A metro pillar that was under construction collapsed in Bengaluru, resulting in the deaths of a woman and her two-and-a-half-year-old son. The woman's husband, on whose bike they were travelling, was also injured in the incident. Eye witnesses said the pillar had been shaking for days before it finally collapsed, resulting in the death of the mother and her child. In Uttarakhand's "sinking" town Joshimath, two hotels - Mount View and Mallari Inn - will be razed on January 11 as part of a demolition drive to raze the residences and buildings prone to collapse. The two buildings have developed deeper cracks that have nudged the structures to incline backwards. People located in proximity to the demolition site have evacuated.
A 27-year-old attacker set off a smoke grenade near Taipei Main Station, then stabbed shoppers in a department store, killing three and injuring nine before jumping to his death there.
In this Special Report, India Today correspondent Abdul Bashir investigates the alarming rise of 'ghost schools' in Telangana, where 2,081 government schools have recorded zero student enrollment for the 2024-25 academic year. Reporting from Bombapalli village in Nalgonda district, which tops the state with 315 such schools, Bashir highlights the closure of the local 'Pradhamika Paatshala' due to a lack of students. Mandal Education Officer K. Arundhati attributes the crisis to migration and a growing preference for private education, noting that 'parents are interested to get them enrolled in private schools' for social status. The report underscores the disconnect between government infrastructure and ground reality.
In this Special Report, India Today’s Mir Fareed highlights the severe dry spell gripping Kashmir. Standing on the dry bed of the River Jhelum in Srinagar, Fareed explains how the lack of rain and snow has reduced water bodies to a trickle. The report details the impact on marine life, with an unidentified professor noting the decline of indigenous fish like ‘Shahjo Tharakas’ due to low water levels. The dry spell has also hit electricity generation and agriculture. The report underscores the role of climate change and deforestation in this environmental crisis.
Three people were killed and five injured when a knife-wielding attacker went on a rampage in central Taipei on Friday.
