Firstpost Editor's picks: Al-Qaeda chief's call for jihad in Kashmir, struggling Kollywood, Karnataka political crisis, today's must-read stories

In new message, Al-Qaeda chief calls for 'united jihad' in Kashmir, says Pakistan Army can't be trusted with liberation of Indian state

For years, Al-Qaeda has argued it is imperative to widen the jihad beyond what it sees as an unwinnable war of attrition in Kashmir. However, Al-Qaeda has had no significant success staging operations outside of Kashmir, where Zakir Rashid Bhat— also known as Zakir Musa — led a small group of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen operatives disenchanted with Pakistan. Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Indian intelligence official told Firspost, hopes Al-Qaeda’s new Kashmir unit will form the base for a wider, pan-India expansion of jihad.

Kollywood struggles with footfalls; Petta, Viswasam among rare few Tamil films to be declared hits in 2019 so far

Kollywood, which produces the largest number of films a year in India, crossed a century with 107 Tamil releases as of 30 June. This year, 17 films did not release on time and had a delayed release. The delay means loss of money and audiences losing interest in the film, with all promotional activities going to waste. None of the films which had a delayed release fared well at the box-office.

Reduction of violence in Jammu and Kashmir encouraging, but govt can ill afford to lower guard in hybrid conflict

Although the government is not projecting that everything has been turned around in Jammu and Kashmir it will need to be mindful of the fact that indicators of absence or reduction of violence do not necessarily indicate normality. In hybrid conflict involving irregular warfare, neutralisation of terrorists addresses only the periphery of the problem.

Karnataka political crisis: Fresh Assembly election is the best option for all parties... and the people

Instead of trying to form a government either immediately or after a spell of President’s Rule accompanied by the Assembly's suspended animation, the political parties must opt for mid-term elections in its own better interests and for a clean public image. The people of Karnataka must be spared the ordeal of this brazen trading of MLAs, and it's in their best interests that the state must go to polls to get a government that governs instead of saving itself all the time.

The changing face of Meghalaya: A tale of poorly planned development and tourism

With tourist numbers on the rise at such an alarming pace, many argue that it is imperative that a greater degree of regulation is put in place in Meghalaya with regard to what kind of construction is being built to meet this demand and how it is being constructed. Without a doubt, sustainability is a huge issue, which must be addressed by future policy makers, else the very natural beauty that all the visitors are flocking to see may no longer be there in the future.