SC Suspends Look Out Circular Against Man Facing Prosecution In CBI, ED Cases

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April 28, 2026

NEW DELHI, Apr 28: The Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended a look out circular issued by the CBI against a man who is facing prosecution in separate cases lodged by the probe agency and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The apex court also issued a notice to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) seeking its response within six weeks on a plea filed by petitioner Nimesh Navinchandra Shah, who has challenged the look out circular (LOC) issued against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Shah’s counsel told a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that the LOC was issued by the CBI in 2022 but he was not intimated about it for around three years.

The bench went through the LOC dated November 9, 2022 which was placed before it by the CBI.

“We are of the view that the look out circular dated November 9, 2022 shall remain suspended,” the top court said.

The bench said the MHA was required to be arrayed as a respondent in the matter in order to decide the issue raised in the petition.

It impleaded the MHA as a party respondent and issued notice to it.

The apex court had earlier sought responses from the CBI, the Centre and the Maharashtra government on Shah’s plea challenging a February this year order of the Bombay High Court.

The high court had dismissed his plea seeking the quashing of the LOC issued against him by the CBI.

The high court had noted that in the CBI’s case, Shah and others were accused of causing wrongful loss of Rs 464.41 crore to a consortium of banks.

During the hearing on Tuesday, Shah’s counsel told the bench that the LOC was issued against the petitioner in 2022 but till May 2025, he was not intimated about it.

The CBI’s counsel referred to an office memorandum concerning the issuance of the LOC.

“You have to implead the Ministry of Home Affairs,” the bench told the petitioner’s counsel.

On April 21, the petitioner’s counsel had told the apex court that the LOC was never served upon him.

The bench had then granted a week to the CBI to file an additional affidavit, in particular, a copy of the LOC.

In its order, the high court had noted that the court cannot be oblivious of the registration of a case against Shah by the CBI and the filing of a prosecution complaint by the ED.

“The offence of siphoning of public money must be viewed very seriously by the court because such offences seriously challenge the financial stability of the country,” the high court had said while dismissing his plea. (Agencies)

Dreams reflect interplay between personal traits, external events: Study

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April 28, 2026

NEW DELHI, Apr 28: The contents of a dream may not be random or chaotic, but could instead reflect a complex interplay between personal traits, such as one’s tendency to mind-wander, interest in dreams, and sleep quality, and external events, including large-scale societal experiences like the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study.
Researchers at Italy’s IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca analysed over 3,700 reports of dream and waking experiences collected from 287 participants aged 18 to 70.
Over two weeks, the participants recorded daily experiences, while the researchers gathered information about sleep patterns, cognitive abilities, personality traits, and psychological characteristics.
The researchers analysed the words the participants used to describe both their daily lives and their dreams.
Rather than simply replaying waking experiences, dreams appear to reinterpret them, they said.
Elements from daily routines, such as work environments, healthcare settings, or education, do not reappear as they are — they are instead reorganised into vivid, immersive scenarios, often blending different contexts and shifting perspectives into unfamiliar landscapes, the team said.
The results suggest that dreams do not just reflect reality, but actively reshape it, integrating fragments of past experiences with imagined or anticipated ones to create novel, sometimes surreal, scenarios, they added.
“Relative to waking reports, dreams shifted from self-referential, thoughtcentred narratives to perceptual experiences dominated by visuo-spatial details, multiple characters, and bizarre events,” the authors wrote in the study published in the journal Communications Psychology.
“Stable traits, including attitude toward dreaming, mind-wandering propensity, and subjective sleep quality, selectively influenced dream content,” they said. Lead author Valentina Elce, a researcher at the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, said, “Our findings show that dreams are not just a reflection of past experiences, but a dynamic process shaped by who we are and what we live through.” “By combining large-scale data with computational methods, we were able to uncover patterns in dream content that were previously difficult to detect,” Elce said.
The transformations in dreams were also found to vary across individuals — for example, individuals more prone to mind-wandering tended to report more fragmented and rapidly changing dream scenarios.
However, those with a strong belief in the value, meaning, and significance of dreaming in general, and with regard to their own dreams in particular, experienced perceptually richer and more immersive dream content, the researchers said.
A second independent dataset collected during the first 2020 COVID-19 lockdown and involving 80 participants allowed the researchers to examine the impact of a major external stressor on dreams.
During lockdown, dreams showed an increased reference to limitations and heightened emotional intensity, reflecting the broader social context, the team found.
The effects were seen to gradually diminish over time, suggesting that dream content evolves in parallel with psychological adaptation to major life events, they said.
The findings show that stable individual traits and incidental experiences jointly shape dream semantics, the researchers said. (Agencies)

Neurons in brain’s memory region mature from dense, random links to structured, refined ones: Study

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April 28, 2026

NEW DELHI, Apr 28: Neuron networks in the brain’s hippocampus, the memory centre, are dense with connections that appear random, but as animals mature, the networks become sparser but more structured and refined, a study has found.
“Intuitively, one might expect that a network grows and becomes denser over time. Here, we see the opposite. It follows what we call a pruning model: it starts out full, and then it becomes streamlined and optimised,” lead researcher Peter Jonas, from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), said.
Hippocampus is a key brain region involved in forming memories and guiding spatial navigation. It converts short-term memories into long-term ones, helping one retain and build upon experiences
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, looked at how the central neural network in the hippocampus develops after birth. At the heart of the philosophical concept, whether new information is written on a “blank slate” or a “full slate”, lies a fundamental question of “Is everything pre-set from the very beginning or do experiences shape who we become?” the researchers said.
They added that biology too reflects the controversy — between genes that provide the basic blueprint and environmental factors that sculpt the final organism.
The central network in the hippocampus is made up of interconnected ‘CA3’ pyramidal neurons, which store and recall memories through a process known as plasticity — it refers to the ability of neurons to constantly change, by strengthening or weakening connections or by reshaping structure.
Brains of mice at three developmental stages were examined — early after birth (day 7-8), adolescence (day 18-25), and adulthood (day 45-50).
The researchers analysed the central neural network in the hippocampus by applying the ‘patch-clamp technique’ to measure tiny electrical signals in specific parts of neurons, such as at the signal-sending ends (presynaptic terminals) or branching sites that receive signals (dendrites). Advanced microscopy and laser-based methods were also used to observe processes inside the neurons and activate individual connections with high precision.
The authors showed that “the hippocampal CA3 network undergoes a developmental transformation from local, dense, and random connectivity to a distributed, sparse, and structured configuration.” “Thus, sparse and structured connectivity may emerge via experience-dependent mechanisms,” they said. (PTI)

IOS Sagar sends strong message of collective commitment from our partners, says Indian envoy to Singapore

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April 28, 2026

SINAGAPORE, Apr 28: The coming together of 16 like-minded maritime countries for a “shared purpose” through Indian Ocean Ship SAGAR sends a strong message of “collective commitment” from our partners, the Indian envoy to Singapore said.

The Indian Ocean Ship SAGAR, a unique operational initiative by the Indian Navy under the theme of ‘One Ocean, One Mission’ with 38 international crew members from 16 friendly countries, is visiting South East Asia for collaborative maritime security for peace and stability in coastal regions and the high seas.

“The IOS SAGAR is a practical and operational expression of vision MAHASAGAR, and it brings together partner nations on a shared platform for training, collaboration, and collective readiness,” the High Commissioner of India to Singapore, Dr Ambule Shilpak, has said in welcoming the ship and guests at a special reception held on board the vessel on Monday evening.

“Despite the prevalent complex maritime environment in the Indo-Pacific region, the coming together of 16 like-minded maritime countries for a shared purpose and collective commitment through IOS SAGAR sends a strong message of shared purpose and collective commitment from our partners in this initiative towards ensuring a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific,” he saidÂ

India’s maritime outlook has been shaped by the Neighbourhood First approach and Vision MAHASAGAR – Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions, he added.

Shilpak highlighted the evolving maritime landscape, which is marked by increasing contestation.Â

“In such a scenario, addressing maritime challenges like Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) Fishing, piracy and armed robbery at sea, narco and human trafficking, and emerging competition over critical resources requires collaborative approaches to ensure a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific region,” said Shilpak.

The IOS SAGAR initiative reflects India’s collective vision of ‘leadership through partnership, strength through unity, and progress through peace,’ he underlined.

This is the maiden deployment of an Indian Naval ship under the IOS SAGAR initiative to South East Asia.Â

“The deployment of IOS SAGAR to South East Asia this year (in 2026) assumes further significance as we observe 2026 as the India â€“ ASEAN year of maritime cooperation,” he said.

The mission completed its Singapore Harbour Phase from March 16-29, 2026, enabling professional exchanges, training, and coordination among participating personnel before sailing out for the ongoing deployment.

The ongoing deployment across South-East Asia as part of the sea deployment phase of the IOS SAGAR included port calls at Male (Maldives), Phuket (Thailand) and Jakarta (Indonesia) before arriving in Singapore.Â

The ship is also scheduled to make port calls at Yangon (Myanmar), Chittagong (Bangladesh) and Colombo (Sri Lanka) before concluding the deployment at Kochi by mid-May.

The initiative of Indian Ocean Ship SAGAR in general, and this edition of deployment to South East Asia in particular, will go a long way to help strengthen cooperation in the Maritime Commons, “helping us all to collaborate effectively to address and overcome the existing and emerging challenges together,” Shilpak said. (PTI)

Ladakh Appoints 5 DCs For New Districts, Reshuffles 4 Senior Officers

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April 28, 2026

LEH, Apr 28: Following the creation of five new districts, the Union Territory administration in Ladakh has appointed five IAS and JKAS officers as Deputy Commissioners to lead these new administrative units.
Meanwhile, to support this restructuring, the administration has also reshuffled four other senior officers.

Read this order for additional information…..

Ladakh Transfers 5 Police Officers After Creation Of New Districts

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April 28, 2026

LEH, Apr 28: The Union Territory Administration of Ladakh has ordered the transfer and posting of 5 police officers with immediate effect following the creation of 5 new districts in the region.
As per an order, Stanzin Losal has been posted as Superintendent of Police (SP), Nubra, while retaining additional charge of SSP CID.
Aijaz Malik has been posted as SP, Sham, and will continue to hold additional charge of Staff Officer to the DGP and SP SDRF/CD/HG.
Rigzin Sangdup has been posted as SP, Zanskar, Ishtiyaq A Kacho as SP, Drass, and Syed Zaheer Abbass Jafari as SP, Changthang, besides retaining additional charge of Senior Superintendent of Prison, PHQ Ladakh.
The officers have been deemed relieved from their present postings and directed to join their new assignments forthwith.

See Order Copy Click Here…..

‘Will Continue To Fight For People’: J&K AAP MLA Detained Under PSA Released After 8 Months

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April 28, 2026

JAMMU, Apr 28: After spending eight months in prison, AAP MLA Mehraj Malik was released from Kathua jail on Tuesday following the quashing of his detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA) by the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.
Malik arrived at his residence in Jammu to a rousing reception with a floral welcome and beats of dholaks and bursting of crackers. Scores of party workers distributed sweets amid slogannering in favour of Malik, as he vowed to continue to fight for the people.
Setting aside the detention order issued by the Doda district magistrate, Justice Mohd Yousuf Wani on Monday directed authorities to release Malik and held that the order was legally unsustainable and based on “non-application of mind.”
Malik was detained last September under the PSA for allegedly disturbing public order and was subsequently lodged in Kathua jail.
On September 24, 2025, he filed a habeas corpus petition in the high court, challenging his detention and seeking Rs 5 crore as compensation. On February 23, the high court had reserved its order in the case, and then on Monday, it quashed the detention issued under the PSA.
“Malik was released by jail authorities this morning after completion of all formalities,” his lawyer and AAP spokesperson Appu Singh Slathia told reporters here.
As the gates of Kathua jail opened this morning to release the AAP leader, numerous people garlanded him with flowers and rallied behind him. “Our struggle will continue. It will not change. It is not a struggle based on politics but on the thoughts and drive of people’s welfare. I urge youth to join politics,” Malik told reporters in Kathua.
When Mehraj arrived at his residence in Jammu to a rousing reception, he was received by his mother and father, who hugged him amid a tearful welcome. “It is the victory of people,” Malik, who is the AAP’s Jammu and Kashmir unit president, told party workers at his residence.
“When I came out of jail, people understood who was right and who was wrong. Framing anyone won’t help”, he said in his address. “It is not that they had jailed me, they had jailed the voice of the people, their aspirations and their strength,” Malik said with tearful eyes, calling his release a victory of truth over falsehood.
Malik said that India is the best country in the world and urged people to stay away from divisive politics, saying the Constitution and democratic values are the nation’s greatest strengths.
“I truly say this from the core of my heart. You cannot find such a country anywhere else. You are fortunate to live here,” he said while drawing comparisons with neighbouring countries.
Urging everyone to uphold the Constitution, he warned that forgetting constitutional rights and values could push society backwards. “India is the largest democracy in the world, and I am proud of it. If such toxic tendencies exist within the country, we must make efforts to stop them,” Malik added.
Family members terming it a “victory of truth” and reaffirming their commitment to public welfare in Jammu and Kashmir. Malik’s father Shammas Din expressed satisfaction over the development, saying his son has always worked for the people.
“He is my son, and he is here for the people and their happiness,” he said, asserting that ultimately truth prevails.
Delhi AAP MLA Imran Hussain thanked the judiciary for quashing the case against Malik. “I sincerely thank the court for bringing out the truth and dismissing the baseless case that had been imposed unjustly,” he said. (Agencies)

Rescuers recover last victims from Indonesia train wreck that killed 14 and injured dozens

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April 28, 2026

BEKASI (Indonesia), Apr 28: Rescuers finished removing victims from a damaged commuter train car Tuesday, confirming that the crash outside Indonesia’s capital killed 14 people, all of whom were women.

The crash occurred Monday when a long-distance train crashed into the rear car of the stopped commuter train at Bekasi Timur Station outside Jakarta. The car was one designated for women only, a common accommodation to stop harassment.

A total of 84 injured people were taken to hospitals for treatment, said Bobby Rasyidin, CEO of state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia. The bodies of the dead were taken to a hospital for further identification.

Rescue teams completed the evacuation of all victims from inside the wreckage about midmorning. “There are no further casualties,” said Mohammad Syafii, the head of the National Search and Rescue Agency.

All 240 passengers on the Argo Bromo Anggrek long-distance train were safe, officials said.

Police were investigating the cause of the accident, Jakarta Police Chief Asep Edi Suheri told reporters at the scene.

The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation said in a written statement that authorities believe the incident began when another commuter train collided with a stalled taxi near Bekasi Timur Station.

That led staff to stop a second commuter train at the station, where it was struck by a long-distance commuter train.

“As for the chronology of events, we are leaving it to the National Transportation Safety Committee to investigate the cause of tonight’s train accident in greater detail,” Rasyidin said.

Accidents are common on Indonesia’s aging railroad network. In January 2024, two trains collided in West Java province, killing at least four people. (AP)

Iran elected vice-president at NPT review conference; UN chief warns of rising nuclear threat

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April 28, 2026

NEW YORK, Apr 28: Iran has been elected vice-president of the ongoing Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in New York, a development Tehran described as recognition of its longstanding position in favour of a nuclear-weapon-free world.
Iran has been elected as a vice president of the ongoing NPT Review Conference in New York, the country’s mission to the UN said, even though the country is in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, according to the UN nuclear watchdog.
In a statement, Iran’s mission to the UN in Vienna said the election reflects the country’s “role and advocacy” for global nuclear disarmament. It noted that Iran was among the earliest signatories to the NPT and recalled its 1974 proposal calling for a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East. Reaffirming its official stance, Tehran reiterated its position: “nuclear energy for all, nuclear weapons for none.”
The statement also highlighted Iran’s claim of a religious prohibition on nuclear weapons, referring to a decree issued by its late Supreme Leader banning their use.
Last year, the 35-member board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution declaring that Iran is in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time since 2005.
The IAEA said at the time Iran had consistently failed to provide information about undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple locations.
Meanwhile, addressing the conference, United Nations Secretary-General Ant nio Guterres issued a warning over the growing risks posed by nuclear weapons, cautioning that the world is slipping into a “dangerous state of amnesia” about their catastrophic consequences.
He recalled that the global push for nuclear disarmament dates back to the very first resolution of the UN General Assembly in 1946, but warned that decades of progress are now under strain. “Nuclear sabers are rattling once more. Mistrust is rising. Arms control is eroding,” he said.
Guterres pointed to a surge in global military spending, which reached $2.7 trillion last year, alongside a worrying increase in nuclear warheads-the first such rise in decades. He also flagged renewed discussions around nuclear testing and the possibility of more states seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.
“The only reason the world avoided catastrophe in the past was because leaders chose restraint,” he said, reiterating that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.”
Calling the NPT the “bedrock” of global non-proliferation efforts, Guterres urged member states to honour their commitments without delay or conditions. He stressed the need to strengthen verification mechanisms under the International Atomic Energy Agency and reinforce norms against nuclear testing.
He further warned that emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing are adding new dimensions to nuclear risk, underscoring the need for the treaty to evolve in response to modern challenges.
The conference comes at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions and weakening arms control frameworks, placing renewed focus on the credibility and future of the global non-proliferation regime.
(UNI)

Former Pak PM Imran Khan treated for eye ailment, sent back to prison

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April 28, 2026

ISLAMABAD, Apr 28: Pakistan’s incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan was treated at a local hospital for his right eye ailment and then shifted back to prison on Tuesday.Â

Khan, 74, was diagnosed with right central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) in late January and brought to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), where he was given an anti-VEGF injection, a treatment being repeated every month. He was last treated on March 23.

According to the Pims spokesperson, Khan was brought to the hospital on April 28 for follow-up eye treatment, during which he received a fourth intravitreal injection.

Khan was shifted back to prison after the procedure.Â

“Prior to the procedure, he was examined by the ophthalmologists and was found to be clinically stable,” he said, adding that Imran’s “optical coherence tomography was performed, which showed clinical improvement”.

Khan was injected with a fourth dose of intravitreal injection under the guidance of microscopy by the surgeons, he added.

“During the course of his stay, Khan remained vitally stable before, during and after the procedure and was discharged along with instructions for further care and follow-up advice and documents,” he said.

Khan’s family and party have demanded that he should be moved to a private hospital and given treatment in the presence of family members.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Gohar Ali Khan in a post on X confirmed Khan’s medical check-up.

“Whatever the treatment, our concern remains unanswered,” Gohar said, referring to the demand that Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, be moved to a hospital for treatment under the supervision of personal doctors accompanied by family members.

“This is their fundamental right,” he said.

Earlier, Bushra also underwent eye surgery at a Rawalpindi hospital on April 17 and then shifted back to Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, where the former first couple had been serving sentences in a corruption case.Â

Both Khan and Bushra have been incarcerated in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, after the conviction in the Al-Qadir Trust case in January last year. (PTI)