Zverev Launches ATP Finals Campaign with Straight-Sets Win Over Jodar

World No. 1 Alexander Zverev made a commanding start to his campaign at the 2026 Nitto ATP Finals, defeating young Spanish sensation Rafael Jodar 6-4, 6-4 in their opening-round clash in the John McEnroe Group. Displaying remarkable consistency and composure, Zverev relied on his powerful serve and precise backhand to control the contest from start [] The post Zverev Launches ATP Finals Campaign with Straight-Sets Win Over Jodar appeared first on Pragativadi I Latest Odisha News in English I Breaking News .

Up Election 2027: ! BJP

Up Election 2027: ! BJP PDA , 1990 , #AkhileshYadav #BJP #Ayodhya #RamMandir #UttarPradeshPolitics $MetaTags$1#Digital Original4#Rahul Kumar$MetaTags$

A very good experience: India U19 captain Lakshya reflects on Asia Cup triumph

Digital Desk | New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS) After returning to Delhi, India U19 captain Lakshya Raichandani called the team's Asia Cup title triumph a very good experience and praised Mohit Ulva's match-winning knock in their thrilling one-wicket final victory over Pakistan. India claimed their ninth U19 Asia Cup title after chasing a daunting 338-run target against arch-rivals Pakistan in a last-ball thriller at Omans Al Amerat Cricket Ground on Saturday. Ulva hit a boundary off the final delivery, taking India to 339/9 in 50 overs and sealing a memorable win. It was a very good experience. Superb knock from Mohit Ulva and looking forward to whatever opportunity comes in my way, Lakshya told IANS after arriving in Delhi. Ulva, unbeaten on 49, played a key role in India's remarkable chase, keeping his composure in the closing stages alongside Chigurupati Venkata, who remained unbeaten on 11. Earlier, Pakistan had posted a formidable 337/9, riding on Usman Khan's 107, Abdul Qadir's 80 and captain Farhan Yousaf's 63. Usman and Qadir added 135 runs for the second wicket, putting Pakistan in a commanding position. India fought back in the closing overs as Chigurupati Venkata claimed three wickets and Kavya Patel took four, restricting Pakistan to 337. India batter Kushagra Ojha said the team had remained confident despite suffering a narrow defeat in the tournaments second match, with the coaching staff urging the players not to feel under pressure. We are very happy. Basically, this was the plan we had gone with. Even when we lost that second match by a narrow margin, our coaches told us not to take too much pressure. All the citizens of the country are very happy, Ojha said. India's chase was led by Lakshya, who scored a composed 80 off 101 balls after sharing a 95-run opening stand with Aaryavir Sehwag, who made 58 off 61 deliveries. Lakshya kept the innings together through the middle overs, but his dismissal in the 37th over, followed by Anvay Dravid's run-out, left India under pressure. The hosts slipped further after losing Aryan Savsani and Kavya Patel in quick succession, but Manal Chauhan's 47 off 32 balls and Ulva's unbeaten 49 revived the chase. The duo added 57 runs for the ninth wicket, with Ulva taking charge in the closing overs before Venkata joined him for the final push.

Outcry in Balochistan Assembly Over Missing Hindu Girl

Balochistan lawmakers protest in assembly demanding action for missing Hindu girl, Bindiya Kumari, allegedly abducted and forced to convert. Outcry in Balochistan Assembly Over Missing Hindu Girl

Why Tamil Nadus pastoralists are demanding a voice in wildlife conservation?

Lutnick under fire over ties to Jensen Huang and Nvidia's China chip exports

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, left, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, right speak in the Cross Hall of the White House before an event on Investing in America on April 30, 2025. Trump was joined by CEOs to highlight companies and their investments in the United States during the event. - Andrew Harnik/Getty Images The first call, as Jensen Huang remembers it, came from Howard Lutnick. It was around the start of Donald Trumps second term, and Lutnick was preparing to become his Commerce Secretary. His message to the head of Nvidia was simple: whenever you need the president, call us. Recounting the call on Joe Rogans podcast last December, Huang remembered fondly that Lutnick had called him and his company a national treasure. Two years later, Huang has resigned from Nvidia and Lutnick is under intense scrutiny for what some Trump advisers see as inaction in placing limits on US chip exports to China and his role in cultivating Huang as a top administration ally. Other administration officials have accused Lutnick of bucking internal consensus and Trumps own directives in failing to blacklist an Nvidia customer suspected of funneling chips to China. Some of Trumps advisers, reeling from the fallout of Huangs resignation, have begun discussing whether Lutnick should be dismissed, according to people familiar with the conversations. This account is derived from more than a dozen sources, including officials inside the administration and the tech industry. They described a rapidly deepening relationship that came to influence nearly all areas of the White Houses stance toward some of the most powerful technology in the world. Questions surrounding the scandal and the fresh push to limit sales of advanced chips to China are likely to persist as Trump prepares to meet next week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Shenzhen, the hub of Chinas tech industry. American officials said they didnt expect Trump to raise the alleged spying with Xi, and said China wouldnt have a say in whether Washington tightens restrictions on access to chips. What the hell is Nvidia? Until shortly after Trumps inauguration last year, Huang was nearly a stranger to Trumps world. He would skip the swearing-in to spend Lunar New Year with employees in Asia, while his tech titan counterparts Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos had prime spots in the Capitol Rotunda. Trump, by his own account, had barely heard of Nvidia or its CEO: Whats his name? What the hell is Nvidia? he recalled wondering a few months later. Ive never heard of it before. His ignorance wouldnt last long. Eleven days after being sworn in for a second term, Trump met Huang at the White House. Huang also met that day with Lutnick, still awaiting confirmation as Commerce Secretary. As Trump signed executive orders in the Oval Office later that afternoon with the cameras rolling, he was full of praise for the man hed only recently met. Hes a great gentleman, and I hadnt met him, Trump said as he reflected on what he called a good meeting. Hes the biggest in the world in terms of chips. Over the next two years, the relationship would deepen over dinners, phone calls and many, many meetings. It was aided at every step by Lutnick, who helped elevate Huangs profile and whose agency is responsible for keeping sensitive American technology away from adversaries. unknown content item - On Thursday, after Huang resigned from Nvidia following revelations he had extramarital affairs with two women, one of whom may be connected to China , Lutnicks critics began circling. Administration officials who have long been concerned about Huangs influence on Trump said privately that the Commerce Department failed to crack down on chip shipments to companies suspected of passing them on secretly to China. Speaking on CNBC Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a wide swath of Trumps administration including the Treasury and State departments, the Pentagon and the US Trade Representative favored placing the company at the center of the scandal, Megaspeed, on an export blacklist. He said it was the Commerce Department, led by Lutnick, that had failed to follow through. Commercehas the penand you will have to ask them about their internal process, he said. Both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill demanded Lutnick answer questions about what he knew, and when. House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats wrote to Lutnick demanding to know what he and his export control chief, Jeffrey Kessler, knew about Megaspeed, and when. Senate Democrats directed Lutnick to preserve documents, communications and records related to Nvidias exports of advanced chips. This news is as concerning as it gets, Sen. Jim Banks, a Trump ally, said Thursday on Fox News. When youre in a war with another country, you dont give them your best technologies. And thats why lawmakers, for the last two years, have been pushing hard to stop our high-end computer chips from being exported to China. The White House said Thursday Trump maintains complete confidence in the secretary and his ability to carry out the position as the most transformative Commerce Secretary in modern history. A deepening relationship A few months after Huangs first Oval Office meeting, Lutnick played a role in facilitating Huangs attendance at a $1-million-a-head MAGA Inc. dinner at Mar-a-Lago, according to two people familiar with the matter. The April dinner proved fateful. Huang used it to make a final appeal against planned restrictions on selling Nvidias H20 chip to Chinese customers. Trump, meanwhile, walked away impressed with his new, extraordinarily wealthy friend. Huangs charm offensive at the Palm Beach dinner seemed to work, but only briefly. The White House moved to shelve the planned curbs. But as a trade war with China heated up, Nvidia later disclosed that the government had told it that H20 sales to China would require a license and that the requirement would stay in place indefinitely. Huang kept working at it. At an Investing in America event at the end of April 2025, Lutnick and Huang were photographed together in the Cross Hall. Trump turned the moment into a show of affection. I could have Jensen negotiating. Hed blow my people away, Trump said. Even Howard would say that. Lutnick, sitting in the audience, quickly concurred. Well take him. By July, Huang was back in the Oval Office. His pitch this time was tailored to Trump. Selling chips to China, he argued, could create American jobs and cement American AI as the world standard. He had already said publicly in May that the ban already cost Nvidia $15 billion in sales. Jensen Huang, then CEO of Nvidia, center, speaks with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin during the Winning the AI Race summit at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC, on July 23, 2025. Trump signed executive orders related to his Artificial Intelligence Action Plan during the event. - Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Two top administration officials who had become close Huang allies accompanied him in the Oval Office: Lutnick and David Sacks, the White House AI adviser, who championed exporting the US AI stack the idea that selling older chips like the H20 abroad keeps the world hooked on American technology. Five days later, Nvidia announced the government had assured it that it would be permitted to sell the H20 in China. Huang was in Beijing when he said sales would resume. The next day, Lutnick went on CNBC, explaining the decision as a way to get China addicted to the American technology stack. The H20 deal was finished in August, and the president negotiated it himself, directly with Huang, as they sat face-to-face in the White House. Lutnicks agency immediately moved to issue H20 licenses. Trump would go on to publicly confirm the arrangement that made the H20 sales possible: Nvidia would pay the government 15% of its China chip revenue. Through the fall, Huang drew closer to the president, and Trump regularly mentioned Huang off-the-cuff in his public remarks. In October, Trump spoke with Huang, Marc Benioff and other business leaders about sending federal law enforcement into San Francisco, and the next day he called the plan off, citing those conversations. That same month, as Trump was preparing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, Nvidia donated $25 million to Trumps White House ballroom project, a person familiar with the matter said. Nvidia never appeared on the published donor list. The warnings In the summer of 2025, as Trump and Huang were growing closer, a phone call began to unravel something larger. Singapore police, investigating a cloud company called Megaspeed, questioned its former managing director, Alice Huang, and barred her from leaving the country. She had met Jensen Huang at an Nvidia event in California in early 2024. The two were photographed together at a trade show in Taipei that June. During a briefing with lawmakers on Capitol Hill at the end of 2025, federal agents said they suspected Jensen Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort, citing his close relationship with Alice Huang, according to sources familiar with the meeting. Jensen Huang, then CEO of Nvidia, with a woman confirmed by a Reuters source to be Alice Huang in Taipei, Taiwan released on June 7, 2024. - Obtained by Reuters The briefing was centered on an investigation into suspected efforts to circumvent US export control restrictions and attempts to influence the Trump administrations policy on shipping certain Nvidia chips to China, according to the sources. The FBI, which is conducting the primary counterintelligence investigation, told lawmakers last year that it was particularly suspicious of Alice Huangs seemingly overnight career pivot from Chinese State television journalist to businesswoman with an unusually large amount of purchasing power in the Chinese economy, one of the sources said. Trump himself had been briefed on intelligence about Alice Huang in late 2025 and took no action, CNN previously reported. But the investigations continued. The Commerce Department had been investigating Megaspeed since 2024 to determine whether the firm had run afoul of US export rules, but had stopped short of placing the company on the so-called Entity List, a trade blacklist that bars US suppliers from selling to listed firms without a license. Other areas of the administration had grown frustrated at the delay, including at the State Department and National Security Council, people familiar with the matter said. On Capitol Hill, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, had taken notice and quickly fired off a direct request to Lutnick to investigate Megaspeed. Behind the scenes, executive branch officials from other national security agencies were raising Megaspeed as a clear target for investigation and inclusion on Commerces Entity List. The logo of data center company Megaspeed International at its office in Singapore on November 10. - Taryn Ng/AFP/Getty Images They got no substantive response. And in meetings when the case came up, Lutnicks deputies would respond by telling officials little more than it was Lutnicks decision to make, according to people familiar with the conversations. In the CNBC interview Friday, Bessent suggested the inaction had violated directives given by Trump himself. I am frustrated when President Trump made it very clear that China should not receive any Nvidia chips above H100s, Bessent said, referring to an older-generation data-center chip. And so any leakage is very frustrating because it hurts our great companies in the AI race, gives the Chinese an advantage. When Trump was preparing to travel to China for a state visit in May, the delegation announced on May 11 initially didnt include Huang. The next day, Trump phoned Huang to invite him. As Trump flew aboard Air Force One to Anchorage that afternoon with Elon Musk and Sean Hannity, he received a briefing from Secretary of State Marco Rubio about some of the concerns surrounding Huang and China. On the ground in Alaska, Huang boarded for the final leg to Beijing. On May 14, Xi greeted Trump at the Great Hall of the People, and Musk, Huang and Apples Tim Cook were the only executives the White House listed at the arrival ceremony. Huang called it one of the most important summits in human history. Members of the Trump administration are joined by Jensen Huang, second row right, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, centre right in the second row, and Apple CEO Tim Cook, center left middle row, at a welcome ceremony for President Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14. - Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images In the months that followed, there was little to indicate Trump or Lutnick had concerns about Huang. Trump praised him in the Oval Office. Lutnick, moderating a September G20 session in North Carolina, called him an American treasure the same flattery deployed on their first phone call nearly two years earlier. In September, Huang took a call from Trump on stage and put him on speakerphone at a summit in Los Angeles. Trump called AI-takeover fears a hoax, called data centers the oil of the next 20, 25 years, and said opposition played into Chinas hands. Ten days later, Huang and his wife were at the White House to attend Trumps State Dinner for Chinese leader Xi Jinping. They were seated at the head table with the two leaders and their spouses. The reckoning Less than a month later, the first bombshell dropped: US officials had concluded Alice Huang was a Chinese intelligence asset who had cultivated a close relationship with Jensen Huang. CNN later reported the US intelligence community is still working to understand the relationship between Alice Huang and the Chinese government, with multiple sources telling CNN that the intelligence collected on her to date does not prove that she was acting as a spy for Beijing. Trump, officials said, would not hang his friend out to dry. As one official put it, Huangs problems were Nvidias, Nvidias were the economys, and that became the presidents problem. Trump called Huang brilliant and, unless we find out something to the contrary, very above board. President Donald Trump takes questions with AI executives after a meeting on artificial intelligence outside the West Wing of the White House on September 29. - Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images But the political ground had also shifted. Democrats won both chambers in the midterm elections, and voters rejected data-center projects in 40 of 41 ballot measures. The Republican chairs of three House committees Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and the China select committee, all set to lose their gavels in January asked Huang as well as Nvidias general counsel for closed-door interviews next month. Kessler, Lutnicks deputy at the Commerce Department, has also been asked to appear at a hearing scheduled for next month. Republicans are now accusing Lutnick of putting Trump in a vulnerable position. Shame on Lutnick for allowing that exposure to happen for the president. Raises a question about what other ones are out there, Sen. Thom Tillis told reporters Thursday. During a meeting in the Situation Room last week, Treasury Secretary Bessent turned to Lutnick and asked why Megaspeed wasnt on the entities list. According to sources familiar with the meeting, Lutnick stammered, I dont know. Ill look into it. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com This article originally appeared on CNN at https://www.cnn.com/2026/11/15/politics/lutnick-jensen-alice-huang-trump-nvidia

IAF's key 13 Base Repair Depot celebrates golden jubilee

Digital Desk | New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS) The Indian Air Force's 13 Base Repair Depot celebrated fifty years of distinguished service with a seminar on Air Defence2040: Sensors, Networks & Sovereign Sustainment at the Manekshaw Centre here on Sunday. The seminar was presided over by IAF Maintenance Command's Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Air Marshal Yalla Umesh, and witnessed participation from senior military leadership, veterans, DRDO, academia and leading defence industry partners. Addressing the gathering, Air Marshal Umesh emphasised that the true effectiveness of an air defence system lies in its operational availability. He highlighted that sustainment must be integral to equipment design and induction, stressing that sovereign sustainment entails the ability to diagnose, repair, and restore sophisticated defence systems within the country. He called upon industry partners to develop equipment with indigenous testing, repair and life-cycle support capabilities, reinforcing the vision of self-reliance in defence. Established in 1976, the Base Repair Depot has been a key pillar of the Indian Air Forces maintenance ecosystem, undertaking repair, overhaul and life-cycle support of critical radar and communication equipment. Tracing its legacy to the Radar and Communication Project Office, the Depot has made significant contributions towards ensuring the operational availability and reliability of vital air defence systems over the last five decades. In his welcome address, the Depot's commanding officer highlighted its journey, acknowledged the contribution of its veterans, and emphasised the need to build indigenous engineering and industrial capabilities to meet the evolving requirements of Air Defence 2040. The seminar featured expert deliberations on emerging technologies, including quantum sensing, life-cycle management, and modernisation of air defence radars and network-centric air defence. The seminar also highlighted a significant milestone in sustainable radar operations, with the successful demonstration of hydrogen fuel cell technology for powering IAF radars, in partnership with the National Green Hydrogen Mission and NTPC. The initiative underscores the potential of clean energy solutions to enhance operational resilience, energy autonomy and sustainable deployment of air defence systems, particularly in challenging operational environments.

Tragic Bus Accident in Tarn Taran Blamed on Punjab Governments Negligence, Says NHRC Member

NHRC member Priyank Kanungo criticizes Punjab government for negligence linked to the Tarn Taran bus accident, demanding accountability. Tragic Bus Accident in Tarn Taran Blamed on Punjab Governments Negligence, Says NHRC Member

Anti-Government Protests Intensify In Albania, Students Demand PM's Exit

Thousands of students and protesters have taken to the streets of Albania's capital, Tirana, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Demonstrators blocked roads, set rubbish bins on fire and vandalised public property as anti-government anger continued to grow. The protests, which began in October over corruption allegations linked to a luxury resort project reportedly backed by Jared Kushner, have since expanded into a wider movement over governance, public services, education and job opportunities.

EXCLUSIVE: Shanaya Kapoor talks about the pressure of carrying Student of the Year legacy and playing a double role in Student of the Year: After Dark; says, I didnt want to keep that weightage on my mind

Stepping into a beloved pop-culture universe is never easy, especially when it has previously launched some of Bollywoods biggest contemporary stars. For Shanaya Kapoor, headlining Student of the Year: After Dark on JioHotstar comes with both excitement and immense responsibilitynot just because of the franchise's legacy, but also because she is taking on a challenging double role early in her career. In a conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Shanaya acknowledged the weight of stepping into a franchise created by Karan Johar that originally introduced Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, and Sidharth Malhotra. I think for me, of course when I heard just the title *Student of the Year*, of course the thought comes in that we're carrying such an important franchise forward, which is Mr. Karan Johar's franchise, his baby. Forward that in itself is a huge deal. And *Student of the Year* has given us incredible icons, I would say, with Alia Bhatt, of course, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra. These are people I have looked up to when I was growing up, and I still look up to as actors, as friends, as people I have learned so much from all three of them. So, of course, it's a huge, huge deal for me that I am carrying that forward for this show, that we all are carrying this forward in this show, she shared. However, rather than letting the legacy intimidate her, Shanaya revealed how she consciously shifted her mindset under the direction of Reema Maya to create something fresh for 2026. But I think that when I approached the script, I didn't want to keep that weightage on my mind. I wanted to approach it as just a script that my director Reema has given to me, and how are we going to prep, and how are we going to make this ours? And that's how I think we all approached it, which is very tough to doto kind of switch that off and not carry that forward because we are trying to make something new and something different and create a different voice for 2026, she explained. And I think that's the beauty of all the other two franchises as wellit's had a unique twist. Of course, this has gone fully dark and this is a whole new twist, but I think that's what made it exciting for me, and I think that's what I told myself before I even read the first episode: approach it as just this project, don't approach it with that thought of you are carrying something else forward. Adding to the challenge was the complexity of playing a double role in a thriller packed with twists. Reflecting on how she navigated the demanding shoot, Shanaya credited Reema Mayas hands-on guidance for keeping her grounded and preventing the characters from becoming caricatures. So as you could tell, of course it's a double role, and there are so many unpredictable twists that happen in the show, so I don't want to give too much away. But it was like, I mean for an actor who's just started outmy journey has just begun, I'm still learning, still figuringI think I had Reema to guide me how to approach both the characters and both the roles because it could have gotten very, very over the top. And the days were challenging, some days when you are playing both the characters on the same day. But I think that we prepped so hard on just the look, the feel, where these two characters come from, and I think the physicality, the body language, the tone, the voiceeverything just happened, it just clicked in rehearsals. Also Read : Web Series Review: STUDENT OF THE YEAR: AFTER DARK is a stylish thriller with Shanaya Kapoors impressive act

Winter session likely in first week of December; govt may push women's quota bill

New Delhi, Nov 15: The Winter session of Parliament is likely to begin in the first week of December, with the proposed delimitation-linked women's reservation bill emerging as the government's biggest legislative priority amid an increasingly confrontational political atmosphere over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The government is keen to push through the Constitution amendment bill, which seeks to expand the Lok Sabha's strength from the existing 543 seats to a maximum of 850 through delimitation, paving the way for the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures ahead of the 2029 general elections. Sources familiar with the discussions told PTI that the first week of December was emerging as the likely window for the session, with the possible dates discussed at the highest levels of the government. However, securing the numbers for the crucial legislation could prove challenging. The bill requires a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, or 361 votes in the present 543-member House. With three vacancies, the House has 540 members at present. The ruling NDA has 320 members and would need the support of opposition parties to cross the threshold. The political challenge extends beyond numbers. Opposition parties, which have stepped up their campaign against the SIR and are demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation, are expected to take their protests to Parliament, potentially setting the stage for another stormy session. A ruling alliance MP said debate and voting on a Constitution amendment bill would not be possible unless the House functioned in an orderly manner. The government, however, appears confident of overcoming the numerical hurdle. A senior government functionary on Thursday expressed confidence that the bill would be passed with a margin of 15 to 18 votes. Meanwhile, the government's decision to keep the Monsoon session alive without formally proroguing it has further fuelled speculation about the timing and conduct of the next sitting. The Monsoon session was adjourned sine die (for an indefinite period) on August 13 and has remained unprorogued for 94 days, surpassing the previous record of 87 days set in 2008. The arrangement had kept open the possibility of an extended or special sitting to take up the proposed constitutional amendment at short notice. An extended sitting of the existing session requires a minimum notice of two days, while convening a fresh session requires at least 14 days' notice. The government is learnt to be exploring a formula under which Lok Sabha seats would be increased by 50 per cent across states to address concerns, particularly among southern states, over the implications of delimitation. The proposed framework is also understood to retain the existing inter-state share of seats based on the 1971 Census, though no final decision has been taken. The proposed legislation failed to secure the requisite numbers during a special sitting of Parliament on April 17, making its fate in the winter session a key political and legislative test for the government. The Constitution does not prescribe a specific timeframe for proroguing a House after it has been adjourned sine die.

Students Protest In Albania, Demand PM Edi Rama's Resignation Amid Growing Unrest

Students took to the streets of Albania's capital Tirana on Saturday in fresh anti-government demonstrations demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation. Protesters burned trash bins, blocked roads and smashed windows at a bus stop as unrest continued across the country. The movement initially erupted over corruption allegations linked to a luxury resort project backed by US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Demonstrations have since widened to include concerns over education, unemployment, public services and limited opportunities for young people.

Mirra Andreeva vs Elina Svitolina: WTA Finals Title Clash Set

A generational clash of youth and experience will decide the season-ending WTA Finals title on Sunday after 19-year-old sensation Mirra Andreeva and 32-year-old former champion Elina Svitolina booked their spots in the championship match with commanding straight-sets semifinal victories on Saturday. Andreeva, the reigning French Open champion, continued a dream WTA Finals singles debut by [] The post Mirra Andreeva vs Elina Svitolina: WTA Finals Title Clash Set appeared first on Pragativadi I Latest Odisha News in English I Breaking News .

Joint meeting assesses Bandipora

BANDIPORA: A joint security review meeting was held at the headquarters of 27 Assam Rifles, Bandipora, to review the prevailing security situation and assess the overall security preparedness in the district. The meeting was attended by SSP Bandipora, Commanding Officers of 14 RR, 13 RR and 27 Assam Rifles, Commanding Officers of 45 Bn CRPF []

2 killed after being 'pushed off' moving bus in Rangpur

Locals block Rangpur-Saidpur highway demanding arrest

Fast Classical Chess: Players Struggle With New Tournament Format

The new 'fast classical' format at the Total Chess World Championship Tour pilot is proving challenging for top players, who struggle with time management, opening choices, and fatigue from playing two games daily. Indian Grandmasters R Vaishali and R Praggnanandhaa have found it particularly difficult, while Arjun Erigaisi has adapted by playing quicker. Even World No.1 Magnus Carlsen has faced difficulties, highlighting the format's demanding nature.

Australian envoy congratulates Abhishek Awasthi on becoming Greater Bendigo's first Indian-origin mayor

Digital Desk | New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS) Australia's High Commissioner to India, Philip Green, on Sunday congratulated Abhishek Awasthi on becoming Greater Bendigos first Indian-origin Mayor, describing it as another inspiring chapter in Australia-India story. Green's statement comes as Indian-born councillor Abhishek Awasthi was elected as Mayor of the city in Victoria state. Taking to X, Green stated, Another inspiring chapter in the Australia-India story! Congratulations to Abhishek Awasthi, who journeyed from Himachal Pradesh to Australia as a student and is now Greater Bendigos first Indian-origin Mayor. An example of the contribution Indian Australians makes across Australia. Around 250 people gathered to witness the mayoral election that took place at The Capital theatre in Bendigo on November 9. Awasthi was elected by his fellow councillors to lead Greater Bendigo for the 2026-27 mayoral term, The Australia Today reported. Awasthi termed his election as an extraordinary moment for migrants who have made Australia and Bendigo their home. His election holds special meaning for the Indian Australian community, with Awasthi's journey showcasing the increasing participation of migrant Australians in local government and civic life. Originally from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi, Abhishek Awasthi arrived in Australia as an international student in 2008 to pursue postgraduate studies in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics at La Trobe University. After shifting to Bendigo in 2010, he started working for community organisations, volunteering and multicultural initiatives. In 2021, Awasthi founded the Indian Association of Bendigo, to help bring together Indian families in central Victoria through cultural celebrations, charitable activities and community support programs, The Australia Today reported. In 2024, Awasthi entered elected office after securing a win in the Kennington Ward election with 58.86 per cent of first-preference votes after defeating Gavin Hicks. Subsequently, he became Greater Bendigo's first Indian-born Deputy Mayor for the 2024-2025 term. Two years later, he has been elected as Greater Bendigo's Mayor, marking another milestone in his public life.

Cummins Might Not Be Available: Aakash Chopra Flags SRHs Captaincy Uncertainty Ahead Of IPL 2027

Indian Premier League: Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has raised doubts over Pat Cummins availability for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2027, suggesting that Ishan Kishan could take charge as the franchises full-time captain, while also identifying potential release and trade options for Gujarat Titans ahead of the retention deadline. With franchises assessing their squads before the retention window closes, the availability of key overseas players and the need to address specific gaps could influence their decisions. Chopra believes SRH may have to prepare for a campaign without Cummins, given Australias packed international schedule, while Gujarat Titans have several options to consider as they look to strengthen their batting resources. Discussing the Australian fast bowlers prospects of featuring in the next IPL season, Chopra pointed to the demanding calendar ahead, which includes the Ashes and the World Cup. I have a feeling that, given the kind of year it is, with Ashes and the World Cup, Pat Cummins might not be available. His availability could be an issue because the IPL is scheduled to take place right after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. So, there is a lot of cricket coming up, and Pat Cummins might not be available, and you might potentially have Ishan Kishan stepping in and doing the job as a full-time captain this time around, Chopra told JioStar. A potential change in leadership would be a major consideration for SRH as they plan for the season. Kishan, who has previously led the side in Cummins absence, could be entrusted with the responsibility for the full campaign if the Australian is unavailable. Chopra also outlined how Gujarat Titans could create room in their squad and potentially use the trade market to address their middle-order requirements. He identified the overlap in their left-arm spin options as an opportunity to negotiate with other franchises, while pointing to the need for a more settled batting combination. Shahrukh is at four crores, and Tewatia is at four as well. So, one of the two can be released, maybe Shahrukh. So, you have Rs 4 crore freed up there. Interestingly, if they are in the trade market, you have Sai Kishore and Manav Suthar. There will be many teams who would want an Indian left-arm spinner of that quality because they are unable to play both of them. You can always offer one of the two to get somebody else. And, they actually need a lower-middle-order or a middle-order batter. That is their area of concern. So, for that, they can release one of the pacers because they have too many of those as well. Esterhuizen, they can let him go because Tom Banton is needed. And among the pacers, they can probably release Ishant Sharma if they want to because they dont play him. Hardly any game last season. In 2025, he still played a few matches, Chopra added. Chopras assessment points to two different challenges for the franchises: SRH may need to account for uncertainty around their captains international commitments, while Gujarat Titans could look to reshuffle their squad to secure greater depth in the middle order. With the IPL 2027 retention deadline approaching, decisions on player releases and potential trades will be crucial in determining how both teams shape their squads for the next season. Also Read: Special Cricket Stories Article Source: IANS

Elina Svitolina Storms Into WTA Finals Title Clash With Dominant Win

Elina Svitolina produced a commanding performance against Linda Noskova to reach the final of the WTA Finals in California on Saturday, needing just 65 minutes to secure a 6-2, 6-1 victory. The Ukrainian barely allowed Noskova to settle into the contest, controlling the rallies and converting her opportunities to complete a comfortable straight-sets win. It []

Double murder in Delhi's Bawana: Man shoots 27-year-old; victim's brother kills attacker

Digital Desk | New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS) A double murder was reported in Delhi's Bawana area after a man allegedly shot dead a 27-year-old following a quarrel, only to be killed by the victim's brother in a retaliatory attack, police said on Sunday. The accused, identified as Naresh, the brother of the deceased Sachin, has been apprehended, while further investigation is underway to establish the motive behind the incident. According to police, information about a person sustaining a gunshot injury was received at the Bawana police station around midnight on November 15. A police team rushed to the hospital, where Sachin, a resident of Pooth Khurd village, was found dead with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was 27 years old. While probing the case, the police found bloodstains and three empty cartridges inside a cowshed owned by the deceased's family. Further examination of the area led investigators to another body in an adjoining lane, around 100 metres from the first location. Investigators identified the deceased as Sonu alias Pradeep, also a resident of Pooth Khurd. According to the preliminary findings based on CCTV footage and local enquiries, Sonu allegedly shot Sachin dead following a quarrel. Subsequently, Naresh allegedly caught hold of Sonu and killed him. A police official said Naresh had been apprehended in connection with the second murder. The police are examining the circumstances surrounding the double killing and investigating the motive behind the initial altercation. Meanwhile, on November 4, a Delhi court convicted a man in a murder case and sentenced him to rigorous life imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 20,000. In a significant achievement for the Shahdara District Police, the team of Seemapuri Police Station secured the conviction of the accused Ranjeet in a murder case registered under FIR No. 249/2025, dated March 14, 2025, under Sections 109(1) and 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). According to the police, the incident took place on March 13, 2025, when the complainant, Poonam, was present with her husband, Thakur Das, near Jain Mandir on Kabristan Road in Delhi. During this time, the accused, Ranjeet, allegedly attacked Thakur Das with a knife, inflicting a grievous injury to his neck. Following the attack, the injured man was immediately rushed to Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital for medical treatment. However, despite the medical intervention, Thakur Das succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at the hospital, officials said.

Vasavi Urban buyers threaten hunger strike over construction delays

Hyderabad: Tension prevailed in Bachupally on Saturday, November 14, as homebuyers at Vasavi Urban protested alleged prolonged construction delays and failure to pay compensation despite a Telangana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TG RERA) order. Chanting We Want Justice, they sat in front of the apartments, blocking the traffic, demanding the builder complete construction on time. Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News , Technology , Entertainment , Sports , Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS .

Far from home, Chhath finds new shores in US, Canada

Digital Desk | Washington, Nov 15 (IANS) A temple pond near Houston, a California lake and the banks of the Potomac River in a Virginia suburb of Washington have become places where diaspora families keep a familiar tradition close: gathering at the water's edge to offer prayers to the sun. Across the United States and Canada, Chhath is bringing together fasting devotees, children, relatives and volunteers. The settings are North American, but organisers' invitations carry a shared concern -- preserving the rituals of home and helping another generation make them their own. Near Houston, the pond at the Jagannath Hindu Temple of Rosenberg is the centre of a community effort involving families, donors and volunteers. The organisers say six scientists are sponsoring, cooking and serving food for families attending the celebration. Other volunteers help with setup, parking, cleanup and welcoming people. The invitation reads: Open to every family that celebrates. The work behind the prayers is part of the gathering. Registration helps organisers plan food and space at the water, while families can sign up to help with the tasks that make a community celebration possible. In the national capital region, community members have celebrated Chhath on the banks of the Potomac River in Virginia for two decades. It all started in 2006 when Kripa Shankar Singh and his wife, Anita, sought a place to observe the festival. This is our attempt to keep our culture alive in a foreign land, Anita Singh told IANS in an interview, adding that what began as a family affair now attracts hundreds of community members from far and near every year. In New Jersey, the Bihar-Jharkhand Association of North America expresses a similar purpose in its invitation to families. It asks participants to help us keep our traditions alive, far from home but never apart. The invitation welcomes those observing the fast and those coming to support them. Relatives and friends have a place alongside the devotees, making the gathering a shared community occasion. On the West Coast, the Bay Area celebration includes a gathering organised by Quarry Lakes Chhath in Fremont, near Silicon Valley. Its registration page pairs arrangements for the evening offering with the practical requirements of using a public recreation space, including advance parking passes. Farther south, the Bihar Jharkhand Bandhu Association is bringing families to Oso Lake Scout Camp in Rancho Santa Margarita. Children, friends and volunteers are invited alongside fasting devotees. The group describes the gathering beside the lake as an opportunity for families to observe the festival together in a natural setting. Its invitation emphasises strengthening cultural connections and passing the tradition to another generation. Celebrations also extend to Hindu Buddha Mandir in Maryland, in the Washington-Baltimore region, and the Shiv Mandir of Atlanta in Sugar Hill, Georgia. Near Seattle, the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center in Bothell is accepting registrations for collective Chhath worship. In Canada, shared meals are central to preparations at the Vaishno Devi Temple in Oakville, Ontario. The Bihar and Jharkhand Association of Canada says donations and sponsorship will make meals, puja and prasad free throughout its three-day programme. Its appeal connects the celebration to maintaining the traditions of Bihar and Jharkhand in Canada, with community contributions supporting the gathering. The invitations reflect different community priorities: bringing family and friends together in New Jersey, involving children in California and sharing meals in Oakville.

SKTMCC demands strict action over seizure of 1,600 Kg rotten meat in Budgam

Srinagar, Nov 14:The Shahre Khass Traders Manufacturers Coordination Committee (SKTMCC) has strongly condemned the continued illegal transportation and sale of rotten and unhygienic meat in Kashmir, demanding a thorough investigation into the seizure of approximately 1,600 kg of rotten meat at Budgam Railway Station. In a statement, SKTMCC President Imtiyaz Ahmad Malik described the seizure as a matter of serious concern, saying it had raised troubling questions about public health, food safety and the effectiveness of the enforcement mechanism. Malik said that despite repeated concerns over the issue, such activities appeared to be continuing, with meat allegedly being transported from outside Kashmir without proper quality checks. This, he said, had created serious apprehensions among consumers about the quality, freshness and safety of meat being sold in local markets. He demanded a comprehensive investigation into the source of the seized meat, its transportation and storage arrangements, and the locations where it was intended to be distributed. Malik also called for strict legal action against everyone found involved in the alleged illegal trade, including suppliers, transporters and distributors. He sought regular inspections of meat markets, storage facilities and transportation channels across Kashmir. He further demanded proper verification of the quality and safety of meat supplied to consumers, besides accountability and transparency on the part of the concerned Food Safety and enforcement authorities. Expressing concern over the possibility of contaminated meat having already entered the market, Malik urged the administration to establish how much such meat had reached local markets and whether any portion of it had been sold to consumers. Public health cannot be compromised for commercial profit. Those playing with the health and lives of innocent people must face strict legal consequences, he said. Malik said SKTMCC stood for safe food, honest business practices and consumer protection, and urged the authorities to take immediate action to prevent the issue from turning into a larger public health crisis.

Protesters march in Kargil expressing solidarity with LAB leadership

Kargil, Nov 14:Ladakh MP Hanifa Jan, along with leaders of the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), led a march here to express solidarity with the Leh Apex Body (LAB), including its member Sonam Wangchuk, over their demand for the deferment of the December 4 hill council elections. A day after police removed activist Wangchuk from a protest site in Leh and escorted him to his residence, the activist on Thursday claimed that he had been placed under house arrest. LAB and KDA have expressed resentment over the holding of hill council elections on December 4, citing harsh winter conditions and large-scale seasonal migration. Holding candles, the protesters held a Save Democracy march in Kargil district headquarters on Saturday. MP Hanifa Jan, along with KDA leaders including its co-chairmen Asgar Ali Karbalai and Sajjad Kargili, led the march with protesters chanting slogans in support of the demand for Wangchuk's elease. They extended solidarity to the people who have been holding protests under the banner of LAB for the past three days, seeking postponement of polls. LAB and KDA have been jointly engaged in a struggle for several years over the statehood issue and have been holding dialogue with the central government in support of an elected government and constitutional safeguards. Leh Apex Body has launched a sit-in protest in Leh over its six-point agenda...We are holding this march in Kargil in support of the agitation and to condemn the house arrest of Wangchuk, which is seen as an attempt to silence dissent, the Ladakh MP told PTI. For the past six years, he said the LAB and KDA have been struggling for democratic rights and constitutional safeguards in Ladakh. Despite repeated protests, demonstrations and discussions, little progress has been made, Jan said and alleged that decisions concerning elections and delimitation were being imposed by the Lt Governor administration without consulting the people, prompting widespread resentment across the region. He said the people of Ladakh, known for their peaceful nature, are now being compelled to take to the streets. We urge the government and UT administration to take cognisance of the growing public anger, restore democracy in Ladakh in accordance with the people's aspirations, and respect their democratic rights. Otherwise, this agitation will spread to every corner of Ladakh, the MP said. CRPF sacks jawan for posting death threat to commander on social media New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI) The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has terminated a jawan from service for allegedly posting messages on social media threatening to kill his commander, officials said on Saturday. Officials told PTI that the accused was identified as probationary Constable Pinak Nath from Assam who belonged to the Alpha Company of the CRPF's 33rd battalion based in Doda, Jammu and Kashmir. He had joined the force recently, they said. The jawan allegedly posted on a social media platform that he would kill his company commander and then himself, citing a recent incident in another force in which a jawan killed his senior and other colleagues using a service weapon, officials said. The battalion's Commanding Officer conducted an inquiry, following which Nath was terminated from service on Friday under the provisions of the Central Civil Services (Temporary Service) Rules, 1965, they said.

Srinagar at a Crossroads: Reclaiming the City for Its People

Srinagars urban planning must recognise a simple principle: a city is meant for people, not merely for vehicles. The growing tendency to view roads primarily as spaces for mechanised transport has marginalised pedestrians, compromised their safety and weakened the traditional character of the city. The interventions under the Srinagar Smart City Project offered an opportunity to correct some of these distortions. They must not now be reversed under pressure to reduce footpaths and provide more space for vehicles. The consequences are visible across the city. In many commercial areas, pedestrians are forced to walk on carriageways because footpaths are absent, inadequate or encroached upon. Shopkeepers frequently treat the footpath outside their establishments as an extension of their commercial premises. Goods, display counters and temporary structures occupy spaces meant for public use. In some instances, adjoining roads are also treated as informal parking spaces or commercial extensions. There is an unfortunate assumption among sections of the business community that the footpath belongs to the shopkeeper and the road belongs to vehicles and customers. Neither assumption is correct. Footpaths are public infrastructure, meant for everyone. No commercial establishment or individual can claim exclusive rights over them. This is not merely a civic inconvenience. It is a question of the right to safe movement. Children, elderly citizens, women and persons with disabilities are particularly disadvantaged when pedestrian pathways are obstructed. Forcing people to negotiate moving traffic because designated walking spaces have been occupied is a failure of urban governance. The Town Planning Act, the Development Act and the applicable statutory planning framework explicitly recognise the need to regulate road widths, building lines and pedestrian spaces in accordance with the hierarchy, classification and character of streets. However, these planning principles have progressively fallen into disregard. The systematic erosion of pedestrian spaces through their appropriation by vehicular traffic, roadside parking and commercial encroachments has effectively subordinated pedestrians to motorised transport, making walking increasingly difficult and, in many locations, hazardous. The Srinagar Smart City Project offered an opportunity to reverse this trend. The improvement of footpaths, rationalisation of road widths and creation of more organised streetscapes were not merely cosmetic interventions; they represented an attempt to restore balance between different users of urban space and reclaim the city for its citizens. An equally important aspect concerns the principles of road geometry and traffic management. There is a widespread perception that widening roads invariably improves traffic flow. This is a misconception. Scientific road planning requires continuity and consistency in road widths. A road that widens at one point and narrows abruptly at another creates a bottleneck. Vehicles accumulate at the point where road space reduces, resulting in congestion. Uneven road widths, particularly those caused by unplanned development, encroachments or inconsistent planning decisions, undermine the efficiency of an entire road corridor. Indiscriminate widening is therefore no substitute for scientifically planned road development. The recent interventions have attempted, to some extent, to address these inherited distortions. Their significance lies in introducing a more rational allocation of road space and giving pedestrians a defined place in the urban transport system. It is unfortunate that sections of the public, including some public representatives, are now demanding that footpaths be reduced to provide additional space for vehicles. Such demands may arise from understandable frustration with traffic congestion. But public policy cannot be determined by immediate perceptions or the interests of motorists and commercial establishments alone. Nor should established planning principles be discarded because their benefits are not immediately understood. Reducing footpaths will not resolve congestion. It would further compromise pedestrian safety and encourage the appropriation of public space. It would also reinforce the mistaken belief that every urban problem can be solved by giving more space to vehicles. A citys quality is not measured by the number of vehicles it can accommodate. It is reflected in how safely and comfortably people can live, work, walk and interact. Cities across the world are increasingly recognising that congestion cannot be addressed by endlessly expanding road space for private vehicles. They are investing in public transport, pedestrian infrastructure, regulated parking and better urban design. Srinagar must not move in the opposite direction. Walking remains essential to everyday life. A planning approach that privileges vehicles over pedestrians would be socially inequitable as well as distort the human scale of the city. Footpaths are not decorative additions to roads. They are essential civic infrastructure, as important as drainage, lighting and water supply. Their width and continuity must be determined by sound planning standards and pedestrian requirements as laid down in the Development Act, not by encroachments or demands for additional commercial space. The Smart City Project, however, is a lesson to learn. One of its shortcomings was inadequate public communication about the rationale behind its interventions. Citizens were not sufficiently informed about why particular road widths were adopted, why footpaths were necessary, how road widths influence traffic movement and why sacrificing pedestrian space could actually worsen urban mobility. The administration must now move beyond explanations and take decisive action. Footpaths are public property, not commercial extensions of shops or private parking spaces. Encroachments must be removed, and reclaimed spaces must remain available for pedestrian movement. Enforcement cannot be occasional, selective or dependent on public pressure. It must be continuous, impartial and backed by accountability. Seven measures require urgent attention: Protect pedestrian space: No reduction in designated footpath width should be permitted merely to accommodate additional vehicular movement or commercial interests. Any modification must be supported by a transparent technical assessment. Remove encroachments: Shopkeepers, vendors and other users must not be allowed to occupy footpaths, block crossings or extend commercial activities onto public roads. Reclaimed spaces must be protected against renewed encroachment. Maintain planned road widths: Uneven road widths, abrupt reductions in carriageway space and unplanned junctions must be addressed through an integrated traffic management plan, not piecemeal widening. Make planning decisions transparent: City authorities and traffic planners must explain the road widths, footpath provisions and traffic management principles adopted in different parts of Srinagar. Citizens and public representatives should have access to this information. Prioritise pedestrian safety: Footpaths must be continuous, unobstructed and accessible to children, elderly citizens and persons with disabilities. Safe crossings must be integral to road design. Ensure responsible public representation: Public representatives must be guided by professional planning advice and the larger public interest, rather than demands favouring particular commercial or vehicular interests. Adopt integrated mobility planning: Congestion must be addressed through better traffic circulation, regulated parking, public transport and junction management. Reducing footpaths must never become a substitute for proper traffic planning. The administration must not allow public space to be negotiated away under pressure from encroachers or demands for greater vehicular convenience. A footpath is not surplus road space. It is a citizens right of movement. Protecting that right is an obligation of urban governance, not a matter of administrative discretion. Srinagar has already paid a considerable price for decades of fragmented planning, weak enforcement and erosion of public spaces. The objective now must be to correct these distortions, not recreate them. Smart City interventions should remain open to scrutiny and improvement, but criticism must be informed by sound planning principles and the larger public interest. A city must be planned for people, not merely for vehicles. Cars need roads, but citizens need streets that are safe, accessible and welcoming. The right to walk safely is as important as the right to drive. The question is not whether Srinagar needs better roads. It certainly does. The real question is whether we want roads that serve the city or a city sacrificed to roads. Let us save Srinagar for its citizens. Let us restore the pedestrianization to the rightful place in the life of the city. M Saleem Beg, head INTACH, J&K. Iftikhar Hakim, former Chief Town Planner, J&K

Rotten meat scare returns to Kashmir

Srinagar, Nov 14:A year after the meat scandal of 2025 shook J&K, another one is unfolding. This time, the roads have been avoided and the suspicious items are travelling on the railway tracks. The Food and Drug Administration J&K today seized and destroyed about 2000 kg of buffalo meat that arrived at Budgam Railway Station by parcel train from Delhi. For hundreds of kilometers, this meat, considered one of the most perishable items, was transported with no refrigeration and no ice. The railway route, an official in J&K FDA said, is the safest route for suspected goods. We have check posts on roadways, and air cargo is also monitored. However, goods loaded into trains are not checked, he said. This time, the raid took place based on a tip-off. The lead came from railway officials. A joint team of the FDA J&K, Railway Police, railway authorities, the Budgam District Administration and the Municipal Committee Budgam inspected the load that weighed around 1600 kg. The FDA officials said the consignment was reportedly 44 boxes. None of these were kept at the mandatory -18 degrees Celsius or below. Police descriptions mentioned a foul smell and leakage. Preliminary tests were carried out at the FDA's Food Safety on Wheels van. The facility confirmed that the meat was unfit for consumption. A few hours later, another 380 kg of meat was recovered in the same condition, according to reports. The meat was found in cardboard boxes, concealed in Styrofoam boxes. The cardboard boxes were labeled meat haven and were found loose, smelly and grossly rotting, the officials said. However, the press statement of J&K FDA did not confirm this fresh seizure. The entire consignment was destroyed and an FIR registered at Railway Police Station, Budgam, under Section 271 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. It is reported as No 56 of 2026. A handler was detained as per reports. The officials said they are now tracing the source, the handlers, and the trail. The seizure comes months after the FDA seized about 2600 kg of meat in Srinagar. This was frozen meat that was being stored under unsanitary and unhygienic conditions and had prompted legal action. The total meat seized this year now stands at 4200 kg. The 2025 scandal exposed what was called a meat mafia in J&K. As per reports, rejected meat from Delhi's Ghazipur Mandi was allegedly treated with chemicals to mask the smell and sold to hotels, dhabas and food businesses. Raids recovered around 12,000 kg and the matter reached the High Court. Rail is now under closer watch, the FDA officials said. Parcel services offer cheap bulk transport from Delhi, but meat needs continuous temperature control, proper packaging and documentation. It also needs veterinary and FSSAI-related certificates. Ordinary parcel handling does not meet these standards. After the 2025 expos, enforcement was tightened after court and public pressure. An FSSAI's October 2026 advisory, warned of seizure and destruction for violations in meat consignments.

Class 4 student dies in Kupwara school wall collapse

Kupwara, Nov 14: A Class 4 student died after a boundary wall of Government Boys Middle School Janbazpora, Drugmulla, collapsed on her during the lunch break in north Kashmir's Kupwara district on Saturday, triggering serious concerns over the safety of school infrastructure and prompting the district administration to order an inquiry. According to reports, the girl stepped out during the lunch break and came under the collapsing boundary wall. She sustained critical injuries and was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her dead. Tehsildar Drugmulla, Syed Basharat, identified the deceased as Gazia Parvez, daughter of Parvez Ahmad Najar. The tragic incident has left residents in deep shock, with demands for a thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to the collapse. Locals alleged that the boundary wall had been constructed recently and questioned the quality of the construction work, demanding an in-depth probe to ascertain how a recently built wall collapsed and whether proper construction standards were followed. They also expressed concern over the condition of the school's washrooms and other buildings, alleging that the overall infrastructure required immediate attention. The bricks are getting separated, and it appears as if proper cement has not been used. The entire school infrastructure needs attention. Why did the concerned departments remain unmoved until such a tragic incident occurred? locals questioned. They also demanded that the role of the concerned authorities and school management be examined, including whether the alleged poor condition of the infrastructure had been brought to the notice of higher authorities. Meanwhile, the incident has brought renewed attention to the safety of educational institutions across Jammu and Kashmir. The government recently informed the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly that 765 school buildings across the Union Territory have been identified as unsafe and are not being used for teaching purposes. According to the government, the School Education Department conducts annual safety audits of school buildings under the National School Safety Programme. Residents are questioning why this boundary wall was excluded if such maintenance is carried out regularly. The District Administration Kupwara, in a statement, expressed profound grief over the tragic death. Taking immediate cognizance of the incident, a four-member Enquiry Committee headed by the Assistant Commissioner (Revenue), Kupwara, has been constituted to investigate the lapses, fix responsibility and submit a factual report within seven days positively. Simultaneously, a formal show cause notice has been served upon the Chief Education Officer, Kupwara, directing a written explanation within two working days regarding non-compliance with the Deputy Commissioner's earlier directions on mandatory school safety audits. The District Administration reiterated that the safety of children is non-negotiable and no negligence will be tolerated, adding that strict action as per law will follow against those found responsible.

Case filed over shooting at Anurag Pharma

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WPGT 2026: Jasmine Shekar wins second title of season, holds off Vani and Ridhima at Rambagh

Digital Desk | Jaipur, Nov 14 (IANS) Jasmine Shekar managed to extend her overnight one-shot advantage to two shots and claim her second title of the season in the 14th leg of the Women's Pro Golf Tour (WPGT) 2026 at the Rambagh Golf Club in Jaipur on Saturday. The 21-year-old Jasmine, who hails from Bengaluru, took the lead into the final round, held her nerve to card 1-over 71 and finished ahead of two of the most experienced players in India, Vani Kapoor (72) and Ridhima Dilawari (74). In a week when no player had an under-par total, Jasmine aggregated 5-over with rounds of 74-70-71, while Vani Kapoor (75-70-72) was 7-over for three days and Ridhima (74-71-74) was 9-over at the challenging course. Shweta Mansingh (74-75-71) was fourth at 10-over for three days. Jasmine has been one of the consistent performers on the domestic circuit, more so this year. She had opened her 2026 campaign with a victory in the first leg in Mumbai and had since come close to adding to that tally, finishing runner-up at both DLF Golf & Country Club and Jaypee Wishtown. At Rambagh, she finally converted another opportunity into a title. She became the third player after Ridhima and Vani to win more than once in 2026. The result was particularly satisfying because the challenge came from two players who have enjoyed outstanding seasons. Vani and Ridhima had shared second place going into the final round, and both had the experience and form to put Jasmine under pressure. Vani had also arrived in Jaipur on the back of an impressive runner-up finish at the Hero Women's Indian Open, the best result of her Ladies European Tour career. Jasmine, however, did just enough to give herself a chance and convert it into a fine win. The Rambagh Golf Club course, a par-70 layout, proved a demanding test throughout the week. Scoring was difficult, with players finding it hard to get into red figures. In fact, there was just one under-par round in the entire tournament, a superb four-under 66 by Tvesa Malik. Despite producing the lowest round of the week, Tvesa could finish only tied seventh, underlining the difficulty of the conditions. She was tied seventh with Ananya Datar, a first-round co-leader with amateur Ojaswani Saraswat (74), who was tied fifth alongside Riya Jadon. Jasmine played solid on the final day and was steady. She had two bogeys on the second and fifth, which put her in danger. However, she had a birdie on the Par-3 sixth followed by five straight pars. Another birdie on the 12th was followed by four more pars. She looked set for the win as she stayed ahead of Vani. She could even afford a bogey on the 17th. Vani had two bogeys and no birdies on the front, and on the back nine she had just one birdie, but she also bogeyed the 18th. A birdie on the 18th could have got her into a play-off, but it was not to be, and she lost by two. For Vani, second place was another strong result in a season in which she has remained one of the leading forces on the domestic circuit. The experienced professional has already won twice this year and finished runner-up on three occasions before the Jaipur event. Her recent performance at the Hero Womens Indian Open had further underlined her ability to compete at a higher level. Ridhima, meanwhile, continued to add valuable points to an already impressive season. The Order of Merit leader has been the most consistent player on the tour, with four victories before this event, and her third-place finish keeps her firmly in position to win the Merit honours. Though the result at the Jaipur leg looked close, this week belonged to Jasmine, who never let things get out of hand. The next event, which will be the final one for 2026, will be held at Noida Jaypee Wishtown, which had also hosted the sixth leg, which was won by Ridhima, and Jasmine was second.

Nagaland governor highlights cultural heritage at guest house inauguration

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Teen Gang-Raped In Haldwani Homestay, ABVP Link Emerges

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Bijnor Police Suspended For Bribe

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Named no one in Hassan DC office corruption allegations: Kumaraswamy

Digital Desk | Hassan, Nov 14 (IANS) Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Saturday clarified that he had not named the Hassan Deputy Commissioner or any other specific individual in connection with allegations of widespread corruption in the Deputy Commissioner's office, and had only referred to names mentioned in WhatsApp chats available to him. Speaking to reporters after offering prayers at the Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple in Mavinakere in Holenarasipura taluk, Kumaraswamy said he had merely sought an investigation into the WhatsApp chat records and questioned why officials were issuing clarifications and statements against him. I have not accused the Hassan Deputy Commissioner or the district in-charge minister by name. I only spoke based on WhatsApp chat records involving the Deputy Commissioner's personal assistant and demanded an investigation into the matter, he said. However, they are competing with each other to issue statements against me and offer clarifications. Their behaviour has surprised me, Kumaraswamy added. The Union Minister said he had not specifically pointed fingers at anyone or alleged that any particular person had accepted money. He maintained that he had only sought a probe to establish the authenticity of the information contained in the WhatsApp chats. Did I say anywhere that they had taken money? Did I point fingers at anyone? I only said that the truth behind the chats should be investigated. What is wrong with that, and why should I be attacked for demanding an inquiry? he questioned. Kumaraswamy said seeking an investigation whenever such information came to his notice was not wrong, adding that he had demanded probes into several issues in the past. If they have no role in the matter, why should they be afraid? I have not named anyone. I only referred to the names appearing in the WhatsApp chats and demanded an investigation, he said. He alleged that the chats mentioned the names of those allegedly involved in the distribution of money and reiterated his demand that the mobile phones of all the officials concerned be seized and sent for investigation. Instead of conducting an investigation, they are abusing me and trying to mislead the people, Kumaraswamy charged. Taking exception to the Chief Minister's reported response to the controversy, Kumaraswamy alleged that the Hassan Deputy Commissioner was exceeding official limits. He said the Chief Minister had already given a clean chit to the Deputy Commissioner and other officials even before an investigation was conducted. I do not know what has been discussed between the Chief Minister and the Deputy Commissioner. But the Chief Minister has given a clean chit to the Deputy Commissioner and other officials even before an inquiry. What is the use of my demanding an investigation now? he asked. The Union Minister further alleged that the government was encouraging officials to go beyond the rules governing their conduct. Responding to a question about the Hassan Deputy Commissioner's WhatsApp status messages indirectly targeting him, Kumaraswamy said there was no need to worry about such posts. Nothing will happen under this government. The time has to come. When the time comes, changes will take place. Sitting here in the presence of Lord Ranganathaswamy, I say that God will ensure that those who behave in such a manner receive the consequences they deserve, he warned. Kumaraswamy reiterated that he saw little purpose in discussing the investigation further after the Chief Minister had given the officials a clean chit. It is clear to me that nothing will come out of the investigation. There is no point in discussing it further. Time itself will provide the answer, he said. Union Minister Kumaraswamy and Hassan Deputy Commissioner K.S. Latha Kumari are locked in a high-profile public and political clash over corruption allegations and WhatsApp chat leaks. Kumaraswamy alleged that Hassan DC retained her post by paying a bribe. Reacting to Kumaraswamy's allegation by releasing a WhatsApp chat, complaining of extortion in the Deputy Commissioner's office, Hassan DC K S Lathakumari said it was ridiculous. Am I living in a five-star hotel, spending Rs 60,000 per day? she asked. Kumaraswamy was accused of operating from a five-star hotel when he was the Congress-JD(S) coalition chief minister in 2018-19. Kumaraswamy further expressed anguish over the denial of temple entry to JD(S) Youth Wing state president Nikhil Kumaraswamy at Kurubarahalli village in Ramanagara district. Speaking in Hassan, Kumaraswamy said Nikhil had been invited to the inauguration of Sri Bisilu Maramma temple but was denied entry after the temple doors were locked. Recalling a similar incident in 2004, he said Congress workers had prevented him from entering a temple, following which he won the election by over 25,000 votes. He alleged that Congress workers were creating a similar situation and said he was closely watching Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar's words and actions.

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Cutting of Heritage Sweet Chestnut Trees at Kashmir University Sparks Protests

SRINAGAR: The alleged cutting of large branches of two century-old sweet chestnut trees on the University of Kashmir campus has triggered protests from environmental activists, with the Jammu and Kashmir Climate Action Group (JKCAG) demanding an inquiry, accountability and protection of the remaining trees. The trees, identified as Castanea sativa, are located near the universitys []

Mumbai Crime Branch redistributes over 15 high-profile extortion and fraud cases among units

Digital Desk | Mumbai, Nov 14 (IANS) In a significant development, more than 15 high-profile cases, along with several old investigations and pending complaint applications, have been transferred from the Mumbai Crime Branch's Anti-Extortion Cell to other Crime Branch units following a senior-level review of the cell's previous investigations and weapon seizures. A senior police officer confirmed that the extortion and fraud cases had been redistributed among different Crime Branch units based on the jurisdiction where the alleged offences took place. All relevant notifications and case documents have been handed over to the respective units for further investigation. According to Mumbai Police sources, among the units assigned the maximum responsibility are Crime Branch Unit 9, Unit 2 and Unit 3. According to sources, Unit 9 has received the highest number of cases,around six, including the high-profile Bandra redevelopment dispute, in which five people were arrested for demanding Rs 11 crore as extortion. Crime Branch Unit 2 has been assigned four cases. Additionally, a special team from the unit has been deployed to assist Assistant Commissioner of Police Sadashiv Rane, who was appointed as the Investigating Officer following the invocation of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the firing case involving actor Tiger Shroff. Similarly, Crime Branch Unit 3 has been entrusted with two to three important cases, while the remaining matters have been distributed among other Crime Branch units according to the locations of the alleged offences. Other significant cases transferred include an alleged extortion demand of Rs 1.5 crore from a businessman based in Mumbai's Lower Parel and a case involving a demand for Rs 2.50 crore in exchange for withdrawing a criminal complaint. In the latter case, the Anti-Extortion Cell had laid a trap and arrested the complainant and a lawyer while they were allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 45 lakh. The redistribution of cases has created a stir within the police department. However, the police administration has not yet issued any official announcement regarding the closure of the Anti-Extortion Cell. The department's next course of action is now being closely watched.

Paramilitary Jawan Sacked For Threatening To Kill Commander On Social Media

Taking serious note of the post, the battalion's Commanding Officer conducted an inquiry. Following the probe, the constable was terminated from service on Friday.

Key Naga body seeks NIA probe into killing of 4 civilians in Manipur, demands removal of Kuki militants

Digital Desk | Imphal, Nov 14 (IANS) A day after four Naga civilians, including two women, were killed in an attack by armed extremists in Manipurs Ukhrul district, apex Naga body, Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL), on Saturday issued a three-day ultimatum to the Centre and the Manipur government, demanding the removal of Kuki militants from Naga areas. Meanwhile, Manipur Deputy Chief Minister and senior Naga leader Losii Dikho, in a separate statement, called for dialogue and reconciliation to find a lasting solution to the state's ongoing ethnic crisis. At least four people, including a mother and her son, were shot dead in a suspected ambush allegedly carried out by Kuki militants along the Imphal-Dimapur National Highway (NH-2) at New Haven in Ukhrul district on Friday afternoon. In a statement, the TNL said that the New Haven incident was the fourth such attack at the same location and demanded that the case be immediately handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for investigation. The ultimatum was issued following an emergency meeting of Tangkhul civil society organisations, which strongly condemned the killing of the four civilians in broad daylight, reportedly just a few metres away from security forces deployed in the area, the statement said. The TNL held the state and Central governments solely responsible for their alleged failure to protect the lives of innocent civilians. We have lost complete faith in the central security forces. Therefore, all the central security forces deployed therein must be immediately withdrawn. Till then, the victims' families have resolved not to claim the bodies, the statement said. It further warned that failure to meet its demands would compel the general public to launch an indefinite agitation until justice was delivered. In his separate statement, Deputy Chief Minister Dikho said that Manipur had endured unimaginable heartbreak following the recent loss of innocent lives along the National Highway and within communities. The recent loss of innocent lives along the National Highway and within our communities has left deep wounds that violence and retaliation can never heal, he said. Dikho observed that hatred and bloodshed had historically led only to destruction, adding that those who chose the path of conflict would ultimately be held accountable for the devastation they caused. On Friday's attack, police said that the victims were travelling in two separate vehicles when they came under fire from the vicinity of Yaolen village, a Kuki settlement near the incident site. The victims were identified as Kapangkhui R.S. and Haoleia R.S., both residents of Shangshak village, and August Ngalung and Khanmila, both from Tashar village. All four victims, including two women, sustained fatal bullet injuries and died on the spot, the police official said. Quoting local residents, another police official in Imphal said that the two men and two women were travelling in the two vehicles when the armed assailants opened fire. Bullet marks were also found on the windshields of both vehicles, he added. Additional security personnel, including Manipur Police, the Border Security Force (BSF), the Army, and the Assam Rifles, have been rushed to the area to reinforce security and prevent further violence. Search operations have also been launched in and around the incident site to trace and apprehend those involved in the attack.

Lawyers Protest in Lucknow Demanding Legal Protection Act

Lawyers in Lucknow are protesting for a Legal Protection Act and other demands, including medical insurance and support for junior advocates. Lawyers Protest in Lucknow Demanding Legal Protection Act

Different Ground, Same Business: Suryakumar Celebrates Mumbais Winning SMAT Start

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Elite: Mumbai captain Suryakumar Yadav summed up his sides emphatic start to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Elite 2026 campaign with a confident social media post after returning to competitive cricket with a match-winning performance against Hyderabad. Different ground, same business. Good start to SMAT with the boys. Onwards and upwards!, Suryakumar wrote on Instagram, sharing pictures from the outing after Mumbai registered a seven-wicket victory in their Group D encounter at the Jadavpur University Campus 2nd Ground in Kolkata on Saturday. The 36-year-old marked his return to top-flight cricket with an explosive unbeaten 60 off just 21 deliveries, helping Mumbai overhaul Hyderabads 172-run total in only 13.1 overs. His innings featured five sixes and six fours, with the right-hander bringing up his half-century in just 15 balls. Suryakumars knock came after a productive opening stand between Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who scored 27 off 13 balls, and Hardik Tamore, who contributed 22 off 16. However, it was the Mumbai skippers arrival that completely shifted the momentum of the chase. He found an equally aggressive partner in Musheer Khan, who struck 51 off 24 deliveries. The duo took the attack to Hyderabads bowlers, with Suryakumar collecting 22 runs off Ved Reddy in the ninth over, before the pair added further pressure by taking 24 runs off Pranav Varma in the next over. Musheer departed in the 12th over, but Suryakumar continued his assault before Shivam Dube joined him, bringing the chase to a swift conclusion. Dube finished the contest with a six, leaving Mumbai comfortably ahead with 41 balls to spare. The outing was particularly significant for Suryakumar, who was named Mumbai captain for the domestic T20 tournament earlier this month. He had last featured in an official T20 match for Mumbai Indians during the IPL in May, before turning out in the Mumbai T20 League in June. Mumbais commanding win offered an encouraging start to their campaign, with Suryakumars form providing an early talking point as the tournament progresses. Also Read: Special Cricket Stories Article Source: IANS

U19 Asia Cup Final: Usman Khan's ton powers Pakistan to 337 vs India

Defending champions Pakistan, led by opener Usman Khan's century and Abdul Qadir's aggressive 80, posted a commanding total of 337 for nine against India in the Under-19 Asia Cup final. Skipper Farhan Yousaf also contributed a crucial half-century, setting a challenging target for India.

IND vs PAK U19 Asia Cup Final: Pakistan Set Massive 338-Run Target After Usman Khan

Defending champions Pakistan put up a commanding batting display in the Under-19 Asia Cup final, posting a formidable 337/9 in their 50 overs against arch-rivals India after opting to bat first. Pakistans innings was anchored by a magnificent century from opener Usman Khan, who played a composed and fluent knock of 107 off 111 deliveries. [] The post IND vs PAK U19 Asia Cup Final: Pakistan Set Massive 338-Run Target After Usman Khans Century appeared first on Pragativadi I Latest Odisha News in English I Breaking News .

Authorities seize 1,600 Kg rotten meat at J&Ks Budgam railway station

Digital Desk | Srinagar, Nov 14 (IANS) In a late evening operation on Friday, authorities seized 1,600 Kg of rotten meat at Jammu and Kashmirs Budgam railway station. Officials said on Saturday in a major food safety operation, approximately 1,600 kilograms of rotten meat was seized at Budgam Railway Station during a late evening joint operation involving the District Administration Budgam, Railway authorities, Municipal Committee Budgam and Animal Husbandry Department. The seizure has raised serious concerns over the transportation of unsafe and unhygienic meat and the possibility of its eventual entry into the local food supply chain, posing potential health risks to consumers. Officials said yesterdays consignment originated in Delhi and was shipped without prescribed cold-chain packaging. A joint inspection team including the Tehsildar Budgam, Food Safety officials, the Animal Husbandry Department, and a veterinary doctor officially certified the meat as unfit for human consumption. Railway Police registered an FIR and initiated an investigation to trace the consignors in Delhi and the intended local recipients in Kashmir. Yesterdays interception follows a massive food safety scandal that first erupted across Kashmir in August 2025. Whistleblowers and investigations revealed that rejected mutton, chicken, and beef from Delhis Ghazipur Mandi were being treated with chemical cocktails (including chlorine, ammonium hydroxide, and nitric acids) to mask foul odour and restore a fresh red appearance. It must be recalled that on July 31, 2025, the Food Safety Department and the Drug and Food Control Organisation raided a cold storage unit in the Zakura industrial estate on the outskirts of Srinagar, recovering 1,200 kg of decayed meat. Subsequent valley-wide sweeps uncovered thousands of kilograms of spoiled mutton, chicken, and pre-processed wazwaan itemsincluding 2,500 kebabs and 150 kg of gushtaba containing unpermitted food colouring. Investigations had revealed a racket sourcing rejected, expired meat from wholesale markets outside the valley, such as Delhi. Suppliers used chemical treatments and artificial dyes to mask foul odors and restore a fresh red color before selling the stock at steep discounts to hotels, dhabas, and catering units. Police last year registered multiple FIRs across Srinagar and Budgam under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)specifically Sections 271 (negligent act likely to spread infection), 272 (malignant act), 275 (sale of noxious food or drink), and 61(1) (criminal conspiracy). Several cold storage operators and restaurant owners in Zakura, Parimpora, Budgam, and Magam were booked, and multiple storage facilities were sealed. Over 12,000 kilograms of decomposed meat and adulterated products were seized in valley-wide crackdowns, hitting local restaurants, dhabas and wazwaan providers hard last year. Impact: The crisis caused restaurant footfall and hospitality revenue to plummet as consumers lost trust and local eateries shifted toward vegetarian options like rajma chawal.

CRPF removes jawan from service for posting death threat to Commander on social media

The battalions Commanding Officer conducted an inquiry, following which the jawan was terminated from service on Friday (November 13, 2026)

Telangana Congress Backs Rahul Gandhis Phone Tapping Allegations as Threat to Democracy

Telangana Congress leaders criticize the central government over phone tapping allegations, calling it a threat to democracy and demanding an investigation. Telangana Congress Backs Rahul Gandhis Phone Tapping Allegations as Threat to Democracy

Brie Bella Offers Fresh Injury Update And Reveals Her WWE Return Timeline

Brie Bella is aiming to resume in-ring training in January 2027 after breaking her shoulder blade at SummerSlam. A recent CT scan still showed fractures, and she is waiting for an early December update as physical therapy becomes more demanding.

Patient Dies After Jumping from Dhenkanal Hospital

A 35-year-old patient allegedly died by suicide after jumping from the fourth floor of the Dhenkanal District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) in Odisha late Friday night, sparking serious questions over patient safety and security lapses at the government medical facility. The deceased has been identified as Manoj Dehury, a resident of the Gandhi Mandir Road area [] The post Patient Dies After Jumping from Dhenkanal Hospitals Fourth Floor appeared first on Pragativadi I Latest Odisha News in English I Breaking News .

Exclusive: Jai Hanuman Shoot Begins In Hyderabad

The actor is also said to be undergoing a demanding physical transformation to bring authenticity to the role.

As Trump prepares to meet Xi, the Nvidia controversy threatens to complicate the AI truce

Jensen Huang, the former CEO of Nvidia, is involved in a scandal concerning a suspected Chinese spy. This affair heightens existing tensions between the U.S. and China over technology exports, particularly in artificial intelligence. Lawmakers are now demanding stricter controls on advanced AI chip sales amid security concerns. The situation may impact ongoing discussions about AI safety between the nations.

Manisha Koirala tweaks fitness routine amid pollution: Learning to listen to my body

Digital Desk | Mumbai, Nov 14 (IANS) Actress Manisha Koirala has made a small change to her daily routine amid rising pollution levels and changing weather conditions. Taking to Instagram, the actress shared that she has moved her early morning walks indoors to the gym due to poor air quality. She also offered a glimpse of her post-workout routine, which includes spending time with her little one and sipping warm ginger green tea. Manisha shared a picture of herself with her four-legged friend. A little change of routine with the change of place & changing weather. With the air quality and pollution levels being high, Ive moved my early morning walk indoors to the gym. Emphasising the importance of adapting to changing conditions, Manisha said she is learning to listen to her body and find her own rhythm. Back home, its time to slow down, cuddle with my little one and enjoy a cup of warm ginger green tea, she wrote. The actress added: The changing weather, dust and pollution call for a little extra care. Learning to listen to my body, adapt and find my own rhythm. A little movement, a little warmth and a whole lot of love. #mowglikoirala. Born in Nepal, Manishas latest work includes the digital series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, a period drama television series released in 2024 by filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Manisha was joined by names such as Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sanjeeda Sheikh,Sonakshi Sinha, Sharmin Segal, Shekhar Suman, Adhyayan Suman and Taha Shah Badussha. The series was set in Lahores Heera Mandi, a red light district, at the time of Indian independence movement. It featured the lives of tawaifs intersecting with the political and personal struggles under British colonial rule. Before Heeramandi, the actress major big screen outing was in Rohit Dhawans Shehzada starring Kartik Aaryan. The actress was seen playing Kartiks mother in the film, which was a remake of the Telugu film Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. The film also had Kriti Sanon, Paresh Rawal, Manisha Koirala and Ronit Roy. The 54-year-old actress is one of the most popular and highest-paid actresses of her time. She made her acting debut with the Nepali film Pheri Bhetaula in 1989, and later debuted in Indian cinema with the Hindi drama Saudagar in 1991.

Tragic Death of Young Cricketer Nandini Sparks Outrage in Vikharabad

The suicide of 17-year-old cricketer Nandini has led to protests demanding justice and accountability in Vikharabad. Tragic Death of Young Cricketer Nandini Sparks Outrage in Vikharabad

Chitrangda Singh on working with Salman Khan: He makes everybody around him look their best

Digital Desk | Mumbai, Nov 14 (IANS) Actress Chitrangda Singh has heaped praise on Salman Khan, calling her experience of working with the superstar in Maatrubhumi and said the superstars commanding screen presence and effortless confidence initially made her a little nervous. Still, his spontaneity and ability to bring out the best in those around him made sharing the screen with him enjoyable. Chitrangda told IANS: Working with Salman has been a truly wonderful and memorable experience. He has an incredibly commanding screen presence, and what I particularly admire about him is how he makes everybody around him look their best on screen. Heaping praise on the confidence Salman has in front of the camera, she said: He has such ease and confidence in front of the camera that, honestly, it did make me a little nervous initially! But there is also a wonderful spontaneity in the way he works, which makes sharing the frame with him so enjoyable and brings a natural energy to every interaction. The actress is over-the-moon to see the response her chemistry with Salman in the songs from Maatrubhumi has been getting. Our chemistry has been receiving so much love ever since the songs from Maatrubhumi came out, and I am genuinely thrilled to see that response. When two actors share a certain comfort and understanding on screen, audiences can sense it, and I am so glad that our equation is resonating with them. I am really looking forward to audiences experiencing our dynamic in the film. The trailer of Maatrubhumi: May War Rest In Peace was unveiled earlier this month and it promises a powerful story of patriotism, sacrifice and the human cost of war. The trailer opens with a fast cuts of avalanche in one of the highest battlefields in the world as the Chinese soldiers prepare to infiltrate the Indian side of Line of Actual Control (LAC). Salman makes a heroic entry as a highly accomplished soldier, who has the perfect balance of wit and strength. The trailer then shows his personal life, and introduces actress Chitrangada Singh as his wife, who is concerned about him being called for the action. Salman then tells her that it wont be a showdown involving guns as the Chinese and Indian soldiers do not use guns during border face-offs along the LAC because of bilateral agreements designed to prevent military escalation into a full-scale war. The film is directed by Apoorva Lakhia, and produced under the banner of Salman Khan Films.

FAA lifts nationwide ground stop after thousands of flight cancellations

Travelers wait for their luggage at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/William Liang) AP Photo/William Liang The Federal Aviation Administration announced that the nationwide ground stop it issued earlier on Friday has been lifted, nearly five hours after thousands of flights were canceled across the country. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a press conference Friday night that the airspace has reopened and some flights have started to take off, but warned that it'll be slow. It's going to take us some time to unwind what happened this afternoon, he said. Duffy said that instability in the radar communications at air traffic control centers began just after 3:30 p.m. ET. At the time, there were more than 3,500 planes in the air when the ground stop was issued he blamed it on an incredibly old air traffic system. We have old switches, old routers, we use 1980s little copper lines, Duffy said. It's an old system that went down. It went down everywhere. It got overloaded. He went on to blame Congress for not providing the funds to update the outdated infrastructure. I can't build things if I don't have money, Duffy said. Last year Congress approved $12.5 billion to overhaul the outdated technology that air traffic controllers rely on, including old copper wires and radio systems. On social media, the GOP-controlled Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees the FAA, noted that no new air traffic area control centers have been built since [Lyndon B. Johnson] was in office. On Friday, Duffy asked for $50 billion from Congress to modernize the nations air traffic control system. This is bipartisan. This is American, he said. He also didnt rule out the possibility of another outage due to the analog system. You will have more of them unless the American people and the Congress tell us to build, and I cant wait for that, Duffy said. When asked if he could say with certainty that the problem wasn't caused by a cyberattack, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said, There is nothing certain right now. It doesn't appear that way. Earlier in the day, Mullin told reporters that there was no reason to suspect a national security threat was behind the outage. There's no reason for the public to be afraid or scared for their loved ones, Mullin said. This is not another 9/11, he added. This is a telecommunications outage; this is much different. As news of the ground stop spread, Duffy wrote in a post on X , The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them. As of 9:30 p.m. ET, there were more than 25,100 flights delayed on Friday and more than 6,600 canceled within, into or out of the U.S., according to FlightAware.com , a live flight tracker website. There were more than 30,000 departures and arrivals scheduled for the remainder of the day, according to flight tracking app Flighty, the New York Times reported . Airlines for America, an industry trade organization representing major U.S. airlines, wrote in a post on X , Safety is always our top priority. It added that it's in communication with the Department of Transportation and the FAA. The association encouraged travelers to be in touch with their airline carrier for real-time updates. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois and a ranking member of an aviation subcommittee, called for an investigation into the nationwide ground stop. The safety of our skies is built on redundancies, she wrote on X in response to Duffy's update. Whatever led to the nationwide ground stop will warrant a thorough and complete investigation. As Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member, I'll be demanding answers from the FAA. Citing multiple sources, CBS News reported Friday that an update to the private communications network that connects America's air traffic control system caused the system to reboot, leading to a crash and a communications outage. It reported that the system is operated by L3Harris Technologies. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the outage appeared to be affecting the telecommunications network overseen by L3Harris Technologies, which handles crucial radio frequencies that air-traffic controllers use to communicate with pilots. Microsoft said that its own global outage from which it is still recovering did not appear to be a factor.Mullin also said they werent connected. The National Weather Service told the New York Times that a viral screenshot claiming that its weather radar is down is outdated, adding that it has not experienced a disruption to its radar systems today. Earlier this week, the FAA announced the nationwide rollout of a new $875 million artificial intelligence tool to help air-traffic controllers avoid delays. Called SMART short for Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories it was made by an AI company called ASI and had previously been in use at Washington, D.C., airports since late September. On social media, ASI said, The current ground stop is not based on or a result of the SMART system, any product of ASI or our integration with FAA and ATC. A Yahoo reporter who was stuck on the tarmac on a United Airlines flight waiting to depart from Los Angeles International Airport passed along updates from the cabin. She said her pilot told passengers that what happened was a communications outage that started in Kansas City Center, which is responsible for the airspace above the middle of America, and it spread nationwide. She also said she received an update from United Airlines, which said, Air traffic control is limiting the number of planes allowed to land and depart each hour in Los Angeles, affecting several flights. We're monitoring the situation closely to get you to your destination as soon as possible. Around 7 p.m. ET, she said her flight going over the Pacific had departed. The New York Times has reported that some international flights from the United States have been allowed to depart amid the ground stop. Alaska Airlines said in a statement that flights within Hawaii and Alaska have also been continuing, as have longer-distance flights to and from Honolulu. Nationwide ground stops are pretty rare. The last time such an event occurred was in January 2023, when a pilot notification system went down. Before then, a nationwide ground stop was issued following the September 11, 2001, attacks. This article originally appeared on Yahoo News at https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/article/faa-says-nationwide-ground-stop-is-over-after-thousands-of-flights-canceled-021133009.html

IIT Bombay student death: Parents mark 50 days of protest, demand justice

Fifty days after IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode was found dead on campus, his parents continue their protest at Azad Maidan, demanding justice and complete CCTV footage. They have announced plans to protest at the institute, while IIT-B has outlined several student welfare and campus reform initiatives

A celebration for the fruit from heaven

Kashmir and Apples are synonymous. History has it that apple cultivation in Kashmir is 2000 years old, which gained momentum in early 15th century when Zain ul Abidin brought the grafts to patch with local apple trees for a better variety, the Mughals encouraged the growth of apple orchards on a large scale and later the Britishers brought the English variants and gave the modern scientific outline and outlook to this industry. A separate Department of Horticulture is looking after this huge industry that besides the fruit generates livelihood and lots of employment. The department has been pivotal in managing, supporting and regulating the success of the apple industry on all fronts and lately in establishing the cold storage units meant for storing apples after they are harvested. The fruit can be kept for variable period of time in the unit and later withdrawn and thawed and regularly dispatched throughout the season rather than limiting it to a particular month. Though Kashmir has a huge area under cultivation for apples, two regions are famous worldwide for the quantum that grows in there, Sopore and Shopian, each having a separate fruit mandi to help the apple growers to sell their yield. The apple production has hit a high with over 17 lakh metric tonnes produced every year. The famous varieties are ambri, delicious, golden delicious, maharaja, chemora, hazartbali, american trael, and many hybrids. Since few years the orchards have changed from these typical variants to the now scientifically done and easier growing European variants which go on to give a good yield in less time. October is the month of harvesting the apples and then sending them to different parts of the country or storing them in now available cold storage units. 70% of the total production harvested is brought and assembled in sheds, sorted, packed and then transported or nowadays railed to the various mandis of the country. 20 % goes to cold storage units. The month of October is full of activity in the apple hubs of the valley. The harvest season of different agricultural products and fruits falls at different times of the year depending upon region, climate, and crop. It marks the end of growing season, collection of the agricultural/horticulture bounty and gratitude to the Almighty for the produce. World over at the time of harvest of first fruits/crops, festivals are held, true for our country as well, which is celebrated by the locals in various ways. The celebrations can last for a day or days together and can be a fair, carnival, parties, singing, dancing, local folk tales and local cultural events done to an audience from far and wide. This infuses an enthusiasm of worthiness amongst the farmers, growers, wholesalers and all the people involved in the business. And puts that area onto the world map. Among the international festivals held are Thanksgiving in US, , crop over in Barbados, mid-autumn festival in China and Vietnam, rice harvest festival in Indonesia, Incwala in Eswatini, a traditional first-fruit ceremony where the king tastes the new seasons crops before the nation can harvest theirs, Moussem hab lmuluk a cherry harvest festival in Sefrou, Morocco, Moussem tamrata date harvest festival at Arfoud, in Morocco, Moussem tamrat faghit a date harvest festival in Saoura, Algeria, Moussem lnab a grape harvest festival at Benslimane,Morocco, Moussem lfrizat a strawberry harvest festival in Skikda, Algeria. Likewise, in our country we do have fixed calendar for these harvest festivals, Makar Sankranti, Bihi, Pongal, Lohri, Baisakhi, Onam. Local preparations, songs, dance, cultural skits, fairs, children arena, food stalls, handicrafts form the core on these festive occasions. Kashmir per se does not have a particular harvest festival, that is famous on the national or international arena. Rice harvesting used to be celebrated locally but presently is not. There is some resurgence of having a festival at the time of trees flowering like the famous almond blossom of Badamwari, and the now world famous tulip festival at Indira Gandhi garden, but no administration led harvest festival is in the time table. I read about an initiative Jashen Harud held this year on 7th of November at the Sports Stadium in Shopian. This is a good beginning but we need this on a large and better scale, an apple harvest festival for a week or 10 days to really allow people from other parts of Kashmir to visit these areas and check for themselves various aspects of cultivation, harvesting and other aspects. We can have a week of this festival at Sopore and Shopian, every year in the month of October to celebrate the harvest. It can be a mega carnival with school children coming for picnic, college students take it as part of their scientific projects, locals as guests and buyers, tourists and outsiders as ambassadors. This will go a long way in encouraging the growers, have attendees cherish the heritage, traditions and culture, bring in entrepreneurs with their developmental initiatives, allow government to announce welfare schemes and better the ways of handling the fruit and also bring these areas more on the national and international map. Dr Muzafar Maqsood Wani, Consultant Nephrologist, SKIMS, Soura

FAA says nationwide ground stop is over after thousands of flights cancelled

The Federal Aviation Administration announced that the nationwide ground stop it issued earlier on Friday has been lifted, according to the AP. This is a breaking story. Follow for more updates. The original story is below. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop for all flights in the United States until further notice, due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety. This means that planes currently in the air may land, but those on the ground may not take off. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters Friday evening that there is currently no reason to suspect a national security threat is behind the communications outage affecting flights. There's no reason for the public to be afraid or scared for their loved ones, Mullin said. This is not another 9/11, he added. This is a telecommunications outage; this is much different. Mullin said it would take some time to resolve the issue and that flights already in the air are being handled on a case-by-case basis. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote in a post on X , The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them. As of 6:45 p.m. ET, there were more than 10,000 flights delayed and more than 3,200 canceled within, into or out of the U.S., according to FlightAware.com , a live flight tracker website. There were more than 30,000 departures and arrivals scheduled for the remainder of the day, according to flight tracking app Flighty, the New York Times reported . Airlines for America, an industry trade organization representing major U.S. airlines, wrote in a post on X , Safety is always our top priority. It added that it's in communication with the Department of Transportation and the FAA. The association encouraged travelers to be in touch with their airline carrier for real-time updates. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois and a ranking member of an aviation subcommittee, called for an investigation into the nationwide ground stop. The safety of our skies is built on redundancies, she wrote on X in response to Duffy's update. Whatever led to the nationwide ground stop will warrant a thorough and complete investigation. As Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member, I'll be demanding answers from the FAA. The cause of Friday's widespread communication issue hasn't been confirmed. Do we know what has caused it yet? Mullin said. No, we're going to go through it. But I'm not going to make assumptions. Citing multiple sources, CBS News reported Friday that an update to the private communications network that connects America's air traffic control system caused the system to reboot, leading to a crash and a communications outage. It reported that the system is operated by L3Harris Technologies. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the outage appeared to be affecting the telecommunications network overseen by L3Harris Technologies, which handles crucial radio frequencies that air-traffic controllers use to communicate with pilots. Microsoft said that its own global outage from which it is still recovering did not appear to be a factor. The National Weather Service told the New York Times that a viral screenshot claiming that its weather radar is down is outdated, adding that it has not experienced a disruption to its radar systems today. Earlier this week, the FAA announced the nationwide rollout of a new $875 million artificial intelligence tool to help air-traffic controllers avoid delays. Called SMART short for Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories it was made by an AI company called ASI and had previously been in use at Washington, D.C., airports since late September. On social media, ASI said the current ground stop is not based on or a result of the SMART system, any product of ASI or our integration with FAA and ATC. A Yahoo reporter who was stuck on the tarmac on a United Airlines flight waiting to depart from Los Angeles International Airport passed along updates from the cabin. She said her pilot told passengers that what happened was a communications outage that started in Kansas City Center, which is responsible for the airspace above the middle of America, and it spread nationwide. She also said she received an update from United Airlines, which said, Air traffic control is limiting the number of planes allowed to land and depart each hour in Los Angeles, affecting several flights. We're monitoring the situation closely to get you to your destination as soon as possible. Around 7 p.m. ET, she said her flight going over the Pacific had departed. The New York Times has reported that some international flights from the United States have been allowed to depart amid the ground stop. Alaska Airlines said in a statement that flights within Hawaii and Alaska have also been continuing, as have longer-distance flights to and from Honolulu. Nationwide ground stops are pretty rare. The last time such an event occurred was in January 2023, when a pilot notification system went down. Before then, a nationwide ground stop was issued following the September 11, 2001, attacks. Last year Congress approved $12.5 billion to overhaul the outdated technology that air traffic controllers rely on, including old copper wires and radio systems. On social media, the GOP-controlled Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees the FAA, noted that no new air traffic area control centers have been built since [Lyndon B. Johnson] was in office. The Trump administration has requested another $30 billion to modernize the nation's air-traffic control system. This article originally appeared on Yahoo News at https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/article/faa-says-nationwide-ground-stop-is-over-after-thousands-of-flights-cancelled-013209016.html

Cabinet clears hydropower, urban asset policies; approves fruit mandis

Jammu, Nov 13:The cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, on Friday approved two major policies on hydropower development and urban asset monetisation, besides clearing land allotments for fruit mandis at Pattan, Tral, and Kulgam and 32 kanals for a grid station in north Kashmir's Bandipora district. The meeting was the first full-strength cabinet sitting in Jammu following the induction of four ministers on October 27. The Office of the Chief Minister, J&K, said in a post on X that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chaired a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Jammu, deliberating on key proposals aimed at strengthening public welfare, accelerating equitable development and advancing transparent, responsive and effective governance across Jammu and Kashmir. According to sources, the cabinet approved the Jammu and Kashmir Hydropower Policy-2026, which seeks to attract private investment in hydropower projects with a capacity of up to 100 MW under the Independent Power Producer (IPP) and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models. The cabinet also cleared the Urban Asset Mapping and Monetisation Policy-2026, prepared by the Housing and Urban Development Department. The policy aims to identify, map, and optimise the use of assets owned by Urban Local Bodies across Jammu and Kashmir to generate additional revenue for strengthening civic infrastructure and improving public services. In another decision, sources said the cabinet approved the e-auction of the SumchamPadder mineral block in Kishtwar district through the Ministry of Mines, Government of India, to grant an exploration licence for copper, nickel, and associated mineralisation. They said that the cabinet also approved transferring 32 kanals of Shamilat land at Nadikhai and Poshwari in the Hajin area of Bandipora district to the Power Development Department for constructing a grid station. The proposed grid station is expected to strengthen the electricity distribution network in the area. In a move aimed at strengthening agricultural marketing infrastructure, the cabinet cleared land allotment proposals for establishing fruit mandis at Pattan, Tral and Kulgam, the sources said. The proposed facilities are expected to provide marketing infrastructure to fruit growers and facilitate the trade and transportation of agricultural produce. Cabinet Minister Javed Ahmad Rana said proposals concerning land required for power projects being developed under the PPP model, agricultural and fruit markets, and the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau were taken up at the meeting. He said certain promotion-related cases were considered. Rana said the regularisation of daily wagers was not discussed and did not figure on the cabinet agenda. The issue remains a longstanding demand of dailywagers and other temporary workers employed in various government departments across Jammu and Kashmir. The rehabilitation of traders affected by fires at Jammu's Warehouse Market and Shiv Market was also not discussed at the meeting, Rana said. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary and ministers Ali Mohammad Sagar, Sakeena Itoo, Javed Ahmad Rana, Javid Ahmad Dar, Mir Saifullah, Shamim Firdous, and Altaf Ahmad Wani attended the meeting. The cabinet expansion on October 27 brought four new ministers Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mir Saifullah, Shamim Firdous and Altaf Ahmad Wani - into the Council of Ministers, taking its strength to the maximum permissible nine, including the Chief Minister. Satish Sharma was dropped in the reshuffle.

The Measure of a Responsible Society

Public responsibility is often discussed as though it belongs only to those who govern. Roads must be repaired, services delivered and public safety ensuredthese are essential duties of the state. But a society cannot function on official responsibility alone. Its everyday character is shaped by the choices of ordinary people: whether they follow rules, respect shared spaces, care for public property and consider how their actions affect others. In Kashmir, the meaning of this responsibility is visible in daily life. A road blocked by careless parking delays ambulances and commuters alike. Litter left in a stream or on a roadside adds to the burden on an already fragile environment. Disregarding traffic rules puts not only the violator but pedestrians, passengers and other drivers at risk. Such acts may seem small in isolation, but repeated across neighbourhoods, they become a public problem that no department can solve by itself. Public responsibility also requires a willingness to protect what belongs to everyone. Parks, footpaths, public buildings and water sources are not the concern of government alone; they are shared assets. Damaging them, occupying them without regard for others or treating them as someone elses problem weakens the quality of life for the whole community. Caring for these spaces is not a substitute for proper maintenance by authorities. It is a recognition that public property has value and that its preservation serves everyone. Citizenship, however, is not simply obedience. It includes the right to question decisions, demand better services and hold public institutions accountable. That right is strongest when exercised with facts, fairness and respect for others. Responsible criticism can expose failures and prompt change; intimidation, rumour and the deliberate spread of false information only deepen mistrust. A healthy public life depends on both accountable institutions and citizens willing to participate constructively. The same principle applies to public safety. Following traffic rules, avoiding reckless behaviour and reporting genuine hazards can prevent harm. So can showing consideration for people who are elderly, disabled or otherwise vulnerable in public spaces. Responsibility is not always dramatic. Often it is a quiet decision to wait, yield, verify a claim or refrain from making a difficult situation worse. None of this should be used to excuse administrative failures. Authorities remain accountable for reliable services, fair enforcement and the protection of public resources. But demanding good governance and practising civic responsibility are not competing demands. They strengthen each other. A responsible society is built through everyday conduct as much as through policy. The common good begins when people recognise that public life is sharedand that the condition of our roads, neighbourhoods and institutions reflects what all of us are prepared to protect.

Deadly building collapse brought Brooklyn neighbors together. Now they want answers.

Emergency personnel work at the scene of a partial building collapse where, according to local reports, people are trapped in the Brooklyn borough of New York, on Wednesday, November 11. - Angelina Katsanis/Reuters Leonor Yupa dropped to her knees Thursday when a Spanish-language media reporter said her 22-year-old son was among eight people whose lives were claimed by the Brooklyn building collapse the day before. I want my son! I want my son! the Ecuadorian mother cried in Spanish as family members tried to hold Yupa up and others who gathered at Bethesda Church of God in Christ assured her the reports were unconfirmed. The agonizing cries of another woman who just lost her husband reverberated through the Brooklyn sanctuary across the street from the collapse. When the woman learned her husbands body was pulled from the debris Thursday morning, she collapsed and wailed her husbands name. Toms! Tomasito! she cried. Family members gathered around the widow and formed a prayer circle. Just outside the church, a nervous father also prayed. He was anxiously waiting to learn the fate of his son, a construction worker who has not been reachable since the collapse. In the Flatbush neighborhood home to a mix of immigrant communities six adults and two children had died and over a dozen were injured after the three-story mixed-use building collapsed on Veterans Day, a day on which many families stayed home. unknown content item - I want to take a moment to remember those we have so senselessly lost, Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters Thursday. These were our friends and our neighbors, parents and children, young families building their lives in our city, and immigrants from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Trinidad, and beyond. The day after the tragedy, residents and other bystanders crowded the sidewalk as construction equipment was used to remove debris and rubble from the site. Clothes still hung from a closet in an adjoining building where a wall came down during the collapse. A construction worker embraces a child at the scene of the collapse on Wednesday. - Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images North America/Getty Images Heavy rain pelted the intersection of Flatbush and Bedford avenues, a multicultural enclave that is the heart of New York Citys Caribbean diaspora. The names on signs of storefront churches and businesses from bakeries, restaurants and beauty salons reflect places like Jamaica, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, and more recently, newcomers from Mexico and Ecuador. Among those killed Wednesday were three Colombian citizens, two Ecuadorian men and a 26-year-old Guatemalan man, officials from the countries announced. A six months pregnant woman who was rescued from the collapse this week sustained serious injuries, but her unborn child is still alive, according to a spokesperson for her family. By the grace of God, both she and her unborn baby are alive. However, she sustained serious injuries and is currently receiving medical care at the hospital, Mamadou Saliou Diallo, president of the Guinean Community of America New York, said during a news conference Friday morning. The womans husband, Fatoumata Binta Bah, said he was returning home from getting groceries when he first saw the commotion. He went around the people gathering thinking it was a car crash, then a woman told him a building had collapsed. When she told me that, I couldnt feel where I was anymore. I realized that our building borders this area. I told her My wife is inside, my friends are inside! Bah recalled. Another woman who survived the collapse said she had taken the day off from work and had been trying to go to sleep with the lights off in her room because she had a headache. Ciahola Lawrence then heard a loud thump, and when she opened her eyes there was light everywhere and an open view of the rubble. unknown content item - I could see my neighbors coming out on stretchers they were already dead. We didnt deserve this! Lawrence wailed, later pushing her head into her husbands chest as her words dissolved into sobs. Zariah, a girl whose family survived the collapse, expressed concern over her familys cat, who was inside the building at the time of the collapse. They said they were inside the house to try to find him, but I dont think they really did, she said. Hes hiding from them, and I think hes scared of them, and I just really want them to come and get our cat. unknown content item - Starting to become emotional, she said, They put a lot of lives in danger. After she finished speaking, Zariah was comforted by New York Attorney General Letitia James. In the aftermath of the collapse, local families, clergy and community groups gathered to support one another while demanding accountability for housing conditions and construction oversight in their predominantly Black and immigrant neighborhood. Go in the church and pray, please On Wednesday night, Yupa and other relatives spent hours scouring hospitals throughout Brooklyn hoping to find her son, Gabriel Siguencia. The family then visited the collapse site Thursday. Yupa shielded herself from heavy rain under the canopy of the church as a woman with a West Indian lilt alerted other bystanders nearby that she saw first responders pull a young child and a woman from the rubble. Then came the news about Siguencia, who had arrived in New York from Ecuador only about a month ago and started working as a carpenter at the construction site adjacent to the building collapse about two weeks ago, according to uncles, cousins and family friends. He came to America looking for the same opportunities that people from all over the world come here for, said family friend Javier Ortega, who drove Siguencias mother to the site from her home in Connecticut. Thats why he was working there. Like many other families, Siguencias loved ones awaited news about him across the street from the collapse site. Some, like the husband of a six month pregnant woman rescued from the rubble, rejoiced as they received word their loved one was safe. unknown content item - As the downpour intensified Thursday over the neighborhood known as Little Haiti, a member of Bethesda Church of God in Christ invited Siguencias family inside the warm vestibule. Yupa, weeping, sat on a folding chair as a Haitian church member served her cups of water. As Yupa sobbed, family members surrounded her and Ecuadoran consular officials made calls trying to track down information. Soft murmurs of Hallelujah, hallelujah spilled out from the church filled with Haitian worshippers on the other side of the vestibule doors. We all have to look out for each other in this country, said the woman who brought water to Yupa and the others. It doesnt matter where you come from. Another woman implored Yupa as she wept: Go in the church and pray, please. Time ticked by with a heaviness before officials with the Ecuadoran consul walked Yupa and her friends and family members several blocks in the heavy rain to a nearby YMCA, where relatives of the dead and missing had been gathering. The consul general of Ecuador, Gicela Andrade Valens, later told reporters outside that authorities had confirmed Siguencias death to his mother. Another Ecuadorian national, 26-year-old Jos Luis Caguana Cosquillo, was also killed. Winston Sanchez, who spoke on behalf of Cosquillos family, said he had left behind a pregnant wife who is due to give birth soon and that the child would never meet their father. Sanchez said he hopes the city will do more to protect construction workers. Developers, real estate, different construction companies, theyre making a lot of money with the blood of many construction workers, Sanchez said. That is unacceptable, and I hope the city, on behalf of the families, will do more to protect our construction workers. Colombias consulate in New York said two Colombian children and one adult were killed in the collapse. The Consulate of Colombia in New York reiterates its most sincere condolences to the victims families and loved ones, the consulate said. Nothing like this has ever happened in this neighborhood Pastor Alfred Justin Josephs church, the Bethesda Church of God in Christ, became an open sanctuary for the injured, the anxious and the grieving. They were standing in the street. I let them in, Joseph said. Thank God we have counselors in the church people who do counseling for grief. Various groups have streamed through his church, including a dozen people in the first wave. While some have since been escorted to a local YMCA or hotels, the church remains an epicenter of consolation and support. As she heard the wailing of the young woman who lost her spouse in the collapse, Flatbush resident Joy Kerr led a prayer circle to offer some comfort in a moment of devastation. Kerr walked into the church and found the young woman crying hysterically after learning that her spouse, a construction worker, was killed when the building came down. Kerr listened to the woman sobbing for about half an hour and said, No, I cant take this. I cant sit back and just watch her and listen to her cry so hysterically. In that moment, I knew she needed comfort, she said. She gathered with the woman who had lost her spouse and those around them, and they began to pray. This is devastating, Kerr said. Nothing like this has ever happened in this neighborhood, and we just need to come together and stay together as a community. unknown content item - And Katie Stevens, a teacher who lives about a block from the building, sobbed after she watched first responders load body bags into a van Thursday morning. I care for my neighbors so much, Stevens told CNN. Im just so sad. James Williams, a bricklayer who has lived in the neighborhood for 35 years, stood across the street from the wreckage site Thursday and recalled watching the buildings walls cave in the day before. One image reverberated in his mind: a woman climbing a now-exposed staircase as everything around her was crumbling. I dont know if she got out alive or not, he lamented. To see that and not know what happened to her I might have to go see a psychiatrist. Williams said he knows multiple families affected by the collapse. A friend told him she had been texting with relatives at the site when it collapsed but had not been able to locate them at any local hospitals. As grief rippled through the neighborhood, nonprofits and agencies including the Red Cross, NYC Human Resources Administration and World Central Kitchen helped shaken families with emergency shelter, supplies and updates about missing people. Neighbors call for accountability Officials stand at the site on Thursday - Yuki Iwamura/AP As darkness fell over the collapse site Thursday night, amid thunderclaps and heavy rain, floodlights shone on a now-idle backhoe that had been excavating piles of debris, twisted metal and the pieces of what had been apartments into dumpsters. Crews finished a marathon search through the rubble and determined there were no more survivors to be rescued, officials had said Thursday afternoon. Under umbrellas, people hurried home after work, some stopping momentarily to look at the now-vacant space that had recently been home to many. Across the street, a cluster of older women started gathering early for an evening service at Bethesda Church of God in Christ. This church happens to be a Haitian Creole speaking church, but the church is open to the entire community, said Florence Saint-Jean, a psychologist who offers mental health and trauma services at the church. The people who live here are immigrants, and so when crisis happens, theres only one language love, she said. People are tired, theyre looking for food, theyre looking for shelter, and the church is always open and available. The New York City Public Advocate who serves as an ombudsman for citizen complaints said Friday many local residents are afraid to speak up when they see violations. We have the intersection of immigration and people afraid to come out and speak, Jumanne Williams said. We want to make sure were speaking up for them. As neighbors hugged and comforted one another, one question created knots in their chests: How could this tragedy have happened? The Department of Buildings has not yet determined the cause of the collapse, and an investigation is underway as new information emerges about the buildings history and construction process. Residents of three buildings on the block are still barred from their homes, and questions are growing over whether the developers were digging for a much larger building than the city approved. Department of Buildings sweeps have now expanded their scope to more than 160 sites across our city, associated with six entities that are associated with this project, Mamdani said Friday, adding an outside engineering consulting firm will also provide an independent report. If we find anyone that has violated the law, we will hold them fully accountable, the mayor said. The Brooklyn District Attorneys Office is conducting its own investigation into whether laws were broken at the site of the collapse. Were looking at the entire history, and if there are additional things that we need to see, that will be part of the investigation, Department of Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said Friday. As investigators try to determine factors in Wednesdays deadly collapse of the three-story building in Brooklyn, theyll be looking at both the condition of the collapsed building and activity at the construction site that neighbored it. Cracks had been reported in the facade of the building as part of the permitting process for construction on the adjacent lot, which the collapse spilled into. The buildings owner, Olufemi Falade , has a troubling history that reportedly landed him in jail for 12 days in 2006 for failing to repair hundreds of violations across multiple buildings. Falade was frequently listed on the annual Worst Landlords Watchlist put out by the New York City Public Advocates office, although he is not on the most recent list. I dont want to speak out of turn. I want to wait for the investigation to outplay, Williams said. But I will say if you have multiple negligence, both on the owners side and/or the construction side, there definitely should be a criminal investigation and, I believe, arrests at some point if that is the case. CNN has reached out to Falade for comment. The collapsed building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue currently has 98 open housing violations ranging from unsafe electrical wiring and a lack of smoke detectors to bedbug infestations and a lack of adequate water supply for the buildings sprinkler system according to records from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Local election officials promised to address understaffing in the citys Department of Buildings. Right now, the building department has an 8 to 9% vacancy rate, said New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin. We will ensure that every single one of those positions is immediately filled. Though building collapses are rare in the US, lower-income and immigrant neighborhoods often face higher risks of hazards and neglect. Housing experts and advocates have pointed to systemic inequities that disproportionately impact working class immigrant communities, including old buildings, lax code enforcement and rapid construction. Sumathy Kumar, executive director of New York State Tenant Bloc and Housing Justice for All, an organization that works to organize tenants, said the Brooklyn landlord has an extensive and troubling history with the city. We need better and faster tools to hold landlords accountable and to make sure that buildings are properly maintained and managed, Kumar said. Saint-Jean said there is a visible distinction between how development occurs in immigrant communities like Flatbush. What were most concerned about is, when things like his happen, that our voice (is) not being heard about development in the area, she said. CNNs Ray Sanchez reported from New York and Dalia Faheid from Los Angeles. CNNs Gloria Pazmino, Eduardo Cuevas, Brynn Gingras, Andy Rose, Rebekah Riess, Alaa Elassar, Graham Hurley, Taylor Romine, John Miller and Holly Yan contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com This article originally appeared on CNN at https://www.cnn.com/2026/11/13/us/immigrant-community-brooklyn-building-collapse

Cabinet Okays Urban Asset Mapping

Jammu Tawi, Nov 13: The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet on Friday approved the Urban Asset Mapping and Monetization Policy, 2026 and the J&K Hydropower Policy, 2026, besides clearing several land allotment proposals, including those for setting up fruit mandis at Pattan, Tral and Kulgam. Sources said that Cabinet meeting was held chaired by the Chief [] The post Cabinet Okays Urban Asset Mapping & Hydropower Policies appeared first on Northlines .

Ensure free, fair panchayat polls, protect YSRCP Candidates: YSRCP delegation calls for strict CCTV enforcement, security for upcoming elections

YSRCP leaders on Friday have demanded that the State Election Commission ensure free and fair Gram Panchayat elections, provide protection to YSRCP candidates, enforce Supreme Court directions on CCTV surveillance and prevent the violence and irregularities witnessed during the recent municipal and local body elections. According to a press release, a delegation led by former MLA Malladi Vishnu submitted a memorandum to the State Election Commissioner, highlighting attacks, intimidation, police failures and partisan conduct of officials during the previous elections. Speaking to the media, Former MLA Malladi Vishnu cited incidents in Rayachoti, Jammalamadugu, Pulivendula, Proddatur and Palnadu, demanding special security arrangements in sensitive areas. Vishnu urged the SEC to ensure that YSRCP candidates can file nominations without fear and prevent political interference, including by ministers who, he said, had encouraged violence during earlier elections. He also stated that CCTV c...

Cabinet Gives Nod to Urban Asset Mapping and Monetisation Policy

SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet on Friday approved the Urban Asset Mapping and Monetisation Policy, 2026 and the Jammu Kashmir Hydropower Policy, 2026, besides clearing several land allotment proposals, including those for setting up fruit mandis at Pattan, Tral and Kulgam. Sources said that Cabinet meeting was held in Jammu under the chairmanship of []

CM Urges Modi To Expedite Drought Relief, Address Sugarcane Farmers' Concerns

The Chief Minister also raised the concerns of sugarcane growers, who are demanding Rs 5,500 per tonne for the 2026-27 season against the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of Rs 3,650 per tonne.

Pakistan: Group flags 'anti-education policies', mistreatment of students in Balochistan

Digital Desk | Quetta, Nov 13 (IANS) The Baloch Students Action Committee (BSAC) has expressed concern over what it described as growing bias in Balochistan's education system, saying the situation had created uncertainty among students. The group accused the administration of Makran Medical College in the Turbat region of displaying a deeply prejudiced attitude towards students, alleging that repeated failures in viva examinations were jeopardising the students' academic futures. The education system in Balochistan is increasingly being run in a biased manner, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty. Following the same path, the Makran Medical College administration continues to adopt an extremely prejudiced attitude towards students. Students are repeatedly failed in viva examinations because of examiner bias, putting their academic careers at risk, the BSAC posted on X. While the college administration does not require teachers to hold classes regularly, students are repeatedly failed in viva examinations, and then their annual results are withheld through vivas in supplementary examinations. Makran Medical College students have previously raised their voices and protested over this issue, but no satisfactory solution has been found to date. This shows that the Makran Medical College administration is not taking this issue seriously at all, it added. The BSAC described the threatening attitude and biased examination practices adopted by the Makran Medical College administration toward students as deeply troubling and contrary to the interests of education. Educational institutions in Balochistan are being run in a manner that would not be acceptable in any business. Balochistans educational institutions have always suffered from such problems, which are unbecoming of educational institutions. Rather than jeopardizing students academic careers, educational institutions should create opportunities and modern facilities for them so that students can take advantage of them, it noted. Condemning the anti-education policies such as the mistreatment of students, threatening behavior, and examination bias in Balochistans educational institutions, the group appealed to all educational institutions, including the Makran Medical College administration, to take these issues seriously so that students careers and academic years are not jeopardised. The demands of the Makran Medical College students, who have been sitting in a protest sit-in for the past six days, should be heard and addressed immediately, and their educational journey should be made easier by ensuring access to facilities, it added. Students of Makran Medical College staged protests over alleged irregularities in viva examinations, alleging that the unjustified failures had resulted in the loss of an academic year and taken a serious toll on their mental well-being, local media reported. The protest entered its sixth consecutive day on Thursday, with students demanding a transparent and impartial examination system and an end to what they described as unjustified failures.

Himachal Police register FIR against Kangana Ranaut over alleged objectionable posts on Gandhi family

Himachal Pradesh Police have registered an FIR against Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament (MP) from Mandi, Kangana Ranaut, over her alleged objectionable social media posts concerning the Gandhi family, including remarks about Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and the deaths of former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and leader Sanjay Gandhi. The case has been registered under Sections 196, 353 and 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. Confirming the development, Shimla Superintendent of Police (SP) Gaurav Singh said the police had registered a complaint in the matter under the aforementioned provisions of the BNS. The complaint was submitted by Shimla resident Captain Atul Sharma through email to the Director General of Police (DGP), Himachal Pradesh, on November 12. Copies were also forwarded to senior officials of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Cyber Crime wing, seeking a detailed investigation into the alleged objectionable content...

Ladakh Marathon To Host World's Toughest Siachen Ultra

The Ladakh Marathon is set to launch the 180-km Siachen Ultra in September 2027, an invite-only event dubbed the world's toughest high-altitude ultra-running challenge. This gruelling race will span from Warshi Village to Leh, crossing Khardung La at 17,618 feet, with the entire route above 10,000 feet, demanding completion within 30 hours amidst extreme conditions.

Mahatma Yogeshwar Saraswati Vidya Mandir Celebrates Annual Festival with Honors for Academic Excellence

The Mahatma Yogeshwar Saraswati Vidya Mandir in Mussoorie celebrated its annual festival, honoring students for their academic achievements. Mahatma Yogeshwar Saraswati Vidya Mandir Celebrates Annual Festival with Honors for Academic Excellence

UP Voter Row: CM Yogi Adityanath's 1.27 Crore Claim Triggers Political Storm

A fierce political battle is unfolding in Uttar Pradesh after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath claimed that 1.27 crore Hindu voters appear in panchayat voter lists but are missing from Assembly electoral rolls. As Yogi reviews the Special Intensive Revision exercise, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is questioning the source of the data and demanding greater transparency from the Election Commission.

Huang's NVIDIA Exit Fails To End Scandal: Senate Demands Testimony

Jensen Huang may have walked away from Nvidia, but Washington is not letting him walk away from the questions. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott is demanding answers from the former Nvidia chief and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over national security concerns and the company's China-related dealings. The pressure is mounting on multiple fronts, with three House committee chairs seeking a closed-door interview with Huang on December 1, while Nvidia General Counsel Tim Teter is wanted on December 2 and Commerce official Jeffrey Kessler on December 3. Lawmakers are warning that subpoenas could follow if their demands are ignored.

Army Rescues Over 900 Stranded Tourists In East Sikkim

Heavy Snowfall Disrupts Movement At Nathula, Baba Mandir And Tsomgo Lake

Student of the Year: After Dark releases on OTT: Where to watch Karan Johars thriller series?

Student of the Year: After Dark, produced by Karan Johar, has premiered on JioHotstar. The thriller marks Shanaya Kapoor's OTT debut, with the actress playing twin sisters Aayesha and Aditi Malik. Shanaya opened up about the challenges of her double role, demanding action sequences and underwater scenes, thanking the filmmaker and crew for their support.

Crystal Crop Protection IPO GMP signals 18% potential listing gains. Key things to know before issue opens on Nov 18

Crystal Crop Protection's unlisted shares are commanding a 16-18% grey market premium ahead of its Rs 455.5 crore IPO. The public issue opens on November 18, with a price band of Rs 259-272 per share.

Sonam Wangchuk Under House Arrest As Leh Apex Body Seeks To Postpone Winter Polls

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has been placed under house arrest in Ladakh amid protests against the administration's decision to hold hill council elections during winter.The Leh Apex Body, along with religious organisations, has begun an indefinite dharna, demanding that the polls be deferred. The organisation says harsh winter conditions could prevent nearly 30 per cent of Ladakh's population from voting.LAB chairman Tsring Dorjey has also alleged electoral roll tampering and the removal of young voters. The administration, however, has defended the election schedule, with Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra highlighting the importance of the polls for grassroots democracy.

Cummins Opens Up On Khawaja's Explosive Captaincy Claims

Australia Test captain Pat Cummins has strongly rejected former opener Usman Khawaja's claims that he was overlooked for the national team's leadership role due to his skin colour, calling the allegation serious and demanding evidence.

NZ vs IND 4th ODI: Matt Henrys six-wicket haul takes New Zealand to 244-run win

Matt Henry claimed 6/27 to bowl India out for 89, handing New Zealand a commanding 244-run victory after Will Young's 125 powered the hosts to 333

IMD forecasts snowfall in higher reaches of Himachal over next 24 hours; temperatures drop by 2-6 degrees

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast light rain and snowfall in the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh over the next 24 hours under the influence of an active western disturbance, even as temperatures across the state have dropped by 2 to 6 degrees Celsius during the past 24 hours. The weather department said districts including Chamba, Lahaul-Spiti, Kullu, Kangra, Mandi and Kinnaur were experiencing cloudy conditions, with light to moderate rainfall likely in parts of these regions. Snowfall is also expected in higher-altitude areas, particularly around Rohtang Pass, Baralacha Pass and other high reaches of Lahaul-Spiti and Chamba. Senior IMD scientist Sandeep Kumar Sharma, speaking with ANI in Shimla on Friday, said the western disturbance was still active and influencing weather conditions across several parts of the state. During the past 24 hours, light rainfall was reported in parts of Chamba and Lahaul-Spiti, while higher-altitude areas witnessed light snowfal...

Jensen Huang Resignation | Nvidia Employees Rally Behind Jensen Huang, Demand His Return As CEO

Nvidia's dramatic leadership shake-up has triggered an unexpected response from within the company. Employees are rallying behind former CEO Jensen Huang, with an internal memo reportedly attracting more than 1,600 comments demanding his return. Some staff members argue that personal controversies should not overshadow his professional contribution and Nvidia's mission. The development has drawn comparisons with Sam Altman's return to OpenAI and Steve Jobs' comeback at Apple. Meanwhile, the search for Nvidia's next CEO continues.

NZ vs IND 4th ODI: NZ end their innings at 333 runs; Will Young scores 125

Will Young scored a magnificent 125 runs off 108 deliveries to put the hosts in a commanding position, while Tim Seifert scored a 48-ball 58

Jammu and Kashmir Police attach Rs 81 lakh property of PoJK-based terror handler in Rajouri

The Rajouri Police in Jammu and Kashmir have seized immovable property valued at Rs 81 lakh belonging to Mohd Arshad, a terror handler operating from PoJK. This land in Thanamandi is part of a larger initiative aimed at dismantling terrorist networks within the area. Meanwhile, Baramulla Police conducted a separate operation, unearthing two hand grenades from Ghulam JeelReshi, with investigations underway to trace the explosives' origins and potential terrorist affiliations.

Outrage Erupts in Bihar After Police Officers Son Shot Dead

Tensions rise in Bhojpur, Bihar as locals protest the murder of a police officers son, blocking highways and demanding justice. Outrage Erupts in Bihar After Police Officers Son Shot Dead

Nations League: Italy crush France, Kane sets record

Italy delivered a commanding 3-1 victory over France in the Nations League, while Harry Kane celebrated his record 126th cap for England by scoring a match-winning penalty in their 2-1 win against Croatia, securing a quarter-final spot.

Surge of Travelers at Panipat Railway Station as Bihars Chhath Puja Approaches

As Chhath Puja nears, thousands flock to Panipat Railway Station, demanding more trains to Bihar for the festival. Surge of Travelers at Panipat Railway Station as Bihars Chhath Puja Approaches

A Conversation Across Three Philosophical Worlds

The decisive differences emerge when we ask what kind of self is revealed through this inward inquiry. Heideggers Dasein is fundamentally characterised by being-in-the-world: it exists through concrete involvements, inherited possibilities, historical circumstances, language and temporality. It does not first exist as a self-contained essence and subsequently enter the world; its existence is already shaped by its thrownness into a particular situation and by the possibilities towards which it projects itself. Temporality is therefore central to the disclosure of its Being. akaras tman, by contrast, cannot be reduced to a historically situated or temporally unfolding individual. The empirical person is subject to change, but the deepest Self, understood through Advaita Vednta, is not ultimately defined by the changing conditions of body, mind or history. Its identity with Brahman points towards a reality that is unconditioned by these limitations. A comparable transcendental dimension appears in Ibn Arabs metaphysics, where the Real cannot be confined within the succession of temporal events or the categories through which the human mind seeks to comprehend existence. Yet an important qualification is necessary: the divine self-disclosure unfolds in the changing multiplicity of the cosmos, even though the divine essence is not exhausted or circumscribed by those manifestations. Thus, whereas Heidegger investigates Being through the finite, historical and temporal structure of human existence, akara directs inquiry towards the realisation of an unconditioned non-duality, and Ibn Arab explores how the transcendent Real becomes disclosed without ceasing to exceed every disclosure. The contrast is not simply between a temporal Heidegger and two thinkers who reject time; it concerns three different understandings of the relationship between finite existence and what cannot be reduced to its conditions. The theological implications of the thought of akara and Ibn Arab extend far beyond an abstract understanding of ultimate reality. Both thinkers insist, in their distinctive ways, that intellectual knowledge of the Divine, however necessary, does not exhaust the depth of spiritual realisation. In akaras Advaita Vednta, liberation emerges through the realisation that tman, the innermost Self, is non-different from Brahman, the ultimate reality. In Ibn Arabs Sufi metaphysics, the journey towards God involves the unveiling of deeper dimensions of the Real, whose signs are disclosed throughout creation without the divine essence ever being exhausted by its manifestations. These are not identical conceptions of divine-human unity: akaras non-duality and Ibn Arabs account of the relationship between the Real and creation belong to different theological and metaphysical frameworks. Yet both challenge the assumption that the Divine can be adequately grasped as merely one object standing opposite an independent human subject. Such realisation need not diminish reverence for God; rather, it may deepen it by transforming the very meaning of the relationship between the human being and the ultimate. The language of Martin Bubers I and Thou offers a suggestive parallel here: authentic relationship emerges when the other is encountered not merely as an object to be classified, possessed or used, but as a presence demanding openness and response. Bubers dialogical philosophy should not be conflated with either Advaita or Ibn Arabs metaphysics, but it helps illuminate a shared possibility: that spiritual understanding may transform the subject-object relationship without reducing the Divine to an object of human knowledge. The result is not the disappearance of devotion, but its deepening into humility, wonder and a more profound awareness of the sacred significance of existence. The ethical implications of this vision are equally compelling. If the deepest understanding of reality unsettles the absolute divisions through which the ego separates itself from others, then our moral relationship with fellow human beings can no longer rest solely upon utility, convenience or self-interest. akaras non-dualism invites us to question the ultimate independence we attribute to our individual identities, while Ibn Arabs understanding of divine self-disclosure encourages us to recognise the diverse forms through which the divine names are reflected in creation. Read as ethical inspirations rather than as identical doctrines, these insights can become a powerful impulse for coexistence, compassion and the rejection of exclusionary boundaries. The stranger, the neighbour and the person whose beliefs or circumstances differ from our own cease to be merely instruments within our personal projects; they become beings whose existence calls for recognition and responsibility. Here, Heideggers critique of an exclusively instrumental understanding of the world can be brought into conversation with the ethical philosophies of Buber and Emmanuel Levinas. Buber reminds us of the difference between an IThou encounter and an IIt relationship, while Levinas places the ethical demand of the Other at the centre of philosophical responsibility. Their approaches differ significantly from akaras and Ibn Arabs metaphysical visions, and Levinas in particular resists reducing the irreducible Other to a totalising system of unity. That caution is important: a philosophy of unity must never become an excuse for erasing human difference or silencing the particular voice of another person. Properly understood, unity does not demand uniformity. Instead, it can inspire us to move beyond the divisions of caste, creed, community and identity that turn contingent differences into walls of hostility. The recognition of a deeper kinship among beings can become an ethical summons to coexistence, without requiring us to deny the plurality of human experience. In this sense, the metaphysical intuition of interconnectedness acquires its true social significance when it becomes a practice of dignity, justice, dialogue and care. The environmental implications of this philosophical conversation are particularly urgent in an age when nature is increasingly approached as a storehouse of resources, a commodity to be exploited or an obstacle to economic expansion. Heideggers critique of technological enframing offers a powerful diagnosis of this instrumental outlook: the natural world is reduced to a standing reserve, valuable primarily for its availability to human purposes. akaras Advaita, although it did not formulate a modern ecological programme, may offer a different orientation by challenging the assumption that our ordinary, ego-centred perception reveals the ultimate structure of reality. If the boundaries through which we define the isolated self are not ultimately absolute, the human relationship with the wider world can be reconsidered in less possessive terms. Ibn Arabs vision provides another resource: creation may be contemplated as a field of divine signs and self-disclosure, whose forms invite recognition rather than careless domination. These perspectives resonate with the tradition of sacred ecology associated with thinkers such as Frithjof Schuon, whose perennialist approach sought to recover the spiritual significance of the natural world across religious traditions. Comparable possibilities can be explored within Indian philosophical traditions, including Advaita Vednta, where the unity of reality may support an attitude of humility towards the more-than-human world. Yet such an ecological ethic must be developed thoughtfully rather than simply attributed to akara or assumed to follow automatically from non-dualism. Metaphysical unity does not by itself supply the practical principles required for conservation, environmental justice or sustainable living. It can, however, transform the sensibility from which such principles emerge. A river then becomes more than a channel for water, a forest more than a supply of timber, and an animal more than an instrument of human convenience: each can be encountered within a wider order of significance that exceeds its immediate utility. The task of a contemporary sacred ecology is not to abandon scientific knowledge or practical environmental policy, but to bring them into conversation with a renewed sense of reverence. When the world is no longer viewed merely as an It to be mastered, but encountered as a living field of relationships, the recognition of interconnectedness may become the foundation of a more responsible relationship between humanity, nature and the cosmos. Perhaps the real beauty of these great seers and thinkers lies not in finding a final answer to the mystery of Being, but in allowing that mystery to change the way we live. akara invites us to look beyond the divisions that separate us, Ibn Arab teaches us to recognise the traces of the Divine in the vastness of existence, and Heidegger reminds us to recover our sense of wonder before a world we have grown accustomed to using rather than understanding. Their paths are different, yet each, in its own way, asks us to look again: at ourselves, at the people around us, and at the fragile world we share. Perhaps the deepest realisation is not that we have finally understood Being, but that we have become a little more humble before its mystery, a little more tender towards one another, and a little more grateful for the simple miracle of being here.

ACB arrests RDD Assistant Engineer, contractor for accepting Rs 8,000 bribe in Bandipora

Srinagar, Nov 12:The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Jammu and Kashmir has arrested an Assistant Engineer of the Rural Development Department (RDD) and a contractor for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000 for clearing pending work bills in Bandipora district. The accused government employee has been identified as Mohd Rafi Moon, Assistant Engineer, RDD Block Arin, while the other accused is Hilal Ahmad Mir, son of Mohd Ramzan Mir, a resident of Gundpora, Rampora, Bandipora, who is a contractor by profession. According to an ACB statement, Police Station ACB Baramulla had received a complaint alleging that the complainant had completed five government PRI works, but the concerned Assistant Engineer was demanding Rs 11,000 as bribe for clearing the bills. The complainant alleged that after negotiations, the accused reduced the demanded amount to Rs 8,000. Despite the complainant's refusal to pay the bribe, the officer allegedly continued to withhold the bills. Following the complaint, the ACB conducted a discreet verification, which prima facie established the commission of a cognisable offence under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018. Accordingly, FIR No. 07/2026 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered at Police Station ACB Baramulla on November 12, 2026, and an investigation was initiated. Subsequently, a trap team was constituted in the presence of independent witnesses and a trap was laid. The ACB said the Assistant Engineer and the contractor were caught red-handed while allegedly demanding and accepting the bribe amount of Rs 8,000. The bribe money was recovered from their possession and the recovery was corroborated by independent witnesses and other evidence, the ACB said. Both accused have been arrested and taken into custody. Further investigation in the case is underway.

LG Sinha calls for people's movement to preserve J&K heritage

Srinagar, Nov 12:Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday called for a people-centric movement to preserve, document and disseminate Jammu and Kashmir's civilisational heritage for future generations. Addressing a two-day seminar on 'Revival, Preservation and Sustainability of Cultural Heritage of Kashmir,' organised by Kakini Building Humanity, LG Sinha said that Jammu and Kashmir was not known only for its natural beauty but also for its profound contributions to philosophy, spirituality, language, aesthetics, and human thought. Referring to Acharya Abhinavagupta, he said that the great philosopher embodied the unity of spiritual experience, art and intellectual inquiry, and that youth should be introduced to the remarkable thinkers who emerged from Kashmir. Every university, every teacher, and every cultural institution of this land should work on translating important texts, encourage research, and provide scholars and students with a common platform. I believe that heritage must be alive, it must converse, and it must guide our new generation, the LG said. Emphasising that culture forms the foundation of every society, he said that communities draw confidence and self-respect from a deeper understanding of their history and heritage. LG Sinha underlined the importance of preserving ancient religious sites, manuscripts, museums and cultural institutions as instruments for strengthening identity and promoting mutual understanding. He highlighted the significant efforts undertaken in J&K for heritage conservation under the leadership of Prime Minister NarendraModi. The LG said that heritage revival projects are being implemented across J&K through restoration of monuments, archival modernisation, archaeological research and cultural infrastructure development. The event was also graced by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, through virtual mode. Congratulating the organisers, scholars, administrators, artists, ex-servicemen, military officers and citizens participating in the seminar, the LG said that heritage is a priceless inheritance received from generations of philosophers, saints, artisans, writers and thinkers who enriched humanity through their wisdom and creativity. He stressed that the responsibility of the present generation is not merely to admire this legacy, but to preserve, organise, document and make it more accessible to society. LG Sinha called for a collective commitment to safeguarding the civilisational legacy of J&K for future generations. The preservation work has been initiated on 106 heritage projects under the first two phases, with over 40 projects already completed. Under Phase III, 321 projects have been identified and 312 have received administrative approval. The digitisation work of historical records is ongoing in the Jammu and Srinagar archives, with nearly 96.8 lakh pages digitised so far, representing about 68 percent of available documents. Under Mission GyanBharatam, the surveys have identified 43,000 manuscripts and digitisation efforts are progressing steadily. LG Sinha also highlighted ongoing work related to the Sufiana School in Srinagar, the modernisation of Abhinav Theatre and Kala Kendra in Jammu, restoration of Mubarak Mandi and research into recently discovered Kushan-era Buddhist remains in Baramulla district. Speaking about Naranag Heritage Complex in Ganderbal, he welcomed the research and documentation initiatives undertaken by Kakini Building Humanity and expressed hope that conservation and restoration activities would commence after completion of necessary procedural requirements. The LG also appreciated efforts connected with the Harmukh-Gangbal pilgrimage, describing it as a symbol of the regions enduring cultural and spiritual traditions. I believe that Naranag has its own distinct historical and spiritual dignity, where faith, geography, and collective memories are deeply intertwined. Therefore, I am extremely pleased that Kakini Building Humanity has also established a chair at the Indian Heritage Institute, he said. LG Sinha said that J&K has a long tradition of harmony and equal respect for all faiths. He said that the heritage of every community must be preserved with sensitivity. The vaakhs of Yogini Lalleshwari and Nund Rishi still reach peoples hearts across centuries, because their words contain eternal truths that are untouched by the passage of time. Preserving this tradition of harmony is our collective public responsibility, the LG said. He said Kashmiri Pandit's contribution to Kashmirs literary, spiritual, and cultural heritage was invaluable and their dignified return would help restore the Valleys complete social and cultural fabric. LG Sinha commended the Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums, scholars, archivists, museum professionals and all stakeholders associated with heritage conservation. He also lauded former army officers and civil society organisations for their continued contribution to cultural preservation and nation-building. Padma Vibhushan Padma Subrahmanyam, Kuldeep Krishan Sidha; Raja Ashraf Ali Khan, Swamini Vishwa Nireeshwari Lakshmi Priya Mata, Ramesh Hangloo, BalajiDhar and Shravanthi were felicitated for their contribution in the field of culture and heritage. Maj Gen R K Raina (Retd), Chairman Kakini Building Humanity, Cdr Sanjay Kaul (Retd), AanchalKhurana, Vice President, Kakini Building Humanity; Ramesh Kumar, Secretary, Culture Department; AnshulGarg, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir; Rajiv Omprakash, DIG CKR; G V Sundeep Chakravarthy, SSP Srinagar; Akshay Labroo, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, senior officials and prominent citizens from different walks of life were present.

J&K Police reshuffle: 136 DSPs transferred with immediate effect

Srinagar, Nov 12: The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday carried out a sweeping reshuffle of its mid-level cadre, transferring 136 Deputy Superintendents of Police with immediate effect. The order, issued by Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat, covers postings across district police establishments, CID, Security, Traffic, the Economic Offences Wing, the Special Operations Group and Armed Police formations. The Police Headquarters said the transfers had been ordered in the interest of administration. As per the order, Tejinder Kour has been transferred from SO to DIG HG Jammu to Principal CTI Jammu, while Nisar Ahmad Khan has been shifted from DSP Headquarters Kulgam to DSP PCR Srinagar. Ashaq Hussain Dar has been transferred from SDPO Zakura to DSP Headquarters Kulgam, Sachit Mahajan from DSP SKPA Udhampur to DSP CID SB Political Jammu and Junaid Wali from SDPO M.R. Gunj to DSP CID SB Srinagar. Mohd Ameen Bhat has been shifted from DSP SOG Bani, Kathua, to DSP CTC Lethpora, Tussif Ahmed from SDPO Mendhar to DSP CID CI Ramban, Imtiaz Ahmed from DSP Security Jammu to SDPO Pahalgam and Parul Bhardwaj from SDPO Mahore to DSP Headquarters Bandipora. Irshad Ahmad Ahanger has been transferred from DSP CID CI Doda-Kishtwar to DSP EOW Jammu, while Shaid Nahiem Ahmed has been shifted from SDPO Manjakote to SDPO Arnas. Aftab Hussain Shah has been posted as SDPO Bijbehara from DSP EOW Jammu, Satish Bhardwaj as DSP Personnel APHQ from SDPO Bakshi Nagar and Sheikh Mudasir Ahmad Farooqi as SDPO Magam from SDPO Bijbehara. Nikhil Gogna has been shifted from DSP Prov I PHQ to SDPO Katra, Zafar Mahdi from DSP Headquarters Bandipora to DSP 22 JKAP IR and Ahmad Shaafi Zargar from DSP DAR Bandipora to DSP Buildings Headquarters. Mohd Nawaz Khandey has been transferred from SDPO Sumbal to DSP DAR Sopore, Sheezan Bhat from DSP 7 JKAP IR to SDPO Handwara, Neeraj Kumar from SDPO Billawar to DSP Headquarters Rajouri, Lov Karan from SDPO Gandoh to DSP Headquarters Kathua and Rohit Chadgal from DSP SOG Jammu to DSP Headquarters Reasi. Khalid Ashraf has been shifted from DSP CID CI Headquarters Jammu to DSP SKPA Udhampur, while Sagara Singh, who was awaiting posting, has been posted as SO to DIG DK Range. Qazi Shamas-ul-Muzaffar has been transferred from DSP CID CIK (JIC) to DSP CID CI Budgam, Zahid Ahmad Lone from DSP Buildings Headquarters to SDPO Zakura and Zohaib Hassan from SDPO Panthachowk to SDPO Sopore. Syeed Peerzada Mujahidulhaq has been shifted from DSP Headquarters Anantnag to SDPO Khanyar, Sunil Singh from DSP CID SB Headquarters Jammu to SDPO Chenani, Shoket Ali from DSP Traffic Doda-Kishtwar to SDPO Mahore and Satish Kumar from DSP Headquarters Rajouri to SDPO Vijaypur. Imtyaz Ahmad has been transferred from DSP Security Kashmir to DSP Traffic Ganderbal-Bandipora, while Parupkar Singh has been shifted from SDPO Thana Mandi to DSP Personnel Headquarters. Dr Azhar Rashid has been posted as SDPO Tangmarg from SDPO Khanyar, Vikram Singh as DSP 16 JKAP IR from SDPO North Jammu and Kulwant Singh as DSP 3 JKAP IR from DSP CID CI Baramulla. Arun Jamwal has been shifted from SDPO Vijaypur to DSP 5 JKAP IR, Updesh Kumar from SDPO Arnas to DSP DAR Samba and Aijaz Ahmad from DSP 2 JKAP IR to DSP CID SB Poonch. Sharad has been transferred from DSP GRP Lines Katra to SDPO Manjakote, Dr Bhishm Dubey from SDPO Katra to DSP 11 JKAP IR, Javaid Ahmad Lone from DSP 17 JKAP IR to DSP TMG CID Headquarters and Syed Sleet Shah from DSP Headquarters Srinagar to DSP CID CI Headquarters Srinagar. Surinder Mohan has been shifted from DSP SOG Kalakote, Rajouri, to DSP Prov I Headquarters, Mohd Rafee Rather from DSP CID SB Srinagar to DSP CID SB Ganderbal, Viqar Younus Batt from DSP Headquarters Ramban to DSP EOW Jammu and Adil Hussain from DSP DAR Doda to DSP IO JKAP IR. Arif Hussain Malik has been transferred from SDPO Kokernag to SDPO Panthachowk, Majad Ali from SDPO Awantipora to DSP 9 JKAP, Shammi Kumar from DSP SOG Rajouri to DSP Headquarters Udhampur and Aakash Kohli from DSP EOW Jammu to SDPO Border Kathua. Dev Raj has been shifted from Principal CTI Jammu to SO to DIG HG Jammu. Revaz Ahmad has been transferred from SDPO DH Pora to DSP Traffic City Srinagar, Mehboob ul Haq from DSP Traffic City Srinagar to DSP DAR Kulgam, Faizan Ali from SDPO Tangmarg to DSP CID CIK (JIC) and Mohammad Ashril from SDPO Magam to SDPO Hazratbal. Rashad Akbar Makai has been shifted from SDPO Hazratbal to DSP CID CI Srinagar, Abid Hussain Rafiqi from DSP CID SIA Kashmir to DSP 22 JKAP IR and Dheeraj Kumar from SDPO Shaheedgunj to SDPO North Jammu. Mohd Abdullah Wani has been transferred from DSP DAR Sopore to DSP Security Kashmir, Maroof Ahmad from DSP AC HG Poonch to DSP AC HG Rajouri, Mohd Aslam from DSP Traffic Kulgam to DSP 6 JKAP and Faisal Arif Rishu from DSP EOW Jammu to SDPO Uri. Rajeev Raina has been shifted from SDPO Kangan to DSP 24 JKAP IR, Shivam Jaggi from SDPO Achchabal to DSP CID SB Headquarters Jammu and Rohit Gupta from DSP SOG Manzgam Kulgam to DSP 1 JKAP Border. Vikram Nag has been transferred from DSP SOG Srinagar to SDPO Bakshi Nagar, Mamta Sharma from DSP Crime Jammu (EOW) to DSP 1 JKAP Women, Shakir Hassan from DSP SOG Srinagar to SDPO M.R. Gunj and Faisal Hussain from SDPO Handwara to DSP Headquarters Anantnag. Sayed Aqeel Shah has been shifted from DSP SOG Kulgam to SDPO Shaheedgunj, Vikram Sarmhal from DSP 12 JKAP IR to SDPO Gandoh, Rajesh Chandan from DSP CID SS II to SDPO Thana Mandi and Sumit Bhagat from DSP 24 JKAP IR to DSP Headquarters Ramban. Rukhsana Choudhary has been transferred from DSP CID CI Headquarters Srinagar to DSP 14 JKAP IR, Farooq Ahmad from SDPO Pahalgam to DSP 8 JKAP IR, Mujahid Nazir from DSP Traffic Baramulla-Kupwara to DSP 11 JKAP IR and Sukhvir Singh from SDPO Chenani to DSP CID CI Kathua. Barkat Hussain has been shifted from DSP AC HG Rajouri to DSP AC HG Poonch, Manjeet Singh from DSP 7 JKAP Security to DSP CID SB Jammu, Sharat Chander Singh from DSP PCR Jammu to DSP 8 JKAP and Prehlad Kumar from DSP Headquarters Udhampur to DSP Complaints Headquarters. Surinder Paul Singh has been transferred from DSP Traffic Banihal to DSP 19 JKAP IR, Mohd Iqbal from DSP Security Civil Secretariat to DSP Traffic Pulwama-Shopian, Ajay Kumar from DSP DAR Baramulla to DSP 1 JKAP Border and Vishal Singh Jamwal from DSP Headquarters Reasi to SDPO Billawar. Mohd Ayoub Rather has been shifted from DSP DAR Kulgam to DSP 13 JKAP IR, Jatinder Singh from DSP DAR Udhampur to DSP 7 JKAP Security, Murtaza Ahmed from DSP CID CI City Srinagar to DSP PCR Srinagar and Arjan Chib from DSP DAR Samba to DSP 7 JKAP Security. Ravinder Singh has been transferred from DSP Headquarters Kathua to DSP Security Jammu, Shakeel Ahmed from DSP TMG CID Headquarters to DSP 22 JKAP IR, Varinder Gupta from DSP CID SB Jammu to DSP 24 JKAP IR and Manoj Kumar from DSP 5 JKAP IR to DSP DAR Doda. Gulzar Ahmad has been shifted from DSP Traffic Ganderbal-Bandipora to DSP 17 JKAP IR, Mushtaq Ahmad Paula from DSP Traffic Pulwama-Shopian to DSP 23 JKAP IR, Ghulam Hassan Bhat from DSP CID SB Ganderbal to DSP 23 JKAP IR and Mohammad Rafi Shah from SDPO Sopore to DSP Traffic Baramulla-Kupwara. Charanjeet Singh has been transferred from DSP SOG Basantgarh to DSP GRP Lines Katra, Mohd Yousuf Mir from SDPO Litter to DSP CID SB Headquarters Kashmir and Athar Samad Ahanger from SDPO Zainpora to DSP CID SIA Kashmir. Rajesh Kumar has been directed to report to IG Jammu and await further orders of posting after being shifted from SDPO Tral. Muzaffar Ahmad Shah has been transferred from DSP CID SB Headquarters Kashmir to DSP PTWS Srinagar, Mohammad Ayoub Wagay from DSP 17 JKAP IR to DSP Security Kashmir and Yawar Nissar Khan from DSP SOG Dooru Anantnag to DSP CID SB Budgam. Mayank Khajuria has been shifted from DSP SOG Kakapora Pulwama to DSP PCR Jammu, Manjot Singh from DSP SOG Sangam Srigufiwara to SDPO Litter, Sonika Verma from DSP PCR Srinagar to DSP 1 JKAP Women and Aeshal Nisar from DSP SOG Kreeri Baramulla to SDPO Sumbal. Zarqa Naquib has been transferred from DSP PCR Srinagar to DSP Headquarters Srinagar, Syed Aabid Shah from DSP SOG Uri Baramulla to DSP 8 JKAP IR, Mohd Wasim Shah from DSP SOG Budgam to DSP DAR Baramulla and Amit Khajuria from DSP SOG Hajin Bandipora to DSP SOG Srinagar. Farhan Ahmed has been shifted from DSP SOG Mirbazar Kulgam to SDPO Awantipora, Ishwer Dev from DSP SOG Mougla Rajouri to DSP Traffic Kulgam, Sohail Ahmad Wani from DSP SOG Anantnag to DSP CID CI Ganderbal and Tabassum Iqball from DSP SOG Pulwama to DSP SOG Manzgam Kulgam. Sakshi Sharma has been transferred from DSP SOG Samba to DSP 12 JKAP IR, Atif Zahoor from DSP SOG Sogam Lolab to SDPO DH Pora, Azhar Amin from DSP SOG Poonch to SDPO Mendhar and Sushant Sharma from DSP SOG Darhal Rajouri to DSP Traffic Banihal. Abhishek Kumar Kaith has been shifted from DSP SOG Pampore to SDPO Tral, Danish Javed Sheikh from DSP SOG Awantipora to SDPO Achabal and Rajat Chib from DSP SOG Hattipora Kulgam to DSP SOG Srinagar. Ravinder Kumar has been transferred from DSP SOG Ganderbal to DSP SOG Srinagar against an OAR post of DSP, while Chander Kant has been shifted from DSP SOG Imam Sahib Shopian to SDPO Zainpora. Vasu Aggarwal has been transferred from DSP SOG Bandipora to DSP CID SS II Headquarters, Aabid Hussain Lone from DSP SOG Pattan Baramulla to SDPO Kokernag, Nitish Sharma from DSP SOG Dachhan Kishtwar to DSP SOG Sogam Lolab and Shafqat Amin from DSP CTC Lethpora to DSP IO JKAP IR. Rafiq Ahmad Bhat has been shifted from DSP DAR Awantipora to DSP 3 JKAP Security, Munir Ahmad from DSP 14 JKAP IR to DSP Traffic Doda-Kishtwar, Karan Kumar from SDPO Border Kathua to DSP 16 JKAP IR and Sanjay Koul from DSP 22 JKAP IR to DSP CID CI Doda-Kishtwar. Mir Zahid has been transferred from DSP Arms/Ammunition Headquarters to DSP EOW Kashmir, while Chaman Gorka has been shifted from DSP 7 JKAP Security to DSP DAR Udhampur. The order further states that Sharat Chander Singh, at serial number 81, has been attached with CTC Sunjwan. One DSP post from the overall reserve has also been attached with Zonal Police Headquarters Jammu for drawal of salary in respect of Rajesh Kumar at serial number 102. It also directs that DSP Transport Headquarters shall, in addition to his own duties, look after the responsibilities of DSP Arms/Ammunition Headquarters. All officers have been directed to be relieved forthwith.

Heritage must stay alive, guide new generation: LG

Srinagar, Nov 12: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday said heritage must stay alive, it must converse, and it must guide the new generation, underlining that the responsibility of the present generation is not merely to admire the legacy of Jammu and Kashmir but to preserve, organise, document and make it more accessible to society. He was addressing a two-day National Seminar on Revival, Preservation and Sustainability of Cultural Heritage of Kashmir, organised by Kakini Building Humanity. The event was also graced by Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat through virtual mode. Congratulating the organisers, scholars, administrators, artists, ex-servicemen, military officers and citizens participating in the seminar, the Lieutenant Governor said heritage is a priceless inheritance received from generations of philosophers, saints, artisans, writers and thinkers who enriched humanity through their wisdom and creativity. He called for a collective commitment to safeguarding the civilisational legacy of Jammu and Kashmir for future generations. The Lieutenant Governor observed that Jammu and Kashmir is not known only for its natural beauty but also for its profound contributions to philosophy, spirituality, language, aesthetics and human thought. Referring to Acharya Abhinavagupta, he said the great philosopher embodied the unity of spiritual experience, art and intellectual inquiry, and that youth should be introduced to the remarkable thinkers who emerged from the Kashmir Valley. Every university, every teacher, and every cultural institution of this land should work on translating important texts, encourage research, and provide scholars and students with a common platform. I believe that heritage must be alive, it must converse, and it must guide our new generation, he said. Emphasising that culture forms the foundation of every society, the Lieutenant Governor noted that communities draw confidence and self-respect from a deeper understanding of their history and heritage. He underlined the importance of preserving ancient religious sites, manuscripts, museums and cultural institutions as instruments for strengthening identity and promoting mutual understanding. Highlighting the significant efforts undertaken for heritage conservation under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he noted that heritage revival projects are being implemented across the Union Territory through restoration of monuments, archival modernisation, archaeological research and cultural infrastructure development. Preservation work has been initiated on 106 heritage projects under the first two phases, with over 40 already completed. Under Phase III, 321 projects have been identified and 312 have received administrative approval. Digitisation of historical records is ongoing in the Jammu and Srinagar archives, with nearly 96.8 lakh pages digitised so far, representing about 68 per cent of available documents. Under Mission Gyan Bharatam, surveys have identified 43,000 manuscripts, with digitisation progressing steadily. The Lieutenant Governor also highlighted ongoing work related to the Sufiana School in Srinagar, the modernisation of Abhinav Theatre and Kala Kendra in Jammu, restoration of Mubarak Mandi and research into recently discovered Kushan-era Buddhist remains in Baramulla district. Speaking about the Naranag Heritage Complex in Ganderbal, he welcomed the research and documentation initiatives undertaken by Kakini Building Humanity and expressed hope that conservation and restoration activities would commence after completion of necessary procedural requirements. He also appreciated efforts connected with the Harmukh-Gangbal pilgrimage. I believe that Naranag has its own distinct historical and spiritual dignity, where faith, geography, and collective memories are deeply intertwined, he said, noting that Kakini Building Humanity had also established a chair at the Indian Heritage Institute. Reaffirming that Jammu and Kashmir has a long tradition of harmony and equal respect for all faiths, the Lieutenant Governor emphasised that the heritage of every community must be preserved with sensitivity. The vaakhs of Yogini Lalleshwari and Nund Rishi still reach people's hearts across centuries, because their words contain eternal truths that are untouched by the passage of time. Preserving this tradition of harmony is our collective public responsibility, he said. He said the Kashmiri Pandit contribution to Kashmir's literary, spiritual and cultural heritage is invaluable and their dignified return would help restore the Valley's complete social and cultural fabric. The Lieutenant Governor commended the Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums, scholars, archivists, museum professionals and all stakeholders associated with heritage conservation, and lauded former army officers and civil society organisations for their continued contribution to cultural preservation and nation-building. Padma Vibhushan Dr Padma Subrahmanyam, Kuldeep Krishan Sidha, Adv Raja Ashraf Ali Khan, Swamini Vishwa Nireeshwari Lakshmi Priya Mata, Ramesh Hangloo, Ar Balaji Dhar and Ar Shravanthi were felicitated for their contribution in the field of culture and heritage. Maj Gen R.K. Raina (Retd), Chairman, Kakini Building Humanity; Cdr Sanjay Kaul (Retd); Dr Aanchal Khurana, Vice President, Kakini Building Humanity; Ramesh Kumar, Secretary, Culture Department; Anshul Garg, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; Rajiv Omprakashn, DIG CKR; Dr GV Sundeep Chakravarthy, SSP Srinagar; Akshay Labroo, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, senior officials and prominent citizens from different walks of life were present.

Slippery Roads Demand Responsible Driving

As winter tightens its grip over Kashmir, roads across the Valley are once again turning into dangerous stretches of ice, slush and uncertainty. A thin layer of frost may appear harmless, but for drivers and pedestrians it can transform an ordinary journey into a life-threatening ordeal. Every year, accidents on slippery roads remind us that road safety is not a seasonal slogan but a shared responsibility demanding action from both citizens and authorities. Driving on icy or wet roads requires patience, discipline and an understanding of changing road conditions. Speeding, rash overtaking, sudden braking and careless lane changes become especially dangerous when tyres lose their grip. Yet many motorists continue to drive as though the road beneath them remains dry and predictable. Such behaviour is not merely irresponsible; it places passengers, pedestrians and other road users at unnecessary risk. Responsible driving begins with accepting that winter roads demand a different approach. Drivers must reduce speed, maintain a safe distance and avoid abrupt manoeuvres. Vehicles should be checked before travel, particularly their tyres, brakes, lights and windscreen wipers. Public transport operators and commercial drivers have an even greater duty because their negligence can put dozens of lives in danger at once. However, road safety cannot be reduced to individual behaviour. The administration also has a vital responsibility. Roads vulnerable to black ice and waterlogging must be identified and monitored. Warning signs should be installed at accident-prone locations, while timely removal of snow and drainage of accumulated water can prevent many hazards. In hilly and rural areas, the absence of lighting, reflectors and crash barriers makes winter travel even more perilous. The Traffic Police must ensure that enforcement does not remain limited to occasional drives after accidents. Speeding, dangerous overtaking, driving without proper tyres and using mobile phones behind the wheel must invite consistent action. At the same time, enforcement should be accompanied by public awareness campaigns in schools, colleges, markets and transport hubs so that safe driving becomes a social habit rather than a reaction to tragedy. Pedestrians, too, face heightened risks during winter. Poorly lit roads, slippery footpaths and vehicles speeding through waterlogged stretches make even short walks hazardous. Authorities must clear pedestrian pathways and ensure that road maintenance does not ignore those who travel without vehicles. The loss of life on slippery roads is often described as an accident, but many such tragedies are preventable. Weather may create the risk; negligence converts it into disaster. Kashmir needs a culture in which reaching late is considered acceptable, but driving recklessly is not. Safe roads require responsible motorists, alert pedestrians and accountable institutions. Winter will test the Valleys roads again. The real question is whether society will respond with greater caution and better governance.