News Dabba for 24 August 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 BRICS inviting six countries to be new members, the Himachal Pradesh building collapse, to world wrestling body suspending WFI membership.

BRICS invites six countries to be new members, Reuters reports

The BRICS group of nations has decided to invite six countries - Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - to become new members of the bloc, Reuters reported as per South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's statement on Thursday. The debate over expanding the BRICS bloc has topped the agenda at a three-day summit in Johannesburg ending on Thursday. The bloc comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The report adds while all BRICS members have publicly expressed support for growing the bloc, there were divisions among the leaders over how much and how quickly. Read the full report here.

Indian Express: 8 ‘unsafe’ multi-storeyed buildings collapse in Kullu landslide

Eight multistoreyed buildings known as ‘ Bhawans’ collapsed like a pack of cards Thursday morning in Kullu district following rain-triggered landslides in Himachal Pradesh. Indian Express reports no casualties as per preliminary reports. It adds that these “unsafe” buildings, which were largely commercial spaces, had been vacated last week. The Kullu district administration had declared the buildings unsafe and given notices to the occupants to vacate the building last month. Read the full report here.

Al Jazeera on anger as Fukushima water released into Pacific

Japan has started releasing treated radioactive water from the devastated Fukushima nuclear power plant, prompting China to announce a ban on all aquatic products from Japan. Al Jazeera reports that the entire discharge process is expected to take as long as 40 years and has been mired in controversy. More than one million metric tonnes of the treated water, used to cool the wrecked reactors after the 2011 tsunami, is stored in some 1,000 tanks around the site. The report says that its removal is a key part of decommissioning the still highly dangerous facility. Japan says all radioactive elements have been filtered out except tritium, which is hard to remove from water. Shortly after the release started, China, which has lodged a formal complaint over the plan, again accused Japan of being “extremely selfish”. Read the full report here.

World wrestling body suspends membership of WFI, Hindustan Times

United World Wrestling (UWW), the world governing body for wrestling, on Thursday suspended the membership of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). Hindustan Times reports this was for its “failure to hold its elections on time”. The decision acts as a massive setback for sports in the country. Following its suspension, the India wrestlers will have to compete as ‘neutral athletes’ at the Olympic-qualifying World Championships starting September 16, the report adds. The WFI has been embroiled in controversy for the last few months. Read the full report here.

Parliament panel meets to examine bills seeking to replace existing criminal laws: The Hindu

The Hindu reports that a parliamentary panel met in New Delhi on Thursday to examine the bills that seek to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the Evidence Act. Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla is scheduled to make a presentation on the three bills. The existing bills have been proposed to be replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill. The standing committee has to submit its report in three months, in time for the government to table the updated bills in the next session of Parliament, the report adds," Read the full report here.