Author: Animish Murty

Mumbai’s first-ever bird park is set to be launched on an expansive 17,150-square-metre land in Nahur, Eastern Suburbs, within the next two years. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to develop this new bird park as an extension of Byculla Zoo, housing up to 22 bird species, including the black swan and white peafowl, among others. Additionally, this aviary will feature a verdant space, offering amenities such as a jogging track and basketball court, for Mumbaikars to take advantage of. Read on to learn the key highlights of Mumbai’s first bird park, which is set to be a major crowd-puller, once functional. Park to be fully operational by…

The Mumbai Police announced on Wednesday that they have recovered all three weapons used in the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique. The weapons include an Australian-made Glock pistol, a Turkish pistol, and a country-made pistol. Siddique was shot and killed outside his son’s office in Nirmal Nagar on October 12. So far, four suspects have been arrested: Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap, Gurmail Baljit Singh, Pravin Lonkar, and Harishkumar Balakram. According to sources, the accused had been scouting the crime scene on a bike but were injured in the process. On the day of the murder, they used an autorickshaw, and…

The Tamil-owned telecoms company Lycamobile has had its former CEO convicted and was ordered to pay a fine of €10 million after being found guilty of money laundering and fraud by a French court last month, just weeks after the company launched a Sri Lankan production arm looking to boost Sinhala-language cinema. The verdict in the Parisian court comes after years of controversial practices by the multimillion-dollar company, which is reported to have links with the war crimes accused Rajapaksa family in Sri Lanka. The group’s former chief executive officer Christopher Tooley received the prison sentence, alognside Alain Jochimek, managing director of Lycamobile France…

Sri Lankans elected Marxist-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake as new president on Sunday, putting faith in his pledge to fight corruption and bolster a fragile economic recovery following the South Asian nation’s worst financial crisis in decades. Dissanayake, 55, who does not possess political lineage like some of his rivals in the presidential election, led from start to finish during the counting of votes, knocking out incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. “We believe that we can turn this country around, we can build a stable government … and move forward. For me this is not a position,…

Tajikistan officially banned the hijab, imposing hefty fines in its latest move to curb Islamic influence. The Central Asian nation of Tajikistan officially prohibited the wearing of hijabs and other “alien garments” this week, as the country’s parliament passed a new bill regulating Islamic clothing and Eid celebrations. The bill, approved by the upper house of parliament, Majlisi Milli, on June 19, comes after years of an unofficial clampdown on the hijab in the Muslim-majority country. Under the new law, individuals wearing hijabs or other banned religious clothing could face hefty fines of up to 7,920 somonis (approximately $700). Companies…

Four passengers were arrested after the seizure of more than 6.8 kg of gold valued at ₹ 4.44 crore and diamonds of ₹ 2.02 crore over the weekend, the Customs official said in a release issued late Monday night. The Customs department has seized diamonds concealed in packets of noodles and gold hidden in the body parts of passengers and baggage, collectively valued at ₹ 6.46 crore, at the Mumbai airport, an official said. Four passengers were arrested after the seizure of more than 6.8 kg of gold valued at ₹ 4.44 crore and diamonds of ₹ 2.02 crore over the weekend, the Customs official said in a release issued…

New DelhiCNN — Over half a century ago, India’s then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi talked about the staggering challenge for developing nations: to industrialize without harming the environment. “On the one hand the rich look askance at our continuing poverty — on the other, they warn us against their own methods,” she told a United Nations event in Stockholm in 1972, the first global conference to make the environment a major issue. “We do not wish to impoverish the environment any further and yet we cannot for a moment forget the grim poverty of large numbers of people,” she added. Her words have never been more…

Planned 10 years ago, the Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA) project within 25 km radius of the Navi Mumbai airport is spread over 371 sq km comprising 174 villages If Navi Mumbai International Airport is considered a game changer for Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and its future growth, the NAINA region is likely to be its engine powering the growth. Envisaged initially as the largest planned city in the country, it is an ambitious urban planning project in the making with the potential for an ultra-modern city that will provide a powerful boost to all sectors of the…

The data clearly showed that the H3N2 strain has been spreading rapidly among people with low immunity as compared to H1N1 Mumbai: In the last 10 months, Mumbai recorded 1,869 influenza A cases, the highest across Maharashtra. During the same period, the state tally stood at 3,206, including 2,031 H3N2 cases while remaining 1,175 were H1N1 patients, as per the integrated disease surveillance programme report prepared by the state health department. The report further revealed that Mumbai was trailed by Thane (590 cases) and Pune (460). Moreover, a total of 36 influenza deaths have been reported this year, so far. Of…

Mumbai Traffic Police pointed out that the EV charging company JIO-BP Pulse denied the allegation of Tiwari’s vehicle being charged there. Mumbai Traffic Police responded to a man named Prabhat Tiwari who claimed that a cop at Mantralaya issued a false challan on his EV car which was said to be parked at a charging station. However, the police team clarified the issue after a video shared by Tiwari went viral online. They shared data from the respective charging station as proof and said that his car was “Never on charge.” They also pointed out that the EV charging company…