Author: Rahul M

GuwahatiJul 5, 2025 03:25 IST First published on: Jul 4, 2025 at 20:00 IST Share Manipur Chief Secretary P K Singh on Friday announced that efforts are underway to resettle people displaced by the ongoing conflict in the state in three phases by the end of the year. For over two years now, thousands of people from the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities have been living in relief camps since the start of the ongoing conflict in May 2023. According to the Manipur Home Department estimates, around 57,000 people are currently in over 280 relief camps across the valley and the…

Cruise robotaxis are back on the road … well, kind of. Though General Motors pulled the plug on its self-driving taxi business last year, the automaker has been quietly repurposing a few of the vehicles as it seeks to develop new driver-assistance technologies.This week, WIRED spotted a GM Bolt electric hatchback on the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and later saw a similar vehicle on Interstate 880 near Oakland. In each instance, the car was being driven by a human. But it held equipment on the roof such as lidar sensors that resembled the setup from the Cruise ride-hailing system. The…

The Karnataka High Court Friday quashed a sexual assault case filed against Malayalam filmmaker Ranjith Balakrishnan. The order was passed by a single-judge bench consisting of Justice S R Krishna Kumar. The Karnataka High Court had previously granted a stay on investigation in this case, making strong observations regarding the prima facie lack of veracity of the allegations. The case was filed under sections 377 of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the IT Act by a man who claimed to have been an aspiring actor at the time of the alleged assault. Story continues below this ad The…

In an age where global politics often feel like farce and reality TV stars somehow find themselves in positions of power, Heads of State arrives with a premise that seems ripe for sharp satire and raucous action comedy. Directed by Ilya Naishuller (Nobody), the film brings together an ensemble led by John Cena and Idris Elba in what promises to be a globe-trotting, odd-couple buddy movie wrapped in espionage theatrics. Unfortunately, despite flashes of potential and a few solid laughs, the movie squanders much of its star power and narrative ambition on tonal inconsistency, flat character work, and a story…

AMID the controversy over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, months to go for the Assembly elections, the AIMIM has formally written to the RJD requesting that the party be included in the Mahagathbandhan alliance.The Opposition led by the RJD has accused that the EC exercise will disenfranchise a large section of voters in Bihar, especially in Muslim-majority regions like Seemanchal, which are the base of the AIMIM in the state. In the letter, written on July 2 to RJD chief Lalu Prasad, AIMIM Bihar president and MLA Akhtarul Iman has stated: “Since 2015, the…

While hearing Switzerland-based Proton Mail’s appeal to reconsider an earlier order banning the email service in India, the Karnataka High Court Thursday directed the company to keep taking down URLs sending offensive emails referred to in the original petition. In April, the Karnataka High Court had issued directions to the Centre to begin the process to block Proton Mail after M Moser Design Associates complained that several of its women employees received ‘obscene’ and ‘AI-generated material’ through Proton Mail. The Karnataka High Court had ordered at the time, “Mandamus issued to respondents – Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Electronics…

Sequels are expected to deepen character arcs, raise emotional stakes, and expand world-building, but The Old Guard 2 instead opts for a muddled descent into franchise fatigue. Directed by Victoria Mahoney and penned by Greg Rucka (returning from the original) and Sarah L. Walker, this follow-up to Netflix’s 2020 surprise hit fails to live up to the promise of its predecessor. Despite the presence of high-caliber talent—Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, and a welcome addition in Henry Golding—the film lacks emotional weight, narrative clarity, and stylistic freshness. A Return Without Direction: The first Old Guard offered a relatively novel twist on…

THE recent incidents of attack on non-Marathi speakers in Mumbai and surrounding areas has brought the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) of Raj Thackeray back in conversation just ahead of the civic polls, which provide the struggling party a chance to remain afloat.The attacks also tug at the son-of-the-soil sentiment which has paid dividends in Maharashtra politics in the past, especially in Mumbai with its evolving linguistic landscape shaped by decades of migration and demographic shifts. Data from the 2011 Census, the last such available numbers, reveals a significant rise in the number of native Hindi speakers in Mumbai and its…

Karnataka High Court on Friday granted interim relief to BJP MLC N Ravi Kumar and asked the State not to take any coercive action until July 8 in connection with a case registered against him over an alleged derogatory remark against Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh. An FIR was filed against Ravi Kumar based on a complaint lodged at Vidhana Soudha. Representing Ravi Kumar, Advocate Arun Shyam said that he spoke in the context that the chief minister was not responding to the issues and that it has been politicised. Story continues below this ad The court, however, directed Ravi Kumar…

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested a key accused in the murder of Praveen Nettaru, a Karnataka BJP Yuva Morcha leader, upon his arrival at Kerala’s Kannur International Airport from Qatar. The arrested, identified as Abdul Rahaman, had been absconding for the past two years after Nettaru was hacked to death with sharp weapons by members of the Popular Front of India (PFI), a proscribed outfit, on July 26, 2022, in the Dakshina Kannada district. Investigations had revealed that Abdul Rahaman had, on the directions of PFI leadership, voluntarily harboured the main assailants and others involved in the…