Here are the top 5 news updates of September 13, 2021:
First-term MLA Bhupendra Patel wastoday sworn in Gujarat chief minister, two days after Vijay Rupani's surprise exit from the post, a year ahead of the Assembly polls. Patel (59), unanimously elected BJP legislature party leader on Sunday, was sworn in as the state's 17th chief minister by Governor Acharya Devvrat at a simple ceremony here. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and chief ministers of some BJP-ruled states were among those present at the Raj Bhavan ceremony. As decided by the party, only Patel took the oath. The council of ministers will take oath during the next few days after their names are finalised, BJP sources said.
Resuming flight operations after the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane from Islamabad touched down in Kabul on today morning. PIA spokesman Abdullah Khan said in a statement that the service was a "special flight" to create "goodwill" with the people of Afghanistan and to "strengthen humanitarian efforts". The spokesman clarified that this was "not an aid flight". PIA said the Boeing 777 aircraft departed Islamabad, Pakistan's capital city, at 6:45 am local time after special arrangements had been made by Afghanistan's civil aviation authorities and PIA's staff. Foreign journalists travelled into the Afghan capital on the flight while employees of the World Bank were brought back to Islamabad on the return leg, the spokesman said.
The Centre told the Supreme Court today that it does not wish to file a detailed affidavit on a batch of petitions seeking independent probe into the alleged Pegasus snooping row, while the top court said it would pass an interim order on the issue. A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, that if the government re-thinks about filing a detailed affidavit in the case, he can mention the matter before it. "We are reserving order. We will pass some interim order. It will take two-three days. If you have some re-thinking on this, you can mention the matter before us," the bench, also comprising justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, told the law officer.
Two teenagers were killed after a four-story building collapsed in north Delhi's Sabzi Mandi area today, officials said. Police said a 72-year-old man, who was also trapped under the debris, was rescued and rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. It is suspected that three to four more people are trapped under the debris, a senior police officer said. The two more children -- both boys aged seven and 12-year-old -- who were trapped under the rubble were also rescued and sent to hospital. "Both of them are brothers and were declared brought dead at the hospital, the officer said. The ground floor of the building was being used for commercial purpose while the rest was residential.
Equity benchmark Sensex dropped 127 points today, weighed by losses in index heavyweights Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. The 30-share BSE index ended 127.31 points or 0.22 per cent lower at 58,177.76, while the broader NSE Nifty slipped 13.95 points or 0.08 per cent to 17,355.30. Reliance Industries was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 2 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank, HUL, HDFC Bank, M&M, Ultra Cement, IndusInd Bank and Tech Mahindra. On the other hand, TCS, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, Maruti and Kotak Bank were among the gainers.
