A look at the headlines today:
1. Three Jammu and Kashmir politicians will be released from detention today
The Jammu and Kashmir administration will release three politicians detained since August 5 after the Centre abrogated special status granted to the state under the Constitution. Yawar Mir, Noor Mohammed and Shoiab Lone will be released on various grounds which includes signing of a bond, they said, explaining the reasons for ending of their detention. While Mir is a former MLA of the PDP from Rafiabad assembly seat, Lone contested unsuccessfully on a Congress ticket from North Kashmir and later resigned from the party. He was considered close to People's Conference chief Sajjad Lone.
2. Rahul to appear in court in defamation case today
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to appear before a magisterial court in Surat today to defend himself in a criminal defamation case filed against him for saying "why all thieves share the Modi surname" during the Lok Sabha poll campaign this year. Chief Judicial Magistrate B.H. Kapadia had in May issued summons to Gandhi after admitting a complaint filed by local BJP MLA Purnesh Modi under IPC sections 499 and 500, which deal with criminal defamation. Gandhi is also facing two other defamation suits in Ahmedabad—one for calling Union Home Minister Amit Shah a "murder accused" and another for claiming that Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank, where Shah is a director, was involved in a "scam" scrapped currency notes with face value of Rs 750 crore were exchanged with valid bills within five days of demonetisation in 2016.
3. After a month's delay, monsoon to withdraw from today
The monsoon is likely to begin its retreat from October 10, a delay of more than a month, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. This is the longest delayed withdrawal of monsoon recorded by the IMD. The monsoon was 'above normal' this year with the IMD recording precipitation of 110 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA). The LPA between 1961 to 2010 is 88 centimetres. Rains are likely to stop in northwest India after October 7 and conditions are ripe for withdrawal of monsoon, Mahesh Palawat, Vice President (Meteorology and Climate Change) of Skymet Weather said.
4. Jammu and Kashmir to be open to tourists from today
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Monday directed lifting of an over two-month-old advisory, which asked tourists to leave the valley. This will be done with effect from today, an official spokesman said. The state administration on August 2 had issued a security advisory asking Amarnath pilgrims and tourists to leave Kashmir as soon as possible, citing terror threat in the valley. The advisory was issued just before the Centre announced the negation of the Article 370 of the constitution and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories on August 5. The spokesperson said the governor issued the directive at a 'situation cum security review' meeting with the advisors and the chief secretary in Srinagar.
5. UNSC's emergency meet today to discuss Turkey's offensive in Syria
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting today to discuss Turkey's military offensive in northern Syria. The closed door meeting, set for late morning, was requested by European members Belgium, France, Germany and Britain. The first strikes in the Turkish offensive against Kurdish militia forces formerly backed by the United States took place on Wednesday, as Turkey launched air strikes and ground offensives near the border town of Ras al-Ain. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that a military offensive had been launched into northeastern Syria on Wednesday, tweeting that their aim was to “destroy the terror corridor which is trying to be established on our southern border and to bring peace and peace to the region.”
6. Iran women to attend football match freely for first time in decades today
Thousands of Iranian women fans are to attend a football match freely today for the first time in decades, after FIFA threatened to suspend the country over its controversial male-only policy. The Islamic republic has barred female spectators from football and other stadiums for around 40 years, with clerics arguing they must be shielded from the masculine atmosphere and sight of semi-clad men. World football's governing body FIFA ordered Iran last month to allow women access to stadiums without restriction and in numbers determined by demand for tickets. The directive came after a fan dubbed "Blue Girl" died after setting herself on fire in fear of being jailed for dressing up as a boy to attend a match.
7. Britain and EU to hold last-ditch Brexit talks as deadline looms
Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay will meet his EU counterpart Michel Barnier in Brussels today in an attempt to break the impasse before an October 17-18 summit. "We've put forward serious proposals and have been willing to be flexible. Now it's time for the EU to do the same," Barclay tweeted. But Barnier appeared more downbeat, playing down hopes of a breakthrough before EU leaders meet, even as he promised to work around the clock to the deadline. He said the EU could not accept Britain's proposals as they stand, arguing they would undermine peace and weaken the European single market. "As I speak to you now, we're not on the point of envisioning and finding a deal," he told the European Parliament. Britain is due to leave the EU on October 31, more than three years after a landmark referendum that has dominated domestic politics and divided the nation.
8. Sri Lanka whitewashes Pakistan in Lahore T20; Argentina vs Germany football friendlies; Dutch Open; BCCI AGM; Pune Test
Lahore T20: A second-string Sri Lanka team whitewashed top-ranked Pakistan 3-0 by registering 13-run victory in the third and final Twenty20 on Wednesday. Needing 54 runs off the last five overs with eight wickets in hand, Pakistan again stumbled in its run-chase for the third successive time in the series and was restricted to 134-6. Sri Lanka won the first match by 64 runs and then beat Pakistan by 35 runs before Pakistan failed yet again on Wednesday night in front of packed 27,000 fans at the Gaddafi Stadium. Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga claimed three wickets in two overs to finish with 3-21. Earlier, after winning the toss and electing to bat first, Sri Lanka scored 147-7 despite resting five players who had featured in the two earlier victories.
Argentina vs Germany: Germany, who led 2-0 against Argentina in international friendly, drew 2-2 after Lucas Ocampos's equaliser in the final five minutes. Strikes by Serge Gnabry and Kai Havertz gave Germany the two goal lead, while Lucas Alarios and Ocampos score to level the playing field.
Dutch Open: Top seed Sameer Verma, young shuttlers Lakshya Sen and B.M. Rahul Bharadwaj progressed to the pre-quarterfinals of the men's singles competition at the Dutch Open Super 100 tournament. Sameer, who had skipped events at China and Korea due to fitness issues, notched up a 21-19 19-21 21-13 win over fellow Indian Kiran George in the second round. He had received a bye in the opening round. He will face either Japan's Yusuke Onodera or Germany's Lars Schaenzler next. Lakshya Sen, who had claimed the Belgian Open last month, also entered the pre-quarterfinals after registering straight-game wins in the first two rounds.
BCCI AGM: Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), Haryana Cricket Association (HCA) and Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) have been barred by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) from attending the BCCI Annual General Meeting in Mumbai on October 23 due to non-compliance in their amended Constitutions. This effectively means that the three non-compliant units will not have any voting rights in case there is an election during the scheduled AGM.
Pune Test: Improving on near perfection would be India's aim while building on the small positives from a huge loss will be South Africa's focus when the two mismatched sides clash in the second Test starting in Pune from Thursday. Virat Kohli's men ticked almost all the boxes during their 203-run win in the opening encounter in Visakhapatnam and they would like to maintain the same intensity in their bid to seal the series in Pune itself. The game will commence at 9am IST.
-Inputs from PTI
