Politics
550 police personnel deployed, social media monitored to ensure peaceful Bakrid celebrations in Mumbai
As Bakrid celebrations continued across the city, police authorities said extensive security arrangements have been put in place to ensure peace and law and order.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Mira Road) Rahul Chavan said that around 550 police personnel have been deployed across Mumbai, with continuous patrolling underway in sensitive areas.
“Police have been deployed in sensitive areas. Currently, the festival of Bakrid is being celebrated in a peaceful atmosphere. Social media is also being monitored,” DCP Chavan told ANI.
Officials said the deployment is aimed at maintaining communal harmony and ensuring that the festival passes off peacefully across the region.
BJP leader Kirit Somaiya alleged that illegal animal slaughter for Bakri Eid was taking place at several locations in Mumbai, including Mankhurd, Deonar, and Govandi, and urged the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Mumbai Police to take action.
In a post on X, Somaiya claimed that qurbani was being carried out in housing societies and residential complexes despite designated slaughter locations and licensed markets being available nearby.
“Dozen’s places illegal Kurbani Katal at Mankhurd, Deonar, Govandi…. in Housing Societies/Complexes. Bakri Eid Kurbani inspite of Markets/Shops Kurbani Places (designated places) available nearby areas. BMC Police must act,” Somaiya posted.
Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation cancelled permission earlier granted for Bakri Eid qurbani at the premises of Azad Nagar D-3 building, Satellite Garden Phase-2, on Aarey Bhaskar Road in Goregaon (East).
Eid Al-Adha or Bakra Eid, which is being observed on May 28 this year, is a significant Islamic festival also referred to as the ‘festival of sacrifice’. It is observed on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic lunar calendar, and marks the culmination of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca.
The date of the festival changes every year as it follows the lunar calendar, which is proximately 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar. This results in Eid moving earlier each year in the Western calendar cycle.
The festival is widely regarded as a time of joy, reflection and compassion, where people strengthen social bonds, forgive past grievances and engage in acts of charity and goodwill. It commemorates the willingness of Prophet Abraham to sacrifice in obedience to God, symbolising faith and devotion. (ANI)
Politics
Iran seeks multiple-entry US visas for its World Cup squad and staff
Iran’s delegation will be based in Tijuana, Mexico, and will travel to the US for all three group stage matches.
Published On 28 May 2026
Iran’s delegation for the World Cup must be issued multiple-entry visas for their fixtures in the United States, a top official of the Iranian football federation (FFIRI) said two days after FIFA confirmed the relocation of the team’s base camp from the US to Mexico.
FFIRI president Mehdi Taj said on Wednesday that he expects the US to issue visas for the World Cup squad and support staff for the tournament kicking off in three weeks.
The US should give all players multiple-entry visas as they would have to leave and re-enter the US many times, Taj told local reporters in Mashhad, northeastern Iran.
The Iranian squad has not been issued US visas yet.
Several members attended visa pointments in Turkiye, where they have been training, last week.
Players and staff who travelled to Turkiye from Iran plied for US visas, while those who had not plied for them before the start of the war on Iran in February also submitted their visa plications in person at the embassy.
Meanwhile, the whole squad plied for Canadian visas in case Iran proceeded to the knockouts allocated to venues in Canada.
The US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, leading to a regional conflict that has now lasted three months.
Despite a ceasefire in place, the US carried out strikes on Iranian military sites on Wednesday and, in return, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched an attack on an American airbase in the region.
Iran’s team will open their World Cup campaign on June 15 against New Zealand in Los Angeles, California, where they will face Belgium six days later. Iran’s last Group G game is against Egypt in Seattle, in Washington state, on June 21.
FIFA confirmed on Monday that Iran’s World Cup training base camp had been relocated from the US to Mexico upon the team’s request.
Iran had originally selected a sports complex in Tucson in the US state of Arizona as their national team’s base during the World Cup, but later sought a change.
When FIFA published the final list of team base camp locations this week, Iran were allocated Centro Xoloitzcuintle in Tijuana, Mexico, as their location of choice.
Tijuana’s location directly across the US-Mexico border from San Diego could help with visa issues when the team needs to enter the country, according to Taj.
He initially announced the camp’s move on Saturday, before FIFA made it official.
All team base camps for the countries participating in the World Cup must be proved by FIFA, Taj said in a statement.
Fortunately, following the requests we submitted and the meetings we held with FIFA and World Cup officials in Istanbul, as well as the webinar meeting we had yesterday in Tehran with the respected FIFA secretary general, our request to change the team’s base from the United States to Mexico was proved.
The World Cup, cohosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, runs from June 11 through July 19.
Politics
Uganda closes border with DRC in an effort to contain Ebola outbreak
Uganda closes border with DRC in an effort to contain Ebola outbreak
Uganda has closed its border with neighbouring DR Congo for four weeks in an effort to contain an Ebola outbreak. Authorities say at least seven cases, including one death, have been confirmed, while hundreds are being monitored.
Published On 28 May 2026
Politics
Indias delayed trainer aircraft gets critical engine boost
US firm Honeywell has overcome supply chain bottlenecks and delivered the first batch of engines for the overdue indigenous basic trainer aircraft—critical for the Indian Air Force—to Bengaluru-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), officials aware of the matter said on Wednesday.
Honeywell has delivered three TPE331-12B turboprop engines for the HTT-40 (Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40) aircraft being built at HAL, and assured the state-run firm of timely supplies, the officials said, asking not to be named.
HAL aims to fast-track aircraft deliveries as engine supplies stabilise, one of the officials said. The platform will serve as a stepping stone for pilots to develop critical flying skills.
The air force ordered 70 basic trainers for ₹6,838 crore three years ago to train its rookie pilots. Under the contract, HAL was supposed to supply 12 aircraft to the IAF in fiscal 2025-26, but it has not delivered a single plane yet because engines were unavailable.
Under a $100-million contract signed almost four years ago for supplying and manufacturing 88 TPE331-12B engines/kits, Honeywell was supposed to deliver the first engine in September 2025. The US firm will supply 16 units and HAL will build the rest through technology transfer.
The remaining engines are expected at the rate of two per month, said another official. Two series production HTT-40s are already flying with ‘Category B’ (used) TPE331-12B engines that powered the prototype aircraft.
A new manufacturing facility for the HTT-40s will help accelerate deliveries. Last October, defence minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated production lines for the LCA Mk-1 and the HTT-40 basic trainer in Nashik to meet the air force’s growing needs. HAL is now cable of producing 20 HTT-40s a year at its factories in Bengaluru and Nashik.
The tandem-seat HTT-40 has an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot refueling cability (refuelling with the engine running on the ground), and zero-zero ejection seats (for safe ejection at low speeds and low heights). The HTT-40 currently has 56% local content, which will progressively increase to over 60% through further indigenisation of major components and subsystems.
Currently, ab initio (Stage-I) flying training for all rookie pilots is carried out on Swiss-origin Pilatus PC-7 MkII basic trainers. Stage-I training is common for all pilots after which trifurcation into fighter, transport and helicopter streams takes place.
Those selected for the fighter stream proceed to Stage-II training on PC-7 MkII and Kiran Mk-1A jet trainers and then Stage-III on the British-origin Hawk advanced jet trainers before they can fly supersonic fighter planes. Pilots from the other two streams carry out their Stage II and III training on different types of transport aircraft and helicopters.
Plans to buy more Pilatus PC-7 MkII trainers were hit in July 2019 after the defence ministry suspended business dealings with Pilatus Aircraft Limited for one year for violating a pre-contract integrity pact in a ₹2,900-crore deal for 75 basic trainers, and also factoring in Indian investigations against the firm for alleged corruption and irregularities. The contract with Pilatus included a clause for follow-on purchase of 38 more planes.
Politics
Andy Burnham accuses Tony Blair of ignoring inequality as he hits back at ex-PM
Politics
UFC fighting cage rises on White House lawn for US and Trump celebrations
The UFC bout at the White House marks the 250th anniversary of the US and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.
Published On 27 May 2026
Yet another White House construction project is under way in the United States, though this one is meant to be only temporary.
Crews are erecting an octagon-shed cage on the South Lawn that will host next month’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bout, marking the nation’s 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.
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Online renderings depict what the completed, wire-mesh-fence-ringed fight space is expected to look like before the June 14 event. It will be ringed by a red, white and blue stage under a towering arch featuring stars-and-stripes patterns and two large screens showing the action live.
The cage and stage will themselves be surrounded by thousands of temporary seats, including ringside space for a full marching band that can set the entire scene to blaring music.
The project is part of a series of events celebrating the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence’s signing on July 4, 1776. Other planned functions include an IndyCar race that will pass by the White House and the Great American State Fair taking place on the National Mall.
Trump has said the finished UFC project will feature a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House.
Additional large screens broadcasting the fights will be set up in a park at the nearby Ellipse, and the UFC has said it plans to issue as many as 85,000 free tickets to accommodate spectators at both locations.
I have never seen anybody want anything so much as people want those tickets, Trump said recently of demand to attend the UFC fight, adding, That’s gonna be something.
The card has been panned by fans online as underwhelming, featuring just two championship fights. Brazil’s Alex Pereira will meet France’s Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC heavyweight title. Then, Spanish-Georgian lightweight champion Ilia Topuria takes on interim champ Justin Gaethje, one of just two Americans who currently hold even a share of the UFC’s 11 championship belts.
The octagon and surrounding structures are the latest project in the White House building boom Trump is leading.
The president also wants to repaint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building beside the White House and build a 250-foot (76-metre) arch at the nearby Lincoln Memorial – the same monument where weigh-ins for the upcoming UFC fight are scheduled to take place, bout organisers say.
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