News

MH370: Obama offers support as search enters 50th day

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US President Barack Obama today promised fresh support to Malaysia in tracking down the plane missing for past 50 days even as a robotic mini-submarine failed to locate any wreckage despite scouring about 95 per cent of the search area in Indian Ocean.

Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, leading Malaysia’s efforts to determine the fate of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 that disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board, said he spoke to Obama briefly after he arrived here for an official visit.

One of those days which we need to forget quickly: Kohli

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A dejected Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli wants to “forget” the humiliating defeat against Rajasthan Royals even though he conceded that poor application was responsible for being shot out for 70 in an IPL encounter here today.

“Looks like we didn’t arrive on the field today,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Breast cancer survivors meet at Delhi hospital

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A group of 30 breast cancer survivors Saturday counseled and shared their experiences with women who were battling the disease at a hospital here.

The survivors sopke about their journeys and methods like meditation, yoga and spirituality that may provide some help to patients at the “Breast Cancer Support Group Meet”. Meet was organised by the Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals.

Congress women leaders lash out at Ramdev over Dalit remark

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Three women leaders of the Congress Saturday hit out at yoga guru Baba Ramdev over his remarks on party vice president Rahul Gandhi on dining with the Dalit community.

Kumari Selja, former union minister for social justice and empowerment, came down heavily on Ramdev for saying that Rahul Gandhi’s meetings with Dalits at their homes were akin to a picnic or a honeymoon.

“These are extremely objectionable comments and we strongly condemn them. The remarks about Dalits and women show his (Ramdev’s) mentality.

Over 500 prosecuted for drunken driving in Delhi

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Over 500 drivers have been prosecuted and more than 400 vehicles impounded in a special drive against drunken driving, Delhi Police said Saturday.

A total of 541 drunk drivers were fined, 434 vehicles impounded and 154 owners of vehicles prosecuted between 7 p.m. and 12 midnight Friday, police said.

“The drive was held at 125 spots and as many as 600 officers were deployed with sufficient numbers of alcometers,” Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Anil Shukla said in a statement.

Resurgent Rajasthan outplay Bangalore by six wickets

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A clinical Rajasthan Royals shot out Royal Challengers Bangalore for a paltry 70, the third lowest total in the Indian Premier League history, and then romped to a six-wicket victory here today.

Rajasthan bowlers, led by spinner Pravin Tambe (4/20), justified their skipper’s decision to bowl first as only three Bangalore batsmen could touch a double-digit mark.

Ironically in 2009, Rajasthan were at the receiving end of Bangalore’s hostility when they were bundled out for 58 – the lowest IPL score by any team till now.

Afghan presidential election likely to go into run-off

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The Afghan presidential election is likely to go into a run-off as none of the hopefuls could obtain more than 50 percent of the votes, a media report said Saturday.

Abdullah Abdullah is leading the other candidates as 82.5 percent of votes have been counted, Chairman of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) Mohammad Yusuf Nuristani told a press conference here Thursday.

Irani accuses Priyanka of indulging in poll gimmicks

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BJP’s Amethi Lok Sabha candidate Smriti Irani today said Priyanka Gandhi was indulging in poll gimmicks and was trying to deviate people’s attention from actual issues.

While addressing a public meeting in Jagdishpur assembly segment, Irani said, “Priyanka should answer how many times did his brother Rahul Gandhi visit Amethi in last ten years. She should also compare my work in Parliament in last two and half years with Rahul’s.”

BJP comes out in defence of “saint” Ramdev over ‘honeymoon’

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BJP today came out in defence of yoga guru Ramdev over his remarks that Rahul Gandhi goes to dalit for “honeymoon”, and said he is a “saint” whose words should be viewed in the context in which they were made and not as per the perception of Congress leaders.

“Ramdev is a saint. When he selects words like honeymoon, which is an English word, the context should be understood and its usage seen and not be misconstrued…

“It did not have the kind of meaning as Congress leaders were viewing it as per their own perception,” BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.

Ramdev should be jailed: Mayawati on ‘anti-Dalit’ remarks

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Condemning Ramdev’s controversial remarks targeting Rahul Gandhi on his visit to Dalit houses, BSP supremo Mayawati today threatened to launch a country-wide stir against the yoga guru and the BJP after the polls, if the saffron party did not take action against him.

BJP should take immediate action against him (Ramdev), “otherwise after Lok Sabha elections, BSP would launch a country-wide agitation against this baba, besides BJP and SP,” she said.

Murder sparks communal tension in MP town; Sec 144 imposed

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A person was allegedly shot dead in Machalpur town here today following a dispute over a petty issue, sparking communal tension in the area, a senior official said.

The incident took place when two saw machine unit owners in the area indulged in a quarrel following which one of them identified as Badrilal Lovanshi (32) was shot dead by the other belonging to a minority community, the official said.

Dividing society is inseparable part of BJP’s politics: Manmohan

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said that the statements of some BJP leaders show that dividing society is inseparable part of BJP’s politics.

Addressing an election rally of the Congress at Bhongir town of Nalgonda district, about 50 km from here, he said the some BJP leaders through their statements openly tried to create a divide in the society.

Tendulkar ‘casual labourer’, MGNREGS beneficiary in Goa

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Sachin Tendulkar may have won the Bharat Ratna, but according to the Goa government’s records, he is a “casual labourer” and a beneficiary of the MGNREGS. And so are his wife and two children, says an NGO.

Non-governmental organisation Goa Parivartan Manch Saturday claimed to have exposed a scam in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment GuaranteeS, where officials and politicians have been listing fictitious workers and pinching their remuneration.

Paes conferred Padma Bhushan

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Ace tennis player Leander Paes was conferred India’s third highest civilian honour – the Padma Bhushan – by President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here Saturday.

Paes was ecstatic at receiving the award and posted several photos on Twitter. He put up two photographs before the ceremony with his parents – Vece and Jennifer – outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan and later on a photo with him sitting and posing with the open scroll and the medallion on his chest.

Congress wants Priyanka Gandhi to campaign more: Singhvi

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The Congress was “keen and eager” to see party chief Sonia Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra play a bigger role in the election campaign, its national spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said Saturday.

“Yes, I accept the entire party is very keen and eager that she should campaign more and that is true of every election…,” he told reporters here, also adding that Priyanka Gandhi has made her position clear on many occasions.

Putin, Obama still in dialogue: Kremlin

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Barack Obama have not stopped their contacts due to the situation in Ukraine, the Kremlin said Saturday.

“The conversation is continuing quite regularly. The previous conversation between the two presidents took place last week,” Xinhua quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

“There are a lot of disagreements now, and therefore these dialogues are sometimes very tough, but nevertheless, communication is continuing.”

Priyanka, Smriti in war of words over Rahul’s work

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A war of words broke out Saturday between Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and BJP’s Amethi Lok Sabha candidate Smriti Irani, as the Gandhi scion urged people not to vote for an “outsider” in the constituency.

Irani hit back, questioning how many times Rahul Gandhi visited the constituency in the last 10 years.

Addressing a public meeting here, Priyanka said Saturday: “All those contesting against Rahul are here just to contest against him…”

“… But our hearts are always here.”

Modi is Chief Minister of average state: Chidambaram

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Finance Minister P Chidambaram today sought to take the wind out of ‘Gujarat Model’ saying Narendra Modi is Chief Minister of an average state and the model being propagated by him was “exaggerated and boastful”.

“Gujarat is an average state. It has neither the best performance, nor the worst performance. It lies somewhere in the middle,” Chidambaram said while dismissing BJP’s pitch of Gujarat model as “exaggerated and boastful”.

BJP’s ‘jalil vichar’ its identity: Sonia

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Terming BJP as “power hungry” party, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today said that the party’s identity is its “jalil vichar” (disgraceful views) and it believes in “telling and selling lies”.

“BJP is power hungry party. It is ready to do anything for grabbing power. They tell and sell lies, which is in its veins”, Gandhi said while addressing an election rally in her constituency.

RCB bowled out for 70 against Rajasthan

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Royal Challengers Bangalore were bowled out for 70 in their IPL match against Rajasthan Royals here today.

Brief Scores:

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 70 all out in 15 overs (Virat Kohli 21, Pravin Tambe 4/20).

Palestinian unity government will reject violence: Abbas

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Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said today the new unity government he is set to head with Hamas backing would reject violence and recognise Israel and existing agreements with it.

“The upcoming government will obey my policy,” he told members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s Central Council. “I recognise Israel and reject violence and terrorism, and recognise international commitments.”

Israel halted peace talks after a Wednesday reconciliation agreement between Abbas’s PLO and the Islamist Hamas movement, which is pledged to Israel’s destruction.

88 dead in two days of clashes in Syria’s Daraa: monitor

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At least 88 rebel and regime forces have been killed in two days of clashes for control of strategic sites in Syria’s southern Daraa province, a monitoring group said today.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights based in Britain said 45 opposition fighters and 43 regime forces had been killed in the fighting that began on Thursday.

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP that rebel forces, including fighters from Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate Al-Nusra Front, had seized the strategic Tal al-Jabiyeh hill on Thursday.

BJP wave only in air: Akhilesh

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today said there was nothing like Gujarat model of development and the so-called BJP wave was only in the air.

“There is nothing like Gujarat model of development and the BJP wave is only in the air. It is the Samajwadi Party which works on the ground,” he told a poll rally at Sidhauli.

The Uttar Pradesh SP chief allged the BJP was a cunning and communal party which would divide the country.

They talk about networking of rivers but the fact was that rivers in Gujarat were heavily polluted, he said.

Post-poll student welfare schemes was dropped by the Karnataka govt

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The two populist schemes this year – one to distribute free laptops to PU students and another to distribute sanitary napkins to girl students was dropped by the State government as it is facing serious financial constraints.

With cycle rates going up, the government is also finding it tough to continue the free bicycle scheme for high school girl students. Even during 2013-14 the government could not distribute bicycles. The last distribution was in 2012-13 when the BJP was in power. The government has provided Rs 175 cr for purchasing six lakh bicycles.

B’lore airport seems to be new alight for night birds

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The latest attraction to hang out seems to be the entry lounge area of the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), with many locals and tourists making a beeline for it.

A tight security zone that is also alcohol-free, people of all ages is seen enjoying flavoured tea, coffee or snacks here. However, officialsat the airport do not keep track of the number of visitors, they acknowledge the fact that more people have been visiting the lounge area over the years.