Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has issued yet another written message — this time thanking Iraq — but his continued absence from public view is raising questions about his condition and whereabouts.. Iran’s message to US. (AP/Reuters). In his latest message, Khamenei expressed appreciation to Iraq for backing Iran during the ongoing conflict. According to Iranian media, the message specifically acknowledged both the Iraqi people and its top religious leadership.. He “expressed his appreciation to the supreme religious authority (in Iraq) and the people of Iraq for their clear stance against aggression against Iran and their support for our country”, the ISNA news agency reported, referring to Ali Sistani.. However, Mojtaba Khamenei’s absence from the public has fuelled speculation about whether he is alive or not. Adding to the uncertainty, Donald Trump, in an interview with the Financial Times, recently cast doubt on Khamenei’s condition. “The son is either dead or in extremely bad shape. We’ve not heard from him at all. He’s gone.”. Also read |Where is Mojtaba Khamenei? CIA, Mossad continue search for Iran’s Supreme Leader. The message was conveyed after a meeting involving the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq and Iran’s ambassador in Baghdad, though details about how it was transmitted were not disclosed, news agency AFP reported.. Still no public appearance. Despite being named supreme leader after the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, in an airstrike on February 28, Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public even once.. Also read | How the son of Iran’s Supreme Leader built a global property empire. So far, his communication has been limited to a handful of written statements. These include an initial message after assuming leadership and another marking Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Both were read out on television by others rather than delivered by him directly.. State media has circulated images of him, but without confirming whether they are recent. Officials have suggested he is recovering from injuries sustained in an airstrike, but there has been no independent confirmation.. Speculation intensifies. The lack of any direct appearance has triggered intense speculation globally. Questions over whether he is able to lead in person remain unanswered.. US President Donald Trump last week said Washington was in talks with a “top person” in Iran, but clarified that the individual was not the supreme leader.. “We have not heard from the son… We don’t know if he is living,” said Trump.. Mojtaba Khamenei, now Iran’s third supreme leader since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, has taken charge at a moment of war and uncertainty. His leadership, however, is unfolding largely through written words rather than public presence. 

 Baltej Singh, a New Zealand businessman and the nephew of one of Indira Gandhi’s assassins who is serving a 22-year prison sentence in New Zealand for masterminding one of the country’s largest methamphetamine importation operations, has lost a legal bid to keep his name suppressed. His identity was revealed on Saturday by New Zealand media outlet Stuff after courts lifted name suppression orders granted over fears that his family’s notoriety among Sikhs and Hindus worldwide could expose them to harm.. New Zealand authorities say Baltej Singh played a central role in an international drug-smuggling network (X/@NoticerNews). In an affidavit presented to the court, Singh’s father had previously told a New Zealand court that the family had faced threats, intimidation and hostility after the assassination made them “notorious” among Sikh and Hindu communities worldwide, Stuff reported.. The court initially accepted those concerns, ruling that the risk to the safety of Singh’s relatives outweighed the public interest in open justice. But the New Zealand government appealed and in November, the court overturned the order, finding there was an “appreciable public interest” in identifying a man responsible for importing an unprecedented quantity of drugs into New Zealand. Judges said anyone motivated by revenge connected to the 1984 assassination would likely already know Singh’s identity and assessed that the risk of harm from revealing his name was very low, Stuff reported.. Singh had initially sought to challenge the ruling before the Supreme Court but later abandoned that effort, Stuff reported.. New Zealand authorities say Singh played a central role in an international drug-smuggling network that concealed methamphetamine inside commercial shipments labelled as beverages.. In 2021, cans of coconut water arriving in New Zealand from New Delhi were found to contain dissolved methamphetamine and ephedrine, a precursor chemical used to manufacture the drug, Stuff reported.. In 2022, containers arriving in New Zealand from Canada and the US carried tens of thousands of cans of “Honey Bear” lager beer and bottles of kombucha. Police later discovered the beverages were being used to transport liquid methamphetamine into the country.. The drugs were sent to an industrial unit where they were converted into crystal meth. Police seized more than 700kg of liquid and crystallised methamphetamine — the largest haul ever uncovered by New Zealand.. The operation came to light after one of the cans of beer was mistakenly given to a 21-year-old man by an associate of Singh, Himatjit Singh Kahlon, who was later convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 21 years in prison.. Days after the victim was hospitalised, police arrested Baltej Singh at Auckland International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Dubai. 

 Varanasi: A passenger on board an IndiGo flight was booked for attempting to open the aircraft’s emergency exit door just before landing at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi, prompting the pilot to abort the landing and take the aircraft back into the air, officials said. The flight landed safely a few minutes later.. The aircraft eventually landed safely at approximately 10:35 pm. (Vipin Kumar/HT). The passenger was taken into custody, and interrogated by multiple security agencies before being released, officials said. The accused initially told the police during questioning that he was under the “influence of a ghost,” police said. However, he later said he was unaware that pressing the emergency exit button could open the aircraft door.. ALSO READ | IndiGo flight reports engine failure mid-air, makes safe emergency landing in Delhi. According to officials, IndiGo flight 6E-185 (aircraft VT-IRW) from Bengaluru was approaching Varanasi airport around 10:20 pm on Saturday when the passenger allegedly tried to open the emergency exit door moments before touchdown.. Acting swiftly, the pilot executed a go-around, averting any potential danger. The aircraft eventually landed safely at approximately 10:35 pm. The incident triggered panic among over 100 passengers who were on board.. Officials said the passenger, identified as Mohammad Adnan, 26, had earlier attempted to tamper with the emergency exit shortly after the flight departed from Bengaluru, but was restrained and pacified by the cabin crew.. Following the safe landing, the accused was handed over to the airline’s security and the CISF, who subsequently transferred him to the local police, in accordance with security protocols.. He was booked under Section 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) based on a complaint filed by IndiGo assistant security manager Devanshu Pratap Singh, said Phulpur station house officer (SHO) Atul Kumar Singh.. Confirming this, deputy commissioner of police (Gomti Zone) Akash Patel said, “After interrogation, a notice was served to the accused passenger. He was later handed over to his parents. Investigations are ongoing.” 

 A 13-year-old girl from Raichur district died after receiving treatment for a fever from a man posing as a registered medical practitioner (RMP) despite not being a qualified doctor, police and health officials said on Sunday.. 13-yr-old girl dies after quack treats her: Police. According to police, the girl, a Class 9 student from Aminagadh village in Maski taluk, developed a fever on March 26. Her grandmother then took her to Uttam Kumar Sarkar, locally known as an RMP, for treatment.. Sub-inspector Guru Chandraiah Yadav said the girl had been staying with her grandmother, Yellamma, as her parents had travelled to Bengaluru for daily wage work. “On Thursday night, the child suddenly fell seriously ill, following which her grandmother took her to a man named Uttam Kumar Sarkar for treatment at Sindhanur,” he said.. Police said the man administered an injection as part of the treatment. “The accused treated the child and administered an injection. Initially, no complications were observed. However, by night, rashes began appearing on her body and she started suffering from severe pain,” Yadav said.. Her condition worsened later that night. Her parents took her to Manvi Hospital, where she was admitted in critical condition. Despite treatment, doctors declared her dead on Friday, police said.. The body was later moved to the Kavital Government Hospital for a post-mortem examination before being handed over to the family.. Police have registered a case at Kavital Police Station under Section 304(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with causing death by negligence. “A case is registered … and the accused is absconding,” Yadav said.. The girl’s parents alleged that the treatment provided by Sarkar, including the injection administered, led to her death.. Raichur district health officer Surendra Babu said the man was not authorised to practice medicine. “He is not a doctor. There is no clinic or hospital. In the village, he is neither a qualified doctor nor trained to treat any disease. He is an unqualified practitioner,” he said.. He added that such cases were not isolated. “There are several such individuals and even some students posing as doctors in many villages. Many people are receiving treatment from such fake doctors,” Babu said. 

 A PRD jawan died allegedly by suicide inside the lockup at Raipur Police Station in Dehradun on Sunday, with his family suspecting foul play and demanding strict action against the police personnel on duty at the time.. According to the police, the doctors have cited hanging as the cause of death in the postmortem report. (Representative image/PTI). Dehradun Police informed ANI that, in connection with the death of Sunil Raturi, related to Raipur Police Station, a postmortem was conducted by a panel of expert doctors.. According to the police, the doctors have cited hanging as the cause of death in the postmortem report. However, to ensure greater clarity regarding the cause of death and in view of the concerns raised by the deceased’s family, viscera has been preserved and will be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for further examination.. The entire matter will be subjected to a judicial inquiry, which will be conducted by a magistrate.. Speaking to ANI, Dehradun SP (Rural) Jaya Baluni said Raturi was arrested after police received a call on the emergency helpline about a person refusing to pay for petrol and creating a disturbance.. “We received information on 112 that a person is refusing to pay for the petrol and creating a disturbance while claiming to be a police officer. The person was arrested and later found unresponsive inside the lockup. He was then declared dead at Coronation Hospital,” Baluni told ANI.. However, speaking to ANI, Raturi’s brother-in-law, Akhilesh Dobhal, alleged it is a case of custodial death and demands strict action against all those who were present in the police station at that time.. “We suspect that it is a custodial death… We want strict action against all those who were present in the police station at that time…They should have at least been suspended…You changed the entire staff of the department…This means the staff is involved in this…Their names should be made public through a statement,” he said.. Meanwhile, SSP Dehradun, Pramendra Dobhal, has taken immediate action in the suspicious case of the alleged suicide of PRD jawan Sunil Raturi, who reportedly hanged himself using a blanket while in police custody at Raipur Police Station in Dehradun.. To ensure a transparent investigation into the matter, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Raipur Police Station, along with three police personnel posted at the station, have been attached to the Police Lines with immediate effect.. Following the incident, Sub-Inspector Krishna Kumar Singh, who was deployed from Dalanwala Police Station for duty to maintain law and order, has been suspended with immediate effect by SSP Dehradun for not conducting himself in accordance with the dignity of his position during duty. (ANI)