The Hindu Morning Digest: August 21, 2024

A banner hung by junior doctors at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in protest against the alleged sexual assault and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at the hospital, in Kolkata.
| Photo Credit: PTI

R.G. Kar hostels deserted; mob violence has instilled fear in us, say MBBS students

On a day the Supreme Court ordered deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital here, where a doctor was raped and murdered on August 9, the college’s hostels bore a deserted look with woman students and doctors having left the premises after the midnight violence on August 15.

Health Ministry announces series of measures to provide additional security to healthcare employees at workplace

Despite orders by the Union Health Ministry directing its institutes to put in place additional measures to provide security to healthcare employees at workplace, resident doctors from several parts of the country on Tuesday (August 20, 2024) maintained that they will continue with suspension of services from all elective areas including OPD, elective OT, ward services and lab services on Wednesday.

Centre says Meghalaya polio case is vaccine-derived

A case of vaccine-derived polio has been confirmed in a two-year-old child from Tikrikilla in Meghalaya. A senior official from the Union Health Ministry official emphasised on Tuesday (August 20, 2024) that this is not a case of wild polio, but an infection that presents in some people with low immunity.

West Bengal govt. to engage retired police, Army officers to guard healthcare facilities

With the Supreme Court directing the deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to provide security to the doctors at R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, the West Bengal government on Tuesday (August 20, 2024) issued an order to engage retired police and Army officers as security officials in State-run health facilities.

Mallikarjun Kharge terms Modi government ‘minority’, calls BJP ‘poisonous’

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge launched a trenchant attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government stating that the current dispensation is a ‘minority’ government that heavily relies on the support of allies, particularly Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP and his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar’s JD(U).

Chandrayaan 4 and 5 design complete; 70 satellites likely to be launched in 5 years: ISRO chief

ISRO chairman S Somanath said the space agency has completed the design for the next round of moon missions — Chandrayaan 4 and 5 — and is in the process of seeking government approval for the same.

Ravneet Singh Bittu from Rajasthan, Kiran Choudhary from Haryana among nine BJP nominees for Rajya Sabha bypolls

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced nine candidates for bypolls to the Rajya Sabha, to be held on September 3, fielding Union Ministers Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurian from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, respectively, and former Congress leader Kiran Choudhary from Haryana.

In Sri Lanka, two candidates promise to abolish executive presidency

Ahead of Sri Lanka’s September 21 presidential election, two leading aspirants have promised to abolish the executive presidency, reviving a familiar pre-poll pledge that many political leaders have made in the past, but none has kept.

India, Japan hold ‘2+2’ dialogue with focus on Indo-Pacific

The India-Japan partnership is set against a larger context of a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific and it will continue to grow, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Tuesday as the two sides held a fresh edition of “2+2” dialogue amid China’s increasing military muscle-flexing in the region.

Blinken visits Egypt, Qatar in pursuit of Gaza ceasefire deal but Hamas and Israel signal challenges

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar as he pressed ahead on Tuesday with the latest diplomatic mission to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, even as Hamas and Israel signaled that challenges remain.

ICC moves Women’s T20 World Cup from strife-hit Bangladesh to UAE

The ICC moved the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup from Bangladesh to the UAE, saying it “wasn’t feasible” to conduct the event there after governments of a number of participating countries advised against travelling to the unrest-hit nation