UNITED NATIONS, Aug 5:  A poem from Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s masterpiece ‘The Gitanjali’ was recited by Indian Ambassador to the UN Asoke Kumar Mukerji as part of a commemorative ceremony held here marking 100 years of the outbreak of the World War I.
Mukerji was among the 15 UN envoys who chose, recited and recorded poems related to the war by authors from their respective countries.
The poems and their recordings were displayed at an interactive exhibition organised by the UK’s mission to the UN yesterday as it took over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of August.
Mukerji read verse 96 from ‘The Gitanjali’, a collection of Tagore’s poems originally published in 1910.
“When I go from hence, let this be my parting word, that what I have seen is unsurpassable,” reads the first para of the poem by the legendary Indian philosopher.
The Indian delegation said as the shadows of an impending world war were gathering, Tagore’s poems encapsulated a simple faith in man and divinity, a refuge from the crass materialism that was engulfing the world.
It said the spirit of Tagore’s poems appealed to an entire generation, affording solace, faith and hope by rediscovering truth and beauty in the world.
Among the poignant instances of the popular appeal of Tagore’s poetry in war-torn Britain is the story of trench poet Wilfred Owen.
After the death of her son on the warfront, Owen’s mother Susan got his personal possessions back.
In the notebook that Owen carried in his pocket, he had written poem 96 from Gitanjali with Tagore’s name inscribed below.
Owen had recited lines from the poem when he had bid goodbye to his mother.
Owen’s mother had written to Tagore in August 1920 recounting the experience, moved by the power of the poem that reverberated in her mind in the voice of her lost son. (PTI)
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WASHINGTON, Aug 5:  Asserting that there was “no significant risk” to the country from the Ebola outbreak, the White House has ruled out turning back flights coming to the US and said there are screening measures in place to ward off threats from the disease.
“No, not at this point,” the White House Press Secretary, Josh Earnest, told reporters when asked if the flights coming to the US would be turned back over Ebola.
“At this point, there are screenings that are in place both before individuals board flights in their home countries or where these flights originate, but also after these individuals arrive here in the United States they’re screened once again,” he said.
“There are facilities available that if an individual is detected exhibiting these symptoms, that they can be quarantined and promptly evaluated by a medical professional,” he added.
The Centers for Disease Control, which is in close coordination with the World Health Organisation and other multilateral organisations, he said, has assessed that there is “no significant risk” to the United States from this current Ebola outbreak.
“It’s important for the public to understand that the reason that it’s important to identify the symptoms is you’re not contagious unless you exhibit the symptoms of this disease. That’s what differentiates it from a common cold or the flu, where, of course, individuals can be contagious before they start exhibiting the symptoms,” he added.
“It’s also important for people to understand that this disease is not transmitted through the air, it’s not transmitted through the water, and it would not be transmitted through food here in the United States. That’s why the CDC has assessed that there’s no significant risk to the United States from this current Ebola outbreak,” Earnest said.
The United States Secret Service and the State Department have ensured that their officers are properly trained to identify individuals coming from Africa who are exhibiting these symptoms.
Meanwhile the US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Sylvia Mathews Burwell, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr Tom Frieden consulted yesterday with the President of Guinea Alpha Conde, and senior officials from Liberia and Sierra Leone about the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa.
The group identified national and regional priorities and held intensive discussions on the types of assistance needed to mount an effective response.
Burwell and Frieden reiterated US engagement and support for efforts to control the outbreak and address the challenge.
The discussions took place on the margins of the US-African Leaders Summit now taking place in Washington. (PTI)
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GAZA CITY, Aug 5: A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas meant to last at least three days and end nearly a month of fighting went into effect in the Gaza Strip this morning.
The truce came ahead of talks in Cairo aimed at brokering a deal that would prevent future cross-border violence.
The temporary truce, agreed to by both sides, started at 8 a.M. (0500 GMT) and was to last for 72 hours during which Israel and Hamas are to hold indirect talks in the Egyptian capital.
The fighting has claimed nearly 1,900 Palestinian lives – most of them civilians. The war has also left 67 Israelis dead, all but three of them soldiers.
Previous international attempts to broker a temporary halt in the fighting failed.
The gaps between the sides are vast and the situation remains volatile – just minutes ahead of the start of the truce, shelling still echoed across Gaza.
Hamas wants Israel and Egypt to lift their seven-year-old Gaza border blockade. Israel wants Hamas to be disarmed.
Earlier today, the Israeli military announced that all its ground troops will have pulled out of Gaza by the start of the new cease-fire.
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said the withdrawal was going forward after Israel completed the destruction of 32 cross-border tunnels that were built for Islamic militant attacks inside Israel.
During the course of the fighting, Israeli forces killed some 900 Palestinian militants, Lerner said.
The war broke out on July 8 when Israel launched an air offensive in response to weeks of heavy rocket fire out of Hamas-controlled Gaza. It expanded the operation on July 17 by sending in ground forces in what it described as a mission to destroy a network of tunnels used to stage attacks. (AGENCIES)

LOS ANGELES, Aug 5:  ‘New Girl’ star Zooey Deschanel has reportedly split from her boyfriend of two years.
The news of break-up comes after Deschanel was photographed cosying up to a new man last month on the set of her upcoming film ‘Rock the Kasbah’, reported Us magazine quoting multiple sources.
The actress was spotted again with the man, who has since been identified as Jacob Pechenik, a producer on her latest film.
Deschanel, 34, and Linden began dating back in June 2012, shortly after her split from ex-husband Ben Gibbard, the lead vocalist of ‘Death Cab for Cutie’. (PTI)