Quick Reads
News Dabba for 20 May 2026: Five stories for a balanced news diet
Here are the daily updates that the internet is talking about through various news websites.
Indie Journal brings you the daily updates that the internet is talking about through various news websites. Here's a glance through some of the National and International news updates, from Supreme Court junking plea against Caste Census, EU agreeing to implement US trade pact, to Lithuania's leaders take shelter during drone air alert.
Supreme Court junks plea against Caste Census, NDTV reports
The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking exclusion of caste enumeration from the upcoming population census, NDTV reports. The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi said that the issue lies within the policy domain of the government and courts cannot intervene. The reports says that the petitioner-in-person contended that caste-based data collection could potentially be misused by agencies and may lead to social and political complications. Read the full report here.
Indian Express: Rahul Gandhi says Modi, Amit Shah traitors, sold country to industrialists
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), calling them “traitors” and accusing them of attacking the Constitution, weakening reservation and “selling” the country’s economic system to a handful of industrialists. Holding up a copy of the Constitution while addressing the Bahujan Swabhiman Sammelan in Amethi, Indian Express reports, he repeatedly invoked B R Ambedkar, Veera Pasi, Mahatma Gandhi, Guru Nanak, Kabir and Narayan Guru, asserting that the Constitution embodied the collective voice and ideology of social justice icons across the country. He also accused the Prime Minister of hypocrisy over economic issues and foreign visits. Read the full report here.
The Straits Times on EU agreeing to implement US trade pact after Trump threats
EU lawmakers and member states reached a deal in the early hours of Wednesday to implement the bloc’s nearly year-old trade pact with the United States, with US President Donald Trump threatening new tariffs unless it is done by July 4. The Straits Times reports that the 27-nation bloc struck an accord with Washington in July 2025 setting levies on most European goods at 15 per cent, but to Trump’s frustration it had yet to make good on its pledge to scrap levies on most US imports in return. Negotiators from the EU’s Parliament and capitals wrangled late into the night, finally emerging several hours after midnight with news of an agreement to move forward. Read the full report here.
Assam govt aims 20% cut in fuel cost, 10% down in revenue expense: Hindustan Times
The Assam government has come out with a slew of austerity measures, including slashing fuel expenditure by 20 percent and downsizing the convoy size of all ministers, to ensure fiscal prudence in the wake of the West Asia crisis, Hindustan Times reports. In an 'Advisory on Austerity Measures' issued in the form of an 'Executive Order' by Finance Commissioner & Secretary Jayant Narlikar on Monday, the government set a target to cut 10 per cent in revenue and establishment expenditure, excluding salaries, pensions, debt repayment and charged spendings, the report says. It also listed out a few steps to enhance revenue generation and carry out energy audits for minimum wastage of power. Read the full report here.
Lithuania's leaders take shelter during drone air alert, BBC reports
BBC reports that Lithuania's president and prime minister were forced to take shelter on Tuesday, when a drone alert caused the capital Vilnius to come to a standstill. President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene were taken to emergency shelters following the air alert, which ordered the city's population to take cover. Flights were suspended and road and rail travel briefly ground to a halt. The report says the alert has since been lifted. It is not yet clear who was behind the incursion. Read the full report here.
