South Korean presidential website loses data in hacking

South Korea says personal information was stolen from its presidential website in a cyber attack last week that coincided with a shutdown of North Korean websites. Yonhap news agency reported on Monday that about 100,000 subscribers' accounts were hacked on the presidential website. It cited an unidentified presidential official. The president's office acknowledged the loss of data but couldn't confirm the details. The Blue House has apologized on its website for allowing names, birth dates and IDs to be stolen. Passwords were not compromised. Several North and South Korean websites shut down on Wednesday, the anniversary of the start of the Korean War. The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war because the 1950-53 conflict ended in...

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Five killed in anti-Mursi protests across Egypt

At least five people were killed and scores injured when millions took to the streets across Egypt demanding the resignation of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, with media outlets describing it as the largest demonstration seen in the history of the most populous Arab country. In the Egyptian capital, tens of thousands of people on Sunday assembled at the iconic Tahrir Square - the centre of pro-democracy protests in 2011 - under the banner of Tamarod (Rebellion) movement which is driving the campaign with a petition of signatures seeking Mursi's ouster and a snap election, just as he completed a year in office. At least one person was killed in clashes at Cairo's headquarters of the governing Muslim Brotherhood movement, raising fears of...

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BJP, Congress in a bitter tweet war on final day of U'khand rescue operations

Even as rescue operations in Uttarakhand looked all set to wind up on Monday, the politics over the tragedy raged on. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj demanded that the Uttarakhand state government be dismissed for handling the disaster incompetently. Her tweet came after Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari hit out at her and BJP Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley for not visiting the disaster-struck state. He tweeted that while the BJP can criticise government proposals on CBI autonomy, it has no time to visit Uttarakhand. "H'onble LOP's have mindspace to critique govt proposals on CBI autonomy that are yet to be placed before SC but no time to visit Uttrakhand," he tweeted. One more tweet said, "Did anyone...

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AAP member's condition critical after she was hit by a car

Aam Aadmi Party activist and candidate from Seemapuri Santosh Koli was critically injured when a car hit her bike on Sunday. Koli has undergone a surgery in her head and is on life support. The next 72 hours are said to be critical. She has been Kejriwal's aide for over a decade. Kejriwal is claiming that this was not an accident but a deliberate attempt to kill her. Kumar Vishwas of his party has alleged that Santosh Koli had received threats from the supporters of Veer Singh Dhingan, the local Congress MLA from Seemapuri. Police say they are not ruling out anything and have filed an FIR for attempt to murder. Santosh Koli was critically injured when a car hit her bike in front of the Kaushambi metro station, Ghaziabad. The incident happened...

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Farewell party for top IAF official causes flutters

In an incident that has caused flutters in government circles, a top Air Force official who retired from service on Sunday attended a farewell party hosted in his honour in which a large number of arms vendors and officials dealing with procurements in the force were present. The party organised on June 7 for the Air Marshal-rank officer has raised the hackles of the top brass in the Defence Ministry and security agencies because of the presence of arms dealers and service officials in a private function, sources said here. Under rules governing the code of conduct of officials, "No Government servant shall, except with the previous sanction of the Government, receive any complimentary or valedictory address or accept any testimonial or attend...

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Ban on polythene-packed edible items from Today

The sale and storage of all non-essential edibles like potato chips and candies in polythene packs will be banned in Himachal Pradesh from Monday, officials said in Shimla on Sunday. Himachal will be the first state in the country to ban polythene-packed edible items in compliance with the order of the state High Court which has completely prohibited use of polythene packaging for non-essential food items. The High Court had ruled that non-essential eatables like potato chips, cookies, candy, chewing gum, ice cream, chocolates, noodles and candies are junk food and cannot be sold in polythene packings. However, essential items like milk and vegetable oils are exempted from the ban, the officials said. "There is a need to prevent degradation...

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