THE HEADLINES:
- President Droupadi Murmu conferred highest honour – Companion of the Order of Fiji in capital Suva; Also addresses Fijian Parliament.
- Bangladesh President says, an interim government will be formed after dissolving parliament; Orders release of BNP leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
- Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes stock of situation in Bangladesh.
- First multinational air exercise ‘Tarang Shakti 2024’ to begin today at Sular in Tamil Nadu.
- Avinash Sable creates history by becoming first Indian male athlete to qualify for men’s 3000m steeplechase final at Olympics.
- Indian Men’s Hockey team to face Germany for a place in the final at Paris Games.
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President Droupadi Murmu who is on a two-day visit to Fiji, was conferred the Companion of the order of Fiji, the highest honour of Fiji by the President of Fiji. The President Murmu addressed the Fijian Parliament where she recalled the 75 years diplomatic association between the countries.
“President Droupadi Murmu was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour by the Fiji Military Force upon her arrival in Suva. A traditional welcome ceremony was also organised in her honour in the presence of Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. President Murmu held a bilateral meeting with her counterpart, Williame Katonivere, in State House where she was honoured with the Companion of the Order of Fiji. President Murmu later addressed the Fijian Parliament where she thanked the Fijian Government for their support for Aditya L1 Mission and recalled India’s support to Fiji during Covid 19 crisis through the Vaccine Maitri initiative. She also emphasised the importance of Global South voicing the concerns of developing nations for Climate justice. Sri Sai for Akashvani News, Fiji.”
President Droupadi Murmu was today warmly received by President Ratu Wiliame Maivalili Katonivere of Fiji at State House, Suva. President Droupadi Murmu said in a social media post that during the meet, the two leaders discussed ways to further deepen the India-Fiji relationship. The President added that at State House, she also witnessed the progress of the ‘Solarization of Heads of State Residences’ project, an Indian initiative which was inaugurated in February last year.
Following her visit to Fiji, President Murmu will travel to New Zealand from August 7 to 9 at the invitation of Governor General Cindy Kiro. Her agenda in New Zealand includes bilateral meetings with Kiro and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, as well as addressing an education conference and interacting with the Indian community.
The final leg of her tour will take President Murmu to Timor-Leste on August 10, marking another first as the inaugural head-of-state visit from India to the country. She is set to meet with Timor-Leste’s President Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.
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Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin has said that an interim government will be formed after dissolving the parliament.
“In a televised address to the nation on last night, Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin has announced that an interim government would be formed as soon as possible after dissolving the National Parliament. The president said the decision was taken at a meeting with leaders of different political parties, civil society representatives and other stakeholders. Chiefs of three forces were present at the meeting. The president also said that the interim government would conduct the next general election as soon as possible to transfer power to an elected government. The meeting also decided to free Bangladesh Nationalist Party Chairperson Khaleda Zia and other political prisoners. Navalsang Parmar/Akashvani News/Dhaka.”
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country in a military aircraft yesterday. Army stepped in to fill the power vacuum. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) – the army’s media wing – said that Army Chief Wakar-Uz-Zaman will meet with the representatives of the students and teachers very soon. Gen Zaman said all government and semi-government offices, private offices, factories and all educational institutions including schools, colleges, madrasas and universities will open today.
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The Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in New Delhi yesterday and took stock of the situation in Bangladesh. The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and others.
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that Bangladesh military and political authorities should work together for a peaceful democratic transition following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Mr. Guterres’s Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said, UN wants to make sure that all of the authorities, the political authorities, the military authorities, and anyone else who has a say in the current transition, work together so that there will be a peaceful and democratic transition. He also said that Mr. Guterres stands in full solidarity with the people of Bangladesh at this time, and UN calls for full respect of their democratic and human rights.
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India will host the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation – BIMSTEC Business Summit today in New Delhi. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will inaugurate the three-day Business Summit along with key note addresses from Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal and other leaders. The event will also feature several ministers of the BIMSTEC Member States along with high-ranking Government officials, policy makers, entrepreneurs and industry associations. The External Affairs Ministry said that BIMSTEC Business Summit will bring together more than 300 key stake holders from across the Bay of Bengal region to facilitate economic collaboration and explore ways ahead in focus areas such as trade facilitation, regional connectivity, energy security, inclusive growth and sustainable development.
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Lok Sabha has passed Outstanding Demands for Grants related to expenditures proposed in Union Budget 2024-25 by different Ministries. The Outstanding Demands for Grants were approved after Lok Sabha applied guillotine. The House also gave its approval to the Appropriation (2) Bill, 2024 moved by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Bill authorises payment and appropriation of certain sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India for the services of the financial year 2024-25.
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Union Minister G Kishan Reddy has said that the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir would be held in September. He said, the activities of Pakistan and its intelligence agency ISI have been largely curtailed in J&K after the abrogation of Article 370. Mr. Reddy, who is also election in-charge of the BJP in J&K, was addressing the ‘Ekatma Mahotsav’ rally organised by BJP on the fifth anniversary of abrogation of Article 370 at Bana Singh Stadium in R S Pura area in the outskirts of Jammu.
Lashing out at opposition parties, especially the Congress and the National Conference, he said, they are talking about re-implementing Article 370, which had only brought death and destruction to J&K through Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
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India will host its first multinational air exercise ‘Tarang Shakti 2024’ from today in Sular, Tamilnadu. In the exercise, nearly 30 countries will participate, and out of 30, ten countries will join the exercise with their fighter aircraft. The exercise is being conducted in two phases, which aims to showcase India’s defense prowess and provide a platform for participating militaries to foster interoperability.
Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal A P Singh informed that the first phase is to be held in Sular, Tamilnadu from today to 14th August, and the second phase in Jodhpur, Rajasthan from 29th August to 14th September.
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Border Security Force’s ADG (OPS) Anurag Garg flagged off the first-ever all-women mountaineering team from New Delhi yesterday for an expedition to Mt. Mukut East which is located in Uttarakhand. The contingent of 12 female mountaineers will scale the Mountain Mukut East of 23,392 feet, and unfurl the national and the force’s flags on the summit.
During the event, Mr. Garg said, BSF is committed to giving more such opportunities to women and men. He said, it is the first time in history that an all-women mountaineering team will scale 23000 to 24000 feet in height. He added that the BSF has been promoting mountaineering for several years and many team members have won national prizes. ADG said that BSF has scaled Mt. Everest two times and unfurled the flags on 48 mountain peaks.
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In the Paris Olympics 2024, Indian athletes will be in action in Hockey, Athletics, Table Tennis, and Wrestling events today, We have more on this:
“Indian fans will be looking to put Lakshya Sen’s loss in the badminton bronze medal match and the injury to Indian Wrestler Nisha behind them as they look forward to some more action today: First up will be the Men’s table tennis team facing China in the Round of 16. In wrestling India’s Vinesh faces Japan’s Yui Susaki in the 50kg women’s freestyle at the Champs de Mars arena. Among other events that the Stade de France will host is the women’s 400m repechage round where Kiran Pahal will be trying to progress forward.
In men’s hockey, it’s a cracker of a match coming up with India, the bronze medalists in Tokyo taking on Germany in the semifinals. Savio de Noronha/AKASHVANI NEWS/ Paris.”
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India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with isolated heavy falls over northwest and east India during next 2 to 3 days. The IMD said that heavy to very heavy rainfall is very likely over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim today, and over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura till the 10th of this month.
It added that heavy rainfall is expected over Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal today. The IMD has predicted similar conditions over Tamil Nadu, West Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu-Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand today.
In West and Central India, these conditions will prevail over Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Madhya Maharashtra and Gujarat during the next 2 days. Meanwhile, the weather agency has forecast light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorm and lightning over Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi during the week.
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In Uttarakhand, more than 1,400 people stranded on the rain-ravaged trek route to Kedarnath were evacuated to safety yesterday after air rescue operations gained momentum with the weather clearing in the Kedar Valley. Indian Air Force’s Chinook and MI17 helicopters aided in the evacuation of pilgrims that was earlier being done largely by small helicopters.
Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said, apart from them, 584 people were rescued from Gaurikund via Sonprayag and 172 others via Chaumasi. He said, most of the pilgrims have been brought to safety from Lincholi, Bhimbali and Gaurikund. More than 11,775 people have been shifted to safe places since the start of the rescue operations last Thursday.
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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE:
- All papers have on their front page the story of Sheikh Hasina the longest serving PM of Bangladesh resigning in the face of massive public protests and fleeing to India even as army chief general Wakar- Ur- Zaman announced an interim govt would be formed to run the country. The Indian Express headlines ” Hasina falls, flees, Army takes in Dhaka.
- Abrogation of Article 370 a watershed moment in Indian History: Modi is on the front page of Times of India as a watershed moment.
- And finally, a story in The Hindu says ” Baba runs out of luck after 22 years on Chalapathi Rao who allegedly defrauded SBI of 50 lakhs was arrested from Tirunelveli on Monday.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:
- President Droupadi Murmu conferred highest honour – Companion of the Order of Fiji in capital Suva; Also addresses Fijian Parliament.
- Bangladesh President says, an interim government will be formed after dissolving parliament; Orders release of BNP leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
- Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes stock of situation in Bangladesh.
- First multinational air exercise ‘Tarang Shakti 2024’ to begin today at Sular in Tamil Nadu.
- Avinash Sable creates history by becoming first Indian male athlete to qualify for men’s 3000m steeplechase final at Olympics.
- Indian Men’s Hockey team to face Germany for a place in the final at Paris Games.
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