1. Blast In Pakistan’s Balochistan Province Claims 25 Lives.
At least 25 were killed and 35 injured in a bomb blast in Mastung area in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, on Friday. The attack took place just after the Friday prayers and deputy chairman Pakistan Senate Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri was also injured in this blast. According to the Associated Press, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for this deadly attack in Pakistan. The bomb is said to be majorly targeted towards Haider who escaped it and just got injured.
2. PM Modi Departs From Colombo For New Delhi.
Ending his two-day state visit to Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Delhi from Colombo on Friday evening. Over the course of his trip, PM held meetings with President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Leader of Opposition R. Sampanthan and other leaders of his Tamil National Alliance (TNA) party. In these meetings, PM talked about strengthening ties between both the countries, as well as, focused on issues of bilateral, regional and international interests of both the countries.
3. Ritu Phogat Won Bronze Medal At Asian Wrestling Championships.
India got its first medal at Asian Wrestling Championships with Ritu Phogat’s Bronze Medal in the 48th category in women’s wrestling. Phogat was wrestling against China’s Yanan Sun. Two other Indian female wrestlers are in the championship who will vie for the gold medal, Vinesh Phogat in 55 Kg and Sakshi Malik in 60 Kg.
4. Aadhaar Not Mandatory For PAN, ITR in J&K, Meghalaya, and Assam
Central Government has announced that residents from Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, Assam as well as citizens above the age of 80 years will be exempted from mandatory use of Aadhaar card while filing an Income Tax Return and applying for PAN card. Any individual who is a non-resident or not an Indian citizen will also be exempted from this provision. The announcement came in the days when a case is still pending in the Supreme Court, challenging the mandatory use of Aadhaar card.
5. Market Ends In Red, Rupee Strengthens Against US Dollar
BSE’s Benchmark Sensex lost 62.83 points during Friday’s trade to end the day’s trade at 30,188.15 as investors remained cautious and opted for profit booking ahead of the microeconomic data amid weak global cues. NSE’s Nifty also closed in red after ending the 4-day winning spree as it lost 21.50 points to quote 9,400.90. Indian Rupee, on the other hand, strengthened by 7 paise against the US Dollar on increased selling by banks and exporters. The green currency was valued at Rs 64.31 by the end of Friday’s trade.