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Seven people, including a six-year-old and 16-year-old, were killed when a bus overturned east of Vicksburg, Mississippi, early Saturday, Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey said. The two young victims were siblings, according to the coroner. The Mississippi Highway Patrol said the incident took place around 12:40 a.m. on Interstate 20 near Bovina in Warren County when a 2018 Volvo commercial passenger bus traveling westbound left the roadway and overturned. Thirty-seven passengers were transported to different hospitals with unknown injuries, the agency said. It said the co-driver was not transported. "Anytime you have people injured or killed, it's tragic but when you have a situation like this where you have multiple fatalities and multiple injuries, it makes it even worse," Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace told an ABC affiliate. Huskey said most of the passengers on the bus were Latin American. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staf...

Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday suggested his support for the decriminalization of marijuana, saying taxpayer dollars should not be wasted arresting people carrying "personal amounts." "In Florida, like so many other states that have already given their approval, personal amounts of marijuana will be legalized for adults with Amendment 3," Trump said about an effort in his home state to legalize the possession and purchase of up to 3 ounces for adults over the age of 21. "Whether people like it or not, this will happen through the approval of the voters, so it should be done correctly." Trump, who is the Republican nominee for president, said state lawmakers should create laws that ban use of marijuana in public spaces. He added that someone should not be a criminal in one state when marijuana use is legal in others. "We do not need to ruin lives and waste taxpayer dollars arresting adults with personal amounts of it on them, and n...

President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Ukraine's Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk on Friday, according to a presidential decree. The dismissal was announced just a day after the Ukrainian military reported that an F-16 jet crashed and its pilot died while repelling a major Russian strike on Monday. "I have decided to replace the commander of the Air Forces... I am eternally grateful to all our military pilots," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address. He did not give a reason for dismissal but mentioned that personnel must be protected, and that there was a need to strengthen the command level. Ukraine's General Staff said that General Lieutenant Anatoliy Kryvonozhka would temporarily perform the duties of commander. The Ukrainian military did not provide a reason for Monday's crash but said the jet came down while it was approaching a Russian target. Oleshchuk said on Monday partners from the US were helping to investigate the incident. ...

Israel on Thursday pressed a large-scale military operation in the occupied West Bank that killed at least 16 Palestinians in two days, despite UN concerns it was "fuelling an already explosive situation". The "counter-terrorism" operation underway across the northern West Bank since early Wednesday has killed 16 Palestinians, the Israeli military said. The Palestinian health ministry gave the same figure, after both revised earlier tolls. The raids on several towns and refugee camps were launched as violence raged on in the war-battered Gaza Strip, the besieged Palestinian territory separated from the West Bank by Israel. The World Health Organization said Israel had agreed to at least three days of "humanitarian pauses" in parts of Gaza, starting Sunday, to facilitate a vaccination drive after the first case of once-eradicated polio had been confirmed in the territory. Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment, ...

India has targeted to train 175 civil servants from Maldives through tailor-made programmes in specific disciplines, according to an official statement issued today. A bilateral meeting was held today between National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) Director General V Srinivas and Maldives Civil Service Commission President Mohamed Nasih to firm up the implementation modalities of the India-Maldives MoU for imparting training to the civil servants of Maldives over a period of five years 2024 -2029, it said. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed and renewed between the NCGG, government of India, and the Civil Service Commission (CSC), Republic of Maldives, for capacity building programs for 1,000 Maldivian civil servants on August 9 in Male, Maldives. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Maldives' Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer renewed the MoU for the period 2024-2029 as part of the development partnership discussions between both nations, said the statement iss...

A US appeals court has revived a lawsuit against TikTok by the mother of a 10-year-old girl who died after taking part in a viral "blackout challenge" in which users of the social media platform were dared to choke themselves until they passed out. While a federal law typically shields internet companies from lawsuits over content posted by users, the Philadelphia-based 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled the law does not bar Nylah Anderson's mother from pursuing claims that TikTok's algorithm recommended the challenge to her daughter. US Circuit Judge Patty Shwartz, writing for the three-judge panel, said that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 only immunises information provided by third parties and not recommendations TikTok itself made via an algorithm underlying its platform. She acknowledged the holding was a departure from past court rulings by her court and others holding that Section 230 immunises an online platform from lia...

Police in the Maldives are investigating an alleged attempt to topple President Mohamed Muizzu by stirring anger over the Indian Ocean archipelago's worsening financial conditions. Last week, the main commercial bank in the upmarket tourist destination drastically reduced the foreign exchange spending allowed for Maldivians, sparking widespread anger. Muizzu has slammed the move as an "illegal attempt" to overthrow his government, by making him unpopular and encouraging street protests. "An investigation has been launched into the alleged coup attempt," the police said in a statement late Monday. There have been no demonstrations in the capital Male, but scathing criticism of the government has erupted online. "Hundreds of 'bot' accounts have been used on social media to encourage people to take to the streets to overthrow the government and incite public unrest," police said. The bank said the changes, which they have since rescinded, ca...

The United States continues to assess that the threat of attack against Israel by Iran and its proxy groups still exists, the Pentagon said on Monday, after Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel in retaliation for the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander. "I would point you to some of the public comments that have been made by Iranian leaders and others... we continue to assess that there is a threat of attack," Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder told reporters. Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said earlier that Iran's aggressive activities towards Israel had never been higher, adding Israel and the U.S. must be prepared to prevent the Islamic Republic from gaining nuclear weapons. Gallant was meeting with top U.S. military officer General C.Q. Brown, who is on a trip to the region aimed at preventing Israel's war with the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza from engulfing the region. In one of the biggest cl...

Bangladesh's interim government chief Muhammad Yunus on Monday met the country's Hindu community leaders and vowed to promote interfaith harmony as he hosted a reception for them coinciding with Janmashtami. The minority Hindu population has faced vandalisation of their business and properties and devastation of Hindu temples in the students' violence that ensued for days following the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India on August 5. During the meeting, Mr Yunus said he wants to build a Bangladesh where everyone can practice their faith without any fear and where no temple needs to be guarded. "Our responsibility is to establish the rights of every citizen. Our job is to ensure justice for every citizen," he told a group of Hindu leaders at the State Guest Jamuna in the capital. "There can't be any divisions among people in our country. We are equal citizens. The interim government is determined to protect the rights of every cit...

A British woman on Sunday celebrated her 102nd birthday by skydiving out of a plane and said she hoped her daredevil antics might inspire other elderly people to stay active. Manette Baillie said it was "a bit scary", adding "I must admit I shut my eyes very firmly." Baillie told BBC radio she just wanted "other people who are getting towards 80 and 90 not to give up anything. Just keep going". It's not the first time the centenarian from the village of Benhall Green in eastern England has taken on a daredevil challenge. She drove around the Silverstone motor racing circuit in a Ferrari at 210 kilometres per hour (130 miles per hour) to mark her 100th birthday two years ago. The skydive at Beccles Airfield involved Baillie jumping from a height of more than 2,100 metres (6,900 feet), with an assistant strapped into the harness with her. Baillie said earlier she had been spurred into action after hearing about a friend's 85-year-old father who...

US rapper Macklemore has announced he is cancelling an upcoming show in Dubai over the UAE's involvement in the conflict in Sudan, charges the Gulf state has denied.  The rapper best known for hits like 2012's "Thrift Shop" made the announcement in a post on social media on Saturday. "I have decided to cancel my upcoming show in Dubai this October," he said. "Over the last several months I've had a number of people reach out to me, sharing resources and asking me to cancel the show in solidarity with the people of Sudan," he said. "Until the UAE stops arming and funding the RSF I will not perform there," Macklemore added, referring to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that have been battling the Sundanese army. War has raged since April 2023 between the Sudanese army, under the country's de facto ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, which is commanded by Burhan's former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.  For months,...

Beekeepers across France say it has been a disastrous year for honey, with bees starving to death and production plummeting by up to 80 percent. Mickael Isambert, a beekeeper in Saint-Ours-les-Roches in central France, lost 70 percent of his honey and had to feed his colonies sugar to help them survive after a cold, rainy spring. "It has been a catastrophic year," said Isambert, 44, who looks after 450 hives. A beehive typically produces 15 kilos (33 pounds) of honey a year, but this time, Isambert said his farm had only produced between five and seven kilos. When it rains, bees "don't fly, they don't go out, so they eat their own honey reserves," said his co-manager and fellow beekeeper Marie Mior. Low temperatures and heavy rainfall have prevented bees from gathering enough pollen, and flowers from producing nectar -- which the insects collect to make honey. 'Some died of hunger' Bad weather has affected honey producers countrywide, with spr...

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Friday he would suspend his campaign, and endorsed Republican Donald Trump, likely ending a presidential bid that he began as a Democrat trading on one of the most famous names in American politics. His campaign indicated that he feared staying in the race would siphon support from former President Trump, who is locked in a tight contest with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the Nov. 5 election. An environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine activist and son and nephew of two titans of Democratic politics who were assassinated during the turbulent 1960s, Kennedy entered the race in April 2023 as a challenger to President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination. With voters at the time turned off by both the aging Biden and the legally embattled Trump, interest in Kennedy soared. He shifted his plans and decided to run as an independent, and a November 2023 Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Kennedy drawing the support of...

U.S. President Joe Biden asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move Israeli troops back from Gaza's border with Egypt as part of an initial phase of a ceasefire deal so that talks could continue, Axios reported on Friday. Netanyahu partially accepted Biden's request made in their call on Wednesday and agreed to give up an Israeli troop position along one part of the Egypt-Gaza border, three Israeli officials told Axios. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) from NDTV News-World-news https://ift.tt/1JmKVW2

Kenyan police offered a cash reward on Thursday for information leading to the arrest of a suspected serial killer who escaped from a Nairobi police cell. Police launched a manhunt on Tuesday after Collins Jumaisi, who is accused of murdering and dismembering dozens of women, broke out of a police station in an upmarket area of the Kenyan capital along with 12 Eritreans. Five officers appeared in court on Wednesday suspected of aiding Jumaisi's escape and have been freed on a 200,000 Kenyan shilling ($1,500) bond, despite prosecutors seeking an order to keep them in custody for 14 days. The magistrate dismissed the prosecutor's arguments that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had yet to retrieve surveillance footage. The 33-year-old Jumaisi, described by police as a "vampire, a psychopath", was arrested last month after the gruesome discovery of a number of mutilated female bodies in a rubbish dump in Mukuru slum area in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. ...

The marine weather phenomenon blamed for sinking a British tech tycoon's yacht off Sicily, known as a waterspout, may have been strengthened by unusually warm waters in the Mediterranean, experts said. The 56-metre (183-foot) "Bayesian", being used by Mike Lynch and his wealthy guests to celebrate a court victory, disappeared into the sea within minutes of being hit by the tornado-like storm off the Sicilian town of Porticello. One body has been found and Lynch, his daughter, and Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International, are among six people missing since the disaster at 4:00 am on Monday. The British-flagged vessel was anchored some 700 metres from the port with 10 crew and 12 passengers on board when the waterspout struck, according to witnesses. Karsten Borner, the skipper of a yacht anchored nearby, described a "very strong hurricane gust" that hit. He was battling to keep his vessel steady when suddenly "we noticed that the ship ...

An intense storm sank a luxury yacht off Sicily's coast on Monday, killing one man and leaving six missing, including British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his daughter. Fifteen people escaped before the yacht sank. Here are details about the missing passengers. MIKE LYNCH AND DAUGHTER HANNAH Tech entrepreneur Lynch built Britain's biggest software company, Autonomy. Often dubbed Britain's Bill Gates, the 59-year-old was lauded by shareholders, scientists and politicians when he sold it to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011. But in late 2012, HP said it had found a massive accounting scandal at the business, and wrote off $8.8 billion of its value. Lynch spent the next 12 years trying to clear his name and was acquitted on all criminal charges just weeks ago in the United States. After the sale of Autonomy, Lynch founded Invoke Capital, a technology venture capital fund. Lynch's daughter Hannah, 18, is also missing. A Sunday Times profile of Lynch last mon...

A 95-year-old Kenyan man married his 90-year-old long-time sweetheart at the weekend, six decades after they first met, local media reported on Monday. Ibrahim Mbogo walked down the aisle with Tabitha Wangui at a white wedding at a church on Sunday, private media outlet Citizen Digital reported. "We met and fell in love in 1960, do you hear?" Mbogo was quoted as saying outside the church in Mukurweini, a town about a three-hour drive northeast of the Kenyan capital Nairobi. "We deliberated together and decided it would be great if we did a white wedding, we know in our Kikuyu custom that we are legally married, but since we are also Christians, we decided to do a church wedding." The groom wore a smart grey suit and silver tie for their special day, while his new bride was dressed in a white hat with a cream brocade jacket over a white outfit. Asked about their secret, Wangui told Citizen Digital: "Women, you must respect your husbands, if you do that, the...

Donald Trump has shared doctored images on social media showing Taylor Swift and her fans supporting his presidential campaign, in an apparent effort to tap into the pop singer's mega star power in the US election. Ms Swift has not yet publicly thrown her weight behind any presidential candidate in the November 5 election, but she backed President Joe Biden in 2020 and has previously been critical of Trump. On Sunday, Trump shared screenshots of posts with manipulated images -- including some that an expert said appeared to be AI-generated -- suggesting that the pop star and her fans, popularly known as Swifties, support his campaign. In his Truth Social post, which includes a poster of Swift clad in an Uncle Sam outfit and instructing her fans to vote for Trump, the former president wrote: "I accept!" That poster is either "AI generated or just classically manipulated," Hany Farid, a digital forensics expert at the University of California, Berkeley, told A...

Deep in the Amazon rainforest, a semi-nomadic indigenous community is thriving. This community defies conventional norms on ageing and health. The Tsimanes, consisting of 16,000 people, live a fully subsistence lifestyle, relying on hunting, foraging and farming to survive. Scientists have been studying this unique group for two decades, and have uncovered remarkable findings till now. Martina Canchi Nate, an 84-year-old Tsimanes woman, digs up yucca trees, cuts down plantain trees and carries heavy loads with ease, faster than her younger companions, as per a BBC report. This level of physical activity is not unusual among Tsimanes of her age. Researchers have discovered that this group has the healthiest arteries ever studied and brains that age more slowly than those in North America, Europe and elsewhere. The Tsimanes' secret lies in their active lifestyle, with an average of 16,000 to 17,000 steps per day. They spend less than 10 percent of daylight hours in sedentary activ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Azerbaijan's capital Baku on Sunday for a two-day state visit, Russian news agencies reported. Russian television broadcast images of the Russian president's plane as it arrived in Baku in the evening. His visit to the Caucasus country, a close partner of both Moscow and Turkey but also a major energy supplier to Western countries, comes against the backdrop of an unprecedented Ukrainian military offensive on Russian soil. Putin is due to hold talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on bilateral relations and "international and regional problems", the Kremlin said. The two leaders are dining Sunday evening at the Azerbaijani president's official residence, local official news agency Asertac said. On Monday, Aliyev and Putin will sign joint documents and make statements to the press, said Russian agency Ria Novosti. Putin will also lay a wreath on the tomb of Heydar Aliyev, father of the current leader, ...

Israel's prime minister, under pressure at home and from abroad to reach a ceasefire deal with Hamas, on Sunday accused the Hamas operatives of obstinance in Gaza truce talks as top US diplomat Antony Blinken landed in Israel. Making his ninth trip to the Middle East since the Gaza war began when Hamas attacked Israel in October, the US secretary of state is to meet Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders in a renewed bid to seal a deal that could help avert a wider conflagration. Blinken is later set to travel on Tuesday to Cairo, where ceasefire talks will resume in the coming days. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday reiterated that it is Palestinian Islamist group Hamas that must be pressured. "Hamas, up to this moment, remains obstinate. It did not even send a representative to the talks in Doha. Therefore, the pressure should be directed at Hamas and (Yahya) Sinwar, not at the Israeli government," Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting, referring to the Hamas c...

The UN's nuclear watchdog warned on Saturday that the safety situation at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was "deteriorating" following a nearby drone strike. Earlier on Saturday, Russia accused Ukraine of dropping an explosive charge on a road near the occupied plant in southern Ukraine. The plant, which was seized by Russia's forces early in the war, has come under repeated attacks that both sides have accused each other of carrying out. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts on site were informed of the detonation near essential plant facilities on Saturday and immediately visited the area, the agency said in a statement. They reported that the damage "seemed to have been caused by a drone equipped with an explosive payload," impacting the road between the plant's two main gates. "Yet again we see an escalation of the nuclear safety and security dangers facing the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant," IAEA head Ra...

Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris will hold dueling campaign events this weekend in Pennsylvania, the political battleground that could be the most critical state in the Nov. 5 presidential election. Trump, the former president, will hold a rally on Saturday in Wilkes-Barre in the northeastern part of the state. Vice President Harris will conduct a bus tour of western Pennsylvania starting in Pittsburgh on Sunday, ahead of the kickoff of the Democratic National Convention on Monday in Chicago. Pennsylvania was one of three Rust Belt states, along with Wisconsin and Michigan, that helped power Trump's upset victory in the 2016 election. President Joe Biden, who grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, flipped the trio back to the Democrats in 2020. The three states are true bellwethers - the only U.S. states to have voted for the eventual winner of the presidential race in every cycle since 2008. With 19 electoral votes out of the 270 needed to secure the White House,...

Firefighters were battling a strong forest fire in Turkey's Aegean city of Izmir for a third day on Saturday, AFP reporters said, with hundreds more people evacuated overnight. In the northern suburb of Ornekkoy, AFP journalists saw the charred remains of several buildings and vehicles in an industrial zone while grey smoke billowed into the sky. "We don't know what to do. Our workplace is located in the middle of the fire. We have lost our livelihood," said 48-year-old Hanife Erbil, who earns a living collecting paper and plastic waste. The pine trees that once crowned the surrounding hills were also burned. "It was such a beautiful route, it smelled of pine trees everywhere. It makes me want to cry," said taxi driver Ayhan. A witness who wished to remain anonymous told AFP by telephone that the smell of smoke was hanging over the city, the third most-populated in Turkey. Firefighters from other Turkish cities have been sent as reinforcements and the ...

Two teenagers suspected of alleged extreme right-wing terror offences will appear in court in London on Friday, with police saying they both face "extremely serious charges". Metropolitan Police said that an 18-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman were charged on Thursday following a "proactive investigation" by its Counter Terrorism Command unit. Rex William Henry Clark of Ilford, east London, was charged with the preparation of terrorist acts, contrary to the 2006 Terrorism Act. Police charged Sofija Vinogradova of Cheshunt, north of London, with preparation of terrorist acts and two counts of collection of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. Both are in custody and will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday. Police said the investigation "is related to suspected extreme right-wing terrorism activity." "These are extremely serious charges, but I would urge the public not to ...

US prosecutors said Thursday they have charged five people, including two doctors, over the death of "Friends" star Matthew Perry, who died at his Los Angeles home last year after years of struggling with addiction. "These defendants took advantage of Mr Perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong. They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr Perry, but they did it anyway," said US Attorney Martin Estrada. The five include two doctors and the actor's assistant. "In the end, these defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr Perry than caring for his well-being." One of the doctors, Salvador Plasencia, faces up to 120 years in federal prison, Estrada said. Matthew Perry, who played the character Chandler Bing on the hit TV sitcom from 1994-2004, was found unresponsive in his swimming pool in October last year at the age of 54, sparking a global outpouring of grief from fans and...

Sweden said on Thursday it had confirmed a first case of mpox, a viral infection that spreads through close contact. Earlier on Thursday, the World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to other countries. "We have now also during the afternoon had confirmation that we have one case in Sweden of the more grave type of mpox, the one called Clade I," Health and Social Affairs Minister Jakob Forssmed told a news conference. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) from NDTV News-World-news https://ift.tt/dhmetGb

A U.S. judge on Wednesday said he was planning to issue an order forcing Alphabet's Google to give Android users more ways to download apps, but would not micromanage the tech giant's business, following a jury verdict last year for “Fortnite” maker Epic Games. U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco heard from technology experts and lawyers for Epic and Google about proposed reforms in the blockbuster antitrust case. Donato showed impatience for Google's protests about the costs and difficulty of implementing many of Epic's proposals, and signaled he would issue a ruling that would maximize users' and developers' flexibility to download and distribute apps outside the Play store. “You're going to end up paying something to make the world right after having been found to be a monopolist,” Donato said. He said his injunction will be about three pages long and will ensure Google knows what the “rules of the road are.” Donato said he will rule in...

Mpox can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with someone who is infectious, with contaminated materials, or with infected animals, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Mpox can be prevented by avoiding physical contact with someone who has mpox. Vaccination can help prevent infection for people at risk. The monkeypox virus was discovered in Denmark (1958) in monkeys kept for research and the first reported human case of mpox was a nine-month-old boy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, 1970). Following eradication of smallpox in 1980 and the end of smallpox vaccination worldwide, mpox steadily emerged in central, east and west Africa. A global outbreak occurred in 2022-2023. The natural reservoir of the virus is unknown - various small mammals such as squirrels and monkeys are susceptible. Source: WHO from NDTV News-World-news https://ift.tt/zktlL0O

Bangladesh's interim government on Tuesday cancelled a national holiday on August 15, marking the assassination of the country's founder and deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. According to the press release issued by the Chief Advisor's Office, the cancellation of the August 15 holiday was approved in today's meeting of the Advisory Council. This decision was announced on Tuesday through an official notification. The sources said the decision came a day after Mr Yunus met with different political parties, excluding the Awami League. Some of them were in favour of keeping the day as a national holiday and some others were opposed to it. Soon after Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country, an angry mob virtually set a museum dedicated to Bangabandhu on fire. The museum was originally Bangbandhu's private residence, where he was killed along with his family members in a military coup staged by a group of junior ...

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Monday his country has "the right to respond" to any aggression, after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged de-escalation amid soaring tensions with Israel. "While emphasising diplomatic solutions to issues, Iran will never give in to pressure, to sanctions and to bullying and considers it has the right to respond to aggressors in accordance with international norms," Pezeshkian said according to a statement published by official news agency IRNA following a phone call with Scholz. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) from NDTV News-World-news https://ift.tt/AGbkpXa

A 13-year-old Chinese girl scripted history when she performed Bharatanatyam "Arangetram" in China, a landmark in the journey of the ancient Indian dance form that is gaining popularity in the neighbouring country. Lei Muzi made her solo dance debut here on Sunday in front of the celebrated Bharatanatyam dancer Leela Samson, Indian diplomats and a large audience of Chinese fans. For ardent Chinese fans of Indian classical art and dance forms who devoted their lives to learning and performing them for decades, her debut was a moment of history and a milestone as it was the first-ever "Arangetram" -- Bharatnatyam's graduation ceremony -- in China. For the performers of the ancient dance from South India, Arangetram, as it is called in Tamil, is their debut performance on stage in front of teachers and experts besides the audience. Only after Arangetram are the students allowed to perform on their own or train aspiring dancers. "This is the first-ever Ara...

Iran could launch a "significant" attack on Israel as soon as this week, the White House said Monday, as US President Joe Biden discussed the crisis with European leaders. "We have to be prepared for what could be a significant set of attacks," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. "We share the same concerns and expectations that our Israeli counterparts have with respect to potential timing here -- could be this week," added Kirby. Kirby's comments came as the United States is rushing an aircraft carrier strike group and a guided missile submarine to the region in a show of support for Israel. Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah group have vowed to avenge last month's killings of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. Biden called the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Britain on Monday to discuss the growing tensions, the White House added. The call was "largely for all the le...

A debilitating virus originating from sloths and transmitted by midges has been reported in Europe for the first time, officials have confirmed. In June and July, Europe saw 19 imported cases of the Oropouche virus, as reported by the European Center for Disease Control. Spain accounted for 12 cases, Italy for five, and Germany for two, the Manchester Evening News.  The virus is primarily spread through insect bites, including mosquitoes, and originates from pale-throated sloths, non-human primates, and birds. Currently, there is no vaccine available for the virus, which belongs to the same family of diseases as Zika virus and Dengue Fever. Dr Danny Altmann, a professor of Immunology at Imperial College London, told The Telegraph , "We should definitely be worried. Things are changing and may become unstoppable." Outbreaks of the virus have previously been reported in several countries across South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean. In 2024, specific outbreaks...

Israel's military said at least 19 Palestinian operatives were killed Saturday in a pre-dawn strike on a school compound in Gaza City, where rescuers reported 93 dead. "It can be confirmed at this time that at least 19 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were eliminated" in the strike on Al-Tabieen religious school, the military said in a statement. It cited "an intelligence investigation" and giving the names of the alleged operatives it said had been killed. It said the operatives had been operating from a Hamas command and control centre located in the compound in order to plan attacks against Israel and its security forces. "The strike was carried out using three precise munitions," it said, adding that "no severe damage was caused to the compound where the terrorists were situated". In another statement later Saturday, the military said: "There is a high probability that... Ashraf Juda was at the military headquarters at the Al-...

Turkey began unblocking Instagram Saturday evening after depriving access to millions of users for nine days. "Following our negotiations with representatives of Instagram, we will unblock access starting from 9:30 pm (1830 GMT) after they agreed to respond to our demands," transport and infrastructure minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said on X. Instagram access began to progressively return after that time, AFP reporters noted. "Since the beginning, we have wanted social media platforms to respect the laws of the Republic," Uraloglu insisted. The platform had been blocked since the morning of August 2 for reasons that were never fully explained. Saturday evening the minister mentioned "violations linked to content", adding that Instagram had refused to delete thousands of posts involving "gambling, drugs and abuse of children". Meta, the owner of Instagram, denied not cooperating, saying it had withdrawn almost 2,500 posts in the first half of...

Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus on Saturday condemned attacks on the minority communities in the violence-hit nation, terming them as "heinous", and urged the youth to protect all Hindu, Christian, and Buddhist families from harm. Members of minority communities in Bangladesh faced at least 205 incidents of attacks in 52 districts since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5, according to two Hindu organisations -- Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad -- in the country. Thousands of Bangladeshi Hindus have been trying to flee to neighbouring India to escape the violence. Reaching out to students who are at the forefront of the protests, Yunus, a Nobel laureate, cautioned them not to let their efforts be sabotaged by those seeking to undermine their progress, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported. "There are many standing by to make your efforts futile. Don't fail this time,...