LG Sinha in a post on X, congratulated the Rajouri District Administration and the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Culture for securing the prestigious recognition.

"Congratulations to the Rajouri District Administration and the J&K Department of Culture for turning this dream into a reality. This prestigious recognition will go a long way in documenting, preserving, and celebrating the area's deep spiritual and cultural roots," he said.

LG Sinha said the national recognition honours generations of devotees who kept the centuries-old tradition alive and strengthens Rajouri's unique cultural identity on the national stage.

He further said the inclusion of Bhairav Yatra in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage would open new avenues for research, cultural exchange and sustainable heritage tourism while helping preserve the region's spiritual and cultural legacy for future generations. (JKNS)

Addressing the "Panchayat Aaj Tak" programme organised by the India Today Group, he also launched a sharp attack on opposition parties, particularly the Samajwadi Party, accusing them of politicising matters of faith despite their past record.

"The Ayodhya incident has certainly hurt the faith of all of us, of Ram devotees like us. The Ram temple trust is an independent body and the government has no authority to interfere in its affairs. The trust requested a probe and the state government constituted an SIT. As soon as the SIT report came, action was initiated," he said.

The chief minister said six people allegedly involved in the theft had been arrested, while two others accused of assisting them had also been taken into custody.

"Along with the arrests, two resignations have also taken place on moral grounds (former Trust general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra). But using this incident to defame Ayodhya, the Ram Janmabhoomi and the faith of Hindus is not justified," he said.

The alleged embezzlement of Ram temple donations came to light in the first week of June, following which the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

An FIR was registered on June 25 on the basis of the SIT's preliminary report. Eight persons associated with the temple's donation-counting process have been arrested in the case so far. (Agencies)

The first batch will leave from the Bhagwati Nagar, Jammu-based Yatri Niwas for Poonch.

"The Yatra this year is likely to start on August 17 and conclude on August 28 on Rakshabandhan," official sources informed.

They said that likewise every year, a large number of devotees are expected to visit and pay obeisance to Baba Shri Buddha Amarnath.

"The arrangements are being made, and the district administration is also reviewing the preparations for smooth and successful conduct of the yatra," he said.

The district administration has geared up to make all arrangements for the Shri Buddha Amarnath yatra, including langars, cleanliness, toilet facilities, waterproof tents, drainage, accommodation, vehicle parking, sanitation, medical facilities, uninterrupted supply of water and light, PA system, and various other arrangements for the pilgrimage.

Deputy Commissioner Poonch Ashok Kumar Sharma on July 12 reviewed arrangements for the forthcoming Shri Budha Amarnath Ji Yatra.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Shri 1008 Mahamandaleshwar Swami Vishwatmanand Saraswati Ji Maharaj emphasised that any shortcomings noticed during previous editions of the pilgrimage would be rectified this year to provide better facilities to devotees.

The Deputy Commissioner assured the gathering that every possible effort would be made to address all shortcomings well before the commencement of the Yatra.

Senior Superintendent of Police Shafket Hussain Bhat assured that elaborate security arrangements would be put in place to ensure the safe and peaceful conduct of the pilgrimage.

Surrounded by Loran valley, the Baba Buddha Amarnath temple is situated in the bordering Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir and is 290 kms from Jammu, located 4600 feet above sea level alongside the river Pulasti.

As per the belief, the yatra of Baba Amarnath is believed to be considered incomplete without visiting Baba Buddha Amarnath.

According to an order issued by the Registrar General, the reconstitution has been made in supersession of High Court Order No. 1449 of 2024/RG dated September 25, 2024, and shall remain in force until further orders.

As per the order, the Srinagar Wing Commercial Division will comprise Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi and Justice Shahzad Azeem, while the Jammu Wing Commercial Division will consist of Justice Rajesh Sekhri and Justice Sanjay Parihar.

The order states that the Commercial Division Benches shall hear and dispose of all suits and applications relating to commercial disputes, including arbitration proceedings involving commercial matters, filed or pending on the original side of the High Court.

The order has been issued by Registrar General M.K. Sharma with the approval of the Acting Chief Justice. (JKNS)

The Cockroach Janta Party has been holding the protest for over 25 days demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination.

Wangchuk joined the agitation on June 28 and has been on an indefinite fast since then.

A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia on Wednesday deferred hearing on the PIL after noting that none appeared for the authorities amid the ongoing work abstention called by the high court's bar association.

"Having regard to urgency, list tomorrow," the bench said.

The court ordered that a copy of the order be served to the Additional Solicitor General concerned and the Delhi government counsel.

Petitioner Rakesh Kumar Saini said the situation was "sad" and "most unfortunate" as a protesting citizen was "virtually taking his life in front of the whole nation."

In his PIL, Saini sought direction to the authorities to come to Wangchuk's aid and "discuss the issue" with him.

It also sought a direction to force-feed the activist. (Agencies)

The opposition party also demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the rising inflation, and said he alone must answer for this "economic failure".

In a post in Hindi on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Due to the Modi government's anti-people policies, the country is steadily heading towards an economic crisis. The Congress party has repeatedly warned the government about this over the past few months."

Amidst the worst wholesale inflation in 44 months (9.87%) and a staggering 27.4% surge in fuel and electricity prices, agricultural sowing has dropped to a three-year low, he said.

The common people are reeling under the burden of rising inflation and unemployment, while the nation's farmers -- the providers of food -- are suffering the double blow of the government's flawed policies and adverse weather conditions, Ramesh said.

Rising inflation has driven up operational costs for industries, he pointed out.

At a time when all key economic indicators are flashing 'red alert,' the Modi government, instead of managing the situation, is busy chasing headlines to divert public attention, Ramesh said.

Rather than controlling inflation, the government is merely attempting to conceal the alarming inflation figures, he alleged.

"The latest wholesale inflation data stands as stark evidence of the Modi government's economic mismanagement and failure," Ramesh said.

When every section of society is in distress, where exactly do the government's priorities lie, he asked.

"Prime Minister, the nation demands answers from you regarding inflation; after governing for 12 years, you alone must answer for this economic failure," he said.

The wholesale price inflation rose to 9.87 per cent in June, from 9.68 per cent in May, led by a sharp spike in prices of non-food and food products.

The latest wholesale price index (WPI) inflation data is based on the 2022-23 base year.

According to the data, food inflation rose to 5.49 per cent in June, from 3.60 per cent in May, as food prices rose during the month following a rainfall deficit due to the El Nino impact.

Non-food articles WPI inflation was also higher at 11.07 per cent, while in minerals it was 9.45 per cent in June.

WPI inflation in fuel and power was down to 27.41 per cent in June, from a peak of 30.33 per cent in May. In manufactured products, inflation was unchanged at 7.48 per cent as in May. (PTI)

The Iranian attack, earlier claimed by Tehran, comes as the US reimposed a naval blockade on the Islamic Republic over its attacks on ships trying to travel through the Strait of Hormuz.

Jordan's military made the statement on the kingdom's state-run Petra news agency. (AP)

Days of retaliatory strikes across the Middle East by Iran - and both nations' attempts to assert control of the waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas trade passes during peacetime - threaten to push the region back to all-out war.

The US first imposed the blockade in mid-April and then lifted it in mid-June, a day after signing the interim deal that set a 60-day period for negotiations over issues like Iran's nuclear program, but talks have stalled as fighting over the strait has intensified.

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Wednesday to halt all energy exports from the Middle East over the blockade.

"The export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one," it said.

When US President Donald Trump announced the return of the blockade Monday, he also said he would impose a 20 per cent fee on ships passing through the strait. But he dropped the plan to collect fees hours before resuming the blockade, citing requests from allies in the Persian Gulf.

Both US and Iran launched attacks as blockade reimposed

The US carried out another wave of strikes as it reimposed the blockade, striking dozens of targets over seven hours, the US military's Central Command said Wednesday.

Missile alert warnings went out in Bahrain and Kuwait early Wednesday morning as they faced incoming Iranian fire, something that's been a daily occurrence, further straining a ceasefire in the war. Jordan also said it shot down three incoming Iranian missiles. Iran claimed attacks on the three nations.

US Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads Central Command, said in a statement that Iran had launched dozens of missiles and drones at neighbouring Gulf Arab countries.

"US forces are holding Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression that continues to endanger innocent lives," Cooper said.

There are at least 19 US warships in the Arabian Sea, including two aircraft carriers and an amphibious assault ship with more than 1,000 Marines aboard. Central Command also said in a social media post that there are "hundreds of military aircraft operating across the Middle East."

When the US and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28, Tehran effectively shut the passage by attacking and threatening ships. That sent the price of oil, fertiliser and other goods soaring.

Iran has more recently attacked ships moving through the strait on a route near Oman overseen by the US military that is outside Tehran's control, setting off the recent violence. The US has threatened to reopen the strait by force - but experts say that would require a much bigger armada if not tens of thousands of ground troops.

Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, criticised America's ongoing attacks targeting his country.

"The US is the aggressor, not the victim," he wrote to the world body's leader, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

Trump says he's replacing the fees with Gulf investments

Trump said Tuesday that he was called by the region's "kings and emirs," who suggested an alternate arrangement to charging ships fees to pass through the strait like the president proposed a day earlier.

"They said we'd love to do it a different way. We'd love to invest in the United States with billions and billions of dollars," Trump told reporters Tuesday in the Oval Office.

Trump said he preferred that arrangement to charging tolls "because I don't think anybody should be able to charge a fee for the strait."

It was unclear if the investment deals would be new commitments relative to what Trump announced after a visit last year to the Middle East.

Trump's plan to charge fees would have been a change to longstanding American policy and a departure from US promises that the strait would remain open to all without tolls.

Trump told Fox News Channel on Tuesday night that more US strikes against Iran were coming over the next two days and that bridges and power plants could be targets by next week unless negotiations resume. Already, the US has struck at least one bridge.

"You better make a deal, or you're not going to have anything left," Trump warned.

Strikes and counterstrikes resume across the Mideast

US Central Command said it struck several areas in Iran earlier Tuesday; Tehran acknowledged the strikes but provided no overall casualty or damage assessments.

Hours after the US said it ended its strikes, the Iranian city of Bushehr on the Persian Gulf was hit in at least four locations, the IRNA news agency reported. Explosions in the southwestern city of Ahvaz and the southern port city of Bandar Abbas also were reported by Iranian state media Tuesday night.

The attacks again raised the possibility that Gulf Arab states were retaliating against Iran without discussing it in public.

Kuwait separately said an Iranian attack wounded four members of its navy Tuesday and set a building on fire.

The interim peace deal is in peril

Under the interim deal, Iran agreed that passage through the strait would remain free of charge for 60 days - but the agreement left open what would happen after. Iran asserts it has the right to manage traffic and potentially charge fees. The US has disputed that.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, briefly topped USD 87 early Tuesday, still well below the nearly USD 120 reached at the height of the war. The price dipped to USD 78 in the aftermath of Trump's announcement that he had changed course.

Regional mediators meanwhile are still trying to get the United States and Iran back to the negotiating table. (AP)

Officials said that 6251 pilgrims early this morning left the Jammu base camp in a fleet of 230 vehicles comprising Light Motor and Heavy Motor Vehicles.

The batch comprised 2985 pilgrims for Baltal and 3266 for Pahalgam left for the pilgrimage under a multi-layered security grid, with coordinated arrangements by the civil administration, police, security forces and the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board to ensure the Yatra is conducted safely, securely and smoothly.

Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra has set a historic new record, crossing the 3 lakh mark in just 13 days.

Jammu and Kashmir administration has also appealed to the pilgrims to perform the pilgrimage only after confirmed registration and on the scheduled date of Yatra as no unregistered pilgrim shall be allowed to proceed to the base camps.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch of Yatra on July 2 from Jammu.