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By Sahana Ghosh As  rapidly-expanding  Guwahati, northeast India’s largest metropolis, gears up to clean its air under the National Clean Air Policy (NCAP), a  study  suggests a cocktail of natural and man-made pollutants wafting through the air is tinkering with the city’s rainwater quality. Guwahati in Assam is among the 122 ‘non-attainment’ cities identified for implementing mitigation actions under the national policy, which means it does not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Researchers said pinpointing critical sources of air pollution and their contributions to the problem are essential to crafting effective city and region-specific air pollution control plans. Guwahati city view. Photo credit: Amartyabag/WikimediaCommons. Connecting the dots between the origin of raindrops, the chemical makeup of the rainwater and air pollutants, an  IIT Guwahati -led study, from June 2016 to June 2017, shows that 64 percent of the rainfall during monsoon was acidic, which

The believable nature of rumours and the reasons behind their proneness to spread across the masses has been widely discussed in the field of social sciences. Thanks to research in cognitive and social psychology this is no longer a ‘debatable’ topic. Fake news, a more systemised and tech-savvy methodology for rumours, has been strongly linked to people’s psychological mechanisms and their flaws, posing a danger to both individual and societal harmony. More recent studies have also argued for fake news having a significant relationship with false memories. A study published in the Psychological Science journal argued that potential voters may create false memories about events that never occurred through their regular consumption of fake news circulated by the media. Such findings make it crucial to understand the psychological backstage of fake news and their vast conquer of the common minds. Both the impact of fake news and the fight against it is rapidly growing in India and the w

Indian boxer Mary Kom, shuttlers PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal and paddler Manika Batra were among the sports personalities who took to Twitter to voice support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharat Laxmi initiative, which aims at empowering the women of the country. Sharing Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju’s Twitter post, which also has a video lauding their achievements, the female sportspersons wrote the same message, “I thank @narendramodi sir for his initiative to honour and empower women this Diwali. Acknowledgement motivates us to work harder and make India proud. #bharatkilaxmi.” The message was also shared by boxer Nikhat Zareen and wrestler Pooja Dhanda. This Diwali, let's all celebrate womanhood. Societies grow when women are empowered and their accomplishments are given a place of pride! PM @narendramodi ji has appealed everyone to celebrate #BharatKiLaxmi for the extraordinary success of the women of India. pic.twitter.com/8iZsGLincf

Hyderabad: Talks between the TSRTC management and unions, held for the first time since the workers went on strike on 5 October 5over various demands, failed to achieve a breakthrough as there was no consensus on the agenda, a top RTC official said in Hyderabad on Saturday. File photo of the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station during the TSRTC employees' strike over various demands, in Hyderabad. PTI RTC Managing Director Sunil Sharma said the Telangana High Court had directed that 21 demands of employees should be discussed, but the unions wanted discussion on all their grievances, including merger of RTC with the government, which was not acceptable. He said they requested the union leaders to discuss the 21 demands,but the latter did not agree to it and went outside the venue to hold discussions with other union leaders. The management waited till 6.30 PM for the leaders to return, but they did not turn up, he said. "We were ready (for talks) but they did not discuss," h

New Delhi: The disabled and people over 80 years of age can now cast their vote through postal ballot, the government said on Saturday, in a move that will help increase voter turnout. At present, voting through postal ballot is available to armed forces and those assigned poll duties. Representational image. Twitter@CEOBihar On the recommendation of the Election Commission, the Ministry of Law and Justice has amended the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, on 22 October, allowing senior citizens and person with disabilities in the absentee voter list. The absentee voter refers to a vote cast by someone who is unable to go to the polling station. Officials said that in both these categories there are people who are unable to reach the polling stations and thus are unable to cast their votes. "This will enable people from these two categories to cast their votes with ease and will also thus increase the voter turnout," an official said. The poll officer will attest the ab

Bhubaneswar: The toll in the heavy rains in Odisha has mounted to six with three fresh deaths reported from the districts, officials said Saturday. The state has been battered by heavy rains since 23 October under the impact of a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal. Representational image. Reuters It claimed human lives, caused extensive damage to crops and properties, threw life out of gear in many districts, caused severe waterlogging and local flooding in low-lying areas. The three fresh deaths were reported from Ganjam, Kendrapara and Mayurbhanj districts since Friday, officials said. A ten-month-old boy was killed and his parents injured after a mud wall of their house collapsed at Bajraguma village in Ganjam district on Friday, while an 85-year-old man died in a similar incident at Aul area of Kendrapara district, they said. Wall collapse caused by intermittent heavy rains also claimed the life of a woman aged around 50 years in the Rasgovindpur area of Mayurbhanj dis

Ahmedabad: Parts of south Gujarat and Saurashtra are likely to receive light to moderate rains and thundershowers over the next four days with cyclonic storm "Kyarr" hovering over the Arabian Sea, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday. Screengrab from IMD website on 26 October The met department said the sea will become "rough to very rough" along and off the south Gujarat coast during the next 24 hours until Sunday afternoon. The IMD advised fishermen not to venture into south Gujarat coast for the period due to the prevailing sea condition. "Squally wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph is likely along and off south Gujarat coast during the next twenty four hours. Sea will be rough to very rough along and off south Gujarat coast during next 24 hours. Fishermen are advised not to venture into south Gujarat coast during the next 24 hours," the IMD bulletin said. The met department said a few places in South Gujarat d

Panaji: A naphtha-carrying ship which has run aground in the sea off the Goa coast has not moved further and aerial survey showed there is no oil spillage from the vessel, the state government said on Saturday. 3000-tonne unmanned oil tanker NU SHI Nalini, which was anchored off Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) harbour, drifted towards Raj Bhavan at Dona Paula beach on Thursday. A statement by the chief minister's office (CMO) said the ship has about 2,000 tonnes of naphtha, 50 tonnes of heavy oil and 19 tonnes of diesel on board. An expert team of captain KP Jayakumar, Nautical Advisor, Government of India; captain Mohit Behl, Nautical Surveyor, Directorate General of Shipping and Bodh Raj, Engineer and Ship Surveyor, Mercantile Marine Department, Mumbai, along with MPT officials were assessing the situation "to plan remedial actions", it said. Various agencies including the MPT signal station are monitoring the ship round-the-clock, the CMO said. "Port assessment and

Srinagar: Militants hurled a grenade at a CRPF team, injuring six personnel, in the Karan Nagar area of Srinagar on Saturday, police said. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) team was manning a checkpoint when the grenade attack took place. Six personnel were injured, they said. The grenade exploded with a bang causing panic in the area, they said. The security forces fired some shots in the air in retaliation, officials said. Further details awaited. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/2JmEiE4 Press Trust of India

A newly discovered 4 mm marine worm in Scotland, named ampharete oculicirrata, which has a jumble of tentacles near its mouth and beady black eyes poking out of its bottom, proves that nature has not left any combination out when it comes to animal forms. Human eyes are among the least useful and become weaker with age, genes or bad nutrition. The animal kingdom, however, has the strangest, most complex eyes within it, from six-eyed spiders to geckos that can see 350 times better than humans. Some animals see infrared and ultraviolet, parts of the spectrum not visible to humans. Some animals even use their eyes to frighten predators or, like butterflies, imitate the eyes of larger animals with completely different parts of their bodies. File image of a chameleon Here are some animals which have the strangest eyes: * Guitarfish don’t have eyelids. But they do have muscles that pull back their eyeballs almost 1.6 inches into their head. This is important because the guitarfish hunt

Bengaluru:  Hundreds of Congress workers and supporters of senior party leader DK Shivakumar, who was released on bail from a Delhi prison in a money laundering case, gave him a grand welcome as he landed at the city airport on Saturday afternoon. File image of Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar. ANI The 57-year-old Vokkaliga strong man, who has his own support base in parts of old Mysuru region of Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Mandya and neighboring areas was greeted by supporters with flowers, crackers and a mammoth apple garland upon his arrival. Shivakumar was brought to KPCC office from the airport in a procession, as he waved and acknowledged supporters from an open car. Shivakumar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on 3 September in a money laundering case and walked out of the Tihar Jail in New Delhi on Wednesday evening, after the Delhi High Court granted him a bail. His arrest had led to widespread protests, especially in Ramanagara, Bengaluru rural, Mandy

Barasat: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who had been locked in a war of words with the state the government on various issues, on Saturday said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has invited him to her residence on Kali puja and he was "eagerly waiting" to be a part of the celebrations. File image of West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar. News18 Dhankhar, while inaugurating a Kali puja marquee at a club in Barasat, North 24 Parganas district, maintained that he was more than happy to have got the invitation for the puja - held every year at the chief M's Kalighat residence since 1978. "I had written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that I and my wife wanted to be at her residence on the occasion of 'Bhai Dooj'. The chief minister, after coming back from her North Bengal tour, wrote back inviting me and the First Lady to be a part of Kali puja at her residence. "We are very happy to get her invitation and are eagerly waiting to attend the puja.

Ahmedabad: With less than a week for the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, to take effect, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday reiterated "not a single bullet has been fired nor a death reported in Kashmir" since the abrogation of Article 370 in the restive region. File image of Amit Shah. PTI The move had also led to terrorists starting to count their final days, he claimed while addressing a gathering in Ahmedabad. "I would like to assure you the removal of (Articles) 370 and 35A has paved the way for Kashmir's development. And with this, terrorists in Kashmir have started counting their final days. Congress leaders said in Parliament there will be bloodshed. I would like to tell them, nothing has happened. Neither a bullet has been fired, nor a death reported. Kashmir is peacefully on its path to development," he said. He said removal of Article 370 and 35A had helped Kashmir forever unite with India, and the move was a way to fulfill d

New Delhi: Pakistan-based terrorist groups made 328 bids to sneak into Jammu and Kashmir from across the border in 2018 and were successful in 143 of these attempts, the highest in the last five years, according to the Home Ministry's annual report. The report of the ministry for 2018-19 made available on Friday said 257 terrorists and 91 security personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir last year, the highest number of casualties in the state in the last five years. Representational Image. PTI As per the report, there were 328 infiltration attempts by Pakistan-based terrorist groups into Jammu and Kashmir from across the border in 2018, of which 143 were successful. In 2017, there were 419 cross-border infiltration attempts, of which 136 were successful. In 2016, there were 371 infiltration attempts, of which 119 were successful, it said. A total of 121 infiltration attempts were in 2015, of which 33 were successful. In 2014, there were 222 infiltration attempts, of which

New Delhi:  Jannayak Janta Party leader Dushyant Chautala's father Ajay Chautala, who is lodged in the Tihar jail after his conviction in a teachers' recruitment scam, has been granted furlough for two weeks, officials said. File image of Ajay Chautala. News18 The development comes on a day the Bharatiya Janata Party staked claim to form the government in Haryana after Dushyant Chautala's JJP offered support to the saffron party, which fell short of a majority in the assembly election. Dushyant, who met his father shortly before meeting his 10 legislators on Friday to take a decision on supporting the BJP, will take oath as the deputy chief minister of the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government on Sunday. Ajay Chautala is scheduled to leave the Tihar jail on Sunday, officials said. According to Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel, Ajay Chautala has been granted a two-week furlough and it will start from the day he will step out of the jail premises. He has been lodg

Islamabad:  Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat has been repeatedly “provoking war” through “irresponsible” statements and endangering regional peace, Pakistan Army has said after he described Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir as a "terrorist-controlled" part of Pakistan. File image of Army chief Bipin Rawat. PTI In his closing remarks at the Field Marshal KM Cariappa memorial lecture in New Delhi on Friday, Rawat also asserted that Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) have been under illegal occupation of Pakistan. "The territory (PoK) occupied by Pakistan is not controlled by the Pakistan establishment but it is controlled by terrorists. PoK is actually a terrorist-controlled part of Pakistan," the Indian Army chief said. He also said that attempts are being made by Pakistani terrorists to disrupt resumption of normalcy in Kashmir after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 to withdraw special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Reacting to Rawat'

Panaji: The Goa government on Saturday said they have sought the help of experts from Pune and Mumbai to control any possible tragedy emerging due to a tanker carrying naphtha getting grounded off the Goa coast. The unmanned 3000-tonne tanker, which was anchored off Mormugao Port Trust harbour, drifted towards Raj Bhavan at Dona Paula near here on Thursday. "We are talking to experts from Mumbai and Pune since naphtha is highly inflammable. If the sea gets calm, then the oil and diesel will be pumped out from the vessel and transferred into smaller boats," said state Ports Minister Michael Lobo. Lobo blamed the Mormugao Port Trust for the incident. Earlier, the tanker owner had assured the state government that another vessel would be brought in by Sunday to empty it of naphtha. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/2PrRYS5 Press Trust of India

Lucknow: Kiran Tiwari, wife of Kamlesh Tiwari, has been announced as the new president of the Hindu Samaj Party. Kamlesh was shot in the Naka area of Lucknow on 18 October and succumbed to injuries at a hospital during treatment. He was the founder and chief of the Hindu Samaj Party. Kiran Tiwari is expected to hold a press conference today, as per the statement by Hindu Samaj Party. This comes days are two accused in Kamlesh Tiwari murder case were brought to Lucknow from Ahmedabad after a local court granted 72 hours transit remand. The accused, identified as 34-year-old Ashfaq Hussain Jakir Hussain Shaikh and 27-year-old Moinuddin Khurshid Pathan were arrested by Gujarat's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) from the Gujarat-Rajasthan border on 22 October. A total of five persons have been arrested so far in connection with the case. Other accused - Rashid Pathan, Faizan Sheikh, and Maulana Mohsin Sheikh - were on October 22 sent to police custody for four days in connection with the

The orders came from as on-high as on-high could get: Nikita Sergeyevich Krushchev, then first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, was to be escorted into the heart of the Dachigam forest, where a bear would anon wander across his rifle’s sights, sacrificing itself for the greater good of India. The problem also came from on-high: god gave bears savage teeth, and claws, but a profound disinclination for on-demand appearance, and no interest at all in altruistic suicide. Representational image. PTI Faced with this apparently-impossible conundrum, Bashir Ahmad—then able servant of the Forest Department, and since guide to terrorists, police informer, timber smuggler—came up with a cunning fix. At the Great Hind Circus in Amritsar was a Himalayan Black Bear, already caged and ready to play its small, but critical tragic role in the making of history. Perched in his Machaan , Krushchev stared out into the darkness. Ahmad released the bear from its cage, and waited fo

Ayodhya Deepotsav 2019 : On Diwali this year, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government will celebrate deepotsav  or the festival of lamps in Ayodhya, where over 5.50 lakh earthen lamps or diyas will be lit on Saturday, 26 October . Preparations are already in full swing in the state, where the government has made elaborate plans for the five day-long festival of lights, which marks the return of Lord Ram to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. Artists have also started to gather in the city for the deepotsav procession, a symbolic descent of Lord Rama and Seeta, as a part of festivities. Artists gather in Ayodhya for 'deepotsav' procession. Over 5.50 lakh earthen lamps will be lit at Saryu Ghat, today evening as a part of #Diwali celebrations. pic.twitter.com/s9YZxRSj2T — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 26, 2019 Spokesman of the state government said: "Between 10 am to 12 pm on Saturday in Ayodhya, tableau procession of Lord Rama will be organised. This processio

Tiruchirappalli : A three-year-old boy accidentally fell into a 35-feet deep borewell in the district on Friday and emergency efforts are on to rescue him, police said. The boy fell into the borewell at Nadukattupatt around 5:30 pm and fire service personnel have been striving to pull him out since then, they said. "The child is in a sitting position.It is weeping... we are supplying oxygen to the child using a cylinder," officials said. Fire service personnel said the child was safe. An ambulance has been kept ready to rush the child to hospital as soon as he is pulled out. State minister Vellamandi N Natarajan and local police officials were present at the spot. The child fell into the borewell while playing near his house. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/2JoxRjM Press Trust of India

Following the release of the Crimes in India Report 2017 by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) this year, the increasing number of atrocities committed against women came into focus – and rightfully so. The figure in question has skyrocketed to 3, 59,849. In the context of sexual violence, women with disabilities are among the most vulnerable. A woman with a locomotive disorder might not be able to escape violence due to her limited mobility; a woman with a hearing or speech impairment might not be able to call for help at the right time; a woman with an intellectual disability may not even know that she is being exploited. The NCRB report, however, does not have specific data about this sub-set of women, thereby invisibilising them and their sufferings, when this is an aspect that deserves public cognisance and mindfulness. This was also a criticism of India’s #MeToo movement. Despite the movement’s strengths and appeal, it did not include the agendas of women with disabiliti

BJP seals Haryana alliance with JJP; party leaders to meet Governor today After day-long negotiations between the BJP and the Jannayak Janata Party, Union Minister Amit Shah sealed an alliance with the Dushyant Chautala-led JJP  on Friday. Flanked by incumbent chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Chautala, Shah made the announcement at a press conference held at his residence that the new chief minister will be from the BJP and the deputy chief minister will be from the regional party. "Going by the mandate of the voters of Haryana, leaders of both parties have decided that the BJP and the JJP will form the government together. The chief minister will be from the BJP and the deputy chief minister from the JJP," said Shah. He further stated that leaders from both the parties will meet Governor Satyadev Narayan Arya on Saturday and stake their claim to form the next government in the state. However, there was no official announcement on the swearing-in ceremony. We are