News Dabba for 3 January 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 ruling on State responsibility in hurtful statements of Ministers, Beijing critisising on Covid entry restrictions on Chinese travellers, to Ukrainian rocket strike killing 63 Russians.

The Hindu: Supreme Court rules State not vicariously liable for hurtful statements of Ministers

A Constitution Bench on January 3 held that the government cannot be held vicariously liable for the hurtful statements made by individual Ministers. The Hindu's coverage on the proceedings reported that Justice V. Ramasubramanian, speaking for himself, Justices S. Abdul Nazeer, BR Gavai, A.S. Bopanna, held that there was no need to impose “greater restrictions” on the free speech and expression of high public functionaries. The restrictions under Article 19(2) of the Constitution in free speech was exhaustive. Justice B.V. Nagarathna, in a separate opinion, highlighted that though there was an inalienable right to free speech, indiscriminate statements hurt ordinary citizens, including women. Read the full report here.

Beijing hits out on Covid entry restrictions on Chinese travellers worldwide, NDTV reports

NDTV reports that China on Tuesday condemned fresh Covid test requirements by around a dozen countries on passengers travelling abroad from its territory, warning it could take "countermeasures" in response. The United States, Canada, France and Japan are among a number of countries that now require travellers from China to show a negative Covid test before arrival, as the country faces a surge in cases. "Some countries have taken entry restrictions targeting only Chinese travellers," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular briefing, as per the report. China is seeing a steep rise in infections after years of harsh zero-Covid restrictions were abruptly loosened last month. Read the full report here.

BBC's report on far-right Israeli minister's visit flashpoint site in Jerusalem

Palestinians have condemned a visit to a contested holy site in Jerusalem by a far-right Israeli minister as an "unprecedented provocation", BBC reports. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has called for a harder line towards the Palestinians, walked around the site surrounded by police. The report adds Ben-Gvir's visit was his first public act since the government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was sworn in five days ago. Tensions have risen with the advent of Israel's new nationalistic government. Read the full report here.

UIDAI allows updating address in Aadhaar online with consent from head of family

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has now allowed residents to update addresses in Aadhaar online with the consent of their head of family, an official statement said on Tuesday, as reported by Hindustan Times. The new process can be initiated after submitting proof of relationship documents like a ration card, mark sheet, marriage certificate, passport etc, mentioning the name of both the applicant and head of family (HOF) and the relationship between them. The process requires OTP-based authentication by the HOF. The report says Residents can visit the 'My Aadhaar' portal for updating addresses online. Read the full report here.

Moscow says Ukrainian rocket strike kills 63 Russian troops, Arab News

Ukrainian forces fired rockets at a facility in the eastern Donetsk region where Russian soldiers were stationed, killing 63 of them, Russia’s defense ministry said Monday, in one of the deadliest attacks on the Kremlin’s forces since the war began more than 10 months ago. As per a report by Arab News, Ukrainian forces fired six rockets from a HIMARS launch system and two of them were shot down, a defense ministry statement said. It did not say when the strike happened. The strike, it says, delivered a new setback for Russia which in recent months has reeled from a Ukrainian counteroffensive. It was made using a US-supplied precision weapon that has proven critical in enabling Ukrainian forces to hit key targets. Read the full report here.