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• Britain, Germany and France have asked the United Nations Security Council to meet behind closed doors on August 1 on North Korea's latest missile launches, diplomats said.


• North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles early on July 31, the South Korean military said, only days after Pyongyang launched two similar missiles intended to pressure South Korea and the United States to stop upcoming military drills.


• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believed the missile launches were “just another reminder of the importance of restarting talks on the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

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• Under the sanctions, all property and interests in property of Zarif that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked.


• In an unprecedented move, the United States on Wednesday slapped sanctions against Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on the ground that he acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Iranian Supreme Leader.


• “This action represents another step toward denying the Iranian regime the resources to enable terror and oppress the Iranian people,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is in Thailand, said in a statement soon after the Department of Treasury announced the designation of the Iranian foreign minister.

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• Former Vice-President Joe Biden has come under attack from other Democratic 2020 candidates in a televised debate.


• The party's frontrunner shared a stage in Detroit with nine other presidential hopefuls and there were several sharp exchanges on healthcare and the border.


• In an echo of the last debate in June, Senator Kamala Harris again launched an assault on Mr. Biden's record on race.

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• The United States had repeatedly pressed visiting Prime Minister Imran Khan and his delegation, which included the powerful army chief and the ISI boss, on compliance with counter-terrorism commitments that Pakistan has given to an international body that monitors and combats financing of terrorism.


• Pakistan’s obligations to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Paris-based body, as part of an ongoing discussion, was raised with Khan and his delegation at their meeting with President Donald Trump.

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• A Delhi court extended till August 9 the interim protection from arrest to former Union Minister P. Chidambaram and his son Karti in Aircel-Maxis cases filed by the CBI and the ED.


• Special Judge O.P. Saini extended the relief after the argument on anticipatory bail plea of the father-son duo remained inconclusive as both the agencies sought time to argue the matter further.


• During the hearing, Chidambaram told the court there was no ground for it to deny them anticipatory bail, opposed by the two central probe agencies.

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• Three-judge Bench, however, refrains from staying the 103rd Constitutional Amendment of 2019 providing 10% reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for the “economically backward” in the unreserved category.


• A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court led by Justice S.A. Bobde on Wednesday reserved its orders on the question of referring a batch of petitions challenging the validity of a constitutional amendment providing 10% economic quota in government jobs and educational institutions to a Constitution Bench.

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• Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to move the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Lok Sabha today, while Minister of Tourism, Prahalad Singh Patel, is going to move the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019.


• In Rajya Sabha, Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan is going to move The National Medical Commission Bill, 2019. This bill will provide a better quality medical education and also make it affordable.

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• Foreign language teachers in Illinois are being asked to update the way they teach those courses starting in the upcoming school year by putting more emphasis on world cultures and how to use languages across different academic disciplines.


• The Illinois State Board of Education released its newly-updated educational standards for world languages, replacing ones that were adopted in 1997.

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• Union Bank of India has reduced Marginal Cost of Funds-based Lending rate (MCLR) up to 20 basis points across various tenors, with effect.


• All rupee loans sanctioned and credit limits renewed by banks with effect from April 1, 2016, are priced with reference to MCLR. One basis point equals one-hundredth of a percentage point.

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• Two-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo and two-time runner-up Lionel Messi have been nominated for 2019 edition of The Best FIFA Men's Player award.


• Defender Virgil van Dijk, who won the Champions League with Liverpool and was named Premier League Player of the Year, is also among the candidates. FIFA World Cup 2018's best young player Kylian Mbappé has also been included.

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• The Congress has appointed former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki as the party's state President and MLA Lombo Tayeng as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party in Arunachal Pradesh Assembly.


• Tuki has replaced Takam Sanjoy as the state party chief, while Tayeng took over from Takam Pario. The Congress said it appreciated the contributions of Sanjoy and Pario.