Today in History (May 2nd, 2011)
On May 2, 2011, Osama bin Laden was killed during a raid by the United States Navy SEALs under Operation Neptune Spear in Abbottabad, Pakistan. He was a prominent leader of the terrorist organization, Al-Qaeda, and responsible for several acts of terrorism, including the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in 2001.
Summary of Today’s News
Article 142
The Hon’ble Supreme Court held that its extraordinary discretion under Article 142 of the Constitution can be used to do complete justice for couples trapped in bitter marriages by granting them divorce by mutual consent. The judgment is significant as an irretrievable marriage breakdown is not grounds for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act 1955.
Government bans 14 apps in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Union Government has instructed service providers to ban 14 applications in Jammu and Kashmir, following the recommendations of the Union Home Ministry. Most of these apps allow encrypted messaging, which the terror organizations use. These apps inter-alia include Threema, Zangi, B Chat, Briar, Wickr Me, Media Fire, Nandbox, Firefly, etc. Snapchat has not been banned.
AIME-2023
The maiden ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise 2023 aims to allow the Indian Navy and ASEAN navies to work together closely and conduct seamless operations in the maritime domain. The ‘Harbour Phase’ of the exercise will be held at the Changi Naval Base in Singapore and the ‘Sea Phase’ will be held in the South China Sea.
Calcutta High Court
Justice T.S. Sivagnanam has been appointed as the new Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. He originally belongs to the Madras High Court. The Calcutta High Court is the oldest in India with jurisdiction over the State of West Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. As per the India Justice Report, 2022, it ranks second in the average case pendency after the Allahabad High Court.
Uzbekistan wins referendum to rewrite the Constitution.
90.21% of Uzbekistan’s voters voted ‘Yes’ to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s bid to rewrite the country’s Constitution in a referendum that promised more freedoms to the people. It could also see the President extending his rule beyond his current two-term limit. It promises more media freedoms.
