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  • UP Joint Entrance Exam (Polytechnic) Counselling 2025 Registration Begins, Check Key Details

    The comment came after Mr Mamdani name-dropped 50 Cent on The Breakfast Club podcast, acknowledging that his tax policies may not sit well with celebrities and wealthy figures.

    “I know if 50 Cent is listening, he’s not going to be happy about this. He tends to not like this tax policy, but I want to be very clear this is about $20,000 a year,” Mr Mamdani said.

    He said his tax plan targets corporations making millions in profit, not just revenue, and includes a flat “2 per cent tax increase” on the top “1 per cent of New Yorkers”, specifically those earning a million dollars or more annually.

    The rapper, whose net worth is estimated near $1 billion, fired back on Instagram, writing, “I’m telling Trump what he said too.”

    Zohran Mamdani elaborated on his tax plans during a CNN interview with Erin Burnett on Thursday. Responding to concerns that the wealthy might leave the city if taxes go up, Mr Mamdani cited a 2023 Fiscal Policy Institute report that found the top one per cent of earners leave New York at one-fourth the rate of other income groups and often relocate to other high-tax states like New Jersey and California.

    Zohran Mamdani argued that quality of life, not taxes, is the driving factor behind such moves and said his policies are designed to benefit working-class New Yorkers without causing economic flight.

  • Sara Tendulkar’s London Diaries Are All About Coffee, Cute Selfies And Strolling The Streets

    The thrill of exploring new destinations, the rush of experiencing different cultures, and the joy of capturing memories that last a lifetime – travel is a wonderful adventure. And when celebrities embark on these journeys, we’re more than happy to live vicariously through their escapades. Recently, Sara Tendulkar gave her fans a glimpse into her London getaway and it’s a visual treat that’s hard to resist.

    Sachin Tendulkar’s daughter shared a charming collage of pictures on Instagram that summed up her London vacation. From her coffee-fueled mornings, stunning selfies to breathtaking views of the city, Sara’s latest post gave us travel inspiration like no other.

    The first image in the collage featured a glimpse of St James’s, Spanish Place – a Roman Catholic church located in Marylebone, London. The picture showed a large and ornate stone building decorated with prominent spires and arched windows. 

    In the next frame, we see a cup of coffee decorated with latte art in the shape of a heart. Below the cup, the text reads “this week in” followed by the geo-tagged location, “London, United Kingdom.”

  • Rs 2.2 Crore, One-Way Ticket”: Rapper 50 Cent’s Offer To Zohran Mamdani

    Rapper 50 Cent has taken aim at Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York mayor polls, over his proposed tax policies, offering the candidate a “first class one-way ticket” out of the city.

    Mr Mamdani, an assemblyman from Queens and self-described democratic socialist, won in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo. His poll pitch focuses on making life more affordable for working-class New Yorkers, with promises to freeze rent on stabilised units, provide free public buses, and set up city-owned grocery stores. To fund these, he plans to raise taxes on the city’s richest residents and big corporations.

    On Wednesday, Queens native and Grammy-winning rapper 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, posted a clip of Mr Mamdani outlining his tax plan.

    “Where did he come from? Whose friend is this? I’m not feeling this plan. No. I will give him $258,750 (over Rs 2.2 crore) and a first class one-way ticket away from NY,” the rapper wrote on Instagram.

  • Tirupati Laddoos Now Available At Easy-To-Use Kiosks For Pilgrims

    The Tirupati laddoo that has a dedicated following of its own, even among those who may not identify themselves as devotees, is now available at kiosk machines set up at laddoos counters in Tirumala.

    The pilgrim-friendly initiative is an innovation introduced recently by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. This facility allows pilgrims to conveniently pay for additional laddoos using UPI. After payment, a receipt is generated, which can be used to collect the extra laddoos.

    The intention behind this innovative move by TTD is to improve pilgrims’ overall experience by cutting down on lengthy waiting. One of the biggest draws for anyone going to Tirumala for a darshan of Lord Venkateswara is the Tirupati laddoo. Even if it did not have a GI tag, devotees of the laddoo insist that it is so distinctive in flavour and texture that you can make out immediately if it did come out of the “potu”, the place in Tirumala where laddoos are made.

  • Woman Steps Out After Car Breaks Down, Speeding Bolero Tosses Her In Air

    Hyderabad:

    A woman was killed in a hit-and-run incident involving a speeding goods vehicle in Hyderabad on Sunday. The reckless driving in Kukatpally was caught on CCTV cameras. The victim was identified as Kritika.

    Kritika had gone for a temple visit with her husband Amit Karan, three-year-old son Madhav, and the in-laws. On their way back, their car had a breakdown, due to which she had stepped out. She was standing next to the car in the middle of the road when the speeding Bolero swerved sharply and hit her.

    She was tossed into the air and thrown to one side of the road. She died of her injuries, while her son was also injured in the accident.

    The Bolero sped away after the incident. The police have reportedly arrested its driver for negligence.

  • Pakistan’s Controversial Detention Law In Balochistan, What It Means

    The Balochistan Assembly, on June 4, passed the Counter-Terrorism (Balochistan Amendment) Act 2025, a new law that gives sweeping powers to security forces operating in the province. The legislation has been met with strong criticism from rights groups, legal experts, and civil society, who warn it could further fuel repression and unrest in the region.

    What Does The Law Say?

    The legislation allows military and intelligence agencies, including the Pakistan Army and ISI, to detain individuals for up to 90 days without filing any formal charges or presenting them in court. This can be done purely on the basis of suspicion, with no requirement for judicial oversight.

    Joint Investigation Teams (JITs), composed of police and intelligence operatives, have been handed expanded authority to issue detention orders, conduct ideological profiling, and carry out searches and seizures without prior judicial approval. Military personnel will now also have a formal role in civilian oversight panels.

    Why Is It controversial?

    Critics warn the law blurs the line between civil policing and military operations, paving the way for mass surveillance and state repression, particularly targeting the ethnic Baloch population.

  • Air Force To Get Rs 10,000 Crore Indigenous I-STAR Spy Planes

    Amid the ongoing Operation Sindoor against Pakistan, the Defence Ministry is going to take up Rs 10,000 crore proposal to buy three sophisticated spy planes to help Indian Air Force get a clear air-to-ground picture to carry out precision strikes against enemy ground targets like radar stations, air defence units and other mobile objects.

    The Rs 10,000 crore project for the Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (I-STAR) is expected to be taken up for clearance at a high-level defence ministry meeting scheduled to be held in the fourth week of June, defence officials told ANI.

    The ISTAR provides air-to-ground surveillance to the forces to help them in carrying out precision strikes.

    The spy aircraft project being developed by the Defence Research and Development includes the acquisition of three aircraft through an open tender from foreign manufacturers, including Boeing and Bombardier.

    The onboard systems on the aircraft would be completely indigenous, as the DRDO’s Centre for Airborne Systems has already successfully developed them, they said.

    The systems have already been proven and developed by the CABS and they will just have to be integrated with the three aircraft which would be acquired and modified for the purpose, they said.

    The development of an ISTAR system would also add India to a select club of nations with such a capability, including the US, UK, Israel and a few others.

    ISTAR thus provides dynamic and time-sensitive targeting capability and contributes significantly to meeting the nation’s security goals.

    It will aid in limiting the scale and complexity of undetected hostile threats. It has multi-spectral surveillance capability to detect, locate and monitor irregular forces.

    The I-STAR system shall be for carrying out intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting by day and night from stand-off ranges.

    The ISTAR systems are operated at high altitudes from large stand-off ranges and will be used for intelligence processing, exploitation, dissemination and generation of the common operating picture.

    The ISTAR aircraft will be a system comprising airborne and ground segments.

  • Heavy Rain Hits Kerala, Schools Shut Across Several Districts

    The India Meteorological Department has issued red alerts for Idukki, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts and orange alerts for the remaining districts.

    Heavy rain lashed many districts of Kerala on Friday, disrupting normal life and causing waterlogging.

    The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued red alerts for Idukki, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts and orange alerts for the remaining districts today.

    Authorities in several districts have declared holidays for educational institutions under their jurisdiction.

    As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), strong westerly winds are likely to persist at lower tropospheric levels over Kerala and the Lakshadweep region for the next two to three days, resulting in widespread rainfall.

    The IMD stated, “Strong westerlies likely to continue at lower tropospheric levels over Kerala and the Lakshadweep region during the next 2-3 days. Under the influence of these, widespread rainfall activity with scattered Heavy rainfall to Very Heavy rainfall with isolated Extremely Heavy rainfall is very likely to occur over Kerala on 29th & 30th May 2025. Heavy rainfall is very likely to occur at isolated places over Kerala on 31st May, 1st and 2nd June 2025.”

    District administrations across Kerala have declared a holiday for all educational institutions in several districts on May 30 (Friday).

    The precautionary measure applies to professional colleges, anganwadis, tuition centers, madrassas, and special coaching classes.

  • Kerala Shrine Body Dissolves Temple Panel Over Rendition Of RSS ‘Gana Geetham

    The action was taken against the advisory committee of the Kottukkal Manjippuzha temple in Kollam, which is managed by the TDB.

    The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the top temple body in Kerala’s Travancore region, dissolved the advisory committee of a temple following the rendition of the RSS ‘gana geetham’ (prayer song) during a recent musical concert held there.

    The action was taken against the advisory committee of the Kottukkal Manjippuzha temple in Kollam, which is managed by the TDB.

    A TDB statement issued on Tuesday said the decision followed an inquiry into the rendition of the ‘gana geetham’ and the erection of flags belonging to political and communal outfits on the temple premises.

    The Board found that the advisory committee had committed serious lapses in connection with both incidents.

    It added that an existing order strictly prohibits the erection of flagpoles of political and communal organisations in temples and on temple premises under the TDB’s control.

  • Liberian Shipwreck Containers Wash Ashore Kerala Coast Amid Oil Spill Crisis

    Authorities said that some containers have been found along the coasts of southern Kollam and coastal Alappuzha districts.

    Containers from a Liberian cargo ship that sank off the Kerala coast have started washing ashore, while the oil spill spreading from the vessel has prompted authorities to issue a high alert along the state’s coastline, officials said on Monday.

    Authorities said that some containers have been found along the coasts of southern Kollam and coastal Alappuzha districts.

    In the wake of the sinking of the ship off the Kerala coast, a high-level meeting was convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to assess the situation.

    An advisory has been issued urging coastal residents and fishermen to remain vigilant.

    So far, nine containers have washed ashore, and an advisory has been reiterated for coastal residents and fishermen to remain alert, according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

    The cargo ship capsized and sank early on Sunday, leading to a significant oil spill. According to the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), the sunken vessel had 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel and 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil in its tanks.