From The Newsroom: Chinese Army just 80 kms away from Leh, says former Ladakh MLA

In your evening brief, From The Newsroom, A former MLA from Ladakh has claimed that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) is just 80 kms away from Leh; US wireless carrier Verizon and Amazon reportedly may invest more than $4 billion for a stake in India's Vodafone Idea; hitting out at the BJP government, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the sharp fall in the GDP and a sustained attack on the unorganised sector was the “scary result” of demonetisation.

Here are the top stories of the day, September 3, 2020:

A former MLA from Ladakh has claimed that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) was just 80 kms away from Leh and urged the BJP government to let the nation know about the actual situation and standoff in eastern Ladakh.

“If there is no solution before the forthcoming harsh winters, the situation will have drastic impact over the entire region since the incursion has already happened and the PLA is only 80 kilometers away from the Leh City,” Deldan Namgyal, former MLA from Nubra constituency of Ladakh.

US wireless carrier Verizon and Amazon may invest more than $4 billion for a stake in India's Vodafone Idea, the Mint newspaper reported on Thursday, sending shares in the struggling Indian telecom firm up 10 per cent.

Vodafone Idea's stake-sale talks had been paused pending the outcome of a court hearing, which created uncertainty and could have threatened Vodafone Idea's survival, citing two unnamed people aware of the negotiations.

Amazon and Verizon are set to resume discussions following a Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday which gave mobile carriers 10 years to settle government dues.

Hitting out at the BJP government, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the sharp fall in the GDP and a sustained attack on the unorganised sector was the “scary result” of demonetisation announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016.

"One of the scary results of the dice that was thrown on November 8, 2016, has become evident on August 31, 2020,” the former Congress President said referring to the 23.9% fall in first-quarter GDP numbers when compared to last year.

With BBMP elections around the corner, the Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday discussed the possibility of increasing the number of wards from 198 to 225.

The new wards will include some areas outside BBMP limits.

It was also proposed to increase the number of zones in BBMP limits from eight to 15. However, a final call on the issue will be taken by the Joint Select Committee meeting scheduled Friday, according to Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy.