thrilled

US President Donald Trump said he’s “not thrilled” about Israel’s deadly attack on Hamas in Qatar that targeted a residential compound in Doha, where a delegation was meeting to discuss the US’s ceasefire proposal for Gaza.

Hugam, Indian-administered Kashmir – Nasir Amin Bhat, 17, was barely ankle-deep in the water when his school friend and neighbour Adil Ahmad shouted from the riverbank on a breezy summer evening in May.

“Turn back! There’s something in the water.”

Across the Lidder, a tributary of the Jhelum River, in Hugam village of Indian-administered Kashmir’s Anantnag district, a Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) plunged into the glacial waters and started paddling furiously against the current with all four limbs.

“I had no idea what it was,” Bhat, a high school student, told Al Jazeera, “but I grabbed my smartphone and turned on the camera.”

The grainy, nine-second video shows the creature with a fur coat – classified as “near threatened” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List – gliding out of the water and jumping onto the riverbank.

After a few clumsy steps, the semiaquatic animal, which can reach elevations of 3,660 metres (12,000 feet) in the Himalayas during the summer, disappears behind a thick grove of bushes, bringing the video to an uneventful end.

Long believed to have gone extinct, Eurasian otters seem to be showing signs of resurgence in Kashmir, with three individuals spotted by Indian wildlife officers in two places since 2023.

The chance sightings have excited environmentalists and wildlife conservationists while raising hopes of a better future for the Himalayan region’s fragile freshwater ecosystems, which have been battered by climate change in recent years.

‘Habitat has improved’

Indian wildlife biologist Nisarg Prakash believes the sighting of otters in Kashmir was an indicator of high-quality aquatic habitats.

“The reappearance of otters might mean that poaching has come down or the habitat has improved, and maybe both in some cases,” Prakash, whose work focuses on otters in southern parts of India, told Al Jazeera.

Protected under India’s Wildlife Protection Act, otters were once widely distributed across north India, including the Himalayan foothills, the Gangetic plains and parts of the northeast.

A peer-reviewed study by IUCN in November last year noted that the Eurasian otter, known among Kashmiri locals as “voddur”, was found in water bodies of Lidder and Jehlum valleys, including Wular Lake, one of Asia’s largest freshwater lakes.

However, over the years, their population became “patchy and fragmented due to habitat loss, pollution and human disturbances”, says Khursheed Ahmad, a senior wildlife scientist at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST-K).

Ahmad said that, due to habitat alterations from human activities and the encroachment of their ideal habitats along riverbanks and other water bodies, Eurasian otters retreated and became confined to areas that were least accessible to humans.

“Although they were not extinct, sightings and occurrences had become extremely rare and they were never documented,” said Ahmad, who heads the Division of Wildlife Sciences at SKUAST-K.

Less than two years ago, a research team led by Ahmad accidentally stumbled on otters during a study on musk deer in Gurez, a valley of lush meadows and towering peaks split into two by the Kishanganga River along the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan in the Himalayas.

Past midnight on August 6, 2023, two individual otters were captured in a riverine habitat at an altitude of 2,600 metres (8,530 feet) in the valley near the 330MW Kishanganga Hydro Electric Project built by India following a prolonged legal battle with Pakistan at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

After that sighting, the research team focused on documenting the presence of otters on the Indian side of Kashmir.

“Unfortunately, due to heavy disturbance from fishing and other local and paramilitary activities, no further presence was documented,” the IUCN study notes.

Ahmed said Bhat’s video is only the second photographic evidence of otters in Kashmir.

‘Too terrified to go there’

But in the large farming village of Hugam, comprising some 300 families, residents are both excited and worried.

At the crack of dawn, Muneera Bano, a homemaker, wakes to the flutter of crows cawing furiously on the willow trees lining the tributary’s banks outside her home in Hugam, located some 58km (36 miles) south of the main city of Srinagar.

Bano has stopped washing clothes and utensils on the riverbank after the otter was discovered, something she had done for years.

“There are underwater caves [in the tributary], and it is hiding in one of them. When it comes out in the morning, crows see it and they start screaming. I am too terrified to go there,” she said.

Bhat, the teenager who filmed the video, said he often used to bathe in the tributary’s glacial waters and sometimes also caught fish. “Now I can’t even think about going there,” he said.

The grainy video led to rumours about the presence of crocodiles in the tributary, prompting Indian wildlife officials to set up a camera trap, which confirmed that it was a Eurasian otter – also seen in Bhat’s video – and not a crocodile.

Some wildlife officials even bathed in the river in the presence of village elders to demonstrate that the water was completely safe.

Although otters do not pose any threat to humans, they can turn unpredictable, especially when close to humans. But scientists say these animals can grow accustomed to the presence of humans.

Wildlife biologist Prakash said rather than being scared or fearful, curiosity about otters can make them a sight to be enjoyed while watching them fish or swim.

“Otters are largely active around dawn, dusk and after dark, though they can sometimes be seen during daytime as well. Eurasian otters largely prey on fish, eels, and sometimes, waterfowl,” he said.

Kashmiri farmer Wasim Ahmad remembers a summer day in the early 1990s when he was on the way back from school situated along the banks of Doodhganga, a major tributary of the Jhelum River.

As Ahmad, now in his 40s, turned the corner, he saw a large procession of people walking jubilantly. One man was holding a dead otter while another was walking a dog on a leash.

Bagh-e-Mehtab in Srinagar is home to a community of poachers who, in the past, made a living by selling skins of animals such as cats, otters, and other animals. With stricter animal welfare laws in force in India now, the community has given up the old profession.

“Our elders warned us that otters skinned the children and ate them raw,” said Ahmad, who was in ninth grade then. “But as I grew up, I didn’t come across even one person who was harmed by otters. It was basically a tactic to keep the children away from the river.”

Ahmad, the wildlife scientist, said the reappearance of otters in Kashmir was a positive sign.

“Now we should see to it that the new habitat is protected from uncontrolled pollution, garbage accumulation, increased carbon emissions and habitat degradation. Addressing these challenges is crucial for their conservation and wellbeing,” he told Al Jazeera.

Corrie viewers saw Dee-Dee Bailey quietly go through with christening her daughter Laila on tonight’s episode and the event marked the return of Adam Barlow after his absence

Viewers were thrilled by a character’s return on Coronation Street tonight after having not been seen for some time. The resident ended their absence by making an appearance at a special occasion in Weatherfield.

The latest episode of the ITV show saw Dee-Dee Bailey (played by Channique Sterling-Brown) quietly christen her daughter Laila away her family. She organised the event behind the back of her brother James Bailey (Jason Callender), who’s in the process of adopting his newborn niece. Fans saw Dee-Dee and other attendees gather at the Viaduct Bistro following the ceremony to celebrate the occasion. Adam Barlow (Sam Robertson) and Alya Nazir (Sair Khan), who are Laila’s godparents, were with her, alongside vicar Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank), who led the service.

It marked Adam’s on-screen return after fans had noticed that he’s been absent for months. The character is said to have last appeared in March prior to tonight’s episode, though there was no mention of where he’s been in the scenes.

One fan wrote on X in May: “Where’s Adam Barlow May I ask? Last seen onscreen 7th March 2025. Somebody do something.” Another said: “I’ve just realised something about #Corrie. Where the hell has Adam Barlow disappeared to?”

Questions over the character’s whereabouts have continued more recently. Last month, someone asked: “Where’s Adam these days? And Ken??”

Addressing his return this week, one fan asked this evening: “Bloody hell. Where has Adam been?” Another said: “OMG ADAM BARLOW RETURNS!” A third wrote: “Adam finally comes back and ruins lives. Welcome back, sweetheart. Nice new ‘do as well”

Someone else reacted: “Adam! Welcome back. We haven’t seen you since March. Hopefully you’ll have a story now.” Another viewer said: “Adam Barlow! Welcome back, hun. Can they make Adam and Alya interesting now please?”

Adam made his presence known in tonight’s episode though as he inadvertently prompted a confrontation between Dee-Dee and James. It came after he had asked Dee-Dee why her brother hadn’t joined them to celebrate, with her making excuses.

James later turned up at the bar and questioned his sister on her decision to christen Laila after he had previously dismissed the idea. Asked how he found out, James revealed that he had received a text from Adam about the gathering.

He shared the message, which read: “The christening was great. I know you’re not into God mate but come and toast your daughter.” Adam said: “Now I’m thinking it wasn’t the best idea.” He however said he was “trying to do a nice thing”.

Dee-Dee explained: “You know how much I wanted this for her. I tried to talk to you, James.” She added: “I asked you and you said ‘no chance’.” He responded: “So you went and did it anyway?” Dee-Dee said: “I’m sorry but you had no respect for my wishes.”

Alya and Adam went to get some treats so the siblings could talk the situation through. Later, Dee-Dee apologised for lying James but said that she was doing what she believed to be right. He questioned if he can trust her now though.

Coronation Street continues tomorrow from 8pm on ITV, ITVX, STV and STV Player.

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