News Dabba for 25 March 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 Bengaluru residents fined for misusing potable water, UNSC new vote on ceasefire draft, to four Moscow attack accusec charged by Russia.

NDTV on ex-Intel Bureau Chief named accused no 1 in Telangana phone-tapping row

Former Telangana Intelligence Bureau chief T Prabhakhar Rao has been named as Accused No 1 in the phone-tapping case that has roiled the state ahead of a general election. NDTV reports that  Rao - on whose order reams of electronic data gathered by illegally tapping the phones of opposition leaders during the earlier BRS government led by K Chandrashekar Rao - is reportedly in the United States. A look-out notice has been issued in his name. Rao's home in Hyderabad have been searched, as have nearly a dozen other locations, including the residence of Shravan Rao, who runs a Telugu TV channel called I News. Read the full report here.

22 Bengaluru residents fined for misusing potable water: Indian Express

For the first time since it announced a ban on the use of potable water in the city for purposes other than drinking, Indian Express reports that the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) imposed fines totalling Rs 1.1 lakh on 22 citizens within three days for violating the curb for activities like car washing amid the water supply crisis in the city. In the second week of March, the BWSSB banned the use of water in the city for cleaning vehicles, gardening, building construction, running fountains, entertainment purposes, for use other than as drinking water in cinema halls and malls and for road construction and cleanliness. A BWSSB officer said the restrictions were enforced last Friday, the report adds. Till Sunday, 22 cases of violations were found and fines were collected on the spot after issuing receipts. The majority of violations were found in the southeast division of Bengaluru where fines totalling Rs 65,000 were levied. Read the full report here.

Russian court charges four Moscow attack men with act of terrorism, BBC reports

BBC reports that Russia has charged four men it says attacked a Moscow concert hall and killed at least 137 people. All four appeared to have been beaten and one was brought to court in a wheelchair. They were charged with committing an act of terrorism, the report adds. The Islamic State group, or IS, said it carried out Friday's outrage at Crocus City Hall and posted video evidence. Russian officials have claimed, without evidence, Ukrainian involvement. Kyiv says the claim is "absurd". Read the full report here.

Over 10,000 teachers, 26 lakh students left in lurch with UP Madrasa Act struck down, The Wire

The Wire reported that the Allahabad high court has declared the Uttar Pradesh Madrasa Act, 2004 – through which madrasas are governed in the state – as unconstitutional, ruling that it violates the principle of secularism. The possibility of madrasas closing down following the court’s judgment, the report adds, has left around 10,000 madrasa teachers and over 26 lakh madrasa students with an uncertain future, said those affected by the verdict. The court directed the Adityanath-led state government to take “steps forthwith” for accommodating the large number of madrasa students in regular state-run schools at the primary, secondary and intermediate levels. Read the full report here.

UNSC to vote on new Gaza ceasefire draft as Israel besieges three hospitals

The Israeli military has besieged three hospitals in Gaza, with medical teams under heavy gunfire, Al Jazeera reports, as a divided United Nations Security Council is set to vote on a new draft resolution calling for an “immediate” ceasefire in the enclave. The resolution does not link a pause in hostilities to the release of Israeli captives being held in Gaza, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a news conference in Amman, Jordan, on Monday. This was one of the reasons why the previous draft was vetoed, the report mentions. Russia and China on Friday vetoed a text proposed by the United States, criticising it as “exceedingly politicised” and saying it did not clearly state opposition to Israel’s long-threatened ground operation in Rafah. Read the full report here.