Former President Barack Obama strongly spoke out against the US Supreme Court's decision
Former President Barack Obama strongly spoke out against the US Supreme Court's decision to ban the use of race and ethnicity in university admissions, saying that affirmative action policies had "allowed generations of students" including him and his wife Michelle to "prove we belonged".
Mr Obama argued that these policies were essential to ensuring that all students, regardless of race or ethnicity, have the opportunity to succeed.
"Affirmative action was never a complete answer in the drive towards a more just society. But for generations of students who had been systematically excluded from most of America's key institutions-it gave us the chance to show we more than deserved a seat at the table," Mr Obama wrote on social media.
10:41 PM
I strongly disagree with the court's decision: Joe Biden on US Supereme Court ruling on college admission
Court has effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions: Joe Biden
10:37 PM
"We will face this legally," says TN CM Stalin on dismissal of V Senthil Balaji by Governor RN Ravi
10:05 PM
A crowd gathered near the regional office of BJP in Imphal, Manipur
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Rahul Gandhi visits a relief camp in Imphal to meet the people affected due to the violence in the state
7:38 PM
J&K L-G Manoj Sinha arrives at Amarnath Yatri Niwas Base Camp in Jammu
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I came to listen to all my brothers and sisters of Manipur: Rahul Gandhi
6:25 PM
Ensure enhanced and affordable credit to MSMEs: Union Minister Piyush Goyal to bankers
5:52 PM
Portion of an under-construction bridge collapses due to heavy rains in Chhattisgarh's Durg district
5:50 PM
Earthquake hit East South East of Fayzabad, Afghanistan today at 5:05 PM: National Centre for Seismology
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Bhim Army leader Chandra Shekhar Aazad discharged from SBD Hospital in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh
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Seeing ground situation, we stopped Rahul Gandhi, advised him to travel to Churachandpur via helicopter: SP
3:41 PM
No one stopped Rahul Gandhi from going to Manipur: Sambit Patra
3:19 PM
Badrinath National Highway blocked following landslide, pilgrims stranded
The Badrinath national highway was blocked on Thursday following a landslide triggered by heavy rain near Chhinka in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, leaving hundreds of pilgrims stranded. The stranded pilgrims included those on way to Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, officials said.
A mound of debris accumulated on the road in the wake of the landslide near Chhinka blocking the national highway leading to Badrinath, they said.
2:54 PM
Everyone is free to come to Bihar: Nitish Kumar on Amit Shah's visit
Ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Lakhisarai on Thursday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said everybody is free to visit the state. Shah's visit to the state later during the day will be the first by any top BJP leader after the June 23 meeting here of opposition parties which was held to discuss and chart out a path ahead of the 2024 general election.
The US Supreme Court on Thursday banned the use of race and ethnicity in university admissions, dealing a major blow to a decades-old practice that boosted educational opportunities for African-Americans and other minorities. One year after overturning the guarantee of a woman's right to have an abortion, the court's conservative majority again demonstrated its readiness to scrap liberal policies set in law since the 1960s. The justices broke six to three along conservative-liberal lines in the decision, which came after years of ring-wing antipathy to "affirmative action" programs that have sought diversity in school admissions and business and government hiring.
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot fractured his two toes while returning from a meeting, at his residence in Jaipur. He received primary treatment at SMS Hospital and returned home. "...I will continue working from home for a few days, as per doctors' advice, due to the fracture..," tweets the CM.
Death toll in Assam floods rises to 11 as four more die in North Guwahati, 38,000 still affected, according to an official bulletin.
Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi dismisses jailed V Senthil Balaji from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect. "Minister V Senthil Balaji is facing serious criminal proceedings in a number of cases of corruption including taking cash for jobs and money laundering...Under these circumstances, Governor has dismissed him from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect," Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan issues press release.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said today that the next opposition meeting will be held in Bengaluru on July 13. On June 23, at the first opposition meet in Patna, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had announced that the next meet to strategise a united front against the BJP would be held in Shimla. Sixteen opposition parties met in Patna to streamline a roadmap to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The four-hour meeting concluded with sharp exchanges between Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The AAP said it will not participate in future opposition meetings that include the Congress until the party publicly denounces the central government's contentious ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi.
Rahul Gandhi's convoy has been stopped by police near Bishnupur. "Police say that they are not in a position to allow us. People are standing on both sides of the road to wave to Rahul Gandhi. We are not able to understand why have they stopped us?", said Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal.
The vehicle used by the attackers of Dalit leader and Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad have been recovered from a village here, police said on Thursday. A bullet grazed Aazad's abdomen when unidentified assailants opened fire at his car in Saharanpur district's Deoband where he had gone to attend a ritual at a supporter's home on Wednesday evening. The vehicle was seized from Miragpur village late on Wednesday night. The number plate of the car used in the attack showed it was registered in Haryana, police said.
Unidentified gunmen fired without provocation at Haraothel village in Kangpokpi district of Manipur on Thursday morning, sources said. Security forces returned the fire and the shootout has now stopped, they said. Unprovoked firing by gunmen Haraothel village commenced at around 5.45 am. Assam Rifles troops retaliated and the firing stopped. Operations are underway, a source in the security forces said.
A day after the Congress's move to appoint T S Singh Deo as the deputy chief minister of Chhattisgarh, the state minister said he had never spoken of an "agreement" over rotation of the chief ministerial post and claimed it was a buzz created by the media. After arriving at the Raipur airport from New Delhi on Thursday morning, Singh Deo expressed gratitude to the party for the announcement of his elevation and said "der aaye durust aaye" (better late than never). A Congress statement on Wednesday said party president Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the proposal for the appointment of Singh Deo as the deputy chief minister in Chhattisgarh.
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