Daily Bulletin: Jammu and Kashmir guv says 'unnecessary panic' being created on security situation; IMD predicts heavy rainfall in Konkan area; day's top stories

Indian Army halts Amarnath Yatra citing terror alert; J&K Guv claims ‘unnecessary panic’ by linking security measure with other issues

In a surprising turn of events, the Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday curtailed the Amarnath Yatra and asked pilgrims to either leave the state immediately or cut their trip short after Indian Army revealed intelligence inputs citing a terror alert.

The announcement came hours after the Army said it had information that Pakistan was planning to disrupt the annual pilgrimage . It also said that weapons linked to the Pakistan Army were recovered along the Amarnath Yatra route during operations launched in response to intel inputs saying Pakistani terrorists were plotting to target the annual pilgrimage.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik said that “unnecessary panic” was being created by linking the curtailment of Amarnath Yatra with other issues, and requested political leaders to ask their supporters to maintain calm and do not believe in “exaggerated rumours”.

A delegation of PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Movement chief Shah Faesal and Peoples Conference leaders Sajjad Lone and Imran Reza Ansari met the Governor.

The delegation expressed concerns about the panic situation in Kashmir, created by the developments during the day, including the advisory issued by the government asking Amarnath pilgrims and tourists to return as soon as possible, according to a Raj Bhavan statement.

“Governor Malik informed the delegation that there were serious and credible inputs which were available to the security agencies regarding terrorist attacks on the Amarnath Yatra…It is in this context that the government had issued an advisory asking Yatris and tourists to return as soon as possible,” the statement added.

Malik said that “unnecessary panic” is being created by linking this measure to all kinds of other issues.

“A pure security measure is being mixed up with issues with which it has no connection. That is the cause of the panic,” he said and requested the leaders to ask their supporters “not to mix up matters, to maintain calm and not believe exaggerated rumours being circulated all around”.

Mumbai-Goa national highway closed for traffic due to landslide; IMD predicts heavy to very heavy rainfall in Konkan area

Mumbai-Goa national highway in Maharashtra was closed for traffic following a landslide caused by rainfall near Mauje Dhamandevi village in Raigarh. The landslide occurred in the wee hours of Saturday. The road-clearing operation is underway by the police and administration.

Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department predicted “heavy to very heavy” rainfall at few places for the next few days in Konkan and other parts of south Maharashtra.

“Strong winds with speed reaching 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph likely to prevail along and off Maharashtra coast during next three days and along south Maharashtra -Goa coast during next four days,” the IMD said.

“Rough to very rough sea conditions (wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph) are likely to prevail over the north Arabian sea, central and south-west Arabian Sea during next 5 days,” it further added.

Kerala Muslim outfit challenges new law on triple talaq in Supreme Court

The new legislation which makes the practice of instant divorce through ’triple talaq’ among Muslims a punishable offence with 3-year imprisonment was challenged in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court on Friday.

The petition in the apex court was moved by a Kerala-based Muslim organisation, while the one in the Delhi High Court was filed by an advocate – both alleging that ‘The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019’ violates the fundamental rights of Muslim husbands.

‘Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema’, a religious organisation of Sunni Muslim scholars and clerics in Kerala, and the Delhi-based advocate Shahid Ali have claimed that the Act is violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution and is liable to be struck down.

Both the petitions were filed a day after President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to the new legislation.Uttar Pradesh: Newborn baby found dead in garbage dump in hospital in Hordoi

Uttar Pradesh: Newborn baby found dead in garbage dump in hospital in Hardoi

A body of a newborn baby was found in a garbage dump near District Hospital in Hardoi on Friday, police said.

Police learned about the incident after they were alerted by the locals. The residents of the area and patients who came to the hospital for medical check-up informed police that they saw stray dogs biting the baby.

“Locals have alerted us about the newborn after they saw stray dogs biting the baby,” police said.

The body has been sent for postmortem and further investigation is underway.

India start ICC T20 World Cup preparations with three-match series against defending champions West Indies

India begin their tour of USA and the West Indies with three-match T20 series with the first couple of games to be played in Lauderhill, Florida.

Virat Kohli’s side will look to put their ODI World Cup campaign behind and start afresh as the team looks to commence preparations for the T20 World Cup, which will be held next year in Australia.

Facebook open-sources its harmful-content flagging system

Facebook has its own flagging system that takes down harmful content that includes child exploitation, terrorist propaganda, and graphic violence. Any such form of offensive photos and videos are removed from the platform using algorithms. The social media company has now released the same tools as open-source projects on Github hoping that it can be used to build better tools to safeguard children on the internet.