Category: Global

Uttar Pradesh police in India have detained 12 people in Bareilly’s Mohammadganj village for offering Friday prayers at a private house without administrative permission, Indian media reports have said.

According to reports, authorities took the action as a preventive measure to maintain law and order following a local tip-off.

“No prior permission was taken from local administration for conducting the congregational prayer at the site. Considering the possibility of disturbance to peace, preventive action was taken against 12 individuals,” sub-inspector Anees of Bisharatganj police station told the Times of India.

SP (North) Anshika Verma told an Indian media outlet, “We received a tip-off that a house has been turned into a mosque and a madrassa. This was illegal. Those involved were told not to repeat such an activity without proper permission.”

The house, which usually remains locked, reportedly belongs to a woman named Resham. Her husband, Haseen Khan, died a few years ago, and she along with her two children currently work in another state, according to locals.

Afser Khan, a resident, said the village does not have a mosque and the nearest one is situated three kilometers away. “Old people normally find it difficult to travel that far, particularly in this cold weather. For their convenience, prayers were offered in that house. This dispute has been created unnecessarily,” Khan said.

Tejpal Singh, another resident, however said the house was operating as a mosque and a madrassa. He along with a few others recorded videos and informed police.

Additional police force has been deployed in the village, and senior officers said they are monitoring the situation closely.

The United States (US) has announced the launch of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza, shifting focus from ceasefire implementation to demilitarisation, technocratic governance and reconstruction.

In a social media post, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said the high-profile ‘Board of Peace’ unveiled on Friday was a move “from ceasefire to demilitarisation, technocratic governance and reconstruction”.

Witkoff said the initiative marked a decisive move toward stabilising the war-ravaged territory, declaring, “Today, on behalf of President Trump, we are announcing the launch of Phase Two… moving from ceasefire to demilitarisation, technocratic governance and reconstruction”.

He said the plan will establish “a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza” and begin “the full demilitarisation and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorised personnel”.

Today, on behalf of President Trump, we are announcing the launch of Phase Two of the President’s 20-Point Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction.

Phase Two establishes a transitional technocratic…

— Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (@SEPeaceMissions) January 14, 2026

Warning Hamas of consequences for non-compliance, Witkoff added, “The United States expects Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage… failure to do so will bring serious consequences.”

Witkoff said the initial stage had produced significant results, noting that “Phase One delivered historic humanitarian aid, maintained the ceasefire, returned all living hostages and the remains of twenty-seven of the twenty-eight deceased hostages”.

He also expressed gratitude to regional mediators, saying Egypt, Turkiye and Qatar played “indispensable” roles in advancing the agreement.

A day earlier, the White House said it has formed an executive panel tasked with implementing the plan, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Witkoff, Jared Kushner, World Bank President Ajay Banga and former British prime minister Tony Blair among others.

The panel will supervise portfolios ranging from governance and regional diplomacy to reconstruction financing and investment mobilisation.

According to the White House statement, the broader ‘Board of Peace’ will provide strategic oversight, coordinate international resources and ensure accountability during Gaza’s transition from conflict to development.

The US also plans to deploy an international stabilisation force and appoint a high representative to coordinate governance, security and reconstruction efforts in Gaza under the transitional framework.

United States (US) President Donald Trump has thanked the leadership in Tehran for cancelling what he said were “hundreds of planned executions of protesters” after a crackdown.

In a social media post, President Trump said the mass hangings had been called off and praised Iran for the move, as deadly unrest across the country appears to be easing after a harsh crackdown.

Trump, whose repeated threats to act had included a vow to “take very strong action” if Iran executed protesters, said Tehran’s leaders had called off mass hangings.

“I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” he said in the social media statement.

Iran, however, has not publicly announced plans for such executions or said it had cancelled them.

The protests that erupted on December 28 over economic hardship and swelled into widespread demonstrations calling for the end of present rule, culminating in mass violence at the end of last week, Reuters reported.

According to opposition groups and an Iranian official, more than 2,000 people were killed in the worst domestic unrest since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

But several residents of Tehran reached by Reuters said the capital had now been comparatively quiet for four days. Drones were flying over the city, but there had been no sign of major protests on Thursday or Friday.

Another resident in a northern city on the Caspian Sea said the streets there also appeared calm.

The prospect of a US attack has retreated since Wednesday when Trump said he had been told killings in Iran were easing.

Earlier, US allies, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, conducted intense diplomacy with Washington to prevent a strike, warning of repercussions for the wider region that would ultimately impact the US, Reuters quoted a Gulf official as saying.

Meanwhile, Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran’s last shah who has gained increasing prominence as an opposition figure, urged the international community to ramp up pressure on Tehran to help protesters overthrow the present setup.

“The Iranian people are taking decisive action on the ground. It is now time for the international community to join them fully,” he said.

India’s involvement in the development of Iran’s Chabahar port has effectively come to a halt following the reimposition of sanctions by United States of America and renewed warnings from President Donald Trump over trade with Tehran.

Trump said on January 12 that any country doing business with Iran would face a 25 percent tariff on “any and all business being done with the United States of America.” The statement followed the US decision to reimpose sanctions on the Chabahar port from September 29, 2025, ending a limited exemption that had allowed India to operate at the facility.

Despite the sanctions, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control granted India a six-month waiver after New Delhi submitted details of how it planned to wind down all activities at the port, including operations at the Shahid Beheshti terminal. 

The waiver took effect on October 29, 2025, and remains valid until April 26.

More than a year before the sanctions were reinstated, India transferred the full amount it had committed to the project, estimated at $120 million, to Iran. A government source said the funds were moved in advance because officials were aware that sanctions would return after the signing of the long-term agreement.

“When the sanctions are reimposed, transfer of funds would have become difficult. So, before the sanctions came, all the funds were transferred to Iran,” the source said. “India now has no liability in its commitment given to Iran on Chabahar port.”

“The Iranian government is free to do whatever they want with the money transferred by the Indian government per the long-term agreement,” the source said. “If Iran wants to buy cranes and other gears for Chabahar port, they can independently do that and they can carry on operations at the port independently without any involvement from India. 

“India has no choice but to exit the Chabahar port,” a second government source said. “Fortunately, we don’t have any assets there; we were only running the port with manpower from Iran; that was the main activity of IPGL.” The source added, “We have to exit unless the sanctions are eased by the US again.”

Chabahar port is located in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province on the country’s southeastern coast, outside the Persian Gulf. 

The port was intended to give India access to Afghanistan and Central Asia through Iran and was also linked to the International North-South Transport Corridor, a 7,200-kilometre network connecting India with Iran, Russia, Central Asia and Europe through sea, rail and road routes.

The US State Department has clarified that applicants from Pakistan and 74 other countries will be allowed to submit immigrant visa applications and attend scheduled interviews, despite a temporary suspension on visa issuance.

The United States has paused the issuance of immigrant visas for 75 countries, including Pakistan, as part of a broader policy review ordered by President Donald Trump. The State department stated on Wednesday that the pause will take effect from January 21, 2026.

“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the department said in a post on X.

Further explaining the scope of the decision in a question-and-answer guidance published on its website, the department said applicants may proceed with all steps of the visa process, including attending interviews at US embassies and consulates, but no immigrant visas will be issued while the suspension remains in place.

The State Department emphasised that the decision does not revoke immigrant visas already issued and does not affect tourist or other non-immigrant visa categories. It added that decisions related to admission into the United States fall under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security.

Pakistan is among a broad list of affected countries across South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and eastern Europe. Other countries on the list include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Sudan, Syria, Russia and Brazil.

According to the department, the measure is part of a comprehensive review aimed at ensuring immigrants are financially self-sufficient and do not become a public charge. It said President Trump has made it clear that new immigrants must not place a financial burden on American taxpayers.

Under the guidance, dual nationals applying with a valid passport from a country not included in the list are exempt from the pause. The department also said immigrant visa cases that have been approved but not yet printed will be refused under the new policy.

US embassies and consulates have been instructed to continue scheduling immigrant visa interviews for affected nationals, including Pakistanis, although visa issuance will remain suspended during the review period.