Afternoon briefing: Amethi MP on Rahul Gandhi's statement on Smriti Irani; Oppn's impressive show in bypolls, and more
A shortlist of the biggest headlines, recommended stories, and a special collection of news items you should check out.
Rahul Gandhi is ‘right’ that ‘derogatory’ language should not be used against Smriti Irani or any politician, Kishori Lal Sharma, who reclaimed the Amethi Lok Seat for the Congress from Irani, said on Saturday. “Rahul Gandhi is right. He stays within his limits. I relate to his statement. Victories and defeats are a part of life. We must not use such language against someone,” Sharma told news agency ANI. Sharma's reaction came a day after Gandhi, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), came out in support of Irani, who won the Amethi seat for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against the then-Congress chief in the 2019 general elections, five years after coming runner-up to him. Dig deeper

More news | Rahul Gandhi Defends Ex-Rival Smriti Irani From ‘Nasty’ Comments After Poll Loss: ‘Sign Of Weakness’
In a boost for the Opposition, the INDIA bloc won at least two seats and was leading in nine, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was ahead in only two as votes were counted for the bypolls in 13 assembly seats across seven states on Saturday, July 13. Among the 13 assembly seats, the Congress, which won 99 seats in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, was leading in two seats Uttarakhand, one each in Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The party won Dehra assembly seat in Himachal Pradesh, where it had fielded chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's wife Kamlesh Thakur. Dig deeper
More news | Punjab bypoll result: Mohinder Bhagat of AAP wins Jalandhar West seat
Latest News
6 killed after ambulance collides head-on with truck in Bengal Dig deeper
Parts of Delhi, NCR receive moderate rainfall, more showers likely Dig deeper
India News
Mumbai rains: City waterlogged, IMD issues high tide alert; orange warning for Thane Dig deeper
Himachal bypolls: CM Sukhu's wife and Congress candidate Kamlesh Thakur wins Dehra assembly seat Dig deeper
Trending
A top neurologist slammed Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal’s call for a 70-hour work week, pointing out the many health risks associated with working long hours. Dr Sudhir Kumar said that working long hours has been linked to higher chances of stroke, depression symptoms, risk of being overweight and prediabetic and even premature death. Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal backed Infosys founder Narayana Murthy’s 70-hour work week advice in a recent podcast. He said he is not a supporter of the concept of work-life balance. Senior neurologist Dr Sudhir Kumar took a not-so-veiled dig at Aggarwal’s advice, noting that employees working long hours only benefits the CEO. Dig deeper
Business News
The government may bring new amendments to the Banking Regulation Act as well as some other laws during the Union Budget 2024 session which can lead to the government's shareholding in public sector banks (PSBs) dipping below 51%, PTI wrote, citing anonymous sources. Amendments in other acts such as the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980 may also happen because amendments are needed to increase privatisation, as these are the same laws that led to nationalisation in the past. Dig deeper
Global Matters
Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have agreed on a USD 7 billion aid package spread over more than three years to help the cash-strapped country deal with its chronic economic issues. “Building on the economic stability achieved under the 2023 Stand-by Arrangement (SBA), IMF staff and the Pakistani authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on a 37-month Extended Fund Facility Arrangement (EFF) of about USD 7 billion,” the global lender said in an overnight statement, confirming the much-awaited deal subject to the approval by the IMF's Executive Board. Dig deeper
Entertainment Focus
Indian 2 box office collection day 1: Shankar and Kamal Haasan are back with the sequel to their 1996 cult vigilante drama Indian after a long wait of 18 years. As per Sacnilk, the pan-Indian film has managed to open at ₹25.6 crore despite largely negative reviews. The ₹25.6 crore collection that Indian 2 garnered on its opening day in India includes ₹16.5 crore in Tamil, ₹7.9 crore in Telugu, and ₹1.2 crore in Hindi. It released in Telugu and Hindi as Bharateeyudu 2 and Hindustani 2 respectively. It clashed with Sudha Kongara's Soorarai Pottru remake Sarfira, starring Akshay Kumar, in the Hindi market. The film is also battling with Nag Ashwin's pan-Indian dystopian sci-fi epic Kalki 2898 AD, which released a couple of weeks ago but is still dominating the box office across the country. Dig deeper
Lifestyle and Health
Shloka Mehta, married to Akash Ambani, championed sustainability by re-wearing her wedding lehenga for Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's wedding ceremony. The badi bahu of the Ambani family and her sister, Diya Mehta Jatia, decided to repurpose the wedding lehenga by changing its red undertone to pink, creating a fresh look. Read on to know more details. Shloka Mehta's sister, Diya Mehta Jatia, styled her for Mukesh Ambani's youngest son, Anant Ambani's wedding to Radhika last night. Diya shared Shloka's pictures on Instagram with the caption, "We wanted to create a special look that celebrates love and what better than @shloka11's own wedding lehenga. We decided to change the undertone to pink for a fresh look." Her wedding lehenga is a custom look designed by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, who also designed Radhika Merchant and Isha Ambani's ensembles for their marriage. Dig deeper
Sports Goings
No.7 seed Jasmine Paolini and No.31 Barbora Krejcikova were not even among the dark horses when the 2024 edition of the Wimbledon Championships began a fortnight back in London. Paolini was considered more of a clay court specialist after her spectacular run to the French Open final last month, while Krejcikova, a former champion at the Roland Garros, has had a horrid 2024 season, managing just three wins in her last seven WTA matches, including first-round exits in five of those seven tournaments. Yet, they adapted superbly to the grass court conditions and made the most of their strengths to reach the final. Dig deeper
That’s all we have at this hour in our Afternoon briefing. Catch you in the evening.
