Hyderabad, Dec 08: Bomb threats to three flights, including two international flights, sent authorities at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) into a tizzy. All three flights landed safely on Sunday night, officials at RGIA said on Monday.

A bomb threat email was received at RGIA customer support for three flights coming from Kannur, Frankfurt, and Heathrow. Airport authorities activated standard safety protocols. All three flights landed safely, according to a statement from the airport authorities.

After a thorough check by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and police, along with the bomb disposal squads, the bomb threats proved to be a hoax.

IndiGo flight from Kannur to Hyderabad (6E 7178) landed safely at 10:50 p.m. The bomb threat was also targeted at Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Hyderabad (LH 752). The flight landed safely at 2 a.m. on Monday.

British Airways flight BA 277 from Heathrow to Hyderabad also landed safely at 5.20 a.m. on Monday. Police launched an investigation to identify the sender of the email.

The latest bomb threat came a day after similar emails were received on Saturday (December 6), targeting four flights within a span of less than 12 hours. While three flights landed safely at RGIA, the fourth was forced to return to its departure airport as a precaution.

After intensive checks, all the bomb threats had proved to be a hoax.

The bomb threats had targeted Air India flight AI 2879 from Delhi to Hyderabad, British Airways flight BA 277 from Heathrow to Hyderabad, and Singapore Airlines flight SQ 518 from Singapore to Hyderabad. The three flights landed safely at Hyderabad airport.

However, Kuwait Airways flight KU 373 from Kuwait to Hyderabad returned to Kuwait as a precaution, as it was the closest airport at the time of threat detection.

A series of bomb threats has targeted flights this month.

On December 5, an Emirates flight from Dubai to Hyderabad received a similar emailed threat but landed safely, and a thorough check was conducted. Two IndiGo flights — from Kuwait to Hyderabad and Medinah to Hyderabad — were diverted following bomb threat messages on December 2 and December 4.

Hyderabad, Dec 08: Rajiv Gandhi International Airport has received three bomb threats to flights coming from different cities, including two international, sources said.

The airport received emails on late Sunday night targeting British Airways’ (BA 277) from Heathrow, Lufthansa’s (LH 752) from Frankfurt and IndiGo’s 6E 7178 from Kannur.

Airport sources said all the flights landed safely. The two international flights landed here during the early hours of Monday.

“Standard safety protocols were initiated for all three aircraft,” sources said.

Standard safety protocols include isolation of the aircraft, screening of baggage and passengers, keeping fire engines ready and pressing sniffer dogs into services, among others, sources added.

Last week, the RGIA received bomb threat emails for the Dubai-Hyderabad Emirates flight and IndiGo’s Madina–Hyderabad and Sharjah-Hyderabad flights separately.

Madina–Hyderabad was diverted to Ahmedabad airport.

New Delhi, Dec 08: A total of 5.17 lakh Waqf properties were initiated on the UMEED portal while 2,16,905 properties were approved by the designated approvers during the six-month window provided, according to the data provided by the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

The UMEED Central Portal for management of Waqf Properties in India, launched by Union Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on June 6, 2025, officially closed for uploads on December 6, 2025, completing its six-month window, as per the UMEED Act, 1995 and the clear directions of the Supreme Court.

In the final count, the momentum significantly accelerated as the deadline approached, the ministry said in a statement.

Many review meetings, training workshops, and high-level interventions even at the secretary-level injected renewed pace into the process, making the upload surge in the last hours, it said.

According to the data provided by the ministry, 5,17,040 Waqf properties were initiated on the portal with 2,16,905 properties approved by the designated approvers.

A total of 2,13,941 properties have been submitted by makers and remain in the pipeline as of the deadline, the ministry said, adding that 10,869 properties stood rejected during verification

“To support this massive national exercise, the Ministry of Minority Affairs conducted continuous workshops and training sessions with State/UT Waqf Boards and Minority Departments,” the statement said.

A two-day master trainer workshop was also conducted in Delhi to equip Waqf Boards and State/UT officials with hands-on training for the uploading process, the ministry said.

Senior technical and administrative teams were deputed across states, and seven zonal meetings were held nationwide.

A dedicated helpline was also set up at the Ministry office for technical support and quick resolution of issues arising during the uploads.

Since the launch of the portal, secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Chandra Shekhar Kumar took 20 plus review meetings, consistently guiding, motivating, and monitoring States/UTs to ensure timely and accurate uploading of existing Waqf property details, the statement said.

The conclusion of this phase marks a significant milestone in bringing transparency, efficiency, and unified digital management to Waqf properties across India under the UMEED framework, it said.

The highest number of Waqf properties initiated on the portal were from Uttar Pradesh (92,830 – 86,345 Sunni and 6,485 Shia), followed by Maharashtra (62,939) and Karnataka (58,328), while 23,086 properties were initiated from West Bengal.

Rijiju on Friday had ruled out extending the deadline for registering Waqf properties on the UMEED portal but said his ministry, recognising the concerns of ‘mutawallis’ or caretakers, will not impose any penalty or take strict action for the next three months as a humanitarian and facilitative measure.

The Centre launched The Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development (UMEED) Act central portal on June 6 to create a digital inventory.

According to the provisions of the portal, details of all registered Waqf properties across the country must be uploaded within six months. The six-month deadline for registration ended at 11:59:59 pm on December 6.

The six-month deadline mandated under the Waqf Amendment Act cannot be extended due to the provisions of the Act, and clear directions of the Supreme Court, the minister had said.

The government, through the Ministry of Minority Affairs, has said it is committed to modernising Waqf administration and unlocking the full developmental potential of Waqf properties for the benefit of minority communities.

New Delhi, Dec 08: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kick off a special discussion in Lok Sabha on Monday to mark 150 years of ‘Vande Mataram’ as part of an exercise that promises to highlight many lesser-known facets related to the patriotic song.

PM Modi is also likely to highlight the contribution of the song, written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and first published in the literary journal Bangadarshan on November 7, 1875, to the freedom struggle, its historical significance and current relevance.

PM Modi’s thoughts about Vande Mataram are keenly awaited by the Opposition members, as well as last month, during an event to commemorate the song’s anniversary, he accused the Congress of “removing important stanzas” from the original song in the 1937 session of the party in Faizabad.

PM Modi had said that the Congress’s decision sowed the seeds of Partition and dissected the national song into pieces. The Congress, however, claimed the decision was based on the advice of Rabindranath Tagore and amounted to the accommodation of feelings of members from other communities and faiths.

The discussion on Vande Mataram in the Rajya Sabha is likely to be initiated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday.

As per the schedule related to the Vande Mataram debate, the ruling NDA members have been allotted three hours out of the total 10 hours earmarked in Lok Sabha for it.

Earlier, a political confrontation erupted just before the start of the Winter Session as the Rajya Sabha Secretariat reiterated that MPs must refrain from using expressions such as ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Jai Hind’ inside Parliament to maintain decorum.

The Opposition accused the BJP-led NDA of being uncomfortable with symbols of India’s Independence and unity.

The Winter Session of Parliament is scheduled to continue till December 19, and the discussion on ‘Vande Mataram’ is likely to be a noisy one in the coming days due to differences in opinion about the song between the treasury and opposition benches.