Second commando dies amid violence in Manipur’s Moreh
A second Manipur Police commando died on Wednesday amid renewed violence in Moreh, a small trading town near the Myanmar border.
Two other commandos, both critically injured, have been airlifted to the state capital Imphal for treatment.
The commandos came under heavy fire on Wednesday morning from a group who used rocket-propelled grenades, NDTV said. It came 48 hours after the police arrested two Kuki tribals for their role in the October killing of police officer Chingtham Anand Kumar.
Commando Wangkhem Somorjit Meetei died immediately, while Takhellambam Saileshwore succumbed to his injuries later in the day.
New details reveal clashes between troops in 2022
Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed at least twice in 2022 along their Himalayan frontier where they have been involved in a bitter stand-off since 2020, according to new details that have emerged from the Indian Army’s gallantry award citations last week.
The incidents involved hand-to-hand combat and came as New Delhi and Beijing held a series of diplomatic and military talks to resolve their worst military conflict in decades.
No deaths were reported in these incidents.
Passenger detained after slapping pilot over 13-hour flight delay
A passenger on carrier IndiGo Airlines has been detained for slapping a pilot after a plane was delayed due to bad weather.
The incident took place on Jan 14 at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, according to the Hindustan Times.
The plane, slated to fly from Delhi to Goa, faced a 13-hour delay as a dense fog enveloped large swathes of north India.
Foreign donations to leading think-tank banned
A leading Indian think-tank confirmed on Wednesday that it has been banned from taking foreign funding, the latest organisation among foreign charities, rights watchdogs and others similarly targeted after criticising the government.
The Centre for Policy Research (CPR) is one of the country’s most highly regarded public policy forums and its staff members are prominent talking heads and columnists.
The home ministry had already provisionally suspended the CPR’s licence to receive foreign donations after raids in 2022 by the tax department, severely curtailing its operations.
Tourists cancel holidays as ski resorts run dry
A lack of snowfall has led to empty ski resorts and holiday cancellations in the Indian Himalayas, with scientists linking the “unusual” winter to the El Nino weather phenomenon.
The dry spell in Kashmir has pushed skiers to skip the popular resort of Gulmarg, one of the highest in the world, leaving hotels in the region waiting for fresh falls to draw tourists to the panoramic views of snow-capped peaks.
Scientists said this winter’s conditions in northern India have not been seen for about a decade, marked by the absence of snowfall in the mountains and biting cold made worse by thick fog in the plains.
Patna schools shut as Bihar reels under cold wave
The cold wave continued to sweep across Bihar as the temperature dipped to below 10 deg C at 12 places in the state, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday.
The IMD issued an orange alert for several parts of the state, anticipating dense fog and cold conditions.
All schools in Patna will remain closed for students up to class 8 till tomorrow, in view of the prevailing cold weather conditions, an official said.
Man dresses up as girlfriend to take recruitment test on her behalf
Angrez Singh, a 25-year-old man in Punjab, dressed up as a woman and attended a recruitment examination on behalf of his girlfriend Paramjit Kaur, Indian media reported on Monday.
The test was for job vacancies at the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, India.com said.
University officials grew suspicious after noticing something peculiar about his attire. The disguise was eventually exposed when his fingerprints failed to match Ms Kaur’s on a biometric device. Singh was eventually arrested.
Adani Group raises stake in news agency IANS
The media arm of Adani Group on Wednesday said it increased its stake in IANS India by subscribing to fresh shares issued by the news agency worth Rs50 million ($808,195).
AMG Media Networks, a unit of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s flagship firm Adani Enterprises, has increased its ownership of IANS shares with voting rights to 76 per cent, and nearly all non-voting shares, up from 50.5 per cent each earlier.
The IANS acquisition, announced last month, is Mr Adani’s latest media venture, following the conglomerate’s purchase of 65 per cent stake in news broadcaster NDTV in December 2022 and Quintillion Business Media earlier that year.
Farmer takes snake that bit him to hospital
A farmer created a stir at a hospital in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday when he arrived for treatment with a poisonous snake in hand.
Mr Ezhai, 53, was working in a field near Panruti when he felt a bite on his hand. He immediately caught the Russell’s Viper and took it with him to the hospital in a plastic bag, reported the Times of India.
Video captures flier’s ordeal while trapped in plane toilet
A passenger flying from Mumbai to Bengaluru on Wednesday was stuck in the washroom of a SpiceJet flight after the door lock malfunctioned, leaving him inside for more than an hour.
In a video shot by the passenger himself, he is seen siiting on the commode lid in the cramped toilet for the rest of the flight.
The plane’s crew tried to unlock the door, but couldn’t. The passenger was eventually rescued after the plane landed in Bengaluru and an engineer unlocked the door.
SpiceJet has apologised for the incident, adding that the passenger will get a full refund of his airfare.
Kerala groom booked after riding camel to wedding venue
A groom riding a camel, with 25 people accompanying him, caused a traffic jam on a busy road in Kannur, north Kerala, on Wednesday, following which the local police booked him for causing disruption.
Police said that Riswan and his companions burst crackers and played music during the procession, which caused vehicles heading to the airport and an ambulance to get stuck.
Praggnanandhaa becomes India’s No. 1 chess player
Chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa became India’s No. 1-ranked player on Tuesday after defeating world champion Ding Liren at the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands.
The 18-year-old surpassed Indian legend Viswanathan Anand.
