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Newlyweds Raja and Sonam Raghuvanshi visited Nongriat, Meghalaya, during their honeymoon but went missing on May 23. Raja’s body was found on June 2, while Sonam’s search continues, with family fearing kidnapping. Witnesses recall their last 12 hours.

The 12 hours that a couple from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore spent at Nongriat village in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills during their visit to the popular double-decker living root bridge have now been accounted for, according to investigators who spoke with the locals and took their statements.

Newly wed couple Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam visited some areas during their honeymoon in Meghalaya before they went missing on May 23. While Raja Raghuvanshi’s body was found in a gorge on June 2, a search is still on for his wife.

Teams from the police and even the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are searching for Sonam, whose family said they believe she must have been kidnapped and have not lost hope of finding her.

The couple checked into a guesthouse in Meghalaya’s capital Shillong on May 21. The next day they hired a scooty and rode to the popular tourist hotspot Sohra (Cherrapunji). After reaching Mawlakhiat village in East Khasi Hills, they kept the scooty at a parking spot run by the local community for tourists, and hired a local guide to trek to a homestay at Nongriat village in the same district.

A US expert warns of a potential agroterrorism threat after two Chinese scientists were charged with smuggling a toxic fungus into the US, suggesting it could lead to catastrophic consequences worse than Covid if relations with China aren’t severed.

A top US-based expert on China has warned of “something worse” than Covid if the United States is not careful, days after two Chinese scientists were charged with allegedly smuggling a toxic fungus into the US.

Yunqing Jian, 33, and her boyfriend Zunyong Liu, 34, allegedly conspired to smuggle into the US a fungus called ‘Fusarium graminearum’ that causes “head blight,” a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice.

The US Justice Department said the fungus is classified in scientific literature as a “potential agroterrorism weapon,” and causes billions of dollars in losses each year. It causes vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive defects in humans and livestock.

The couple had previously conducted work on the fungus in China.

Referring to the case, America’s top expert on Chinese affairs, Gordon G Chang, told Fox News that the couple’s action amounted to waging war against the US. Chang said that if the US does not take drastic steps like cutting off ties with China, it may be hit “perhaps with something worse” than Covid.

The origin of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 which caused the Covid-19 pandemic is a matter of huge controversy as some experts suspect the coronavirus was allegedly engineered in a Chinese lab.

The India Meteorological Department has issued red alerts for Idukki, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts and orange alerts for the remaining districts.

Heavy rain lashed many districts of Kerala on Friday, disrupting normal life and causing waterlogging.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued red alerts for Idukki, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts and orange alerts for the remaining districts today.

Authorities in several districts have declared holidays for educational institutions under their jurisdiction.

As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), strong westerly winds are likely to persist at lower tropospheric levels over Kerala and the Lakshadweep region for the next two to three days, resulting in widespread rainfall.

The IMD stated, “Strong westerlies likely to continue at lower tropospheric levels over Kerala and the Lakshadweep region during the next 2-3 days. Under the influence of these, widespread rainfall activity with scattered Heavy rainfall to Very Heavy rainfall with isolated Extremely Heavy rainfall is very likely to occur over Kerala on 29th & 30th May 2025. Heavy rainfall is very likely to occur at isolated places over Kerala on 31st May, 1st and 2nd June 2025.”

District administrations across Kerala have declared a holiday for all educational institutions in several districts on May 30 (Friday).

The precautionary measure applies to professional colleges, anganwadis, tuition centers, madrassas, and special coaching classes.

Kannur District Collector announced a holiday for all educational institutions, including anganwadis, madrassas, tuition centers, and special classes. The district declared a similar holiday on the previous day due to intense rainfall.

According to the police, the victim had been living with her two daughters in a rented house in a village after separating from her husband.

A 34-year-old woman was hacked to death and her teenage daughter seriously injured in an attack in this hill district, police said here on Monday.

Another daughter of Praveena was also missing after the attack, they added.

The incident occurred at their residence under the Tirunelli police station limits in the late evening on Sunday, they said.

According to the police, the victim, Praveena, had been living with her two daughters in a rented house in a village after separating from her husband.

Police believe the attack was carried out by her male friend. Praveena’s 14-year-old daughter sustained deep wounds to her neck and ear. She is currently being treated at a government hospital, they said.

Her nine-year-old daughter is missing, along with the suspect.

A police team is investigating the case.

Search efforts are ongoing for the missing girl, but strong winds and heavy rain are hampering the operation, they added.

Police booked a man on Saturday after disturbing visuals of him “brutally assaulting” his eight-year-old daughter went viral on social media recently.

In the footage, the man could be seen beating the child and trying to slam her head against the wall as she cries in fear.

As the issued triggered widespread outrage on social media platforms, Health, Women and Child Development Minister Veena George and General Education Minister V Sivankutty came out strongly condemning the act and assured stringent leagal measures against the accused.

Following circulation of the video, the police launched a probe and identified the man as Jose alias Mamachan, living in a rented house in Cherupuzha of this district.

A senior police official said he was summoned to the local station in the morning.

His estranged wife and two children were also called to the station to record their statements, K Vinod Kumar, Deputy SP, Payyannur said.

“As soon as the video came to our notice yesterday, we contacted the man and the children. But, they claimed that it was a prank video,” he told a TV channel.

They claimed that it was picturised to bring back their mother who was staying separated from them.

“But, prima facie, we don’t think it is a prank video. Even if it is a prank video as claimed by them, a video showing brutality to children cannot be taken like this,” he said.

Responding to the criticism about police inaction, Kumar said the children were shifted to their paternal aunt’s house with their consent on Friday itself.

The officer further said legal action would be taken in connection with the incident and a case would be registered after recording the statements of the man, his wife and the children.

Later in the day, Cherupuzha police said a case has been registered against him and he was being interrogated.

“He still claims that it was a prank video. A detailed statement of the children should also be taken and procedures for it are are going on,” a police officer belonging to the station said.

The man was booked under Section 75 of Juvenile Justice Act (cruelty to children) and various sections of the BNS including Section 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), he said.

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