Category World News

One of India’s most ambitious railway projects, which will for the first time connect the Kashmir Valley to the vast Indian plains, has been inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The 272-kilometer (169-mile) line, which runs through Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir, begins in the garrison city of Udhampur in the Jammu region and ends in Srinagar, one of the most challenging tracks in the world. The Himalayan region, which is divided between India and Pakistan, is at its end in Baramulla, a town close to the highly militarized Line of Control.

The total project cost is estimated to be about $5 billion, according to the Indian government.

The railroad line will make it possible for people and goods to move along dangerous mountain roads and by air while also facilitating the passage of troops through 36 tunnels and 943 bridges.

A 1, 315-meter (4, 314-foot) steel and concrete bridge connecting two mountains with an arch 359 meters (1, 177 feet) above the water is one of the project’s highlights. The bridge was constructed over 120 years and can withstand extreme weather, including wind speeds of up to 260 km/h (161 mph), according to Indian Railways, which compares its height to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, which is 330 meters (1, 082 feet).

Before boarding a test train through picturesque mountains and tunnels to the ceremony for another high-elevation bridge named Anji, Modi waving an Indian tri-color flag while under tight security at the Chenab bridge.

According to Modi, the railroad “ensures all weather connectivity” and will “boost spiritual tourism and provide livelihood opportunities.”

The prime minister also contributed to the launch of two brand-new “Vande Bharat” trains, which will cut the route time between Srinagar and Katra in the Jammu region by about three hours from the customary six to seven hours by road.

Modi’s first visit to Indian-controlled Kashmir on Friday is his first since a military conflict between India and Pakistan last month, when the two countries launched missiles and drones at one another.

In Indian-controlled Kashmir, a shooting incident that left 26 men, mostly Hindu tourists, dead in late April contributed to the conflict. Islamabad refuted the claim that India had blamed Pakistan for supporting the attackers.

Both India and Pakistan both control Kashmir, but they also assert total territory in Kashmir.

Since 1989, armed groups have been fighting New Delhi’s rule in Kashmir’s area, which is under Indian control. Many Muslims in Kashmir back the rebels’ efforts to unite the region, either through Pakistani rule or as an independent nation.

Three people from an event management company and one official from the RCB team were arrested on Friday, according to local media reports.

Media outlet India Today said Nikhil Sosale, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s head of marketing, was arrested at Bengaluru’s airport.

The Indian Express newspaper reported Sosale was arrested along with an executive from an event management company.

There was no immediate comment from RCB.

Tens of thousands of people had packed the streets of the city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka on Wednesday to welcome home their hero Virat Kohli and his RCB team after they beat Punjab Kings in the final of the Indian Premier League.

As the team was celebrating with the trophy inside a stadium in the city, thousands of people tried to push through the gates, leading to a stampede.

The franchise said later the incident was “unfortunate” and pledged one million Indian rupees ($11, 655) to each family of the 11 fans who died.

The deaths have prompted widespread anger and top police officers have been suspended.

On Thursday during a news conference, Karnataka state’s chief minister Siddaramaiah, who only uses one name, criticised the suspended officials.

“These officers appear to be irresponsible and negligent and it has been decided to suspend them”, Siddaramaiah said.

The chief minister also said “legal action has been taken against the representatives of RCB”, as well as the event organisers and the state’s cricket association. He noted that a first information report, which marks the start of a police investigation, had been “registered against them”.

Kohli, who top-scored in the final, said he was “at a loss for words” after celebrations of a dream first IPL crown turned to tragedy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the accident “absolutely heartrending”.

Stampedes occur frequently in India, mainly at religious events, but it was the first time in 45 years that fans had died in a crush at a sporting event, local media said.

India’s head cricket coach Gautam Gambhir said on Thursday he did not support such roadshows and celebrations.

“Celebration is important. But more important than that is the life of any person. Therefore, we might as well not have these roadshows if we aren’t prepared or if we can’t handle the crowd that way, Gambhir said in a press release.

A “Trump tornado” has spread across the globe, bringing with it a wave of “hope” for a return to “normalcy and peace.” At the Budapest-based Conservative Political Action Conference (CPA) this year, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban remarked in a strikingly direct keynote address.

CPAC started as a forum for radical right-wing forces in the United States, and it has since grown into a global forum. The Foundation for Fundamental Rights, a government-backed and funded NGO, assisted in its integration into Europe.

While Orban praised Donald Trump, CPAC focused primarily on the continent of Europe this year. After 15 years in power, Orban is facing growing domestic opposition. His popularity has declined as a result of public outcry over his deeply entrenched corruption, stagnant economic growth, and increasingly hostile relations with Hungary’s allies. A recent development of an opposition movement led by former Fidesz insider Peter Magyar is putting up a significant challenge ahead of the 2026 general election, which is currently polling 6 to 8 percentage points ahead of Orban’s Fidesz–KDNP coalition.

The government has increased its attacks on dissent as a result. A number of bold legislative proposals from Fidesz just came out that would impose Russian-style crackdowns on opposition politicians, independent journalists, NGOs, and private businesses. The first casualties included the LGBTQ+ Pride march in Budapest in June, which was prohibited due to “child protection.” The government has also begun to rewrite electoral laws and direct state funding to potential Fidesz voters.

20 European Union member states issued a joint statement to Orban this week, pleading him to reverse the new measures, alarming him by his growing authoritarianism. In the event that the laws are not followed, they demanded that the European Commission use the full range of rule-of-law measures. Orban’s behavior is no longer just a domestic issue. In light of Russia, China, and the second Trump administration’s increasing challenges, his confrontational, transactional style of decision-making is increasingly paralyzing EU decisions, which the continent can’t afford. The foundation of collective security is not just the motor of prosperity; it is also.

The European Parliament triggered the Article 7 process in 2018 out of concern for judicial independence and media freedom in Hungary, a hardly ever used EU mechanism that can strip a member state of voting rights for violating fundamental values. The European Council has already voted on sanctions eight times, but it hasn’t yet moved forward. As tensions continue to rise, that may soon alter.

Thus, CPAC 2025 provided Orban with a strategic framework to consolidate and grow a coalition of radical right-wing Central European leaders, particularly those with a chance of gaining or retaining power. His goal is to forge a bloc capable of preventing any EU efforts to stifle his government, whether through abolition of voting rights or slashing financial transfers. Prior to the 2026 elections, the EU is already holding back more than 20 billion euros ($23 billion) in structural funds from Hungary, which could increase.

The governments of Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia are yet to join the growing list of nations that have condemned Hungary’s recent democratic underperformance. Orban’s goal is to elicit support from regional allies. The Hungarian leader is laying the groundwork for a counterweight bloc designed to thwart EU countermeasures through CPAC, the Visegrad Group, a long-standing alliance between Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, and the “Patriots for Europe” group, a far-right alliance launched by Orban and allies in 2024.

This makes it particularly significant for Poland’s Mateusz Morawiecki, the Law and Justice (PiS) party, to attend this week’s event. They continue to be political allies with growing reciprocal dependence despite not having any affiliation with the Patriots group in the European Parliament.

On the European far right, Orban has a nearly cult-like following: he consistently wins elections, provides a ready-made ideological narrative, and has invested money to form a pan-European coalition. However, his biggest limitations are Hungary’s small stature and his own growing isolation from the rest of Europe. Far-right parties may choose to distance themselves from Orban, as Giorgia Meloni in Italy has already done.

CPAC highlighted Orban’s determination to maintain the influence he has worked so hard to achieve. He is unable to accept the EU by himself. If he wants to “occupy” and unleash his own “tornado” of “civility” across Europe, he needs allies. For Orban’s own political survival, the Patriots group, Hungary’s Visegrad neighbors, and a Trump-led Washington may yet serve as tools for that ambition.

The Thai military said in a statement on Thursday night that it had uncovered “worrisome” indications that Cambodia has increased its military readiness along their shared border.

In case there is need to retaliate against a violation of sovereignty, the army is now prepared for a high-level military operation, according to the statement.

Operational units at the border have been conducted carefully, calmly, and in accordance with the situation, ensuring that both sides’ interests are protected at all costs, the statement continued.

The Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) reports that the country’s army, navy, and air force have all increased their combat readiness, and that the top brass of Thailand’s armed forces are scheduled to meet in a closed-door meeting on Friday afternoon.

According to Thai PBS, Colonel Chainarong Kasee, the commander of Thailand’s 12th infantry regiment of the Royal Guards, his troops have been instructed to check all equipment is in good working order.

In a tense border region between Thailand’s Preah Vihear province and Cambodia’s Ubon Ratchathani province, according to the Ministry of National Defense on May 28, Thai troops shot and killed one of its soldiers.

In the disputed border zone, Thai soldiers were charged with opening fire on a Cambodian military post first. Cambodian forces opened fire first, according to Thailand’s defense minister Phumtham Wechayachai.

Over the years, the Southeast Asian neighbors have engaged in frequent clashes in Preah Vihear’s border region, where a 900-year-old temple is at the center of a decades-long conflict that has sparked nationalist sentiment on both sides of the border.

Between 2008, when Cambodia designated the temple as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and 2011, there were several deadly clashes in the area, resulting in the deaths of about 40 people, including five civilians.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) upheld a 1962 judgment that ordered Thailand to leave its troops stationed in the area and gave part of the land to Cambodia. In a 2013 decision, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) upheld that ruling.

Hun Manet, the son of Hun Sen, the long-ruling leader’s son, has stated that Cambodia will submit grievances to the ICJ for resolution and requested Thailand’s assistance in the proceeding.

Thailand has instead demanded bilateral discussions in response to its commitment to the ICJ’s jurisdiction since 1960.

Thailand’s government stated in a statement that “Both countries already have bilateral mechanisms to address these issues.”

Thailand reiterates its commitment to resolve disputes peacefully and based on international law, treaties, and agreements, as well as satellite imagery and other verified evidence, the statement continued.