Your Morning Briefing for 04 August 2020

Good mornings readers,  Get a head start to your day with this selection of unmissable stories. Rakesh Sinha, who reported on the Babri Masjid demolition for The Indian Express, returns to Ayodhya for August 5. We analysed the habeas corpus cases filed in J&K after the abrogation of Article 370. And catch the latest in the clinical trials of India’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine. From The Front Page The All India Institute Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has a high rejection rate of volunteers being recruited for clinical trials of India’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin. The institute has screened more than 80 volunteers, but only 16 have been recruited.  It needs 100 for Phase I of the trials. At the Corps Commanders meet on Sunday, the Indian side is believed to have raised the stalling of the disengagement process and the uncooperative stance of the Chinese side at Pangong Tso. It also mentioned  the issue of Depsang plains where they have been denied access to five patrolling points.  Out of the 160 habeas corpus petitions filed challenging detentions under the draconian Public Safety Act after abrogation of Article 370, the Jammu & Kashmir High Court records show that 61 per cent of the cases dragged on over 3-4 hearings, only to be eventually either “dismissed” or “settled”.  A Bihar Police officer sent to Mumbai to monitor the investigation into actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death has been "selectively quarantined" while the police team which arrived from Patna on July 27 was not.  The Pandemic Thousands of migrant workers who had lost their jobs and moved back to their hometowns and villages are now realising that the rural economy has hit a saturation point and cannot absorb more workers. Most of these workers are struggling to make ends meet. The Punjab government has collected a whopping Rs 15 crore in fines amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the non-mask wearers have contributed the most in it (Rs 14.90 crore), according to the official data accessed by The Indian Express. Other violations include spitting in public places and flouting social distancing guidelines. Since the resumption of domestic flight services on May 25, as many as 1,500 passengers have tested positive for coronavirus at their destinations. However, data pertaining to how many air passengers were actually tested was not centrally available as the rules for testing are not the same in every state. Beyond Covid-19 Keeping in mind the coronavirus pandemic and the security, the government has decided that only 175 people will attend Wednesday’s Ram temple groundbreaking ceremony, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the chief guest to initiate it. The invitees include 135 religious leaders from 36 spiritual traditions across the country. Questionable processes and clearances are now under scrutiny, resulting in a pause on the key section of a proposed Rs 1,500-crore power transmission network for supply from Chhattisgarh to Goa, a 400kV line crossing the Western Ghats through Karnataka. ICYMI  India’s top drug regulator has approved the application of Serum Institute of India to conduct late-stage human trials in the country for the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine candidate.  The Tamil Nadu Police is investigating if a man who died a month ago in Coimbatore was a wanted Sri Lankan drug lord.  In the first seven months of this year, Security forces have killed nearly 150 militants in Jammu and Kashmir which includes only 17 foreign terrorists (FTs).  Responding to the notice issued to him by the Supreme Court over two of his tweets, advocate Prashant Bhushan has said that expression of opinion is not contempt.  As yoga institutes and gymnasiums open from tomorrow, the Centre has released detailed guidelines. And Finally... “My father and I fought a title suit, not the people or their faith.” That was Iqbal Ansari, a litigant in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit, who says he will attend the bhoomi pujan ceremony for the temple of Ram. And there is Gayatri Devi, who also received an invite.  Her reason to attend the event, though, is different. Delhi confidential: Home Minister Amit Shah, who announced on Sunday that he had tested positive for Covid-19, attended a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, but the precautions taken at the meeting seem to have made isolation unnecessary for his Cabinet colleagues. In today's episode of Three Things podcast, we look into how the trade of illegally brewed alcohol has flourished in Punjab and resulted in the death of over 100 people. Until tomorrow, Leela Prasad G and Shreyasi Jha