NZ bans sale of assault, semi-automatic rifles after mosque attacks
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern on Thursday announced an immediate ban on the sale of assault rifles and semi-automatics nearly a week after the terror attack on mosques in Christchurch that killed 50 people. “In short, every semi-automatic weapon used in the terrorist attack on Friday will be banned,” she added. Ardern announced a buyback scheme for the banned weapons.
CRPF jawan allegedly kills 3 colleagues in J&K after altercation
Three CRPF personnel were killed on Wednesday after a colleague allegedly fired at them following an altercation at their camp in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur, officials said. Constable Ajit Kumar allegedly shot three of his colleagues from his service rifle at the 187th battalion camp of the force. Kumar also shot himself and is critical in a hospital, officials added.
Sara confirms she will star with Kartik in Imtiaz Ali’s film
Actress Sara Ali Khan took to Instagram to confirm that she will be starring in filmmaker Imtiaz Ali’s upcoming film opposite actor Kartik Aaryan. Sharing a picture with Kartik, Sara wrote, “Honoured, grateful and uncontrollably excited to be a part of Imtiaz Ali’s next.” The film, which will release in February 2020, will also feature actor Randeep Hooda.
Railways to withdraw tickets containing photographs of PM Modi
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Indian Railways has decided to withdraw tickets carrying photographs of PM Narendra Modi. Officials said the withdrawal of tickets is in the wake of the Model Code of Conduct being in force. Earlier, a TMC delegation approached the Election Commission, stating PM Modi’s photo was published on tickets as part of a government scheme.
Hardik wants everyone to know his priority is cricket: Zaheer Khan
Former India pacer and Mumbai Indians Director of Cricket Operations Zaheer Khan has said that all-rounder Hardik Pandya wants to let everyone know that his priority is cricket. Talking about Pandya’s suspension after the ‘Koffee With Karan’ controversy, Zaheer said, “Sometimes the distraction actually helps you get back on track. So, he is pretty much on track.”
I don’t see myself playing for any other IPL franchise: Kohli
Team India and RCB captain Virat Kohli has said that he doesn’t see himself play for any other franchise. “To me [playing for RCB] has been the most special experience,” he further said. Notably, the 2019 IPL will be Kohli’s 12th season with RCB. Kohli is the only player to have played all seasons with a single franchise.
US to build its first exascale supercomputer by 2021
US has said its first exascale supercomputer will be functional by 2021 that will be capable of carrying minimum one ‘exaFLOPS’ or a billion-billion calculations per second. ‘Aurora’ supercomputer, combined with artificial intelligence-based abilities, is aimed to be seven times faster than most powerful system built to date. China is expected to unveil its first exascale supercomputer in 2020.
Shark-faced plane lands at Delhi airport for the first time
A shark-themed plane, an Embraer E190-E2 commercial jet, landed at the Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport for the first time on Wednesday. “You look wildly impressive in our backyard!” Delhi airport’s Twitter account wrote about the plane. Last year, the shark-themed aircraft landed at Lhasa’s Gonggar Airport (Tibet), one of the world’s highest airports at 11,713 feet.
Underwater restaurant opens in Europe, 18-course meal costs ₹30,000
Europe’s first underwater restaurant opened in Norway on Wednesday, which looks like a large concrete tube partly submerged in the North Sea. Named ‘Under’, which means ‘wonder’ in Norwegian, it can seat 40 guests at a time and offers an 18-course meal for up to ₹30,000 per person including drinks. Over 7,000 customers made bookings on the restaurant’s opening day.
Assam BJP leader shot dead on way home from party meeting
Assam BJP leader Sukhendu Das was shot dead by unidentified gunmen while he was on his way home after attending a party meeting on Tuesday night, the police have said. Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal has directed authorities to expedite the probe and arrest those responsible for his murder at the earliest. Das was the president of Borkhola Hatichora panchayat unit.
CRPF not to celebrate Holi in the wake of Pulwama attack
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will not hold any official function to celebrate Holi anywhere in the country in solidarity with the families of its jawans killed in the Pulwama terror attack. There will also be no official Holi celebrations at the Raj Bhawan in Jammu. Home Minister Rajnath Singh had also announced that he will not celebrate Holi.
Woman gets swept off by wave while posing on Bali cliff, survives
A video of a tourist posing for photos at a Bali cliff being swept away by a huge wave has surfaced online. The woman was knocked to the ground but survived and only sustained several cuts. A Bali-based Instagram page shared the video and wrote, “Please…share this video so more people understand how dangerous it is to stand this close!”
Italy to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Italy is set to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with the two countries expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Rome this week. Four Italian ports could reportedly be opened to Chinese investments for BRI. The US has warned Italy against joining the Chinese initiative.
Ex-Bosnian Serb leader jailed for life over Bosnia War genocide
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was sentenced to life in prison by a UN court on Wednesday for genocide and war crimes in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre during the Bosnian War. Judges ruled that his original 40-year jail term was too light for his crimes. The Srebrenica massacre is the worst war crime in Europe since World War Two.
Tubelight shouldn’t have released on Eid: Salman on film’s failure
Speaking about his 2017 film ‘Tubelight’ and its performance at the box office, Salman Khan said that given its nature, the film shouldn’t have been released on Eid. “[J]ab log aae nikal kar toh woh celebrate karne gaye the but sab rote rote aaye hai (People went to watch the film to celebrate, but left the theatre crying),” he added.
MNM won’t be sold, won’t indulge in horse-trading: Kamal Haasan
Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan on Wednesday said the leaders of his political party, Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), will not indulge in horse-trading in the upcoming LS elections. “The needle in the balance will be MNM. We will not be sold, we won’t indulge in horse-trading.” He added, “It will be an actual negotiation, not done with money.”
Address long overdue problems, not chowkidars: Shatrughan to PM
Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he held an audio interaction with security guards across the country, BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha tweeted on Wednesday, “Sir! Please address the problems long overdue instead of addressing the Chowkidars.” “Let’s all play Holi rather than ‘Rafale Chor and Chowkidar’,” Shatrughan added.
EC to provide 35,000 wheelchairs for voters in K’taka
Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar on Wednesday said that 35,739 wheelchairs have been arranged for differently abled voters in the state for upcoming elections. Over 52,000 magnifying glasses, 2,213 sign language interpreters and 31,000 assistants will also be provided, he added. He further said that there will be a separate queue for differently abled voters.
India take their medal tally in Special Olympics to 233
India took their medal tally in the Special Olympics World Games 2019 to 233 on Tuesday. The 233 medals included 60 gold, 83 silver and 90 bronze. This is India’s ninth appearance at the Special Olympics World Games, which takes place every two years. Around 7,000 special athletes from 170 countries are participating in the eight-day long event.
Serena joins Priyanka Chopra-backed Bumble’s investment fund
Twenty-three time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams has said she’ll serve as an investor in Priyanka Chopra Jonas-backed dating app Bumble’s fund. Launched in 2018, Bumble Fund primarily backs startups founded and led by women of colour and underrepresented groups. “I’ve learned how impactful one woman’s voice can be when given a platform to speak and be heard,” Serena said.
Nirav Modi’s arrest a ‘got-up match’: Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that the arrest of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi was a “got-up match” and happened as it is election time in India. She added that the credit for the arrest should go to UK newspaper The Telegraph’s journalist who found him in London. She further called the arrest a “strike” by BJP.
Former TDP leader SPY Reddy joins Jana Sena Party
Former Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader SPY Reddy joined the Jana Sena Party (JSP) on Wednesday in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district. Reddy, who was a TDP MP from Nandyal constituency, quit the party on Monday after the party did not give him a ticket from his constituency. JSP President Pawan Kalyan welcomed him by flanking the party shawl.
Ready to help NASA if manned test flight gets delayed: Roscosmos
Russian space agency Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin tweeted, “We’re ready to help American partners in case trials of their new manned spacecraft are delayed.” “We agree with NASA’s proposal to use both US and Russian spacecraft for delivering mixed international crews to ISS,” he added. This comes after SpaceX’s unmanned test capsule to ISS was delayed thrice before successful deployment.
It’s time state-run banks stand on their feet: Ex-SBI chief
Former SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya has said state-run banks cannot look to the government “every time” for capital and have to “garner it themselves if they wish to grow”. “It’s time the public sector banks…stand on their own feet,” she added. The lenders need to take advantage of digital technologies and risk-management processes and “up their game”, she further said.
32-yr-old cab driver arrested for stalking Ekta Kapoor over 30 times
Mumbai Police have arrested Sudhir Rajender Singh, a 32-year-old cab driver who allegedly stalked producer Ekta Kapoor for over 30 times in recent months. Singh, said to be a resident of Haryana, wanted to meet Kapoor to get a job and to be her friend. He had also enrolled himself in the same gym that Kapoor goes to.
1999 World Cup semi-final was tragedy for South Africa: Allan Donald
Ex-South Africa pacer Allan Donald, whose run-out resulted in 1999 World Cup semi-final match against Australia getting tied, said the semi-final was a “real tragedy”. “The team had the belief. I just knew we had the ability to win the World Cup,” he added. Australia reached the final after finishing higher than South Africa on the Super Six table.
Delhi Police get hi-tech mobile control room bus worth ₹3.7 crore
Delhi Police on Tuesday inducted a Mobile Control Room bus with all modern equipment into service. The bus, built by Bengaluru-based firm Mistral at the cost of ₹3.7 crore, is fitted with latest equipment including Integrated Communication System (ICS), voice logger and CCTV surveillance among others. The bus can be deployed at a strategic location at short notice.
