News Dabba for 30 August 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 S Jaishankar's strong words on Pakistan, Mamata Banerjee's 2nd letter to PM on rape-murder, to Israel's assault on occupied West Bank.

Hindustan Times on S Jaishankar's strong words on Pakistan

Hindustan Times reports that External affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday candidly addressed India's relationship with its neighbor Pakistan. During the launch of ambassador Rajiv Sikri's book, "Strategic Conundrums: Reshaping India's Foreign Policy," S Jaishankar declared that the time for continuous dialogue with Pakistan has come to an end. Jaishankar also said that there are strong people-to-people ties with Afghanistan. Read the full report here.

Israel presses on with assault on occupied West Bank for third day, Al Jazeera

Israel’s largest military assault in two decades in the occupied West Bank has entered its third day, Al Jazeera reports, with the army, accompanied by bulldozers, leaving a trail of destruction after firing live ammunition and tear gas. In the early hours of Friday, witnesses said three people were killed after Israeli forces attacked a car in the village of Zababdeh, south of Jenin. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Israeli forces prevented ambulances from reaching the scene of the attack, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. Read the full report here.

Mamata Banerjee's 2nd letter to PM on rape-murder, India Today

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote a second letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India Today reports, expressing concern over the lack of response to her earlier appeal for stronger legislation on crimes against women in the wake of a trainee doctor's rape and murder in Kolkata. In her latest letter, a copy of which she posted on her X (earlier Twitter) handle, Banerjee accused the central government of not taking her concerns seriously. "No reply was received from your end on such a sensitive issue," she wrote. Acknowledging the reply she received from the Minister of Women and Child Development, the Trinamool Congress supremo said it "barely attends the gravity of the issue raised in my letter". Read the full report here.

X braced for Brazil ban as judge's deadline passes, BBC reports

X, formerly known as Twitter, has said it expects to be blocked in Brazil after failing to meet a deadline to name a new legal representative for the company, BBC reports. The social media network closed its office in the country earlier this month, saying its representative had been threatened with arrest if she did not comply with orders it described as "censorship". The months-long row began with Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes in April ordering the suspension of dozens of X accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation. Read the full report here.

NDTV on crocodiles in Vadodara after floods

Not just floods, Vadodara is also fighting crocodiles that have entered residential areas after the Vishwamitri river, which flows through the city, swelled following heavy rain in Gujarat. NDTV reports that several crocodiles, measuring 10 to 15 feet, have been spotted on the roads, parks, outside residences and on the premises of a university after a swollen Vishwamitri river flooded several areas of the city. A reptile was even spotted on the roof of one of the flooded houses, the report says. An official on Thursday said they had rescued 10 crocodiles in the last five days. Read the full report here.