Suspect detained in Saif Ali Khan stabbing case, actor recovering well
Khan, 54, is recovering well at Lilavati Hospital after undergoing emergency surgery for stab wounds to his spine, neck, and hands. (Photo: Getty Images)
MUMBAI POLICE have detained a suspect for questioning in connection with the stabbing of Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan.
Local media, including India Today, aired footage of a man in a white T-shirt being escorted into a police station, identifying him as the suspect.
However, senior investigating officer Dikshit Gedam stated there were no significant updates. "There's no update from yesterday regarding what we said," Gedam told Reuters.
Meanwhile, Khan, 54, is recovering well at Lilavati Hospital after undergoing emergency surgery for stab wounds to his spine, neck, and hands.
Doctors expect him to be discharged in two to three days.
"We are observing his progress and he is doing excellently well," said Dr Nitin Dange, the neurosurgeon who led the surgery. Khan has been moved from the ICU to a special room and is on a regular diet.
Dr Dange detailed that Khan sustained three injuries—two on his hand and one on the right side of his neck—with the most serious wound near his thoracic spine.
"A sharp object was lodged deep, touching the dura and the spinal cord, but it has not damaged the spinal cord," he explained. Doctors successfully removed the object and repaired the spinal injury.
Khan's wife, Kareena Kapoor Khan, requested media not to speculate about the incident. "It has been an incredibly challenging day ... and we are still trying to process the events," she posted on Instagram.
Police believe the intruder entered the Bandra apartment intending to rob the family.
According to the police, the attacker demanded Rs 10 million (£94,511). A nanny, Eliyama Philip, first encountered the armed man around 2 am when he approached the actor's sleeping son.
The investigation is ongoing as police continue questioning the suspect.
The 39-year-old Indian Air Force officer and test pilot completed his first space mission as part of Axiom-4, a commercial flight supported by ISRO and NASA and operated by Axiom Space.
INDIA’s Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla returned to Earth on Tuesday aboard the Dragon spacecraft, after spending 18 days on the International Space Station (ISS). Along with scientific data and seed samples, the mission marked a key moment in India’s space journey.
The 39-year-old Indian Air Force officer and test pilot completed his first space mission as part of Axiom-4, a commercial flight supported by ISRO and NASA and operated by Axiom Space.
Shukla is the first Indian to board the ISS and the second Indian in space after Rakesh Sharma’s flight in 1984.
Early years and Air Force career
Born on 10 October 1985, a year after Sharma’s flight, Shukla grew up in Lucknow in a middle-class family. His sister Suchi Shukla recalled that a childhood visit to an air show sparked his interest. “As a child, he had once been to an air show and was fascinated by the speed and sound of the aircraft. That's when he first spoke about flying,” she said. “But of course, there was no telling at the time how quickly he would embrace his dream.”
He studied at City Montessori School (CMS) in Lucknow. His journey to the Indian Air Force began unexpectedly when a classmate applying to the National Defence Academy realised he was overage and passed on the application form to Shukla.
Commissioned into the Air Force in 2006, Shukla became a test pilot with over 2,000 hours of flying experience on aircraft such as the Su-30 MKI, MiG-29, Jaguar, and Dornier-228. He later completed an MTech in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
Welcome back to Earth, #Ax4! Today the Dragon spacecraft successfully splashed down marking the end of their successful mission to the International Space Station. pic.twitter.com/eeAyPCmWgG — Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) July 15, 2025
Selected for Gaganyaan, joins Axiom-4
In 2023, Shukla was named one of four astronauts selected for India’s Gaganyaan programme, along with Prasanth Balkrishnan Nair, Angad Pratap, and Ajit Krishnan. The team trained at Russia’s Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre and at ISRO’s facility in Bengaluru.
Before Gaganyaan’s scheduled 2027 launch, Shukla was selected for the Ax-4 mission, making him the first Indian on a human spaceflight mission in 41 years.
Launch and life aboard ISS
Shukla launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center on 25 June. After entering orbit ten minutes later, he said in Hindi, “Kamaal ki ride thi” (“It was a great ride”) and added, “I have the Indian tricolour embossed on my shoulders that tells me I am with all of you.”
Known as “Shux” among his colleagues, he carried Indian food such as gajar ka halwa and moong dal ka halwa for his international crewmates. His choice of launch-day song was "Yun Hi Chala Chal" from the film Swades.
Shukla served as pilot on Axiom-4 alongside commander Peggy Whitson and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary). The team conducted science experiments and also participated in outreach activities.
Seven Indian microgravity experiments
Shukla conducted seven India-led microgravity experiments in life sciences, agriculture, biotechnology, and cognitive research. “I am so proud that ISRO has been able to collaborate with national institutions all over the country and come up with some fantastic research, which I am doing here on the station,” he told Axiom’s chief scientist Lucie Low.
A key experiment involved planting moong and methi seeds in petri dishes, led by Ravikumar Hosamani (University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad) and Sudheer Siddapureddy (IIT Dharwad). Shukla monitored their growth and preserved the samples for return to Earth.
Another study focused on cyanobacteria and microalgae, being tested for their ability to generate food, oxygen, and biofuels in space. These may help future deep space missions.
Shukla also took part in stem cell research, examining whether supplements can help with injury repair in space. “It's been great to work in the Glove Box doing this research. I feel proud to be a bridge between scientists on Earth and the station,” he said.
He also performed a water demonstration in zero gravity. Creating a floating water bubble, he joked, “I've become a water bender here on the station,” as his commander showed how surface tension can bend light.
Farewell ceremony and return
On 13 July, Shukla and his Ax-4 crewmates joined the Expedition 73 astronauts for a farewell event. He thanked the ISS crew and ISRO for supporting India’s research and outreach efforts.
Shukla connected with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian students using amateur radio during the mission. “It's not just my journey, it's India's,” he said.
At a launch watch party, CMS Lucknow student Geeta Gandhi Kingdon said, “From a curious young learner in our classrooms to a pioneering astronaut, Shux's story beautifully encapsulates our mission of 'Education for World Unity and Peace'.”
The Dragon ‘Grace’ spacecraft carrying Shukla splashed down near the California coast on Tuesday.
With Gaganyaan approaching and more space research opportunities ahead, Shukla’s experience is expected to contribute to India’s future human spaceflight plans.
As he said from the station: “I want each one of you to be part of this journey. Let us embark on India's human space programme together.”
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Food and non-alcoholic drink prices were up 4.5 per cent compared to a year earlier, the largest annual rise since February 2024. (Representational image: Getty)
BRITAIN's annual consumer price inflation rose unexpectedly to 3.6 per cent in June, the highest level since January 2024, according to official figures released on Wednesday. The increase slightly lowered expectations of further interest rate cuts by the Bank of England.
Economists in a Reuters poll had expected the inflation rate to remain steady at May's reading of 3.4 per cent. Instead, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a continued rise, marking the highest inflation rate in over a year.
Inflation has been rising steadily since reaching a three-year low of 1.7 per cent in September last year. In May, the Bank of England forecast that inflation would peak at 3.7 per cent in September, nearly twice its 2 per cent target.
Among major advanced economies, Britain’s inflation rate remains the highest, standing about one percentage point above that of the United States and the euro zone.
Following the release of the data, sterling edged up slightly against the dollar, five-year gilt yields reached a one-month high, and financial markets adjusted to price in slightly lower chances of a BoE rate cut in August and another later in the year.
Deutsche Bank Chief UK Economist Sanjay Raja said he still expected a rate cut in August but saw more uncertainty around the pace of cuts beyond that.
"There's enough of a slowdown in GDP and the labour market to warrant a 'gradual and careful' easing of monetary policy. But the onus now rests on the labour market to shape how far and how fast the MPC can cut this year and next," he said in a note.
GDP data released last week showed an unexpected fall in output in May. Official figures due on Thursday are expected to show only a moderate easing in wage growth, which remains just over 5 per cent.
Higher prices for fuel, food and transport
The ONS said the biggest contributors to the rise in inflation between May and June were higher costs for motor fuel, air fares, and train tickets. It also reported price increases in food, clothing, red wine, and lager.
Food and non-alcoholic drink prices were up 4.5 per cent compared to a year earlier, the largest annual rise since February 2024.
Finance minister Rachel Reeves said the government was supporting living standards for working-class households through policies such as a higher minimum wage, a cap on bus fares, and free breakfasts for younger school-age children.
A sharp increase in inflation had already occurred in April, when the rate jumped from 2.6 per cent to 3.5 per cent. This was driven by increases in regulated energy and water tariffs, a spike in air fares, and higher costs for labour-intensive services following rises in employment taxes and the minimum wage.
Despite the recent rise in inflation, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has said interest rates are still likely to follow a gradual downward path. He pointed to a weaker labour market, which could reduce wage growth, and continued slow economic growth.
In May, the BoE forecast that inflation would return to its 2 per cent target in the first quarter of 2027.
The Bank has reduced interest rates by four quarter-point steps since August. A Reuters poll of economists last month projected two more quarter-point cuts in 2024, including one likely in August.
However, some BoE policymakers have expressed concern that skills shortages in the labour market and other supply-side issues could keep wage growth too high to bring inflation down to target levels soon.
"The risk is that this increase proves more persistent and rates are cut more slowly than we expect, or not as far," said Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics.
Services price inflation, a measure closely watched by the BoE to gauge domestic price pressures, held steady at 4.7 per cent in June. Economists had expected it to fall to 4.6 per cent.
Matt Swannell, chief economic adviser to EY ITEM Club, said inflationary pressure from energy prices may ease after September, but other factors remain.
"The fall in inflation is likely to be gradual, reflecting ongoing stickiness in the services category," he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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The announcement comes as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, prepares for nationwide protests on August 5, marking two years since his arrest.
PAKISTAN has announced the creation of a new national paramilitary force, raising concerns among opposition parties and human rights groups about its possible use for political repression.
The new force will be called the Federal Constabulary and will be formed by restructuring an existing paramilitary unit currently operating along the northwestern border with Afghanistan, state minister for the Interior Talal Chaudhry said at a press conference in Faisalabad on Monday.
According to a copy of the amended law cited by Dunya News TV, the Federal Constabulary will be tasked with internal security, riot control and counter-terrorism duties.
The announcement comes as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, prepares for nationwide protests on August 5, marking two years since his arrest.
Past protests since Khan’s arrest in August 2023 have at times turned violent and disrupted life in Islamabad for days.
"This will be a new force. This will be a stronger force. We need this force for internal security," Chaudhry said. He added that President Asif Ali Zardari had already approved amendments to the law to implement changes in the paramilitary structure.
Chaudhry said the Federal Constabulary will replace the Frontier Constabulary (FC), which previously recruited only from tribal areas in the northwestern province. He said training of the new force will align it with other national law enforcement agencies.
PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari said the new force should be discussed in parliament.
The force "should not be used as a gimmick to silence political opponents, as has been previously witnessed when the government applied such laws against a large number of the PTI leadership and supporters," Bukhari said.
Haris Khalique, secretary of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, also expressed concern.
"We are alarmed by the changes being made to the security and law enforcement structure of the country without any debate in parliament," Khalique said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Hussain has been living in London since 1992 and holds British citizenship. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain has been hospitalised in London after falling seriously ill, according to a party official.
Hussain, 71, was admitted to a hospital on Thursday due to a severe illness, where doctors carried out various tests, Mustafa Azizabadi, Convener of MQM’s Central Coordination Committee, said on social media.
"The founder and leader of MQM, Altaf Hussain, has been admitted to a hospital in London due to severe illness, where various tests have been conducted on him,” Azizabadi said.
“Doctors have conducted various tests and are focusing their attention on his treatment,” he added in a video message, as quoted by Dawn.
Hussain has been living in London since 1992 and holds British citizenship, the report said.
He often delivers political speeches to his supporters in Karachi through social media platforms.
Hussain founded the party in 1984 under the name Muhajir Qaumi Movement to represent the Urdu-speaking community that migrated from India to Pakistan during the 1947 partition.
Born on September 17, 1953 in Karachi, he started his political career in 1978 by founding the All-Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO).
In the 1988 general elections, MQM won a majority in Sindh’s urban areas and became the third-largest party in the country, Dawn reported.
Hussain has remained in self-imposed exile since the early 1990s after the government launched an operation in Karachi at the time.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Social media emerged as a significant threat to community cohesion, the British Future report said. (Photo: Getty Images)
COMMUNITIES remain at risk of fresh unrest unless urgent action is taken to address deep-seated social tensions, a new report, published one year after last summer's riots, has cautioned.
Titled 'The State of Us' by British Future thinktank and the Belong Network, the report published on Tuesday (15) said successive governments have failed to take action and warned that a "powder keg" of unresolved grievances could easily ignite again without immediate intervention.
Immigration and asylum remain contentious issues, as per the report.
Three in ten respondents selected "divisions between people who have migrated to the UK, arrived as refugees or sought asylum, and people born in the UK" as the top issue affecting how people from different backgrounds get on locally.
There are widespread worries about the cost-of-living, declining public services, and inequality - leading to frustration about the potential for political change, the survey found.
In a foreword to the report, Sir Sajid and Cruddas wrote: “The bonds that hold society together – civic participation and a shared sense of belonging – are under growing pressure. This is leaving our society more fragmented, fragile and less resilient to internal and external threats. At the same time, forces driving division are intensifying, political polarisation is deepening and trust in institutions is declining.”
“Only through coordinated leadership and collaboration across sectors can we build resilience and connection on a national scale – but it will take boldness, bravery, and a willingness to step outside our comfort zones.”
Led by senior researcher Jake Puddle and co-authored by Jill Rutter and Heather Rolfe, the latest study gathered evidence from 177 UK organisations working on social cohesion through regional roundtables and 113 written submissions. They also conducted a nationally representative survey by Focaldata and held eight focus groups in towns and cities across the UK, including areas that experienced riots.
“Social media emerged as a significant threat to community cohesion. People's engagement with society is increasingly shaped through online platforms, creating an environment where misinformation can direct grievances toward minority groups. Online hate and clickbait headlines perpetuate anxiety through a sense of ‘permanent crisis’,” it noted.
“Trust in politicians has reached very low levels, with the public viewing them as self-interested and disconnected from their concerns. Across the UK, people report feeling less aligned to mainstream political parties and sceptical about their ability to deliver change.”
According to the study, three in ten adults - around 15 million people - said they rarely or never have opportunities to meet people from different backgrounds. A similar number say they don't frequently get a chance to meet other people at all in their local community.
Meanwhile, at neighbourhood level, 69 per cent of people feel their local area is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together. It highlighted many examples of successful community work across the UK, often led by local authorities and civil society organisations.
Kelly Fowler, chief executive of the Belong Network, said: "Good work is happening across the UK on cohesion and community strength, but it is patchy and often confined to areas of high diversity or where tensions have spilled over into unrest. A lack of sustained funding limits its impact. It's time this issue was treated with the urgency it merits, in every part of Britain. We must not wait for more riots to happen."
The report said while strong foundations exist at neighbourhood level, coordinated leadership and collaboration across all sectors will be essential to build resilience and connection on a national scale.