Morning Filter: Two Constitution Bench sittings today

1. Sri Lanka political crisis | Protesters retreat as Sri Lankan President sends resignation Protesters retreated from government buildings Thursday in Sri Lanka, restoring a tenuous calm to the economically crippled country, and the embattled president at last emailed the resignation that demonstrators have sought for months. An aide to the speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament issued a statement that said the speaker had received the President’s resignation through the Sri Lankan Embassy in Singapore, but there was no immediate official announcement. An announcement is planned for today after the authenticity and legality of the letter are verified, the statement said. 2. Free COVID-19 booster dose from today As a part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence, the Centre has announced that all adults would be able to get free booster doses of the coronavirus vaccines at government centres under a special drive for 75 days starting today. 3. Godavari turns ferocious, record flood expected in next 3 days Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy will conduct an aerial survey this afternoon to assess the devastation caused by the Godavari flood. 4. Parts of Gujarat continue to reel under downpour; Navsari worst hit, 3 NHs shut Some parts of Navsari and Dang districts may get extremely heavy rainfall on Friday. The monsoon may get vigorous over Saurashtra and Kutch. This may result in extremely heavy rain at some places of Amreli, Bhavnagar, Junagadh and Gir Somnath districts on Friday,” said Director of Meteorological Centre, Manorama Mohanty. 5. Gyanvapi case hearing to continue today The Hindu side on Thursday argued in a district court here that the Gyanvapi mosque complex is not the property of the Waqf Board and the case over it should be heard in its entirety. District Government Advocate Rana Sanjeev Singh said the Hindu side asserted that as per religious belief, once an idol is established at some place, then that place is worshipped too. The Hindu side will continue with its arguments today. 6. Ajmer dargah cleric arrested from Hyderabad over provocative speech The Rajasthan Police on Thursday arrested an Ajmer dargah cleric from Hyderabad for allegedly delivering a provocative speech at the main gate of the shrine last month. 7. Delhi court order on Zubair’s bail plea today A Delhi court will pronounce its order today on the bail plea filed by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair in a case related to an objectionable tweet he had posted in 2018 against a Hindu deity. 8. Debut edition of India’s 2nd largest entrance exam ‘CUET-UG’ to begin today The debut edition of the Common University Entrance Test-UG, the second biggest entrance exam in the country, will begin today at test centres in over 510 cities of India and abroad. 9. Spotlight on Neeraj, dark horse Sreeshankar too eyes glory Neeraj Chopra will carry a billion hopes into the World Championship for yet another landmark result and it won’t be a surprise if long jumper Murali Sreeshankar also grabs a slice of history at the showpiece, starting in Eugene today. [logo] The Morning Filter 30 AUGUST 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Morning Filter newsletter, your guide from The Hindu on the major news stories and events to follow today. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Here are the latest updates and the big news stories to follow today 1. Supreme Court to have two Constitution Benches sitting today [Supreme Court of India] The Supreme Court will have two Constitution Benches of five judges each sitting today. Four pending matters are listed before both the Benches. 2. CBI officials will check my bank locker on Tuesday: Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has claimed that CBI officials will come to check his bank locker today and said the agency sleuths will not find anything in it. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader is among the 15 people and entities named in an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Delhi excise policy. 3. NASA calls off launch of giant Moon rocket [NASA’s new moon rocket sits on Launch Pad 39-B.] Fuel leaks have [forced NASA to scrub the launch of its new moon rocke]( on a no-crew test flight. The next launch attempt will not take place until Friday at the earliest. The 322-foot Space Launch System rocket was set to lift off Monday morning with three test dummies aboard on its first flight, a mission to propel a capsule into orbit around the moon. 4. Mumbai Metro 3 trial run to be held today The trial run of the Mumbai Metro line 3, Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ line, will be conducted today at Sariput Nagar in Aarey, an official said on Monday. This will mark an important development in the realisation of the Metro track shrouded in controversy. The event will be attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis. 5. Ganesh Chaturthi | SC lists plea filed by Karnataka State Waqf Board for today [Photo used for representation purpose only.] The Supreme Court on Monday listed for August 30 a plea filed by the Karnataka State Waqf Board against a State High Court decision allowing Ganesh Chaturthi rituals to be held in the Idgah Maidan at Bengaluru. Making an oral mention before a Bench led by Chief Justice U.U. Lalit, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, for the Board, urged for an early hearing as “unnecessary tension will be created”. 6. China’s drought-hit areas get rain, bringing flood risks Tens of thousands of people were evacuated to safer areas by Monday as heavy rains brought flood risks to a region of southwest China that for most of the summer was devastated by a heatwave and drought. Heavy rain was forecast for parts of Sichuan and Chongqing provinces through at least Tuesday. 7. As crisis bites, Spain pushes to become EU energy hub With Europe facing a major energy crisis, Spain wants to become the new gateway for gas through an ambitious trans-Pyrenees pipeline and is hoping supply-starved Germany will pressure a reluctant France. Madrid has long been hoping for the revival of plans to build a pipeline connecting the Iberian Peninsula via France to central Europe, which was abandoned in 2019 over regulatory and funding issues. Spain’s Pedro Sanchez has been invited for talks on Tuesday with energy likely to be a key issue. 8. EU may agree to tighten visas for Russians, discuss training of Ukraine troops [European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 17, 2022. ] European Union foreign ministers, meeting in Prague on Tuesday and Wednesday, may agree to tighten the issuance of visas for Russians and start debate on a wider ban on tourist visas though there is no agreement on that, EU officials said. The six-month-old war in Ukraine remains a foreign policy priority for the European Union and a visa ban for Russians pushed by some mainly eastern member states will be at the top of the agenda. 9. HDFC Credila accepts bids for perpetual bonds -traders HDFC Credila Financial Services has accepted bids worth 1 billion rupees ($12.49 million) from the sale of perpetual bonds, three merchant bankers said on Monday. The company will pay an annual coupon of 8.36% and had invited commitment bids from bankers and investors earlier in the day, they said. The notes are rated AAA by CRISIL and the issue will close for subscription on Tuesday. 10. Sri Lanka’s President to cut spending in interim budget [Ranil Wickremesinghe.] Sri Lanka’s President is set to slash expenditure when he presents an interim budget on Tuesday to see the crisis-ridden country through the rest of the year, amid discussions with the International Monetary Fund on a bailout package. The tourism-dependent nation of 22 million is facing its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, with foreign exchange reserves crashing, public finances in a mess and the costs of basic goods rocketing. 11. Asia Cup 2022 | Bangladesh open campaign against high flying Afghanistan Bangladesh will be aiming to improve their ordinary T20 record against a confident Afghanistan in the Asia Cup today. Afghanistan pacers blew away the Sri Lankan batting in the opening game. Bangladesh, on the other hand, will be playing their tournament opener. The Shakib Al Hasan-led side will be aiming to improve their recent record in the shortest format, having won just two games out of 13 since the World Cup last year. Today’s Best Reads [[Zombie ice from Greenland will raise sea level 10 inches] Zombie ice from Greenland will raise sea level 10 inches]( [[U.S. Open | Medvedev, Murray win; Ukraine’s Snigur stuns Halep] U.S. Open | Medvedev, Murray win; Ukraine’s Snigur stuns Halep]( [[Bolsonaro and Lula face off in Brazil presidential debate] Bolsonaro and Lula face off in Brazil presidential debate]( [[Russia to hold sweeping joint war games with China, others] Russia to hold sweeping joint war games with China, others]( Copyright @ 2022, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](