Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by their ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence, pose after signing a joint defence agreement in Mecca.
NEW DELHI: India continues to examine the implications of the Saudi-Pakistan-Turkiye security pact for its own security as well as regional peace and stability, said ministry of external affairs. The ministry also stressed that India remains fully committed to safeguarding its national interests and will take all necessary measures in this regard.The Mecca joint defence agreement may be designed to address West Asia dynamics but it has also led to concerns in India about possible long-term diplomatic and security challenges that it might pose for the country vis-a-vis its relations with Pakistan.The primary concern for now of course is what the pact might mean for its policy of zero tolerance against cross-border terrorism and of setting a strategic deterrence against Pakistan’s support for the same, amid the likelihood of an augmentation of Pakistani military capabilities through the agreement.“As far as this agreement is concerned, we are examining its implications both from the perspective of India’s national security and considerations of regional peace and stability,”said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. TNN
Since the monsoon session began, nine of 11 bills were passed in the lower House without a discussion
NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Tuesday passed two more bills — one on renaming Kerala as Keralam and the other that seeks to broaden the mandate of National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) to give loans and grants directly to cooperative societies — without discussion as opposition members continued with their protests and sloganeering demanding the presence of home minister Amit Shah in the House.Carrying placards to the well of the House, Samajwadi Party members raised slogans against Shah and the embezzlement of Ram temple donations.Since the monsoon session began, nine of 11 bills were passed in the lower House without a discussion. The House could not even complete question hour in the session which is scheduled to conclude Thursday.
Moving the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, for passing, MoS for home affairs Nityanand Rai took a swipe at the main opposition party which governs Kerala, saying it seemed Congress MPs were not in favour of the renaming. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju also took a dig at Congress, saying he was saddened that party MP K C Venugopal, who is elected from Kerala, could not speak on the bill.The National Cooperative Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill was moved by MoS for cooperation Murlidhar Mohol. Both bills were listed in the name of Shah. In his absence, the bills were moved by junior ministers. The bills are now expected to go to RS for consideration Wednesday.When proceedings of the House began, Speaker Om Birla expressed anguish over repeated disruptions and appealed to govt and opposition to arrive at a common ground. As the stalemate continued, he adjourned the proceedings. TNN
Phuket flight incident pushes DGCA to seekways to make dope rules more stringent
NEW DELHI: Trouble mounted for the pilot-in-command (PIC) of last Tuesday’s badly rattled Phuket-Delhi Air India flight after it emerged that he had failed the confirmatory dope test and was found to have consumed marijuana. Besides, the cabin crew of the flight, AI 2379, has filed a complaint with the airline against the “high” PIC’s onboard behaviour.The pilot also faces criminal action beyond DGCA rules — which require such a pilot to be sent for de-addiction and allow him to resume flying after being certified drug-free.The young co-pilot had to single-handedly steady the aircraft and then land it safely at the destination.An alarmed civil aviation ministry summoned AI’s outgoing CEO Campbell Wilson to express concern about this incident and find out how the airline was dealing with the issue and review its plan to come out of its prolonged period of operational turbulence.Airbus A320 had momentarily gone into ‘negative G’ situationThe incident that has raised questions over the robustness of the Indian system has also pushed DGCA to explore ways to make dope test rules more stringent after the incident that left 20 passengers and four cabin crew members injured.“Certain records, statements, medical information and other material collected during the investigation are protected and confidential in accordance with the applicable investigation framework…. AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) requests all concerned to respect the investigation process and refrain from drawing conclusions… AAIB will conduct a thorough investigation covering all material facts and relevant evidence and will issue its preliminary findings,” the aviation ministry said in a statement while responding to queries on the confirmatory test.What happened on boardMultiple sources told TOI that the PIC was acting under the influence of psychoactive substances. “He was often sitting on the floor of the flight deck and tried to smoke out. Cabin crew had to help him back to his seat. He was not in full control of himself. He was unable to walk properly after exiting the aircraft,” said a person in the know. AI did not comment on the cabin crew’s alleged complaints.The probe will determine whether the aircraft had a sudden loss of altitude due to a series of multiple and rare technical snags, which have been reported by the co-pilot in his report, or it was caused by actions of the PIC.When the aircraft experienced loss of altitude, the PIC is learnt to have been standing and leaning behind the co-pilot’s seat. The Airbus A320 had momentarily gone into a “negative G” situation when the PIC and things in the cockpit floated up and those who were not wearing seat belts got injured in the passenger cabin.The cabin crew have given a report to AI. The co-pilot may have informed the airline’s ground control about the pilot’s behaviour due to which the unusual step of subjecting the cockpit crew to a drug test — instead of just breath analyser tests — was taken.“AAIB is engaged in systematic collection, preservation and examination of all relevant technical, operational, medical and human-factor evidence,” the govt said.What govt is doingWhile DGCA is reviewing its rule titled “procedure for examination of aviation personnel for consumption of psychoactive substances”, India’s senior-most pilots sought a differentiation between a pilot testing positive after having a medication for sleeping or anxiety and those who are found to have consumed “true” psychoactive substances.
Airlines have a list of medicines that need to be avoided some hours before flight as they can cause drowsiness.What it means for AIMassive financial losses apart, the airline’s operations and training are again under a cloud, just when it was trying to regain public faith following the Ahmedabad crash in June 2025.While Tatas and partner Singapore Airlines have pumped in thousands of crores and there have been significant cosmetic improvements, it is still looking for leadership and professional management that can usher in the culture required to fly it out of turbulence.
“The process cannot be so slow that the next assembly elections would be due by the time the appeals are decided,” said CJI Surya Kant.
NEW DELHI: With nearly 34 lakh appeals pending adjudication before SIR appellate tribunals against deletion of voters’ names in West Bengal, Supreme Court Tuesday decided to take stock of their performance and suggested they speed up their work, saying the process cannot be unending, even though it was unwilling to set a deadline for decision on appeals.“The process cannot be so slow that the next assembly elections would be due by the time the appeals are decided,” said CJI Surya Kant responding to a petition complaining about the slow rate of disposal of appeals by those whose names were deleted from electoral rolls during their Special Intensive Revision (SIR).Petitioner and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, through senior advocate Rauf Rahim said the progress in deciding appeals by the tribunals, set up on SC orders, is painfully slow and requires impetus to speed up disposal rate. Chowdhury said names of lakhs of poor people have been deleted from the voter list in Murshidabad and they do not have the wherewithal to approach SC.A bench of CJI Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said, “These tribunals were constituted on our orders. A substantial time has elapsed since they started working. We must consider their performance keeping in mind the pendency and disposals. Immediate concern is to take stock.”“Once we get the statistics, we would be able to provide it with guidance and information technology to help speed up the process,” Justice Bagchi said. The bench asked Election Commisson to give details of pendency and disposals by Aug 25, the next date of hearing.
When Rahim said appeals are required to be decided early as WB govt has begun depriving deleted voters of benefits of welfare schemes, the bench said this is altogether a separate cause of action which should be adjudicated by Calcutta High Court. “If you expand the scope of this petition, we will send it to HC,” it said and declined to fix a timeline for disposal of appeals.Chowdhury said, “Several people whose names are deleted from voter lists have made appeal before the tribunals and are waiting for the fate of their cases. But the process and infrastructure of the tribunals is not sufficient for early disposal of such a huge number of appeals after giving proper opportunity of hearing.”
Kasautii Zindagii Kay fame Shweta Tiwari, who is all set to be seen in The Traitor 2, has been diagnosed with dengue. According to a report by Viral Bhayani, Shweta Tiwari has reportedly been diagnosed with dengue and has been hospitalised. The actress is currently receiving treatment ahead of the launch of The Traitors 2.The update comes amid the buzz around Shweta Tiwari’s appearance in The Traitors Season 2. The actress has been featured in several promos, which have been gaining attention online. The news has left her fans worried and they are praying for her speedy recovery.Shweta recently made headlines for one of the promos of her upcoming show The Traitors 2. The teaser showed a few quick moments between contestants, and it looks like things get intense very early. Shweta Tiwari is heard saying, “Apne patiyon ko cheat karte huye maine hi pakda tha (I caught my husbands cheating on me),” and Karan responds, “You can’t be that good at catching a liar.”Recently, Shweta’s ex-husband Raja Chaudhary made shocking allegations against the actress. She accused her of cheating on him with her co-star Cezanne Khan. He said, “Not with Cezanne Khan but with so many people. She had an affair with each and every person, I feel. What I saw at that time was totally proven. She was working with him, and he was staying in his house. Even a common friend of ours confessed that she used to come there and stay with him. What else can I believe? Even he himself said, ‘Yes, we are in a relationship. Tere mein himmat hai toh tu aaja mere ghar, Koliwada. I said, ‘Why are you doing this yaar? Why are you spoiling this family?’ “What family? She’s never with you. You’re just her unpaid boy. Be happy the way you are.”He also dismissed Shweta’s physical violence allegations against him, he said, “I have never hit her or raised my hand against her. Yes, there were times when I lost my temper and broke things like the door, TV or table, but I never physically harmed her. Sometimes, when people are angry, they say things they don’t actually mean. Words can come out in the heat of the moment, but they don’t always reflect your true intentions. I have never been someone who abuses others. It may have happened during certain arguments when emotions were high and things were said in anger, but there was never any intention to hurt or disrespect anyone.”On the work front, Shweta has been a part of successful TV shows like Kasautii Zindagii, Parrvashi, Mere Dad Ki Dulhan. She has also done reality shows like Bigg Boss, Nach Baliye, Mujhe Jungle Se Bachao to name a few. Shweta is a mother of two kids Palak and Reyansh.
The NMC has bought the pub with a 10% deposit and is now raising a further £800,000 (Photo credit: SWNS)
LONDON: Anger has flared over plans to turn a Grade II-listed pub in Norwich into a mosque.The Norwich Muslim Centre (NMC) has lodged plans with City Hall to turn the Gatehouse on Dereham Road into a place of worship with two separate prayer halls for men and women. It will offer a madrassa, Hifz madrassa (where the focus is on memorising the entire holy Quran) and Islamic classes. The proposed design includes Islamic-style screens and Arabic lettering.The NMC has bought the pub with a 10% deposit and is now raising a further £800,000.Originally built in 1934, the pub closed in 2023 following the death of its owner. Attempts by a community initiative to purchase it were unsuccessful.NMC trustee Sirajul Islam said: “We have got four or five masjds in Norwich but they are all struggling for space. Our dream is to create a centre that not only provides a space for worship but also empowers the next generation with a strong Islamic identity.”There have been over 100 comments on the council planning portal sharply divided over the proposals. Dozens of residents have objected, with some saying there are already enough mosques in the city, with one just 10 minutes away and raising concerns about the loss of pubs in the city.“There is to be complete segregation of the two genders when utilising the proposed building. Is such segregation within the laws of the UK,” one wrote.“Muslims make up only 4% of the community in Norwich, which means 96% of the population will be unlikely to benefit from the facility but will bear the brunt of the increase in traffic, footfall and everything else,” another said.“The pub was well liked and used by the community for socialising, drinking, music and pub games and it should be retained as such for use as a pub,” Norwich & District Campaign for Real Ale wrote.However a supporter wrote: “A mosque tends to bring calm rather than trouble, unlike the occasional disorder linked to pubs on weekend nights.”The city council is yet to make a decision.
Additional personnel from the Army, CRPF and police, along with reinforcements, were rushed to the area
JAMMU: Security forces launched joint cordon-and-search operations in J&K’s Doda and Poonch districts on being alerted about the sighting of terror suspects, officials said Tuesday.Cordon-and-search operations were initiated in Doda’s upper reaches after some locals captured a video of four suspected ultras trekking along Ramtund Peak and informed authorities late Monday afternoon. According to preliminary information, the group allegedly comprised three Pakistani and one local terrorist.Additional personnel from the Army, CRPF and police, along with reinforcements, were rushed to the area from Udhampur on Tuesday morning, officials said, adding that no contact was established with the suspects until evening.Ramtund area lies near the Seoj Dhar belt, situated on the Doda-Udhampur axis, which further connects to Kathua region. Terrorists have traditionally used this route to travel and hide, as the topography features dense vegetation and natural caves, officials said.
The searches in Doda came four days after local police put up posters across J&K, announcing Rs 15 lakh reward for credible information leading to the arrest of self-styled Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Mohammad Lateef Bhat.Separately, security forces launched an intensive combing operation in Poonch’s Mendhar sector upon noticing suspicious movement near an under-construction tunnel. “A security guard manning the site spotted the suspects and fired three to four rounds as a precautionary measure, following which a joint team of SOG and CRPF launched a search operation around 6am Tuesday in the nearby forested stretches of Bhatadurian, Sangiot and adjoining areas,” an official said.
The petitioner said that post-May 15, there has been a quantum increase in clips of selectively edited judicial proceedings.
NEW DELHI: Three months after CJI Surya Kant’s ‘cockroach’ remark sparked a storm and gave birth to Cockroach Janta Party that led a Gen Z protest against NEET-UG paper leak, Supreme Court Tuesday sought responses from govt and CBI on a PIL seeking action against those who commercially exploited the remark through clever editing of virtual court proceedings and draped it with a meaning that was never intended.During a half-an-hour long debate on the issue before a bench comprising CJI Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, petitioner-cum-advocate Raja Choudhary said it requires a deeper investigation as to how the word ‘cockroach’, used in a completely different context during judicial proceedings on May 15, was selectively picked, cleverly edited and commercially exploited to undermine judicial dignity and hurt institutional integrity. The petitioner sought a direction to authorities “to examine and take action in accordance with law against persons/entities allegedly involved in commercial exploitation, trademark appropriation, monetized circulation, or unauthorised commercial use of oral courtroom observations/metaphors, including activities of CJP, while recognising that fair criticism, democratic dissent, satire, and free speech remain permissible within the constitutional framework without undermining institutional dignity”.
Referring to the May 15 hearing before a CJI-led bench on a petition ‘Sanjay Dubey Vs Registrar General of Delhi HC’, Choudhary emphasised the CJI had made the “cockroach” remark in the specific context of fake advocates, as he expressed “concerns regarding misuse of court process, deterioration of professional standards and how it impacted the institution itself”.He said post-May 15, there has been a quantum increase in clips of selectively edited judicial proceedings. The distorted versions and oral observations made during court proceedings are turned into memes and are circulated in social media for profit, said Chaudhary.He complained there is no mechanism against these sinister designs aimed at diminishing public faith in the institution and judges by showing them in poor light.
IGP Kashmir VK Birdi said the police were probing the threat letter, believed to have been released on social media on Aug 7.
SRINAGAR: J&K police have tightened security in areas of the Valley where Kashmiri Pandits live and allowed some employees to work from home temporarily after Panun Kashmir claimed a purported threat letter from Lashkar affiliate United Liberation Council naming several community members and listing their phone numbers.“Authorities must investigate the source of the information, the digital trail behind the communication and whether any surveillance, profiling or reconnaissance of the targeted persons has taken place,” Agnishekar, convenor of Panun Kashmir said, adding it was important to establish whether the “perpetrators actually possessed the information or were using it as a form of psychological warfare”.IGP Kashmir VK Birdi said the police were probing the threat letter, believed to have been released on social media on Aug 7. Divisional commissioner Anshul Garg said some Pandits had been allowed to work from home, but there was no blanket order. Education officials said the department had not issued any such work-from-home order for all Pandit staff.According to Panun Kashmir’s Agnishekar, “the letter represented a serious escalation as it went beyond generic threats and appeared to identify individuals as potential targets while claiming access to information about their families, locations and places of work”.“The publication of names and personal contact details, accompanied by explicit threats to pursue the individuals and their families, is a matter of grave concern. This is not something that can be dismissed as mere rhetoric. It has the unmistakable potential to intimidate the targeted individuals and terrorise the wider Kashmiri Pandit community,” Agnishekar said.The threat was particularly disturbing in view of the community’s history of being victims of targeted killings, intimidation and forced displacement from Kashmir, Agnishekar pointed out. Jammu-based Panun Kashmir seeks a separate homeland for Pandits in the Valley with Union territory status.Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti, another community group representing those who stayed back in the Valley after 1990s’ migration, called the new threat a conspiracy to sabotage their existence. “Recent terror attacks in south Kashmir, followed by fresh threat posters naming Kashmiri Pandit employees, have once again exposed the chilling sense of vulnerability,” KPSS said.
In 2008, the Manmohan Singh-led UPA govt introduced a rehabilitation package for the Pandits who had to leave the Valley in the 1990s in the face of terror. Among other measures, the package provided 6,000 govt jobs and created new posts. Such people are posted in various departments across Kashmir and are called “PM package employees”.
“Engagement of SPOs is not of a permanent nature but only to take care of a particular contingency,” the HC noted.
Srinagar: Only God can save this country if a police officer, of whatever rank, gets frightened by terrorists’ threats and refuses duties, J&K high court has said while dismissing a cop’s petition for reinstatement.“The justification provided by the petitioner for not attending his duties is unacceptable, to say the least,” a single bench of Justice Sanjay Dhar said in its Monday order. The judge rejected special police officer (SPO) Hemo Hamid Wani’s argument that he was entitled to the “same powers, privileges and protections available to ordinary officers of police under Police Act”. The HC pointed out that “SPOs do not hold any civil posts regulated by statutory rules”.Residents of a neighbourhood are appointed SPOs “for specific purposes when the force ordinarily employed for preserving peace is not sufficient”. “Thus, engagement of SPOs is not of a permanent nature but only to take care of a particular contingency,” the HC noted.Wani was engaged as an SPO in 2012. In 2015, he was posted at Reshipora in south Kashmir’s Shopian. While at home on medical leave at one point then, he received life threats from terrorists and failed to report back to duties. When he returned after some time to his posting, he was not allowed to join duty, forcing him to take the matter to senior officers.When no action was taken, Wani moved the HC. In Aug last year, the court directed the J&K police DGP to take a decision on Wani’s plea. The DGP turned it down, forcing Wani to move the HC again.In his HC petition, Wani argued that J&K Police had disengaged him without inquiry, formal charges or hearing. The action, he said, violated the Constitution’s Articles 16 (equality of opportunity in public employment), 21 (right to life and livelihood) and 311 (protection against arbitrary dismissal), besides provisions of J&K Police Rules.
The HC rejected the contentions, saying Wani, as an SPO, was not entitled to any hearing or inquiry in view of the temporary nature of his engagement. Even if it is assumed that Wani had the right to such a hearing, his failure to perform duties in the face of terror threats is enough reason to remove him, the HC held.“Granting an opportunity to the petitioner to present his case prior to disengagement would have been an empty formality. The DGP has rightly rejected the petitioner’s representation. The order does not call for any interference,” Justice Dhar observed.
