India slips down to 150th position in 2022 World Press Freedom Index

HT Daily News Wrap

Elon Musk hints he may charge commercial, govt users from Twitter, India's ranking in the World Press Freedom Index has fallen down to 150th position, LIC IPO opens for retail and institutional investors today and will close on May 9 and other top news in this bulletin.
Elon Musk has dropped a major hint of what Twitter will be like under him as he revealed his plans of making Twitter something like a paywall social media platform. However, he clarified that for “casual users”, Twitter will always be free, but a slight cost may be imposed on commercial and government users. “Ultimately, the downfall of the Freemasons was giving away their stonecutting services for nothing,” Musk tweeted making premises for introducing a fee for Twitter. Twitter will not be absolutely new to the idea of fee-based subscription and Twitter Blue is a similar concept, which gives Twitter’s most loyal customers exclusive access to premium features and app customisation for a small monthly subscription fee. Twitter Blue is available on Twitter for iOS, Android and the web in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. India’s ranking in the World Press Freedom Index has fallen down to 150th position from last year’s 142nd rank out of 180 countries, according to a report by a global media watchdog released on Tuesday. The ranking of India’s neighbours, except that of Nepal, have also slid down, with the index placing Pakistan at 157th position, Sri Lanka 146th, Bangladesh 162nd and Maynmar at 176th position, the report released by Reporters Without Borders said. According to the RSF 2022 World Press Freedom Index, Nepal has climbed up by 30 points in the global ranking at 76th position. Last year, the Himalayan nation had been placed at 106th position, Pakistan at 145th, Sri Lanka 127th, Bangladesh 152nd and Myanmar at 140th position in the index. This year, Norway (1st) Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd) Estonia (4th) and Finland (5th) grabbed the top positions, while North Korea remained at the bottom of the list of the 180 countries and territories ranked by the Reporters Without Borders. The heatwave has abated from all parts of the country, the India Meteorological Department said on Tuesday, adding that maximum temperature has further fallen by 2°C-4°C over Rajasthan, Punjab, New Delhi and Haryana. The maximum temperatures are likely to rise over many parts of northwest India again by 2°C-3°C after two days, according to the IMD. No significant change in maximum temperatures is very likely over most parts of Central India during next 3 days and a rise by 2°C-3°C thereafter. Maximum temperatures are likely to rise by 2°C-4°C over Maharashtra from Wednesday, the IMD report said. Also, isolated light rainfall, dust storms, and thunderstorms with winds gusting up to 50 kmph are very likely over Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan during the next two days, the weather agency said. Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra has come in support of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after the BJP sought to create a political row tweeting a video of Rahul Gandhi partying in Nepal. “How on earth is it anybody’s business whether @RahulGandhi or anybody else is in nightclub or at wedding in private time?,” the Trinamool MP tweeted. Slamming BJP social media department head Amit Malviya who shared the video and said Rahul Gandhi had partied during the 2008 Mumbai blast also, Mahua Moitra said, “Sick @BJP trolls in charge should stick to doing what they do best- leading double lives with beer in teapots.” The Congress has clarified the video as party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Rahul Gandhi went to Nepal on an invitation to attend a wedding of a friend. “By chance, the friend also happens to be a journalist,” Surjewala said. “Last I checked, having a family in this country and having friends, attending marriage and engagement ceremonies is a matter of our culture and civilisation. It has still not become a crime in this country to be married, to be friends with someone or to attend their marriage celebration. Maybe after today, Prime Minister Modi or the BJP may decide that it is illegal to attend a marriage. They may say it is a crime to have friends or participate in family functions,” he said. The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of LIC opens for retail and institutional investors today and will close on May 9. LIC has fixed the price band at Rs 902-949 per equity share for the issue. The offer includes a reservation for eligible employees and policyholders. The retail investors and eligible employees will also get a discount of Rs 45 per equity share and policyholders will get a discount of Rs 60 per share. The share sale is through an Offer-For-Sale (OFS) of up to 22.13 crore equity shares. The shares are likely to be listed on May 17. “LIC filed red herring prospectus(RHP) dt 26.4.22 with SEBI/Stock Exchanges for its IPO reserving shares for eligible policyholders. For details & risks in investing in LIC IPO and disclaimers, see RHP and links….,” said the SMS sent by the insurer to the policyholders on their registered mobile numbers.