Month: June 2025

One survivor has been found in the deadly crash of an Air India plane carrying 242 people, after it rammed into a nearby doctors’ hostel shortly after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport, a senior police officer said.

Speaking to ANI on a phone call, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik says, “The police found one survivor in seat 11A. He has been in the hospital and is under treatment. Cannot say anything about the number of deaths yet. The death toll may increase as the flight crashed in a residential area.”

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people, including 12 crew members, crashed shortly after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday afternoon.

“After the takeoff, the plane crashed here and after a preliminary enquiry, we got to know that the … plane crashed into a building, which is a doctors’ hostel,” Jaipal Singh Rathore, Joint Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad, told reporters.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into the doctors’ hostel near the airport perimeter.

Air India said that among the 230 passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian national.

“Air India confirms that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident today after take-off. The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hours, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals. The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals. We have also set up a dedicated passenger hotline number, 1800 5691 444, to provide more information. Air India is giving its full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident,” the Airlines said.

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Thursday continued its relentless firefighting efforts aboard MV WAN HAI 503, despite challenging sea conditions.

A specialised team comprising one pilot and two aircrew divers was deployed onboard an Indian Air Force MI-17 helicopter to carry out aerial firefighting operations.

During the mission, the team successfully dispersed 1,000 kg of Dry Chemical Powder (DCP) directly onto the fire’s core.

To mitigate environmental risks near the coast, the ICG is maintaining the vessel’s position using a towline while closely monitoring the situation.

Although the external fire has been extinguished, dense smoke continues to emanate, indicating residual internal heat and possible metallic fire.

Firefighting efforts remain ongoing, with all responding assets on high alert to ensure complete containment of the fire.

Earlier on Tuesday, the ICG winched five salvage team members and an aircrew diver onto the burning Singaporean container vessel MV Wan Hai 503 to facilitate towing operations.

According to an official release from the Ministry of Defence, the vessel, which caught fire off the Kerala coast on June 9, continues to drift south-east within India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), approximately 42 nautical miles from Beypore, Kerala.

The vessel is carrying 1.2 lakh metric tons of fuel and hundreds of containers, including hazardous cargo, posing a serious risk to the marine environment and regional shipping routes.

“Intensive firefighting efforts by ICG have significantly reduced visible flames, with only smoke now seen across the cargo holds and bays. However, the fire remains active in the inner decks and near fuel tanks,” the release stated.

“Five ICG ships, two Dornier aircraft, and a helicopter are engaged in the ongoing firefighting mission, supported by two vessels from the Directorate General of Shipping. A salvage team appointed by the ship’s owners is working in coordination with ICG, and the Indian Air Force has been requested for additional aerial support,” it added.

With the fire yet to be fully extinguished, efforts to establish a towline and pull the vessel away from the coast are underway to prevent a potential ecological disaster. The situation remains critical and is being monitored continuously. (ANI)

K-Pop idol Jackson Wang who is currently on an India visit on Thursday met with Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan and his family.

Rakesh Roshan took to his Instagram platform to shared a happy group picture in which Wang was seen standing beside Hrithik Roshan. The duo twinned in their black outfits.

Many fans are speculating on a possible collaboration between the singer and the actor for ‘Krrish 4’ as it is helmed by Hritik himself.

While sharing the photo, Rakesh Roshan wrote, “Jackson welcome & God bless!”

Wang, who is a member of South Korean boy band GoT7 was on Tuesday spotted at the Mumbai International Aiport. He is in India to promote his upcoming music album Magic Man 2 a folow up to his 2022 album Magic Man.

In the visuals, Wang was seen dressed in all black which included a trouser complimented with a hoodie and a beanie.

He was accompanied by his team and the Mumbai Airport officials. The K-Pop idol greeted his fans with a namaste.

Day 1. INDIA #Mumbai #India #MAGICMAN2 pic.twitter.com/gb2ACIs0Yc

— Jackson Wang (@JacksonWang852) June 10, 2025

He posted, “Hi India” with a red heart emoji. He also dropped a few sefies with the post.

This marks Jackson’s second visit to India.

The Chinese-born K-pop idol had earlier visited the country to perform at one of the world’s longest-running music festivals, Lollapalooza, in 2023.

In May this year actor and singer Diljit Dosanjh announced his collaboration with Jackson Wang. The latter shared a teaser of their upcoming track, ‘Buck’. Diljit also reposted on his Instagram Story. The track was released on May 9

As for Hrithik Roshan, the actor will be next seen in the film ‘War 2’. The movie trailer will be released soon. It also stars Jr NTR in the lead roles. (ANI)

An Air India plane from Ahmedabad to London with 242 passengers crashed in the Meghaninagar area near Ahmedabad airport on Thursday.

Confirming the incident, Air India said that Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident on Thursday.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that a team has been rushed to the spot for investigation.

“On 12th Jun, 2025, Air India B787 Aircraft VT-ANB, while operating flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick, has crashed immediately after takeoff from Ahmedabad. There were 242 people on board the aircraft, consisting of 2 pilots and 10 cabin crew,” said a senior DGCA official.

The aircraft was under the command of Capt Sumeet Sabharwal with First Officer Clive Kundar. Capt Sumeet Sabharwal is an LTC with 8200 hours of experience. The copilot had 1100 hours of flying experience, the official further added.

As per ATC, the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It gave a mayday Call to ATC, but thereafter, no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC.

Aircraft immediately after departure from Runway 23, fell on the ground outside the airport perimeter. Heavy black smoke was seen coming from the accident site, said the official.

Thick plumes of smoke could be seen at the accident spot, and fire tenders have reached the spot.

Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said, “Shocked and devastated to learn about the flight crash in Ahmedabad. We are on the highest alert. I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action. Rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site. My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families.”

The minister, who was in Vijayawada attending the first anniversary events of the NDA Government, rushed to Ahmedabad immediately upon receiving news of the flight crash. The Minister’s office said he is in constant contact with senior officials from DGCA, AAI, NDRF, and the Gujarat State administration to ensure a swift, coordinated response and support. Rescue and medical teams are on site. Passenger safety and emergency response remain the highest priorities.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken to Gujarat’s Chief Minister, Home Minister and the Police Commissioner regarding the plane crash incident. He also assured to provide Central government assistance.

The Gujarat Chief Minister, Bhupendra Patel, has given instructions to undertake immediate rescue and relief operations and immediate treatment of injured passengers in the wake of the Air India passenger plane crash in Ahmedabad on a war footing. (ANI)

The makers of Sonakshi Sinha’s supernatural thriller ‘Nikita Roy’ have released the trailer on Wednesday. The movie is set to release in theatres worldwide on June 27, 2025.

Along with Sonakshi Sinha, the film also stars Paresh Rawal and Arjun Rampal in the lead roles. The movie is directed by Kussh S Sinha.

The one-minute and fifty-three-second trailer of ‘Nikita Roy’ begins with Sonakshi Sinha stepping into a mysterious house deep in the woods at night, only to encounter unexplainable forces.

Paresh Rawal appears to play the role of a Spiritual Guru who seems to manipulate people psychologically, while Sonakshi’s character is determined to expose his truth within a week.

With a tight deadline to expose Rawal’s truth, Sonakshi seems to have joined forces with Arjun Rampal to uncover the truth behind the series of murders.

The details about the plot have been largely kept under wraps.

Sonakshi Sinha shared the trailer from her Instagram handle. She wrote, “Enter a world where reality blurs and the unknown takes over. Come uncover some dark secrets with #NikitaRoy. TRAILER OUT NOW! Get ready for chills, thrills & mind-bending suspense. In theatres 27th June 2025.”‘

Earlier, while talking about the film, Sonakshi said, “It was a great shoot and a very special one for me as I got to star in my brother’s first film. The fine ensemble of the film inspired me to do more and better. It was my first time working with Paresh ji, and what an honour to share screen space with him. The shoot was challenging and thus so much more enjoyable. I had a great time shooting with this unit.”

Arjun Rampal also shared his experience from the movie.

“Though it was a short shoot for me, it was a very memorable one. It’s such a unique character Kussh wanted me to portray. To get so many emotions in a cameo was a challenge, but I think we pulled it off. Sonakshi, I worked with for the first time, she’s very relaxed and we had good chemistry. Reuniting with Paresh Rawal was absolutely delightful. London countryside is always serene and magical to shoot in. Congratulations to the team for completing the film. Looking forward to the final product.”

Sonakshi Sinha was last seen in the movie ‘Heeramandi’, which was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. (ANI)

Mahrang Baloch, a well-known Baloch rights activist, accused the Pakistani government of targeting peaceful dissenters through imprisonment, smear campaigns, and enforced disappearances in an article written from her prison cell in Quetta’s Hudda Jail, according to The Balochistan Post.

Mahrang Baloch writes: “It has been more than two and a half months since I was thrown into Hudda Prison in Quetta, Pakistan–the same place my father was caged nearly two decades ago, also for promoting the rights of the people of Balochistan,” TBP stated.

“Since my arrest, Pakistan’s state security agencies have deployed every tactic to break me. I have been offered a deal: stay silent, avoid political activity, and you can be home. I refused. The state has failed to produce a single piece of evidence linking me to any act of violence or criminality. The only ‘proof’ they cite is a press conference I gave a few days before my March 22 arrest,” she asserted, as quoted by TBP.

“I spoke to reporters after armed militants had hijacked a train and held 300 passengers hostage for hours. The attack occurred in Balochistan, the largest province in Pakistan, and was carried out by Baloch separatists who have been fighting with the state for decades. At the press conference, I spoke not to defend the hijackers. Our movement, the Baloch Yakjehti [Unity] Committee, has always renounced violence. Indeed, I intended to distinguish between those who confront the state with arms and those who confront it with words,” she stated, as quoted by TBP.

She also revealed that “My work had already drawn unwelcome international attention. In May 2024, Pakistani officials were outraged after I visited Norway at the invitation of PEN Norway, the Norwegian branch of PEN International and the World Expression Forum. I was even harassed on Norwegian soil by individuals linked to Pakistan’s embassy in Oslo, whose intervention was ended by the Norwegian domestic security agency, PST. When I returned to Pakistan, I was immediately charged with sedition and treated as if I had returned from an ISIS camp in Syria or Iraq rather than one of the most peace-loving countries in the world,” the TBP report cited.

She added that “For decades, Pakistan has kept the rest of the country, and the world, in the dark about Balochistan. It remains an information black hole. Among those the military and intelligence agencies have forcibly disappeared, killed, or forced into exile are journalists who dare to write about these atrocities. According to the Balochistan Union of Journalists, more than 40 have been killed since 2000. Foreign media are denied access to the region,” TBP report quoted.

She emphasised that “Our movement is rooted in peace. We speak against enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, forced displacement, and the systematic denial of basic rights to the Baloch. We are the rightful owners of the Saindak Copper-Gold Project (worth billions of dollars, but the profits are not shared with the local population), the Reko Diq mine (estimated to hold copper and gold reserves worth over $60 billion, but the benefits are not reaching the Baloch people), and Gwadar, the gateway to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Yet, 70% of Balochistan’s population lives below the poverty line,” the TBP report cited.

She concluded by saying, “Speaking up for justice is not a crime. Raising our voices against state violence is not treason. Demanding rights is not terrorism; it is humanity. And one day, we believe, this struggle will succeed.” (ANI)

US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth stated on Tuesday that China poses a more aggressive threat to the US and that repelling Beijing is the Pentagon’s top regional priority, despite its rapid military development and invasion manoeuvres near Taiwan, according to a Taipei Times report.

“Our pacing threat is communist China,” Hegseth told the US House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Defence during an oversight meeting with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine. “Beijing is preparing for war in the Indo-Pacific as part of its broader strategy to dominate that region and then the world,” Hegseth said, adding that if it succeeds, it may impede US reindustrialization and choke its economy, according to the Taipei Times.

Hegseth believes US President Donald Trump’s “peace through strength” strategy is the appropriate response, and that the stagnating US defence industrial base must be revitalised. “China is undertaking a historic military buildup and actively rehearsing for an invasion of Taiwan,” he said, adding that only having the world’s most powerful and lethal military–focused on protecting key US interests–can effectively deter adversaries and win a potential conflict, according to the Taipei Times report.

Caine stated that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is demonstrating its capabilities through military pressure, as operations against Taiwan grow in size, frequency, and complexity. “These violent actions are not ordinary exercises; they are rehearsals for a forced unification,” he stated.

According to the Taipei Times, Hegseth and Caine’s comments were in line with warnings issued by US Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific force.

The deployment of integrated deterrence is one of the aspects that will help maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and the Taiwan Strait, Minister of National Defence Wellington Koo told the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defence Committee in Taipei yesterday.

According to Koo, the Ministry of National Defence is closely monitoring PLA manoeuvres, as Beijing may shift from training to invasion. Chinese military exercises–whether announced or unannounced–are growing in size, he said. The military has always focused on responding to the onset of war, but it is also studying military responses to “grey zone” tactics and how threat levels should be calculated for such incidents, according to the Taipei Times. (ANI)

Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protested outside the West Bengal assembly on Thursday, demanding a discussion on the clashes that erupted between police and miscreants in South 24 Parganas.

Meanwhile, BJP leader and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari demanded a discussion on the clashes that took place in South 24 Paraganas between the miscreants and police.

Adhikari also stated that two adjournment motions had been sent for the same.

“We are filing a petition seeking the same. We have also given two adjournment motions for the same… We demand a discussion on this since this is a serious issue….I have already sent an email to the DGP and SP Diamond Harbour that LoP, along with 1 MLA, be allowed to go and meet the victims. Our party’s state president will also try to go there, let’s see what the police do… Sanatanis in the state will organise protests at different places in the state from 2 PM onwards, today,” Adhikari said in a video.

He also stated that in case of communal violence, it had been mentioned in an order that the High Court would give directions to the central paramilitary forces.

“High Court in an earlier order especially said that wherever there will be communal violence, common people will be looted, police will be stopped from taking action and will be injured, the petitioner will send a mail to the DGP, and hence I did that yesterday. I tried to meet him but couldn’t. Some officers have told me that he (the DGP) talked to Mamata Banerjee, and she told him that there is no need to meet him (Suvendu Adhikari). In that very order, it is also mentioned that if police don’t take action, the court will give direction to the central paramilitary force; this order is valid until 30th July,” he further added.

Adhikari further stated that a protest would be organised by Sanatanis in different places in the state.

“Sanatanis in the state will organise protests at different places in the state from 2 PM onwards, today…Our party’s state president will also try to go there, let’s see what the police do..” he further added.

Adhikari stated that 30 to 35 police personnel had been injured in the clashes, while five vehicles had been torched and vandalised.”30-35 police personnel were injured. 5 police vehicles torched and vandalised… The unruly mob pelted stones at the police, and the police waved white flags; this is all there in the media,” he said.

Earlier today, security was tightened in Rabindra Nagar of South 24 Parganas after the clash broke out. (ANI)

An Air India plane crashed at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Ahmedabad airport on Thursday during takeoff, as per the Gujarat State Police Control Room.

According to the Police Control room, the Air India Flight AI 171 was bound for London.

Thick plumes of smoke could be seen at the accident spot, and fire tenders have reached the spot. More details are awaited on the matter.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken to Gujarat’s Chief Minister, Home Minister and the Police Commissioner regarding the plane crash incident. He also assured to provide Central government assistance. (ANI)