Top stories on 22nd August in a capsule

Delhi bound Kaifiyat Express derails in UP, over 50 injured

At least 10 coaches of the Delhi-bound Kaifiyat Express derailed near Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya district late on Tuesday night injuring over 50 people, media reports said. This is the second accident in UP in span of four days and occurred after the train collided with a dumper, the report added. Preliminary investigations reveal that work for a freight corridor was in progress when the accident happened and the injured have been shifted to nearby hospitals.  On Saturday, 22 people were killed and 156 injured when Utkal Express derailed in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh

5-judge multi-faith SC bench bans ‘Instant’ Talaq

A five-judge multi-faith constitutional bench on Monday decided to strike down the practice of triple Talaq by a majority vote of 3:2. The bench was headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar and three of the five judges in the panel termed the practice as “un-Islamic, retrograde, unworthy” and said it “violates right to equality”. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), a respondent, will now hold a meeting on September 10, post the SC’s decision. Some media reports claim that AIMPLB has termed the verdict as a victory for personal laws. Justice Abdul Nazeer and CJI JS Khehar, have now asked the parliament to frame the law against the practice within six months. 
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Verdict on Triple Talaq ‘historic’, tweets PM; BJP, Cong welcome the order alike 

The milestone verdict on Triple Talaq came on Tuesday, as the Justice Khehar led bench termed it ‘unconstitutional’, by a majority of 3:2. Miniutes after the verdict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the decision as a ‘historic’ one. “It grants equality to Muslim women and is a powerful measure for women empowerment,” the PM tweeted. BJP President Amit Shah also joined in to praise the apex court’s order saying “it’s a new dawn for the Muslim women” and “a move towards New India.” The Opposition, INC, also welcomed the SC’s judgment, calling it a progressive and secular judgment for equal rights for Muslim women in India. “It protects personal laws and at the same time deprecates the practice of Triple Talaq,” Senior INC leader, Kapil Sibal said.
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How Political parties reacted to Triple Talaq 

While majority of the political leaders expressed their contentment on the verdict of the Triple Talaq, some remained uncertain. Reacting to the verdict, All India Majilis e Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president, Asauddin Owasi said though he is happy with the verdict, it will be a Herculean task to implement it on the ground. The CPI (M) also applauded the SC for treating the triple talaq as arbitrary and unconstitutional. Hailed as an enormous win for the Muslim women, Zakia Soman of the Indian Muslim Women Movement said “We, Muslim women are entitled to justice from court as well as legislature.” BJP leaders, Yogi Adityanath, Shazia Ilmi and Subramanian Swamy also commended the SC’s move.

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Sindhu and Praneeth win their opening ties at the World Badminton Championships

India's P.V Sindhu breezed past South Korea's Kim Hyo Min 21-16, 21- in her opening game at the Word Badminton Championships. The Indian never looked in against a nervous Kim, who was continuously forced in committing baseline errors. Meanwhile B Sai Praneeth also beat Wei Nan of Hong Kong 21-18, 21-17 to enter the 2nd round of men's singles. The Indian shuttler upped his game in the crucial moments of the tie and showed great resilience while trailing in the early stages. 

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Congress' Indira Canteens working without FSSAI license

Indira canteens in Bengaluru have not procured a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) license to sell low cost food for people in Bengaluru, media reports said on Tuesday. BBMP Executive Engineer Nandish JR said that government establishments don't need a license, whereas clause 31 Section 31 (1) of the Food Safety Act says that nobody (it makes no exception for the government) is entitled to commence a food business without a license from FSSAI. Out of the 101 Indira canteens, only 71 canteens are functional. As per section 63 of the Food Safety Act, any person or food business operator except for temporary stall owners and petty hawkers found running food business without the license could be imprisoned for six months and also fined Rs 5 lakh.

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SC rejects Tamil Nadu’s Exemption Plea From NEET

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Tamil Nadu government to initiate the admission processes after rejecting the appeal to exempt state from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) in 2017.The court has asked the state to start counselling for admissions for MBBS and BDS seats in the state based on the NEET merit list and finish the process by September 4. On August 13, the central Govt had earlier said it was willing to exempt Tamil Nadu from NEET for one year. 

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PSUs go on strike to protest against proposed consolidation move

Public Sector Bank Employees went on a one-day, nationwide strike  on Tuesday to protest against the government’s proposed consolidation move, besides raising other demands. This has affected several banking operations like deposits and withdrawal at bank branches, cheque clearance, NEFT and RTGS transactions. The strike was called by all unions under the aegis of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU). Some of the other demands include - no write-off policy for non-performing assets (NPAs) of corporate loans, declaring wilful default of loans as criminal offence and implementation of recommendations of Parliamentary Committee on recovery of NPAs.

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Darjeeling hill parties to hold talks with Mamata on the 29th

After two months of political unrest in Darjeeling, the hill parties led by Gorkha Jan Mukti (GJM) and Mamata Banerjee government have finally decided to come into talking terms. Since the demand for Gorkhaland had initiated protests in the region, the local political parties had refused to solve the issue with the Banerjee led West Bengal government. However, according to reports Mamata received a letter from the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), urging her to hold talks, following which she took the decision. The meeting will be held in the State Secretariat in Nabanna, and will be open to all parties to attend, Mamta said. She, however refrained from commenting on the participation of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).

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Trump seeks India's support in Afghanistan, Warns Pakistan on terror

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday revealed his new policy for Afghanistan and sought a greater role for India in ensuring stability in the South Asian region. Trump also took a jibe at Pakistan, criticizing the country for harboring terrorism internally and threaten to cut ties with them if they failed to act. While, India welcomed the prospect of joining the plan, the sharp criticism against Pakistan drew flak from ally China. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying said that Pakistan was on the front line in the struggle against terrorism and had made "great sacrifices" and "important contributions" in the fight,  Chinese ministry's daily news briefing said on Tuesday.