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Mangaluru: The bustling coastal city of Mangaluru is about to get a vibrant makeover with the introduction of food streets in three prime locations, courtesy of the Dakshina Kannada district administration, Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC), and Mangaluru Smart City Limited (MSCL). 

These food streets aim to infuse the city's social and cultural life with new energy, while providing residents and visitors a tantalizing array of culinary delights.

The first food street, soon to be unveiled, is set to light up the area near Mangala Stadium, where around 27 food stalls will offer a range of delicious treats. According to Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur, the project will be spearheaded by the MSCL, which has already identified two more locations for additional food streets across the city.

“Stalls will be set up on land belonging to the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports, right next to Mangala Stadium,” shared the Mayor. Deputy Commissioner Mullai Muhilan MP has instructed MSCL to execute the project via a tender process. Following the completion of civil works, eligible bidders will be allotted food stalls. Other food streets will come up near Mahaveer Circle (Pumpwell) and at Sharbathkatte near Karnataka Polytechnic, bringing the city’s favorite street foods closer to even more neighborhoods.

Pradeep D’Souza, Deputy Director of Youth Empowerment and Sports, confirmed that work has already begun near Mangala Stadium. 

“The MSCL is making swift progress under the guidance of the Deputy Commissioner. The designated land lies between Karavali Utsav Maidan and Mangala Stadium, with permanent shops on one side and the food street to be developed on the other. The area will be equipped with essential amenities, including drinking water, electricity, and proper drainage. Cleanliness and organization will be prioritized, ensuring a welcoming atmosphere that can draw large crowds,” he said. The project is moving quickly, with completion expected in the near future.

Once completed, these food streets will not only enhance Mangaluru's charm but also provide a fresh destination for food lovers to gather, explore, and savour the diverse flavours of the city.

Indore: Two Army officers were thrashed and one of their two women friends was allegedly gang-raped by armed miscreants when they were out on a picnic in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Additional SP Rupesh Dwivedi said on Wednesday night that six suspects had been identified, two of whom have been detained from the jungles.
Both Army officers were injured in the mob attack. One of them managed to dial his senior officers but by the time police arrived from Mhow, 30km away, the woman had already been gang-raped.

The two Armymen are undergoing the Young Officers course at Infantry School, Mhow, SP Rural Hitika Vasal said.

According to the complaint filed by one of the lieutenants, the four of them had driven to Ahilya Gate near Jam Gate on Mhow-Mandleshwar road on Tuesday night. Built in 1791 by Rani Ahilyabai Holkar, Jam Gate is a popular picnic spot for its stunning views of the valley below, and the temple near Ahilya Gate draws a lot of devotees.

Around 2.30am, one of the officers and his female friend were in the car when 6-7 men attacked them. The other pair was atop a nearby hillock then and rushed down on hearing the confrontation.

The complaint says that the attackers held the pair they had attacked in the car hostage at gunpoint. They asked the other officer to bring Rs 10 lakh in ransom. This gave the officer - who was accompanied by the other woman - a chance to inform his seniors at Mhow, who in turn alerted police.

A large police force was dispatched to the spot but the attackers had escaped into the forest by then. All four of them were brought to Mhow Civil Hospital around 6.30am where a medical examination confirmed one of the women had been gang-raped. As per the duty doctor, there were injuries on both officers' bodies. "The complainant has alleged that the woman who was with him was raped, and they were looted as well," SP Vasal said.

Badgonda police registered a case under BNS sections 70 (gang-rape), 310-2 (dacoity), 308-2 (extortion) and 115-2 (voluntarily causing hurt), plus sections of Arms Act.

Forces from four police stations combed the jungles near Chhoti Jaam village and picked up two suspects.

The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement has strongly denounced an Israeli attack on displaced people sheltering in tents in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the south of Gaza Strip as “a brutal act of genocide.”

“The occupying regime’s appalling massacre against displaced people in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis is a brutal act of genocide... This vicious targeting of unarmed civilians — women, children, and the elderly — in an area previously declared safe by the occupation army is proof of the ongoing Nazi policies that the Zionist entity is pursuing in its genocidal war against Palestinians,” the Gaza-based group said in a statement on Tuesday morning.

It added that such mass killings are being deliberately carried out in complete disregard of the international law, humanitarian law, and UN resolutions calling for an end to the aggression, noting the massacres are being perpetrated with the full support of the US administration, which is complicit in Israeli brutalities against Palestinians.

It also dismissed Israeli army’s allegations concerning the presence of resistance fighters in the targeted area as "downright lies meant to justify such ugly crimes."

"The resistance front has repeatedly confirmed the absence of ... its members among civilian communities or the use of residential areas for military purposes,” the statement pointed out.

Hamas also called upon the international community, the United Nations, and all political, humanitarian and judicial institutions to break their silence, assume their responsibility and work to stop the 11-month-long holocaust.

The resistance movement stated that world bodies need to take necessary steps in order to bring Israeli war criminals before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and hold them to account for their horrendous crimes.

According to Palestinian media outlets, at least 40 people were killed and 60 others injured in the Israeli attack on people sheltering in tents in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis.

The strikes involved heavy missiles and left craters up to 9 meters (30 feet) deep in an area where people were living in at least 20 tents.

Ambulance and Civil Defense teams are facing considerable difficulty retrieving the bodies of the victims.

Initial assessments suggest the attack is “one of the most heinous massacres in the ongoing frenzied war”.

Witnesses described chaotic scenes in the area, with fires burning and Israeli reconnaissance planes flying overhead.

Israel launched its atrocious onslaught against the Gaza Strip, targeting hospitals, residences, and houses of worship, since Palestinian resistance movements launched a surprise attack, dubbed Operation al-Aqsa Storm, against the usurping regime on October 7 last year.

At least 41,020 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children. Another 94,925 individuals have sustained injuries as well.