Science
News This Week:
1) Design
of self-assembling protein nanomachines starts to click: A nanocage builds
itself from engineered components:
A route
for constructing protein nanomachines engineered for specific applications may
be closer to reality.Biological systems produce an incredible array of
self-assembling, functional protein tools. Some examples of these nanoscale
protein materials are scaffolds to anchor cellular activities, molecular motors
to drive physiological events, and capsules for delivering viruses into host
cells.Scientists inspired by these sophisticated molecular machines want to
build their own, with forms and functions customized to tackle modern-day
challenges.The ability to design new protein nanostructures could have useful
implications in targeted delivery of drugs, in vaccine development and in
plasmonics -- manipulating electromagnetic signals to guide light diffraction
for information technologies, energy production or other uses.
A
recently developed computational method may be an important step toward that
goal. The project was led by the University of Washington's Neil King,
translational investigator; Jacob Bale, graduate student in Molecular and
Cellular Biology; and William Sheffler in David Baker's laboratory at the
University of Washington Institute for Protein Design, in collaboration with
colleagues at UCLA and Janelia Farm.The work is based in the Rosetta
macromolecular modeling package developed by Baker and his colleagues. The
program was originally created to predict natural protein structures from amino
acid sequences. Researchers in the Baker lab and around the world are
increasingly using Rosetta to design new protein structures and sequences aimed
at solving real-world problems."Proteins are amazing structures that can
do remarkable things," King said, "they can respond to changes in
their environment. Exposure to a particular metabolite or a rise in
temperature, for example, can trigger an alteration in a particular protein's
shape and function." People often call proteins the building blocks of
life."But unlike, say, a PVC pipe," King said, "they are not
simply construction material." They are also construction (and demolition)
workers -- speeding up chemical reactions, breaking down food, carrying
messages, interacting with each other, and performing countless other duties
vital to life.
Reporting
in the June 5 issue of Nature, the researchers describe the development and
application of new Rosetta software enabling the design of novel protein nanomaterials
composed of multiple copies of distinct protein subunits, which arrange
themselves into higher order, symmetrical architectures.With the new software
the scientists were able to create five novel, 24-subunit cage-like protein
nanomaterials. Importantly, the actual structures, the researchers observed,
were in very close agreement with their computer modeling.Their method depends
on encoding pairs of protein amino acid sequences with the information needed
to direct molecular assembly through protein-protein interfaces. The interfaces
not only provide the energetic forces that drive the assembly process, they
also precisely orient the pairs of protein building blocks with the geometry
required to yield the desired cage-like symmetric architectures.Creating this
cage-shaped protein, the scientists said, may be a first step towards building
nano-scale containers. King said he looks forward to a time when cancer-drug
molecules will be packaged inside of designed nanocages and delivered directly
to tumor cells, sparing healthy cells.
"The
problem today with cancer chemotherapy is that it hits every cell and makes the
patient feel sick," King said. Packaging the drugs inside customized
nanovehicles with parking options restricted to cancer sites might circumvent
the side effects.
The
scientists note that combining just two types of symmetry elements, as in this
study, can in theory give rise to a range of symmetrical shapes, such as cubic
point groups, helices, layers, and crystals.King explained that the immune
system responds to repetitive, symmetric patterns, such as those on the surface
of a virus or disease bacteria. Building nano-decoys may be a way train the
immune system to attack certain types of pathogens."This concept may
become the foundation for vaccines based on engineered nanomaterials,"
King said. Further down the road, he and Bale anticipate that these design
methods might also be useful for developing new clean energy technologies.The
scientists added in their report, "The precise control over interface
geometry offered by our method enables the design of two-component protein
nanomaterials with diverse nanoscale features, such as surfaces, pores, and
internal volumes, with high accuracy."
They went
on to say that the combinations possible with two-component materials greatly
expand the number and variety of potential nanomaterials that could be
designed.It may be possible to produce nanomaterials in a variety of sizes,
shapes and arrangements, and also move on to construct increasingly more
complex materials from more than two components.
The
researchers emphasized that the long-term goal of such structures is not to be
static. The hope is that they will mimic or go beyond the dynamic performance
of naturally occurring protein assemblies, and that eventually novel molecular
protein machines could be manufactured with programmable functions.The
researchers pointed out that although designing proteins and protein-based
nanomaterials is very challenging due to the relative complexity of protein
structures and interactions, there are now more than a handful of laboratories
around the world making major strides in this field. Each of the leading
contributors have key strengths, they said. The strengths of the UW team is in
the accuracy of the match of the designed proteins to the computational models
and the predictability of the results.
2) Rocky,
overweight planet shakes up theories:
Distant
exoplanet is as massive as Neptune but has a composition closer to Earth's
.Common wisdom in astronomy says that once a planet has collected about 10
Earths’ worth of rock, it becomes a gas giant like Neptune or Saturn. The
exoplanet Kepler-10c didn’t get that memo. With 17 times the mass of Earth, the
distant planet is the heaviest rocky planet known. And astronomers have no idea
how it formed.
With the
mass of Neptune squeezed into a ball only about 2.5 times as wide as our
planet, gravity on Kepler-10c is three times stronger than Earth’s, astronomer
David Latham reported June 2 at the American Astronomical Society meeting. “I
wouldn’t want to be a giraffe on this planet,” said Latham, of the
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
3)
Designer T cells emerge as weapons against disease:
Attempts
to boost the immune system against cancer are beginning to pay off. Doug Olson
had all but lost his 14-year battle with leukemia. Exhausted and weakened by
chemotherapy, his body no longer responded to any of the handful of drug
treatments he had been given over the years. In 2010, his doctors suggested a different
strategy: beefing up the disease-fighting immune cells in his body.
Researchers
picked out certain immune cells from Olson’s blood, then inserted a virus into
the cells. The virus provided new genes that prompt the cells, known as T
cells, to attack leukemia cells. When the altered T cells were delivered back
into Olson’s veins, his immune system became a cancer-seeking weapon.
One month
after treatment, Olson was in complete remission. His doctors could find no
sign of cancer in his blood or bone marrow. Today, at age 67, he remains
cancer-free. Recently retired, Olson says he no longer worries about how long
his remission will last; he’s taken up sailing and running half-marathons.
4) First
intact skull of Mediterranean worm lizard found: Skull of new species sheds
light on Mediterranean worm lizard evolution:
The first
intact skull of a Mediterranean worm lizard has been found in Spain, according
to a new study. Only isolated fragments of fossil Mediterranean worm lizards
have previously been found in Europe, and currently, our limited knowledge of
their evolution is mainly based on molecular studies. The worm lizard is a
limbless, scaled reptile and categorized in the genus Blanus in the
Mediterranean.
The first
intact skull of a Mediterranean worm lizard has been found in Spain, according
to a study published June 4, 2014 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Arnau
Bolet from Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (Universitat
Autònoma de Barcelona) and colleagues.Only isolated fragments of fossil
Mediterranean worm lizards have previously been found in Europe, and currently,
our limited knowledge of their evolution is mainly based on molecular studies.
The worm lizard is a limbless, scaled reptile and categorized in the genus
Blanus in the Mediterranean. The authors have now found the only known fossil
worm lizard skull from Europe and have determined it's a new species, called
Blanus mendezi. This almost complete 11.3 mm skull and vertebrae from the
Middle Miocene (11.6 million years ago) is the most complete fossil of this
genus.
In the
study, the scientists described the fossil and integrated available molecular,
paleontological, and biogeographic data to discover that both the general
configuration of the skull and the teeth are in accordance with those of extant
Blanus, B. mendezi, which represents the oldest record of the Western
Mediterranean clade. Scientists suggest that the new species emerged after the
split between the two main (Eastern and Western Mediterranean) extant groups of
blanids.
Dr. Bolet
added, "The use of CT-scan techniques applied to this superbly preserved
worm lizard fossil skull has allowed an unprecedentedly detailed description
for an early member of the family, providing insights into the evolutionary
history of this poorly known group of reptiles."
5)
Surprisingly strong magnetic fields can match black holes' pull: Long-neglected
magnetic fields have an unexpected presence:
A new
study of supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies has found magnetic
fields play an impressive role in the systems' dynamics. In fact, in dozens of
black holes surveyed, the magnetic field strength matched the force produced by
the black holes' powerful gravitational pull.
A New
study of supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies has found magnetic
fields play an impressive role in the systems' dynamics. In fact, in dozens of
black holes surveyed, the magnetic field strength matched the force produced by
the black holes' powerful gravitational pull, says a team of scientists from
the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley
Lab) and Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn, Germany. The
findings are published in this week's issue of Nature."This paper for the
first time systematically measures the strength of magnetic fields near black
holes," says Alexander Tchekhovskoy, the Berkeley Lab researcher who
helped interpret the observational data within the context of existing
computational models. "This is important because we had no idea, and now
we have evidence from not just one, not just two, but from 76 black
holes."
Previously,
Tchekhovskoy, who is also a postdoctoral fellow at the University of
California, Berkeley, had developed computational models of black holes that
included magnetic fields. His models suggested a black hole could sustain a
magnetic field that was as strong as its gravity, but there was not yet
observational evidence to support this prediction. With the two forces
balancing out, a cloud of gas caught on top of the magnetic field would be
spared the pull of gravity and instead levitate in place.
The
magnetic field strength was confirmed by evidence from jets of gas that shoot away
from supermassive black holes. Formed by magnetic fields, these jets produce a
radio emission. "We realized that the radio emission from black holes'
jets can be used to measure the magnetic field strength near the black hold
itself," says Mohammad Zamaninasab, the lead author of the study, who did
the work while at MPIfR.Other research teams had previously collected
radio-emission data from "radio-loud" galaxies using the Very Long
Baseline Array, a vast network of radio telescopes in the United States. The
researchers analyzed this pre-existing data to create radio-emission maps at
different wavelengths. Shifts in jet features between different maps let them
calculate the field strength near the black hole.Based on the results, the team
found not only that the measured magnetic fields can be as strong as a black
hole's gravity, but that they are also comparable in strength to those produced
inside MRI machines found in hospitals-roughly 10,000 times greater than the
field of Earth itself.Tchekhovskoy says the new results mean theorists must
re-evaluate their understanding of black-hole behavior. "The magnetic
fields are strong enough to dramatically alter how gas falls into black holes
and how gas produces outflows that we do observe, much stronger than what has
usually been assumed," he says. "We need to go back and look at our
models once again."
6)
Scientists capture most detailed images yet of humans' tiny cellular machines:
The Spliceosome: A Dynamic Ribonucleoprotein Machine
A
grandfather clock is, on its surface, a simple yet elegant machine. Tall and
stately, its job is to steadily tick away the time. But a look inside reveals a
much more intricate dance of parts, from precisely-fitted gears to
cable-embraced pulleys and bobbing levers. Like exploring the inner workings of
a clock, a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers is digging into
the inner workings of the tiny cellular machines called spliceosomes, which
help make all of the proteins our bodies need to function. In a recent study
published in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, UW-Madison's
David Brow, Samuel Butcher and colleagues have captured images of this machine,
revealing details never seen before.In their study, they reveal parts of the
spliceosome -- built from RNA and protein -- at a greater resolution than has
ever been achieved, gaining valuable insight into how the complex works and
also how old its parts may be.By better understanding the normal processes that
make our cells tick, this information could some day act as a blueprint for
when things go wrong. Cells are the basic units of all the tissues in our
bodies, from our hearts to our brains to our skin and lungs.
It may
also help other scientists studying similar cellular machinery and, moreover,
it provides a glimpse back in evolutionary time, showing a closer link between
proteins and RNA, DNA's older cousin, than was once believed."It gives us
a much better idea of how RNA and proteins interact than ever before,"
says Brow, a UW-Madison professor of biomolecular chemistry.
The
spliceosome is composed of six complexes that work together to edit the raw
messages that come from genes, cutting out (hence, splicing) unneeded parts of
the message. Ultimately, these messages are translated into proteins, which do
the work of cells. The team created crystals of a part of the spliceosome
called U6, made of RNA and two proteins, including one called Prp24.Crystals
are packed forms of a structure that allow scientists to capture
three-dimensional images of the atoms and molecules within it. The crystals
were so complete, and the resolution of the images so high, the scientists were
able to see crucial details that otherwise would have been missed.The team
found that in U6, the Prp24 protein and RNA -- like two partners holding hands
-- are intimately linked together in a type of molecular symbiosis. The
structure yields clues about the relationship and the relative ages of RNA and
proteins, once thought to be much wider apart on an evolutionary time scale."What's
so cool is the degree of co-evolution of RNA and protein," Brow says.
"It's obvious RNA and protein had to be pretty close friends already to
evolve like this." The images revealed that a part of Prp24 dives through
a small loop in the U6 RNA, a finding that represents a major milestone on Brow
and Butcher's quest to determine how U6's protein and RNA work together. It
also confirms other findings Brow has made over the last two decades.
"No
one has ever seen that before and the only way it can happen is for the RNA to
open up, allow the protein to pass through, and then close again," says
Butcher, a UW-Madison professor of biochemistry.Ultimately, Butcher says they
want to understand what the entire spliceosome looks like, how the machines get
built in cells and how they work.While this is the first protein-RNA link like
this seen, Brow doesn't believe it is unique. Once more complete,
high-resolution images are captured of other RNA-protein machines and their
components, he thinks these connections will appear more commonly. He hopes the
findings mark a transition in the journey to understand these cellular
workhorses."It's exciting studying these machines," he says.
"There are only three big RNA machines. Ours evolved 2 billion years ago.
But once it's figured out, it's done."The U6 crystal structure was imaged
using the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science's Advanced Photon Source
at Argonne National Laboratory. The work was funded by a joint grant from the
National Institutes of Health shared by Brow and Butcher.
Movie
Release This Week:
The epic
action of “Edge of Tomorrow” unfolds in a near future in which an alien race
has hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, unbeatable by any military unit in
the world. Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a
day of combat when he is unceremoniously dropped into what amounts to a suicide
mission. Killed within minutes, Cage now finds himself inexplicably thrown into
a time loop—forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over,
fighting and dying again…and again. But with each battle, Cage becomes able to
engage the adversaries with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior
Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt). And, as Cage and Rita take the fight to the
aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the
enemy.
A man with the ability to enter peoples' memories takes on the case of a brilliant, troubled sixteen-year-old girl to determine whether she is a sociopath or a victim of trauma.
Based on the eponymous novel by John Green, a teenage girl, stricken with cancer falls for a boy in her support group and the two form a bond as they deal with their illnesses.
Juno
Mak’s debut feature Rigor Mortis is an eerie and chilling, contemporary action-
and special effects-laden homage to the classic Chinese vampire movies of the
1980s.
Like
Yorgos Lanthimos' Dogtooth and Michael Haneke's Funny Games, Borgman is an
allegorical tale exploring the nature of evil in unexpected places. A vagrant
enters the lives of an upper-class family, igniting a descent from darkly comic
dream to maddening psychological nightmare. "I wanted to show evil through
the abnormal behaviour of normal people," says Warmerdam at the film's
Cannes press conference, "the kind that you can come across in the
street."
Political
News This Week:
Minister
Gopinath Munde killed in road accident
Rural
Development Minister and the face of the Other Backward Classes in the
Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra Gopinath Munde died of shock and cardiac
arrest suffered during a road accident on Tuesday early morning.
Munde,
64, who made his entry into the Union Cabinet for the first time after the Lok
Sabha polls, was on his way to the airport when his car was hit by another
vehicle at Prithviraj road-Tughlak road roundabout in the heart of the capital,
said Union Minster Nitin Gadkari.
“Munde
was brought to the emergency department of Jai Prakash Narain Apex Trauma
Centre, AIIMS at 6:30 am by his personal assistant and driver. Munde was
sitting in the backseat of his car, which was hit by another car or any other
vehicle around 6:20 am from the side he was sitting,” said Dr Amit Gupta of the
Trauma Centre.
“On his
arrival at the Trauma Centre, there was no spontaneous breathing, no blood
pressure, no pulse and no cardiac activity. So immediately Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation was started and continued for the next 15 minutes. Despite
resuscitative measures, Munde could not be revived and was declared dead at
7:20 am,” he said.
1) RIP
Gopinath Munde: Leaders pay tribute:
Following
the demise of Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde after a road accident,
ministers from across the political spectrum paid tribute to the minister.
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “Extremely saddened & shocked by the demise
of my friend & colleague Gopinath Munde ji. His demise is a major loss for
the nation and the government. Gopinath Munde ji was a true mass leader.
Hailing from backward sections of society, he rose to great heights & tirelessly
served people.”
"My
tributes to a dynamic leader whose premature demise leaves a void hard to fill.
Condolences to Munde ji’s family. We stand by them in this hour of grief.”
Expressing shock, grief and sorrow,
President Pranab Mukherjee released a statement. It read, ‘Munde’s passing away
is a huge loss for the people of Maharashtra and India. In his death, we have lost a veteran leader
who always worked for the common man.”Union Minister for Road, Transport,
Highways & Shipping, Nitin Gadkari, who was one of the first ones to reach
AIIMS after the accident, said in the sad demise of Munde, the nation has lost
a great leader. “He had come up from a humble background and built his strong
base in the masses to become a national leader. He was a leader who had insight
into both, organisational as well as administrative issues.”
Aaditya
Thackeray, the head of the Sena Yuva also took to Twitter. Tweeting from his
handle @AUThackeray, he said, “Saddened, shocked and shaken beyond the capacity
of expressing my feelings in words on the passing away of Munde ji this
morning. Even as I think of expressing anything, memories from very many years
of interacting with him on happy/ sad/ tense occasions rush back. Ofcourse a
great loss for the state, for politics, but more so for us, someone who and
whose family has been closest friends across parties.”Home Minister Rajnath
Singh also reacted to the loss. Taking to Twitter, he said, “Gopinath Munde’s
death is an irreparable loss to the Bharatiya Janata Party and he has left a
big void in Mahrashtra’s political and social life. Deeply shocked to know of
Shri Gopinath Munde’s demise. He was a grassroots leader and known for his
concern for poor people and farmers.”
2) How
Modi sarkar can bring Dawood back to India:
Even
though Dawood Ibrahim is under the protection of Pakistan’s ISI, the Indian
government can bring the underworld don back to India using diplomacy and back
channels, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi during his extensive election campaign had promised that
he would hunt down India’s most wanted man Dawood Ibrahim and ensure that
justice is carried out. Now, with Modi becoming PM, he wants to live up to his
promise and bring down the dreaded terrorist.
However,
the path is not as clear as it would seem and there are several stumbling
blocks in Modi’s way, says an official from the Intelligence Bureau. For Dawood
to be brought back from Karachi, where he has been hiding out, it needs to be
done through diplomatic channels. However, for this to become a reality,
Pakistan’s Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence needs to acknowledge
that the dreaded terrorist is indeed hiding in their country, says the IB
official.
The IB
official explained that Dawood is under the control of the ISI and they control
his movements. In fact, Dawood pays the ISI obscene amounts of money for
protection. Additionally, the ISI uses Dawood’s money to plan out attacks in
India and spread their terror activities throughout the country.
The
official added that the amount paid to the ISI has increased after Modi came to
power, as the dreaded underworld don fears his arrest.The IB officer pointed
out that a back channel arrangement also needs to be made to bring Dawood to
India. “If we speak openly and ask for Dawood, they will deny his presence
altogether,” said the officer, adding that Dawood is of great importance to the
ISI and hence, they will do all that they can to prevent his extradition to
India.
Modi
could also do with a bit of help from the international community, so that they
can put as much pressure on Pakistan to hand over Dawood. The IB official added
that there are other ways to bring Dawood back to India. For this, an operation
similar to the United States raid in Abbottabad, which killed Al Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden will have to be carried out. But, such an operation would be
extremely difficult since Dawood has very good security cover. But the flip
side to this, the IB official warned, is that if the raid failed then India
would have to wait for a very long time before they can pursue Dawood again.And
if all other methods fail, India can break Dawood by blocking his finances. The
officer said the underworld don relies on his drug and arms trade for his
finances. If the routes through which he carries out his trade in India are
blocked, he will cringe for finances and will not be able to pay the ISI,
allowing India to lay its hands on him.The official concluded, “The Modi
government has the will. This is something that we are already planning and it
will be be carried out soon.”
3) Pak
leader held in UK on money laundering charges:
Hussain,
Pakistan's powerful Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader, was arrested on Tuesday in
London on charges of money laundering.Scotland Yard confirmed that a 60-year-old
man had been arrested from a North-West London property on charges of money
laundering, but declined to disclose the exact identity of the individual for
"legal reasons".Officers were searching "a residential address
in north-west London, where a 60-year-old man was detained," police
said.Even as police did not name Hussain, media reports in Pakistan quoting
sources said the MQM chief had been arrested on suspicion of money laundering.
Hussain
has lived in the UK since 1991, saying his life would be at risk if he returned
to Pakistan.A spokesman for the British high commission was quoted by Dawn News
as saying that the UK's consulate in Karachi has been temporarily closed
down.Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that the issue of Hussain's arrest was of
an extremely sensitive nature and the government would take all legal angles
into account.The prime minister directed that the parliament be taken into
confidence over the matter.Hussain had been ill for some time and was scheduled
to be shifted to a hospital on Tuesday when the police arrived at his
residence, MQM's Nadeem Nusrat said while addressing media representatives via
telephone from London.
Nusrat
advised all party members inside and outside Pakistan to control their emotions
and not do anything that may go against the teachings of their leader.Nusrat
insisted that Hussain was not under arrest but at home.
4) 33
Indian fishermen released by Sri Lanka:
Sri Lanka
on Thursday freed 33 Indian fishermen arrested for allegedly poaching in the
country's waters, days after President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered their release
as a goodwill gesture.
The
fishermen were handed over to the Indian Coast Guard Ship "Rajkamal"
at the seas off Mannar, Sri Lankan Navy said in a statement.
"Under
the direction of the president steps have been taken to repatriate 33 Indian
fishermen in the Sri Lanka custody with the immediate effect on June 5,"
the statement said.
In New
Delhi, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed kbaruddin tweeted, "Yes
33 fishermen have been released by ri Lanka and handed over to Indian Coast
Guard on Thursday afternoon."
The
fishermen were part of a group who set out in 727 boats from Rameswaram in
Tamil Nadu on May 31 and were arrested while fishing near Katchatheevu, ceded
to Sri Lanka by India in 1974.
The 29
fishermen, with four others, strayed into Sri Lankan waters on June 1 after
their boat developed a technical snag.
President
Rajapaksa's order to release fishermen is to signify a goodwill gesture by him
to the new Indian government, his spokesman had said.
Rajapaksa
had attended the swearing in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 26
in Delhi.He had ordered the release of all Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan
custody last month.Talks between India and Sri Lanka on the fishermen issue had
ended in deadlock early last month and negotiators are scheduled to meet again
this month.Sri Lanka had shot down a request from Tamil Nadu fishermen to allow
fishing in Lankan waters for 70 days a year and to allow bottom trawling.
5) No govt can ensure there is no
rape: MP minister:
Madhya
Pradesh Home Minister Babulal Gaur has landed in a controversy with his remarks
that no government can ensure rape is prevented and action can be taken only
after the act, triggering angry reaction from Congress which said he has no
right to continue in office."It is a social crime which depends on the man
and the woman. It is sometimes right and sometimes wrong. Unless a complaint is
filed, nothing happens," he said.
The
minister went on to amplify that "It is not possible for any government to
ensure that rape is not committed. Action can be taken only after the act is
done," the minister told reporters at his residence.He said women should
learn judo, karate to defend themselves. "Unless the person wants, no one
can dare touch her. The item numbers in films create a bad environment,"
he sought to reason.The minister cited the instance of a Hindi movie actress
who was kissed on the cheek by a leading Hollywood actor on stage in Delhi in
2007. The actress had seen nothing wrong with it, he said.Sharply reacting to
Gaur's statement, Congress leader Manak Agarwal said that the minister has no
right to continue in office.By his statement, the minister had done nothing but
given encouragement to would be rapists, he said, adding the minister's job was
to provide protection to women and not to rapists.Coming out in defence of
Samajwadi supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, he
said they too cannot do anything to prevent rapes in Uttar Pradesh.Both Mulayam
and Akhilesh have drawn flak for their comments after they came under attack
over the recent gangrape and murder of two cousin sisters in Badaun in UP.BJP
distanced itself from Gaur's comments. Party leader Lalitha Kumaramangalam said
it were his personal comments. "Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that he
understands the gravity of the problem. He seems to be looking at it from a
very orthodox point of view. This is certainly not the BJP stand.“We are very
clear that empowerment and security for women is a very big challenge for us,
especially given the current situation in several states.
6) Advani
loses room in Parl that he occupied for 10 years:
Bharatiya
Janata Party patriarch L K Advani seems to have been deprived of a room in
Parliament House which he was occupying for the last 10 years as National
Democratic Alliance working chairman and
was a confused man on Thursday in the Lok Sabha too as he kept guessing where
to sit in the absence of seat allotment.
The
indication of the former deputy prime minister losing the room no 4 came when
his name plate outside it was even though the name plate of NDA chairman Atal
Behari Vajpayee was intact outside the same room. With Vajpayee being away from
the scene because of his ill health, Advani used to occupy it.\
The
absence of Advani's name plate bearing his name and position of working
chairman of the NDA was conspicuous as the development took place when the
rooms are being allotted afresh after the constitution of the new Lok Sabha.
The
86-year-old party veteran instead chose to take rest in the BJP Parliamentary
party office which is generally used by ordinary party leaders. Though he
continues to be chairman of BJP Parliamentary Party, Advani did not sit on the
main chair in the room and sat on a sofa.Sources close to him tried to downplay
the issue, saying "there is no confusion" and expressed confidence
that he will be allotted a room soon. The Lok Sabha secretariat said it has no
role in the allotment of rooms.Inside the Lok Sabha too, Advani appeared
confused as to where to sit. In the morning, he sat in the front row in the
House. When he entered, he wanted to sit in the second row along with Parliamentary
Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who was seen pleading with him to sit in the
front row.Then he sat in the front row besides Home Minister Rajnath Singh,
Sushma Swaraj and Ram Vilas Paswan and took oath there itself. He, however, did
not sit next to Prime Minister Narendra Modi even though the seat was vacant.In
the afternoon when he came after a break, he was looking for a seat and finally
sat in the 8th row.
7) Modi
accepts Obama invite to visit US in late September:
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has accepted US President Barack Obama's invitation for
a meeting in late September and the dates are being finalised.The invitation
for the meeting came during the congratulatory call to Modi by Obama after the
Lok Sabha election results were out."A date was offered by the US side for
the meeting and both the countries are working on it," official sources
said.
It is
understood that Washington has proposed September 30 as the date for the
meeting but the Indian side is looking at clubbing the bilateral meeting with
Modi's visit to the US for the United Nations General Assembly around September
26.
Obama was
among the first foreign leaders to call up Modi and congratulated him on his
"emphatic election victory" and said the largest democracy in the
world has given a "decisive mandate".The US President also wished
that under Modi's leadership, India will contribute significantly at the global
stage.Both the leaders had discussed the India-US Strategic Partnership and the
prevailing global economic situation.The call was the first high-level contact
between Modi and the US leadership ever since 2005 when the Gujarat chief
minister had been denied a US visa due to his alleged complicity in the 2002
riots in the state.
8)
Meghalaya: Cops battle it out with militants who killed woman for resisting
rape:
An
encounter was underway on Thursday between security forces and Garo militants
responsible for the gruesome killing of a tribal woman after molestation and
attempted rape, in South Garo Hills district in Meghalaya.The encounter
followed an operation launched in the Durama hills range across the Simsang
river where 40 to 50 militants of the Garo National Liberation Army were holed
up in a camp, Inspector General of Police G H P Raju said.
Commandos
of Swift Weapons and Tactics and Central Reserve Police Force’s Cobra Force
were engaged in the encounter, Raju said.The Centre on Thursday rushed five
companies each of Border Security Force and CRPF to Meghalaya to assist the
state government in maintaining law and order. The security forces were sent at
the request of Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma.The Garo militants shot
dead a 35-year-old tribal woman, a mother of four, with an assault rifle
splitting her head in two claiming her to be a police informer after she
resisted their attempts of molestation and rape in Raja Rongat village on June
3. The GNLA in a statement had denied that the woman was molested or raped and
said that she was ‘executed’ as she was a ‘police informer’.Home Minister
Rajnath Singh and MoS (Home) Khiren Rijiju on Thursday sought a detailed report
of the horrific killing. “We urge the Centre to extend their full support in
terms of manpower and other resources in view of the challenges posed by the
mushrooming of militant outfits,” Joint Home secretary V R Syiem said in the
report sent to the Centre.
State
Home minister Roshan Warjri met family members of the victim during the day.
The government had on Wednesday announced ex-gratia payment of Rs 1 lakh to the
woman’s family.
9) Techie
killed in Pune allegedly after row over Facebook post:
A
28-year-old software professional was bludgeoned to death allegedly by seven
persons with suspected links to a Hindu outfit near Pune, the police said.
The
murder of Shaikh Mohasin Sadiq, who hailed from Solapur and is currently a
resident of Hadapsar, on Monday night sparked tension in the area, they
said.The trigger for the attack was apparently uploading of derogatory pictures
of warrior king Shivaji and late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray on Facebook,
which led to a protest bandh on Sunday.
The
police have arrested seven persons in this regard under sections 302 (murder),
307 (attempt to murder) and 147 (rioting) of Indian Penal Code. They are allegedly
linked to Hindu Rashtra Sena.Sadiq worked in the IT department of a textile
firm in the city. He was thrashed with sticks at Bankar Colony by the accused
and succumbed to his injuries during treatment at a nearby hospital, the police
said.Two other youths too had been attacked and injured in stone throwing at
the same spot on the same night, according to the police.The police said the
case was handed over to the crime branch and they have appealed to citizens not
to believe or spread rumours as the situation is peaceful.Security has been
beefed up in the area.
Sports News
This Week:
1) IPL 7
Final: I knew Manish Pandey Will Win KKR the Crown, Says Shah Rukh Khan:
Shah Rukh
Khan was the man in focus after Kolkata Knight Riders won the IPL crown for the
second time in three years at Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday. Manish
Pandey was architect of Kolkata's win with a 50-ball 94. The innings helped KKR
chase down Kings XI Punjab's 199/4. Pandey won the Man of the Match award for
his brilliant effort.
Bollywood
superstar Shah Rukh was ecstatic after Sunday's win. When KKR made the final in
Kolkata last week, Shah Rukh painted Eden Gardens red with somersaults and
flying kisses. Having won a final that went all the way to the wire, Shah Rukh
was all praise for young Pandey.In an interview to iplt20.com, Shah Rukh said:
"I told my whole family in the morning that Manish Pandey is going to win
this match for me." Pandey's 94 was the second highest by a Kolkata
batsman in IPL, the highest being 158 not out by Brendon McCullum against Royal
Challengers Bangalore at Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 18, 2008. This was
Pandey's 10th fifty in Twenty20 apart from a hundred.
Kolkata's
total (200/7) was the highest successful chase in an IPL final. It was also the
highest by a team chasing a target in the final of Twenty20 match. "This
one tonight had to be won. I had my Quran in my pocket and we had to win
it," said Shah Rukh.
Shah Rukh
said the credit for the IPL win entirely belonged to the team. "I don't
play the game and I know nothing about it; they all do the hard work. They are
the caterpillars who do all the hard work and I am the butterfly who takes the
publicity," an elated Shah Rukh said.The Badshah of Bollywood will be in
focus again on Tuesday when the Knight Riders celebrate their IPL win at
Kolkata's Eden Gardens. Along with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee,
it will be a Shah Rukh Khan show for sure.
2)
Sharapova on verge of third Paris final in a row:
Clay has
long been Maria Sharapova's least favoured surface, but the Russian, who takes
on Eugenie Bouchard on Thursday, is on the brink of reaching her third
successive French Open final, a feat she has never achieved in the other grand
slams.
Sharapova,
who won the title in Paris in 2012 and lost in the final last year, will need
to douse the up-and-coming Bouchard, the 18th seed who has yet to beat a
top-ranked player at Roland Garros.
Seventh
seed Sharapova has been showing her usual fighting spirit, overcoming the loss
of the first set in her last two matches.
The other
semi-final on court Philippe Chatrier will feature German 28th seed against
Romanian fourth see Simona Halep, who has been blazing her way through the
draw.Halep, who compensates her lack of power with her tactical nous, has lost
just over four games per match and has yet to drop a set.She won the 2008
junior title and will face an opponent she beat a year ago in the final of the
Nuremberg claycourt tournament.
3) Nadal,
Murray set up French Open semifinal matchup:
Briefly,
and only briefly, Rafael Nadal was in a difficult spot in the French Open
quarterfinals.For the first time in this year's tournament, the eight-time
champion dropped a set.And this had to be on Nadal's mind: His opponent, David
Ferrer, could present real problems. Not only is Ferrer ranked No. 5, and not
only was he the runner-up at Roland Garros a year ago — to Nadal, of course —
but he also beat Nadal on red clay the last time they played each other.
So how
did Nadal handle this test? Perfectly. From late in the second set, he won 10
games in a row, and 13 of 14 the rest of the way, to come back and beat Ferrer
4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1, setting up a semifinal Friday against Wimbledon champion
Andy Murray.
"At
the beginning," Nadal acknowledged, "David was playing with a higher
intensity than me."
But once
Nadal made a key adjustment — deciding to dispense with his surprisingly
off-target backhand as much as possible and instead do whatever he could to use
his topspin-heavy forehand — he took over.After committing 28 unforced errors
across the windy first two sets, Nadal had zero in the third, and only three in
the last."When I was able to hit with my forehand," Nadal said,
"I felt that I was in control."Ferrer, for his part, said that in the
latter stages, "I lost my concentration, my focus."
It was
Nadal's 33rd consecutive win at the French Open and improved his record in the
event to 64-1. His only loss at the tournament came to Robin Soderling in the
fourth round in 2009.
The
Spaniard, who turned 28 on Tuesday, is not used to facing much in the way of
hardship at Roland Garros. So Nadal took what he was able to do against Ferrer
as a good sign."At the end of the day, I am rather happy to have been able
to turn the situation around," said Nadal, who wasn't thrilled to be put
on Court Suzanne Lenglen, the second-largest arena, for the second time this
year. "I managed to pull through, even though it was complicated."The
route Murray took during his 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 1-6, 6-0 victory over No. 23 Gael
Monfils of France was far more circuitous, finishing right on the cusp of dusk
after 9:30 p.m. In front of a crowd loudly pulling for Monfils at Court
Philippe Chatrier, Murray was terrific at the outset, mediocre in the middle,
then closed on a high.After a brief discussion with a tournament official over
whether there was enough sun to play the fifth set — the Roland Garros courts
have no artificial lights — Murray made the whole thing moot. He raced through
that set in 21 minutes, winning 24 of 31 points, as Monfils appeared to stop
trying."Everything happened very fast," Monfils said.Said Murray:
"It was so dark at the end. Thankfully for me, he played a poor fifth set
once I got ahead."Murray will be playing in the French Open semifinals for
the second time; he lost to Nadal in 2011. In all, Nadal owns a 14-5 edge in
their head-to-head matches."I need to recover very well," Murray
said, "and try to be especially calm for that one."The other men's
semifinal will be No. 2 Novak Djokovic against No. 18 Ernests Gulbis.Earlier,
No. 4 Simona Halep of Romania and No. 28 Andrea Petkovic of Germany both moved
into the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. Thursday's
other women's semifinal will be 2012 champion Maria Sharapova against
18th-seeded Eugenie Bouchard of Canada.Halep beat 2009 champion Svetlana
Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-2, and Petkovic defeated 2012 runner-up Sara Errani by that
very same score.
A year
ago, Halep arrived at Roland Garros ranked 57th. But over the past 13 months,
she's won seven titles. Petkovic, meanwhile, is enjoying a resurgence.She made
it to the top 10 in 2011, when she was the only woman to reach three major
quarterfinals (although she went 0-3). In late 2012, she hurt her right knee,
and her ranking plummeted to 177th last year. But she's worked her way back,
and after eliminating Errani, the gregarious Petkovic kissed her racket —
something she said she'd never done before."I don't know what happened to
me. I was just overwhelmed by emotion," Petkovic said. "I had no boy
to kiss, so I kissed my racket, right?"
4) World
Cup - Spain's dominance faces ultimate test in Brazil:
Spain's
desire for glory on the international stage is as strong as ever but the
champions will need something special if they are to become the first Europeans
to win the World Cup in the Americas.The only nation from the continent to
triumph in soccer's global showpiece outside Europe, thanks to their triumph in
South Africa four years ago, La Roja got an indication of the task facing them
when they were humbled 3-0 by hosts Brazil in last year's Confederations Cup
final.
The
pressure of the occasion at an intimidating Maracana Stadium in Rio De Janeiro,
where July's World Cup final will be held, was too much for themThey were
unable to match Brazil's intensity as they fell to what is one of only three
defeats under coach Vicente Del Bosque in competitive games since he took over
nearly six years ago.That Brazil were able to dominate a Spain team used to
having the lion's share of possession was partly due to the absence of the
injured Xabi Alonso, whose partnership with Sergio Busquets in midfield creates
a stable platform for more creative team mates such as Xavi, Andres Iniesta and
Cesc Fabregas to weave their magic.
Del
Bosque, who masterminded Spain's campaign in South Africa and led them to a
second straight European title two years ago, will have learned from the
reverse.The former Real Madrid coach has only had to tinker with his team since
he took over from the late Luis Aragones after the Euro 2008 triumph but has
begun recently to give more playing time to some of Spain's promising
youngsters.While he may be reluctant to experiment too much in Brazil and risk
upsetting the balance of a side stuffed with proven champions, he will have
recourse to players capable of coming off the bench and changing a game like
creative midfielder Koke or forward Juan Mata.Perhaps his most significant move
was the controversial decision late last year to call Brazil-born forward Diego
Costa into the squad, which provoked outrage in Costa's native country.
Spain
scored just eight times in seven games at the 2010 World Cup and Costa, who
made his debut in a 1-0 friendly win against Italy in March, could provide the
cutting edge that La Roja sometimes lack up front if he can shake off a series
of niggling injuries that have dogged him in recent weeks.The 25-year-old has
scored a hatful of goals for Atletico Madrid in La Liga and the Champions
League this season, and his combative playing style, strength in the air and prowess
shooting with either foot strike fear into any defence.
5) Neymar
leads Brazil to 4-0 win over Panama:
Neymar
scored one goal and set up two others to help Brazil defeat Panama 4-0 in a
World Cup warm-up match on Tuesday.
Neymar
broke the deadlock with a well-struck free kick from just outside the area in
the 26th minute, and then sent a perfect back-heel pass for Hulk to score less
than a minute into the second half. Neymar also started the move that led to
Willian scoring in the 73rd.Neymar’s Barcelona teammate Dani Alves had struck
Brazil’s second goal with a right footed shot in the 40th.
Brazil
had been struggling until the first goal and fans had started to jeer their
team at the nearly packed Serra Dourada Stadium in the central city of
Goiania.It was Brazil’s second-to-last match before the World Cup opener
against Croatia on June 12 in Sao Paulo. The five-time world champion will play
Serbia on Friday, also in Sao Paulo.Panama was in control and created most of
the scoring chances in the early stages, upsetting fans and prompting Brazil
coach Luiz Felipe Scolari to leave his bench several times to talk to his
players.
The more
than 30,000 fans at the Serra Dourada were starting to jeer when Neymar was
pulled down at the edge of the area for the foul that led to his goal. He
curled a right footed shot over the wall and into the upper left corner of the
net to get the crowd behind the team again.Neymar several times turned to the
fans and asked them to cheer and keep supporting the team. The squad was loudly
applauded after the final whistle.Brazil was already playing better when Alves’
shot from outside the area found the far corner, and then Hulk took advantage
of Neymar’s back-heel to score the third goal with a low cross shot.
Neymar
began the move for Brazil’s fourth goal with a nice through pass to Maxwell,
who crossed the ball for an easy goal by Willian.Neymar applauded the crowd
when it repeatedly chanted his name after he nearly scored with a bicycle kick
late in the match.Brazil was without captain Thiago Silva, who stayed at the
team’s training camp outside Rio de Janeiro to improve his physical condition.
Reserve midfielder Fernandinho also didn’t travel to Goiania to work on his
fitness, while Paulinho didn’t make the trip because of a minor left ankle
injury. All three players are expected to be fit to play against Serbia.
Dante
replaced Thiago Silva and Ramires substituted Paulinho. Maicon, Hernanes and
Maxwell were added for the start of the second half, while Jo, Willian and
Henrique came on later.Earlier on Tuesday, a few dozen people protested in
front of the team’s hotel to complain about the money being spent by the
country on the World Cup. Police had to intervene to keep them from disturbing
the players.The national team had already been targeted by demonstrators when
it began its preparations in Rio. Protesters banged on the team’s bus and
attached dozens of stickers with comments against the World Cup.
Book Of
This Week:
The book
entitled Mahatma Gandhi & My Grandfather, Allama Mashriqi:
“Allama
Mashriqi and Mahatma Gandhi shared many similarities — both men left their
professions behind and dedicated their lives to liberating India from British
rule. Both adopted a life of simplicity and began their grassroots campaigns in
the streets and villages of the country. Both were nominated for the Nobel
Prize (Mashriqi for his monumental work, Tazkirah, and Gandhi for his
non-violence) and shared a common objective of achieving independence for the
nation. Yet despite all their similarities, they could not reach agreement on
Mashriqi’s The Constitution of Free India, 1946 A.C. nor were they able to work
together to achieve a united, independent India. Why? The answers are contained
in this book.
In
Mahatma Gandhi and My Grandfather, Allama Mashriqi, Mr. Yousaf brings together
nearly 17 years of exhaustive research of historical documents as well as
firsthand knowledge and insights gained from Allama Mashriqi’s wife, sons,
daughters, and the Khaksars, who were part of the freedom movement and
witnessed the division of India. He takes the reader through a riveting journey
as he brings to light a fresh new analysis of the freedom of British India.”
As the
first scholarly study on these two personalities, this book is sure to generate
great interest from the thousands of visitors to BookExpo in New York. The work
(printed and published in the USA) is an excellent read not only for people
interested in South Asian studies, but also for all book lovers around the
world.
Author :
Mr. Nasim Yousaf:
The work
is the latest offering from Mr. Nasim Yousaf, a well-known scholar and historian
who has been conducting extensive research on South Asian history since 1996.
He has thus far written twelve books and countless articles and has also
compiled a digital version of the rare and historic Al-Islah newspaper
(official newspaper of the Khaksar Tehrik). In his book on Mahatma Gandhi and
Allama Mashriqi, Mr. Yousaf contrasts the role of the two South Asian leaders
in India’s independence, bringing to light many revealing insights along the
way.
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