Riyadh, Oct 12: The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said on Monday that it has been providing assistance to the family of the deceased Indian national, Mohammed Yousuf Ali, who died in the recent attack on Riyadh airport.

The Embassy said its officials visited the hospitals where injured people have been receiving treatment. As many as five people are in the ICU and two remain in the normal ward while the rest have been discharged from the hospital.

Sharing an update regarding the Riyadh airport attack on X, the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia stated, “The family of late Mr. Mohammed Yousuf Ali, who passed away in the attack on Riyadh airport, has decided to conduct the funeral in Riyadh itself. Mission is providing all assistance to the bereaved family, including completion of all formalities for the funeral.”

“Mission officials have visited the hospitals where injured nationals are undergoing treatment. Three persons continue to be in ICU, and two more have been admitted in the ICU, two remain in the normal ward, and rest have been discharged. The Embassy remains in constant touch with their family members and providing all possible support,” it added.

On Sunday, the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia confirmed the death of an Indian national injured in the Riyadh airport attack and offered condolences to the family of the deceased.

“It is learnt that one Indian national injured in the Riyadh attack has unfortunately lost his life today. We convey our heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased. We are in touch with the family and will provide all support for ensuring the early repatriation of mortal remains,” the Embassy posted on X.

The deceased, Mohammed Yusuf Ali, hailed from Hyderabad. His two sons and an aunt were also injured in the attack.

On October 11, India condemned the attack on Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid International Airport, saying that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure were “unacceptable” and calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “We strongly condemn the repeated attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport over the past few days, including the dastardly attack on October 10, which have led to loss of lives, injuries and damage to property. We express our condolences to the families of the deceased and wish speedy recovery to the injured persons.”

“The repeated attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are completely unacceptable and must cease immediately,” the statement read.

“We stand in solidarity with the people and the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in defence of their sovereignty, and hope that peace and normalcy returns to the region at the earliest,” it added.

On October 10, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said that the attack targeting King Khalid International Airport on Saturday afternoon killed 12 people and injured 309 others.

Kathmandu, Oct 11: At least four hydropower projects in the Budhi Gandaki River basin in western Gorkha district have been affected by massive floods that struck early Sunday morning, the Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal (IPPAN) said.

The latest floods, reminiscent of the devastating floods in the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers on August 26, swept away parts of several settlements and damaged bridges, roads and infrastructure at hydropower project sites in the Budhi Gandaki River basin and its tributaries.

In a statement, IPPAN, an association of private-sector power developers in Nepal, said four hydropower projects along the Budhi Gandaki River and its tributary streams, with a combined installed capacity of 412.09 MW, had been affected.

According to IPPAN, the main camp area of the 341-MW Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project was swept away by the floodwaters. Some construction equipment at the project, which is under construction, was also washed away.

Some houses in the camp area of the 24.5-MW Dobhan Khola Hydropower Project were damaged, while a Bailey bridge near the project site was swept away, IPPAN said.

The floods also damaged a Bailey bridge supporting construction work at the 30.59-MW Yaru Khola Hydropower Project, while construction materials and equipment were washed away.

An access road and the bridge connecting the project site of the 16-MW Machha Khola Hydropower Project were also damaged, according to IPPAN.

At a time when Nepal aspires to become a major hydropower exporter in South Asia, the latest disaster highlights the vulnerability of the country’s clean energy infrastructure to sudden floods, landslides and other climate-related hazards.

The devastating floods in the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers on August 26 caused extensive damage to hydropower projects, solar energy facilities, electricity transmission infrastructure and transport networks. The energy sector, particularly hydropower projects, was among the hardest hit.

The August 2026 floods affected 12 hydropower projects and one solar power project, including 281.1 MW of operational capacity and 395.02 MW under construction, according to the World Bank’s Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE).

Damage to transmission lines and substations also disrupted the transmission of 149.6 MW of electricity to the national grid, bringing the total affected capacity to approximately 430.7 MW, or 10.6 per cent of Nepal’s total installed hydropower and solar capacity at the end of fiscal year 2025-26, which ended in mid-July, according to the report.

The August disaster claimed 1,455 lives, while 5,285 people remained missing, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

Brussels, Oct 10: Pakistan record of blasphemy cases over the past decade, including cases emerging in 2026, highlights the human cost of religious accusations backed by criminal law. Such accusations can begin as whispered allegations and end in imprisonment, death sentences or mobs gathering outside family homes, a report has stated.

It noted that for Christians, Hindus and Ahmadis across Pakistan, the threat extends beyond extremists operating outside the law.

“Pakistan’s legal framework itself contains provisions that criminalise religious expression and, in the case of Ahmadis, restrict how a community can identify and practise its faith. Across the border, India follows a fundamentally different constitutional model. It has no official state religion. Its Constitution describes the country as a secular democratic republic and guarantees freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practise and propagate religion,” a report in the European Times detailed.

It noted that the contrast becomes particularly stark when Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are examined through the experiences of its religious minorities over the past decade.

According to the report, Pakistan’s blasphemy provisions have repeatedly been misused to settle personal scores, property disputes and other forms of social hostility. It highlighted that in 2022, Hindu teacher Notan Lal was sentenced to life imprisonment after a student accused him of insulting Prophet Muhammad. The student later reportedly admitted to fabricating the charge after being reprimanded by the teacher.

In another case that year, Christian bicycle mechanic Ashfaq Masih was sentenced to death over accusations of making blasphemous remarks. Imprisoned since 2017, Masih maintained that personal and financial disputes were behind the accusation, European Times mentioned.

“The consequences extend beyond courtrooms. In February 2023, a mob stormed a police station in Nankana Sahib and lynched a man detained on blasphemy allegations. In August that year, hundreds attacked a Christian settlement in Jaranwala after two Christians were accused of desecrating the Quran. Churches, homes and a cemetery were vandalised or set on fire,” said the report, highlighting the alarming level of violence across Pakistan that followed blasphemy accusations.

The report noted that Pakistan’s constitutional designation of Islam as the state religion coexists with criminal blasphemy laws and explicit restrictions on Ahmadis. Cases involving Christians, Hindus and Ahmadis illustrate how religious accusations can escalate into arrests, imprisonment, death sentences or mob violence.

In contrast, the report said, India’s constitutional framework does not make adherence to one religion a prerequisite for citizenship. It highlighted that religious freedom is enshrined in the country’s secular Constitution, which safeguards freedom of conscience, worship and the right of religious communities to manage their institutions.

“That difference matters most when faith becomes contested. In Pakistan, the blasphemy framework can place the criminal law directly at the centre of a religious accusation, while in India, the constitutional model places religious freedom within a secular legal order in which no faith is designated as the religion of the State,” the report stated.