Air Marshal Anil Khosla takes over as AOC-IN-C Eastern Air Command, IAF

Kolkata, Jan 1 : Air Marshal Anil Khosla AVSM VM took over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Air Command on Jan 1,2017, officials said. The Air Marshal is an alumni of the National Defence Academy, was commissioned in the fighter stream of Indian Air Force in Dec 79. Air officer has to his credit over 4000 hours of accident free flying mainly on different variants of Jaguar, Mig-21 and Kiran aircraft.

Drug taken by man who died at New Year’s rave fast-tracked for testing

A drug taken by a group at a rave that left one person dead and two others fighting for their lives in hospital has been fast-tracked for testing. Up to 500 people were at the party at Mount Lindesay near the Queensland-New South Wales border on New Year’s Day when emergency services were called to treat five people hallucinating and behaving erratically .

Gregson’s slice of history

On top: Bulli’s Ryan Gregson came from the scratch mark to take out the Burnie Open Mile in Tasmania on New Year’s Day. Picture: Getty Images The Bulli runner, who holds the Australian 1500m record and made the Olympics final in Brazil last year, became the first athlete to win the Burnie Mile from the scratch mark since 1967.

Composite teams into semis

Scott Mathieson skips his compositie team with the confidence of two strong knockout wins on semi-final day in Tuesday’s South Pacific Fours at Fairy Meadow Bowling Club. On track: Scott Mathieson will skip his composite team in Tuesday’s semi-finals of the South Pacific Fours at Fairy Meadow Bowling Club.

New York trains roll on new subway line envisioned in 1920s

In this Dec. 9, 2016 file photo provided by the Office of New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the escalator leading down to the platform to the Second Avenue subway station at 72nd Street in New York is shown. New Yorkers can take their first ride under Manhattan’s far Upper East Side at noon on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017.

Bihar

City parks and major hotspots brimmed with revellers on Sunday as people ventured out with family members, friends and relatives to soak in the festive spirit and usher in… Police claimed to have busted a biker gang, including its kingpin Manish Malik, following the arrest of five people from the Patna College area on Sunday. Several… The stage is all set for the 34th Kalchakra puja to begin with the Dalai Lama conducting ritual preparations at Kalchakra ground on Monday.

Dropouts’ college gift

Daspur, Jan. 1: Two jewellers in Andhra Pradesh, who decades ago dropped out of school in West Midnapore, have purchased land and donated it for a private BEd College back in their home village. Mohan and Kartik, also members of the trust, have donated Rs 10 lakh more to start the construction of the college.

Welsford back to best

Having been conspicuously absent in his last two wheel finals, rising Australia cycling star Sam Welsford hit back with a bang on Sunday to take out his second consecutive Burnie Wheel. Having been conspicuously absent in his last two wheel finals, rising Australia cycling star Sam Welsford hit back with a bang on Sunday to take out his second consecutive Burnie Wheel.

Edmondson claims wheel win trifecta

It was another tough battle, but the class of Olympic cyclist Annette Edmondson shone through again as she took out the 2017 Burnie women’s wheel on Sunday. It was another tough battle, but the class of Olympic cyclist Annette Edmondson shone through again as she took out the 2017 Burnie women’s wheel on Sunday.

Most read online stories in May 2016

Tasmanian man Rye Duval Hunt was declared missing in Rio De Janeiro after disappearing from the city’s international airport on May 21. Mr Hunt and a friend were at Rio De Janeiro International Airport deciding on their next destination when they split after getting into a heated discussion. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop confirmed a body found washed up on a Brazil beach on June 9 was Mr Hunt.

New UN leader pledges to promote peace

Antnio Guterres took the reins of the United Nations on New Year’s Day, promising to be a bridge-builder but facing an antagonistic incoming U.S. administration led by Donald Trump , who thinks the world body’s 193 member states do nothing except talk and have a good time. The former Portuguese prime minister and U.N. refugee chief said after being sworn-in as secretary-general on Dec. 12 that he will engage all governments – “and, of course, also with the next government of the United States” – and show his willingness to cooperate on “the enormous challenges that we’ll be facing together.”

Bodies of Hamas terrorists won’t be returned, ministers decide

The December 24, 2014 Gaza funeral of Tayseir Smeiry, a Hamas operative, who was killed by Israeli troops after gunmen from Gaza opened fire on an IDF force within Israel Israel will no longer give up the bodies of Hamas terrorists killed during attacks, but instead bury them, the high-level security cabinet decided on Sunday, launching a renewed effort to pressure the Palestinian group into returning two Israeli civilians and the remains of two soldiers. Gaza-based Hamas is currently holding the remains of IDF soldiers Staff Sgt.

Suspect in Istanbul nightclub attack who killed 39 still at large

Turkish police officers block the road leading to the scene of an attack in Istanbul, early Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017. An assailant believed to have been dressed in a Santa Claus costume opened fire at a crowded nightclub in Istanbul during New Year’s celebrations, killing dozens of people and wounding tens of others in what the province’s governor described as a terror attack.

Terror strikes Turkey again

An injured woman is carried to an ambulance from a nightclub where a gun attack was carried out during a New Year party in Istanbul, Turkey, yesterday. Photo: Reuters Thirty-nine people, including many foreigners, were killed yesterday when a gunman went on a rampage at an exclusive nightclub in Istanbul where revellers were celebrating the New Year.

Twitter

Police secure the area near an Istanbul nightclub, following a gun attack, in Turkey, January 1, 2017. REUTERS/Osman Orsal A gunman opened fire on New Year revellers at a packed nightclub on the shores of Istanbul’s Bosphorus waterway on Sunday killing at least 39 people, including many foreigners, then fled the scene.

Garbage pollutes Khowai

The Khowai river beside Habiganj town has become narrow and polluted due to encroachment and mindless dumping of garbage on its banks. Photo: Star The indiscriminate dumping of garbage in the river Khowai is not only causing environmental pollution but also creating water-logging in Habiganj town.

Reality Bites

This is a bigger deal than it may look. The past 25 years of world politics have rested on a series of polite fictions, agreed-upon conventions and hypocritical pretenses: That we had a policy to end the North Korean nuclear drive ; That Europe was becoming a great posthistorical power based on the mighty engine of the euro; That the two-state solution was just a settlement freeze away; That international institutions and civil society were replacing national governments at the center of world politics; That immigration was a no-brainer; That the progress toward free trade was inexorable; That democracy was irresistibly on the march; and so on.

PM opens Dhaka trade fair

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina poses with the recipients of the National Export Trophy for fiscal 2013-14, at the inaugural ceremony of Dhaka International Trade Fair 2017, at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka yesterday. Photo: BSS Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday inaugurated the Dhaka International Trade Fair, announcing leather as the “product of the year” for 2017.

Trafficking Human Organs: China jails 16

Sixteen people including two surgeons have been jailed for between two and five years in China for trafficking in human organs, a practice still widespread in the country. The group — which also included an anaesthesiologist, a nurse and an assistant doctor — were involved in a vast illegal trade in kidneys, according to the judgement cited by the official Xinhua news agency Saturday.

Rebel fire from Yemen kills Saudi soldier

Cross-border rebel fire from Yemen has killed a soldier in Saudi Arabia, which is leading a coalition fighting the insurgents in its war-torn neighbour, the interior ministry said. The soldier was killed on Saturday in the southern border area of Jazan as an army post came under a barrage of gunfire and shelling from the Huthi rebels in northern Yemen, state news agency SPA quoted a ministry spokesman as saying.

Migrants in Malaysia: Employers start paying foreign workers’ tax

Around six lakh Bangladeshi migrants in Malaysia would get benefited as the Southeast Asian country’s government has asked employers to pay levy of foreign workers. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Friday said the employers would no longer be able to deduct the wages of their foreign workers for the levy or tax on their monthly income.

Deal reached to end DRCongo political crisis

The government and opposition parties in the DR Congo on Saturday clinched a hard-won deal over President Joseph Kabila’s fate, ending a political crisis that sparked months of deadly unrest. Under the terms of the deal, Kabila will stay until the “end of 2017” but a transition council will be established, headed by opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi.

Australiaa s prime minister makes impromptu visit to synagogue

Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull paid an unexpected visit to Sydney’s Central Synagogue to join its Friday night service and menorah lighting, telling the congregation that Australia stands “shoulder to shoulder” with Israel. The synagogue’s rabbi, Levi Wolff .had received a call from Turnbull on Friday afternoon wishing him greetings and in return he received an impromptu invitation to attend the evening’s service together his wife Lucy.

14 Best Skywatching Events of 2017

Another year of skywatching is upon us, and there’s a lot to look forward to in 2017! Here are some of the more noteworthy sky events that will take place this year, including multiple meteor showers, occultations of bright stars and the first total eclipse of the sun for the United States in nearly four decades. Space.com’s Night Sky column will provide more extensive coverage of these events as they draw closer.

Turkey nightclub attack: What we know

Thirty-nine people were killed and dozens wounded Sunday when a gunman stormed a popular Istanbul nightclub and sprayed bullets at revellers celebrating the New Year. Turkish special force police officers and ambulances are seen at the site of an armed attack January 1, 2017 in Istanbul The assailant shot dead a policeman and a civilian at the entrance to the Reina nightclub and then went on a shooting rampage inside, officials said.

New UN chief aims to make 2017 ‘a year for peace’

The new United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday he would like to make 2017 a year to “put peace first,” in a message heralding the new year and marking his first day as the world body’s chief. Antonio Guterres speaks to the media after being sworn in as UN secretary general December 12, 2016 at the United Nations in New York The Portuguese former prime minister, 67, took over as UN Secretary-general from South Korea’s Ban Ki-moon, inheriting complex crises in Syria, South Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, North Korea and elsewhere.

Manhunt in Turkey after New Yeara s nightclub shooting

A manhunt is on in Turkey for an assailant in a Santa Claus hat who unleashed a salvo of bullets in a crowded Istanbul nightclub during New Year’s celebrations Sunday, killing at least 39 people. Foreigners were among the fatalities, including an 18-year-old Israeli woman and a Belgian national, according to the two countries’ respective foreign ministries.

23 dead after ferry catches fire near Indonesiaa s capital

At least 23 people were killed and 17 others were missing after a ferry caught fire Sunday off the coast of Indonesia’s capital, officials said. The vessel was carrying more than 230 people from Jakarta’s port of Muara Angke to Tidung, a resort island in the Kepulauan Seribu chain, when it caught fire, officials said.

South Korea’s Park Says She Was Set Up, Charges False

South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Sunday rejected allegations of wrongdoing in the political scandal that threatens her presidency, saying she was “set up” and the allegations were “fabrication and falsehood,” said South Korean media. Park said Choi Soon-sil, her long-time friend, was “merely an acquaintance” and denied Choi was allowed to wield undue and wide-reaching influence over state affairs, Yonhap news agency and YTN television reported.