Article 370 scrapped, Jammu & Kashmir to be a Union Territory

  • Article 370 of the Constitution, which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir, has been abolished by a presidential order that would come into force “at once”, Home Minister Amit Shah said in parliament.
  • Former J&K chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah on Monday came down heavily on the Centre’s move to scrap Article 370. Mufti called the move “illegal” and “unconstitutional”, and one that would make India an “occupational force in J&K”.
  • Jammu and Kashmir will also be “reorganised,” said Home Minister Amit Shah, with the state’s bifurcation into two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. This is the most far-reaching move on the state in nearly seven decades.

Panic in Assam as people rush to attend NRC re-verification hearings on 24-hour notice

  • NRC rules state people must be given 15 days of notice. But this hasn’t been followed in verifications taking place weeks before the release of the final NRC.
  • Assam is currently updating its National Register of Citizens, which aims to sift genuine Indians living in the state from undocumented migrants. 

Mumbai Schools, Colleges Shut Today Amid Heavy Rain Forecast

  • Rainfall resumed in parts Mumbai this morning after a lull overnight, adding to the difficulties that Monday office commuters in the country’s entertainment and financial hub would face as rainwater flooded many parts of the city.
  • All schools and colleges in Palghar, Thane, Raigad and Mumbai are also closed today. “Some government offices providing emergency and essential services will remain open. Private office staffers may move out only if essential,” said the city’s civic agency Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. 
  • The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rain in Mumbai and its suburbs, and extremely heavy rain at isolated places in the next 24 hours. Heavy rain also hit Nashik and Pune, where the water level in rivers has been rising.

ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 Shares Its First Pictures of Earth Taken by Its LI4 Camera

  • The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday took to micro-blogging platform Twitter to share the first pictures of Earth captured by the LI4 camera installed in Chandrayaan-2.
  • The Indian space agency also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will watch the moon landing of the lander Vikram carried by the spacecraft Chandrayaan-2 along with selected students
  • Two students studying in classes 8 to 10 from each state scoring the highest in a quiz contest organised by ISRO in coordination with MyGov.in can watch Vikram’s landing along with Modi at the ISRO’s Bengaluru centre, it said.
  • The lander ‘Vikram’ is expected to land on the moon on September 7, as per ISRO. 

“Hispanic Invasion Of Texas”: Inside Hate-Filled Note Of Walmart Shooter

  • Shortly before a gunman opened fire outside a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 20 people and injured dozens more, a manifesto believed to be linked to him was posted online. It railed against a “Hispanic invasion” and laid out a plan to divide the United States into territories based on race.
  • Authorities believe 21-year-old Patrick Crusius wrote the document, though they are still gathering evidence. “This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas,” the manifesto says.