Morning Digest: India launches ‘Operation Sindoor’ striking terror bases in Pakistan; States set to conduct civil defence exercise, and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on May 7, 2025

Indian armed forces hit nine terror infrastructure targets in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) under ‘Operation Sindoor’ from where terrors attacks were “planned and directed” against India, the Defence Ministry announced early on Wednesday (May 7, 2025). Pakistan military spokesperson DG Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that India has struck three locations from air in Bahawalpur, Kotli and Muzaffarabad.

States across the country prepared to conduct mock drills on Wednesday (May 7, 2025) following the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The drill comes in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack where 26 people were killed.

Several airports in northern parts of the country were shut as India carried out military strikes at several points near its border with Pakistan in the early hours of Wednesday. Srinagar airport was closed for flights, according to airport officials.

India and the United Kingdom have concluded a historic Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that will see 99% of Indian exports to the U.K. benefiting from zero duties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Tuesday (May 6, 2025).

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court in Hyderabad on Tuesday (May 6, 2025) awarded seven-year imprisonment to four persons, including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Karnataka Gali Janardan Reddy, and his relative B.V. Srinivas Reddy, managing director, Obulapuram Mining Corporation (OMC), in a case of illegal mining in Anantapur district of undivided Andhra Pradesh. The case was registered by the CBI nearly 16 years ago.

In a bid to disincentivise “fake news” content, the government plans to revise the guidelines for the intermediary platforms and revisit the “safe harbour” provisions that protect these platforms, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, has according to sources, said replying to questions from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communication and Information Technology headed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has sought an explanation from the officer who was the first among the security forces to reach the Baisaran meadow in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, the spot that witnessed the killing of 26 people by terrorists, who are yet to be caught.