India: UK’s Prince William, wife Kate to visit India

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An Indigo flight that was to fly from Pune to Guwahati returned safely to Pune airport on Sunday morning after its landing gear failed to retract shortly after takeoff.

The flight carrying 192 passengers reported the technical issue soon after departing from Pune in the western state of Maharashtra for Guwahati in northeastern Assam.

The pilot informed Air Traffic Control (ATC) that the aircraft’s landing gear had not retracted after takeoff and remained extended.

Pune airport authorities coordinated with ATC, IndiGo, and other agencies concerned, while the Indian Air Force declared a full emergency, Indian news agency Press Trust of India reported. 

Activist Sonam Wangchuk alleged that a minor was being targeted by the Ladakh administration for demanding the release of a judicial inquiry report into the violence that shook Ladakh last year in September and claimed the life of his father and 1999 Kargil War veteran Havaldar Tsewang Tharchin.

Reportedly, the boy took part in a protest at NDS Memorial Park and had reportedly threatened self-immolation if the judicial report is not released immediately.

Wangchuk alleged that the minor faced the prospect of being sent to a mental asylum.

“In a shocking incident the UT Administration has been chasing a 17-year-old boy MIPHAM, to put him in a mental asylum,” Wangchuk said in a post on X.

However, Ladakh Police on Saturday assured that the 17-year-old son of the slain soldier and his mother were safe and well. 

The police also appealed to the public to respect the family’s privacy.

The police issued a notice saying the confirmation of the boy’s well-being came from his grandfather. 

“The UT administration and Ladakh Police were making every effort to ensure the minor’s well-being, privacy and access to appropriate medical care and counselling through the Child Welfare Committee, as required,” police said.

Authorities in Mumbai received a bomb threat targeting the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on Saturday, which led to security teams conducting a thorough search of the busy railway station.

Following the search, officials on Sunday concluded the threat was a hoax.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) control room at Wadi Bunder received the call around 6:40 pm (1310 UTC) on Saturday, which claimed a bomb had been planted at the railway station, officials said.

Following the alert, security personnel launched an intensive search operation across the railway station premises. They also checked trains stationed at the terminal as part of the operation, according to a report by Indian newspaper Mid-day.

However, railway authorities said no suspicious person, explosive material, or suspicious object was found either within the station premises or aboard any train.

Delhi Police have arrested two suspected sharpshooters for allegedly planning to open fire at Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan’s home in Mumbai. 

The two arrested suspects are reportedly linked to a foreign-based criminal network. One of them has been accused of involvement in the murder of Instagram influencer Mad Sandhu last month.

Police said that one of those arrested was instructed to prolong his stay in Mumbai to carry out a firing attack, Indian news agency Press Trust of India reported.

Earlier this month, security was tightened at the actor’s home following a bomb threat.

The gang allegedly was planning to target the actor’s residence over his purported inciting remarks concerning the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. However, the actor has regularly denied making any such comments. 

A case under the Arms Act has been registered at the Special Cell police station. Further investigation is underway.

UK’s Prince William is expected to be joined by his wife Kate Middleton to attend his annual Earthshot Prize awards this week.

The trip to India will be her biggest foreign trip since having treatment for cancer.

During their three-day trip, which begins tomorrow, William and Kate are flying out for a series of events across Mumbai.

For Kate, the trip to India marks her most high-profile overseas visit since she underwent preventative chemotherapy for an unspecified form ​of cancer in 2024.

The Princess, who is in remission, says the illness still ⁠affects her life.

The Earthshot Prize was founded by William in 2020 with the aim of finding solutions to climate change.

“For the prince, Earthshot is ultimately about replacing pessimism with possibility,” a spokesperson for the couple’s office at Kensington Palace said.

Following the award ceremony, the royal couple will be will be ‌joined by ⁠a number of celebrities, including Indian cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar, actors Alia Bhatt and Rami Malek.

We are back again with the latest updates from India on Sunday. 

UK’s Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton are going to visit India to attend the annual Earthshot awards in Mumbai.

Delhi Police have uncovered an alleged plot to carry out a firing attack outside Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan’s residence in Mumbai.

Stay tuned as we bring you more from India!

We are pausing our coverage for Saturday.

We will be back tomorrow with more news here, so stay tuned!

Representatives from the so-called Quad group of Indo-Pacific powers are scheduled to meet in the Philippines on Tuesday after the conclusion of the larger Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, which kicks off in the Philippine capital Manila on Sunday.

Officially know as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and made up of Australia, India, Japan and the United States, the Quad group sees itself as a counterweight to growing Chinese influence in the region, though denies that its policies are directed against any one nation.

US President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State Marco Rubio will join the talks — the first in two years — on Tuesday evening.

Topics of discussion are expected to focus on critical minerals as well as the issue of safe passage for vessels transporting these and other energy products.

Asia has been particularly hard hit by the massive throttling of energy deliveries as a result of Trump’s war in Iran and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Quad group’s last meeting took place in the US state of Delaware in September 2024, before Trump’s return to office.

At that meeting, Quad leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific and announced initiatives to strengthen maritime security cooperation.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his 137th birth anniversary.

In a post on X, Modi wrote, “Paying tribute to former PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary.”

Lok Sabha leader of opposition and former chief of the opposition Indian National Congress party Rahul Gandhi also paid tribute on his birth anniversary. Nehru was himself a member and later leader of the party.

In a post on X, Rahul described Nehru as the “jewel of India” and the country’s first prime minister.

Nehru’s birth anniversary is also celebrated as Children’s Day in India. The leader was popularly known as Chacha Nehru, meaning “Uncle Nehru” in Hindi, because of his fondness for children.

After Nehru’s death, it was unanimously decided to observe his birthday as Bal Diwas, meaning Children’s Day in multiple Indian languages. He was born on November 14, 1889, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh and died on May 27, 1964.

An Indian student in the United Kingdom was sentenced to 30 years in jail for exploiting more than 30 girls online.

An investigation found that the man was “exploiting and coercing” minor girls online to commit sexual acts, according to an official statement.

He was described as a “serial online groomer” by the UK authorities with an extended licence period of eight years.

The accused had previously pleaded guilty to 37 charges of child sexual offences. 

The investigation into the case was taken over by officers from Cheshire Constabulary’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team (OCAIT) in May 2022, after one of his victims reported the abuse she had suffered to Derbyshire Police.

The Cheshire Constabulary described the probe as Cheshire’s largest online child abuse investigation.

British news channel Sky News reported that the suspect, identified as a 27-year-old Mumbai resident who was studying in the UK, posed as a white British teenage boy called “Reece” while playing Roblox on Snapchat, and social networking apps Wizz and Wink. 

Reportedly, he led his victims — aged between 10 and 17 — to believe they were in a genuine relationship with him and then manipulated them to send him explicit images of them. 

When denied more pictures, he used to threaten the girls of circulating their pictures online.

At least 26 people were reported dead and several others injured ​after a container truck collided with ‌a bus in India’s northeastern state of Assam on Friday, police said.

The accident took place between a minibus and a container truck in Assam’s Kaziranga.

Police said that the bus ‌was ⁠travelling to a neighbouring district, with around 30 people on board.

Passengers who survived the accident said that the bus was overcrowded and travelling at a very high speed when the driver lost control, according to a report by Indian newspaper Hindustan Times.

Assam Chief Minister ​Himanta Biswa Sarma ​extended his condolences in a post on X and said he was “deeply distressed by the ​tragic accident.”

“Our foremost priority now is to ⁠make ​sure the injured receive ​the best possible medical care without delay,” he wrote.

On Friday, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 334, categorized as “hazardous” making it the most polluted major city globally, according to Swiss air quality monitoring group IQAir.

The Indian capital’s AQI was recorded to be higher than Lahore in Pakistan on Friday, which made it the most polluted city globally.

Quoting IQAir’s hourly data, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported that on Friday Delhi’s AQI had dropped to 208 at 11.30 a.m. local time (0630 UTC). At the time, Lahore was ranked seventh among the world’s most polluted major cities, with an AQI of 155.

India’s official Central Pollution ​Control Board, however, recorded the AQI higher at 403 and ‌rated ⁠it “severe.”

The difference between the Indian and Swiss readings is caused by the fact that the two use different AQI scales and methodologies to calculate and categorize air pollution ​levels.

Visibility in Delhi is significantly impacted as a thick layer of smog has enveloped the city. 

In many parts of northern India and Pakistan, pollution poses a seasonal problem as the ​cold, heavy air of ​winter traps vehicle emissions, construction dust and smoke from agricultural ​burning.

Hello! This is Midhat from DW’s New Delhi Bureau bringing you all that’s creating a buzz in India over the weekend.

With festivities over now, what’s left for Delhi and the northern belt is the pollution to deal with. The Indian capital overtook Lahore in Pakistan to become the most polluted city in the world on Friday.

Meanwhile, a deadly truck-bus collision in India’s northeastern state of Assam, which has claimed at least 23 lives, has shaken the region.

Stay tuned as we bring you more news from India over the course of the day.