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Sat, 27 June 2015
Two killed in explosion in a Christian Institute
Timeline Refresh
23:38 Two killed in explosion in a Christian Institute
At least two persons, including a woman, were killed and as many people critically injured in an a blast in the premises of Christian Institute of Health Sciences & Research (CIHRS) at Dimapur in Nagaland today.
Police said the blast occurred at around 4.45 pm in one of the warehouses located within the CIHRS compound.
The two killed have been identified as Prakash Vishwakarma(40) and his daughter Ruth Gurung, both from Nepali community. The injured are Deepak Gurung, husband of Ruth and their son Robin(4).
Police said Prakash, a staff of CIHSR working for the past six months as a cleaner, had returned home today from work in he afternoon and was seen in the room with an object that appeared to be a grenade which exploded killing him and his daughter.
The injured have been shifted to CIHSR and the area was sanitised by the police.
23:07 US protester removes Confederate flag from state house
A protester scaled a flagpole on the grounds of the South Carolina legislature on Saturday and removed the Confederate flag, officials said, amid fierce debate about the racially charged symbol.
The black woman climber was arrested as soon as she came down from the 9m-high pole, and a new flag was restored to the original position within an hour.
Pictures on social media showed a woman, named as Bree Newsome, 30, being escorted by an officer, her hands behind her back.
#FreeBree was trending on Twitter within hours of the dawn incident.
Read more HERE.
22:28 France attack suspect sent 'selfie' with victim's severed head: Legal source
The man suspected of decapitating his boss and pinning his head to the gates of a gas factory in France sent a "selfie" with the severed head, a source close to the investigation said Saturday.
Yassin Salhi, 35, was arrested after driving his van into a warehouse containing dangerous gases near France's second city of Lyon.
Authorities then found the severed head nearby.
21:38 IS raids kill 40 Syrian regime forces: Monitor
Islamic State group jihadists have killed at least 40 Syrian government forces in consecutive attacks on three checkpoints in central Syria, a monitor said on Saturday.
In less than two hours of clashes on Friday, IS jihadists seized the checkpoints near Sheikh Hilal, a village in Syria's Hama province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
"The clashes killed 40 government loyalists, including soldiers and members of the National Defence Forces," a local pro-regime militia, said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
He told AFP that the jihadists later withdrew from the checkpoints when it appeared that government forces in the region had called for reinforcements.
"There's fighting almost every day in this area, but usually the toll is two or three people. Forty is very high," he told AFP.
The checkpoints lie along a road used by government forces to dispatch reinforcements to Aleppo in the north, where the regime has been battling rebel groups since 2012.
"If they seize control of this road, they'll cut off the regime forces in Aleppo, since the government won't be able to send reinforcements or supplies there," Abdel Rahman said.
Protecting the province of Hama -- which links Damascus to the government's coastal bastion of Latakia -- is a priority for Syria's embattled regime, but it has suffered devastating jihadist attacks in recent months.
Read more HERE.
21:35 When under suspicion I resigned immediately, says Advani
BJP leader LK Advani, in an exclusive chat with ABP News, weighed in on the ongoing controversies surrounding Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje's association with Lalit Modi, said that when he was under suspicion for havala trading he resigned immediately and never once regretted it.
He added that Vasundhara Raje must make her own decision since he is unaware about the details of the case.
Read more HERE.
20:14 Kurds oust IS from Syria's Kobane as civilian toll mounts
Kurdish forces drove Islamic State group fighters from the flashpoint Syrian border town of Kobane on Saturday, after a killing spree by the jihadists left more than 200 civilians dead.
Fighters of the Kurdish People s Protection Units (YPG) stormed IS s last remaining position, taking full control of Kobane, a powerful symbol of Kurdish resistance.
As they they combed the streets looking for fugitive jihadists, the Kurdish fighters found more bodies, taking the civilian death toll to 206, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Local journalist Rudi Mohammad Amin told AFP that more civilians were still unaccounted for.
The jihadists made their last stand in a boys high school building.
"The YPG detonated explosives outside of the school, then stormed it," Amin said, speaking via the Internet from a position near Kobane, on the border with Turkey.
"This military operation was carried out after ensuring that there were no civilians left in the school."
Amin said he believed all the IS fighters inside were killed.
Read more HERE.
19:45 Obama praises Nikki Haley for her stand on Confederate flag
US President Barack Obama has praised South Carolina's Indian-American Governor Nikki Haley after she called for the removal of the controversial slavery-era Confederate flag from the State capitol 150 years after the end of the American Civil War.
Haley, 43, had called for the removal of the battle flag from the State capitol, days after nine people were killed inside a historic black church by a white shooter, who was seen holding the flag, a symbol of white supremacy.
"For too long, we were blind to the pain that the Confederate flag stirred in too many of our citizens," Obama said as he eulogised the slain at the Charleston church.
"It's true, a flag did not cause these murders. But as people from all walks of life, Republicans and Democrats, now acknowledge -- including Governor Haley, whose recent eloquence on the subject is worthy of praise -- as we all have to acknowledge, the flag has always represented more than just ancestral pride," Obama said.
America's first black president said the flag -- long a symbol of Southern US pride -- must be removed from places of honour.
18:58 UK foils IS plot to blow up London parade, claims report
UK police have foiled a suicide bombing plot by the Islamic State group targeting an Armed Forces Day parade here today, in a bid to kill soldiers from the regiment of Lee Rigby who was killed by Islamist extremists in 2013, a media report said.
The plot to explode a pressure-cooker bomb - to kill soldiers and bystanders on the route - was uncovered after one of its leaders in Syria unwittingly recruited an undercover investigator from the newspaper to carry it out, The Sun newspaper said.
The intended suicide bombing of the parade would have targeted soldiers from the same unit as murdered soldier Rigby, the report claimed.
It is alleged that a figure in IS, who it named as Junaid Hussain from Birmingham, told the paper's investigator: "It will be big. We will hit the kuffar (unbelievers) hard. Hit their soldiers in their own land.
"Soldiers that served in Iraq and Afganistan will be present. Jump in the crowd and detonate the bomb.
"They think they can kill Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan then come back to the UK and be safe. We'll hit them hard."
The newspaper said the plot to bomb the parade in Merton, south-west London, was thwarted when it informed police and security services.
The parade was targeted because it was closest to the barracks in Woolwich, south-east London, where Fusilier Rigby, 25, was hacked to death by Islamist extremists in May 2013, the newspaper said.
18:43 ITBP or Assam Rifles may be deployed to man border with Myanmar
In the wake of the killing of 18 Armymen in Manipur, government plans to deploy either Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) or Assam Rifles for manning the 389-km-long Indo-Myanmar border in the state.
Talking about recent breakdown of ceasefire with Naga insurgent group NSCN-K, highly-placed sources in the Home Ministry said that there are "external angles to it as well."
The remarks came in response to a question whether Pakistan's ISI has got active in the area and influenced the Khaplang faction of NSCN into withdrawing from the ceasefire agreement with the Centre.
The ceasefire had never been followed up by dialogue, following cessation of armed clashes because of "compulsions" of NSCN-K group, the sources said.
The sources said that government is now planning to place NSCN-K under the banned list of terrorist organisation after the June four killing of 18 Armymen in Chandel area of Manipur.
18:23 French police interrogate attack suspect after grisly decapitation
French police interrogated a suspected Islamist Saturday as they tried to piece together an attack in which the man put his boss's severed head on display in the second jihadist attack to hit France in six months.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who cut short an official trip to South America to return home, warned that France faced more attacks and that Friday's assault on a gas factory near the second city of Lyon would increase tensions in the country and put citizens' resilience "to the test".
No jihadist group has claimed the French attack which came on the same day as a massacre at a Tunisian beach resort in which 38 people were gunned down and a suicide bombing in Kuwait that killed 27. The other two attacks have been claimed by the Islamic State group.
Read full story HERE.
17:51 Bomb blasts in Iraqi capital leave 10 dead, others wounded
Iraqi authorities say bombs targeting public places have killed 10 people in the capital, Baghdad.
Police officials say a car bomb went off about noon today near shops selling car parts in southeastern Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 13 others.
Another bomb blast at an outdoor market killed three shoppers and wounded eight in the city's eastern suburbs.
Also, police said a bomb exploded near a row of shops in the capital's western neighbourhood of Baiyaa, killing two and wounding 10.
Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks. Iraq sees near-daily attacks that are claimed by the Islamic State group.
Picture for representation only.
17:48 UK needs to prepare for many killed in Tunisia attack: Cameron
UK Prime Minister David Cameron today said "many" of those killed in the attack on a Tunisian beach resort were British as he called on the citizens to combat the menace of terrorism.
Tunisian authorities have so far confirmed eight Britons among the 38 killed yesterday. The UK Foreign Office has put the number at five but warned that the death toll could rise.
Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid said the "majority" of the dead were British, hours after UK foreign secretary Philip Hammond said a "high proportion" of casualties would have been British.
Cameron, speaking in Downing Street after chairing the emergency Cobra meeting to look at the UK's response to the attacks, said he could only imagine the "pain, and anguish and agony" of families caught up in these "terrible events".
"We are working with the Tunisian authorities to identify the final number of British casualties but I'm afraid that the British public need to be prepared for the fact that many of those killed were British," he said in a televised address.
He called the attack "savage" and said a "full deployment team" of consular staff, police and Red Cross experts would soon arrive in Tunisia.
Cameron also called on the British people to work together with the authorities to "combat this poisonous narrative of Islamist extremism that is radicalising too many young minds in our country", saying the "terrorists will not succeed".
17:16 Jindal calls for 'getting rid' of SC after landmark ruling on gay marriage
Indian-American
"The Supreme Court is completely out of control, making laws on their own, and has become a public opinion poll instead of a judicial body," said Jindal, the 13th Republican aspirant to aim for the White House in 2016 election.
"If we want to save some money let's just get rid of the court," he said.
Jindal said the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage fundamentally redefined the institution of marriage.
"Marriage between a man and a woman was established by God, and no earthly court can alter that," he said.
He argued that protecting same-sex marriage would open the door to discrimination against people of faith who oppose its practice.
17:00 BJP issues notice to party MLA Raj Purohit over a sting video
The BJP has reportedly issued notices to MLA Raj Purohit over his statements in a sting operation wherein he claims of an absence of collective leadership in the party.
A sting operation video, purportedly showed Purohit saying that there is no collective leadership in the party.
Terming the video as forged, Purohit said in a statement, The voice in it is not mine. The matter should be investigated forensically. I hold both Modi and Amit Shah in high esteem.
16:47 Kuwait to bury ISIS attack victims as security beefed up
Kuwait will hold a mass funeral on Saturday for 26 victims of a Shi'ite mosque bombing claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group as the shocked oil-rich emirate tightens security.
The interior ministry said in a statement early Saturday that 26 people and the suicide bomber were killed and 227 others were wounded in one of the country's worst bombings and its first ever on a mosque.
The attack targeted Al-Imam Al-Sadeq mosque in the capital Kuwait City during Friday noon prayers.
The mosque authorities said in a statement that "Kuwait martyrs" will be laid to rest at the Shi'ite cemetery, west of the capital, at 4:00 pm
Read full story HERE.
16:25 We will win again in 2016: Mamata
Stating that people have the final say in a democracy, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said her party Trinamool Congress would win next year's assembly election riding on the development work done in the last four years. "In a democracy, people have the final say. Our record on development makes us confident that we will win again in 2016," Banerjee tweeted.
15:39 Raje was in Delhi solely for NITI Aayog meeting: CMO
Once again, the Office of Rajasthan CM, Vasundhara Raje has issued a statement. This time it clarified that despite media reports, Raje was in the nation's capital solely for the NITI Aayog meeting. In its statement, it said, "Some channels continue to run false news. Request media to kindly cross check facts. CM was in Delhi solely for the NITI Aayog meeting. Later she returned to Jaipur for there were no prior appointments."
15:35 AAP logo designer slaps legal notice on Kejriwal
The Aam Aadmi Party's logo designer, who has quit the party, has served a legal notice to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for still using the logo for which he holds the copyright.
Sunil Lal said that he had served the notice seeking a response within 15 days for continuing to use the logo. "I designed the logo, given it to the party but withdrew it after my belief in the party and its ideology was shattered," Lal said, adding he wrote a letter to Kejriwal on April 7 seeking the logo back.
"I had categorically requested the AAP not to use the logo designed by me in posters, banners, flags, websites and other means of publicity. But they continue to use it blatantly," he said.
15:18 Former TERI chief RK Pachauri gets permission to travel abroad
The Delhi Saket Court has permitted RK Pachauri to travel abroad from June 29 to July July 9 to attend the last rites of a relative. The former TERI director, who is facing a sexual harassment charge, has been denied permission to leave the country. In fact, the Delhi high court had denied him permission to travel abroad for the Global Water Summit.
On February 13, an FIR was registered against Pachauri on charges of sexual harassment under sections 354, 354(a), 354(d) (molestation) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC at Lodhi Colony Police Station after the woman had submitted a 33-page complaint in this regard to the police.
On March 21, Pachauri was granted anticipatory bail by the court which rejected the request of police for his custody. The court had granted him anticipatory bail by imposing several conditions on him including that he will join the probe as and when called, he will not enter TERI office premises and not intimidate or threaten the complainant and the witnesses of the case.
15:04 Kuwait to hold mass funeral for martyrs of IS mosque bombing
Kuwait is to hold a mass funeral for 26 people killed in a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group. The interior ministry said in a statement that 26 people and the bomber were killed and 227 others wounded in one of the country's worst bombings and its first ever on a mosque.
The attack targeted Al-Imam Al-Sadeq mosque in the capital Kuwait City during Friday noon prayers. The mosque authorities said in a statement that Kuwait martyrs will be laid to rest at the Shiite cemetery, west of the capital
14:30 Strike evokes little response in Srinagar
The strike called by separatist groups in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, to protest the clashes between pro-separatist protesters and security forces evoked little response on Saturday.
Though shops were shut in Lal Chowk city centre, they were open in most other parts of the district, officials said.
Footpath and hand cart vendors went about their business as usual while public transport was plying normally at most of the places.
Government offices and banks functioned normally across Srinagar district, the officials said. However, schools remained shut in the city as a precautionary measure towards safety of the students in the wake of the strike call, they said.
Clashes broke out yesterday between the protesters and security forces during which Pakistan and global terror outfit IS flags were raised by some youth in Nowhatta area here.
As soon as the Friday prayers were over at Jamia Masjid, a large number of youth raised pro-freedom and pro-Pakistan slogans and tried to march towards Nowhatta Chowk, police said.
13:53 PM Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah deny Raje appointment
Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje, who was in the national capital to attend the NITI Aayog meeting, will be heading home shortly after it was learnt that her request to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah was denied.
Speculations were rife earlier in the day that Raje would meet the senior BJP leaders, including PM Modi, over her involvement in the Lalitgate scandal. Raje has been in trouble ever since it emerged that she extended help to the former IPL chief in lieu of business favours.
13:28 AAP govt moves HC against ACB chief appointment
The Delhi government has moved the high court against the appointment of police officer MK Meena as the chief of its Anti-Corruption Bureau. It wants the removal of Meena, a Joint Commissioner of Police from the bureau till the main petition of the Aam Aadmi Party government challenging the Centre's notification of May 21 is decided by the court.
On June 9, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung had appointed Meena to head the anti-graft unit, who outranked SS Yadav, an officer handpicked by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
13:21 1 child dead, 6 hospitalised after polio vaccination in Bihar
A child died and six others fell ill in Bihar's Vaishali district after allegedly being administered polio drops. Vaishal civil surgeon Ramashish Kumar has ordered a probe into the incident. "I have asked the concerned officials to ascertain whether incident is connected to the polio vaccine or not," he said.
"Some children fell ill after being administered polio vaccine and one died Saturday morning," said Mukesh Singh, a close relative of one of the six children admitted to Sadar hospital for treatment. Singh said that children developed fever and suffered from vomiting and diarrhoea after being given the polio vaccine.
13:17 Car in Raje's convoy hit by TV channel vehicle
A vehicle in the convoy of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje was said to have been hit by a TV channel's car as she was headed to the airport here on her way to New Delhi. According to the Chief Minister's Office, the car in Raje's convoy "was hit by a vehicle of TV channel obstructing the way". However, there was no mention of anybody being hurt in the incident.
12:39 BJP high command up for sale, claims Mumbai MLA in video
If the allegations of scams, bogus degrees and connections with a tainted cricket administrator weren't enough to embarrass his party, a BJP Mumbai legislator has landed the ruling dispensation in further trouble. Colaba MLA Raj Purohit has allegedly charged the party high command of taking bribes from a rival legislator for denying him a Cabinet berth in the state. A video featuring Purohit, which has him slamming PM Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah and CM Devendra Fadnavis has appeared on television news channels and social media.
In the widely circulated film, Purohit allegedly says the party is run only by Modi and Shah, and alleges that the BJP lacks collective leadership. He adds that Modi's policies are contradictory and have upset businessmen a great deal.
12:32 Stench of death in Pakistan should shame government
I have seen many dead in my career, but I will never forget the smell that enveloped me at a morgue in Karachi this week. The dignity denied to the dead that had suffered so much in life is deplorable. As a heat wave hit the heart of the financial capital and swept across Sindh province it stripped away layer after layer of the dire straits of governance here.
Read more of CNN's Saima Mohsin's article HERE
11:40 Some forgotten heroes of the Emergency
The sanctimonious hypocrisy of our politicians should not let us forget that there were some real heroes of the Emergency. One of them was VMTarkunde, a former judge of the Bombay high court. In 1974, when Indira Gandhi's autocratic tendencies began manifesting themselves, Tarkunde and Jayaprakash Narayan set up Citizens for Democracy, a non-party platform to draw attention to the violation of human rights across the country.
Read more HERE
11:19 Aviation ministry says NO to charge for check-in baggage
The minister of state for aviation has rejected the proposal of low-cost airlines to charge for check-in baggage. The minister said that they do not want to burden the passengers.
SpiceJet, Indigo and AirAsia had sought permission to abolish the concept of free baggage and instead incentivise those passengers, who travel without any luggage through discount in fares.
At present, passengers don't have to pay for bags that are checked in as long as this is within the stipulated weight limit, generally 15 kg in economy class, paying only when they exceed this.
10:57 Is Lalit Modi a fugitive?
There is a serious crisis in the media. This has to do with presentation --sorry, shouting -- of biased opinions. Consider the case of Lalit Modi as fugitive, as claimed by the Congress and most sections of the mainstream media.
Indulging in a bit of hyperbole, former UPA minister Jairam Ramesh opined: "This has never happened in independent India before, where a former chief minister and leader of opposition has batted for a fugitive."
Leading journalists have joined the politicians in coming to extravagant conclusions. However, both decency and common sense require a prior question to be asked: What is the evidence that Lalit Modi is a fugitive? If he is, then no question that we should stone him and all who have supported him -- if not, should we not stone the opinion-makers?
Read more HERE
10:55
JUST IN: The polling percentage recorded in RK Nagar, Chennai till 10 am was 13%.
10:34 Rains bring devastation to Gujarat; death toll rises to 80
The death toll due to heavy rains and floods in Gujarat increased to 80 even as waters receded in most parts of the state and there was no downpour in the last 24 hours. Amreli district in Saurashtra has been the worst hit region, with more than 30 people dead. Torrential rains on Wednesday washed out roads, farms, railway tracks, bridges and electricity poles.
"The government has decided to give compensation of `4 lakh each to families of the deceased. In addition, we have also decided to give cash doles for the next 10 days to people in affected areas,' Gujarat health minister and spokesperson of the government Nitin Patel said.
09:39 Lalit Modi is all praise for PM Modi
Amidst the allegations and the scandal surrounding his travel, former Indian Premier League boss Lalit Modi has praised the PM on Twitter. In a tweet, the former IPL chief wrote, "Our PM is most savvy man. He does not need my advice. When he bats he will hit the ball out of the park.#respect only."
09:31 Amidst Lalitgate, Rajasthan CM Raje arrives in Delhi
An embattled Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is in Delhi today. The Rajasthan CM has been facing severe opposition and calls for her resignation for helping Lalit Modi acquire travel documents.
It is unclear whether Raje would be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the other senior BJP leaders to discuss the matter.
Till date, her party has supported her saying that Raje had committed no crime as she had provided help to Lalit Modi as 'a friend'. However, the PM has remained mum on the matter. Only time will tell if the PM will break his silence and if he does what lies ahead for Raje.
03:36 IS kills 164 civilians in assault on Syria's Kobane
The Islamic State group killed 164 civilians in its offensive on the Kurdish town of Kobane, in what a monitor has called one of the jihadists' "worst massacres" in Syria.
The killing spree, which took place mostly inside Kobane itself, was widely seen as vengeance for a series of defeats inflicted on the jihadists by Kurdish militia in recent weeks.
At least 120 civilians were killed in a 24-hour rampage on Kobane, and another 26 were executed in a nearby village, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The bullet-riddled bodies of 18 people -- including children -- were found yesterday in the streets of Kobane, the Britain-based Observatory said, adding that they had been shot "at close range".
"The body of one child bore the impact of five bullets," it said.
The assault - in which 42 IS fighters and 10 Kurds also died - began on Thursday when three IS suicide bombers blew up vehicles at the entrances to Kobane, a symbol of Kurdish resistance.
Women were among civilians whose bodies were found in homes and on the streets, the Observatory said.
"According to medical sources and Kobane residents, 120 civilians were executed by IS in their homes or killed by the group's rockets or snipers," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
03:27 One of two escaped US prisoners killed by police
One of two escaped murderers that have been on the run from authorities in New York has been shot and killed by police.
Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped from prison using power tools almost three weeks ago.
Matt was killed near Lake Titus, New York, the Daily Beast news website reported.
On Friday, authorities chasing the pair moved the search closer to the Canadian border.
Developing reports say that police are converging on an area south of Malone, New York - about 30 miles (48.2 km) from the prison where they escaped and even closer to the Canadian border.
Earlier, police had found evidence that the duo left behind, shifting the search to the area around Malone.
The search has involved hundreds of law enforcement officers.
The two inmates escaped on 6 June from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora.
Read more HERE.
02:35 Islamic State supporters tweet alleged photos of Tunisia hotel shooter
Twitter accounts that support Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) released three photos of someone they said is the gunman who killed at least 27 people, including foreign tourists, in an attack on a Tunisian beachside hotel on Friday.
The photos show from behind a man walking down a street and brandishing an assault rifle.
The Twitter accounts praised him, wishing him entry to paradise.
Read more HERE.
01:04 Pakistan's relentless heat wave devastates families
Karachi is burning.
Over the past week, Pakistan's largest and most populated city has been scorched by a heat wave that has claimed more than 1,000 lives.Morgues are packed with the dead found collapsed on the streets, unidentified and now headed for mass graves.
Hospitals overflow with patients suffering from dehydration, gastroenteritis and other indignities, with the elderly and young children being affected the most.
Read full story HERE.
01:03 Barack Obama calls gay marriage case plaintiff Jim Obergefell
Moments after the Supreme Court backed a national right to same-sex marriage, President Barack Obama called the lead plaintiff in the case to congratulate him and thank him for his efforts.
"We're really proud of you," Obama could be heard saying over speaker phone, while plaintiff Jim Obergefell was being interviewed by CNN's Pamela Brown on the steps of the Supreme Court. "Just know that, you know, not only have you been a great example for people, but you're also going to bring about a lasting change in this country. And it's pretty rare where that happens. So I couldn't be prouder of you and your husband. God bless you."
Visibly flustered, Obergefell expressed his appreciation for Obama's support.
"I really appreciate that, Mr. President. It's really been an honor for me to be involved in this fight and to have been able to, you know, fight for my marriage and live up to my commitments to my husband," he said.
Minutes later, Obama gave more official remarks celebrating the ruling from the White House Rose Garden.
All Americans must have equal opportunities under the law for true equality to exist in this country, he said.
Read more HERE.
00:57 PM condemns 'cowardly' attacks in Kuwait, Tunisia, France
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today condemned the "cowardly" terror attacks in Kuwait, Tunisia and France, saying the progress of humanity lies in peace and brotherhood instead of hatred and mindless violence.
"My thoughts & prayers are with the families & loved ones of those who lost their lives in the cowardly attacks in France, Kuwait & Tunisia," he tweeted.
"The progress of humanity lies in peace, brotherhood & non-violence, not in hatred, terror & mindless violence against others," he added.
He was commenting on terror attacks in which over 50 people were killed in Kuwait, Tunisia and France.
00:53 Some US gay marriages must wait despite court ruling
Some gay couples were told they would have to wait to obtain marriage licences Friday, despite a landmark ruling from the Supreme Court legalising gay marriage across the United States.
The attorneys-general of the southern states of Mississippi and Louisiana said the decision would not go into immediate effect as local courts studied the ruling.
"This could come quickly or may take several days," Attorney-General Jim Hood on Mississippi said in a statement released to local media.
Louisiana's James Caldwell said he would issue a statement once the Supreme Court had issued a mandate formally making the decision effective, but made no secret of his own view.
Read full story HERE.
00:50 5 aftershocks recorded in Nepal
Five mild aftershocks were felt in different areas in
Two
moderate tremors were recorded this afternoon, one in Lalitpur district, 7 km east of
The second one having 4.2-magnitude was recorded at 6.02 pm with its epicenter in Dolakha district.
Meanwhile, three mild aftershocks were felt within three hours in different areas yesterday.
A
4.3-magnitude tremor was recorded at 9.07 pm with epicentre at Nuwakot district, about 30 km west of
Merely two minutes later, at 11.51 pm, a third tremor measuring 4.2 on the Richter Scale was recorded with epicentre at Nuwakot-Sindhupalchowk.
With this,
a total of 332 aftershocks with 4 or more magnitude have been so far recorded after the devastating earthquake that rocked
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