3 FEBRUARY 2016

Ø  The Supreme Court on Tuesday referred a batch of curative petitions against Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a colonial-era provision criminalising consensual sexual acts of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) adults in private, to a five-judge Constitution Bench for a possible back-to-roots, in-depth hearing.

Ø  North Korea notified UN agencies on Tuesday that it plans to launch a satellite later this month, which could advance the isolated country’s development of long-range missile technology. We have received information from DPRK regarding the launch of earth observation satellite ‘Kwangmyongsong’ between 8-25 February. North Korea is believed to be making preparations for a test launch of a long-range rocket, U.S. officials said last week, after activity at its test site was observed by satellite. Pyongyang has said it has a sovereign right to pursue a space programme by launching rockets, although the U.S. and other governments worry that such launches are missile tests in disguise. The International Telecommunication Union, another UN agency, said that North Korea had informed it on Tuesday of plans to launch a satellite with a functional duration of four years, in a non-geostationary orbit.