News Dabba for 24 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 Nepal plane crash, the Opposition's walkout from Rajya Sabha over budget, to the floods in the Philippines.

Opposition walks out from RS over ‘discriminatory’ Budget, Indian Express

A day after she presented the Union Budget 2024-2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday sparred with Opposition leaders, The Indian Express reports. The Opposition leaders alleged that the financial document ignored all states except for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh — a charge she termed as “outrageous”, as per the report. As the Rajya Sabha proceedings began for the day, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said the INDIA bloc parties “condemned” the Budget which ignored other states, apart from Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, which are ruled by the BJP’s allies, the JD(DU) and the TDP. Protesting against it, the report adds, the Opposition staged a walkout but returned to the House within minutes as Sitharaman was responding to Kharge’s charge. Read the full report here. 

NDTV on Nepal plane crash: Pilot lone survivor

NDTV reports that the bodies of 18 out of the 19 people on board a Kathmandu flight were recovered after the plane crashed at a Nepal airport on Wednesday. The passengers, comprising two crew and 17 of Saurya Airlines staff, were on board the Pokhara-bound plane when it caught on fire around 11 am. As per the report, the flight was being conducted for either technical or maintenance purposes. The pilot of the aircraft has been taken to a hospital. The plane burst into flames after it skidded off the runway as it began to take off, the report adds. Read the full report here.

Dozens arrested in Uganda anti-government protests, BBC reports

Dozens of people have been detained in the Ugandan capital Kampala after joining scattered anti-corruption protests in defiance of an official ban, BBC reports. Lawyers said around 60 people, including a prominent TV presenter and three young protest leaders, were hurriedly brought before courts and remanded in custody following a march on the country's parliament on Tuesday. The report adds that President Yoweri Museven, who has ruled Uganda for almost four decades, had warned before the event that protesters were "playing with fire". The march was organised on social media amid anger over long-running allegations of corruption involving several high-profile public officials. Read the full report here.

Rahul Gandhi meets farmer leaders in Parliament, Hindustan Times

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday met a farmers’ delegation to discuss the long-pending issue of legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP), Hindustan Times reports, a day after the announcement of the Union Budget 2024-25. A delegation of farmer leaders from two organisations – the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (NP) and the Kisan Majdoor Morcha (KMM) – met Gandhi in Parliament. A legal guarantee for MSP of crops has been a key demand by many farmers who agitated against three farm laws during the second term of the Narendra Modi government, the report mentions. Read the full report here.

The Straits Times: Typhoon Gaemi sinks huge swathes of Philippine capital

Heavy rain set off by Typhoon Gaemi caused flooding in large swathes of the Philippines’ sprawling capital, The Straits Times reports, sinking streets, homes, schools and hospitals in up to chest-deep flood waters and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate to temporary shelters. Images posted on social media and local media reports showed floods blanketing main roads, city streets and small alleys across Metro Manila and in the surrounding suburbs. Metro Manila spans 16 cities that are home to some 13 million people. The report says some rivers and creeks were reported to have already burst their banks. Read the full report here.