Morning Digest | Donald Trump safe after second apparent assassination attempt; ‘One Nation, One Election’ to be implemented by NDA government in current tenure, and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on September 16, 2024

Donald Trump was the target of “what appears to be an attempted assassination” at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, the FBI said, just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee survived another attempt on his life. The former president said he was safe and well, and authorities held a man in custody. U.S. Secret Service agents posted a few holes up from where Trump was playing noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking through the shrubbery that lines the course, roughly 400 yards away.

The concept of simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, referred to as “One Nation, One Election” will be implemented within the current term of the Narendra Modi government, sources said, hoping for support from political parties across the board, especially partners in the National Democratic Alliance. The census exercise, not undertaken since 2011, will also begin soon, senior government sources said.

The latest additions to the arsenal of warring Kuki-Zo and Meitei groups in Manipur, which are crude, unguided rockets with potential ranges of up to 5-6 km, has created a flutter in the security establishment. The Ministry of Home Affairs has constituted a multi-stakeholder expert committee to investigate the incident which has wider ramifications, according to sources in the security establishment. The rockets are in addition to the hexacopter drones which both sides have now acquired to drop bombs and rocket propelled grenades (RPG), in a significant escalation of the crisis which began in May 2023.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is planning to introduce an Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)-powered integrated dashboard with the capability to analyse recent news stories for forecasting emerging trends. The tool is expected to enhance the Ministry’s ability to swiftly respond to such trends. An AI&ML-based platform for multilingual translation and voice localisation will also be developed to facilitate efficient public dissemination of information about government initiatives.

Protests continued in Kolkata for the 36th day, demanding justice for the woman doctor who was raped and killed at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital last month. Even amidst pouring rain, protesting resident doctors, senior doctors, and common people from all walks of life took to the streets to continue their agitation . The West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front carried out a maha micchil (massive protest rally) from Salt Lake Central Park to the headquarters of the State Health Department at Swasthya Bhawan and reiterated their five main demands.

A bomb exploded at the house of Manipur’s Transport Minister Khashim Vashum in Ukhrul town, about 80 km northeast of the State’s capital Imphal. The Minister was away in Imphal when the incident happened in the Naga-dominated headquarters of the Ukhrul district. The Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley, meanwhile, remained tense but incident-free. The Manipur government extended the suspension of Internet and mobile data services, including Very Small Aperture Terminal and virtual private network services, in these three districts and the two others – Bishnupur and Kakching – till September 20.

India launched Operation Sadbhav to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam that have been hit by severe flooding caused by Typhoon Yagi. India has committed $1mn worth of flood relief assistance to Vietnam and $1,00,000 worth of assistance to Laos, the Ministry of External Affairs announced. Following this, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force have swung into action deploying ships and aircraft to ferry the assistance.