US tourist molested on Delhi-Dehradun highway

Lucknow: A taxi driver was arrested on Tuesday in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly molesting a US tourist on the Delhi-Dehradun highway, police said.

The woman tourist hired a cab from Delhi to visit Rishikesh town on the Ganga and the driver en route allegedly molested her. He was arrested in Muzaffarnagar city and booked under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code and sent to jail, a police official said.

The incident took place around 1 a.m. Tuesday at an isolated place on the highway near Nayi Mandi Kotwali area.

The woman raised an alarm which people at a roadside eatery heard. They ran to rescue her. The driver was hauled up and handed over to police.

The driver was identified as Samay Singh, resident of Saharanpur district in the state, police said.

US tourist molested on Delhi-Dehradun highway

Lucknow: A taxi driver was arrested on Tuesday in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly molesting a US tourist on the Delhi-Dehradun highway, police said.

The woman tourist hired a cab from Delhi to visit Rishikesh town on the Ganga and the driver en route allegedly molested her. He was arrested in Muzaffarnagar city and booked under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code and sent to jail, a police official said.

The incident took place around 1 a.m. Tuesday at an isolated place on the highway near Nayi Mandi Kotwali area.

The woman raised an alarm which people at a roadside eatery heard. They ran to rescue her. The driver was hauled up and handed over to police.

The driver was identified as Samay Singh, resident of Saharanpur district in the state, police said.

EC identifies Cong, BJP, 8 others as defaulting parties

New Delhi: Election Commission (EC) has identified 10 political parties, including BJP, Congress and CPI, for “defaulting” on their submissions to it of their election expenditure statements for various Assembly polls held recently in the country.

Apart from BJP, Congress and CPI, parties like AIADMK, IUML, Janata Dal (Secular), National People’s Party, Rashtriya Janta Dal, United Democratic Party and Zoram Nationalist Party have been identified for not submitting their account statements for various Assembly elections, according to a final report prepared by EC Monday.

EC has issued letters to all these 10 parties to ensure that the said expenditure statements are submitted “in the prescribed format letter along with a scanned copy of the same (in pdf format) provided in CD/pen drive at the earliest”.

The filing of these statements are mandatory under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.

Under Section 29C of the said Act, all registered parties are mandated to submit a contribution report of all the donations and funds received by them in an year from individuals or any other entity.

PTI

EC identifies Cong, BJP, 8 others as defaulting parties

New Delhi: Election Commission (EC) has identified 10 political parties, including BJP, Congress and CPI, for “defaulting” on their submissions to it of their election expenditure statements for various Assembly polls held recently in the country.

Apart from BJP, Congress and CPI, parties like AIADMK, IUML, Janata Dal (Secular), National People’s Party, Rashtriya Janta Dal, United Democratic Party and Zoram Nationalist Party have been identified for not submitting their account statements for various Assembly elections, according to a final report prepared by EC Monday.

EC has issued letters to all these 10 parties to ensure that the said expenditure statements are submitted “in the prescribed format letter along with a scanned copy of the same (in pdf format) provided in CD/pen drive at the earliest”.

The filing of these statements are mandatory under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.

Under Section 29C of the said Act, all registered parties are mandated to submit a contribution report of all the donations and funds received by them in an year from individuals or any other entity.

PTI

Sun got a mysterious hole!

California: A mysterious squarish hole in our sun from where solar wind is streaming out at a super fast speed has been captured. Luckily for us, it is positioned so far south on the sun that there is less chance that the solar wind stream will impact the earth.

The coronal hole is clearly visible as the sun rotates, appearing to be a black abyss into the centre of the sun, NASA reported.

In the NASA video, the massive hole appears to flicker and spark as it rotates past the camera.

Such holes may appear at any time of the solar cycle but they are most common during the declining phase of the cycle.

“A coronal hole, almost square in its shape, is one of the most noticeable features on the sun of late,” the space agency said in a statement.

It appears dark in extreme ultraviolet light as there is less material to emit in these wavelengths.

“Inside the coronal hole, you can see bright loops where the hot plasma outlines little pieces of the solar magnetic field sticking above the surface,” NASA added.

Solar flares can damage satellites and have an enormous financial cost.

The charged particles can also threaten airlines by disturbing the earth’s magnetic field.

Very large flares can even create currents within electricity grids and knock out energy supplies.

IANS

Sun got a mysterious hole!

California: A mysterious squarish hole in our sun from where solar wind is streaming out at a super fast speed has been captured. Luckily for us, it is positioned so far south on the sun that there is less chance that the solar wind stream will impact the earth.

The coronal hole is clearly visible as the sun rotates, appearing to be a black abyss into the centre of the sun, NASA reported.

In the NASA video, the massive hole appears to flicker and spark as it rotates past the camera.

Such holes may appear at any time of the solar cycle but they are most common during the declining phase of the cycle.

“A coronal hole, almost square in its shape, is one of the most noticeable features on the sun of late,” the space agency said in a statement.

It appears dark in extreme ultraviolet light as there is less material to emit in these wavelengths.

“Inside the coronal hole, you can see bright loops where the hot plasma outlines little pieces of the solar magnetic field sticking above the surface,” NASA added.

Solar flares can damage satellites and have an enormous financial cost.

The charged particles can also threaten airlines by disturbing the earth’s magnetic field.

Very large flares can even create currents within electricity grids and knock out energy supplies.

IANS

49 killed, 69 injured in Iraq attacks

Baghdad: As many as 49 people were killed and 69 wounded Monday in a wave of violent attacks witnessed across Iraq, including battles with insurgent groups in Anbar province, security and medical sources said.

In Anbar province, fierce clashes erupted between Iraqi forces and gunmen in the militant-seized Fallujah city, some 50 km from Baghdad, leaving 19 militants killed and 20 wounded, Xinhua quoted provincial police as saying.

The gunmen were believed to be linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), an Al Qaeda breakaway group in Iraq.

Six people were killed and 15 wounded by artillery and mortar shelling on several neighbourhoods in Fallujah and the nearby town of Saqlawiya, a hospital source said.

Also in the province, a fierce battle between a joint police and army force with gunmen in Ramadi city, 110 km from Baghdad, left 10 gunmen killed and four policemen wounded.

In another incident, suspected ISIL gunmen clashed with a force linked with protecting the provincial governor in the Ramadi, killing three of the governor's guards and wounding as many, the source said. The governor was not present there.

In Baghdad, three civilians' bodies, bearing gunshot wounds, were found in Kadmiyah district, an interior ministry source said.

In Salahudin province, a suicide bomber killed four people -- two soldiers and two civilians -- and injured three by blowing up an explosive-laden car at an army checkpoint in Baiji, some 200 km from Baghdad.

Separately, a police chief and two of his bodyguards were inured when a roadside bomb struck their convoy in Baiji, the source said. Two civilians were also wounded in a separate bomb explosion in Baiji.

Also in the province, a soldier was shot dead by gunmen at a marketplace in Shirqat city, the source added.

Another soldier was killed and two were wounded when two roadside bombs went off in quick succession in Mosul city. Elsewhere, a soldier was killed and 10 wounded in a roadside bomb explosion near their patrol in a desert road in Jurf al-Sakhar area, some 50 km from Baghdad.

Also, a civilian was killed and seven injured when a roadside bomb detonated near a police station in Mahmoudiyah town, some 30 km from Baghdad, police said.

IANS

49 killed, 69 injured in Iraq attacks

Baghdad: As many as 49 people were killed and 69 wounded Monday in a wave of violent attacks witnessed across Iraq, including battles with insurgent groups in Anbar province, security and medical sources said.

In Anbar province, fierce clashes erupted between Iraqi forces and gunmen in the militant-seized Fallujah city, some 50 km from Baghdad, leaving 19 militants killed and 20 wounded, Xinhua quoted provincial police as saying.

The gunmen were believed to be linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), an Al Qaeda breakaway group in Iraq.

Six people were killed and 15 wounded by artillery and mortar shelling on several neighbourhoods in Fallujah and the nearby town of Saqlawiya, a hospital source said.

Also in the province, a fierce battle between a joint police and army force with gunmen in Ramadi city, 110 km from Baghdad, left 10 gunmen killed and four policemen wounded.

In another incident, suspected ISIL gunmen clashed with a force linked with protecting the provincial governor in the Ramadi, killing three of the governor's guards and wounding as many, the source said. The governor was not present there.

In Baghdad, three civilians' bodies, bearing gunshot wounds, were found in Kadmiyah district, an interior ministry source said.

In Salahudin province, a suicide bomber killed four people -- two soldiers and two civilians -- and injured three by blowing up an explosive-laden car at an army checkpoint in Baiji, some 200 km from Baghdad.

Separately, a police chief and two of his bodyguards were inured when a roadside bomb struck their convoy in Baiji, the source said. Two civilians were also wounded in a separate bomb explosion in Baiji.

Also in the province, a soldier was shot dead by gunmen at a marketplace in Shirqat city, the source added.

Another soldier was killed and two were wounded when two roadside bombs went off in quick succession in Mosul city. Elsewhere, a soldier was killed and 10 wounded in a roadside bomb explosion near their patrol in a desert road in Jurf al-Sakhar area, some 50 km from Baghdad.

Also, a civilian was killed and seven injured when a roadside bomb detonated near a police station in Mahmoudiyah town, some 30 km from Baghdad, police said.

IANS

Boko Haram leader says missing Nigerian schoolgirls converted to Islam

LAGOS: Boko Haram released a new video on Monday claiming to show the missing Nigerian schoolgirls, alleging they had converted to Islam and would not be released until all militant prisoners were freed. The group's leader, Abubakar Shekau, speaks on the video obtained by AFP for 17 minutes before showing what he said were about 130 of the girls, wearing the full-length hijab and praying in an undisclosed rural location. A total of 276 girls were abducted on April 14 from the northeastern town of Chibok, in Borno state, which has a sizeable Christian community. Some 223 are still missing.

Boko Haram leader says missing Nigerian schoolgirls converted to Islam

LAGOS: Boko Haram released a new video on Monday claiming to show the missing Nigerian schoolgirls, alleging they had converted to Islam and would not be released until all militant prisoners were freed. The group's leader, Abubakar Shekau, speaks on the video obtained by AFP for 17 minutes before showing what he said were about 130 of the girls, wearing the full-length hijab and praying in an undisclosed rural location. A total of 276 girls were abducted on April 14 from the northeastern town of Chibok, in Borno state, which has a sizeable Christian community. Some 223 are still missing.