Author: Indmedia

The US Army on Friday (local time) announced a temporary halt to all Apache helicopter training missions, two days after a crash in Texas killed both soldiers on board.“The stand-down will remain in effect until we have a better understanding of the root cause of the accident,” the Army said in a statement.The cause of the crash has not been determined, as the investigation is still in its early stages. A safety investigation team from the Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker, Alabama, is examining the circumstances surrounding the incident.The Army’s statement, however, did not mention any suspension of…

Mumbai: NCP’s Zeeshan Siddique on Friday lodged a second complaint with Bandra police, alleging that he has received an audio death threat on WhatsApp from an unknown person claiming to be Zeeshan Akhtar, an alleged member of Lawrence Bishnoi gang and a key accused in the murder of his father, former NCP minister Baba Siddique.The caller also allegedly told Siddique that the threat was not motivated by money and that he had no objection to Siddique’s wealth, but took issue with what he described as Siddique’s “illegal business” activities. The caller allegedly stated that he had ordered the elimination of…

Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Zoya Hasan’s Independence Day address was cancelled NEW DELHI: Hours before Jawaharlal Nehru University professor emerita Zoya Hasan was to address students as the chief guest at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya’s annual Independence Day function, two school security personnel reportedly arrived at her doorstep to inform her that her address had been cancelled, citing a “threat” to her and the students.Hasan told TOI she had been invited by the school principal a month in advance and was scheduled to hoist the national flag and address students and parents at 10am on ‘Why pluralism matters’.Parents associated with the…

Bengaluru: A social media video showing a man pulling out a pistol and threatening another person has landed a trading academy operator in trouble after police flagged the clip and registered a case.Police constable Chandrakanta of Annapoorneshwarinagar police station, who was assigned to monitor social media, came across the video on the Instagram page ‘harish_trading_academy’. It shows Harish Gowda seated in an office when another man asks if he can turn Rs 1,000 in his demat account into Rs 1 lakh by the next morning.When Harish questions the request, the man says yes. Harish then allegedly pulls out a pistol…

Jawaharlal Nehru (L) heads Tele-MANAS Centre of Telangana, CLN Gandhi (M) retired from transport dept as addl commissioner, Nomula Bhagat (R) is one of the youngest members of the previous Telangana assembly. HYDERABAD: “Jawaharlal Nehru?” “Present, Sir.” “Subhas Chandra Bose?” “Present, Sir.”Along with Nehru, Gandhi and Bhagat, such names could once make a classroom attendance register sound like a roll call from India’s freedom movement. For a generation of parents, naming children after freedom fighters and national leaders was a way of honouring their legacy and passing on their ideals.Today, such names are harder to find, with Aaravs, Adviks, Ananyas…

CHENNAI: “Is carrying the national flag in a procession a sinful act?” wondered Justice V Lakshminarayanan of the Madras high court on Friday. He questioned whether Coimbatore, where permission for a procession was denied by the local administration, was part of Pakistan or Afghanistan, as restrictions were imposed against carrying the national flag during the proposed procession.The court made the observations while hearing a plea moved by J Rameshkumar, a BJP functionary, challenging the denial of permission for an Independence Day rally in Coimbatore on Aug 15.On Friday, when the plea came up for hearing, the Coimbatore police submitted that…

Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) ambitious green initiative, “Mission Five Million Trees,” has achieved 88% of its target, with citizens across the city rallying behind the drive to make Ahmedabad greener, eco-friendly, and clean.Launched on World Environment Day (June 5) the campaign has seen a total of 4,414,914 trees planted across the city in 70 days, taking the tally to nearly 88.3% of the designated target of five million trees. Civic officials said the plantation drive will be accelerated further in the coming days.Under the initiative, the AMC carried out extensive tree-plantation drives across various areas of the city,…

Berhampur: A jail warder posted at Digapahandi sub-jail in Ganjam district was found hanging in his official quarters nearby on Friday, police said. The deceased, Sibanand Swain (35) of Nuapalli, had joined the sub-jail on Aug 5 following his transfer from Puri. He was living alone in the quarters, while his family stayed in their native place.Police suspect a family dispute may have driven him to take the extreme step, though the exact reason is yet to be ascertained. “The cause of death will be known only after we speak to his family members and complete the investigation,” said Dipti…

Imphal: Two villagers were killed and two others injured after unidentified armed men opened fire on Langka Naga village in Kangpokpi district on Friday morning.The attack reportedly took place at around 7:30 am as villagers gathered for farming activities. All four victims were residents of Langka Naga village.The deceased were identified as Wiriliangbou Chawang and Kawidinang Abonmai. The injured, Namthiulungbou Prinmai and Maliangjinang Abonmai, were evacuated by security forces to RIMS.According to reports, Prinmai sustained a groin injury, while Abonmai suffered injuries to the chest and arm.Speaking to reporters at RIMS, Foothills Naga coordination committee convener Ng Akhiu alleged that…

Kingpin of fake marksheet degree gang arrested Kanpur: The alleged kingpin of a gang involved in preparing and selling fake marksheets and degrees in Kanpur, carrying a reward of Rs 25,000, was arrested near Ursula Hospital on Friday.Investigators said transactions worth about Rs 50 crore were traced to five bank accounts linked to the accused, while the probe has also revealed a Rs 90 lakh transfer to his account after a co-accused was released from jail.Police commissioner Raghubir Lal said, “Akhilesh Shukla had been absconding for quite some time and a reward of Rs 25,000 had been declared on him.…