Indian-origin lawyer shoots 9 in US, killed by police

Indian-origin lawyer shoots 9 in US, killed by police

An Indian-origin lawyer with apparent Nazi sympathies went on an early morning rampage in US' Houston city shooting nine people on Monday before he was killed by police, according to authorities.

Nathan Desai was wearing military-style clothing with Nazi symbols during the 20-minute shooting spree when he fired at passing cars.

Police said that they did not know why Desai went on the rampage hitting people at random.

Desai's name was written with the 's' capitalised in media reports in Houston, making it sound European, but his father was identified as Prakash Desai.

All of his victims survived but one person was critically wounded and five others were hospitalised, Houston's Acting Police Chief Martha Montalvo said.

She described the shooter as a lawyer who was having problems at his law firm. When police responded to the shooting, he shot at them and was killed when policereturned fire, Montalvo said.

The shooter's father, 80-year-old Prakash Desai told KPRC TV that his son was "worried" because his law practice was not doing so well.Read full article

US presidential debate: Poll says 62% viewers think Clinton won, only 27% say Trump did better

US presidential debate: Poll says 62% viewers think Clinton won, only 27% say Trump did better

Democrat Hillary Clinton is held to have won the first presidential debate held on Tuesday against her Republican rival Donald Trump, according to a new CNN/ORC poll.

According to the poll of debate watchers, 62 per cent of voters who watched the debate thought Clinton won, while only 27 per cent said that Trump came out on top.

Clinton and Trump took to the stage on Tuesday to begin their first-ever presidential debate and immediately sparred over jobs, taxes, the Islamic State (IS), guns and the former secretary of state's undisclosed emails, media reports said.

Here is what both candidates had to say on various issues:
On prosperity, taxes and jobs

Moderator Leslie Holt of NBC News opened the 90-minute debate at Hofstra University, Long Island, New York, with the first topic being "Achieving Prosperity", where the first question about putting money back into Americans' pockets and creating jobs was directed to Clinton,CNN reported.

Clinton, the first woman to represent a major US party in the presidential race, mentioned her granddaughter's birthday, and talked about everything from gender pay gaps, to paid family leave, to presidential temperament.

She started her speech by defending the idea of creating "an economy for all" and stressed that she intends to do so "by having the wealthy pay their fair share", EFE news reported.

"I also want to see more companies do profit sharing. If you help create the profits, you should be able to share in them, not just the executives at the top," she said, and stressed that "the central question in this election is really what kind of country we want to be in".Read full Article

Donald Trump's paid maternity leave plan gets Hillary Clinton rejoinder

Donald Trump's paid maternity leave plan gets Hillary Clinton rejoinder

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has introduced an unorthodox childcare plan, becoming a rare Republican calling for paid maternity leave.

Introduced on Tuesday by his daughter Ivanka, who asserted that childcare issues were at the "root of wage inequality by disproportionately affecting women", Trump tried to soften his image at an event held in Pennsylvania, a former stronghold for moderate Republicans that has trended Democratic in recent years, the Guardianreported.

Trump also asserted that "my opponent has no childcare plan". Clinton has in fact made a number of detailed proposals on childcare.

Clinton in June last year first outlined a programme for universal pre-kindergarten and in May this year proposed to cap childcare costs at ten per cent of household income and to introduce 12 weeks of paid family leave.

Maya Harris, a senior policy adviser to Clinton, described Trump's plan as "half-baked and completely out of touch".

Trump's proposal came as he faces a major deficit among college-educated white women in polls.

According to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has a 50-40 lead over her Republican rival in a demographic that Mitt Romney won by six points in 2012 despite his decisive loss that year.

Trump called for making a childcare tax deductible, up to the average cost in a given family's state, until the age of 13, as well as an expanded rebate of up to $1,200 for those families that do not pay income tax and receive earned income tax credit (EITC).Read more

Hillary Clinton diagnosed with pneumonia, cancels California trip

Hillary Clinton diagnosed with pneumonia, cancels California trip

Hillary Clinton has cancelled a two-day trip to California starting from Monday after the Democratic presidential candidate was diagnosed with pneumonia and has been advised to rest by her doctor.

The cancellation was confirmed by her campaign on Sunday night following Clinton's abrupt departure from a ceremony marking the 15th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in downtown Manhattan because she felt "overheated", The Hill daily reported.

She was supposed to campaign in San Francisco and Los Angeles and was scheduled to make an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

The former secretary of state's doctor, Lisa R Bardack released a statement revealing the diagnosis on Sunday evening, The Hill daily reported.

Bardack said Clinton had an examination at her home in Chappaqua after the incident, which was a result of dehydration and overheating.

She said the presidential candidate was "re-hydrated and recovering nicely".(more)

Barack Obama cancels Rodrigo Duterte talks after insult

Barack Obama cancels meeting with new Philippine President Duterte

US President Barack Obama has cancelled what would have been his first meeting with Rodrigo Duterte, according to a White House spokesman, hours after the Philippine leader described his American counterpart in vulgar terms.

Duterte called Obama a "son of a whore", saying that he would not be lectured by the US leader on human rights, according to AFP news agency.

Inside Story - Can Rodrigo Duterte win the war on illegal drugs?

Duterte's tirade came as he bristled at warnings he would face questioning by the US president at their scheduled meeting over his war against drugs in the Philippines, which has claimed more than 2,400 lives in just over two months.

"You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum," Duterte told a news conference shortly before flying to Laos to attend a summit on Monday.

"We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me," he said.

However, a statement released by the Philippine president on Tuesday expressed regret for the tirade against his US counterpart.

"While the immediate cause was my strong comments to certain press questions that elicited concern and distress, we also regret it came across as a personal attack on the US president," the statement said.

Duterte was due to hold a bilateral meeting with Obama on Tuesday afternoon on the sidelines of a gathering of global leaders hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Vientiane, the capital of the Laos.

READ MORE: The Philippines, where bodies pile up, but no one talks

Hillary Clinton told 'so many lies' on emails: Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton told 'so many lies' on emails: Donald Trump

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has tweeted a video accusing his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton of "so many lies" about her use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state.

The minute-long video shows Clinton making various statements, all of which are rebutted by text below, even as an animated face of the Democratic nominee steadily keeps growing a longer nose.

"I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email. There is no classified material," Clinton is quoted as saying in the video.

"She did [and] there is," the text at the bottom of the video screen reads.

"I am confident that I never sent nor received any information that was classified," Clinton says, while the text notes: "she did."

"I had not sent classified material, nor received anything marked classified," she adds in a third segment, again appearing above the phrase "she did."

The minute-long video concludes with the FBI Director James Comey detailing how Clinton used her private email server while at the State Department.

"110 emails in 52 email chains have been determined by the owning agency to contain classified information. Seven email chains contain matters that were classified at the top secret special access program at the time they were sent and received," he says.(more)

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Hillary Clinton most qualified to lead the US: Barack Obama

Hillary Clinton most qualified to lead the US: Barack Obama

"There has never been a man or a woman, not me, not Bill (Clinton), more qualified to be president", declared US President Barack Obama while endorsing Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination on Wednesday night.

Making a surprise appearance at the ongoing Democratic National Convention here, Obama praised his one-time rival, Clinton, whom he defeated eight years ago, as the candidate who could accomplish all that needs yet to be done.

He proudly listed his achievements and said more was needed to be accomplished and Hillary Clinton was the leader to do it.

"Our country is stronger, more prosperous than when we started," he said and ridiculed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's assertions that the US was a failing "crime scene".

He also praised former presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders for his efforts to end the role of money in politics and to promote a progressive agenda.Read more.

Bill's pitch: Hillary is the "best darn change-maker"

Bill's pitch: Hillary is the "best darn change-maker"

Making a strong case for his wife Hillary's presidency bid, charismatic former US presidentBill Clinton on Wednesday narrated his personal story with "a girl" he met in 1971 to emphasise that she is "uniquely qualified" for the top job and the "best change-maker" he has ever known.

"Hillary will make us stronger together. You know it because she spent a lifetime doing it," Bill said in his address to the Democratic National Convention here, hours after the party nominated his wife Hillary as its presidential candidate for the November elections.

"She is still the best darn change-maker I have ever known," the 69-year-old former president said in a mesmerising speech, asking his countrymen to vote and elect Hillary as the next US president.

Scripting history, the 68-year-old former secretary of state on Wednesday became the first woman to win the presidential nomination of a major US party as she secured the backing of the Democrats to set up an epic clash with Republican rival Donald Trump in the November polls.

Bill, who was the 42nd president of the US from 1993 to 2000, said, "Hillary is uniquely qualified to seize the opportunities and reduce the risks we face. And she is still the best darn change-maker I have ever known. You could drop her into any trouble spot, pick one, come back in a month and somehow, some way she will have made it better. That is just who she is".Read more.

Samsung SUHD 55KS9000: Great all-rounder

Samsung SUHD 55KS9000: Great all-rounder

There was lava all around and it seemed the end of the world was near. Yet, at the very last moment, the captain expertly manoeuvred his ship to escape into the realm of the unknown - space. It was one heck of a voyage, and by the end of it, I was drenched in sweat. The air-conditioner was off!

Coming back to reality, I was watching an ultra-high definition version of Star Trek: Into the Darkness in my living room on the Samsung SUHD 55KS9000 (Rs 2.99 lakh) and I had managed to switch off the AC in my engrossed state. Surveying the stars in pitch black, I was startled when the camera suddenly panned to a shot within the spaceship - it was all so clear and brilliant, yet didn't hurt the eye.

The TV from Samsung's latest line is a stunner. Sporting a curved screen, it is practically devoid of a bezel; the smooth lines continue on the back - possibly the most aesthetic I've seen on a TV till date.

A few nights later, I was watching the Euro 2016 finals between France and Portugal. Minutes into the match, I watched Ronaldo in tears as he was carried out (and the moth consoling him) in vivid detail. As the match dragged on, I could watch minutely the frustration on the players' faces and the despair writ large on the supporters. In extra time, I could see the joy on the faces of the Portugal supporters and the tears of the French as they conceded defeat. And yes, I didn't miss the sideline antics of "assistant coach" Ronaldo. An added bonus that now it was much easier to access "Sports" mode on the TV.(more)

Latest News

Kashmir violence: India tears into Pakistan's ulterior motive at UN

Tearing into Pakistan's ulterior motive to cash in on the protest-related deaths in the Kashmir Valley by racking up the issue at the UN platform, India has dubbed it as "an attempt to misuse the UN platform by a country that covets the territory of others and uses terrorism as state policy towards that misguided end".

Gym instructor arrested for stabbing live-in partner

A gym instructor allegedly stabbed his live-in partner 32 times in a house in sector 73 here, leaving her in a critical condition, police said today. The accused Varun Goyal (28), who runs a gym in Ghaziabad, has been arrested.Varun had heated arguments with the woman, a divorcee, as she was apparently pressurising him for marriage.

All you need to know about NATGRID and its new CEO Ashok Patnaik

Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Ashok Patnaik, who is also the son-in-law of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, was on Wednesday appointed as the CEO of NationalIntelligence Grid (NATGRID), a robust intelligence gathering mechanism being set up to track terror suspects and incidents.

Cancelling air ticket to not burn a big hole in your pocket

Fliers will soon have a reason to smile, as the revised norms that cap ticket cancellation charges and bar airlines from levying an additional amount for refund are coming into force from August 1.

From tackling terror to NSG inclusion, Modi - Obama make headway on a range of issues

From tackling terror to NSG inclusion, Modi - Obama make headway on a range of issues

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s discussion on Tuesday with US President Barack Obama in Washington, a joint statement described what it billed as their “third major bilateral summit”, after earlier meetings in September 2014 and January 2015.

The statement noted a new military logistics agreement, made common cause in the South China Sea, revealed growing American involvement in helping India build an indigenous aircraft carrier, and announced additional co-development projects for defence equipment. There is a new agreement for sharing terrorist-related information. India will be buying six 1,000 MW nuclear power plants from Toshiba-Westinghouse, with the contract to be signed in 2017. And Washington has thrown its full weight behind India’s candidature for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Asia-Pacific cooperation

US officials privately lament New Delhi’s poor follow-up of strategic agreements. This joint statement pins India down to specific action, announcing “a roadmap for cooperation under the 2015 US-India Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region, which will serve as a guide for collaboration in the years to come.”

In a subtly-worded statement that takes the US-India partnership beyond the 2014 Vision Statement and 2015 Declaration of Friendship, Modi and Obama “resolved that the United States and India should look to each other as priority partners in the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean region.”Read more.

Istanbul bomb attack: Seven police officers, four civilians dead

Istanbul bomb attack: Seven police officers, four civilians dead

A bomb ripped through a Turkish police vehicle near Istanbul's historic centre today, killing seven officers and four civilians and adding to security concerns after a string of attacks in Turkey's biggest city.

The bomb targeted a service shuttle bus carrying officers from Istanbul's anti-riot police as it was passing through the central Beyazit district close to many of the city's top tourist sites, Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin said in a live statement on Turkish television.

Thirty six people were wounded, three of them seriously, he added.

Reports said the explosion took place close to the Vezneciler metro station, which is within walking distance of some of the city's main tourist sites including the famed Suleymaniye Mosque.

The metro station was closed as a security precaution.

Pictures showed the bomb had turned the police vehicle into mangled wreckage and that nearby shops had their front windows smashed out by the force of the blast.(more)