NewsBytes

Ancient Hindu idols recovered during excavation in Anantnag

Ancient Hindu idols were recovered during excavation work for the renovation of a spring in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district, officials said. The idols and 'Shivlings' were recovered at Karkoot Nag in the Salia area of Aishmuqam in the south Kashmir district. The site holds significance for Kashmiri Pandits, who associate it with the Karkoota dynasty that ruled Kashmir from 625 to 855 CE. The Public Works Department is undertaking revival and restoration works in the spring and the labourers recovered the idols during the excavation work, officials said on Saturday. They said the officials of the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums visited the site, and added the idols will be sent to Srinagar for material and dating testing to determine their age and origins. "We will shift them to SPS museum where they will be studied by research scholars and the department," they said. According to a Kashmiri Pandit, "There has been an impact of the Karkoota dynasty in this area, so there is a probability that a temple might have been there or someone might have kept them there for preservation". He said the site, about 16 km from the district headquarters, has been a pilgrimage centre.

Pak supports Iran’s right to develop nuclear capability for peaceful purposes

Pakistan on August 3 supported Iran's right to develop nuclear capability for peaceful purposes, as the two sides signed several agreements to expand cooperation in multiple fields. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who arrived in Islamabad on Saturday, met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at his official residence. At a joint press conference following their meeting, Sharif emphasised that Iran has the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, which has been at the centre of the ongoing tensions with Israel. "Pakistan stands with Iran for the acquisition of peaceful nuclear power," he said. Interestingly, Sharif's remarks come amid heightened tensions between Iran and the US, which has designated Pakistan a "major non-NATO ally", over Tehran's nuclear programme.

Pakistan Cricket Board quits World Championship of Legends

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially announced that it will no longer participate in any future editions of the World Championship of Legends (WCL), raising concerns about the tournament's fairness, integrity and political neutrality, according to reports citing the PCB. “The championship’s handling of events appeared to be under invisible pressures,” the PCB noted. “The apology issued later seemed motivated by a specific form of nationalism, making it difficult for us to continue our participation,” it added. The decision was taken during a Board of Governors meeting, chaired by PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi. One of the most contentious issues raised by the board was the decision to award points to a team that had voluntarily forfeited a match, a move the PCB claimed as “highly questionable” and against the spirit of fair competition.

Seeds of seabuckthorn, Himalayan buckwheat part of experiment on ISS

Seeds of seabuckthorn and buckwheat grown in the cold desert of Ladakh are part of the experiments on board the International Space Station flown by NASA's Crew-11 mission. Seeds procured from 11 nations across five continents are part of the study spearheaded by US-based bioastronautics firm Jaguar Space, which plans to expose the seeds to microgravity conditions for a week. The seeds are part of the "Emerging Space Nation's Space for Agriculture & Agriculture for Space" payload that flew to the ISS along with NASA's Crew-11, which lifted off from Florida on Friday and docked onto the orbital lab on Saturday. The seeds will be brought back by the Crew-10, which is expected to return to Earth later this month. The seeds grown in Ladakh were sourced by Bengaluru-based space start-up Protoplanet.