Le Journal

At least four reporters working for major national publications have been summoned by police in Jammu and Kashmir, Scroll has learned.One of them is a senior journalist with The Indian Express, Bashaarat Masood, a person familiar with the development told Scroll.Masood had recently reported on a controversial police drive to collect information on mosques and mosque officials in Kashmir. He was asked to sign a bond, stating that he would not do anything to disturb peace in the union territory, the person said.The police action is not based on a formal first information report, but is being carried out under Section 126 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, the person said.The provision allows an executive magistrate to pre-emptively seek bonds from people “likely to commit a breach of peace”. Government officials can invoke this section merely on the basis of information they have received about individuals.An Indian Express spokesperson confirmed that Masood had been called to the police station. “Bashaarat Masood, Assistant Editor, and a member of the Srinagar bureau of The Indian Express since 2006, was called on four days to the Cyber Police Station, Srinagar, and asked to sign a bond which he has not signed,” the spokesperson said. “The Indian Express is committed to doing what is necessary to uphold and protect the rights...Read more

The Israeli authorities on Tuesday began bulldozing buildings of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in East Jerusalem.The compound includes the local headquarters of the agency, which is the main United Nations Palestinian refugee body.Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the UNRWA, said that the demolitions were a “new level of open and deliberate defiance of international law” by Israel.The demolitions constitute an “unprecedented attack against a United Nations agency”, the organisation said.The agency said that the demolitions took place “under the watch of [Israeli] lawmakers and a member of the government”, adding that Israel is obligated to protect UN premises.This morning, Israeli authorities are demolishing #UnitedNations property in #EastJerusalem, yet another live-streamed contravention of their obligations under international law. Just months ago, the ICJ reaffirmed that Israel "may not obstruct the functions of UNRWA in the OPT". pic.twitter.com/wqXvKzcKkH— Jonathan Whittall (@_jwhittall) January 20, 2026 The demolitions came in the wake of steps taken by the Israeli authorities to “erase the Palestine Refugee identity”, the UN agency said. It added that on January 14, the Israeli forces had stormed a UN health centre in East Jerusalem and ordered it to close.Water and power supplies to UNRWA facilities, including health and education buildings, are also scheduled to be cut...Read more

Ojas wore his clothes and headed to the kitchen for a cup of tea, leaving Ralph alone in the washroom. Ralph was repulsed by Ojas’s constant dismissal, as though he couldn’t see how much he hurt Ralph with every conversation he had with other men. Ralph latched the door and began undressing himself. Under the shower, he let a jet of water rain down on his body. He picked up the loofah and squeezed a blob of body wash on to it. As he lathered his chest, he felt the increasing layers of fat around his stomach. He wondered if this was why Ojas wanted to seek other men. He bent down and scrubbed the back of his thighs, staring at his buttocks in the mirror. They were not as arched or shapely as they had once been. He bent further and cleaned his calves that were matted with hair, his thick ankles, and the space between his toes, until he was scrubbing the tiles on which he stood. Didn’t Ojas obsess over his body all day when they were beginning to get fond of each other? The water began washing the suds off his broad and thick shoulders. His chest...Read more

As the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos got underway on Monday, several Indian states announced that they had signed memoranda of understanding – with Indian companies. This led to a barrage of criticism from social media users.They asked why Indian chief ministers had spent tax payers’ money to travel to Switzerland to hold meetings and sign agreements with Indian entities.Nearly 3,000 delegates representing global businesses and governments from around the world are attending the event.Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Tuesday that Indian entities Lodha Developers, Surajgad Ispat and K Raheja Corp were among the companies with which the state had signed MoUs.The managing director of the Lodha Group, Abhishek Lodha, is the son of Mangal Prabhat Lodha, a minister in the Maharashtra government.Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad from Mumbai was not impressed. She said that deal could have been sealed at the state guesthouse in Mumbai.“Like every year, this year too a whole entourage has accompanied the CM to Davos only to sign MoUs with majority Indian companies,” Gaikwad said on X. “Last year too, MoUs with Hiranandani and Raheja group were signed in Davos, both operate out of Mumbai. Why is taxpayer money being wasted this way?”This could have been signed at Sahyadri or Mantralaya or even the fancy office Mangal Prabhat...Read more

Insider trading is hard to curb on non-KYC prediction markets, but even identity checks do not fully eliminate abuse, according to Messari’s Austin Weiler.