News Dabba for 20 April 2026: Five stories for a balanced news diet

Indie Journal brings you the daily updates that the internet is talking about through various news websites. Here's a glance through some of the National and International news updates, from allegations of ‘wrongful deletion’ of 9.8 lakh names during pre-SIR exercise in Odisha, Tehran saying 'no plans' for new talks, to earthquake in Japan.

Hindustan Times: Supreme Court rejects Umar Khalid’s review petition to seek bail in 2020 case

Former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid’s attempt to reopen the Supreme Court’s January 5 denial of bail in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case has suffered a legal setback, Hindustan Times reports, with the court dismissing his review petition and declining his request for an open-court hearing. The development comes days after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Umar Khalid, had mentioned the matter before justice Kumar, urging that the review petition be heard in open court rather than decided in chambers. Khalid filed the review petition challenging the Supreme Court’s January 5 judgment, which denied him bail under the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the Delhi riots conspiracy case, the report says. Read the full report here.

Indian Express on allegations of ‘wrongful deletion’ of 9.8 lakh names during pre-SIR exercise in Odisha

Amid allegations of ‘wrongful deletion’ of around 9.8 lakh names during electoral mapping before the Odisha leg of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Indian Express reports that the chief electoral officer (CEO) has ordered strict verification before preparing the final roll. Officials in the CEO office confirmed that a substantial number of complaints have been received regarding wrongful deletion of names, including cases where electors were found to be present and instances where booth level officers (BLO) had neither conducted field visits nor carried out proper verification prior to deletion, the report says. The elector mapping process was carried out from January to March. Read the full report here.

Tehran says 'no plans' for new talks after US seizes Iranian cargo ship, BBC reports

Tehran said it has "no plans for the next round" of peace talks as the US sent a delegation to Pakistan headed by Vice-President JD Vance, BBC reports. The US-Iran two-week ceasefire is due to end on Wednesday. It comes after the US attacked and seized an Iranian cargo ship trying to get past its blockade of Iran's ports, the repotr says according to US President Donald Trump. Read the full report here.

Heavy sain triggers severe waterlogging in Guwahati, NDTV reports

Heavy overnight rainfall brought large parts of the city to a standstill, triggering widespread waterlogging, closure of schools and major disruption to normal life, NDTV reports. The rain, which continued for nearly 7-8 hours late into the night, caused severe flooding across several areas, including Chandmari, Nabin Nagar, Rukmini Nagar, Zoo Road, Ganeshguri, Hatigaon and Beltola Survey. The report adds many of these localities remain waterlogged even this morning. Read the full report here.

Japan warns of ‘huge’ earthquake after 7.7-magnitude tremor strikes north-eastern coast: The Straits Times

The Straits Times reports that Japan issued a special advisory on Monday, warning of an increased risk of earthquakes at 8.0 magnitude or stronger, after a powerful jolt rattled the country’s north and prompted a tsunami warning. The Japan Meteorological Agency said in a statement that “the likelihood of a new, huge earthquake occurring is relatively higher than during normal times”. The report said that municipalities in the affected region issued non-compulsory evacuation directives to more than 1,82,000 residents. The warning for the northern region came a few hours after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the area. Read the full report here.