UK's indifference on Khalistan protest at embassy is unacceptable: India

The Ahmedabad AI Flight Crash involving a state-of-the-art Boeing Dreamliner 787-8-a relatively new and technologically advanced aircraft — has once again raised serious concerns about aviation safety, particularly on routes between India and Gulf countries.

While the Dreamliner incident was unexpected, what worries expatriates even more is the routine operation of aging aircraft on Gulf sectors by Indian carriers, especially Air India Express. Many of these planes are reportedly plagued by frequent technical glitches, leading to prolonged delays-often exceeding 24 hours -leaving passengers stranded in foreign airports without proper accommodation, food or timely updates. 

The lack of adequate crisis management has repeatedly resulted in distressing chaos and mental agony for passengers.

Several such incidents have been reported recently, including:

* Air India Express flights from Dammam to Mangaluru,
* Dammam to Bengaluru,
* Dammam to Delhi
* ⁠Riyadh to Mumbai
* ⁠Abudhabi to Mangaluru, and so on. 

These incidents have not only caused widespread inconvenience but also raised serious questions about the airline’s preparedness and accountability.

Taking note of the mounting distress, Riyadh-based social worker and pro-bono lawyer, P.A. Hameed Padubidri, stepped forward to represent affected passengers. In a significant move, a legal notice was served recently by a Saudi lady lawyer, Adv. Faten Al-Ahmari, based on complaints submitted by Hameed Padubidri. The notice addresses the recurring delays, technical shortcomings, and inadequate support mechanisms of Air India Express. 

Hameed Padubidri has also escalated the matter to the Indian Union Minister for Civil Aviation and other concerned authorities.

Given the gravity of the situation, NRIs across the Gulf — especially in Saudi Arabia-are strongly urging the Indian government and airline authorities to end the outdated aircraft operations-especially AirIndia Express-on Gulf routes. They emphasize that passenger safety must take precedence over operational convenience or cost-cutting.

The lives of the NRIs-residing in various gulf countries & Middle East-should not be compromised by the operation of aging, outdated and under-maintained aircraft. 

It is high time that the authorities take this matter seriously and implement systemic reforms to ensure safer, more reliable air travel for the millions of Indian expatriates who continue to contribute significantly to both Indian and Gulf economies.

Hameed Padubidri says: “Every time Air India Express delays in Saudi Arabia, the airline cites technical glitches. Passengers are often boarded, made to sit for hours — sometimes without air conditioning — and then asked to deboard. This causes severe distress.”

“There were even cases where the aircraft taxied on the runway, only to return and park again. This clearly reflects poor aircraft performance and mismanagement.

The aviation authorities and Government of India must urgently act — replace aging aircraft and ensure safer, more reliable service.”

New Delhi, June 16: The Narendra Modi-led government has officially notified plans to conduct India's 16th national census in 2027 — the first in 16 years since the last full enumeration was carried out in 2011. This upcoming census will, for the first time, include caste-based data collection across the country.

According to the notification issued on Monday, the census will be conducted with two different reference dates:

•    October 1, 2026 for snow-bound and non-synchronous areas such as Ladakh, parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

•    March 1, 2027 for the rest of the country.

The government plans to deploy around 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors, supported by 1.3 lakh census functionaries, all equipped with digital devices to streamline the massive data collection exercise.

A significant update for the 2027 exercise is the inclusion of caste enumeration, a move that has long been debated in policy circles and public discourse. Additionally, the census will provide an option for self-enumeration, allowing citizens to submit their data digitally.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the preparations for the exercise on Sunday in a high-level meeting attended by Union Home Secretary, Registrar General and Census Commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, and other senior officials.

Two-Phase Operation

The census will be conducted in two distinct phases:

1.    House Listing Operation (HLO): This phase will record housing conditions, household assets, and amenities.

2.    Population Enumeration (PE): This phase will capture detailed information on demographic, socio-economic, and cultural aspects of each individual in every household.

This will be India’s 16th decennial census since the first one in 1872, and the eighth since Independence in 1947.

The government has also assured that robust data security protocols will be implemented to safeguard information during collection, transmission, and storage, addressing concerns around privacy and digital vulnerabilities.

Tehran, June 7: Iran's UN ambassador said on Friday that 78 people have been killed and over 320 injured in Israeli attacks. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that Israel's "barbaric and criminal attack" and assassinations were against senior military officials and nuclear scientists. But he said "the overwhelming majority" of victims were civilians, women and children.

He said Israel again on Friday is conducting "acts of aggression" targeting multiple civilian and military sites across several Iranian cities.

Among those killed were four of Iran’s top military leaders. 

State television and local media identified them as General Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces; Major General Hossein Salami, commander in chief of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, or IRGC; Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, commander of Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters; and Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC of the IRGC Aerospace Force. 

Iran’s Nournews reported that Ali Shamkhani, a rear admiral who serves as adviser to Khamenei, was “critically injured.”

Local media confirmed that six scientists working on Iran’s nuclear program were killed, four of them identified as Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranch, Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari, and Amirhossein Feqhi.

Israel launched blistering attacks on the heart of Iran's nuclear and military structure on Friday, deploying warplanes and drones previously smuggled into the country to assault key facilities and kill top generals and scientists -- a barrage it said was necessary before its adversary got any closer to building an atomic weapon.
 
Iran retaliated late on Friday by unleashing scores of ballistic missiles on Israel, where explosions flared in the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and shook the buildings below.

"We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed," Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a recorded message in which he vowed revenge.

An Associated Press reporter saw smoke rising in Tel Aviv after an apparent missile strike. A Tel Aviv-area hospital said it was treating 15 injured civilians. US ground-based air-defence systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a US official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the measures.

Israel's ongoing airstrikes and intelligence operation and Iran's retaliation raised concerns about an all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval.