THE HEADLINES:-
- India refuses to sign Shanghai Cooperation Organisation joint statement for not explicitly addressing New Delhi’s concerns over Pakistan-sponsored terrorism; Defence Minister Rajnath Singh asks grouping nations to reject double standards on terror menace.
- Shubhanshu Shukla set to create history by becoming first Indian to reach International Space Station; Docking to take place at 4.30 pm today.
- Air India Flight AI-171 black box data downloaded to reconstruct sequence of events leading to the crash in Ahmedabad.
- Over 3 thousand 426 Indian nationals brought back so far from Iran under Operation Sindhu.
- And, Cloudbursts trigger flash flood in various parts of Himachal Pradesh; Five people killed and several missing; Heavy to very heavy rainfall likely to continue for next 7 day over Northern, Central and Eastern parts of the country.
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India has refused to sign a joint declaration at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting in Qingdao, China. Official sources said that India is not satisfied with the language of the joint document and there was no mention of cross-border terrorist activities. It is believed that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s refusal to endorse the document resulted in the conclave ending without a joint communique. As per the SCO Charter, the grouping takes decisions by agreement without a vote, and they are considered to be adopted if no member state raises objections.
Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called for united global action against terrorism, radicalisation, and extremism, citing them as the biggest threats to regional peace and trust. Addressing the Ministers’ meeting today, Mr Singh said, peace and prosperity cannot co-exist with terrorism.
The Defence Minister urged SCO nations to reject double standards and hold terror sponsors accountable. Mr Singh said that some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of policy and provide shelter to terrorists.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is an intergovernmental body established in 2001. India became a full member in 2017. China holds the Chair of the SCO for 2025 under the theme “Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move.”
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India has strongly rejected Pakistan’s “nefarious agenda” at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), accusing Islamabad of attempting to deflect attention from its own human rights violations and state-sponsored cross-border terrorism. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador P Harish, issued a sharp rebuttal during the UNSC’s open debate on Children and Armed Conflict calling out Pakistan for misusing the platform and violating the Council’s agenda.
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Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is on his way to create history by becoming the first Indian to reach the International Space Station (ISS). The Axiom-4 Mission, carrying Group Captain Shukla and three other crew members, is set to dock with the ISS at 4.30 pm today. The Dragon spacecraft is carrying Ax-4 Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kapu. After 41 years, India will now have an astronaut in space. Lucknow-born Shukla will also be the second Indian in space after Rakesh Sharma’s flight in 1984. In a video message
before docking from space Captain Shukla said he is thrilled to be with his fellow astronauts. He has thanked everyone adding that it is not a personal accomplishment, but a collective achievement of each one who has been a part of the journey.
” Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed the successful launch and said Group Captain Shukla carries with him the wishes, hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians. In Shukla’s home city Lucknow, his parents joined hundreds of students to watch the lift-off. They were welcomed by a music band on their arrival at the school and were seen breaking out into applause as the rocket lifted off. Born on 10 October 1985 in Lucknow, Group Captain Shukla joined the Indian air force as a fighter pilot in 2006. He has flown MiGs, Sukhois, Dorniers, Jaguars and Hawks and has more than 2,000 hours of flying experience. Besides piloting the mission, the Indian astronaut will have a busy schedule during his two weeks on ISS. But most of the time, the four-member crew will be conducting 60 scientific experiments, seven of which come from India. ISRO’s experiments will help improve our understanding of space and its effects on biology and micro-gravity. One of the key experiments will investigate the impact of spaceflight on six varieties of crop seeds. Ashish Abrahim, from News desks.”
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The Air India Flight AI-171 black box data has been downloaded to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the crash in Ahmadabad recently. The Crash Protection Module from the front black box was safely retrieved, and the memory module was successfully accessed and its data downloaded at the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) Lab in Delhi yesterday. In a statement, the Civil Aviation Ministry said that the analysis of Cockpit Voice Recorders and Flight Data Recorders data is underway to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the accident and identify contributing factors to enhance aviation safety and prevent future occurrences. The rear black box was brought by an AAIB team to its Delhi Lab on Tuesday.
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Under Operation Sindhu, 272 more Indian nationals have been evacuated from Iran. The special flight, which arrived in New Delhi from Mashhad in the early hours of today, also carried three Nepalese citizens. In a social media post, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that, so far, a total of 3 thousand 426 Indian nationals have been brought back to India from Iran under Operation Sindhu.
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Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil has said that the government has provided tap water connections to more than 15 crore households across the country. He said, the work to provide tap water connections for the remaining four crore households will be completed by 2028.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi today, Mr Patil said, the government has provided safe drinking water to every household under the Jal Jeevan Mission. The Minister said, the World Health Organisation has estimated that safely managed drinking water has prevented up to four lakh deaths annually from diarrheal diseases.
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In Chhattisgarh, two female Maoists have been killed in an encounter with security forces. The encounter took place in the forests of Aboojhmaad area of Narayanpur district. On the intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoists in the area, a joint team of District Reserve Guard and Special Task force was dispatched for the operation. There has been intermittent exchange of fire between security forces and Naxalites since last evening. Security forces recovered the bodies of two female Naxalite, along with two rifles, from the spot.
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On the sacred occasion of Netrotsav, thousands of devotees gathered in Puri to witness the Nabajouban Darshan of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra. This special darshan marks the return of the deities after a 15-day period of seclusion.
Devotees stood in long queues since early morning for a glimpse of the deities. The darshan is known to evoke deep spiritual emotions. Today, the three grand chariots will be brought near the Singhadwar of the Shree Jagannath Temple.Rath Yatra rituals will begin at 6 AM tomorrow. The ceremonial procession, known as Pahandi, will carry the deities to their chariots. Chariot pulling is expected to begin around 4 PM. The deities will travel to the Gundicha Temple, their aunt’s temple, for a nine-day stay. Authorities are expecting congregation of lakhs of devotees from across India and abroad. AI-enabled surveillance cameras are being used for monitoring and safety. SN Pattnaik, Akashvani News.
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that heavy to very heavy rainfall activity is likely to continue over Northwest, Central, East and Northeast parts of the country during the next 7 days. Talking to Akashvani News, IMD Senior Scientist R K Jenamani said active monsoon conditions are entering Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and East Rajasthan. He added that Jammu-Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will witness heavy rainfall in the next 2-3 days.
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Himachal Pradesh experienced heavy monsoon rainfall in the past 24 hours. During this period, reports of cloudbursts and flooding have emerged from various parts of the state. According to the information received so far, five people have lost their lives in these incidents.
“Due to the torrential monsoon rains over the past 24 hours, several areas in Himachal Pradesh have witnessed cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides, severely affecting normal life. In Dharamshala, the district headquarters of Kangra, flash floods occurred in the Manuni rivulet in Khaniyara. Several labourers residing in temporary sheds near the Indira Priyadarshini Hydro Project were swept away by the floodwaters. So far, two bodies have been recovered, while six individuals are still missing. Additionally, one person was seen fleeing into the forest in an attempt to save his life. The district administration, SDRF, NDRF, and police are engaged in relief and rescue operations. For safety reasons, other workers at the power project have been shifted to safer locations. Ritesh Kapoor, Akashvani News, Shimla.”
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In a tragic accident this morning in Gholtir, located in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district, a Tempo Traveller fell into the Alaknanda River, resulting in the deaths of three people. Nine individuals are still missing, and a large-scale rescue and relief operation is currently underway to locate them. Uttarakhand Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman confirmed that the rescue mission is ongoing and that eight people have been successfully rescued so far.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:-
- India refuses to sign Shanghai Cooperation Organisation joint statement for not explicitly addressing New Delhi’s concerns over Pakistan-sponsored terrorism; Defence Minister Rajnath Singh asks grouping nations to reject double standards on terror menace.
- Shubhanshu Shukla set to create history by becoming first Indian to reach International Space Station; Docking to take place at 4.30 pm today.
- Air India Flight AI-171 black box data downloaded to reconstruct sequence of events leading to the crash in Ahmedabad.
- Over 3 thousand 426 Indian nationals brought back so far from Iran under Operation Sindhu.
- And, Cloudbursts trigger flash flood in various parts of Himachal Pradesh; Five people killed and several missing; Heavy to very heavy rainfall likely to continue for next 7 day over Northern, Central and Eastern parts of the country.
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