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Indian Express
4 days ago
- Health
- Indian Express
Mentally ill woman found in Maharashtra's Gondia reunited with kin in Bangladesh: ‘it was about helping her find herself again'
A mentally ill woman from Bangladesh's Noakhali, who had been found wandering in a village in Maharashtra's Gondia district last year, was reunited with her family earlier this month following months-long efforts by authorities and social workers in Nagpur. The woman, who is in her mid-thirties and appeared to be mentally ill, was found by residents of Pujari Tola village in Gondia. They informed the Rawanwadi police which took her into custody on April 30, 2023, according to Shashikiran Nawkar, Assistant Police Inspector, Rawanwadi police station. She was later briefly admitted to the psychiatric ward of a local hospital before being transferred to the Regional Mental Hospital (RMH) in Nagpur. At RMH, the woman came under the care of Kunda Bidkar, a Samaj Seva Adhikshak (social service superintendent), who proved crucial in the journey back to her identity. 'In the beginning, she didn't speak at all. She would walk out of the ward or sit quietly in corners. But with continued treatment, after about four months, she began to respond in single words,' said Bidkar. A false lead, then a name The woman first identified herself as 'Fatona' and spoke a mix of Hindi and an unfamiliar dialect of Bengali. 'She mentioned a place called Bodalkhori, which we located in Madhya Pradesh. We checked with the MP Police, but there was no match,' Bidkar said. A few months later, more clarity emerged as the woman mentioned that she was from 'Noakhali'. A search indicated that it was a district in southeastern Bangladesh. When shown maps and names of locations from the district, her expressions changed. 'She reacted positively to 'Noakhali' but couldn't recall the village. She only said that there was a Radha Krishna temple near her home,' Bidkar added. The breakthrough came during a casual visit by Bidkar's son, who used Google Maps and Street View to show her images of temples in the area on his laptop. 'She immediately recognised one of them. She bowed and said she had visited it before. That's how we finally identified her village, Charbata, in Subarnachar upazila of Noakhali,' said Bidkar. Tracing the family Even then, the process of tracing her family was far from easy. Calls to officials in Bangladesh yielded no response. Eventually, Bidkar contacted Kolkata-based NGO Iswar Sankalp Foundation. 'Within 15 minutes, they connected with a journalist in Bangladesh who was able to find her family after verifying her brother's name and the temple location,' she said. The woman's family had assumed that she had died. 'We never imagined she could be in India. It has been over six years,' her family members told Bidkar during a video call. Meanwhile, Bidkar found out that the woman's mother was battling cancer. With renewed urgency, she reached out to the High Commission in New Delhi and the Deputy Commission in Kolkata. Support also came from Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's office, Nagpur Collector Dr Vipin Itankar, and the Gondia police to speed up the paperwork. On May 13, 2025, the Bangladeshi woman received her travel permit. A small farewell was organised for her at RMH on June 11. Two days later, she was accompanied by a five-member team to the India-Bangladesh border. Her brother was called to receive her. After a brief interview at the border, she was handed over to her brother, who had been waiting there since early morning. 'Didn't want her to disappear into silence again' Before the handover, the woman's caregivers ensured that her family understood the treatment she was undergoing and the importance of continuing her medication. 'We didn't want her to disappear into silence again,' said Bidkar. Hospital authorities believe the woman's mental health condition may have worsened due to domestic violence. 'She had been married and reportedly went into depression as she was a victim of domestic violence. We still don't know how she reached India,' Bidkar added. She said Dr Satish Humne, medical superintendent at RMH, offered huge support in helping locate the woman's home. For Bidkar, the case will remain unforgettable. 'This was not just about finding a home. It was about helping someone find herself again. It took months of work, but she is back where she belongs,' she said. The hospital has helped several patients locate their homes in over 19 states across India.
AFP
5 days ago
- Politics
- AFP
Old video shows motorbike falling into a pothole in Sri Lanka, not India
"What is the point of charging so much tax from Indians? Free swimming and adventure with hospital bills," reads part of an Instagram post shared on June 1, 2025. The attached video shows two people riding on a motorcycle unexpectedly plunging into a water-filled pothole, and bystanders rushing to help them. "Thanks to Nitin Gadkari for providing roads better than US standard," adds the post, referring to India's minister for road transportation and highways. Image Screenshot of the false Instagram post, captured on June 15, 2025 The video was also shared alongside similar claims on Facebook and X posts. "Everything is possible if Modi is there", read a comment on one of the post. Another said: "The common people just pay taxes, and that money gets wasted in corruption." India is hit by torrential rains and flash floods every year during the monsoon season, which is vital for agriculture, the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security. But the monsoon also brings destruction in landslides and floods (archived link). According to the BBC, India's biggest cities flood every monsoon season causing roads to collapse, drains to overflow and overwhelming infrastructure (archived link). "Experts blame rapid unplanned urbanisation, poor infrastructure and years of environmental neglect as the root causes of this problem," reads the BBC report. The video circulating online, however, was not filmed in India. Pothole in Sri Lanka A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to longer footage published on the verified Facebook account of Sri Lankan news outlet News First on September 19, 2023 (archived link). Overlaid Sinhala-language text reads, "A water pipe burst, causing a daughter and father to face a horrific accident revealed by CCTV". According to the video report, a man and his daughter were rescued after they fell into a 16-foot-deep water-filled pit while riding a motorcycle in the Gothatuwa area of Colombo. The longer footage shows the pair being lifted out of the hole by bystanders. Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and the News First Facebook video (right) The footage was also shared by local Sri Lankan news outlet Lankadeepa on YouTube, and was covered by The Sunday Times newspaper (archived here and here). According to The Sunday Times report, the accident occurred in front of the Water Supply and Drainage Board office in Gothatuwa. Elements of the video also correspond to Google Street View imagery of the area (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the accident footage (top) and Google Street View imagery of where it occurred (bottom), with corresponding elements highlighted by AFP AFP previously debunked another false claims that spread during the monsoon season here.
India Today
06-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Permanently closed label on Jaish headquarters in Pak after India's strike
When the Indian armed forces produced video evidence of their coordinated strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror headquarters, Markaz Subhan Allah camp in Pakistan's Bahawalpur, all that was left was rubble. Now, the Google Maps label on the terror den in Pakistan's heart, Punjab, reads "permanently closed". The Markaz Subhan Allah camp, under the guise of Jamia Masjid, was founded by terrorist Masood Azhar and was used for recruitment, fundraising, and strikes on terror camps and hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), on May 7, were a part of its precision strikes during Operation Sindoor. This was in retaliation for the terror attacks on April 22 that killed 26 people in Pahalgam, Markaz Subhan Allah camp in Bahawalpur, 100 kilometres from the International Border (IB), was crucial as it served as a stronghold for JeM. The terror group has carried out multiple deadly attacks on India, including the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack, and the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing. A video accessed by India Today TV on May 7 revealed the damaged terror hub Subhan Allah camp. It showed heaps of debris lying all around and a gaping hole in its roof.A month later, Google Maps shows the Markaz Subhan Allah, under the guise of the Jamia Masjid, situated right next to the Bahawalpur bypass, as "permanently closed".WHY GOOGLE MAPS SAY IT'S 'PERMANENTLY CLOSED'advertisementGoogle Maps marks a place as "Permanently Closed" based primarily on user-submitted reports, owner updates, or algorithmic detection of multiple users flag a location as closed or non-operational, Google's systems may prompt a physical verification is rare, Google may sometimes rely on trusted local guides (users who have been active), third-party data partners, or Street View imagery to confirm changes, especially in high-impact JEM HQ WAS STRUCK BY INDIA DURING OPERATION SINDOORFollowing the Pahalgam attack, India targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and the POK, associated with multiple attacks in India, including the Pahalgam attack. These included the camps of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).The Subhan Allah camp in Bahawalpur served as the main centre for the training and indoctrination of JeM agency Reuters on May 9 reported that the Subhan Allah camp had been "emptied of its students in recent days as speculation grew that it would be targeted by India", but the family of Masood Azhar, founder of the JeM, was still of Azhar's relatives were among 13 people killed in the strike, the group said in a 400 km south-west of Lahore, Bahawalpur is the 12th largest city in Pakistan. Incidentally, the camp is only a few miles from the Pakistan Army cantonment, the headquarters of Pakistan's 31 Subhan Allah camp is spread over 18 acres and is also known as the Usman-o-Ali campus. It served as the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)'s centre for recruitment, fundraising, and mosque was funded through the Al-Rahmat Trust, a frontal organisation of the JeM. It remained a basic structure until 2011 but was developed into a large complex with training facilities by was also the site where the 2019 Pulwama terror attack was other eight terror sites that India struck in Pakistan and POK included: Markaz Taiba in Muridke (LeT HQ), Sarjal Camp in Sialkot (HM), Mehmoona Joya Camp in Sialkot (HM), Abbas Camp in Kotli (LeT), Gulpur Camp in Kotli (LeT), Syedna Bilal Camp in Muzaffarabad (JeM), and Sawai Nala Camp in Muzaffarabad (LeT).More than 100 terrorists were killed in the JeM, despite being banned in 2002 in Pakistan, has had a free run in Pakistan, with its founder Masood Azhar being seen moving freely around Pakistan. Google Maps on June 6, shows Bahawalpur's Markaz Subhan Allah as Must Watch
Euronews
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Fact-checking claims NATO troops are preparing to attack Russia
A video circulating online falsely claims to show British tanks ammassing in the Estonian capital of Tallinn as part of a NATO plan to "attack" the Russian city of St Petersburg. One post sharing the claim on X has been seen over 800,000 times. It wrongly claims that "NATO has arrived in Estonia. British soldiers and tanks in Tallinn plan to attack Saint Petersburg." At the time of publication of this article, no community notes cautioning users of the false information was added to the post on the Elon Musk-owned platform. The same claim has been amplified across several platforms including Instagram and Facebook. Euroverify found that the footage in fact shows the British Army's Royal Dragoon Guards in Tallinn on 24 February 2025 as part of a parade to celebrate Estonia's Independence Day. Over 1,000 Estonian Defence Forces (EDF) and NATO allied troops took part in that annual military parade to mark the 107th anniversary of Estonia's independence. Vehicles from the United Kingdom, France and the United States were part of the annual procession. Euroverify identified the site of the footage in the centre of Tallinn, near the Estonian Drama Theatre. The site can be seen in the image above captured from Google's Street View. The same address was closed for traffic during the parade to allow for the passage of tanks. A closer look at the number plate of the tank seen in the video (DT16AA) corresponds to a tank pictured by the Estonian press agency ERR taken during the Independence Day procession. According to fact-checkers at Reuters, the tank was pictured in Estonia between May and December 2024, proving that they had not "just arrived" in the Baltic country as online users claim. We can conclude with certainty that the video does not show a military escalation in Tallinn, but rather a tank being loaded onto a vehicle following the procession in February. The video has been re-circulating in recent weeks, accompanied by unfounded claims of a military escalation, just as troops from seven allied countries, including the UK and France, joined military drills in Estonia. Those drills, codenamed Exercise Hedgehog, are part of NATO's efforts to improve the "interoperability and integration" of allied forces, according to the alliance. The X account responsible for the false claim has made similar unfounded allegations about an impending "siege of Saint Petersburg" and constantly shares anti-NATO, pro-Kremlin disinformation Open source intelligence experts have linked the account to the Matryoshka campaign, described as a "coordinated" operation by the French cyber agency. Romania's new president, Nicușor Dan, has been officially sworn in, ushering in a tentative close to the worst political crisis to grip the European Union country in decades after the annulment of the previous election but several challenges lie ahead. Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician and former mayor of Bucharest decisively won the 18 May runoff, beating his hard-right opponent George Simion, who later challenged the results in the Constitutional Court but was rejected last week. At the inauguration ceremony in a joint session of Parliament, Dan signed the constitutional oath. In a speech afterwards, he promised to tackle Romania's economic woes and to be a president "open to the voice of society." "The Romanian state needs a fundamental I invite you to continue to be involved with all the social force you have proven, to put positive pressure on the institutions of the Romanian state so that they can reform," he said. "I assure you that I will be a president who listens to the voice of society and who is a partner to that society." The May election rerun was held months after the Constitutional Court voided the previous election in which the far-right outsider Călin Georgescu led the first round, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow denied. The court's unprecedented decision last year plunged Romania, which is an EU and NATO member, into a period of unprecedented political turmoil. The presidential role carries a five-year term and significant decision-making powers in national security and foreign policy. In the presidential runoff, Dan ran independently on an "Honest Romania" ticket, reaffirming Western ties, continued support for Ukraine and fiscal reforms. Addressing the economic challenges that lie ahead, Dan said that "put Romanian state is spending more than it can afford." "It is in the national interest for Romania to send a message of stability to financial markets. It is in the national interest to send a signal of openness and predictability to the investment environment," he said. Many observers viewed the election outcome as crucial to maintaining Romania's place within Western alliances, especially as the war continues in neighbouring Ukraine. At the same time, the continent scrambles to arm itself as the United States' commitment to European partners has waned under US President Donald Trump. As Dan begins his mandate, he faces the immediate challenge of nominating a prime minister who can garner the support necessary to form a government, a tall order in a country where a rejection of the political class led to the emergence of figures like Georgescu and Simion. Dan will also have to contend with a string of other crises, such as a large budget deficit, deep societal divisions exposed by the chaotic election cycle and the war that drags on next door. Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant, says that forming a new cabinet will be "a major test" that will indicate whether Dan is capable of mediating between the fragmented political parties. "Dan will face fierce resistance from the state apparatus and old politicians in his pursuit to start reforms," he told The Associated Press. "Although the economic crisis is urgent, the political and societal divisions are those that the new president has to address in the longer term." He added that, with populism growing in popularity, a deeper political crisis was "put on hold and a new one will be in the making" ahead of future elections. "The success of his presidency will decide if we can avert such a crisis or not," he said. A day after he won the presidency, Dan had a call with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, in which he conveyed to Rutte that Romania "will remain a steadfast ally" within the alliance. Dan first rose to public prominence as a civil activist with his Save Bucharest Association, tasked with saving built heritage and fighting against illegal real estate projects in a system he described as a "real estate mafia." He won hundreds of lawsuits. He also joined a wave of anti-corruption protests that gripped Romania through the mid-2010s. In 2016, he founded the reformist Save Romania Union party, at the time largely viewed as an anti-corruption party, but later left. In 2020, he successfully secured the mayorship of Bucharest and was elected last year for a second term. As mayor, Dan tackled some key infrastructure projects, such as modernising Bucharest's ageing residential heating systems, which previous mayors have been accused of neglecting.
Wales Online
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Wales Online
Welsh rugby team stripped of promotion and docked 10 points after WRU probe
Welsh rugby team stripped of promotion and docked 10 points after WRU probe The club had seven days to appeal, which ended on Tuesday, May 13 Crumlin RFC (Image: Google Maps/Street View ) Welsh rugby club Crumlin RFC have been deducted 10 points and denied promotion for fielding an ineligible player in two matches. The Welsh Rugby Union has confirmed the Admiral National League Four East club will not be promoted despite finishing in the top two, with local rivals RTB Ebbw Vale taking their place. Prior to the deduction, Crumlin had finished one point ahead of RTB and were under the impression they had been promoted, with Gwernyfed finishing as champions. However, the WRU confirmed Crumlin have now been deducted 10 points after an investigation found they fielded an ineligible player in two matches across the course of the season. It's understood the individual plays at a much higher level normally, with Crumlin accused of registering him under a false name. Join WalesOnline Rugby's WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free A WRU Spokesperson said: "The WRU can confirm that Crumlin RFC has been deducted 10 league points following the fielding of an ineligible player in two separate fixtures. Article continues below "The 10-point deduction which was determined by the Union's Competitions Management Committee on 6th May has been formalised following the completion of a seven-day window in which the club had the right to appeal. "As a result of the points deduction, RTB Ebbw Vale has been successfully promoted, and the new league structure will be released to all clubs in the coming weeks. "Both clubs have been officially informed of the outcome this morning." Crumlin are not the only side in East Four to suffer punishment, with Crickhowell, Bedwellty and Whitehead also being docked points this season. Next season, RTB Ebbw Vale will be playing in Admiral National League Three East, with the likes of Nantyglo, New Panteg and Fleur de Lys. Crumlin will remain in East Four and will be going up against the likes of Abertysswg and Oakdale, who have dropped down from the division above. Article continues below Crumlin RFC declined to comment when approached by WalesOnline.
