1. Jaish Chief Masood Azhar Secretly Released From Pak Jail: Intel
The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has alerted the government about the deployment of additional Pakistani troopers along the India-Pakistan border near Rajasthan and said Islamabad is planning “a big action” and has released a wanted terrorist for terror operations, according to two officials aware of the developments. HT has also accessed an input issued in this regard.
Amid rising tensions between the two countries, the IB input said Pakistan has “secretly” released Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar to plan terrorist operations while other terror organisations were also working openly. There were uncorroborated reports after the February 14 car bomb attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama that Pakistani agencies had taken Azhar into protective custody.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Cops Drop Rape Charge Against BJP Leader, PMO Answers Woman’s Call for Help
A BJP member, who had accused former party state general secretary (organisation) Sanjay Kumar of rape and molestation, received a call from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Friday, in reply to her letter seeking action against Kumar.
The party had removed Kumar from the post of general secretary after receiving a complaint from the alleged victim in November 2018. Later, the city police lodged a complaint against him on the charges of molestation and rape. However, when it filed the chargesheet in the case few months ago, it dropped the rape charges citing lack of evidence.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Army Wants Adultery to Remain Offence for Discipline in Its Ranks
The military, especially the 1.3-million-strong army, is unhappy with a 2018 Supreme Court (SC) verdict scrapping adultery as a criminal offence, and is likely to approach the apex court to exclude the defence forces from the ambit of the judgment, two senior officers said on condition of anonymity.
The Indian Army, in particular, has raised the issue with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), said a senior military officer who did not want to be named. “We will approach the court shortly,” the official added.
With the quashing of section 497 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalised adultery, the military is worried about “discipline among its ranks”.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. ISRO Says Lander Spotted on Moon, but No Contact Yet
The lost lander module of the Chandrayaan-2 mission has been located on the surface of the moon with the help of its orbiter, ISRO Chairman K Sivan said on Sunday, 8 September, adding that they had not been able to establish contact with it though.
Sivan was quoted by ANI news agency as saying the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter had managed to click a “thermal” image of the lander. Thermal images are produced by capturing infrared radiations coming from an object. They use temperature differences, rather than colour differences, to create an image.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. In 100-Day Message, PM Modi Cites ‘Big Change’ in J&K, Invokes ‘ISRO Spirit’
Terming “the 130 crore people of India” as the “inspiration” behind the major decisions taken during the first 100 days of his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday said work had started towards fulfilling the dreams and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh.
Addressing the BJP’s Vijay Sankalp rally in poll-bound Haryana’s Rohtak, Modi also made a mention of India’s moon mission Chandrayaan-2, saying that while the country had known sportsman spirit so far, it had now found “ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) spirit”.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. Article 371 Won’t Be Diluted, Amit Shah Assures Northeastern States
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday assured the northeastern States that the Centre would never touch Article 371 of the Constitution that grants special provisions to the region.
Mr. Shah, also the chairman of the North Eastern Council (NEC), gave the assurance in his inaugural address at the 68th plenary session of the NEC here. The meeting was attended by the Governors, the Chief Ministers and officials of eight northeastern States. “The withdrawal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir was criticised. Everyone can do so in a democratic country, but it was used to misinform and misguide the people of the northeast about Article 371,” Mr. Shah said.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. Ram Jethmalani, Veteran Lawyer and Former Union Minister, Dies At 95
Ram Jethmalani, one of India's well-known lawyers and a former union minister, died this morning at his home in Delhi. He was 95.
Mr Jethmalani had not been keeping well for the last few months, his son Mahesh told news agency PTI. The legal veteran died at 7:45 am. His last rites were performed this evening at 5.30pm at the Lodhi road crematorium in Delhi. Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and many other prominent people paid tributes to the lawyer at the cremation.
A six-time Rajya Sabha member, Ram Jethmalani served as a Union Minister in the United Front and the BJP-led NDA governments. In 2016, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha on RJD ticket.
(Source: NDTV)
8. After Assam Citizens List, Plans Of Detention Centre Near Mumbai: Sources
The Maharashtra Home Ministry has reportedly written to the Navi Mumbai planning authority asking for land on which to build a detention centre for illegal immigrants. The news, confirmed by sources within the authority, comes less than a fortnight after the final NRC list in Assam declared 19 lakh people as foreigners and raises the possibility of a similar exercise in the country's second most populous state.
According to sources within the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) of Maharashtra, they have received a letter seeking a two-to-three-acre plot in Nerul, a residential and commercial neighbourhood in Navi Mumbai that is approximately 20 kilometres from Mumbai.
(Source: NDTV)
9. US Will Sanction Those Who Purchase Iran's Oil: Official
The United States will continue to impose sanctions on whoever purchases Iran's oil or conducts business with Iran's Revolutionary Guards and no oil waivers will be re-issued, a US official told Reuters on Sunday, 8 September.
"We will continue to put pressure on Iran and as President (Trump) said there will be no waivers of any kind for Iran's oil," said Sigal Mandelker, US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
Mandelker added that Iranian oil sales have taken a "serious nose dive" because of US pressure.
Iran's crude oil exports were slashed by more than 80% due to the re-imposed sanctions by the United States after President Donald Trump exited last year Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
(Source: NDTV)
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