Kiev 'hits' Russian armored column inside Ukraine, Kremlin denies

Ukraine said its artillery destroyed part of a Russian armoured column that entered its territory overnight and said its forces came under shellfire from Russia on Friday in what appeared to be a major military escalation between the ex-Soviet states.

Russia's government denied its forces had crossed into Ukraine, calling the Ukrainian report "some kind of fantasy", and in turn raised its own serious concerns about activity by the US-led Nato defence alliance near its borders.

Moscow accused Kiev of trying to sabotage aid deliveries to eastern areas torn by fighting between pro-Russian separatists and the Western-backed government of Moscow's former satellite.

A Russian serviceman rides atop an armoured personnel carrier (APC) through a field outside Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Rostov Region. (Reuters photo)

In a call to US defence secretary Chuck Hagel, as reported by Russia's state news agency RIA, defence minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow was "seriously concerned" by increased Nato activity and called for a ceasefire to get aid into Ukraine. The agency did not specify what Western military movements he meant.

Nato said there had been a Russian incursion into Ukraine, which is not a member of its mutual defence pact, but it avoiding calling it an invasion. Other European capitals accused the Kremlin of escalating a conflict that has revived Cold War-era animosities and chilled the region's struggling economies.

The United Nations said it could not verify the reports from the Ukrainian border but called for an immediate de-escalation. Kiev and its Western allies have repeatedly accused Russia of arming pro-Moscow separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine, and of sending undercover military units onto Ukrainian soil. They have also expressed concern Russia may use an aid convoy it has assembled on the border as a pretext for stoking the conflict.

It was not clear whether the armoured column was officially part of the Russian army on active service. But evidence of Russian military vehicles captured or destroyed on Ukrainian territory would give extra force to Kiev's allegations - and possibly spark a new round of sanctions against the Kremlin. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military, told a news briefing that Kiev's forces had picked up a Russian military column crossing the border under cover of darkness.

"Appropriate actions were undertaken and a part of it no longer exists," Lysenko said.

The situation in the conflict zone was becoming increasingly tense, he said, with Ukrainian forces which are fighting pro-Russian separatists also coming under artillery attack from Russian territory.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko briefed British Prime Minister David Cameron on the incident and told him a "significant" part of the Russian column had been destroyed, according to statement from Poroshenko's office.

A Russian serviceman rides atop an armoured personnel carrier (APC) through a field outside Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Rostov Region. (Reuters photo)

But Russia's defence ministry said no such military force had crossed the border into eastern Ukraine. State news agency RIA quoted a ministry statement saying: "There was no Russian military column that crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border either at night or during the day."

It called the Ukrainian report "some kind of fantasy". Britain summoned Russia's ambassador to ask him to clarify reports of a military incursion into Ukraine, and European Union foreign ministers said any unilateral military actions by Russia in Ukraine would be a blatant violation of international law.

'We have to talk'In a sign of efforts to unwind the crisis, the Kremlin said the Ukrainian and Russian chiefs of presidential staff met in Russia on Friday and the Ukrainian foreign minister said he would meet his Russian counterpart in Berlin on Sunday.

Earlier on Friday, responding to reports that a Russian column had entered Ukraine overnight, Nato secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance had seen what he called a Russian incursion into Ukraine.

"It just confirms the fact that we see a continuous flow of weapons and fighters from Russia into eastern Ukraine and it is a clear demonstration of continued Russian involvement in the destabilisation of eastern Ukraine," the Nato chief said.

A spokesperson for Russia's border guard service was also quoted by Russian news agencies as denying that any Russian military units had entered Ukraine.

Ukrainian soldiers have a break after taking part in operation in undisclosed location in Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine. (AP photo)

In a statement issued by the Russian foreign ministry, Moscow accused Ukrainian forces of intensifying the fighting against pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine in an attempt to sabotage Russian efforts to get aid into rebel-held areas.

A caravan of 280 trucks taking Russian aid to eastern Ukraine was parked on the Russian side of the border on Friday. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it would deliver the aid after Kiev expressed fear the convoy could be used to help the rebels and urged both sides on Friday to agree quickly on how it should be done.

After Ukraine reported the clash, Russia's rouble currency weakened against both the dollar and the euro. Russian shares were also dragged lower.

Global equity markets retreated and yields on benchmark German government bonds - a traditional safe haven for investors - plumbed record lows below 1 percent.

Ukrainian foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin said in a Twitter post he would meet Russia's Sergei Lavrov and the German and French foreign ministers on Sunday in Berlin: "It can be at a square table or a round table," he said. "But we have to talk."

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India Have Learnt Nothing From Defeats: Sunil Gavaskar Tells NDTV

Sunil Gavaskar slammed India's batsmen for failing to show any patience and falling to deliveries that did not deserve wickets after the tourists were bundled out for 148 on the opening day of the final Test against England.

Sunil Gavaskar said that the Indian batsmen had not learnt from earlier mistakes after they were bowled out for 148 in the first innings of the fifth Test against England at The Oval on Friday. (Day 1 Report | Scorecard | Highlights)

After being asked to bat in overcast conditions on a fast pitch, India's batsmen once again showed poor technique and application. Gautam Gambhir fell for a first-ball duck for the first time in his Test career while Ajinkya Rahane failed to score for the first time in Tests. Virat Kohli's poor run continued and Murali Vijay's form seems to have abandoned him after an initial successful phase. More importantly, it was not the usual suspects, James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who did most of the damage.

It was the younger pair of Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan, who ripped through the Indian line-up with six wickets between them and Gavaskar, a former opener felt the tourists continued to perish to ordinary deliveries, pushing hard and playing the wrong balls, which suggested they have learned nothing from their humiliating defeats in Southampton and Manchester.

"The important thing when you tour overseas is that you have to be ready to conquer conditions and be mentally prepared for the hard times. If you are not mentally prepared to fight it out, and try and slam your way out of trouble, you will get into more trouble. Some of the dismissals showed that the batsmen were playing with hard hands. It actually suggests India have learned nothing from the past two Test matches," Gavaskar told NDTV.

Gavaskar, a former India captain, who is now one of the most respected commentators in the world, said Dhoni's batsmen lacked patience and consequently perished to ordinary deliveries, that did not deserve wickets.

"Look at the way those dismissals have taken place; they weren't really wicket-taking deliveries. They have gone for shots when they should not have, when they were not ready to play the big shots and when the ball was still doing a bit. Patience was the need of the day. It is a five-day Test match and any team that bats for at least four sessions stays in the game. You can't stay in the game batting for three sessions, unless you bowl the opposition out in three sessions too."

"It has not been a happy day for India on the field. It was more of poor batting than any extraordinary bowling. There were a couple of good deliveries bowled as you would expect on a pitch where there was a fair bit of grass and a fair bit of hardness underneath the surface. But I think there was a lot of poor batting," he added.

The former Indian opener, however, lauded another brave effort by Dhoni, who scored 82 runs out of the team's 148 as wickets kept falling at the other end.

"Temperament is what separates the men from the boys. Dhoni does not have copybook technique. You should know which balls to play and leave and that is what Dhoni did. The Indians should have done that."

Gavaskar hoped India's batsmen would follow their captain's example and come up with a better performance in the second innings. However, the initiative has been lost with England well and truly on top by the end of the first day.

Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 UK first drive review

There’s a lot that’s promising about the Lamborghini Huracán, as you know from our first drive of the supercar on continental roads.

It retains a 5.2-litre V10, like the Gallardo before it and, crucially, natural aspiration. The engine’s top end, particularly, has been heavily revised, putting the power output up to 601bhp, achieved at 8250rpm.

Maximum torque, 413lb ft of it, isn’t made until 6500rpm, which means the Huracán will want revving, likely to be facilitated by the fact that it comes with a dual-clutch transmission instead of a clunky monoclutch robotised manual. There’s no conventional manual this time because, of the 14,000 Gallardos that were sold, only around 300 were ever ordered with a clutch pedal. Pity. I drove one. It was good.

Anyway, it’s the same twin-clutch unit that the Audi R8 uses, which is appropriate because from next year the R8 will share the Lamborghini’s part-aluminium, part-carbonfibre architecture. Like the Audi, the Lamborghini comes with adaptive magnetorheological dampers, albeit they’re optional here. Also on the options list is variable ratio electrically assisted steering, which is quicker at lower speeds than higher. Our test car came with both options.

What is it like?

Standard, seemingly, is a cabin decorated with Lamborghini’s (relatively recently adopted) flamboyance; as is a generally splendid cabin finish, albeit with a few iffy plastics.

There’s a near-square steering wheel, overburdened with buttons, although this does, I suppose, free space behind it for large, fixed paddles. The paddles, powder-coated aluminium or some such, are good, while the indicator and wiper buttons are more intuitive than those on a Ferrari.

Lamborghini’s ‘anima’ switch, the equivalent of Ferrari’s steering wheel ‘manettino’ (which adjusts throttle response, steering weight and dampers from road through sport to race modes), is too easy to knock into a different setting while you’re turning the wheel.

It might not be, however, if the wheel were just round so you knew where the rim would be. Ditto, of course, if the button were simply elsewhere. Then, too, it might not seem as though Ferrari has been benchmarked in a slightly un-Lamborghini way.

Also Ferrari-esque is the electrically assisted steering’s lightness at low speeds, and its two-turns-between-locks quickness. I’m not sure if that’s a result of benchmarking (if so, a McLaren 650S would have been a better reference), but it makes the four-wheel-drive Lamborghini agile at first, if a touch disconnected. It’s joined by a ride that is firm but not brittle – at least in the damper’s soft mode.

Up the speed, and the steering assumes a little more weight, a little less keenness, but decent accuracy and good eye for the straight-ahead.

There’s a fair degree of road noise, and a lot of mechanical engine clatter – although neither is unwelcome in a hard-edged supercar – but thanks to a powerful stereo and an 80-litre fuel tank, the Huracán makes a surprisingly accomplished daily driver. Not as much as a McLaren 650S, but still, Lamborghini admits it’s attempting to broaden the Huracán’s remit over the Gallardo. It has.

The question is, of course, whether pandering to a large market gets in the way of the purity for the enthusiast. The most recent Gallardos I drove have all been Superleggeras, and next to those, the Huracán feels less purposeful. That’s not because it lacks drama. Far from it.

Put your toe in, and induction and exhaust noises overwhelm chain and cam ones, and the engine fairly comes alive. The gearshift is superb, too, and there’s pop and crackle on the overrun. This is a world-class powertrain.

The shell feels stiff, too, and in any chassis setting the Huracán corners with extraordinary flatness and huge ability. It doesn’t pummel the road like a Nissan GT-R, but I’d be surprised if it covered ground any less quickly.

Grip levels and traction are of the highest order. Approach their limit and, while not feeding a great deal back through the rim, the Huracán will nudge towards a touch of understeer on a very well-sighted low-speed bend.

On the road, that’s your lot, which is just as well, because you wouldn’t want any more drama than that, given the speed you’d have to be going.

On track, then? I’m still not sure. A few runs didn’t reveal a great deal of adjustability, even in the wet. But maybe that’s no surprise. There’s 42 per cent weight over the front, limited body movement under braking, so very little weight balance transfer, while the front tyres are 245 section to the rears’ 305, and the front track is marginally wider than the rear.

Given, even in normal conditions, some 30 per cent of power heads to the front, you have to apply a lot of poke, very quickly, to overwhelm the rear’s traction.

If you can, the Huracán adopts a neutral stance on corner exit. If you can’t, it only troubles the front end. And in neither case is the steering particularly satisfying.

I’m told Lamborghini’s own test drivers prefer the passive steering rack, which is geared somewhere between the two extremes of this, so perhaps it’s a box best left unticked.

And, perhaps, on a wider, drier circuit, at higher speeds, there’d be scope to transfer the body weight forwards, settle the Huracán’s front and exploit the power – a throttle-adjustable exuberance which, ironically, the current Audi R8 is more than happy to indulge.

Should I buy one?

The Huracán is consistently easy to rub along with, yet exciting and engaging on many levels: particularly thanks to its engine and gearbox (and, to my eyes, its compact, clean and poised aesthetic). Take it as read that it’s hugely enjoyable and always dramatic.

But the thing is that when the competition is as complete as the McLaren 650S and a Ferrari 458 Italia, it feels like you can afford to be picky.

“The Huracán is consistently effortless to drive, stable and free of unpleasant surprises,” says Lamborghini. No question. But not all surprises have to be unpleasant, and the differences between a good driver’s car and a great one are small. To me, this hasn’t quite made the leap.

Lamborghini Huracán LP610-4

Price £180,720; 0-62mph 3.2sec; Top speed 202mph; Economy22.6mpg (combined); CO2 290g/km; Dry weight 1422kg; Engine typeV10, 5204cc, petrol; Power 601bhp at 8250rpm; Torque 413lb ft at 6500rpm; Gearbox seven-speed dual-clutch automatic

West Africa Ebola outbreak like ‘wartime’, control could take ‘6 months’

DAKAR (Senegal): The Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 1,000 people in West Africa could last another six months, Doctors Without Borders said on Friday, and a medical worker acknowledged that the true death toll is unknown. 

Tarnue Karbbar, who works for the aid group Plan International in northern Liberia, said response teams simply aren't able to document all the cases erupting. Many of the sick are still being hidden at home by their relatives, too fearful of going to an Ebola treatment center. 

Others are buried before the teams can get to the area, he said. In the last several days, some 75 cases have emerged in a single district. 

"Our challenge now is to quarantine the area to successfully break the transmission," he said, referring to the Voinjama area. 

Many people may be hiding, but many are also finally beginning to seek treatment, as more centers open up.

China airline sued for rejecting HIV carriers

Two HIV-positive passengers and a friend are suing a Chinese airline for refusing to let them on board, in the country's first such lawsuit, state media reported on Friday.

The pair planned to travel from Shenyang in the northeast to Shijiazhuang, south of Beijing, but were barred from the Spring Airlines plane after they informed staff of their status, the Global Times said.

The two, along with an HIV-negative travelling companion, were told that their tickets had been cancelled.

All three sued the budget airline, accusing it of discrimination and demanding an apology as well as compensation of 48,999 yuan ($8,000), the paper said.

A Shenyang court accepted the case, making it the first lawsuit against an airline for discriminating against an HIV-positive person in China, it added.

"The court's acceptance of this case signalled that HIV carriers can protect their rights through legal channels," it quoted plaintiff Cheng Shuaishuai as saying.

China has a long history of discrimination against those with HIV.

It bans them from becoming civil servants, and they face the possibility of losing their jobs if their employers discover their status, while some have sought hospital treatment only to be turned away.

China only lifted a long-standing ban on HIV-positive foreigners entering the country in 2010.

In recent years top officials have begun speaking more openly about HIV prevention and control, but discrimination remains an issue, with campaign groups and international organisations saying widespread stigmatisation has complicated efforts to curb the spread of the virus.

Under Chinese law air carriers can deny transport to infectious patients, people with mental illness or passengers whose health condition may endanger others or themselves.

Liu Wei, the plaintiffs' lawyer, said that did not mean Spring Airlines had the right to reject the trio, as there was no evidence their presence on board would infect anyone else.

The airline's president Wang Zhenghua told a Chinese media outlet on Tuesday that the company did not discriminate against HIV carriers, and blamed the incident on staff anxiety.

But he also blamed the passengers, and said the firm would not deny HIV-positive travellers transport in future, as long as they did not make themselves "overly noticeable" to avoid scaring other customers.

His comments provoked criticism online, with one user of China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo posting: "This fundamentally trampled on human rights."

- See more at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/china-airline-sued-for-rejecting-hiv-carriers/article1-1252464.aspx#sthash.Yo2zmcaW.dpuf

Turn small kitchen to stylish one IANS | New York August 15, 2014 Last Updated at 18:02 IST

Cramped cooking space doesn't mean you can't make it big. Hang your cabinet high or use theatrical colour to give a smart look to your kitchen.

Here are some of the tricks, reports huffingtonpost.com:

* Take the cabinet up: A cabinet hung high in a corner commands attention and draws the eye toward the ceiling. Going with bold wallpaper and art also distract from the size of the room.

* Showstopping colour: Any theatrical colour like bright pink gets plenty of attention, and the cheap cupboards almost fade away.

* Monochromatic shelves: The shelves show off a tightly edited collection of plates and glasses, all within easy reach.

* See-through acrylic shelf: It lightens a confined space and makes an artful collection of dishes appear to float.

* Smart seating arrangement: A scaled-down pedestal table plus comfortable stools that stay out of the way can make kitchen look attractive.

Independence Day – Did You Know?

1. The date August 15 was chosen as the day India would be granted Independence by the then Viceroy Lord Mountbatten as it coincided with the anniversary of Japan surrendering to Allied forces.

2. The date coincides with the Independence day of South Korea, Bahrain and Republic of Congo. While South Korea won its freedom from Japan on 15th August 1945, Bahrain from UK in 1971 and Republic of the Congo from France in 1960. 

3. The first national flag was hoisted in Calcutta in 1906 and comprised of red, yellow and green colours.

4. The Indian flag was designed in 1916 by Pingali Venkayya. In 1947, the adoption of Ashoka Chakra in the middle was approved.


5. The Indian Constitution is the longest written constitution in the world in both Hindi and English languages. 

6. The Constitution mentions Hindi in Devnagri script as the official language of India. 

7. The country did not have an official national anthem at the time of Independence in 1947. `Jana Gana Mana` – written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1911 - was officially adopted as India`s national anthem in 1950. 


8. The Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was in Kolkata when India attained Independence. He spent the day fasting and praying.

9. Jawaharlal Nehru gave the first speech on the midnight of August 14 when he wasn`t officially appointed as the Prime Minister.

10. India got its first postage stamp on November 21, 1947. It depicted Meera`s portrait and was meant for foreign correspondence.

11. At the time of Independence, an Indian rupee was made up of 16 annas. It was changed to 100 paisa in 1957.

12. Pakistan was created on August 14 as Lord Mountbatten wanted to attend the Independence Day ceremonies of both India and Pakistan.

Chennai: Nine injured in bomb explosion

Nine persons were injured when a 'petrol' bomb exploded inside a private bus near Perambur, police said on Friday.

The explosion occurred when the bus carrying about 45 passengers reached Eechampatti on Thursday evening.

Police said four passengers, who were travelling on the foot board, and five passengers inside the bus were injured in the explosion.

The injured had been admitted to Ammapalayam Government Hospital.

The bus was plying from Perambalur to Turaiyur.

Police said some persons were being questioned regarding the explosion.

Bangalore woman chases, kicks man who sexually molested her while jogging

I-Day shocker: School in Kerala says no to Vande Mataram in dance programme

A private school in south Kerala removed Vande Mataram from Independence Day programme after a religious outfit allegedly threatened its management saying some of the words in the song were against the religious belief of a section of the community.

The school also dropped the namaste gesture from a dance number performed during Independence Day celebrations, inviting sharp criticism from various quarters.

Initially TKM Centenary School in Kollam, 65km south of Thiruvananthpuram, had planned a dance fusion with Vande Mataram playing in the background. But it was replaced with an orchestra after workers of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) threatened to disrupt the programme.

The national song was dropped after several rounds of rehearsals.

When the issue snowballed into a raging controversy, school management denied any external pressure.

"Since there were even three-year-old children, we made some changes in the dance programme to ensure they are not stressed. It has nothing to do with external pressure," said administrator of the school, K Abdul Majeed. However he did not elaborate how 'Vande Mataram' and 'namaste' put some pressure on children.

Various student outfits later took out protest marches to the school seeking strict action against the management and the principal.

However, the SDPI justified the changes in the programme.

"We approached the school management after a number of parents complained that some words in Vande Matraam and the gesture namaste were against their religious belief. We only requested the school to respect their sentiment," said SDPI leader AK Salahuddin.

Police said they received a complaint and started an investigation in this regard.

School principal Latha Alexander was unavailable for comments.

Construct separate toilets for girls: Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: Stressing on "dignity of women", Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged parliamentarians and the corporate sector to help build separate toilets for girls in schools across the country by next year. 

"I want to start one work from today. There should be a toilet in all the schools of our country. A separate toilet for girls...it is only then our girls will not have to quit schools. 

"I urge all MPs using MPLADS funds, spend your money in building toilets in schools. I also appeal to the corporate sector of our country. Under the Corporate Social Responsibility, whatever you are spending, give priority to building toilets in schools," Modi said in his Independence Day address. 

He also set a year's target to achieve this goal. "When we again meet here next year, we should be able to stand here with confidence that there is no school in the country where there is no separate toilet for girls and boys," he said. 

Modi also pitched for making provisions for building toilets wherein women should not defecate in open. 

"We are in the 21st century. Have we ever been pained by the fact that even today our mothers ans sisters have to defecate in open. Dignity of women...isn't this is a responsibility of everyone? 

"Women and sister wait for dusk. Until then they cannot relieve themselves. How much pain their body will be going through?...How many diseases they must be prone to? Can't we make provisions for a toilet for the dignity of our mothers and sisters," he said. 

Take responsibility for your sons: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to parents during Independence Day address

NEW DELHI: Against the backdrop of rising cases of rape, Prime Minister NarendraModi, during this Independence Day address, said that such incidents make "our heads hang in shame" and asked parents to take responsibility for their son's actions and put the same restrictions on them as they put on their daughters. 

"Today, when we hear about incidents of rape, our heads hang in shame. People give different arguments. Some blame it on psychological problem. Every parent who has a 10-year-old girl at home, asks them where are they going, when will they come back and tell them to call back home after reaching their place. 

"But have you ever asked your sone where he is son going, why are they going and who are their friends. After all, the person committing the crime is also someone's son," he said in his Independence Day speech. 

Every mother and father should keep a tab on their sons and hold them accountable much like the way they put restrictions on girls, he said. 

"Let every parent decide to put the same restrictions on their sons as they put on their daughters," he said. 

India's Sporting Highs

THE GLORY YEARS: The history of Indian sport is confined to a few paragraphs of glory amid largely drab prose of empty hype and unrequited hope. Of its often-touted one-billion population, but a fraction has access to the nutrition, healthcare and basic infrastructure that can hope to foster champions. Decades after Independence, and since even earlier, Indians have pined for success in sport at the highest level and - cricket apart, that colonial past-time of some nine-odd participants - have been largely disappointed.

ATTENTION EBOLA!!

The number of deaths and confirmed cases of ebola in west Africa has been vastly underestimated, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said

The death toll from the outbreak currently stands at 1,069 people. There have been 1,975 confirmed, probable or suspected cases.

The majority of the cases have occurred in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Four deaths have also been reported in Nigeria.

But WHO said there is evidence that the number of reported cases underestimates the scale of the suffering.

"The outbreak is expected to continue for some time. WHO's operational response plan extends over the next several months," the WHO said in a statement.

Staff at the outbreak sites see evidence that the numbers of reported cases and deaths vastly underestimate the magnitude of the outbreak."

It comes after several doses of the experimental drug ZMapp arrived in Liberia this week.

Officials say only three people will receive the drug, which could prove life-saving, ineffective or even harmful.

The Liberian government previously said two doctors would receive ZMapp, but it remains unclear who else will be treated.

The ebola outbreak was first identified in Guinea in March and has since spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

The spread of the disease has overwhelmed strained health systems in west Africa.

As there is no licensed treatment for ebola - which is transmitted by contact with bodily fluids - doctors have turned to the limited supply of untested drugs to treat some cases.

Two Americans and one Spaniard have so far received ZMapp.

The American aid workers have since shown signs of improvement, although it remains unclear what role the drug has played in their recovery. The Spanish man - a priest - died within days.

As the human cost continues to rise, there are concerns about the wider economic threat caused by the outbreak.

The Moody's ratings agency warned on Thursday that the virus could have "significant economic" ramifications for a number of west African countries.

On the eve of 68th Independence Day, here are some of the films that always reminded us the meaning of freedom which was hard-earned and bloody.

LIVE: Highlights of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech on I-Day

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday greeted the people of India on the occasion of the 68th Independence Day. After hoisting the Tricolour at the Red Fort in New Delhi, Modi delivered his first I-Day speech at the venue, describing himself as the country's 'Pradhan Sevak (prime public servant)'. Here are the highlights of his speech. 

Man arrested for sexually harassing Filipino woman

A 35-year-old lab technician was arrested in Chennai on Thursday for allegedly sexually harassing a Filipino woman at a private city hospital where he was working, police said.

The 37-year-old woman was allegedly sexually harassed by Karthikeyan when she was undergoing an X-ray procedure at the hospital on August 11. The technician allegedly asked her to disrobe so as to carry out the procedure although clothes were not a hindrance to it.

The woman lodged a strong protest with the hospital authorities and later filed a complaint with police.

"We found that the allegations made by the woman were true. We have arrested and remanded the accused in judicial custody," a senior police official said.

Stringent clauses of the IPC (incorporated in the penal code last year through the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013) dealing with sexual harassment and assault or use of criminal force on woman with intent to disrobe have been slapped against the accused.

Provisions of the TN Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act have also been invoked, the official added.

India's big challenge is to end the curse of poverty: President PTI New Delhi, August 14, 2014

President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said intolerance and violence is a betrayal of the letter and spirit of democracy and slammed those who believe in the "poison drip of inflammatory provocation".

In his Independence Day-eve address to the nation, he referred to bigotry and noted that an increasingly turbulent international environment has sparked off rising dangers "in our region and beyond".

"Though an ancient civilisation, India is a modern nation with modern dreams. Intolerance and violence is a betrayal of the letter and spirit of democracy.

"Those who believe in the poison drip of inflammatory provocation do not understand India's values or even its present political impulses. Indians know that progress, economic or social, is difficult without peace," Mukherjee said.

The President's remarks assume significance in the context of rising incidents of communal violence in the country.

Patna submerged after very heavy rains

PATNA: A flood-like situation prevailed in Bihar's capital on Thursday after it was lashed by very heavy rains since Wednesday morning. 

Most of the major roads, arterial routes, streets, lanes and bylanes in the city of over 20 lakh people were submerged under knee to waist-deep swirling waters which got accumulated due to clogged drains and choked sewerage system. 

Chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's house in Kankarbagh area of the capital got flooded, just as heavy water-logging was seen at the state secretariat and legislative assembly. Water entered many houses in various localities of the city. 

Pilot asleep, co-pilot on tab, Jet flight drops 5,000 feet

The spectre of "sleeping pilots" is back to haunt Indian flyers. A Jet Airways aircraft winging its way from Mumbai to Brussels last Friday suddenly dropped 5,000 feet in the Ankara airspace over Turkey. The commander of the Boeing 777 aircraft was taking 'controlled rest', which means a nap as per rules. The aviation regulator is now probing if the co-pilot too had dozed off.

The co-pilot, who was supposed to hold fort in the cockpit, claims she was busy on her tablet and did not notice that the aircraft had lost altitude. It took a call from an alarmed Ankara ATC, asking why 9W-228 had moved away from its assigned flight level of 34,000 feet, for the situation to be rectified.

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