A look at the headlines today:
1. A moment in history as the state of Jammu and Kashmir ceases to exist from today
In an event of far-reaching consequences, the state of Jammu and Kashmir ceased to exist at midnight and was converted into two union territories, 86 days after Parliament abrogated its special status under Article 370. The UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh will be headed by lieutenant governors G.C. Murmu and R.K. Mathur, respectively. They will take oath on Thursday. This is for the first time that a state is being converted into two UTs. The total number of states in the country will now be 28, while the total UTs will go up to nine. The swearing-in ceremony will be first held in Leh, where Mathur would be administered oath of office followed by that of Murmu in Srinagar. With this, the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir and the Ranbir Penal Code will cease to exist from Thursday, when the nation celebrates 'National Unity Day' to mark the birth anniversary of the country's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who is credited for the merger of over 560 states into the Union of India.
2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat today, to pay tributes to Sardar Patel
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the 'Statue of Unity' at Kevadiya in Gujarat today to pay tributes to Sardar Patel on his 144th birth anniversary. He will also participate in the 'Ekta Diwas Parade', visit a technology demonstration site and interact with civil service probationers at Kevadiya, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said on Wednesday. Since 2014, October 31 is observed as the National Unity Day and people from all walks of life participate in the 'Run For Unity'. The prime minister arrived late Wednesday evening and spent the night at Raj Bhawan in Gandhinagar. The All India Radio will broadcast the 'Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture' in a new format, which will include a capsule encompassing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address in Gujarat and Union Home Minister Amit Shah's speech in Delhi.
3. Sena to elect legislature party leader today
Newly-elected MLAs of the Shiv Sena will today elect the legislature party leader in Maharashtra, days after the results of the state assembly elections were declared. A meeting to this effect will be held at the Sena Bhavan in central Mumbai. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party is currently locked in a bitter tussle with the ally BJP over sharing of power in the next government since October 24, when poll results were announced. The Sena has been demanding the post of chief minister for equal term with the BJP. Senior leader and minister Eknath Shinde is the incumbent legislative party leader of the Sena in the outgoing Assembly. In a separate development, the BJP on Wednesday re-elected Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as the leader of the legislature party. Fadnavis is tipped to be appointed as chief minister once again.
4. Merkel to visit India with ministerial delegation, to hold talks with PM Modi
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will arrive today with a delegation from 12 ministries and hold discussions on various bilateral topics with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, German envoy Walter J. Lindner said. Sources said India and Germany are expected to sign about 20 agreements in a wide spectrum of areas during Merkel's visit. India and Germany have a "very longstanding relationship" and there is a huge potential for further building cooperation between the two countries in various areas, Lindner said on Wednesday. On a question if Kashmir issue will be discussed between Merkel and Prime Minister Modi, Lindner said the two leaders have a "very good relationship and they can talk about any issue". On the visit of European Union MPs to Kashmir, Lindner said, "EU has already said it is a private visit and that is our stand too. We didn't have any idea that they are coming to India and I know as much as you do".
5. Delhi HC to hear Chidambaram's bail plea today
Chidambaram has moved the Delhi High Court seeking interim bail on health grounds. The court is scheduled to hear the plea today. In a fresh setback to P. Chidambaram in the INX Media money laundering case, a Delhi court on Wednesday had sent the former finance minister to judicial custody till November 13. The court also dismissed the plea of Enforcement Directorate (ED) for a one-day custodial interrogation of Chidambaram. Special judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar directed the Tihar jail authorities to provide Chidambaram medicines, western toilet, security and a separate cell. The judge also said that Chidambaram may be allowed to have home-cooked food in Tihar, considering his medical condition. Earlier, the 74-year-old leader was produced before the trial court on the expiry of his ED custody in the case.
6. ISL: Battle of contrasts as Mumbai City face Odisha
It will be a battle of contrasts as Mumbai City FC play their first home game of the Hero Indian Super League 2019-20 season, against Odisha FC, today. Mumbai City started their season with two away games in a row against Kerala Blasters FC and Chennaiyin FC. They managed to take all three points in Kochi before managing a draw in Chennai. After a bit of away success, Mumbai will fancy their chances against Odisha FC, who are still searching for their first win of the season after two close defeats. However, it will be an interesting game between managers who have completely contrasting philosophies. Jorge Costa's Mumbai City FC are known to sit back and absorb pressure as they look to hit teams on the break. While Costa does not put much emphasis on possession-based football, Josep Gombau's Odisha FC are very much comfortable on the ball and like to hog possession. However, Odisha's defence has looked frail in the opening two matches where they have leaked in four goals, despite playing the majority of their opening game against a 10-man Jamshedpur FC.
7. Twitter to ban political ads worldwide on its platform
Twitter said Wednesday it would bar political advertising globally on its platform, responding to growing criticism over misinformation from politicians on social media. Chief executive Jack Dorsey said in a tweet that the company took the action to head off potential problems from "machine learning-based optimization of messaging and micro-targeting, unchecked misleading information, and deep fakes." The move comes with Facebook under pressure to apply fact-checking to politicians running ads with debunked claims. Dorsey said the new policy, details of which will be unveiled next month, would ban ads on political issues as well as from candidates. "We considered stopping only candidate ads, but issue ads present a way to circumvent," he said.
-Inputs from PTI
