Author: Indmedia

Despite an Israeli court challenge to the plans by Bedouin Palestinians living in the area and Israeli peace groups, on Wednesday the Israeli housing ministry issued a tender for 1,234 of the 3,401 housing units approved by the Israeli government last August.It covers about 12 sq km (4.6 sq miles) between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim.At the time of their unveiling, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – an ultranationalist and settler – said the idea of a Palestinian state was “being erased”.The deadline for bids is 19 October, just days before Israel’s general election on 27 October, making…

US ambassador Sergio Gor in Leh SRINAGAR: A day after meeting Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah in Srinagar, US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, arrived in Ladakh Thursday on his maiden visit to the Union Territory, where he went sightseeing and rafting. There were also reports that he was likely to meet the Dalai Lama, who is currently in Ladakh, during his two-day trip, but there was no confirmation about this from anyone.Shortly after landing, Gor went sightseeing in Leh and later participated in river rafting, covering several kilometres from Tsogti to Sangam, the confluence of Indus and…

Russian strikes killed 17 people and injured more than 40 in Kyiv and the surrounding region on Thursday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a failure by Ukraine’s allies to replenish its stock of air defense missiles was costing lives. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched dozens of missiles and 168 drones in the overnight attack. The air force said that nearly 90% of the drones and most of the cruise missiles were downed. It did not specify how many ballistic missiles were launched and whether any were intercepted. The upper floors of a nine-story residential block were destroyed in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi…

Vasai: A residential building in Gokhivere, Vasai East, sank into the ground during piling work at an adjoining construction site on Wednesday evening, prompting Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) to evacuate 23 families and demolish the structure on Thursday.Shalom Apartment in the Lagipada area is a ground-plus-three-storey building comprising 23 flats. Constructed in 2012, the building was not classified as dangerous before the incident.According to officials, piling work was underway for a project by Setu Van Infra next to the building when its B Wing began sinking into the ground. Civic officials, fire brigade personnel and staff from Waliv…

New Delhi: The once-influential Sajjan Kumar, who won from Outer Delhi, then the city’s biggest Parliamentary constituency, has left behind a string of cases that will now abate following his death.Three-time Congress MP from Outer Delhi, Kumar, who was close to Sanjay Gandhi and held political influence over large parts of the city, was serving a life sentence after his conviction in two cases stemming from the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. He resigned from Congress in Dec 2018, after his conviction.Kumar’s appeal against the 2018 conviction and sentencing was to be heard Thursday. His counsel Anuj Kumar Sharma had…

Bengaluru: The state govt Thursday formed a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the spurious drug racket unearthed in Bidadi. The move came even as Bengaluru pharmacists and chemists claimed the fake medicines were unlikely to have entered the conventional retail supply chain and may instead have reached patients through hospital pharmacies, intermediaries or online sellers.The SIT, headed by Bengaluru joint commissioner of police (West) C Vamshikrishna, will investigate the case, in which four people were arrested after relabelled spurious drugs were found at a farmhouse.Pharmacists said the drugs seized are primarily used for critical care, including in ICUs,…

Hyderabad: The Telangana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TG RERA) has directed a real estate consultancy firm to refund ₹42.2 lakh, along with 10.7% annual interest, to two Hyderabad buyers after finding that it had marketed and collected money for plots in an unregistered real estate project.In its final order dated Aug 17, the authority also found the developer and landowner of the project in violation of Section 3 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act for permitting sale activity in an unregistered project. The order was passed by members K Srinivasa Rao and Laxmi Narayana Jannu.Buyers paid ₹52.2 lakh…

CHENNAI: Not too long ago, Tamil Nadu javelin thrower T Dharanidharan represented India in the U-20 World Athletics and finished a creditable sixth. But that’s just a case in isolation as the state throwers find themselves in a tight corner — having to run from pillar to post just to attain permission for training at the Jawaharlal Nehru throwing sector.A separate throwing facility was constructed on the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium premises in Chennai and was inaugurated on Olympic Day by TN sports minister Aadhav Arjuna. However, close to 20 throwers, including state medallists, are yet to get permission to…

Ahmedabad: Methanol allegedly brought from Delhi was used to adulterate liquor that killed nine people and left around 25 critically ill in Bhavnagar, exposing gaps in enforcement of prohibition in Gujarat. “One of the accused allegedly brought methanol from Delhi to Bhavnagar via Ahmedabad using two transporters. Another accused, who later died after drinking the illicit liquor, had allegedly mixed the methanol with liquor, spirit and other substances to increase the volume,” a senior State Monitoring Cell (SMC) officer said.Investigators said methanol was used because it was cheaper than ethanol and because the accused believed it would produce a stronger…

Prayagraj: The UP Board has revised the schedule for finalising examination centres for the 2027 High School and Intermediate examinations, extending the deadline for schools to upload details of their physical resources and infrastructure on the board’s website from July 20 to Aug 24.The dates for physical verification of school facilities, inviting and disposing of objections and finalising examination centres have also been extended.According to the revised schedule issued by board secretary Bhagwati Singh, information uploaded by principals on the board portal will be physically verified by tehsil-level committees constituted by district magistrates by Sept 3. The final date for…