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Afghan floods, hailstorms kill 22
Kabul, August 11
Afghans stand near a destroyed car after floods in Kabul on Sunday Flash floods triggered by heavy rain and hailstorms killed more than 22 persons on the outskirts of Kabul.


Afghans stand near a destroyed car after floods in Kabul on Sunday. — Reuters

12 hurt in attack on Lanka mosque
Colombo, August 11
Police attempts to disperse Muslims waiting outside a vandalised mosque in Colombo on Sunday A Buddhist mob attacked a mosque in Sri Lanka's capital and at least 12 persons were injured, the latest in a series of attacks on the minority Muslim community.
Police attempts to disperse Muslims waiting outside a vandalised mosque in Colombo on Sunday. — PTI



EARLIER STORIES


Snowden’s father, lawyer get visa for Russia
Washington, August 11
National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden’s father has received a Russian visa and will travel there to see his son "very soon," the family's lawyer said on Sunday.

Supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi hold posters during a demonstration in Cairo Mursi loyalists rally in Cairo
Cairo, August 11
Supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi rallied today to demand his reinstatement, amid last ditch efforts for reconciliation ahead of a threatened crackdown on protests.


Supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi hold posters during a demonstration in Cairo. — AFP

Top human rights activist arrested in Bangladesh
Dhaka, August 11
Bangladesh authorities have arrested a top human rights activist on charges of misleading people by disseminating "false information" about the police crackdown against ultra fundamentalist Hefazat-e-Islam members in May.

1 lakh apply for one-way trip to Mars
Washington, August 11
More than 100,000 persons have applied for a one-way trip to Mars, as a part of the ambitious multi-billion dollar project that aims to colonise the Red planet starting in 2022.

Indian dentist alleged harassment by UK’s NHS before suicide
London, August 11
A British Indian dentist from Yorkshire committed suicide after allegedly being “bullied and harassed” by the National Health Service which threatened disciplinary action against him over keeping of records at his clinic, an inquest heard.

Typhoon threatens Philippines; thousands stranded
Manila, August 11
More than 3,000 passengers were stranded on piers in the northeastern Philippines on Sunday, as a strong Pacific typhoon approached and prompted authorities to suspend ferry services and warn people to brace for possible flash floods and landslides.

US crackdown on websites selling bidis, Indian cigarettes
Washington, August 11
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US regulator, has warned two websites selling 'bidis' and Indian cigarettes of strict penal action for sale of adulterated tobacco products in America.

Higgs Boson may unravel dark energy mystery
Washington, August 11
The recently discovered Higgs Boson could provide a possible “portal” to physics that may help explain some of the attributes of the enigmatic dark energy, scientists suggest.





 

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Afghan floods, hailstorms kill 22

Kabul, August 11
Flash floods triggered by heavy rain and hailstorms killed more than 22 persons on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghan officials said today, with a mosque, houses and farmland also damaged.

The flooding hit the Shakardara and Paghman districts to the north and west of Kabul after the unseasonal rains left knee-deep water across many parts of the war-battered city.

"Over 22 persons, including several children and a woman, were killed in Shakardara," Ghulam Farooq, an official at the National Disaster Management Authority, said.

"One person was killed in Paghman and more than 20 houses destroyed in Kabul city." A mosque, several houses, three schools and some crops were also damaged by the torrential downpours which struck yesterday as Afghanistan celebrated Eid to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Harsh winters and heavy snowfalls often cause swollen rivers that lead to floods in the mountainous country in spring and summer. But Afghanistan has had one of its hottest summers in decades, and the sudden storms quickly overwhelmed Kabul''s poor drainage systems.

Last week flooding in six eastern and southeastern provinces and some districts of the capital killed more than 40 persons, destroying hundreds of hectares of farmland and displacing hundreds of people.

"We have already sent teams of rescuers to the area and taken people out of danger," senior Kabul police officer Sayed Ekramuddin Jalal said. Several people were injured and about a dozen homes were washed away. Many irrigation canals and wells, as well as orchards and fields were damaged, he said. Some of the victims were visiting relatives for the Eid al-Fitr holiday, he said. Two women were killed and four people were injured in flooding elsewhere, said Ghulam Farouq, an official at the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness. — Agencies

Killing waters

  • At least 20 persons killed in Kabul’s Chakardara district. The victims included seven children
  • The Shomali plain, just to the north of Kabul, is the worst-hit area.
  • Last week flash floods killed more than 40 persons in six eastern and southeastern provinces

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12 hurt in attack on Lanka mosque

Colombo, August 11
A Buddhist mob attacked a mosque in Sri Lanka's capital and at least 12 persons were injured, the latest in a series of attacks on the minority Muslim community by members of the Buddhist majority.

A mob of Buddhists, who are mainly ethnic Sinhalese in Sri Lanka, threw stones at a three-storey mosque and nearby houses in a central Colombo neighbourhood during evening prayers on Saturday, residents said. Later, hundreds of Muslim residents took to the streets, some clutching sticks, to prevent any further attacks on their community, witnesses said.

Police reinforcements were sent and authorities imposed a curfew until Sunday morning. A senior member of staff at one of the city's main hospitals said 12 injured persons, including two police officers, had been brought in. Three people were still in a hospital on Sunday. The police appealed for calm.

"Support the police to maintain the law and order," Inspector General of Police NK Ilangakoon said.

There has been increasing violence against Muslims in Sri Lanka since last year, mirroring events in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, which has also seen a surge of attacks by members of the majority community against Muslims.

In Myanmar, hardline Buddhist monks have been at the forefront of campaigns against Muslims. In Sri Lanka, a group known as Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), or the "Buddhist power force", has been trying to win over Buddhists to their campaign against Muslims. A spokesman for the BBS, Dilantha Vithanage, denied any involvement by his organisation in the latest mosque attack.

The US Embassy in Colombo said the incident was particularly troubling in light of a number of recent attacks against the Muslim community in Sri Lanka. "Targeting any place of worship should never be permitted and we urge calm from all sides. We call for prosecution of perpetrators in this attack and an end to religious-based violence," the embassy said in a statement.Police chief N K Ilangakoon said the situation was brought under control and urged the people to refrain from believing misguided information.

Meanwhile, the US Embassy here expressed concern over the attack and demanded prosecution of perpetrators. "This incident is particularly troubling in light of a number of recent attacks against the Muslim community in Sri Lanka. Targeting any place of worship should never be permitted and we urge calm from all sides. — PTI

Curfew lifted after attack

The Sri Lankan police on Sunday lifted the curfew but put security forces on alert to avert any further violence.The curfew was lifted, but we have deployed hundreds of security personnel in the area, a top police official said. The police's elite Special Task Force was also deployed to maintain peace in the area after many parliamentarians visited the site.

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Snowden’s father, lawyer get visa for Russia

Washington, August 11
National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden’s father has received a Russian visa and will travel there to see his son "very soon," the family's lawyer said on Sunday.

Attorney Bruce Fein said in a television appearance that he and Lon Snowden were sceptical about President Barack Obama's pledge to limit government surveillance programmes, and they remain doubtful that young Snowden can receive a fair trail in the United States. "We have visas. We have a date, which we won't disclose right now because of the frenzy over the affair, Fein said during a news programme. They will travel to Russia "very soon," he said. "We intend to visit with Edward and suggest criminal defence attorneys who have got experience in Espionage Act prosecutions," Fein said.

The younger Snowden was stuck at a Moscow airport for more than five weeks before Russia granted him a year's asylum on August 1.

Lon Snowden in an interview on Wednesday said he had not spoken to his son since the former National Security Agency contractor left the United States for Hong Kong, just before news broke in June of the disclosures he made about the US surveillance programmes.

On Sunday, the elder Snowden criticised the Obama administration's handling of his son's case and dismissed the president's vow on Friday to improve oversight of surveillance, transparency and other efforts to restore public trust in programmes of the government.

"I believe much of what he suggested is superficial," Lon Snowden said. Snowden's father added that he is "not open" to a plea deal that would allow his 30-year-old son to return to the United States. "The only deal will be true justice," he said, repeating his concern that his son won't be treated well because his right to a fair trial has been compromised by public criticism by US officials. "When you consider many of the statements made by our leaders, leaders in Congress, they are absolutely irresponsible and inconsistent with our system of justice," said Snowden.

"They have poisoned the well, so to speak, in terms of a potential jury pool," he said. Washington's inability to persuade Russia to return Snowden to the United States has curdled US relations with Russia. — Reuters

visit Under Wraps

  • The time of travel was not disclosed due to the frenzy surrounding the Edward Snowden (pic) episode
  • Snowden Senior dismissed Obama reform talk as superficial

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Mursi loyalists rally in Cairo

Cairo, August 11
Supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi rallied today to demand his reinstatement, amid last ditch efforts for reconciliation ahead of a threatened crackdown on protests.

A large convoy of cars carrying pictures of the deposed president beeped their horns as they drove through a neighbourhood in east Cairo.

Hundreds at a women's march in central Cairo chanted against army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who was behind Morsi's overthrow, shouting: "Sisi is a traitor, Sisi is a killer." Mursi loyalists, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, have kept up two huge camps in Cairo to protest against the Islamist president's ouster by the military on July 3, with regular demonstrations around the country.

They say nothing short of his reinstatement will persuade them to disperse, despite several warnings by the interim leaders that the camps will be dismantled after the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which was to end today.

In a sign of the mounting tensions, a brief overnight power cut at the main sit-in outside the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque struck panic among the pro-Mursi demonstrators, with some taking to social media to announce the assault had begun.

Protest organisers told AFP that as the electricity went out, they reinforced their barricades, added sandbags to the entrances of the protest site, and sent volunteers to find out what was happening, only to be told it was a false alarm.

The main coalition of Mursi supporters, the Anti-Coup Alliance, said 10 marches would take off from various parts of the capital today "to defend the electoral legitimacy" of Egypt's first freely elected president.

The fresh rallies came as Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning, called for reconciliation talks in the latest of a string of attempts to find a peaceful solution to the political deadlock.

Al-Azhar's Grand Imam, Ahmed al-Tayyeb, is to begin contacts with political factions tomorrow aimed at convincing them to sit down to talks later this week, state media reported.

"Al-Azhar has been studying all the proposals for reconciliation put forward by political and intellectual figures... to come up with a compromise formula for all Egyptians," Tayyeb's adviser, Mahmud Azab, told the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper. — AFP

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Top human rights activist arrested in Bangladesh

Dhaka, August 11
Bangladesh authorities have arrested a top human rights activist on charges of misleading people by disseminating "false information" about the police crackdown against ultra fundamentalist Hefazat-e-Islam members in May.

Adilur Rahman Khan Shuvro, secretary of Odhikar group, is allegedly linked closely with the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami, and was arrested under the Information and Technology Act last night.

"He has been arrested under the Information and Communication Technology Act," a police spokesman today said, adding Detective Branch officials picked him up from his residence at up market Gulshan area here.

A Dhaka court today ordered Shuvro to be remanded in custody for five days rejecting his bail plea after he was produced before metropolitan magistrate Amit Kumar Dey.

"It is an offence to be involved with such campaigns that damage the image of the country to the world. Hijacking the rights of others in the name of human rights is not acceptable to anybody," Home Minister MK Alamgir told mediapersons at a briefing at his office.

He added there was "no scope to excuse such an offence" and Shuvro and others must face legal action for such offences.

Earlier, joint commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Monirul Islam said Shuvo was arrested as the Odhikar website also carried "distorted pictures" of so called slain Islamists using a photoshop software for their "imaginary" claim of 61 persons killed in the police action.

Odhikar claimed “hundreds" of people were killed in the police action and primarily they gathered the identities of 61 of them.

Reports said some in the human rights group also said Shuvro had circulated the report to foreign groups claiming that up to 2,500 persons had been killed in the anti-Hefazat campaign by the police.

The newly floated Hefazat, allegedly backed by the Jamaat and the main opposition BNP, had enforced their Dhaka siege programme on May 5 sparking deadly violence.

Odhikar is a leading independent rights group and Shuvro, a former deputy attorney general during the past BNP-led right wing government, is widely known for his anti-Awami League stance. Meanwhile, opposition

BNP strongly condemned his arrest calling it "nothing but part of government conspiracies" and demanded his immediate release. — PTI

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1 lakh apply for one-way trip to Mars

Washington, August 11
More than 100,000 persons have applied for a one-way trip to Mars, as a part of the ambitious multi-billion dollar project that aims to colonise the Red planet starting in 2022.

While it remains questionable how humans would be able to survive on Mars, it has not stopped a whopping number of people from signing up for the The Mars One project.

“A large number of people are still working on their profile, so either they have decided not to pay the application fee, or they are still making their video or they're still filling out the questionnaire or their resume. So the people that you can see on-line are only the ones that have finished and who have set their profiles as public,” said Bas Lansdorp, Mars One CEO and co-founder.

Lansdorp did not specify how many have paid the fees, completed their profiles and configured them as private. The application process specifies anyone 18 or older may apply, but the fee depends on a user’s nationality. For US citizens, the application fee is $38, reports said.

“We wanted it to be high enough for people to have to really think about it and low enough for anyone to be able to afford it,” Lansdorp said.

As far as the first crew is concerned, the mission will cost $6 billion, Lansdorp said.

Mars One said, out of the applicants, it would select a multi-continental group of 40 astronauts this year. Four of them - two men and two women - were set to leave for Mars in September 2022, landing in April 2023. One more group of four will be deployed two years later. None of them will return to Earth, according to the mission plan. — PTI

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Indian dentist alleged harassment by UK’s NHS before suicide

London, August 11
A British Indian dentist from Yorkshire committed suicide after allegedly being “bullied and harassed” by the National Health Service which threatened disciplinary action against him over keeping of records at his clinic, an inquest heard.

Dr Anand Kamath (42) was under investigation by the National Health Service (NHS) over record-keeping at Rothwell Dental Surgery, which he ran with his wife and fellow dentist Dr Rajni Prasad in the city of Leeds.

An inquest heard last week that the father of three felt “bullied and harassed” and took his own life after receiving a letter from the NHS warning him that he could be reported to the General Dental Council.

“They behaved like bullies and drove a loyal NHS servant over the edge. He just couldn’t take the anxiety,” his 42-year-old wife told the inquest. "His reward for caring for thousands of patients no other practice would take was to be threatened with the most severe disciplinary action over administrative matters,” she added. — PTI

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Typhoon threatens Philippines; thousands stranded

Manila, August 11
More than 3,000 passengers were stranded on piers in the northeastern Philippines on Sunday, as a strong Pacific typhoon approached and prompted authorities to suspend ferry services and warn people to brace for possible flash floods and landslides.

Government forecasters said Typhoon Utor, which winds of 150 kilometers per hour (93 miles per hour) and gusts up to 185 kph (115 mph), could gather strength over the Philippine Sea before it slams into northeastern Aurora province on Monday.

Utor, the strongest typhoon to threaten to hit the country this year, was about 120 kilometers (75 miles) off northeast Catanduanes province by mid-day on Sunday. It was blowing northwestward at 19 kph (12 mph), state forecaster Jori Loiz said.

At least 31 passengers and cargo ferries were not allowed to venture out in increasingly choppy seas from several northeastern provinces, stranding more than 3,400 passengers. Authorities also stopped fishing boats from sailing and ordered fishermen already at sea to return to shore, Office of Civil Defence regional director Bernardo Alejandro IV said.

Utor is the 12th of about 20 storms and typhoons expected to lash the Philippines this year. — AP

Strong Utor

  • Utor is the 12th of about 20 storms and typhoons expected to lash the Philippines this year
  • Utor was about 120 kilometers (75 miles) off northeast Catanduanes province by mid-day on Sunday

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US crackdown on websites selling bidis, Indian cigarettes

Washington, August 11
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US regulator, has warned two websites selling 'bidis' and Indian cigarettes of strict penal action for sale of adulterated tobacco products in America.

In a warning letter issued to the two websites, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said their several products had been found to be "adulterated" under relevant regulations and did not carry the required permits for sale in the US.

The FDA said the two websites, desismoke.com and wantsmokes.com, could be affiliated with one another and the cigarette products and/or smokeless tobacco products listed by them were being promoted for sale to customers in the US.

It said the websites were selling products like 'bidi', Indian cigarettes, flavoured cigarettes and flavoured 'bidis'.

It further said several products being sold on the two websites had been found to be adulterated or misbranded and they were being promoted as "modified risk tobacco products" without an FDA order permitting such promotion.

The regulator said 'bidis' also meet the definition of a cigarette under relevant section of the US Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and therefore come under the FDA jurisdiction.

'Bidis' are small, thin, hand-rolled cigarettes and comprise tobacco wrapped in a tendu or temburni leaf.

As per information available with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bidis are imported to the US mostly from India and other South Asian countries and have higher concentrations of nicotine, tar and carbon dioxide than the conventional cigarettes sold in the US.

In its warning letter, dated July 26, the FDA also said the websites contained some smokeless tobacco product advertisements that do not include any warnings that are required as per the law.

Seeking their written response within 15 days of receipt of the letter, the FDA has asked them to immediately correct the violations and take necessary actions to bring their tobacco products into compliance with the US law.

"Failure to ensure full compliance with the FD&C Act may result in the FDA initiating further action without notice, including, but not limited to, civil money penalties, no- tobacco-sale orders, criminal prosecution, seizure, and/or injunction.

"Please note that adulterated and misbranded tobacco products offered for importation into the US are subject to detention and refusal of admission," the FDA said. — PTI

Warning issued

In a warning letter issued to two websites, the Food and Drug Administration said their several products had been found to be "adulterated" under relevant regulations and did not carry the required permits for sale in the US

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Higgs Boson may unravel dark energy mystery

Washington, August 11
The recently discovered Higgs Boson could provide a possible “portal” to physics that may help explain some of the attributes of the enigmatic dark energy, scientists suggest.

One of the biggest mysteries in contemporary particle physics and cosmology is why dark energy, which is observed to dominate energy density of the universe, has a remarkably small (but not zero) value, researchers said.

This value is so small, it is perhaps 120 orders of magnitude less than would be expected based on fundamental physics, they said.

Now, physicists - Lawrence Krauss of Arizona State University and James Dent of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette - explore how a possible small coupling between the Higgs particle, and possible new particles likely to be associated with what is conventionally called the Grand Unified Scale could result in the existence of another background field in nature in addition to the Higgs field.

This would contribute an energy density to empty space of precisely the correct scale to correspond to the observed energy density, researchers said.

Current observations of the universe show it is expanding at an accelerated rate. But this acceleration cannot be accounted for on the basis of matter alone, they said.

Putting energy in empty space produces a repulsive gravitational force opposing the attractive force produced by matter, including the dark matter that is inferred to dominate the mass of essentially all galaxies, but which doesn’t interact directly with light and, therefore, can only be estimated by its gravitational influence.

Because of this phenomenon and what is observed in the universe, it is thought that such ‘dark energy’ contributes up to 70 per cent of the total energy density in the universe, while observable matter contributes only 2 to 5 per cent, with the remaining 25 per cent or so coming from dark matter.

The source of this dark energy and the reason its magnitude matches the inferred magnitude of the energy in empty space is not currently understood, making it one of the leading outstanding problems in particle physics today.

“Now that the Higgs boson has been discovered, it provides a possible ‘portal’ to physics at much higher energy scales through very small possible mixings and couplings to new scalar fields which may operate at these scales,” said Krauss.

“We demonstrate that the simplest small mixing, related to the ratios of the scale at which electroweak physics operates, and a possible Grand Unified Scale, produces a possible contribution to the vacuum energy today of precisely the correct order of magnitude to account for the observed dark energy,” Krauss said.

The study was published in the journal Physical Review Letters. — PTI

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BRIEFLY


Mali’s presidential candidate Ibrahim Boubacar Keita casts his vote in Bamako on Sunday
Mali’s presidential candidate Ibrahim Boubacar Keita casts his vote in Bamako on Sunday. — Reuters

Malians return to polls for second round of voting
Bamako:
Malian voters are choosing their next president who will try to lead the country out of crisis after separatist rebels and Islamic extremists unleashed months of chaos. Sunday’s presidential runoff vote pits former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita against former Finance Minister Soumaila Cisse. Keita appears poised to win after drawing nearly 40 per cent in the first round. Many polling stations were expected to open late amid heavy rain in the capital. — AP

9 dead after consuming poisonous liquor
Karachi:
Nine persons died after consuming poisonous liquor in Mehmoodabad, Karachi, last night. Fifteen persons fell ill after consuming liquor on Saturday night and had been shifted to a hospital. Nine of those brought in lost their lives during treatment, while the condition of six others is reported to be critical. Wine shops have remained closed in Karachi since four different wine shops were targeted in Karachi within an hour on August 7, leading to an increase in the sales of poisonous liquor through the black market and amateur brewers. — TNS

Israel approves new settlement homes
JERUSALEM:
Israel's housing minister on Sunday gave final approval for building nearly 1,200 new settlement apartments on lands the Palestinians want for their state, just three days before US-sponsored talks on the borders of such a state are to begin in Jerusalem.The Palestinians said they would complain to the US and Europe. — AP

Tomb opened in search of Mona Lisa
London:
Scientists have inched closer to solving the mystery of Mona Lisa's identity after they dug up a tomb in Florence to extract DNA, which they hope will identify the real-life muse for Leonardo da Vinci's painting. The tomb contains the family of Lisa Gherardini, a silk merchant's wife who is believed to have posed for the artist's famous 16th century masterpiece. The DNA extracted from bones in the tomb will be compared with that of three female skeletons that were found buried last year at a convent. — PTI

Iraq terror attacks toll mounts to 74
Baghdad:
Iraqis angrily blamed the authorities on Sunday for failing to head off attacks that killed 74 persons as they marked the Eid al-Fitr holiday ending Iraq’s deadliest Ramadan in years. The international community roundly condemned the violence, which also wounded more than 320 persons, but almost all senior Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, made no mention of the attacks. — AP

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