Morning briefing: Bengal CM reacts to MEA statement over Bangladesh; details about Rahul Gandhi's new address, and more

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday hit back at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for objecting to her ‘shelter offer’ to people from violence-hit Bangladesh. Stating that she knows the MEA policy “very well”, Banerjee said that they “shouldn't teach her a lesson, rather they should learn from the system instead”. Banerjee's comments came amid student-led anti-quota protests in Bangladesh, which turned violent last week. Dr Hasan Mahmud, the foreign affairs minister of Bangladesh, said that Banerjee's words may cause ‘confusion’ and ‘mislead’ people. Dig deeper

Bungalow No 5, Sunehri Bagh Road is set to be Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's new residential address as the house committee has reportedly offered him the sprawling residence. While news agency PTI reported that the buzz around the residence Rahul Gandhi is set to get gained traction after his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Bungalow No 5, Sunehri Bagh Road, News18 claimed that the Rae Bareli MP has selected this home from the three-four options given to him. Dig deeper

India News

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Entertainment Focus

Actor Shah Rukh Khan paid his respects to filmmaker-choreographer Farah Khan's mother, Menaka Irani. Farah's mother died earlier on Friday. Shah Rukh was accompanied by his wife-interior designer, Gauri Khan, and actor-daughter Suhana Khan. The Khan family visited Farah's home late evening. Several videos and pictures of the trio at Farah's home emerged on social media platforms. Dig deeper

Lifestyle and Health

The National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune has confirmed the tragic death of a four-year-old girl in Gujarat due to the Chandipura virus. This incident is part of a larger outbreak, with the death toll of suspected cases reaching 15 and a total of 29 cases reported across nearly a dozen districts. Among these, 26 cases are from Gujarat, two from Rajasthan, and one from Madhya Pradesh. Out of the 15 deaths, 13 are from Gujarat, and one each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The Chandipura virus (CHPV) belongs to the Rhabdoviridae family and is known to cause sporadic cases and outbreaks, particularly in the western, central, and southern regions of India, especially during the monsoon season. Dig deeper

Sports Goings

India's shooting contingent will be in focus early on Saturday at the Paris Olympic Games, when it kicks off Day 1 with the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team. Ramita Jindal-Arjun Babuta and Elavenil Valarivan-Sandeep Singh will carry India's medal hopes in the event, with the medal matches slated to take place later in the day. The top four teams from the qualifiers will head to the medal matches, where teams placed one and two will compete for the gold, while the other two for the bronze. Arjun Singh Cheema, Sarajbot Singh, Manu Bhaker and Rhythm Sangwan will also be in action in the 10m air pistol events, with Day 1 only to stage the qualifiers. Dig deeper

That’s all we have at this hour in our Morning briefing. Catch you in the afternoon!