Author: News Desk

Researchers demonstrate that forests with diverse tree species can be more productive and resilient under drought stress than forests with specific species. Scientists from the University of Freiburg have confirmed this with data from the world’s oldest field trial on the diversity of tropical tree species. The team around Ph.D. student Florian Schnabel has published its results in the journal — Global Change Biology. As the researchers state, there is increasing scientific evidence of positive relationships between the diversity of tree species and ecosystem functioning. However, most studies on this relationship to date have used either data from forests where…

NASA on Saturday commended ISRO’s attempt to place ‘Vikram’ lander of Chandrayaan 2 mission on the moon’s south pole and said it was inspired with the Indian space agency’s journey. The US space agency also said that it looks forward to working with ISRO to explore the solar system together. “Space is hard. We commend ISRO’s attempt to land their #Chandrayaan2 mission on the Moon’s the South Pole. You have inspired us with your journey and we look forward to future opportunities to explore our solar system together: NASA said in a tweet. The communication with Vikram lander was lost…

Jawans of NDRF, SDRF, and local police are leaving no stone unturned to help the stranded pilgrims, after the pilgrimage to Badrinath was stopped due to a landslide in Govind Ghat area, informed state information department. The authorities informed that the landslide had blocked major routes in Joshimath, Peepal Koti and Govind Ghat due to which the pilgrimage to Badrinath has been stopped for a day or two. Heavy rainfall that has wreaked havoc in the region has caused landslides in many parts of Uttarakhand due to which vehicular and pedestrian movements have been disrupted severely and at this time…

Despite Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) losing contact with the Vikram lander in the last minutes of its descent, leaders around the world on Saturday exuded confidence in India and its space mission, saying the world would “reckon the major technological advancement” of the Indian space program. Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering was the first world leader to hail the development. He took to twitter lauding ISRO for the courage and hard work on Chandrayaan-2 and said that he had no doubt the space agency would accomplish the lunar mission in the future. We are proud of India and its…

US President Donald Trump on Saturday congratulated Russia and Ukraine for swapping a “large number of prisoners.” “Russia and Ukraine just swapped large numbers of prisoners. Very good news, perhaps the first giant step to peace. Congratulations to both countries!” Trump tweeted. Trump’s reaction comes after the planes carrying the freed prisoners landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo and Kyiv’s Boryspil airports respectively. German Chancellor Angela Merkel also praised the prisoner swap as a “sign of hope”. This exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine is a sign of hope … It’s worth continuing the hard work to implement the Minsk accord:…

The Nepal chapter of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) Alumni Association was inaugurated in Kathmandu on Saturday. The program which was entitled “Connections-2019” was inaugurated by Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri. An estimated 1600 Nepali students have studied in IIMC so far, of which about 80 of those residing in Nepal attended the program. Addressing the meet, Puri highlighted that the commonality between the people of Nepal and India has continued despite the changes witnessed in various aspects of life. “Even in modern times we have a commonality of thinking and that’s what makes us comfortable…

Australia declared their innings at 186/6 and posted a target of 383 runs for England to win the ongoing fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford Stadium here on Saturday. Australia recovered after losing early wickets as Steve Smith and Mathew Wade built a partnership of 105 runs. Smith scored 81 runs while Wade amassed 34 runs before giving away their wickets. Tim Paine played an unbeaten knock of 23 runs. Aussies suffered a bad start as they lost opener David Warner in the first over for a duck. He was departed by Stuart Broad for the second time in the…

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met author Vikram Sampath in Bengaluru and complimented him on his book on the life of freedom-fighter and Hindutva philosophy formulator Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. ‘This morning in Bengaluru I met the bright Vikram Sampath. I am glad that he has devoted significant time and research to studying Veer Savarkar. His book adds fresh dimensions towards understanding the life and thoughts of the great Savarkar,” Modi tweeted. The meeting between Modi and Sampath took place before the Prime Minister left for Maharashtra where he addressed various meetings along with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Thanking…

Blackadder writer Ben Elton has explained why a revival of the popular sitcom is not likely to happen. Written by Elton and Love Actually’s Richard Curtis, the historical comedy series starred Rowan Atkinson as a member of a family dynasty across four significant periods in British history. But as much as the cult show continues to entertain fans old and new, Elton has revealed that a revival will never happen. Speaking to The Sun, he explained: “Every time Tony [Robinson] does an interview he says, ‘Oh, I think there might be another,’ but don’t listen to Baldrick on this one,…

Those freed include 24 Ukrainian sailors and – controversially – a “person of interest” over the downing of flight MH17 which killed 298 people. The swap is hoped to ease tensions between the two neighbors. Greeting the Ukrainians at the airport, President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “We have to do all the steps to finish this horrible war.” Russia said it was glad its citizens had returned home. Relations between the two countries deteriorated dramatically in 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and Russian-backed rebels began an insurgency in two regions of eastern Ukraine. More than 13,000 people have been…