Akshita Kapoor

[ad_1] Southwest monsoon arrived in Goa Sunday, two weeks ahead of its usual onset date of June 5, report Nida Sayed & Newton Sequeira. "This is the earliest monsoon onset in past 20 years in Goa.We can look forward to an increase in rainfall activity in the coming weeks," IMD director Nahush Kulkarni told TOI. In 2006, the monsoon had arrived in Goa on May 28. As of Saturday, IMD recorded 436.1mm rainfall since March 1 - third highest in 64 years. The highest pre-monsoon total was 662.2mm in the summer of 1961, followed by 591.9mm in 2006.M R Ramesh Kumar, meteorologist and retired chief scientist of National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, attributed this year's early monsoon to both large-scale and local ocean-atmosphere parameters.IMD has issued an orange alert from May 26 to 29, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: CBI arrested alleged economic offender Angad Singh Chandok from Delhi airport after he was deported from the US. He was wanted for crimes in both countries and was taken into custody upon arrival.Chandok, a 34-year-old resident of California, was convicted in the US for operating a large-scale money laundering scheme and was sentenced to six years in federal prison in March 2022 after pleading guilty. He was convicted for criminal operations tied to international tech-support and travel scams targeting elderly Americans.US investigators found that Chandok's operations were crucial in moving stolen money out of the US to overseas accounts. Chandok, who had at least five others working at his direction, was in direct contact with high-ranking international members of the scheme.Detailing Chandok's role in money laundering, the US justice department said he was instrumental in laundering over […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Friday allowed National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take custody of a CRPF jawan arrested on espionage charges for leaking sensitive information to Pakistan's intelligence officers in exchange for money.Special judge (NIA) Chanderjit Singh of Patiala House Courts said, "The allegations affect national security as well as the lives of those visiting India and Indian citizens."The court granted the NIA 15-day custody to gather further details regarding the information passed on by the jawan and his links across the border. The accused will be produced before the court on June 6.The order followed the arrest of the CRPF jawan by NIA on May 21 as part of the agency's nationwide crackdown following the Pahalgam terror attack. The case is being probed by NIA. The accused was booked under Sections 15 (pertaining to terror act), […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to travel to India next month, as India and Russia look to firm up the agenda for President Vladimir Putin's visit later this year for the annual India-Russia summit.While the date hasn't been finalised yet, the visit by Lavrov may take place in the third week of June.PM Narendra Modi had reiterated India's invite to Putin for the summit when the leaders spoke after the Pahalgam terrorist attack and the latter had again accepted the invitation. During that conversation, Putin had agreed with Modi on the need for an "uncompromising" fight against terrorism and also stressed that the perpetrators and their backers had to be brought to justice.NSA Ajit Doval is also expected to visit Moscow for the 13th international meeting of high representatives for security issues on May 27-29 […]

[ad_1] INDORE: A 45-year-old tribal mother of two died after being allegedly gangraped and brutalised in a village of Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa, leaving her so badly injured that her intestines were protruding when she was found Saturday afternoon bleeding and unconscious.Two men last seen with the victim have been arrested, DIG Siddharth Bahuguna said.The savage assault, reminiscent of 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder, took place in a village around 170km from Indore after the woman returned from a wedding late Friday with one of the suspects, identified as Hari Palvi."After the wedding, she and Hari escorted a woman relative till her village. When she didn't return home that night, her family assumed she had stayed back. We suspect the woman went to Hari's house, where they had some drinks with another suspect, Sunil Korku," said ASP Rajesh Raghuwanshi.Investigators quoted Hari's […]

[ad_1] A man accused of attempting to burn down the US Embassy in Tel Aviv was arrested in New York on Sunday after being deported by Israeli authorities, according to the US Justice Department.Joseph Neumeyer, a 28-year-old dual citizen of the United States and Germany, was taken into custody at John F. Kennedy Airport. The US Justice Department said Neumeyer had attempted to carry out a firebomb attack using Molotov cocktails and made violent threats online, including against Americans and US President Donald Trump.Explosives found in abandoned backpackNeumeyer had arrived in Israel last month and went to the US Embassy in Tel Aviv last week. According to officials quoted by the justice department, he confronted a security guard outside the building, spitting on him before trying to flee. He dropped his backpack during the altercation and managed to escape.A search […]

[ad_1] KOLKATA: A gang-rape case, reported in Amherst Street in the city in May 2003, that came up for trial 20 years later -- in Jan 2025 - has led to the acquittal of two persons implicated by police.The complainant, who appeared before a Kolkata trial judge on April 24, said that two decades later, she was unable to recollect "what happened" that day and who tortured her.The trial court, in its May 23 order, while acquitting the two accused, also criticised the police for shoddy investigation where none of the witnesses or evidence produced helped unravel the crime.Additional district and sessions Judge Rohan Sinha, in his judgment, said, "Not a single witness examined by the prosecution could throw any light on the incident alleged. Unfortunately, even the victim has turned turtle from her earlier statement."The judge also pointed out […]

[ad_1] KOCHI: The sinking of MSC ELSA 3 container ship in the Arabian Sea off Kochi's coast on Saturday will have serious ecological impact on marine and coastal ecosystems, principally fishing, experts said on Sunday.While a lot depends on the scale of leakage from the vessel carrying hazardous cargo of calcium carbide, diesel and furnace oil smothering can impact sensitive marine ecosystems, said Grinson George, director of Kochi-based Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI)."Oil smothering could threaten sensitive marine species and disrupt fishing activities, particularly affecting artisanal fishers in coastal regions. If the spill spreads, it may harm marine productivity, especially during the monsoon - a critical period for pelagic fish breeding and growth. This could have lasting consequences for fisheries," George said.Monsoon typically supports high marine productivity, George said, adding that much will depend on how the ship's leakage […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said caste enumeration was a step towards bringing those left behind into the mainstream of development as he emphasised that his govt did not believe in caste politics but in the empowerment of the marginalised.Addressing a conclave of NDA chief ministers and deputy CMs, Modi said the success of Operation Sindoor was an endorsement of the country's push towards self-reliance in the defence sector, a reference to the important role played by indigenous defence technology in the recent India-Pakistan conflict, sources said. After the meeting, BJP president J P Nadda said that caste census was always part of the NDA's imagination, noting that the Bihar govt headed by chief minister Nitish Kumar was the first to do it.A resolution was passed praising the decision to enumerate castes in the next census. […]

[ad_1] MUMBAI: Mumbai could see its earliest-ever monsoon arrival, with IMD Sunday stating that conditions are favourable for onset within the next three days. The current record for the city's earliest monsoon onset is May 29, logged in 1956, 1962 and 1971.If the weather bureau's forecast holds, 2025 could break that record. As of May 25, southwest monsoon reached Devgad in Konkan - nearly 10 days ahead of its normal onset date of June 5 for Maharashtra and Goa."Favourable synoptic conditions suggest that monsoon could advance further into more parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, over next three days," said IMD's Mumbai chief Shubhangi Bhute. IMD officials said this marks the earliest monsoon onset over Maharashtra since 1990, when it arrived on May 20. In the city, rains continued over the weekend with IMD's Colaba and Santacruz observatories recording 35mm and […]