Press Trust of India

Press Trust of India (PTI) is India’s premier news agency, having a reach as vast as the Indian Railways. It employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.

Third phase of radio licensing soon: Javadekar

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The government will soon start auction for new radio channels, as well as permitting private FM channels to broadcast news, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said Thursday.

“The phase III licensing for radio channels will be processed faster, and news will allowed in FM radio soon,” he said at a round table on media and entertainment.

Javadekar also said that the government wanted to make national broadcaster Doordarshan the “first choice” of viewers.

He also said that there is a need to addresses the issue of decency in advertisements.

Greenpeace India rubbishes IB report over coal mining

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Greenpeace India Thursday rubbished allegations made in two Intelligence Bureau (IB) reports, leaked consecutively last week, accusing the organisation of stalling India’s coal mining activity.

Samit Aich, executive director, Greenpeace India, said the IB reports are a concerted effort by parties with vested interest to ensure elimination of any kind of opposition.

Karnataka to monitor investment projects online

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The Karnataka government would monitor online the status of investment projects under implementation across the state, a top official said Thursday.

“The electronic projects monitoring system (ePMS) will resolve online issues delaying implementation of mega projects in which investments from Rs.100-1,000 crore are made in the state,” state Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee said at an event here.

The ePMS will be file-less and paper-less from submission of application stage to clearances, as the project information will be digitised.

LIFF: ‘Transformers…’ to be screened at Rancho’s school

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The much-awaited Hollywood movie “Transformers: Age of Extinction” will have a special showcase at the forthcoming Ladakh International Film Festival (LIFF) in Leh in the Jammu and Kashmir region, simultaneously with its worldwide release June 27.

Distributed by Viacom18 Motion Pictures in India, the film will have a green carpet showcase at the third edition of the movie gala touted as the highest altitude film festival in the world.

800 interviewed on student visa day at US embassy

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The US embassy here Thursday organised a “student visa day” and around 800 applicants aspiring to study in America were interviewed.

Dressed in attires sporting US university logos, the embassy staff interviewed students applying for visas to pursue higher education in the US. Tips and information on academics and campus life were provided to the applicants.

Rare mutations to lower heart attack risk identified

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Researchers have now discovered that four rare gene mutations can not only lower the levels of triglycerides, a type of body fat in the blood, but also significantly reduce risk of coronary heart disease.

The results add to the growing body of knowledge that it is not low levels of HDL (high-density lipoproteins), the so called “good cholesterol”, but high levels of triglycerides in the blood that could lead to coronary heart disease.

The mutations all cripple the same gene, called APOC3, suggesting a powerful strategy in developing new drugs against heart disease, the findings showed.

Chile coach not to forget win over Spain

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Chile coach Jorge Sampoali could not contain his happiness after his team defeated Spain 2-0 in the FIFA World Cup here Wednesday, saying that he will never forget the victory.

“I am very happy with the effort the players put in. We worked very hard on how we might beat Spain and we managed it,” said Sampaoli, reports EFE.

Amarnath Yatra to begin June 28 from Baltal route

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The annual Amarnath Yatra, beginning June 28 this year, will start on schedule from the Baltal route in north Kashmir while a final call on allowing the pilgrims from the Pahalgam route in the south would be taken next week, the shrine board’s CEO said Thursday.

Patna blasts suspect gets bail

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A suspect in the Patna serial blasts that shook the Bihar capital in October 2013 was Thursday granted bail as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) failed to file a chargesheet against him, a government lawyer said.

Tabish Niyaz alias Arshad Ansari, a resident of Alauli village in East Champaran district, was arrested by the NIA as a suspect soon after the blasts.

“The court granted him bail on the ground that NIA has failed to file a chargesheet against him in the last six months,” the lawyer said.

Internet influences over 50 percent real estate buying decisions, says study

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Over fifty percent of real estate buyers decisions are influenced by Internet research, revealed a study by Google India.

The study is based on a pan India offline research conducted by Zinnov and real estate related search query trends on Google.

Researching online for real estate information was not limited to metros but also extended to buyers in tier II cities, said a Google release here Wednesday.

Suspense mounts as governors refuse to go

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The suspense over the fate of several governors continued Wednesday as they betrayed no sign of stepping down voluntarily, while the Congress attacked the BJP-led central government for “political vendetta” against UPA-era appointees.

While Kerala Governor Sheila Dikshit evaded questions on her next move, her West Bengal counterpart M.K. Narayanan said resignation was not on his mind.

“I have not yet resigned. I am not obliged to tell you what I am doing,” Narayanan Wednesday told a battery of journalists who sought to know if he was under pressure to exit Raj Bhavan.

Delhi civic agencies launch pre-monsoon drives

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The civic agencies here Wednesday launched drives to improve sanitation situation and to prevent spread of malaria and dengue in the city during monsoon.

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation launched the “Malaria and Dengue Prevention Month” to sensitise citizens about these diseases and their prevention and cure before the monsoon sets in by this month-end.

“The aim of the corporation is to protect citizens from these diseases. Dispensaries and hospitals of east Delhi are well equipped to deal with such situation,” said East Delhi Mayor Meenkshi.

Stormy UP assembly budget session from Thursday

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The budget session of the Uttar Pradesh assembly begins Thursday amid apprehension that opposition parties like the BJP would stall proceedings over law and order situation in the state.

The budget for 2014-15 would be presented by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who holds the finance portfolio, June 20 and the session will go on till July 18.

Anticipating trouble, Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey Wednesday convened an all-party meeting and sought the support of all parties. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not attend the meeting.

Cabinet nod for supervisory panel on Mullaperiyar Dam

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The union cabinet Wednesday approved the constitution of a supervisory committee on the Mullaperiyar Dam to look into the safety aspect of the proposed increase in height of the over 100-year-old structure.

“The three-member Supervisory Committee will look into the issues about the safety of the dam restoration of FRL (full reservoir level) to 142 feet,” an official statement said.

The decision follows a Supreme Court judgment asking for formation of a committee to oversee the issue, which has become the bone of contention between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Delhi LG announces steps to check onion, potato prices

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Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung Wednesday held a meeting of officials to review the prices of onions and potatoes in the capital, and announced a slew of measures to be taken to keep check on prices of the two vegetables.

An official statement said the Lt. Governor took stock of the current wholesale and retail prices of onions and potatoes in Delhi and was assured by officials that there is no significant increase.

Man throws acid on woman in Bengal

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A middle-aged woman suffered burn injuries after a man threw acid on her face in West Bengal’s Burdwan district, police said Wednesday.

The attack took place Tuesday night at Chittaranjan railway station.

Recuperating at a hospital, the woman, mother of a 20-year-old, accused a man who, she said, has been stalking her for some time.

“He has been threatening me with disfiguring my face for quite some time. He has been stalking me for long,” said the woman.

No arrest have been made yet.
)IANS

Telangana begins vehicles registration with ‘TS’ code

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The transport department in Telangana Wednesday started registration of new motor vehicles with “TS” code allotted to the new state.

The officials began issuing registration numbers to the new vehicles. About 2,000 vehicles were registered in Hyderabad on the first day.

In the central zone of Hyderabad, the department issued first number TS 09 EA 0002 to a car. Vehicle owner Shiva Reddy was happy to receive the number.

The central government last week permitted the state government to register motor vehicles with TS code.

Iraq PM warns violence may spread, militants attack refinery

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Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki warned that the latest escalation of violence in his country will spill over to those countries which led a “conspiracy” against Iraq as a major oil refinery caught fire after coming under militant attack.

“We will face terrorism and we will bring down the conspiracy. But be sure they will flee to you and your countries will also be burned by sectarian wars,” Maliki said in his weekly televised speech, referring to the countries that Iraq earlier accused of supporting terrorist groups.

Rs.12.7 lakh looted from UPPCL employees in Meerut

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Unidentified armed robbers Wednesday looted Rs.12.7 lakh cash from employees of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) while they were transporting the money to a bank here, police said.

The heist occurred 11 a.m. in an area under the Medical police station area.

According to police, the company accountant along with a security guard of the government power utility had just left their office, when the robbers, in a Honda City car, overtook their vehicle and tried to snatch the bag containing cash from the guard, Yogendra.

Homi Bhabha’s bungalow in Mumbai sold for Rs.372 crore

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A bungalow here belonging to the father of India’s atomic energy programme Homi Jehangir Bhabha was sold for Rs.372 crore in an auction Wednesday.

One of the landmarks in Mumbai, the sprawling 15,000 sq. feet ‘Mehrangir’ bungalow on a 1,593 sq. metre plot at Malabar Hill was bought by an unidentified bidder, said the property’s custodian National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA).

Ukraine to suspend ‘anti-terror’ operation, create elite force

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Ukraine Wednesday announced a unilateral ceasefire in the country’s eastern regions to allow armed activists to lay down their weapons or leave the country even as it said that it will create an elite special operations unit to counter threats to state security

“From our side, we will offer amnesty to those insurgents who will lay down their arms and those who have not committed serious crimes,” President Petro Poroshenko told reporters in Kiev.

The ceasefire period would be “very short”, Poroshenko said, without specifying an exact time frame, according to Xinhua.

Japan will attack Greece: Kawashima

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Japan’s goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima said that the ‘Blue Samurais’ will attack Greece in their Group C World Cup clash in the city of Natal, Thursday.

Japan lost 2-1 to Cote d’Ivoire despite taking the lead in their previous game, reports EFE.

“For us, the most important thing is neither the technique nor experience, not even scoring goals, but our fellowship,” said Kawashima.

“We are Japanese citizens before we are players, we will try to do the best for the team together, and this is our most important quality,” Kawashima added.

Preity Zinta case: Cops probe mafia threats to Wadia clan

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The Mumbai police Crime Branch is probing a complaint about alleged mafia threats to well-known industrialist Nusli Wadia related to a complaint filed against his son Ness by Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, officials said here Wednesday.

An aide to the 70-year-old Nusli Wadia Monday received calls and a message purportedly from absconding gangster Ravi Pujari, following which a complaint was lodged with the N.M. Joshi March Police Tuesday.

The message warned the industrialist that his “business will be in trouble” if the actress was harassed.

600 workers from Telangana in Iraq

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There are about 600 people from Telangana in Iraq and the government is taking all steps to ensure their safety, Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohammed Mehmood Ali said Wednesday.

He said the state government was in touch with the ministry of external affairs and was gathering information about those from Telangana feared trapped in Iraq.

Ali told reporters here that the government has so far identified 600 workers from Telangana. He said Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao was in regular touch with the central government.

I have not yet resigned: Bengal governor

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Amid reports of the Narendra Modi government’s apparent move to nudge some UPA-appointed governors to step down, West Bengal’s constitutional head M.K. Narayanan Wednesday denied having put in his papers.

“I have not yet resigned, I am not obliged to tell you what I do,” Narayanan told media persons on the sidelines of a programme here.

He however, kept speculation rife about his fate, saying: “Once I take a decision, I will let you know.”

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday called on Narayanan at Raj Bhavan. No details of tghe 15-minute meeting were given out.