TOP NEWS

The Supreme Court, in a significant order, told the police that they should neither interfere nor take criminal action against consenting sex workers. It said prostitution is a profession and sex workers are entitled to dignity and equal protection under the law.

A three-judge Bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao issued six directions for safeguarding the rights of sex workers. The Bench said, "Sex workers are entitled to equal protection of the law. Criminal law must apply equally in all cases on the basis of age and consent. When it is clear that the sex worker is an adult and is participating with consent, the police must refrain from interfering or taking any criminal action. It need not be gainsaid that notwithstanding the profession, every individual in this country has the right to a dignified life under Article 21 of the Constitution."

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi did not apply for political clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs before his recent London visit, as per sources.

All Members of Parliament are required to obtain political clearance from the Union ministry before travelling abroad. The approval of the Ministry of External Affairs is to be obtained by putting the information on the website at least three weeks before the trip.

Additionally, all MPs should receive invitations from foreign governments, institutions etc through the Ministry of External Affairs. If there is a direct invitation, it will have to be brought to the notice of the Ministry of External Affairs and political approval has to be obtained.

Congress dissident and high profile lawyer Kapil Sibal on Wednesday snapped his ties with the party and crossed over to the Samajwadi Party camp, adding to the mounting list of crossovers in recent weeks and amplifying the perception of negativity about the grand old party.

Continuation of Sibal, a vocal member of the dissident G-23 grouping, in Congress had looked uncertain for some time and the suspense got over when he filed his nomination for Rajya Sabha as an “independent” candidate, with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav by his side at Lucknow’s Vidhan Bhavan.

Sibal told reporters that he had resigned from Congress on May 16, ending his three decade old relationship. While avoiding harsh words for Congress, Sibal said he wished his erstwhile party well and spelt out that in the Parliament, he will try to bring together all opposition parties against the anti-people and communal BJP — an objective he first spoke out when he hosted a dinner of opposition parties in August 2021 that triggered a controversy.

Insilico Medicine, a biotech startup from the United States has nominated a drug developed by the company for pre-clinical trials. The drug has been developed with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and is designed to treat patients with COVID-19.

The preclinical stage is an important part of drug development and is the stage just before human trials. The drug developed by Insilico is aimed at treating patients suffering from COVID-19 by preventing the coronavirus from replicating in the body.

The company has developed the drug with the help of artificial intelligence. The company has built a machine learning-based software platform made up of three components.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi defended his notion that India is not a nation but a “union of states” when he spoke to a packed hall of students at Cambridge University on Monday night. He also said that the death of his father had given him the strength to handle attacks on himself by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Dr Shruti Kapila, a fellow at Corpus Christi College, who invited Rahul Gandhi to speak at the “India at 75” event, introduced the session saying freedom in India was in “short supply” today and that “India seems to be preparing for a new identity in the centenary year of the formation of RSS in 2025”.