Space crew blasts off to ISS
NASA astronaut Scott Tingle and crewmates Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos and Norishege Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will launch in the Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Three-man crew returns from ISS
A capsule carrying U.S., Russian and Italian astronauts from the International Space Station landed in Kazakhstan on Thursday after a five-month mission, a NASA TV live broadcast showed. The spacecraft brought back Randy Bresnik from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Sergey Ryazanskiy from Russian space agency Roscosmos, and Italy's Paolo Nespoli with the European Space Agency.
World Telugu Conference
Hussain Sagar Lake beautifully illuminated for the ongoing World Telugu Conference 2017 on December 17, 2017.
Women Self Help Group Confidence
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu being welcomed by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan during State-level convention and training programme of women self-help groups at Jumboori Ground in Bhopal on Sunday.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan pitched for reservation of women in various government departments of the state. Speaking at the event, organized on Jamburi grounds of Bhopal, Mr. Chouhan announced that 50% jobs would be reserved for women in all state government schools. Also, the Chief Minister has said that barring the forest department, at least 35% jobs are reserved for women working in different government departments.
The “Women Self Help Group Confidence” was presented and inaugurated by the Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu.
India vs SL
M.S Dhoni unsuccessfully attempts to run out Sadeera Samarawickrama during the third one-day international cricket match between India and Sri Lanka in Visakhapatnam, on Saturday.
The third and deciding one-day international against Sri Lanka is on today in Visakhapatnam. Mahendra Singh Dhoni will aim to reach his 10,000 ODI mark with a century on the day. India are currently levelled at 1-1 with Sri Lanka.
Parivartan Yatra
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, wearing a mysore peta and a garland, being presented a memento by Ananth Kumar and State President B.S. Yeddyurappa during 'parivartan rally' in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Bharatiya Janata Party held Parivartan Yatra in Bengaluru. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP state chief B.S. Yeddyurappa, Union Minister Ananth Kumar and Sadananda Gowda participated in the rally.
6th anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s death
People bow to the bronze statues of their late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at Mansu Hill, marking the sixth anniversary of leader Kim Jong Il's death in Pyongyang.
Crowds of flower-bearing North Koreans streamed passed statues and portraits of their leaders to pay respects on the sixth anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-un’s father, Kim Jong Il. With somber, recorded music playing in the sub-zero air, thousands upon thousands of people marched up Pyongyang’s Mansu Hill to bow and place flowers at the feet of two giant bronze statues of Kim Jong Il and national founder Kim Il Sung, who is North Korea’s “eternal president” and Mr. Kim Jong-un’s grandfather. Kim Jong Il died on December 17, 2011.
Boycott of U.S. products
Protesters hold Indonesian and Palestinian flags during a rally against U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital at Monas, the national monument, in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Muslim clerics called for a boycott of American products on Sunday in Indonesia’s largest protest against President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Wearing white robes and carrying banners reading “Indonesia unites for Palestine” and “Save our Palestine,” an estimated 80,000 people rallied in the capital of the world’s largest Muslim nation in the 10th straight day of protests.
Landslide in southern Chile
Damage done by a landslide is seen in Villa Santa Lucia, Los Lagos, Chile on Saturday, in this picture obtained from social media.
Officials in Chile say heavy rains fuelled a landslide that swept over a village in the country’s south, killing at least three people and leaving another 15 missing. President Michel Bachelet said on her Twitter account that emergency services are working in the area “to care for those affected.” Some of the injured were evacuated by helicopter to medical centres.
King Michael’s state funeral
The flag-drapped coffin of late King Michael is carried by Romanian soldiers during the burial ceremony outside the monastery in Curtea de Arges, 175 kilometers north west of Bucharest, Romania.
European royalty joined tens of thousands of Romanians who wept and applauded as they said farewell to Romania’s last monarch, King Michael, who was buried next to his wife Saturday after a state funeral. Michael, who ruled Romania twice before being forced to abdicate by the communists in 1947, was remembered for his dignity and morality. He died at age 96 in Switzerland on Dec. 5.
'For a Europe of Sovereign Nations'
Dutch politician, founder and the current leader of the Party for Freedom Geert Wilders delivers a speech during the conference of European anti-migrant parties from the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) Group in the European Parliament, in Prague.
Far-right populists in Europe vowed to work together to create a new model of intercontinental cooperation that is far removed from the European Union. Leaders of parties from France, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Britain and other countries met in Prague to discuss ideas for Europe’s future under the headline “For a Europe of Sovereign Nations.” They attacked the E.U. for its migrant policies, accused its leader of trying to create a super state run by Brussels and praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s approach to migration. Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right National Front, blamed the EU for getting “everything wrong.” Geert Wilders, founder of the Dutch anti-Islam Party for Freedom, followed suit.
Residents flee as flames
In this photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, flames advance towards a large fire break near homes along Gibraltar Road north of Santa Barbara, California.
Residents piled into cars and fled, turning downtown Santa Barbara into “a ghost town” as surging winds drove one of the biggest fires in California’s history toward the city and the nearby wealthy enclave of Montecito. The mandatory evacuations around Montecito and neighbouring Summerland came as winds that had eased a day earlier roared back at around 30 mph (48 kph), with gusts to about 60 mph (97 kph). Firefighters sprayed water onto hot spots sparked by wind-blown embers. Firefighters also drove to the historic San Ysidro Ranch in yellow fire trucks as heavy smoke rose from the coastal hills, blotting out the blue skies.
