Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai hotspots for abdominal obesity, says Study The three metros have emerged as hotspots for abdominal obesity among both men and women, the study in the Nature Scientific journal reports Sedentary jobs, processed foods blamed kochi l monday l april 06, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l Late city EDITION Researchers found 56.6% of women aged 15-49 & 48.9% of men (15-54) in India have abdominal obesity. They attributed it to sedentary jobs and widespread consumption of processed foods CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI US rescues airman in daring mission Missing Kerala trekker found after 4 days Aviator scales 7k-ft ridge to avoid capture; Tehran will be hit on Tuesday if Strait stays closed: Don day 37 A G E N C I E S @Washington, Tehran A wounded US Air Force colonel survived 36 gruelling hours in the rugged mountains of southern Iran, evading capture by Iranian forces before Navy SEAL commandos extracted him in a dramatic night-time operation, which President Donald Trump termed nothing short of “miraculous.” Armed with only a pistol and moving on injured legs, the colonel — a weapons systems officer who had ejected from an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet shot down over southern Iran on Friday — navigated treacherous terrain to stay ahead of enemy patrols. At one point, he scaled a 7,000-foot ridgeline while American aircraft bombed an approaching Iranian convoy to buy him time, The Mail reported Sunday . US aviators undergo SERE training—survival, evasion, The wreckage of a downed American jet and two helicopters involved in a rescue of a US Colonel, in Isfahan province, Iran | AP resistance and escape— in the event they have to eject over hostile territory. They wear a combat vest with a radio/GPScoded beacon to transmit their position, and carry water, food, first-aid material and a pistol. The airman was wounded after his ejection but could still walk, according to news outlet Axios, which cited a US official. Iran had placed a bounty on the officer’s head, setting off a race between Tehran and Washington to locate the missing aviator. “Everything is being thrown at finding the missing airman,” a source close to the President told The Mail on Sunday “The fear is he will be . captured and used as a pawn.” The pilot of the stricken jet had been recovered within 45 minutes of the crash. The extraction encountered serious complications. Two American transport aircraft became stranded at a remote staging location inside Iran and had to be destroyed by US forces to keep them out of Iranian hands, according to The New York Times and CBS News. Three additional planes were then deployed to ferry the rescued airman and his escort out of the country . A regional intelligence official, speaking anonymously, told Associated Press that “a technical malfunction — not enemy fire — had rendered the two planes unusable.” Iran’s version differed sharply. Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari declared that the US operation, staged from an abandoned airstrip in southern Isfahan province, had been “completely foiled.” He claimed two C-130 transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters had been destroyed. The CIA reportedly ran a parallel deception operation to help keep the aviator safe. Trump declared victory on his Truth Social platform on Sunday morning, saying: “WE P11 GOT HIM!”  E x p r ess N e w s S e r v ice @Madikeri/Kozhikode Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a roadshow in Kozhikode on Sunday | Express Shah promises ‘prosperous Kerala’, appeasement of none E x p r ess N e w s S e r v ice @ Kochi/Kozhikode/T’Puram Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday appealed to Kerala’s Christian community to back the BJP-led NDA in the assembly elections, promising a “prosperous Kerala” under its rule. Shah highlighted the NDA’s stance of “justice for all and appeasement of none”, citing the ban on the PFI. He led a Assembly elections ‘SIR’ was no bad boss I P4 roadshow in Kozhikode and addressed public meetings in Kunnathunad and Kattakkada, outlining the NDA’s vision for the state. Shah promised decisive action on pending issues, including the alleged Sabarimala gold scam, saying those responsible would be punished within two months. He also promised the state’s first AIIMS within two years of assuming power.  P4 ‘Steps taken to declare Christians as micro-minority’ I P5 Sharanya, the trekker from Kozhikode who went missing from the Tadiandamol trail in Karnataka’s Kodagu, was rescued on Sunday after a search spanning four days. An experienced trekker, the 36-year-old had survived on water. Over 100 people, including personnel from the Anti-Naxal Force, reserve police and forest department, as well as members of Adiya a n d Ku d i ya tribes, were involved in the search. Sharanya went missing while trekking in Tadiandamol, the highest peak in Kodagu, on April 2. She had gone with with a group of 15 people and a guide. The group learnt of her absence upon returning to the base camp. She was traced around 5.30pm on ● More on P6 Sunday  .