Shady agents, human traffickers... horror stories of Indians who took the illegal route to US

A bridge too far?: Veteran communist leader G. Sudhakaran recently embarked on a marathon visit to bridges under construction in his home district, Alappuzha, Kerala. These bridges, which are now nearing completion under Pinarayi 2.0, were initiated during Pinarayi 1.0 when Sudhakaran was the PWD minister. Sudhakaran, who was accompanied by media outlets, claimed that his visit was at the request of local residents. It is no secret that he has been unhappy about being sidelined within his party. In the past, he has expressed displeasure over his comrades downplaying his contributions to infrastructure development in his district and excluding him from inaugurations of key projects. Given this history and considering that there was seemingly no fanfare associated with the leader’s visit, the question remains: who exactly invited Sudhakaran to inauguration-ready bridges? | Illustrations by Jairaj T.G.

Luckless in Lucknow: Holi is a time for togetherness and bonhomie. However, Lucknow’s mayor, Sushma Kharkwal, was in for a rude shock when her Holi get-together was boycotted by most of the 108 corporators. Only 25 made it, leaving the mayor red-faced. There is, however, a subtext to this—the mayor and the corporators have been at loggerheads for a while over privatisation of sweeping services in the city. With an agreement still far away, Lucknow’s streets are raising a stink. An even greater embarrassment might be on the cards as the BJP-dominated corporation might bring a no-confidence motion against the mayor.

Time running out: The end of the financial year is causing jitters in South Block. With two key defence buys from France—26 Rafale marine fighter aircraft and a follow-up order for three Scorpene-class submarines—on the anvil, the Navy is in a state of deep anticipation, hoping for the deals, valued at $11 billion (around Rs9,500 crore), to be inked in this fiscal owing to budgetary considerations. An officer was quoted in a March 15 report, saying that the case of the 26 jets has been before the cabinet committee on security, which has to give the go-ahead, “for a couple of weeks now”. The CCS, comprising the prime minister, the defence minister, the external affairs ministers and the Union home and finance ministers, usually meets on Thursdays, meaning that the dates have almost run out.

Graduation high: Actor Bhumi Pednekar has died and gone to... Harvard. She completed a course on leadership, global policy and life at Harvard Kennedy School. “Completing this course was incredibly rewarding (Math is still not my thing, though),” she posted on Instagram. But Harvard was not her only outing. She recently went to her first-ever soccer game in California and had a fangirl moment with Hollywood biggie Jennifer Garner. She was also featured in BW Business World’s list of 100 most powerful women. If she has a bucket-list, she must be ticking off items at supersonic speed | AFP

Family dynamics: The latest to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? Wonder Woman actor Gal Gadot. “I’m just a girl from a town in Israel and I could never imagine such a moment,” said Gadot in her acceptance speech. There were a few dampeners though, with both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protestors creating a ruckus outside. But for Gadot, the war was being waged closer home. She found it impossible to gather her family—husband Jaron Varsano and four daughters—for a photograph. Three-year-old Daniella was more entertained by chewing on the tassels of her mother’s dress and one-year-old Ori kept crawling away. Was that a smile or a snarl on Gadot’s face? | Reuters

It’s Conan again: If you’re an Oscar hopeful next year, you better hope you don’t come in Conan O’Brien’s line of fire. After a successful stint this year, he has been roped in to host next year’s Oscars as well. The audience ratings for the 2025 Oscars were 1 per cent higher than 2024, with 19.7 million viewers. The last to face the firing squad? This year’s best actor winner, Adrien Brody. “The only reason I’m hosting the Oscars next year is that I want to hear Adrien Brody finish his speech,” wisecracked O’Brien, referring to Brody’s longest-ever acceptance speech | Getty Images

Fire power: The teaser of Gowtam Tinnanuri’s much-anticipated film Kingdom, starring Vijay Deverakonda, was released a month ago. Within 24 hours, it got more than 10 million views. No surprise there, with its ripped hero, rocking visuals and rousing music. And now, the makers have released what they are calling the first-ever AI-designed thematic video for its soundtrack. It is stunning, with heavy gunfire, flaming arrows, and blazing landscapes. That’s a lot of fire for a one-minute video. If the intention was to amp up the heat before the film’s release on May 30, mission accomplished | PTI