Morning Digest | After dismal first round, ECI asks people to vote in large numbers in second phase in Gujarat; Court discharges Umar Khalid, Khalid Saifi in Delhi riots case, and more

A scene at a polling station on the eve of MCD polling at Civil Lines, in New Delhi on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

U.S., U.K. special envoys on Afghanistan to visit Delhi this week

Days after U.S. and EU representatives met with former Afghan leaders at an anti-Taliban conference in Dushanbe, two senior Western diplomats will travel to Delhi this week to meet and brief Indian officials on the latest steps in Afghanistan.

And three become one: Delhi keeps its date with municipal polls today

Over 1.45 crore electors will decide the fate of 1,349 candidates today as the Capital keeps its date with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections. The voting commences at 8 a.m. and closes at 5.30 p.m.

This will be the city’s first civic polls since the merger of the three erstwhile municipal corporations — North, South and East — in May, and after the total number of municipal wards were reduced to 250 from the previous total of 272.

PoK brides lose voting rights after bid to run in J&K polls

“If PoK is a part of India, what could be the possible problem with my citizenship?” asks Somiya Sadaf, who hails from PoK, but has lived in Kupwara since 2010. Her candidature was rejected and name deleted from electoral rolls.

Congress steering panel meet today to decide on plenary session date, venue

The first meeting of the Congress steering committee constituted by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge will be held on Sunday to decide the schedule and venue for its plenary session. The Congress steering committee was formed in place of the working committee, the highest decision-making body of the party, after Kharge took charge as the new chief last month.

After dismal first round, ECI asks people to vote in large numbers in second phase in Gujarat

In the wake of poor turnout in the first phase of Gujarat Assembly polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has appealed to the urban voters of Gujarat to come out in large numbers to vote in the second phase of polls to be held on December 5.

In the first phase of polling held on December 1, the turnout was 63.31%, which is lower than what was registered in 2017 when it polled 67.80% in 89 seats that went for voting in the first phase.

Gangster shot dead in front of house in Rajasthan’s Sikar: BJP targets Congress govt over killings, says no rule of law in Rajasthan

Notorious gangster Raje Theth was shot dead at the gate of his house on Piprali road in Sikar in broad daylight. Another man who had gone to meet his daughter studying in a coaching centre also died in the firing. The opposition BJP attacked the Congress government in Rajasthan over the double murder case in Sikar on Saturday, saying there is no rule of law in the state as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is focused only on saving his chair.

Elon Musk says ‘possible’ that Twitter gave preference to leftists during Brazil election

Twitter owner Elon Musk said on Saturday said he thought it was “possible” that personnel at the social media firm gave preference to left-wing candidates during Brazil’s election this year, without providing evidence.

2020 Delhi riots | Court discharges Umar Khalid, Khalid Saifi in stone pelting, arson incident

A court discharged former JNU student Umar Khalid and United Against Hate founder Khalid Saifi in a case related to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.

The FIR in the case was registered on the basis of the statement of Constable Sangram Singh who said a riotous mob had pelted stones on Main Karawal Nagar Road, besides setting ablaze several vehicles in a nearby parking lot on February 24, 2020. 

President Droupadi Murmu on two-day visit to Andhra Pradesh from December 4

President Droupadi Murmu will visit Andhra Pradesh from December 4 to 5, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a statement on Saturday. The President will attend a civic reception hosted in her honour by the Andhra Pradesh government at Vijayawada on Sunday, it said. On the same evening, she will witness the Indian Navy’s operational demonstration at Visakhapatnam on the occasion of Navy Day and virtually inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for projects of ministries of Defence, Road Transport and Highways, and Tribal Affairs.

Nadav Lapid gets support from fellow jury members on  The Kashmir Files row

In a statement published early on Saturday morning, jury member Jinko Gotoh, an Oscar-nominated BAFTA winner, and two fellow jurors Pascale Chavance and Javier Angulo Barturen, stated that the entire jury knew and agreed with what Mr. Lapid said. “We stand by his statement.”

FIFA World Cup 2022 | Netherlands eliminates U.S. out of World Cup

Denzel Dumfries scored the third goal after assisting on the first two and the Netherlands eliminated the U.S. men’s national team 3-1 in a Round of 16 knockout game at the World Cup in Al Rayyan, Qatar, on Saturday.

FIFA World Cup 2022 | Messi’s Argentina defeats Australia 2-1, sets up quarterfinal date with Netherlands

Lionel Messi scored on his 1,000th career appearance in Argentina’s 2-1 win over Australia at the World Cup on Saturday to surpass his great predecessor Diego Maradona’s tournament total and set up a quarter-final clash with the Netherlands.