Month: August 2023

Seven killed, 90 wounded in a Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv; Zelenskiy visits Sweden to meet PM, the royal family

Manish Kumar

Seven people including a 6-year-old child were killed and 90 wounded when a Russian missile struck a central square in the historic northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv.  People had been on their way to church to celebrate a religious holiday when the strike took place, the ministry said, adding 12 of the wounded were children and 10 were police officers.  Early on Saturday the Ukrainian military had shot down 15 out of 17 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Moscow in an overnight strike.  Ukraine’s Zelenskiy visits Sweden to meet PM,…

‘Gadar 2’ crosses the Rs 300 Cr mark at the box office; May compete with ‘Pathaan’ that stands at over 500 Cr

Manish Kumar

“Gadar 2” starring Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel, has crossed the Rs 300 crore mark at the domestic box office, the makers said.  Directed by Anil Sharma, the film is a sequel to the 2001 blockbuster “Gadar: Ek Prem Katha”.  The film collected ₹22 crore on Thursday as per early estimates which takes its total first-week collection to ₹283.35 crore.  It further strengthens the chances of the film competing with this year’s biggest blockbuster Pathaan, which stands at over ₹500 crore.  Gadar 2 had released alongside Akshay Kumar’s OMG 2,…

ED issues summons to Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren in money laundering case

Manish Kumar

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has reportedly issued a summons to Jharkhand’s Chief Minister, Hemant Soren in a money laundering case.  ED has asked the CM to participate in their inquiry regarding the alleged money laundering incident on 24 August.  Earlier on 14 August, Soren was summoned by the ED in connection with an alleged land scam case.  Hemant Soren stated that the central agencies were targeting him because he is not aligning with the central government.  The chief minister has also mentioned that he has provided the details of his…

British Nurse Guilty of Killing 7 Newborns in A Year; Indian-origin UK doctor helped catch the nurse

Manish Kumar

A British nurse was found guilty of murdering seven newborn babies and trying to murder six others at the hospital neonatal unit where she worked, becoming the UK’s most prolific killer of children. Lucy Letby, 33, on trial since last October was accused of injecting her young victims, who were either sick or born prematurely, with air, overfeeding them milk, and poisoning them with insulin. The jury at Manchester Crown Court in northern England reached all of its verdicts after deliberating for 22 days. A UK-born Indian-origin consultant pediatrician at…

WHO Chief Praises India’s Ayushman Health Scheme

Manish Kumar

Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lauded India for its Digital Health platforms like the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centers.  Dr. Tedros made the remarks while addressing the inauguration ceremony of the ongoing G20 Health Ministers’ Meeting in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.  More than 70 delegates from different countries are participating in the G20 Health Ministers’ meeting and side event in Gandhinagar.  The focus of the G20 Health Minister’s Meeting will be on the three key priorities of the G20 Health Track  Director General of the…

Railways to install intrusion detection system in Odisha to prevent train hits on elephants

Manish Kumar

IDS will help in detecting rail fractures, trespassing on a railway track, and alert about disaster mitigation due to unauthorized digging near railway tracks, and landslides near tracks.  IDS is based on artificial intelligence (AI) and existing optical fibers will be used as sensors to identify the movements of elephants.  IDS will send alarms to the loco pilot unit via SMS/internet with GPS tag, providing real-time information about the location of elephants,” said an ECoR official.  The ECoR got over Rs 79 crore for installing the IDS system, said official…

Lander Vikram Moves Closer to Moon, Sends First Pics of Moon After Detaching from Spacecraft

Manish Kumar

Chandrayaan 3’s lander Vikram shared the latest images of the moon after completing a maneuver that took it closer to its destination.  The LI Camera -1 also captured images of the Harkhebi J crater, which has a diameter of approximately 43 km.  The lander will attempt a “soft landing” on the south polar region of the moon on August 23, while the propulsion module will continue to orbit around the moon and study the Earth’s atmosphere.  On the other hand, Luna-25, Russia’s first lunar lander in nearly 47 years, sent…

Kota student suicides: Rajasthan CM orders for a report within 15 days; Spring-Loaded Fans installed in hostels

Manish Kumar

Rajasthan CM ordered to form a committee to provide suggestions to prevent suicide cases among the students and asked to submit the report within 15 days.  Around 20 students preparing for competitive exams in Kota have died by suicide so far this year.   The CM highlighted the burden being put on students studying in classes 9 and 10.  According to NCRB, around 13,000 students died by suicide in 2021. Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of suicides with 1,834 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh (1,308), Tamil Nadu (1,246), Karnataka (855),…

China launches military drills around Taiwan as ‘warning’; Taiwan’s President slams China

Manish Kumar

China launches military drills around Taiwan as ‘warning’ after island’s Vice President stops over in US  Taiwan’s President slams China for military drills, says Beijing not showing ‘responsible behavior’  Days after Taiwan vice president William Lai stopped over in the United States, the Chinese military launched drills around the island.  China’s Communist Party claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and believes that it has no right to conduct foreign relations.  Taiwan and China broke apart in 1949 after a civil war that ended with the ruling Communist Party…

Ukraine tells military-age citizens to ‘overcome their fear’ in the recruitment campaign

Manish Kumar

Ukraine’s defence ministry urged military-age citizens to update their data at army enlistment offices and “overcome their fear” in a campaign launched on Thursday as a summer counter-offensive grinds through its third month. The campaign, which draws on slickly-produced videos and photo testimonials of prominent soldiers describing their fears, aims to break down a major obstacle in army recruitment, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said. “We’re all living people and we all overcome this fear in order to win,” she said, noting that military-age citizens are duty-bound to keep their…