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Zohran Mamdani is a Muslim of Gujarati ancestry and far-right social media politicians and users have been sharing Islamophobic posts against him. Marjorie Taylor Greene, US representative for Georgia’s 14th congressional district since 2021, was one of them.

Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old Democratic socialist just won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, and MAGA supporters are not chuffed. New York governor Andrew Cuomo, conceded defeat overnight, and if elected, Mamdani would be the first Indian-American and Muslim mayor in the history of New York City.

However, because he is a Muslim of Gujarati ancestry, far-right social media politicians and users have been sharing Islamophobic posts against him. Marjorie Taylor Greene, US representative for Georgia’s 14th congressional district since 2021, was one of them.

The post shows a digitally altered picture of the Statue of Liberty covered in a black burqa. Another MAGA supporter, Don Keith shared the picture with the caption, “Congratulations New York”. Nancy Mace, the US representative for South Carolina’s 1st congressional district since 2021, shared a photo of Mamdani in a kurta pajama, and captioned it as, “After 9/11 we said “Never Forget.” I think we sadly have forgotten.”

Apart from Republican politicians, users rushed to comment on the scenario, with one user writing, NYC in 2001: We will never forget! NYC in 2025: Elects Muslim jihadist! NYC in 2040: Obey Sharia Law or leave! NYC in 2060: Convert to Islam or die!”, and another saying, “The stupidity of NYC voting for their own demise! While the Jihadist might have won the primary as the Democrat candidate, it doesn’t mean he’s going to be mayor! But if he in fact does win, DOOM on those who blindly opted to vote for their own city’s downfall!”

Mamdani has been vocal about his criticism regarding US President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, and has slammed billionaire donors who backed Cuomo. He has also been outspoken against the Israeli war on Gaza and described the ordeal as a “genocide”, while clarifying that he is not anti-semitic.

After his win, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “It’s finally happened, the Democrats have crossed the line. Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor.”

He added, He added, “We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous. He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he’s not very smart, he’s got AOC+3, Dummies ALL, backing him, and even our Great Palestinian Senator, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, is grovelling over him. Yes, this is a big moment in the History of our Country!”

Mamdani directly responded to Trump at the Democratic debate and said, “I am Donald Trump’s worst nightmare, as a progressive, Muslim immigrant who actually fights for the things I believe in.”

Despite the backlash, it is noteworthy that the original designs for the Statue of the Liberty were inspired by sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi’s sketches of veiled Egyptian women. Today, it is known that the statue is a gift from France to the United States, celebrating their alliance during the American and French revolutions. The statue was originally envisioned as a peasant in traditional Arab dress – a Muslim woman, holding a lantern as a symbol of progress. However, when the Egyptian government rejected the proposal, he reworked on the concept and reimagined the statue as a classical Roman goddess and offered it to the United States, where it is now known as the Statue of Liberty.

The searches targeted residential and commercial premises, as well as a government office, linked to Nishant Sareen, his relatives, and associates.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has carried out extensive search operations on June 22 and 23, at seven locations across Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab in a case of alleged corruption, bribery, and misuse of official position by Nishant Sareen, currently posted as Assistant Drug Controller (ADC) in Dharamshala.

The searches targeted residential and commercial premises, as well as a government office, linked to Nishant Sareen, his relatives, and associates. The ED action is part of a money laundering probe initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), based on an FIR registered by the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Himachal Pradesh Police. The original FIR, filed under Section 11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, pertains to Mr Sareen’s earlier posting as ADC in Baddi, a major pharmaceutical hub.

Mr Sareen was previously arrested and later charge-sheeted along with his associate Komal Khanna. After being released on bail, he was transferred to Dharamshala in September 2024.

In a separate case, Haryana Police had filed an FIR in 2022 against Mr Sareen and others over allegations of forgery of a partnership deed of Zhenia Pharmaceuticals in Panchkula. The complaint also includes charges of threat and intimidation, further pointing to the alleged misuse of Mr Sareen’s official position.

During the ED raids, officials seized key documents such as drug licences, show cause notices, pharmaceutical approvals, property records, and digital evidence, including laptops, pen drives, and mobile phones. Two luxury vehicles worth approximately Rs 32 lakh were seized, along with more than 40 bank accounts, fixed deposits, and three lockers linked to Mr Sareen and his family.

Notably, over 60 unaccounted liquor bottles were recovered from Mr Sareen’s residence at Omaxe Cassia in New Chandigarh.

The ED is also probing fresh complaints of extortion during Sareen’s current posting in Dharamshala, and suspicious financial links between his family and pharmaceutical companies.

The ED’s probe stems from a first information report (FIR) filed by the anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government against former ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain, among others

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has unearthed substantial incriminating evidence in connection with the alleged ‘Delhi classroom construction scam’, following large-scale search operations carried out on June 18.

The searches were conducted at 37 locations across the national capital under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The ED’s probe stems from a first information report (FIR) filed by the anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government against former ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain, among others.

The case involves alleged financial misappropriation to the tune of over Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of approximately 12,748 additional classrooms by the public works department (PWD) between 2015 and 2023.

Investigators said the initial requirement was for 2,405 classrooms, but the project scope was arbitrarily and repeatedly expanded-first to 7,180 “equivalent classrooms” and later to 12,748 rooms – without proper sanction or administrative approval. This led to significant cost escalations, reportedly up to 49.03 per cent across different project phases.

ED officials said the search operation revealed original departmental files belonging to the Delhi government and rubber stamps bearing names and designations of PWD officials from the premises of a private contractor.

They also recovered 322 bank passbooks linked to mule accounts, allegedly opened in the names of labourers to facilitate diversion of government funds under the guise of legitimate payments.

The agency uncovered fake letterheads of contractors and shell entities, used to fabricate procurement records and generate fictitious purchase bills. Several dummy firms with no real infrastructure or operations were allegedly shown to have received substantial payments for classroom construction.

The ED seized forged invoices submitted to government departments, many of which either reflected inflated costs or entirely fictitious claims. Digital evidence and other financial documents recovered during the search are currently under forensic examination.

The agency said the evidence points to widespread corruption, use of shell entities, and systemic diversion of public funds. Further investigation is going on.

The role of unknown government officials and contractors is also being investigated in the alleged classroom scam.

Former AAP ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain are facing fresh trouble in the alleged Rs 2,000-crore classroom construction scam. The anti-corruption branch (ACB) of Delhi Police has registered a corruption case against the two leaders and started a comprehensive probe to ascertain the role of other alleged culprits.

The role of unknown government officials and contractors is also being investigated, said ACB chief Madhur Verma.

Deputy Chief Minister Mr Sisodia held the Education portfolio in the Arvind Kejriwal government, while Mr Jain was the minister in charge of PWD (Public Works Department), the government agency that carries out such constructions.

The ACB has found that over 12,000 classroom and school buildings were constructed at an exorbitant cost during the previous AAP regime, which led to alleged irregularities worth Rs 2,000 crore.

The contracts were awarded to 34 contractors, and most of them were found to be associated with the AAP. The construction was not completed within the stipulated timeframe, which led to a huge increase in cost, the ACB said.

The classrooms were built in the form of a Semi-Permanent Structure (SPS) that would last for 30 years. However, the cost turned out to be equal to that of pucca classrooms that have a life of 75 years, the anti-corruption probe has revealed.

The cost went up further since consultants and architects were hired without following the due process, the ACB said.

The probe began after some BJP leaders lodged complaints alleging that the cost for building classrooms had gone up nearly five times.

A report by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) also exposed several irregularities in the classroom project, but it was suppressed for almost three years, the ACB added.

The report said that the cost of SPS construction reached Rs 2,292 per sq ft, almost equal to the cost of building concrete school buildings at Rs 2044-2416 per sq ft. The project’s cost was increased by Rs 326 crore without bringing new tenders, it added.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) launched an attack on the BJP-led central government, questioning the secrecy around the first information report (FIR) registered against former Delhi ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain. The AAP alleged selective media leaks and suppression of the FIR to avoid public scrutiny.

“Why hide the FIR if it contains valid allegations? Is it so flimsy that the BJP fears public ridicule?” AAP leaders, calling the case a blatant misuse of investigative agencies.

Mr Bharadwaj cited official records showing the hospital projects in question were sanctioned between 2016 and 2018, while he assumed ministerial office only in March 2023. He emphasised there is no proof of corruption in these projects or the HIMS (Hospital Information Management System), which was announced in 2016-17.

Mr Bharadwaj, who is also the AAP Delhi chief, questioned why only two former ministers were named in the FIR while all responsible health and PWD officers were spared.

He said the Lieutenant Governor’s press note on June 24 referred to projects from 2018-19 and 2021, but the anti-corruption bureau chief’s press note mentioned only 2017-18 projects, raising questions on consistency.

Former minister Satyendar Jain also criticised the timing and nature of the allegations, calling them baseless and politically motivated. The AAP demanded the immediate public release of the FIR, asserting that transparency would reveal the case to be a “mockery of law.”

The ACB filed the case against Mr Bhardwaj and Mr Jain over alleged embezzlement of funds allocated for health infrastructure projects during the previous AAP government.

The case, filed under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, is based on a complaint by former Leader of the Opposition and current assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta.

According to the FIR, 24 hospital projects worth Rs 5,590 crore were sanctioned during 2018-2019. However, most of these projects remained incomplete, with significant and unexplained cost escalations.

Similarly, a Rs 1,125 crore ICU hospital project comprising seven pre-engineered facilities with a total of 6,800 beds is only 50 per cent complete, nearly three years after it began. Some Rs 800 crore has already been spent, despite the project initially having a six-month completion timeline.

The ACB reported unauthorised construction at government hospitals in Jwalapuri by Parnika Commercial and Estate Pvt Ltd and in Madipur by Ramacivil India Construction Pvt Ltd.

Muharram 2025: Muharram is an opportunity for Muslims to reflect on their actions, seek forgiveness and renew their commitment to their faith.

Muharram 2025: Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar, also known as the Hijri calendar, and holds significant importance in Islam. Muharram is considered the second-holiest month in the Islamic calendar after Ramadan. It is one of the four sacred months in Islam, during which fighting and violence are generally prohibited.

Muharram 2025 date:

In India, the crescent Moon was sighted on June 26, and the first day of Muharram-Ul-Haram will begin on June 27 (Friday), as declared by the Masjid-e-Nakhoda Markazi Rooyat-e-Hilal Committee. Ashura, the 10th of Muharram, will be observed on Sunday, July 6.

Muharram History and Significance:

For Shia Muslims, Muharram is a period of mourning to commemorate the death of Hazrat Imam Hussain, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala. Shia Muslims often participate in processions, recite poetry and engage in acts of self-mortification to express their grief and devotion, some even in self-flagellation to recreate the suffering experienced by Imam Hussain. Meanwhile, Sunni Muslims observe the day by fasting and offering prayers.

Muharram is an opportunity for Muslims to reflect on their actions, seek forgiveness and renew their commitment to their faith. The month also brings Muslims together, fostering a sense of community and unity as they observe various rituals and traditions.

What did J&K CM Omar Abdullah say?

Last week, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chaired a high-level review meeting to assess and finalise preparations for Muharram. He said, “We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts, and there should be no shortcomings from our side.”

Axiom Mission 4 has successfully docked on the ISS following a smooth liftoff from Kennedy Space Centre on June 25, 2025, at 12:01 PM IST

Axiom 4 Mission carrying the crew members has now reached the International Space Station (ISS) after getting launched from Kennedy Space Centre at 12:01 PM IST on June 25, 2025. Dragon has Commander Peggy Whitson, Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kapu, and Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla. It will dock to the Harmony module space-facing port on Thursday at 7 a.m. The flight engineers at NASA, Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, will be on duty and monitor Dragon during the automated approach of it, and also for the manoeuvres.

Dragon Capsule to Dock at Harmony Module on June 27

As per the confirmation by NASA, after docking, the Ax-4 astronauts will meet with the seven Expedition 73 crewmates. They will further participate in a safety briefing with the residents of the station. McClain and Ayers, with the rest of the crew, had a normal shift on Wednesday doing the microgravity research and lab maintenance.

McClain went through the research hardware and processed samples in the Destiny lab module, further photographed the work for ground analysis. Ayers performed the study on fluid physics in the Microgravity Science Glovbox, which can benefit pharmaceutical manufacturing techniques and 3D printing in space.

Expedition 73 Crew Prepares for Ax-4 Arrival with Routine Duties

NASA Fight Engineer Jonny Kim and Commander Takuya Onishi tested a specialised thigh cuff that can reverse the space-caused fluid shifts towards the upper body of the crew member. Both of them took turns wearing the biomedical device in the Columbus lab module as ultrasound 2 scans and measured blood pressure with cardiac output, heart rate and more to know the effectiveness of the thigh cuff concerning the health of the crew.

Scientific Research and Biomedical Tests Continue Aboard the ISS

Sergey Ryzhikov, the veteran cosmonaut and thrice a space visitor, started his shift in the Zvezda service lab module and replaced computer components before the day closed. Further, he charges science experiment batteries and activates an Earth observation camera. Alexey Zubritskiy, flight engineer at NASA, reorganised cargo inside the Nauka science module and stowed trash, and also discarded gear in the Progress 90 cargo craft because they had to depart the Poisk module after seven days. Another flight engineer, Kirill Peskov, cleaned the Nauka ventilation system and checked the exposure data of radiation while orbiting the Earth

Axiom-4’s journey began at 12.01 pm Wednesday when SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in the US.Air Force pilot Shubhanshu Shukla wrote a historic new chapter in the country’s space exploration story Thursday after becoming the first Indian to float into the International Space Station.

Live visuals from the ISS showed Shukla, and the other three astronauts on the Crew Dragon capsule, being helped through the vestibule connecting the spacecraft and the ISS. Each had big grins on their face and were welcomed with bear hugs by the seven astronauts already on the ISS.

The four then lined up for a photo op drinking liquids from a foil packet.

The capsule that carried the astronauts – part of Axiom-4, a private mission – docked this evening, completing a 28-hour flight from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre to a point 424km over the northern Atlantic Ocean.Docking is the procedure by which a spacecraft connects to the space station.

But before that docking can even begin the spacecraft must first rendezvous with the space station, meaning they must both be in the same orbital plane and be positioned close to each other.What follows is a series of complicated manoeuvres, including precise positioning by matching positional (location) and velocity vectors (speed and direction) to confirm a safe and secure physical connection between the spacecraft and space station to allow exchange of astronauts and cargo.

And then, at 4.01 pm (India time), Mission Control confirmed a ‘soft capture’, i.e., a connection allowing the spacecraft, named Grace after it reached orbit, and the station some room to move to absorb kinetic energy generated during initial contact.

Minutes later a ‘hard capture’, i.e., a more robust connection, was confirmed and, at 4.15 pm (India time) NASA said the docking sequence had been completed. “We are honored to be here… thank you,” Mission Commander Peggy Whitson told the International Space Station in a live stream of the docking.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is in China’s Qingdao to attend the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting.Sending a stern message to India’s neighbours, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has refused to sign a joint statement at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet because it did not mention the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 innocent lives and did not reflect India’s strong position on terror. While skipping any mention of Pahalgam, the document mentioned Balochistan, tacitly accusing India of creating unrest there. Pahalgam’s exclusion from the document appears to have been done at Pakistan’s behest as its all-weather ally, China, holds the Chair now. 

India has consistently trashed Pakistan’s allegations about its involvement in Balochistan and said Islamabad must look within and stop backing terror instead of making wild allegations. India is not satisfied with the language of the joint document. There was no mention of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, there was mention of the incidents that happened in Pakistan, so India refused to sign the joint declaration, and there is no joint communique either,” a Defence Ministry source said.

Mr Singh is currently in China’s Qingdao to attend the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting. The summit is being attended by member states, including Russia, Pakistan and China, to discuss issues related to regional and international security. Established in 2001, SCO aims to promote regional stability through cooperation. The bloc currently has 10 member states — Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Addressing the summit, the Defence Minister called upon SCO members to unite to eliminate terrorism for collective safety and security. He said the biggest challenges faced by the region are related to peace, security and trust deficit, with radicalisation, extremism and terrorism being the root cause of these problems.

“Peace and prosperity cannot co-exist with terrorism and proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the hands of non-state actors and terror groups. Dealing with these challenges requires decisive action. It is imperative that those who sponsor, nurture and utilise terrorism for their narrow and selfish ends must bear the consequences. Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of policy and provide shelter to terrorists. There should be no place for such double standards. SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations,” Mr Singh, taking in a veiled swipe at Pakistan.

Referring to the Pahalgam terror attack, he said India had exercised its right to defend against terrorism and pre-empt as well as deter further cross-border attacks. “During the Pahalgam terror attack, victims were shot after they were profiled on religious identity. The Resistance Front, a proxy of UN-designated terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) claimed responsibility for the attack. The pattern of Pahalgam attack matches with LeT’s previous terror attacks in India. India’s zero tolerance for terrorism was demonstrated through its actions. It includes our right to defend ourselves against terrorism. We have shown that epicentres of terrorism are no longer safe and we will not hesitate to target them,” he said.

He stressed the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of terror and to bring them to justice. He termed any and every act of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable. SCO members, he said, must condemn this evil unequivocally.

The Indian cricket team lost the first Test against England and will now be without Jasprit Bumrah in the second Testwill miss the second India vs England Test in Birmingham starting on July 2, sources confirmed to NDTV. The star fast bowler, who took five wickets in the first innnings of the first Test in Leeds, will not play the second Test as part of workload management. Bumrah’s absence is bound to come as a big blow to the Indian cricketeam as the other bowlers lacked the fire-power in  th first Test. While Bumrah took the first five-wicket haul of the series, Prasidh Krishna was expensive while Mohammed Siraj could not get enough wickets. Krishna’s figures were 3/128 in 20 overs and in the second innings it was 2/92 in 15 overs. Mohammed Siraj’s figures were 2/122 in 27 overs in the first innings and 0/51 in 14 overs in the second.  Compared to Bumrah’s figures of 5/140 from 43.4 overs at an economy rate of 3.20, the rest struggled to match his impact. fast bowleing all-rounders Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna combined to return with figures of 9/482 from 92 overs, a massive chasm.

Ahead of the series it was decided that Bumrah will play only three of the five Tests against England. The second Test starts on July 2 in Birmingham, and there is a little gap after that as the third Test starts on July 10 in Lord’s. Bumrah is likely to be available for the third Test. 

Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh are the two other specialist pacers in the squad. Medium pace allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is another option. Most indications point towards left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh replacing Bumrah in the XI. While Arshdeep has not played any Test, he has ODI and T20I experrience. In T20Is, he is India’s all-time highest wicket-taker with 99 scals in 63 games. Shardul Thakur may also be dropped for Reddy to add more batting muscle. Earlier, former India coach Ravi Shatri warned the side about resting Bumrah from the second Test. “If he (Bumrah) was looking at a rest, you may have to think twice. If you don’t have him and then go 2-0 down, it could be an uphill task,” Shastri said on Sky Sports.

Former India batting maestro Sunil Gavaskar had suggested that India should consider playing Bumrah in all five Tests. However, India coach Gambhir quickly turned down the suggestion, claiming they were more concerned about his workload.