Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has released a video asking its cadres to inflict “unrelenting blows” on the Indian Army and the government in the Kashmir Valley to “bleed” the economy and make the country suffer.
This is the first time Zawahiri has issued a video specific to Kashmir.
A senior government official said it seemed to be an act of desperation on the part of the outfit in the wake of recent action by security agencies in Kashmir Valley.
US House passes Bill removing country cap on Green Card
The US lawmakers on Wednesday passed a Bill aimed at lifting the present seven per cent country-cap on issuing Green Cards, a move that would benefit thousands of highly-skilled Indian IT professionals.
A Green Card allows a person to live and work permanently in the US.
Passed by the US House of Representatives, the bill, on being signed into law, would considerably shorten the agonising wait of talented professionals from countries such as India who have applied for permanent residency in the United States.
India can repeal Article 370 at will: Centre
The government has informed Parliament that “no foreign government or organisation has any locus standi” in repealing Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir as matters relating to the Constitution of India are internal and only for the Indian Parliament to deal with.
Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy said in a written response in the Rajya Sabha that Jammu and Kashmir “is an integral part of India.”
Karnataka row stalls Parliament
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday told the Lok Sabha that Karnataka Minister D.K. Shivakumar was not allowed to enter a Mumbai hotel because the rebel Congress MLAs lodged there feared for their safety.
Parliament was disrupted for the third day in a row over the political crisis in Karnataka. The Rajya Sabha was adjourned four times. In the Lok Sabha, the Opposition staged a walkout as they were not allowed to raise the issue.
ICF told to scrap tenders for Train18 rakes
It’s official now. The Ministry of Railways has directed the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) here to cancel all ongoing tender processes for the making of the flagship Vande Bharat Express rakes.
After a high-level meeting comprising top officials of the Ministry and leading manufacturers of propulsion systems, it was decided to withdraw all tender processes for rolling out the self-propelled train, which was acclaimed as a game-changer and India’s first semi high-speed train.
According to railway sources, the purpose of the meeting was to get “the right technology with wide participation, transparently”.
10 Congress MLAs join BJP in Goa
Political instability in Karnataka spilled over into neighbouring Goa on Wednesday, with two-thirds (10 out of 15) of the Congress MLAs breaking away to merge with the ruling BJP.
The group, led by Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar, met Assembly Speaker Rajesh Patnekar in the evening and gave him a letter, informing him about their breaking away. The MLAs include Atanasio Monserratte, Jeniffer Monserratte, Francis Silveira, Philip Nery Rodrigues, Cleaofacio Dias, Wilfred D’Sa and Nilkant Halarnkar.
Cabinet clears Bill for single tribunal to hear water disputes
The Union Cabinet has approved the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019 that will help adjudicate disputes relating to waters of inter-State rivers and river valleys. A version of this bill was first introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2017 but subsequently lapsed.
The Bill seeks to amend the Inter State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 to streamline the adjudication of inter-state river water disputes. A key feature of the bill is the constitution of a single tribunal with different Benches, and the setting of strict timelines for adjudication.
IND vs NZ: 2019 Cricket World Cup | The game changed in the first 40 minutes, says Kohli
India’s batting heart was flung aside in the first 10 overs as New Zealand speedsters Trent Boult and Matt Henry pegged away with wickets and maidens. Virat Kohli conceded that the phase when his team was reduced to five for three and then 24 for four, had repercussions that lasted through the World Cup semifinal which Kane Williamson’s men won at Old Trafford here on Wednesday.
“The game pretty much changed in those first 40 minutes and credit to the New Zealand bowlers, the pressure they created was immense and they bowled in the right areas,” the Indian captain said in the post-match press conference. “You obviously feel bad about the result and everyone wants to win. In hindsight you can think differently. We are sad but we are not devastated. Today we were not good enough, a bad day at the knockouts and you are out of the tournament,” he added.
Wimbledon 2019: It’s a Federer-Nadal semifinal as scripted
More than a decade after their momentous Wimbledon final in 2008 — a match for the ages that ended under semi-darkness — Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will lock horns again, this time a round earlier.
The two won their respective quarterfinal matches on Wednesday against Kei Nishikori and Sam Querrey to set up their 40th head-to-head meeting on Friday. While Federer came through a tense four-setter 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-4 for his 100th win at SW19, Nadal doused a spirited challenge from the service-heavy American 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.
Bengal port records country’s highest sea level rise in 50 years
Of the major ports in India, Diamond Harbour in West Bengal located at the mouth of river Hooghly has recorded the maximum sea level increase, according to data tabled in the Lok Sabha by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
While recent studies reveal that sea level rise in the country has been estimated to be 1.3 mm/year along India’s coasts during the last 40-50 years, at Diamond Harbour the rise was almost five times higher at 5.16 mm per year. The mean sea level rise for Diamond Harbour was based on recordings over the period from 1948 to 2005. This is followed by Kandla port in Gujarat where the sea level rise was 3.18 (1950 to 2005) , followed by Haldia in West Bengal, which recorded a sea level rise of 2.89 mm a year (1972 to 2005). Port Blair also recorded a sea level rise of 2.20 mm per year (1916-1964).