Morning Digest | Israel launches intense airstrikes in southern Lebanon, killing 356, including 24 children; Reform global institutions for peace and development, PM Modi tells U.N., and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on September 24, 2024

Israeli strikes killed 356 Lebanese, including 24 children, in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war as the Israeli military warned residents in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate their homes ahead of a widening air campaign against Hezbollah. Thousands of Lebanese fled the south, and the main highway out of the southern port city of Sidon was jammed with cars heading toward Beirut in the biggest exodus since the 2006 fighting. More than 1,000 other people were wounded in the strikes — a staggering one-day toll for a country still reeling from a deadly attack on communication devices last week.

Maharashtra’s Thane police shot dead Akshay Shinde, accused of sexually assaulting two minors at a school in Badlapur town, after, as per police, he snatched the gun of one of the policemen and opened fire at them. The Thane crime branch police visited the Taloja jail at 5:30 p.m. and took 24-year-old Mr. Shinde in custody in connection with a fresh case of sexual assault filed by his wife. When the team approached the Mumbra bypass road around 6:30 p.m., Mr. Shinde snatched a gun from one of the constables and shot him, the police said. Police personnel Nilesh More was injured in the incident.

Speaking at the two-day United Nations ‘Summit of the Future’ conference, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said global peace was contingent on the reform of global institutions. “The success of humanity lies in our collective strength, not in the battlefield,” Mr. Modi said, presumably referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing war between the two countries as well as the Israel-Hamas conflict in West Asia.

Sri Lanka’s newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake promised to strengthen democracy and “work hard to win people’s trust”, with the disclaimer that he is no “magician”. “I am not a magician; I am not a miracle-worker. There are things I know and don’t know. But I will commit myself to doing the right thing at all times, and lead a collective effort to rebuild our nation,” he said, in his first address as President, just after being sworn in at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the government’s food regulatory authority under the Health Ministry, has issued a show-cause notice to A.R. Dairy, one of the companies which supplied ghee to the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh, for allegedly providing substandard product to the temple.

The Karnataka High Court will pronounce on Tuesday (September 24, 2024) its verdict on the petition filed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah challenging the approval given by the Governor of Karnataka for conducting investigation against him in the alleged illegalities in Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) in allotting 14 sites to his wife in prime location of Mysuru city.

The Supreme Court held that viewing in private, downloading, storing, possessing, distributing or displaying pornographic acts involving children attract criminal liability under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and the Information Technology Act.