NASA explains why June 30 will be 1 second longer

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Washington: Strictly speaking, a day lasts 86,400 seconds. On June 30, the day will officially be a bit longer than usual because an extra second or 'leap' second will be added and NASA has an explanation for this.

'The Earth's rotation is gradually slowing down a bit, so leap seconds are a way to account for that,' said Daniel MacMillan, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

This is the case according to the time standard that people use in their daily lives - Coordinated Universal Time or UTC.

UTC is 'atomic time' - the duration of one second is based on extremely predictable electromagnetic transitions in atoms of cesium.

These transitions are so reliable that the cesium clock is accurate to one second in 1,400,000 years.

However, the mean solar day - the average length of a day, based on how long it takes the Earth to rotate - is about 86,400.002 seconds long.

'That is because the Earth's rotation is gradually slowing down a bit owing to a kind of braking force caused by the gravitational tug of war between the Earth, the Moon and the Sun,' the US space agency said in a statement.

Scientists estimate that the mean solar day has not been 86,400 seconds long since the year 1820 or so.

This difference of two milliseconds, or two thousandths of a second - far less than the blink of an eye - hardly seems noticeable at first.

But if this small discrepancy were repeated every day for an entire year, it would add up to almost a second.

Typically, a leap second is inserted either on June 30 or December 31.

Normally, the clock would move from 23:59:59 to 00:00:00 the next day. But with the leap second on June 30, UTC will move from 23:59:59 to 23:59:60, and then to 00:00:00 on July 1.

In practice, many systems are instead turned off for one second.

Previous leap seconds have created challenges for some computer systems and generated some calls to abandon them altogether.

'In the short term, leap seconds are not as predictable as everyone would like,' said Chopo Ma, geophysicist at Goddard.

'The modelling of the Earth predicts that more and more leap seconds will be called for in the long-term but we cannot say that one will be needed every year,' Ma said.

From 1972, when leap seconds were first implemented, through 1999, leap seconds were added at a rate averaging close to one per year.

Since then, leap seconds have become less frequent.

This June's leap second will be only the fourth to be added since 2000.

IANS

Expatriates to Kuwait can undergo medical tests in Kerala now

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New Delhi: Expatriates from Kerala going to Kuwait for employment, study and joining family can now relax as they can undergo the medical tests in the state itself. This becomes possible with the Kuwait government exempting the Khadamat Integrated Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which runs centres at Mumbai and Hyderabad, from the responsibility of conducting medical screening process.

Instead of Khadamat, now the Gulf Approved Medical Centre Association (GAMCA) has been entrusted to conduct the tests. Since GAMCA has centres in Kozhikode, Manjeri, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, candidates from Kerala need not have to travel to Mumbai or Hyderabad now.

Recently Khadamat hit headlines after reports of the agency charging excess fee from the expatriates and also falling to provide them basic facilities.

While Khadamat charged Rs 24,000, the fess at GAMCA is just Rs 3,800.

Earlier in the day, the medical test fee for those travelling to Kuwait was reduced from Rs 24,000 to Rs 16,000. The decision comes after Indian under-secretary Sunil Jain held talks with Kuwaiti officials and health department officials.

Mathrubhumi News had reported earlier that the agency which had been entrusted to conduct pre-employment medical tests raised the fee from Rs 4,000 to Rs 24,000 in a single step. The money was non-refundable even if the candidate fails to clear the medical test.

As the Khadamat centre in Kochi was shut down, those aspiring for a job in Kuwait had to take the medical fitness test either from its centres in Hyderabad or Mumbai. Making things worse for Keralites, the centres lacked basic facilities and the candidates had to wait under scorching sun for long hours.

Greeks hit by closed banks, warnings from eurozone

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Athens: Anxious pensioners swarmed closed bank branches today and long lines snaked outside ATMs as Greeks endured the first day of serious controls on their daily economic lives ahead of a July 5 referendum that could determine whether the country has to ditch the euro currency and return to the drachma.

As strict capital controls took root following Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' surprise weekend decision to call a
referendum on international creditors' latest economic proposals, Greece's population tried to fathom the sheer scale
of the impact on their day-to-day existence.

Following a breakdown in talks between Greece and its creditors, the country is in the midst of the one of the most
acute financial crises seen anywhere in the world in years. It's running out of time to get the money it needs to stave
off bankruptcy.

That has stoked fears of a crippling bank run, a messy Greek debt default and an exit from the euro. As a result, the
country's government imposed strict capital controls, none more onerous than a daily allowance of a measly 60 euros (USD
67) at the ATM.

The sense of unease was palpable among the crowds of pensioners who lined up outside bank branches hoping they
might open. Many elderly Greeks don't have ATM cards and make cash withdrawals in person, and so found themselves completely cut off from their money.

'I came here at 4 a.m. because I have to get my pension,' said 74-year-old Anastasios Gevelidis, one of about 100
retirees waiting outside the main branch of the National Bank of Greece in the country's second-largest city of Thessaloniki.

'I don't have a card. I don't know what's going on. We don't even have enough money to buy bread,' he said.
The capital controls come ahead of a big 1.6 billion-euro payment Greece has to make to the International Monetary Fund.
It's unlikely to be able to pay that without financial assistance.

Greece's bailout program with its European creditors officially expires Tuesday, meaning the country will not have
access to any of the money still available if it doesn't secure a deal. (AP)

Jayalalithaa takes a massive lead in RK Nagar vote count

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  Chennai: Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa took a massive lead over her nearest rival, CPI's C. Mahendran at the end of first round of vote count on Tuesday in the Radhakrishnan Nagar assembly seat by-election.

Counting of votes began at 8 a.m.

At the end of the first round, Jayalalithaa got 9,562 votes (including postal votes), while Communist Party of India's (CPI) candidate C. Mahendran secured 930 votes.

Social activist K.R. Ramaswamy, popularly known as `Traffic Ramaswamy', got 289 votes.

Out of the 11,188 votes counted in the first round, 174 voters opted for NOTA (none of the above).

Sabarinathan wins from Aruvikkara by over 10,000 votes

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Congress party workers celebrating Sabarinathan's lead

Thiruvannathapuram : Congress candidate K.A. Sabarinathan was ahead of his rivals as the counting of votes in the Aruvikara assembly constituency by-election in the capital district began on Tuesday.

Counting of votes began at 8 a.m. and Sabarinathan has taken a lead of 10,128 votes.

Counting of postal votes was taken up first followed by the Tholikode panchayat. Vithura, Ayyadan, Uzhamalaikal, Vellanad, Aruvikkara, Poovachal and finally Kuttichal panchayat votes will be counted.

Of the total votes counted, K S Sabarinathan has so far got 56,448 followed by LDF's M Vijakumar with 46,320 votes and BJP's O Rajagopal with 34,145 votes. Sabarinathan has more lead than what his father G. Karthikeyan had when the latter contested the assembly poll in 2011.

With all the 154 being counted so far, the lead of the Congress candidateis now 10,128 votes. NOTA has taken the fourth spot with total votes 1430.

In the Vithura panchayat, the UDF has taken a major chunk of votes with Vijayakumar able to take a minor lead only in two booths where counting is still on.

In Saturday's polls, 77.35 percent of the electorate had cast their votes.

The assembly constituency witnessed a triangular contest between the CPI-M, the Congress and the BJP. The counting will be held across 14 tables in 11 rounds.

The bypoll is a litmus test for both the Fronts as panchayat polls are to be held later this year and assembly elections are just a year away.

The bypoll was necessitated following the death of former Speaker G Karthikeyan who represented the segment (previously known as Aryanad) in the state assembly from 1991-2015.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said the poll outcome would be a referendum on the government's performance during the past four years while the opposition was confident that the electorate would deal a heavy blow to the ruling Front which was facing various allegations.

Two Indians killed in Kuwait blast

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Kuwait City: At least two Indians were among the 27 people killed in the bombing at a Shia mosque in Kuwait City, the Indian embassy said.

Rizwan Hussain, 31, of Sultanpur and Ibne Abbas, 25, of Ambedkar Nagar were both from Uttar Pradesh, an embassy statement said.

A suicide bomber hit the mosque on Friday during noon prayers, killing 26 devotees and injuring 227 in an attack claimed by the Islamic State. The attacker also died.

The embassy has advised the Indian community in Kuwait to take precautions for its safety and security in the wake of the blast.

Over 800,000 Indians live in Kuwait, forming the second biggest expatriate community after Egyptians.

Most Indians are employed in the private sectors and are workers, technicians, engineers, doctors, chartered accountants and IT experts.

Vigilance sought legal advice from lawyer representing bar owners

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 Thiruvananthapuram: In yet another twist in bar bribery case, reports are out that the Vigilance Director sought legal advice from a senior lawyer who represented the bar owners.

Vigilance Director Vinson M Paul reportedly sought opinion from senior lawyer and former Additional Solicitor General L Nageswar Rao, who represented the bar owners in the Supreme Court questioning the state government's liquor policy.

Rao had represented the Qualified Hotels Association and the petition is still pending in the Supreme Court. Vinson M Paul had approached Rao as he failed to receive any legal advice from the government officially.

As per Rao's opinion, he further directed Vigilance SP and investigating officer Sukesan not to submit charge sheet against Finance Minister K M Mani in the case.

The Vigilance Director's move has kicked up a controversy as Sukesan is preparing to submit a report in this regard in court.

World Leaders Condemn String Of ‘Barbaric’ Attacks

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Iran Condemns Attacks In Tunisia, Kuwait And France

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and several other top officials from ministries, other government agencies and private sector joined a large number of citizens from various segments at the Grand Mosque where people went to condole relatives of the victims in the bombing of a Shia mosque in Sawaber.

PARIS, June 27, (AFP): US and UN leaders led an international chorus of outrage and condemnation after a string of suspected Islamist attacks in France, Kuwait and Tunisia Friday left dozens dead. The White House expressed solidarity and vowed to “fight the scourge of terrorism,” offering all three countries “any necessary support”.

Aides said US President Barack Obama was being regularly briefed on the attacks, which spanned continents and happened during the Muslim day of prayer in the holy month of Ramadan. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also strongly condemned the “appalling” attacks and said those responsible “must be swiftly brought to justice.” While there were no indications that the attacks were coordinated they came days after the Islamic State (IS) group urged supporters to carry out Ramadan attacks.

One person was found decapitated at a gas factory in southeastern France while in Tunisia gunmen killed at least 37 people at a beach resort frequented by European tourists. At least five British tourists were among the victims.

Another 25 people died in a suicide bombing claimed by Islamic State jihadists in Kuwait. The word “heinous” was repeated time and again as politicians worldwide reacted to the attacks. European leaders also condemned the “heinous” attacks, vowing to maintain a united front against “barbarism”. French President Francois Hollande and his Tunisian counterpart Beji Caid Essebsi expressed their solidarity against the “scourge” of terrorism. He also announced he was raising the security level to the highest possible in the Lyon region, where the gas factory attack took place.

Among his fellow European Union leaders gathered for a summit in Brussels, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was one of the first to react to news of the attack in France. “Barbarism will always be confronted by unity among democrats,” he wrote in a message on Twitter. Spain, which shares a border with southwestern France, swiftly raised its terror alert level from medium to high.

Challenges
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the attacks “show the challenges we face when it comes to fighting terrorism and Islamist extremism” while Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron called the attacks the fruit of “perverted ideology”. The EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini after the summit called for the Arab world and Europe to stay united. “Arabs, Europeans, Muslims, non- Muslims, we are together, in the same boat,” she said. “The response will be more unity and expressing very clearly, as an alliance of civilisations, that there can be no way in which a religion be misused to tear us apart.” Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said the attack in France “confirms that beyond the known battle fronts there are small, very well organised groups”. Czech President Milos Zeman described Islamic State as “a cancer,” calling for its training camps to be destroyed.

Outside of Europe, Israeli immigration minister Zeev Elkin urged French Jews to flee to the Jewish state. “Come home! Anti-Semitism is rising, terror is increasing,” he warned. Muslim clerics also condemned that attacks, using some of the strongest language to do so. A task force against extremism set up by Egypt’s mufti, the government’s interpreter of Islamic law, said that attacks had done untold damage to the image of Islam “far more than what anyone else has done, whether Muslim or non-Muslim”, Prominent Sunni cleric Yusuf al- Qaradawi suggested that the militants were worse than “beasts”. “Beasts don’t kill other animals except for what they need to eat, but some people never get their fill from murder and blood,” he wrote on Twitter.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was “both saddened and angered today to learn of the heinous terrorist attacks”. The Argentinian, Mexican and Brazilian governments were also among those strongly condemning the attack. EU head Donald Tusk said that the attack in Tunisia affected foreign tourists but also “the security of the whole region and, in the longer term, the security of Europe.”

Struggle
Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz went further, speaking of a “struggle between the civilised world and the barbarism of jihadism.” Iran has condemned the jihadist attacks in Tunisia, Kuwait and France, saying they were “contrary to the teachings of Islam,” in statements released Saturday by the foreign ministry. The killings were not apparently coordinated, but the Islamic State group claimed the atrocities in Tunisia and Kuwait, just days before the first anniversary of it declaring a “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria. “These terrorist acts are contrary to the teachings of Islam,” said foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham in Tehran. In a separate statement she also denounced the attack in a Tunisian hotel that killed 38 people, mostly British tourists. The incident was aimed at “defacing Islam’s image,” she said, urging governments of Muslim countries to “take effective measures against acts of terrorism that harm the image and unity of the Muslim world.” Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also condemned the “barbarous” attack against a Shiite mosque in Kuwait that killed 26 people. In a telephone conversation with his Kuwaiti counterpart, Zarif said such acts were “one of the key threats against countries in the region”.

NUMEROUS’ ARRESTS OF SUSPECTS IN MOSQUE ATTACK

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Thousands Call For Unity At Burial - Mosque Officer Interrogated

  

Huge crowds of mourners converged on the Al-Sulaibikhat cemetery Saturday to bury the dead from the terrorist blast that targeted worshippers at Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque on Friday. Among the crowds, besides Kuwaiti natives and foreign residents, were mourners from the GCC states and some who might have lost a loved one in the tragic incident.

KUWAIT CITY, June 27, (Agencies): Thousands of Kuwaitis braved scorching summer heat on Saturday to attend the funerals of 18 out of 27 victims of a Shiite mosque bombing claimed by the Islamic State group. The bodies of the remaining nine victims will be flown late Saturday to Iraq’s Shiite holy city of Najaf for burial there, State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Sabah said. Drapped in Kuwaiti flags, the bodies were borne by mourners who chanted religious slogans.

Mourners turned out in large numbers despite the Ramadan daylight fast and as temperatures hit 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit). “This crowd is the proof that the objectives of the criminal act have failed,” Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem told reporters as he led a large number of MPs and ministers to the cemetery west of Kuwait City. The mourners, who included women clad in black Islamic dress, carried Kuwaiti flags in addition to black and green banners bearing religious slogans.

The interior ministry said in a statement early Saturday that 27 people and the suicide bomber were killed and 227 wounded in one of the country’s worst bombings and its first ever on a mosque. The health ministry said that 40 wounded are still in hospital and the rest have been discharged. Two of the dead were Iranian, the Shiite-dominated Islamic republic’s foreign ministry said. Friday’s attack targeted Al-Imam Al- Sadeq mosque in Kuwait City during Friday noon prayers.

Condolences were being accepted for three days from Saturday at the Grand Mosque, the largest place of worship for Sunni Muslims, in a show of solidarity. The interior ministry said it has arrested the owner of the car the bomber used to go to the mosque, and that the driver was now being sought.

Bomber
The vehicle’s owner gave it to someone who drove the suicide bomber to the mosque, a ministry statement said. The ministry said an unspecified number of suspects were held for questioning in connection with the attack that shook the country. No details were provided. The government briefed MPs in a joint meeting about measures it has taken after the bombing, Sheikh Mohammad told reporters. His Highness the Amir, the government, Parliament and political groups and clerics have all said the attack aimed to stir up sectarian strife in the emirate.

Sunni religious and political groups were quick to condemn the attack which was claimed by IS, a radical Sunni group which considers Shiites to be heretics. Shiites form a third of Kuwait’s 1.3 million native population. The cabinet announced after an emergency meeting on Friday that all security agencies and police had been placed on alert to confront what it called “black terror”.

Justice and Islamic Affairs Minister Yacoub Al-Sane said additional security measures will be taken around mosques and places of worship. Kuwait declared Saturday to be a day of mourning. The Amir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al- Sabah, who visited the site immediately after the bombing, said the “criminal attack is a desperate and evil attempt targeting Kuwait’s national unity”.

Countries and organisations including the United Nations and the United States deplored the bombing. Eight Islamist, liberal and Shiite political groups condemned the attack in a joint statement and called on the government to confront extremists. National oil conglomerate Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC) said on Saturday it had raised security at oil facilities to maximum level. Oil is Kuwait’s main source of income, accounting for around 90 percent of public revenues. The OPEC member says it sits on around 10 percent of global reserves and pumps around 2.8 million barrels of oil per day.

The police officer in charge of security at Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque is under interrogation, after the surveillance camera within the mosque premises revealed that the officer had left the scene after the bomb incident, reports Al-Shahed daily, reports Al-Anba daily. The Interior Ministry categorically quashed on Saturday local press reports on receiving information four days before on plans to target places of worship, prior to Friday’s Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque blast, and did not “pay them due attention.” The ministry stressed in a statement that it never discards tips pertaining to security of the nation and the people.

It noted that its members are doing their best to firmly combat any danger to the country. The statement urged the press to verify information prior to publication to avoid confusion and disturbing security and safety, and not to discredit the ministry efforts at the time when the nation needs all to join forces.

25 killed in suicide bombing of Shiite mosque in Kuwait

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KUWAIT: Twenty five people were killed and 202 wounded when a suicide bomber attacked a mosque in Kuwait City today. Mahmoud Al Dousary, assistant undersecretary for special forces affairs with the Ministry of Interior confirmed the number of dead today in a statement to the press.

The bomber snuck into the Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque near Kuwait's famous Al-Sawaber district in Sharq at the end of the busy noon prayer. Casualties covered in blood could be seen throughout the mosque grounds. Earlier, a government official confirmed to Kuwait Times that the attack was a suicide bombing.

Amir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah immediately visited the mosque and wounded, many of whom were taken to Amiri Hospital for treatment. Photos from the mosque show a chaotic scene with blood-covered bodies. Hundreds of police and emergency response teams at the scene. The Cabinet held an emergency meeting in response to the attack.

The imam of Al-Sadiq mosque Sheikh Hamed Hadi Al-Saleh told Kuwait Times, "A suicide bomber entered the mosque. During the sujoud, he shouted 'Allahu Akbar' three times and blew himself up near worshippers in the back rows. People sitting on chairs were the closest to him, and thus most affected."

The attack is the first suicide bombing in Kuwait since the 1985 suicide bombing attack on the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah. Today's attack was immediately claimed by a group in Saudi Arabia affiliated with Islamic State militants. The Al Nadj Province group, an offshoot of IS, named the bomber as Abu Suleiman Al-Muwahhid.

Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al Sabah said the suicide bombing was a deliberate attack on Kuwaiti unity. Approximately 30 percent of the country's citizens are of the Shiite sect, the rest are Sunni.

But Kuwait social media responded with calls for unity and prayers for those who died or were wounded in the attack. Hundreds of people flocked to Amiri Hospital to search for relatives or to offer donations of blood. The local blood bank opened to receive donations as well.