Adani gets environmental nod for luxury airport hotel in Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change cleared a Rs 136-crore luxury hotel proposal by Adani Airport Holdings Ltd within the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport premises.
The approval followed a detailed review by the Expert Appraisal Committee (Infra-2) during its August meeting, sources said on Tuesday.
The project, spread across a little over 8,000 sq m inside the airport area, includes a 240-room hotel with food-and-beverage facilities offering 660 seats.
According to official documents, the site is currently used as an open parking area within the airport, operated by the Adani Group.
The land was handed over to the Adani Group’s airport arm under a long-term concession agreement signed with the Airports Authority of India in January 2021.
The proposed five-storey structure will have a height of 23 metres, with two basement levels for parking, a ground floor and four upper floors. The total built-up area is estimated at nearly 34,000 sq m.
Authorities said the project would rely on treated water from an on-site sewage treatment plant, with recycling expected to meet about half of its daily water requirement.
Solid waste will be managed through organic-waste converters and authorised recyclers.
Around 40 existing trees at the site will be transplanted within the airport premises. The developer has earmarked space for a green belt and plans to adopt measures aimed at reducing energy consumption by up to 20 per cent.
The ministry noted that the site does not fall within any eco-sensitive or forest areas and that the proposal faces no pending court cases.
It also said the clearance was processed at the central level due to the temporary absence of the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority in Kerala.
The project, estimated to cost Rs 136 crore, is expected to take about three years to complete.
Officials said the development could create around 300 direct jobs and support nearly 900 indirect jobs, adding that the hotel is intended to enhance passenger amenities and boost the city’s tourism sector.
A source said the five-star hotel is part of Adani Group’s broader 'City Side Development' plan for Thiruvananthapuram.
The company expects the facility to serve air travellers as well as foreign crew arriving on large cargo vessels docking at the Vizhinjam port, which is operated by the group.
Recently, the union government allocated an immigration counter at the Vizhinjam International Seaport, enabling crew-change operations and potentially spurring further development in the region.
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UAE denies Netanyahu secretly visited the country during Iran war
Jerusalem (AP): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly visited the United Arab Emirates during the Israeli-US war with Iran, further strengthening ties with a Gulf nation that normalised relations with Israel in 2020, his office said Wednesday. The UAE denied any secret visit had occurred.
Netanyahu met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a gathering that “resulted in a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates", according to the Israeli statement.
THE UAE's official WAM news agency posted an article denying the report about a Netanyahu visit.
According to WAM, the country's relations with Israel “are public and conducted within the framework of the well-known and officially declared Abraham Accords, and are not based on non-transparent or unofficial arrangements”.
The report also denied any Israeli military delegation was received in the UAE.
Israel's announcement came a day after US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee revealed that Israel had sent Iron Dome air-defence weapons and personnel to operate them to the UAE.
The UAE has faced Iranian missile and drone fire even after the ceasefire was reached last month. It has been trying to signal to nervous investors that it remains open for business and safe.
Last week, WAM reported that Netanyahu was among the leaders who called the Emirati president to condemn Iranian attacks and express their solidarity with the Gulf federation.
It was rare public acknowledgment of direct talks between the countries that normalized relations in the 2020 Abraham Accords and have strengthened their ties during the Iran war.
Iran has criticised that agreement and has repeatedly suggested over the years that Israel maintained a military and intelligence presence in the Emirates.
Israeli leaders have made occasional visits to the UAE in recent years after normalising relations.
Iran demands Kuwait release detainees
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Iran's foreign minister accused Kuwait of attempting to “sow discord” by detaining four Iranians that the Gulf Arab country accuses of being Revolutionary Guard operatives.
In a post Wednesday on X, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi demanded the Iranians' immediate release and said Iran reserved the right to respond.
“This illegal act took place near an island used by the US to attack Iran,” Araghchi wrote.
A day earlier, Kuwait said four men were detained and two escaped while trying to infiltrate Bubiyan Island in the northwest corner of the Persian Gulf on May 1.
Bubiyan Island is home to Mubarak Al Kabeer Port, which is under construction as part of a Chinese plan to build infrastructure across the world. It also came under Iranian attack during the war.
Iranian human rights lawyer released
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Prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been released from prison more than a month after being detained, a rights group and her daughter said Wednesday.
Sotoudeh, who is known for defending activists, opposition politicians and women prosecuted for removing their headscarves, was detained by Iranian intelligence agents at her house in Tehran in April.
Her release comes as US President Donald Trump arrived in China for a long-anticipated visit that is expected to touch on the war in Iran.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which closely tracks developments in Iran, said that Sotoudeh was released on bail from Tehran's Evin Prison.
Her daughter, Mehraveh Khandan, posted on social media that Sotoudeh was released on temporary custody. Iran's semiofficial ISNA news agency also reported Sotoudeh release.
Sotoudeh has been imprisoned multiple times. Her activist husband, Reza Khandan, has been imprisoned in the same prison as his wife.
Nobel Peace laureate needs long-term care
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Doctors who examined Nobel Peace laureate and activist Narges Mohammadi more than a week after she collapsed at a prison in Iran said she needs months of treatment, according to her foundation.
Mohammadi, 53, was urgently transferred from prison to a hospital in northwestern Iran on May 1 after she fell unconscious. She was released on bail nearly 10 days later and transferred to a hospital in Tehran where her specialists examined her.
The doctors said her vascular disease has worsened since she was last checked in 2024 and recommended eight months of treatment.
She was awarded the Nobel in 2023 while in prison and has been jailed repeatedly throughout her career. Her latest imprisonment began in December when she was arrested in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad.
