Kulgam: Army officials said that three soldiers died in an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district. A search is on for the terrorists in the area.
The clash started on Friday evening and continued late into the night. The terrorists attacked during an inspection conducted by the army after receiving information that terrorists were holed up in the Halan forest area. More troops and police have been sent to the region.
In April and May, 10 soldiers, including elite commandos, were killed in terrorist attacks in Poonch and Rajouri districts. These are areas that were considered free from terrorist activity for two decades.
The GST Council has decided that 28% GST will be applied to online gaming, horse racing and casinos. The gaming companies and gamers asked to revise the decision saying it may affect the growth of startups.
The Finance Minister Sitharaman said at the GST Council meeting that a 28% tax on online gaming would go into force on October 1. The meeting’s main agenda was to examine the taxation structure for online gambling in India.
Following the 51st GST Council meeting, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman stated, “…the council recommended that valuation of supply on online gaming & actionable claims in casinos may be done based on the amount paid or payable or payable to or deposited with the supplier by/or on behalf of the player, excluding the amount entered into the games, bets out of previous game winnings and not on the total value of each bet placed…”
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting was held virtually today and decided that the implementation of 28% of tax will only be reviewed after six months. Finance Minister Sitharaman also clarified that GST will be imposed at the entry-level (amount deposited with online platforms), not on all bets or wins. She also added that Delhi requested for reviewing the decision to levy a 28% GST on online gaming. Goa and Sikkim are also not happy with the decision and stated that the decision will hurt their revenues. Goa requested that the tax be levied on gross gaming revenue (GGR) rather than face value.
In the 51st meeting, held virtually on August 2, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council voted to assess the 28% tax levied on online gaming and casinos six months after it goes into force on October 1, 2023.
The GST Council previously resolved to apply a standard 28% tax on full face value for internet gaming, casinos, and horse racing. As a result, the major online gaming companies and their CEOs have continued to ask the government to reverse the decision, fearing that it will stifle the growth of new-age startups.
During a gunfight with the HTS Group in Syria, the fourth leader of ISIS Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurayshi got killed.
On Thursday the worldwide terrorist organization Islamic State’s leader confirmed that their leader Abu Husayni Al Qureshi was assassinated during a gunfight encounter. The news is officially confirmed by the ISIS group and ISIS announced Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Quraishi as his replacement. The death of Abu Husayni Al Qureshi was publicized by the group’s spokesman in an undated recording post on its Telegram channel.
According to reports, in Syria’s northwest area, Abu Husayni Al Qureshi was slain in a direct gunfight with the Hayat Tahir Al-Sham group. In 2004 after his predecessor was killed in Syria, Abu Hussein al-Husseini al-Quraishi took over in November 2022.
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said in April that Turkish intelligence had killed him in Syria, and this is the terrorist group’s first official announcement since then. Erdogan stated that the Turkish national intelligence organization had been looking for Quraishi for a long time. In the announcement of the ISIS group, they didn’t mention the time of death of Abu Husayni.
In the recording post of ISIS, the spokesman says Qureshi that during the gunfight with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was killed, the dominant Islamist group that controls the remaining opposition stronghold in northwest Syria. In the audio the spokesman said “The Sheikh (Quraishi), may God have mercy on him, was killed after they (HTS) tried to take him captive. He clashed with them with his arms until he died of his wounds,” accusing the opposing Islamist group of functioning as operatives of Turkish intelligence.
According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), 88% of the Rs 2,000 currency notes, totalling Rs 3.14 lakh crore, have been returned following the decision to withdraw them from circulation. The value of the Rs 2,000 notes in circulation has hit Rs 0.42 lakh crore, according to a Reserve Bank of India announcement.
To avoid a last-minute rush before September 30, 2023, the Reserve Bank has recommended the public to deposit and/or exchange their Rs 2,000 notes in the next two months.
Currently, Rs 420 crore worth of Rs 2000 notes are in circulation. According to the data of the Reserve Bank of India, around 87 per cent of the returned Rs 2,000 notes were deposits. The remaining 13% was swapped for other denominations of notes.
The 2000 rupee note was issued in 2016 with the aim of replenishing the cash flow of the Indian economy following the government’s sudden decision to demonetize the Indian economy by discontinuing high-end notes. However, the central bank has repeatedly said it intends to cut the number of high-denomination banknotes in circulation and has stopped printing 2,000 rupee banknotes for the past four years.
The security has been tightened and members from both communities have attended peace committee meetings.
Pic Source: X (Twitter) @ HTGurgaon
Five people, including two home guards, were killed in Gurugram, Haryana. Over 50 people were injured. Violence erupted during a religious procession in Nu Chowk. A gunfight broke out at a mosque in Gurugram, killing one person. According to Prime Minister Manohar Lal, FIRs were filed against 44 people and 70 were arrested.
Attackers pelted rocks and set fire to cars. Police used tear gas and fired into the air to disperse the crowd. About 20 people were injured and one was shot dead in the police operation. After the conflict, internet services were temporarily suspended and public gatherings were banned. To restore the law and order, prohibitory orders were issued in Nu, Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwar and Rewari districts.
Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said, “We request you to stay indoors, go out only for important work and not believe rumours,”. He also added that the situation is fully under control. A curfew was enforced in Nuh on Tuesday, and central forces were deployed. Today is a holiday for all Gurugram schools, colleges, and educational institutions. Nishant Kumar Yadav, District Magistrate, made the order.
The Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal in X (Twitter) tweeted that ‘Today’s incident is unfortunate, I appeal to all the people to maintain peace in the state. The guilty will not be spared at any cost, strictest action will be taken against them.’
Following the communal violence today in Nuh and Sohna a peace committee meeting was organized and 62 members with equal representation from both communities attended the meeting. The officials reported that the meeting went peacefully with citizens promising the administration that they will completely cooperate in keeping calm.
In the meeting, local-level committees have been asked to ensure that no more than five people should gather in a particular place. Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav also advised two community representatives not to post about anything insensitive on social media.
Chennai: The police shot dead two gangsters who were accused in ten murder cases. The incident took place at 3:30 in the morning at Guduvancheri near Chennai Tambaram in Tamil Nadu. Ramesh and Chota Vinod were killed. Accused in many cases. Allegations have been raised that the police killed in an encounter.
But during the vehicle inspection, the police said that the four-member group in the Skoda car, which reached high speed, attacked them and fired for their lives. The incident took place this morning. There were four people in the vehicle.
When they asked to check the vehicle, the occupants of the car came out with a machete and attacked them, throwing homemade bombs and creating a terror atmosphere. In this situation, the police had to shoot to save their lives. The police said that two people in the car escaped.
Mumbai: At least 15 people were killed when a section of the Mumbai-Nagpur Super Samriddhi Expressway collapsed in Thane, Maharashtra. The accident happened at dawn in Shapur. Many people were injured in the accident. More people are suspected to be trapped in the debris. The rescue operation is being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force and the Fire Rescue Service.
The incident took place around 11 pm while the girder launching work for the bridge was underway. The under construction bridge is a part of the 701 km long expressway. So far 600 km of expressway between Igatpuri and Nagpur has been opened for public use. The MSRDC authorities had set a deadline of 2023 to complete the construction of the remaining 101 km to Thane, with plans to complete the work before the Lok Sabha elections in the first half of 2024.
Kollam: The district crime branch will file a charge sheet in the murder of Dr. Vandana Das on Tuesday. After two and a half months of investigation, the Kottarakkara Magistrate submitted the charge sheet in the corruption case. The High Court will hear the hearing on the 18th on the petition filed by the parents of Vandana Das demanding a CBI investigation in the case.
It is indicated that the investigative team found that Sandeep, who is a regular alcoholic, deliberately killed Vandana Das. Testimony and scientific evidence are crucial in the case. The charge sheet is filed days before the accused’s custodial term ends.
Meanwhile, the Kollam Principal District and Sessions Court rejected Sandeep’s bail plea. On May 10, Vandana, who was a house surgeon, was stabbed to death when she was brought to the Kottarakkara Taluk Hospital for a medical check-up. Five people, including the policemen, were injured in the attack by the accused. The accused attacked the doctor and others with scissors. Dr. Vandana, who was stabbed many times, was taken to Thiruvananthapuram Kims Hospital, but her life could not be saved.
India’s third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, has successfully completed orbits around the Earth and August 5, 2023, is the scheduled date for the Lunar-Orbit Insertion (LOI).
With the aim of exploring the moon’s surface, India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission is making significant strides. The spacecraft was launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on July 14th from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on an LVM3-M4 rocket, successfully completing its fourth orbital ascent maneuver, and currently has a circumference of 71,351 km x 233 km around the Earth.
ISRO thought Twitter announced that, “Chandrayaan-3 completes its orbits around the Earth and heads towards the Moon. A successful perigee-firing performed at ISTRAC, ISRO has injected the spacecraft into the translunar orbit.” The big happy news added with the tweet is ‘Next stop: the Moon’.
The scheduled TransLunar injection on August 1st from 12:00pm to 1:00am is the next critical step for Chandrayaan 3. According to an ISRO official, the spacecraft has exited the orbit of its home planet and is now en route to the Moon’s vicinity following today’s trans-lunar injection (TLI).
The Chandrayaan-3 is composed of a Lander module (LM), a Propulsion module (PM), and a Rover.On August 17, the PM and LM would be separated. Before the power descent phase for the soft landing on the moon, a series of deboost maneuvers are also planned. The lander is scheduled to land on the moon’s surface on August 23 around 5.47 p.m.
India’s semi-high-speed train connecting Chennai and Tirunelveli will be flagged off by PM Narendra Modi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to flag off the third Vande Bharat of Tamil Nadu on August 6. The new Vande Bharat is to be operated by connecting Chennai and Tirunelveli in 8 hours.
This new Vande Bharat train covers a distance of 658 km in 8 hours which will save up to 2 hours for the passengers compared to the regular trains. This third Vande Bharat train of Tamil Nadu comprises 8 coaches and stops only at two junctions namely Trichy and Madurai.
The Divisional Manager of Madurai inspected the three railway Stations such as Cheranmahadevi, Kallur and Palayamkottai for Possible locations for the Maintenance facility of the Vande Bharat train. According to officials, the needed commitments for the introduction of the new Vande Bharat train on this trail are proceeding on and soon the trial runs will get underway.
This will be the Third Vande Bharat train in Tamil Nadu where two Vande Bharat train services are currently running including Chennai Central to Mysoor via Bangalore and another one from Chennai to Coimbatore.
On February 15, 2019, The first Vande Bharat Express was launched by the Prime Minister, running between New Delhi and Varanasi. As of now, 25 Vande Bharat trains are running across the country.
Vande Bharat train sets are manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) of Chennai, symbolizing the initiative of ‘Make-In-India’ and showcasing India’s engineering skills resulting in the revolution in India’s rail travel.
