a historical structure from Delhi

A decrepit 17th century domed structure – known as a ‘chhatri’ – that had long fallen off the map of Union government and state archaeology departments has been pushed off entirely from the records, the latest in a long list of structures disappearing from the capital’s map, The Wire reports. Situated at Lothian Road, Kashmere Gate, adjacent to the old St Stephens’ College building, the structure was housed in a sprawling complex with trees over a 100 years old. Locals claim it could have been a temple, the report adds. The structure was demolished recently and has been replaced by a commercial building. Read the full report here.