Killer Whales Sink Yacht In Mediterranean Sea In Harrowing 2-Hour Attack

A $128,000 yacht was attacked and sunk by a group of killer whales in the Mediterranean Sea, leaving the crew in shock. According to New York Post, Robert Powell, 59, and his crew were just 22 hours into their 10-day trip from Vilamoura, Portugal, to Greece on Wednesday when they saw killer whales approaching them. 

The orcas, typically known for their intelligence and curiosity, began to exhibit aggressive behaviour, ramming the yacht with incredible force. The five orcas circled the 39-foot sailing boat and, in a coordinated assault, took turns ramming it to pieces around 8 p.m.

''To me, they were not playing at all, they knew exactly what they were doing. They knew the weak points of the boat, and they knew how to sink it. Their sole intention was to sink the boat, and that was it,'' Mr Powell, who was meant to be celebrating his birthday aboard the boat, said.

The pod of five first targeted the rudder, rendering the sailboat unable to steer after approximately 15 strikes. The orcas then broke apart and systematically attacked distinct parts of the boat's exterior, with one concentrating on the keel, another on the stern, and the others targeting other vulnerable areas.

''They were circling. It was like watching wolves hunt. They were taking it in turns to come in — sometimes two would come in at the same time and hit it. So obviously pretty terrifying,'' Mr Powell added. 

The crew, caught off guard by the ferocity of the assault, attempted to steer the vessel away from the whales, but their efforts were in vain. The orcas seemed determined to sink the yacht, displaying an unusual level of aggression.

Fortunately, a Spanish salvage vessel intervened, evacuating the crew just moments before the sailboat plunged 130 feet into the Mediterranean, disappearing beneath the waves.

Killer whales are known for their complex social structures and typically do not exhibit unprovoked aggression towards human vessels. While there have been reports of orcas interacting with boats, such extreme behaviour is rare. Some experts speculate that the attack could have been triggered by environmental stressors, changes in their habitat, or even previous negative encounters with boats.

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Woman Gym Trainer, 21, Killed Inside Delhi Flat

A 21-year-old woman was killed inside a flat in Delhi this evening. The woman, a gym trainer, was found unconscious inside the flat when the police reached there.

She was later declared dead.

The police got a call this evening after which it reached the flat in the Pochanpur colony of Dwarka.

The accused, a 24-year-old man, was arrested from the flat, police said. The accused and victim are from Assam and knew each other, they said.

As per the initial investigation, the man killed Sneha Nath over some dispute. He first attacked the woman with a knife and then strangled her. During the scuffle, the accused Raj injured himself, police said.

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Ex-India Selector Pinpoints Gambhir's Biggest Challenge, Says "You Need..."

Gautam Gambhir's key task as India head coach will be man-management and not coaching a bunch of talented players in their respective skills, said former player and ex-chief selector Sandeep Patil on Friday. Gambhir is set to start his tenure with a limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka comprising three T20Is and as many ODIs, with the first game in the shortest format set to be played on Saturday. "I don't think his job is to coach the Indian team. His job is to help the Indian team,” Patil told PTI Videos in an exclusive interview here.

“That's how it works at the top level. You need player management. That will be the challenge for Gambhir.” “He has done it and I am sure he will continue to do the same with the Indian cricket team," said Patil on the sidelines of an event organised by Shrachi Rajasthan Tigers.

Patil, a member of India's World Cup winning team in 1983, hoped Gambhir will continue to have success at international level after excelling in the IPL.

"Gambhir had done an exceptional job as a coach for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL. I hope that he continues to help the Indian team in the same way,” he added.

Patil backed senior India players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who retired from the T20 internationals after winning the World Cup last month, to continue featuring in the other formats for a long run.

"Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are still doing extremely well and there is no question of an Indian team without them. I wish the Indian team all the best wherever they are playing and whatever tournament they are playing, they are bound to do exceedingly well,” he said.

"Surya comes from Mumbai and is a very dear friend of mine. He has been given the captaincy and he deserved it. I wish him all the best,” he said about India's newest T20I captain.

Patil said cricket has made significant progress in India since the country's maiden title triumph in 1983.

“Like every Indian, I wish the Indian cricket team good luck. I am happy that I am part of 1983 and the progress the Indian team has made over the years has been commendable,” he said.

Patil said it is important for India to be a contender in all sports.

"Cricket has changed over time, so has coaching and the approach to sports. We need to ensure India can become a contender in all sports and all avenues of sports,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Paris Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony: When And Where To Watch Live

Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony Live Streaming, Telecast: The Paris Olympics 2024 will officially get underway on Friday with a grand opening ceremony, which will be held at the River Seine in the French capital. For the first time ever, the opening ceremony will be held outside a stadium, instead the city of Paris will be turned into a grand arena. Veteran table tennis veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal and ace shuttler and two-time medallist PV Sindhu will be India's flag bearers for the opening ceremony. Sharath Kamal was selected as India's flagbearer in March this year but Sindhu was named as the female flagbearer earlier this month.

As far as the Opening Ceremony is concerned, almost 100 boats carrying an estimated 10,500 athletes will float along the Seine during the parade.

Majority of the 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) represented in the parade will have boats to themselves, while the smaller ones will share boats.

When will the Paris Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony take place?

The Paris Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony will take place on Friday, July 26.

Where will the Paris Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony take place?

The Paris Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony will take place at the River Seine, Paris.

What time will the Paris Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony start?

The Paris Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony is expected to start at 11:30 PM IST.

Which TV channels will telecast the Paris Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony?

The Paris Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony will be telecasted on Sports 18.

Where to follow the live streaming of the Paris Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony?

The Paris Olympics 2024 Opening Ceremony will be streamed live for free on Jio Cinema.

(All the details are as per the information provided by the broadcaster)

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Deadly Rat Disease Spreads to Humans, Kills 4 In US

A health alert has been issued in the state of Arizona, in the United States, after a rodent-borne hantavirus killed four people. The virus spreads to humans through droplets from the urine, saliva, or faeces of the rats.

From January to July, the Arizona Department of Health Services documented seven instances of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, a serious and occasionally lethal respiratory disease.

Two cases related to this deadly virus have also been found in California. The virus, primarily carried by deer mice in the Grand Canyon State, causes symptoms such as fever, headache, and muscle pain, which can rapidly progress to difficulty breathing. While hantavirus is not spread from person to person, it can occur in various regions and is not limited to a specific area.

According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hantaviruses are a family of viruses spread mainly by rodents and can cause varied disease syndromes in people worldwide. This can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), the CDC website says.

Symptoms:

Hantavirus symptoms start with fatigue, fever, muscle aches, headaches, chills, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Late symptoms include coughing and shortness of breath, with a 38% mortality rate for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) symptoms appear 1-8 weeks post-exposure, causing headaches, pain, fever, chills, nausea, and blurred vision. Severe cases may lead to low blood pressure, shock, vascular leakage, and kidney failure. Recovery can take weeks or months.

Treatment:

The CDC says there is no specific treatment, cure, or vaccine for hantavirus infection. However, if the infected are recognised early on and are provided medical care in an intensive care unit, they may do better. In intensive care, patients are intubated and given oxygen therapy to help them through the period of severe respiratory distress.

Prevention:

According to the Centres for Disease Control, rodent control is the primary necessity to prevent hantavirus infections. Contact with rodent urine, droppings, saliva, and nesting materials should be avoided when cleaning rodent-infested areas.

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"5 Decades To Realise Mistake": Court On Staff Barred From Joining RSS

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday said it took the Union government nearly five decades to realise that an "internationally renowned" organisation like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was wrongly placed in the list of organisations banned for government employees.

The HC's remark came while a bench of Justices Sushruta Arvind Dharmadhikari and Gajendra Singh disposed of the writ petition of retired Central government employee Purushottam Gupta.

Gupta had filed a petition in the High Court on September 19 last year challenging the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules as well as the office memorandums of the Centre that were preventing the participation of government employees in the activities of the Sangh.

"The court laments the fact that it took almost five decades for the Central government to realise its mistake; to acknowledge that an internationally renowned organisation like RSS was wrongly placed amongst the banned organisations of the country and that its removal therefrom is quintessential," the bench said.

"Aspirations of many Central government employees of serving the countries in many ways, therefore, got diminished in these five decades because of this ban, which got removed only when it was brought to the notice of this court vide the present proceedings," the HC further said.

The bench directed the Union government's Department of Personnel and Training and the Ministry of Home Affairs to publicly display on the home page of their official website the July 9 office memorandum through which the ban on government employees from joining Sangh activities was lifted.

"In the fitness of things, therefore, we direct the Department of Personnel and Training and Ministry of Home Affairs, GOI to display publicly on the Home Page of its Official Website the contents and copy of the circular /OM dated 9th July, 2024 as filed in the present petition," it said.

"This is to ensure public knowledge and information about the issuance of the said circular/ OM. Besides the above, within 15 days of the judgement of this Court, the circular /OM dated 9th July, 2024 is also directed to be transmitted to all the departments and undertakings of the Central Government across India," the HC added.

Speaking to PTI. Indore-based petitioner Gupta, who retired from the Central Warehousing Corporation in 2022, said, "I am happy with the Centre's decision to lift the ban on participation of government employees in Sangh activities. It will now become easier for thousands of people like me to join the RSS."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Centre Criticises Kerala For Appointing Official For "External Cooperation"

State governments should not intrude into matters beyond their constitutional jurisdiction, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday criticising the Kerala government for appointing a secretary for "external cooperation".

Citing provisions in the Constitution, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that matters relating to foreign affairs are the "sole prerogative" of the central government.

On July 15, the Kerala government issued an order giving K Vasuki, secretary in the labour and skills department, the additional charge of "the matters connected with external cooperation".

"The Constitution of India under the seventh schedule, list 1 (or the) Union list, item 10, clearly specifies that foreign affairs and all matters which bring the Union into relation with any foreign country, are the sole prerogative of the Union Government," Jaiswal said.

"It is not a concurrent subject and definitely not a state subject. Our position is that state governments should not intrude into matters that are beyond their constitutional jurisdiction," he said.

On Monday, BJP parliamentarian P P Chaudhary raised the issue in Lok Sabha and described the Kerala government's action as "unconstitutional" and an "encroachment" on the responsibilities of the Centre.

"Is the Kerala government treating itself as a separate nation," he asked.

The BJP lawmaker said external cooperation meant dealing with various nations, Indian embassies and missions abroad, functions that formed part of the Union List as per the allocation of business rules.

"As per the allocation of business rules, these functions can only be performed by the Government of India through the Ministry of External Affairs," the MP from Pali in Rajasthan said.

"So, the action on the part of Kerala government by issuing such an order and appointing an IAS officer as foreign secretary is unconstitutional, and it is an encroachment on the union list," he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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