Morning Digest: All-party meeting on Operation Sindoor today; Amit Shah asks border States to stock up on essential goods, and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on May 8, 2025

Hours after ‘Operation Sindoor’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Droupadi Murmu and chaired a Cabinet meeting to brief his colleagues on the military strikes. The government has also called an all-party meeting to brief all political parties on ‘Operation Sindoor’ in Parliament on Thursday (May 8, 2025).

India’s strikes on Pakistan were not an escalation, but a “response” to the Pahalgam terror attack, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told envoys of 13 of 15 countries in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The 14th member, Pakistan’s envoy, was not invited to the briefing held hours after India’s actions at South Block, but included China’s envoy to India, Xu Feihong. Sierra Leone wasn’t present at the meeting as they don’t have an envoy here.

As the scheduled mock drills were conducted at various places across the country hours after Wednesday’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ by the Indian armed forces concluded, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked the Chief Ministers of the States bordering Pakistan and Nepal to stock essential items, and ensure the availability of essential services in accordance with the guidelines of the drill.

Black smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel chimney on Wednesday (May 7, 2025), signalling that no pope had been elected as 133 cardinals opened the secretive, centuries-old ritual to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church.

Calling India’s strikes on nine targets across the Line of Control and the International boundary a “violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty”, the National Security Committee (NSC) on Wednesday (May 7, 2025) said they had authorised the Pakistani armed forces to take “corresponding actions”. The NSC meeting was convened by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hours after the strikes, and the participants were apprised of the casualties and damage to property in the country.

The Supreme Court has assured that a communication will be issued regarding the action taken by the Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna, following the submission of a confidential report on May 4, 2025, by a three-member in-house inquiry committee. The committee investigated the discovery of half-burnt currency notes on the premises of the official Delhi residence of former Delhi High Court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma, after a blaze on March 14, 2025.

At least 21 airports across India, primarily in northern and north-western regions, have been closed for passenger flights until May 10, following a government directive amid Indian military strikes near the border with Pakistan. These airports will remain closed till 5.29 a.m. on May 10, as per the notice to airmen (NOTAM) issued to airlines accessed by The Hindu through sources in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.