A prominent cleric was shot dead by gunmen belonging to the Islamic State in a targeted attack in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said.
The Maharashtra government has banned 114 items of literature from terrorist organisations like Islamic State and Al Qaeda, citing their role in glorifying extremism, promoting radicalisation, and threatening India's sovereignty and public order. The ban, issued via a gazette notification, follows intelligence inputs and ATS investigations into the circulation of such propaganda material.
The Maharashtra government has banned the literature of terrorist organisations such as Islamic State, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Pir Panjal Regiment, and Al Qaeda (AQIS), citing its content glorifying violent extremism, promoting radicalisation, and providing information on bomb-making and lone-wolf attacks.
Veteran politician Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has been sworn in as Bangladesh's 23rd President, following a contested parliamentary election that saw him defeat Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed. Alamgir, a longtime secretary general of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), will serve a five-year term.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has urged people to support and strengthen the party for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, while also criticising the BJP government on issues like the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and the Vande Mataram row.
The Allahabad High Court has ordered the father of two adult women and the Uttar Pradesh government to jointly pay Rs 25 lakh compensation. This ruling comes after the sisters were illegally confined at their parental home for converting to Islam. The court affirmed their right to choose their faith and criticised both the father and the state for infringing upon their fundamental liberties.
The Iraqi Prime Minister said that personnel of the country's national intelligence service, working with coalition forces commanded by the United States, had killed the head of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
The Tamil Nadu government has appealed to the Supreme Court against a Madras High Court judgment. The High Court ruled that individuals converting to Islam cannot claim reservation under the Backward Class (Muslim) category solely based on conversion, striking down a state Government Order that allowed such benefits.
The United States military is scheduled to complete its withdrawal from Iraq by September 30, marking the end of a 23-year deployment that began with the 2003 invasion and later focused on combating the Islamic State group.
An FIR has been registered against a teacher and others at a private school in Hyderabad after a Hindu student was allegedly assigned "Islamic religious practices" as homework. The incident sparked outrage from political and religious groups, leading to the teacher's termination.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted nationwide searches across 10 states and one Union Territory, targeting an online terror radicalisation conspiracy linked to ISIS and AQIS. The operation, which led to the seizure of digital devices, is part of an ongoing investigation into a plot to establish an Islamic state in India through violent jihad. So far, 11 individuals and one juvenile have been arrested in connection with the case.
The BJP has criticised the Allahabad High Court's observations regarding the wearing of a hijab in school, stating that such matters should be left to school administrations and not courts. BJP spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam argued that faith is a significant personal aspect and courts should not dictate personal attire, while also acknowledging that schools have the right to set uniform policies. The High Court had dismissed a petition seeking permission for a girl to wear a headscarf, ruling it's not an essential part of Islamic faith.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over a probe from Andhra Pradesh police concerning an alleged extremist network. Twelve suspects were arrested across several states for their links to banned terror organisations like AQIS and ISIS, involved in radicalisation and recruitment through online platforms.
The Supreme Court has reserved its decision on a plea by the Tamil Nadu government challenging a Madras High Court verdict. The High Court had ruled that individuals converting to Islam are not automatically entitled to reservation benefits under the Backward Class (Muslim) category solely based on their conversion.
France and Spain will step up security ahead of the Champions League quarter-finals in Madrid and Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, top officials said, as Islamic State threats cast a shadow over Europe's top club soccer tournament.
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary general of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and a close ally of former premier Khaleda Zia, has been elected as Bangladesh's new President in the first contested poll for the post in 35 years.
Bangladesh is considering joining a newly formed defence alliance between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkiye, with junior ministers stating that any decision would be based on national interests and a "Bangladesh First" policy. The pact, signed in Makkah, aims for collective deterrence.
A new UN Security Council report has 'officially attributed' the November 2025 Red Fort terror attack in New Delhi, which killed about 15 people, to Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). The report highlights AQIS's evolution into a regional terrorist entity and its efforts to establish networks.
Lieutenant General Apti Alaudinov, deputy chief of the Russian Armed Forces' Main Military-Political Department, has warned that the escalating conflict in West Asia could lead to Israel ceasing to exist as a state, accusing Israel of seeking to widen the confrontation to involve the US and NATO.
The white-ball cricket series between India and Bangladesh is now expected to be rescheduled for January next year, as discussions between the BCCI and the Indian government continue, with the Bangladesh Cricket Board seeking an early 2025 window.
Iran's Fars News has released archival footage of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, reportedly filmed before he assumed the leadership, amidst ongoing speculation about his health and whereabouts. This marks the second video release in August, following an earlier undated video from Mehr News agency aiming to counter claims of his critical condition.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on Friday signed a key joint defence agreement under which an attack against one of them will be treated as an attack against all of them, amid increasing security concerns in the wake of escalating tensions in West Asia.
The Allahabad high court has dismissed a petition filed by a minor student of a school in Prayagraj. The petitioner had sought permission to wear a hijab additionally along with the prescribed school dress code while attending classes.
The minister said NIA investigations have revealed that the Islamic State is most active in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) asserted full control over the Strait of Hormuz, claiming two oil tankers turned back after a fire, and warned countries supporting the US against interference in the strategic waterway.
Meals prepared for Baghdadi and three other Islamic State leaders were allegedly poisoned in Nineveh's Be'aaj district in Iraq, several Arabic-language and Iranian news sites reported.
The primary suspect in a case involving allegations of repeated rape and forced religious conversion of a pregnant woman in Gujarat's Banaskantha district has been arrested, with efforts ongoing to apprehend three other relatives.
Who is running the show in Dhaka? This kind of flip-flop, culminating in a last-minute decision to skip a maiden visit, can happen only when the remote is in the hands of one of the competing lobbies within the BNP -- one that appears determined to play a game of chess with India.
West Bengal's Special Task Force has arrested three individuals in Cooch Behar for alleged involvement in espionage activities linked to Pakistan's ISI. The trio is suspected of smuggling Indian SIM cards to Pakistan via Bangladesh and producing counterfeit currency. These arrests follow a series of apprehensions in Bengal related to suspected terror links, including a Pakistani national believed to be a spy.
US President Donald Trump has declared an 'economic D-Day' against Iran, unveiling what he terms the 'most crushing economic operation ever taken' and warning global entities against providing any support to Tehran.
Australia secured an innings and 51-run victory over Bangladesh in the second Test, but the performance highlighted persistent issues with their top-order batting, particularly for Marnus Labuschagne, raising questions ahead of their South Africa tour.
India strongly criticised Pakistan at the United Nations, labelling it a "Frankenstein state" for its alleged support of terrorism. The remarks came after Pakistan and the OIC raised the Kashmir issue, which India firmly rejected, reiterating Jammu and Kashmir's integral status. India also deemed the Indus Water Treaty "outdated" given Pakistan's policies.
A prominent Pakistani Islamic scholar, Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, has issued a fatwa declaring cryptocurrency trading "haram" under Islamic law. This ruling, which covers various digital assets including Bitcoin and stablecoins, states that they do not meet the Islamic definition of wealth, potentially impacting crypto adoption despite the government's efforts to regulate and promote the sector.
Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen has drawn a parallel between the CJP-led protest in Delhi and the 2024 student movement in Bangladesh that ousted Sheikh Hasina's regime, warning that the Bangladesh stir 'fooled us' and was ultimately taken over by 'jihadis'.
Several prominent BJP leaders, including former Union minister Smriti Irani, RSS veteran Ram Madhav, and former chief ministers Biplab Kumar Deb and Tirath Singh Rawat, have been reinstated into significant roles within the party's national team. This reshuffle marks a political recovery for many who had previously seen their influence wane or lost electoral battles, positioning them for key organisational responsibilities ahead of upcoming elections.
Malicious cyber activity has disrupted technology at water and wastewater facilities in at least seven US states, forcing utilities to revert to manual operations, with authorities actively probing whether Iranian-linked hackers are responsible.
The United States has launched a fresh wave of airstrikes against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in response to a deadly attack in Jordan that claimed the lives of two American service members, aiming to curb Tehran's maritime threats.
Researchers at IIT-Guwahati have developed an inexpensive and efficient catalyst for producing hydrogen from water, a crucial step for the National Green Hydrogen Mission and the transition to sustainable energy. The catalyst uses nickel salt and an anthracene-based organic molecule, offering a cleaner alternative to fossil fuel-derived hydrogen.
NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) and Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) have successfully integrated the Maldives' instant payment system 'Favara' with India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI). This enables real-time fund transfers from Maldives to UPI-enabled Indian bank accounts, marking a significant step in cross-border digital financial connectivity and bilateral economic cooperation.
Several explosions were reported in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday, with two occurring near a hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron was expected to stay during his first official visit to the country. The blasts caused plumes of smoke but no immediate casualties were reported. This incident follows a recent bomb blast in central Damascus on July 3 that killed five people.
