Srinagar, Sep 28:  A head constable of the Jammu and Kashmir Police was killed by separatist guerrillas in summer capital Srinagar Wednesday, police said.

Ghulam Muhammad, was killed in a hit and run attack by separatist guerrillas in Batmaloo area of Srinagar Wednesday afternoon.

"The head constable, posted in the Batmaloo police station, was fired upon from close range by the militants in Batmaloo chowk this afternoon. He succumbed to his injuries before he could be shifted to hospital for treatment," a police officer said.

Srinagar, Sep 20 : It's an unseemly war of words caught in a tangle of denials and accusations. And at the centre are Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and opposition leader Mehbooba Mufti, who says she never praised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

It all started with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj saying in Ahmedabad Monday: "Not just the BJP supporters, even rivals like PDP's Mehbooba Mufti has praised Modi's work ethics at the recent National Integration Council (NIC) meeting. This makes us proud."

Srinagar, Sep. 15 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed dismay and anguish over speculation in the media about his private life and the status of his marriage.

In a message on social networking site Twitter, Abdullah said: " Have seen with dismay and anguish the growing tide of speculation in the media about my private life and the status of my marriage. While it''s true my wife and I have separated, speculation about the motives and my future actions are unfounded, untrue."

Srinagar, Sep. 8 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has condemned Wednesday''s bomb explosion in New Delhi that killed 12 people and injured 75.

He said that his government would extend all cooperation to the investigating agencies and provide them with all the information. He also offered his condolences to all the victims and their families on Thursday.

He stated that the government should nab the perpetrators, and ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.

Srinagar, Sep. 3 : Prominent Bollywood and other personalities visited Srinagar on Friday to pay tribute to flamboyant yesteryear actor Shammi Kapoor who died on August 14 in Mumbai.

The 79-year-old actor died of kidney failure.

Among those present were Reliance tycoon Anil Ambani, his wife Tina Ambani, veteran actresses Shabana Azmi, Asha Parekh and Poonam Dhillon, and socialite Sunanda Pushkar. Shammi''s son Aditya Raj Kapoor was also present.

Srinagar, Aug 27 : After his brief absence from the virtual world, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is back on Twitter, refusing to write about the man who has held the government hostage on the issue of corruption -- Anna Hazare.

"Since nothing is happening in the world other than Anna & I refuse to tweet about Anna ergo I can't tweet about anything :-)," the young chief minister posted on the micro-blogging website.

Srinagar, Aug 27 : Known for airing his views in an unrestrained, often tongue-in-cheek style, and taking prompt steps to address grievances on Twitter, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's curious absence from the virtual world for almost a week was sorely felt by the twitterati.

Abdullah did not post even a single comment on the micro blogging site from Aug 19 to Aug 25.

He is followed on the website by over 46,000 people, many of them are journalists, civil servants, businessmen and local youngsters.

Police have revealed that eight people were killed and 67 injured Monday in a fourth day of clashes between separatists and security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir.

CNN reported on Monday that an unnamed police spokesman said four people were killed when mobs attacked police facilities, and railway and government property in north and south Kashmir.

Another person died in Sangam in south Kashmir, with locals saying the victim was beaten by security forces but officials blaming a stampeding mob.

Authorities have said that confrontations between curfew-defying, anti-Indian protesters and security forces in Kashmir Sunday left nine people dead.

Three people were killed when security forces opened fire on protesters in Pampore and Khrew, The Hindustan Times has reported.

The newspaper also said that shortly after in Khrew, a mob encircled a police encampment and torched it. The flames set off an explosion that killed six people and wounded 35.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah appealed for calm.

Amidst the wave of strikes and disputes in Jammu and Kashmir it has cost the state Rs 6,500 crore till date this year, apart from it the per day shutdown and curfew may refute the administration Rs 161 crore in earnings.

The resurgent tourism sector may close down due to the hushed target of pro-autonomy group actions in the state, as the tourist entrance dipping down stridently in the previous few weeks.

The Kashmir Valley was active with travelers and hotel rooms were put up for sale till August seven.

However the state economy is driven by agriculture and animal husbandry, a bang has be taken by the travel industry and is sure to work as a draw on linked sectors such as handicrafts, handloom and transport.

Srinagar, July 11 : Tourism has been hit hard in Jammu and Kashmir following the recent strikes, and imposition of curfew by the government.

Most of the tourists have left the valley and the ones who are still there, are facing problems like shortage of food and basic amenities as the shops are closed.

“Definitely we feel sad because there are lots of things not functioning. There is no much choice, shops are closed because of the strike and curfew,” said Hemant Rathore, a tourist.

At present, tourist hubs like the Dal Lake are completely deserted, which has affected houseboat owners.

Srinagar, April 1 - Picturesque Kashmir is reliving an old forgotten bond with Bollywood as director Vishal Bharadwaj shoots "Saat Khoon Maaf" here with his team. Not only there is palpable excitement among the local people but it has also revived memories of the time when the valley was much sought after by Hindi filmmakers.

For the last fortnight, the film unit has been shooting in the Mughal Gardens, the old city heritage house and in the campus of the University Of Kashmir.

Katra (Jammu and Kashmir), Mar 23 (ANI): Katra traders and businessmen do brisk business on the occasion of the ongoing ''Navratra'' festival.

Thousands of pilgrims throng here on their way to the Hindu shrine of Vaishno Devi.

Katra, which lies in the foothills of Trikuta is visited by devotees all around the year with about 4000-5000 pilgrims visiting the shrine daily.

This in turn boosts the local economy.

Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir), Mar 21 : Lamayuru Monastery in Ladakh, which is believed to be the oldest in the region, provides an insight into Buddhist culture through its ancient paintings and murals.

Founded in the 11th century, the monastery is a major attraction for visitors and Buddhist scholars.

It belongs to the Red-Hat sect of Buddhism and houses around 150 Buddhist monks.

The monastery is a complex of buildings with shrines dedicated to different gods and incarnations of Lord Buddha. It has a magnificent collection of wall paintings.

To assess water losses suffered by the state due to the Indus Water Treaty provisions that restrict the use of its three rivers, The Jammu and Kashmir government will hire a private agency.

The state cannot harness the waters of the Jhelum, Indus and Chenab as much as it would have liked to because of the restrictions, Official sources said on Friday.

India has got complete control over the waters of three rivers - Ravi, Sutlej and Beas - that flow into Pakistan through Punjab, under the 1960 World Bank-brokered treaty.

A minister has said Jammu and Kashmir has seen a steady decline in the dropout rate in schools and the government is making the maximum efforts to expand quality education in the state.

The number of school children dropping out has gone down from 367,000 to 39,000 over a period of five years "due to the government's efforts", claimed Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, in his reply in the state assembly on the grants of the departments under him, on Friday.

The Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday claimed that militant outfits Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) have been rooted out of the Jammu region. The focus, they said, has now shifted to the Lashkar-e- Tayyeba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), who remain active.

“HuJI and JeM were mostly active in Kishtwar district and have been wiped out. Out of four HuJI militants, three have been eliminated. The fourth has left the organisation and is now working as a freelance journalist,” said Ashok Gupta, IGP of Jammu Zone.

An army captain was killed and five security personnel, including four Rashtriya Rifles soldiers and a policeman, injured in a firefight with militants in Pulwama district on Thursday.

The forces said four Hizb-ul Mujahideen militants were also killed in the exchange of fire.

Capt Deepak Kumar of 42 Rashtriya Rifles is the second army officer to be killed in a gunbattle with militants in less than a fortnight in the Valley.

In a major embarrassment for J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, his advisor Mubarak Gul has been accused of working as a government contractor. He now faces disqualification for professional misconduct.

According to a report in a local English daily on Monday, Gul’s ‘Gulistan Production’ was allotted a Rs 18 lakh-contract to produce a six-episode Kashmiri series Azla Lone (destiny). The Opposition raised the issue on Monday.

They belong to different generations and political eras. But Aftab Hilali (43) alias Shahid-ul-Islam and Rouf Muhammad (22) have a lot in common. Besides their love for jeans, sneakers and cricket, both share a grudge over the absence of human rights and freedom of expression in Kashmir.

While Islam participated in the 1989 student uprising for the liberation of Kashmir, Muhammad, known as Missile for his precision in stone throwing, took to the streets in January to protest human rights violations by security forces.