Facing threats, abuses, Kashmiri students return to Valley

Apprehending physical and verbal attacks from frenzied groups in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, around 100 Jammu and Kashmir students from various colleges across north India, mostly from Dehradun in Uttarakhand, have returned to the Valley.

The police control room in J&K received 50 distress calls in the past two days.

I learnt poll tactics from the BJP, and I’m using the same formula: Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party president and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav talks about the State’s politics, his party’s tie-up with the BSP, and the wider Opposition unity in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election.

‘Pro-Pakistan social media posts’: Karnataka schoolteacher arrested for sedition

The teacher from Kadabi Shivapur village near Saundatti was arrested on Saturday after someone noticed her posts on WhatsApp and informed the police. Three hours later, as news spread, some miscreants tried to set fire to her house. “We came to know about the posts around five in the evening. Within an hour the woman was traced and arrested. The accused has been booked under Sections 124 and 124A of the IPC,” Sudheer Kumar Reddy, Superintendent of Police, said.

Caught down the wire: Punjab’s blackbuck fight for existence

On the foggy winter afternoon of February 3, a phone call from a local resident, saying “..an injured blackbuck, apparently attacked by stray dogs, is lying on a farm in Sardarpur village...” was enough to send a team of forest and wildlife personnel into rescue mode. They quickly rushed to the spot in the Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary (AWS) in a bid to save the blackbuck.

I-League: ‘Real Kashmir - Minerva fixture at centre of controversy’

Minerva Punjab’s refusal to travel to Srinagar for Monday’s I-League match against Real Kashmir has triggered a row, leaving the AIFF in a quandary. Minerva’s decision means Kashmir is set to be awarded a 3-0 victory — a result with huge consequences in a title race that is going to the wire.

Four Kashmiri-origin women students booked for sedition in Rajasthan for social media posts over Pulwama attack

The Rajasthan police booked four women paramedical students of Kashmiri origin under sedition charges for allegedly posting on social media pictures of their purported celebration of the Pulwama terror attack. An FIR was registered at Jaipur district’s Chandwaji police station based on a complaint lodged by authorities of the National Institute of Medical Sciences, a private university where the students are studying.

States allocation: panel sticks to 2011 census

The 15th Finance Commission will not alter its approach on solely using the 2011 Census for population figures in its calculations for allocations to States, Chairman N.K. Singh said in an interview. However, he added that other measures would be included that would ensure that States that have performed well by controlling population growth would not be penalised.

Four held in U.P. for ‘objectionable’ social media posts on Pulwama

The Uttar Pradesh police have arrested at least four persons in different districts for posting allegedly objectionable remarks on social media on the Pulwama suicide attack. A youth identified as Mohammad Osama was arrested in Mau for allegedly justifying the Pulwama attack, the police said.

Scientists discover massive mountains under Earth’s crust

Scientists have discovered massive mountains in the Earth’s mantle, an advance that may change our understanding of how the planet was formed. Most school children learn that the Earth has three layers: a crust, mantle and core, which is subdivided into an inner and outer core.

Opinion | The challenge in the Pulwama attack

India cannot achieve its strategic objectives if Kashmiris remain targets of harassment, and minorities are vilified.