Sikh leader from Pakistan’s Khyber district elected to KPK assembly
The reserved seat was awarded to JUI-F after the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) formally withdrew its candidate, Gorsaran Lal, in favour of Singh. This gave JUI-F an additional seat in the provincial assembly.
Singh, the JUI-F nominee, hails from the Malik Deen Khel tribe in Bara, Khyber district.
A SIKH religious leader, Gurpal Singh, has been elected unopposed to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assembly on a seat reserved for minorities and allocated to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), the provincial election commission announced on Thursday.
Singh, the JUI-F nominee, hails from the Malik Deen Khel tribe in Bara, Khyber district.
The reserved seat was awarded to JUI-F after the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) formally withdrew its candidate, Gorsaran Lal, in favour of Singh. This gave JUI-F an additional seat in the provincial assembly.
Shahida Waheed of the Awami National Party was elected to a reserved seat for women through a draw. The draw was conducted on the Election Commission of Pakistan’s directive to allocate one reserved minority seat between PML-N and JUI-F, and one reserved women's seat between ANP and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmakers.
Following the draw, Shahida was declared successful.
The Election Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday had announced its decision regarding the allocation of reserved seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. These seats for women and minorities are distributed proportionally among political parties based on their numerical strength in the assembly.
Former prime minister Imran Khan’s party had formed the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa following last year’s elections.
INDIA on Thursday successfully test-fired nuclear-capable short-range ballistic missiles Prithvi-II and Agni-I from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, off the Odisha coast.
The launches were carried out by the Strategic Forces Command and demonstrated India's strategic deterrence capability, the defence ministry said.
"The short-range ballistic missiles -- Prithvi-II and Agni-I -- were successfully test-fired from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, Odisha on July 17," the ministry said. "These tests were conducted under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command." The launches validated all operational and technical parameters, it added.
On Wednesday, India had successfully test-fired the Akash Prime missile in Ladakh. The missile, developed indigenously, has been customised to operate at an altitude above 4,500 metres.
The Prithvi-II missile has a range of around 350 kms and can carry a payload of up to 500 kgs. It is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads. The Agni-I missile has a range of 700–900 kms and can carry a payload of 1,000 kgs. Both missiles have been key components of India's nuclear deterrence.
The defence ministry said the test of the Akash Prime missile followed the "exceptional performance" of India’s indigenously developed air defence systems during Operation Sindoor. Akash Prime is an upgraded version of the Akash weapon system developed for the Indian Army.
The test in Ladakh, near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), involved successfully destroying two high-speed unmanned aerial targets at high altitude.
"India on July 16 achieved a significant milestone by successfully destroying two aerial high speed unmanned targets at high-altitude in Ladakh by Akash Prime, the upgraded variant of Akash weapon system for the Indian Army," the ministry said in a separate statement.
The ministry said Akash Prime is customised to operate at altitudes above 4,500 metres and includes upgrades such as an indigenously developed radio frequency seeker.
"Based on the operational feedbacks from users, various upgrades are made to improve the operational effectiveness, demonstrating the advantage of the ecosystem created for the indigenous weapon system," it said.
India's defence minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the Indian Army, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and the industry on the achievement, the ministry said.
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US secretary of state Marco Rubio said TRF is a 'front and proxy' of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a UN-designated terrorist group based in Pakistan. (Photo: Getty Images)
THE UNITED STATES on Thursday designated The Resistance Front (TRF), the group blamed for the April attack in Kashmir, as a terrorist organisation. The attack had triggered the worst conflict between India and Pakistan in decades.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said TRF is a "front and proxy" of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a UN-designated terrorist group based in Pakistan.
The designation "demonstrates the Trump administration's commitment to protecting our national security interests, countering terrorism, and enforcing President (Donald) Trump's call for justice for the Pahalgam attack," Rubio said in a statement.
In April, gunmen shot dead 26 people, most of them Hindus, in Pahalgam, a tourist area in the Indian-administered region of Kashmir.
Survivors told reporters that the gunmen had separated women and children and ordered some of the men to recite the Muslim declaration of faith.
India's foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Friday that the US decision was a "strong affirmation of India-US counter-terrorism cooperation", writing on X (formerly Twitter).
A strong affirmation of India-US counter-terrorism cooperation.
Appreciate @SecRubio and @StateDept for designating TRF—a Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) proxy—as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). It claimed responsibility for the… — Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) July 18, 2025
Little was previously known about TRF, which initially claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam killings.
As criticism grew over the attack, the group later retracted its claim.
India has listed TRF as a terrorist group, and the India-based Observer Research Foundation think tank has described it as "a smokescreen and an offshoot of LeT".
New Delhi has accused Pakistan of being involved in the attack, a claim denied by Islamabad.
The violence in Pahalgam led to four days of fighting between India and Pakistan, leaving more than 70 people dead on both sides. It was the worst military standoff between the two countries since 1999.
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The gravesite is one of dozens unearthed across the country. (Photo: X)
THE skeletal remains of a girl aged between four and five have been identified among 65 sets of human remains exhumed from a mass grave in Sri Lanka’s Jaffna district. The site first came into focus during the LTTE conflict in the mid-1990s.
“The findings of the excavation at the Chemmani mass grave were reported to the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court on on Tuesday (15) by Raj Somadeva, a forensic archaeologist overseeing the exhumation,” Jeganathan Tathparan, a lawyer, said on Thursday (17).
Earlier this year, the court ordered a legally supervised excavation at the site after human skeletal remains were uncovered during routine development work.
Tathparan said the child’s remains were found alongside school bags and toys. Somadeva informed the court that the remains were those of a girl aged between four and five, he added.
Two additional skeletons are also suspected to be those of children, based on similarities in clothing and anatomical features, the lawyer said.
The Chemmani site first attracted international attention in 1998, when a Sri Lankan soldier testified to the existence of mass graves containing hundreds of civilians allegedly killed during the conflict between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government in the mid-1990s.
An initial excavation in 1999 uncovered 15 skeletons, but no further action was taken until the recent findings.
The gravesite is one of dozens unearthed across the country. Thousands of people died or disappeared during the 26-year civil war, which ended in 2009.
The main Tamil political party, Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), in a letter to president Anura Kumara Dissanayake, described the Chemmani mass grave as clear evidence of war crimes and “a genocidal campaign against Tamils”.
The excavation work, which was halted last Thursday (10), is scheduled to resume on July 21.
Amnesty International estimates that between 60,000 and 100,000 people have disappeared in Sri Lanka since the late 1980s.
The Tamil community in Sri Lanka claims that nearly 170,000 people were killed in the final stages of the civil war, while United Nations estimates put the figure at around 40,000.
The LTTE was seeking a separate homeland for Tamils.
(PTI)
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The incident occurred when hundreds of thousands gathered to celebrate with the RCB team after their IPL final win against Punjab Kings. (Photo: Getty Images)
A STATUS report submitted to the Karnataka High Court on the stampede at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium, which left 11 people dead, has blamed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), their event management partner DNA Networks Pvt Ltd, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) for organising the June 4 victory parade and celebration without permission or providing mandatory details to city authorities.
Government sources confirmed to PTI that the report has been submitted to the court.
Event intimation, not permission: report
According to the report, the KSCA, on behalf of DNA Networks Pvt Ltd, submitted a letter to Cubbon Park police station at around 6.30 pm on the day of the IPL final between RCB and Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad.
The letter stated, “Should RCB emerge victorious in the tournament, the management of RCB/DNA Entertainment Networks Private Limited intends to plan potential victory parades around the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, culminating in victory celebrations at the stadium. This was in the nature of an intimation, not a requisition for permission as required under the law.”
Police denied permission due to missing information on expected crowd size, logistics, and crowd control plans. The short notice also made it difficult to process the proposal.
Victory parade held despite denial
Despite the denial, RCB went ahead on June 4 and announced the public ‘Victory Parade’ via multiple posts on social media, starting at 7.01 am.
The final post at 3.14 pm announced the parade would begin at 5.00 pm and end with celebrations at the stadium. This was the first post to mention the availability of free passes online, but by then large crowds had already gathered.
The first four posts received significant attention with viewership figures of 16 lakh, 4.26 lakh, 7.6 lakh, and 17 lakh.
BMRCL ridership that day was 9.66 lakh, compared to an average of six lakh, supporting estimates of a much larger gathering.
“Therefore, including those who travelled on foot, used public transport, and private means on June 4, the estimated gathering would be well beyond three lakh individuals,” the report stated.
Permission not formally sought
The report noted that the organisers did not apply for permission in the format mandated by the Licensing and Controlling of Assemblies and Processions (Bangalore City) Order, 2009.
It stated that an intimation cannot be considered as permission, especially for a large public gathering in the city centre.
Key details such as the number of expected participants, the exact location and time of the assembly, names and contacts of organisers, and plans for traffic and crowd management were not submitted.
The report said this lack of information made it impossible for police to assess the scale or prepare safety arrangements.
No trained staff, loudspeakers or bandobast requested
The report said there was no signage or loudspeakers for public instructions, no trained staff to manage crowds at entry gates or inside the stadium, and no request for loudspeaker use or police bandobast.
It also noted that the organisers did not pay for police deployment as required by a Government Order dated May 22, 2019.
Police responded on ground despite lack of coordination
Despite the lack of coordination or official approvals, Bengaluru City Police took several steps to manage the situation on June 4.
A planning meeting was held at 10 am at the office of the Joint Commissioner of Police. A total of 654 traffic police personnel were deployed, including 4 DCPs, 6 ACPs, 23 PIs, 57 PSIs, 104 ASIs, and 462 constables.
The RCB team’s route from HAL to Taj West End, Vidhana Soudha and then Chinnaswamy Stadium was regulated to avoid major disruption.
Traffic advisories and maps were shared via press, social media, and FM radio. Nine traffic diversion points were created and 125 barricades were installed, along with 11 additional barricading zones. Local schools were asked to close by noon.
BMTC’s Sarathi teams were deployed and the E-Path app was activated to help manage ambulances. A control room was set up to monitor traffic during the event.
Police personnel were stationed across eight major zones to control the public movement.
Organisers held responsible for violations
The report concluded that RCB, DNA Networks, and KSCA violated required procedures and failed to follow safety protocols.
Their failure to obtain permission and share event details in advance left the city administration to respond reactively to an event that gained traction through social media posts.
Govt action against police officials
The report said, “Recognising the need for accountability within the law enforcement hierarchy, the government took action against police officials on June 5, 2025.”
A Government Order suspended five officers, including three IPS officers: the Commissioner of Police, the Inspector General and Additional Commissioner of Police, and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, along with the Assistant Commissioner of Police for Cubbon Park and the Police Inspector of Cubbon Park.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Nina Kutina says she chose cave life to keep her daughters close to nature and away from what she calls dangerous human influence
Russian national Nina Kutina and her two daughters were found in a forest cave in Karnataka on 9 July.
Police discovered them during a routine patrol near Ramteertha Hills, a tourist zone known for landslides and snakes.
Kutina says they were happy in nature, but had no valid documents and are now in a Bengaluru detention centre.
Authorities are working with the Russian embassy and the children’s Israeli father to arrange deportation.
Indian police are investigating the unusual case of a Russian woman, Nina Kutina, who was found living in a forest cave in southern Karnataka with her two young daughters. The trio was discovered on 9 July during a patrol in the Ramteertha Hills near Gokarna, a tourist zone bordering Goa. The area is prone to landslides and home to snakes and other wildlife.
Kutina, 40, who does not possess a valid visa, claimed that she had been living in the cave for about a week. However, authorities now believe she overstayed her business visa, which expired in 2017, and had been living in India off the grid for several years. She and her daughters, aged six and five, have been transferred to a detention centre for foreigners near Bengaluru and face deportation.
Kutina says the forest offered her children health and happiness despite wildlife threatsScreengrab ANI
Karnataka police uncover cave family during patrol
Superintendent of Police M Narayana confirmed that officers conducting safety patrols spotted bright clothes hanging near a cave and decided to investigate. Inside, they found Kutina and her daughters living with minimal possessions like plastic mats, saris, groceries, and packets of instant noodles. Despite the poor living conditions and presence of wildlife, the woman appeared content and initially resisted leaving.
“She told us snakes and animals are our friends, humans are dangerous,” Narayana told reporters. Police say it took time to convince her the area was unsafe. She and her daughters were medically examined and found to be in good health.
Officials say the family had minimal belongings including mats and instant noodlesThe Hindu
Years of undocumented travel raise security concerns
Documents recovered from Kutina’s belongings include an expired passport and an old business visa valid from October 2016 to April 2017. She was caught overstaying once before, issued an exit permit, and briefly left for Nepal in 2018. She claims to have visited nearly 20 countries in the last 15 years, including Costa Rica, Bali, and Thailand, but it remains unclear when she returned to India.
Kutina told Indian news outlets that she returned in 2020 and had lived in a Goa cave previously. One of her daughters, she claimed, was even born in a Goa cave. “We really love India,” she said in an ANI interview, adding that grief over her eldest son’s death in a Goa road accident had delayed her visa renewal.
Bright saris hung outside the cave entrance led officers to the Russian woman and her daughtersHindustan Times
Father’s custody plea adds to legal complexity
Authorities have traced the children’s father, identified as Israeli businessman Dror Goldstein, who is currently in India. He claims Kutina left Goa with the children without informing him and says he filed a missing person report. Goldstein told NDTV that he wants joint custody and will oppose their repatriation to Russia.
Police say Kutina has been evasive about her and her children’s documents. She criticised the conditions at the detention centre, describing it as “like jail,” and insisted the forest lifestyle was safe and fulfilling. “They swam in waterfalls, made art, ate tasty food. We were happy,” she said.
Israeli businessman Dror Goldstein, the children’s father, claims he was unaware they had left Goa and now wants joint custodyScreengrab X
Spiritual journey or off-grid parenting?
Speculation that Kutina was on a spiritual mission emerged after a Hindu idol was found in the cave. However, she rejected this claim. “It’s not about spirituality. Nature gives us health,” she explained, defending her decision to live outside conventional society.
— (@)
Authorities are now coordinating with the Russian consulate in Chennai to finalise deportation procedures. Meanwhile, Kutina’s case has raised broader questions around border control, child safety, and the rights of foreigners living in India without documentation.