FirstUp: ED summons Tejashwi, Bombay HC verdict on IT rules... Today's big news

And there’s a big day of news ahead. The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Tejashwi Yadav in the land-for-jobs case. The Bombay High Court is set to pronounce a verdict on pleas related to IT Rules on fake news. The first tuna auction of the year is set to be held at the Toyusu fish market in Tokyo. The Dakar Rally 2024 is set to kick off in the sands of Saudi Arabia. Let’s take a closer look at today’s big-ticket items: ED summons Tejashwi Arvind Kejriwal isn’t the only one playing mind games with the Enforcement Directorate. So is Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav. The young RJD leader, who is on the agencies’ radar in a land-for-jobs scam, was previously summoned on 27 December but elected not to turn up. Yadav in December returned from the National Capital on Thursday after that lasted three days claimed there was “nothing new” in the summons. “There is nothing new in the summons. All these agencies — ED, CBI and I-T department — have summoned me so many times in the past and I have duly appeared every time. But now it seems to have become routine.” Yadav has claimed that the central agencies are acting on the orders of the ruling BJP. The ED has also issued summons to his father and RJD president Lalu Prasad, who was the railway minister when the alleged scam took place. Bombay HC verdict on IT rules All eyes are on the Bombay High Court today. The court is slated to pronounce its verdict on a clutch of petitions challenging the recently-amended Information Technology (IT) Rules against fake news pertaining to the government on social media. Under the Rules, if the FCU comes across or is informed about any posts that are fake, false and misleading facts pertaining to the business of the government then it would flag off the same to the social media intermediaries. [caption id=“attachment_12888052” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Representational image[/caption] Once such a post is flagged, the intermediary has the option of either taking down the post or putting a disclaimer on the same. In taking the second option, the intermediary loses its safe harbour/immunity and stands liable for legal action. A bunch of petitions were filed challenging the Rules earlier this year in the high court. Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, the Editors Guild of India and the Association of Indian Magazines have filed petitions in the court against the Rules, terming them arbitrary and unconstitutional, and claiming that they would have a chilling effect on the fundamental rights of citizens. The pleas said the government was trying to be the sole arbiter and would through these Rules try to curtail citizens’ freedom of speech and the right to expression. The Centre, however, said that it was not against any kind of opinion, criticism, satire or humour and that the Rules were to only proscribe or prohibit peddling of fake, false and misleading facts on social media. First tuna auction of year Looks like fish is back on the menu. The first tuna auction of the year at Tokyo’s famed Toyosu market is a closely watched tradition that draws a horde of fish wholesalers every year. Bidders sometimes shell out an enormous amount to win the top-priced tuna, which is seen as bringing good luck, as well as plenty of publicity for the buyer. In 2023, a bluefin tuna sold for $273,000 at the New Year’s auction – more than twice the top price in 2022.

The price was the sixth highest since data became publicly available in 1999.

The bid was jointly won by Tokyo-based intermediate wholesaler Yamayuki and the company operating the restaurant Sushi Ginza Onodera Yamayuki president Yukitaka Yamaguchi was quoted by Japan Times as saying that the tuna was “by far the best.” “I want to thank those who delivered this wonderful tuna,” addedd Akifumi Sakagami, head chef of Ginza Onodera. “The people who eat it will definitely be satisfied.” Dakar Rally kicks off Saudi Arabia’s famed Dakar Rally kicks off today. The 425-strong colourful caravanserai made up of cars, bikes, quads and trucks will set out from Al-Ula on a treacherous 7,885-kilometre journey around the Gulf kingdom with a 19 January finish in Yanbu on the Red Sea. Will Nasser Al-Attiyah from Qatar get his sixth title including his third in a row? The 53-year-old Al-Attiyah is adept at multi-tasking – juggling the sand dunes of Saudi with his other passion, skeet shooting. But this year’s route includes a first ever 48-hour stage in the Empty Quarter, a vast sea of sand with dunes as far as the eye can see. “The last Dakar was difficult for everyone. It’s incredible that I was able to hold on to my title,” he told the event’s official website. Birth anniversary of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi On this day in 1941 in Bhopal, Indian cricket got its ‘Tiger’. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, the Nawab of Pataudi, was one of India’s greatest cricketers and captains. An idol to many including the great all-rounder Imran Khan, Pataudi was a stylish player and flamboyant personality. [caption id=“attachment_13577832” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi captained India in 40 Test. BCCI Image[/caption] While his test average is a moderate 34, many including Khan contend that but for his accident – which cost him his vision in the right eye – Pataudi would have broken every record in the book. Regardless, Pataudi remains one of the stars in India’s firmament of cricket greats On this day… On 5 January, 1919, the German Workers’ Party was formed by Anton Drexler, a Munich locksmith. By next year, the party would be renamed the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. The party was founded on three main plans – German pride, anti-Semitism and outrage at the Treaty of Versailles. A frustrated painter and charismatic former soldier named Adolf Hitler would soon take over the party. The rest, as they say, is bloody history. With inputs from agencies