Author: Rahul M

THE simmering public rift between Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder S Ramadoss and his son, party president Anbumani Ramadoss, may be headed for a cooling down – prompted not by a sudden meeting of the minds, but the alleged discovery of a tapping device, and the apprehension of a police investigation.According to two senior PMK sources and a confidant close to the family, a complaint filed on behalf of Ramadoss about the discovery of a sophisticated audio-tapping device at his house, and the hint that the son’s side may be implicated in it, had prompted a flurry of damage-control efforts…

New Delhi: The NCERT’s new Class 8 Social Science textbook, in a chapter called ‘The Rise of the Marathas’, compares a raid carried out by Shivaji on the Mughal enemy camp in the dead of the night to a “modern-day surgical strike”. The book describes Shivaji, the founder of Maratha Empire, as a “strategist and true visionary” while introducing Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, as a “brutal and ruthless conqueror, slaughtering entire populations of cities”. Referring to Maratha kings as rulers who “established sovereignty”, it says about Shivaji, “…within his lifetime, his exploits had become legendary across India…

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The massive crowd that would gather once a year at a revered waterfall in central Haiti where the faithful would splash in its sacred waters and rub their bodies with aromatic leaves was not there on Wednesday.Powerful gangs in March attacked the town of Saut-d’Eau, whose 100-foot-long waterfall had for decades drawn thousands of Vodou and Christian faithful alike.The town remains under gang control, preventing thousands from participating in the traditional annual pilgrimage meant to honor the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, closely associated with the Vodou goddess of Erzulie.“Not going to Saut-d’Eau is terrible,” said…

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexico City government on Wednesday announced a preliminary plan to deal with gentrification, a week after a fierce protest against rising housing prices some link to mass tourism and an increase in foreigners often called “digital nomads” who live temporarily in the capital city.Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada said the plan will include regulation so that landlords cannot increase rents above inflation. Authorities will also share a list of “reasonable rental” proposals. Brugada said her government will open a discussion with residents of Mexico’s capital about her plan, but that the idea is to work…

Warner Bros. Pictures A paranormal investigator has passed away while touring with the real-life “haunted” Annabelle doll. Dan Rivera, a producer for Netflix’s “28 Days Haunted” and an investigator for the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR), died at the age of 54 in his Gettysburg, Pennsylvania hotel room while touring the United States with the alleged demonic doll. Sadly, this isn’t a clickbait-y promotion for the upcoming “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” but an all too real tragedy. The “Devils on the Run” tour took Annabelle, which served as the inspiration…

Netflix The “Extraction” movies have become some of the most successful Netflix original films to date. When the first one debuted in 2020, it quickly became the most-watched film in Netflix history. Three years later, “Extraction 2” delighted fans of the original, and Netflix greenlit a third film immediately after the sequel’s premiere. In our review of “Extraction 2,” we said the movie’s story had some serious flaws, though it still contained some top-notch action and one mind-blowing long take in particular. The sequel continued the story of mercenary Tyler Rake…

LONDON (AP) — Eight healthy babies were born in Britain with the help of an experimental technique that uses DNA from three people to help mothers avoid passing devastating rare diseases to their children, researchers reported Wednesday. Most DNA is found in the nucleus of our cells, and it’s that genetic material — some inherited from mom, some from dad — that makes us who we are. But there’s also some DNA outside of the cell’s nucleus, in structures called mitochondria. Dangerous mutations there can cause a range of diseases in children that can lead to muscle weakness, seizures, developmental…

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Prince Harry followed in his late mother’s footsteps on Wednesday by wearing a flak jacket and walking down a path in an active land mine field in Angola to raise awareness for a charity’s work clearing explosives from old warzones.The Duke of Sussex is in the southern African country with the Halo Trust organization, the same group Princess Diana worked with when she went to Angola in January 1997, seven months before she was killed in a car crash in Paris. Diana’s advocacy and the images of her walking through a minefield helped mobilize…

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump hosted a pair of Arab Gulf leaders at the White House on Wednesday as violence between Israel and Syria renewed doubts about his pledge to impose peace on the Middle East.Trump held a meeting in the Oval Office with Bahrain’s crown prince and dined privately with Qatar’s prime minister. The Republican president has lavished attention on the Persian Gulf, a wealthy region where members of his family have extensive business relationships. He has already visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on the first foreign policy trip of his second term.With little…

India lost the Third test at Lord’s against England by a narrow 22-run margin. The hosts now lead the series 2-1 with two games to be played in the ongoing Test series. With India trailing 1–2 in the five‑match Test series against England, winning the final two games has become vital. However, Jasprit Bumrah’s participation for the Manchester Test remains uncertain until the toss. The star pacer was rested for workload management during the Edgbaston Test, and head coach Gautam Gambhir has confirmed that Bumrah will feature in only three matches in the series. With two matches left, fans are…