5 stories you must read today, November 15: From J&K police station blast linked to Red Fort plot to Zohran Mamdani’s push for Starbucks boycott and more

At least nine people were killed and 29 others were injured in an explosion Friday at a police station in Jammu and Kashmir’s Nowgam where explosives recovered from the Red Fort blast-linked terror module. The death toll is likely to rise as six injured are in critical condition. The Centre on Saturday said that the blast was triggered by a forensic sample procedure. Read more

Bride-to-be Soni Himmat Rathod, 22, was murdered inside her home in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar, allegedly by her fiancé, just hours before their wedding. Groom-to-be Sajan Khagna Baraiya, 26, allegedly stormed into Soni’s house early in the morning. What began with an altercation regarding bridal dress and money escalated, following which Sajan struck her with an iron rod, and rammed her head against the wall, killing her, police sources said. Read more

Around 300 shops were gutted after a major fire broke out early on Saturday in Kolkata’s congested Ezra Street. According to fire officials, there are no casualties as all people staying in the adjoining buildings have been evacuated. Twenty-five fire engines are pressed into action to douse the blaze. Officials said combustible materials in surrounding buildings that housed shops and godowns for electrical goods and plywood accelerated the spread of the fire. Read more

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani called for a public boycott of Starbucks in support of striking union workers, urging New Yorkers to avoid the chain. His appeal came as Starbucks Workers United launched a strike branded the “Red Cup Rebellion” across 25 cities – coinciding with the company’s popular and busiest annual events, the Red Cup Day – over disputes over wages, benefits and labour practices. Read more

Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes that his company's humanoid robot, Optimus, could one day reshape global healthcare. He asserted that Optimus could democratise elite medical treatment systems in ways traditional systems never could. He foresees a future where millions of identical high-precision medical robots are deployed globally, helping close the demand gap for high-skilled surgeons. Read more