New York City

Calling it an attempt to use the name of the Assembly to "promote bigotry and hatred", the consulate said in a statement on Sunday: "We condemn the so-called citation of the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut in the USA regarding an illegal act". It said that the Consulate and the Embassy in Washington "will take up this issue appropriately with the concerned US lawmakers".

A 19-year-old man, Vernon Douglas was arrested on Thursday for allegedly attacking a 70-year-old man "wearing traditional Sikh articles of faith" on April 3, the police department said. The 'Sikh Coalition' identified the victim as Nirmal Singh, a visitor from India. The attack was investigated by the Hate Crimes Task Force of New York Police and Douglas was charged with allegedly committing hate crimes.

The suspect, Frank James, was taken into custody without incident on Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan after police received a tip, New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at a press conference. James, 62, is suspected of setting off smoke grenades and firing a handgun at least 33 times in the subway during Tuesday morning rush hour, police said. The attack left more than 20 people injured, 10 of them from gunfire, though none were believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries, Xinhua news agency reported.

After hours of manhunt, The New York Police Department named the suspect-Frank James. However, Frank is still not captured by the police. Over 20 people were reportedly injured in this incident. 10 people were directly hit by the gunfire while 13others were injured due to either smoke inhalation or otherwise in chaos. Here's what we know so far:

Police Commissioner Keetchan Sewell said on Tuesday that terrorism was not being pursued for the moment as the motive, although nothing has been ruled out. Officials from the city and the federal government investigating the morning shooting which seemed to be meticulously planned were puzzled by what triggered the attack. A shooting or other mayhem with mass casualties is usually not considered by authorities as terrorism unless motivated by a definite political, religious or race agenda.

While noting there had been no credible threats to the Metro system which was operating normal service, the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) said in a statement that it is "on heightened alert and is working with its security partners at the local, state and national levels to monitor threat levels and share information."

She said that the attack was not being investigated as a terrorist attack, although nothing was ruled out. A total of 16 people were injured in the incident, six of them from shrapnel, smoke inhalation or other causes, officials said. Five of the gunshot victims were in critical condition, but miraculously there were no deaths reported.

The decision is based on a sharp drop of new Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations as well as 96 per cent of vaccination rate among adults in the city, Xinhua news agency reported. New York State lifted the statewide mask mandate for schools on Wednesday while students and staff members in public schools of New York City were no longer required to wear masks outdoors starting from this Monday.

The new guidelines suggest that 70 per cent of Americans can now stop wearing masks, and no longer need to keep social distance or avoid crowded indoor spaces. The change follows a relaxation of restrictions by most governors responding to nosediving case counts and public pressure, Xinhua news agency reported.

The City Hall sources said that the vandals had placed a cloth on the statue and wrote obscenities on it, rather than directly on the statue itself saving it from even temporary damage necessitating a clean-up. The statue in Union Square was vandalised on February 4, creating a strong reaction from the Indian American community and the Indian consulate.