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Etawah:

Days after the alleged caste-based tonsuring of a Bhagwat Katha preacher and his aide in Etawah’s Dandarpur village, tensions escalated on Thursday as members of Yadav groups staged protests demanding the arrest of all accused and withdrawal of the case registered against the victims.

According to police, large crowds began gathering near the Agra-Kanpur highway and at the village in the Bakewar area in the afternoon.Purported videos showed unidentified persons pelting police personnel with stones even as the latter brandished firearms in the air to warn the protesters on a narrow village road.

In Lucknow, UP minister Jaiveer Singh accused Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav of giving the tonsuring incident a “casteist spin” and blamed him for stoking the violence.

Etawah Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Brijesh Kumar Srivastava said, “Information was received via social media that some groups were preparing to protest against the incident that occurred in Dandarpur village three days ago. Accordingly, police deployment was made in the town, on the highway and in the village to ensure law and order.” “Around 1:30 pm, a sizeable crowd started gathering on the Agra-Kanpur highway. While most were convinced to disperse, a few tried to enter Dandarpur village forcibly, which created a situation that could have disrupted peace

Japan executed a man on Friday who killed nine people after contacting them on social media, the first use of capital punishment in the country in nearly three years.

Takahiro Shiraishi had been sentenced to death for his 2017 strangling and dismembering of eight women and one man in his apartment in Zama city in Kanagawa near Tokyo. He was dubbed the “Twitter killer” as he contacted victims via the social media platform.

Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki, who authorised Shiraishi’s hanging, said he made the decision after careful examination, taking into account the convict’s “extremely selfish” motive for crimes that “caused great shock and unrest to society.”

It followed the execution in July 2022 of a man who went on a stabbing rampage in Tokyo’s shopping district Akihabara in 2008.It was also the first time a death penalty was carried out since Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s government was inaugurated last October.

In September last year, a Japanese court acquitted Iwao Hakamada, who had spent the world’s longest time on death row after a wrongful conviction for crimes committed nearly 60 years ago.

In a self-effacing moment, author and columnist Chetan Bhagat pointed the finger at his own work and himself when he was asked about the most overrated book ever written.

Answering rapid-fire questions on the sidelines of NDTV’s Creators’ Manch on Friday, Mr Bhagat also spoke about the authors he admires, whether AI can replace writers, and why writing in the mountains is not his cup of tea. 

On the most overrated book ever written, the author was given the option of skipping the question, but he said, “I’m thinking… It’s mine. If I say someone else’s, I’ll get beaten up.”

“Any specific book?” he was asked, and he replied, “You know, I’m overrated. I’m overrated… It’s okay, it’s good, but I don’t know… the reality is that there are better writers.” 

As the banter continued, Mr Bhagat was asked if there are Indian authors he is jealous of and he said, “Not jealous, but admire. Like Gulzar, Javed Akhtar. There’s no question of jealousy; they are very senior. But I really admire them. When I see some of their work, I wish I had done it.In a self-effacing moment, author and columnist Chetan Bhagat pointed the finger at his own work and himself when he was asked about the most overrated book ever written.

Answering rapid-fire questions on the sidelines of NDTV’s Creators’ Manch on Friday, Mr Bhagat also spoke about the authors he admires, whether AI can replace writers, and why writing in the mountains is not his cup of tea. 

On the most overrated book ever written, the author was given the option of skipping the question, but he said, “I’m thinking… It’s mine. If I say someone else’s, I’ll get beaten up.”

“Any specific book?” he was asked, and he replied, “You know, I’m overrated. I’m overrated… It’s okay, it’s good, but I don’t know… the reality is that there are better writers.”

Omead Afshar, a powerful executive at Tesla Inc. and one of Elon Musk’s closest confidants, has left the company, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest high-level departure during a volatile period for the electric vehicle maker.

News of the exit has circulated internally among some employees in recent days, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal information. Afshar’s name no longer appeared to show up in an internal directory, two of the people said. The reason for the change and his future plans weren’t immediately clear.

Some of the directors who reported to Afshar now report to Tom Zhu, Tesla’s senior vice president of automotive, according to some of the people. The Chinese-born executive oversees Tesla’s factory in Shanghai and is one of the company’s three named executive officers.

Afshar, Musk, Zhu and Tesla didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tesla Vice President Omead Afshar, left, at a Tesla manufacturing facility in Shanghai in 2019.

Afshar, who has worked in the office of the CEO, was promoted last year to oversee sales and manufacturing operations in North America and Europe. Those markets have become particular pain points for the automaker recently, with sales plunging due to rising competition and a consumer backlash to Musk’s role in US President Donald Trump’s administration.

Stories about awful landlords in India’s metro cities often go viral on social media, sparking widespread debate. These posts often highlight tenant-landlord disputes over unreasonable demands, deposits, broken agreements or evictions. Now, a recent X user has reignited the discussion online after sharing a screenshot of a landlord’s “veg only” tenants’ demand. X user Prashanth Rangaswamy, a resident of Chennai, shared a screenshot of the message he received from a prospective landlord. 

“Sorry sir. Looking at veg families only,” the message read. Mr Rangaswamy captioned this with a quirky remark. “Eating non-veg is injurious to finding flats for rent in Chennai,” he wrote. The post has sparked a debate online, with many users expressing their frustration over food-based discrimination. 

“I’ve been a vegetarian almost all my life. I lived my entire life in Europe in the middle of meat eaters. Thus, I find such restrictions very pathetic. As far as I know, people choose to be vegetarian to eat a diet that aligns with personal ethics,” wrote one user. 

“The problem is the veg only renters own multiple apts in the affluent neighbourhoods. It’s very difficult for others to get a flat for rent. Forget rent, some don’t even let others buy the flats owned by them! Will take 2-3 more generations for balance to be restored,” commented another.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, an Indian Air Force pilot, made history today by becoming the second Indian after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma to travel to space, and the first to board the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a commercial space mission.

The Axiom-4, carrying Shubhanshu Shukla and three other astronauts, was successfully launched to the ISS on Wednesday.

Born and raised in Lucknow, Shukla completed his schooling at the City Montessori School’s Aliganj campus. A turning point in his life came during the 1999 Kargil War, which deeply inspired him to serve the nation. Motivated by this, he cleared the National Defence Academy (NDA) entrance exam to pursue his dream.

He earned a BSc in Computer Science from NDA in 2005, after which he underwent pilot training at the Indian Air Force Academy and was commissioned into the fighter stream in 2006. He later pursued an MTech in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.

Shukla was selected for India’s Gaganyaan mission in 2019, which brought him into the astronaut training programme. He underwent training at the prestigious Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Russia, completing the course in 2021.

India would not allow a UN investigator to join a probe of a crashed Air India jet that some safety experts had criticized for delays in analysis of crucial black box data, two senior sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Earlier this week, the United Nations aviation agency took the unusual step of offering India one of its investigators to provide assistance following the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash killing at least 260 people in Ahmedabad on June 12.

Previously, the International Civil Aviation Organization has deployed investigators to help with certain probes, such as the downing of a Malaysian plane in 2014 and a Ukrainian jetliner in 2020, but those times the agency had been asked for assistance.

ICAO had asked for the investigator who was in India to be given observer status, but Indian authorities refused the offer, the sources said. The news was first reported on Thursday by the Indian news channel Times Now.India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which is leading the probe into the world’s deadliest aviation accident in a decade, did not return a request for comment. ICAO was not immediately available for comment. 

India’s civil aviation ministry said on Thursday that investigators downloaded flight recorder data around two weeks after the crash.

Mumbai:

A Bangkok-bound Air India flight from the city was held back for over five hours on June 25, after some hay was found stuck in one of the aircraft’s wings, the airline has said.

This was immediately attended to, and the aircraft was subsequently cleared for operation, Air India said in a statement.

The Tata Group-run airline did not share other key details such as the number of passengers and crew on board, the type of aircraft, the scheduled time of departure and for how long the passengers remained stranded at the Mumbai airport.

However, according to flight tracking website flightradar24.com, the flight AI 2354, operated by an Airbus A320Neo plane, was scheduled to depart from Mumbai at 7.45 am. However, it departed after a delay of over five hours — around 1 pm.

“AI2354 scheduled to operate from Mumbai to Bangkok on 25 June 2025 was held back as some hay was found stuck below the left wing of the operating aircraft,” Air India said in a statement on Friday.

This was immediately attended to, and the aircraft was subsequently cleared for operation, the airline said, adding that the source of the hay (getting below the wing)could not be identified

Bengaluru:

Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Thursday ordered a probe into the “unnatural death” of a tigress and four cubs in Male Mahadeshwara Hills under the Hugyam forest range.

The tigress and the cubs were found dead this morning, officials said.

Expressing sorrow over the incident, Mr Khandre immediately ordered an investigation into the matter, which will be led by a team under the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF).

As per preliminary information, the tigers died due to poisoning. A detailed investigation is underway to ascertain the exact cause of death, they said.

According to forest department, the minister has issued instructions to the Additional Chief Secretary and the Chief Wildlife Warden of the department, stating that the government is taking the deaths of five tigers very seriously and has directed that action be taken against those found guilty.Referring to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Project Tiger for the protection of endangered tigers, the minister noted that Karnataka has also taken proactive steps in tiger conservation. With 563 tigers, the state ranks second in the country.

New Delhi:

A criminal wanted in over 50 cases, including robberies, was shot in the leg during an exchange of fire with a police team in west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden area, an official said on Friday.

The shootout took place at around 10 pm on Thursday near Sanjay Gandhi Animal Hospital, when the team tried to intercept the criminal, identified as Vinay alias Mota (36), the official said.

“Vinay, a resident of Najafgarh, is a dreaded criminal with a history of 56 criminal cases, including robbery and snatching,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vichitra Veer said.

He had previously been involved in a shootout with the Special Cell in 2021, he added.

The DCP said the team had been working to identify and track down criminals linked to robbery and snatching incidents in the area and Vinay was among those being actively pursued.

“On June 26, at around 9 pm, the teams spotted movement of the suspect in the Rajouri Garden area. Multiple units were mobilised and he was seen riding a motorcycle near the Nala Road behind Sanjay Gandhi Animal Hospital,” he said.

When the teams blocked the road and signalled him to stop, he opened fire on the police party, the officer said.