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Bengaluru: The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday approved the renaming of neighbouring Ramanagara district as ‘Bengaluru South’. Ramanagara, about 50 kms from here, will remain as the headquarters of the renamed district, which will also consist of Magadi, Kanakapura, Channapatna and Harohalli taluks. “We have checked the rules, regulations and acts and amendments. Ramanagara was originally a Bengaluru district, today in the cabinet it was decided to name it as the Bengaluru South district. Order regarding this will be issued. This is happy news for the Bengaluru South district,” Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said. Also Read Rahul to visit Poonch to meet families bereaved during shelling by Pakistan Speaking to reporters, he said, there will be no change in Ramanagara functioning as the headquarters of the district, and it will continue. “Notification will be issued and the necessary process will follow. There will be no financial implication from this decision… all land rec...

Bengaluru : In a significant development, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday granted a stay on all FIRs filed against BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya and Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami in connection with allegations made by the Indian National Congress (INC). The FIRs, which stemmed from claims that Congress had an office in Turkey and posts suggesting Rahul Gandhi and Pakistan were “speaking the same language”, have been put on hold following serious legal contentions raised in court. The matter took a dramatic turn when Senior Advocate Aruna Shyam, appearing for the accused, informed the court of alleged procedural misconduct by the investigating authorities. He revealed that while the original FIR was registered under IPC Section 352 (a bailable offence concerning assault or use of criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation), the notice served to the accused cited IPC Section 353 (a non-bailable offence pertaining to assault on a public servant). Shyam alle...

Bengaluru: In a shocker to women who travel via public transport, an Instagram page with photos of young women and girls, travelling on the Bengaluru metro and moving around the stations surfaced on Wednesday, May 21. The Instagram account ‘Bangalore Metro Chicks’ with over 5000 followers published objectionable and vulgar photos of women commuters on the Bengaluru Metro online, police said. People have appealed to the police to register cases against all those following the page. In a social media appeal, the whistleblower urged the Bengaluru police and the police commissioner to take action against the person responsible. Also Read Heavy rains with strong winds lash Hyderabad The matter has been brought to the attention of the Bengaluru police, and citizens, expressing outrage over the violation of women’s privacy, have demanded action against the accused. A hunt has been launched since. “There is a pervert travelling in Bengaluru Metro trains, secretly capturing videos of...

London: Writer, activist and lawyer Banu Mushtaq’s short story collection ‘Heart Lamp’ has become the first Kannada title to win the coveted GBP 50,000 International Booker Prize in London. Mushtaq described her win as a victory for diversity as she collected the prize on Tuesday night at a ceremony at Tate Modern along with her translator Deepa Bhasthi, who translated the title from Kannada to English. 12 short stories of women The winning collection of 12 short stories chronicles the resilience, resistance, wit, and sisterhood of everyday women in patriarchal communities in southern India, vividly brought to life through a rich tradition of oral storytelling. Shortlisted among six worldwide titles, Mushtaq’s work appealed to the judges for its “witty, vivid, colloquial, moving and excoriating” style of capturing portraits of family and community tensions. “This book was born from the belief that no story is ever small, that in the tapestry of human experience every thread hold...

Hyderabad: Telangana deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka has stated that supplying electricity through underground lines will be beneficial in densely populated urban areas, especially in the upcoming Future City project on the outskirts of Hyderabad. On Tuesday, May 21, Bhatti Vikramarka, along with Telangana Transco and Discom CMDs Krishna Bhaskar and Musharraf Ali, visited Bengaluru to study the underground power supply system. They first held discussions with officials from Karnataka’s electricity departments regarding the construction of these lines. Later, they toured the city to observe the system firsthand. During the study tour, the team inquired with local engineers about various aspects of the project, including bank loans taken for construction, technical challenges, profitability, and potential hazards. Today, we visited Bengaluru to study BESCOM’s innovative underground power infrastructure model — a benchmark in urban power transformation. 💡 Key Learning...

Belagavi: A 27-year-old woman was “strangled to death” by her in-laws, who then attempted to pass it off as an accident to mislead investigators, police said on Tuesday. The incident occurred on May 17 in Malabad village of Athani taluk, Belagavi district, they added. The deceased, Renuka, was married to Santosh Honakande, a software engineer. Santosh, his father Kamanna, and mother Jayashree have all been arrested in connection with the murder, police said. Also Read Heavy downpour sinks Bengaluru; oppn tears into govt on city infra According to the investigation, Renuka was unable to conceive, following which Santosh married another woman who is now pregnant. Despite being asked to leave, Renuka continued to live in the same house. Her in-laws and husband allegedly conspired to kill her. Terming it a “ghastly incident,” Belagavi Superintendent of Police (SP) Bheemashankar Guled said the police initially received a call from the father-in-law claiming that Renuka had died...

Bengaluru : Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi arrived at Jindal Vijayanagara Airport in Karnataka’s Ballary district on Tuesday to participate in the state government’s second anniversary celebration programme. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah welcomed Rahul Gandhi and Kharge at the airport, and the party’s General Secretary and Karnataka In-Charge, Randeep Singh Surjewala, was also present. The mega event, ‘Sadhana Samavesha’, is scheduled to be held at Hospet town in Vijayanagara district, located in the northern Karnataka region. Also Read Operation Sindoor: Rahul targets Jaishankar, says his silence is ‘damning’ CM Siddaramaiah said, “In the last Assembly elections , over seven crore Kannadigas placed their trust in us and blessed us with their votes. Honouring that trust and staying true to our promises, we have implemented the guarantee schemes along with development initiatives. Today marks two years of th...

Bengaluru: Unusually heavy overnight rains pounding Bengaluru brought the country’s IT capital to its knees on Monday, with the monsoon-time scenes of inundation, people wading through water and evacuation by inflatables playing out on the streets of this cosmopolitan city. A 35 year-old woman died after a rain-soaked wall collapsed on her, while uprooted trees added to the woes of the people and the administration. Opposition BJP mounted an offensive against the ruling Congress, alleging that the crores of rupees spent over the last two years on the city’s infrastructure have yielded no results. It attacked Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru in-charge D K Shivakumar for the state of affairs, even as the latter admitted Bengaluru’s problems were not new but that the government was now working for a long-term fix. Also Read iPhone shipments likely to begin in June from Foxconn’s Bengaluru unit Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the downpour was “unexpected,” and that he has in...

New Delhi: Taiwanese electronics manufacturing major Foxconn’s facility in Bengaluru is nearly ready for launch, with commercial iPhone shipments expected to begin as early as June, Karnataka Minister for Commerce and Industries, MB Patil, said on Saturday. The country is now achieving “Make in India” at a global scale, as reports suggest that tech giant Apple may shift the entire assembly of iPhones meant for the US to India by next year. According to Patil, “Foxconn’s unit at Devanahalli ITIR is nearly ready for launch, with commercial iPhone shipments expected to begin as early as June”. Also Read RBI imposes over Rs 1.66 lakh penalty on Union Bank of India In a post on X social media platform, he said that this is not just a manufacturing milestone. “It marks a strategic shift. With rising geopolitical and tariff pressures, India is fast becoming Apple’s preferred production hub. This development strengthens Karnataka’s position in global manufacturing and opens the door...

Bengaluru: The Bangalore Wholesale Cloth Merchants Association (BWCMA) has decided to cease all import and export of textiles to and from Turkey and Azerbaijan, with immediate effect, citing their recent “support” for Pakistan in the wake of ‘Operation Sindoor’. The BWCMA have declared their unanimous decision in this regard. “This collective action has been taken after careful deliberation and in alignment with our commitment to ethical business practices, national sentiment, and the interests of our trade community. As responsible stakeholders in the textile trade sector, we believe it is essential to take principled stands when necessary,” BWCMA President Prakash Pirgal said in a statement. “Accordingly, all our members have agreed to: halt all current and future import of textile goods from Turkey and Azerbaijan, cease all ongoing or planned export activities to these nations, and refrain from engaging in any indirect trade through intermediaries or third-party countries that ...

Bengaluru: The sleuths of the Lokayukta are conducting a series of raids at more than 30 locations, targeting at least seven government officials across Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka on Thursday. These raids are being carried out following a tip-off regarding the amassing of assets disproportionate to the officials’ known sources of income. According to sources, raids are currently underway at 12 locations in Bengaluru, 7 in Tumakuru, 5 in Yadgir, 4 in Mangaluru, and 4 in Vijayapura district. Also Read Karnataka HC calls for tougher laws to curb ‘wheeling’ on roads The locations include the residence and offices of the Project Director of the Nirmiti Centre in Tumakuru, a Survey Supervisor in Mangaluru, and a senior lady officer attached to the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Development Corporation. Raids are also being carried out at the residences of the Additional Director attached to the Bengaluru City and Rural Planning Directorate, an inspector attached to Legal Metrology,...

Bengaluru : The Karnataka High Court has raised serious concerns over the lack of specific legal provisions to deal with the growing menace of ‘wheeling’, and has called for tougher laws to curb it. Wheeling is a dangerous stunt where two-wheeler riders lift the front wheel while driving . Justice V Srishananda, while hearing a bail plea, observed that current laws fall short of effectively deterring such behavior. Presently, individuals performing wheeling can only be charged under provisions related to negligent or rash driving, which are bailable offences. Also Read Karnataka court grants divorce due to bigamy and cruelty Justice Srishananda noted that these provisions are inadequate for law enforcement to take stringent action against such hazardous acts. “At the time of enacting the Motor Vehicles Act, perhaps the lawmakers did not envisage a situation where a two-wheeler would be driven on the rear wheel alone,” he said. Given the sharp rise in such stunts, the Court...

Bengaluru : A man, who purportedly said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence should be bombed, has been arrested in Karnataka, police said on Tuesday. According to the police, the accused, identified as Nawaz, made the objectionable statement against Prime Minister Modi in a video and uploaded it on his social media account named ‘Public Servant’. In the video, which went viral, Nawaz said, “Today, India and Pakistan are at war. Why hasn’t Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence bombed yet? When people were living peacefully, this war like situation was created by PM Modi . His residence should be bombed first.” Taking cognisance of the matter, the Bandepalya Police registered an FIR and tracked down the accused. He has been remanded to judicial custody and sent to Bengaluru Central jail. Earlier, Karnataka Police registered an FIR against a postgraduate student for allegedly posting a message opposing ‘ Operation Sindoor ‘ launched by the Indian armed forces in retalia...

Alt News co-founder and fact-checker Mohammed Zubair alleged on Monday, May 12, that his address and phone number have been leaked online by a far-right social media handler. Taking to X, Zubair tagged Karnataka chief minister M Siddaramaiah, deputy CM DK Shivakumar along with senior police officers, Bengaluru police commissioner, deputy commissioner of police (East Bengaluru), appealing for strict action against Cyber Huntss , who threatened to send pork at the fact checker’s residence. “People have leaked my home address and Mobile Number and have threatened to send Pork to my address. There are already life threats against me. This isn’t the first time. The same person in 2023 had sent Pork to my address and shared the shipping address on Twitter,” Zubair’s X account read. The fact-checker also stated that he had received a similar threat from the same right-wing handle in 2023. “Last time when I filed a complaint, the FIR was closed after a few months,” he alleged. People ...

A temple in Karnataka, which was in the news for Islamophobic remarks made by BJP MLA Harish Poonja, issued a statement on Monday, May 12, expressing regret. “The management committee of the temple regrets these words. Along with this, the committee welcomes the cooperation of your community. In the future, too, we hope that all communities live by cooperating with each other,” read a statement from the authorities of the Gopalakrishna Temple in Thekkar village of Dakshina Kannada. On May 3, a video of Poonja went viral on social media platforms, where he accused Muslims of breaking tubelights and stealing diesel during the Brahmakalashotsava  (consecration ceremony).  He questioned the Thekkar villagers why invitations were sent to local mosques for the ceremony .  “Why did Thekkaru villagers send temple invitations to mosques? There is no connection between them and us. It is because of these invitations that they broke the tube lights,” he claimed. Also Rea...

Bengaluru: Thirteen students from Karnataka, studying at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology in Srinagar, have returned safely to New Delhi, with the timely and coordinated efforts of the Union Government. As per an official statement, the students’ movement was facilitated by the Ministry of Steel and Heavy Industries under the close supervision of Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. Amid recent security concerns in the region, the Centre acted swiftly to ensure the students were brought to safety. The group travelled from Srinagar to Jammu by bus and then onwards to Delhi by train, with the journey being closely monitored at every stage by Union Minister Kumaraswamy. Also Read Pakistan to bring up IWT suspension in DGMO level talks with India Officials from the Ministry of Steel and Heavy Industries received the students upon arrival at the railway station and escorted them. The Ministry, under the guidance of Union Minister Kumaraswamy, remained...

Tirupati: Four giant silver lamps were donated to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the official custodian of Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple, here on Saturday, said an official press release. Three devotees – Radha Krishna, Shyam Sundar Sharma and Shashidhar – from Bengaluru donated these lamps. “Four giant silver lamps were donated to TTD on Saturday evening,” said the press release. The donors presented the lamps to temple official Ramakrishna at Mahadwaram (grand entrance), said the press release. Earlier, TTD chairman BR Naidu distributed 555 helmets to the temple body employees for their safe commute between Tirumala and Tirupati. Also Read AP: ‘Operation Sindoor’ martyr Murali Naik’s body reaches his village J Raghuram and Naveen from a helmet company in Delhi donated the helmets worth Rs 5 lakh. Naidu promised that another 500 helmets are expected to be donated within 15 days. ”If these are found satisfactory in quality and usage, another 5,000 helmets will be p...

Bengaluru: In the backdrop of Operation Sindoor and rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the Karnataka government has moved to curb the spread of false and provocative content online. The state Home Ministry is holding a high-level meeting with the Internal Security Division (ISD) and the Department of Information Technology to formulate a response. Also Read Karnataka: FIR filed for calling Pahalgam terror attack a ‘pre-planned act’ by Centre Home Minister G. Parameshwara, speaking to the media in Bengaluru, said, “I have convened a meeting with the ISD regarding the growing spread of fake news in the state. IT Minister Priyank Kharge will also be participating.” Parameshwara expressed concern over the circulation of misleading and inflammatory content on social media. “Old videos are being reposted, provocative content is being shared, and false narratives are being pushed. The meeting will focus on identifying technical measures to counter this trend,” he added. T...

Bengaluru : Special prayers were offered at mosques across Karnataka on Friday for the well-being of the Indian armed forces engaged in ‘Operation Sindoor’ against Pakistan. The Karnataka government had issued an official order directing the prayers. Minister for Waqf, Housing and Minority Affairs, B.Z. Zameer Ahmad Khan participated in the ‘Jummah Namaz (Friday congregational prayer)’ at a mosque in Seshadripuram, Bengaluru , where he prayed for the Indian soldiers defending the nation in the wake of the Pahalgam attack on innocent civilians and Pakistan’s escalation of the tensions between the two nations. Also Read Operation Sindoor impact: Shehbaz Sharif says will take this war to the end Reiterating his earlier statement, Minister Zameer said he is once again ready to become a suicide bomber against Pakistan if permitted. Speaking to the media, he said, “Directions have been issued to all mosques across Karnataka to offer special prayers. I also attended Friday prayers...