INDIA

A Delhi court has formally accepted the CBI’s closure report in the disappearance case of JNU student Najeeb Ahmed, nearly nine years after he went missing. The decision has reignited public anger and concern, especially among student groups and rights activists, many of whom view the closure as an institutional failure. Najeeb’s mother, Fatima Nafees, has denounced the decision and vowed to continue her fight for justice. Najeeb Ahmed, a 27-year-old student from Badaun, Uttar Pradesh, was enrolled in the M.Sc. Biotechnology program at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. On the night of 14 October 2016, he reportedly had a violent altercation with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) inside the Mahi-Mandavi hostel. The next morning, he vanished. Be...

India has been ranked 115th out of 163 countries in the Global Peace Index 2025, a report published by the Institute for Economics and Peace. While this marks a slight improvement from its earlier positions, India continues to lag behind several of its neighbours, including Bangladesh which ranked 123rd. The peace index evaluates countries based on factors such as internal safety, conflict, and militarisation. Iceland retained its position as the most peaceful country, while India finds itself ahead of Pakistan, ranked 144th, and Afghanistan, which stands at 158th. In the 2025 Healthcare Index by Numbeo, India stood at 44th out of approximately 130 countries. Although this places India ahead of Pakistan, the overall state of public healthcare continues to face criticism due to und...

Five prominent petitioners in the Article 370 case have written an open letter to Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, urging him to constitute a bench to adjudicate the constitutional validity of Jammu Kashmir’s loss of statehood and to set a concrete deadline for its restoration. They also sought legal safeguards to prevent any future government from unilaterally revoking statehood of any Indian state. The signatories, former J&K interlocutor Radha Kumar, ex-Home Secretary G K Pillai, retired Major General Ashok K Mehta, retired Air Vice-Marshal Kapil Kak, and former Inter-State Council Secretary Amitabha Pande, expressed concern that the recent Pahalgam attack may be used as a pretext by the Union Government to indefinitely delay the promised restoration of statehood. Highlightin...

In a strong legal retaliation against what they termed as “irresponsible and slanderous reporting,” the family members of Qari Muhammad Iqbal, a government school teacher who died in cross-border shelling by Pakistani forces in Poonch on May 7, 2025, have served legal notices to Zee News and News18 India, demanding Rs 5 crore in compensation from each channel. The legal notice as per the news agency Kashmir News Trust served through Advocate S S Ahmed, accuses the two leading news broadcasters of falsely portraying Qari Iqbal as a dreaded terrorist associated with proscribed militant groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. The channels aired segments claiming that Iqbal was on the NIA’s most wanted list, was instrumental in the Pulwama attack, and was killed by Indian F...

A Navy headquarters clerk, Vishal Yadav from Haryana, has been arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan’s ISI. Rajasthan Police’s Intelligence Wing found Yadav had shared sensitive military information with a female Pakistani handler, "Priya Sharma", via social media. He reportedly received payments through crypto and bank transfers. Yadav, addicted to online gaming and in need of money, leaked information even during Operation Sindoor. He is being interrogated by multiple agencies in Jaipur, as officials investigate the extent of the breach and possible accomplices. Security agencies have urged the public to stay vigilant online.

A man allegedly raped a French tourist in Udaipur after luring her from a party to his apartment, the police said on Tuesday. The accused is currently absconding, and efforts are underway to trace him, the police added. The incident occurred on Monday in the Badgaon Police Station area. According to the police, the woman, who arrived in Udaipur from Delhi on June 22, was staying at a hotel in the Ambamata area. Udaipur SP Yogesh Goyal stated that the woman's medical exam was conducted, and a case was registered based on her statement. He added that a detailed investigation is underway to ascertain how the woman came in contact with the accused. The woman allegedly attended a party at The Greek Farm Cafe and Restro located at Tiger Hill, where she met the accused, identified ...

An Air India Express flight from Delhi, scheduled to land in Jammu en route to Srinagar, returned to the national capital on Monday afternoon without making a stop, officials said. Flight IX-2564 was expected to land in Jammu around noon before continuing its journey to Srinagar. However, it hovered over Jammu airport for some time before the pilot decided to head back to Delhi. Airport authorities confirmed that weather and runway conditions were clear at the time. "It appears the pilot was unable to identify the designated landing area," an official said, adding that there was no immediate technical or weather-related reason for the aborted landing. Further details regarding the decision are awaited from the airline.

Punjab Police have arrested an Indian Army soldier and his civilian associate for allegedly passing sensitive military information to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), according to media reports. The accused soldier, Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Dhariwal in Amritsar, was serving in the Army in Jammu. His associate, Sahil Masih, also from Dhariwal, was reportedly involved in the operation. The arrests were made during what Punjab Police described as an “intelligence-led operation,” as the two were allegedly attempting to hand over classified data. Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav, cited in multiple reports, said initial investigations revealed that Gurpreet Singh was in direct contact with ISI handlers and had shared sensitive military information through pen drives and discs. ...

The popular Instagram satire account The Savala Vada, followed by over 85,000 users for its biting political humour and mock-newspaper style memes, has been withheld in India following a legal request. The creators say the move is yet another sign of India’s shrinking space for dissent and humour. “Sup, we just got banned from the world’s largest democracy,” the account posted on X, alongside hashtags like #MotherOfDemocracy and #NotSatire. Run by a 22-year-old creator from Kerala and a small group of university students, The Savala Vada gained a cult following online for its irreverent takes on national politics, caste, communalism, and the media. The message now displayed on their Instagram page reads “Account withheld in India. This is because we complied with the legal request t...

The All India Medical Students Association (AIMSA) has confirmed the safe evacuation of more than 190 Kashmiri students from Iran amid ongoing regional tensions. The evacuation was carried out in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Indian Embassy in Tehran. Following the reopening of Iranian airspace on 20 June 2025, a significant breakthrough was achieved under Operation Sindhu. A chartered Mahan Air flight successfully transported 290 Indian nationals from Mashhad to New Delhi late Friday night. Among those on board were over 190 Kashmiri students who had been stranded due to the recent conflict. AIMSA J\&K Vice President, Dr Mohammad Momin Khan, personally received the students at Delhi Airport and supervised their onward travel. The group depar...