Cuba’s coastguard shot dead four people and injured six others travelling in a US-registered speedboat in an exchange of fire off the Cuban coast on Wednesday, the interior ministry in Havana said. The “illegal” Florida-registered boat was detected one nautical mile from Falcones Cay in Villa Clara province, the ministry said in a brief statement. As a coastguard vessel approached to identify the boat, “shots were fired from the boat,” injuring the commander of the Cuban vessel, the ministry added. “As a result of the clash, at the time of this report, on the foreign side, four aggressors were killed and six others were wounded,” the ministry said, adding that the injured were evacuated and received medical assistance. The ministry said that it remained committed to “protecting its territorial waters.”The firefight comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and the communist island, which lies just 100 miles across the Florida Straits. It came as Washington softened a virtual oil siege of the island imposed by President Donald Trump in January after the US ouster of top Cuba ally, Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela. Before Maduro’s capture by US forces on January 3, Cuba had relied on Venezuela for about half its fuel needs. Faced with an outcry from Caribbean leaders, worried that starving Cuba of oil would cause the economy to quickly collapse, Washington said it would allow shipments of Venezuelan oil for “commercial and humanitarian use.”

SRINAGAR: Ladakh administration has announced plans to launch high-end Changthang pashmina products in global luxury market and adopt a holistic approach to enable local processing of the prized fibre to increase local stakeholders’ income.Speaking at “From Changthang Fibre to Global Luxury Standards,” a two-day conclave beginning Tuesday, chief secretary Ashish Kundra stressed the need for collaboration among stakeholders — herders, artisans, designers, cooperatives, policymakers, and industry.“Ladakh produces 40–50 tonnes of pashmina fibre annually, but much of it goes outside the UT for processing,” Kundra said.During the inaugural ceremony, L-G Kavinder Gupta highlighted the administration’s vision to transform its iconic pashmina — sourced from goats raised in harsh, high-altitude Changthang — into a globally recognised luxury brand.

J-K Dy CM Surinder Choudhary after ACB raids his brother’s residence

JAMMU: The anti-corruption bureau (ACB) of J&K Police on Wednesday conducted searches at the properties of deputy chief minister Surinder Choudhary’s brother Vijay Choudhary, a serving police inspector posted in Ladakh, in connection with an alleged disproportionate assets (DA) case.Calling the raids an attempt to intimidate his family and maligh him, the deputy CM said they would fight it legally.An official spokesperson said searches were conducted by ACB teams at multiple locations, which included Vijay’s residential premises at Santokh Vihar (Kaluchak) and Nonial (Nowshera) in Jammu’s Rajouri district, business premises at Tutte di Khui, Bajalta (Jammu) and other locations.The sleuths seized incriminating documents during the searches and further investigation was on, the spokesperson said.Sharing details, an ACB spokesperson said the documents revealed Vijay had amassed assets amounting to crores of rupees, which were found highly disproportionate to his known sources of income. He had allegedly acquired more than 10 properties, including houses, shops and plots of land, in the name of his family members, relatives and others.Prima facie, a case of criminal misconduct was found made out against Vijay Choudhary under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and accordingly an FIR was filed, the spokesperson said.The deputy CM called the raids “politically motivated” and driven by “revenge”. He told media persons his family had nothing to conceal and they would fight it legally. While asserting that his brother was innocent, he said Vijay should be punished if he was found wrong.

JAMMU: A joint team of the Army and J&K Police on Wednesday recovered two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and assorted ammunition during an anti-terror exercise, codenamed Operation Ghani, in Poonch district, the Army stated.“Based on synergised intelligence inputs from own sources and J&K Police, a joint operation was launched by the troops of White Knight Corps and Special Operations Group of J&K Police in Gani forest area in Poonch,” the Army’s White Knight Corps stated in an X post.The searches led to the discovery of an arms cache concealed beneath a natural cave, the post said. “One big IED weighing 4.5kg, one small IED weighing 800g, two Chinese grenades, one 9mm pistol, two 9mm rounds, and 22 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition were recovered from the site,” an Army spokesperson said.The explosives and ammunition were destroyed in situ by a bomb disposal team.

NEW DELHI: Breaking away from routine taking up projects and policy proposals for “consideration and approval” agenda, the next Cabinet meeting will see ministers personally presenting the “major reforms” undertaken by their ministries and departments since June 2024 and their benefits.The change, officials said, aims at pushing forward the govt’s agenda of reducing compliance burden and simplification of rules and procedures for ease of living and business.In a communication — soon after Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting at the new Prime Minister’s Office Seva Teerth — cabinet secretary T V Somanathan told all ministries that the PM has “desired” that all ministers present major reforms in the next Cabinet meeting and the date will be intimated in due course.The communication has triggered hectic activities across ministries since Tuesday evening.Focus mainly will be on people-centric reforms in laws, policies, notifications, rules and regulations that each ministry has undertaken in the third term of Modi-led govt, TOI has learnt. Ministries have been asked to send to cabinet secretary by March 2 (Monday) a two-page “executive summary of the most significant reforms” that their ministers will present before the Cabinet.Officials said a detailed format has been sent to all ministries to specify the title of “three reforms under four categories and their impact”. They have also been asked to include the changes made — including abolition, simplification and rectification of forms, digitisation, risk-based inspection and self certification — for improving ease of doing business.This exercise, officials believe, will lead to ministries and departments sharing their experiences while framing and implementing reforms.

NEW DELHI: A woman and her three minor daughters were found murdered at their home in Outer Delhi’s Samaypur Badli on Wednesday morning. Police have launched a manhunt for the woman’s husband, who is suspected of being involved in the killings and has been missing since the incident came to light.The deceased, a resident of Siraspur village, lived with her husband and their three daughters, aged five, four, and three, in a ground-floor room in Chandan Park near Sarvodaya Vidyalaya. Her husband, Munchan Kewat, worked as a vegetable seller at Azadpur Mandi.The crime was reported around 8.20 am after neighbours alerted the police. A team from the local police station rushed to the house and found the bodies of the woman and her daughters lying on the floor. All four victims had their throats slit with a sharp-edged weapon.Preliminary investigations suggest that the victims may have been attacked while they were asleep. “We suspect they may have been killed while they were sleeping,” a senior police officer said.During the initial probe, officers found that the husband was not at home and could not be contacted. His sudden disappearance has raised strong suspicion. “The husband of the deceased has been absconding since early morning and is the prime suspect,” said Hareshwar Swami, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North).Police teams are conducting raids at possible hideouts and questioning relatives and acquaintances to trace his whereabouts. Investigators are also reviewing CCTV footage from nearby streets and entry and exit points to track the suspect’s movements. Forensic experts have collected evidence, and the bodies have been sent for post-mortem examinations to determine the exact cause and time of death.