Trump has slapped a massive 245% tariff on certain Chinese imports, escalating an already tense trade standoff. The White House confirmed the move in an official fact sheet, calling it a response to China’s retaliatory measures and "unfair trade practices."
The development follows Beijing’s directive to its airlines to halt all new deliveries of Boeing aircraft and suspend purchases of U.S.-made aviation parts and equipment—a direct counter to Washington’s earlier imposition of 145% tariffs on Chinese goods.
China, while warning it’s “not afraid of a trade war,” has renewed calls for dialogue. “The U.S. must stop using threats and pressure if it genuinely wants negotiations,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian.
Diogjeron Nazareth, a retired Maharashtra government secretariat employee, died by stabbing himself in the neck, while his wife is suspected to have consumed poison.
China now faces tariffs of 245 per cent on import of goods into the United States “as a result of its retaliatory actions”, the White House said Tuesday afternoon (India time) as the trade war between the nations appears to be run further off track.
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The ISIS group has claimed a bomb explosion targeting police in Pakistan’s turbulent southwest that killed three policemen and wounded more than a dozen.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr rallied to the support of Harvard University on Wednesday, praising the US college’s refusal to submit to government oversight demanded by President Donald Trump.
Japan crossed the 10 million visitor mark at the fastest ever pace in March, official data showed on Wednesday, as the weak yen propelled a record tourism boom.
A video of women performing kirtan in the Delhi Metro has gone viral, leading to mixed reactions from the public and highlighting the importance of following metro rules regarding behavior and seating.
A day after the AIADMK-BJP alliance was sealed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, a video clip of former Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai’s brief speech went viral.
US-China Trade War LIVE: China Makes Big Tariff Announcement Against Trump Tariffs | China MOFA LIVE
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs holds its daily press conference. President Donald Trump’s tariffs have put trade between China and the U.S. in peril as led to trillions of dollars of losses in global trading markets.
Both Israel and the United States are trembling after the Houthis published a terrifying sniper film. Alarm is raised by the video, which depicts lethal drills with weapons pointed at eerily recognizable faces. Trump’s airstrikes and US Navy maneuvers only serve to heighten tensions in Yemen
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During a high-profile White House meeting, President Donald Trump publicly praised Nayib Bukele of El Salvador as the "world’s coolest dictator," shocking the media. Trump praised Bukele’s gang-fighting efforts and readiness to take deportees into El Salvador’s infamous CECOT prison as the two leaders talked about deepening their collaboration on contentious migrant deportations. The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, is not interested in releasing a Maryland man who was wrongfully deported to his nation and imprisoned in a notorious jail, and the Trump administration is refusing to ask him to do so.
LIVE | Russia Bleeds Ukraine, Drone Blitz Hammers Odesa; 200 Ukrainian Troops Killed In Kursk
On the night of April 15-16, Russian forces launched a large-scale drone attack on Odesa, damaging civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, and warehouses. Three people were injured, and several fires broke out. Photos shared by Odesa’s mayor show severe destruction and ongoing rescue efforts. The full extent of the attack is still being assessed.
A Bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and N. Kotiswar Singh noted that the Kerala High Court order granting bail to the accused is one-year-old and the HC has the power to cancel bail if the conditions are violated.
“Our attention is invited to observation made in the last part of the impugned order by which high court has reserved liberty to the petitioners to apply to special court for cancellation of bail.
“Therefore, the petitioners can always apply to the special court for cancellation of bail on the grounds which are set out in the affidavits filed in these petitions. In fact the special court will be the more appropriate court,” the Bench said.
The Supreme Court said the agency can satisfy the special court about the breach of terms and conditions of grant of bail by producing materials against the accused.
“Therefore, at this stage we decline to entertain the special leave petitions with liberty to the petitioners to move the special court/high court for cancellation of bail. Needless to say that if the prayer made by petitioner does not succeed before the special court/high court remedies of the petitioners remain open.
“We make it clear that as and when application is made for cancellation of bail the special court or high court should not be influenced by the fact that this court has declined to entertain the present special leave petitions,” the Bench said.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Raja Thakare, appearing for the NIA, sought cancellation of the bail and submitted that the accused have violated the bail conditions and have contacted the witnesses.
The Kerala High Court on June 25, 2024 granted bail to the 17 accused PFI members, who are also facing trial for allegedly instigating communal violence in the state and other parts of the country.
Granting bail to 17 of the 26 accused, the high court imposed stringent conditions, which include sharing their cellphone numbers and real-time GPS locations with the investigating officer.
Aside from that, the accused were ordered not to leave Kerala, surrender their passports and keep their cellphones charged and active round-the-clock.
It had directed the 17 to “present themselves before the special court which shall enlarge them on bail on such conditions as the special court may deem necessary”.
Initially, 51 persons were arraigned as accused in connection with the murder of Srinivasan on April 16, 2022. One among those held died while seven others are absconding.
Charge sheets against the remaining persons were filed in two phases in July and December, 2022.
While police was investigating the murder, the Centre received information that the office bearers and cadres of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliates in Kerala had conspired to instigate communal violence and radicalise its cadres to commit terrorist acts in Kerala and other parts of the country, the high court noted in its order.
Therefore, the Centre in September, 2022 directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take up and probe the case against the accused.
On December 19, 2022, the Centre, referring to Srinivasan’s death, opined there was a larger conspiracy hatched by the leaders of the PFI “which has grave national and international ramifications” that needed to be “thoroughly investigated to unearth the wider conspiracy and to identify the other accused”.
The Centre directed the NIA to take up the probe in the murder case as well, and the agency filed its consolidated charge sheet in 2023 with two supplementary chargesheets later.
Immediately after the respective NIA charge sheets were filed before the special court, the accused moved for bail.
Judges to announce ruling on definition of a woman
The issue has made its way to the highest court in the UK for a ruling
The UK Supreme Court is to deliver its verdict on how a woman should be defined in law.
The announcement marks the culmination of a long-running legal battle between the Scottish government and a women’s group.
The outcome could have far-reaching implications on how sex-based rights apply across Scotland, England and Wales.
The Scottish government argues transgender people with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) are entitled to sex-based protections, while For Women Scotland argues they only apply to people that are born female.
The legal arguments have come at a time of heated debate on gender issues
The ruling, to be announced at about 09:45, is expected to set out how the law should treat transgender people.
It could affect single-sex spaces and services, as well as equal pay claims, maternity policy and sports events.
The legal arguments have come at a time of heated debate on gender issues.
The Supreme Court is deciding on the proper interpretation of the 2010 Equality Act, which applies across Britain.
The law provides protection against discrimination on the basis of various characteristics, including “sex” and “gender reassignment”.
The case against the Scottish government was brought by a women’s group
Judges in London are ruling on what that law means by “sex” – whether it means biological sex, or legal, “certificated” sex as defined by the 2004 Gender Recognition Act.
The Scottish government says the 2004 legislation is clear that obtaining a GRC amounts to a change of sex “for all purposes”.
Government lawyer Ruth Crawford KC told the court that “a person who has become the sex of their acquired gender is entitled to the protections of that sex”.
Aidan O’Neill KC, representing For Women Scotland, argues for a “common sense” meaning of the words man and woman, telling the court that sex is an “immutable biological state”.
How did we get here?
The legal dispute began in 2018, when the Scottish Parliament passed a bill designed to ensure gender balance on public sector boards.
For Women Scotland complained that ministers had included transgender people as part of the quotas in that law.
After several cases in the Scottish courts, the issue has been sent to the Supreme Court in London for a final ruling.
For Women Scotland has warned that if the court sides with the government, it would have implications for the running of single-sex spaces and services, such as hospital wards, prisons, refuges and support groups.
Transgender people have warned the case could erode the protections they have against discrimination in their reassigned gender.
Amnesty International has said that since the Equality Act protects other minority groups, the case could be the “thin end of the wedge” which could undermine other rights.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission – the regulator in charge of enforcing the 2010 act – has called for legal reform as a result of the case.
The Scottish Parliament passed reforms in 2022 that would have made it easier for someone to change their legally recognised sex.
The move was blocked by the UK government, and has since been dropped by Holyrood ministers.
Disposable vapes will no longer be available for sale after 1 June 2025 due to a government ban in the UK
The popularity of disposable e-cigarettes or vapes has fallen ahead of a UK-wide ban on their sale on 1 June, a study has found.
Researchers believe vape users are switching to refillable and rechargeable vapes in anticipation of the ban.
The percentage of people aged 16-24 who mainly use disposable vapes has dropped by nearly half in the last year from 63% to 35%, according to University College London (UCL) research.
Overall vaping use stalled between January 2024 and 2025 in all adults over 16, after several years of significant growth.
Refillable vapes (top) differ from single use vapes (bottom) as they can be recharged and refilled with vape liquid.
The UK government ban on disposable and single-use vapes is aimed at stopping littering as, in most cases, the vapes cannot be recycled and often end up in landfill or pollute natural environments.
The ban is also aimed at tackling rising rates of youth vaping and protecting children from harm.
GP Dr Helen Wall told BBC Breakfast that NHS advice is “very clear” that vaping should be used as a means to stop smoking.
“But for people who have never smoked, and for young people particularly, to turn to vaping can be quite detrimental,” she said.
“Our young people are becoming quite addicted. It’s affecting their concentration, they’re becoming agitated, their capacity to learn is affected, their developing brain can be affected.”
The UCL study looked at survey data on vaping habits in England, Wales and Scotland both before and after the ban was announced.
The study used data from the Smoking Toolkit Study, which collected data on 88,611 people aged 16 and over.
Before the ban, between January 2022 and January 2024, vaping among those aged 16 and over went up from 8.9% to 13.5%.
In young adults aged 16-24, usage increased more sharply, from 17% to 26.5%.
After the ban was announced, researchers found a decline in the number of vapers mainly using disposable e-cigarettes – in all age groups and particularly among 16-24 year olds.
The study only asked vape users about their main choice of device.
Dr Sarah Jackson, who works for the UCL Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group and is the lead author of the survey, tells the BBC she thinks “more people are turning to refillable, reusable devices” rather than stopping vaping altogether.
“We often see people change their behaviour in response to impending policy changes before they come into action,” she adds.
Disposable vapes are single-use devices, which come pre-filled with vape liquid, whereas refillable and rechargeable (reusable) devices have a longer shelf-life and are often a cheaper way to vape in the long-term.
A reusable vape has vape liquid that can be refilled and a battery that can be recharged.
Dr Jackson adds that vape manufacturers have also been quick to react to the upcoming ban, with “the most popular” disposable brands producing rechargeable versions of their most popular models.
“They’re very similar in design, colours, flavours and even price,” she says.
While Dr Jackson thinks it’s too early to tell whether the government’s new strategy will deter young people from vaping, she maintains that health legislators face “an issue of balance”.
“We know it makes sense to do something to try and reduce the vast numbers of young people taking up vaping, but the key public health priority here does remain smoking,” she says.
“This is vastly more harmful and is killing a lot of people every year, so we need to make sure that any policy measures that are brought in to tackle youth vaping don’t put people off using vapes, which are very effective at quitting smoking,” she adds.
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Manchester Arena victim disgusted at prison attack
Hashem Abedi left prison officers at HMP Frankland in hospital with serious injuries following an attack on Saturday
A Manchester Arena bombing survivor has said he is angry, disgusted and broken after the bomber’s brother was able to attack three prison guards at a high-security unit in County Durham.
Hashem Abedi, who is being held in HMP Frankland, threw hot oil at the officers on Saturday and stabbed them with improvised blades.
In an open letter to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Martin Hibbert criticised how Abedi was given the “comfort and privilege” of kitchen facilities and said he is furious the pain of survivors is being so “blatantly disrespected”.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has said there will be a full, independent review into the incident.
Abedi, who helped his older brother Salman plan the Manchester Arena attack, was jailed for life with a minimum 55 years in prison after being convicted of murdering 22 people in the 2017 attack.
Mr Hibbert was paralysed from the waist down in the blast and his daughter Eve left severely disabled.
In his letter posted on social media, Mr Hibbert said: “Let’s call this what it is: a catastrophic failure of your duty to protect prison staff and the public from an unrepentant terrorist.
“Not only was Abedi allowed the freedom to move around and use facilities that should never be available to someone like him – he was able to track and target three prison guards using boiling oil and homemade weapons.
“I was led to believe that people like him – mass murderers, terrorists – would face a regime of strict control and zero comfort. I was told justice would be served.
“What I see now is not justice. It’s a shameful lack of accountability and basic prison security.”
Martin Hibbert said he was “absolutely disgusted” Abedi was given kitchen access
Abedi had been held in a separation centre – which holds a small number of inmates deemed to be dangerous and extremist – at Frankland.
He moved to Frankland after carrying out an earlier attack on prison officers in London’s Belmarsh prison in 2020, for which three years and 10 months was added to his sentence.
Two prison officers remain in hospital with serious injuries from the latest attack, while a third has been discharged.
“I’m not just angry. I’m broken by this,” Mr Hibbert added. “And I am furious that the pain of survivors like me is being so blatantly disrespected by your inaction.
“This cannot continue. Something drastic needs to be done. Not tomorrow. Not next month. Now.
“Review his prison privileges. Strip him of any access to areas where he can make or find weapons. Protect your staff. Protect the memory of those we lost. Respect those who survived.
“Because right now, it feels like you’ve forgotten us.”
Abedi is held in high-security HMP Frankland prison in County Durham
Mr Hibbert’s letter comes a day after families of five people murdered in the Arena bombing told the justice secretary of their “absolute disbelief” over the HMP Frankland attack.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman has said it was “clear that something went terribly wrong” with how Abedi had been handled.
A MoJ spokesperson said: “Our thoughts remain with the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing and their families who are understandably concerned by the shocking attack at HMP Frankland this weekend.
“We’ve already taken immediate action to suspend access to kitchens in separation and close supervision centres.
“We will also launch a full independent review into how this attack was able to happen and will set out the terms and scope of this review in the coming days.”
With his brother, the suicide bomber Salman Abedi, Hashem Abedi planned and prepared the attack on the Ariana Grande concert in 2017.
He was in Libya when the blast took place and was later extradited to the UK to face trial.
Hashem Abedi was found guilty in 2020 of 22 counts of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to cause an explosion likely to endanger life, and sentenced to a record 55-year minimum term before he could be considered for parole.
It is understood that Hashem Abedi has been moved to the separation centre at HMP Full Sutton following the kitchen attack.
The Supreme Court has said it is a “pitiable digression from reality” to believe that Hindi is a language of the Hindus and Urdu of the Muslims. A language is only a means of communication and does not represent a religion.
“Language is not religion. Language does not even represent religion. Language belongs to a community, to a region, to people; and not to a religion. Language is culture. Language is the yardstick to measure the civilizational march of a community and its people. So is the case of Urdu, which is the finest specimen of Ganga-Jamuni tahzeeb, or the Hindustani tahzeeb, which is the composite cultural ethos of the plains of northern and central India,” a Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Vinod Chandran said in a judgment.
Justice Dhulia said Hindi and Urdu were fundamentally one language.
“When we criticise Urdu, we are in a way also criticising Hindi… True, Urdu is mainly written in Nastaliq and Hindi in Devanagari; but then scripts do not make a language. What makes languages distinct is their syntax, their grammar and their phonology. Urdu and Hindi have broad similarities in all these counts,” the apex court said.
The fusion of the two languages, Hindi and Urdu, met a roadblock in the form of the puritans on both sides and Hindi became more Sanskritised and Urdu more Persian, Justice Dhulia explained.
“A schism was exploited by the colonial powers in dividing the two languages on religion. Hindi was now understood to be the language of Hindus and Urdu of the Muslims, which is such a pitiable digression from reality; from unity in diversity; and the concept of universal brotherhood,” the judge wrote.
The court said Urdu was not an alien language. It was born and nurtured in India, and reached greater refinement and became a language of choice for poets in India.
‘Incorrect opinion’
“The prejudice against Urdu stems from the misconception that Urdu is alien to India. This opinion, we are afraid, is incorrect as Urdu, like Marathi and Hindi, is an Indo-Aryan language,” Justice Dhulia said.
The judgment stemmed from an appeal filed against the use of Urdu on the signboard of the new building of the Municipal Council, Patur in Akola district of Maharashtra. The signage ‘Municipal Council, Patur’ was written in Marathi and then in Urdu. The appellant, Varshatai, a former Municipal Council member, said Marathi was the official language of the State of Maharashtra. The use of Urdu was “wrong”.
Even the common man’s everyday Hindi was peppered with Urdu terms, Justice Dhulia noted.
“The word ‘Hindi’ itself comes from the Persian word ‘Hindavi’! This exchange of vocabulary flows both ways because Urdu also has many words borrowed from other Indian languages, including Sanskrit,” Justice Dhulia noted.
Urdu was adopted by many States and Union Territories as their second official language in exercise of powers conferred by Article 345 of the Constitution. The States which have Urdu as one of the official languages were Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, while the Union Territories which follow this practice were Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir.
“We must respect and rejoice in our diversity, including our many languages… In the 2011 Census, the number of mother tongues increased to 270. This number was also arrived at by taking into consideration only those mother tongues which had more than 10,000 speakers. Thus, it would not be wrong to say that the actual number of mother tongues in India would run into thousands. Such is the immense linguistic diversity of India!” the Supreme Court emphasised.
Congress workers on Wednesday (April 16, 2025) staged a protest outside All India Congress Committee’s office at 24, Akbar Road, condemning the BJP-led Central government after ED’s chargesheet against senior party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in connection with the National Herald case.
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday said it had filed a chargesheet on April 9 in a money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper. Apart from Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, the chargesheet also names senior Congress leaders Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey as co-accused.
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate, who was present at the protest, criticised the Centre’s move, calling it an attempt to target the Gandhi family and the Congress.
“Nothing has happened in the past 12 years, it’s a 12-year-old case. They have filed a money laundering case where a single penny has not been exchanged. The reality is that the government has been trying to nail down the Gandhi family and the Congress. But we will fight them tooth and nail,” Ms. Shrinate told PTI Videos.
“The BJP is scared of Rahul Gandhi because of his way of doing politics and the issues he raises,” Ms. Shrinate said.
The charges have been filed under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which deal with money laundering and the punishment for the offence.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne has taken cognisance of the chargesheet and listed the matter for hearing on April 25.
The development comes just two days after the ED initiated proceedings to take possession of immovable assets worth ₹661 crore linked to the National Herald and its publisher, Associated Journals Limited (AJL). The agency said it had issued notices on April 11 to property registrars in Delhi, Mumbai, and Lucknow, directing them to take over AJL assets under the PMLA.
Reacting to the ED’s move, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh termed the chargesheet as “politics of vendetta” and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of misusing investigative agencies.
नेशनल हेराल्ड की संपत्तियों को ज़ब्त करना कानून के शासन का मुखौटा ओढ़कर एक राज्य प्रायोजित अपराध है।
श्रीमती सोनिया गांधी, श्री राहुल गांधी और कुछ अन्य लोगों के खिलाफ आरोपपत्र दाखिल करना, प्रधानमंत्री और गृह मंत्री द्वारा की गई बदले की राजनीति और डराने-धमकाने की कोशिश के अलावा…
“Seizing the assets of the National Herald is a state-sponsored crime masquerading as the rule of law. Filing chargesheets against Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and others is nothing but the politics of vendetta and intimidation by the PM and the HM gone completely berserk. The INC and its leadership will not be silenced,” Mr. Ramesh posted on X.
The National Herald case revolves around the alleged acquisition of properties worth over ₹2,000 crore by AJL, which were later transferred to Young Indian, a company in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi each hold a 38% stake.
The case originated from a complaint filed in 2014 by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and has since been upheld by both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are currently out on bail since 2015 in the same case.
The probe against Vadra is linked to a land deal in Haryana’s Manesar-Shikohpur (now sector 83) in Gurugram. A Congress government led by chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was in power in the state at that time.
New Delhi:
Businessman Robert Vadra arrived at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Delhi on Wednesday for the second round of questioning in connection with the Gurugram land deal case. He was accompanied by his wife and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi. Vadra, who is also the brother-in-law of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, is being investigated in a money laundering probe linked to a 2008 land acquisition in Haryana. Earlier on Tuesday, officials from the central agency questioned him for nearly five hours during the day and recorded his statement under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
‘Hum kisi se darte nahi hain’: Vadra
“Hum kisi se darte nahi hain (We do not fear anybody)…We are the target because we are relevant. Whether Rahul Gandhi is stopped in the parliament or I am stopped outside,” Vadra told news agency ANI just before going for questioning. “I was surprised to see the second summons from the agency as I have already appeared 15 times before the agency regarding the same case. I was questioned for 10 hours, and I gave 23,000 documents. I showed my statements from 2019 to the agency, and you are asking the same questions that I answered in 2019, and the people of the agency were also shocked. I can just say that the agencies are being misused,” Vadra added.
What’s the case against Vadra?
According to reports, he was first summoned in this case on April 8, but he did not depose and sought a fresh date. The probe against Vadra is linked to a land deal in Haryana’s Manesar-Shikohpur (now sector 83) in Gurugram. The land deal of February 2008 was done by a company named Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd, where Vadra was a director earlier, as it purchased a 3.5 acre land in Shikohpur from a firm named Onkareshwar Properties at a price of Rs 7.5 crore. A Congress government led by chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was in power at that time.
Four years later, in September 2012, the company sold this 3.53 acre land to realty major DLF for Rs 58 crore. The land deal got into controversy in October 2012 after IAS officer Ashok Khemka, then posted as the director general of Land Consolidation and Land Records-cum- Inspector-General of Registration of Haryana, cancelled the mutation of this categorising the transaction as violative of State Consolidation Act and some related procedures.
Years of negotiations culminated early Wednesday with countries agreeing the text of a landmark accord on how to tackle future pandemics, aimed at avoiding the mistakes made during the Covid-19 crisis.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih questioned how such a large number of trees were cut without approval from the relevant authorities and threatened the chief secretary with action if a restoration plan on the deforested land is not presented.
New Delhi:
The Supreme Court on Wednesday voiced concern over the clearing of a significant tree cover on land adjacent to the University of Hyderabad in Telangana. In scathing remarks, the apex court suggested that temporary prisons could be built on the site for the officers involved to “enjoy”.
Additionally, the court directed the state’s wildlife warden to assess the situation and promptly implement necessary measures to protect wildlife impacted by the deforestation.
Surprised to see videos where animals are running for shelter, says Supreme Court, adding “We are concerned with the damage done to environment”. It also slammed the Congress government in the state over the “tearing hurry” to chop down trees on the green patch near the university.
The top court observed that the state government should have obtained prior permission if it intended to carry out construction on the land.
During the hearing of a suo motu case related to tree felling in the Kancha Gachibowli area, Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih questioned how such a large number of trees were cut without approval from the relevant authorities.
“We are only concerned about how so many trees were cut without permission,” the bench remarked.
Responding to senior advocate AM Singhvi—who informed the court that both the tree felling and construction activities in Telangana had been halted—Justice Gavai stated, “If you want the Chief Secretary to be spared from severe action, you need to present a plan for how you intend to restore those hundred acres.
Videos went viral on social media earlier this month, purportedly showing bulldozers razing trees on around 100 acres of forest land near the Univeristy of Hyderabad.
On April 3, the Supreme Court ordered that, until further notice, no activity of any kind shall be carried out on the land, except for measures aimed at protecting the existing trees. The court took up the matter after it was brought to its attention by senior advocate K Parameshwar, who is serving as amicus curiae in forest-related cases.
Telangana government on Monday issued an order on the implementation of Scheduled Castes (SC) categorisation, making it the first state in the country to do so, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
The government is preparing to revise airport wheelchair access rules amid rising misuse, especially on long-haul international flights. Air India alone records over 1 lakh wheelchair requests monthly, with nearly 30% of passengers on some US-UK flights seeking assistance.
New Delhi:
New Delhi: With wheelchair requests soaring across Indian airports, sometimes making up nearly a third of passengers on international flights, the government is preparing to revise guidelines to curb misuse and ensure those in genuine need are not left stranded. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is currently finalising a new framework, expected to be rolled out by the end of May, reported Hindustan Times. The move follows mounting concerns from airlines, passenger rights groups, and airport staff over the unsustainable spike in demand, particularly on routes to the US and UK.
Under the upcoming policy, free wheelchair services may be restricted to passengers aged 60 and above, while younger travellers could be required to submit a valid medical certificate. A nominal fee may also be introduced for those seeking assistance without qualifying under the revised criteria.
Aviation ministry officials confirmed that the DGCA is working with airlines to develop stricter eligibility norms. “We are looking at creating a paid tier for those who may not meet the age or medical criteria but still need help with long walks or mobility,” a senior official was quoted as saying.
Soaring demand, mixed motives
According to industry sources, Air India alone processes over 100,000 wheelchair requests every month across its domestic and international network. Demand peaks on long-haul routes to North America and the UK, where as many as 89 to 99 passengers per flight have asked for wheelchair assistance in recent weeks, amounting to nearly 30% of all passengers on board.
While many of these requests come from elderly or medically unfit travellers, airlines and airport staff say a large number of these are made by passengers who simply want to skip queues, avoid long walks, or fast-track their boarding process. “In some cases, passengers who arrived in wheelchairs were later seen walking unaided through the airport,” an Air India official told HT. “This puts unnecessary pressure on limited staff and equipment, and compromises assistance for those who genuinely need it,” the official said.
Logistical and safety risks
The massive surge in requests has raised operational and safety concerns for carriers. Airlines are billed heavily by service providers when demand surpasses contracted limits, and the shortage of trained staff further aggravates the issue. “There’s a real safety risk when a flight has more wheelchair-bound passengers than crew members can assist in an emergency,” said another airline executive. “We also risk delays during boarding and deboarding, affecting overall flight schedules,” they added.
Recent incidents
In January, Air India was fined Rs 30 lakh for failing to provide pre-booked wheelchair services, one of several recent incidents that have pushed regulators to act. On Wednesday, comedian Vir Das slammed the airline for failing to provide a wheelchair to his wife, who is recovering from a foot injury, despite pre-booking the service and paying Rs 50,000 per ticket for a Mumbai-Delhi flight.
Comfort vs need
Anecdotal evidence from airline staff suggests that up to half of the passengers requesting wheelchairs end up walking unaided once past immigration or security. The trend, driven partly by the desire to fast-track movement through busy airports, is depriving truly needy passengers of timely assistance. “It’s about empathy,” a former aviation official was quoted as saying by CNBC TV18. “If you are healthy and just using the system for convenience, you may be blocking access for someone who truly needs help boarding,” the official added.
Possible solutions
To address the issue, officials are weighing multiple interventions:
Age bar: Only those aged 60 and above would be automatically eligible for free wheelchair assistance.
Medical proof: Younger passengers may need to present valid health documents to qualify.
Paid assistance: A low-cost option may be introduced for those who don’t meet the criteria but require help.
Better promotion of alternatives: Airports could scale up and publicise buggy services, especially for elderly passengers who don’t have a medical condition but still need help navigating long terminals.
Capping requests per flight: Airlines may consider limiting the number of wheelchairs per flight to avoid overstretching resources.
Rights vs regulations
While airlines call for stricter guidelines, passenger rights groups have urged caution. “Comfort, safety, and dignity are non-negotiable,” Biji Eapen, president of the Airline Users Rights and Grievances Redressal Forum told HT. “The government must listen to passenger voices, not just airline concerns, while framing these new rules,” he said.
As discussions continue, the challenge lies in striking a balance between accessibility and accountability—ensuring that air travel remains inclusive, but not at the cost of genuine need.
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