Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Some restrictions in Kashmir eased: India

INDIA has eased some restrictions on movement in Kashmir but phones and the internet remained cut off for a 12th day on Friday (16), a police official in Kashmir said.

With the federal government fearing protests and unrest, Kashmir has been under lockdown since August 4, a day before New Delhi stripped the region of its autonomy.


Tens of thousands of extra troops have been deployed -joining 500,000 already there turning parts of the main city of Srinagar into a fortress of roadblocks and barbed wire.

Restrictions in Jammu, the more peaceful Hindu-majority area, have already been lifted, and in the Kashmir Valley, the main hotbed of resistance to Indian rule, there has now been some easing too, senior police officer Munir Khan said.

But he said that Srinigar's Jama Masjid, the main mosque in the Muslim-majority region with space for thousands of worshippers, also remained shut for Friday prayers.

"You need to understand that restrictions and relaxations are area-wise. You can't generalise them," Khan added.

The Press Trust of India quoted an unnamed official as saying that authorities were considering allowing schools to open in the Valley next week.

"We are making arrangements that all government offices start functioning normally from Monday (19)," the official said.

"Even if the telephone services are to be restored, it will be done in a phased manner," the official added, however.

Despite the crackdown, last Friday (9) residents said some 8,000 people took to the streets and that the military used pellet-firing shotguns.

The Indian government confirmed the clashes only after several days had passed, blaming them on stone-throwing "miscreants" and saying its forces reacted with "restraint".

There was also a smaller demonstration on Monday (12) and there have been reports of others.

Kashmiri politicians alongside university professors, business leaders and activists are among the more than 500 people that have been taken into custody.

Security forces also detained a journalist identified as Irfan Malik from the newspaper Greater Kashmir on Wednesday (14) night, the Indian Express daily reported.

Officials in the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) said Thursday (15) that three soldiers died in Indian shelling across the Line of Control, the de facto border, and two others were killed in a separate incident.

The Pakistani military also said its return fire killed five Indian soldiers. But an Indian army spokesman told PTI late Thursday this was "fictitious".

In a rare step, the UN Security Council will discuss the situation behind closed doors later on Friday, diplomats said.

(AFP)

More For You

F-35B jet

The UK has agreed to move the aircraft to the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the airport.

Indian Air Force

F-35B jet still stranded in Kerala, UK sends engineers for repair

UK AVIATION engineers are arriving in Thiruvananthapuram to carry out repairs on an F-35B Lightning jet belonging to the Royal Navy, which has remained grounded after an emergency landing 12 days ago.

The jet is part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group of the UK's Royal Navy. It made the emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport on June 14. The aircraft, valued at over USD 110 million, is among the most advanced fighter jets in the world.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ahmedabad air crash
Relatives carry the coffin of a victim, who was killed in the Air India Flight 171 crash, during a funeral ceremony in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Ahmedabad crash: Grief, denial and trauma haunt families

TWO weeks after the crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad, families of victims are grappling with grief and trauma. Psychiatrists are now working closely with many who continue to oscillate between denial and despair.

The crash occurred on June 12, when the London-bound flight hit the BJ Medical College complex shortly after takeoff, killing 241 people on board and 29 on the ground. Only one passenger survived.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer apologises for 'island of strangers' immigration speech

Prime minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at The British Chambers of Commerce Global Annual Conference in London on June 26, 2025. (Photo by EDDIE MULHOLLAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Starmer apologises for 'island of strangers' immigration speech

PRIME MINISTER Sir Keir Starmer has admitted he was wrong to warn that Britain could become an "island of strangers" due to high immigration, saying he "deeply" regrets the controversial phrase.

Speaking to The Observer, Sir Keir said he would not have used those words if he had known they would be seen as echoing the language of Enoch Powell's notorious 1968 "rivers of blood" speech.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

Sir Sajid Javid (Photo by Tom Nicholson-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

A cross-party group has been formed to tackle the deep divisions that sparked last summer's riots across England. The new commission will be led by former Tory minister Sir Sajid Javid and ex-Labour MP Jon Cruddas.

The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion has backing from both prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. It brings together 19 experts from different political parties and walks of life.

Keep ReadingShow less
​Masum

Masum was seen on CCTV trying to steer the pram away and, when she refused to go with him, stabbed her multiple times before walking away and boarding a bus. (Photo: West Yorkshire Police)

West Yorkshire Police

Habibur Masum convicted of murdering estranged wife in front of baby

A MAN who stabbed his estranged wife to death in Bradford in front of their baby has been convicted of murder.

Habibur Masum, 26, attacked 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter in broad daylight on April 6, 2024, stabbing her more than 25 times while she pushed their seven-month-old son in a pram. The baby was not harmed.

Keep ReadingShow less