Page 11 - Human Interest

Tears as badminton star Lee quits after cancer battle

Cancer-hit badminton star Lee Chong Wei announced his retirement Thursday, ending a brilliant career in which he collected a swathe of honours but never won a world or Olympic title. Lee, who spent a total of 348 weeks as world number one but lost six world and Olympic finals, wept as he called it quits months after suffering a cancer scare. "My decision to retire is a heavy one. I really love this sport. But it is a demanding sport. I thank all Malaysians for the past 19 years," a tearful Lee, 36, told a news conference. Lee, a father of two, was diagnosed with early-stage nose cancer last year and after intensive treatment in Taiwan, said he was keen to play again. But he hasn't trained since April and after missing a series of self-imposed deadlines to return to competition, his hopes of being eligible for next year's Tokyo Olympics were remote. The three-time Olympic silver medallist said he now wanted to rest and spend time with his family, and even take his wife on a ...

'Bharat' screening hosted for partition families: Salman

A special screening of "Bharat" was hosted for the families who experienced the events of 1947 and the partition, says superstar Salman Khan.

Dogs mirror owner's stress: Study

Dog owner's take note! Your furry friend may be get affected by your stress, as scientists have found that pooches mirror humans' stress level. Researchers at Linkoping University in Sweden have examined how stress levels in dogs are influenced by lifestyle factors and by the people that the dogs live with. They determined stress levels over several months by measuring the concentration of a stress hormone, cortisol, in a few centimetres of hair from the dog and from its owner. "We found that the levels of long-term cortisol in the dog and its owner were synchronised, such that owners with high cortisol levels have dogs with high cortisol levels, while owners with low cortisol levels have dogs with low levels," said Ann-Sofie Sundman from Linkoping University. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, examined 25 border collies and 33 Shetland sheepdogs, all of them owned by women. The owners and the dogs provided hair samples on two occasions separated by a few ...

Renowned Indian-origin writer Ahmed Essop dies

Renowned author and former educationist of Indian origin Ahmed Essop has died in South Africa, a close family friend said. He was 88. "The literary giant left us after being admitted to hospital a few days earlier," said Aslam Khota. Essop was buried Tuesday in his hometown of Lenasia, the mainly-Indian township south of Johannesburg. Born in India in 1931, Essop emigrated to South Africa as a child. He acquired several degrees and taught at a number of high schools and as a lecturer at a teacher training institution, where he was loved for his approach to popularising English literature, especially Shakespeare. Most of his 13 published works focused on the role of the Indian community in South African society, often highlighting the challenges the community faced under the draconian apartheid-era minority white government. This led to him being barred from teaching. One of Essop's early books, The Hajji and Other Stories' won the coveted Olive Schreiner Prize from the English ...

Amitav Ghosh conferred with Jnanpith award

Renowned author Amitav Ghosh was awarded the 54th Jnanpith Award for his contribution to the enrichment of Indian literature in English at a ceremony here on Wednesday.

Bopanna and Shapovalov stun Bryan Brothers

India's Rohan Bopanna combined with his Canadian partner Denis Shapovalov to upset the legendary Bryan Brothers -- Mike and Bob -- 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 to move into the quarterfinals of the Mercedes Cup here Wednesday. The Indo-Canadian pair will take on Frenchmen Lucas Pouille and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Social media aflutter after 'Dobby' like elf creature captured on US home security camera

An online video showing an elf-like creature that many are saying resembles 'Dobby' from the Harry Potter film and caused a flutter on social media and left viewers wondering about the identity of the creature!While speculations flew back and forth on the identity of the figure between users on social media, the mystery seemed to have been resolved.The video which surfaced on the internet on Friday was captured by a home security camera, reported Fox News.The owner of the house shared the clip on Facebook and wrote, "First I saw the shadow walking from my front door then I saw this thing....has anyone else seen this on their cameras??"After the peculiar video became viral, scores of interpretations regarding the strange creature with skinny legs and big ears started dropping in. While some called it an alien or an elf, some even found him similar to Dobby from 'Harry Potter.'Experts say that the video hasn't been altered and after a keen observation, some viewers opined that the ...

Former MLA Gattu Bheemudu is dead

Former TRS MLA from Gadwal in Telangana Gattu Bheemudu died at a government hospital here Wednesday following brief illness, the ruling party sources said. Bheemudu (64) was elected MLA in 1999 from Gadwal near Mahabubngar. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and TRS working president K T Rama Rao expressed grief on the demise of Bheemudu. Rao would attend the funeral of Bheemudu at the latter's native village near Gadwal Thursday, the sources added.

Ariana Grande donates her concert earnings

Ariana Grande is turning into a philanthropist! The singer is donating all the money generated from her concert in Atlanta, Georgia on June 8, to the cause of Planned Parenthood.Grande will make the donations totalling about USD 250,000 amid the wave of anti-abortion laws prevailing the southern states in the US, confirmed People."Ariana Grande's generous donation comes at a critical time -- in Georgia and across the country, anti-women's health politicians are trying to ban all safe, legal abortion," said Dr Leana Wen, Planned Parenthood Action Fund President.Wen continued, "This is not what the American people want, nor is it something they'll stand for."Wen expressed the organization's gratitude to the 'Thank u, next' singer for her 'longstanding commitment supporting women's rights and standing with Planned Parenthood.'Grande's strong move also comes after her Atlanta 'Sweetener' tour met with some anti-pride demonstrators.In response to the demonstrations, Grande shared a video ..

Lord Swraj Paul conferred with London Zoo's highest honour

Leading NRI entrepreneur and UK parliamentarian Lord Swraj Paul was conferred with the London Zoo's highest honour in recognition of his support for the institution. Lord Paul, founder chairman of the Caparo Group, donated 1 million pounds in 1993 to prevent the zoo from closure owing to financial constraints. Subsequently, he made several other donations for various projects of the zoo. The British-Indian entrepreneur received the prestigious Zoological Society of London's Honorary Fellowship for 2019 on Tuesday, joining a select band of distinguished personalities such as Price Philip, former Japan Emperor Akihito and veteran Sir David Attenborough who were similarly honoured in 1977, 1991 and 1998 respectively. The citation read out at the award ceremony said, "For the last 30 years, Lord Paul's support has been key in enabling ZSL and our Zoos to inspire, empower and inform people about wildlife and conservation. Through the Ambika Paul Foundation, ZSL has received a number of ...

Italy confers Knighthood on Indian author

Italy has conferred Knighthood on Italian language expert Pratishtha Singh for her extensive contribution in the field of culture and political studies promoting Indo-Italian ties. Singh, an author who has taught Italian language, literature and cultural history at the Delhi University, was awarded the "Knight of Order of the Star of Italy" by Italian Ambassador to India Lorenzo Angeloni here recently. She has contributed extensively in the field of culture and political studies and is among the youngest people to receive this honour. Singh, who is also a national coordinator Mahila Congress, spoke about how studying italian cultural and political history made her more sensitive and aware about her own country. Grammy and Oscar awardee Gulzar, former Rajya Sabha member Pavan K Varma, and Indian Art giant Anshul Nagar were among those who were present on the occasion.

Indore Mayor stops singing of national anthem, asks for Vande Mataram

Indore Mayor Malini Gaur on Wednesday cut short the singing of the national anthem and asked for Vande Mataram in its place at a meeting, an action that may stir controversy.This happened during the municipal budget session chaired by her.BJP leader Gaur had made Indore earn the tag of India's cleanest city three years in a row.She was by honoured President Ram Nath Kovind during the Swachh Survekshan Awards in March this year.

Startup hires specially-abled staff for cricket fan awards

Delhi-based digital startup Arrive Socially on Wednesday announced that it has hired almost 50 per cent of its 8-member staff from a group of specially-abled students from Delhi Universitys College of Arts.

Sister of N. Korean leader pays respects Panmunjom meeting

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday delivered a condolence message for former South Korean first lady Lee He-ho, the first high-level contact between the two countries in months. Kim Yo Jong, who holds a powerful position in the reclusive state, delivered the message, and flowers, on her brother's behalf at a meeting with South Korean officials at Panmunjom in the demilitarised zone. The meeting lasted about 15 minutes, said Chung Eui-yong, South Korea's top national security advisor. "Kim commented we should continue co-operation in honour of Lee's efforts for inter-Korean harmony," he said, according to broadcaster YTN. Lee, a lifelong companion of late president Kim Dae-jung, died on Monday aged 96. Kim was known for his "sunshine policy" of engagement with North Korea, and Pyongyang also sent a delegation to Seoul to pay respects when he died in 2010. Wednesday's meeting was the first by senior officials since the breakdown of a second summit between North ..

Zain is way better looking than me: Shahid Kapoor

Actor Shahid Kapoor says his son Zain is "really good looking" and has got features like his wife Mira.

Indian on trial for molesting 7-year-old girl in Dubai

A 36-year-old Indian man accused of groping a seven-year-old girl here has denied a molestation charge at the Dubai Court of First Instance.

Amitabh Bachchan pays off loan of 2,100 farmers from Bihar

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan on Wednesday said he helped clearing outstanding loans of over two thousand farmers from Bihar. The 76-year-old actor took to his personal blog to share the news. Bachchan said he called on some of the farmers to his residence and donated the amount at the hands of his children Shweta and Abhishek. "A promise made done. The farmers from Bihar who had outstanding loans, picked 2,100 of them, and paid off their amount with an OTS with the bank. Called some of them over to Janak and personally gave it to them at the hands of Shweta and Abhishek," he wrote on his blog. The "Badla" star also said he was on his way to honour another promise he made to the martyr families of the Pulwama terror attack. "Now going to Janak to complete another promise... to give some monetary assist to the martyrs families, who sacrificed their lives at Pulwama..." Bachchan had earlier supported 1,398 farmers from Uttar Pradesh and 350 from Maharashtra by paying off their loans.

Lazy Katrina wants to 'sit and talk about dance'

Actress Katrina Kaif wanted to take a day off from a dance practice session, and instead just wanted to sit and talk about it.

Unicef to honour Priyanka with humanitarian award

Unicef will honour Indian actress Priyanka Chopra with the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award at the Unicef Snowflake Ball in December.

Dolphins form friendships through shared interests, just like humans: Study

Dolphins form close friendships based on shared common interests, just like humans do, a study claims. Shark Bay, a World Heritage area in Western Australia, is home to an iconic population of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, and the only place where dolphins have been observed using marine sponges as foraging tools. This learnt technique, passed down from generation to generation, helps certain dolphins, "spongers", find food in deeper water channels. While the tool-using technique is well-studied in female dolphins, the researchers from University of Bristol in the UK and University of Zurich in Switzerland study looked specifically at male dolphins. Using behavioural, genetic and photographic data collected from 124 male dolphins during the winter months in Shark Bay over nine years (2007 to 2015), the team analysed a subset of 37 male dolphins, comprising 13 spongers and 24 non-spongers. Male spongers spend more time associating with other male spongers than they do non-spongers,