INDIA

Prominent deoband scholar Mufti Nazir Ahmad Qasmi suffered a heart attack earlier today and has been admitted to the ICU of a Srinagar hospital. According to hospital sources, his condition is critical and he remains under close medical supervision, with senior doctors monitoring his treatment. The news has prompted concern among his followers and well-wishers across the region. A statement issued by Mohammad Iddress on behalf of Mufti Qasmi has urged the public to pray for his speedy and complete recovery.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit Poonch on May 24 to meet families affected by recent cross-border shelling in the region. This will mark his second visit to Jammu Kashmir in a month. His earlier visit followed the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 people dead, including 25 tourists. According to party sources cited by Daily Excelsior, Gandhi will be accompanied by senior Congress leaders, including AICC general secretary and Jammu and Kashmir in-charge Dr. Naseer Hussain. JKPCC president Tariq Hameed Karra confirmed the visit, noting that Gandhi is expected to land in Jammu on Saturday morning and will fly to Poonch via helicopter. An advance team, led by AICC secretary Shahnawaz Choudhary and...

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a chargesheet against former Jammu Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik and five others in connection with alleged corruption in awarding a ₹2,200-crore civil works contract for the Kiru Hydropower Project. The chargesheet, filed after a three-year investigation, names Malik and former Chenab Valley Power Projects Private Limited (CVPPPL) officials—Navin Kumar Choudhary, M S Babu, M K Mittal, and Arun Kumar Mishra—as well as Patel Engineering Limited. The CBI alleges that in 2019, the project contract was awarded to Patel Engineering in violation of a board recommendation for a re-tender via reverse auction. Malik, whose premises were searched last year, had previously claimed he was offered a ₹300-crore bribe to approve project files...

The Supreme Court on Thursday sharply criticized the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for overstepping its bounds and violating federal principles in its investigation into alleged corruption in Tamil Nadu’s liquor licensing. The raids, which targeted state-run TASMAC outlets in March and again last week, were suspended by the court. “You may investigate individuals, but not entire corporations. The ED is crossing all limits,” said a visibly displeased Chief Justice BR Gavai, who led the bench. The court issued a notice to the ED and stayed further proceedings until after the summer recess. The Tamil Nadu government, run by the DMK, had approached the apex court to challenge a Madras High Court order from April 23 that had allowed ED action. The state contended that the ED’s raids on TAS...

On May 22, the Supreme Court resumed hearing a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf Amendment Act, 2022 is under judicial review. The case is being heard by a bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, along with Justice AG Masih. The petitions question various provisions of the amended Act, with concerns ranging from alleged encroachment on religious freedoms to broader constitutional implications regarding property rights, administrative overreach, and the federal structure. Petitioners argue that the amendments, including provisions allowing the Waqf Board to unilaterally declare properties as waqf without due process, are arbitrary and violate fundamental rights. The Union Government, on the other hand, defends the law as a necessary ste...

A social worker from Bengaluru has filed a police complaint accusing BJP MLA Munirathna and three others of gang rape, alleging the assault took place in June 2023. According to the FIR, the woman claims she was drugged, sexually assaulted, and physically humiliated by Munirathna and his alleged accomplices — identified as Vasantha, Channakeshawa, and Kamal. She further alleges that the MLA encouraged the assault and urinated on her, and that a syringe containing a toxic substance was injected into her shoulder by an unidentified man during the incident. The complaint also states that the assailants threatened to kill her son if she resisted, and that she faced prior harassment and false criminal charges under the influence of Munirathna at Peenya and RMC Yard police stations. The...

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday said the people of India are proud of the valour of the armed forces and that this sentiment has strengthened after Operation Sindoor. Within days, the enemy was brought to its knees, Sinha told Army and BSF soldiers stationed in the area during a visit to the Poonch Brigade headquarters. He distributed sweets among the troops and expressed his gratitude to them for destroying terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as part of Operation Sindoor. The LG was accompanied by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo. During the India-Pakistan military conflict, the Jammu region, including Poonch, witnessed heavy artillery shelling and drone attacks. As many as 27 people were killed and 70 injured between May 8 and 10. Addressing the troo...

Sunita, a 43-year-old woman from Nagpur, has gone missing from the Line of Control (LoC) near Kargil. Authorities suspect she may have crossed into Pakistan and is now possibly in the custody of the Gilgit police. Reports indicate she had been in contact with individuals from Pakistan prior to her disappearance. According to police, Sunita, a former nurse who had recently been working as a door-to-door garment vendor, was last seen on May 14 in Hunderman village. She was traveling with her 12-year-old son, whom she left behind in the village before vanishing. Ladakh Director General of Police (DGP) S. D. Singh Jamwal told The Indian Express that the missing woman had been in contact with Pakistani nationals prior to her disappearance. “Inquiries have revealed that she was in touch ...

Muslim writer, activist, and lawyer Banu Mushtaq has won the International Booker Prize 2025 for her Kannada short story collection Heart Lamp. This is the first Kannada book to receive the prestigious GBP 50,000 award. The collection, translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi, features 12 stories exploring the lives, resilience, and sisterhood of women in patriarchal southern Indian communities. The prize was awarded at a ceremony in London’s Tate Modern. Mushtaq called the win a victory for diversity and said literature offers a space to understand each other’s experiences. The judges praised the book for its fresh, vivid storytelling and innovative translation. She grew up in a Muslim neighborhood in southern Karnataka, studying the Quran in Urdu like most girls around her. At e...

An FIR has been registered at High Grounds Police Station in Bengaluru against BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya and Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami for allegedly disseminating false information about the Indian National Congress’s (INC) overseas office. The FIR cites the spreading of incorrect claims that the Istanbul Congress Centre in Turkey is the official office of the INC. The complaint highlights that this misinformation was shared with the intent to mislead the public, defame the Congress party, and incite unrest. The Istanbul Congress Centre is a convention center owned by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and is not connected to the INC. Although the Congress party announced plans to open an overseas office in Istanbul in 2019, no such office has been established...