Sushma Swaraj, Prolific Orator And People’s Minister: Foreign Media

  • Sushma Swaraj, India’s former external affairs minister who made the foreign ministry accessible to the public has died. She was 67.
  • The senior leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Ms Swaraj suffered a cardiac arrest Tuesday evening in New Delhi. She was foreign minister during the first term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi government from 2014 to 2019. After a renal transplant about three years back, Ms Swaraj opted out of contesting the general elections earlier this year.

Kerala Nun Who Protested Against Rape Accused Bishop Dismissed From Church

  • One of the nuns who had participated in the protest against rape accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal, was dismissed from the Franciscan Clarist Congregation (FCC) on Wednesday for violating the rules laid down by it.
  • The nun who has been an outspoken supporter of the protest at Ernakulam to demand the arrest of Bishop Franco Mulakkal, is now freed from the obligations of the vows and will have no rights and duties in the Congregation. 

North Karnataka Struggles With Heavy Rain And Floods, 5 Districts Hit

  • North Karnataka is struggling to cope with heavy rainfall and floods as the monsoon picked up pace in the region over the last few days. Two men were recently washed away in flood waters after heavy rain caused the Krishna river to swell. Adding to the troubles is the release of water from a dam in neighbouring Maharashtra.
  • More than 200 personnel of the Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services were on the job with boats in Belagavi, Bagalkot, Raichur and Yadgir districts. 

Article 370: Petition filed in Supreme Court against Centre’s notification on J&K

  • A writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday challenging the August 5 notification of the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order of 2019, which amends Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and scraps its 65-year-old predecessor — The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order of May 14, 1954 — as unconstitutional, illegal and arbitrary.
  • The petition filed by advocate M. L. Sharma is likely to be mentioned before Justice N.V. Ramana on Wednesday. The Chief Justice of India and Justice S.A. Bobde, the second senior most judge, are sitting in a Constitution Bench in the Ayodhya title suit appeals. Justice Ramana is ranked third in seniority.

Nearly 100 injured in Kabul car bomb attack, Taliban claim responsibility

  • A car bomb exploded on Wednesday outside a police station in the Afghan capital, Kabul, wounding at least 95 people, government officials said, and the Taliban claimed responsibility.
  • There has been no let-up in violence in Afghanistan even though the Taliban and the United States appear close to a historic pact for US troops to withdraw in exchange for a Taliban promise the country would not be used as a base from which to plot attacks by extremists.
  • The blast, in the west of the city during the morning rush hour, sent a huge cloud of grey smoke billowing into the sky.