1. Kashmir Issue: UN Security Council to Hold Closed-Door Meeting on 16 August
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will meet on the morning of Friday, 16 August, to discuss Kashmir (India’s abrogation of Article 370), Poland’s mission to the UN confirmed to The Hindu. The Presidency of the UNSC is currently with Poland.
The Kashmir discussion will be taken up under the closed consultations format at 10 a.m. local time (7.30 p.m. IST), press officer Bartłomiej Wybacz said.
(Source: The Hindu)
2. Defence Reform Pending Since Kargil Gets I-Day Okay: PM Modi Announces Chief of Defence Staff Post
Signalling greater resolve in bringing decisive changes following the strong mandate for a second term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday announced the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff, and flagged population growth while calling for a rethink. He said steps will be taken to address the water crisis, and a campaign should begin against single-use plastic.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. ‘Population Explosion a Worry,’ Govt Schemes Needed to Control It: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday placed the issue of “population explosion” on the national front-burner, calling it a challenge and exhorting the Centre and states to devise schemes to tackle it. In his Independence Day speech from the Red Fort, Modi said the rising population was a cause for worry and posed new challenges for the present and the future. He said citizens with small families needed to be held up as role models as their decision was an expression of patriotism and love for the nation.
(Source: The Times of India)
4. India Denies Pakistan Military’s Claim of Killing 5 Soldiers Along LoC
On India’s 73rd Independence Day Thursday, Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked mortar shelling and small arms fire along Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district.
According to Defence Ministry spokesperson Lt Colonel Devender Anand, shelling from across the LoC started at 7 am in the Krishna Gharu area. “The Indian Army retaliated befittingly,” he said, adding that the firing stopped at around 5:30 pm and no casualties were reported on the Indian side.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. Supreme Court to Hear Pleas on Centre’s Jammu and Kashmir Moves on 16 August
A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi is scheduled to hear on 16 August a petition filed by Anuradha Bhasin, executive editor of Kashmir Times, against the information blackout and restrictions imposed on media freedom during the Centre’s “unilateral” move to impose curfew and divide Jammu and Kashmir “without taking consent from the people”.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. Pehlu Khan Judgment Lays Bare Glaring Lapses in Probe
The police failed to investigate the people named by Pehlu Khan in his dying declaration, did not obtain a certificate from the hospital where he was being treated on his fitness ahead of recording his statement, did not bother to send a video of the lynching on which their case was based for forensic analysis, and could not even produce the mobile phone on which the video was recorded, according to the judgment issued by an Alwar court on Wednesday.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Free Rides for Women in DTC, Cluster Buses from 29 October: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Thursday that rides on DTC and cluster buses will be free for women from October 29 on the occasion of Bhaiya Dooj. He made the announcement at the Delhi government's Independence Day event at Chhatrasal Stadium.
"On the day of Raksha Bandhan , I want to give gift to our sisters that there will be free rides for women on all DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation) and cluster buses from 29 October, which will ensure their safety," Kejriwal said.
(Source: The Times of India)
8. Indian Captain, Crew Aboard Seized Iranian Oil Tanker Released in Gibraltar
The Indian Captain and three other Indian crew members aboard an Iranian oil supertanker were on Thursday released of all charges by authorities in Gibraltar, even as the US Department of Justice made a last-minute claim on the vessel.
“I am grateful and thankful for my release. And I am grateful to all who have facilitated my release in my legal team,” the Indian Captain of the Grace 1 tanker said in a statement.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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