The big news: Five-judge Supreme Court bench decriminalises gay sex, and 9 other top stories
Other headlines: Protests broke out in a few states against an amendment to the SC/ST Act, and India and the US began meetings ahead of the ‘2+2 dialogue’.
A look at the headlines right now:
- India’s Supreme Court decriminalises gay sex: Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said the law was irrational, indefensible, and manifestly arbitrary.
- Protests against SC/ST Act amendment break out in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and UP: The Madhya Pradesh government has imposed prohibitory orders in four districts.
- Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman meet US counterparts before ‘2+2 dialogue’ later in the day: Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday night.
- At least 10 people on Emirates flight from Dubai taken to hospital after landing in New York: The plane was quarantined on the runway for hours after more than 100 people reported flu-like symptoms during the 14-hour trip.
- One more body found at the site of bridge collapse in Kolkata; PWD failed to spot structural weaknesses, says report: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the investigation would take into account ‘earthquake-like vibrations’ caused by a Metro project nearby.
- Regulator took two years to ban import of Johnson & Johnson’s faulty hip implants, reports Indian Express: The company recalled the faulty devices globally in 2010 but its import licence was active till April 2012, documents show.
- Donald Trump criticises NYT for publishing op-ed by anonymous government official: The author wrote that he and like-minded colleagues have vowed to ‘thwart parts of the president’s agenda and his worst inclinations’.
- Union Cabinet approves over Rs 3,700 crore to set up permanent campuses for seven new IIMs: The campuses will come up in Amritsar, Bodh Gaya, Nagpur, Sambalpur, Sirmaur, Visakhapatnam and Jammu.
- India supports Mauritius’ claim on disputed Chagos islands, which is under UK control: The UK leased the largest island of the archipelago – Diego Garcia – to the United States for 50 years. It is now used as a military base.
- Two killed in Japan after 6.7-magnitude earthquake hits Hokkaido island, triggers landslides: Almost three million households are without power after a fire broke out at the largest thermal power plant in the area.