Gali Nagaraja The Islamic State (IS) militants have rigged the millennia-old city of Palmyra in central Syria with explosives, a monitor group reported on Sunday.
The IS militants have planted mines and explosive devices in the ancient part of Palmyra, where 2,000-year-old monuments and temples are located, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Husbands of two of the three British sisters who were reported to have entered Syria to join the Islamic State (IS) militant group have blamed the anti-terror police for the radicalisation of their wives, according to a media report.
Mohammed Shoaib and Akhtar Iqbal, in a letter to the authorities, said the North East Counter-Terrorism Unit (Nectu) encouraged their wives’ radicalisation by urging them to contact their brother who was already in Syria, The Mail on Sunday reported.
The International Day of Yoga was a perfect platform to bring the world together in a spirit of unity and harmony, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said here on Sunday.
Addressing the International Day of Yoga celebrations at the world body, which was attended by UN Ban Ki-moon, Sushma Swaraj thanked the 192 other members of the UN for their support which allowed the India resolution declaring June 21 as the International Day of Yoga to be adopted by consensus.
A gunfight broke out Sunday evening between separatist guerrillas, holed-up in a village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, police said.
“Security forces cordoned off Redwani Bala village in Kulgam district on Sunday evening following specific information about the presence of militants in the village,” a senior police official told IANS.
“As the security forces tightened the cordon, holed-up militants opened fire at the surrounding security forces triggering a gunfight which is going on (as of 9.30 p.m.),” he said.
Asserting that yoga as religion neutral, union Minister for IT and Communications Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday urged Pakistan to embrace yoga to bring peace in the country.
“Yoga is religion neutral – 190 countries, including 44 Islamic countries, have agreed that yoga is important for mankind. From China to New York to London, people across the globe are participating in the International Yoga Day,” the minister said here.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) remembered its late founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar on his 75th death anniversary here on Sunday.
“Doctorji’s (Hedgewar’s) life was dedicated to putting his thoughts into practice through Sangh work that he started in 1925,” the RSS said in a tribute tweeted early Sunday.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also paid tributes and paid tributes to Hedgewar on the occasion here.
Like any devout Muslim during the holy month of Ramzan, Irfan Salmani Dehalvi, 42, woke up shortly before dawn, had ‘sehari’, the early morning meal before beginning the fast, and offered prayers. On Sunday, ‘seheri’ was followed by a mass session of yoga at Rajpath where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in attendance.
“It was a welcome change to come here for a yoga session early morning while fasting. After today’s experience, I will include yoga in my daily workout regime,” Dehalvi, dressed in a traditional white coloured kurta-pyjama and skullcap, told IANS.
Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Sunday wished all on the occasion of the International Yoga Day, but added that this ‘tamasha’ of community yoga is utter waste of public money.
“I wish International Yoga Day to all. But this Tamasha of Community Yoga is utter waste of public money and is only image building for Modi,” he tweeted.
Prime Minister Modi has dubbed the International Yoga Day as the beginning of a new era of peace and goodwill, thanking all those who have contributed to the development of the great discipline.
Former IPS officer and BJP leader Kiran Bedi on Sunday said the miracle of collective chant of ‘Shanti, Shanti, Shanti’ by millions on the first International Yoga Day has brought the pre-monsoon showers in Delhi.
“Miracle of collective chant of Shanti,Shanti, Shanti, by millions brings pre-monsoon showers in Delhi. Reduces heat and cools even the trees,” she tweeted.
She also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the United Nations for the International Yoga Day celebrations.
Traffic police arrested a woman doctor for drunken driving on Friday night. Akhila Iyagari, a 28-year-old Gynecologist got arrested for drunken driving when police stopped her car at 11:45 p.m.at Banjara Hills Road No.12.
“Her Blood Alcohol level was 52“said Banjara Hills traffic inspector Uma Maheshwar. Her car has been seized. As per the law Blood Alcohol level of more than 30 mg should be booked for drunken driving.
A Freelance Mobile Application Developer, Kuldeep Singh Saini developed an app to help Muslim workers at his father’s auto parts garage to keep track of their prayer, Sehri and Iftar. This app became so popular that the app got 12,000 downloads worldwide.
App by name Ramadan 2015 not only notifies timings but also helps in finding the direction of the Kabah.
Saini’s app got maximum downloads in the Arab world and Southeast Asian nations like Malaysia and Indonesia. Saini said that this app is the outcome of two years of Research and interaction with his friends.
It was an unprecedented demonstration of India’s soft power as a record-breaking 37,000 people, including senior officials and diplomats, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed yoga, as India marked the inaugural UN International Day of Yoga at a grand event in the national capital on Sunday.
A Delhi court has acquitted a man of the charges of sexually harassing and molesting his 17-year-old daughter after the girl said she had lodged a false complaint due to differences between her parents.
Additional Sessions Judge Gautam Manan absolved the man, a resident of north Delhi, of the offences under sections 354 (molestation), 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC and section 12 (sexual harassment) of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, noting that the girl and her mother did not support the case.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu was among the hundreds of enthusiastic people who participated in a yoga session in Kochi to mark the International Yoga Day on Sunday.
Congress legislator Hibi Eden also attended this 40-minute yoga session at an indoor stadium.
Thousands of people from various political parties, castes and religions performed yoga across the state to mark the day.
Union Minister for Law and Justice D.V. Sadananda Gowda led a yoga session in the state capital which was attended among others by the 85-year-old BJP leader O. Rajagopal.
N Srinivasan might have been barred from becoming BCCI President but he is set to represent the Indian Board in the ICC Board Meeting in Barbados later this week, instead of Jagmohan Dalmiya.
According to a release from the world governing body of the game, ICC chairman Srinivasan’s name is mentioned as the representative of BCCI in the ICC Board Meeting from June 24-26. Srinivasan will also chair the ICC Board Meeting in his capacity as head of the word body.
Researchers have discovered how an immune system protein, called AIM2 (Absent in Melanoma 2), plays a role in determining the aggressiveness of colon cancer.
Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital found that AIM2 deficiency causes uncontrolled proliferation of intestinal cells and also discovered that AIM2 influences the microbiota, the population of gut bacteria, apparently fostering the proliferation of “good” bacteria that can protect against colon cancer.
The toll in the Mumbai hooch tragedy – the worst such in 11 years in Maharashtra – shot up to 94 on Sunday, police said.
Police said so far 94 have succumbed and around 45 more are under treatment in various government and private hospitals since the past four days.
These people had consumed liquor at a country liquor bar in Malwani on Wednesday night.
The Crime Branch, which is probing the incident, has launched a manhunt across Mumbai and its surroundings for at least four bootleggers who are said to be the kingpins of the illicit liquor trade.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday participated in the International Conference on Yoga for Holistic Health in the national capital.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi, who inaugurated the International Yoga Day celebrations in Delhi, dubbed the event as the beginning of a new era of peace and goodwill, thanking all those who have contributed to the development of the great discipline.
An estimated 40,000 people participated in the celebrations at Rajpath, with around two billion people taking part across the world.
With three new cases of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) reported on Sunday, the total number of people affected has swelled to 169 in the country.
According to the health ministry, two medical workers were among the newly-diagnosed three cases, Xinhua reported.
One of them was a doctor who treated a MERS patient at the Samsung Medical Centre in Seoul, dubbed as the epicentre of the outbreak where over 80 were infected.
The second person took X-rays of a MERS patient in another hospital in Seoul.
The toll stood at 25 and the fatality rate, 14.8 percent.
Malaysia is scheduled to hold a memorial service in Kuala Lumpur next month to remember the 298 people who were onboard the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which crashed in eastern Ukraine last year.
Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said he would present a report to the cabinet on Wednesday before finalising the date and other details of the event, The Malaysian Star reported on Sunday.
“The Netherlands as well as Australia will also be holding separate memorial services next month,” Liow said.
Bollywood actress and fitness enthusiast Shilpa Shetty on Sunday took part in International Yoga Day celebrations here.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was also present at the venue.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who inaugurated the celebrations in Delhi, dubbed the International Yoga Day as the beginning of a new era of peace and goodwill, thanking all those who have contributed to the development of the great discipline.
An estimated 40,000 people participated in the celebrations at Rajpath in the national capital, with around two billion people taking part across the world.
Angelina Jolie travelled with her daughter Shiloh Jolie Pitt to Turkey on June 20 to spread awareness about the world refugees.
The 40-year-old actress, who serves as a special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), visited the Syrian and Iraqi refugee camps in Mardin province where she also met Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reported the People Magazine.
Mr. Husain Mohammed Shareef, in – charge of Hyderabadi Rubath in Makkah informed that three buildings have been identified to accommodate 597 Hajj pilgrims of Hyderabad. He informed Telangana Hajj Committee through a letter. He also told the Consul General of India at Jiddah that arrangements have been made for the Hajj pilgrims of Hyderabad. It may be noted that for the past two years, Hyderabadi Hajj pilgrims did not get the facility for free accommodation in Makkah. The present Rubath situated in Misfalah area can accommodate 263 Hajj pilgrims.
The Karnataka Lokayukta police has filed three graft cases against former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa for allegedly freeing from government control prime land in and around the city during his tenure (2008-11) against norms.
“The first information reports (FIRs) have been registered against Yeddyrurappa under the Prevention of Corruption Act on a complaint by a civic activist (Jayakumar Hiremath), based on the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the issue,” a Lokyukta official told IANS on Saturday.
Chit fund companies operating in Maharashtra have come under the scanner of the state government which is considering to take strict action against these dubious establishments to recover investors’ lost money.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has called a meet of SEBI officials, the Enforcement Directorate and police officials to take a final rpt final decision in this regard.
On June 9, BJP MP Kirit Somaiya had submitted a list of 162 companies to the Security Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Fadnavis in connection with the matter.