News Dabba for 28 November 2022: 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 PhD scholar's srrest in Chennai after consensual inter-caste marriage, France ruling out facial recognition in Olympics, to anti-lockdown protests in China.

No facial recognition in 2024 Olympics and Paralympics in France, the Hindu

Facial recognition will not be used as a security measure during the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, France’s sports ministry said. The Hindu reported that Minister of Sport Amélie Oudéa-Castéra said that a bill dictating the game’s organisational plan explicitly excludes facial recognition technology from the event. The bill will formalise the pledge taken by public officials to ensure that biometric facial scans will not be a part of the events scheduled for 2024, the report added. Instead of biometrics, France will add video protection devices using intelligent anonymised algorithms to manage crowds. Read the full report here.

The Wire's report on PhD scholar's arrest in Chennai after consensual inter-caste marriage

The Chennai police on Saturday, November 26, arrested Dalit PhD scholar Guruswamy and held him in custody for over 24 hours on the basis of a ‘missing person’ complaint filed by Govindhan, his father-in-law. The Wire reported that On October 13, Guruswamy married 23-year-old Sudoroli, who belongs to the Reddiar caste, categorised as a Backward Class community, to which her father was opposed due to the fact that Guruswamy belonged to a Dalit community. As per reports, the couple has faced harassment ever since Sudoroli told her parents about the fact that she was in a relationship. While she maintains that she got married of her own free will, the report says that her father alleged and filed a complaint that she was missing and that the couple stole from him. Despite Surdoli's petition, Guruswamy was arrested and only released after agitation from anti-caste activists. Read the full report here.

The Straits Times: Shanghai tightens security after anti-lockdown protests

The Straits Times reported that Shanghai authorities put up barriers on Monday around a city centre area where hundreds of people protested over the weekend against heavy Covid-19 measures. Several demonstrations have flared across the country. The report describes that from the streets of Shanghai and Beijing to university campuses, protesters made a show of civil disobedience unprecedented since leader Xi Jinping assumed power a decade ago. On Monday, the Shanghai streets were blocked off with blue metal barriers, police in high-visibility vests patrolled in pairs, while police cars and motorbikes cruised by. Shops and cafes in the area were reportedly asked to close. Read the full report here.

Supreme Court disapproves of Law Minister Kiren Rijiju’s statement on Collegium, IE

Supreme Court judge Justice S K Kaul Monday expressed his strong disapproval of Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju’s comments over the Collegium system of the top court, The Indian Express reported. It asserted that the remarks should not have been made. Rijiju, in a summit by the news channel Times Now, had said, “Never say that the government is sitting on the files. Then don’t send the files to the government. You appoint yourself, you run the show then”. Kaul sharing a bench with Justice A S Oka, without naming the law minister, said, “Let them give the power. We have no difficulty," the report adds. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta urged the court not to go by media reports. Read the full report here.

BBC reports at least four dead in hotel siege in Somalia

BBC reports that Somali forces are battling to regain control of a hotel seized by militants in the centre of the capital, Mogadishu, on Sunday evening. At least four people have been killed and dozens more injured in the siege which has lasted more than 12 hours. Witnesses said as per the BBC report that they hearing multiple explosions and heavy gunfire coming from the popular Villa Rose hotel near the presidential palace. The al-Qaeda affiliated group al-Shabab has said it carried out the attack. Read the full report here.