Morning Digest | Cauvery panel ‘directs’ Karnataka to continue water release, Kuldeep Yadav in the thick of it again as India wins spin test and reaches Asia Cup final, and more
Court rejects Chandrababu Naidu’s plea for house arrest, finds central jail safe
The ACB Court in Vijayawada on Tuesday dismissed former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s plea for house arrest. It was convinced that the central jail at Rajamahendravaram is safe for him in view of tight security provided by the State government. This has set the stage for the CID to press for his custody on Wednesday. Mr. Naidu’s advocates filed a lunch motion petition in the High Court earlier in the day, challenging the legality of the arrest. It is likely to be heard on Wednesday.
Cauvery panel ‘directs’ Karnataka to continue water release
The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee on Tuesday “directed” Karnataka to continue releasing 5,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of water to Tamil Nadu for another 15 days. The first 15-day spell of water release, as fixed by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), came to an end on Tuesday. Clarifying that it was a “direction” and not a “recommendation”, Vineet Gupta, the Chairman of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee, told The Hindu over the phone from New Delhi that the Committee had the power to issue such a direction. When it was pointed out that Karnataka had told the Supreme Court last week that it might not be feasible to release any water from its reservoirs after September 12, citing a “severe drought situation” in the Cauvery and Krishna basins, Mr. Gupta said, “Let us see what Karnataka is going to do.”
On a turning track at the R. Premadasa Stadium, the Sri Lankan spinners claimed all 10 wickets as India was bowled out for 213 in 49.1 overs despite an impressive opening partnership by captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. However, Kuldeep Yadav (four for 43) had another field day as the Men in Blue bowled out the hosts for 172 in 41.3 overs. Jasprit Bumrah removed Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis while Mohammed Siraj sent back Dimuth Karunaratne. Sri Lanka slid to 99 for six before a 63-run stand between Dhananjaya de Silva (41) and Wellalage (42 n.o.) raised hopes..
The Supreme Court has come down hard on SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh, warning him he will be sent to Tihar jail for non-compliance with its order on making payment to global investment bank and financial services firm Credit Suisse AG. The top court asked Singh to pay ₹5,00,000 towards an instalment to the Swiss firm along with ₹1 million defaulted amount. “We have to move to the next drastic step. We are not worried even if you shut down,” a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah observed.
Citing ‘inadequate progress’ on rights front, India urges Sri Lanka to keep its promises
ndia on Tuesday said the progress made by Sri Lanka, on its commitment to fulfill the Tamils’ aspirations, was “inadequate” and urged the island nation to “work meaningfully” to keep its promises. “We have taken note of reaffirmation by the Government of Sri Lanka on implementation of its commitments. However, progress on the same is inadequate and we urge the Government of Sri Lanka to work meaningfully towards early implementation of its commitments to ensure that the fundamental freedoms and human rights of all its citizens are fully protected,” India’s representative told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva at its ongoing 54th session. The position was consistent with New Delhi’s remarks last year, that voiced concern over the “lack of measurable progress”.
France orders Apple iPhone 12 sales halted over radiation
French regulators on Tuesday ordered Apple to halt sales of the iPhone 12 for emitting too much electromagnetic radiation, and to fix existing handsets .The French agency that regulates radio frequencies, the ANFR, said testing found that the model emits more electromagnetic waves susceptible to be absorbed by the body than permitted. The ANFR said it “ordered Apple to remove the iPhone 12 from the French market from September 12 due to the model exceeding the limit” for electromagnetic absorption by the body.
Nobel winner Maria Ressa acquitted of tax evasion
Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa was acquitted of a final tax evasion charge on September 12 though she still faces two remaining legal cases she believes the former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte used to muzzle her critical reporting. Ms. Ressa and her online news organisation Rappler had faced five tax evasion charges but a court acquitted her of four of the charges in January. A different court heard the fifth charge and acquitted her Tuesday. “Facts wins, truth wins, justice wins,” she told reporters outside the courthouse.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max launched with A17 Pro SoC
Apple on Tuesday launched iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone Pro Max powered by a new processor called A17 Pro. Available in similar sizes as the vanilla models, the new Apple iPhone 15 Pro models get a new Action Button with haptic feedback that can be used to record, shortcuts and more. Apple iPhone 15 Pro series new chipset also supports ray tracing for faster gaming. For first time, the Pro series uses USB 3 support for faster file transfers. The A17 Pro is built on 3nm process and features 6 core CPU and 6 core GPU which is 20% faster, as claimed by Apple. There are 19 billion transistors present on the new chip. Apple has also used AV1 decoder on the processor.
Ahead of INDIA meet, Uddhav calls on Sharad Pawar
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray met on Tuesday with his ally, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar at the latter’s Mumbai residence. The meeting comes a day before the first meeting of the coordination committee of the Opposition INDIA bloc, which is to be held at Mr. Pawar’s Delhi residence on Wednesday. Mr. Thackeray was accompanied by his aide, Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut during the 90-minute meeting with Mr. Pawar at the latter’s ‘Silver Oak’ residence. Among the issues discussed were coordination within INDIA bloc as well as coordination issues between the three Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies in Maharashtra– the Sena (UBT), the Congress and the NCP, said senior NCP leader Jayant Patil after the meeting.
Apple Watch series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 launched with gesture controls
Apple on Tuesday launched Series 9 Watch powered by S9 chip and operated on WatchOS 10. The new Apple Watch 9 for the first time brings gesture controls and double tap option that can answer/end call, play/pause music, and scroll through the widget .Apple said that the new chip holds 5.6 billion transistors, comes with 4 core neural engine and promises up to 18 hours of battery life. Apple Watch series 9 will be 25% accurate in diction and can now be seamlessly integrated with Siri with on-device computing. Users can sync health data on series 9 and it will be available in English and Mandarin languages with more dialects to follow. Apple also claims that series 9 can find your phone up till 22 feet.
Nipah: 16 teams set up for surveillance, containment in Kozhikode
The Health department has formed 16 core teams to monitor the surveillance and containment steps being taken in Kozhikode district where two persons have died due to Nipah infection in recent days. Two others too tested positive for the virus. Health Minister Veena George told the media late on Tuesday that an alert has been sounded in Kozhikode district and it will be extended to nearby districts too. The department declared the alert in Kozhikode after two persons died of suspected Nipah symptoms on August 30 and September 11. However, body fluid samples of the first person who died could not be sent for laboratory tests.
Former No. 1 tennis player Simona Halep gets 4-year ban in doping case
Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has been suspended from professional tennis for four years for doping violations, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said Tuesday .The 31-year-old Romanian had been accused of two doping offenses — failing a drug test during the 2022 U.S. Open and for irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport, the ITIA said. A panel concluded that Halep “had committed intentional anti-doping rule violations.” Halep had been provisionally suspended since October 2022. The four-year ban will run to Oct. 6, 2026.
