Weekly wrap: Top headlines from Kashmir and beyond

Srinagar, June 02: Key headlines from Kashmir and around the world this past week

UN glaciers’ meet: India says Pakistan violating Indus Water Treaty through terrorism

Addressing the plenary session of the first UN conference on glaciers in Tajikistan’s Dushanbe on Friday, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh said that Pakistan itself was violating the treaty through terrorism. The three-day UN conference on glaciers, which ends on Saturday, aims to highlight the important role of glaciers in maintaining global ecological balance and addressing water-related challenges.

The conference is being attended by over 2,500 delegates from 80 UN member states and 70 international organizations.

Amit Shah chairs high-level meeting to review security situation in J&K

Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level meeting here on Thursday night to review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and arrangements for the annual Amarnath Yatra, officials said. The home minister also reviewed security and other arrangements for the annual Amarnath Yatra, which begins on July 3 this year. He was briefed about the security measures for the yatra.

The meeting was attended by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi, the Union home secretary, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, and heads of various paramilitary forces, police, and intelligence agencies.

India’s first gene-edited sheep born at SKUAST- Kashmir: Officials

Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-Kashmir) has successfully produced India’s first gene-edited sheep, marking a historic milestone in the field of animal biotechnology. This path-breaking development places India on the global map of advanced genome editing technologies and positions SKUAST-Kashmir at the forefront of reproductive biotechnology research.

The gene-edited lamb has been modified for the myostatin gene, a regulator of muscle growth. By disrupting this gene, muscle mass in the animal is enhanced by nearly 30%, a trait naturally absent in Indian sheep breeds but known in select European breeds like the Texel. The introduction of this mutation through gene editing – and not through traditional crossbreeding – represents a technological leap akin to the revolution Artificial Intelligence is driving in the 21st century.

Snow avalanche hits Srinagar-Leh Highway near Zojila Pass in Ganderbal

https://www.greaterkashmir.com/videos/snow-avalanche-hits-srinagar-leh-highway-near-zojila-pass-in-ganderbal/

7 active COVID-19 cases in J&K; 4 in Kashmir, 3 in Jammu

Jammu and Kashmir currently has seven active COVID-19 cases, with no new infection reported from the Kashmir division in the past two days, officials said on Sunday.

A senior health department official said that one local resident from Srinagar and an elderly man from Bandipora tested positive two days ago and remain under home isolation.

2 more cherry cargo trains booked from Jammu railway division

Earlier on May 31, creating a sort of history after the formation of Jammu Railway Division, the first cherry cargo train (parcel van) left from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Railway Station for Bandra Terminus. This first of its kind initiative to capture “perishable traffic” – the Parcel Van (VP) indent was earlier scheduled to depart from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra railway station to Bandra on June 3, 2025. However, the initiative was preponed on the request of Kashmir fruit growers.

Won’t be intimidated by terror, says Omar Abdullah after special cabinet meeting in Pahalgam

Officials stressed that the gathering’s significance lies more in its direct message to anti-national and anti-social elements that violence has no place in Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah, during his first stint as the chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir from 2009-14, had held cabinet meetings in remote areas like Gurez, Machil, Tangdhar areas of north Kashmir and Rajouri and Poonch areas of Jammu region.

The decision to hold a special cabinet meeting also comes three days after Abdullah proposed a dual approach to resuscitate the Jammu and Kashmir tourism sector, severely impacted by the Pahalgam terror attack, urging the Centre to mandate PSUs to hold meetings in Kashmir and to convene parliamentary committee meetings there. He had made this appeal at the Governing Council meeting of the NITI Aayog under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Ukraine claims devastating strike on Russian strategic air assets in Siberia, north Russia

Footage has emerged purportedly showing a drone attack at Belaya airbase in Irkutsk oblast, Siberia, thousands of miles from Ukraine, the BBC reported. While the Russian military has not commented on the Ukrainian attacks, authorities in Siberia said several drones targeted a military installation in the Irkutsk Region in “the first such attack in Siberia”. Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev said the incident occurred near the settlement of Sredny, about 150 km from Lake Baikal and 70 km from the regional capital, RT reported.

PSG victory celebrations turn deadly, 2 killed in violence across France

Celebrations across France marking Paris Saint-Germain’s historic Champions League triumph turned violent over the weekend, leaving two people dead and prompting hundreds of arrests, according to the French interior ministry.

In the south-western town of Dax, a 17-year-old boy died after being stabbed in the chest on Saturday night, local media reported. Meanwhile, in central Paris, a 23-year-old man riding a scooter was struck and killed by a vehicle, the city’s prosecutor’s office confirmed.