The civil aviation ministry plans to put in place strict norms to prevent incidents of hoax bomb threats to airlines, including placing the perpetrators on the no-fly list, a senior official said on Thursday.
'Today, let us reaffirm our commitment to strive to realise Gandhiji's dreams. His watchwords, truth and nonviolence, will continue to remain relevant for the whole world. He also taught us that rights and duties are but the two sides of the coin - indeed, the true source of rights is duty. Today we recall his lessons in compassion too - compassion not only for our human neighbours but also for our other neighbours, namely, flora and fauna, rivers and mountains.'
More than 80 domestic and international flights of various Indian airlines received bomb threats on Thursday, according to sources.
The agencies have also found some common lines and words used in these fake threats like "bombs", "blood will spread everywhere", "explosive devices", "this is not a joke" and "you will all die" and "bomb rakhwa dia hai" (Hindi for bomb has been placed) among others.
An Air India passenger has complained of finding a cockroach in an omelette served onboard the flight from the national capital to New York, with the airline saying the matter has been taken up with the catering service provider for further investigation.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed away at the age of 92 on Thursday. He will be given a state funeral with full state honors at Nigambodh Ghat on Saturday. Singh served as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014 and was known for his role in India's economic reforms. Leaders from across the political spectrum paid their respects to the departed leader, highlighting his contributions to the nation.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna passed away at his residence in Bengaluru early Tuesday morning, his family said.
Opposition members in Rajya Sabha on Thursday accused the government of imposing Hindi by bringing new bills with titles only in that language, a charge the treasury bench contested while alleging they were stuck with a colonial mindset.
Ramoji Rao, who created a sensation in the media industry in undivided Andhra Pradesh with the Eenadu newspaper and ETV group of channels, was a recipient of Padma Vibhushan.
A threat about the presence of bombs on an Akasa Air flight at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar was received on social media, but it later turned out to be a hoax, an official of the airport said on Thursday.
Kalyan urged everyone to come together to put an end to the desecration of the 'Sanathana Dharma' (Hinduism) in any form.
Amid the ongoing row over Tirupati laddus, a purported video of mice on the prasad packets of the Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai is making rounds on social media, sparking concerns.
They met at Modi's residence in New Delhi a day after the NDA won a majority of seats in the Lok Sabha election, paving the way for him to take the oath for a third consecutive term, a first for any ruling alliance since 1962.
As soon as the Telugu Desam swept the 2024 Andhra Pradesh assembly election winning 135 out of the state's 175 seats, banners went up in Amravati, Vijayawada and Vishakapatnam, declaring that 'Boss is Back!'
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy visited some inundated areas in their respective territories.
Notably, the JD-U has put up a better than expected performance in Lok Sabha polls.
'Had these leaders known that Jinnah was dying...'
While the coalition will not be unstable because of pressures, the effort from partners will be to constantly remind the central government and the BJP how much it is dependent on them.
Amid concerns among devotees on the quality of ghee used in the famous Tirupati 'laddu prasadam', the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has said sanctity of the sacred sweetmeat has been restored.
Scores of people scrambled for milk and food packets in flood-ravaged Vijayawada on Monday, and also complained about alleged government apathy towards their hardships in the past three days.
Sources in the government said the roof that collapsed at T1 was constructed during 2008-09 and that the work was contracted out by GMR to private contractors.
Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Monday expressed concern over the law and order situation in the state and said if he was the state home minister, 'things would be different', remarks seen as direct criticism of Vangalapudi Anitha, who is holding the department currently.
Rama and Sita entered a wonderful maze of lit streets, and when Bharatha caught sight of them as he ran down the steps of the palace, the whole city was chiming with celebration with this festival of lights. A fascinating excerpt from Vayu Naidu's book, The Living Legend.
Hundreds of students have been staging protests at S R Gudlavalleru Engineering College in Krishna district since Thursday night over the alleged incident. Demanding justice at any cost, the students vowed not to attend classes until then, while the minister said that truth would come out and the culprits would be punished.
Hours before the ceremony, Saini visited the Valmiki Bhawan and offered prayers at a gurdwara and the Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula.
None of its candidates won. Most of them lost badly.
'When you watch Freedom At Midnight, I want you to feel like you are sitting on a ticking time bomb.'
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday took potshots at the rival Shiv Sena over its minister not finding a place in the reconstituted NITI Aayog.
Aseem Chhabra picks his top 10 Indian films of 2024, which includes films that have had theatrical releases or are streaming on OTT.
As the controversy continues to reverberate nationwide, various quarters are demanding steps to safeguard the sanctity of Hindu temples and their 'prasadam'.
Former Union minister Sharad Pawar on Monday said that he and nephew Ajit Pawar are together as a family, but made it clear that the latter was heading a different political party.
'We don't have to go abroad for anything.' 'Anyone who thinks we have a lot to learn from the US needs to have his head examined.' 'We are in a new era.'
'Whether somebody else can take up (Narendra Modi's position) the answer to it is yes but for that (to happen) some kind of crisis must come and in that crisis Modi must lose the (trust) vote.' 'Only then another candidate from the BJP can come and most likely it could be Nitin Gadkari because he enjoys the confidence (of the RSS as well as that of BJP MPs).'
The proceedings of the House were adjourned till 2 pm as slogan-shouting TMC and other opposition MPs trooped into the well of the House, some holding placards, to demand a discussion on the issue of Israeli-made, military-grade Pegasus spyware being used to snoop on opposition leaders, government critics and journalists.
Historically, India has never been expansionist in its outlook and her approach has always been of peaceful coexistence and one designed to deter the forces of terror and disruption.
What some of our leaders were up to this week.
Protocols for the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC), convened in the event of a bomb threat call to an aircraft or airport, have been tweaked to better tackle the spate of the ongoing 'random' Internet-based threats being made to various Indian airlines, official sources said Tuesday.
The Rajya Sabha chairman said this was not the first time that such a suspension has happened. Starting in 1962 till 2010, members were suspended on 11 occasions in furtherance to motions moved by the governments of the day.
'People think that because there are so many OTT platforms, roles should just fall into your lap. That's not true at all.'
Airline systems across airports, which were impacted due to a global IT outage on Friday, have started working normally, and all issues are likely to be resolved by noon on Saturday, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said. The ministry is constantly monitoring the operations at airports and airlines to ensure travel readjustments and refunds are taken care of, he added.
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