World take to mat, bend, twist to mark inaugural Yoga Day

Melbourne/London, Jun 21: Thousands of yoga enthusiasts across the world today took to mats and stretched, bent and twisted their bodies in multiple complex postures as they marked the inaugural International Day of Yoga, celebrating the ancient Indian spiritual practice.

More than a thousand people took part in several events across Australia to mark the day, with Prime Minister Tony Abott appreciating Yoga's universal appeal.

"For thousands of years, yoga has provided its followers with a guide to bringing their mind, body and spirit into balance," Abott said.

"Yoga's universal and growing popularity demonstrates its appeal to people from all the walks of life and its great potential to foster better health among individuals and populations around the world," he said.

Melbourne saw over 500 people gathered at the Springers Leisure Centre to kick off the day with 'Surya Namaskar' and bending and twisting their bodies in complex postures.

Several MPs including Victoria's speaker Telmo Languiller, Inga Peulich, Anthony Byrne attended the ceremony by lighting the lamp in the presence of Indian consul-general in Melbourne Manika Jain.

Yoga events were also held at Sydney's popular Bondi beach and in the Australian capital Canberra.

In the UK, hundreds gathered across cities to celebrate the day with the main event on the bank of the river Thames in London. It was held at Bernie-Spain Garden, on the South Bank of Thames.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said in his message: "The UK is pleased to support International Yoga Day. We were one of 177 countries to vote in favour of Prime Minister Modi's proposal and we are pleased to see the enthusiasm with which it is being embraced, both in UK and around the world."

In China, events were organised at the prestigious Peking University and Geely University. People from different walks of life took part in the exercise.

About a week ahead of the International Yoga Day, the India-China Yoga college was inaugurated at Yunnan Minzu University in Kunming, the first such college in the country.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his excitement at the first International Day of Yoga during his meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New York, saying the day has garnered "unprecedented" enthusiasm around the world.

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Explosive new Epstein files reveal Donald Trump raped 13-year-old girl, murdered newborn

News Network

January 31,2026

The US Department of Justice has released millions of new documents linked to the case of convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, before removing some pages that contained complaints mentioning President Donald Trump.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Friday that approximately 3.5 million files were published to comply with the Epstein Transparency Act, following criticism that the administration had missed a December 19 deadline set by Congress.

The documents include FBI communications and complaints submitted as tips, some of which list comments mentioning Trump and others who had social or professional ties to Epstein.

Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to his past association with Epstein.

Pages removed from DOJ website

After their publication, pages containing complaints that mentioned Trump were removed from the DOJ website and now return a “page not found” message. Copies of the documents, however, have circulated widely on social media. CNN anchor Jake Tapper was among those who publicly noted that the pages had been taken down.

One complaint, filed by a friend of a victim, says Trump forced a girl aged 13–14 to perform “oral sex” approximately 35 years ago in New Jersey. The document states that an investigator was sent to Washington to conduct an interview.

Another complaint says Trump regularly paid an individual to perform sexual acts and adds that he was present when her newborn child was murdered by a relative. The paperwork notes that there was “no contact made” with the complainant.

A separate complaint, which provided no contact information, said “calendar girls” parties at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago involved children and sexual abuse. The document also names several public figures as present at such events.

In another account, a complainant said they witnessed a “sex trafficking ring” at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, in the mid-1990s. The person noted “threats” from Trump’s head of security if she spoke publicly about what she had seen.

Other figures mentioned in the files

The latest release also includes a draft email Epstein wrote to himself in 2013, referring to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. In the message, Epstein said Gates asked him to delete emails and referenced “personal matters.”

The DOJ has not provided a detailed explanation for why certain pages were removed after publication. The department said the document release was ongoing.

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