The first schoolboys have emerged from a flooded Thai cave after divers launched a daring and dangerous mission to rescue the children and their soccer coach, who have been trapped underground for more than two weeks.
Returning to action after a long lay-off of nearly two years due to injury, India’s premier gymnast Dipa Karmakar clinched the gold medal in the vault event of FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup at Mersin, Turkey today.
Rice, pilfered from PDS in Tamil Nadu, is being channelled through an informal network to reach the neighbouring States of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, and even further afield. Given to card-holders for free in the State, it sells for as much as ₹55 a kg after being polished in Kerala. At times, it even comes back to the State, flaunting tags of superior brands. An investigation by The Hindu finds that police raids have just managed to scratch the surface of what seems to be a mafia-style racket.
A 25-year-old student haling from Warangal was shot dead in a restaurant in the Kansas City of the USA on Friday. The youth was identified as Sharath Koppu, whose family stays in Ameerpet in the city. He was pursuing his masters degree at the University of Missouri in Kansas. The shooting took place around 7 p.m. local time, in which he was wounded and shifted to a nearby hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
A promotional video on child safety made by an advertising agency in Karachi triggered violence 900 km away in Maharashtra’s Dhule, and led to the lynching of five people from a nomadic community on July 1.
Cash and jewels valued over ₹2 lakh have been reported stolen from senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram’s house in Chennai, police said on July 8.
The Tamil Nadu government on July 8 opposed the Centre’s decision to conduct the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test twice a year, while the opposition DMK slammed the Union government for “creating confusion” over the exam for entry into medical colleges.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has met Zakir Naik, wanted in India for alleged terror activities and money laundering, and a ruling party strategist has stoutly defended the government’s decision not to deport the controversial Muslim preacher, Malaysian media reported on July 8.
Heavy rainfall hammered southern Japan for the third day, prompting new disaster warnings on Kyushu and Shikoku islands on Sunday, as the government put the death toll at 48 with 28 others presumed dead. Rivers burst their banks and forced several million people from their homes, media reports said, with more rain set to hit some areas for at least another day.
The organizers of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar are open to talks about a 48-team tournament, and can see a format to host it alone. FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s wish to add 16 extra teams to the tournament was seen as pushing Qatar toward letting other states into a co-hosting plan at a time when some Persian Gulf neighbors enforced a hostile, year-long boycott of the tiny emirate.