Morning Current Affairs: 6 September 2017

Syrian military breaks IS siege of Deir al-Zour

The Syrian military has broken a siege of the eastern city of Deir al-Zour, surrounded for years by the Islamic State group. The official Sana news agency reported that troops and allied militiamen joined up with forces at the Brigade 137 base on the city's outskirts.

An estimated 93000 civilians have been trapped in an enclave on the western bank of the River Euphrates since 2015.

They have depended on military relief flights and air drops of aid by the UN. Deir al-Zour's surrounding province is the last major IS stronghold in Syria.

Noted journalist Gauri Lankesh shot dead in Bengaluru

Noted journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead on 5 September 2017. She was shot down from close range by unidentified persons at her residence at Bengaluru’s Rajarajeshwari Nagar.

Gauri Lankesh was the editor of popular Kannada tabloid Lankesh Patrike founded by her father and well-known writer P Lankesh. Gauri Lankesh was also part of a panel formed by State government to help surrender Naxals to reform.

Deadline for filing of GST Returns for July and August extended

To help business firms to file its final GST returns, the union government on 5 September 2017 extended the last date for filing of sales and purchase data as well as payment of taxes for the months of July and August.

Now sales return or GSTR-1 for July will have to be filed by September 10 instead of September 5 earlier and purchase returns or GSTR-2 would be filed by September 25 instead of September 10 earlier.

GSTR-3, which is the match of GSTR-1 and GSTR-2, will have to be filed by September 30, in place of September 15. The GST Implementation Committee (GIC) announced it on 5 September 2017.