വടക്കൻ ഇസ്രായേലിൽ ടാങ്ക് വേധ മിസൈൽ ആക്രമണത്തിൽ ഒരു ഇന്ത്യക്കാരൻ കൊല്ലപ്പെടുകയും രണ്ട് പേർക്ക് പരിക്കേൽക്കുകയും ചെയ്

തിങ്കളാഴ്ച ലെബനനിൽ നിന്ന് തൊടുത്തുവിട്ട ടാങ്ക് വേധ മിസൈൽ ഇസ്രായേലിൻ്റെ വടക്കൻ അതിർത്തി സമൂഹമായ മാർഗലിയോട്ടിന് സമീപമുള്ള തോട്ടത്തിൽ ഇടിച്ചപ്പോൾ ഒരു ഇന്ത്യൻ പൗരൻ കൊല്ലപ്പെടുകയും രണ്ട് പേർക്ക് പരിക്കേൽക്കുകയും ചെയ്തതായി അധികൃതർ അറിയിച്ചു.

(PAT NIBIN MAXWELL)

തിങ്കളാഴ്ച രാവിലെ 11 മണിയോടെ ഇസ്രായേലിൻ്റെ വടക്കൻ ഗലീലി മേഖലയിലെ മൊഷവ് (കൂട്ടായ കാർഷിക സമൂഹം) എന്ന സ്ഥലത്താണ് മിസൈൽ പതിച്ചതെന്ന് രക്ഷാപ്രവർത്തന സേവനങ്ങളുടെ വക്താവ് മഗൻ ഡേവിഡ് അഡോം (എംഡിഎ) സാക്കി ഹെല്ലർ പിടിഐയോട് പറഞ്ഞു.

Absconding farmer Biju found in Israel; will return on Monday, says minister...

Kerala: Biju Kurian, who went missing in Israel after reaching there with a state agriculture department delegation, has been tracked down. He will be sent back on today and will reach India on Monday, said Kerala Agriculture Minister P Prasad. 

He said Biju's brother told him that the Kannur farmer would reach Kozhikode in a Gulf Air flight at 4 am. Biju went to Israel with a 27-member delegation to study modern farming techniques. However, he went missing from the hotel where the delegates were put up on February 17. He had informed his family over WhatsApp that he was safe and they need not search for him. He had also stopped responding to calls or texts.

South Korea, US and Japan hold trilateral talks on North Korea

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said Pyongyang will face "more severe sanctions" by the international community following a trilateral meeting with his US and Japanese counterparts Antony Blinken and Yoshimasa Hayashi respectively in Munich, Germany.

"North Korea once again has launched a ballistic missile - this one apparently falling in the exclusive economic zone of Japan," Blinken told a joint press conference.

"We call on others to condemn this action, to take appropriate steps, including the effective enforcement of sanctions, and countries that have influence with North Korea should use it to try to move it from the course that it's been on now for the last couple of years," Blinken added.

The Japanese foreign minister said the three countries, along with other Group of 7 countries, have agreed to "take a robust response, including at the UN Security Council."

North Korea fired a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) early Saturday (Korea time), marking its first ICBM launch since November. 

Indian athlete eyes new record in Qatar

Indian athlete Shakeer Cheerayi will undertake a solo run from the Abu Samra border in the south to Al Ruwais in the north later this week, in an attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest crossing of Qatar on foot (male).

The Indian ultra-marathon athlete is hoping to break the current record of 34 hours and 19 minutes during the Wellness Happiness Run.

The existing record was set by Tunisian athlete Sadok Kochbati on February 4 last year.

Addressing a press conference Saturday, Cheerayi said he will cover around 200km while making the solo run.

Confident about setting a new record, he said he will achieve the target in 28 hours.

The flag-off ceremony at Abu Samra will start at 6am on February 17, and will be attended by dignitaries.

Another ceremony will mark the culmination on February 18 at Al Ruwais Port.

Wellness Challengers officials said that all preparations have been made to support Cheerayi during the run, and the athlete will be accompanied by a special vehicle on the road.

The event is aimed at raising awareness among the residents in Qatar while leaving a message of healthy living.

The press conference was attended by Noufa C C, City Exchange head of operations Shanib Shamsudheen, Abey Abraham George, and Adhil Abdul Khader.

Tokyo Olympics 2021: List of Indian athletes, officials

The names of Indian athletes qualified for the Olympics in Tokyo:

Archery

• Tarundeep Rai, Men’s Recurve
• Atanu Das, Men’s Recurve
• Pravin Jadhav, Men’s Recurve
• Deepika Kumari, Women's Recurve

The men's trio will also compete as a team at Tokyo 2020.

Archery’s support staffs

Coach: Mim Bahdur Gurung
Physiotherapist: Chinmay Shrirang Bhide

Check India's archery events full schedule and live telecast details here

Athletics

• KT Irfan, Men's 20km race walking
• Sandeep Kumar, Men's 20km race walking
• Rahul Rohilla, Men's 20km race walking
• Bhawna Jat, Women's 20km race walking
• Priyanka Goswami, Women's 20km race walking
• Avinash Sable, Men's 3000m steeplechase
• Murali Sreeshankar, Men's long jump
• MP Jabir, Men's 400m hurdles
• Neeraj Chopra, Men's javelin throw
• Shivpal Singh, Men's javelin throw
• Annu Rani, Women's javelin throw
• Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Men's shot put
• Dutee Chand, Women's 100m and 200m
• Kamalpreet Kaur, Women's discus throw
• Seema Punia, Women's discus throw
• 4x400 Mixed Relay
• Men's 4x400m Relay

Athletics support staffs

Coaches: P Radhakrishnan Nair, Galina Bukharina, Dr Klaus, Mohinder Singh, Uwe Hohn, Rajmohan K, Amrish Kumar, Alexander Artsybashev, S Murali, N Ramesh, Alexander Sinitsyn, Rakhi Tyagi and Gurmeet Singh.

Support staff: Elmira Kiseleva, Abhishek Pandey, Ishaan Marwaha, Dr Andrei, Simoni Shah, Chandre, Pawan Kumar, Ketan Hulawale; Team Doctor: Dr Brajesh Koushle; Team Leader: Dr Madhukant Pathak.

Badminton

• PV Sindhu, Women’s singles
• B Sai Praneeth, Men’s singles
• Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, Men’s doubles

Badminton support staffs

Coaches: Tae Seng Park, Mathias Boe.

Physiotherapist: Evangeline Baddam, Sumansh Sivalanka, Dwi Santosa Agus

Boxing

• Vikas Krishan (Men's, 69kg)
• Lovlina Borgohain (Women's, 69kg)
• Ashish Kumar (Men's, 75kg)
• Pooja Rani (Women's, 75kg)
• Satish Kumar (Men's, 91kg)
• Mary Kom (Women's, 51kg)
• Amit Panghal (Men's, 52kg)
• Manish Kaushik (Men's, 63kg)
• Simranjit Kaur (Women's, 60kg)

Boxing support staff:

Coach: Santiago Nieva, Raffaele Bergamasco, CA Kuttappa, Mohammad Ali Qamar, Chhote Lal

Physiotherapist: Aayush Yekhande

Doctor: Karanjeet Singh

Equestrian

Fouaad Mirza is the first Indian equestrian to qualify for the Games in 20 years.

Veterinary Doctor: Grigorios Maleas
Groom: Johana Pohjonen
Physiotherapist: Veronia Sinz

Fencing

Bhavani Devi became the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics.

Golf

• Anirban Lahiri
• Udayan Mane
• Aditi Ashok

Gymnastics

Pranati Nayak is only the second Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics.

Coach: Lakhan Sharma

Hockey

Men’s National Team

• Goalkeepers: P. R. Sreejesh
• Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Birendra Lakra
• Midfielders: Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit
• Forwards: Shamsher Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh

Women’s National Team

• Goalkeepers: Savita
• Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Nikki Pradhan, Gurjit Kaur, Udita.
• Midfielders: Nisha, Neha, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika, Nanjot Kaur, Salima Tete.
• Forwards: Rani, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Vandana Katariya, Sharmila, Devi.

Judo

Sushila Devi Likmabam will be India's only participant in Judo at Tokyo 2020.

Rowing

• Arjun Jat
• Arvind Singh

Sailing

For the first time, India will have more than two sailors at the Olympics, including Nethra Kumanan, the first Indian woman sailor. For the first time India will be competing in more than one sailing event - Laser Radial, Laser Standard and 49er.

• Nethra Kumanan, Laser Radial
• Vishnu Saravanan, Laser Standard
• KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar, 49er

Shooting

India will have its largest Shooting contingent with 15 shooters.

• Anjum Moudgil, 10m Women’s Air Rifle
• Apurvi Chandela, 10m Women’s Air Rifle
• Divyansh Singh Panwar, 10m Men’s Air Rifle
• Deepak Kumar, 10m Men’s Air Rifle
• Tejaswini Sawant, 50m Women’s Rifle 3 Position
• Sanjeev Rajput, 50m Men’s Rifle 3 Position
• Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar, 50m Men’s Rifle 3 Position
• Manu Bhaker, 10m Women’s Air Pistol
• Yashaswini Singh Deswal, 10m Women’s Air Pistol
• Saurabh Chaudhary, 10m Men’s Air Pistol
• Abhishek Verma, 10m Men’s Air Pistol
• Rahi Sarnobat, 25m Women’s Pistol
• Chinki Yadav, 25m Women’s Pistol
• Angad Veer Singh Bajwa, Men’s Skeet
• Mairaj Ahmad Khan, Men’s Skeet

Swimming

• Sajan Prakash
• Srihari Nataraj
• Maana Patel

Table Tennis

Four Indian table tennis players qualified for the Olympics at the Asian qualifiers in Doha in March, including Sharath Kamal, who will be making his fourth appearance at the Games.

• Sharath Kamal
• Sathiyan Gnanasekaran
• Sutirtha Mukherjee
• Manika Batra

Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra will also compete together in the mixed doubles after earning their Olympic berths at the Asian qualifiers.

Tennis

Sumit Nagal gets last minute entry in the Tokyo Olympics 2021 after some players withdraw their names. Sania Mirza qualified for Tokyo 2020 via her protected ranking and she will partner with Ankita Raina in the women's doubles.

• Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina, Women's Doubles
• Sumit Nagal, Men's singles

Weightlifting

Mirabai Chanu will be India's only representative in weightlifting at Tokyo 2020. Ranked second in the world, the former world champion is among the favourites for a medal in the women's 49kg weight division.

Wrestling

India is sending seven wrestlers to Tokyo. With Sonam Malik winning the quota in the 62kg category, Rio 2016 bronze medallist Sakshi Malik will not be wrestling at the Tokyo Olympics.

• Seema Bisla, Women's Freestyle, 50kg
• Vinesh Phogat, Women’s Freestyle 53kg
• Anshu Malik, Women's Freestyle 57kg
• Sonam Malik, Women's Freestyle 62kg
• Ravi Kumar Dahiya, Men’s Freestyle 57kg
• Bajrang Punia, Men’s Freestyle 65kg
• Deepak Punia, Men’s Freestyle 86 kg

Who was Qassem Soleimani, Iran's IRGC's Quds Force leader?

General Qassem Soleimani was killed alongside six others following a US air raid at Baghdad's international airport.

General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC's) Quds Force has been killed early on Friday alongside several others following a US air raid at Baghdad's international airport.

Soleimani acquired celebrity status at home and abroad as leader of the Quds Force, the foreign arm of the IRGC, and for his key role in fighting in Syria and Iraq and spreading Iranian influence in the Middle East, which the United States and Tehran's regional foes Saudi Arabia and Israel have struggled to keep in check.

He survived several assassination attempts against him by Western, Israeli and Arab agencies over the past 20 years.

Soleimani's Quds Force, tasked with carrying out operations beyond Iran's borders, shored up support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad when he looked close to defeat in the civil war raging since 2011, and also helped armed groups defeat the ISIL (ISIS) group.

Ascent to power

Soleimani became head of the Quds Force in 1998 and kept a low profile for years while he strengthened Iran's ties with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Syria's al-Assad and Shia militia groups in Iraq.

He stepped into the limelight in recent years, appearing alongside Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Shia leaders.

Under Soleimani's leadership, the Quds Force vastly expanded its capabilities, becoming a significant influence in intelligence, financial, and political spheres beyond Iran's borders.

Soleimani was born into a poor family in southeastern Iran's Kerman Province. 

He started working as a 13-year-old to help support his family, spending his free time lifting weights and attending sermons by the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Khomeini.

As a young man during the Iranian revolution in 1979, Soleimani began his ascent through the Iranian military, reportedly receiving just six weeks of tactical training before seeing combat for the first time in Iran's West Azerbaijan province, according to Foreign Policy magazine.

Soleimani emerged from the Iran-Iraq war a national hero for the missions he led across Iraq's border.

Arms in Iraq and Syria

Following the re-establishment of government in Iraq in 2005, Soleimani's influence extended into Iraqi politics under the leadership of former Prime Ministers Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Nouri al-Maliki.

During that time, the Badr Organisation, a Shia political party and paramilitary force that has been described as "Iran's oldest proxy in Iraq", became an arm of the state after the interior and transport ministries came under the control of the armed group's political wing.

Following the outbreak of civil war in Syria in 2011, Soleimani ordered some of his Iraqi militias into Syria to defend the Assad government.

During Iraq's fight against ISIL, the Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation Forces) - Iran-backed Shia paramilitary units, some of which fell under Soleimani's control - fought alongside the Iraqi military to defeat the armed group.

Mohammad Marandi, head of American Studies at the University of Tehran, said Soleimani's role in helping defeat ISIL made him a "national hero" and a "martyr" among the Iranian people and other Middle Eastern countries.

"If it wasn't for people like him, this region would have seen black flags flying across the region." 

Threats to Soleimani

Soleimani was rumoured to be dead on several occasions, including in a 2006 aircraft crash that killed other military officials in northwestern Iran and following a 2012 bombing in Damascus that killed top aides of embattled Syrian President al-Assad.

In November 2015, rumours circulated that Soleimani had been killed or seriously wounded leading forces loyal to al-Assad as they fought around Syria's Aleppo.

More recently in October, Tehran said it had foiled a plot by Israeli and Arab agencies to kill Soleimani.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in August that his country was working to "uproot" Soleimani, according to Israeli media.

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US-Iran tensions after Soleimani killing: All the latest updates

The remains of Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian military commander who was assassinated last week in an air strike in Baghdad by the United States, have arrived in his hometown of Kerman for burial later on Tuesday. 

Soleimani's remains return to his hometown to be greeted by housands of mourners ahead of a burial later on Tuesday.

State television broadcast live images of thousands of people in the streets of Kerman, many dressed in black, to mourn Soleimani's death. 

Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, was killed along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi), an Iran-backed umbrella organisation comprising several militias. Several other people were also killed in Friday's attack.

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Why Chandrayaan Mission 2?

The $142 million Chandrayaan-2 is India's second lunar mission after the country's success with Chandrayaan-1, an orbiter launched 2008 that helped discovery the presence of water molecules on the moon. The new mission will also use an orbiter to study the moon from above, but will also drop a lander and rover to touch down at the south pole of the moon something no spacefaring nation has ever done before. If successful, India would become the fourth country (after the United States, Russia and China) to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the moon, and the first to reach the lunar south pole. The moon's south pole is a tantalizing target for scientists as the region's permanently shadowed craters can host water ice, a vital resource for future astronauts.

Fight against terrorism is not confrontation against any religion, says Sushma at OIC meet

The fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion. It cannot be. Just as Islam literally means peace,none of the 99 names of Allah mean violence. Similarly, every religion in the world stands for peace, compassion & brotherhood: Sushma

Human-like statues dating back to year 1,100 unearthed in Peru

Researchers have discovered twenty wooden, human-like sculptures along with an intricate adobe wall in northern Peru, according to government officials.

The figures, 19 of which are in good condition, are thought to have been buried over 800 years ago.

Measuring 70 centimetres in height, the sculptures are the oldest idols discovered at the Chan Chan archaeological complex, located in the Moche valley, around 480 kilometres north of the Peruvian capital, Lima.

However, researchers believe they were created before the Chan Chan culture, possibly around the year 1,100 AD.

Peru's Minister of Culture Patricia Balbuena said the figures appear to be at the entrance of an important ceremonial centre or plaza.

https://www.euronews.com/

By 2020, India should be fully 4G, ready for 5G .

Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries said that India will be fully covered 4G by 2020 and should be ready for 5G by that time as well. 

“India has moved from 155th rank in mobile broadband penetration to being the number 1 nation in mobile data consumption in the world… in less than two years. This is the fastest transition anywhere in the world from 2G/3G to 4G,” said Ambani, whose telecom firm Reliance Jio has been the fastest growing since its start in 2016. 

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Kuldhara, India is a cursed ‘village of death’

Two hundred years ago, an entire community vanished overnight.
               

Nobody saw them leave, or figured out where they went. But as the 1500 villagers abandoned the town of Kuldhara, India, it’s believed they left behind a curse bringing death to anyone who tried to inhabit it.

So to this day, few dare to tread here, and even fewer dare to stay the night. Just why the residents left remains a mystery. Legend has it that Salim Singh, the minister of the state of Jaisalmer, fell in love with a beautiful girl upon visiting the village and wanted to marry her, threatening the locals if this was denied.

So the girl’s father, the chief of the village, abandoned the town along with people from 84 adjoining villages. Another theory has it that a war erupted, forcing the evacuation. Either way, what remains is a fascinating glimpse of the past, with crumbling homes and underground structures remaining. Last year Delhi’s Paranormal Society sent a team of 30 people to stay the night in the eerie abandoned village. They claim (somewhat unsurprisingly) that they detected mysterious moving shadows, haunting voices, hand imprints of children on cars and one even claims he felt someone touching his shoulder from behind, but nobody was there.

 

They also claim they detected a sudden rise and drop in temperature. So would you dare to visit?

Egyptian city found under water after 1200 years

1.200 years ago the ancient Egyptian city of Heraklion has disappeared in the waters of the Mediterranean. Founded around 8-7th century BC, long before the founding of Alexandria in 331 BC, the City served as the main port for smuggling in Egypt all supplies coming from the Greek world. Prior to its opening in 2000 the archaeologist Frank Goddio and IEASM (European Institute of underwater archaeology), no mention of Tonise-Heraklion were found (the city was known to the Greeks as the Tonys). His name was erased from the memory of mankind, saved only in the ancient classical texts and inscriptions found by archaeologists.

 

 

With unique isledovatel′skim approach, using sophisticated technical equipment, Franck Goddio and his team from IEASM were able to determine the location, display and dig out of Tonys-Gerklion, which is 4 km from today’s coastline, approximately 50 metres under water. The city covers an area of 11 to 15 kilometers in the western part of the Bay of Abukir.

 The finds so far include the remains of 64 ships on the sea bottom, gold coins and scales, made of bronze and stone, 5-meter giant statues along with hundreds of smaller statues of minor gods, slabs of stone with inscriptions in ancient Greek and ancient Egyptian, dozens of small sarcophagi, which most likely contained the mummified animals, as well as more than 700 ancient ship anchors.

 

 

Study suggests that the town was flooded as a result of geological and natural disasters. Slow movement of soil affect this part of the South-Eastern Mediterranean basin. Rising sea levels also led to significant flooding. IEASM conducted geological observations, detecting the seismic effects of underground layers.

 Analysis of various factors in these places also offers soil liquefaction. These localized phenomena can be initiated by a large pressure on soil with a high content of clay and water. Pressure from large buildings, combined with overloading due to unusually high tidal wave can substantially compress the soil and cause the popping of water contained in the structure of the clay. Clay quickly loses volume, which creates a sudden demotion. Another version of the causes of the flooding could also become an earthquake. These factors, together or independently, possibly caused withdrawal of Heraklion in the depths of the sea.

 

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