Terror returns to London Bridge in 'Black Friday' attack

Khan said members of the public risked their own safety to try to disarm the suspect. "They are the best of us," he told reporters. The events came less than two weeks before an election at which Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes to win a majority to enable him to take Britain out of the European Union. The prime minister cut short a visit to his constituency in northwest London to return to his Downing Street office for a briefing by the police. Both Johnson's Conservatives and the main opposition Labour party have both pledged to put at least 20,000 more officers on the streets. But Britain's impending Brexit has raised questions about the extent of continued cooperation with Europe on security and intelligence matters. New European Council President Charles Michel said he had been "very saddened to hear the dramatic reports" from London, adding: "The fight against terrorism is a common fight." Johnson praised the emergency services for their response, adding: "This country will never be cowed or divided or intimidated by this sort of attack. "Our values, our British values will prevail." Motive unknown The attack happened on so-called "Black Friday", one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the run-up to Christmas, bringing more shoppers onto the streets. The Metropolitan Police said it was called at 1:58 pm (1358 GMT) to a stabbing at premises near the bridge, which links The City financial district to the south bank of the River Thames. "A male suspect was shot by specialist armed officers," Neil Basu, the head of UK counter-terrorism policing, told reporters outside New Scotland Yard police headquarters. "This suspect died at the scene. It has been declared a terrorist incident. We retain an open mind as to any motive. "We believe a device that was strapped to the body of the suspect was a hoax explosive device." Several people were seen in video footage apparently surrounding the man on the ground. One man, wearing a suit and tie, was seen retreating from the scene, with what appeared to be a large knife in his right hand. Three armed officers then appeared on the scene and surrounded the scrum. One officer pulled a man away before two shots appeared to be fired. An eyewitness told reporters: "He was on the ground with a knife near him, and a bag near him and then they surrounded him and armed police shot him." Another told the BBC she and other people in the area rushed into a nearby restaurant and were told by staff to take cover under tables. The bridge was closed off, with evacuated buses at a standstill, and a white truck straddling the carriageways. Forensics officers were at the scene. Johnson thanked the police and all emergency services "for their immediate response". A White House spokesman said US President Donald Trump had been briefed on the attack and was monitoring the situation. Trump, who has previously criticised Mayor Khan and stabbings in the British capital, is due to visit next week for a NATO summit. Threat level downgraded Britain downgraded its terrorism threat level from "severe", the second-highest of five levels, to "substantial" on November 4, its lowest rating in more than five years. British officials consider a terrorist attack "likely" when the threat level is substantial, and "highly likely" when it is severe. The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, an organisation made up of government departments and other public bodies makes the decision after weighing up intelligence and information on known terror groups. The 2017 attack involved Islamist extremists in a van who ploughed into pedestrians on London Bridge before attacking people at random with knives in nearby Borough Market. Eight people were killed and 48 others injured. The three attackers, who were wearing fake suicide devices, were shot dead by police. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The New Indian Expresshttps://issuu.com/besantreddy

Pico Iyer offers an honest, anecdotal and arguably basic cultural kaleidoscope view of Japan

He had immersed himself in the life of the people. Seward, I recall, wrote in one of his books, that he wanted to call it, 'How to Learn Japanese in 30 Years'. To emphasise the difficulties and slow process of learning about another culture. I suppose Pico Iyer, who has spent over 30 years in Japan, alludes to that feeling of not really ever having a sense that you know a country. Iyer comes from a very different background, thinking and style. He seems to spend part of the year in Japan — autumn, in fact — with his family in Nara, and he divides the rest of the time between his home in the US, and work that takes him around the world. He has also chosen the life of a foreigner, not making any effort to learn the language, which he underlines he speaks a smattering of, like a little girl. Alluding to the fact that he has picked up a few phrases from his wife. The book is a collection of aphoristic paragraphs arranged, apparently, in a fan-shaped design. The pretty cover seems to play with this idea, to take the reader on a journey from the outer to the inner, from arrival to the end and a new beginning. Some 50 pages into the book, there is an 'Advanced Guide to Japan', where he discovers that Oscar Wilde provides the key to understanding Japan. Wilde understood the power of performance, and wrote, 'The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.' Iyer finds confirmation of this everywhere. A yakuza gangster tells him that you have to think of yourself as being on-stage all the time, 'It's a performance. If you're bad at playing the role of a yakuza, then you are a bad yakuza'. It reminded me of that wonderful account by an Ivy League PhD scholar trying to become a bodybuilder, Muscle, The Confessions of an Unlikely Bodybuilder. Samuel Fussel wrote that he had to not just train his body, but learn to walk like a bodybuilder to project his power. This is the fulcrum around which the book turns, or should I say it is the catch which binds the leaves of the fan from where, with a flick of the wrist you can spread the fan and display the delicate painting, and use it. It takes a little practice, but it is something so Japanese, East Asian — even more so, I think, than bowing while speaking on the phone. The book combines observations on Japanese life and culture, koan-like statements that may lead some readers to satori, and random facts. So, some random samples: 'Girls in Japan are trained to put the right earring on with the left hand, because it looks more attractive'. 'When you are all in your robes', the Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki told his students in San Francisco, 'I can see you individually.' And, 'More people live within 30 or so miles of Tokyo than in the rest of Japan.' The last reminded me of Michael Caine who, in an interview, explained how he just naturally, without any special effort, remembered random facts. He quoted some examples. One, that there is no place in England further than 70 miles from the coast. There are many books on trying to understand Japan and its culture, ever since the Portuguese began going there in the 16th century. Some of these describe the exotic people who do everything topsy-turvy, the wrong way around, are full of contradictions, but are intriguing. This book, for all it's circling, really fits into this pattern. There are limits to understanding a place when you don't have the language. And who are the explanations for? I much prefer reading the effect a place has on a person. The dynamics of the interaction place all on an equal footing. Sometimes, even without language or any deep knowledge of the place, writing emerges that continues to speak to us. Take the case of Jonathan Swift. He sends Gulliver to Japan, where he meets real 'natives', not the imagined ones of Brobdingnag or Lilliput. Captured by a Japanese pirate, he has an audience with the emperor. Swift uses Japan's refusal to trade as a way to look at the limits of European power. He is neither interested in idealising a civilisation, nor in trying to understand the 'heathen'. A more recent book, Ian Buruma's Tokyo Romance, is a thought-provoking recollection of time spent in seriously engaging with Japan, and how this transformed and shaped him. Again, it offers ways of thinking both about Buruma and Japan. Iyer remains a remote figure and his Japan flat. Tankha is a honorary fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Indian Expresshttps://itsmyurls.com/michealseans

The principle of caring should be predicated on empathy and knowledge

Evidently, the primates have picked up a vice or two from their human cousins.The moral degeneration of monkeys is not on Ms Malini's mind. She is more concerned about the health of the simians. This in itself is startling, given that monkeys, their prowess nothwithstanding, are yet to be given the right to vote in a nation that venerates them. What has exercised Ms Malini is that much like Homo supine couch potatoes, simians have started to smack their lips at samosas and other kinds of popular, but unhealthy, snacks. Worse, they have turned down all offers of a healthy diet, said the parliamentarian. The stubborn politician, who refuses to honour the good of the people, could well be the model for monkeys here. The solution - at least the way Ms Malini sees it - is simple: a 'monkey safari' must be built. The details of the proposal remain hazy; is Ms Malini certain that the primates would agree to be shepherded into such a refuge? There is, of course, the Bharatiya Janata Party's claim of cows mooing in delight at the thought of gaushalas built for them but monkeys, given their temperament, could turn out to be a different kind of fish. Ms Malini, like her peers, could think of invoking the BJP's favourite divine figure; he would certainly make the simians fall in line. But then, there is another - serious - problem. Ms Malini's voters have not taken kindly to her prioritizing monkey over man. Mathura and Vrindavan - they fall under Ms Malini's watch - are beset with several problems. Thousands of widows who throng to the cities are denied dignity and basic amenities; the closure of textile factories has led to growing unemployment. Ironically, the blame for the monkey menace, a serious problem, lies squarely on the shoulders of man. Loss of habitat coupled with the apathy of civic bodies has contributed to this singular man-animal conflict. The management of strays is shorn of a modern outlook. Sterilization is the key to controlling stray populations but civic bodies in India often resort to capturing and killing animals. Public veneration of animals - monkeys and cows - is not enough. The principle of caring should be predicated on empathy and knowledge. 1694391 1672178 DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Telegraphhttps://www.theverge.com/users/repentkentop

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42% Indians will cancel honeymoon for cricket final

Cricket fans are the most optimistic, followed by football fans when asked when they felt their team or player would win a major international tournament. Moreover, 88 per cent cricket fans believed that they will see their team or player win a major international tournament in the next four years, while 79 per cent football fans shared the sentiment. 'With major international cricket and athletics tournaments coming up in Asia in 2020 and the excitement of the UEFA EURO 2020, next year will definitely be an unforgettable year for sports,' said Ritu Mehrotra, Country Manager, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives at Booking.com. 'With a mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world, we want to ensure that one gets the most out of their trip by helping them find their perfect accommodation, no matter what the occasion,' Mehrotra said. 'With this partnership with UEFA, we're excited to help bring fans the best experience with booking their ideal accommodation as well as great things to do in each host city,' Mehrotra added. The survey added that 41 per cent Indians would rather lose their jobs than not be able to attend a historic sporting final. According to the study, 42 per cent of Indian sports fans (highest globally) would cancel their honeymoon if it clashed with their team or athlete playing a big game, as against the global average of 19 per cent Travelling to see their team live in action is a clear priority for many Indian sports fans, the research found. The survey showed 82 per cent Indians have completed between one to five trips in the last year alone - with six in ten declaring they plan to travel both domestically and internationally to watch their team or player in the future. Despite affordability being important for the Indian sports fans, 37 per cent Indian sports fans happily admit that they would be willing to pay more for sports travel than their family vacation. The research also found Indian sports fans travel for Cricket (86 per cent), Football/Soccer (51 per cent), Tennis (31 per cent), Hockey (23 per cent) and Motorsports (18 per cent). The research was conducted among a sample size of 22,603 sports fans aged 18 or over in 29 international markets. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: Hindustan Timeshttps://www.vox.com/users/jokerjokin

Who we are, what we have

There are five sense organs of perception through which we understand various objects that get registered in our mind as thoughts. They are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. The sense organs that express themselves in work are mouth for speaking, hands for grasping, legs for measuring the ground and locomotion, the organ of reproduction and excretion. When it comes to the inner and subtle instruments, they are four in number. They are called the Antah Karana or inner tools. They are the mind for knowing everything without and within, the intellect for deciding, the 'I'-maker called the ahamkara. Its job is to add the idea of I to everything we think, speak, do or experience. The fourth is the chitta or memory bank that keeps constantly ruminating on one's own objects of interest. If you badly want to have ice cream, know that the idea has come from the chitta, which has stored the memory that eating ice cream makes you happy. The ahamkara or I thought adds fuel to that thought and makes you think, "I want to eat ice cream". The manas shows you the possible ice cream shops nearby that you can get from and the buddhi, or intellect, dragged by the rest of the three decides and says, "Yes, you can go for ice cream." One aspect of the subtle body is the Pranamayakosha. It contains mainly prana, but with five different functions. The prana is the vital energy that holds together the gross physical body and the mind. When this layer weakens, the individual feels depleted of energy. When through the process of aging, the prana's power ebbs away, which causes the difficulty for the eyes and other sense organs to function. It basically functions through the sense organs of perception. The Apana functions through the sense organs of action and it does an excretory function. Samana helps to digest and assimilate. Vyana circulates nutrients and Udana lifts up things in the body. Udana is the cause for our thoughts which have a rising motion and also the final departure of this sheath on death is caused by Udana. The differences in these five functions are like the differences in a bangle, chain, ring or earring-all made of gold or the difference in water-ice, steam, liquid, foam, and froth. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The New Indian Expresshttps://www.mobypicture.com/user/jumenshenses

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180 Bangladeshis arrested while fleeing India, NRC listed among reasons

All the arrested people were handed over to Mohespur police station in Jhenaidah district of Bangladesh, across West Bengal's Nadia district. 'They said they went to work in India and returned because of unfavourable circumstances. In India, most of these people lived in Bengaluru,' said Rashedul Alam, officer-in-charge of Moheshpur police station. Bengaluru police arrested 60 Bangladeshis in a recent crackdown and sent them to the border on Saturday to be repatriated. A senior West Bengal Police officer, who follows illegal immigration, said, along with the Bengaluru crackdown, Indian government's decision to identify illegal residents through the NRC (National Register of Citizens) exercise, may have also influenced the retreat. 'The fear of pan-India NRC possibly stopped them from moving to any other Indian state,' said the officer who did not want to be identified. Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury, a professor of political science and migration expert, also listed NRC as a possible cause. 'The arrest of 180 persons in 20 days from just one police station area is unusual. I think that the fear of citizenship screening exercise and India's economic slowdown have both played a role in this,' Ray Chaudhury said. The West Bengal BJP welcomed the news and said the 'fear of NRC' had started to work and the illegal immigrants knew that they can't be 'protected by anyone'. 'Those in Bengal are still banking on Mamata Banerjee's promise of stalling the NRC. They too will start returning to Bangladesh once they realise that Banerjee can do nothing,' said state unit president Dilip Ghosh. 'Half of the task of sending back infiltrators will be finished even before the actual process of NRC starts,' Ghosh added. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: Hindustan Timeshttp://danmooredesigns.com/UserProfile/tabid/61/userId/527425/Default.aspx

Parties go hi-tech, launch virtual campaigns in Karnataka

This also informs people to assemble at a particular point. Since the election commission will be watching campaigns, making them viral will help parties reach out to more people. Shivajinagar's Congress candidate Rizwan Arshad, who posted a video on Twitter, appealed to people to vote for him. "I am not new here. Although I was lost in the previous Lok Sabha election, I'm indebted to the people in Shivajinagar. Congress has chosen me to listen to you,'' he says his video. Nataraj Gowda, Social Media co-ordinator, KPCC has put up posters of all 15 candidates as his WhatsApp status message. "We have instructed our party workers to do the same on WhatsApp and on Facebook. They were also instructed to forward these posters to the concerned people through WhatsApp,'' he said. He claims they have reached over 5 lakh people through this campaign. BJP has been posting a quick brief of their campaigns in all 15 constituencies with just a one-minute video, every day. State media co-ordinator AH Anand said that he has appointed a social media coordinator in all 15 constituencies. "We have started a missed call campaign and have people's data. We also have a network of booth-level workers, who will take messages from party leaders and commoners in their constituency,'' he said. Anand said that they were also doing press meets live. They have been releasing video messages of Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel and other senior ministers, which will again be shared on social media. "We are the first party to use social media on such a big scale,'' he added. Meanwhile, JDS has taken up broadcasting their campaigns live. The JDS Fan club page is doing live coverage of Former PM Devegowda, HD Kumaraswamy and others. "Anyone from any corner can watch these live. JDS started using this media later than other parties, but we will use it better in the future,'' said a JDS leader on anonymity. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The New Indian Expresshttps://www.intensedebate.com/people/guessyleague