FirstUp: Jaishankar in Pakistan for SCO summit and other big headlines today

It is set to be a busy Tuesday today with several important events lined up for the day.

The Council of the Heads of Government (CHG) of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will take place in Pakistan’s Islamabad today. Meanwhile, Omar Abdullah is likely to take oath as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indian Medical Association has announced a hunger strike in support of the junior doctors association in West Bengal seeking justice for the young doctor who was raped and murdered at the R G Kar Medical College in Kolkata.

PM Modi is set to inaugurate the first-ever telecom standard conference to be organised by the UN’s ITU in India. Meanwhile, YouTube Shorts will allow content creators to upload 3-minute videos starting today.

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Here is all that is likely to take place throughout the day.

Jaishankar to head to Pakistan for SCO summit

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will participate in the 23rd Council of the Heads of Government (CHG) of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will take place in Pakistan’s Islamabad, from October 15 to 16.

According to a statement from the Pakistan Foreign Office, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will chair the upcoming CHG meeting. The CHG meeting will discuss ongoing cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, environment, socio-cultural linkages and review the performance of the Organisation.

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The leaders will adopt important organisational decisions to further enhance cooperation among the SCO member States and approve the budget, the foreign office said in a statement.

Nationwide hunger strike to support Bengal doctors

The Indian Medical Association has declared a 12-hour nationwide hunger strike to express solidarity with doctors in West Bengal after the rape and murder of a young doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, reported Times Now.

According to the IMA’s statement, the fasting will take place from 6 am to 6 pm on Tuesday, with the JDN coordinating efforts with Resident Doctors’ Associations (RDAs) and supporting local actions across the country. “Younger doctors in Kolkata are engaged in a Fast-Unto-Death struggle for their legitimate demands, supported by the public,” the IMA noted.

PM Modi to inaugurate ITU’s telecom standard conference

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the first-ever telecom standard conference to be organised by the UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in India as well as the India Mobile Congress (IMC) on October 15, informed news agency PTI.

“ITU is excited to announce that WTSA-24 will be inaugurated by His Excellency, the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, on Tuesday 15 October 2024,” ITU said in an official note.

The World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA) conference is held at a gap of four years. The recommendations and proposals approved at WTSA set the direction for the development of communication technologies.

YouTube Shorts to allow three-minute videos starting

In a major update, YouTube will now allow creators to upload three-minute Shorts starting today. Currently, the platform allows 60-seconds of video for their Shorts format.

The Shorts feature helped YouTube to compete with its competitors TikTok and Instagram Reels. But it is now trying to go back to its original format of longer videos that will give creators more space to include more content in their videos.

According to India Today, YouTube is introducing several more features to make content creation fun. A new feature includes the ‘Remix’ button that will allow creators to easily hop on the latest trends and add.

On this day…

• Birth anniversary of scientist and former President APJ Abdul Kalam

• Birth anniversary of film director Mira Nair

• Birth anniversary of founder of NDTV Prannoy Roy
  Birth anniversary of footballer Mesut Ozil

• Death anniversary of poet Suryakant Tripathi ‘Nirala’

• White Cane Safety Day (2021)

• International Day of Rural Women

• Tata Airlines (later to become Air India) made its first flight in 1932

With inputs from agencies