CURRENT AFFAIRS
06 August 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) PM Modi lays foundation stone for Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, 28 years after the demolition of the Babri Masjid that once stood at the same spot. The building of the Ram temple marks the culmination of a campaign that dominated and polarised, the domestic political landscape for decades. Today, however, it was met by a near-unanimous show of support from political parties across the spectrum. PM Modi was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, among others. The Prime Minister unveiled a plaque and released a commemorative postal stamp to mark the occasion. In a lengthy and emotional speech, he said a long wait has finally ended and the Ram temple will be the harbinger of a prosperous India.
B) Tight security in J&K on the anniversary of Article 370 abrogation.
5 August also marks the one-year anniversary of the Modi government’s decision to abrogate Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370. Tight security was maintained across the Kashmir Valley on 5 August in order to foil protest marches by the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The president of NC party, who is also a Member of Parliament is heading a meeting of all regional parties so that they can apparently move to carry forward the Gupkar Declaration which was signed on August 4, 2019, by the regional parties. However, security has been beefed up on Gupkar Road, and barricades have been set up.
C) Tweets amounted to ‘criticism’ and not ‘contempt’, Bhushan tells SC.
Noted civil rights lawyer Prashant Bhushan on 5 August conveyed to the Supreme Court that his tweets in June of a photograph showing Chief Justice Sharad A. Bobde astride a bike and the court’s role in the past six years amounted to ‘criticism’ and not contempt. He said that this is criticism. Why don’t they take it objectively? senior advocate Dushyant Dave, for Bhushan, asked a three-judge Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra. Noting that hundreds of people had tweeted the photograph of Chief Justice Bobde on the motorbike, Dave asked, There are many amusing tweets by others. Is the court going to call them all in?
D) Covid watch: Numbers and Developments.
The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stood at 19,51,813 with the death toll at 40,643. India on Wednesday recorded 52,509 new cases. The Health Ministry said that India registered a record 51,706 coronavirus recoveries today and that the country’s recovery rate stood at 67.19%. India’s death rate, it added, is now 2.09%.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Beirut blast claims more than 100, two-week emergency declared
A massive blast occurred in port warehouses near central Beirut on Tuesday, killing 100 people, and injuring nearly 4,000. The blast sent shockwaves that shattered windows, smashed masonry, and shook the ground across the Lebanese capital. The blast has been linked to the storage of massive quantities of highly explosive material in the warehouses. While Lebanon’s volatile capital is no stranger to violent explosions, the city, already reeling from an economic crisis and a surge in coronavirus infections, has never seen one of this magnitude. The government has declared an emergency of 2 weeks. It has also approved $13 million to deal with the crisis.
B) China calls change in J&K status ‘illegal’.
Speaking of Article 370, China on 5 August repeated its opposition to the move by saying that any unilateral change to the status quo in Jammu and Kashmir is illegal and invalid. The statement was given by the Foreign Ministry of China on 5 August in response to a question on the anniversary, reiterated Beijing’s opposition to the move, which it had similarly expressed in several statements last year. Last year, Beijing had particularly voiced its opposition to the creation of a union territory in Ladakh, which included within its boundaries the Aksai Chin region, now occupied by China, although India had pointed out to China that the change had not altered India’s external boundaries or its territorial claims in any way.
C) Macron to visit Beirut as France pushes reconstruction
The President of France, Mr. Emmanuel Macron will travel to Lebanon on 6 August. He is the first world leader to visit Beirut after the blast that took place on 5 August and wreaked destruction across the capital, since France seeks to push reconstruction. He will go to Beirut so as to give the people they’re a message of fraternity and solidarity from the French. He will also discuss the situation with the political authorities. Both countries will be hoping that the visit goes smoothly. France has already sent three planes to Beirut which were loaded with rescuers, medical equipment, and a mobile clinic.
