News Dabba for 23 July 2024: 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 the Union Budget 2024, updates on the US elections, to Nitish Kumar's response on Bihar special status snub.

Hindustan Times on Nitish Kumar's response on Bihar special status snub

After the Narendra Modi government decided to rule against the demands to give special status to Bihar, chief minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar issued a cryptic response. "You will get to know all things slowly, and slowly (sab kuchh dhire dhire jaan jaaiyega)," the longest-serving CM of the state said, as per the Hindustan Times. In the Lok Sabha election 2024, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to get majority on its own and became heavily dependent on its allies to form the government. Read the full report here.

BBC reports, Kamala Harris wins enough support to clinch Democratic nomination

Vice-President Kamala Harris has secured the support of a majority of Democratic delegates to become the party's nominee for president, BBC reports. A survey by the Associated Press on Monday evening said she had received the endorsement of more than the 1,976 delegates needed to win the nomination in the first round of voting. The report says that it will become official when party delegates hold a roll call vote ahead of next month's Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago. No-one has publicly stepped forward to challenge Harris, the report adds, since President Joe Biden left the race on Sunday. Read the full report here.

Rupee slips to record low after government raises tax on capital gains, NDTV reports

NDTV reporte that the Indian rupee, teetering at an all-time low, slipped further against the US dollar on Tuesday. The decline was pressured by the drop in local equities after the government in the Budget proposed raising the tax rate on capital gains. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the government plans to raise capital gains exemption limit on certain financial assets to ₹ 1.25 lakh per year for middle and upper middle class, the report mentions. The rupee declined to 83.69 to the dollar, inching past the previous lifetime low of 83.6775, and compared with 83.6275 before the budget announcement. Read the full report here.

Marcos bans Philippine online casinos linked to scams and crime, The Straits Times

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has banned offshore casinos operating in the Philippines, The Straits Times reports, condemning the controversial online industry for its “grave abuse” of the country’s laws. Marcos, in his State of the Nation address, gave the national gaming regulator until the end of 2024 to shut down the Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) which cater to overseas gamblers, including Chinese nationals, and have been linked to criminal activities. Pogos, primarily run by Chinese nationals, started flourishing in 2016 during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s term and have been the subject of multiple congressional hearings under the current Marcos administration. Read the full report here.

India Today's updates on Union Budget 2024

Employment creation, youth skilling and the middle class were the focus of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, India Today reports, as she presented her seventh consecutive Budget and the first of the third term of the NDA government. In her Budget speech, spanning 1 hour 40 minutes, Sitharaman also announced relief for taxpayers who have opted for the new tax regime, hiking the standard deduction from Rs 50,000-Rs 75,000. The markets crashed immediately after the Budget announcement, the report adds. The government has announced a series of measures for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Read the full report here.