Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off two specially designed Vande Bharat trains between Katra town and Srinagar city, reducing travel time between the two places by two to three hours and ensuring all-weather surface connectivity with the Kashmir valley.
Heavy rain triggered flash floods in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, killing three people and prompting the rescue of over 100 others. The floods also caused landslides and mudslides, disrupting traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. Rescue operations are ongoing, and the situation is being monitored by authorities.
People in several districts of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat spent an anxious night as authorities enforced blackouts amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan.
Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir are continuing a multi-agency operation to track down three terrorists who have escaped multiple encounters. The operation has entered its 12th day and has seen the deployment of additional troops, aerial surveillance, and a crackdown on terrorist supporters.
India has called Pakistan's nuclear bluff with Operation Sindoor and sent a psychological message to state-sponsored terrorists: nobody is untouchable and no place in Pakistan is safe for you, government sources said on Sunday.
Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, the US has said it will not get involved in the conflict, stressing that it is "fundamentally none of our business." While acknowledging concerns about a potential nuclear war, Vice President J D Vance emphasized that the US cannot control India and Pakistan, but can encourage them to de-escalate. The US has also reiterated its support for direct dialogue between the two countries and encouraged efforts to improve communications.
India witnessed a record-breaking surge in deal activity in February, with 226 M&A and private equity deals totaling $7.2 billion -- the highest monthly deal volume in the last three years, according to the Dealtracker report of Grant Thornton Bharat. "This represents a 67 per cent increase in volumes and a 5.4-fold increase in values compared to February 2024, while a 14 per cent increase over the previous month," it said.
Meanwhile, a precautionary blackout has been enforfced in the multiple areas amid the esclating tensions between India and Pakistan.
Colonel Sofiya Qureshi revealed that 300 to 400 drones were deployed across 36 locations, with several being shot down by Indian forces using both kinetic and non-kinetic methods.
"Give up arms and come for talks or our forces will hunt you down," the home minister said in election rallies in Jammu and Kashmir.
Three civilians were killed in a remote area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, sparking protests and a shutdown. The killings, which are being investigated as a possible case of terrorism, have caused fear and anger in the community. Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan is reviewing the security situation and has assured that such incidents will not be allowed to happen again. The incident has also raised concerns about the safety of local politicians, with one MLA being attacked by a group of protesters.
Terrorism and insurgency in J&K had subsided when India demolished East Pakistan -- for the simple reason that Pakistan understands power. We need to follow Chanakya's dictum of Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed for strategising against Pakistan, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd). The ground truth is that unless we are prepared to acknowledge our shortcomings, including massive intelligence failures, punish those responsible and take corrective actions, we will continue in the same vein, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
The new Vande Bharat Express train is specially designed to operate seamlessly in Jammu & Kashmir's challenging winter conditions for the upcoming Katra-Srinagar rail route.
Pakistan military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry told a hurriedly called press conference in Islamabad at around 4 am that th Pakistan air force's Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi), Murid (Chakwal) and Rafiqui (Shorkot in Jhang district) airbases were targeted.
An Army captain lost his life while four terrorists are believed to have been killed in an ongoing operation in the higher reaches of Jammu region's Doda district on Wednesday, officials said.
Nine-year-old Jaimini Soni's extraordinary feat.
Officials said the polling went off peacefully in all segments including special polling stations along the International Border and Line of Control (LoC) with no untoward incident reported from anywhere.
'If they aim to remain aligned with the public sentiment, as any democratic government should, then they must respond. Why else would the prime minister have cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia? And why would he have instructed the home minister himself to travel to Srinagar to assess the situation firsthand? This suggests that something is indeed being planned. I am quite certain of that, although the exact form it will take remains to be seen.'
Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi visited Dehradun on Monday and reviewed operational preparedness, interacted with troops, and received briefings on security initiatives and infrastructure development in the region. He emphasized the importance of maintaining peak operational efficiency and adaptability in a complex security environment. The visit highlights the Army's proactive approach to ensuring mission readiness and boosting troop morale.
Jammu and Kashmir is facing a severe water crisis this year due to a massive rainfall deficit. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed concern about the situation and called for a proactive approach towards water management and conservation. The state has witnessed an 80% deficit in rainfall this year, raising the possibility of drought in the valley this summer. Several water bodies are flowing below the zero level mark, and some springs in south Kashmir have dried up completely. The water level in Jhelum and other major streams is alarmingly low.
Voting for this crucial phase, covering 40 assembly segments across seven districts -- Jammu, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua in the Jammu region and Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir -- is scheduled for October 1.
Suspected Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists on Wednesday killed four members of a family in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said.
A co-owner of the truck in which Pakistani terrorist Naved allegedly travelled to Udhampur to carry out the terror strike in August this year has been arrested by the National Investigation Agency.
"Today, during a training sortie in Patnitop area, Indian Army's Cheetah helicopter crash-landed in Shiv Garh Dhar area in the district," a Jammu-based defence spokesman said.
Swami Shivanand Saraswati, known as the world's 'oldest saint', claims to be 129 years old and has been attending the Kumbh Mela for 100 years.
Suspected militants attacked a police post in a remote area of Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday night, injuring two special police officers, a day after a terror strike there saw a Pakistani terrorist being captured by villagers.
Officials said one more terrorist is believed to be trapped in the operation area at Khandara top and efforts are on to neutralize him.
The gunfight, lasting more than an hour, took place at Jaddan Bata village in the Kastigarh area around 2 am when the terrorists opened fire on a temporary camp established in a government school for the ongoing search operation, they said.
The heavily overcrowded matador van was on its way from Ghordi to Ramnagar with mostly college students and government employees, when it fell into a deep gorge near Dalsar area of the Ramnagar Tehsil.
The National Investigation Agency on Wednesday took over the case of Tuesday's Udhampur terror strike.
The train, on its maiden trial run, arrived at Srinagar station in the Nowgam area on Srinagar's outskirts from Katra in Jammu.
The AAP suffered a humiliating defeat in Haryana with most of its candidates set to lose their security deposit.
The BJP has emerged the second largest party by winning 29 constituencies in the maiden assembly polls post abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, improving its all-time high tally of 25 seats recorded in 2014 elections.
Security forces tightened their cordon around a forest area in the higher reaches of Doda district on Tuesday evening following an encounter with hiding terrorists, officials said.
The gunfight broke out when a joint security party of the Army and police, acting on a tip-off, launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Naidgham area in the Chhatroo belt, they added.
The bodies of two village defence guards (VDG) killed by terrorists were found near a rivulet on Friday during a massive search operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district, officials said.
Head constable Bashir Ahmad laid down his life and two officers -- a DSP and an assistant sub-inspector -- were injured in the encounter, he said, adding both the officers are stable.
Union health minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday filed his nomination papers for the Udhampur-Doda parliamentary constituency.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge vowed to fight for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, asserting that he would remain active in politics until Prime Minister Narendra Modi is ousted from power.
They said police parties fanned out to find them amid reports that they had been abducted and killed by terrorists.
