BJP Slams Tamil Nadu CM Over Cinema Dialogues, Demands Answers on Crime

The Tamil Nadu government has shortlisted Manalur and Cheyyur as two alternative sites for the proposed greenfield airport to serve Chennai, forwarding them to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for feasibility studies. The development follows the decision to drop the controversial Parandur airport project, which faced over 1,200 days of sustained protests by local farmers and residents. Key concerns regarding the Parandur site included the acquisition of 5,747 acres across 13 villages, the disruption of multi-crop agricultural land, relocation of residents, and the potential destruction of ecologically sensitive water bodies and wetlands. While around 1,700 acres had already been acquired under the previous administration, alternative uses for that land are currently under review. The newly proposed locations in nearby districts aim to meet expanding passenger demand and industrial growth across Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, and Kanchipuram, while attempting to minimise ecological disruption.

Floods have impacted eleven districts across Bihar, including Patna, Bhojpur, Saran, Vaishali, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Buxar, Samastipur, Munger, Katihar, and Arwal. Sixty-one blocks and three hundred gram panchayats are affected, impacting approximately 16.85 lakh people. At Gandhi Ghat in Patna, the Ganga water level reached 50.57 metres, five centimetres above the 2016 high flood level mark of 50.52 metres, and maintains a rising trend. In Pandarak, the Ganga is at 43.78 metres, exceeding the 2021 high flood level mark by five centimetres. Several rivers, including the Gandak, Kosi, Budhi Gandak, Ganga, Punpun, Bagmati, and Ghaghara, are flowing above danger marks.

A man was allegedly beaten to death with wooden logs in the early hours outside a gated society in East Delhi's Mayur Vihar and Ashok Nagar area. According to an eyewitness security guard, two men attacked the victim and threatened him when he tried to intervene before fleeing the spot. Delhi Police and forensic teams reached the scene, marked the area, and collected evidence. Investigators have seized CCTV footage from the vicinity to determine the route taken by the accused and establish their identities. Both the victim and the two accused remain unidentified, and the motive behind the murder is yet to be ascertained as the probe continues.

A controversy has erupted at a missionary school in Kolkata after a teacher allegedly forced a student to repeatedly wipe off a sandalwood tilak from their forehead. Following a complaint filed by the student's father, an FIR was registered at the Alipore police station against the accused teacher. The school management has suspended the teacher and constituted an internal committee to investigate the matter. The incident has triggered a political debate on religious freedom, with questions raised regarding religious symbols in educational institutions. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee confirmed the action taken, while police continue questioning both the teacher and the student's parents.