Month: June 2015

The wheelchair-bound veteran Malayalam film actor Jagathy Sreekumar, today appeared at a public function for the first time since his accident in 2012, even as there was high drama as his second daughter rushed to the stage to hug and kiss him.

Sreelakshmi, a budding actress herself later said she had not been allowed to meet her father by his family all throughout the last three years.

The organisers were taken aback at first on seeing a young girl in jeans and a white top rushing to the stage, hugging the actor and planting a kiss on his cheek.

A 37-year-old ITBP Jawan is feared drowned while taking bath in a canal today at Gillan wali village here, police said.

Palwinder Singh went to a branch of Upper Bari Doab Canal (UBDC) for taking bath and is feared drowned, they said.

His body was yet to be recovered, they said.

Singh was serving in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and was posted at Assam.

He had come to his village Nikko Sarain under Dera Baba Nanak police station on leave, they added.

Iran and major powers admitted during tense talks today that their fast-looming deadline to nail down a historic nuclear deal would be missed as they struggled to overcome major differences.

Officials in Vienna said however that Tuesday’s target date would only be missed by a few days, with Iran saying there was “no desire or discussion yet” on a longer extension.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif meanwhile was set to return to Tehran for consultations, officials said, although the US said this was not a matter of concern.

Twenty cows were today run over by a goods train on Ambala-Saharanpur rail section near Ambala Cantt, police said.

While 20 of them died on the spot, two more sustained major injuries, they said.

The cows, owned by a migrant shepherd belonging to Rajasthan, were grazing on the rail track near Durala village when the train ran over them, a police official said.

Following the incident, the train halted there for sometime, he said, adding that the matter was being probed.

The Indian School of Mines has written to the West Bengal government requesting for land to set up a regional centre in the city, a senior official of the Dhanbad-based institute said here today.

The ISM had first written to the state government in 2013, after which it contacted then state education minister Bratya Basu in this connection, ISM Director Prof DC Panigrahi told reporters today.

The Director of a Delhi Public School (DPS) branch Devendra Prasad died today after being thrashed by a mob following recovery of the bodies of two students from a ditch in Bihar’s Nalanda district.

Prasad succumbed during treatment at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), Nalanda’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Sidharth Mohan Jain told PTI.

A post-mortem was being carried out on the body to ascertain exact cause of the DPS official’s death, he said.

In an early morning shocker, as many as 85 vehicles, most of them two-wheelers, were set on fire by unknown miscreants in the parking lots of various residential societies in Sun City area here today.

The burnt vehicles included 77 two-wheelers and eight cars, police inspector of Sinhagad police station B Kashid said.

Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic has denied accusations of cheating despite admitting top players routinely break the rules by communicating with their coaches during matches.

Tennis governing body rules forbid coaches from instructing their players in the middle of matches.

But Djokovic’s coach Boris Becker has revealed the Serb’s back-room staff “have our ways” of signalling to the world number one on court “to tell him it’s good or it’s bad”.

Power Minister Piyush Goyal today said the Inergated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) is aimed at strengthening the power sub-transmission and distribution network in urban areas in states and Union Territories.

IPDS was scheduled to be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today but the programme was cancelled due to heavy rains. The Power Ministry will soon finalise a new date for the launch.

Talking to reporters, Goyal said IPDS will also ensure 100 per cent metering at feeders, distribution, transformer and consumers and for IT enablement of distribution sector.

With the death of nine Asiatic lions following heavy rains in Gujarat, a wildlife body has requested Union minister Prakash Javadekar not to challenge in Supreme Court the shifting of lions from Gir National Park to Palpur-Kuno wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.

“As you are aware that a number of lions were killed due to recent flood in Gujarat and there is an apprehension that they may face serious consequences in post-flood scenario, like outbreak of serious epidemic.

Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for postponing his Varanasi visit due to heavy rainfall, Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan today said he should not play with the emotions of the people.

“Whether it’s fortune or misfortune of the people of Varanasi, they will decide, but keeping in mind the manner in which the visit has been cancelled for the second time… Now the ‘badshah’ of the country should lay foundation stone or inaugurate schemes from his office instead of holding public meetings,” he said.

Novak Djokovic insists his heartbreaking French Open final defeat has been consigned to history as he begins his Wimbledon title defence on Monday.

The world number one had stayed resolutely out of the spotlight since his Roland Garros upset by Stan Wawrinka ended his latest bid to complete the career Grand Slam.

But the Serb says he is fired up to defend his Wimbledon crown just as he was in 2011 when he captured his maiden title in London.

In a major recovery of illegal explosives, the Bihar police today seized 101 gelatin sticks, 300 detonators, bundles of fuse wire and battery chargers in the district here.

Nawada Superintendent of Police Parvez Akhtar said the seizure was made from a mica mine located in Phalguni forest near Sawaiya Tand under Rajauli police station.

“The mine was raided on the basis of a tip-off. The gelatin sticks, detonators and other materials were kept illegally in the mine and its owner fled after seeing us,” Akhtar said.

As many as 51 cases of rape and 208 cases of harassment have been registered in the district till May this year.

According to district police data, as many as 51 rape cases have been registered in various parts of the district.

Cases of harassment against woman stood at 208 till May 31, 2015, they said.

Twelve cases of chain-snatching were also reported during this period, they added.

A 5.4-magnitude earthquake has shaken Mexico’s southern state of Oaxaca, though Mexican officials said no injuries or significant damage was reported.

The US Geological Survey initially measured the tremor at 5.1, but later raised its reading.

The quake hit the Isthmus of Tehuantepec at 10:54 am yesterday in a mountainous area about 17 kilometers northeast of the town of Niltepec. It had a depth of 91 kilometers.

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian has revealed her divorce with former husband Kris Humphries left her thinking that her family’s business and show would meet its doom.

“At the time when I was going through the divorce I did say to everyone, ‘You guys I think our careers are over. I hope you’ve saved your money. And now we’ll just continue to do our clothing stores and continue to do what we started off doing before the show,'” Kardashian said.

Actress Evangeline Lilly hopes her “Ant-Man” character Hope van Dyne will go on to feature in more Marvel movies.

The 35-year-old brunette beauty stars as Hope van Dyne – the daughter of Henry Pym and Janet van Dyne, AKA the original Ant-Man and Wasp – in the new “Ant-Man” movie and hopes her contract will see her become the new Wasp and move into the wider superhero universe, reported Contactmusic.

A small plane has crashed into a house, killing three people on board, police said, but residents managed to flee as fire engulfed the home.

The Beechcraft BE36 aircraft crashed into the house at about 5:45 pm yesterday, said Jim Peters of the Federal Aviation Administration. It had taken off from Lancaster Airport in Pennsylvania and was headed to Norwood Memorial Airport in Massachusetts.

Actress Katie Holmes loves being surrounded by books because they make her feel “peaceful and happy”.

The 36-year-old actress, who has nine-year-old daughter Suri with ex-husband Tom Cruise, said she finds it easy to switch off from work as she keeps her personal and professional lives separate, reported Contactmusic.

“I don’t take my work home with me. We’re just playing characters so I do my work and then I go home and live my life. I love reading books, which makes me feel very peaceful and happy. A room full of books is one of the most peaceful places to be,” she said.

“Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star received handmade artwork from nieces North West and Penelope Disick on her 31st birthday.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s two-year-old spelled out Khloe’s nickname “KoKo” with glitter letters and tiny pom-poms on construction paper.

Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick’s little used crayons

to write “KoKo LoKo” and added colorful feathers, reported Us magazine.

Actress Kate and actor Oliver Hudson are considered dead by their father Bill Hudson.

The 65-year-old actor, who has three other children, has requested Kate, 36, the “Rules of Engagement” actor, 38, who he fathered with actress Goldie Hawn, stop using the surname Hudson, as he does not consider them to be his after their hurtful posts on Twitter on Father’s Day, reported Female First.

At the time, along with a picture of Bill with the two siblings as young children, Oliver posted to his sister, “Happy abandonment day…”

At least four terrorists were killed today in an encounter with the law enforcement agencies in Pakistan’s Punjab province, with the officials claiming to have averted a “major terror attack”.

Police in collaboration with the intelligence agencies launched a search operation in Rachna Town Khan Colony in Sheikhupura district in the wee hours today, some 60 kms from here, following a tip-off that some terrorists were hiding at a house, a Punjab police spokesperson said.

Officials in Chad have arrested 60 people including suspects from Cameroon, Nigeria and Mali in relation to an attack earlier this month in the capital that killed dozens of people and wounded more than 100 others.

Chad prosecutor Alghassim Khamis said yesterday that new details have been uncovered concerning the June 15 attack that saw one suicide bomber blow himself up on foot outside a police station and two others near a police academy.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced today that the country’s crisis-hit banks will be shut tomorrow and capital controls imposed to prevent withdrawals, after cash machines ran dry.

The emergency measures were agreed at a cabinet meeting after a gathering of Greece’s systemic stability council, called after Eurogroup eurozone finance ministers refused to extend its bailout beyond Tuesday, sparking default fears over an IMF loan repayment due the same day.

Italian coast guard ships and vessels from a multi-nation naval mission and humanitarian organizations rescued at least 2,900 migrants today from 21 boats launched by smugglers from Libyan shores, authorities said.

The coast guard said the rescues were carried out by military vessels from Italy, Spain, Ireland, Britain as well as a boat run by humanitarian personnel.