An eight-year-old boy was beaten to death during a fight over collecting berries in Jharkhand’s Palamu district on Friday, police said.

A group of children were collecting berries under a tree when a fight broke out between two of them. The accused, a 23-year-old man, intervened and thrashed one of them to death, Inspector Ramashish Paswan of Pandu police station said.

A search was underway for the accused who went missing following the incident, he said, adding that a case was also lodged.

Police said the body of the boy was sent for post-mortem examination to the Medinirai Medical College and Hospital.

Two boys aged eight and 10 years drowned while they were playing in a rainwater-filled ditch in northeast Delhi on Friday evening, police said.

According to police, the incident took place in a five-foot-deep ditch near Pusta Number Five in the New Usmanpur area which got filled with water due to heavy rainfall.

The boys went to play in the ditch and drowned as they went into the deep waters, police said.

Upon receiving information, the police reached the spot and rescued the boys. They rushed them to a hospital where they were declared dead on arrival, they said.

The bodies were sent for post-mortem and further investigation is underway, they added.

Another instance of bridge collapse has come to the fore in Bihar, making it the fifth such incident to have been reported from the state in just over a week.

The latest incident has been reported from the Bheja police station area of Madhubani district, situated in the state’s northern extreme, along the borders with Nepal.

Officials were tight-lipped about the incident, though sources in the Rural Works Department, which was entrusted with the construction of the 75-metre-long bridge, confirmed that one of the pillars got washed away a few days ago.

They said the bridge was being constructed at a cost of about Rs 3 crore over the Bhutahi river which has been in spate on account of torrential rains in catchment areas of Nepal.

The sources claimed that the district administration has been asked to investigate the matter and submit its report while the contractor concerned has been instructed to get the structure repaired at the earliest.

A video of the collapsed bridge, under construction for more than two years, has gone viral.

Leader of the opposition in the state assembly Tejashwi Yadav shared the video on X, taking an indirect swipe at the Nitish Kumar government.

“Another bridge has collapsed in Bihar. Did you get to know? If not, guess why,” said the RJD leader, who is also a former deputy CM.

Last week, one incident each of bridge collapse was reported from the Araria, Siwan and East Champaran districts while a similar mishap took place in Kishanganj on Thursday.

Five persons were killed and 10 others suffered injuries in a blast in a glass factory in Ranga Reddy district of Telangana on Friday, police said.

The injured have been rushed to hospitals and the condition of one of them was stated to be serious, a police official said.

The incident took place in the factory at Shadnagar, about 55 kms from here, at around 4.30 pm.

The blast occurred in a furnace in the factory believed to be due to overheating, the official said.

The impact of the blast was such that some persons were thrown around. About 100 people were present in the factory, but the impact was felt up to 20-30 metres.

TV footage showed dismembered body parts at the scene.

A trade union leader claimed that most of the dead belonged to other states, including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy asked the officials to shift the injured to hospitals and provide necessary treatment for them.

He directed that personnel from revenue, police, fire, labour, industries and health stay at the spot and coordinate relief measures, an official release said.

BRS Working President K T Rama Rao condoled the death of workers in the blast and appealed to the state government to immediately conduct a safety audit and also review disaster management plans in all industrial areas to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

Based on preliminary information, police earlier said 15 people were injured in the incident.

According to South Glass Pvt Ltd website, the firm manufactures automotive and architectural glass.

The pier built by the US military to bring aid to Gaza is being removed due to weather to protect it, and the US is considering not re-installing it unless aid begins flowing out into the population again, several US officials said on Friday.

While the military has helped deliver desperately needed food through the pier, the vast majority of it is still sitting in the adjacent storage yard because of the difficulty that agencies have had moving it to areas in Gaza where it is most needed, and that storage area is almost full.

The pier has been instrumental in getting more than 15 million pounds, or 6.8 million kilograms, of food into Gaza but has faced multiple setbacks. Rough seas damaged the pier just days into its initial operations, but the bigger challenge has been that humanitarian convoys have stopped carrying the aid from the pier’s storage area further into Gaza, to get it into civilians’ hands, because they have come under attack.

The US officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military movements.

New Delhi: The India Association for Lawyers (IAL), All India Lawyers Association for Justice (AILAJ), and the All India Lawyers Union (AILU) staged a protest against three new laws set to replace key criminal codes from July 1, 2024.

The protest targeted the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, which are set to replace the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Indian Penal Code, and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively.

During the protest, a resolution was passed condemning these new laws as unconstitutional and undemocratic. The protesting lawyers criticized the government for passing these laws without any prior discussion or consultation with relevant stakeholders.

The resolution demanded that the implementation of these laws be halted and called for a comprehensive review and discussion in Parliament before any further steps are taken.

Kingstown: In a thrilling Super 8 encounter at the T20 World Cup 2024, Afghanistan secured a historic semi-finals berth by defeating Bangladesh by 8 runs via the DLS method. This victory marks Afghanistan’s first appearance in the semi-finals of a major ICC event and eliminates Australia from the tournament, who needed a Bangladesh win to advance.

The match which was hit by rain saw Afghanistan defending a low total with Rashid Khan delivering a stellar performance. Rashid took four crucial wickets and contributed a vital 10-ball 19-run cameo with the bat, pushing Afghanistan’s total beyond 100 runs. Despite a resilient half-century by Bangladesh’s Litton Das, who carried his bat to the end, Rashid Khan’s efforts ensured Afghanistan’s victory.

Batting first, Afghanistan had scored 115 for 5 in their 20 overs and then bowled out Bangladesh for 105 in 17.5 overs. The match was reduced to 19 overs per side, and Bangladesh was given a revised target of 114. Rahmanullah Gurbaz top-scored for Afghanistan with a 55-ball 43, while Rishab Hossain took 3 wickets for 26 runs for Bangladesh. In reply, Litton Das scored an unbeaten 49-ball 54 for Bangladesh. Afghanistan will face South Africa in the semi-finals on June 27.