Press Trust of India India is helping 10 Russian tourists who were injured after their vehicle fell into the Bhagirathi river in Uttarakhand Tuesday.
Two of the Russian tourists were killed, while one of the original group of 13 tourists is missing.
“The tourists who were seriously injured were airlifted from Dehradun to Delhi,” said official sources.
“The others were airlifted to Dehradun and are in a local hospital there.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday said both houses of parliament needed to be made free of tainted members and added that decisions in all cases against parliamentarians should come within one year.
“We need to make both houses taint-free. Some members have FIRs against them. The judicial mechanism should execute their cases faster and the judgments can come within one year,” Modi said in the Rajya Sabha while responding to a debate on the motion of thanks to the president’s address to a joint session of both houses of parliament.
A middle-aged woman was Wednesday found hanging in a Bahraich village, police said. Though the family alleged rape and subsequent murder, a police officer said the post-mortem report has inferred nothing like this.
The incident took place in Loniyapurwa village, district police chief Happy Guptan told IANS.
“There is no evidence of any sexual assault though the family has alleged the deceased was raped and then hung from the tree,” Guptan added.
An FIR has been registered and further probe is on as the kin of the deceased have named five people in their complaint.
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan Wednesday asked the CBI to file a case against former union minister Praful Patel and others for seeking to place with a Canadian firm an order for a passenger identification system for Air India at an inflated price, allegedly in return for a consideration.
Greenpeace Wednesday dismissed accusations levelled by the Intelligence Bureau that it was foreign funded and it aimed at stalling development.
“Greenpeace India believes that a lot of the facts are misrepresented; the intent of the campaigns are deliberately misunderstood and this is a conscious attempt to crush and stifle opposing voices in the civil society,” said Greenpeace India spokesperson Abhishek Pratap here.
German football giants Bayern Munich have extended contracts with defender Philipp Lahm and midfielder Thomas Muller.
“Philipp Lahm and Thomas Muller have both agreed two-year contract extensions with FC Bayern Munich. Lahm has committed his future to the club until 30 June 2018, with Muller now set to stay in Munich until 30 June 2019,” the Bavarian club said in a statement on its official website, reports EFE.
Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil said Wednesday many crimes against women take place in their homes and even deploying a policeman in each house will not help, prompting an attack from the opposition.
“Many crimes against women take place within the confines of their own homes. Is it feasible to deploy a policeman in each household?” Patil asked, replying to a lively debate on crimes on women and atrocities on Dalits in the assembly Wednesday.
Recent polls showed that only nine percent of French fans think that France will win the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
But readings were better when it came to their chances of qualifying for the quarterfinals as 34 percent are confident that the ‘Les Bleus’ will qualify for the last eight, according to a poll conducted by French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP), reports EFE.
Meanwhile, 12 percent expressed their fears that France will exit the tournament in the group stages.
The survey included 952 people and was conducted June 6 and 7.
Experts Wednesday collected samples of litchi to identify the virus strain that has claimed the lives of over 50 children in Bihar.
“We have collected samples of litchi from orchards in affected areas for toxicology study. It will help us to identify the virus strain of the disease that remains a mystery till date,” said Prabhat Kumar Sinha, who is heading a six-member team from the Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS).
Despite winning a lot of trophies and playing in many top tournaments, Spanish head coach Vicente del Bosque underlined that winning the FIFA World Cup is still the best.
“Nothing compares to a world title. We need to approach each competition as if it is our last,” de Bosque said, adding that his players have gained new experiences by playing in international tournaments.
“Spain’s players moving abroad has given us new qualities so we do not have a sense of inferiority to other nations,” he said.
Spain lies in Group B and will take on Netherlands Friday.
(IANS/EFE)
An estimated half a million people have fled their homes after surge in violence in Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul as militant groups took full control of the city, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said Wednesday.
“IOM’s Rapid Assessment and Response Teams have been monitoring the situation on the ground and report that their sources estimate that the weekend’s violence displaced over 500,000 people in and around the city (Mosul),” Xinhua quoted the Geneva-based organisation as saying in a statement.
Two brothers, both in their 30s were killed, while two of their relatives received injuries after their car collided with an electricity pole here and turned turtle, police said Wednesday.
The incident was reported around 12.30 a.m. Tuesday night from Keshav Puram area in north Delhi.
Nikhil Bansal and Vineet Bansal died on the spot while their relatives Vipin and Pradeep suffered injuries in the incident.
The victims were heading towards Azadpur in north Delhi from Dhaula Kuan in south Delhi.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has called on Brazilians to halt their protests ahead of the World Cup which will kick off Thursday.
“Together we have said this World Cup shall be a great event, not only for Brazil but for the world,” Blatter said, reports EFE.
The FIFA boss underlined that this tournament will create an opportunity to shun violence and build bridges between people despite their differences.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said that the “pessimists” who questioned her country’s ability to host the FIFA World Cup have “lost”.
She said that the pessimists were proven wrong because of the Brazilian peoples constant hard work and determination. She noted that her country has the needed airports, stadiums and energy resources to prove the pessimists wrong, reports EFE.
While Brazil are the tournament favourites, the majority of Spanish fans believe that the Spain would successfully defend the title like Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1962.
A recent survey in Spain revealed that one out of every four Spaniards is confident that their team will lift the World Cup again in Brazil, reports Xinhua.
The polls showed that Brazil are the most favoured with 48 percent, Argentina comes second with 14.1 percent, Germany 11.4 percent and Spain fourth with 9.8 percent.
A day after taking control in Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, militants Wednesday seized the Turkish consulate and arrested its consul and diplomatic staff in the northern Iraqi city, an official Kurdish website said.
Militants of Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) took control of the consulate and held captive the consul and a number of consulate staff and guards, Xinhua quoted the official website of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a major Kurdish party headed by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
The website did not give further details about the incident.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Monday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, official sources said.
Modi appreciated an oral message from Chinese President Xi Jinping conveyed by Wang, the special envoy to the president, which underlined the importance attached by the Chinese government to building relations with the new government of India.
China pushed for increased economic cooperation with India and to be included in the country’s burgeoning infrastructure and manufacturing story through investments as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Monday touched base with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and said the new Indian government has “brought a new wind of change”.
Wang, who has come as President Xi Jinping’s special envoy, met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Sunday. He met the prime minister late Monday afternoon and later called on President Pranab Mukherjee.
New Zealand, carrying forward their first innings, were 299 for five at lunch on the second day of the first Test against the West Indies at Sabina Park here Monday.
Resuming at overnight 240 for two, the Black Caps lost three important wickets on resumption, reports CMC.
Overnight century-maker Kane Williamson was the first to go adding just eight runs before being bowled, shouldering arms to left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn for 113.
New Zealand then lost their two senior most batsmen in quick succession.
Wang Yi, the foreign minister and special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Monday called on President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Mukherjee said India and China have excellent relations and that Wang’s visit will further strengthen these relations, according to a statement issued by the president’s house.
He said there was consensus across the political spectrum in India on maintaining a close and cooperative relationship with China.
India’s Aditya Patel and team-mate Cesar Campanico finished eighth and received points after starting 13th in the second race of the International GT Open championship here.
It was a disappointing race Sunday as things went backward for the duo in the Audi R8 LMS right from the start when the Indian, supported by Audi India, JK Tyre and Amante, started 13th on the grid and eighth in the GT3 class, lost many positions after being caught on the wrong side before turn one.
The Uttar Pradesh government Monday cracked the whip on private sugar mills that have not cleared arrears to the tune of Rs.1,44,852.62 lakh and have not paid the dues of sugarcane farmers.
Following a meeting of cane growers with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, the government issued recovery certificates against 13 private sugar mills.
Four people have been arrested here for drugging and raping two girls from Jharkhand, police said Monday.
Mohd. Naushad, 34; Raj Kumar, 38; Mohd. Nazir, 26; and Dulal Khan, 25; were arrested from their hideouts in Delhi.
A Delhi Police constable found one of the girls walking in an intoxicated condition with her clothes torn in the intervening night of June 5-6 in Bhajanpura area of east Delhi.
The other girl was recovered in a similar state from Usmanpur area, also in east Delhi.
Both were rushed to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.
A fire in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam tourist resort Monday destroyed a hotel and two dozen shops, while a devastating blaze destroyed a tyre factory in Jammu although there was no loss of life, officials said.
Police said the fire in Pahalgam destroyed the local tourist reception centre, a hotel and two dozen shops in the main market where a dozen fire tenders battled the blaze.
“The fire started in the Pahalgam market in the evening,” a police officer told IANS in Srinagar.
Thai military Monday reinstated the Election Act, the Political Parties Act and the Public Referendum Act, all laws under the abrogated 2007 constitution.
The three acts are to remain in effect until further notice, said an announcement issued by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), Xinhua reported Monday.
Despite the revival of the Election Act, the election of members of the House of Representatives, as well as the selection and election of senators, will be suspended pending further notice, according to the announcement.