Author: News Desk

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…

David Warner has been on the receiving end of abuse and rude sledges throughout the World Cup 2019 and the Ashes 2019 in England. However, he has taken everything in his stride and managed to keep his calm. During the first Ashes Test, the left-hander was greeted with “sandpaper” chants while fielding on the boundary and came up with a brilliant response to the Edgbaston crowd. On Friday, David Warner was once again on the receiving end of a rude remark as the Australian team was heading from the grandstand players’ area at Old Trafford to the field during day three of the…

The family of Dubai Airport’s first manager Norman Turnbull recently received an honor in his memory from Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman of Emirates Group. The Englishman passed away in Dubai aged 98 on June 2 and left a big legacy in the UAE’s civil aviation sector, having first arrived here in 1957. He worked for Abu Dhabi Airport from 1962, before moving to Sharjah Airport in 1968, finally joining Dubai Airport in 1971, until his retirement in 2000. During this time, Turnbull witnessed the transformation of…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-backed up President Trump’s ongoing assertions that Alabama appeared initially to be in the path of Hurricane Dorian.  “From Wednesday, August 28, through Monday, September 2, the information provided by NOAA and the National Hurricane Center to President Trump and the wider public demonstrated that tropical-storm-force winds from Hurricane Dorian could impact Alabama,” an NOAA spokesman said in a statement Friday evening.  “This is clearly demonstrated in Hurricane Advisories #15 through #41, which can be viewed at the following link.” NOAA’s statement also directly refuted a tweet from the Birmingham National Weather Service that had contradicted Mr. Trump.…

Researchers say they have found, for the first time, the genetic markers that influence whether someone is left-handed. They also found those people may have an advantage over right-handers when it comes to language. Oxford University, which conducted the study, says about 90% of people are right-handed, a trait that has existed for 10,000 years. Previous studies of twins have shown that genes have a partial role in determining if someone is left-handed or right-handed. But it was not clear which genes those were. Researchers looked at the genomes of some 400,000 people, including 38,322 left-handers, and identified some of…