News

Landslide triggered by heavy rains disconnect villages in Uttarakhand

Uttarkashi/ Dehradun, Aug 18 (ANI): Landslide on Yamunotri road in Uttarakhand, triggered by rains, caused heavy damage near Uttarkashi, cutting off several villages from rest of the state. Flooding caused continuous landslides, blocking roads and disconnecting villages. Up to 82 roads in Uttarakhand were reported unusable. Stones fell on a vehicle on Monday and authorities rushed to the site to rescue the passengers. A crane was also assigned to clear the roads. Locals also claimed that landslide had claimed one life. Meanwhile, floods triggered by heavy rains in the Himalayas have inundated nearly 1,500 villages in northern India, killing at least 28 people and leaving thousands homeless. The government weather department had issued a warning for August 14 and 15 and 16 villages were flooded after a levee broke in Uttarakhand, cutting them off from the rest of the state and marooning around 30,000 people.

Aug 18, 2014

Forest officials rescue leopard from a well in Vadodara

Vadodara, Aug 18 (ANI): Forest officials rescued a female leopard from an open well in Gujarat on Monday. The leopard had fallen into the well that strayed into Jaloda village of Vadodara in search of food. Forest officer, IK Pathan, said they had put a cot for the leopard to cling on and rescued the big cat through a ladder. India_s leopards are under threat, with increasing number of these spotted feline beauties being poached for their hide and body parts. Depletion of their habitat has also threatened the leopards, forcing them to stray into human settlements - attacking people, poultry birds and livestock cattle - and often getting killed in return.

Aug 18, 2014

Sonam Kapoor promotes _Khoobsurat_ at Umang College Fest

Mumbai, August 18 (ANI): Bollywood_s fashionista Sonam Kapoor was spotted promoting her upcoming flick Khoobsurat at Umag college fest in Mumbai recently. Speaking on the occasion Kapoor said its actually cool be misfit. Directed by Shashanka Ghosh and produced by Rhea Kapoor, Anil Kapoor and Siddharth Roy Kapur, Khoobsurat is the remake of the 1980 film of the same name and stars Pakistani actor Fawad Afzal Khan in the lead role. The film is scheduled to release on 19th September.

Aug 18, 2014

Janmashtami Special: Festivity grips nation, devotees form human pyramid for Dahi Handi celebrations

Mumbai, Aug 18 (ANI): Hundreds of devotees on Monday celebrated Gokulashtami also named Janmashtami, the birth of Lord Krishna, and participated in the event of _Dahi Handi_ and formed human pyramid to the tunes of Govinda Aalare Aala in Mumbai city of Maharashtra. The event involves creating a human pyramid and breaking the Handi that contains curd. Devotees were heard chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Rama. This time the organisers used the technique of rock climbing to prevent any untoward incident. It is believed that Lord Krishna was born at the midnight hours. According to Hindu mythology, Krishna is the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the Preserver of the Universe.

Aug 18, 2014

Saharanpur Riot: Politicos react as state probe report blames UP administration, questions BJP_s rol

New Delhi/ Lucknow, Aug 18 (ANI): Samajwadi Party report on riots in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh started a political blame game on Monday. While the SP report blamed the BJP for inciting violence, the latter called the report politically motivated.

Aug 18, 2014

Riot police clear a street with smoke bombs while clashing with demonstrators in Ferguson

Michael Brown Shooting: Tibetan Monks Join Ferguson Protesters

With situation getting out of hand, Missouri Governor has now sent in the National Guard.

Aug 18, 2014

Pakistani Troops Fire at 20 BSF Posts Along Line of Control, Villager Injured

In a major ceasefire violation of 2014, Pakistan fired at 20 BSF posts, injuring one villager.

Aug 18, 2014

Police fire tear gas to disperse Ferguson crowd

Police throw tear gas at protesters after they are hit by Molotov cocktails and looting breaks out in Ferguson. Duration: 01:42

Aug 18, 2014

Pope holds inter-Korean reconciliation mass in Seoul

Pope Francis wraps up the first papal visit to Asia in 15 years, urging the divided Koreas to reject suspicion and confrontation and unite as _one family, one people_. Duration: 01:12

Aug 18, 2014

Julian Assange to Surrender? Fast Declining Health May Force Whistleblower to Court Arrest

Reports say Assange has a heart condition, chronic lung complaint, bad eyesight and high blood-pressure. He is bound to face immediate arrest.

Aug 18, 2014

Politicos react as Ram Jethmalani meets Geelani in Srinagar

New Delhi, Aug 18 (ANI): Politicos on Monday reacted over Supreme Court lawyer and former Law Minister Ram Jethmalani, who had on Saturday met Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Geelani at his Srinagar residence. While some politicos criticized the move rest others said that it is upto Jethmalani to decide whom to meet.

Aug 18, 2014

Former Diplomat says Pak envoy playing mischievous on meeting Separatists

New Delhi, Aug 18 (ANI): Former Indian Diplomat Rajiv Dogra on Monday said that the Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit is playing mischievous when he called for a meeting with Kashmiri Separatist leaders. Dogra said that Pakistan has started getting more chances of troubling India in terms of extending support to separatists as the Indian government has become soft towards Pakistan. He also said that nobody dared to meet the separatists during the leadership of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Aug 18, 2014

Politicos condemn VHP Chief_s statement claiming to fulfill _Ram Mandir_ dream

New Delhi, Aug 18 (ANI): Vishwa Hindu Parishad Chief Praveen Togadia_s statement claiming to fulfill the dream of _Ram Mandir_ has drawn flak from the political leaders. Congress leader Manish Tewari said that VHP is trying to polarize the nation on communal lines by giving such statements. NCP leader Majid Memon said that such remarks should be avoided by people of respect as they may bring communal tendencies among people. SP leader Rajendra Chaudhary said that Praveen Togadia and VHP_s statements do not matter and the Constitution stands beyond any party or committee. CPI leader Brinda Karat stated that the government should look into such statements and see that they do not get encouraged.

Aug 18, 2014

Power outage sparks anti-Pakistan protests in Azad Kashmir

Muzaffarabad, Aug 18: _Pakistan Murdabad, Load shedding na-manzoor_ - the protesters carrying anti-Pakistan banners in Kotli district of Azad Kashmir shows their anger growing against Islamabad_s discriminatory policies. The region has been facing load shedding for over 18-20 hours a day which ultimately affects the local economy and business activities. They call it a deliberate move by Pakistani authorities as the electricity produced in the region is supplied to Punjab and other provinces. A part of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, Azad Kashmir has been under Pakistani rule for over six decades now. People of resource-rich Azad Kashmir are facing intense poverty, underdevelopment and unemployment. Azad Kashmir has its own elected President, Prime Minister and Legislative Assembly, but most of its affairs, including finance and security are controlled by Islamabad.

Aug 18, 2014

KCR says want to be Hitler to stop injustice, politicos react

New Delhi, Aug 18 (ANI): Politicos on Monday reacted over Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao who has called himself Hitler. Defending Telangana government_s controversial decision to hold an intensive household survey on August 19, Rao on Sunday had said that he will be like Hitler to stop _injustice_. NCP leader Tariq Anwar and RJD leader Manoj Jha said that he should take back his comment immediately.

Aug 18, 2014