1 dead in protests over India’s military recruitment policy

At least one person was killed Friday as angry young people in parts of India burned train coaches, blocked highways and attacked police with rocks in a second day of violent demonstrations against a new short-term government recruitment policy for the military, police said.

The death occurred in Secundrabad in southern India, where vastly outnumbered police used batons and fired shots at about 500 protesters who rampaged at a railroad station for more than an hour, police said. Fifteen people were reportedly injured. The protesters attacked police with rocks, an officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

Television images showed people setting empty train coaches on fire and vandalizing railroad property. They burned tires and blocked train tracks, disrupting train service in the region for several hours.

India internet law adds to fears over online speech, privacy

It began in February with a tweet by pop star Rihanna that sparked widespread condemnation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of massive farmer protests near the capital, souring an already troubled relationship between the government and Twitter.

Moving to contain the backlash, officials hit Twitter with multiple injunctions to block hundreds of tweets critical of the government. Twitter complied with some and resisted others.

Relations between Twitter and Modi’s government have gone downhill ever since. At the heart of the standoff is a sweeping internet law that puts digital platforms like Twitter and Facebook under direct government oversight. Officials say the rules are needed to quell misinformation and hate speech and to give users more power to flag objectionable content.

Indian, Chinese foreign ministers discuss border standoff

The foreign ministers of India and China met in Tajikistan on Wednesday with New Delhi stressing that a military standoff along a mountainous border area was profoundly disturbing their ties, and warning that any unilateral change in the status quo by Beijing was unacceptable.

“Full restoration and maintenance of peace and tranquility in border areas is essential for the development of bilateral ties,” Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said in a tweet.

Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization foreign ministers’ meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. China’s Foreign Ministry quoted Wang as saying the standoff benefited neither side and that China wanted to resolve the situation through dialogue.

Lightning strikes in India kill 38 people in 24 hours

Lightning has killed at least 38 people across two Indian states over the past 24 hours, officials said Monday.

A majority of the deaths occurred in the western state of Rajasthan, where 11 people died after being struck by lightning near a watchtower at the 12th century Amber Fort, police said.

Senior police officer Anand Srivastava said some of the victims were taking selfies near the watchtower when lightning struck late Sunday. Srivastava said at least nine more people were killed and nearly 20 others were injured in separate lightning strikes when the state was lashed with thunderstorms and monsoon rains.

In Uttar Pradesh, 18 people were killed by lightning on Sunday, said Manoj Dixit, a government official. Most of those killed were farm laborers working in fields.

India’s Modi drops 12 Cabinet ministers in massive reshuffle

In a massive Cabinet revamp, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi dropped 12 senior Cabinet ministers on Wednesday and inducted a younger team aimed at refurbishing his government’s image after widespread criticism of its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, whose response to the epidemic came under close examination, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Law and Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar were among those who resigned hours ahead of the reshuffle. Prasad was involved in a bitter row with Twitter over India’s new internet regulations, which digital activists say could curtail online speech and privacy.

Fifteen Cabinet ministers and 28 junior ministers were sworn in by President Kovind at a ceremony in the presidential palace on Wednesday. Eight junior ministers were elevated to Cabinet rank.

Dilip Kumar, Bollywood’s great ‘Tragedy King,’ dies at 98

Bollywood icon Dilip Kumar, hailed as the “Tragedy King” and one of Hindi cinema’s greatest actors, died Wednesday in a Mumbai hospital after a prolonged illness. He was 98.

The “Tragedy King” title came from Kumar’s numerous serious roles. In several, his character died as a frustrated lover and a drunkard. He also was known as Bollywood’s only Method actor for his expressive performances identifying a character’s emotions.

Kumar was hospitalized twice last month after he complained of breathlessness, and his family tweeted “with a heavy heart and profound grief” the announcement of his passing. “Dilip Kumar will be remembered as a cinematic legend. He was blessed with unparalleled brilliance, due to which audiences across generations were enthralled. His passing away is a loss to our cultural world,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet. “An institution has gone,” Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan tweeted. “Whenever the history of Indian Cinema will be written, it shall always be ‘before Dilip Kumar, and after Dilip Kumar’ ..”

Indian military: 2 drones intercepted over base in Kashmir

India’s military said it thwarted a major threat when it intercepted two drones flying over an army base in Indian-controlled Kashmir early Monday, a day after suspected explosives-laden drones were used to attack an air base in the disputed region.

The military said troops around midnight spotted two drones separately flying over Kaluchak military base on the outskirts of Jammu city.

“Immediately, high alert was sounded and Quick Reaction Teams engaged them with firing,” the military said in a statement. “Both the drones flew away.” Troops launched search operations in the area, the statement said, adding that troops remained on high alert.

On Sunday, Indian officials said two drones carrying explosives were used to attack an air base in Jammu city and called it the first such incident of its kind in India. Officials said two soldiers were lightly wounded in the two explosions, which also caused minor damage to a building on the base. No military equipment was damaged.