Afternoon briefing: Congress reacts to PM Modi's dig at Pitroda's remarks; why is Indian stock market falling, and more
A shortlist of the biggest headlines, recommended stories, and a collection of news events you should check out.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for invoking the debate on the “skin colour of Indians” after he led an all-out attack on Sam Pitroda, who triggered a fresh row by comparing Indians' ethnic and racial identities with Chinese, Arabs, Whites and Africans. P Chidambaram said PM Narendra Modi's remarks were completely “irrelevant and blatantly racist”. Clarifying the stand on fielding the Opposition's candidate against Droupadi Murmu in the Presidential elections in 2022, P Chidambaram said support or opposition to a candidate was not based on skin colour but was a political decision. Dig deeper
BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 extended losses today (May 9) after the benchmark indices opened mildly red. Both Sensex and Nifty have been trading weak for the last four sessions as they fell from near all-time highs amid Lok Sabha elections 2024. Losses were led by oil and gas, and construction companies led the losses while automobile companies were the top gainers today. On the Nifty 50 index, Larsen & Toubro was the biggest laggard after the company reduced its future margin guidance to 8.2-8.3 percent for FY25. Hero MotoCorp's shares surged by over 5 per cent today following the company's Q4 results. Dig deeper
The Latest News
Expert says Las Vegas family's viral alien encounter video is ‘original’: ‘Once you see it, you can’t deny it’ Dig deeper
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah hits out at BJP over appointment to temple festival panel Dig deeper
India News
Sandeshkhali woman makes U-turn, withdraws rape charges against Trinamool men, alleges BJP coercion Dig deeper
Uttarakhand forest fires: 5 people dead, 1,300 hectares affected, says official Dig deeper
Global Matters
In a first, Belgian sex workers to get pensions, insurance, maternity leaves: Report Dig deeper
Deadly tornadoes sweeps through southeastern US, claims three Dig deeper
Sports Goings
The conversation between KL Rahul and Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka drew attention from fans and former cricketers alike following the side's 10-wicket drubbing at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday. After setting a 166-run target, LSG faced the wrath of SRH's opening duo of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, as they smashed the bowlers all around the park to chase the target down in just 9.4 overs. Dig deeper
Entertainment Focus
Jyotika recently made her comeback in Bollywood with the psychological-horror movie Shaitan, co-starring Ajay Devgn and R Madhavan. Although she made her debut opposite Akshaye Khanna, she was mainly seen in South Indian films. In a recent interview with News 18 S, she disclosed that she had not received any offers from Bollywood filmmakers in the past 27 years. Dig deeper
Lifestyle and Health
AstraZeneca (AZ), the makers of the Covishield vaccine have announced withdrawal of its Covid-19 vaccine due to its 'surplus of available updated vaccines' since the pandemic. "As multiple, variant Covid-19 vaccines have since been developed there is a surplus of available updated vaccines," the company said, adding that this had led to a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied. The pharmaceutical giant recently admitted that its Covid vaccine, sold under the brand name of Covishield in India, can cause a blood clot-related side effect, according to court papers being quoted in the UK media. Dig deeper
What's Trending?
Industrialist Sanjiv Goenka is being slammed for his controversial interaction with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul following the team's defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL match on Wednesday evening. This incident, captured in a viral video from the stadium, has sparked a heated debate within the cricket community, with many questioning Goenka's conduct. Dig deeper
That’s all we have at this hour in our afternoon briefing. Catch you in the evening.