5 stories you must read today, September 29: From I Love Muhammad graffiti protest in Maharashtra to Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project and more

After Uttar Pradesh, a protest has broken out in Maharashtra over an ‘I Love Muhammad’ graffiti, leading to violence and stone pelting. The incident was reported from Kotwali area of Ahilyanagar district on Monday after a graffiti with “I love Muhammad” written appeared on a roadside rangoli. This was objected to by some members of the Muslim community, and one person was arrested. However, some members of the community protested by blocking roads and pelting stones. Around 30 people have been detained in connection with the violence. Read more

The construction of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is progressing rapidly and the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited has completed the launching of the viaduct over the Girdhar Nagar Railway Over Bridge (ROB) on the Delhi–Ahmedabad main line of the Western Railway in Ahmedabad. The Bullet Train corridor passes over 31 crossings in the Ahmedabad district, which includes eight Indian Railways crossings, 16 points involving road flyovers, besides roads, underpasses, and canals, a river bridge crossing over the Sabarmati, and six steel bridges. Read more

Iran has carried out the execution of an alleged Israeli spy, who was accused of meeting with officials from the Israeli spy agency Mossad. The accused, identified as Bahman Choobiasl, worked on “sensitive telecommunications projects“ and reported about the “paths of importing electronic devices,” Iranian media said. He is the second alleged Israeli spy executed by Iran this month. Earlier, another man, Babak Shahbazi, was executed for allegedly spying for Israel, a charge which activists dispute and claim that his confession was obtained through torture. Read more

An international aid flotilla, which is headed for Gaza and is carrying several people, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, has set sail after pausing for several days in Greek waters for repair. The flotilla, which comprises about 47 civilian boats, is aiming to challenge Israel’s naval blockade and distribute aid in Gaza. However, the voyage, so far, has not been smooth and the activists have alleged several times that their boats have been hit by drones. Israel has vowed not to allow the flotilla to reach Gaza. Read more

Apple Intelligence, the most hyped feature of the iPhone 16 series, seems to be failing to work seamlessly even after well over a year after it was introduced. Several iPhone 17 series users who purchased the recently-launched iPhones are reporting that some Apple Intelligence are not working for them. According to most users, who have been affected by the bug, they are not able to use AI features like smart suggestions, contextual insights and more, with the system repeatedly giving prompts asking them to download it again. Read more