Breaking News LIVE: Cabinet approves CGST Act to implement 28% GST on online gaming

Latest news today (August 9): Presenting FE’s Breaking News today. We will keep you updated on all major news, views and much more throughout the day.

Cabinet clears changes to GST laws to levy 28% GST on online gaming, casinos, horse race clubs

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved changes to GST laws to levy a 28 per cent tax on the full face value of bets in online gaming, casinos and horse race clubs, sources said. The amendments to the Central GST (CGST) and Integrated GST (IGST) acts, which were approved by the GST Council last week, are likely to be introduced in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, which will end on August 11. (PTI)

Punjab govt to revamp 40 hospitals: Health Minister Balbir Singh

Punjab will upgrade 40 government hospitals that include 19 district hospitals, six sub-division hospitals and 15 community health centres (CHCs) as per the official reports. The Health Minister said in a meeting, “All the formalities and preparations have been completed to execute this work and the Punjab government will accomplish this work in this year.”

Lebanon moves to ban ‘Barbie’ film for ‘promoting homosexuality’

The cultural minister of Lebanon Mohammad Mortada announced a ban to the film ‘Barbie’ for “promoting homosexuality” and contradicting religious values.

Rape accused must be protected against possibility of false implication: SC

While rape causes the greatest distress and humiliation to a victim, a false allegation can cause equal distress, humiliation and damage to the accused and he must be protected against such implication, the Supreme Court has said. A bench of justices B R Gavai and J B Pardiwala said when an accused approaches court for quashing FIR on the ground that such proceedings are manifestly frivolous or vexatious, then in such circumstances the court owes a duty to look into the FIR with care and a little more closely. (PTI)

Former Karnataka chairperson dies of heart attack

The Former Karnataka chairperson and a prominent personality in banking world, P Jayaram Bhat died in a hospital at the age of 72 due to cardiac arrest, according to a family member. He collapsed at the airport while returning home from Mumbai after attending a meeting.

Parliament passes Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill 2023

The Rajya Sabha cleared the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill through a voice vote in the house which amends the rules of fishing communities as it decriminalizes offences committed in carrying out coastal aquaculture activities and other required changes. The Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala, present in Rajya Sabha, said that he believes the amendments will bring ‘blue revolution’ in the country under the Modi government.

Roadside bombing in southern Syria kills a journalist and 3 Syrian soldiers

A bombing in Syria’s Shiyah, in the southern province of Daraa, cost the lives of 4 people, including 1 journalist of a local news agency, SAMA and 3 soldiers posted on the site. The report is issued by the same news agency.

Nagaland has lowest recorded crime: CM Rio

The Chief Minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio, announced in an inauguration event of 16 CCTV in the state that it has the record of least crimes, especially crime against women. “The installation of the CCTVs will make transparent happening in the police stations. “It will be a deterrent for the police and also civilians as they will be watched. The installation of the CCTVs will make the police personnel alert and strengthen their relationship with the general people,” the Chief Minister said.

Domestic electronic manufacturing rises to Rs 8.25 lakh cr

Indigenous production of electronic goods in the country more than doubled to Rs 8.25 lakh crore in 2022-23 from Rs 3.88 lakh crore in 2017-18, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said that semiconductors worth Rs 1,29,703 crore were imported in 2022-23. (PTI)

No confidence motion debate

Union Home Minister Amit Shah slammed at the Opposition during the no-trust debate in the Lok Sabha today. Shah said that the no trust vote is a ‘diversion’ tactic and people of this country have full faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (LIVE COVERAGE)

ICSI CSEET Result 2023

Days after the CA Foundation results, another competitive exam scores have been announced. The Institute of Company Secretaries of India has declared the results of CS Executive Entrance Test, commonly known as CSEET. Latest reports say that the results are now LIVE on icsi.edu. Candidates need to use details such as date of birth and application number to check their results

Asian Champion Trophy 2023: Ind vs Pak match today

A very in-form India will take on Pakistan in the Asian Champion Trophy’s final group match today. The match will take place at Chennai’s Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, news agency ANI said. At present, India is at the top of the points table, whereas Pakistan is at number 4.

Earthquake in Mexico

An earthquake of magnitude 5.8 struck near Chiapas in Mexico on Wednesday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said. The Governor of Chiapas state Rutilio Escandón said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the state’s civil protection body had activated the monitoring protocol as the earthquake was felt in several regions, although no damage was reported so far. (Reuters)

Sony’s quarterly numbers

Japan’s Sony logged a hefty drop in first-quarter profit, hurt in part by a weaker performance from its movie division but the entertainment giant remained hopeful about prospects for a record year for its PlayStation 5 console. Operating profit slid 31% to 253 billion yen ($1.8 billion) in April-June, in line with estimates and also pulled down by lacklustre results from its financial business which had benefited from a property sale in the same period a year earlier. (Reuters)

India succeeds in reducing emissions rate

India’s greenhouse emissions rate dropped by a faster-than-expected 33% in 14 years as renewable energy generation rose and forest cover increased, reported Reuters. The report’s findings showed India well on the way to meeting a commitment to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to reduce emissions intensity by 45% from the 2005 level by 2030.

Rahul Gandhi’s fiery speech in Parliament

Rahul Gandhi delivered a speech in Lok Sabha during a debate on the Opposition’s no-confidence motion. Rahul accused the BJP-led administration of delaying to deploy the Army in Manipur because it does not want to quell the unrest in the state. (READ MORE)

Chandrayaan-3 moves closer to moon

Chandrayaan-3 has moved closer to the moon. According to a tweet by the Indian Space Research Organisation, the orbit of India’s Chandrayaan-3 has been reduced to 174 km x 1437 km with the successful manoeuvre today. (READ MORE)

41 migrants die in shipwreck in Italy

Forty-one migrants have died in a shipwreck off the Italian island of Lampedusa. Four people who survived the disaster said that they were on a boat that had set off from Sfax in Tunisia and sank on its way to Italy.

Christian, Dalit groups observe state-wide bandh in Punjab in protest of Manipur violence

A number of Christian and Dalit bodies held demonstrations at several places across Punjab as part of the state-wide ‘Punjab bandh’ to protest against the ethnic violence in Manipur

Fire in France

Eleven people were missing after a fire broke out in a holiday cottage in eastern France, local authorities said on Wednesday. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said there were likely several casualties after the fire ravaged the cottage, which was hosting a group of disabled people. (Reuters)

Nagasaki marks 78th anniversary of atomic bombing

Nagasaki marked the 78th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city with the mayor urging world powers to abolish nuclear weapons, saying nuclear deterrence also increases risks of nuclear war. Shiro Suzuki made the remark after the Group of Seven industrial powers adopted a separate document on nuclear disarmament in May that called for using nuclear weapons as deterrence.

Ex-Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya discharged from hospital

Former chief minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has been discharged from a hospital after 11 days of treatment. He was admitted to a private hospital on July 29 with lower respiratory tract infection and ‘Type 2’ respiratory failure.

Registration of electric vehicles restarted in Delhi

Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot has announced that the registration of electric vehicles has been restarted and shared that the subsidy benefits of the existing policy will continue till a new one is notified.

Pak Railways suspend six officials for negligence

Pakistan Railways has suspended six officials, including a divisional engineer and a works manager, for their alleged negligence that led to a major train accident in the country’s Sindh province that killed at least 34 people.

Govt ‘busts’ 8 YouTube channels for fake news

Government has busted eight YouTube channels for spreading fake news such as declaration of early Lok Sabha polls and banning electronic voting machines. Videos on these channels were fact-checked by the Press Information Bureau for spreading fake news, PTI reported.

ED attaches Delhi flat linked to NewsClick editor-in-chief, says report

The federal agency is looking into money laundering charges against NewsClick, the news portal. It is expected to file a charge sheet in the matter. According to persons acquainted with the situation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached a flat in New Delhi’s Saket linked to Prabir Purkayashta, editor-in-chief of NewsClick, in connection with its money laundering probe against the news portal. Purkayastha’s properties were raided by the federal agency in September 2021.

Typhoon Khanun pounds Japan

Flights were cancelled and trains halted on Wednesday as heavy rain from Typhoon Khanun pounded southern regions of Japan and South Korea, just as another storm approached from the east to threaten Tokyo ahead of Japan’s peak summer holiday season. Khanun could make landfall at the southeastern South Korean port city of Tongyeong on Thursday, before tracking up the Korean peninsula, authorities said. The storm is currently in the sea south of Kyushu, Japan’s southwestern main island some 860 km (530 miles) from Tokyo, after wreaking havoc in the southwestern Okinawa region. It is maintaining its strength and moving at an unusually slow 10 kph (6 mph), meaning the wind and rain will linger for longer. (Reuters)

Adani Enterprises weighs exiting $6 billion Wilmar venture

Adani Enterprises Ltd is exploring selling its stake in its Mumbai-listed consumer-staple joint venture with Wilmar International Ltd., freeing up capital for their core business, according to people familiar with the matter. The conglomerate has been considering a potential sale of its 44% stake in Adani Wilmar Ltd. for a few months, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is confidential. Adani’s shares are worth about $2.7 billion at the current share price, according to Bloomberg calculations.

China and Hong Kong stocks extended losses

China and Hong Kong stocks extended losses on Wednesday as data showed consumer prices fell into deflation in July, further undermining investor confidence. China’s blue-chip CSI 300 Index dipped 0.22%, and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.36%. (Reuters)

Rahul Gandhi to address public rally in Rajasthan

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address a public rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara district. This will be his first public meeting after the restoration of his Lok Sabha membership.

Minarets of Ahmadi community’s worship place demolished

The minarets of a worship place of the Ahmadi community, which is a minority in Pakistan, were demolished by radical Islamists in Punjab province of the neighboring country, PTI reported.

Mobile internet service suspension extends in Nuh

District authorities have ordered an extension of the mobile internet and SMS services suspension in the violence-hit areas of Nuh till August 11, stating that the conditions are “still critical and tense”. Meanwhile the curfew has been briefly relaxed today from 9 am to 1pm.

GST impact: MPL lays off about half of India team

Online sports platform Mobile Premier League has laid off around 350 people or about half of India team to cut down on expenses and bear the burden of increased GST of 28 per cent, reported PTI.

23-year-old IIT student found dead on campus, suicide note found

A 23-year-old Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) student from Odisha who was allegedly battling depression, died by suicide at the college campus in Telangana’s Sangareddy district, ANI reported. According to the police, the student was found hanging in her hostel room at the IIT campus and a suicide note was also found which cited depression as a possible reason behind her death.

Fire break out in ply board shop, Delhi

Fire broke-out in the early hours of the morning in a ply board shop in Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar market. Several fire tenders are present at the spot.

War in Ukraine would be among top topics at G20 summit: US

The ongoing war in Ukraine would be one of the top topics of discussion during the G-20 Summit in New Delhi next month, a senior official of the United States said to PTI.