Morning Brief: LoC Firefight Continues; Soldier Inadvertently Crosses LoC; Train Crash In Odisha

LoC Firefight Continues

Fresh fighting erupted along the southern stretches of the Line of Control (LoC) with Indian forces engaging terrorists in the village of Mankote, close to the location of some of the most intense combat in Thursday’s pre-dawn special forces raids on jihadist launchpads.

Indian troops have been pushed forward to guard against Pakistani retaliation, sources said, while civilians were being evacuated from the affected area. Local residents reported the forward movement of artillery.

Soldier Inadvertently Crosses LoC

One Indian soldier from 37 Rashtriya Rifles inadvertently crossed over to Pakistan side of LoC with weapons and was captured at 1330 local time by Pakistani forces. Lt General Ranbir Singh, the Director General of Military Operations, has informed Pakistani officials via hotline.

The army said such inadvertent crossing by jawans and civilians are not unusual and they are returned through existing mechanisms.

Train Accident In Odisha

One person was killed and 22 passengers were injured in a collision between the Bhubaneswar-Bhadrak passenger train and a goods train near Kathojodi station at Cuttack in Odisha. Reports suggest that the collision took place because of a wrong signal on the track.

The accident has severely affected the movement of trains between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed concern over the incident and directed that the rescue operation be speeded up.

Final Tribute To Shimon Peres

A long list of world leaders will attend the funeral of former Israeli prime minister and president Shimon Peres. Peres had suffered a stroke two weeks ago and died on Wednesday in a hospital near Tel Aviv.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his role in negotiating the Oslo peace accord. He was one of the last of a generation of Israeli politicians present at the nation's birth in 1948.

MUST READ OP-EDS

Narendra Modi Walks The Talk: The NDA government has sent an unambiguous message to Pakistan: it can no longer be business as usual in light of growing cross-border terrorism.

A New Greenprint On Climate Change: India’s strategy for combating climate change and achieving INDC targets is a multi-pronged one. It aims at modifying the energy mix to a more sustainable, efficient and renewable one. Renewable energy would be developed through wind power, hydro-power, biomass, waste to energy and nuclear power.

Fight For A Share In The Pie Gets Uglier: The recent mobilisation of Marathas is opening up other fronts. It has pitted them against the Dalits. The two have had an uneasy relationship for decades. There is growing resentment among the young Marathas.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Will “Surgical Strike” On LOC Chasten Pak? No, But It Needed To Be Done: The point of retribution is not to solve a problem, but to increase the costs of terror for Pakistan. This is why Thursday’s early morning strike by the army against terrorists across the LOC was needed, even if it does not stop cross-border terrorism.

We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief. Have a great day ahead!

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