The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) on Sunday wrote to External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, seeking his intervention for the urgent repatriation of the mortal remains of a Kashmiri youth, Bilal Manzoor Ganie, who passed away in Saudi Arabia In a statement, JKSA National Convenor Nasir Khuehami expressed profound grief over the untimely demise of Bilal Manzoor Ganie, a resident of Sogam' Chountiwari, Lolab, in north Kashmir's Kupwara district. The JKSA stated that Bilal had been working in Saudi Arabia for the past one and a half years as a nursing assistant at Aaba International Hospital, where he was pursuing a career in the healthcare sector. On Saturday (April 4), he tragically suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and was rushed to the same hospital, where doctors declared him 'brought dead'. Bilal's sudden and untimely demise has sent shockwaves across his native village. "He was widely regarded as a dedicated, hardworking, and compassionate young individual, and his passing has left his family and the entire community devastated and in deep mourning," the JKSA national convenor said. The JKSA said it has formally taken up the matter with the External Affairs Minister and sought his intervention to direct the concerned authorities, including the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia and relevant local authorities, to facilitate the repatriation of the remains of Bilal to India to perform the last rites according to the family's cultural and religious traditions. The Association acknowledged that such cases involve procedural requirements, legal formalities, documentation, and coordination with authorities in Saudi Arabia, and assured complete cooperation in the process. The JKSA further stated that it stands "ready to extend every possible assistance, including coordination with the family, hospital authorities, local contacts, and the concerned diplomatic missions, to ensure that the process is carried out smoothly, swiftly, and with due dignity". The Association expressed hope for a swift response from the Ministry of External Affairs, while appreciating its continued efforts in assisting Indian citizens abroad during distressing situations. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
05 April,2026 02:28 PM IST | Srinagar | IANSAmid an escalating political spat within the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), MP Raghav Chadha has fired back at his own party over recent claims that he has not raised Punjab-related issues in Parliament. In a post on X, Chadha responded to the allegations, emphasising that Punjab is not just his home but "duty, soil and soul." He highlighted the various issues he raised as an MP, including advocating for the Nankana Sahib corridor, legal guarantees for farmers' Minimum Support Price (MSP), addressing vanishing groundwater in Punjab, recommending Bharat Ratna recognition for Bhagat Singh, and several other key issues. "To my colleagues in AAP who were forced to issue videos saying that "Raghav Chadha failed to raise Punjab's issues in Parliament", here is a small trailer...Picture Abhi Baaki Hai. Punjab isn't a talking point for me. It is my home, my duty, my soil, my soul." To my colleagues in AAP who were forced to issue videos saying that “Raghav Chadha failed to raise Punjab’s issues in Parliament”, here is a small trailer…Picture Abhi Baaki Hai.Punjab isn’t a talking point for me. It is my home, my duty, my soil, my soul❤️ pic.twitter.com/qdTMHK4sqU — Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) April 5, 2026 The whole controversy began following Raghav Chadha's removal from Aam Aadmi Party's deputy leader post in Rajya Sabha, earlier this week, following which, the AAP MP slammed the party leadership, accusing them of silencing his voice. Following Chadha's remarks, several leaders of AAP came out heavily against him, saying he was said to be "compromised" and was scared of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Chadha on Saturday hit back at allegations following his removal as Deputy Leader of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Rajya Sabha, calling them a "coordinated attack" and denying claims that he refused to walk out of Parliament or sign an impeachment motion against the Chief Election Commissioner. In a post on X, Chadha said a scripted campaign was being run against him."Since yesterday, a scripted campaign has been going on against me. Same language, same words, same allegations. This is no coincidence, but a coordinated attack. At first, I thought I shouldn't respond. Then I thought that if a lie is repeated 100 times, some people might believe it. So, I decided to respond," he said To my colleagues in AAP who were forced to issue videos saying that “Raghav Chadha failed to raise Punjab’s issues in Parliament”, here is a small trailer…Picture Abhi Baaki Hai.Punjab isn’t a talking point for me. It is my home, my duty, my soil, my soul❤️ pic.twitter.com/qdTMHK4sqU — Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) April 5, 2026 This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
05 April,2026 01:28 PM IST | New Delhi | ANIAuto drivers in Mandya are facing severe difficulties as an ongoing shortage of LPG has disrupted operations at local auto fuel bunkers, impacting their daily livelihoods. Several fuel bunkers across the city have remained closed for days, with "No Stock" boards displayed outside, leaving drivers unable to refuel their vehicles and continue regular operations. Many drivers, who depend entirely on daily fares to sustain themselves and operate vehicles purchased on loans, have expressed growing anxiety over the uncertain situation. The shortage has been linked to escalating tensions and ongoing conflicts in Middle Eastern countries, which have affected LPG supply for both domestic and commercial purposes. Drivers said they are increasingly worried about sustaining their livelihoods, as many of them operate autos purchased on loans and depend entirely on daily earnings from fares. With bunkers closed, drivers have been forced to park their vehicles near fuel stations, waiting in vain for supplies to resume. Auto drivers are struggling to make a living without LPG. Bunker staff confirmed that the closures are due to an acute shortage of gas supply, adding that they are unable to provide a timeline for when operations will normalise. The ongoing crisis has forced drivers to look for alternative work to make ends meet, highlighting the growing hardships faced by the auto community in Mandya. Drivers have appealed to the government to intervene and ensure LPG supply resumes swiftly, emphasising that continued disruptions could severely impact their livelihoods and push many into financial distress. In the meantime, shipments of LPG are continuing to arrive in India. On Friday night, the India-flagged gas carrier Green Sanvi safely transited a strategic maritime chokepoint, carrying approximately 46,650 metric tonnes of LPG, according to official sources. This follows a previous shipment of 47,000 metric tonnes that arrived at the Vadinar Terminal in Gujarat on March 28 via the vessel MT Jag Vasant, which is scheduled for a Ship-to-Ship (STS) transfer at anchorage. Sources told ANI that Indian Navy warships have been on standby to provide support to merchant vessels as the Centre continues negotiations with Iranian authorities to ensure safe passage amid a maritime blockade. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
05 April,2026 01:28 PM IST | Karnataka | ANIMoody's Ratings has slashed India's economic growth estimates for the current fiscal to 6 per cent from 6.8 per cent earlier, saying the ongoing conflict in West Asia will moderate growth momentum and raise inflation risks. In its credit opinion report on India, Moody's said prolonged disruptions, particularly LPG shipments due to the conflict, would lead to near-term household shortages, higher fuel and transport costs, and spillovers to food inflation through India's reliance on imported fertilisers. The region accounts for around 55 per cent of crude oil imports and over 90 per cent of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) supplies to India. "While inflation remains contained for now, geopolitical risks have tilted the inflation outlook to the upside," Moody's said while projecting inflation to average 4.8 per cent in FY27, up from 2.4 per cent in FY26. With inflation risks re-emerging and growth remaining robust, policy rates are likely to be held steady or raised gradually in fiscal 2026â¿¿27, depending on the duration of geopolitical tensions and their pass-through to food and fuel prices, Moody's said. "In light of India's economic exposure to the ongoing military conflict in the Middle East, we expect real GDP growth to moderate to 6 per cent in fiscal 2026-27 from 6.8 per cent earlier, driven by subdued private consumption, softer industrial activity and a weakening in the momentum of gross fixed capital formation amid elevated prices and higher input costs," according to the Moody's report, dated March 31, accessed by PTI. Last month, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) projected India's GDP growth to moderate to 6.1 per cent in the current fiscal from 7.6 per cent growth recorded in 2025-26. Besides, an Economy Watch report by EY has said that India's real GDP growth for FY27 could erode by around 1 percentage point, while retail inflation could rise by about 1.5 percentage points from their baseline estimates if the West Asia conflict persists through 2026-27. Domestic rating agency Icra expects the growth to moderate to 6.5 per cent in FY27, owing to the adverse impact of elevated energy prices and concerns around energy availability amid the West Asia conflict. It further said the government's sustained emphasis on infrastructure spending and a gradual easing of trade barriers will continue to support investment activity.India's real GDP growth remained robust at 7.5 per cent in calendar year 2025, up from 7.2 per cent in CY 2024 and the highest among G-20 economies, driven primarily by a strong rebound in manufacturing. Moody's said elevated oil, gas and fertiliser prices would intensify pressures on targeted subsidies, resulting in higher outlays, alongside revenue erosion compared to the budget. Global crude prices have risen by almost 50 per cent since the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on February 28, triggering sweeping retaliation from Tehran. The recent cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel will hurt tax receipts. Besides, persistently high input costs weigh on household consumption and compress corporate profitability, softening GST collections and corporate income tax revenues. "Taken together, we expect higher expenditure commitments and weaker revenue mobilisation to constrain fiscal space and slow the pace of fiscal consolidation in the absence of offsetting revenue measures or expenditure rationalisation," it added. Moody's expects gradual debt consolidation, consistent with the government's medium-term objective of reducing central government debt to around 50 per cent of GDP by 2030-31 from around 57 per cent of GDP in 2024-25. In calendar year 2025, India's current account deficit marginally narrowed to around 0.4 per cent of GDP from 0.9 per cent in the previous year, and is expected to remain around 1-1.5 per cent of GDP for 2026 and 2027. The stable external position is largely attributed to a gradual increase in goods exports offset by high goods imports, particularly in imported fuels and raw materials. The agency expects goods and services exports to remain broadly stable, even as goods imports will expand on the back of higher global commodity prices, depending on the duration of the ongoing conflict in West Asia, widening India's current account deficit. It also expects India to face higher import costs, as it secures alternative and potentially more expensive supplies of fertilisers and gas. Trade disruptions affecting West Asia, a key market for India's agricultural exports, will also dampen external demand, further contributing to a widening of the current account deficit. Remittance inflows form another vulnerability, as the Gulf region accounts for about 40 per cent of total such flows, Moody's said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
05 April,2026 01:18 PM IST | New Delhi [India] | PTIThe Congress on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the proposal to increase Lok Sabha seats, saying he is "bulldozing" the move that will work more to the benefit of larger and populous states and is nothing but a "Weapon of Mass Distraction (WMD)". The opposition party also alleged that the prime minister is "hoodwinking" the people of the country and is making misleading statements that are meant to deceive. In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The PM is upto his usual tricks of making misleading statements that are meant to deceive. He says South Indian states will not be hurt in any way if the strength of the Lok Sabha is increased by 50 pc and the number of seats of each state in the Lok Sabha is also increased by 50pc." "This is hoodwinking the people of the country in which the PM has unique expertise," Ramesh said. For example, the difference between UP's and Kerala's seats in the Lok Sabha is now 60 and Modi's proposal will increase it to 90, he said. Similarly, the difference between UP and Tamil Nadu will increase from 41 to at least 61, Ramesh said and added that such examples can be multiplied. "Mr. Modi is bulldozing a proposal that will work more to the benefit of larger and populous states since their already large numbers will get further magnified," the Congress leader said. It is not just South India but states like Punjab and Haryana and those in the North East that will also see their relative influence decline, he argued. "The nation is facing a serious economic and foreign policy crisis. All that the PM is bothered about is pushing through an increase in the strength of the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas without meaningful consultations and widespread public debate. This is nothing but a Weapon of Mass Distraction (WMD)," Ramesh said. His remarks come a day after Prime Minister Modi said that the Budget session of Parliament has been extended for three days so that the law enacted in 2023 for providing 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies can be implemented from 2029. On Thursday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, while speaking in Rajya Sabha, had said the House will meet again soon to consider a key legislation. "We have certain bills and important issues, and we have shared this with the opposition also. We are going to have a very important bill in the next two-three weeks," he said. It later emerged that the Budget session of Parliament will reconvene on April 16 after a brief recess to pass bills to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816 so that the women's reservation law can be implemented at the earliest. Addressing an NDA election rally in Kerala, Modi said the government will ensure, during the April 16-18 Parliament sitting, a legal stamp that no state, whether it is Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, or Telangana, will see a reduction in Lok Sabha seats. The prime minister said that the NDA government has given 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies through a law in 2023."Do you know why it will reconvene? The law we have passed for 33 per cent reservation for women, so that its benefits can begin from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, and 33 per cent of our sisters can sit in Parliament. For this, further legal provisions are needed," Modi said. The Women's Reservation Act was passed by Parliament in 2023. The provision to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies was brought by amending the Constitution, but it will come into effect after the completion of the delimitation exercise. If the proposal to implement the law even before the delimitation exercise actually materialises, another amendment to the Constitution will be required. The government is expected to amend the law to this effect in the three-day sitting of the Parliament. The prime minister urged all parties that this is an issue related to women's empowerment, so they should, with an open mind and without any political calculations, fully support it and become partners in winning the trust of the country's mothers and sisters. He said that the government had invited members of Congress for discussions and hoped that they would come and agree with it. The Congress on Friday had alleged that the government has called a "special session" of Parliament for passing bills related to amending the women's quota law and delimitation to "grab political mileage" in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu polls, which, it claimed, is a "gross violation" of the model code of conduct. Asserting that the government's push for a rushed delimitation exercise would have "dangerous consequences", Ramesh had said, "We do not want any disturbance in the present differentials and relative strength." The Congress had cautioned against any haste in amending the Constitution regarding delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies, saying it is a sensitive matter and the government must tread carefully, otherwise the exercise might put several states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala at a significant disadvantage. Ramesh had said the government kept "sleeping" for 30 months after the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, and now wants to take "double credit" in the election season. While the government is keen on passing the bills, including amending the Women's Reservation Act 2023, officially called Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, or Narishakti Vandan Adhiniyam, the opposition has accused the Centre of trying to hurriedly move for passing amendments to take political advantage in the state elections. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
05 April,2026 12:59 PM IST | New Delhi [India] | PTIThe Supreme Court on Saturday notified the setting up of a nine-judge bench to review (re-examine) the long-pending Sabarimala temple entry matter, along with a batch of connected cases that raise larger constitutional questions on the scope and ambit of religious freedom practised by multiple faiths across the country. The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi, B V Nagarathna, R Mahadevan, M M Sundresh, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Aravind Kumar, A G Masih, and Prasanna B Varale, is scheduled to commence hearings from April 7. In 2018, a Constitution Bench of the apex court permitted the entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, striking down the centuries-old practice that barred women between the ages of 10 and 50. On November 14, 2019, a five-judge Constitution Bench led by then CJI Ranjan Gogoi, by a 3:2 majority, held that the issues arising in the review petitions against the Sabarimala judgment were not confined to the temple alone, but raised broader and recurring questions of constitutional interpretation concerning the interplay between the right to equality and the right to freedom of religion. The Court identified a set of overlapping constitutional issues that also arose in other pending matters. These included: (i) the permissibility of restricting the entry of Muslim women into mosques, particularly the challenge to practices that bar women from offering prayers in certain Islamic places of worship; (ii) the validity of the practice of Female Genital Mutilation among the Dawoodi Bohra community, examined in light of dignity and essential religious practices and (iii) the rights of Parsi women who marry outside the community to enter Parsi Fire Temples. The majority observed that these cases raised common constitutional questions, such as: the scope and ambit of the "essential religious practices" doctrine; the extent to which courts can judicially review religious customs claimed to be integral to a faith; the balance between individual fundamental rights, particularly equality, dignity, and non-discrimination under Articles 14 and 15, and the collective rights of religious denominations under Articles 25 and 26; and the permissible limits of exclusionary practices in religious spaces. Subsequently, a nine-judge Constitution Bench on February 10, 2020, upheld the decision of the Sabarimala Review Bench to refer to a larger Bench broad questions concerning the interplay between essential religious practices, equality, and constitutional morality across faiths. In February 2026, the top court had, while fixing a schedule for the hearings, noted, "A nine-judge bench shall commence hearing in these matters on April 7, 2026 (Tuesday) at 10:30 AM. The review petitioners or the parties supporting them shall be heard from April 7-9, April 2026. The original writ petitioners opposing the review petitioners shall be heard on April 14-16, 2026. The rejoinder submissions, if any, will be heard on April 21, 2026, followed by the final and concluding submissions by the learned amicus, which is expected to be over by April 22. The parties shall adhere to the above time schedule. The nodal counsels in consultation with arguing counsel of the parties shall prepare the internal arrangement so that oral submissions from both sides can be heard within the stipulated timeline." The Union of India (Centre), along with other parties are supporting the review petitions, effectively challenging the 2018 ruling that allowed the entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple. The original writ petitioners (now respondents) in the review proceedings are opposing the review pleas and seeking to uphold the 2018 judgment This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
05 April,2026 11:39 AM IST | New Delhi | ANIAam Janata Unnayan Party founder Humayun Kabir on Saturday termed the arrest of a former candidate of his ally AIMIM for the gherao of seven judicial officers in Malda “unjust and politically motivated”. He claimed that the police had in fact arrested the person who “helped in restoring peace in the area”. Mofakkarul Islam, the alleged master-mind of the gherao in Malda district, was arrested on Friday. PICS/PTI The West Bengal Police on Friday arrested two persons, including advocate Mofakkarul Islam, who has been described by the force as the “mastermind” of the gherao on Friday. Reacting to the police action, Kabir, in a social media post, said, “The action by the Bengal CID following Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s instruction is unjust and politically motivated.” Seven judicial officers were held hostage inside the local BDO office in the Mothabari area of Malda district, and an eighth was confined inside a vehicle for about nine hours on Wednesday after a large crowd, protesting post-SIR deletion of names from voters’ lists, turned violent by blocking roads, vandalising vehicles and attacking police personnel. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 April,2026 09:15 AM IST | Kolkata | AgenciesThe Naina Devi Temple Trust has become the first Shakti Peeth in Himachal Pradesh to produce biogas from organic waste generated by its community kitchen or langar, officials said on Saturday. The temple, located in Himachal’s Bilaspur district, attracts a large number of devotees. By generating biogas from langar waste, it has earned the distinction of becoming the first such religious institution in the state to implement such an initiative, they said. Dharampal Chaudhary, chairman of the Shri Naina Devi Temple Trust and the local sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), said “The capacity of this biogas plant will be further expanded in the near future.” The trust has installed a modern, pre-fabricated biogas plant equipped with solid waste management capabilities. The plant is now fully operational and the gas is being utilised directly in the temple kitchen to prepare Prasad and langar meals. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 April,2026 09:09 AM IST | Bilaspur | AgenciesThe Delhi government has tightened norms for the supply of commercial LPG cylinders, making it mandatory for businesses to either have or apply for a piped natural gas (PNG) connection in areas where the network is available, according to an official order. In an order issued by the Food, Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department on Thursday, the government amended a key clause of its recently notified policy on distribution of commercial LPG cylinders.Under the revised rules, commercial and industrial consumers will be eligible to receive LPG supplies only if they are registered with the concerned oil marketing company (OMC) and have applied for a PNG connection, wherever the network exists. “When supplying to commercial gas consumers, the OMCs shall at least once collect documentation records to ensure that the consumer is registered with the OMC and has either applied for a PNG connection or has submitted an application indicating the intent to obtain a PNG connection upon its availability,” the order stated. Meanwhile, India is actively engaging with global partners to safeguard its energy security and the safety of Indian nationals in the Gulf as tensions in West Asia continue to disrupt trade and logistics. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the ongoing situation has posed challenges for countries across the world. “It has been a testing time for not just us, but for the entire global community. Our leaders have been in touch with their counterparts,” Jaiswal said. Seventh Indian LPG tanker crosses the Strait of Hormuz As a seventh India-flagged LPG tanker, Green Sanvi, crossed the Strait of Hormuz amid the war on Friday, Iran posted a special message for New Delhi. The Iranian consulate in Mumbai said on X that India, and Gujarat in particular, held a “cherished place” in “our shared history”. Stranded Indian fishermen in Iran return via Armenia A group of stranded Indian fishermen in Iran returned home through Armenia on Saturday, the government said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar thanked his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan for assistance in the return of the Indian nationals. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
05 April,2026 08:11 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesAir India and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express will together operate 32 scheduled and non-scheduled flights to and from the West Asia region on Sunday, April 5. This includes 12 non-scheduled (ad hoc) flights to and from various airports in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These additional services will run subject to slot availability and operational conditions at the departure stations. All flights are being operated with necessary approvals from Indian and UAE regulatory authorities. Summary of operations for April 5 UAE Dubai: No scheduled flights; ad hoc operations by Air India from Delhi and Air India Express from Mangalore. Abu Dhabi: No scheduled flights; ad hoc operations by Air India Express from Delhi and Kochi. Ras Al Khaimah: No operations. Sharjah: No scheduled flights; ad hoc operations by Air India Express from Amritsar and Kannur. Al Ain: No operations. Oman Muscat: Scheduled flights by Air India Express from Delhi, Kannur, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram. Salalah: No operations. Saudi Arabia Jeddah: Scheduled flights by Air India from Delhi and Mumbai; Air India Express from Bengaluru, Kozhikode, and Mangalore. Riyadh: Scheduled flight by Air India from Delhi. Dammam: No operations. Operations to Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Israel (Tel Aviv) remain temporarily suspended for the day. All other Air India flights to and from North America, Europe, Australia and other international destinations will continue as per the normal schedule. Support for affected passengers Passengers booked on temporarily suspended routes can rebook to a future date at no extra cost or opt for a full refund. Air India passengers may manage rebooking or cancellations on the airline’s website at airindia.com or by calling the 24X7 helplines: +91 11 69329333 or +91 11 69329999. Air India Express passengers travelling from any UAE station can rebook without additional charges onto the airline’s extra commercial flights operating from any UAE airport to any destination in India. The airline said it is proactively contacting affected passengers on their registered mobile numbers. The group also appealed to passengers to keep their current and active mobile numbers updated with the airline to receive important notifications. Air India Express customers can also use the airline’s AI-powered digital assistant Tia on WhatsApp at +91 63600 12345 for convenient rebooking. The airline group stated that it continues to explore opportunities to operate more ad hoc flights to and from West Asia destinations as required. It urged passengers to check the latest flight status on the respective airline websites or mobile apps before heading to the airport.
04 April,2026 10:24 PM IST | GurugramAn extortion complaint has landed a senior citizen from Maharashtra's Nashik in the soup after a probe into his blackmailers uncovered 121 obscene videos, leading to his arrest for sexual exploitation after one of his victims came forward, accusing him of abuse, police said on Saturday, reported news agency PTI. The police had earlier arrested four men for allegedly stealing a tablet from the senior citizen's office in the Satpur area and attempting to extort Rs 12 lakh from him by threatening to leak his private photographs and videos on social media. The police had seized four mobile phones, two pen drives and a memory card from the men, and on checking these devices, found 121 obscene and objectionable video clips of women and friends of the complainant, Ravindra Ganpat Erande, the official said, reported PTI. In a twist to the tale, one of the victims lodged a complaint against Erande, alleging that he had sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions at various hotels with a promise of providing a government job to her son, he said. Following the complaint, Erande was arrested on Friday under sections 69 (sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means etc) and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), Information Technology Act and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, the official said, reported PTI. A probe has revealed that Erande allegedly sexually exploited several women and shot obscene videos of them, reported PTI. The police have appealed to women to come forward with their complaints against Erande, assuring them that their identities will be kept confidential. Erande had approached the Satpur police earlier this week with a complaint about his tablet being stolen from his office, stating that he had already paid the blackmailers Rs 10,000 and was to hand over Rs 50,000 on Thursday evening. Based on the inputs, the police laid a trap and apprehended Akash Pundlik Bakre, Prakash Ramdas Panpatil, Suraj Sunil Gawai and Shreepat Bhimrao Shinde in connection with the blackmail and extortion bid, reported PTI. Beed man duped of Rs 23.42 lakh in 'digital arrest' fraud; three held In another case, three persons, including a woman, have been arrested for allegedly duping a man of Rs 23.42 lakh by threatening him with 'digital arrest' in Maharashtra's Beed district, police said on Friday, reported PTI. The police recently arrested the accused, Prasann Ajay Kasat (31), his wife, Swati (26), and their aide, Sanket Deepak Beldar (22), from Jalgaon in connection with the fraud, an official said, reported PTI. According to the police, the trio allegedly posed as police officials and threatened to place the victim, Suryakant Munde, a resident of Parli Vaijnath, under digital arrest to extort money from him, reported PTI. Investigations revealed that the fraudsters duped the victim of Rs 23.42 lakh and diverted the money to their bank accounts, they said. The police traced the accused based on technical analysis, seized Rs 3 lakh cash from them and froze their bank accounts, the official said, adding that further investigation is underway to identify other members of their gang involved in the racket. (With inputs from PTI)
04 April,2026 05:49 PM IST | Nashik | mid-day online correspondentADVERTISEMENT
-1775379433832_d.png?tr=w-436,h-271 "JKSA National Convenor Nasir Khuehami. PIC/X")
-1775375891093_d.png "Raghav Chadha. File Pic")
-1775375762986_d.png "Representational image. File pic")
-1775375212428_d.png "Pic/Pixabay")
-1775373639570_d.png "File Photo")
-1775369333757_d.png "Supreme Court of India. File Pic")
