Top news of the day: BJP wins Haryana, NC-Congress win J&K; AI pioneers John J. Hopfield, Geoffrey E. Hinton win Physics Nobel, and more

The major news headlines of the day and more.

J&K Assembly election results: NC-Congress combine win polls, Farooq Abdullah says Omar Abdullah to be made CM

The results for all 90 Assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir were declared on Tuesday (October 8, 2024) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) won 42 seats in Jammu and Kashmir while its alliance partner Congress won six seats. Omar Abdullah will be the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, his father and NC president Farooq Abdullah announced.

Haryana Assembly election results: BJP wins absolute majority

The BJP won 48 out of the 90 Assembly seats in Haryana, its third consecutive victory in the State. The Congress was trailing with 36 seats, as of 7.10 p.m. with one more seat to be declared, according to data from the Election Commission of India.

Haryana Assembly elections: Congress says results ‘not acceptable’, raises serious questions about integrity of democratic process

Alleging a conspiracy, the Congress on Tuesday (October 8, 2024) said it would not accept the Haryana Assembly poll result as it raises “serious questions” about the integrity of the instruments of the democratic system. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Haryana result is a victory of manipulations, and subverting the will of people. He also alleged that it is a defeat of the transparent and democratic processes.

Won’t be business as usual, need to identify those responsible for Haryana result, says Kumari Selja

A blame game began in the Congress on Tuesday (October 8, 2024) after it failed in its bid to come back to power in Haryana after 10 years, with senior party leader Kumari Selja saying the party high command should assess all reasons that led to the disappointing result and identify the people responsible. The BJP was poised to form the government for a third straight time, bucking anti-incumbency and overcoming the setback in Lok Sabha polls when its tally dropped from 10 in 2019 to five seats.

J&K Assembly election results: Mehbooba Mufti says Centre should let J&K govt function without interference

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday (October 8, 2024) said the Centre should take a lesson from the decisive verdict of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls and “not meddle” in the affairs of the upcoming National Conference-Congress government. She congratulated the National Conference leadership on its victory and said her party would play the role of a constructive opposition.

Nobel Prize in Physics 2024: John J. Hopfield, Geoffrey E. Hinton awarded for work on machine learning with artificial neural network

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton “for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks”, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Tuesday (October 8, 2024). This year’s two Nobel Laureates in Physics have used tools from physics to develop methods that are the foundation of today’s powerful machine learning, the Academy’s media statement said.

50 senior doctors of RG Kar hospital resign in solidarity with junior doctors on fast

Around 50 senior doctors of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on Tuesday (October 8, 2024) tendered their resignations in a mark of solidarity with junior doctors who have been on fast-unto-death demanding justice for the deceased woman doctor, sources in the health facility said. The decision to resign en masse was taken at a meeting of the heads of the departments of the State-run hospital on Tuesday (October 8, 2024) morning, they said.

Upper stage of historic PSLV-37 mission re-enters Earth’s atmosphere eight years after launch: ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) informed that the upper stage of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C-37 (PSLV C-37 mission) re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere on October 6. The PSLV-C37 mission was launched on February 15, 2017 with Cartosat-2D as the main payload along with another 103 satellites as co-passengers, namely INS-1A, INS- 1B, Al-Farabi 1, BGUSAT, DIDO-2, Nayif 1, PEASS, 88 Flock-3p satellites, and 8 Lemur-2 satellites. The space agency created history as it was the first mission to launch 104 satellites with a single vehicle.

India slipped on academic freedom index over the past decade: report

Over the past 10 years, India has plummeted on the academic freedom index ranks, according to the “Free to Think 2024” annual report published by the Scholars at Risk (SAR) Academic Freedom Monitoring Project. SAR is a network of 665 universities across the globe, including Columbia University, Duke University, and New York University. The report has looked extensively at India, Afghanistan, China, Colombia, Germany, Hong Kong, Iran, Israel, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Russia, Turkiye, Sudan, Ukraine, the U.K. and the U.S., while documenting 391 attacks on higher education communities in 51 countries between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.

Illegal to advertise Ayurveda, Siddha drugs claiming ‘miraculous’ effects: Ayush Ministry

The Union Ayush Ministry on Tuesday (October 08, 2024) said it was illegal to advertise Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, and Homeopathy drugs claiming “miraculous or supernatural effects” for the treatment of diseases, stating such advertisements can “mislead and endanger” public health. In a public notice, the Ministry clarified it neither certifies or approves any Ayurvedic, Siddha, Unani and Homeopathic (ASU&H) company or its medicine nor grants license to manufacture for sale to any ASU&H manufacturer or company.

PM Modi to visit Laos on October 10 to attend ASEAN-India, East Asia summits

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Laos on October 10 and 11 during which he will attend the 21st ASEAN-India Summit and the 19th East Asia Summit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday (October 8, 2024). Laos is the current chair of ASEAN. On the invitation of his Laos counterpart Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister Modi will visit Vientiane on October 10-11, the MEA said in a statement.

Will support any CM face declared by Congress, NCP (SP) to ‘save’ Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday (October 8, 2024) said he will support any Chief Ministerial candidate announced by allies Congress or NCP (SP) to “save” Maharashtra. Addressing an event, the former Chief Minister also accused the Maharashtra government of setting fake narratives in the State through advertisements, ahead of the Assembly polls which are likely to be held next month.

Bihar performing well in basic indicators: NITI Aayog CEO

Bihar is performing well in basic indicators like education and health, and it is likely to catch up with the rest of the country in a couple of years, NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam said. Addressing a press conference in Gaya where a national conference on data-driven governance will begin on Tuesday (October 8, 2024), he said a number of aspirational blocks and districts of Bihar will become “inspirational” soon due to improved governance and service delivery.

Death toll rises to 17 in flood-hit Meghalaya’s North Garo Hills

The bodies of two children were recovered from a pit in flood-hit Meghalaya’s North Garo Hills district on Monday (October 7, 2024), taking the death toll in the State to 17. Officials said the two children – aged 8 and 3 – fell into a pit that was not visible in an area partially filled with floodwaters. The children were from the district’s Bate Apal-Bangsi Apal village. Heavy rainfall hit the Garo Hills region of western Meghalaya on October 4, triggering flash floods and landslides. A series of local-level disasters claimed the lives of 15 people until the recovery of bodies of the two children.

Man accused of sexually assaulting minor acquitted in Odisha

In a rare outcome, a man accused of raping a minor under the promise of marriage has been acquitted by a special POCSO (Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act of 2012) court in Puri, which ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support a conviction due to a lack of corroborating testimony. The case pertains to a police complaint of a 16-year-old girl who alleged that the accused had forcibly taken her by his motorcycle and forcibly established a sexual relationship in a secluded place on October 6, 2016. It was alleged that some photographs of the act were taken on cell phones.

Israeli military says it killed senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut strike

The Israeli military said Tuesday (October 8, 2024) it had killed a senior Hezbollah commander in a strike on Beirut, a day after the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attack was marked by mourning and demonstrations around the globe. The military said the strike killed Suhail Husseini, who it said was responsible for overseeing the logistics, budget and management of the militant group. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.

Bangladesh’s Yunus says no elections before reforms

Bangladesh’s interim leader has refused to give a time frame for elections following the ouster of his predecessor, saying in an interview published Tuesday (October 8, 2024) that reforms are needed before polls. Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was appointed the country’s “chief advisor” after the student-led uprising that toppled ex-premier Sheikh Hasina in August. The 84-year-old microfinance pioneer is helming a temporary administration, to tackle what he has called the “extremely tough” challenge of restoring democratic institutions.

Ola Electric slapped with show cause notice for alleged consumer right violation; stock declines over 6%

The Central Consumer Protection Authority has slapped a Show Cause Notice on Ola Electric Mobility Ltd for alleged violation of consumer rights, misleading advertisement and unfair trade practices, Ola Electric Mobility said. “We wish to inform you that the company has received Show Cause Notice from the Central Consumer Protection Authority,” the company informed the stock exchanges.

India’s T20 side eye another big win; Bangladesh hope for turnaround

An India so dominant that Bangladesh is admittedly clueless about how to match the “skills and mentality” of Suryakumar Yadav’s men. The script is not expected to deviate much when the two sides clash in the second T20 International here on Wednesday with the home team’s young mavericks proving more than a handful for the full-strength visitors. Bangladesh have hardly looked like the plucky opponents that they are hyped to be but India has looked every bit the marauding force that loves to intimidate on home turf.

Published - October 08, 2024 07:27 pm IST