Today’s Big StoriesNew L-Gs to take oath today as Jammu & Kashmir ceases to be a state and 2 new UTs come into existence
Even as the people of Jammu and Kashmir struggle to come to terms with the government’s unprecedented move, the state was officially split into two Union Territories. IAS officers Girish Chandra Murmu and RK Mathur, who have been appointed the new Lieutenant Governors (L-G) for the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh respectively, will be sworn in at separate functions in Srinagar and Leh today by Chief Justice of J&K High Court Gita Mittal.
Meanwhile, the region was still reeling from attacks on non-Kashmiris at the hands of militants, even as an unofficial delegation of European Union parliamentarians visited to take stock of the situation on the ground.Darkest hour: On Tuesday, six labourers from West Bengal were killed in south Kashmir's Kulgam district in the biggest attack since the abrogation of Article 370. The attack, which had taken place in the wee hours of Tuesday, had driven fear into the locals’ hearts.
There was an unusual silence during the night in the hamlet, ringed by apple orchards and paddy fields, after what had transpired in the evening. Aakash Hassan writes about how the attack took place and the aftermath.Who is Madi Sharma?: As a delegation of European Union (EU) lawmakers wrapped up their two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, questions were raised over how Madi Sharma, a Brussels-based person of Indian origin, was able to arrange the trip even as Indian opposition leaders have been kept waiting for access.In Other NewsSoftening stance: Both the BJP and the Shiv Sena seemed to have softened their stance on Wednesday. According to reports, the BJP is said to have offered the deputy CMs post along with 13-15 cabinet berths to its ally while the Shiv Sena seemed to have signalled a climbdown on their previous demand for rotating chief ministership.State-of-surveillance: WhatsApp on Tuesday sued Israeli technology firm NSO Group, accusing it of using the Facebook-owned messaging service to conduct cyberespionage on journalists, human rights activists and others. Reports later revealed that several Indian journalists, activists, academics and lawyers had also been targeted.Redeemed at last: A single-judge bench of Justice Pankaj Bhandari of Rajasthan High Court dismissed an FIR filed on charges of cattle smuggling against Pehlu Khan, who was lynched by cow vigilantes in April 2017, saying there is no evidence to show that the cows were being transported for the purpose of slaughtering.No relief: A Delhi court rejected P Chidambaram's interim bail plea on health grounds in the INX Media case and sent him to judicial custody till November 13, while dismissing ED's plea for one-day custodial interrogation. It directed Tihar Jail to provide medicines, western toilet, security, home-cooked food and a separate cell.Online censure: CJI-designate Sharad Arvind Bobde, who will replace Ranjan Gogoi, said he is not in favour of disclosing the deliberations of the Supreme Court’s Collegium on the rejection of names for high judiciary, saying it is not a question of secrecy but the right to privacy.On Our SpecialsDelhi chokes: As the national capital saw air pollution levels spike drastically in the past few days, leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party trained their guns on the Centre and the Punjab and Haryana governments “for not taking stern action against the increasing numbers of stubble burning cases". From September 23 to October 27, a total of 12, 027 stubble burning incidents were recorded in Punjab, a whopping increase of 2,427 from last year. With 3,735 recorded incidents of stubble burning, Haryana too witnessed an increase, albeit marginal, from last year’s 3,705. Angana Chakrabarti explains why measures to check crop burning have failed.On Reel
Curated and compiled by Chitwan Kaur
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