Search operation underway for missing trio in Al Dakhiliyah
The statement released by the MoD indicated that search efforts are currently ongoing, as they attempt to locate the missing individuals.
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Observer
a day ago
- Observer
Indian police exhume human remains in mass-burial investigation
BENGALURU: Indian police have exhumed human remains in a temple town in the country's south, officials said, as part of an investigation into allegations that hundreds of murder and rape victims were secretly buried there from around the mid-1990s. The probe centres on Dharmasthala, home to an 800-year-old temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva in the state of Karnataka and is drawing headlines in media nationwide. A former cleaner at the temple told police last month that he had been forced by superiors to dispose of hundreds of bodies over two decades, many of them women and girls showing signs of sexual assault. His allegations were made in a police complaint dated July 4 and seen by Reuters. The man, whose identity authorities have withheld for safety reasons, fled Dharmasthala in 2014 but said he was compelled to speak out now because of lingering guilt. "If the skeletons now exhumed receive respectful funeral rites, those tormented souls will find peace and my sense of guilt could also decrease," he wrote in the complaint. The police did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the temple said it welcomed a thorough investigation and hoped police would "bring out true facts to light". In the complaint, the former cleaner accused temple officials of forcing him to dispose of the bodies and told police he would name the officials if they protected him and his family. Karnataka's interior minister told the state assembly on Monday that the protection was now in place. The former cleaner said he had secretly exhumed a skeleton from one of the burial sites to prove his claims. A special investigation team formed by the Karnataka government has so far recovered human remains from two of 16 suspected burial sites, according to two senior police officials familiar with the probe. They declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. Karnataka's interior minister, Gangadharaiah Parameshwara, said the police have collected bone fragments, soil samples, and other material for testing from two sites thanks to the information from the former cleaner. "The analysis is ongoing. Only once that is complete can we say the investigation has truly begun," Parameshwara said. "My request is to not make this a religious matter." Sachin Deshpande, a lawyer for the complainant, told Reuters "they have found human remains where our client pointed and we are sure that the truth will come out". He declined to make his client available for an interview. The revelations have revived interest in older unsolved cases, including Padmalatha, a college student whose family alleged she was raped and murdered in Dharmasthala in 1986. Padmalatha, like many in India, went by one name. Her sister, Indravathi, said the family buried Padmalatha's body rather than cremating it according to Hindu custom, hoping that would help with any investigations later. "We hope that we will get justice one day for her abduction, rape and murder," said Indravathi, who uses only one name.
Observer
3 days ago
- Observer
Trump is pushing India back towards China
HONG KONG — It may be another case of the adage: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Either way, it has come as a welcome surprise for China to see its top global rival, the United States, pick a fight with Beijing's biggest Asian competitor, India. Relations between Washington and New Delhi are on the fritz after the Trump administration threatened this month to double tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50%, citing India's imports of Russian oil. The sudden rift threatens to undermine years of growing cooperation between the United States and India in areas like security and technology that had been fueled in large part by a shared desire to keep China's global ambitions in check. It has also injected new momentum into an easing of tensions between China and India, which had ramped up in recent years. The thaw started in earnest in October when President Xi Jinping of China met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India at a summit of emerging economies in Kazan, Russia. Since then, the two countries have increased official visits and discussed easing trade barriers and the movement of people. 'I assume that there is a certain amount of schadenfreude among some folks in Beijing when they look at the trade issues between India and the United States,' said Manoj Kewalramani, head of Indo-Pacific studies at the Takshashila Institution in Bangalore, India. 'A breakdown of political trust between New Delhi and Washington works in Beijing's favor.' To be sure, there is still much that divides the two Asian giants. That includes control of a 2,100-mile shared border; China's coziness with India's adversary, Pakistan; and India's ambition to attract the multinational manufacturers that have been trying to reduce their dependence on China. The October meeting between Modi and Xi was the first time the two leaders had spoken in person since a 2019 summit in India, a year before relations cratered following a deadly Himalayan border fight between Chinese and Indian troops. Since the Russia talks, the two countries have eased travel visa restrictions and are working to restore direct flights. In June, Beijing allowed pilgrims from India to visit holy sites in Tibet. China and India are also in discussions to reopen three trading posts along their mountainous boundary, Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for India's foreign ministry, said last week. China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, is scheduled to arrive in India on Monday for the latest round of talks on border issues. It would be the first time Wang has visited India in more than three years. This month, Modi will visit China for the first time in seven years to attend a regional security summit meeting in the northeastern city of Tianjin. Xi and President Vladimir Putin of Russia will also attend, bringing together three leaders at odds, to varying degrees, with the United States. The Modi government has also been careful not to raise the Indian public's ire over the way China helped Pakistan's military during a clash with Indian forces in May — a sign of New Delhi's commitment to smoother relations with Beijing. Vijay Gokhale, a former Indian ambassador to Beijing, said in an opinion piece in The Times of India published Tuesday that China and India still had many diverging interests. But he wrote that China provided India and other developing countries a crucial counterbalance to 'Trumpian disorder' as a source of capital and technology and as a partner in fighting climate change. 'China is beginning to look better than at any time in the previous five years,' Gokhale wrote. Beijing has responded to India's friendlier posture with cautious optimism, taking into account the chance that the reorientation could simply be a play to hedge against the Trump administration, analysts said. Xi called this year for relations to resemble a harmonious 'dragon-elephant tango' in a nod to the two countries' symbolic creatures. Despite the gesture, China continues to fortify its border with India by building new roads, rail networks, and villages that can also serve the Chinese military. The two powers are also vying for influence across the Indian Ocean, the crucial waterway for Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure project intended to deepen China's supply chain networks. One of the biggest drivers of tension with India from China's perspective is the suspicion that New Delhi was abandoning its historically nonaligned foreign policy to move further into Washington's sphere. Beijing points to the Quad defense group, which brings together four large democracies — India, the United States, Japan, and Australia — to counter China's military rise. Whether the next meeting of Quad leaders, expected later this year in India, goes ahead will depend on whether the Trump administration and New Delhi can mend their trade spat and rebuild trust, an Indian official said. Chinese state media has been all but gloating about the strains between the United States and India. The Global Times, a Communist Party tabloid, said Modi's upcoming visit to China was a sign of Washington's failure to draw New Delhi into its strategy to 'contain' Beijing. 'China and India are neighbors, and the list of areas in which they can cooperate is long,' the newspaper said. Still, if Indian officials want to improve ties with China, they will have to do it on Beijing's terms, analysts said. That means opening up India more to Chinese firms and investment and continuing to loosen restrictions on visas for Chinese businesspeople. India has blocked Chinese carmaker BYD from setting up factories and has banned Chinese apps, including TikTok. 'If India seeks to improve its relations with China, China welcomes that,' said Lin Minwang, an expert on China's relations with South Asia at Fudan University in Shanghai. 'However, China will not make significant concessions or sacrifices to accommodate India's so-called diplomatic posture.' Lin said China will not budge on its national interests, even those that irk New Delhi the most, such as Beijing's close support for Pakistan. India is also wary, Modi having been bitten once before after trusting Xi too readily, other analysts have said. 'India's current approach is primarily driven by strategic calculations,' Lin said. 'Given its deteriorating relations with the United States, it has adopted some China-friendly gestures. I believe the Chinese side will at least assess these developments cautiously.' This article originally appeared in
Times of Oman
3 days ago
- Times of Oman
Foreign Secretary Misri holds bilateral talks with Nepali counterpart during visit to Nepal
Kathmandu: Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Sunday held bilateral talks with Nepali counterpart Amrit Bahadur Rai, discussing a wide range of issues to further bolster the relationship between the two nations. Both the Foreign Secretaries held the talks behind closed doors in Kathmandu, where they discussed issues of connectivity, trade and development cooperation, as per Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Foreign Secretary Mr. Amrit Bahadur Rai held bilateral talks with the Foreign Secretary of India, Shri Vikram Misri, in Kathmandu today. The discussions covered a wide range of issues, including connectivity, trade and development cooperation, underscoring the strong bond between the two nations," a tweet from the MoFA stated. Misri landed in Kathmandu on a special flight of the Air Force, which made a touchdown at 9 AM (Local Time). Misri was received by Nepali counterpart Amrit Bahadur Rai along with the Indian ambassador to Nepal. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India, issuing a release on Saturday, had announced that the visit of Misri comes in line with the Neighbourhood First Policy. India attaches high priority to its relations with Nepal under its Neighbourhood First policy. The Foreign Secretary's upcoming visit continues the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries and will be an opportunity to further advance our bilateral ties," the MEA said in a statement. The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu on Sunday evening, upon the completion of bilateral talks, tweeted, "Foreign Secretary @VikramMisri met his counterpart Mr. Amrit Bahadur Rai and reviewed the progress in India-Nepal cooperation. They held a comprehensive discussion on initiatives to further strengthen the bilateral ties, and other matters of mutual interest." Visit of Misri, which comes in about a year from his last visit, started with the courtesy call on the Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. In the course of the meeting, Misri also extended the invitation for a visit to India from the Indian Prime Minister to his Nepali counterpart, sources confirmed ANI. On the first day of visit, Misri called on Nepali President Ram Chandra Paudel, former Prime Minister and President of Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba, Chairman of CPN-Maoist Center Pushpa Kamal Dahal as well as the Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba. Misri is scheduled to leave Kathmandu on August 18 after completing his two-day program. His visit comes at a time when both countries are working to strengthen their long-standing ties further and deepen cooperation in key areas.
