Month: August 2014

Former enemies during World War I united for ceremonies surrounding the 100th anniversary of the start of the conflict, with Belgium, France, Germany and Britain standing together at an Allied memorial today to commemorate one of the great early battles.

In a spirit of reconciliation, Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde welcomed German President Joachim Gauck under cloudy skies for the late-morning ceremony amid pomp and military honour.

Germany invaded neutral Belgium on August 4, 1914 as part of a planned attack on France. By nightfall, Britain had joined the war.

Anisa Sayyed doesn’t need to wait for long to succeed in a shooting range but her wait for a job seems to be turning into an endless one with the Haryana government dillydallying for the past three years, leaving the champion shooter with no option but to vent her frustration.

The multiple Commonwealth Games winner, who has clinched a silver in the just-concluded edition in Glasgow to go with her record-breaking double gold in Delhi four years ago, though, is still living in hope.

Habitual cyber offenders will be booked under the amended Goonda Act, which was passed by the state legislature last week, Home Minister K J George said today.

In a recent case, police have said they were considering invoking the amended Goonda Act against a right-wing activist who had launched verbal attacks on women and posted alleged inflammatory remarks against a minority community on Facebook.

V R Bhat, the accused, was arrested on August 2.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said today that the United Nations was “right” to condemn the shelling of a UN school in Gaza, but declined to say whether it breached international law.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the attack on a school in Rafah yesterday, which killed 10 Palestinians who were sheltering there, was a “moral outrage and a criminal act”.

Cameron told the BBC: “The UN has spoken very clearly and I think they’re right to speak very clearly.

In a major breakthrough in space propulsion, NASA researchers have found that ‘impossible’ microwave thrusters that require no propellant may actually work.

Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston have found that a microwave thruster system that requires no propellant does indeed generate a small amount of thrust.

The technology could make spaceflight far cheaper and speedier, potentially opening up much of the cosmos to exploration, experts say.

Superstar Aamir Khan’s nude poster for his upcoming film ‘PK’ invited shock, amusement and even a case, but online buzz suggests it is inspired by a Portuguese musician’s cover art in 1973.

The old poster, which the musician Quim Barreiros apparently used for his album promotions, shows a man posing nude holding an accordion to hide his modesty, bearing resemblance to the ‘PK’ teaser where Aamir is seen naked with a tape-recorder.

The YSR Congress Party has said that the lack of coordination between the two Chief Ministers has a very negative impact on the people, more so on the populace of the Seemandhra as Chandrababu Naidu has failed in the taking up the core issues with his Telangana counterpart nor has he asked the Centre to mediate on disputes resulting in the chaos among various sections of people.

English marks in CSAT-II will not be included for gradation or merit and 2011 candidates may get a second chance to appear for the test next year, government announced in Lok Sabha today seeking to defuse the UPSC row that has seen the aspirants on warpath.

“Government is of the opinion that in the Civil Services Preliminary examination, Paper-II, the marks of the question section on ‘English Language comprehension skills’ should not be included for gradation or merit,” MoS Personnel Jitendra Singh said seeking to mollify the agitating candidates.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Subramanian Swamy today claimed that the United States had completely failed in its Pakistan policy, while referring to the revelations made by one of its diplomats who had served in Afghanistan and alleged that US aid given to Pakistan was directed against India.

China today rushed thousands of soldiers, police and firefighters as well as eight planes to its southwestern Yunnan Province, which was devastated by a strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake that killed nearly 400 people.

The Chengdu Military Area Command has dispatched six helicopters and deployed more than 4,000 servicemen and paramilitary reserve forces to the quake zone, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Two helicopters have already arrived in Yunnan and are rushing to the quake’s epicenter.

A local leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of ex-cricketer Imran Khan was killed today along with his driver and personal gunman when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the northwest of the country.

Faqir Jamsheed Ahamd’s vehicle was targeted on Muddhi Road near Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Three persons have been arrested so far and the Elite Force is taking part in the search operation as well, The Express Tribune reported.

Dera Ismail Khan is located near South Waziristan and has frequently been targeted by the Taliban militants in the past.

Intense efforts were underway today to pull out a six-year-old boy trapped in an abandoned borewell at a farm in nearby Sulikeri village.

Teams from National Disaster Relief Force, nearby Hutti gold mines and fire brigade were engaged in the operation to rescue Thimmanna Hatti, reportedly stuck at a depth of 160 feet in the 300 feet borewell, officials said.

A robot with camera was lowered into the borewell but initial attempts hit a block as it faced a rock at a depth of about 140 feet, Manje Gowda, who is heading the robot team, said.

The United States said it was “appalled” by the shelling of another UN school in Gaza today and called for a “full and prompt” investigation.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki did not explicitly say which side was responsible for the attack that left at least 10 dead, but strongly implied the US believed Israel was responsible, calling on it “to do more to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties.”

The Israeli army today confirmed the death of missing soldier Lieutenant Hadar Goldin by checking the DNA of parts of his body that were found in a tunnel.

Goldin went missing in action on Friday following a deadly incident in southern Gaza on Friday morning in which two other soldiers were killed, with Israel saying it suspected he had been snatched by Palestinian militants.

The incident sparked a major bombardment of the southern city of Rafah and the surrounding area as troops sought to track him down in a display of firepower which killed 114 people in just 24 hours.

Japan is planning to launch a military space force by 2019 that would initially be tasked with protecting satellites from dangerous debris orbiting the Earth, a report said.

The move is aimed at strengthening Japan-US cooperation in space, and comes after the countries pledged to boost joint work on monitoring space debris, Kyodo news agency said yesterday.

Japan would provide the US military with information obtained by the force as part of the joint bid to strengthen ties in space, the so-called “fourth battlefield”, Kyodo said, citing unnamed sources.

Just hours after winning a silver in the Commonwealth Games here, ace shuttler Jwala Gutta has slammed discrimination of doubles game in India, saying that singles players were given more recognition in the country.

Gutta and her partner Ashwini had failed to defend the gold they had won in 2010 Delhi Games after losing 17-21 21-23 to Malaysian pair of Vivian Kah Mun Hoo and Khe Wei Woon at Emirates Arena here last night.

Jwala said given the lack of funding and support for the doubles format in India, it was difficult to inspire youngsters to take up doubles in badminton.

A majority of the murders that take place in the national capital are committed by first-timers, instigated by a sudden provocation and using sharp-edged weapons like knives and scissors, a report by the Delhi Police has revealed.

A copy of the report showed that of the 450 people arrested for murder in the capital between January 1 and July 31 this year, 420 were first timers.

“In 22 percent of the cases the victims were killed due to a sudden provocation or a trivial issue, while 1.6 percent of the people were murdered due to a property dispute,” said the report.

India today strongly condemned the “derogatory” article against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa appearing in the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry website, as the controversy rocked Parliament with an agitated AIADMK demanding a resolution to denounce it.

“The issue raised by (AIADMK leader) V Maitreyan is indeed very serious. India strongly condemns it. We will definitely summon the High Commissioner of that country and tell him about it,” External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said in Rajya Sabha after AIADMK members trooped into the Well demanding a statement from the government.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has hinted that ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati 8’ may travel to foreign cities, after making its in Surat, Gujarat.

The 71-year-old actor, who moved out of the Mumbai studio for the first time for the game show shooting, says there are talks going on to take the show to a global platform.

“There is desire and plans to go to other cities as well .. Within and without … Within of course to the regions where we have not played yet and without…

The Shiv Sena today defended the controversial editorial in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ about rape accused IPS officer Sunil Paraskar, saying the party was being defamed without understanding its stance on the issue.

“We agree that rape is heinous but it is also equally reprehensible to make (baseless) allegations of rape,” an editorial in ‘Saamana’ said.

Heavy rainfall for the past three days has disrupted life in Odisha, killing one person in Boudh district, an official said Monday.

The incessant rain has affected roads and railways traffic and triggered flash floods in several districts, an official of the state flood control told IANS.

A 42-year-old man has died in Boudh when dilapidated walls of a house collapsed over him, the official said. The number of deaths due to rainfall related mishaps during this monsoon season increased to 11 with the death of this man, he said.

The Delhi High Court today agreed to hear tomorrow a plea seeking review of its order banning e-rickshaws on the roads in the national capital. The petition was mentioned before a bench of justices B D Ahmed and S Mridul by advocate R K Kapoor, appearing on behalf of Battery Rickshaw Welfare Association. While the court agreed to hear the matter, it observed that there was a need to regulate the plying of e-rickshaws.

Two men have been sent to 10 years in jail by a Delhi court for gangraping a priest’s 19-year-old wife at gunpoint along with their three aides and committing dacoity in temple premises. Additional Sessions Judge M C Gupta awarded 10 years rigorous imprisonment to 40-year-old Krish Pal and 48-year-old Kamal Das for the offences of gangrape, dacoity and dacoity with an attempt to cause death or grievous hurt under the IPC.

Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal has bid for an iconic mountain range in Britain, sparking protests from local people who believe the move could make the area a playground for the super-rich.

The 2,850ft-high Blencathra mountain, which towers above the Northern Fells in the picturesque Lake District region of Cumbria, was put on the market by Earl of Lonsdale Hugh Lowther in May, with an 1.75 million pounds asking price. Funds from the sale of the 2,676-acre plot will go towards paying off the reported 9 million tax he owes from his father’s inheritance, who died eight years ago.

Pinning his hopes on the newly-elected government at the centre, para-cyclist Aditya Mehta believes Prime Minister Narendra Modi will bring a change in the attitude towards differently-abled sportspersons in the country.

“We are hoping he (Modi) will make a change. His government will make a change. I am hoping to see all the changes. The state government is supporting me. I am hoping to get some rewards from the new government. Old governments, both central and state, were really bad. They didn’t help us,” Aditya told PTI in an interview here.