1 Indian killed, 4 injured in firing by Nepal police along international border

New Delhi: The Janata Dal United (JDU) concluded its national executive meeting with a resolution demanding special state status for Bihar. The party, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, emphasized the longstanding need for Bihar to be granted special status, highlighting economic and developmental disparities.

Addressing the media after the meeting, a senior JDU leader stated, "The demand for special state status for Bihar is not new. It is a crucial step towards accelerating Bihar's growth trajectory and addressing the state's unique challenges."

The resolution also underscored the necessity of safeguarding Bihar's reservation quota, which was recently increased to 65 percent. The JDU proposed that this quota be included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution to shield it from judicial scrutiny, ensuring its uninterrupted implementation.

Regarding recent controversies, the party expressed deep concern over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination and called for a thorough investigation. "It is imperative to restore the credibility of such crucial examinations and uphold the trust of students and parents in the fairness of the process," the leader added.

At least five journalists have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on different places across the Gaza Strip over the last 24 hours. 

The Gaza media office said Saturday that the regime's forces killed three journalists in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center of the territory.

Two of those who were killed in the camp were from the Palestine Media Agency. The other journalist was from the Islamic University Radio in Gaza.

Two more journalists were also killed in separate attacks in Gaza City, said the media office.

The latest deaths take the number of journalists killed in the besieged Palestinian territory since October to 158.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Israel’s military campaign on the Gaza Strip has become "the bloodiest for journalists" since the committee began documenting journalist killings worldwide in 1992.

The New York-based NGO said that media workers are being killed in the regime’s bombardment of the Palestinian territory at a rate with no parallel in modern history.

The committee put the number of media workers killed as of July 5 at 108 since the war began, also making it the deadliest period since the group began gathering data in 1992.

UN experts have previously warned about “the extraordinarily high numbers of journalists and media workers who have been killed, attacked, injured and detained in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” 

Mangaluru: The dreams of a young girl in Dakshina Kannada district have been tragically cut short. Seventeen-year-old Anita, a first-year PU student from a private college in Beltangady, ended her life, unable to bear the fear that her cherished dream of becoming a doctor might never come true.

Anita, a resident of Bolmanaru in Puduvettu village, passed away after ingesting rat poison. Despite the desperate efforts to save her life at a private hospital in Mangaluru, she succumbed to the poison on July 3. 

She had taken the poison late on the night of June 29, and was initially rushed to a hospital in Ujire on the morning of June 30 before being transferred to Mangaluru for more advanced care.

In a heart-wrenching two-page suicide note, Anita poured out her anguish and hopelessness: "I could not score well in the 10th grade. I dreamt of becoming a doctor and took science in PU, but I am struggling with the subjects. I am responsible for my own death. No one else is to blame."

Anita's story is a sobering reminder of the immense pressure and emotional turmoil that young students can face. Her untimely death leaves behind a community in mourning and raises urgent questions about the support and guidance we offer to our youth.