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Nineteen people have been killed in a suspected explosion at the end of a pop concert by US star Ariana Grande in Manchester in northwest England that is being treated as a terrorist incident, police said. Eyewitnesses described a "huge bomb-like bang" and scenes of panic as young fans fled the venue. A fleet of ambulances was seen rushing to the venue and bomb disposal teams were dispatched soon after. "So far 19 people have been confirmed dead, with around 50 others injured. This is currently being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise," police said in a statement. The first unconfirmed reports of an explosion emerged shortly after 2145 GMT on Monday. "We heard the last song go and then suddenly there was a massive flash and then a bang and smoke," said Gary Walker from Leeds who was with his wife waiting for their daughters to come out told BBC Radio 5 Live. Walker said he was hit by shrapnel in his foot while his wife sustaine...

North Korea’s apparently successful launch of a mid-to-long range missile indicated a significant advance in its drive for an intercontinental ballistic missile, monitors said on Monday, a worrying sign for the Korean peninsula and the US. The isolated North boasted on Monday that the launch the previous day, supervised by leader Kim Jong Un, was aimed at verifying the capability to carry a “large scale heavy nuclear warhead”. Kim accused the US of “browbeating” countries that “have no nukes” and warned Washington not to misjudge the reality that its mainland is in the North’s “sighting range for strike”, the North’s official KCNA news agency reported. However, the US military’s Pacific Command said on Sunday the type of missile that was fired was “not consistent” with an ICBM and South Korea’s military played down the North’s claim of technical progress on atmospheric re-entry. “We...

I. MERCHANDISE TRADE EXPORTS (including re-exports) In continuation with the double digit growth exhibited by exports during March 2017, exports during April 2017have shown growth of 19.77 per cent in dollar terms valued at US$ 24635.09 million as compared to US$ 20568.85 million during April,2016. In Rupee terms, duringApril 2017 exports were valued at Rs. 158913.79 crore as compared to Rs. 136720.11 crore during April,2016, registering a positive growth of 16.23 per cent. Non-petroleum and Non Gems & Jewellery exports in April 2017 were valued at US$ 17718.87 million against US$ 15136.41 million in April 2016, an increase of 17.06 %. The growth in exports is positive for all major economies, USA (4.74%), EU (0.16%),Japan (13.30%) except for China (-1.56%)for February 2017 over the corresponding period of previous year as per latest WTO statistics. IMPORTS Imports during April 2017 were valued at US$ 37884.28 million (Rs. 244380.52crore) which was 49.07 per cent higher in Do...

India on Sunday boycotted China’s high-profile Belt and Road Forum, taking its protest over a controversial economic corridor traversing through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to a new level despite Beijing’s overtures to ensure New Delhi’s participation. Following India’s boycott, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, taking a veiled swipe at New Delhi’s move, said the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was an economic project open to all the nations in the region and it “must not be politicised”. No Indian official of any level was present at the elaborate opening ceremony attended by 29 heads of state and government along with top officials of the world bodies like the UN, the World Bank and the IMF. India skipped the meeting due to its sovereignty concerns over the USD 50 billion CPEC, which passes through PoK. Sharif, Sri Lankan Premier Ranil Wickramasinge, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan we...

Tejas, the Light Combat Aircraft today successfully demonstrated an Air-to-Air Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile firing capability by releasing Derby Air-to-Air BVR missile in RADAR guided mode. The missile launch was performed in Lock ON after Launch mode for a BVR target in the look down mode and the target was destroyed.  The objective of the test was to assess the Derby integration with aircraft systems on-board Tejas including the aircraft avionics, fire-control radar, launchers and Missile Weapon Delivery System and to verify its performance.  The test was conducted on a Manoeuvrable Aerial Target at the Interim Test Range (ITR), Chandipur. The sensors at ITR also tracked the target and missile.  A safe separation was followed by missile guidance towards RADAR acquired target. The flawless launch was demonstrated with all on-board systems performing satisfactorily and the missile scored a direct hit on the target with complete destruction of it.  The...

It’s named after a Nordic God and drills deep into the heart of a volcano: “Thor” is a rig that symbolises Iceland’s leading edge efforts to produce powerful clean energy. If successful, the experimental project could produce up to 10 times more energy than an existing conventional gas or oil well, by generating electricity from the heat stored inside the earth: in this case, volcanic areas. Nearly 3 miles depth Launched in August last, the drilling was completed on January 25, reaching a record-breaking depth of 4,659 metres (nearly 3 miles). At this depth, engineers hope to access hot liquids under extreme pressure and at temperatures of 427 degrees C (800 F), creating steam that turns a turbine to generate clean electricity. Iceland’s decision to harness the heat inside the earth in a process known as geothermal energy dates back to the 1970s and the oil crisis. But the new geothermal well is expected to generate far more energy, as the extreme hea...

India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F09) successfully launched the 2230 kg South |Asia Satellite (GSAT-9) into its planned Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) today (May 05, 2017). Today’s launch of GSLV was its eleventh and took place from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota, the spaceport of India. This is the fourth consecutive success achieved by GSLV carrying indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage. In its oval shaped GTO, the South Asia Satellite is now orbiting the Earth with a perigee (nearest point to Earth) of 169 km and an apogee (farthest point to Earth) of 36,105 km with an orbital inclination of 20.65 deg with respect to the equator.  Few seconds before the launch countdown reached zero, the four liquid propellant strap-on motors of GSLV-F09, each carrying 42 tons of liquid propellants, were ignited. At count zero and after confirming the normal performance of all the four strap-on motors,...

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said in its annual flagship report ‘The Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2017’ launched on Monday that the economic growth for India is projected to be stable at 7.1% in 2017 before edging up to 7.5% in 2018, underpinned by higher private and public consumption and increased infrastructure spending. Growth in India is forecast at 7.1% this year as “re-monetisation restores consumption, and infrastructure spending increases”, the report said. Inflation is projected to reach 5.3-5.5% in 2017 and 2018, which is somewhat above the official target of 4.5-5%. The report, however, noted that a key downside risk for India was heightened financial sector risks related to the concentration of bad loans in public sector banks. The gross non-performing assets ratio in public sector banks reached almost 12% in 2016, which points to the need for “bank recapitalisation”, it sa...