Morning briefing: Rahul Gandhi to appear before Bengaluru court today; CEC on EVM tampering accusations, and more
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will appear before a special court in Bengaluru on Friday, June 7, in connection with a defamation case filed by the Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party for issuing allegedly defamatory advertisements in mainstream newspapers. Rahul Gandhi was seen at the Delhi airport early morning, leaving for Bengaluru. The court has asked Rahul Gandhi to appear before it on June 7 in connection with a defamation lawsuit brought by the Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regarding the publication of allegedly derogatory advertising in mainstream newspapers before the 2023 state assembly election. The Karnataka Congress said Rahul Gandhi will appear before the City Civil Court at 10.30am. Dig deeper
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Thursday took a dig at those raising questions on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) saying the EVMs should be left to rest until the next elections as they are to be readied to be abused again in the upcoming polls. Addressing the media on the allegations of EVM tampering, Rajiv Kumar said for the past 20-22 elections, a similar tradition has been followed where EVMs were accused of being tampered with, and their credibility was always questioned. But in the end, they have always shown the results. The opposition has been at loggerheads with the Election Commission over the credibility of the EVMs. Dig deeper
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Trending
Saurabh Netravalkar, who helped the USA team get a stunning victory over Pakistan in the ongoing T20 World Cup, often shares videos showing him singing various Indian songs. One such video of his is going viral after his spellbinding performance helped his team win over Pakistan at the recent match in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. The video shows him playing the ukulele and singing Om Namah Shivaya. “He is Saurabh Netravalkar, who led the USA to victory against Pakistan in a super over,” wrote an X user and shared the video, which was originally posted in April. Netravalkar shared the video on his Instagram page with a caption that reads, “Gives me such positivity and bliss every time I listen!” Dig deeper
Business News
A warehouse belonging Blinkit, the quick commerce arm of Zomato, was raided by food safety officials in Hyderabad. The Commissioner of Food Safety, Telangana, shared details on the raid in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Many violations were found during the raid as there was a lack of basic hygiene protocols at the facility, the food safety department said. Expired food items were also discovered on-site, it said. Dig deeper
Global Matters
In an exclusive and extensive live interview with ABC News anchor David Muir at the Normandy American Cemetery on the occasion of the anniversary of D-Day on June 6th, President Joe Biden was asked whether he would pardon his son Hunter, who was for the time under felony gun trial and the president said he would not. And the president said he would not. Muir asked Biden on Thursday if he would accept the outcome of his son’s trial in Wilmington, Delaware, to which the president responded, “Yes.” Biden also nodded “yes” when Muir asked if he would rule out a pardon for Hunter. The 46th US president’s only surviving son, Hunter Biden, is standing trial in Delaware for multiple felonies over a failed bid to buy a firearm in 2018 that detectives allege he was unfit for due to substance abuse. Dig deeper
Entertainment Focus
Taapsee Pannu and longtime boyfriend and badminton player Mathias Boe married in Udaipur in March. Now in a new interview with Cosmopolitan India, the actor is opening up about her relationship with Mathias, and revealed that it was not ‘love at first sight’ for her. Instead, she took time in the relationship as she wanted to see how feasible it was for the both of them. In the interview, Taapsee said that she has a soft spot for athletes and added, “It was not like a love-at-first-sight situation, for me at least—I took time to test if it’s really practical…the feasibility of the relationship was important for me. I was obviously fond of him and respected him, and we kept meeting and I grew to love him. So falling in love didn’t happen in a month or instantly. It is a fact though, which I keep repeating in most interviews about him—when I met him I felt like I met a man.” Dig deeper
Lifestyle and Health
The Ambani family recently hosted the grand pre-wedding celebrations of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in Italy onboard a luxury cruise and in the Italian coastline village of Portofino. The festivities saw attendance from many big names and performances by Katy Perry, Andrea Bocelli, and the Backstreet Boys. Though the galas were a grand affair, with a display of stunning outfits worn by celebrities and members of the Ambani family, most outfits were kept under wraps. However, new pictures of Radhika from the celebrations have surfaced, and they show the bride-to-be in an enchanting blue gown. Keep scrolling to know more. Dig deeper
Sports Goings
Soon after Saurabh Netravalkar architected United States of America’s (USA) unforgettable win over former champions Pakistan at the ICC World T20 2024, the Oracle techie’s LinkedIn profile became the talk of the town on social media. Causing one of the biggest upsets in the history of the T20 World Cup, co-hosts USA outclassed Babar Azam’s Pakistan in a Super-Over thriller on Thursday at the Grand Prairie Stadium. A cricketer who knows how to code. Netravalkar was busy making headlines before USA squared off against Pakistan at the grandest stage. Netravalkar bagged a special mention recently when an X (formerly known as Twitter) user revealed that one of his colleagues at Oracle is set to play against Rohit Sharma’s Team India at the T20 World Cup. Dig deeper
