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A cartoonist working for a satirical magazine drew outrage in Turkey for a cartoon depicting the Islamic prophet. The magazine said the cartoon did not aim to mock religious values.
Turkey detains cartoonist over Muhammad caricature

A cartoonist working for a satirical magazine drew outrage in Turkey for a cartoon depicting the Islamic prophet. The magazine said the cartoon did not aim to mock religious values.

Turkish newspapers
The image was published in the Leman satire magazine

A cartoonist working for the satirical Leman magazine was detained by police for questioning on Monday amid controversy over a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

In a statement, the chief public prosecutor’s office said it “launched an investigation” into a cartoon published by the magazine on June 26 that “openly disparages religious values.”

“Arrest warrants have been issued for those involved,” the prosecutor’s office said. The arrest warrants also include Leman’s editors-in-chief and managing editor.

Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc earlier said cartoons depicting Muhammad were an affront to religious sensitivities and social harmony.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected in Washington on Monday for talks on a ceasefire in Gaza as Palestinian health authorities reported that fresh bombardements killed at least 25 people and hit at least four schools.A day after US President Donald Trump urged an end to the 20-month-old war, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected at the White House for talks on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran, and possible wider regional diplomatic deals.

But on the ground in the Palestinian enclave, there was no sign of fighting letting up. The Israeli military issued evacuation orders on Monday to residents in large districts in the northern Gaza Strip, forcing a new wave of displacement.

“Explosions never stopped; they bombed schools and homes. It felt like earthquakes,” said Salah, 60, a father of five children, from Gaza City. “In the news we hear a ceasefire is near, on the ground we see death and we hear explosions.”Israeli tanks pushed into the eastern areas of Zeitoun suburb in Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft bombed at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave, residents said.

At least 25 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday, health authorities said, including 10 people killed in Zeitoun.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which says Palestinian militants embed among civilians. The militant groups deny this.

The heavy bombardment followed new evacuation orders to vast areas in the north, where Israeli forces had operated before and left behind wide-scale destruction. The military ordered people there to head south, saying that it planned to fight Hamas militants operating in northern Gaza, including in the heart of Gaza City.

      The City of Ottawa lawyer charged in connection to vandalism at the National Holocaust Monument earlier this month has been fired, according to Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.

Red paint was discovered on the monument just west of downtown Ottawa on June 9. A photo sent to CTV News Ottawa showed the words “Feed Me” painted in large red letters on the monument.
The Ottawa Police Service announced Friday a 46-year-old man was charged with mischief to a war memorial, mischief exceeding $5,000 and harassment by threatening conduct.

Police did not release the name of the suspect, but court documents identify him as Iain Aspenlieder. According to the Ontario Salary Disclosure list, Aspenlieder was a “Legal Counsel” with the City of Ottawa.

In a post on social media Saturday evening, Sutcliffe said the suspect was a city employee.

“While it’s encouraging to see that the police investigation into the incident at the National Holocaust Monument has progressed, I’m very disturbed to learn that the person charged is a city employee who was on leave,” Sutcliffe said.

“As a community and as an employer, the actions at the Monument do not represent our values. I’ve asked city officials to take all appropriate action in light of these developments.”

The suspect was scheduled to appear in court on Saturday.

On Sunday, Sutcliffe said the employee has been terminated.

“The city’s legal department has confirmed that the individual charged, who was on leave at the time of the incident, is no longer employed by the City of Ottawa,” Sutcliffe said in a post on X.

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa on Monday, interim City Solicitor Stuart Huxley said the man charged was “on leave at the time of the incident and is no longer employed by the City.”

“The recent act affecting the National Holocaust Monument was deplorable and is counter to the values we seek to uphold in our community,” Huxley said.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to members of our community impacted by this disgraceful act. As the matter is the subject of a police investigation and is before the courts, the City will provide no further comment.”

The matter came to light after a video of the woman — stripped naked and brutally assaulted– went viral on social media, where she was seen pleading with her attackers.

Students of Dhaka University staged marches in the campus condemning the rape.

The brutal rape of a Hindu woman in central Bangladesh’s Cumilla district last week sparked nationwide outrage on Sunday, after a video of the assault went viral on social media. In the capital, students from Dhaka University organised massive protests and thronged the streets, demanding “direct action” against the perpetrators.

The incident took place on June 26, when the 21-year-old survivor was raped by a local politician at her parental home in Cumilla. But the matter came to light only after a video of the woman — stripped naked and brutally assaulted– went viral on social media, where she was seen pleading with her attackers.

So far, the police have arrested five individuals, including the main accused– 36-year-old Fazor Ali– who is a local politician, in connection with the incident.

Cumilla district’s police chief, Nazir Ahmed Khan, said the main accused was arrested in a predawn raid at Dhaka’s Sayedabad area, and four others were apprehended for revealing the picture and identity of the woman on social media.

According to police, the survivor’s husband worked in Dubai and was visiting her paternal home at Cumilla’s Muradnagar sub-district with her children for the local festival, Hari Seva. On July 16, Ali, a resident of Ramchandrapur Pachkitta village, allegedly broke into the house at around 10 pm and assaulted her.

Locals apprehended and beat Ali. But they took him to a hospital instead of handing him over to the police. The suspect allegedly fled from the hospital. Some media reports suggested the police action came only after the video went viral.

Protest In Bangladesh
Students of Dhaka University staged marches in the campus condemning the rape while residents of its Jagannath Hall dormitory, dedicated for minority community students, took out processions calling for justice.

Urgent protest march by Hindu students at Dhaka University after the horrific rape of a Hindu girl in Muradnagar, Comilla last night. The Islamist rapist must face justice and the harshest punishment. Silence is not an option! #StopHinduGenocideInBangladesh #JusticeForHindus pic.twitter.com/yAaGGkm82f

— Voice of Bangladeshi Hindus 🇧🇩 (@VHindus71) June 29, 2025
Secretary General of former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir demanded exemplary punitive action against the culprits.

The High Court, meanwhile, issued a directive asking authorities to immediately remove the video of the assault that went viral on social media on Saturday. The two-judge bench also asked the authorities concerned to ensure security of the rape survivor and provide her necessary treatment.

Ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed, who has served as his mother’s advisor, took to X to express his outrage at the incident. He blamed the Yunus administration for a rise in incidents of mob attacks, terrorism and rape in the last 11 months.

Bangladesh witnessed incidents of violence against members of minority communities following the fall of the Hasina-led Awami League government in August last year.

Hasina fled to India when her regime was toppled on August 5 last year, as a fallout of a violent street movement led by a platform called Students against Discrimination. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, 85, took charge of the interim government three days later.

An explosion at a pharmaceutical factory near Hyderabad has left at least 12 people dead and dozens more injured. India’s pharmaceutical industry is a major global supplier of generic medicines and vaccines.

An explosion at a pharmaceutical factory near Hyderabad has left at least 12 people dead and dozens more injured. India’s pharmaceutical industry is a major global supplier of generic medicines and vaccines.

Rescue workers look for survivors after at an explosion and a fire at a pharmaceutical factory in an industrial area in Sangareddy
Firefighters said they recovered the charred corpses of 10 workers while around 30 others were admitted to hospitalImage: AP/picture alliance
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At least 12 people were killed and dozens more injured following an explosion and fire at a pharmaceutical factory near the southern Indian city of Hyderabad on Monday.

Footage broadcast by local news outlets showed the Sigachi Industries factory in the Sangareddy district of Telangana reduced to ruins and plumes of black smoke billowing into the air.

Firefighters said they recovered the charred corpses of 10 workers while around 30 others were admitted to hospital, where two later succumbed to burns and were also pronounced dead.

Indian Labor Minister Vivek Venkatswamy also confirmed that “several injured people have been hospitalized.”

“It was an explosion in a spray dryer unit of the factory, which is used to process raw material into fine powder for making drugs,” said a fire department spokesman, without specifying what exactly caused the blast. “We are continuing to search the rubble for other bodies.”

Modi announces compensation for families
A total of 65 workers were in the factory at the time of the explosion, according to the Times of India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his anguish over the loss of lives on social media and promised 200,000 Indian rupees ($2,333; €1,986) in financial support to each next of kin.

India is home to some of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies which play a major role in the global supply of generic medicines and vaccines.

But industrial accidents, particularly involving chemical reactors, are common.