Youth Omais Bhat, tortured by unidentified gunmen in Kulgam dies in hospital

A 20-year-old youth tortured by unidentified gunmen earlier this month in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district died on Thursday in a hospital here, police said. Omais Bhat was kidnapped from Qaimoh area on March 8. “The youth had been tortured by the unidentified gunmen with an intention to kill him,” police sources said. “He was found unconscious a few hours after his kidnapping and was shifted to the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences.”

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Zuckerberg says sorry after allegations of Cambridge Analytica data misuse

Facebook is facing growing scrutiny in Europe and the US about allegations that political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed user information to build profiles on American voters which were later used to help elect US President Donald Trump in 2016. Breaking five days of silence, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized for a “major breach of trust,” admitted mistakes and outlined steps to protect user data in light of a privacy scandal involving a Trump-connected data-mining firm. “I am really sorry that happened,” Zuckerberg said of the scandal involving data…

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Fresh Water Access: The biggest challenge of 21st Century

It is necessary for India and Pakistan to take steps by virtue of which both will get maximum paybacks and should project future trends as far as water consumption is concerned in order to avoid other future conflicts relating to water use Rao Farman Ali Since human societies cannot thrive in isolation of ecological conditions. A changing climate that significantly amends these conditions is expected to have an impact on human life and society. Accepting that the convolution of relations between climate stress factors, their human and societal collisions and…

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Curb ISIS with iron hand in J&K; BJP -Those raising ISIS flags are helping New Delhi; Sehrai

Condemning the killing of 39 Indians by ISIS in Iraq, the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP on Wednesday said the emergence of the terror group in Kashmir needs to be curbed with iron hand. Speaking with mediapersons, BJP’s state spokesperson Anil Gupta said the disclosure that a youth from Telangana who was recently killed in an encounter had come to Kashmir as an ISIS fighter should act as an eye-opener for those who refuse to acknowledge the presence of ISIS in Kashmir. “The emergence of ISIS in Kashmir…

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YAIKS, Pandit body to initiate talks with Valley groups

Accusing the state and Central governments of exploiting the plight of displaced Kashmiri Hindus, a Pandit group, Youth All India Kashmiri Samaj, on Wednesday announced initiating a people-to-people contact programme in the Valley to pave way for the return of the minority community. They alleged the government had failed to bring any concrete plan for the rehabilitation of 3.5 lakh displaced Hindus of the Valley who were living as refugees in their own country. Addressing a press conference, samaj president RK Bhat said for the past 28 years, the community…

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UN Chief following Kashmir situation closely

UN chief Antonio Guterres is following the situation in Kashmir closely and encourages a dialogue between India and Pakistan to settle any outstanding differences, his spokesperson said. Spokesman for Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric made the comment while responding to a question on the tensions between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue. “Obviously, we are following the situation there as closely, as we always do, and we would encourage dialogue between the parties to settle any outstanding differences,” Dujarric told reporters here yesterday at his daily briefing. On whether the Secretary…

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5 Militants, 3 Armymen, 2 Cops killed in Kupwara gunfight

Three army men and two policemen were killed in the ongoing gunfight with militants at Halmatpora area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Wednesday while the death toll of militants killed in the firefight has risen to five. A police official said the encounter between the militants and security personnel continued for second day at Halmatpora area of Kupwara today. He said two policemen identified as SPO Mohammad Yousuf Cheche son of Shah Mohammad of Kachama, Kupwara and selection grade constable Deepak Thesoo son of Darki Nath of Nagrota, Jammu…

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Protester attempts immolation in Nowshera over District Status

On the 34th day of the indefinite strike by Nowshera residents over district status, a protester set himself ablaze on Wednesday. Identified as Rohit Kohli, a resident of Nowshera, he sprinkled petrol on himself and set himself ablaze. He alleged that he was thrashed by the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). He was shifted to a hospital in Jammu as he had also consumed some quantity of petrol. “The issue was related to opening of a shop during protest by some people. After protesters reacted to it, the DSP reached…

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Former MLA Bandipora Nizamuddin aghast over seepage in KGHEP

‘Seepage is a major fault which can wreak havoc if it develops into a crack’ Nizamuddin Bhat former MLA Bandipora and senior PDP leader has said that he is aghast at the reports of seepage in the Kishenganga Hydel power project’s tunnel for water diversion. Bhat said as legislator he had always demanded caution in raising the infra- structure as there were reports of snags at various stages. He said that the power project is a valuable resource and contributes to energy enhancement in the state, besides being one of…

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