Xi-Modi meet likely to skirt Kashmir issue
China on Tuesday signalled that the Kashmir issue is unlikely to be spotlighted during the informal summit in India between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. “I think for those things like Kashmir... I don’t think it will be a major topic occupying the talks, that is my understanding,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, during an interaction with media from Asia and Africa, undergoing an 11-month training course in China. “But for the leaders, they will be free to talk about whatever they like,” she said in response to a question.
Tabrez Ansari lynching case accused face murder charge
Making a U-turn in the Tabrez Ansari lynching case after allegations of attempts to weaken the case, the Jharkhand police submitted a supplementary charge sheet on Wednesday, seeking punishment under Section 302 of the IPC (murder) against 11 of the accused. Another two accused, who were apprehended later, would also face murder charges. The Seraikela-Kharsawan police had earlier dropped the murder charges against the accused, contending that Ansari had died of cardiac arrest due to stress, and not injury. The charges were changed on the basis of a fresh forensic report.
Pakistan refuses India’s request to open airspace for Narendra Modi
Pakistan on Wednesday announced that it would not allow the use of its airspace for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flight to Germany. The official Twitter account of the Government of Pakistan shared a short video of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi making this announcement. Asked for response, Raveesh Kumar, official spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry, said, “We regret the decision of the Government of Pakistan to deny overflight clearance for the VVIP special flight for a second time in two weeks, which is otherwise granted routinely by any normal country."
No SC/ST quota for 2020 admissions to IIM-A Ph.D course
Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has not made any provision to implement reservations for historically marginalised social groups in its 2020 Ph.D Programme in Management. When the country’s premier management institute opened its admissions portal for next year’s doctoral programme last week, it had no provisions for an SC/ST (Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe) quota. Some IIM staff and alumni have called out the institution on its continued refusal to comply with the law that requires all Central educational institutions to reserve seats for each course and branch of study.
Ayodhya issue: Supreme Court allows mediation committee to resume talks
The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the Ayodhya mediation committee to resume talks with the disputing Hindu and Muslim parties even as it indicated that the ongoing hearings of the appeals before a Constitution Bench is likely to finish by October 18.
India is the top source of immigrants across the globe
India has emerged as the leading country of origin for immigrants across the world, with 17.5 million international migrants in 2019 coming from India, up from 15.9 million in 2015, according to a dataset released by the Union Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in New York on Tuesday.
Supreme Court gets four new judges
The Centre on September 18 cleared the appointments of Chief Justices of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, Rajasthan and Kerala High Courts, V. Ramasubramanian, Krishna Murari, S. Ravindra Bhat and Hrishikesh Roy, respectively, as Supreme Court judges. The Supreme Court Collegium led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had recommended their names as apex court judges on August 28.
India, U.S. to end dogfight over ground handling
India is set to amend its ground handling regulations for foreign airlines to pacify the U.S., which in a retaliatory action recently barred Air India from performing ground operations on its own at American airports. “We are adjusting ground handling norms and devising a mechanism to attempt to address their concerns without compromising security,” P. S. Kharola, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, told The Hindu .
Iran sponsored attacks on oil facilities: Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia said on September 18 that strikes on its oil infrastructure came from the “north” and were “unquestionably” sponsored by Iran, but that the kingdom was still investigating where exactly they were launched from.
“The attack was launched from the north and unquestionably sponsored by Iran,” Defence Ministry spokesman Turki al-Maliki said. Mr. Maliki displayed pieces of what he said were cruise missiles and drones used in the strike. He said a combination of 18 drones and seven cruise missiles fired at the oil installations came from a direction that ruled out its southern neighbour Yemen as a source.
Cabinet approves ban on e-cigarettes
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a ban on e-cigarettes, citing the need to take early action to protect public health. Upon promulgation of the ordinance, any production, manufacturing, import, export, transport, sale (including online sale), distribution or advertisement (including online advertisement) of e-cigarettes shall be a cognisable offence punishable with imprisonment of up to one year, or fine up to ₹1 lakh, or both for the first offence; and imprisonment of up to three years and fine up to ₹5 lakh for a subsequent offence.
Kohli, Dhawan stamp India’s superiority as the host goes 1-0 up against South Africa
A business-like chase scripted by Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan separated India and South Africa by seven wickets. More significant than the margin of victory was how ineffective the visitor’s attack was made to look in the chase of 150, culminating in the penultimate over at the PCA Stadium here on Wednesday. Having taken a 1-0 lead with a match to go in the three-match T20 series, India will have to be wary of being a shade complacent when the teams meet in Bangalore.
Five things we learned from the opening round of Champions League
Champions League holders Liverpool suffered defeat at Napoli this week, while Paris Saint-Germain laid down a marker by brushing aside Real Madrid and Juventus were held by Atletico Madrid.
