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Indian Women's Hockey team defeats China 2-1 to clinch Asian Champions Trophy 2016.

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Govt may soon allow Wi-Fi use on flights

Fliers may soon be able to use Wi-Fi facility when they are on flights in the Indian airspace, with the government today indicating that a decision is likely in the coming days. 

"I will be able to give you good news in 10 days," Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey today said in response to a query on when Wi-Fi would be allowed in flights. 

At present, fliers are not allowed to use mobile phones and Internet when they are in the Indian airspace."There is fairly a good chance that in ten days permission will be given to operate Wi-Fi in the Indian airspace," Choubey said.

When asked whether there were any security issues in allowing Wi-Fi in flights, he said the important thing was about the "ability to track voice and data".

If necessary, agencies should have access to the details and if need be it can be tracked, he noted.

On whether calls would also be permitted, Choubey said that if data is going to be allowed, it should be possible to make calls as well. "We expect that to happen as well," he added.

"I must compliment the present DoT Secretary... I have been chasing it for quite sometime. I am obviously saying so on the basis of what Deepak (DoT Secretary) has told me," he said.

According to him, the Cabinet's approval would not be required for the proposal. "It (wifi facility) will be available to both Indian carriers and foreign carriers, which may be only overflying the Indian airspace," he said.

Choubey was speaking at an awards function organised by the Air Passengers Association of India (APAI). 

Meanwhile, Choubey asserted that Indian airports are safe, adding that the country cannot afford to have unsafe airports when the aviation sector is growing at 22 per cent. 

PTI.

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Sakshi Malik ends India's agonising wait for an Olympic medal

Gritty woman wrestler Sakshi Malik ended India's painful wait for a medal at the Rio Olympic Games by clinching the bronze in the 58kg category, pulling off a sensational 8-5 victory over Aisuluu Tynybekova in the Play-off bout at Rio.

The 23-year-old from Rohtak became only the fourth woman athlete from India to win an Olympic medal as she earned the dramatic win after falling behind 0-5 in the do-or-die bout on day 12.

Weightlifter Karnam Malleshwari (2000, Sydney), boxer MC Mary Kom (2012, London) and shuttler Saina Nehwal (2012, London) were the only other women players from India to have won a medal in Olympics.

Like in three of the four other bouts earlier in the day, Sakshi won the crucial bout after coming from behind. She, in fact, had lost 2-9 in the quarter-finals to Russia's Valeriia Koblova in the fifth bout of the day before getting a second chance in repechage when her conqueror reached the final.

Sakshi's victory brought cheers to the Indian contingent that had endured agonising 11 days without a medal.

Sakshi turned the tables on the Kyrgyzstan wrestler in the dying seconds of the bout as Tynybekova was in complete command in most part of the clash.

Tynybekova grabbed Sakshi's leg and quickly earned two points before adding one more for the Indian's passivity. She repeated her move and successfully bagged two more points to lead 5-0 at the break.

Sakshi could open the scoring only in the second period and got two points after throwing her rival down and out of the mat. She then managed to earn two points again with a similar move to bring down the margin to 4-5.

Thereafter, it was no looking back for the Indian girl and she took the opponent down to level the scores 5-5. But she did not stop there and gained three more points by pinning down the Kyrgyzstan wrestler in the dying moments of the match.

The other bronze was won by Marwa Amri of Tunisia. Earlier in the day, Sakshi went down in the quarterfinals losing 2-9 to Koblova.

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“Not easy being at Athlete at the Olympics, winning medals is not everything,” says Big B

August 18: Lauding the hard work of the Indian athletes, megastar Amitabh Bachchan today came out in their support, saying winning medals is not everything.

Rio Olympic 2016 is nearing its end but India still awaits a tick on its medal tally.  "They (athletes) need support of the whole country. It's not an easy task to go up there and perform the way they are doing. I really applaud the fact that they are able to bring the name of the country on an international platform, that's most credible. It's a tough job and it's difficult to be there," he said.

According to Big B the fact that the athletes are representing India on an international platform is a huge thing.

"It's extremely laudable that we had to so much talent there representing the country. It's another matter that they are not able to bring in medals. But medals are not everything in life," he said.

"This experience and exposure will help them and I am pretty certain that in the next Olympics in 2020 we will do much better," he added.

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VIDEO: Sprint Star Usain Bolt takes a break to shake his tail feathers in Rio 2016Olympic

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Incessant rain continues in Goa

Incessant rain continued to lash Goa today, throwing normal life out of gear, even as the authorities released water from the Anjunem dam.

Water was released this morning from the Anjunem dam located at the foothills of Sahyadri in Sattari tehsil as the reservoir had crossed the danger level due to heavy downpour, a senior official of the Water Resources Department said.

The water level in the reservoir reached 89 metres, which is just three metres short of its full capacity and hence water was released at 9 AM, he said.

"People living in the vicinity of Kasti river are asked to remain alert as water level of the river will rise which may create flood-like situation in some places," the official said.

Another dam, Amthane in North Goa, has started overflowing and a decision to release its water will be taken later in the day, he added.

India Meteorological Department officials had yesterday said Goa received almost 87 inches of rain in just two months (June and July), which is 12 inches more than average rainfall.

The IMD has predicted heavy showers for the state till August 4 and has warned fishermen not to venture into sea for the next 24 hours owing to rough sea condition. 

PTI

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Obama rebukes Trump, says tired of trash-talking of troops

In a veiled attack on Donald Trump for his remarks against the parents of a Muslim-American soldier, President Barack Obama said he is tired of some people "trash talking" US military and troops.

As the Republican presidential candidate continued to hurl attacks on the family of US Army Captain Humayun Khan, Obama praised the sacrifice of American armed services members and their families at the Disabled American Veterans convention.

"As commander in chief, I'm pretty tired of some folk's trash talking America's military and troops," Obama said, without naming anyone.

"Our military is somewhat smaller after two major ground wars come to a close, that's natural. We are going to keep them doing everything we need to do to improve readiness and modernise our forces," he said.

Setting some facts straight, Obama said America's army is the best trained, best equipped land force on the planet, its Navy is the largest and most lethal in the world and the precision of and reach of its Air Force is unmatched.

"Our Marines are the world's only truly expeditionary force. We have the world's finest Coast Guard. We have the most capable fighting force in history and we're going to keep it that way," he said.

"No ally or adversary should ever doubt our strength and our resolve and we will keep pounding ISIL and taking out their leaders and pushing them back on the ground. And united with a global coalition, we will destroy this barbaric terrorist group. They will be destroyed," he said.

"In the face of Russian aggression, we're not gonna turn our back to our allies in Europe. We're going to stay united in NATO which is the world's strongest alliance. 

From the Asia-Pacific, to Africa, to the Americas, the United States and our armed forced will remain the greatest force for freedom and security and peace that the world has ever known," Obama said.

Obama said no one has given more for the freedom and security than the Gold Star families, to which belong the parents of Humayun Khan.

PTI

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Heavy rains lash Mumbai, Thane; trains delayed on Central Line

Incessant rains lashed Mumbai and suburban areas, including neighbouring Thane district which witnessed very heavy downpour since early this morning, causing train delays on Central and Trans-Harbour lines.

The weather department has predicted very heavy rainfall in Mumbai and its suburbs during next 24 hours.

"Mumbai has been receiving good rainfall since yesterday due to active monsoon conditions. We expect very heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours due to strong westerly winds and an upper air cyclonic circulation over Gujarat," V K Rajeev, director of weather forecasting at IMD here, told PTI.

He said moderate rainfall is predicted over central Maharashtra and Marathwada region during next 24 hours. Trains on the Central Line were running 5-10 minutes behind schedule, according to a Central Railway official.

The services on Trans-harbour Vashi-Panvel-Thane line were severely affected, while on the Harbour line, trains were running 15-20 minutes late, the official said.

According to Skymet, in July, Mumbai recorded 925.6 mm of rain against its monthly average of 799.7 mm. According to an official from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC's) disaster control cell, no water logging was reported anywhere in the city and vehicular traffic was smooth as well.

"There was a high tide in the morning but water has receded now. No cases of waterlogging or rain-related accidents have been reported so far," he said.

An official from the Western Railway said suburban trains have been unaffected by rains, but there are delays on certain sections due to a 'jumbo' block.

"The jumbo block is having repercussions on other lines as well that is causing delays in train frequencies," he said.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard Regional Headquarters (West), Mumbai has issued an advisory regarding fishing boats, barges and coastal craft to Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in view of the fishing ban period coming to an end on July 31 as the vigour of south west monsoon season is leading to continuous bad weather at sea.

PTI

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'Game of Thrones' to end with season 8

Winter is finally set to bid goodbye to "Game of Throne" as HBO has confirmed the popular fantasy series will go off air after its eighth season.

New HBO programming president Casey Bloys told the press yesterday at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour that the plan is for the yet-to-be announced eighth season of the adaptation of George RR Martin's novel to be its last, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"Yes, I think [the showrunners, DB Weiss and David Benioff] have a very specific plan about the number of seasons they want to do," Bloys said.

"If I could get them to do more, I would take 10 seasons but we want to take their lead with what they could do and what the best version of the show is."

Though the episode count, and a potential spin-off, remain big questions. Meanwhile, the upcoming seventh season will premiere in summer 2017. The seven-episode drama will be based in Northern Ireland with portions filming in Spain and Iceland.

PTI

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Skydiver becomes first person to jump and land without chute

A 42-year-old skydiver with more than 18,000 jumps made history when he became the first person to leap without a parachute and land in a net instead.

After a two-minute freefall, Luke Aikins landed dead center in the 100-by-100-foot net at the Big Sky movie ranch on the outskirts of Simi Valley.

As cheers erupted, Aikins quickly climbed out, walked over and hugged his wife, Monica, who had been watching from the ground with their 4-year-old son, Logan, and other family members.

"I'm almost levitating, it's incredible," the jubilant skydiver said, raising his hands over his head as his wife held their son, who dozed in her arms.

"This thing just happened! I can't even get the words out of my mouth," he added as he thanked the dozens of crew members who spent two years helping him prepare for the jump, including those who assembled the fishing trawler-like net and made sure it really worked.

The stunt, broadcast live on the Fox network for the TV special "Stride Gum Presents Heaven Sent," nearly didn't come off as planned when Aikins revealed just before climbing into his plane that the Screen Actors Guild had ordered him to wear a parachute to ensure his safety.

Producers for the show were not immediately available to elaborate on the restriction. He said he considered pulling out at that point because having the parachute canister on his back would make his landing in the net far more dangerous.

If he had to wear it he said he wouldn't bother to pull the ripcord anyway. "I'm going all the way to the net, no question about it," he said from the plane. "I'll just have to deal with the consequences when I land of wearing the parachute on my back and what it's going to do to my body."

PTI

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Donald Trump rescued from stalled elevator in Colorado city

The Colorado Springs Fire Department has said that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had to be rescued from an elevator that was stuck between the first and second floors of a resort.

In a statement released on Saturday, the department says that it was called at 1:30 pm (local time) Friday to rescue about 10 people, including Trump, trapped inside the elevator at The Mining Exchange resort.

The department says the firefighters opened the top elevator hatch and lowered a ladder into the elevator. Trump and the others used the ladder to climb out of the elevator to the second floor. The department says no injuries were reported.

The Trump campaign confirmed that the incident occurred but did not provide details. During a rally Friday at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Trump criticized the city's fire marshal for limiting the number of people allowed to attend his speech at the building where the event was held.

PTI

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Incessant rain lashes Mumbai; heavy showers predicted

Incessant rains continued to lash Mumbai city and neighbouring districts today, throwing normal life out of gear even as weathermen predicted heavy showers across the state for tomorrow. 

Local trains were running late on the Central Railway thismorning, inconveniencing daily commuters. However, vehicular traffic remained undisrupted and no water logging incidents were reported, disaster management officials said.

According to data by the Meteorology department here,Mumbai city recorded 10.42 mm of rainfall, while eastern and western suburbs of the metropolis recorded 4.88 mm and 12.29mm rainfall overnight.

Other parts of Maharashtra also received moderate to heavy downpour in the last 24 hours with Alibaug recording 186.7 mmrainfall, Ratnagiri 31.2 mm, Mahabaleshwar 21.9 mm and Parbhani 84.0 mm rainfall," said a weather official.

The department has also warned of heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours especially in North Konkan region including Palghar, Thane and Raigad districts.

Meanwhile, as per civic officials, heavy and long rain spells have resulted in satisfactory water stock in reservoirs. Deputy Municipal Commissioner (General administration) Sudhir Naik yesterday told reporters that the water stock in reservoirs crossed the nine lakh million litre mark on July29, reducing daily supply woes.

Last week, the civic body had revoked 20 per cent watercut in the city.In a rain related incident, a security guard was injured this morning when a tree branch fell on him near the Income tax office at Churchgate following which he was rushed to a civic hospital.

PTI

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No bilateral meeting with Pak leaders during Rajnath's visit: MEA

External Affairs Ministry today made it clear that there will be no bilateral meeting between Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Pakistani leaders when he travels to Islamabad to attend the SAARC ministerial conference on August 4. MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted, "Let me categorically state that @Home Minister of India is going for SAARC event. There will be no bilateral meetings with Pakistan." The remarks by the Spokesperson come in the backdrop of the reports in the media quoting an unnamed Home Ministry official as saying that Singh will have a bilateral with his counterpart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in contradiction to MEA's statement.

Swarup had yesterday also clearly said that the Home Minister was going for a multilateral SAARC event and there will not be any bilateral meeting.

According to sources in Home Ministry, Singh is expected to bluntly ask Pakistan to stop sponsoring acts of terror in India and also raise the issue of slow pace of probe into the Pathankot airbase terror attack, which was carried out by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad, and the trial into the Mumbai terror attack case in that country.

Rajnath's visit comes in the backdrop of growing strain in Indo-Pak ties after Pakistan and its Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made provocative statements on the Kashmir situation in the wake of Burhan Wani's killing on July 8. Wani was a wanted terrorist Commander of the banned terrorist organisation Hizbul Mujahideen.

Not only did Sharif praise Wani but he also remarked that "Kashmir will one day become Pakistan", a comment which evoked a sharp reaction from External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who said his dream of the state becoming a part of his country "will not be realised even at the end of eternity". 

Singh will be accompanied by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and several other senior officers of the Home Ministry. 

PTI

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Stamp with photograph of TATR tigress, cub to be released

A captivating picture of a tigress with her cub taken at Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) here will be on a postage stamp to be released to mark World Tiger Day on July 29.

The "one-in-a-million" shot was clicked by a local wildlife enthusiast and amateur photographer, Amol Bais, during one of his visits to TATR recently, a press release issued by the District Information Office here said.

Bais posted the photograph, where the tigress and her cub are seen in an affectionate pose, on Facebook where it was widely 'liked' and 'shared' on social media.

Maharashtra Minister for Forests, Sudhir Mungantiwar was impressed with the photograph.

He made a proposal for releasing the postal stamp to mark World Tiger Day on July 29 and met Union Minister for Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad in this connection, the release said.

The postal department then decided to release the stamp.

PTI

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Rare new species of beaked whale identified

Scientists have identified a rare new species of beaked whales with a size of up to seven metres that ranges from northern Japan across the Pacific Ocean to Alaska's Aleutian Islands. Japanese whalers call the enigmatic black whales "karasu," the Japanese word for raven. The new species is darker in colour and about two-thirds the size of the more common Baird's beaked whale, but so scarce that even whalers rarely see them, researchers said. A DNA analysis of 178 beaked whales from around the Pacific Rim found eight known examples of the new species. "The challenge in documenting the species was simply locating enough specimens to provide convincing evidence," said Phillip Morin from US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries' Southwest Fisheries Science Centre. "Clearly this species is very rare, and reminds us how much we have to learn about the ocean and even some of its largest inhabitants," said Morin. An earlier Japanese study had suggested that the black whales, sometimes considered a dwarf form of Baird's beaked whale, might represent a new species, researchers said. That sent Morin in search of additional genetic samples to definitively answer the question and better understand the range of the elusive species. He turned first to the Southwest Fisheries Science Centre's marine mammal tissue collection and found two samples that appeared to represent a new species. One came from a whale found in Alaska's Aleutian Islands in 2004. Then Morin and his colleagues pursued additional DNA samples from museums, research institutions and Japanese markets where whale meat is sold. In 2014 scientists found a dead beaked whale on St George Island in the Bering Sea. Genetic tests later showed it to be the new species. DNA analysis shows that the new species and Baird's beaked whale are each more closely related to Arnoux's beaked whale from the Southern Hemisphere than they are to each other. The genetic differences and smaller size indicate that the black whale is distinctive enough to represent a new species, the scientists found.

PTI

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Govt allocates ₹ 1,471 crore for watershed development

Government has made tentative allocation of about Rs 1,471 crore for development of watershed under the flagship irrigation scheme PMKSY, with maximum thrust being given to drought prone states.

The Department of Land resources has allocated maximum Rs 199 crore to Rajasthan, followed by Rs 187 crore for Maharashtra and Rs 152 crore to Karanataka, a source said.

The funds have been allocated from watershed development component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), the source added.

The allocations have been made on the basis of the performance of the states in implementing the Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP).

As per the watershed management plan, the rainwater is stored through various storage ways like check dams and others. This stored water is runoff to near by fields, extends the period of water availability. This eventually lowers the risk in agriculture in case of less rainfall or drought.

The watersheds are mostly used in rainfed areas of central and western India. The success of the watershed mode of storing water largely depends on people’s participation, facilitated through collaboration between local communities, civil society organisations and government agencies.

PTI

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Aadhar enrollment drive for students eligible for scholarship

UIDAI has launched a special enrollment drive for students eligible for scholarships, a move aimed at helping beneficiaries receive grants directly into their accounts.

"A campaign is underway to facilitate priority Aadhaar enrollment for scholarships beneficiaries. All the students entitled for any type of scholarships will be offered priority Aadhaar enrollment by August 15, 2016," Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO, Unique Identification Authority of India, said in a statement.

Aadhaar is mandatory for people seeking benefit from schemes or subsidies funded by central government.

The drive is being coordinated and supervised by district collectors in all schools of their respective districts and the schools have been made accountable to take the students to nearest Aadhaar Enrollment Centre and get them enrolled for Aadhaar.

"Wherever large number of students are to be enrolled, enrollment camps are being organised in schools," the statement said.

Enrolled students will be able to avail various scholarships in a hassle-free manner through Aadhaar-based direct benefit transfer into their bank accounts.

"The district collectors have been asked to coordinate and supervise this campaign mode Aadhaar enrollment for students. A special cell has been created in State Education Department/s and each district to resolve any difficulty being faced by any school/collector during enrollment," Pandey said.

Progress of the campaign would be reviewed every week. "It may be ensured that during Aadhaar enrollment mobile and email of either the student or his parent or any family member is captured. This will facilitate communication about Aadhaar generation, download of e-Aadhaar, retrieval of Aadhaar number, etc more conveniently," Pandey said.

Till date, over 103.5 crore Aadhaar has been generated for residents covering 97 per cent of the adult population. However, Aadhaar saturation in respect of children of age 5-18 years is relatively lower at 64 per cent

PTI

(Representative image/ Indiatimes)