Amarnath Yatra begins, Home Minister Rajnath Singh to join pilgrims today

Amid tight security arrangements, annual Amarnath yatra begins from Jammu today. The first batch of nearly 5000 pilgrims including Home Minister Rajnath Singh will leave for 3,888-metre high cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.

“The annual Amarnath yatra will begin from Jammu winter capital city tomorrow for its onward journey to cave shrine of Lord Shiva in south Kashmir Himalayas today,” Yatra officer and Additional Deputy Commissioner Jammu Piyush said.

Nene Leakes quits ‘Real Housewives’

TV personality NeNe Leakes has confirmed she has quit “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” after being on the show for seven years.

The 47-year-old actress, who is one of the original cast members of the reality tv show, said she won’t be appearing in season eight, as her contract is up and it’s the right time to move on to other things, reported People Magazine.

“This was definitely a hard decision for me. Me and my husband (Gregg Leakes) have been going back and forth on it for weeks now.

VIP Culture! Devendra Fadnavis delays AI flight for an hour

An Air India flight to Newark from Mumbai was delayed by nearly an hour after it was reported that an aide of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis travelling with him had not carried his passport with valid US visa.

“The allegation that I forced delay of the flight to Newark is false and misleading,” said Fadnavis.

When contacted, an Air India spokesperson said that the flight AI-191 in which Fadnavis was to travel was delayed by 57 minutes for a mix of reasons.

Jada Pinkett Smith ‘more playful’ with husband Will

Actress Jada Pinkett Smith says starring in the upcoming comedy-drama film “Magic Mike XXL” has taught her to be more “playful” with her husband Will Smith.

The 43-year-old star said being on the set of the stripper movie taught her to match Smith’s funny personality in their marriage, reported Femalefirst.

“It really taught me how to be more playful with my husband… He’s a silly man all day long. He’s the guy who hides behind the door and jumps out. He’s that guy. All day.

Sena leader suggests ministers facing allegations step down

Even as two Maharashtra BJP ministers came under cloud over allegations of irregularities in awarding contracts, Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant today favoured their stepping down until proved innocent.

The Sena leader also said that the party will wait for Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ statement on the issue.

Paris Hilton wants to sue people behind plane crash prank?

Socialite Paris Hilton reportedly plans to sue the pranksters for emotional distress caused by the plane crash prank.

Hilton, 34, was “totally freaked out” over the prank and the “Stars Are Blind” singer apparently had no idea that it was a prank, reported Ace Showbiz.

The hotel heiress reportedly has called her attorney to find out the people responsible for the prank and those who put her on the plane.

However, she doesn’t believe that anyone in her entourage was involved in the stunt.

Man accused in Boko Haram abduction of Chibok girls arrested

Nigerian troops have arrested a businessman accused of “participating actively” in Boko Haram’s mass abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls from the northeastern town of Chibok last year, Nigeria’s Defence Ministry has said.

Spokesman Maj Gen Chris Olukolade said yesterday that Babuji Ya’ari headed a “terrorists’ intelligence cell” for the Islamic extremists while masquerading as a member of the self-defence Youth Vigilante Group. That confirms suspicions that the vigilantes have been infiltrated by Boko Haram.

Cuba becomes first nation to eliminate mother-to-child HIV

Cuba has become the first country in the world to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, the World Health Organisation has said.

“Eliminating transmission of a virus is one of the greatest public health achievements possible,” WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said yesterday.

“This is a major victory in our long fight against HIV and sexually transmitted infections, and an important step towards having an AIDS-free generation.”

Spanish reporter says he fled Egypt to avoid arrest

A Spanish reporter who wrote a book on the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood has said that he had fled Egypt after he was warned that local authorities were planning to arrest him.

Ricard Gonzalez, 36, had been working in Egypt since 2011 as a correspondent for Spanish daily El Pais and had also contributed articles for Argentine newspaper La Nacion. He fled Egypt two weeks ago.

“Spanish authorities told me there was an imminent risk of being arrested and indicted, and it could be serious. They advised me to leave the country,” Gonzalez told AFP yesterday in a telephone interviews.

Greece defaults on IMF debt

Greece has become the first developed country to default on its debt to the International Monetary Fund, after missing a 1.5 billion euro (USD 1.7 billion) payment.

“I confirm that the SDR 1.2 billion repayment due by Greece to the IMF today has not been received,” said Fund spokesman Gerry Rice yesterday.

“We have informed our executive board that Greece is now in arrears and can only receive IMF financing once the arrears are cleared.”

US senator on visit to Venezuela amid diplomatic detente

The Republican chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee is making a surprise visit to Venezuela amid a US effort to reduce tensions with the South American nation.

Sen Bob Corker of Tennessee was meeting yesterday with members of Venezuela’s opposition, said Maria Corina Machado, an opposition leader. She added on Twitter that she expected to meet with Corker in the coming hours.

NASA to land astronauts on Mars, Phobos cost-effectively by 2039

Forget Earth’s Moon, astronauts may now land on Mars and its moon Phobos. Also the trip may cost you not much. In fact NASA is considering options to put the cost-eefective step into process soon which will hopefully happen by 2039.

Now, NASA is planning to land astronauts on Mars cost-effectively by 2039 if the US space agency takes a stepwise approach that includes a manned trip to the red planet’s moon Phobos, scientists say.

Sending astronauts to Mars is the top long-term priority of NASA’s human-spaceflight programme.

At least 116 dead in Indonesia military plane crash

At least 116 people were killed today when an Indonesian air force transport plane crashed into a major city shortly after take-off and exploded in a fireball, officials said.

Buildings were left in ruins and cars reduced to flaming wrecks when the Hercules C-130 came down in a residential area of Medan, a city of two million on the island of Sumatra.

Air force chief Agus Supriatna said the manifest showed there were 113 people on board the plane — 12 crew and 101 passengers—when it crashed, and he did not believe any had survived.

Lawsuit challenges US governor’s religious objections order

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s executive order that aims to give special protections to people who oppose same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and should be thrown out, gay rights advocates argue in a lawsuit filed today.

The lawsuit comes days after the US Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that effectively struck down bans on same-sex marriage in Louisiana and several other states.

Louisiana began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples yesterday. The state had been the last to do so.

US names new Guantanamo special envoy

Secretary of State John Kerry today appointed a new special envoy to lead the Obama administration’s efforts to close the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Lee Wolosky, a lawyer who was the White House’s director of transnational threats under both presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, will serve as the State Department’s Special Envoy for Guantanamo Closure.

Solar Impulse reaches quarter way point in Japan-US flight

A solar-powered aircraft on a round-the-world flight was high above the Pacific Ocean today, over a quarter of the way to Hawaii after leaving Japan, the mission website showed.

Solar Impulse 2 had travelled 26 per cent of the way to the tropical US state by 0500 GMT, having flown 2,204 kilometres (1,377 miles) with 6,136 kilometres more to go, according to the project.

That put the plane and its veteran pilot more than 36 hours into the toughest leg of the bid to circumnavigate the planet using only the power of the sun.

38 dead after Indonesian military plane crashes in flames

An Indonesian air force transport plane today crashed into a residential area of a major city shortly after take-off, exploding in a fireball and killing at least 38 people.

Officials warned the death toll could rise after the Hercules C-130 came down in Medan, a city of two million on the island of Sumatra, leaving buildings severely damaged and cars reduced to flaming wrecks.

A major rescue operation swung into action, with ambulances ferrying bodies from the accident site, and crowds of anxious residents gathering around a police cordon to get a look.

At least 20,000 pro-bailout supporters rally in Athens

Thousands of people rallied in Athens today in support of a bailout deal with international creditors which has been rejected by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, leaving Greece on the brink of default.

At least 20,000 people, many waving European and Greek flags and blowing whistles, gathered in front of parliament in Syntagma square five days before a referendum on whether or not to accept the bailout.

Keltron founding chairman K P P Nambiar passes away

K P P Nambiar, founding Chairman of Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (Keltron), a public sector electronics company in Kerala, died here tonight due to age-related illnesses, family sources said.

Nambiar (86) is survived by wife Umadevi Nambiar and a son and a daughter.

“My father, Shri KPP Nambiar passed away in his residence at 7.50 pm due to age-related illnesses,” Kiran Nambiar, son of K P P Nambiar, told PTI here.

Nambiar was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 2006. He was also was the president of the World Malayalee Council.

If lucky you may find a diamond in this park!

A lucky woman in the US has found an 8.52 carat white diamond at Arkansas’s Crater of Diamonds State Park after only 20 minutes of searching.

Clear white and icicle shaped, the gem is the fifth largest diamond found by a park visitor since the state park was established at Arkansas’s diamond site in 1972.

Bobbie Oskarson of Longmont, Colorado, found the diamond on June 24 in a couple of scoops she had dug from a small mound of dirt.

Tunisia attack: Horrific footage shows ordeal!

Tunisia today said it had made its first arrests after a beach massacre that killed 38 people, as European officials paid tribute to victims of the country’s worst jihadist attack.

British Home Secretary Theresa May, speaking at the scene of Friday’s gun attack at a Tunisian holiday resort, vowed that “the terrorists will not win” after London warned that Britain’s death toll could rise to “around 30”.

In ‘first’, ISIS now beheads two women in Syria

The Islamic State group has beheaded two women in Syria on accusations of “sorcery,” the first such execution of women in Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said today.

“The Islamic State group executed two women by beheading them in Deir Ezzor province, and this is the first time the Observatory has documented women being killed by the group in this manner,” Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The Britain-based monitor said the executions took place on Monday and Sunday and involved two couples.

Suicide blasts hit Afghanistan; two dead, 60 injured

Suicide attackers today targeted foreign troops in Kabul and a police headquarters in restive southern Afghanistan, killing two people and wounding nearly 60, as the Taliban’s bloody summer offensive showed no signs of letting up.

A powerful blast echoed around the Afghan capital as a suicide car bomber hit a convoy of foreign military vehicles on the main road to the airport, around 500 metres from the US embassy, wounding at least 17 people.

Airtel teams up with Nokia for 3G services

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel has selected Nokia Networks for the rollout its 3G services in five telecom circles and network expansion in three zones.

Under the four-year contract, Nokia will provide its equipment and services to Bharti Airtel’s infrastructure.

“We are happy to further extend our long-term association with Nokia Networks towards innovating our network’s service delivery mechanism and deliver a host of multi-media apps as well as services for Airtel customers,” Bharti Airtel Director of Network Services Group Abhay Savargaonkar said in a statement.

Gionee mulls to invest $ 50 million in India

Chinese mobile handset player Gionee today said it will invest USD 50 million in India over the next three years to set up a manufacturing facility.

The company is in talks with a few contract manufacturers for the facility but did not divulge further details.

“The investment we are looking at is about USD 50 million over the next three years. It will be contract manufacturing,” Gionee India Country CEO and MD Arvind Vohra told PTI.

Vohra said he visited various manufacturing facilities across the country during the last one month.