Daily Bulletin: India’s Chandrayaan-2 mission postponed for the second time

Here’s what is expected to make the news on Sunday:

India’s Chandrayaan-2 mission postponed for the second time

World Badminton Championships: Having beaten the likes of Ji Hyun Sung, Nozomi Okuhara and Akane Yamaguchi so far, PV Sindhu will take on Carolina Marin in the final of the World Badminton Championships today. Sindhu will be keen to win the title this time around after losing at the same stage to Okuhara last year.

Delhi terror alert for Independence Day: Just days ahead of the 72nd Independence Day celebration, security forces in the national capital have gone on a high alert following intel of a Jaish-e-Mohammad planning a “fidayeen attack”.Manchester City take on Chelsea in the FA Community Shield: The 2017-18 Premier League champions Manchester City face FA Cup champions Chelsea in the 2018-19 season curtain raiser. It will be Maurizio Sarri’s first competitive match as in-charge of Chelsea. Both clubs are missing important players like Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois, N’golo Kante (Chelsea), Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones, Raheem Sterling (City) after they played for their respective national sides at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Harvey Weinstein case: Disgraced Hollywood tycoon’s defense lawyer has demanded that a New York court dismisses the sex crime charges against him, by disclosing “warm” emails between him and his alleged rape victim, in which she said “I love you”, among other things.

Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case: As Opposition leaders targeted the Nitish Kumar – government over the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case on Saturday, the heat is on Bihar social welfare minister Manju Verma, whose husband is accused of often entering the rooms of minor girls in the shelter home without anyone accompanying him. Verma reportedly defended her husband on Saturday and said that she would hang him herself if he is found guilty in the sex scandal.

Assam flood situation worsens: The flood situation in Assam deteriorated on Saturday with two more deaths reported in Sivasagar district, taking the toll to 43, while nearly 1.1 lakh people remain affected across six districts in the state. According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), two persons lost their lives in flood-related incidents at Sonari revenue circle of Sivasagar.

NRC in Assam: A day after TMC filed two police complaints were filed against Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal in West Bengal, two more FIRs have been registered in Assam against West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and members of a TMC delegation, which went to Silchar, for allegedly creating disturbances on the basis of religion. A total of five FIRs have been registered against Banerjee in Assam since the publication of the NRC final draft on 30 July.

Imran may take oath as Pakistan PM on 14 August: Imran Khan, who is set to become Pakistan’s new prime minister, may take oath of the office on the country’s Independence Day on 14 August. Unveiling a tentative schedule of the National Assembly formation, caretaker Law Minister Ali Zafar told Dawn that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was already on board as it was engaged in making necessary arrangements required to hold the prime minister’s election on the desired date. Zafar said a fresh session of the assembly could be called on August on 11 or 12.

Confirmed Ebola cases rise to 13 in Congo’s latest outbreak: The number of confirmed cases in Congo’s new outbreak of the Ebola virus has risen to 13, including three deaths. The World Health Organisation has warned that this new outbreak of the deadly virus in North Kivu province poses a particular challenge as the region is a “war zone” with several active armed groups and thousands of displaced people. Congo announced the latest outbreak on Wednesday with four confirmed cases, a week after declaring the end to a previous outbreak in the northwest with 33 deaths.

India’s Chandrayaan-2 mission postponed for the second time: According to reports, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has postponed the Chandrayan-2 mission, which aimed to soft- landing a rover on the surface of the moon. The Chandrayan-2 mission, which was supposed to be launched in October has now been postponed to December.

GST slabs may reduce to 3: In the long-term, Goods and Services Tax (GST) slabs may come down to three, in addition to the exempted category, Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Adviser to the Finance Ministry, said on Saturday. The three slabs could be a low of 5 per cent, a central 15 per cent (merging 12 per cent and 18 per cent slabs that exist now) and a top rate of 25 per cent. Presently, there are four GST slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent, plus the exempted category which attracts 0 per cent GST.