Politics

Mahinda Rajapaksa concedes defeat in Sri Lanka's presidential election

Colombo, Jan 09 (ANI): President Mahinda Rajapaksa has reportedly conceded defeat to joint opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena in what has been touted as Sri Lanka's tightest-ever seventh presidential election race. According to reports, Rajapaksa has left the official "Temple Trees" residence, after cumulative results indicated that Sirisena was leading by a huge margin. "President Rajapaksa left Temple Trees bowing to the people's mandate in the presidential election," a statement from Rajapaksa's office said. President had talks with the main opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and conveyed his wish to let the new President take over without any hindrance, the statement further said. With final result yet to be out, Sirisena is expected to be declared winner by around 4,00,000 votes. Rajapaksa had served two terms as president and was seeking a record third consecutive term.

Jan 9, 2015

Boko Haram militants kill hundreds in Nigerian town, UN appeals for release of all abductees

Nigeria, Jan 09 (ANI): Boko Haram militants have killed hundreds of people and burned down homes in the northeast Nigerian town of Baga in the past two days, in a second killing spree since seizing control there at the weekend, witnesses said. Two locals said the Islamist insurgents began shooting indiscriminately and burning buildings on Tuesday evening in raids on the civilian population that carried on into Wednesday. It is seen as the gravest threat to Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy, and a headache for President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of an election on February 14. Soldiers fled Baga over the weekend when the Sunni jihadist group overran a nearby army base. The district head of Baga, Abba Hassan said that at least 100 people were killed when the group first took over the town on the edge of Lake Chad. Abubakar Gulama, who escaped without his family to Monguno, 40 km (25 miles) away, said he crossed "many dead bodies on the ground" and that "the whole town was on fire". Meanwhile, United Nations Chief Ban Ki-Moon issued a personal appeal for the release of children kidnapped by extremist groups.

Jan 9, 2015

Cold Wave continues to throw life out of gear across North India

New Delhi/ Uttar Pradesh, Jan 09 (ANI): Most parts of North India continued to be in the grip of a severe cold wave-cum foggy conditions on Friday, throwing normal life out of gear, as road, rail and air traffic was disrupted. The minimum temperature in national capital New Delhi early this morning was seven degree Celsius, one notch below normal. According to the Met department, the cold wave will continue for some more days and there will be dense fog in some places in the city. Visibility on Friday was reduced to 500 meters. Northern Railway confirmed that 52 trains are running late, while two trains have been rescheduled. The Met Department has said there will be clear skies with a maximum temperature of around 12 degrees Celsius. In Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow, there was a sharp decline in minimum temperature. It was pegged at around five degrees Celsius. So far, 160 people have died due to cold wave conditions in the state.

Jan 9, 2015

Beating back the desert in Burkina Faso, field by field

In Burkina Faso, where once was stony semi-wasteland are now verdant crop fields, rescued from relentless desertification by a simple farming technique largely spread by word-of-mouth. Duration: 02:30

Jan 9, 2015

Snowfall in Kufri boosts tourism

Kufri, Jan 09 (ANI): An early spell of snowfall in Kufri this year has brought cheers to the small business community. Nestled in hills, Kufri in Himachal Pradesh has been attracting a steady stream of visitors after temperatures plummeted to zero levels. One of the preferred tourist destinations for people from plains, Kufri has reported a significant jump in tourist numbers. Locals are happy as all sectors linked to tourism industry are doing well. Tourists, both domestic and foreign, have been thronging Kufri since a thick blanket of snow enveloped the hills. Travel agent, Kuldeep Sharma, said the rush of tourists has boosted the revenues of hotels and small traders. A large number of tourists could be seen enjoying snow in forests of Kufri covering almost 23 kilometers of the area.

Jan 9, 2015