Massive row over IND vs PAK Asia Cup clash months after Operation Sindoor: ‘Stop profit over blood…’
Ahead of the upcoming India-Pakistan cricket face-off, scheduled months after border tension and a deadly Pahalgam terror attack, a political row has emerged in the country.
PM Modi’s BIG statement on ‘Operation Sindoor’, says, ‘No safe heaven for India’s enemies and…’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday, i.e., July 27, said that India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ — launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack which had claimed 26 lives — has compelled the world to acknowledge the country’s strength and resolve.
Parliament Monsoon Session: Lok Sabha to discuss ‘Op Sindoor’ tomorrow, PM Modi likely to be present
Lok Sabha on Monday is set to discuss key legislations, including a high-stakes special discussion on ‘Operation Sindoor’ India’s military response to the Pahalgham terror attack.
White House orders Hegseth to stop polygraphs on Pentagon staff suspected of leaking: report
The White House pulled the plug on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of polygraph tests to root out leakers, according to a report. Patrick Weaver, a current adviser to Hegseth, alerted high-ranking administration officials that he could soon have to submit a polygraph test, the Washington Post reported. That prompted a call to Hegseth to drop the lie detector tests. PENTAGON FREEZES OUT DC THINK TANKS IN NEW MOVE, CITING ‘AMERICA LAST’ CONCERNS Weaver, who has previously held roles on the White House’s National Security Council and in the Department of Homeland Security during President Donald Trump’s first administration, took offense to the potential measure. The investigation to identify leakers within the Department of Defense began in late March with a memo from Joe Kasper, then Hegseth’s chief of staff. “Recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications with principals within the Office of the Secretary of Defense demand immediate and thorough investigation,” Kasper wrote in the March 21 memo. SCOOP: TOP HEGSETH AIDE RESIGNS FROM PENTAGON AFTER 6 MONTHS OF SERVICE “The use of polygraphs in the execution of this investigation will be in accordance with applicable law and policy,” Kasper added. The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment. The revelation is the latest controversy at the Pentagon, which earlier this year endured the ‘Signalgate’ scandal. Discussions about military action between Hegseth and a group of top Trump officials were leaked, despite being conducted on the encrypted app. Then-national security advisor Michael Waltz assumed “full responsibility” for the misstep of including the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg on the Signal chat alongside Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Hegseth. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR MIKE WALTZ TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR ‘EMBARRASSING’ SIGNAL CHAT LEAK In the aftermath of the accidental leak to a journalist about impending U.S. military strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, Trump has remained firmly in Hegseth’s corner, offering public support. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Rubio rips Venezuela’s Maduro as ‘narco-terrorist’ leader threatening US one year after disputed election
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hammering Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro on Sunday as the South American country holds municipal elections to fill hundreds of mayoral positions and thousands of council seats. The municipal contests are happening one day before the one-year anniversary of Venezuela’s presidential election, which was widely condemned by the United States and other international observers as illegitimate. The Trump administration, meanwhile, has been escalating pressure against Maduro in recent days, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday accused the foreign head of state of being the leader of an entity aiding terrorism against the U.S. “One year since dictator Nicolás Maduro defied the will of the Venezuelan people by baselessly declaring himself the winner, the United States remains firm in its unwavering support to Venezuela’s restoration of democratic order and justice,” Rubio said in a statement on Sunday. “Maduro is not the President of Venezuela and his regime is not the legitimate government.” TRUMP FOE BOASBERG ORDERS DOJ TO DETAIL STATUS OF CECOT MIGRANTS SENT TO VENEZUELA “Maduro is the leader of the designated narco-terrorist organization Cartel de Los Soles, and he is responsible for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe,” Rubio continued. “Maduro, currently indicted by our nation, has corrupted Venezuela’s institutions to assist the cartel’s criminal narco-trafficking scheme into the United States.” The Justice Department charged Maduro and 14 other former and current Venezuelan officials with narco-terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking and other criminal charges in March 2020. At the start of this year, 10 days before President Donald Trump returned to office, the State Department increased its reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture from $15 million to up to $25 million. “For years, Maduro and his cronies have manipulated Venezuela’s electoral system to maintain their illegitimate grip on power,” Rubio added on Sunday. “By scheduling the municipal elections on the eve of the anniversary of the stolen July 28 presidential election, the regime once again aims to deploy the military and police to suppress the will of the Venezuelan people.” “The United States will continue working with our partners to hold accountable the corrupt, criminal and illegitimate Maduro regime. Those who steal elections and use force to grasp power undermine America’s national security interests,” Rubio said. Maduro became the Venezuelan president in 2013, but the U.S. has not recognized his presidency since 2019. The U.S. and other countries have refused to recognize Maduro as the winner of the July 2024 Venezuelan election, citing widespread fraud. VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION MEMBER DETAILS HARROWING 400-DAY CAPTIVITY AT UN The Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned the Cartel de los Soles, also known as Cartel of the Suns, as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.” The U.S. alleges that Cartel de los Soles is headed by Maduro and other Venezuelan high-ranking individuals in his regime “who corrupted the institutions of government in Venezuela, including parts of the military, intelligence apparatus, legislature, and the judiciary, to assist the cartel’s endeavors of trafficking narcotics into the United States.” The U.S. claims the Venezuela-based group provides material support to Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel. The Trump administration classified Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel as foreign terrorist organizations in February. According to the Treasury Department, the name Cartel de los Soles is derived from the sun insignias often portrayed on the uniforms of Venezuelan military officials. The cartel “supports Tren de Aragua in carrying out its objective of using the flood of illegal narcotics as a weapon against the United States,” according to the Treasury Department. Bessent said on Friday that the new action “exposes the illegitimate Maduro regime’s facilitation of narco-terrorism through terrorist groups like Cartel de los Soles.” “The Treasury Department will continue to execute on President Trump’s pledge to put America First by cracking down on violent organizations including Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, and their facilitators, like Cartel de los Soles,” he added.
Florida senator calls on New Yorkers who ‘hate socialism’ to move south with aerial ad
Florida Sen. Rick Scott flew an aerial ad across the skies of New York City on Saturday with a message encouraging residents to relocate to the Sunshine State to escape socialism, should Zohran Mamdani become mayor of the Big Apple. The banner was seen above Coney Island and Jones Beach as beachgoers soaked up the sun. “Hate socialism?” read Scott’s aerial ad. “Us too! Move 2 FL.” Scott addressed the aerial banner in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “While many New Yorkers are out enjoying the beach this weekend, we will be giving them a friendly reminder that in addition to our world class beaches, Florida is the state where you can escape socialism,” said Scott, who headed the state as governor from 2011-2019. UNEARTHED VIDEO EXPOSES MAMDANI’S ‘UNABASHED’ COMMITMENT TO SUPPORTING ANTI-ISRAEL SANCTIONS AS LAWMAKER The Republican senator slammed New York City and the politics of Mamdani. “New York City once represented the American Dream – a city where anything was possible,” Scott said. “Today, it has now become the city where only billionaires can prosper, Jewish students are attacked on campus, capitalism is shunned and radical socialists like Zohran Mamdani are celebrated.” Mamdani handily won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary last month against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Mamdani is seen as a frontrunner in the race for City Hall, though many in the Democratic establishment have yet to fully embrace the socialist nominee. NYC COUNCILWOMAN WARNS MAMDANI VICTORY WILL DRIVE AWAY KEY VOTING BLOC: ‘AFRAID TO LIVE HERE’ Scott said New York City reaped the rewards of capitalism, “the best system in the world,” which is now “being villainized by the Democrats all across this country.” “Democrats are working around the clock to discredit President Trump and tear down our country and rebuild it in their woke, radical image through socialist policies,” the Republican said. “But, this isn’t new. It’s just an old, barbaric, discredited idea that’s failed every time it’s been tried. Just look at Cuba and Venezuela and the many families who fled those brutal regimes to live in Florida.” Scott said that during his time in political office he worked to ensure that families in Florida could achieve the American Dream, including good jobs, education and safe communities. “That is the American Dream and it is deeply unfortunate that it is completely slipping away in New York,” he said. “New York families deserve better.” Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson contributed to this report.
Democrats are hammering Republicans on Epstein, but one senator brushed off the issue years ago
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., believes it’s “weird” that the Trump administration has not released documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, but at one point, it was the last thing on her mind. Democrats have searched for an opening to sharpen their messaging against Republicans, and have pounced on the administration and their colleagues across the aisle to release the documents. But Republicans have questioned why their counterparts didn’t have the same energy when former President Joe Biden was in office. In a recent interview on PBS’ “Firing Line,” Slotkin, who has emerged as a leading voice in the Democratic Party, said that while she did not know what was in the documents, it was odd that President Donald Trump and his administration had not released them. ‘LOUDER BY THE HOUR’: SENATE GOP WANTS THE EPSTEIN DRAMA TO END, BUT DEMOCRATS AREN’T LETTING IT GO “The president and his allies have created so much anticipation about these files at this point, it’s just weird that they’re not releasing them, right? The president fomented this,” she said. But nearly five years ago, ahead of Biden’s eventual victory and a Democratic trifecta in Washington, the issue of Epstein was not a priority for the lawmaker, who at the time was in her first term in the House. In a video from 2020 obtained by Fox News Digital, Slotkin said that diving into the connections between former President Bill Clinton and Epstein were not “front of mind.” The sentiment came in response to a question about why there had been little mention of allegations that Clinton was in the trove of documents related to Epstein. She argued that there were more pressing issues at the time, like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the economic fallout spurred by it. SENATE REPUBLICAN DEMANDS STATE, FEDERAL COURTS ‘IMMEDIATELY UNSEAL ALL’ EPSTEIN DOCS “In the face of those problems, I will be honest, I don’t spend a ton of time looking into connections between Bill Clinton and other people, because that doesn’t help my constituents every single day, right? And my job is to focus on those issues,” she said. “I have no special knowledge of those issues, but my job is to focus on the things that affect people’s pocketbooks and their kids, and if I’m not making positive progress towards that, I’m not doing my job,” she continued. “And so, I can’t answer your question, because that’s not where I live and where I focus.” Fox News Digital reached out to Slotkin for comment for this report but did not hear back. ‘NOT GOING AWAY’: INSIDE THE EPSTEIN DRAMA THAT’S THROWN HOUSE GOP INTO CHAOS Congressional Democrats, and some Republicans, have pushed for more transparency from the Trump administration on the release of a trove of documents, known as the so-called Epstein files, in a saga that has engulfed Capitol Hill for much of July. The furor in Congress stemmed from a Justice Department memo released earlier this month that declared the Epstein case closed, and has not lost steam in the time since. Epstein intrigue paralyzed the House, causing House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to send lawmakers home early as a bipartisan swell grew to uncover the documents. The Senate has been less chaotic. Still, Senate Democrats have ramped up their messaging against the administration, while many Senate Republicans would prefer to focus their attention elsewhere.
Israel says it’s distributing aid in Gaza, so why are people starving?
One hundred twenty-seven people, 85 of them children, have died from hunger or malnutrition as a result of Israel’s siege of Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blocked all aid to Gaza in March, claiming that it was to pressure Hamas into accepting a ceasefire that Israel broke unilaterally later that month. This week, the Israeli government has blamed the United Nations for the situation, even accusing its aid agency of working with Hamas to restrict food from getting to people. This was not the first time Israel blocked aid from entering Gaza. In March 2024, Israel stopped UN aid convoys from reaching northern Gaza as it attempted to starve the population there into fleeing. In September, 15 international aid organisations said Israel was blocking 83 percent of Gaza’s aid. In both instances, Israel denied blocking aid, blaming either UN inefficiency or Hamas for aid not reaching people in areas it has claimed to control for much of the war. So, what has Israel said, and does it accept that a man-made famine is under way in Gaza? Here’s what we know. So is there no aid system in Gaza now? After receiving much criticism over the increased threat of famine that its siege had inflicted on Gaza, Israel, along with its US ally, backed the creation of the GHF in May. The GHF was intended to replace the UN and international aid agencies, which have operated some 400 aid distribution points across Gaza, with four erratically operated distribution points in Gaza’s centre and south. Advertisement Since May, the Israeli military and private contractors, understood to be American, have killed more than 1,000 people trying to access food at GHF distribution points. There are still some limited UN aid distribution operations, but they are so severely restricted that their effect cannot be felt. Does Israel accept that there’s starvation in Gaza? It does not. On Friday, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which is responsible for coordinating aid into Gaza, contradicted the claims of numerous aid agencies, asserting that “there is no famine in the Gaza Strip”. However, it said, there were “pockets” across Gaza where people had “issues of access to food”. Yazan, a malnourished 2-year-old Palestinian boy, sit with his brothers at their family’s damaged home in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, on July 23, 2025 [Omar al-Qatta/AFP] So Israel claims that there’s enough aid being distributed? Not so much. Israel claims that shortfalls are occurring because much of the aid lies “rotting in the sun” because the UN has not distributed it. Israel’s military radio, Kan, recently reported that the Israeli army has burned or buried some 1,000 trucks’ worth of aid that it deemed spoiled or expired. David Mencer, a spokesperson for Netanyahu’s office, told the BBC on Friday that the UN in Gaza is a “billion-dollar racket” and accused the UN of working with Hamas to “restrict … aid to its own people”. Mercer did not provide any reason as to why the UN might do that, or any evidence to back his claims. Is the UN working with Hamas? Not according to the UN itself. On Wednesday, addressing the UN Security Council, Israel’s ambassador, Danny Danon, accused UN aid chief, Tom Fletcher, as well as the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, of somehow being affiliated with Hamas. Danon provided no evidence. Responding in writing the following day, Fletcher said, “I expect the Israeli authorities to immediately share any evidence that led them to make such claims.” Israel’s Ambassador Danny Danon has presented unsupported claims to the UN that staff members of the aid agency, the Office Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, are working with Hamas [File: Brendan McDermid/Reuters] In January 2024, Israel accused another UN aid body, the UN Relief and Works Agency, of working with Hamas. An independent review into Israel’s allegations concluded in April 2024 that it had provided no evidence to support its claim. Is Hamas stealing aid? Not according to Israel’s military and its principal ally, the US. Advertisement Citing unnamed Israeli military officials, The New York Times reported on Saturday that the UN aid operation was relatively reliable and less vulnerable to interference than others, adding that there was no evidence Hamas regularly stole from the UN. An internal report by the US’s development agency, USAID, in late June also concluded that there was no evidence of the systematic looting of US-provided aid by Hamas. So far, the only evidence of aid being systematically looted points to criminal gangs now partnering with Israel and the GHF. People carry relief supplies from the GHF, a private US-backed aid group that has bypassed the longstanding UN-led system in the territory [Eyad Baba/AFP] So, why isn’t aid reaching people in Gaza? Months of Israel’s siege have led to the effective breakdown of Gaza’s society, with food convoys at risk of being overwhelmed by starving, desperate crowds, the UN says. To deliver aid to where it is needed, the UN would need the support of the Israeli military. On Wednesday, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said half of the 16 food distribution requests submitted to the Israeli military had been refused. “Bureaucratic … and other operational obstacles imposed by Israeli authorities; ongoing hostilities and access constraints within Gaza; and incidents of criminal looting, and more shooting incidents that have killed and injured people gathering to offload aid supplies along convoy routes” have limited efforts to deliver aid, Dujarric told reporters. What is the outcome of that? Starvation. As we noted above, 127 people, most of whom are children, have already died of starvation in Gaza. Death through hunger occurs over three stages. The first starts as early as a skipped meal; the second comes with any prolonged period of fasting when the body relies on stored fats for energy. The third, and often fatal, stage is when all stored fats have been depleted and the body turns to bone and muscle
Syria, Israel hold talks in Paris over conflict in southern Syria’s Suwayda
A Syrian official tells Al Jazeera Damascus emphasises the unity and sovereignty of Syria are nonnegotiable. Syrian and Israeli officials have held talks in Paris mediated by the United States, according to a Syrian official, in the wake of an eruption of sectarian violence compounded by Israeli military intervention in southern Syria. The meeting on Saturday was held to address recent security developments around the southern Druze-majority city of Suwayda, which has been the scene of fierce fighting in recent weeks between Bedouins and Druze fighters. Israel intervened in the conflict, striking government buildings in Damascus and government soldiers in Suwayda province, saying it was doing so to protect the Druze. The Syrian official told Al Jazeera Arabic that Damascus’s delegation at the Paris meeting emphasised that the unity and sovereignty of Syria are nonnegotiable and Suwayda and its people are an integral part of Syria. It also rejected any attempt to exploit segments of Syrian society for partition, the official said. The source said the Syrian delegation held Israel responsible for the recent escalation and demanded the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from the points they had recently advanced to during the unrest. ‘Honest and responsible’ Syria’s state-run Ekhbariya TV, quoting its own diplomatic source, reported that the meeting did not result in any final agreements but the parties had agreed to continue talks aimed at maintaining stability. The TV source described the dialogue as “honest and responsible” in the first confirmation from the Syrian side that talks had taken place. Advertisement On Friday, US envoy Tom Barrack said officials from both countries spoke about de-escalating the situation in Syria during talks on Thursday. Hundreds of people have been reported killed in the fighting in Suwayda, which also drew in government forces. Israel, which carried out air strikes, during this month’s violence, has regularly struck Syria and launched incursions into its territory since longtime former President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December. Last week’s fighting underlined the challenges interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa faces in stabilising Syria and maintaining centralised rule. Syria’s government announced a week ago that Bedouin fighters had been cleared out of Suwayda and government forces were deployed to oversee their exit from the entire province. The announcement came after al-Sharaa ordered a new ceasefire between Bedouin and Druze groups after a separate US-brokered deal to avert further Israeli military attacks on Syria. The diplomatic source, who spoke to Ekhbariya TV, said the meeting on Saturday involved initial consultations aimed at “reducing tensions and opening channels of communication amid an ongoing escalation since early December”. Adblock test (Why?)
Pakistan issues glacial floods alert for northwest, heavy rain forecast
Areas affected include popular tourist destinations, such as Fairy Meadows, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan. Pakistan has issued a warning about glacial flooding in the northwest with more rain forecast in the coming week, as the country experiences above-average rainfall this monsoon season and continues to struggle to recover from devastating floods in 2022. Downpours are heavier in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province than the same period last year, prompting weather advisories and alerts for flooding from glacial lake outbursts, said Anwar Shahzad, a spokesperson for the local disaster management authority, on Saturday. The weather advisory alert comes after the authority sent out a letter earlier this month saying “persistent high temperatures may accelerate snow and glacier melt and subsequent weather events” in vulnerable parts of the region, underscoring the ongoing heavy impact of climate change on the country. Spokesperson Faizullah Firaq said on Saturday there was “severe destruction” in some areas and damage to houses, infrastructure, crops, and businesses. Search operations were under way to find missing people on the Babusar Highway, where flooding struck nine villages. Helicopters rescued tourists stuck in the popular spot, Fairy Meadows, he added. Abdul Samad, from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tourism Department, said rescue teams evacuated more than 500 holidaymakers from Naran after a cloudburst overnight Friday caused a road closure. Authorities deployed heavy machinery to remove debris and restore access. In the neighbouring Gilgit-Baltistan region, the government said it had distributed hundreds of tents, thousands of food packets, and medicine to flood-affected communities. Three people died there on Tuesday when a cloudburst caused floods and landslides, stranding more than 200 tourists who were later rescued. Advertisement Zakir Hussein, director general of Gilgit-Baltistan’s Disaster Management Authority, said on Tuesday that while warnings help reduce the presence of tourists in these vulnerable areas, they are not always enough. “Generally, tourists pay attention to our warning notices. Those who still choose to come are either those who did not see the warning or those who have some urgency to visit,” Hussein told Al Jazeera. “At the end of the day, it is weather prediction, but considering the severity of the consequences, people should take it seriously.” The rains are a routine part of South Asia’s climate and are essential for crop irrigation and replenishing water supplies. However, their adverse effect has worsened in recent years due to rapid urban expansion, poor drainage systems, and more frequent extreme weather events linked to climate change. Pakistan’s above-average rainfall this monsoon season has raised concerns of a repeat of the devastating 2022 floods that submerged a third of the country, killed 1,737 people and displaced more than 30 million. Some 260 have died across Pakistan so far this season, which runs through to mid-September. Pakistan, which has a population of about 250 million, is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change, but one of the lowest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. It is also home to more than 7,000 glaciers – the largest outside the Earth’s polar regions. Adblock test (Why?)