Daily bulletin: PDP distances from J&K panchayat polls, SC legalises homosexuality, India play England in final Test; day's top stories

Section 377 verdict: India joins 125 other countries where homosexuality is legal In what is being hailed as a historic verdict, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously struck down part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC which criminalises consensual unnatural sex, saying it violated the rights to equality. The constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra termed the part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code as irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary. With the Supreme Court decriminalising consensual sex between individuals belonging to the LGBTQ community, India joins 125 other countries where homosexuality is legal. [caption id=“attachment_5131621” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. PTI[/caption] PDP distances itself from J&K panchayat polls over Article 35A A day after the National Conference (NC) decided to boycott panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) distanced itself from the local polls, saying that a political party could not ask people for votes in a tense situation that was compounded by Article 35A. Speaking to News18, former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said, “Some powers might be up to some mischief to fiddle with Article 35A once polls are done. In view of that and the mood on the ground, it is difficult for the PDP to ignore public sentiment.” The party is yet to take a clear stand on the polls though. Madhya Pradesh govt ready for dialogue with protestors against amendments of SC/ST Act As protests continue in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh against amendments to the ST/ST Act — the state government has said it is ready for a dialogue with protesters, according to News18. The ‘Bharat Bandh’ call given by some upper caste organisations and supported by OBC outfits against the amended SC/ST Act on Thursday evoked a strong response in Madhya Pradesh. The bandh was called against the amendment carried out by the Parliament to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after some of its provisions were read down by the Supreme Court. KCR govt recommends dissolution of Telangana Assembly; TRS announces candidates for 105 seats The Telangana Cabinet on Thursday recommended dissolution of the state assembly months before the end of its term, a move driven by the TRS’ hope that caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s charisma and a fragmented opposition will help the party retain power. Shortly after his big political gambit which was seen as a bid to avoid a “KCR vs Modi” campaign in any simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls, Rao announced candidates of the ruling TRS for 105 of the 119 assembly seats and launched a blistering attack on the Congress, calling the party Telangana’s “enemy number 1” and its president Rahul Gandhi the “biggest buffoon” in the country. India play England in fifth and final Test Having lost the Test series, India take on England in the final Test at The Oval. England will be looking to give Alastair Cook the perfect farewell gift with a win after the former captain announced his decision to retire. India, on the other hand, will be looking to end their tour of the UK on a winning note. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in action in US Open semi-finals Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin Del Potro clash once again in the US Open semi-final, a year after Nadal beat Del Potro in the same stage on his way to winning the title. World No 1 Nadal comes into the semi-final on the back of a thrilling five-set win over Dominc Thiem and will be looking to make it to his second US Open final in a row when he takes on third seed Del Potro. In the other semi-final, two-time US Open winner Novak Djokovic will face 2014 finalist Kei Nishikori. The two had met earlier in the year in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon with Djokovic winning the clash on his way to winning the title. Huawei caught cheating on benchmarks Huawei recently took over as the second-largest smartphone maker in the world, beating out Apple, who’ve managed to hold on to that spot for years. Alongside that, Huawei now has the dubious distinction of being the largest cheat in the smartphone world. Recent reports on various enthusiast sites, notably AnandTech have confirmed that Huawei is cheating on benchmarks. According to reports, the phone maker is targeting benchmarking software by name and is artificially boosting performance in those apps. Given the evidence, Huawei was forced to acknowledge its actions and attempted to push the blame on the super-competitive Chinese market. According to Huawei, everyone was cheating on benchmarks and the only way they could stay competitive was by cheating as well. Firstpost has since acquired a custom benchmarking tool and will be measuring the extent to which Huawei is cheating. The company’s flagship phones, including the P20 Pro and sub-brand Honor’s Honor Play, which have been singled out in reports, will be tested. Fuel prices break all records Fuel prices once again witnessed a hike on Thursday with petrol being sold at Rs 79.51 per litre and diesel at Rs 71.55 per litre in Delhi. The price of petrol was increased by 20 paise per litre, and diesel by 21 paise per litre. In Mumbai, the price of petrol has surpassed the Rs 86-mark and retails at Rs 86.91 per litre, while diesel is sold at Rs 75.96 per litre. The surge in fuel prices is largely attributed to the rise in crude oil prices and high excise duty in the country. The recent slump in the rupee has also lifted the import cost of crude oil, subsequently affecting fuel prices. The rise in global crude oil prices pushes the domestic cost of petrol and diesel higher as the country is a net importer of crude oil. Singer Remo Fernandes acquitted in verbal abuse case A local trial court on Thursday acquitted musician Remo Fernandes, who was booked for allegedly verbally abusing a minor girl. Speaking to reporters, the singer’s lawyer Rajeev Gomes said that Fernandes has been acquitted of the charges framed under Section 8 r/w 2 (m) of the Goa Children’s Act, a special legislation which specifically deals with crimes against children in Goa.