US president's son Donald Trump Jr. visits Taj Mahal
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Agra (PTI): Donald Trump Jr., son of US President Donald Trump, visited the Taj Mahal in Agra on Thursday and spent nearly an hour exploring the monument under an elaborate security arrangement, officials said.
Trump Jr. arrived at the monument around 3.30 pm and had an extensive photo session inside the complex, including at the iconic Diana bench, they said.
A senior official said he showed deep interest in the Taj Mahal's history and construction, asking his guide detailed questions about its architecture.
Guide Nitin Singh accompanied Trump Jr. during the tour. Singh is the same guide who had shown the monument to President Donald Trump during his 2020 visit, officials noted.
Security was significantly tightened for the visit. Besides local police, security personnel from the US were also deployed.
CISF took over inner security as soon as Trump Jr. entered the premises, ensuring a seamless movement inside the monument. Ahead of his arrival, the administration also carried out special cleaning drives and cleared key routes of stray animals, they said.
Trump Jr. is also expected to attend a high-profile destination wedding in Udaipur, they added.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
