Weekly wrap: Top headlines from Kashmir and beyond
Srinagar, May 26: From key political updates and security developments in Kashmir to major global events shaping international discourse. Here is a dose of top headlines and key moments from the past week:
First all-party delegation departs on anti-terror diplomatic mission following Operation Sindoor
The delegation is part of a broader initiative involving seven multi-party groups comprising 59 members, including representatives from the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), opposition parties, and former diplomats. The teams are tasked with delivering India’s firm message on cross-border terrorism and Pakistan’s continued sponsorship of terror activities, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.
The government’s decision to launch this diplomatic campaign follows Operation Sindoor, a cross-border counter-terrorism operation conducted earlier this month to neutralise terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied territory. The mission, seen as one of India’s most significant military responses since Balakot in 2019.
All-party delegation to Qatar holds talks with members of Shura Council
The visit is aimed at showcasing Operation Sindoor and India’s continued fight against terrorism.
The delegation including NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule, Rajiv Pratap Rudy (BJP), Vikramjit Singh Sahney (AAP), Manish Tewari (Congress), Anurag Singh Thakur (BJP), Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu (TDP), Anand Sharma (Congress), V Muraleedharan (BJP) and former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin will also visit Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa.
Covid variants NB.1.8.1, LF.7 detected in India: INSACOG data
As of May 19, the country had 257 active Covid cases. A meeting chaired by the Director General of Health Services and attended by experts from the National Centre for Disease Control, ICMR, and other key health institutions recently reviewed the situation.
However, several regions have reported localized increases. Delhi recorded 23 new cases, Andhra Pradesh reported four in the last 24 hours, Telangana confirmed one, and a nine-month-old in Bengaluru tested positive amid a gradual rise over the past 20 days. Kerala reported 273 cases in May alone.
Bengaluru reports first Covid death, 38 active cases in K’taka
Among the total 38 active cases, 32 are reported from Bengaluru. A total of 92 persons had undergone the test in the city, and two persons were positive in the last 24 hours, the report said.
The Ballari, Bengaluru Rural, Mangaluru, and Vijayanagar districts have one active case each and Mysuru district has reported two active cases, according to the report.
Rahul Gandhi visits shelling-hit Poonch
Rahul Gandhi, who arrived in Jammu on Saturday morning, was received by J&K cabinet minister Javed Rana before proceeding to Poonch by helicopter.
Upon his arrival in Poonch, he was welcomed by senior Congress leaders, including Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) President Tariq Hameed Karra, and other top brass including All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Syed Naseer Hussain, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, and former ministers Vikar Rasool Wani and Chaudhary Lal Singh.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti chairs meeting of party leaders and representatives to discuss future strategy in J&K
Make Kashmir a meeting ground: CM Omar
Speaking at the Governing Council meeting of the NITI Aayog under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Abdullah also raised the issue of recent shelling from Pakistan that claimed 23 lives in Poonch, Rajouri and north Kashmir and underlined that the construction of individual bunkers for residents is necessary.
He also strongly pitched for the holding of parliamentary consultative committee and parliamentary standing committee meetings in Jammu and Kashmir.
Unease grips Bangladesh amid protests in civil administration
The mass circulation Prothom Alo newspaper carried a report headlined “protests in the secretariat, NBR turned dysfunctional, Nagar Bhan under lock and key” referring to an ongoing demonstration of government employees against a proposed law involving government employees service, protests of officials of national revenue board and the employees of Dhaka South City Corporation.
Employer can’t pay employee less than minimum wages fixed: High Court
The casual labourers were engaged on need basis in a government department, who in their plea had sought court’s direction to the authorities to release the wages in their favour at the rate of Rs 300 per day from April 1, 2022 in light of Government Order No.121-F of 2022 dated 23 April 2022.
In their plea filed through advocate Aswad Attar, they had also sought court’s intervention to release the wages in their favour at the rate of Rs 225 per day from January 1, 2018 in terms of Government Order No.27-F of 2018 dated January 25, 2018 and at the rate of Rs 150 per day with effect from the year 2014 along with all consequential benefits.
Finance Ministry holds high-level meeting to expedite recovery of debt
The key areas of deliberations included an effective implementation of DRT Regulations, 2024; robust monitoring and oversight mechanisms by banks for increasing recovery through DRTs; prioritisation of high value cases in DRTs for optimal recovery; use of alternate dispute resolution mechanisms including Lok Adalats for expeditious disposal of cases; intensive training of Presiding Officers and other officials of DRTs; and introduction of further reforms to reduce turn-around time for various processes in DRT proceedings, etc.
Israel-Palestine Conflict: UN Diplomats prepare ground for high-level conference on two-State solution
The meeting at UN Headquarters marked a critical moment for diplomatic momentum, following nearly two years of intensifying violence in Gaza and the West Bank. The forthcoming conference is being organised under the mandate of General Assembly resolution ES-10/24 and resolution 79/81, which called for concrete, action-oriented outcomes to support the implementation of a two-State framework. Member States and co-chairs France and Saudi Arabia emphasised the need for the June summit to move beyond reaffirming established principles and instead deliver tangible steps toward peace. The conference is expected to culminate in the adoption of a comprehensive outcome document entitled “Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and implementation of the two-State solution.”
