1. Kulbhushan Jadhav Death Sentence: ICJ to Pronounce Verdict at 3:30 PM
The International Court of Justice is set to deliver its verdict in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case around 3:30 pm IST on Thursday, government sources told news agency PTI. The court will decide on India’s request to suspend the death sentence awarded to the former Indian navy officer by a Pakistan military court. On Monday, the court had heard arguments from both India and Pakistan and said that it would announce the verdict “as soon as possible.”
“A public sitting will take place at 12 noon at the Peace Palace in The Hague, during which Judge Ronny Abraham, President of the Court, will read the Court’s Decision. The sitting will be streamed live and on demand (VOD) on the Court’s website as well as on UN Web TV, the United Nations online television channel,” read the statement released by ICJ on Wednesday.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Indian Navy Saves Ship From Pirates
Deploying its ship INS Sharda, the Navy rescued a merchant vessel, m.v. Lord Mountbatten, from a piracy attempt in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday.
“On 16 May, about 4:45 pm, the ship received a distress call from m.v. Lord Mountbatten, 230 nautical miles south-west of Salalah in the Gulf of Aden. The vessel had reported an incident of attempted piracy by two suspicious mother vessels along with 7-8 skiffs,” Navy spokesperson Capt DK Sharma said on Wednesday.
INS Sharda, which was 30 nm from the merchant vessel at that time, responded immediately. The ship had been deployed for anti-piracy operations in the region since 6 April.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. Govt Clears 10 New Nuclear Reactors in Big Power Push
In the biggest expansion of the country’s nuclear power industry, the Union Cabinet gave its approval on Wednesday for the construction of 10 units of the new indigenous 700 MWe (mega watt electric) pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs). Never before have 10 nuclear reactors been cleared in one go. The addition of 7,000 MWe is more than the combined present installed capacity of 6,780 MWe. There are 22 reactors under operation as of today.
The new reactors are of significantly higher capacities compared to the PHWRs currently under operation – the standard PHWR being used in India is of 220 MWe though two 540 MWe reactors were installed in Tarapur in 2005 and 2006. The ten reactors will be installed in Kaiga in Karnataka (Unit 5 and 6), Chutka in Madhya Pradesh (Unit 1 and 2), Gorakhpur in Haryana (Unit 3 and 4) and Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan (Unit 1, 2, 3 and 4).
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Ganga in Haridwar Unfit Even for Bathing, Finds RTI Query
A dip in the Ganga may wash away your sins, but the river's water is also likely to make you sick. The Central Pollution Control Board's reply to an RTI query put up by The Times of India has said that the water of the river along Haridwar is not even fit for bathing.
The CPCB has said that water in Haridwar district fails almost all parameters of safety. According to official sources, nearly 50,000-1 lakh devotees bathe at the over 20 ghats of Haridwar every day.
Tests were done at 11 locations in Uttarakhand, from Gangotri to Haridwar, a distance of 294 km along the river. The RTI filed sought details of water quality and locations from which samples are collected.
(Source: The Times of India)
5. Arvind Kejriwal Defamation Case: Heated Exchanges Between Arun Jaitley and Ram Jethmalani
Heated exchanges were witnessed between Union Minister Arun Jaitley and senior advocate Ram Jethmalani in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday during the former’s cross-examination in a defamation case against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The recording of Jaitley’s statement in a civil defamation suit of Rs 10 crore filed by him against Kejriwal and other AAP functionaries could not take place as the Minister objected to the use of a word against him by the noted lawyer representing the chief minister.
The Finance Minister, who appeared before Joint Registrar Deepali Sharma, lost his cool and asked Jethmalani whether the word was used as per instructions from Kejriwal.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. Mamata Makes Bengali Compulsory in Schools
In a major decision that may have far-reaching political and social implications, the West Bengal government has made Bengali language compulsory in all schools, including private English-medium schools, of the State.
State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee made the announcement on Monday evening at a hurriedly called press conference.
“From now on, it will be compulsory for students to learn Bengali in schools. English-medium schools will have to make it an optional subject from Class I so that the students can study it either as a second or third language,” Mr Chatterjee said.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. Beas, Vizag Cleanest Railway Stations in India
Beas railway station is the cleanest, followed by Vishakhapatnam and Khammam, out of 407 stations in India, according to a survey released by the railways. Among the 75 bigger and busy railway stations, Visakhapatnam is on top, followed by Secunderabad and Jammu.
New Delhi station was ranked 39 among the most busy stations while Bangalore City is at 10th position, Hyderabad at 16th, Mumbai Central at 27th and Chennai Central at 49th rank. Interestingly, Anand Vihar (in Delhi) is at number five, just behind Vijayawada and ahead of Lucknow in the ranking of 75 busy stations.
Among stations in the capital, Anand Vihar is at 10th position in overall ranking while Nizamuddin has bagged 74th, Old Delhi station 75th and at New Delhi station is way back at 139th rank.
(Source: The Times of India)
8. Uphaar Cinema Fire: Ansal Plea for Presidential Pardon Reaches MHA
Facing jail term for a year, real estate baron Gopal Ansal’s petition for Presidential pardon has reached the doorstep of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). In his plea, Ansal’s counsel urged President Pranab Mukherjee to take a lenient view on the ground of his old age and waive the remainder of his sentence, upheld by the Supreme Court in February this year.
Based on his appeal, the President’s secretariat sought an opinion from the home minister Rajnath Singh. Gopal Ansal, 69, and his elder brother Sushil Ansal, 77, were investigated by the CBI for their roles in the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire tragedy in which 59 persons died during the screening of the film, Border.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Triple Talaq Is Not a Community but a Gender Issue, Centre Tells SC
Triple talaq is not a battle of the majority and minority communities but a tussle between Muslim men and women, the government said on Wednesday, as it mounted a fierce defence of its call for scrapping the controversial practice of instant divorce.
Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi’s comments before the Supreme Court was in counter to the All India Muslim Personal Law Board’s (AIMPLB) argument that laws governing Hindus protected the community’s customs but the government was not doing the same for the minorities.
Several Muslim women have approached the top court asking it to declare triple talaq unconstitutional because it is discriminatory and violated their right to equality. Women cannot pronounce triple talaq and are required to move a court for getting divorce under the Sharia Act, 1937.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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