Terror attack: Nagaland NCP candidate killed
Shillong: Four people, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate Jonathon Nengminza Sangma, were killed while three others injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in poll-bound Meghalaya's East Garo Hills district on Sunday, an official said.
The incident took place around 7.30 p.m. at Sawilgre village, about 14 km from Samanda Block, when the candidate was returning to Williamnagar, the district headquarters of East Garo Hills from poll campaigning.
Sangma, 43, was contesting the Assembly election from Williamnagar which he had unsuccessfully contested as an Independent candidate in 2013. He lost the elections to the incumbent Education Minister and senior Congress leader Deborah C. Marak.
The incident was preceded by posters appearing in certain areas of Williamnagar constituency saying anyone who votes for the NCP candidate Jonathon Sangma would get bullets from "AK-17 and pistol".
Incidentally, Sangma had filed a case in 2013 against Deborah, alleging that she had sought the help of terrorist outfit Garo National Liberation Army to intimidate people to seek votes.
Deborah had won the seat in 2013 securing 8,402 votes while Sangma had garnered 5,525 votes.
A year later, Meghalaya Police filed a charge sheet against Deborah Marak and her aide Tennydard Marak for "hatching a criminal conspiracy" with the GNLA to garner votes in the February 2013 Assembly election.
Voicing "serious concern" on the blast, the Meghalaya Bharatiya Janata Party tweeted: "Our thoughts are with the near and dear ones of NCP candidate Shri Jonathan N Sangma and those traveling with him. The news that he was shot dead...comes as a serious concern on the eve of elections."
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Iran Foreign Minister Araghchi begins 3-day India visit
New Delhi (PTI): Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi began a three-day official visit to India on Wednesday, marking the first high-level diplomatic engagement from Tehran since the outbreak of the US-Israel war with Iran more than two months ago.
Araghchi is visiting India primarily to attend a two-day meeting of BRICS foreign ministers beginning Thursday.
The Iranian foreign minister is set to hold wide-ranging bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, focusing on the escalating crisis in West Asia.
The situation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz is expected to feature prominently. The Indian side is likely to press for the safe passage of remaining merchant vessels through the strategic waterway, according to people familiar with the matter.
Araghchi and other foreign ministers of the BRICS member states are scheduled to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
"A very warm welcome to Foreign Minister of Iran, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, on his arrival in New Delhi for the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on 'X'.
The escalating crisis in West Asia and its impact on the global energy supply chain are expected to dominate deliberations at the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting.
India, as the chair of BRICS, is hosting the conclave of the foreign ministers ahead of the annual summit of the grouping in September.
It will be interesting to see if the foreign ministerial conclave manages to produce a consensus statement on the conflict in West Asia.
Sharp differences among the member states over the US-Israel war on Iran stalled India's efforts to build a consensus position on the conflict during a meeting of the grouping's deputy foreign ministers and special envoys on Middle East and North America last month.
No consensus statement on the conflict could be reached largely due to differences between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iran. The two neighbouring countries have sparred in recent weeks over Iran's alleged attacks on energy infrastructure in the UAE.
"The active presence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in mechanisms such as BRICS represents a strategic choice to strengthen genuine multilateralism, expand equitable cooperation, and participate in shaping a more just order in international relations," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on 'X'.
"The BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi can be an important opportunity for dialogue on the future of Global South cooperation, reforming international economic governance, developing independent trade, strengthening financial and banking ties, and reducing countries' dependence on discriminatory and unilateral mechanisms," he said.
Gharibabadi said Iran, with its geopolitical, energy, transit, scientific, and human capacities, can play an effective role in the BRICS agenda for balanced development, economic security, regional connectivity, and amplifying the voice of independent countries.
The Iranian deputy foreign minister is in New Delhi for the BRICS meeting.
"In this path, opposition to America's unilateral coercive measures and their illegal and anti-development effects is an inseparable part of defending economic justice and the rights of nations to development," he said.
After the West Asia conflict escalated, Iran urged India, as the current BRICS chair, to leverage its "independent role" to halt the US-Israel hostilities against Iran.
Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (liquefied natural gas).
BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE, with Indonesia joining in 2025.
It has emerged as an influential grouping as it brings together 11 major emerging economies of the world, representing around 49.5 per cent of the global population, around 40 per cent of the global GDP and around 26 per cent of the global trade.
The BRICS foreign ministers held their last meeting on the margins of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 80) in September 2025.
