A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the issue has become infructuous since the ‘Chadar’ offering had already been made. It also said that this issue was not one which can be decided by the court.

The petitioners sought to prohibit the government of India, including the Prime Minister, from offering ceremonial homage such as ‘Chadar’ at the Ajmer Dargah as part of the annual Urs celebrations, saying “such acts are contrary to the will of the people, national sovereignty, and the ethos of the Indian Constitution”.

Offering a ceremonial ‘Chadar’ at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah has been a long-standing tradition, initiated by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947 and followed by successive Prime Ministers.

The petition was filed by Jitender Singh, president of the Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh, and Vishnu Gupta, national president of Hindu Sena. The PIL challenged “state-sponsored ceremonial honours, official patronage, and symbolic recognition” extended to Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti by Union government authorities.

It is alleged, citing historical records, that Moinuddin Chisti arrived in India during the invasions of Shahabuddin Ghori in the 12th century and was associated with foreign conquest and conversion campaigns, with his dargah being institutionalised much later.

“Historical records indicate that Moinuddin Chishti was associated with foreign invasions that conquered Delhi and Ajmer and caused mass subjugation and conversions of the native population, actions fundamentally contrary to India’s sovereignty, dignity, and civilisational ethos. Extending ceremonial homage to such a figure undermines the values enshrined in the Preamble of the Constitution, including justice, liberty, equality, and national integrity, and disregards the will of the people,” the petition stated.

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The accused was produced before the court amid heavy security.

Principal District and Session judge (Special NIA Judge) Anju Bajaj Chandana remanded Dar in Judicial custody after hearing submissions of counsel for the agency. The court held the hearing in a closed room.

On December 36, the court had extended the custody of Dar.

A total of 15 people were killed and over two dozen others injured in the Delhi blast that occurred around 7 pm on November 10 in a moving Hyundai i20 car driven by one alleged suicide bomber, Umar Un Nabi.

NIA has forensically established the identity of the deceased driver of the vehicle-borne IED as Umar Un Nabi, a resident of Pulwama district and Assistant Professor in the General Medicine Department in Al Falah University at Faridabad.

The anti-terror agency has also seized another vehicle belonging to Nabi. The vehicle is being examined for evidence in the case, in which NIA has so far examined 73 witnesses, including those injured in the blast that rocked the national capital.

Working in close coordination with Delhi Police, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Haryana Police, Uttar Pradesh Police and various sister agencies, the NIA is continuing its investigation across states. (ANI)

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Referring to his recent visit to Kishtwar, Khattar said it was the first visit by a Union Power Minister to the region after recent developments related to the Indus Waters Treaty. He said clear and firm directions have been issued to concerned agencies to ensure that all projects are completed within the prescribed schedule without further delays.

Speaking about his inspection of key hydroelectric projects, Khattar highlighted his visits to the Ratle Hydroelectric Power Project, the Salal Hydroelectric Project (Stages I and II), and the Sawalkot Hydroelectric Project. He said that work on all four major projects has gained momentum and is now firmly back on track.

“All the power projects must be completed on time. These projects have been under construction for several years and have faced problems earlier, but all those issues have now been addressed. One by one, all four projects will be completed and power generation will begin as scheduled,” Khattar said.

The Union Minister emphasised that the completion of these projects would significantly benefit Jammu and Kashmir and contribute to the country’s overall energy security.

Responding to Pakistan’s repeated objections to India’s hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir, Khattar dismissed them as mere rhetoric, saying that such statements no longer carry any relevance, particularly after India has taken a firm stand on reviewing the Indus Waters Treaty in the context of continued cross-border terrorism.

“There is no meaning to Pakistan’s statements. The Prime Minister has already made it clear that the Indus Waters Treaty has been reviewed in the context of continued terrorism,” Khattar said.
On Sunday, Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar visited Kishtwar to review various projects.

On his visit to the Sawalkot hydroelectric project, he said that this project, being executed by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) in Jammu and Kashmir, will generate “800 megawatts” of electricity, contributing to the country’s power generation capacity. He also visited the Salal power project.

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In a post on X, Harris said Trump’s actions in Venezuela would not make the United States safer and warned that forced regime change could destabilise the region, putting American lives at risk.
“Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable.

That Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and unwise. We’ve seen this movie before. Wars for regime change or oil that are sold as strength but turn into chaos, and American families pay the price,” she wrote.

Harris said the American public did not support such military actions and accused Trump of misleading people.

“The American people do not want this, and they are tired of being lied to. This is not about drugs or democracy. It is about oil and Donald Trump’s desire to play the regional strongman. If he cared about either, he wouldn’t pardon a convicted drug trafficker or sideline Venezuela’s legitimate opposition while pursuing deals with Maduro’s cronies,” she added.

Harris, who contested the recent presidential election against Trump, also warned that the operation could put US troops at risk and lacked any legal basis or exit plan.

“The President is putting troops at risk, spending billions, destabilising a region, and offering no legal authority, no exit plan, and no benefit at home. America needs leadership whose priorities are lowering costs for working families, enforcing the rule of law, strengthening alliances, and, most importantly, putting the American people first,” she wrote.

Soon after the US strike on Venezuela in the early hours of Saturday, President Donald Trump held a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence, where he announced that the United States would take control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

Venezuela holds around 303 billion barrels of crude oil, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the world’s proven oil reserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). CNN reported that these reserves are expected to play a major role in shaping the country’s future.

At the news conference, Trump said major American oil companies would be sent into Venezuela to rebuild the sector.

“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure,” Trump said.
Earlier in the day, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also criticised the capture of Maduro and his wife, calling it an “act of war” and a violation of international law.

In a post on X, Mamdani said, “I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City. Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law.”

He warned that the move could have serious consequences for tens of thousands of Venezuelans living in New York City.

According to US officials, Former Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement.

President Trump said the couple had been indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges of alleged “drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies” and would face trial in the United States.

Trump said Maduro and his wife “will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil” for their alleged role in drug trafficking. He added that they were being transported to New York, with authorities later deciding whether the trial would be held in New York or Florida.

The post This is not about drugs or democracy, but oil: Kamala Harris slams Trump over Maduro’s capture appeared first on Greater Kashmir.

Kolkata, Jan 03: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday confirmed that it has excluded Bangladeshi player Muztafizur Rahman from its IPL 2026 squad after the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s directive.

A media advisory issued by the KKR stated, “Kolkata Knight Riders confirms that BCCI/IPL as the regulator of IPL has instructed it to release Mustafizur Rahman from the squad ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season.”

“The release has been carried out following due process and consultations, upon the instruction of the Board of Control of Cricket in India,” it said.

“BCCI will allow Kolkata Knight Riders a replacement player in line with IPL regulations, and further details will be communicated in due course,” the advisory stated.

This comes after the BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said that the apex cricket board has instructed the IPL franchise KKR to release Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman “due to the recent developments”.

“Due to the recent developments which is going on all across, BCCI has instructed the franchise KKR to release one of their players Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh from their squad and BCCI has also said that if they ask for any replacement, BCCI is going to allow that replacement,” Devaijit Saikia said.

Notably, the inclusion of the Bangladesh player has sparked a political backlash, particularly amid the recent targeting of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh, and various opinions have been raised about Mustafizur being selected by KKR for the IPL 2026 season.

Mustafizur was picked up by the Kolkata-based franchise for a whopping Rs 9.20 crore at the IPL auction in December last year.

After BCCI’s directive, BJP leader Sangeet Singh Som welcomed the apex board’s decision and targeted the franchise’s co-owner Shah Rukh Khan, saying the actor has understood not to go against the “Sanatanis”.

Speaking with ANI, Sangeet Singh Som said, “Thanks to BCCI for its decision in view of the 100 crore Sanatanis of India. We said yesterday that cognisance will be taken of this matter because the sentiments of 100 crore people cannot be taken lightly… This is the victory of the Hindus of the entire nation.”

“Shah Rukh Khan has understood that he should not go against Sanatanis while living in India. He has also understood that thousands of Sanatanis have made him Shah Rukh Khan,” he added.

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Board Secretary Devjit Saikia said, “Due to the recent developments which is going on all across, BCCI has instructed the franchise KKR to release one of their player Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh from their squad and BCCI has also said that if they ask for any replacement, BCCI is going to allow that replacement.”

The inclusion of the Bangladesh player had kicked up a political storm especially in context of the recent targeting of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.

Earlier, Spiritual guru Devkinandan Thakur criticised Shah Rukh Khan over the inclusion of a Bangladesh player in his co-owned KKR team for the IPL. He sent sharp comments against the Bollywood actor and the management of the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The three-time champions Kolkata acquired right-arm pacer Mustafizur for a massive amount of Rs 9.20 crore during the IPL auction.

Devkinandan Thakur stated that Hindus in Bangladesh were facing extreme atrocities.

“In Bangladesh, Hindus are being brutally murdered, their homes are being burned, and their sisters and daughters are being raped. After witnessing such brutal killings, how can someone be so heartless, especially someone who calls himself the owner of a team? How can he be so cruel as to include a cricketer from that very country in his team?” he said.

Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, the Chief Imam, All India Imam Organisation, also demanded that Shah Rukh Khan apologise to the nation for inclusion of the Bangladesh pacer in the KKR Squad.

Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi said that KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan should give a statement condemning the atrocities being committed against Hindus in Bangladesh and also remove Mustafizur from his team.

“Does Shah Rukh Khan have no information regarding the atrocities being committed against Hindus in Bangladesh?… It is a matter of regret that despite having information regarding the atrocities being committed against Hindus in Bangladesh, KKR selected a Bangladeshi player in the IPL auction. Shah Rukh Khan should apologise to the nation…He should also give a statement condemning the atrocities being committed against Hindus in Bangladesh,” Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi told ANI.

Earlier, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam had urged KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan to remove the Bangladeshi player from his team before the Bollywood icon became a target.

“When the entire country is enraged and angry at Bangladesh, anyone in India who has even the slightest connection to Bangladeshis could become a target of that anger. If there is a Bangladeshi in Shah Rukh Khan’s team, before he becomes a major target, we request that Shah Rukh Khan remove the Bangladeshi from his team. This will be for his own good and will also protect India’s interests,” Sanjay Nirupam told ANI.

Reacting to the controversy, Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said the focus should be on who permitted Bangladeshi players to be included in the IPL auction in the first place.

Speaking to ANI, she said, “First of all, I want to ask who put the Bangladeshi players in that pool. This question is for the BCCI and the ICC. Home Minister’s son, Jay Shah, should answer who put the Bangladeshi players in the pool where IPL players are bought and sold, the pool where the players’ auction takes place… he is the ICC’s chief and the main decision-maker in cricket all around the world.”

Now, with the BCCI stepping in KKR will have to find an effective replacement for Mustafizur.

The post BCCI asks Shah Rukh Khan owned KKR to release Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman appeared first on Greater Kashmir.

Saldo said the attack took place on January 1, when civilians had gathered to mark the New Year. He said 31 people, including five children, were hospitalised after the incident, TASS reported.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that two missiles from Moscow struck the city of Kharkiv.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy condemned the strike by Russia, saying it targeted a residential area and caused significant damage.

“A heinous Russian strike on Kharkiv. Preliminary reports indicate two missiles struck an ordinary residential area. One of the buildings has been severely damaged. A rescue operation is currently underway, with all necessary services on site,” Zelenskyy said.

He also noted that the exact number of casualties is yet “unknown”.

While Russia’s Defence Ministry has denied reports of a strike on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, calling the claims false, Sputnik reported.

“Information about the alleged strike on the city of Kharkov by the Russian Armed Forces on January 2 of this year is untrue,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said Russian armed forces neither planned nor carried out any missile or air strikes within the city on January 2, Sputnik reported.

“The Kiev regime’s claims about the alleged ‘Russian strike on Kharkov’ are intended to distract international attention from the brutal terrorist attack committed by the Ukrainian armed forces against civilians in the settlement of Khorly in the Kherson Region overnight into January 1,” the statement read.

The post Ukraine: Death toll in Kherson drone attack rises to 28 appeared first on Greater Kashmir.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the attack took place in the early hours of 2026 and targeted a location where civilians had gathered to celebrate the New Year.

The ministry alleged that the strike was carried out using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), calling it “another terrorist act against civilians” by the Kyiv regime.

“For more than 70 residents the New Year became a tragedy: the Neo-Nazis attacked a cafe and a hotel in the Kherson region of Russia using UAVs. 24 people were killed, over 50 were wounded and have been hospitalized. Among those affected — six kids from the age of 6 to 17, one child was killed,” the statement read.

The MFA further accused that the attack was “preplanned”, noting that the drones were directed to a place where civilians celebrated the New Year.

Following the strike, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukrainian forces of carrying out what she described as an act carried out by “terrorist bastards in Ukraine”.
She also alleged that the attack deliberately targeted a civilian gathering and blamed Western countries for supporting Ukraine.

“Today we see this beastly pattern copycatted by the Kiev regime: the same neo-Nazi hatred, the same dehumanisation at an exponential rate, the same desecration of the sacrosanct,” the spokesperson said.

“We blame this on everyone who sponsors terrorist bastards in Ukraine! We blame them for killing children and destroying civilians! We blame them for corrupting the Ukrainian statehood, which turned into a killing machine,” she added.

Kherson region Governor Vladimir Saldo said three drones struck a cafe and a hotel in the coastal village of Khorly, stating that one of the drones reportedly carried an incendiary payload, leading to a major fire at the site.

According to Al Jazeera, Kherson is among the four Ukrainian regions that Russia claimed to have annexed in 2022.

Ukraine’s military has not commented on Russia’s allegations regarding the incident in Kherson. However, in a separate statement, the Ukrainian armed forces said they carried out overnight strikes on Russia’s Ilsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, noting that the attack’s impact was still being assessed, Al Jazeera reported.

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Speaking on Tuesday (local time) at the Symposium on the International Situation and China’s Foreign Relations, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing had played a mediating role in several global conflicts, including the India-Pakistan standoff, the Chinese Foreign Ministry shared a statement on X.

“To build peace that lasts, we have taken an objective and just stance, and focused on addressing both symptoms and root causes. Following this Chinese approach to settling hotspot issues, we mediated in northern Myanmar, the Iranian nuclear issue, the tensions between Pakistan and India, the issues between Palestine and Israel, and the recent conflict between Cambodia and Thailand,” Wang said.

Wang’s remarks come months after India and Pakistan were locked in a brief but intense military confrontation in May, triggered by a terror attack in the Pahalgam valley of Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, which took 26 innocent lives.

India responded with Operation Sindoor, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

India has consistently dismissed claims of any third-party mediation, maintaining that the four-day confrontation was resolved through direct military-to-military communication.

New Delhi has maintained that, inflicted by this heavy damage, Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) called the Indian DGMO and both sides agreed to stop all firing and military action on land and in the air and sea with effect from May 10.

China’s claim has renewed focus on its role during the crisis, especially given its close defence ties with Pakistan. China is Pakistan’s largest arms supplier.

In November, a report published by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission accused China of orchestrating a disinformation campaign in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.
The advisory body to the US Congress said Beijing used fake social media accounts to circulate AI-generated images of fabricated aircraft debris, allegedly aimed at undermining sales of French Rafale fighter jets while promoting its own J-35 aircraft.

On the diplomatic front, Beijing had called for restraint on the first day of Operation Sindoor, even as it expressed regret over India’s strikes.

“China finds India’s military operation early this morning regrettable. We are concerned about the ongoing situation,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on May 7.

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Visuals from Ghaziabad’s Indirapuram, Noida’s Botanical Garden Metro Station, and Delhi’s Akshardham area showed thick layers of fog blanketing roads and residential areas, with vehicles moving at a slow pace as visibility dropped sharply. Similar conditions were observed across several areas of Noida, where dense fog continued to affect early-morning commuters.

According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 384 at 7 am, placing it in the ‘very poor to severe’ category.

Several air quality monitoring stations across the city reported alarming AQI levels. Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 452, while ITO stood at 426, RK Puram at 411, and Chandni Chowk at 419, all falling under the ‘severe’ category. Dwarka Sector 8 also recorded a high AQI of 414.

Other areas witnessed slightly lower but still hazardous air quality levels. IGI Airport (Terminal 3) recorded an AQI of 334, while Najafgarh stood at 331 and Aya Nagar at 321, all categorised as ‘very poor’.

Flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport are being conducted under CAT III conditions due to dense fog, leading to delays and cancellations, airport authorities said on Wednesday.

In an advisory, Delhi Airport stated that ground teams are deployed on-site and are actively assisting passengers to ensure smoother movement amid low visibility conditions. Passengers have been advised to stay in touch with their respective airlines for the latest flight updates.

“Due to prevailing dense fog conditions, flight operations are currently being conducted under CAT III protocols, which may result in delays or cancellations. Our ground teams are on-site and actively assisting passengers to ensure a smooth travel experience. We regret the inconvenience caused,” the advisory said.

Meanwhile, rail services were also affected, with several trains delayed due to poor visibility. Passengers were seen waiting at railway stations in the national capital as train movement remained slow amid foggy conditions.

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