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.

Netherlands city plans to build gay village: Report

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A city in the Netherlands is planning to build a separate neighbourhood to accommodate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, media reported Wednesday.

A project developer is trying to build the village in Tilburg, which could be a first in the Netherlands, Xinhua reported citing the Brabants Dagblad daily.

The developer was reported as saying that the idea was based on research which showed 22 percent of gay people in the Netherlands sometimes did not feel safe in their own neighbourhoods.

Tilburg mayor Peter Noordanus expressed his support for the plan.

Railways freight revenues increases by 7.05 percent

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The Indian Railways Wednesday reported an increase of 7.05 percent in revenues at Rs.16,405.26 crore from ferrying 180.63 million tonnes of different commodities during April-May 2014.

The railways had carried 171.84 million tonnes freight generating revenues of Rs.15,324.25 crore during the corresponding period last year.

According to the railways, it earned Rs.8,334.09 crore from commodity-wise freight traffic during the month of May 2014.
(IANS)

Curbs on onion exports to help arrest price rise

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The imposition of minimum export price (MEP) of $300 per tonne will help arrest the rise in prices, the government said Wednesday.

“Imposition of MEP on onion export is expected to help in arresting the rise in prices and stabilising the onion prices in the domestic markets and balance the interests of both farmers and consumers,” the ministry of commerce and industry said in a statement.

Ukrainian president moves to replace acting foreign minister

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko Wednesday proposed to parliament the dismissal of acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia following a diplomatic row with Russia.

Footage filmed by local media showed Deshchytsia making insulting remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin when talking to protesters who attacked the Russian embassy in Kiev Saturday, Xinhua reported.

The Russian foreign ministry accused Deshchytsia of “going beyond the bounds of proprieties” and asked Kiev to dismiss him.

Poroshenko has appointed Pavlo Klimkin as the country’s new top diplomat.

Foreign tourists camp in North Korea for first time

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A group of tourists participated in the first ever camping trip for foreigners in the mountains of North Korea as part of a rare tour to the isolated country, it was reported Wednesday

“This is the first time that camping is a part of a tour in North Korea,” Koryo Tours, the largest travel tour operator in North Korea and headquartered in Beijing said in its official blog.

The blog also described the camp along with pictures of some 10 foreigners, most of them Westerners.

Tripura malaria toll rises to 28

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With the death of three more children, the toll in the outbreak of malaria in Tripura has risen to 28, a minister said here Wednesday.

The dead include 23 children.

Over 1,700 people have fallen ill from malaria and fever in the tribal-dominated mountainous areas of Dhalai, Gomti and South Tripura districts.

Tata powers solar project for NTPC

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Tata Solar Power has commissioned a 50 megawatt solar photovoltaic project for the state-run NTPC at Rajgarh, 140 km from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.

“As the largest solar project, the renewable energy plant has only domestically made modules and will power about 90,000 households in a year,” the city-based Tata group firm said in a statement here Wednesday.

Built over 240 acres of land, the plant will generate 79 million units of energy per year and help offset 73,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) in first year.

Chautala moves high court for extension of interim bail

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Former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala Wednesday sought extension of his interim bail by four weeks, informing the Delhi High Court that he is admitted to a hospital and wants to attend the post-cremation rites for his brother.

Chautala told court that he is currently admitted in the ICU of Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon due to bad health and if allowed by the doctors, he would like to attend the remaining post-cremation rites for his brother Pratap Singh Chautala.

Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire in search of win

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Coming off on the back of wins, Colombia and Cote d’Ivoire will take to Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha and look to seal their qualification card to the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 by defeating their opponents.

A win for either team would mean probable qualification to the second round while a draw would put the winner of Japan vs Greece match in contention for qualification, reports EFE.

Colombia proved their credibility by defeating Greece 3-0 in their opener, even without their star Radamel Falcao, in Group C.

Warm, humid Wednesday in Delhi, Thursday to be cloudy

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The national capital experienced a warm and humid Wednesday with the maximum temperature recorded at 41.2 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season’s average. The Met Office has forecast a cloudy Thursday.

“The skies will turn cloudy noon onwards and thunderstorms may occur in many parts of the city,” said an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The maximum and the minimum temperatures Thursday are likely to hover around 42 degrees and 28 degrees Celsius.

Plea submitted to ban animal-tested cosmetics’ import

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A petition signed by over 70,000 people was submitted to the ministry of health and family welfare Wednesday, urging an import ban on cosmetics tested on animals abroad.

“We are thrilled to have collected so many signatures. This level of support demonstrates how much consumers from across India and beyond want to end cruelty and shop compassionately, knowing that no animal has suffered for their beauty products,” said Alokparna Sengupta, Humane Society International (HSI) India’s Be Cruelty-Free campaign manager.

India test fires medium-range Akash missile

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India Wednesday successfully test fired the medium-range surface-to-air missile Akash from a defence base in Odisha, an official said.

The indigenously developed missile, with a 27-km range and an effective ceiling of 15 km, was test fired from the Integrated Test Range in Balasore district, 230 km from here.

“This flight trial was last among the validation trials being carried out by the army on the first-off production models of Akash supersonic missile,” Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) spokesman Ravi Kumar Gupta told IANS.

Report on sexual abuse in Australian naval base tabled

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Hundreds of teenaged naval recruits were abused physically and sexually between 1960 and 1984 at Leeuwin naval base in southwest Australia, according to a report presented before the Australian parliament in Canberra Wednesday.

The special panel investigating the navy’s response to the abuses in the armed forces is headed by former Judge Len Roberts-Smith.

It examined the cases of more 200 enlisted recruits in Leeuwin and has referred two cases to the police, ABC reported.

Bild mocked Ronaldo before Portugal-Germany clash

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German newspaper Bild mocked Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the match that pitted both teams against each other and which saw Germany win 4-0 Monday.

Bild published photoshopped images of German coach Joachim Loew, players Thomas Muller and Phillip Lahm’s faces on Ronaldo’s body during his celebration of the fourth goal against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final last May, reports EFE.

Bild’s headline read: “Ronaldo, we have the muscles it takes to win”.
(IANS/EFE)

Brazil’s Fred congratulates Ochoa

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Brazil striker Fred congratulated Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa for “the four miracles he achieved” to secure his net and ensure his side’s goalless draw against the ‘Seleçao’ Tuesday.

Although Brazil were favourites to win at home, the Mexicans gave a good performance in an open game where both teams had many opportunities, the Brazilian said, reports EFE.

Curfew relaxed in Pakistan’s North Waziristan

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Curfew in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region, scene of a major air and ground offensive against local and foreign militants, was relaxed Wednesday to allow thousands of people to leave for safe areas.

Over 50,000 people had fled the region ahead of the massive assault on the hideouts of the militants in parts of North Waziristan.

Thousands were stranded at home when fighter jets carried out air strikes on militant positions on Sunday.

The authorities Wednesday announced a three-day relaxation in curfew and asked the people to leave before the deadline, Xinhua reported.

34 arrested for World Cup protests

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Thirty-four people were arrested in Brazil for taking part in the protests that took place in several cities around the country, including Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro, on the sixth day of the World Cup football.

Protestors have been demanding end to police violence and free public bus tickets. and also expressed their anger at FIFA for the tournament that cost Brazil $11 billion, reports EFE.

England, Uruguay looking for lifeline win

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England and Uruguay will hope to save their World Cup campaigns at the Arena Corinthians here Thursday after having lost their opening World Cup matches against Italy and Costa Rica, respectively.

Two-time champions Uruguay, sans Luiz Suarez, were stunned 1-3 by Costa Rica while England went down 1-2 to Italy, reports EFE.

Uruguay’s coach Oscar Tabarez will probably bring in veteran Jorge Fucile to replace a suspended Maximiliano Pereira, who was sent off against Costa Rica, as well as Gaston Ramirez in midfield in Cristian Stuani’s place.

Brazil World Cup so far dope free

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World football governing body FIFA said that 91.5 percent of the 800 players in the World Cup were tested for drugs without any positive results.

According to the FIFA’s Anti-Doping Regulations, the remaining players can be tested at any time during the tournament, which witnessed the first introduction of the Biological Passport, an initiative that has been “very well received by players, coaches and doctors”, according to Jiri Dvorak, FIFA’s chief medical officer, reports EFE.

Puducherry ranks first in providing basic facilities in schools

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Puducherry ranked first while Uttar Pradesh took the last position in providing infrastructure, including toilet and drinking water facilities in elementary schools, said a report released here Wednesday.

The report was released by the Human Resource Development Ministry as part of the “Flash Statistics 2013-14 for Elementary Education in India”.

The national capital took the sixth position.

World Cup fans use internet 7.6 million times

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Fans who attended the first 12 matches of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil have connected to the internet through their cell phones 7.6 million times.

Telecommunication companies said they made a million calls from their mobile phones. They explained that this estimate is associated only with the first 12 matches, and included sending pictures via email and other mobile applications, reports EFE.

The process of sending pictures peak three hours before the kick-off and two hours after the final whistle.

Egypt court sentences 12 Morsi supporters to death

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An Egyptian court Wednesday sentenced 12 more alleged supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi to death over killing a police major general last year, media reported.

The case dates back to Sep 19 when some 23 persons showered Nabil Farag, assistant to chief of Giza Security Headquarters in Kerdasa district, with bullets during a police raid on an Islamist hideout, leaving nine other policemen injured.

Beas tragedy: Another student’s body recovered

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One more body of a Hyderabad engineering college student was traced Wednesday in the Beas river, taking the total bodies recovered to nine.

A total of 15 students and a tour operator are still missing.

Rescue workers said the latest victim has been identified as P. Venkata Durga Tarun whose swollen body surfaced from the river bed.

“The body, which was swollen, surfaced near the Pandoh dam, some 12 km downstream from the accident spot,” Jaideep Singh, commanding officer of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), told IANS.

Maradona denied entry to Argentina match

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Argentine football legend Diego Maradona expressed anger after he wasn’t allowed to attend his country’s match against Bosnia and Herzegovina Sunday at the Maracana Stadium, which Argentina won 2-1.

Maradona said he had been “deliberately” prevented from attending the match despite having a valid media accreditation card which allows him to attend all World Cup matches, reports EFE.

Maradona went to the stadium accompanied by his one-year-old son Diego Fernando, who was wearing Lionel Messi’s shirt. They returned to their hotel after being denied entry.

HI rope in Baskaran to find talent in south India

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In the aftermath of India’s dismal show in the Hockey World Cup, Hockey India (HI) aims to find fresh talent and Wednesday appointed former captain and coach Vasudevan Baskaran as manager, high performance, of south zone.

Baskaran, who led the team to its last Olympic gold in 1980, will be working under Dutch Roelant Oltmans, who is director high performance.