LIVE! Obama will not apologize for Hiroshima attack

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Sun, 22 May 2016

Obama will not apologize for Hiroshima attack

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21:34 Obama will not apologize for Hiroshima attack

United States President Barack Obama said on Sunday his visit to Hiroshima, the first city to suffer an atomic bombing, would emphasize friendly ties between former enemies, and reiterated he would not apologize for the devastating attack.

Obama will become the first sitting US president to tour the site of the world's first nuclear bombing this Friday, accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

In an interview with Japanese national broadcaster NHK, Obama, who emphasized decentralization early in his term said the reality is that leaders often have to make hard choices during times of conflict and no apologies would be included in brief remarks he is expected to make in the western Japanese city.

"It's important to recognize that in the midst of war, leaders make all kinds of decisions, it's a job of historians to ask questions and examine them," Obama said.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist-led-Left Democratic Front, which was elected to power in the May 16 assembly polls in Kerala, on Sunday decided to have a leaner cabinet with only 19 ministers.

The Pinarayi Vijayan-led new ministry, which will be sworn in on May 25, will have only 19 ministers, LDF convener Vaikom Viswan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram after the LDF state committee meeting.

Of the 19 ministers, the CPI-M will have 12, Communist Party of India four, Janata Dal-Secular, Nationalist Congress Party and Conggress-S one each, Viswan said.

Other minor parties, which support the LDF from outside, including Kerala Congress-B and Revolutionary Socialist Party of Kerala, which have won one seat each, will not get a berth.

While the Speaker's post will go to the CPI-M, Deputy Speaker's post will be held by the CPI.

The previous Congress-led UDF government had 21 ministers.

20:08

Prime Minister Narendra begins his Iran trip by visiting Bhai Ganga Singh Gurudwara in Tehran.

19:11 Will meet Trump despite his dangerous views on Muslims:Cameron

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Sudnay said he would be very happy to meet Donald Trump if the controversial presumptive Republican presidential nominee were to travel to the UK despite his "dangerous" views on Muslims.

Cameron was being interviewed by British television channel ITV's 'Peston on Sunday' show when he was asked if he would meet Trump, 69.

"I don't know. American presidential candidates have made a habit of coming through Europe and through the UK, and if that happens I'd be very happy to," Cameron, 49, said.

But he repeated his claim that Trump's proposal for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the US is wrong.

"It's a very dangerous thing to say... as well as a divisive and wrong one," he said.

"I don't withdraw in any way what I said about the policy of not letting Muslims in to America. I do think that is wrong and divisive.

"We've got to demonstrate that what we're up against here is a very small minority of a minority, Islamist extremists, that want to divide our societies, and we've got to explain that there are billions of people in our world who are devout Muslims but who believe in liberal democracy and all the things we believe in," Cameron said.

Citing electoral statistics, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Karunanidhi on Sunday said that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has retained power in Tamil Nadu by a margin of just 1.1 vote percentage and his party missed a clear victory by a narrow gap.

He said his party would function as a constructive Opposition.

Referring to total votes polled for the AIADMK and DMK and respective allies, he said the ruling party had got only 4,41,646 votes more than his party and said the opportunity to govern was missed narrowly.

"While the AIADMK and allies polled 1,76,17,060 votes, the DMK and its allies got 1,71,75,374. That is, the AIADMK has got the opportunity to form government by a margin of 1.1 per cent and it is the truth," he said in a statement.

Citing electoral statistics, including vote share and contested vote share of his party and the AIADMK, he said "there was only a very small gap in touching pinnacle of victory."

He also referred to a report published in an English daily which said the DMK was ahead of the AIADMK in contested vote share.

He said in 172 constituencies where there was a direct fight between the AIADMK and the DMK, his party emerged victorious in 89 seats and the AIADMK won 83 seats.

18:29 International powerlifter attacked

An international powerlifter was attacked by a man with iron rods when she objected to an obscene remark made by him in Farah town in Mathura district, police said.

Asama Alwi, 25, an international powerlifter, was waiting for a bus to Agra when she was attacked by owner of a scrap shop Lala alias Munna yesterday, they said.

"The hunt for the culprit is on. The woman has been medically examined. Stern action would be taken against the culprit," ASP Kunvar Anupam Singh said.

The accused fled from the scene when Alwi raised an alarm.

Sports and games fraternity of the district have condemned the attack and demanded stern action against the accused.

They said police should provide protection to Alwi.

In a tragic incident, a five-year-old girl in the US has accidentally shot herself dead while playing with her father's handgun in Lousiana, media reports said on Sunday.

The girl, Haley Moore, was spending the weekend at her father's house with her elder sister and brother. Just before they were about to leave for a movie, she found her father's gun at the house and began playing with the firearm.

Her father told investigators that Moore was playing with the gun when she shot herself inside the home in Lousiana's LaPlace area on Saturday, New York Daily News reported.

The father was taking a shower when he heard a gunshot. He rushed to the spot and discovered that his daughter had accidentally shot herself, investigators said.

Authorities said the handgun had not been safely stored before the shooting occurred. Her father had left the .45-caliber gun on the table.

The sheriff's office said the shooting remained under investigation and additional information would be released "when warranted".

Police said the bullet entered the girl's right chest and came out under her left arm. She died at a hospital on Saturday.

The children's parents are divorced and the father gets visitation every other weekend, the report said.

17:18 Roopa Ganguly attacked in West Bengal

BJP leader Roopa Ganguly was allegedly attacked by TMC workers while she was on her way to visit an injured party supporter in Diamond Harbour in West Bengal.

Later, Ganguly was taken to hospital.

17:06

JUST IN: Assam Rifles convoy attacked in Manipur's Chadel district; 6 jawans martyred

16:47 BCCI opens applications for coach's job, deadline June 10

Accelerating their efforts to find a new coach for the national cricket team, the BCCI today decided to advertise for the position and set June 10 as the deadline for applications.

"We will advertise for the post of coach today and by June 10 anyone can apply and shortlisting will be done after that," said newly-elected BCCI President Anurag Thakur at the BCCI headquarters.

"We are keeping it open, we want people to come. They can come forward, apply and then we can look at the proposals, who are the applicants and who are best for BCCI," he added.

The announcement means the Indian team will be without the services of a full-time coach on its short tour of Zimbabwe beginning June 11.

However, the coach appointment is expected to be made before the team travels to the West Indies in July for a four-match Test series.

Earlier today, former India captain and BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee member Sourav Ganguly said that the board will take another couple of months to find a suitable candidate for the high-profile position.

Since Duncan Fletcher's departure, India played under the guidance of team director Ravi Shastri, whose tenure ended with the World T20 in March-April.

Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay will be among those in attendance during the swearing-in ceremony of Mamata Banerjee as West Bengal Chief Minister for the second consecutive term on May 27.

"Looking forward to congratulating Mamata-di personally during her swearing-in ceremony in Kolkata," Tobgay tweeted.

In her reply, Banerjee expressed gratitude to him and tweeted, "Thank you so much for the kind words".

The two leaders have developed a good rapport ever since Banerjee went to the Himalayan nation last year where Tobgay even drove her once to the hotel in Thimphu.

West Bengal shares over 180 km long border with Bhutan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Akhilesh Yadav are also likely to be invited to the ceremony.

President Pranab Mukherjee has accepted resignation of Sarbananda Sonowal as sports and youth affairs minister. Sonowal is all set to take oath as Assam's new chief minister on Tuesday.

Earlier, Sonowal was unanimously elected as BJP Legislature Party leader in Assam.

Meanhwile, Assam Governor P B Acharya has invited the BJP along with its partners the AGP and the BPF to form the next government in the state.

The BJP won 60 of the 126 assembly seats. The AGP and BPF secured 14 and 12 seats respectively, taking their total strength to 86.

Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi has been appointed as the Lt. Governor of Puducherry.

Last year, the BJP had nominated Kiran Bedi as its chief ministerial candidate for Delhi assembly election. However, she lost the election which was swept by the Aam Aadmi Party.

15:44 PM Modi departs for Iran

Prime Minister Narendra Modi departs for Iran for a two-day state visit.

During the visit he will engage with the Iranian top leadership including President Hassan Rouhani to boost trade, energy and strategic ties.

He will also meet Iran's supreme religious and political leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

After Iran, the PM will visit Qatar on June 4 and 5 and then the US on June 7-8.

The Indian team is unlikely to get a new coach anytime soon with the BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee member Sourav Ganguly today saying it will take another couple of months to find a suitable candidate for the

high-profile position.

This means the team will be without a full-time coach during its tour of Zimbabwe beginning June 11.

"It will happen in the next couple of months. I am not too sure if it happens before the Zimbabwe tour because it is not too far away," said Ganguly, who is on the advisory panel, alongside Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman.

Post the short tour of Zimbabwe, India travel to the West Indies for a four-match Test series in July-August.

Since Duncan Fletcher's departure, India played under the guidance of team director Ravi Shastri, whose tenure ended with the World T20 in March-April.

Talking about day-night Test cricket, Ganguly said it is a welcome change for the longest format. The BCCI has already announced that it will host its first-ever day-night Test against New Zealand in October-November.

Afghanistan's main spy agency said on Sunday that Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a US drone attack inside Pakistan.

"Mansour was being closely monitored for a while... until he was targeted along with other fighters aboard a vehicle... in Balochistan," the National Directorate of Security said in a statement.

15:02 Jawan injured in Kupwara encounter dies

A jawan, who was injured in a fierce gunbattle with militants in Kupwara on Saturday, succumbed to injuries on Sundya, a defence official said.

Naik Gawade Pandurang Mahadev, who was critically injured in the operation at Chak Drugmulla in Kupwara, succumbed at 92 Base Hospital of the army in Srinagar, the official said.

Five militants were killed in the nine-hour long operation in Kupwara on Saturday while two soldiers including Mahadev sustained injuries.

"The brave soldier was part of the the column that initially located and engaged the hiding terrorists, leading to the elimination of all five terrorists," the official said.

The mortal remains of the soldier will be flown to his village in Sindudurg district of Maharashtra after necessary formalities are completed, he added.

It is 'politically difficult' to speed up structural reforms in India, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said, even as he stressed on the need for cleansing the banks and checking inflation to ensure faster growth.

Rajan also said labour market reforms can boost growth, but the process may draw opposition.

Delivering a lecture on 'The Global Economy and India' in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, the former Chief Economist of IMF said new rules need to be evolved for international monetary policy and called for the emerging markets like India to "speak up and raise their voice louder" to have a say in setting the global agenda.

The governor said India is fairly safe from volatile global economy and it has posted 7.5 per cent growth despite two droughts and weak international market.

"Despite two droughts and weak international market scenario, we are registering about 7.5 per cent growth because of macro level stability," he said.

While there is a need to ensure macro level stabilisation, the country would have to keep inflation under control and cleanse the banks, he said. "This can strengthen macro level stability," he said.

In addition to that, maintaining reforms would attract both international and domestic investors and spur activities, Rajan said.

Stating that structural reforms are important for elevating the potential of economy, the RBI Governor said degree of competition and level of participation of different segments of society should be raised in order to bring more and more people into the workforce.

However, it may be difficult politically to speed up structural reforms and while labour market reforms can boost growth, the process may draw opposition, the outspoken governor said.

14:18 Top US commander makes secret visit to Syria

On a secret trip to Syria, the new commander of US forces in the Middle East has said he felt a moral obligation to enter a war zone to check on his troops and make his own assessment of progress in organizing local Arab and Kurd fighters for what has been a slow campaign to push the Islamic State out of Syria, AP reported.

"I have responsibility for this mission, and I have responsibility for the people that we put here," Army General Joseph Votel said in an interview as dusk fell on the remote outpost where he had arrived 11 hours earlier. "So it's imperative for me to come and see what they're dealing with to share the risk they are dealing with."

Votel, who has headed US Central Command for just seven weeks, became the highest-ranking US military officer known to have entered Syria since the US began its campaign to counter the Islamic State in 2014. The circumstance was exceptional because the US has no combat units in Syria, no diplomatic relations with Syria and for much of the past two years has enveloped much of its Syria military mission in secrecy.

Votel said he brought reporters with him because, "We don't have anything to hide. I don't want people guessing about what we're doing here. The American people should have the right to see what we're doing here."

13:41 Kerala violence: BJP delegation meets Prez

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari-led BJP delegation on Sunday met President Pranab Mukherjee over Kerala violence issue.

After meeting the President, Gadkari said, Our workers were killed, situation there (Kerala) is not fine. Our delegation met the President over atrocities against RSS and BJP workers, both pre and post elections.

"Police did not take appropriate action. We have been assured of appropriate action by the President," said Gadkari.

A BJP worker had sustained head injuries after he was allegedly hit by a brick following a clash during a victory rally by CPI-M workers at Idavilangu in Kerala on Thursday. He died the next day.

The BJP has been targeting the Left over the alleged attacks on its workers in Kerala in the run up to the polls.

13:32 New smartphone app can detect earthquakes

Scientists have developed an app that crowdsources ground-shaking information from smartphones to detect earthquakes and eventually warns users of impending jolts from nearby quakes.

The app called MyShake, developed by researchers at University of California, Berkeley, runs in the background and draws little power, so that a phone's onboard accelerometers can record local shaking any time of the day or night.

For now, the app only collects information from the accelerometers, analyses it and, if it fits the vibrational profile of a quake, relays it and the phone's global positioning system coordinates to the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory in California for analysis.

Since it was first released in English in February this year, more than 170,000 people have downloaded the app from around the world, and on any given day 11,000 phones provide data to the system.

In these three months, the network has recorded earthquakes in Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Taiwan, Japan and across North America, including induced earthquakes in Oklahoma.

The system has recorded earthquakes as small as magnitude 2.5 and as large as the April 16 magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Ecuador.

Once enough people are using the app and the bugs are worked out, UC Berkeley seismologists plan to use the data to warn people miles from ground zero that shaking is rumbling their way.

A guitar given to Elvis Presley by his father in 1969 went under the hammer for $334,000 in New York during an auction that also saw a Michael Jackson vest fetch $256,000.

Vernon Presley is said to have changed the finish of the Gibson Dove acoustic guitar to ebony after his son earned his black belt in karate.

It beat auction house Julien's estimate of $200,000 to $300,000 for Saturdya's sale.

During a 1975 concert in Asheville, North Carolina, Presley had given the guitar to fan Mike Harris, who had kept it until now.

Vin Diesel honored late friend and "Fast and Furious" co-star Paul Walker, who died in a fatal car crash in 2013, in an emotional Instagram post.

With production on "Fast 8" currently underway, Diesel, 48, shared a touching account he had with one of the film's crew members with his social media followers.

"Many of the crew members who have worked on several of the past Fast films are here again to help us make something special," he captioned a throwback photo of himself seated beside Walker.

"One of them at the end of the week came up to me and said wow what we are capturing on film is excellent... And then looked at me and said Paul would be proud."

Two days prior, Diesel also posted a video to his Instagram account, in which he shared his thoughts on filming the latest "Fast and Furious" installment without Walker.

"Coming into shooting Fast 8, I knew that it was gonna be a darker road," he said.

"It's amazing how regardless of how successful you are, that you have to go into a dark place to channel a character -- to feel a character."

The one-man commission of inquiry constituted by the HRD ministry to look into the circumstances of research scholar Rohith Vemula's death at the Hyderabad central university has been given more time and it will now

submit its report by August 1, this year.

The HRD ministry has issued a notification in this regard.

The suicide by Vemula had triggered a huge political storm with opposition parties launching a massive attack at the Union government over the issue.

According to official sources, the Justice (retd) Ashok Kumar Roopanwal commission has met all the stakeholders and examining the voluminous representations received from them requires three months more time to draw a conclusion.

Consequently, the ministry has extended the tenure of the commission till August 1, 2016.

Earlier, following Vemula's death, which also triggered a massive political storm, the ministry had in January this year decided to constitute a judicial commission to review the entire sequence of events and the circumstances and to establish the facts and correctives in the context of the university.

Coming out in support of RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, leading industrialist Adi Godrej has said he is an admirer and it will be a "good thing for India" if his tenure is extended.

Godrej's remarks comes at a time when there is speculation over Rajan's future, whose current three-year term as RBI chief ends this September, amid calls for his sacking by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.

However, Godrej group chairman refused to comment on the controversy.

"I would not like to comment on what other people want to say," Godrej said when asked about Swamy's statement.

"I think he has done a good job. He is very well respected across the world. He is a very capable person, very well respected person and I think if his term is extended then its a good thing for India," Godrej told PTI.

Praising Rajan's work, Godrej said: "He was voted as best Central Bank Governor in the world by one of the magazines. I am admirer of him and I support his extension."

In January, Rajan was awarded the Central Banker of the Year Award (Global and Asia Pacific) for 2016 by the Financial Times Group's monthly publication 'The Banker'.

Earlier, Swamy had accused Rajan of being responsible for "unemployment and collapse" of industrial activity.

You can now dial a four-digit toll-free number to listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' programme if you missed listening it on radio.

Telecom Ministry has okayed '1922' to help people listen to the programme. All telecom service providers across the country have been informed about the allocation of the number for voice services, according to the ministry's order.

The prime minister holds forth on various contemporary matters on "Mann Ki Baat" programme on All India Radio every month.

"Calls to this number shall be toll free. Short code (1922) should be accessible for international in-roamers within India," it said.

While there has been no official announcement, a call made to 1922 by PTI said "Mann Ki Baat me call karne ke liye dhanyawaad" (Thank you for calling Mann Ki Baat) before automatically disconnecting.

After some time, a return call was received broadcasting Mann Ki Baat. In addition, a Short Message Service (SMS) was also received, that mentioned "Thank you for calling. Dial 1922 again at your convenience and listen to Mann Ki Baat".

The approval of competent authority has been given to allocate the short code '1922' for voice services across all the states and Union Territories for receiving and redirecting calls to National Informatics Centre platform for the PM's initiative, the Ministry's order said.

12:18 U'khand sting tape: CBI summons Harish Rawat

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat asked to appear before the CBI on Tuesday in connection with the sting operation probe.

Earlier, the Uttarakhand high court on Friday refused to quash the CBI probe into the sting operation against Rawat who is shown in the video purportedly negotiating a deal to buy support of rebel Congress MLAs.

Justice Sarvesh Kumar Gupta of the Uttarakhand HC had said that quashing the CBI probe into the sting CD at this stage is not possible.

The court had also questioned the authority of the state cabinet which had withdrawn a notification recommending CBI probe into the sting CD soon after Mr Rawat was reinstated in office.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist took a thoughtful, far-sighted decision to invite Politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan to shoulder the responsibility to lead Keralas new Left government as the chief minister.

A government that enjoys almost two-thirds support in the Legislative Assembly is rock solid and can be expected to provide political stability. Prima facie, it may, therefore, appear that the new government will pick up the threads from where the government led by V. S. Achuthanandan left them five years ago. But such a reading of the power dynamic in Kerala will be blithely overlooking the challenges that lie ahead in the states political economy.

Of course, consolidation of past achievements always remains a priority after an interregnum of five years. But life moves on and the need arises to anticipate what lies in the womb of time and to adapt and restructure oneself as well to a rapidly changing milieu. The CPM, as the vanguard of progressive forces, understands this perfectly well, and the decision to entrust the leadership with Pinarayi underscores it.

What makes these challenges so profound that they need an extraordinary leader like Pinarayi to navigate the ship?

In 20th edition of his radio programme 'Mann ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about water conservation, Rio Olympics and other subjects.

PM Modi urged people to save water and not waste even a drop during summer.

"I interacted with the chief ministers of 11 states which are facing drought or a probable situation of drought. I urge my fellow citizens to save water and not waste even a drop, at least during summer. I also request media to make people aware of water conservation," Modi said.

Encouraging Indian athletes participating in Rio Olympics, Modi said, "It's true that there are a lot of challenges when it comes to sports in the nation but we have to encourage and inspire our sports people who are going to participate in the Rio Olympics 2016."

11:42

BJP delegation led by Nitin Gadkari will meet President Pranab Mukherjee today at Rashtrapati Bhawan to discuss Kerala violence.

11:25 Anurag Thakur becomes youngest BCCI President

Anurag Thakur was on Sunday unanimously elected as the youngest BCCI President post-Independence, while Ajay Shirke was chosen as Secretary in a smooth change of guard at a time when the world's richest Board is sailing through choppy waters.

The 41-year-old Thakur replaced Shashank Manohar who quit the position to take up the ICC chairman's job. The Maharashtra Cricket Association chief and business magnate Shirke expectedly filled in the Secretary's post which was left vacant by Thakur's resignation yesterday.

Senior BCCI vice-president C K Khanna chaired the Special General Meeting (SGM) and announced Thakur's name for the top job.

Manohar's exit from the top post barely seven months into his tenure had necessitated the election of the new chief of the world's richest and most powerful cricket body.

The Egyptian military has released images of items found during the search in the Mediterranean Sea for missing Egypt Air flight MS804.

They include life vests, parts of seats and objects clearly marked EgyptAir.The Airbus A320 was en route from Paris to Cairo with 66 people aboard when it vanished from radar early on Thursday.

Read this story HERE

00:08 Top headlines of the last 24 hours

Charges baseless, a cheap publicity stunt: Khadse on Dawood links
71 killed, 127 missing in Lanka floods, India sends aid
Power should go in the hands of youth: Digvijaya
Jayalalithaa to be sworn in as CM on May 23
Churu, Sriganganagar sizzle at 49.2 deg C; two die in UP
5 terrorists killed, 2 jawans injured in encounter in Kupwara

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