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Jimmy Lai: Pro-democracy media tycoon arrested and charged The illegal assembly charge relates to a banned anti-government march on 31 August, which Mr Lai is accused of attending. The intimidation charge relates to a clash with a journalist in 2017. The newspaper Mr Lai founded, Apple Daily, is frequently critical of Hong Kong and Chinese leadership. Two other pro-democracy figures, politicians Lee Cheuk-yan and Yeung Sum, were also arrested on Friday. They have also been charged with one count of illegal assembly in relation to the same protest. Source: BBC

Mahatma Gandhi’s spirit needed more than ever: UN chief Guterres on Delhi violence xpressing sadness over the violence in Delhi, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that Mahatma Gandhi’s spirit is needed more than ever as it is essential to create conditions for a true community reconciliation. Mr. Guterres has expressed sadness over the casualties following the protests in Delhi, and called for maximum restraint and for violence to be avoided, the UN chief’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Thursday. Source: The Hindu

Putin reveals plan to use body double to make public appearances for him Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday revealed there was a secret plan to use a double to make public appearances for him, while insisting he vetoed it — and that he is the real Putin. Putin’s comments showed that a conspiracy theory widespread on the internet that the Russian strongman has been impersonated over the years or even replaced by a lookalike is not entirely without basis. TASS state news agency showed Putin a list of popular Russian-language Internet searches including “Putin double proof”. Source: Hindustan Times

Raghuram Rajan says fight the virus first, worry about stimulus later The best economic tonic for the coronavirus shock is to contain its spread and worry about stimulus later, said Raghuram Rajan, former head of RBI. There’s little central banks can do, and while more government spending would help, the priority should be on convincing companies and households that the virus is under control, he said. “People want to have a sense that there is a limit to the spread of this virus perhaps because of containment measures or because there is hope that some kind of viral solution can...

36 Rafale aircraft will not be adequate for IAF: Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria NEW DELHI: The 36 Rafale fighter aircraft will not provide the Indian Air Force a complete solution and there is a need to develop indigenous weapons and technology which will be a major “gamechanger” in the future, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said on Friday. Bhadauria, while speaking at a seminar “Air Power in ‘No War No Peace’ Scenario”, explained that the induction of the Rafales armed with Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Meteor missiles, will give the IAF an edge over the Pakistan Air...

Amit Shah says opposition misleading, instigating people over CAA Home minister Amit Shah says opposition parties are lying on the Citizenship Amendment Act when they claim it will take away citizenship of the minorities in India during a public rally in Odisha on Friday. Shah’s attack on the opposition over the CAA comes amid a rising death toll in the three-day long communal violence in Delhi and a petition in court putting the focus on the role played by hate speeches delivered by politicians in the run up to the riots. “I want to tell the people of the country...

Please don’t preach us ‘rajdharma’: BJP hits back at Sonia Gandhi Hitting back at Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for reminding the Centre of its “rajdharma”, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Friday said she should not lecture the government when her own party’s decisions are questionable. He alleged that the communal violence in northeast Delhi was the result of Opposition’s “instigation”. “Sonia Gandhi, please don’t preach us rajdharma; your record is full of twists and turns,” the BJP leader said while speaking at a press conference in Delhi. Source: The Indian Express

S N Shrivastava appointed Delhi Police Commissioner, replaces Amulya Patnaik NEW DELHI : Senior IPS officer S N Shrivastava will be the next Delhi police commissioner, officials said on Friday. Incumbent Amulya Patnaik demits office on Saturday. Shrivastava’s name has been finalised for the next Delhi police commissioner, a Union Home Ministry official said, adding that he would take charge from Patnaik. SN Shrivastava was appointed as Special CP of the Delhi Police on Tuesday. Shrivastava was serving as the DG (Training) in Central Reserve Police Force. Source: Livemint

Maldives gets Amal Clooney to fight for Rohingyas at UN court The luxury tourist destination of the Maldives has hired prominent human rights lawyer Amal Clooney to represent it at the UN’s highest court in seeking justice for Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslims. The Maldivian government said Wednesday it will formally join the mainly Muslim African state of The Gambia in challenging Myanmar’s 2017 military crackdown that sent around 740,000 Rohingya fleeing into neighbouring Bangladesh. Source: Hindustan Times

Reddit CEO: TikTok is ‘fundamentally parasitic’ TikTok is one of the hottest social media platforms but the CEO of Reddit had some harsh words for the popular app, calling it “fundamentally parasitic” at an event Wednesday. The comments from Reddit  CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman were some of the more controversial offered up during a panel discussion with former public policy exec Elliot Schrage and former Facebook VP of Product Sam Lessin. During a brief conversation about the feature innovations of TikTok, Huffman pushed back hard on the notion that Silicon Valley startups had something to learn from the app. Source: Techcrunch