Breaking News, May 01 | HIGHLIGHTS

The Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Indian Navy conducted a successful trial of an air droppable container with a 150 kg payload capability. The container was dropped from an IL 38SD aircraft, according to the defence ministry. The maiden trial was conducted off the coast of Goa on April 27, it said in a statement.

"The trial was conducted to enhance the naval operational logistics capabilities by providing quick response to meet the requirement of critical engineering stores to ships which are deployed more than 2,000 kms from the coast. It reduces the requirement of ships to come close to the coast to collect spares and stores," the ministry said in a statement.

Three DRDO laboratories - Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam; Aerial Delivery Research & Development Establishment (ADRDE), Agra and Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru have been involved in the development of the container. "The crucial flight clearance certification was given by Regional Centre for Military Airworthiness (RCMA), Kanpur headed by Centre for Military Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC), Bengaluru," the ministry said.

Stones were pelted at Vande Bharat Express train between Tirunavaya and Tirur this evening. No one was injured. The windshield of one coach was damaged. Police have registered a case. We have decided to strengthen train security: Southern Railway

Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia has taken "strict action" against 15 students, including expulsion of three, for their involvement in last year's scuffle between two groups that had resulted in a student sustaining bullet injuries.

Odisha:  A rare melanistic tiger was found dead in Similipal Tiger Reserve yesterday. The postmortem of the tiger was conducted today. Preliminary cause of death is suspected to be infighting between two males based on injury marks on the body. However, the test results will give a clear picture of the exact cause of death, said Prakash Chand Gogineni, Regional Chief Conservator of Forest.

Online nominations or recommendations for the Padma Awards 2024, to be announced on the occasion of Republic Day, 2024, opened today. The last date for nominations for Padma Awards is September 15, 2023.

BSP MP Afzal Ansari disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha representing the Ghazipur Parliamentary Constituency upon his conviction by the Court of Additional Sessions Judge, MP/MLA Court, Ghazipur.

In a major departure from archaic colonial practice of creating cantonments, Yol in Himachal Pradesh has shed its tag as a cantonment. The Military Area within the Cantonment will be converted into a Military Station and the Civil Area will merge with the Municipality. A notification to this effect was published by the Government on 27 April 2023, said Defence officials.

MoS MEA V Muraleedharan arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on an official visit.  "The visit is significant as it comes immediately after my trip to Jeddah last week to oversee #OperationKaveri, to which Saudi has been extending an outstanding support," he tweets

"It is the public who decides who will be the chief minister. No one becomes a CM by putting up posters. We are public servants, & will keep doing public service," said Eknath Shinde, Chief Minister of Maharashtra on NCP leader Jayant Patil's statement.

"Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrives on an official visit to the Maldives, on the invitation of his Maldivian counterpart Defence Minister of Maldives, Mariya Didi," tweets Maldives Defence Ministry.

Tehran, Iran | NSA Ajit Doval held talks with his Iranian counterpart Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

Former India cricketer and political leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday lent his support to the protesting wrestlers demanding criminal action against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, saying why wasn't he being arrested despite a case being registered against him under the "non-bailable POCSO Act". Top Indian wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Vinesh Phogat, are protesting at the Jantar Mantar in the national capital demanding action against Brij Bhushan, who they have accused of sexually harassing women grapplers.

The police seized 240 gm of mephedrone and arrested three peddlers for possession in Maharashtra's Thane city, an official said on Monday. Based on a tip-off, the crime unit V of Wagle Estate police laid a trap on Saturday and nabbed the trio who had come there to sell the contraband, assistant commissioner of police (crime) Nilesh Sonawane said. The accused were found in possession of 240 gm of mephedrone worth Rs 9.6 lakh, he said.

Russia launched its second large salvo of missiles at Ukraine in recent days early Monday, damaging buildings and wounding at least 34 people in the eastern city of Pavlohrad but failing to hit Kyiv, officials said. Air raid sirens began blaring across the capital at about 3:45 a.m., followed by the sounds of explosions as missiles were intercepted by Ukrainian defence systems.

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay a demolition drive to remove encroachment from the Tughlakabad area in South Delhi. Agreeing to hear the matter on the issue of rehabilitation, a bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice M M Sundresh issued notices to the Centre, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and the Delhi Development Authority on the plea filed by some residents.

A terrorist hideout was busted in a remote forest area in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district with the recovery of arms and explosives including two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and a grenade launcher, police said on Monday. The hideout was busted on specific information about its location in the far-flung hilly and forested area of Burzalla in Khari tehsil, a police spokesperson said.

The BJP on Monday launched an indefinite dharna near Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's official residence following a controversy over the Rs 45-crore renovation on the premises. The BJP urged the chief minister to open the gates of the 6, Flagstaff Road, Civil Lines residence to the general public so that they can see for themselves his "lavish living", even if the entry is ticketed.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday launched an action plan to combat air pollution during the summer months with a focus on controlling dust pollution. The Delhi government already has a winter action plan to curb air pollution. The winter plan focuses on stubble burning, firecracker pollution and industrial and vehicular emissions. The summer plan involves the participation of 30 government departments. The primary focus of the action plan is on dust pollution, which has been a major contributor to the city's worsening air quality, Kejriwal said during a press conference.

The first flight on a non-UDAN route under viability gap funding provision by Assam government was launched on Monday with flybig starting service on the Guwahati-Dibrugarh-Guwahati sector. The inaugural flight was flagged off by Assam Tourism Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah from Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport here. It will leave Guwahati in the morning and return from the eastern town of Dibrugarh on a daily basis.

A portion of the Giaspura locality in Punjab's Ludhiana where 11 people died allegedly after inhaling toxic gas remained cordoned off on Monday while the district authorities said the affected area underwent a night-long decontamination process. Teams of the Punjab Pollution Control Board checked what led to the buildup of Hydrogen sulphide in the sewer that might have led to the tragedy, the officials said, adding that the poisonous gas is no longer being detected in the air.

More than 180 people including a former Samajwadi Party MLA were booked for flouting the election Model Code of Conduct, prohibitory orders and Covid norms after they staged a dharna at a police station following the detention of three persons for allegedly distributing money among voters, officials said on Monday. The FIR against Mukesh Srivastava and 188 others was lodged on Sunday at the Payagpur police station, they said.

BJP has promised to set up an ‘Atal Aahara Kendra’ in every ward of every municipal corporation in the state to provide affordable, quality and healthy food across the state.

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released the party's manifesto for the state and has promised a uniform civil code. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday greeted people on the formation day of Maharashtra and Gujarat. He tweeted, "Best wishes on Maharashtra Day. The state is blessed with a great culture and hardworking people who have enriched national progress across different sectors. I pray for the continued progress of Maharashtra in the years to come." In another tweet, he said, "Greetings on Gujarat Sthapana Diwas. Gujarat has made a mark due to its all-round progress as well as its unique culture. I pray that the state continues to scale new heights of development in the times ahead."
 

A fire broke out inside the food court of a private university in Greater Noida early on Monday, officials said. No person was injured in the fire that was reported from the Galgotias University at 3.24 am, Chief Fire Officer Pradeep Kumar Choubey said. "Upon receiving information, three units of water tenders along with firefighters were rushed to the spot. The fire had broken out in the food court located outside the main campus building," Choubey said. While the fire was doused in some time, there was no injury to any individual in the whole episode, he added. The exact reason behind the fire and the extent of damage caused by it is yet to be ascertained, the officer said.

Two persons were injured after a fire broke out and caused explosions at three shops located in a two-storey building in Maharashtra's Pune city in the wee hours of Monday, fire officials said. Due to the impact of the explosions, shutters of the shops and the wall columns collapsed while bricks and other objects were blown out on the road, they said. A fire brigade official said there was a "massive fire" at the three shops selling home and kitchen appliances and mobile phones on Pune-Satara road.

A 28-year-old man was killed in a lightning strike in the Sarpataha area of this Uttar Pradesh district, police said on Monday. Chandrashekhar, a resident of Habibpur village, went outside on Sunday to throw out the garbage when it was raining and was struck by lightning, Circle Officer (Shahganj) Chob Singh said. He was later found dead by his family members, Singh added. His body has been sent for post-mortem, the police said.

Police have charged a 19-year-old man with killing two teenagers and wounding four others in an early Sunday shooting at a house party on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Cameron Everest Brand of Pass Christian is charged with murder and aggravated assault, jail records show. Bay St. Louis Police Chief Toby Schwartz said in a news release that police identified Brand as the sole shooter through witness and victim statements.

Two US Army helicopters that crashed last week in Alaska, killing three soldiers, collided over a rugged, mountainous area, and there were no weather issues or visibility problems at the time, an Army spokesperson said. The two AH-64 Apache helicopters were returning to Fort Wainwright from an aerial gunnery range southeast of Fairbanks when they collided.

Two people have been reported injured in a fire that broke out at three different shops on Pune Satara Road near DMart. 7 fire tenders were on the spot to control the fire. The incident took place around 2.30 am. The fire is under control.

One person was killed when a single-engine plane slammed into a grassy hillside above homes in a Los Angeles neighbourhood amid dense fog, authorities said. The Cessna C172 crashed around 8:45 pm on Saturday in a neighbourhood on the city's west side, about 13 km southeast of Van Nuys Airport, the Los Angeles Fire Department and Federal Aviation Administration said.

Masked gunmen fired without warning into a crowd at a late-night teen party at a South Carolina park over the weekend, wounding nine people, a sheriff said. All nine hit by gunfire are expected to live, as well as a woman who was injured when she was run over by a fleeing car and another person who was cut on the hand, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said in a Sunday update on the shooting that took place on Saturday.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to visit Kolkata to attend a cultural programme on Rabindranath Tagore on the bard's birth anniversary on May 9. Senior BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta told PTI that the invitation was extended by a cultural organisation, 'Khola Hawa' (open air), and on its request, Shah agreed to speak on the ideals of Tagore at the function. "Amit ji is motivated by Tagore's philosophy and spiritualism. He will speak on Gurudev's influence on people of this country over the years," Dasgupta, who helms the cultural organisation, said.

Union Minister for Culture and Tourism G Kishan Reddy was admitted to the AIIMS here on Sunday. He was brought to the hospital around 10.50 pm following complaints of chest congestion, sources said. The Union minister has been admitted in the Cardiac Care Unit of the Cardio Neuro Centre, they said.

Four children were killed in a lightning strike in Jharkhand's Sahibganj district on Sunday, police said. The incident happened at Babutola in Radhanagar police station area in the afternoon when the children, in the age group of 9-12, were playing in a mango orchard, they said. "Four children were killed, while one was injured. The injured child is undergoing treatment at a hospital," Superintendent of Police Anuranjan Kispotta told PTI.

The Delhi Police on Sunday provided security to the female wrestlers including a minor who levelled allegations of sexual harassment against Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, officials said. The complainants have also been asked to record their statements soon so that further investigation in the case can be carried out, they said. The Supreme Court had directed the Delhi Police to provide security to the grapplers following their complaints against Singh, who has been booked under sections of outraging the modesty of a woman, stalking, and Section 10 of the POCSO Act in two FIRs. The BJP MP, who has been accused of sexual harassment by seven women wrestlers and a minor girl, has denied the charges against him.