From the Newsroom: Bharti Singh in judicial custody; Iran says Israel's 'hit and run' attacks in Syria over

Summary: In your evening news brief, From The Newsroom, NCW says acid attack victims have not been paid compensation in 799 out of 1,273 cases across the country; comedian Bharti Singh and screenwriter Haarsh Limbachyaa sent to judicial custody; India will soon launch an ambitious 'Deep Ocean Mission'; Karnataka government will decide on reopening of schools in the state on Monday; Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar says colleges may be shut again if the coronavirus cases go up; BMTC will begin gender sensitisation training for all staffers and self-defence training for its women employees to counter sexual harassment and Iran vows to defeat any Israeli attempt to harm its role in Syria.

Here are the top news of November 22, 2020:

Acid attack victims have not been paid compensation in 799 out of 1,273 cases across the country, the NCW said and demanded the immediate attention of the states on the matter.

The issue was discussed in an e-meeting by the NCW with the nodal officers and representatives of the 24 states and Union Territories. The meeting was held to review and discuss the cases of acid attack registered on the website of the Commission's Management Information System (MIS). According to data till October 20, out of 1,273 cases of acid attack across the country compensation has been given to acid attack survivors in just 474 cases.

Caught with marijuana in their home during a raid by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), celebrity couple – comedian Bharti Singh and screenwriter Haarsh Limbachyaa were sent to judicial custody on Sunday.

A Magistrate Court in Mumbai sent them to judicial custody for a fortnight till December 4. However, after the remand, they immediately applied for bail which would be heard on Monday.

While Bharti was arrested on Saturday evening, her husband Haarsh was placed under arrest in the wee hours of Sunday. During the weekend swoop at their residence, 86.5 grams of cannabis was seized by NCB sleuths.

India will soon launch an ambitious 'Deep Ocean Mission' that envisages exploration of minerals, energy and marine diversity of the underwater world, a vast part of which still remains unexplored, a top official of the Ministry of Earth Sciences said.

The ministry's secretary, M Rajeevan, said required approvals are being obtained for the "futuristic and game-changing" mission, and it is likely to be launched in the next 3-4 months.
The mission, which is expected to cost over Rs 4,000 crore, will give a boost to efforts to explore India's vast Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf, another senior official of the MoES said.

The Karnataka government would decide on reopening of schools in the state on Monday, sources in the Education Department said. A meeting to this effect is likely between Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar, officials of the education, health and social welfare departments.

"The opinion of the parents, teachers and students has been collected from various parts of the state on the reopening of schools and has been documented in the form of a report which will be presented before the Chief Minister and others on November 23," said sources in the education department said on Sunday.

Barely six days after the degree and engineering colleges were reopened in the state, Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Sunday said they may be shut again if the coronavirus cases go up. Degree, engineering and diploma colleges were reopened on November 17 after eight months of closure due to coronavirus-induced lockdown. Under the circumstances, reports emerged that at least 130 students got infected by Covid-19.

"If the cases go up, then, as you have said in your (media) reports, we will have to go for a shutdown once again. There is no alternative," Sudhakar told reporters in Dharwad while responding to queries about the rising coronavirus cases among students.

The BMTC will begin gender sensitisation training for all staffers and self-defence training for its women employees to counter sexual harassment. In a release, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) said it seeks to make a meaningful intervention to address the problem of sexual harassment and gender-based violence.

Iran on Sunday vowed to defeat any Israeli attempt to harm its role in Syria, saying the era of "hit and run" attacks by Israel there was over, days after Israel carried out air strikes on Syrian army and Iranian paramilitary targets in the country.

Israel, which views Tehran as its biggest security threat, has repeatedly attacked Iranian targets and those of allied militia in Syria, where Tehran has backed President Bashar al-Assad and his forces against rebels and militants since 2012.