BSF fires in air as people without voter ID try to vote in UP’s Shamli
BSF personnel fired shots in the air after some people tried to cast vote without voter ID at a polling station in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli on Thursday. The voting resumed at the polling booth afterwards. Polling at eight Uttar Pradesh constituencies is taking place in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections today.
2 TDP, YSRCP workers die during clash near polling booth in Andhra
A TDP worker and a YSRCP worker were killed in clashes between several workers of the two parties near a polling booth at Veerapuram village of Tadipatri Assembly segment in Andhra Pradesh. Meanwhile, police resorted to lathi charge to stop clashes between workers in Puthalapattu constituency. The state is witnessing elections for 175-member Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats simultaneously.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrested in London
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested in London after his diplomatic asylum was withdrawn by Ecuador, in whose embassy he had been staying for the past seven years. Assange faces several cases in the US, Sweden and the UK. WikiLeaks claimed Assange did not walk out of the embassy, but the Ecuadorian ambassador invited the police inside to arrest him.
Sonia Gandhi conducts ‘hawan’ before filing nomination for LS polls
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Thursday conducted a ‘hawan’ before filing her nomination for the Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareli. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Robert Vadra attended the hawan. Notably, Sonia Gandhi has been undefeated from Rae Bareli since 2004. She will also hold a road show before filing her nomination.
BJP candidate alleges ‘fake voting’ by women in burqa in UP
Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar BJP candidate Sanjeev Balyan on Thursday alleged that “fake voting” is taking place by women in burqa as their faces are not being checked. Balyan said that he will demand a re-poll if his concerns are not addressed. However, Additional Chief Election Officer BR Tiwari said women officials are verifying identities of women in the veil.
Cong button not working in J&K polling booths: Omar tweets report
Former J&K CM Omar Abdullah has shared a video on Twitter, claiming, “Congress symbol button not working in Poonch polling stations”. The video is from a local news site that talks of EVM malfunctioning and shows a presiding officer from a polling booth saying that there is a delay in polling due to a button on the EVM not functioning.
Sonia Gandhi files her nomination for 2019 LS polls from Rae Bareli
UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi filed her nomination for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli on Thursday. Former Congress President Sonia is a four-time MP from Rae Bareli. Prior to filing the nomination, Sonia Gandhi conducted a hawan and held a roadshow. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Robert Vadra accompanied Sonia Gandhi.
Ban on TikTok app would harm free speech: App’s China owner to SC
After Madras High Court called for a ban on Chinese video application TikTok, its parent firm ByteDance Technology Co told the Supreme Court that the ban will hurt free speech rights of Indian citizens who use the platform to express themselves and create content. The High Court had stated the app encouraged pornography and is available for access to children.
Water doesn’t freeze at even -263ºC in new nanostructures
Switzerland-based researchers have designed nanometre-scale lipid (fat molecules) channels in which water doesn’t freeze into ice even at -263ºC. Scientists noted there is no room in the narrow channels for water to form ice crystals, so it remains disordered at extreme sub-zero temperatures. The water channels were structured such that it prevented the freezing of lipids as well, scientists said.
Fake news: France on reports of Pak Air Force training on Rafale
Rejecting a media report claiming Pakistani Air Force pilots were trained on Rafale jets, French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler today said, “I can confirm it is fake news.” The report had claimed Pakistani pilots had begun training on Rafale jets meant for Qatar in 2017. It was published by ainonline.com, an independent media firm focused on the aviation sector.
New Zealand changes gun laws less than a month after terror attack
New Zealand’s Governor-General Patsy Reddy gave her assent to changes in the country’s gun laws, less than a month after the shootings at two mosques in Christchurch that killed 50. Military-style semi-automatic weapons, assault rifles, high-capacity magazines and some shotguns have been banned and anyone who retains these weapons faces a penalty of up to five years in prison.
Cosmic soup is sambar bowl with vada: Mahindra on black hole pic
Billionaire Anand Mahindra compared the first-ever photo of a black hole to a vada, saying that “cosmic soup is a giant sambar bowl”. The picture shows the black hole at the centre of the M87 galaxy, 55 million light-years from Earth. Mahindra earlier tweeted, “So in the end, we are all inheritors of an intergalactic Dunkin’ Donuts franchise”.
Not bothered by mean Instagram comments: Ananya on trolls
Speaking about being trolled on social media, actress Ananya Panday said, “Small things like Instagram comments, where people express dislike towards me or are mean don’t bother me at all.” “I only chase after the important things,” Ananya added. Ananya, who is the daughter of actor Chunky Panday, will be making her acting debut with ‘Student Of The Year 2’.
Swara campaigns for CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar in Bihar
Actress Swara Bhasker on Tuesday campaigned for Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate Kanhaiya Kumar and delivered her first political speech in Bihar’s Begusarai constituency. “Kanhaiya…is fighting an important battle…If he wins, it’ll be a victory for Indian democracy,” Swara said in a statement. Swara earlier shared a picture from the rally with Kanhaiya and Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani.
Big B, Emraan to star together in thriller-mystery film
Amitabh Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi will star together in an upcoming thriller-mystery film, which will be directed by Rumi Jaffery. “[W]hen you have one of the best actors in front of the camera and a veteran producer behind the lens…then making the film is a fantastic experience,” the film’s director said. The film is slated to release next year.
Studying to become lawyer, will take bar exam in 2022: Kim
In an interview with Vogue US, Kim Kardashian revealed that she has been studying to become a lawyer and plans to appear for the qualifying bar examination in 2022. “I…felt…the system could be…different, and I wanted to fight to fix it,” Kim explained. She further said that she had begun a 4-year apprenticeship with a US law firm in 2018.
Sikkim’s oldest voter Sumitra Rai aged 107 years casts vote
Sikkim’s oldest registered voter, 107-year-old Sumitra Rai, cast her vote for the Lok Sabha elections in the Poklok Kamrang constituency on Thursday. Polling officers at the Government Secondary School, Kamrang polling station felicitated Rai for her participation in the general elections. ‘I Voted’ stickers are being given to all women voters and voters with disabilities in Sikkim.
Facebook fined €30,000 over ‘abusive’ terms of use in France
A French court has fined Facebook €30,000 over “abusive” terms-of-use agreements that users had to accept to access accounts. In 2014, consumer group UFC-Que Choisir had filed a case claiming 430 clauses in Facebook’s agreement, including retaining data indefinitely even after an account is deleted, were abusive. The terms involved in the case have since been modified, Facebook said.
Amazon buys robotics startup backed by Android Co-founder’s fund World’s largest online retailer Amazon has acquired US-based robotics startup Canvas Technology for an undisclosed amount. The robotics startup has built autonomous carts that can move goods around warehouses using 3D imaging and an in-house software solution. Canvas had last raised a $15-million Series A funding led by Playground Global, a venture fund co-founded by Android Co-founder Andy Rubin.
