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By:

Vinod Chavan

30 September 2025 at 3:04:23 pm

Birder Cop finds an Australian tagged bird

Latur: G. Thikanna, serving in the Andaman Police Department as an Assistant Sub-Inspector in Communications was posted on one of the most remote and lesser-inhabited islands in the world to complete a one-month tenure. This island lies about 140 nautical miles away from the capital city, far from his family and loved ones in Port Blair. Life there is challenging, with no mobile network and no regular power supply. The only source of electricity is a portable generator that runs for about...

Birder Cop finds an Australian tagged bird

Latur: G. Thikanna, serving in the Andaman Police Department as an Assistant Sub-Inspector in Communications was posted on one of the most remote and lesser-inhabited islands in the world to complete a one-month tenure. This island lies about 140 nautical miles away from the capital city, far from his family and loved ones in Port Blair. Life there is challenging, with no mobile network and no regular power supply. The only source of electricity is a portable generator that runs for about three hours a day just enough to charge communication devices and essential equipment. This was his second visit to the island in 2025. On the morning of June 16, 2025, during a routine inspection of the shoreline, he noticed a small bird moving along with the tidal waves. What caught his attention, however, was that the bird was having some colour tags on it legs. The photographs revealed that the bird had three tags: a red flag leg above the knee and a yellow tag under the knee on it right leg. The left leg had a metal ring. The red flag had a code which read DYM. In March 2026, Dr. Raju Kasambe, ornithologist and former Assistant Director at Bombay Natural History Society, and founder of Mumbai Bird Katta, visited South Andaman for a birding trip by his venture. Thikanna shared his observation and photographs with him. Dr. Kasambe took great interest and asked Thikanna to send the photographs. He identified the bird as Sanderling (Calidris alba), which breeds in the extreme northern parts of Asia, Europe and North America. After studying the shorebird Colour Marking Protocol for the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) Dr. Kasambe realized that the bird was tagged in South Australia. He informed the EEAF team and Ms. Katherine Leung reverted with the information about the tagging of this tiny migratory wader, which weighs just 40-100gramms. The wader was tagged on 13 April 2025 by Ms. Maureen Christie at the Danger Pt, Brown Bay, near Port Macdonnell, in South Australia. That means the wader had reached Narcondam Island after two months and three days on its return journey back the its breeding grounds in extreme northern parts of Asia. The straight-line distance the bird had flown was an amazing 7472km and it hadn’t yet reached its final destination – the breeding grounds. This is first record of resighting of any tagged bird on the Narcondam Island, as the island remains mostly inaccessible to bird watchers. Interesting, the Island is home to the endemic Narcondam Hornbill, a species which is not found anywhere in the world. Mr. G. Thikanna is associated with the Andaman avians Club which conducted bird watching and towards creating awareness about birds in the Andaman Island. Other members of the club have congratulated him on the great find in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Masood's 10 family members killed

  • PTI
  • May 7, 2025
  • 3 min read

By M Zulqernain

Pak soldiers and others attend the funeral prayers of the victims of a suspected Indian missile strike incident in Muridke on Wednesday. Pic: PTI
Pak soldiers and others attend the funeral prayers of the victims of a suspected Indian missile strike incident in Muridke on Wednesday. Pic: PTI

Lahore: Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar acknowledged on Wednesday that 10 members of his family and four close associates were killed in India's missile attack on the outfit's headquarters in Bahawalpur.


A statement attributed to Azhar said those killed in the attack on Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur included the JeM chief's elder sister and her husband, a nephew and his wife, another niece, and five children from his extended family.


The statement further mentioned that the attack also claimed the lives of one of Azhar's close associates and his mother, along with two other close companions.


"This act of brutality has broken all boundaries. There should be no expectation of mercy now," it added.


Bahawalpur became the hub of the JeM after the release of Azhar in exchange for the hijacked passengers of IC-814 in 1999.


In May 2019, the United Nations designated Azhar a "global terrorist" after China lifted its hold on a proposal to blacklist the JeM chief, a decade after New Delhi approached the world body for the first time on the issue.


The elusive Azhar, who has not been seen in public since April 2019, is believed to be hiding in a "safe place" in Bahawalpur.


The group has been involved in a series of terror attacks in India, including the Parliament attack in 2001, the strike on the Jammu and Kashmir assembly in 2000, the attack on the IAF base in Pathankot in 2016 and the Pulwama suicide bombing in 2019.


Meanwhile, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said that all those injured in the Bahawalpur attack have been shifted to Victoria Hospital and given the best treatment.


Pakistan's security huddle discusses situation

Islamabad: Pakistan's high-level security huddle on Wednesday discussed the situation arising out of the Indian missile attack.


Indian armed forces early Wednesday carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir under Operation Sindoor.


Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif presided over the National Security Council (NSC) meeting, which was attended by cabinet ministers, chief ministers, all services chiefs and senior officers.


The NSC meeting lasted for more than two hours and discussed the security situation at length.


However, no decisions were announced as Sharif has summoned a cabinet meeting at 3:30 pm to further discuss the developments. “Later, he would share the decisions regarding the ongoing tension with the nation through his address in the parliament,” officials said.


Earlier, the Pakistan army said that at least 26 people were killed and 46 injured in the Indian strikes launched shortly after midnight on cities in the Punjab province and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Army spokesman Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry claimed “no time Indian aircraft was allowed to enter Pakistan and no Pakistani aircraft entered India. All Pakistan Air Force (PAF) assets are safe.”


Emergency declared in Pakistan's Punjab

Emergency was declared on Wednesday in Pakistan's Punjab province even as all educational institutions closed in the wake of the Indian missile attack.


The Pakistan army said that at least 26 people were killed and 46 injured in the Indian strikes launched shortly after midnight on cities in the Punjab province and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).


“Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has declared a state of emergency across the province,” a Punjab government statement said here.


All security agencies, including Punjab police, have been placed on high alert. Leaves of all doctors and medical staff across hospitals in Punjab have been cancelled.


The statement said all staff have been ordered to report for duty immediately and district administrations in all districts of Punjab have also been placed on high alert.


Officers and personnel of all relevant institutions, including Civil Defence, have been summoned, it said.


The educational institutions would remain closed on Wednesday, the statement said.

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