Tiger Shroff Lost Weight While Shooting Baaghi Song

TIGER SHROFF HAS REUNITED WITH HIS HEROPANTI DIRECTOR SABIR KHAN, AND PRODUCER SAJID NADIADWALA FOR BAAGHI
Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff said that he lost weight while rehearsing rigorously for a song in his upcoming film Baaghi.

He also added that this was his "most difficult" number so far.

Tiger, who displayed his flexible dance moves in Heropanti, is shooting the song with his Baaghi co-star Shraddha Kapoor. The Heropanti star shared a photograph of himself on Instagram and captioned it:

World Glaciers Melting at Record Rates: Study

GENEVA:  Glaciers all over the world are melting at an alarming rate, with the first decade of the current century seeing up to thrice the rates of the 20th century, a new global study has warned.

The World Glacier Monitoring Service, domiciled at the University of Zurich, has compiled worldwide data on glacier changes for more than 120 years.

In this study, observations of the first decade of the 21st century (2001-2010) were compared to all available earlier data from in-situ, air-borne, and satellite-borne observations as well as to reconstructions from pictorial and written sources.

"The observed glaciers currently lose between half a metre and one metre of its ice thickness every year - this is two to three times more than the corresponding average of the 20th century," said Michael Zemp, Director of the World Glacier Monitoring Service and lead author of the study.

"Exact measurements of this ice loss are reported from a few hundred glaciers only. However, these results are qualitatively confirmed from field and satellite-based observations for tens of thousands of glaciers around the world," said Zemp.

According to the international team, the current rate of glacier melt is without precedence at global scale, at least for the time period observed and probably also for recorded history, as indicated also in reconstructions from written and illustrated documents.

In addition, the study shows that the long-term retreat of glacier tongues is a global phenomenon.

Intermittent re-advance periods at regional and decadal scales are normally restricted to a subsample of glaciers and have not come close to achieving the Little Ice Age maximum positions reached between the 16th and 19th century.

As such, glacier tongues in Norway have retreated by some kilometres from its maximum extents in the 19th century.

The intermittent re-advances of the 1990s were restricted to glaciers in the coastal area and to a few hundred metres.

In addition, the study indicates that the intense ice loss of the past two decades has resulted in a strong imbalance of glaciers in many regions of the world.

"These glaciers will suffer further ice loss, even if climate remains stable," said Zemp.

Together with its National Correspondents in more than 30 countries, the international service published the comprehensive analysis of global glacier changes in the Journal of Glaciology.

US President Obama Hails Contributions of Indian-American Doctor

WASHINGTON:  US President Barack Obama has applauded the role of an Indian-American doctor in researching the health impact of pollution and helping families whose lives are impacted by air pollution.

"Doctor, thank you," Obama said as he hailed the contributions of Cleveland-based Dr Sumita Khatri, who was among the select few invited to be present at the White House yesterday when the US President announced an ambitious goal to cut pollution emitting from coal-fired power plants.

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"Dr Sumita Khatri has spent her career researching the health impacts of pollution at the Cleveland Clinic, and helping families whose lives are impacted every single day," Obama said.

An adult pulmonary and critical care physician with a specialised focus in asthma, Dr Khatri earned her medical degree at Ohio State University and is currently co-director of the Cleveland Clinic Asthma Center.

Her clinical and research interests include the effects of air pollution and environmental triggers on asthma, evaluating biomarkers of asthma, and community engagement with respect to asthma and lung health.

In this regard, she has been involved with the NIH-sponsored Severe Asthma Research Program, collaborative research with the USEPA, and medical industry-associated asthma therapy trials.

Dr Khatri has emphasised on "breathing well" to tackle side effects from air pollution.

Mullah Mohammad Omar's Son Assassinated: Report

KABUL:  The son of late Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has reportedly been killed, sections of the Afghan media reported today.

"Mullah Yaqub, the son of Mullah Omar, was killed a couple of days ago," the Daily Outlook reported quoting lawmaker Zahir Qadir.

Mullah Yaqub, according to Qadir, had attempted to succeed his father to lead Taliban fighters but was mysteriously assassinated by Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, who has already been appointed by his supporters to lead the Taliban group.

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The private television channel Tolo has also reported Mullah Yaqub's death, also quoting lawmaker Qadir.

Taliban militants have not commented on the report.

Cracks have appeared in the Taliban ranks since the death of their leader Mullah Mohammad Omar which was confirmed by Taliban outfit on Thursday.

Some Taliban senior leaders, including Mullah Hassan Rahmani and Mullah Razaq Akhund, two righthand men of Omar during the Taliban rule, have challenged Mullah Mansoor's legitimacy to lead the Taliban while Mansoor's supporters have been lobbying to convince the militants make allegiance to the new leader.

The supporters and opponents of Mullah Mansoor, according to media reports, have fought each other in the northern province of Kunduz and in parts of Herat in the west over the past couple of days.

In Explosive Article on 26/11, Former Pak Investigator Lists 7 Facts

NEW DELHI:  Tariq Khosa, the investigator who headed Pakistan's probe into the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has said in an editorial in the Dawn newspaper that the attack was "planned and launched" from Pakistani soil.

Mr Khosa was appointed to head Pakistan's premier Federal Investigating Agency or FIA soon after the attack in November 2008. 166 people were killed by 10 terrorists who sneaked into Mumbai on a boat and attacked the city's landmarks. One, Ajmal Kasab was caught alive and hanged in 2012.

In his editorial, Mr Khosa virtually backs every claim India has made about Pakistan's role in the attack, listing seven facts about the investigation there that he says "are pertinent."

1) Mr Khosa says, "Ajmal Kasab was a Pakistani national, whose place of residence and initial schooling as well as his joining a banned militant organisation was established by the investigators."

2) "The Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists were imparted training near Thatta, Sindh and launched by sea from there. The training camp was identified and secured by the investigators. The casings of the explosive devices used in Mumbai were recovered from this training camp and duly matched," writes the former Director General of the FIA.

3) He says the "fishing trawler used by the terrorists for hijacking an Indian trawler in which they sailed to Mumbai, was brought back to harbour, then painted and concealed. It was recovered by the investigators and connected to the accused."

4) "The engine of the dinghy abandoned by the terrorists near Mumbai harbour contained a patent number through which the investigators traced its import from Japan to Lahore and then to a Karachi sports shop from where an LeT-linked militant purchased it along with the dinghy. The money trail was followed and linked to the accused who was arrested," Mr Khosa says.

5) "The ops room in Karachi, from where the operation was directed, was also identified and secured by the investigators. The communications through Voice over Internet Protocol were unearthed."

6) "The alleged commander and his deputies were identified and arrested," writes Mr Khosa. Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi, the mastermind of the 26/11 attacks was arrested along with others in 2008. They are still on trial and Lakhvi was granted bail earlier this year.

7) "A couple of foreign-based financiers and facilitators were arrested and brought to face trial," says the former investigator.

You Promised Electricity. So Where Is It, Nitish Kumar Asked

You Promised Electricity. So Where Is It, Nitish Kumar AskedPATNA:  When the sun sets every evening in Dumri, 180 km from Patna, thousands of lamps are induced, without ceremony, into routine assignment. This is among the 1,000 villages in Bihar that remain without electricity.

Triveni Singh, 70, a lifetime inhabitant, recalls three attempts, starting 1980, to bring power to Dumri, all of them allegedly lacking refinement. "A lot of us paid connection charges. We were told 'it will come, it will come'. A transformer was also set up. Then - nothing," he said, plaintively declaring that he would like to see a bulb light up a part of his home before he dies.

Two months before Bihar votes, electricity is packing heat as a campaign issue. At a recent rally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said time is up for Nitish Kumar, who is seeking a third term as Chief Minister. "In 2012, he had said, 'If I don't bring you electricity, I will not ask for your votes in 2015.' But has electricity arrived? No. Is he asking for votes? Yes".

An audience of more than a lakh in Muzaffarpur roared averral, not entirely unexpected since the area is a BJP stronghold.

Nitish Kumar says his government has improved the power situation in Bihar considerably, with questionable side effects. "Because electricity was introduced to so many villages, in the national election (last year), many Biharis were able to watch TV and were influenced by the so-called Modi wave," he said wryly, referring to the big victory that the PM notched up for his party in the state.
10 years ago, Mr Kumar's administration says, most villages received two hours of power every day. Now, the power supply runs for 10 hours. The state government also says that 95% of villages have been electrified.

In Dumri, residents like Shiv Nandan Prasad are wise to the fact that both state and central government have defaulted on responsibilities. "The Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification walas (proponents of a central scheme), came a few years ago here, the name was put on a board, and then it vanished. The Bihar government has erected electricity poles. But we are still waiting," he said.

Congress a Destructive Opposition, Say BJP Resolution

NEW DELHI:  As Congress President Sonia Gandhi and other party leaders protested against the suspension of their lawmaker, BJP Parliamentary Party today accused it of being a "destructive" Opposition and passed a resolution against its "obstructionist and anti-development" policies.

On a day the Congress lawmakers led by Mrs Gandhi sat on a dharna to protest the Speaker's decision to suspend 25 of their lawmakers from Lok Sabha, the ruling party lashed out at Mrs Gandhi for calling it a "black day for democracy" and raked up the imposition of Emergency to criticise it.

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With the main Opposition party unrelenting on its demand for the resignation of Union Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Chief Ministers Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the BJP said there was "no basis" for such a demand and the Parliamentary Party stands with them.

"The Congress has abdicated the responsibilities of a constructive Opposition and is using its numerical strength in Parliament, especially in the Rajya Sabha, to adopt a negative strategy."

"The BJP Parliamentary party condemns the obstructionist, narrow and anti-development mindset of the Congress as it will have a serious and adverse influence in the long term on the country which is emerging as an important economic power in the world," said the resolution passed in the meeting, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and most of his ministerial colleagues.

The Congress has become a "destructive" Opposition party, Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters after the meeting.

The government had made "honest" efforts for the smooth conduct of the Monsoon Session, the BJP meet said and accused the Congress of making a "U-turn" after initially agreeing to a debate on the Vyapam and Lalit Modi issues.

The Congress refused to attend a meeting called by Finance Minister and Leader of Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley and also declined the government's proposal for an all-party meet on July 31, the resolution said, accusing the Opposition party of working with a "narrow political agenda".

The BJP resolution charged the Congress with deliberately obstructing the Modi government's attempts for the country's resurgence and said the Opposition party had been left "stunned" at Parliament's productivity in the previous sessions.

"A stunned Congress has prepared a policy to stop necessary economic reforms aimed at reviving the economy and obstruct other welfare and development policies of the government. This policy has become its political strategy which is being executed with more power and commitment by Congress in the monsoon session," it said.

It said Prime Minister Modi's "increasing popularity" has become a "pain in the eye" of the Congress.

"This is unfortunate that a party with 130 years of history and which has ruled the country for over five decades has not been able to get over its shameful loss in 2014. It has not been able to digest the full majoirty given to Narendra Modi by people," it said.

On the Congress demand for the resignation of Ms Swaraj, Ms Raje and Mr Chouhan, it said there is no basis for it.

"In the same way there is no ground for the resignation of Ms Raje and Mr Chouhan and the BJP Parliamentary Party is standing by them," the resolution, proposed by Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and passed at the meeting, said.

It also defended Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's decision yesterday to suspend 25 Congress members, saying it was done under "dire" circumstances as they exhibited disrespect to the Chair and ignored her requests for not carrying placards.

It said the BJP Parliamentary Party was surprised that Sonia Gandhi had called it a black day for democracy.

"This is unfortunate that the Congress party which trampled the democracy in 1975 by imposing Emergency and snatched away the citizen's liberty is making such unfounded claims," it said, citing expulsion of 63 Opposition members from the House on March 15, 1989 over their demand that Justice Thakkar commission report on Indira Gandhi's assassination be tabled.

The parliamentary party passed another resolution hailing the "historic" Naga peace accord, and said it was long-awaited and would usher in an era of peace and security in the north-east region.

It also took note of the efforts of successive governments which "crystalised" under the present dispensation.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke about the accord, signed yesterday, and his ministerial colleague Nirmala Sitharaman proposed it, Mr Naqvi said.

He said Mr Jaitley spoke about the key reform bills like Goods and Services Tax or GST while Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu highlighted the "negative" Congress politics which has resulted in a washout of the Monsoon Session so far.

"The Congress is insulting the people's mandate. The Modi government will be unaffected by it and continue to walk on its development path," Mr Naqvi said.