Author: News Desk

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was on Saturday informed that 30 additional daily flights would be introduced from the four airports in the state in the next three months. The assurance in this regard was made by the Union Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola at a meeting of CEOs of various airline companies called by the chief minister here in the backdrop of airline companies reducing flights from the Thiruvananthapuram airport. The additional flights would be introduced during the next winter schedule of airline companies, a release quoting the Chief Minister’s office said. Five more flights would be introduced…

A visitor has gone on trial accused of possessing $39,550 in fake banknotes to buy 70 smartphones from a shop in Dubai, a court has heard. An Indian manager of an electronics shop in Dubai claimed that in May this year someone contacted him asking to buy smartphones. The manager sent a purchase list of the phones and the buyer asked him to deliver the phones to his relative in Dubai and receive the payment. “He claimed that he was Turkish and that his relative was a visitor in Dubai and they didn’t know the roads well enough in Dubai…

A Virginia man will serve five years in prison without parole for the death of a pit bull that was tied to a fence, covered in accelerant and set on fire. Richmond police announced Wednesday that the sentence was part of 20-year-old Jyahshua A. Hill’s plea agreement. The dog was found at a park in February and treated by Richmond Animal Care and Control, which named him Tommie. The shelter shared a picture showing Tommie covered in bandages and casts while snuggling a stuffed animal. He died days later. His case prompted widespread outrage and brought in donations for the…

In an interesting find, researchers have sighted a critically endangered species of tarantula for the first time beyond its known habitat in the Eastern Ghats. The spider belonging to the genus Poecilotheria, commonly known as the Peacock Parachute Spider or Gooty Tarantula was spotted by a team of researchers of the Puducherry-based Indigenous Biodiversity Foundation (IBF) in the Pakkamalai Reserve Forests near Gingee in Villupuram district. Chance spotting The team of wildlife researchers was involved in fieldwork in the reserve forests recently when they sighted a Gooty Tarantula (Poecilotheria Metallica) resting in a cave. The species was later cross-matched with photographic…

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has slammed ex-Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi after the latter said that he will soon visit the Line of Control (LoC) to “express solidarity with our Kashmiri brethren” following the government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The cricketer-turned-politician took to twitter and said: “Guys, in this picture Shahid Afridi is asking Shahid Afridi that what should Shahid Afridi do next to embarrass Shahid Afridi so that’s it’s proven beyond all doubts that Shahid Afridi has refused to mature!!! Am ordering online kindergarten tutorials for help.” After Pakistan Prime…

Police in Virginia have arrested a naked man suspected of killing two women and a child who was reportedly related to Tampa Bay Rays minor-league player Blake Bivens. Matthew Thomas Bernard, 18, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder, authorities say. Police in Keeling, Va., warned that a dangerous gunman in a white T-shirt and jeans was on the loose Tuesday after three bodies were found at a home in the city. Pittsylvania County Sheriff Mike Taylor said the suspect is related to the victims. One woman was found dead in the driveway and the other two victims were inside the home, he…

A newly discovered bloodsucking, olive-green leech with three jaws and about 60 teeth have been found about 40 miles outside of downtown Washington. A team led by a researcher at the Sm Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History discovered the new species, Macrobdella mimicus, in the swamps of southern Maryland’s Charles County. It’s the first time since 1975 a new medicinal leech species has been found in North America. Anna Phillips, the museum’s curator of parasitic worms, led the team that made the discovery. She waded in murky waters for days wearing shorts — with bare legs and sandals — looking for…

They’re one of the must-have souvenirs from Disney’s “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” in California and Florida, but good luck trying to get the “Star Wars”-themed Coke bottles home. The Transportation Security Administration has officially banned the grenade-shaped bottles from both carry-on and checked luggage. The announcement was made before the Florida version of “Galaxy’s Edge” opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The reason for the ban is the soda bottles, which are designed to resemble the film saga’s thermal detonators, look too much like a replica explosive and replicas are not allowed on planes, TSA spokesperson Jim Gregory told. Some travelers who took…

A Mexican college student is alive after falling 80 feet from her balcony while practicing a yoga pose. Alexa Terrazas, 23, was known to do yoga on her sixth-floor apartment’s balcony, often using the guardrail as a prop for extreme poses. But a risky move nearly cost the yogi her life on Saturday afternoon, as she slipped and landed on the pavement outside her building in the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León, according to reports. The health and nutrition student at Tecnológico de Monterrey was treated by paramedics with the Red Cross and Nuevo León Civil Protection, then brought to…

Rajasthan Police has asked all its personnel to maintain their uniform’s dignity after a pre-wedding video shoot showing a police officer on duty being ‘bribed’ by his bride-to-be went viral on Youtube, leaving senior officers embarrassed. The video, which has Bollywood songs playing in the background, shows police officer Dhanpat stopping and penalizing Kiran (now his wife) for riding a two-wheeler without wearing a helmet. She is then seen putting money in his uniform pocket and riding away. Later, Dhanpat realizes his wallet has been taken by Kiran. He goes on to track her but the two falls in love…