The Evening Wrap: Police block journalists from reaching protest site at Singhu Border

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the latest updates and the big news stories to follow today [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Tuesday 02, February 2021 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap The Evening Wrap: Police block journalists from reaching protest site at Singhu Border [alt_text]( Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Police block journalists from reaching protest site at Singhu Border On Tuesday, at the Singhu border, [Delhi Police stopped the entry of journalists]( and others wanting to visit the protesting farmers. Earlier, those wanting to visit the protest site and the main stage could cross the barricades preventing farmers from entering the national capital and interact with the protestors. But now, even smaller lanes and other entry routes to the protest site have been cut off. On Friday, a group of ‘locals’ backed by the BJP had clashed with the farmers and tried to damage their tents and other utilities. Delhi Police resorted to tear gas and lathi charge before peace returned. Meanwwhile, Congress leaders took to Twitter on Tuesday to target the Narendra Modi government over the arrangements made to stop protesting farmers from entering the city. “Prime Minister sir, you are at war with our own farmers?” asked party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who posted a video of the massive deployment of police and paramilitary forces at Delhi’s borders. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi also shared photographs of barricades put up by the police. Four photos showed concertina and barbed wires, freshly laid concrete with spikes to puncture tyres, and different tiers of concrete and mobile iron barriers. “GOI [Governmemt of India], Build bridges, not walls!” tweeted Rahul Gandhi. Parliament adjourned multiple times as Opposition demand discussion on farm laws A day after the presentation of the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha, which was convened at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, [saw multiple adjournments]( after Opposition parties demanded that the House take up a discussion on the farmers’ protest. Though Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said that time will be allotted for the same on Wednesday, the Opposition members refused to budge. They raised slogans inside the Upper House, resulting in the House being adjourned four times without conducting any business. A similar trend was observed in the Lok Sabha, which was adjourned thrice due to incessant protests from the Opposition benches. The House saw brief discussions on the motion of thanks on the President’s address and papers being laid on the table. A win for Amazon as Delhi HC directs Future Retail to keep status quo on Reliance deal [Amazon logo. FIle]Amazon logo. FIle In a significant win for Amazon, [the Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed Future Retail Ltd]( (FRL) to maintain status quo in relation to its ₹24,713 crore deal with Reliance Retail, which has been objected to by the American e-commerce giant. Justice J.R. Midha said the court was satisfied that an immediate interim order was required to be passed to protect the rights of Amazon. “Respondents (FRL) are directed to maintain status quo as on today at 4:49 p.m. till pronouncement of the reserved order,” the Judge said. Amazon has approached the high court seeking direction to order enforcement of the award by Singapore’s Emergency Arbitrator (EA) restraining FRL from going ahead with its ₹24,713 crore deal with Reliance Retail. Amazon has sought to restrain the Kishore Biyani-led Future Group from taking any steps to complete the transaction with entities that are a part of the Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani (MDA) Group. SC agrees to examine plea challenging Tamil Nadu’s 69% reservation The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to examine a petition [seeking an immediate stay]( on the implementation of a Tamil Nadu law that allows 69% quota in educational institutions and government jobs in the State. A three-judge Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan issued notice and gave the Tamil Nadu government two weeks to file its response to a writ petition filed by a student, C.V. Gayathri, through her father, S. Vaitheeswaran, challenging the constitutionality of the Tamil Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of seats in Educational Institutions and of appointments or posts in the Services under the State) Act of 1993. The law is protected under the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution from judicial review. Section 4 of the Act provides 30% reservation to the Backward Classes, 20% for Most Backward Classes and de-notified communities, 18% for Scheduled Castes, and 1% for Scheduled Tribes. Thus, a total of 69% reservation is provided. The petition said the Act was contrary to the principle laid down by a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in the Indira Sawhney case, which had concluded that reservation of “50% shall be the rule; only in certain exceptional and extraordinary situations for bringing far-flung and remote areas population into mainstream, said 50% rule can be relaxed”. CBSE Class 10, 12 exams from May 4; schedule has double shifts for first time [ The Shiksha Sadan which houses the Central Board of Secondary Education at Rouse Avenue in New Delhi ] The Shiksha Sadan which houses the Central Board of Secondary Education at Rouse Avenue in New Delhi The [CBSE Class 12 Board examinations will be conducted in two shifts]( for the first time in order to reduce the total duration of the examination. The examination schedule, which includes 111 subjects, will be completed in 39 days, less than the allotted 45 days in the 2020 schedule. The afternoon shift will be held on four days, with papers in subjects that are not offered in schools abroad being conducted, said a CBSE statement. Class 12 students will begin with the English paper on May 4 and finish on June 11, when a slew of elective subjects ranging from Agriculture to Beauty and Wellness have been scheduled. The Class 10 schedule begins with several regional language examinations on May 4, and ends on June 7, with the Computer Applications paper. In total, the Class 10 schedule includes 75 subjects. The examinations are being held later than usual this year, to account for the fact that schools have not been able to physically open their doors to students for most of the academic year due to the Covid-19 lockdown. It is only in the last two months that some students in Class 10 and 12 are returning to the physical classroom, after months of study at home with limited support via television and online resources. Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine 91.6% effective: Lancet study [ A shipment of doses of the Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac) vaccine. ] A shipment of doses of the Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac) vaccine. Russia’s [Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6% effective]( against symptomatic Covid-19, according to results published in The Lancet on Tuesday that independent experts said allayed transparency concerns over the jab, which Moscow is already rolling out. Sputnik V -- named after the Soviet-era satellite -- was approved in Russia months before results from its final-stage clinical trials were published, leading to scepticism from experts. But the new analysis of data from 20,000 participants in Phase 3 trials suggests that the two-dose vaccination offers more than 90% efficacy against symptomatic Covid-19. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 10,768,339 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,54,558. In Brief: Australia’s cricket tour of South Africa [has been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic](, Cricket Australia (CA) said in a statement on February 2. Australian players were scheduled to fly out this month for a three-test series in March, but the touring side’s cricket board said it had no choice but to postpone the trip due to the pandemic situation in South Africa. Interestingly, this means New Zealand are now through to the final of the World Test Championships, to be played in June at Lord’s. India would need to win the forthcoming four-Test series against England by at least a 2-1 margin in order to make it to the finals. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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