Morning Digest | Sri Lanka votes to choose its next President; top Hezbollah leader killed in Israeli strike, and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on September 21, 2024

Over 17 million Sri Lankans will have a chance to elect their next President today in a crucial election, the first to be held after the island nation’s economy crashed in 2022. A good turnout is expected, in line with Sri Lanka’s record of high voter participation in every national election. The last presidential poll in 2019 saw a voter turnout of 83.72 %.

A day after junior doctors called off their ceasework agitation, healthcare workers and thousands of civil society protesters took to the streets of Kolkata seeking justice for the doctor who was raped and killed at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital (RGKMCH) last month. It has been 41 days since the female trainee doctor was raped and killed on duty at RGKMCH on August 9. So far, the Kolkata Police have arrested one person in connection with the case

President Droupadi Murmu appointed Atishi as the Delhi Chief Minister. A gazette notification by the Union Home Ministry stated: “The President is pleased to appoint Ms. Atishi as the Chief Minister, National Capital Territory of Delhi, with effect from the date she is sworn in.” She also accepted Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation as the CM.

The National Investigation Agency conducted searches at four locations in Punjab in connection with a case related to the alleged promotion of terror-related activities and violence by Gurupatwant Singh Pannun, the “designated terrorist” of banned outfit Sikhs for Justice. The searches were carried out at one location each in Moga and Mohali, and two in Bathinda, in the case registered by the NIA in 2023 against Pannun and other SFJ members.

Multiple First Information Reports (FIR) have been registered against former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in various districts of Chhattisgarh over his recent statements on the Sikh community made during the leader’s recent visit to the U.S. According to the police, Mr. Gandhi has been accused of hurting religious sentiments. Cases have been filed in the capital Raipur and a couple of other cities, including Bilaspur and Durg, with police sources adding that more such FIRs were in the process.

A strike on Hezbollah’s stronghold in Lebanon’s capital Beirut killed eight people and wounded dozens of others, with a source close to the movement saying a top military leader was dead. The Israeli military said it had conducted a “targeted strike”, while the Lebanese health ministry said the attack had killed eight people and wounded 59 more.

The alleged custodial abuse of an Army officer and the sexual harassment of his fiancée at a Bhubaneswar police station sparked nationwide outrage, pushing the Mohan Majhi government in Odisha into damage control mode. While the Congress questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the incident, the principal opposition in Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal demanded a court-monitored special investigation team probe and a judicial inquiry into this grave incident against an Army Major and the lady.