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More than 280 people were killed and over 1,100 injured in a three-way crash involving two passenger trains and a freight train in eastern Odisha state on Friday, officials said. BJP4India/TwitterThe cause of Friday’s crash remains unclear, but senior state railway officials told CNN that it is suspected to have been caused by a traffic signaling failure. Video footage and photographs from the crash site near Bahanaga Bazar rail station showed scenes of chaos and despair. An official overseas rescue efforts at the site of the train crash in Balasore. An aerial view of the derailed coaches in Balasore.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Ashwini Vaishnaw, ” Modi, “, “ It’s, Sudhanshu Sarangi, “ We’ve, Piyal Adhikary, Anshuman Purohit, ” Rohit Raj, Dibyangshu Sarkar, ”, Narendra Singh Bundela, ” Bundela, Stringer, Rafiq Maqbool, AP Modi, Shehbaz Sharif, Rishi Sunak, Ursula von der Leyen, Fumio Kishida Organizations: India CNN — Indian, Bharat, CNN, Chennai Coromandel, Passengers, NDTV, Getty, Response Force, Reuters, National Crime Records, Western, AP, Force, Rapid Action Force, Soro Block, “, British, EU, Japan’s Locations: Bhubaneswar, India, Odisha, Balasore, Shalimar, Chennai, Yesvantpur, Howrah, Bahanaga Bazar, AFP, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi, Mumbai, country’s Jammu, Kashmir, Soro

☆ China opposes G20 meeting in Indian-rule Kashmir and will skip it
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, May 19 (Reuters) - China said on Friday that it is opposed to a G20 tourism meeting next week in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir in India and will not attend. "China is firmly opposed to holding any kind of G20 meetings in disputed territory, and will not attend such meetings," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said. In 2019, India split the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir to create the two federal territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, will host a meeting of the tourism working group for G20 members on May 22-24. Kashmir is claimed in full but ruled in part by nuclear-armed neighbours India and China-ally Pakistan, which has also opposed India's decision to hold a G20 meeting in Kashmir.

☆ India constructs world's highest railway bridge above Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir region
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Tara Subramaniam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —India is now home to the world’s tallest railway bridge. Some 35 meters (over 10 feet) taller than the Eiffel Tower, the Chenab Bridge sits 359 meters (around 109 feet) above the Chenab River in India’s contentious Jammu and Kashmir region. The 1,315 meter-long (4,314 feet) bridge is part of a broader project to make the Kashmir Valley accessible by the Indian Railway network. In addition to the Chenab Bridge, the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project involves what will become the country’s longest transportation tunnel and Indian Railways’ first cable bridge. “Once we will be connected by train with the rest of India, it will be a big boost to this industry, agriculture as well as fruit.”The Chenab bridge is part of efforts to link Kashmir with the rest of India.

☆ India home minister challenges account of 2019 deadly attack on military convoy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, April 23 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has nothing to hide concerning a deadly attack on a military convoy in Kashmir in 2019, India's home minister said. Malik informed Modi that the attack was a failure on the government's part but was asked to stay silent, he told local news outlet the Wire. Home Minister Amit Shah, speaking in a roundtable discussion on the India Today TV programme, said the credibility of the comments needed to be questioned. Kashmir is a Muslim-majority region at the heart of decades of hostility between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. Reporting by Shivangi Acharya and Manoj Kumar; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kashmir's traditional Ramadan drummers wake neighbours up for pre-dawn meals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Fayaz Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Devout Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during Ramadan, and usually eat a meal before the sun comes up. Jinded says his family has been playing the role of "Sahar Khans", named for the pre-dawn Ramadan meal called Sahri, for generations. Kashmir's Ramadan drummers are not paid, but as the month nears its end, people tend to become generous. "Ramadan drummers are an important part of our tradition," said Sheikh Ghulam Nabi, a tailor in Srinagar's old town. "They add to the festive atmosphere of the holy month."

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —Pakistan’s Foreign Minister will travel to India next month, the most senior-level visit in seven years in what is a major diplomatic breakthrough between two nuclear-armed neighbors with a long history of fractious relations. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) foreign ministers meeting on May 4-5 in the western Indian coastal state of Goa, Pakistan’s foreign ministry confirmed Thursday. This is the first time that the most senior Pakistani foreign office representative has visited India since 2016. Diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan have been beset by decades of distrust and occasional bouts of open conflict. The SCO and China’s growing hand in diplomacyThe SCO is an eight-member regional security and economic grouping led by China, and its members include India, Pakistan and Russia.

☆ Factbox: Recent attacks on Indian military personnel
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Following are the major attacks on Indian military bases in the last few years:Aug. 2022 - Militants attack an Indian army post in Rajouri in the disputed Kashmir region, killing three soldiers, while two attackers died in the shootout. Nov. 2016 - Militants attacked an army base at Nagrota near Jammu city, killing seven security personnel and taking hostages in the military base. Oct. 2016 - At least six militants attacked an Indian army camp in Baramulla in Kashmir, killing one border guard. Sept. 2016 - Four gunmen burst into a brigade headquarters in the town of Uri in Kashmir, killing 18 Indian soldiers. Jan. 2016 - Indian security forces killed six militants who launched an assault on a military air base in Pathankot in Punjab that killed seven security personnel and injured 22.

☆ Pakistan condemns India's decision to hold G20 meetings in Kashmir
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Danish Ismail/File PhotoISLAMABAD, April 11 (Reuters) - Pakistan on Tuesday condemned India's decision to hold Group of 20 meetings in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir next month, calling the move "irresponsible". India currently holds the rotating year-long presidency of the G20 and is set to host a leaders' summit in New Delhi in early September. India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request seeking comment on the statement from Pakistan. New Delhi has long accused Pakistan of stoking a decades-long separatist insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority region in India. Pakistan also accuses India of human rights violations in the parts of Kashmir under its control, a charge New Delhi rejects.

☆ India's Jammu and Kashmir gets first foreign investment from Dubai's Emaar
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Fayaz Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SRINAGAR, March 20 (Reuters) - Indian Kashmir is to get its first foreign investment, with Dubai’s Emaar Group due to build a $60 million shopping and office complex, as the government looks to stabilise a region where Muslim separatists have for years battled the government. The 5 billion rupee ($60.50 million) development will include a shopping mall and multi-purpose commercial tower in Srinagar, the capital of the Muslim-majority Himalayan region, Emaar announced at an investment summit in the city. The announcement on Sunday of what the region's government said was its first foreign investment comes after the central government said last week that Jammu and Kashmir had received record investment of 15 billion rupees ($181 million) in the first 10 months of the 2022-23 (April-March) fiscal year. Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) CEO Amit Jain told reporters that the investment would have a ripple effect. Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan both claim Kashmir in full but rule in part, and have fought two of their three wars over it.

☆ India, world’s largest democracy, leads global list of internet shutdowns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Of 187 internet shutdowns recorded worldwide, 84 took place in India, according to the report published Tuesday by Access Now, a New York based advocacy group that tracks internet freedom. India has the world’s second largest digital population, following China, with more than 800 million internet users. Pradeep Guar/Mint/Getty ImagesIn recent years, the government has repeatedly justified blocking internet access on the grounds of preserving public safety amid widespread fears of mob violence. Rest of the worldLast year saw more internet shutdowns worldwide than ever before, Access Now said, prompting the group to raise fears of “digital authoritarianism” as governments continue the trend. Apart from India, other countries that saw internet shutdowns last year include Ukraine, Iran and Myanmar.

☆ India leads world in cutting internet access for 5th year in a row, watchdog says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 28 (Reuters) - India imposed by far the highest number of internet shutdowns in the world in 2022, internet advocacy watchdog Access Now said on Tuesday, as the country topped the list for the fifth successive year. Out of 187 internet shutdowns globally recorded by Access Now, 84 took place in India, including 49 in Indian- administered Kashmir, the New York-based digital rights advocacy group said in a report published on Tuesday. Although India once again led the world in internet shutdowns, 2022 marked the first time since 2017 that there were fewer than 100 shutdowns in the country, the watchdog said. "During Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military cut internet access at least 22 times, engaging in cyberattacks and deliberately destroying telecommunications infrastructure," the watchdog said in its report. Ukraine was followed on the list by Iran where authorities imposed 18 internet shutdowns in 2022 in response to demonstrations against the government.

☆ India finds Lithium deposits for first time in country
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW DELHI, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The Geological Survey of India (GSI) said on Thursday it has found lithium deposits for the first time in the country. India has lately been looking to strengthen its supply of key minerals, including lithium, that will be critical for furthering its electric vehicle plans. The 5.9 million tonnes of Lithium inferred resources have been established in the Reasi district of the northern union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the GSI said in a statement. Reporting by Sakshi Dayal; editing by Sudipto GangulyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. arms left in Afghanistan are turning up in a different conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Junaid Kathju | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

At least six people were injured on Jan. 21 in two explosions in the city of Jammu. Though more than half of it was ground vehicles, it also included more than 316,000 weapons worth almost $512 million, plus ammunition and other accessories. The Defense Department report also pointed out that the operational condition of the Afghan army’s equipment was unknown. Manoj Sinha said the government was aware of the issue and that measures were in place to combat the infiltration of U.S. weapons into Kashmir. Kashmir police official Vijay Kumar also said authorities were fully capable of countering the militant threat.

☆ Six injured in Jammu blasts before India opposition leader Gandhi arrives
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Fayaz Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Modi wants to take control of India's part of the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir, hotly contested by Muslim-majority Pakistan. Gandhi's march, which has been better received by the public than expected, is expected to culminate in Srinagar later this month. The first blast occurred around 0445 GMT, followed by another explosion, said another police official, who asked not be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media. Jaswinder Singh, who saw the first blast, said it occurred in a vehicle that was sent to a workshop for repairs. “There was a big bang and when I came out, I saw a blast had ripped apart a car.

☆ India revives network of village guards in Kashmir after militant attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Fayaz Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SRINAGAR, Jan 12 (Reuters) - India is reviving a network of thousands of village guards in Jammu and Kashmir, including arming some with automatic rifles, after a militant attack in the disputed region killed seven civilians earlier in January, a police official said. The nuclear-armed neighbours claim the Himalayan region - that includes the Muslim majority Kashmir valley and Hindu-dominated Jammu - in full but control only parts of it. Authorities reactivated an almost defunct network of 26,000 Village Defence Guards (VDGs) after militants killed seven residents of a Hindu community in a remote village in Jammu's Rajouri district on Jan. 1. We have also provided automatic rifles to some." Basant Raj Thakur, a VDG from Jammu's Doda area, said that he supported the move to provide automatic weapons, replacing bolt-action rifles that some guards are currently armed with.

"It's not just me and my children, future generations from our community in Jammu and Kashmir will vote for the BJP." A BJP victory in the disputed region could consolidate India's claim over the territory on the global stage. "We have taken a pledge to cross 50-plus seats to form the next government with a thumping majority," the BJP's president for Jammu and Kashmir, Ravinder Raina, told Reuters. Jammu has about 5.3 million inhabitants, 62% of whom are Hindu while Kashmir Valley has 6.7 million, 97% of them Muslim, according to a 2011 census. Previously unreported official records show just over 5.3 million certificates had been issued as of September.

☆ India's jobless rate rises to 16-month high of 8.30% in Dec - CMIE
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, Jan 1 (Reuters) - India's unemployment rate rose to 8.30% in December, the highest in 16 months, from 8.00% in the previous month, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed on Sunday. The urban unemployment rate rose to 10.09% in December from 8.96% in the previous month, while the rural unemployment rate slipped to 7.44% from 7.55%, the data showed. "Most importantly, the employment rate has increased in December to 37.1%, which again is the highest since January 2022," he told Reuters. The unemployment rate had declined to 7.2% in the July-September quarter compared to 7.6% in the previous quarter, according to separate quarterly data compiled by state run National Statistical Office (NSO) and released in November. In December, the unemployment rate rose to 37.4% in the northern state of Haryana, followed by 28.5% in Rajasthan and 20.8% in Delhi, CMIE data showed.

Indian companies raised around 5.38 trillion rupees ($64.95 billion) through private placements in 2022, largely aided by the banking system's massive cash surplus, data showed. Public issues were only to the tune of around 80 billion rupees. Indian companies raised 127.1 billion rupees and 175.3 billion rupees through public issues in 2020 and 2021 respectively, SEBI data showed. Fundraising through private placement stood at 8 trillion rupees and 6.31 trillion rupees respectively. "I think public issues are rising because the repricing of bank fixed deposits was very gradual, while public issues are realigning to market realities much faster," said Sudhir Agrawal, executive vice president and fixed income fund manager at UTI Mutual Fund.

☆ Around 300 militants active in Indian Kashmir, Indian military official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Fayaz Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SRINAGAR, Nov 22 (Reuters) - An estimated 300 militants are operating in Indian Kashmir, an Indian military commander in the disputed region said on Tuesday, as New Delhi seeks to stabilise the restive Himalayan territory that it reorganised three years ago. New Delhi has long accused Pakistan of backing armed militants, along with separatist groups in India's portion of the region. "All such allegations by Indian military officials are completely absurd, unfounded, frivolous and baseless," a Pakistan security official said, asking not to be named. An Indian security official, who declined to be named since he is not authorised to speak to media, said this is the highest number of militants operating in Indian Kashmir in a decade. Dwivedi said that the security situation in Indian Kashmir had improved since the reorganisation but weapons and ammunition were still coming through from across the border.

☆ New Delhi’s air pollution leaves residents gasping for breath
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Gafira Qadir | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

By the first week of November, New Delhi’s air quality index was 472, high enough to affect healthy people while having a serious impact on those with existing conditions. In some areas of the city, the reading exceeded 800, according to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, a regulatory body. Experts say exposure to low air quality levels increases the risk of respiratory infections, heart disease and lung cancer. In response to the poor air quality, Delhi officials ordered the closure of primary schools and reduced outdoor activities for older students from Nov. 4 to 9. A government vehicle sprinkles water to control air pollution in New Delhi last month.

Members of media and Jammu and Kashmir government officials wait to enter a multi-screen cinema hall run by India's leading multiplex chain Inox before its inauguration in Srinagar September 20, 2022. "Even the Q3 releases, which happen to take place during the festive season, are somewhat muted and underwhelming in the response they are getting," film producer and trade analyst Girish Johar said. In the first quarter, Inox reported a 29% occupancy rate, while PVR said its rate was 33.6% in the same period. The two chains are set to merge in an all-stock deal and become the country's largest exhibition company with 1,546 screens across 109 cities. And we have some major challenges with the content in Q2," Inox Chief Executive Alok Tandon said in an earnings call on Wednesday.

☆ India's main opposition stages rally to mark 1,000 km of its protest march
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BALLARI,India, Oct 15 (Reuters) - India's main opposition Congress party held a huge public rally in the southern Indian state of Karnataka on Saturday, accusing the government of not doing enough to contain inflation and create promised jobs for young people. Tens of thousands of people came to the public meeting, organised to mark 1,000 km (620 miles) of the party's five-month-long protest march named Bharat Jodo Yatra or Unite India rally. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"The Prime Minister used to complain an LPG (cooking gas) cylinder cost 400 rupees. "I hope the Congress can still come back, at least in the state of Karnataka," he said, referring to elections next year. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Manoj Kumar; editing by Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India axes rule on Kashmir voting rights after political parties' outcry
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Fayaz Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Kashmir is claimed in full but ruled in part by nuclear arch-rivals India and Pakistan, who have fought two of their three wars over control of the Himalayan territory. In 2019, India stripped its part of the region of its remaining measure of autonomy, reorganising Jammu and Kashmir state into two federally-controlled territories and changing the constitution to let non-Kashmiris vote and own land there. Kashmir last voted in 2019 in national elections, a few months before it was stripped of its autonomy. Pakistan accuses India of human rights violations in the parts of Kashmir under its control, a charge New Delhi rejects. The BJP says its policies aim to benefit ordinary Kashmiris, but the region's political parties do not see the measure in the same light.

New Delhi CNN —Movie theaters in Indian-controlled Kashmir have reopened their doors, more than two decades after they were forced shut during an armed rebellion that saw multiple threats and attacks on crowded public places. The lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, inaugurated the disputed region’s newest cinema on Tuesday, in a ceremony marked with much hype and fanfare. The movie theater will open to the public on September 30, according to businessman, Vijay Dhar, who has partnered with Indian cinema chain Inox Leisure Ltd., to open the theater in Srinagar. In the late 1980s, a violent insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir claimed the lives of more than 9,000 civilians according to the Indian government, though estimates vary. Last year, the government implemented a policy aimed to promote Indian-controlled Kashmir as a popular filming destination.

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