News Dabba for 9 December 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 Day 3 of Parliament's Winter Session, Mexico considers asylum for Pedro Castillo, to Bombay HC allows felling of 22,000 mangrove trees.

BBC reports Mexico considers asylum for Peru's impeached president

Mexico says it is considering granting asylum to Peru's former President Pedro Castillo, who was impeached and then accused of rebellion on Wednesday, BBC reports. Castillo, 53, is now in custody in Lima. The report says his asylum request has been sent to Mexico's president via a lawyer. Castillo was removed from office after he tried to dissolve Congress facing an impeachment vote. But Congress defied him, the report adds, voted overwhelmingly to remove him from office, and his bodyguards stopped him from seeking refuge at the Mexican embassy in the capital Lima. Just hours later, Congress swore in his vice-president, 60-year-old Dina Boluarte, as the new president. Read the full report here.

The Hindu's live updates on Day 3 of the Winter session of Parliament

The government, on Friday, introduced in the Lok Sabha four Bills that seek to modify the Scheduled Tribes list in the four States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The Hindu reports that today, the Lower House is scheduled to take up the Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to move to pass the Bill to amend the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002. In the first half, Congress attacked the Centre over demonetisation, while the Aam Aadmi Party questioned the rice price rise. The post-lunch session is set to be hectic as both Houses are scheduled to consider over 40 private members’ bills. Read the full report here.

Twitter had ‘secret blacklists’ to limit users, journalist claims: Al Jazeera report

Twitter created “secret” blacklists to limit the visibility of “disfavored tweets” and certain right-leaning accounts, independent journalist Bari Weiss has claimed. Al Jazeera report says she cited an investigation based on internal company documents for the same. Weiss, who runs The Free Press, said on Friday the social media platform’s previous management restricted the reach of particular accounts with what it called a “Trends Blacklist” and “Search Blacklist” as well as a “Do Not Amplify” tag. Twitter has in the past publicly acknowledged limiting the reach of certain accounts – leaving them visible to followers but limiting their visibility in conversations and search results. It has however, the report says, received criticism for not notifying affected users or being transparent about its decisions. Read the full report here.

1 killed as fire rages through shopping mall in Moscow suburbs, The Straits Times

Fire engulfed one of the largest shopping malls near Moscow early on Friday, emergency services said. The Straits Times reported that one person was killed after the collapse of part of the structure, which complicated firefighters’ efforts to douse the flames. The conflagration spread over an area of about 7,000 sq m in the Mega shopping centre in Khimki about 7km from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said it was looking into the cause of the fire. Read the full report here.

Bombay HC allows felling of 22,000 mangrove trees for bullet train project 

The Bombay High Court Friday allowed the plea of National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) for the felling of 21,997 mangrove trees in Mumbai, Palghar and Thane. The Indian Express reports that permission has been given for clearing the route for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project “in public interest” subject to various conditions. The court asked NHSRCL to abide by its undertaking that it will strictly comply with all terms and conditions set out in the approvals of the projects and its assurances to the court. It refused a request by the NGO Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG), an intervenor, to stay the operation of its order, the report adds. Read the full report here.