Evening news wrap: SC says 11-ID list in Bihar SIR 'inclusive'; Jaishankar to meet Lavrov in Moscow & more

The Supreme Court ruled that the 11 documents accepted for Bihar's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) are more “voter-friendly” than the seven required for summary revision, dismissing concerns that excluding Aadhaar was exclusionary. Meanwhile, EAM S Jaishankar is set to visit Moscow on August 21 to meet Sergei Lavrov amid US-India trade tensions over Russian crude. India’s Nayara Energy, facing EU sanctions on Russian oil, is exporting diesel to China for the first time since 2021. In Delhi, two nine-year-old girls were allegedly gang-raped near a private swimming pool in Narela, with both accused now in custody.Bihar SIR: SC says 11 documents better than 7, not exclusionary without AadhaarThe Supreme Court observed that the 11 documents accepted for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in poll-bound Bihar make the process more "voter-friendly" than the seven documents required for a summary revision. Hearing pleas challenging EC's June 24 decision to hold the SIR without Aadhaar as valid ID, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said that, contrary to claims of exclusion, the wider list appeared “actually inclusionary.” Read full storyJaishankar to visit Moscow for talks with Lavrov amid US-India trade tensionsExternal affairs minister S Jaishankar will visit Russia on August 21 to hold talks with his counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. The trip comes amid heightened tensions with the US, following US President Donald Trump’s recent move to raise tariffs on Indian imports over New Delhi’s purchases of Russian crude, which he claimed was funding Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Read full storyIndia exports diesel to China for first time since 2021 as Nayara navigates EU sanctionsIndia’s Russia-backed Nayara Energy is sending a diesel shipment to China for the first time since 2021. The move comes as the refinery faces European Union sanctions over its procurement of Russian crude, prompting it to explore alternative markets amid uncertainty in oil product exports. Read full storyTwo 9-year-old girls gang-raped in Delhi's Narela; accused in custodyTwo nine-year-old girls were allegedly gang-raped late last week near an under-construction private swimming pool in Narela, on the outskirts of Delhi. The accused are two men, a 37-year-old contractor named Anil Kumar from Uttar Pradesh and 24-year-old caretaker Munil Kumar from Bihar, who reportedly lured the girls under false pretenses and assaulted them. They also threatened the children after the incident. Both men have been arrested by police. Read full story‘Vote chori’ row: BJP says Sonia Gandhi listed on voter list before 1983 Indian citizenshipThe BJP countered Congress’s ‘vote chori’ charge by alleging that Sonia Gandhi’s name appeared on the electoral rolls in 1980, three years before she acquired Indian citizenship in 1983. BJP leader Amit Malviya claimed her name was added during the 1980 revision of the New Delhi parliamentary constituency rolls, with January 1 as the qualifying date. Read full story