In case you missed it
Let’s meet: Two Lashkar-e-Taiba militants, including division commander of the terror group Shakoor Ahmad Dar, were killed on Sunday while meeting with security forces, while another surrendered in southern Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Dar was one of 21 militants on the security forces hit list being prepared as part of a new military offensive aimed at destroying the leadership and organizing the capabilities of terror groups across Kashmir.
Delhi’s Chipko: About 1,500 Delhi residents took to the streets to protest a recent order to cut down at least 14,000 trees in the national capital as part of a redevelopment project in South Delhi. Members of various environmental groups, activists and residents took part in what was Delhi’s own Chipko movement, hugging trees and chanting slogans against the center’s decision to fell the trees. The project, aimed at making space for government housing, has led to a rift between Aam Aadmi Party and the center. On Saturday, AAP MLAs criticized the center for allowing such a decision.
Kidnapped Witness: In a twist on the Lucknow passport case in which an interfaith couple was allegedly humiliated and shamed by an officer before rejecting their application, an “eyewitness” in the case claimed he was kidnapped near his residence but managed to escape. The eyewitness dodged questions related to the kidnapping attempt, but claimed it came just before he planned to hold a press conference on the passport issue.
Swaraj trolled: Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, who returned to India on Saturday after her week-long visit to four European countries, told how she had been targeted by trolls since she ordered the transfer of the Lucknow passport officer.
BJP ‘affirmed’: A 19-year-old boy, one of six injured in police fireworks in Mandsaur last year during the peasant uprising, was arrested Sunday on charges of smuggling papa differences. BJP leader Rajnish Agrawal claimed the arrest proves the party’s previous stance that anti-social elements hijacked the farmers’ agitation, leading to the resignation of the police.
Giving example: A Telugu Desam Party MLA decided to sleep in the ‘Hindu Smasana Vatika’ crematorium in Palakole in the West Godavari district on Friday night to register its protest at the excessive delay in the modernization of a crematorium. The move was also intended to instill confidence in construction workers who feared “ghosts.”
Frogs tie the knot: BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh state minister for women and children’s development Lalita Yadav was recently charged with anti-aircraft fire from the opposition for allegedly organizing the wedding of two frogs at a temple in Chhattarpur to appease the rain gods. Hundreds of people gathered on the temple grounds to witness the unique wedding, which was followed by a celebration. The opposition, however, was not happy, claiming the minister’s act would encourage superstition.
parting words: As the judiciary and the government clash over the appointment of Uttarakhand Chief Justice KM Joseph to the Supreme Court, Justice J Chelameswar said he regrets that a “good judge” has not been approved for elevation despite “best efforts”. On the eve of his retirement from the Supreme Court, Justice Chelameswar regretted that the Supreme Court’s chief justice had not been appointed, despite the Collegium’s recommendation in January this year.
Officer Celebrated: An IAS officer in Kerala shared the midday meal served to students at a government school in Neerkunnam during a surprise visit to assess the quality of food. The agent was praised on social media for his efforts.
No to plastic: When the government of Maharashtra imposed a ban on a variety of plastic items from Saturday, Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam said erring manufacturers will take firm action, but ordinary people and small traders will not be harassed.
Reel to real: Former “Game of Thrones” co-stars Kit Harington and girlfriend Rose Leslie got married on Saturday with a church service and party at the bride’s ancestral castle in Scotland.
Children reunited: The United States Department of Homeland Security announced on Saturday that the government has reunited 522 children separated from adults as part of a “Zero Tolerance” initiative and plans to reunite an additional 16 children in the next 24 hours.
SUNDAY FUNCTION: India’s mini Afghan colony is a mix – a coming together of cultures to create a mix that is both familiar and strange. Raka Mukherjee explores Bollywood and Cricket and the mystery behind the ‘Indian-ness’ of Afghans in Delhi.
Book review: “Kannur, where the author, the son of a prominent communist politician, was born and grew up, is an intimate portrait of a place and its politics. A cult of murder and reprisal seems deeply rooted in a place that fully deserves the moniker of “India’s Sicily”.” Read Shashi Tharoor’s review of senior journalist Ullekh NP’s new book “Kannur.”
Agree or disagree?
A 35-year-old Delhi woman on vacation with her family plunged 500 feet to her death two days ago after slipping off a cliff while taking a selfie with her husband. Earlier this week, another man died after falling from the Gokak waterfall in Karnataka while trying to take a selfie. A month and a half ago, a man tried to take a selfie with an injured bear and was beaten to death in Nabarangpur, Odisha. These are not isolated cases of death from selfie in the last quarter alone. Rajen Garabadu explores the reasons why selfie deaths are on the rise.
Most of the PDP’s main voter base is spread across villages such as Fatehpora in southern Kashmir’s Anantnag district. And most of these villages are visibly pleased, some are even celebrating the end of the government led by their own Mehbooba. There is undeniable emotion of relief in Anantnag; as if the whole neighborhood has just awakened from a bad dream.
on spool
Bakarwals travel six hundred kilometers each year through impossibly treacherous terrain – from Jammy to Laddakh via Kashmir and back. But this year after the gang rape and murder of an 8-year-old community girl in Kathua, life has changed for them. News18 travels 100 miles with the Bakarwals to understand their plight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GctD_IrAFnY
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