Bengaluru: 2 men invite college friend, her pal home for party, sexually assault them; arrested

Mangaluru, Mar 13: The Mangaluru International Airport (MIA), the second busiest airport in Karnataka, handled 2,00,527 national and 92,290 foreign travellers in the first two months of the calendar year.

The MIA had handled 1,38,510 domestic and 56,506 international passengers in the corresponding two months of the previous calendar year, thus effectively ensuring that MIA handled 97,801 more passengers in the first two months of this calendar year, a release from the Adani-run MIA said here Sunday.

With more routes and airports opening, the development of airports has improved increasing the country’s investment opportunities while simultaneously increasing job prospects, the release said.

All seven Adani airports saw an increase of 92 per cent in domestic and 133 per cent in international travellers. There has been a rise in the number of domestic flights by 58 per cent and international flights by 61 per cent.

The air traffic jumped by around 100 per cent compared to the previous year, taking the number to pre-pandemic levels with more than 14.25 million passengers using these airports during the last year.

This upward trend is expected to continue and it is anticipated that the number of trips people will take in a year will increase. One of the factors driving this growth is the restart of tourism after the pandemic.

Being the second busiest airport in the country, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) recorded nearly 8.44 million passenger movements in January-February this year. CSMIA witnessed nearly 2.22 million international and 6.22 million domestic passengers.

The first two months also saw a huge rush at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport in Ahmedabad. It had 1.74 million domestic passengers flying in and out of the airport. Its international traffic recorded 2,83,379 travellers.

Jaipur is the 11th busiest airport in the country. Jaipur International Airport (JIAL) recorded nearly 0.95 million passenger movements. JIAL experienced significant growth, with nearly 69,300 international passengers and around 0.88 million domestic passengers.

Being the busiest airport in Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow’s Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport (CCSIA) recorded nearly 1.04 million passenger movements in both months. CCSIA witnessed a fruitful first two months with nearly 1,36,880 international and around 9.03 lakh domestic passengers.

Considered the gateway to Northeast India, Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport has flights to and from 32 domestic and two international destinations. It recorded a footfall of 9,02,694 passengers, witnessing a sharp increase from the corresponding months last year.

Thiruvananthapuram recorded 2,99,850 and 2,99,770 domestic and international footfalls. The airport has connectivity to ten domestic and 12 international airports.

The growth in traffic is proof of Adani Airports’ attempts to promote passenger confidence through initiatives like e-gates, barcode scanners, friendly and cooperative ground staff, Pranam Service, free Wi-Fi, retail and F and B stores and automated parking systems.

The rise in passenger traffic was driven by positive sentiments among air travellers and a strong surge due to the festive holiday season, the release said. 

Mangaluru, Mar 17: A junior engineer of Mulki town panchayat in Dakshina Kannada district, declared guilty of amassing assets disproportionate to known sources of his income, was sentenced to four years of imprisonment by the Third Additional District and Sessions Judge B B Jakati.

The court also slapped a fine of Rs 26.5 lakh on Junior engineer N K Padmanabha.

If he fails to pay the fine, he will have to undergo six months of additional imprisonment, Judge Jakati said. 

The Lokayukta police received a complaint about the amassing of wealth by Padmanabha in 2015. Accordingly, the Lokayukta police conducted a raid, and a case was registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 section 13 (1) (e) and 13 (2). 

Lokayukta police inspector Naveenchandra Jogi conducted an investigation and inspector Bharathi G submitted a chargesheet to the court.

Two American lawmakers say Ukraine is pushing the United States to provide it with banned cluster bombs to drop them on Russian forces from drones.

Jason Crow and Adam Smith who serve on the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee said Kiev has urged members of Congress to press the White House to approve the weapons shipment, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Cluster bombs include anti-armor bomblets Ukraine plans to use against Russian forces by drones. That is in addition to the 155-millimeter artillery cluster shells Ukraine has already requested.

Cluster munitions, banned by more than 120 countries, normally release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area, threatening civilians.

The lawmakers said Ukraine is seeking the MK-20, an air-delivered cluster bomb, to release its individual explosives from drones.

They said Ukrainian officials called on American lawmakers at last month's Munich Security Conference to press for White House approval.

Ukraine hopes cluster bombs will give it an edge in the fight against Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham also participated in last month's conference. The senator who is considered the main supporter of the US -industrial complex in Congress confirmed that Ukrainian officials in Munich called for cluster munitions. He said he would support the request.

"This is a war where (the Ukrainians) are outmanned," Graham told Reuters. "And cluster munitions really are pretty lethal to mass formations as well as armor. In the areas where they are going to use this stuff there are no civilians."

So far, the Biden administration has refrained from officially sending any cluster munitions to Ukraine. However, even though the export of such weapons has been banned by Congress, media outlets such as Politico have suggested that US President Joe Biden and even his Secretary of State Antony Blinken could potentially override this ban.

An American adviser to the Ukrainian military has also called on Washington to send Kiev forces cluster munitions to fight Russia.

Dan Rice said in December that the US “really needs to” supply Kiev’s forces with cluster bombs to increase “base lethality” and “win the war” against Russia.

In October, Russian officials revealed that the Kiev forces had used cluster munitions to arm a US-made HIMARS rocket launcher to strike a river crossing in Kherson, which killed four civilians, including a journalist. Kiev, however, has denied responsibility for the attacks.

In this regard, a former CIA contractor told Press TV that the Ukrainian forces were already using banned cluster munitions and other illegal weapons, so Washington’s decision to provide Kiev with more lethal ammunition made no difference.

Cluster bombs are banned under the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), an international treaty that addresses the humanitarian consequences and unacceptable harm caused to civilians by cluster munitions through a categorical prohibition and a framework for action. The weapons can contain dozens of smaller bomblets, dispersing over vast areas, often killing and maiming civilians long after they are dropped.

The convention bans all use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster bombs. More than 100 countries have signed the treaty, but the United States has not.