Morning Digest | Three officers in Poonch area attached as Army probes three civilian deaths; Jaishankar lands in Moscow, talks to focus on bilateral issues, and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on December 26, 2023

Jaishankar lands in Moscow, talks to focus on bilateral issues

Striking a nostalgic note on India-Russia ties, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar shared memories of a visit to Moscow during his childhood, at the beginning of his five-day visit to Moscow and St. Petersburg on Monday for bilateral talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Trade Minister Denis Manturov.  Shortly after landing in Moscow, Mr. Jaishankar visited the Kremlin, posting an entry pass in his name from a 1962 commemoration for the first Russian cosmonauts in space at the Red Square, where he visited as a seven-year-old boy,  along with a current picture of himself at the Red Square amidst sub-zero temperatures, entitling it “How it started”, and “How it is going”. 

Three officers in Poonch area attached as Army probes three civilian deaths

Three officers, including the Brigadier in-charge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, have been sidestepped and attached with the local unit pending inquiry, over the deaths of three civilians in the district on December 22. The J&K Police have already registered a murder case against unidentified persons over the deaths .Amid the prevailing tension, Army Chief General Manoj Pande visited Poonch sector on Monday, and was given an update on the prevalent security situation. The three officers have been “attached as per procedure” while an Army inquiry is under way into the incident, two sources independently confirmed. All three were attached to the Nagrota-based 16 Corps, another source stated.

Railway officers to be trained in disaster management; NAIR, IRIDM to impart training

Disaster management has now been incorporated as an integral component of the training module for railway officers at the induction/foundation course level and also included in refresher or mid-career training programmes. The National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR), Vadodara, and the Indian Railway Institute of Disaster Management (IRIDM), Bengaluru, would work together in imparting the comprehensive training programme, railway sources said on Monday. 

France allows aircraft with 303 Indians to fly back to India