News Dabba for 26 September 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 the Supreme Court's tough talk on judges' appointments, the Bengaluru bandh, to Moody's concerns about Aadhaar.

Supreme Court's tough talk on judges' appointments, NDTV reports

NDTV reports the Supreme Court today questioned why the centre has not sent recommendations of high courts to the Collegium yet. The report says this  could turn into another face-off between the Executive and Judiciary over judges' appointments. Hearing petitions alleging delay by the centre in clearing names, a bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia said they are closely monitoring the matter. "Eighty names from high court have been pending for a period of 10 months. There is only a basic process that takes place. Your view has to be known so that the collegium can take a call," said Justice Kaul, addressing the centre, as per the report. The bench said the transfer of 26 judges and the appointment of a Chief Justice in a "sensitive high court" is pending. Read the full report here.

1,000 detained in Bengaluru amid bandh: India Today

At least 1,000 people were detained by the Bengaluru Police on Tuesday amid the bandh called by 'Karnataka Jala Samrakshana Samiti', an umbrella outfit of farmers’ associations and other organisations to protest against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu by Karnataka. India Today reports that Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said that prohibitory orders under Section 144 are in place across the city and we have detained around 1,000 people across various police stations. According to existing restrictions and court orders, there is no permission for any bandh or procession in the city, Dayananda said. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have been locked over the issue of sharing the water of the Cauvery river for decades. Read the full report here.

At least 20 killed in Nagorno-Karabakh fuel depot blast, Al Jazeera

At least 20 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in a fuel depot explosion in Nagorno-Karabakh, Al Jazeera reports, amid an exodus of ethnic Armenians from the region following a lightning military offensive by Azerbaijan. The region’s health department said 13 bodies were found and seven people had died of their wounds after the blast outside the regional capital of Stepanakert – called Khankendi by Azerbaijan – late on Monday. The report said 290 people had been hospitalised and “dozens of patients remain in critical condition”. The warehouse was used to give out fuel to those who wanted to leave the region by their cars. Read the full report here.

Reuters reports, lawyer who called for Thai monarchy reforms sentenced to 4 years

An activist and lawyer made famous for his open calls for reform of Thailand's powerful monarchy was on Tuesday sentenced to four years in prison for royal insults, a judge said. Reuters reports that this was one of the country's most high profile lese-majeste cases. Human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa is widely known for his taboo-breaking speech during pro-democracy protests in 2020 during which he called for public debate on the role of Thailand's king. Arnon denies wrongdoing, the report adds. Thailand's lese-majeste law shields the palace from criticism and carries a maximum jail sentence of 15 years for each perceived insult of the monarchy, it mentions. Read the full report here.

Hindustan Times explainer piece: What are Moody's concerns about Aadhaar?

Moody's Investors Service, a global rating agency, recently expressed concerns about security and privacy vulnerabilities in biometric technologies, specifically mentioning the Aadhaar programme in India. The Hindustan Times reports that Centre, however, strongly rejected the report, stating that it raises concerns "without citing any evidence or basis." The report explains what are the agency's concerns about AADHAR, expressed in the research note titled 'Decentralised digital identity has rich potential but wider adoption faces obstacles'. Read the full report here.