From the Newsroom: PM lays foundation for Ram Temple in Ayodhya

In today’s episode, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya; more than 100 people killed in Beirut explosion and Centre accepts a recommendation by the Bihar government for a CBI probe into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Here is the top news of today, Wednesday: August 5, 2020:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, describing it as the instrument to unite the country.

“Ram is the thread that strings together India's unity in diversity… the process of construction of the Ram Temple is an attempt to unite the nation,” the Prime Minister said after laying the foundation stone of the temple in Ayodhya, recalling the multitudinous references to Ram and Ramayana in languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Odiya, Bengali, Kashmiri, Malayalam.

Modi also sought to draw parallels in the freedom struggle and the Ram temple movement. “Just as August 15 is representative of sacrifices by people all across the country towards the freedom struggle, this day marks the immense dedication and continuous struggle across generations for the Ram temple,” the Prime Minister said.

Rescuers searched for survivors in Beirut Wednesday after a cataclysmic explosion at the port sowed devastation across entire neighbourhoods, killing more than 100 people, wounding thousands and plunging Lebanon deeper into crisis.

The blast, which appeared to have been caused by a fire igniting 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate left unsecured in a warehouse, was felt as far away as Cyprus, some 150 miles (240 kilometres) to the northwest.

The governor of Beirut, Marwan Abboud, described the disaster as "an apocalyptic situation" he estimated might have made 300,000 people temporarily homeless and would cost the country in excess of $3 billion.

The scale of the destruction was such that the Lebanese capital resembled the scene of an earthquake, with thousands of people left homeless and thousands more cramming into overwhelmed hospitals for treatment.

The mushroom-shaped explosion - which seismologists said was logged as the equivalent of a 3.3 magnitude quake -- and the scope of the damage drew nuclear analogies in many people's accounts of the tragedy.

Fireworks and ammonium nitrate appear to have been the fuel that ignited a massive explosion that rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut, experts and videos of the blast suggest.

The scale of the damage — from the epicentre of the explosion at the port of Beirut to the windows blown out kilometres (miles) away — resembles other blasts involving the chemical compound commonly used as an agricultural fertilizer.

But the compound itself typically doesn't detonate on its own and requires another ignition source. That likely came from a fire that engulfed what initially appeared to be fireworks that were stored at the port.

The Centre has accepted a recommendation by the Bihar government for a CBI probe into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

A single-judge bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy asked the Maharashtra government to inform the court by next week about the progress made in the case related to the mysterious death of the actor on June 14.

"As of now perhaps Mumbai police has registered case of unnatural death. The FIR in Patna has raised certain other issues also.This case has hogged too much of media time and attention. Sending a police officer to quarantine does not send a good message," the bench told senior advocate R Basant for the state government.

"Are you sending the right message?" the bench asked the counsel. It added that "so many eyes are on the Bihar police and Mumbai police and the courts. Please file a reply on the issues. Kindly ensure that everything is done in a professional manner.”

The court was hearing a plea by actress Rhea Chakraborty for transferring the FIR lodged by Bihar police on June 25 on a complaint by Rajput's father K K Singh to Mumbai.

The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the state assembly speaker on a set of appeals filed by BJP MLA Madan Dilawar and BSP national secretary Satish Mishra on the issue of merger of six BSP MLAs with the Congress.

The matter will now be heard again on Thursday.

The duo approached the division bench of the high court on Tuesday with an appeal against the order of a single judge refusing stay on the functioning of the six BSP MLAs as Congress legislators.

On request, the matter was listed on Wednesday before the division bench of Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Prakash Gupta.

Both the parties had filed writ petitions challenging the decision of Speaker CP Joshi in September 2019 allowing merger of the six BSP MLAs with the Congress.

The single bench had issued notices to the speaker and secretary of the assembly and the six MLAs on July 30 and directed them to submit replies on August 11.

However, the court had not granted any interim relief. The parties had demanded a stay on the participation of the six MLAs in the proceeding in the House as Congress legislators.

A group of influential Democratic lawmakers has urged the Trump administration to exempt healthcare workers from the temporary suspension of the entry of certain foreign workers including those on H-1B visas, the most sought-after among Indian IT professionals.

President Donald Trump, in his June proclamation, banned the entry into the US of workers in several key non-immigrant visa categories, including the H-1B, arguing that they eat into American jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf and Labour Secretary Eugene Scalia, the lawmakers on Tuesday said that the restrictions hit the healthcare at large and particularly for the rural and underserved communities that rely on immigrant physicians.

Even though the proclamation provides relaxations to the individuals working on the COVID-19 related care and research, they said it is overly restrictive, and limiting the supply of healthcare workers during this crisis puts all Americans at risk.

A 200-bed Covid Care Centre was inaugurated by Transport Minister Laxman Savadi at KSRTC Bus Terminal in Peenya.

On the occasion, the minister said the terminal, named after Basaveshwara, was lying unused for a decade since it was built and is now finally being put to use for a good cause.

Officials said that in the second phase of the project, an additional 100 beds will be added to the capacity of the centre along with a 10-bed intensive care unit (ICU).

The centre will provide 50% of its beds for KSRTC, BMTC, NWKRTC and NEKRTC employees and their families. These patients will be treated free of cost. About 10% of the beds have been reserved for patients referred to from Rotary and Titan, which have funded the project.

The remaining 40% of beds will have patients referred to by BBMP. These patients will be charged as per government indicated rates.