Turkey Declares National Mourning Over Airport Attack

Istanbul: Turkey has declared a day of national mourning after three suicide bombers attacked Istanbul’s Ataturk airport killing at least 41 people and wounding 239.

The attackers arrived at Ataturk, Europe's third-busiest airport, late on Tuesday evening where they opened fire before blowing themselves up.

The Turkish government ordered flags to be flown at half-mast on Wednesday, as investigators pored over video footage and witness statements. Turkish officials said that 23 of the dead were Turkish, and 13 were foreign, including five Saudis and two Iraqis. Citizens from China, Jordan, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Iran and Ukraine were also among the 13 foreigners killed. The Istanbul governor’s office said 109 of the 239 people hospitalised had since been discharged.

“This attack, targeting innocent people, is a vile, planned terrorist act,” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters at the scene in the early hours of Wednesday morning. “The findings of our security forces point at the Daesh organization as the perpetrators of this terror attack,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack and Yildirim said efforts to identify the attackers, who arrived at the airport in two taxis, were continuing.

The attackers opened fire at airport guards at the terminal entrance, and a shootout erupted before they blew themselves up one by one at around 10pm (19:00 GMT), authorities said. Security camera footage shared on social media appeared to capture two of the blasts. In one clip, a huge ball of flame erupts at an entrance to the terminal building, scattering terrified passengers.

Another video shows a black-clad attacker running inside the building before collapsing to the ground - apparently felled by a police bullet - and blowing himself up.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a “joint fight” against terror after the attack.

Ataturk Airport is one of the busiest ports in the world, serving more than 60 million passengers in 2015.

There has been a string of bombings around Turkey over the past year, some of them blamed on ISIL, others claimed by Kurdish groups.

2016 Wimbledon Open - Serena, Murray Advances Into Second Round

Wimbledon: Serena Williams and Andy Murray have made their way into the second round of 2016 Wimbledon Open Women’s and Men’s singles respectively.

On Tuesday, defending champion Serena Williams reached the Wimbledon second round with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Swiss qualifier Amra Sadikovic as her mother watched from the front row of the Royal Box. The 34-year-old world number one, chasing a seventh Wimbledon title and record-equalling 22nd major, took her Grand Slam career record in first rounds to a formidable 63 wins against just one defeat.

She next faces fellow American Christina McHale for a place in the last 32. “My mom was up there in the Royal Box, so that was nice,” said the American star after giving mother Oracene Price an afternoon to remember on Centre Court. “I will have to get my dad out here now.” Williams claimed victory over world number 148 Sadikovic on a second match point courtesy of a successful Hawk-Eye challenge.

“I never underestimate any opponent. I always expect the best of myself,” added Williams, who won 12 straight points at the start of the match to open a 3-0 lead. However, not everyone gave her the royal seal of approval. “It was one of the worst serving efforts I’ve seen from Serena. This is what is giving other players hope,” said US legend John McEnroe, commentating for the BBC. Meanwhile, Andy Murray made a flying start to his bid for a second Wimbledon title as the world number two crushed British wildcard Liam Broady 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday.

Murray has lost successive Grand Slam finals to Novak Djokovic this year, but the 2013 Wimbledon champion believes he can end that frustrating run now he is reunited with coach Ivan Lendl after a two-year hiatus in their partnership.

After world number one Djokovic, the Wimbledon champion for the last two years, cruised past Britain’s James Ward to open his campaign on Monday, Murray was in equally ruthless mood 24 hours later. Meanwhile, Nick Kyrgios was back in trouble on his return to Wimbledon as the Australian rowed with umpire Mohamed Lahyani and told his entourage to get out during a stormy 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (9/11), 6-1 win over Czech veteran Radek Stepanek.

Tusshar Kapoor Becomes A Single Father Via Surrogacy

Mumbai: On Monday, actor Tusshar Kapoor became one of the first mainstream Indian celebrities to become single father as he announced the welcome his son into the world.

Tusshar’s son, who has been named Lakshyaa, was born last week through IVF and surrogacy.

“I am thrilled to be a father! The paternal instincts in me have been overpowering my heart and mind for some time now. Therefore, I am thrilled beyond words to have Laksshya, now the greatest source of joy in my life,” Tusshar, son of Bollywood veteran Jeetendra, said in a statement.

Proud grandparents, Shobha and Jeetendra, have also extended their support to the 39-year-old actor. “We could not be more excited to be grandparents to Laksshya, and are completely supportive of Tusshar’s decision. This is certainly a tremendous blessing, and an exciting time in our lives. Tusshar is a wonderful son, and he has proven with responsibility, independence, and kindness that he will be a great father to Laksshya,” they said in a joint statement.

The IVF treatment was led by Firuza Parikh, Director of IVF and Genetics at the Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre. Appreciating Tusshar’s decision and dedication, Parikh said, “I am impressed with Tusshar’s determination to be a father. He maintained a keen interest in the baby’s health at every stage. He will surely be a sensitive and nurturing parent.”

Parikh added that recently they have we have had many single men and women approved for parenthood. “As a public figure, Tusshar’s brave and bold decision will open the field of assisted reproduction making it accessible to not just single parents, but also to many who fervently desire to have a baby.”

There are many stigmas associated with being a single parent in India. Tusshar’s bold and brave step might help in eradicating many of the misconceptions in the society.

On Monday, ICMR director general Dr Soumya Swaminathan told TOI, “The draft guidelines are yet to be passed, but they say that surrogacy is only for married, infertile couples.” This rule is only meant for Indians as surrogacy in India is no longer an option for foreigners or overseas citizens of India.
A senior doctor said that in Kapoor's case “no law has been broken because there are none here”. Subramanian felt that any ART legislation should consider single-parent families. “Single people cannot be denied parenthood. While traditional families have been heterosexual couples, new age families can have a single parent or gay parents. This isn't about being accepted by society, but it's about a basic right,” said Subramanian, adding that the law should also have safeguards for the child's rights as well. Earlier, superstar Amir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao had a son Azad Rao Khan through surrogacy. Even Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan's third child AbRam was also born through surrogacy.

Maria Sharapova to Enroll Herself At Harvard Business School During Two-Year-Ban From Tennis

New Delhi: The 29-year-old Russian tennis star. Maria Sharapova, has joined the Harvard Business School as she is banned from tennis due to two-year doping ban. Sharapova has taken this to Twitter where she said: “Not sure how this happened but Hey Harvard! Can’t wait to start the program!”

The tennis sensation has posted a picture of her on the social media sitting in front of a sign of Harvard Business School.

Sharapova is banned from tennis fro two long years after it was found that she tested positive for using banned drug Meldonium. Meldonium was forbidden for players by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) following World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) regulation.

ITF has levied two-year-of suspension to Sharapova while the tennis star has appealed to the court of arbitration for sport (CAS) to either reduce or completely eliminate the punishment.

Reports are that the official website showing the Harvard business school database shows Maria Sharapova’s name in the list of students. But she is not yet enrolled in the roster of Harvard’s 2016-17 women’s tennis team.

Sharapova is a five times Grand Slam winner, former No. 1 woman tennis player and is among the costliest player in the world.

Odisha Govt. Launches Education Loan At 1% Interest Rate for Students Pursuing Higher Education

Bhubaneswar: With the objective to offer meritorious and poor students a fund that will help in continuing their higher studies, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patanaik has launched a new scheme-'Kalinga Sikshya Sathi Yojana'.

It was only on Monday when CM Patanaik has announced that Odisha state government will provide education loan to needy students at one percent interest rate for pursuing higher studies.  Reports are that the state government will invest as many as 500 crore of resources from their own fund for the students’ education loan.

“In line with the promise of providing education loan at less interest rate, today the state government has decided to provide education loan at 1 per cent per annum. This will be a major help for students pursuing higher education including Management, Law, Engineering, Medicine etc,” said the Chief Minister on Monday during inaugurating the scheme.

EXIN Times sources, while covering the national news, asserted that this initiative by the government will help reduce the burden of loan of parents. Simultaneously the scheme will also ‘financially empower’ poor students ‘to pursue their aspiration in higher education.’

The Odisha state government has dedicated the ‘Kalinga Sikshya Sathi Yojana’ to former chief minister Biju Patnaik whose birth centenary was on last week. Biju Patnaik had instituted Kalinga UNESCO award for popularization of science when he was only 35 years old, the chief minister said.

Using fossil fuel is increasing multiple health and developmental harms in children: study

What was an assumed fact till yesterday was confirmed by Professor Frederica Perera. The director of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH), Professor Perera, said, that children are the most affected of the vast amount of fossil fuels we are using.

In a recent research by Perera, using fossil fuel is the ‘single most important action’ to improve the health of children living worldwide. A cease in using vast amounts of fossil fuels is proportionate to increased air pollution, leading children suffering from asthma, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and developmental problems that lower IQ.

The study, Environmental Health Perspectives by Professor Frederica Perera therefore has very explicitly termed that ‘our addiction to fossil fuels’ would result into fewer number of premature babies and children born with a low birth weight. “Fossil fuel combustion inflicts a multitude of serious health and developmental harms in children through its emissions of toxic particles and gases and carbon dioxide, a pollutant that is a major driver of climate change,” said the study by Perera.

He also added that newborns, fetus and old, especially from the poorer countries, are the most vulnerable. The economically backward countries are also the prime fossil fuels user compared to the developing and developed countries. Therefore formation of a ‘child centered air pollution and energy policy’ is somehow the best option for countries to offer a better future to the future generation.

“The developing foetus and young child are more biologically and psychologically vulnerable than adults to the many adverse effects of toxic air pollutants and physical trauma, psychosocial stress, nutritional deprivation, infectious agents, and heat waves associated with climate change from fossil fuel combustion,” the study added.

Following the World Health Organization’s study from 2006 that said that children are the most ‘exposed’ to air pollution compared to adults, Perera’s study quite said the same thing, saying that the womb and the early years are the most susceptible and is likely to get affected.

According to the World Health Organisation, as many as 4.3 million people died worldwide due to indoor air pollution resulting from coal, wood and other solid fuel fires. the styudy by professor Perera, however, have clearly noted that burning fossil fuels include emissions of particulate matter (PM), black carbon, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), mercury, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO)- all follow-on into health impacts being ‘strong respiratory irritant’.  

Again, children having the immature immune system are more likely to suffer from cholera and other diarrheal diseases and other diseases contaminated from air and water.

Future of Solar Panels: S. Korean Scientists Developed Panels 100 Times Thinner Than A Human Hair

A team of researchers from South Korea has recently developed solar panels for wearable electronics that is so flexible and thin can be wrapped around the frame of pair of glass.

The solar panels, as said by the research-team, are thinner than a strand of hair. The panels will be, as claimed by the south Korean scientists, the ultra thin solar cells are hundred times thinner than standard solar panels and three to four times thinner than most of the slimmest solar cells currently available.

“Less fragile under bending, but perform similarly or even slightly better to panels 3.5 micrometers across,” said Professor Jongho Lee, who is also leading the research. He added that the flexible solar panel is so thin that can be wrapped around a pencil or in an object that is 1.4 mm thin.

Scientists said that the ultra thin, flexible solar panel is made using a semiconductor, gallium arsenide.

‘They were then stamped on to a flexible material, avoiding the need for an adhesive that would add to its thickness. The cells were “cold-welded” to an electrode,’ the study said.

17th IIFA Awards: Bajirao Mastani Is The Big Winner

Madrid: Indian historical epic Bajirao Mastani swept the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) early Sunday, taking home awards for Best Director for Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Best Supporting Actress for Priyanka Chopra and Best Male Actor for leading man Ranveer Singh.

Bajirao Mastani led the nominations this year with 16 nominations. And when the results were announced, it also was the leader with 13 wins.

The movie, which stars Ranveer as 18th century Maratha warrior Bajirao, picked up nine other technical awards at the IIFA, including for choreography and best cinematography. It was Ranveer’s second IIFA award, the first was won by him in 2010 for Band Baaja Baaraat in the category of Star Debut of the Year (Male).

It was Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s fourth IIFA award. He previously won the Best Director award for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam in 1999, Devdas in 2003 and Black in 2006.

The Best Film award went to Bajrangi Bhaijaan starring Salman Khan, whose character embarks on a journey to reunite a mute six-year-old Pakistani girl stuck in India with her parents in Pakistan.

Deepika Padukone bagged the Best Actress award for Piku. It was Deepika’s third IIFA award. She has previously won Star Debut of the Year (Female) in 2007 for Om Shanti Om and Best Actress award for Chennai Express in 2013.

Anil Kapoor Won the Best Supporting Actor award for Dil Dhadakne Do. It was also Anil’s third IIFA Award. He previously won the Best Supporting Actor award Best Actor in a Comic role award in 1999, both for Biwi No.1.

For Priyanka, it was also her third IIFA. This was definitely the hattrick year for everyone. Priyanka previously won the Star Debut of the Year (Female) for Andaaz in 2003, and in 2008, she won the Best Actress award for Fashion.

Sridevi, considered by many to be the first female superstar of Hindi cinema, was honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award.

The co-hosts of the show, actors Farhan Akhtar and Shahid Kapoor, arrived on the stage for the start of ceremony — which got underway two hours behind schedule - riding donkeys.

In the opening ceremony, actor Hrithik Roshan, accompanied by dozens of dancers, performed the flamenco-themed song Senorita from his 2011 film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, a road movie shot largely in Spain.

Spain is seeking to diversify its tourism base beyond the traditional northern European sun-seekers that account for the bulk of its visitors and officials hope hosting the awards will draw more Indian visitors. Madrid city hall was illuminated with the colours of the Indian flag over the weekend in honour of the awards.

The broadcast of the awards attracts approximately 800 million viewers worldwide.

Launched in 2000 at the Millennium Dome in London, other cities to have hosted the glitzy event include Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore and Toronto. It was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last year

List of Winners:

Best Film: Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Best Performance in a Leading Role (Female): Deepika Padukone for Piku

Best Performance in a Leading Role (Male): Ranveer Singh for Bajirao Mastani

Best Direction: Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Bajirao Mastani

Best Story: K. V. Vijayendra Prasad for Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Woman of The Year: Priyanka Chopra

Best Performance in a Supporting Role (Female): Priyanka Chopra for Bajirao Mastani

Best Performance in a Supporting Role (Male): Anil Kapoor for Dil Dhadakne Do

Best Playback Singer (Female): Monali Thakur for Moh Moh Ke Dhaage

Best Playback Singer (Male): Papon for Moh Moh Ke Dhaage

Best Debut (Female): Bhumi Pednekar for Dum Laga Ke Haisha

Best Debut (Male): Vicky Kaushal for Masaan

Best Debut Jodi: Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty for Hero

Best Performance in a Comic Role: Deepak Dobriyal for Tanu Weds Manu Returns

Best Performance in a Negative Role: Darshan Kumar for NH 10

Best Music Direction: Amaal Mallik, Meet Bros Anjjan, Ankit Tiwari for Roy

Best Background Score: Sanchit Balhara for Bajirao Mastani

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Deadly Suicide Bombings Kills 6 In Eastern Lebanon

Qaa: At least six people have been killed and several wounded in a suicide bombing attack in eastern Lebanon near the border with Syria, according to local media reports.

Four suicide bombers blew themselves up among a group of people on their way to work in the village of Qaa in Bekaa valley early on Monday, security sources told Al Jazeera.

At least 19 people were also wounded in the attack. Initial reports said that the attack was carried out by two suicide bombers, but later said there were more than two. George Kettaneh, the general secretary of the Lebanese Red Cross, told AFP the blast had left “at least eight killed including three suicide bombers.”

All those killed were civilians, the mayor of Qaa told Voice of Lebanon, while three Lebanese soldiers were among the wounded. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Lebanon’s national news agency said the blasts struck at 10 minute intervals and also wounded three Lebanese soldiers stationed in the area.

Al-Qaa is one of several border posts separating Lebanon and war-torn Syria. The border area has been rocked by clashes and shelling since Syria’s conflict erupted in 2011.

Lebanon’s army has fought off extremist factions along the frontier and has sought to clamp down on local cells operating in the area.

In August 2014, the army clashed with ISIS and al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, in the border town of Arsal. As they withdrew, ISIS and Al-Nusra kidnapped 30 Lebanese soldiers and policemen, 16 of whom were released after nearly 18 months of negotiations.

Publisher Harper Collins Organized First Garage Sale in Faridabad; All Books Will Be Available Between Rs 25- 100

New Delhi: In a first of kind book sale, leading publication house Harper Collins will throw a garage sale and will more than 100,000 books on sale, with more than 1,000 titles that span across genres will be stacked at their warehouse in Faridabad on June 24 and June 25 from 10 am to 6pm for the bookworms. “All paperback titles will be available at Rs. 25 while hard bounds can be purchased at Rs. 50,” the publishing house said in a social media post.

All the books will be available in a throwaway price of Rs. 25 while the coffee table books will be open to bargain up to Rs. 100.  Box collections of GRR Martin, Paulo Coelho or similar authors will be sold on 90 per cent discount.

Following the announcement, Arvind Gupta, Warehouse and Distribution Head of Harper Collins, said:  “This is unprecedented. We are expecting 500-600 people to come over the two days, but going by interest levels already — I’ve received calls from the Andamans, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh — it might be more. I am expecting close to 100 people just when we open.”

The publishing already has noted that not all the books are new, neither the books are second hand, but those are old. Harper Collins, while organizing the sale, said that those looking for new books ‘need not despair’, but new titles will be available at the sale with ‘staff discount.’

Though an open garage sale, Harper Collins have implemented couple of conditions on it. A customer cannot buy more than two copies of one title, booksellers and distributors cannot buy or sell a single book in the sale and the books, once sold are non-returnable.

Customers can pay with either card or cash, but according to the organizer, they have managed only one POS machine, so hard cash is more preferred. Following the whooping sale, Harper Collins has decided to donate 20 percent of the revenue to Friendicoes, a Delhi-based animal welfare NGO.

US to Introduce Mobile App TraffickCam to Drop down Sex Trafficking Cases in Hotel Rooms

New York: A new mobile-phone app, TraffickCam, was introduced in the United States to try to help the victim of sex trafficking. The app, suitable for all type smart phones-Android, Apple and Google, was designed to trace sex traffickers in a hotel and the victims as well who are held commonly in hotel rooms. 

The app will work this way- TraffickCam asks its users to click a photo of a room they are detained. The image will then be compared to the photos by law enforcement that depict suspected sex trafficking.

Launch of the mobile application is assumed to be a follow-up after  the national human trafficking resource centre, united states estimated that more than 4000 cases of sex trafficking took place only on last year. However, the number excludes minors, those who are the worst victims of sex trafficking in the United States, as the U.S Department of Justice has asserted.

Developer Abby Stylianou, a programming researcher at the University of Washington in St. Louis, noted that TraffickCam judge against carpeting, furniture and accessories as the comparing features. She said that the app have assembled a ‘trove of some 1.5 million photos’ of hotel rooms, she said.

“Law enforcement is always looking for new and innovative ways to recover victims, locate suspects and investigate criminal activity," said Sgt. Adam Kavanagh of the St. Louis County Police. St. Louis County Police is the one who are so far using TraffickCam officially in mas level.

However, Stylianou, well aware about the limitations of the app, said that the initiative is very small if compared to the problem. She also noted the brighter side though saying that not all the sex trafficking cases take place in hotel rooms, but the initiative will help to drop down the count of trafficking happens in hotel rooms.

The Bones of Grace

Author: Thamima Anam

The Bones of Grace is the final novel of the trilogy of Tahmima Anam that started on 2007 with A Golden Age and continued into her second novel, A Good Muslim (2011).

It’s often said that in a trilogy, the final novel enchants the most. No deviation was noted with Anam’s trilogy too, as The Bones of Grace has at its core not but the shattering effects of car is positioned with conflicted love.

The narrator and main character, Zubaida Haque, is a young Bangladeshi paleontologist and Harvard graduate, caught between countries, cultures and two men: Rashid, the Bangladeshi childhood love she has agreed to marry; and Elijah, the American drifter who sparks a mutual passion the instant they meet in a Massachusetts concert hall.

The dilemma Zubaida goes through is the main plot of The Bones of Grace- her confusion- whether to live in or to give up dwells all through the novel. Along with her love-life-dilemma, Zubaida also journeys to find her roots. Anam’s novel interacts with the reader in an enchanting manner especially when Zubaida finds that she is an adopted child but her real parentage is an agonizing black.

As the story rolls on, Zubaida meets Elijah, who, forced to leave his child and lover due to poverty. The novel was written in a form of a letter- with more personal and intimate tone than the former ones.  Many a times, the book is full with questions- that too in the daily domestic boundaries- and the fractures of identity are rightly spoken. The Bangladeshi liberation was is presented as a character- its long, dark shadow prevails in everyone in the novel.

Miss Nicaragua 2014 Yumara Lopez Dies At 22 From Brain Cancer

Managua: Former Miss World contestant from Nicaragua, Yamura Lopez, has died at the age of just 22 after losing her battle with cancer.

Yumara represented Nicaragua in the international competition in 2014 when it was held in London. She had been diagnosed with a grade 2 astrocytoma, cancer of the brain, months earlier.

Since then she had been battling against the invasive disease, but sadly after almost two years, she died yesterday at the Alejandro Davila Bolanos Military Hospital in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua. In 2014, Yumara was elected Miss World Nicaragua 2014, after the young woman who originally won the contest, Maria Esther Cortes Molina, renounced her crown.

Despite her illness, the beauty queen travelled to London to compete with contestants from 121 countries.

The director of Miss World Nicaragua and her representative, Denis Davila, lamented her death, describing her as a “fighter”.

Brave Yumara lost her battle at the Alejandro Davila Bolanos Military Hospital in Managua, the country’s capital.

Condolences have begun to pour in on social media from friends and admirers.

Fellow Nicaragua beauty queen Nastassja Bolivar expressed her shock and sadness at her death on social media. She said: “Today, our Nicaragua lost a queen, but heaven gained an angel. We’ll always remember your smile and the courage in your battle. Rest in peace our beautiful queen, Yumara López.”

User Joel Castillo wrote: “What sadness, you were one of the most beautiful people I have known and not for your appearance but because of your personality and character, thank you for the affection you’ve always shown me. A big hug until the sky.”

Lopez is the second Miss World 2014 contestant to perish after Miss Honduras, Maria Jose Alvarado died days before the event took place. She and her sister were found murdered in her country, a couple of weeks before the actual event.

Discovery Of Predator Fish Which Resembles Alligator Found In Kolkata Lake Concerns Experts

Beliaghata: Experts are concerned about the discovery of a predatory fish that can grow up to eight feet from Subhas Sarovar in Kolkata’s eastern fringe of Beliaghata as it can destroy local ecosystem and biodiversity.

                   

A local angler, Shibu Mondol, caught a 3.5-feet long Alligator Gar – a fish that resembles an alligator with long sharp teeth and equally predatory instincts and sometimes known to attack humans – two months ago.

Biodiversity experts, ecologists and anglers say the fish could kill almost every other fish in the lake. The prehistoric relatives of this mega fish inhabited many parts of the world, but today gars live only in North and Central America. Of the seven known species, the Alligator Gar is the largest.

“It is a highly carnivorous fish. It not only kills other fishes but there are reports of it attacking humans too. The fish’s egg is also poisonous. It has no natural enemies and hence can become invasive in no time destroying the local ecosystem and biodiversity,” Mathe Rajeev Mathew, expert member of the National Biodiversity Authority and the Telangana State Biodiversity Board, said.

A group of experts has been called in to tackle the menace. “This is the first time that this species has been caught in the city. We would like to send a team and collect the specimen. We would also try to explore the lake to check if their population has proliferated and how big is the threat,” KC Gopi, a fish expert of the Zoological Survey of India, said.

Experts say they are usually smuggled into the country to be reared in aquariums. But when the fish starts gaining size and kills other fish, owners often release them in the local water bodies.

“We have had a similar experience with another aquarium fish called the Crocodile fish while working in East Kolkata Wetlands. They are bought by aquarium keepers and then released into wild when they grow big. Crocodile fish are now found in almost every pond and lake in Kolkata and are destroying the local biodiversity,” Dipayan Dey, who heads the city based NGO South Asian Forum for Environment, said.

Mondol – the person who caught the fish - gave a scary account of how he caught the fish as it tried to attack him and snap his finger. Mondol is a member of the West Bengal Angler’s Association and fishes regularly in Subhas Sarovar.

“Unlike a Rohu or Katla fish, which usually tries to drag the rope deep into the pond after it is hooked, this fish was lying idle in the water like a tortoise. When I started pulling it out of the water, I was shocked to see the alligator-like snout. I screamed and local residents soon rushed to the spot. The fish after being pulled out not only made a dart to bite me but also killed a Katla fish which I caught earlier,” Mondol said.

The Alligator Gar that Mondol caught weighed more than five kilos.

One of Mondol’s friends killed the fish and ate its meat that tasted sour. Mondol, however, managed to retain the skin and head and is drying to preserve it.

“We couldn’t cut the fish with a knife. It was so hard that it had to be hacked with an axe,” Mondol said.

8. Euro Cup 2016 - Kolkata Boy Neil Taylor Becomes Wale’s Rising Star

Toulouse: On Monday, Neil Taylor scored Wales’ second goal against Russia. Interestingly Taylor, who plays as a left-back has never scored for his current club team Swansea and scored his last goal in 2010! Gareth Bale ran forward and passed a ball behind the right-back Smolkinov to put Taylor through who thinks about it and hits the keeper and luckily the ball comes back to him and he manages to put it past the keeper.

This is a tournament where Ronaldo, Lewandowski, Ibrahimovic, Muller and Kane haven’t been able to score yet. Eligible to play for either Wales or India, Taylor made his debut for Wales on May 23, 2010 against Croatia. Neil Taylor is the only British Asian playing in the Premier League. Other than him only Michael Chopra and Zesh Rehman have played in the Premier league.

Neil said. “All parents will drill their kids to be education-based, with your dreams put to one side to what will get you through life and get you a career. The obvious question is why aren’t there any already? I think it’s one of them things which has got a stigma attached to it and maybe players believe that they won’t get the opportunity, or that people (coaches) aren’t seeing them. All these different types of things need to change.” Because of Taylor’s non-Indian sounding name, a lot people don’t believe he has an Asian background. Well if they didn't know him before, they are going to know him now!”

Neil is Indian-Welsh. The 27-year-old footballer's mother comes from Calcutta and I have close family both there and in Delhi. To have his presence be felt at such a huge international stage is no mean feat and Neil is certainly paving the way for more budding footballers to take up the sport professionally.

Kabul - 14 Foreign Security Guards Killed In Bombing

Kabul: On Monday, a Taliban bomber killed 14 Nepalese security guards in an attack on their minibus in the Afghan capital, Kabul, the Interior Ministry and an Afghan security official said.

The Taliban took responsibility for the attack, a spokesman for the group confirmed to Al Jazeera.

The attacker on Monday was on foot, police said, as they reported multiple casualties among the bus passengers who were “employees of a foreign compound”. A security official said a magnetic bomb planted in the vehicle of MP Ataullah Faizani was detonated in the Chel Siton area. The official said Faizani and five others were injured.

The bus was carrying Nepalese guards, according to a witness, who also reported more than two dozen ambulances at the scene. It was the first attack in Kabul since the start of holy fasting month of Ramadan on June 6.

And later Monday in Kabul, a second Taliban bombing killed an Afghan civilian and wounded five people, including a provincial council member who was the intended target of that attack, authorities said.

The last attack in the Afghan capital on April 19 left 64 dead and more than 340 wounded. That attack was claimed by the Taliban, which has fought the Western-backed Kabul government since the group were ousted from power by a US-led invasion in late 2001.

Manipal Student Wins Prize For Waterless Toilet Design For Railways

Vinod Anthony Thomas, a tenth semester student of Faculty Of Architecture (FOA), Manipal University, has clinched the second prize at a public competition for designing waterless and odourless toilets for the Indian Railways.

The idea behind the competition, organized by Research Designs and Standards Organization, Lucknow, was to design a toilet which does not give off a foul nor uses any water for operation and maintenance.

The toilet designed by Vinod does away with problems in the existing system of disposal of human waste on the tracks which is, according to him, “unhygienic, unethical and damaging to the environment”. His project also mentions that there is no effective flushing in the existing model, which results in accumulation and foul smell.

According to a release by Manipal University, his design replaces the present system with a conveyor which carries waste in a hermetically sealed pocket to a large collection bin to store waste. It is run manually by a crank wheel and the bin has been designed to reduce waste of water by means of decomposition and forced ventilation (evaporation of water).

The competition was conducted in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a clean India under the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’. Five among the several entries were shortlisted before the winners were declared.

On May 31, shortlisted designers presented their projects before the jury, which comprised experts from Railways, industry and academia/research fields. Vinod’s design was adjudged the second best in the results announced this week. He bagged Rs 75,000 as prize money and shared the second place with another designer, Rahul Garg and team member Saurabh Hans.

Lady Gaga in Talks to Star in A Star Is Born Reboot

Los Angeles: Riding high on her acting skills in her debut TV series American Horror Story’s fifth season — Hotel, American singer, songwriter and actor Lady Gaga is in talks to appear the new A Star Is Born movie reboot.

The singer, who recently won a Golden Globe for her work on American Horror Story: Hotel, is said to be nearing a deal to take on the lead role initially offered to Beyonce in a remake of A Star is Born. Gaga screen-tested successfully, and is director Bradley Cooper’s first choice for the project.

The film would see Gaga take on a part played by Janet Gaynor, Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand over the years: an aspiring young actor on the cusp of fame. Cooper would also star in the film as the troubled, alcoholic movie star who helps her achieve her dreams.

Cooper’s remake, which marks his directorial debut, was to have initially been filmed by his American Sniper director, Clint Eastwood, with Beyonce in the lead. Eastwood left the project in 2011 to make Jersey Boys.

Before appearing in American Horror Story, Gaga had small appearance in Sin City, A Dame To Kill For, Machete Kills and Muppets Most Wanted.  It was announced at the Cannes film festival in May that she was to play Cilla Black in a biography of singer Dionne Warwick, but Gaga subsequently denied her involvement.

She is next slated to return to American Horror Story for its sixth season.

EgyptAir Crash - Wreckage Found In Mediterranean

Cairo: Egypt says that it has spotted and obtained images from the wreckage of the EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea last month, killing all 66 people on board.

The country’s investigation committee said on Wednesday a survey vessel, the John Lethbridge, “had identified several main locations of the wreckage”.

The John Lethbridge has been contracted by the Egyptian government from the Mauritius-based Deep Ocean Search firm to join the search for flight MS804's debris and flight data recorders.

The committee said the vessel obtained images of the wreckage located between the Greek island of Crete and the Egyptian coast, and that the next step will be drawing a map showing the wreckage location.

The John Lethbridge is equipped with sonar and other equipment capable of detecting wreckage at depths up to 6,000ft.

The EgyptAir Airbus A320, en route to Cairo from Paris, had been cruising normally in clear skies on an overnight flight on May 19 when it crashed.

The radar showed that the aircraft turned 90 degrees left, then a full 360 degrees to the right, plummeting from 38,000ft to 15,000ft before disappearing at about 10,000ft.

Leaked flight data indicated a sensor detected smoke in a lavatory and a fault in two of the plane's cockpit windows in the final moments of the flight.

Ships and planes from Egypt, Greece, France, the US and other nations have been searching the Mediterranean north of the Egyptian port of Alexandria for the jet's voice and flight data recorders, as well as more bodies and parts of the aircraft.

Since the crash, only small pieces of wreckage and human remains have been recovered in a search that has been narrowed down to a 5km area of the Mediterranean.

Sharapova Appeals against Two-Year Ban to CAS, Decision to Be Declared on July 18

New Delhi: Russian tennis sensation Maria Sharapova has appealed to the Court Of Arbitration For Sport (CAS) against her two-year ban. Reports are that the tennis star has lodged an appeal to the court seeking complete wipe out or reduction of the two-year long ban. Sharapova was banned from her tennis career by International Tennis Federation (ITF) last week after she was found using banned drug meldonium during Australian open this January.

“In her appeal to the CAS, Ms Sharapova seeks the annulment of the Tribunal’s decision to sanction her with a two-year period of ineligibility further to an anti-doping rule violation,” said the court’s authority. “Ms Sharapova submits that the period of ineligibility should be eliminated, or in the alternative, reduced,” the statement added but also noted that the final decision will be declared by the court on July 18.

Reports are that there are Sharapova still harbors her hopes for Rio Olympics in Rio De Janiero in August. Following her ban announced by ITF, she has termed the ban as ‘unfairly harsh’. “While the tribunal concluded correctly that I did not intentionally violate the anti-doping rules, I cannot accept an unfairly harsh two-year suspension,” the 29-year-old tennis star has asserted in her Facebook page.

Meldonium was added to the banned drug list in January 1, 2016. However, Sharapova said that she was oblivion of the rule and has been taking the drug for long 10 years for heart problem and hereditary magnesium deficiency.