*TODAY’S TOP NEWS*
NATIONAL
1. Nine new judges, including three women, whose appointments to the Supreme Court have been cleared by the Centre, are likely to be sworn-in on August 31 by Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana.
2. Mumbai police have filed an extortion case against Mumbai Deputy Commissioner of Police Akbar Pathan and two other cops, one of them arrested for the killing of businessman Hiran, on a complaint by a man who is an accused in a cheating case.
3. Andhra Pradesh state government has sanctioned Rs 10 lakh for each child who lost both the parents due to corona.
4. High positivity rate has made Dakshina Kannada district administration decide not to reopen Graduate and Post Graduate classes till September 15.
5. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai on 26 Aug (Thursday) demanded the Centre to extend the GST compensation period to states beyond 2022, for three more years. After a meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Bommai said he also discussed the GST (Goods and Services Tax) dues to the tune of Rs 11,000 crore to be paid to Karnataka in installments.
6. Flights connecting Jamnagar in Gujarat to Bengaluru and Hyderabad inaugurated on 26 Jun (Thursday), Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said. The flights on the Jamnagar-Bengaluru route and the Jamnagar-Hyderabad route will be operated under the UDAN scheme by Star Air.
7. The Civil Aviation Ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Adani Group for providing services, including customs, immigration and security, at the Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram airports.
8. The Gujarat government on 26 Aug (Thursday) said it would approach the Supreme Court challenging the stay granted by the High Court on certain Sections of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act 2021 that seeks to stop religious conversion through interfaith marriages using force or allurement or fraudulent means.
9. Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja said, “We are committed to stop the love jihad in the State. This amended Act is not a political tool for us. It is meant to ensure that women are not cheated or lured into marriages by changing names or surnames or symbols of Hindu religion,”
10 In Himachal Pradesh: people holding banners and placards of “Save Kinnaur: No Means, No” the villagers made it amply clear that they would not allow the coming up of the proposed 804 MW Jangi Thopan hydel project.
Himachal in the past months has witnessed scary landslides in which many persons were killed
11. 1,808 farmers, who have been found ineligible under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM KISAN), have been asked to return the financial aid received by them. The aid amounts to Rs 1.88 crore in the district
12. India”s aviation regulator DGCA on 26 Aug (Thursday) lifted the ban on Boeing 737 Max planes” commercial flight operations after almost two-and-half years.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. India could talk with a new government in Afghanistan if it is inclusive and has representation of all sections of the society of Afghanistan. Experts have suggested all diplomatic resources be used to ensure that Afghanistan does not become a hub of anti-India activity.
2. Oman to allow entry to Indians from 01 September 2021.
3. The govt is committed to “full evacuation” of Indians from Afghanistan, where the situation is “critical”, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday after briefing the leaders at an all-party meet on the Afghan situation.
4. India has sought “more clarity” from the US on the price fixation, maintenance and transfer of technology in the proposed $3 billion (around Rs 22,000 crore) deal to acquire 30 armed MQ-9B Predator drones, which are designed for long-range precision strikes against hostile targets on land and sea.
5. BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture (JV) of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India and NPO Mashinostroeyenia (NPOM) of Russia, has proposed the setting up of a modern production facility in the Lucknow node of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Corridor.
6. The DRDO on 25 Aug said its latest advanced chaff technology to safeguard IAF’s fighter jets provides passive jamming against infra-red and radar threats. In collaboration with the Pune-based facility of the DRDO, the Defence Laboratory in Jodhpur has developed the advanced chaff material and chaff cartridge
7. India and Russia have signed defence deals worth $15 billion in the past three years with big-ticket purchases such as the S-400 missile system, said Viktor N Kladov, director for international cooperation and regional policy.
8. Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of India General Bipin Rawat said the Taliban in Afghanistan are the same as they were 20 years ago. “We are getting reports of what’s happening there. Only their partners have changed now,”
9. Four-day Malabar wargame begins off coast of Guam in Western Pacific
Indian Navy has deployed its stealth frigate INS Shivalik, anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kadmatt and a fleet of P8I maritime surveillance aircraft in the 25th edition of the mega exercise.
10. India on 26 Aug (Thursday) strongly condemned the deadly bomb explosions near the Kabul airport and said the attacks reinforced the need for the world to stand unitedly against terrorism.
11. The Taliban is not allowing 140 Afghan Hindus and Sikhs to visit India on the occasion of the 400th birth anniversary of Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur, Delhi-based think tank Indian World Forum claimed on 26 Aug (Thursday).
12. The high-voltage Malabar exercise featuring the navies of all four Quad countries—India, the US, Australia and Japan—began on 26 Aug (Thursday)
MORE WORLD NEWS
1. The Taliban has been showing off its own “special forces” on social media, soldiers in new uniforms equipped with looted American equipment who contrast sharply with the image of the usual Afghan insurgent.
2. The Pentagon on 26 Aug (Thursday) confirmed two explosions in Kabul, which resulted in the deaths of scores of people, including at least 12 US Marine servicemen. The first blast was reported at the Abbey Gate while the second one was near the Baron Hotel. Thousands of people have gathered to try to flee the country on Western airlift since the Taliban seized power earlier this month.
3. An ISIS suicide bomber was responsible for the explosion outside the Kabul airport. According to a local reporter, a suicide attacker blew himself up in the middle of a large crowd at the airport.
4. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the terror attack near Hamid Karzai International Airport and expressed his support for the victims of the blast.
5. America’s Vice President, Kamala Harris, met top Vietnamese leaders during a trip across South Asia. She offered the States’ support to Vietnam in their bid to counter China’s increasing presence in the South China Sea.
SPORTS
1. Tokyo Paralympics 2020:
Indian paddler Bhavinaben Patel progressed to the Round of 16 in the women’s singles Class 4 table tennis event with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Great Britain’s Megan Shackleton at the Tokyo Paralympics .
2. Swimmer Suyash Jadhav will miss Friday’s 200m individual medley SM7 event in the Paralympic Games as he is suffering from cold and sore throat. His COVID-19 test report is, however, negative.
The Indian contingent has sent its largest contingent yet, with 54 Paralympic athletes contesting in 9 sports across the competition
3. England vs India 2021 3rd Test
IND 78
ENG 423/8 (129.0)
On Day 2 : England lead India by 345 runs with 2 wickets remaining
4. Chadalavada Anandha Sundhararaman Bhavani Devi, who is widely known as Bhavani Devi (born 27 August 1993), is an Indian sabre fence.