Uttarakhand STF has made a big revelation on the gangs that make devotees victims of online fraud during the Chardham Yatra. Investigation has revealed that most of the cyber frauds in the name of Kedarnath Heli service and travel booking are being done by gangs operating from Nawada, Patna, Gaya and Biharsharif districts of Bihar. Most fake IP addresses have been found active in these four districts.
According to STF, as soon as the Chardham Yatra started, cyber criminals started targeting devotees through fake websites, social media pages and mobile numbers. Most of the complaints were received regarding online booking of Kedarnath Heli service, where fraudsters were getting people to transfer thousands of rupees online on the pretext of providing low prices and Tatkal tickets. In many cases, money was extorted from people in the name of fake hotel and guest house booking.
STF has so far closed more than 200 fake websites, Facebook pages, Instagram accounts and booking links. Apart from this, more than 50 suspicious mobile numbers which were being used in cyber fraud have also been blocked. Investigating agencies say that these gangs were working in an organized manner and were reaching out to passengers through social media advertisements.
Constant monitoring is being done to make the Chardham Yatra safe. Cyber teams are keeping an eye on social media platforms, fake travel portals and suspicious online payment activities. Due to many fake websites looking like government portals, devotees are easily becoming victims of fraud. More than 200 sites have been closed so far.
-Ajay Singh, SSP, STF
Book only through authorized website
STF SSP Ajay Singh has appealed to the passengers to get heli service, hotel or travel registration done only through the authorized portal. Do not make payment through any unknown mobile number, social media link or WhatsApp message. Uttarakhand government has authorized only IRCTC for Kedarnath Heli service booking. Book tickets only from there. If any kind of cyber fraud occurs, immediately lodge a complaint on cyber helpline 1930 or the nearest police station.
STF attacks cyber criminals
Uttarakhand STF is taking strict action against cyber criminals under Operation Prahar. STF SSP Ajay Singh said that Rs 10 crore was saved from the victims in the last four months. Apart from this, legal action was taken against 147 interstate link operators and 27 fake mobile holders.
Israel bombed a kitchen that provided meals to the displaced in Gaza, killing three and injuring others.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said Israel has killed at least 871 people since the so-called ceasefire began last October.
Officials blamed the shooting on ‘armed individuals’, though no details were provided about the attackers or their motives.
The government in the Mexican state of Puebla has confirmed the deaths of 10 people in an early-morning shooting in the city of Tehuitzingo.
On Sunday, the state government identified the victims as six men, three women and a minor, though no names were offered.
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It added that the victims “were allegedly attacked by armed individuals” at a residence. No arrests have been announced as of mid-morning, and the motive for the attack remains unclear.
Separately, the state Attorney General’s Office announced it had opened an investigation into the shooting, which comes as Mexico prepares to co-host the FIFA World Cup in less than a month.
“According to initial reports, municipal police officers went to the property after receiving a request for assistance from a citizen who observed people apparently without vital signs,” the statement said.
“Upon arriving at the residence, authorities located several people with gunshot wounds. A woman died en route while being transported for medical attention.”
Tehuitzingo, a city of around 11,300 inhabitants, sits roughly 208 kilometres or 130 miles south of the country’s capital, Mexico City.
Local media reports indicate the shooting happened around 1:55am local time (6:55 GMT), when neighbours heard gunfire.
Officials have pledged a multi-pronged response to the attack, with the participation of the National Guard, the state Attorney General’s Office and state and local police, as well as “intelligence, analysis and inter-institutional coordination efforts”.
Mexico’s ability to combat violent crime has been under the microscope in recent months, as it faces pressure from the United States and heightened scrutiny ahead of the World Cup.
Kickoff for the football tournament is set to take place on June 11 in Mexico City, where the inaugural game will see the host country face South Africa.
In the lead-up to the match, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has pledged to bolster security, including through the deployment of 100,000 security personnel, composed of National Guard troops, police officers and employees from private security firms.
Mexico is slated to host 13 matches in three host cities: Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara. But high-profile acts of violence have raised questions about safety ahead of the event.
In April, a gunman killed one Canadian tourist and injured 13 others at Teotihuacan, a pre-Colombian city and UNESCO World Heritage site near Mexico City whose pyramids have long attracted tourists.
And before that, in February, a wave of violence broke out in the country after Mexican forces killed cartel leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, a member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
Mexico has long struggled with cartel violence, a problem critics say has been abetted by corruption within government and law enforcement.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has suggested it may even take unilateral action on Mexican soil, despite Sheinbaum’s warnings that such an attack would be considered a violation of her country’s sovereignty.
“The Mexican cartels are fuelling and orchestrating much of the bloodshed and chaos in this hemisphere, and the United States government will do whatever’s necessary to defend our national security,” Trump said in March.
Mexico experienced a decline in homicides in 2025, down 19.8 percent over the preceding year, according to the nonprofit Insight Crime.
But critics warn that the decrease is complicated by the high rate of disappearances in the country.
People who regularly visit museums or participate in creative activities may be aging more slowly on a biological level, according to a new study from the United Kingdom.
Researchers from University College London analyzed data from more than 3,500 adults and found that people who frequently engaged in arts and cultural activities showed signs of slower biological aging in several DNA-based measurements.
The findings were published in the journal Innovation in Aging.
The study examined activities including painting, photography, dancing, singing, visiting museums and attending cultural events or historic sites.
People who frequently visit museums or engage in artistic activities may experience slower biological aging.(iStock)
Researchers compared participation in those activities with “epigenetic clocks,” scientific tools that examine chemical changes in DNA over time.
Adults who participated more often, and in a wider variety of activities, tended to show slower aging scores compared to people who rarely engaged in arts or cultural experiences.
The association appeared even stronger among adults over age 40.
Researchers also noted that the effect sizes were comparable to those linked to physical activity, one of the most widely studied behaviors associated with healthy aging.
The study found that adults who engaged more often in arts and cultural activities showed slower biological aging.(iStock)
Jessica Mack, a health and wellness expert and founder of The Functional Consulting Group who was not involved in the study, said the findings reflect a growing understanding that health is influenced by more than exercise and nutrition alone.
“Arts and cultural engagement may be associated with slower epigenetic aging, with effects comparable in some measures to physical activity,” Mack told Fox News Digital.
She said activities such as visiting museums and engaging with music or art may help reduce stress, improve emotional regulation and increase social connection.
Experts say these activities may reduce stress, improve emotional regulation, and strengthen social connections.(iStock)
“These are not ‘extra’ lifestyle activities,” Mack said. “They may be deeply connected to how the body manages inflammation, stress hormones, mood and overall resilience.”
Mack added that people experiencing stress, social isolation, retirement or caregiving responsibilities may especially benefit from meaningful cultural engagement.
Experts cautioned, however, that the study does not prove arts engagement directly slows aging.
“This is an observational study, not an experiment,” Professor Steve Horvath of UCLA, a longevity researcher and pioneer in epigenetic aging research who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
“So when researchers find that the people who go to museums have younger epigenetic age, we cannot tell whether the museum visits slowed their aging, or whether their slower aging is what allowed them to keep visiting museums,” he said.
While the findings suggest a link, experts caution that the study cannot prove arts and cultural activities directly slow aging.(iStock)
Horvath said both explanations may be true to some degree, though he described the research as “methodologically careful” and worthy of further study.
The findings remained consistent even after accounting for factors such as smoking, income, body weight and other lifestyle habits.
He added that regardless of whether arts engagement is directly slowing biological aging, staying socially and mentally active is still associated with healthier aging overall.
“The prescription is the same,” he said. “Keep going.”
Kelly McGreal is a production assistant with the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital.
The series of terrorist attacks on schools in the West African country Nigeria within the last one week have shocked the entire world. More than 80 school children have gone missing in these attacks. Local officials and a human rights group confirmed the major incident on Sunday. Nigeria has been waging a major battle against jihadists and many other extremist armed groups for a long time. This latest incident of kidnapping is a new and scary part of the same episode.
Militants suddenly stormed a primary school in conflict-torn Borno state in northeastern Nigeria between Wednesday and Thursday. During this time, terrorists brutally abducted 42 small children from Askara Uba and Chibok areas. According to Amnesty International, the attack took place in Musa village near Sambisa forest. This area is considered a major stronghold of the dreaded terrorist organization Boko Haram and its ally Islamic State West Africa Province.
What happened in the south-western part of Nigeria?
On Friday, a horrifying scene of terror was also seen in Nigeria’s south-western Oyo state. According to the Nigerian branch of Amnesty International, two separate secondary schools were attacked here within just a few hours of each other. At least 40 school children were abducted in these attacks. Such incidents of child abduction are generally considered very rare in this particular area of Oyo State. This incident has created a lot of fear among the local people there.
What impact is child kidnapping having on society?
Human rights group Amnesty has issued a very serious warning on this matter on Sunday. The group says that due to this ever-increasing threat of kidnapping, many children have been forced to leave school forever. The situation has become so bad that young girls are being thrown out of the classrooms. To protect their daughters from these dangerous attacks on schools, families are forced to marry them at an early age.
What is the government doing to save the kidnapped children?
Peter Wabba, a government official from Musa village, said on Sunday that the exact number of children abducted in Oyo State was 48. He said that the government is constantly assuring us that they are doing everything possible to save these innocent children but till now we are just waiting. Amnesty has also alleged that the authorities never fulfill their promises to investigate these incidents and bring the culprits to justice.
Amnesty International further said in its statement that the victims and their families are continuously being denied justice. On the other hand, police spokesperson Ayanlade Olayinka said on Saturday that three armed attackers have so far been detained in connection with the Oyo attack. This horrific attack took place in Orire area, about 220 kilometers from Lagos city. The police are continuously interrogating these arrested criminals.
Police officer Olayinka also clarified that the arrested suspected attackers were identified by the local community members themselves. After this, the police took immediate action and arrested him. However, it has not yet been clarified by the police whether they are also searching for other absconding suspects involved in this incident or not. Local people are demanding the safe return of all the children as soon as possible.
The head of France’s biggest film producer, Canal+, has said the group will no longer work with hundreds of cinema figures who signed a petition voicing concern over the growing influence of the rightwing billionaire owner Vincent Bolloré.
The open letter, published earlier this week to coincide with the opening of the Cannes film festival, was signed by more than 600 figures, including the actor-director Juliette Binoche, the director and photographer Raymond Depardon, the French-Iranian film-maker Sepideh Farsi and the director Arthur Harari, who co-wrote the Oscar-winning Anatomy of a Fall and is premiering his film The Unknown in the main competition in Cannes.
They said that “leaving French cinema in the hands of a far-right owner” risked “not only the standardisation of films, but a fascist takeover of the collective imagination”.
Bolloré, a conservative industrialist, has a powerful media empire, which includes Canal+ and its in-house production operation, StudioCanal, which is Europe’s leading film and television production and distribution group. StudioCanal’s recent films include the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black and Paddington in Peru.
Vincent Bolloré at a French senate hearing into public broadcasting neutrality and financing in March. Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
He also owns the channel CNews, the radio station Europe 1 and the Sunday paper Le Journal du Dimanche.
Speaking in Cannes on Sunday, the Canal+ chief executive, Maxime Saada, called the petition “an injustice toward the Canal+ teams, who are committed to defending the independence of Canal+ and the full diversity of its choices”.
He added: “I will no longer work with and I no longer want Canal to work with the people who signed that petition.”
In the open letter, the film industry figures said they were alarmed that Canal+ had taken a stake in UGC, the third-biggest network of French cinemas, with a view to fully owning it in 2028. They said Bolloré would be “in the position of controlling the entire fabrication chain of films from their financing to their distribution and their release on the big and small screen”.
They said that “behind his business suit”, Bolloré was promoting a reactionary, far-right project for society “through his TV stations like CNews and his publishing houses” and they feared this could extend to film.
“The influence of [his] ideological offensive on the content of films has so far been discreet, but we are under no illusion: this won’t last,” they wrote.
The tumult mirrors similar upheaval in the publishing industry. In an unprecedented move last month, more than 100 writers quit the publishing house Grasset in protest at Bolloré’s control of its parent company, Hachette. “We refuse to be hostages in an ideological war that seeks to impose authoritarianism everywhere in culture and the media,” the authors wrote.
In a sign of Bollore’s divisive reputation, the Canal+ logo was booed in Cannes at some screenings this year, including for the opening film, The Electric Kiss.
In a senate hearing in 2022, Bolloré denied political or ideological interventionism, saying his interest in acquiring media was purely financial and his cultural empire was about promoting French soft power.
After last month’s authors’ revolt over his publishing business, Bolloré wrote in Le Journal du Dimanche that those who had quit were “a tiny caste who think themselves above everyone else”. He said: “As for the attacks concerning my ‘ideology’, I’m a Christian democrat.”
Four people died on the spot, while two were seriously injured in a horrific road accident on Nanpara-Bahraich road in Matera police station area of Bahraich late on Sunday night. The accident happened near Dihwa petrol pump, where a speeding car returning from Nepal collided with a combine machine parked on the roadside. The collision was so strong that the car was blown apart and there was an outcry at the spot.
In the accident, Ashwini Kumar son of Ramkumar resident of Metukaha police station Ramgaon, Altaf Ahmed son of Abdul Qadir resident of Hamjapura Bahraich, Ramnarayan and Anil Kumar son of Shyam Narayan resident of Metukaha police station Ramgaon and Mahendra Pal son of Radheshyam resident of Mohammadnagar police station Fatehpur Mohammadnagar were traveling in the car. Of these, four people died on the spot, while two others were seriously injured.
As soon as the information was received, Matera police station in-charge reached the spot with the police team and started relief work. ASP DP Tiwari said that the injured were immediately sent to the district hospital, where they are undergoing treatment. The police have taken the bodies into custody and sent them for post-mortem. As soon as the news of the accident was received, there was chaos among the families of the deceased. All four deceased are residents of Bahraich. One injured has been identified as Shivam Srivastava and the other has not been identified.
Andy Burnham faces a perilous race to win the Makerfield seat, his allies have warned, as he gears up to fight a byelection that could decide the long-term future of Labour and the country.
The Greater Manchester mayor is likely to be confirmed as Labour’s candidate for the north-west constituency later this week, but those close to him say he faces an uphill battle to beat Reform UK. Nigel Farage’s party won more than 50% of the vote at the local elections and polling suggests Burnham is only marginally ahead.
The outcome of the byelection is likely to determine not only the immediate political future of Keir Starmer, whom Burnham has pledged to challenge if elected, but also the viability of the Labour party as a whole.
The prime minister spent the weekend at Chequers considering his political future, and allies say that despite his public defiance he is now willing to stand aside should Burnham win a clear mandate in Makerfield and no other challenger emerges.
If he loses the byelection, it will leave Starmer in office but badly wounded by weeks of damaging attacks from his own MPs and without an obvious successor. One ally said: “It’s impossible to underscore how perilous this is. I would give Andy a 45% chance of winning, maybe a bit more than that.
“It’s compelling to say tell progressive voters to vote for Andy to get Starmer out, but the flip side is you’re saying to Reform voters that if they vote Reform they can finish the Labour party off for good.”
Makerfield town centre. Photograph: Joel Goodman/The Guardian
Burnham spent the weekend in Greater Manchester, campaigning in Makerfield and in talks with senior Labour figures involved in the selection process. Applications to run in the seat close at midday on Monday, with a formal candidate recommendation from Labour’s ruling executive committee on Thursday. If Burnham is the only applicant, the process might happen more quickly.
A vote in the seat is likely to be held on or around 18 June, giving Labour and Reform a four-week sprint before what could prove to be one of the most consequential byelections in British political history.
Pollsters say that despite the local election result, Burnham’s personal popularity across Greater Manchester gives him an even shot of winning the race.
Luke Tryl, the director of the research group More in Common, said: “We have two amazing forces playing against each other – the demographics of the seat, which all point to a Reform win, versus Burnham’s personal factor.
“It makes the result really consequential. If Labour can’t win they may as well pack up and go home. If they do win, all bets are off in terms of the prime minister’s future.”
Labour figures say they believe Burnham’s job was made harder over the weekend by a public row about whether the UK should rejoin the EU after comments from another likely leadership rival, Wes Streeting.
Streeting said on Saturday that he believed Britain’s long-term future lay in rejoining the union – something that was quickly dismissed as “odd” by the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy.
‘I’ll be standing’: Wes Streeting sets out hopes for Labour leadership race – video
Reform is hoping to focus heavily on Labour’s position on European membership during the campaign, putting Burnham in a difficult position of deciding whether to side more closely with the wider Labour membership, which is overwhelmingly pro-EU, or voters in Makerfield, 65% of whom voted to leave in 2016.
Labour’s position will be further tested on Wednesday when the Liberal Democrats lay an amendment to the king’s speech calling for the government to begin immediate talks over entering a customs union.
Starmer has ruled out such an agreement, but colleagues including Streeting argue this has hampered the government’s attempts to boost growth.
Immigration is also likely to feature heavily in the byelection campaign, putting Burnham in an even more difficult position. Many Labour members, whose votes he will need in a leadership contest, are pushing for the government to water down its changes to the asylum system, while many voters in seats such as Makerfield are calling for an even harder line.
Tom Baldwin, a former Labour official and Starmer’s biographer, said: “If Burnham says things which put him in opposition to a much closer relationship with Europe, or appears to adopt a hard line on immigration in order to win the byelection, it might yet make it harder for him to win the next election – among the party membership which appears to take a much more progressive view on these issues.”
Streeting will reiterate his pro-EU stance this week when he gives a closely watched resignation speech in the Commons.
Allies say he intends to argue that the government has not been bold enough in its policies or its political arguments, and wants to focus not only on the EU relationship but also wealth taxes and the role of technology in people’s lives.
“There is no point in trying not to upset anybody, that’s what got us into this problem,” one said. “Sometimes you have to be willing to upset people to get things done.”
While his potential successors jostle for position, Starmer is said to be reconsidering his previous determination to fight a leadership contest in any circumstances.
Downing Street insisted on Sunday that he would stand again for the leadership if challenged, but friends say his position is softening.
After a weekend at his official country estate, he is understood to have decided to delay a decision about his future until after the byelection, when it will become clearer whether he will have to face a challenge and from whom.
One friend said: “His position is not ‘I will stand, come what may’. It depends on what happens, but at the same time it’s about not rushing to positions that might suit particular other factions in the Labour party.”
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Candidates will face off on June 7 election after first round of voting marred by logistical errors, fraud allegations.
By Reuters and The Associated Press
Published On 17 May 202617 May 2026
Peruvian election authorities have confirmed that right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori will face off against the left-wing Congress member Roberto Sanchez in the country’s presidential runoff, following a chaotic first round of voting.
Peru’s National Jury of Elections (JNE) confirmed the results of the first round of voting on Sunday, with Fujimori taking first place with 17 percent of the vote. She was followed by Sanchez with 12 percent.
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The electoral body also acknowledged problems with the first round of voting, which was marred by count delays and logistical issues. It pledged to make fixes before the runoff next month.
“We cannot deny that there were many difficulties and flaws in the logistical deployment by the organising entity, ONPE,” JNE President Roberto Burneo said during a press conference.
“We have incorporated all the lessons learned from the first round and are strengthening oversight,” he added.
The elections body stated that a committee of national and international experts will be convened to ensure a smoother process during the second round of voting.
Shortcomings in the first round on April 12 led to voting in some places being extended to the next day.
The election-day hiccups underscored widespread discontent and mistrust with the country’s political system and sparked allegations of fraud from several candidates.
Election observers have acknowledged frustrations but cautioned that there is no evidence of fraud.
Far-right candidate Rafael Lopez Aliaga, who came in third place with 11.9 percent of the vote, has called for the first round of voting to be annulled. In a social media post on Sunday, he said he would not accept the results.
“The electoral fraud in Peru has just been consummated,” he wrote. “We will not accept results that are the product of fraud and corruption.”
The controversy over the first round of voting is the latest incident to underscore Peru’s ongoing political crisis, with nine different presidents holding power in the last decade due to frequent impeachment efforts by the country’s Congress.
The country’s public prosecutor’s office announced charges for financial crime against Sanchez last week, hours after election authorities announced he was on track to advance to the runoff.
