News

EAM Sushma Swaraj to visit Mauritius on 1st November- Part - 1

New Delhi, Oct 31 (ANI): MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin on Friday informed that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj would be visiting Mauritius from November 1st to 3rd. He added that India and Mauritius have truly exceptional relations of friendship and share historical and cultural heritage. Swaraj would be meeting the top leadership including her counterpart, President and the Prime Minister of Mauritius. Akbaruddin also informed that Swaraj would play host to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitryi Olegovich Rogozin later in the month.

Oct 31, 2014

Cyclone Nilofar has weakened, says MeT department

New Delhi, Oct 31 (ANI): India's Meteorological Department, on Friday said that cyclone Nilofar, has weakened and has turned into a depression and its impact will only be moderate rainfall. Nilofar is expected to make a landfall on Gujarat coast on Saturday. Head of cyclone warning division, India's meteorological department Mrityunjay Mahapatra, said the strong winds along the coast were blowing and the impact of the weakened Nilofar will only be rainfall for next 24 hours. As a precautionary measure, people from around 40 villages have already been evacuated and nine teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed to tackle any untoward incident.

Oct 31, 2014

Security forces recover Improvised Explosive Device in Kashmir

Shopian, Oct 31 (ANI): Security forces recovered Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Shopian district of India’s northern state of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday (October 31), weeks ahead of the assembly elections in the state. The IED, weighing about four kilograms, was hidden inside a small gas cylinder. Indian army official, Major Vishal Kumar, said it was apparently planted to target security forces passing through the area. The traffic on the road was stopped briefly till the cylinder was recovered and taken to a safe place. The army official added the IED was later defused through a controlled explosion by the Bomb Disposal Squad.

Oct 31, 2014

Devendra Fadnavis takes oath as Maharashtra CM

Mumbai, Oct 31 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the 23rd Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Friday (October 31). The oath taking ceremony was held in the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. It was the first time that a Chief Minister's oath taking ceremony was being held in a stadium. BJP core committee members Eknath Khadse, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Vinod Tawde, Pankaja Munde, former Mumbai BJP president Prakash Mehta, Palghar district tribal leader Vishnu Sawra, and Chandrakant Patil also took oath as cabinet ministers. Dilip Kamble and Vidya Thakur were sworn in as ministers of state. The ceremony was attended by close to 30, 000 people including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu and BJP senior leader LK Advani.

Oct 31, 2014

Sri Lankan cricket team arrives in India for One Day International series

Bhubaneswar, Oct 31 (ANI): Sri Lankan cricket team arrived in Odisha on Friday, to play five-match One Day International (ODI) series against India. The Indian and Sri Lankan teams will attend practice sessions on Friday and Saturday before their matches. The first match will be played at the Barabati Stadium in Odisha's Cuttack city on Sunday. According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), Sri Lanka is the fourth most successful team in the ODIs in 2014, a rank below India. While India will play sans captain MS Dhoni, Sri Lanka is set to battle without two of their best bowlers, Lasith Malinga and Rangana Herath. Earlier this month, Sri Lanka was called in to fill the void by the West Indies team, which abandoned its India tour after a pay dispute between the players and the cricket board.

Oct 31, 2014

Apple CEO Tim Cook Comes Out; Says He's Proud to Be Gay

Apple CEO Tim Cook described his sexuality as "among the greatest gifts God has given me".

Oct 31, 2014

Peshmerga at Turkish border to reinforce besieged Kobane

Iraqi Peshmerga fighters were waiting on Friday at the Turkish Syrian border to enter Kobane and support the Kurdish forces in this city. Duration: 00:28

Oct 31, 2014

First litter born to new dog breed in Slovakia

First ten puppies born to new dog breed the Tatra Hound. The parents are the product of over two years of development, working with hunters and professionals. Duration: 00:41

Oct 31, 2014

Fire rips through 10-storey building in Bangladesh

A fire rips through a ten-storey building in the Bangladeshi capital, it took firefighters two hours to bring it under control. Duration: 00:34

Oct 31, 2014

Malaria threat in Liberia as fight against Ebola rages

Focus on treating the Ebola epidemic in Liberia means that treatment for malaria, itself a killer, is hard to come by. MSF are now undertaking the mass distribution of antimalarials in Monrovia. Duration: 00:38

Oct 31, 2014

Not bothered about militants' plan to assassinate me, says Sheikh Hasina

Dhaka, Oct 31 (ANI): Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said she is not at all worried about the suspected plan by banned militant group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) to assassinate her. During a press conference in capital Dhaka, Hasina said she will die only after completing all her work for Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Hasina said all South Asian countries are working unanimously towards prevention of militancy and thus they share information on a regular basis.

Oct 31, 2014

Traders hail increased trade between India and Pakistan

Poonch, Oct 31 (ANI): Indian and Pakistani traders hailed cross-border trade between both the countries, which has crossed rupees 10 billion mark. India and Pakistan had announced new Confidence Building Measures (CBM), including increase in number of trading points along the Line of Control (LoC), when the foreign ministers of the two countries had met in New Delhi in 2011. President of Cross LoC Traders Association, Pawan Anand said people of India's Jammu and Kashmir have significantly taken part in the development of the trade.

Oct 31, 2014

Centre misconstrues my protest, trying to help people: Irom Sharmila

New Delhi, Oct 31 (ANI): Manipur's "Iron Lady" and India's human rights activist Irom Sharmila, who is on a hunger strike for past 14 years protesting against alleged army atrocities, said on Friday that she was not a militant and only fighting for right to live. Sharmila is facing trial in a Delhi court for alleged suicide attempt by refusing food during a protest in the Indian capital in 2006. A senior Delhi Police official claimed that he saw Sharmila's health deteriorating. Under Indian law, attempting suicide is a punishable offence. Sharmila, who was jailed two days after she was set free by a court in Imphal in August, is on bail at the moment. However, she is in judicial custody.

Oct 31, 2014

Several Ex-Guantanamo Bay Prisoners Join ISIS in Syria

A report has found that at least 180 former detainees at Guantanamo Bay have taken up arms and joined the jihad in Syria.

Oct 31, 2014

Former Union Carbide Chief Warren Anderson dies at age of 92

New Delhi, Oct 31 (ANI): Former Union Carbide chairman Warren Anderson, who was wanted in connection with the December 1984 Bhopal gas leak case, died on September 29 at a nursing home in Vero Beach, Florida. He was 92 years of age. Anderson led Union Carbide when thousands were killed in a gas leak at its plant in India, which led to multiple calls for his extradition to India to face prosecution for his role. Anderson was arrested following the incident and charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, grievous assault and killing and poisoning human beings and animals. He was subsequently released on bail under controversial circumstances.

Oct 31, 2014