3 UP youth questioned in Kashmir stone pelting case
Lucknow, June 21: Three youth have been detained and are being questioned in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh for their alleged complicity in stone-pelting in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar district, police said on Thursday.
The police has constituted a team of the local intelligence unit (LIU) to probe their background and to question their families, an official said.
The youngsters told the police that they were taken to Pulwama district in Kashmir for employment at a stitching factory by a contractor.
The police suspects the contractor coerced them into stone-pelting during search operations by the Indian Army and security forces.
The youngsters hail from Nuka and Nanauta areas while there are other suspects believed to be from Baghpat district.
The families of the detained youth told the police that their children had gone to Kashmir for a contractual job at a stitching factory but they returned, complaining of being coerced into stone-pelting.
Saharanpur District Magistrate Alok Pandey told IANS that the issue was being probed and all aspects were being verified.
Superintendent of Police of Saharanpur Jai Prakash said the youth were changing their statements frequently. "Hence the police and LIU are trying to corroborate the information provided by them."
The police is also on the lookout for the contractor who took these youth to the Valley.
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Poles vote for new president as security concerns loom large
Warsaw (AP): Poles are voting Sunday in a presidential election at a time of heightened security concerns stemming from the ongoing war in neighbouring Ukraine and growing worry that the US commitment to Europe's security could be weakening under President Donald Trump.
The top two front-runners are Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, a liberal allied with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian with no prior political experience who is supported by the national conservative Law and Justice party.
Recent opinion polls show Trzaskowski with around 30% support and Nawrocki in the mid-20s. A second round between the two is widely expected to take place on June 1.
The election is also a test of the strength of other forces, including the far right.
Slawomir Mentzen, a hard-right candidate who blends populist MAGA rhetoric with libertarian economics and a critical stance toward the European Union, has been polling in third place.
Ten other candidates are also on the ballot. With such a crowded field and a requirement that a candidate receive more than 50% of the vote to win outright, a second round seemed all but inevitable.
Polling stations open at 7 am (0500GMT) and close at 9 pm (1900GMT). Exit polls will be released when voting ends, with results expected by Tuesday, possibly Monday.
Polish authorities have reported attempts at foreign interference during the campaign, including denial-of-service attacks targeting parties in Tusk's coalition on Friday and allegations by a state research institute that political ads on Facebook were funded from abroad.
Although Poland's prime minister and parliament hold primary authority over domestic policy, the presidency carries substantial power. The president serves as commander of the armed forces, plays a role in foreign and security policy, and can veto legislation.
The conservative outgoing president, Andrzej Duda, has repeatedly used that power over more than the past year to hamper Tusk's agenda, for example blocking ambassadorial nominals and vetoing laws, many aimed at reversing judicial and media changes made during Law and Justice's time in power from 201 to late 2023.
A Trzaskowski victory could be expected to end such a standoff. He has pledged to support reforms to the courts and public media, both of which critics say were politicized under Law and Justice.
Nawrocki, who leads a state historical institute, has positioned himself as a defender of conservative values and national sovereignty.
