News Dabba for 29 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 the controversy over The Kashmir Files in IFFI, election campaigning at its peak in Gujarat, to increasing Cholera cases in Haiti.

Campaigning at its peak in Gujarat, The Hindu report

With Gujarat set to face the first round of polling on December 1, the State is home to some intensified campaigning, playing host to top leaders, The Hindu reports. The report analyses the final stages of campaign in the city as the state is set to go to phase 1 of the polls on December 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have been campaigning aggressively in the state. The report adds that campaigning for the first phase of the election will end on Tuesday evening. As many as 89 seats of Saurashtra and South Gujarat region will go for voting in the first phase. Read the full report here.

TeleSUR reports an increase in Cholera cases in Haiti

TeleSUR reports that the health authority in Haiti has said that since October 2, 1,003 confirmed cases of cholera have been reported in the country. There are 11,889 suspected cases. The disease has killed 223 people in the country, according to the Haitian Ministry of Health and Population (MSPP). The report adds that 4 099 children under nine years old have symptoms, of which 252 are under one-year-old. The Director of UNICEF's Office of Emergency Programs, Manuel Fontaine, recently warned that Haitian children are at triple risk in a country currently hit by malnutrition, cholera and armed violence. Read the full report here.

Union Govt Returns 20 Files on Appointment of HC Judges to SC Collegium, The Wire reports

The government has asked the Supreme Court Collegium to reconsider 20 files related to the appointment of high court judges. The Wire report states that it includes that of advocate Saurabh Kirpal who has candidly spoken about his identity as a gay person. The government reportedly expressed “strong reservations” about the recommended names as it sent back the files to the collegium on November 25. The Supreme Court on Monday expressed anguish over the delay by the Centre in clearing the names recommended by the collegium for appointment as judges in the higher judiciary. Read the full report here.

Russia hits out as Pope labels minority ethnic soldiers 'cruel', BBC

Russia has hit out at comments from the Pope that some minority groups of soldiers have behaved worse than others in the invasion of Ukraine. BBC reports that Pope Francis told a US magazine that the "cruellest" troops are generally Chechens and Buryats. He also labelled the Holodomor famine caused by the Kremlin in Ukraine in the 1930s genocide. Russia called the remarks a "perversion", and said national groups were "one family", the report adds. Read the full report here.

NDTV's report on the 'The Kashmir Files' at IFFI controversy

The comments of Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid heading the Indian Film Festival jury, calling 'The Kashmir Files' "vulgar and propaganda", have sparked a big row. NDTV has covered the controversy in detail in its report, which adds that the festival jury has said its chief Nadav Lapid's remarks are "completely his personal opinion". Lapid yesterday said the jury was "disturbed and shocked" at the screening of the film at the festival. 'The Kashmir Files' by Vivek Agnihotri, which is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley at the height of militancy in the 90s, was promoted by BJP leaders and was a commercial success. But it had faced allegations of fanning communal sentiments. While some have praised Lapid for "calling out propaganda", others have accused him of being insensitive towards the suffering of Kashmiri Pandits. Read the full report here.