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.

Japan to ban possession of child pornography except comics

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Japan, the only country among the G7 nations that does not prohibit possession of child pornography, has taken an important step towards making it illegal although the law does not include comics, animated drawings or digital simulations.

The main parties reached an agreement Wednesday in a parliamentary committee that will pass a draft bill once approved by the House in its current session which ends June 22, Japanese daily Asahi reported.

The current legislation, passed in 1999, bans the production and distribution of child pornography, but not its possession.

Huge gathering marks Tiananmen anniversary in Hong Kong

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Tens of thousands of people gathered in Hong Kong to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, calling on the Chinese government to commit itself to democratic reforms.

The vigil conducted every year June 4 at the Hong Kong Square to remember those killed in the Chinese army crackdown of 1989 at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square this year saw record participation.

The organisers said some 180,000 attended the vigil, but police sources put the size at 99,500.

Indian expatriate grows rice in UAE desert

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An expatriate Indian has embarked on a first-time challenge of cultivating rice in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a media report said.

Sudhish Kumar, 41, who entered the Limca Book of Records for growing the longest okra(41.91cm), and the smallest as well (3.81cm), has been waiting for the harvest of the staple crop that he cultivated in the desert-like climate of UAE, different from the warm and damp climate necessary to its growth, Gulf News reported Wednesday.

Modi government wants to make ‘dead’ Yamuna navigable

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Can you visualise boats sailing on the almost dead Yamuna river in Delhi? The Narendra Modi government is exploring the possibility of making the river – and possibly other rivers as well – navigable to transport people and goods. Roads and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari had called a meeting of Delhi government officials on the issue and sought their opinion on it, a top government official said.

The newly-elected BJP-led government is planning to create a national waterway grid by linking major rivers in the country to ferry people and goods.

Murugappa to finalise farm equipment JV plans

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Fertiliser major Coromandel International, part of $4.1 billion Murugappa group, would soon finalise the outlay needed for its joint venture with two Japanese companies to make farm equipment, said a top group official Thursday.

He said group company Tube Investments of India’s large diameter tube project and export oriented sugar refinery of Silkroad Sugars would soon go on stream.

Speaking to reporters here, A. Vellayan, executive chairman, said: “Officials from the Japanese companies will be coming to India soon to finalise the investment details.”

Environmentalists protest construction in East Kolkata Wetlands

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Environmentalists and activists Thursday called for protecting the East Kolkata Wetlands – a Ramsar site or wetlands of international importance – from unbridled construction activities of the West Bengal government, including filling up of parts of the vast expanse of water bodies that help in tackling Kolkata’s waste.

Lying to the east of the city, bordering the eastern metropolis and spreading across two districts (North and South 24 Parganas), the 12,500 hectare area is home to the world’s largest wastewater-fed aquaculture system.

Many BJP MPs, led by ministers, take oath in Sanskrit

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Sanskrit seemed to the flavor of the new Lok Sabha Thursday with many members of the ruling party, led by three union ministers, choosing the classical language to take oath.

It was a surprise when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj used fluent Sanskrit to take oath followed by Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

It was soon apparent, however, that many members of the party had consciously taken the decision possibly to bring the language back into focus.

Javadekar calls for cooperation to protect environment

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Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar Thursday called for “collective partnership of all stake holders” to protect the environment and ensure sustainable development.

Speaking on the occasion of World Environment Day, Javadekar said: “The collective partnership of all stake holders is necessary to mainstream the essence of sustainable development and ensure the protection of environment”.

Three held for sexual assault bid on minor boy

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Three people, including a minor, have been arrested for kidnapping a six-year-old boy from his house in the night and attempting to sexually assault him, police said Thursday.

The incident was reported in the wee hours Thursday from Begumpur on the western outskirts of the city.

Police said the victim was sleeping with his mother inside his house Wednesday night when the three accused, all neighbours, spirited him away.

SC to hear plea against death sentence for four-year-old’s rape, murder

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The Supreme Court will hear on June 10 a plea by Rajasthan resident Kalu Khan seeking the stay of his death sentence for allegedly raping and murdering a four-year-old girl.

A bench of Justice J.S.Khehar and Justice C.Nagappan directing the hearing of the matter after counsel Asha Jain Madan told the court that the execution of Kalu Khan’s death sentence is fixed for June 18.

Replying to a query, Madan said the death sentence was confirmed by the Jodhpur bench of Rajasthan High Court on April 9.

Sunny Leone gets wooed in capital

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Looking radiant and ravishing in a red gown, Sunny Leone smiled, laughed and blushed here Thursday afternoon as five men from Delhi’s media circle tried their luck in wooing the Indo-Canadian adult film actress who has worked her way to popularity in Bollywood over the past three years.

At the launch press conference of “MTV Splitsvilla Season 7” here, Sunny, who is hosting the reality show with Nikhil Chinapa, had a contest for the media. They had to pen an innovative idea each on a chit, and later on stage, five chits were opened randomly and the persons were called on stage.

Hindi may be the new lingua franca of Indian diplomacy

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Like many other cultural practices that are a legacy of British colonial rule, English remained the lingua franca of the Indian diplomacy since the country’s independence in 1947. All conversations and correspondence by members of the elite Indian Foreign Service were conducted largely in English, even though Hindi is the country’s national language. But that is about the change.

Palestine will respond strongly to new Israeli settlement’

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Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu-Rudeineh Thursday strongly condemned the announcement of the Israeli authorities to build 1,500 new housing units in West Bank and Jerusalem.

The new settlements come at a time when the world has declared support for the Palestinian national unity government, Abu-Rudeineh said in remarks, according to Palestinian WAFA news agency.

He noted that Israel should realise that its settlement policy was unacceptable, warning that the Palestinian leadership would respond with an unprecedented move to this action.

Woman’s body found in sack in Delhi

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The unidentified body of a woman was found dumped inside a sack in north Delhi’s Mahendra Park area, police said Thursday.

A passerby, who spotted the sack lying on the roadside at Azadpur Mandi in north Delhi’s Mahendra Park area, informed police.

Police said it seemed the woman in her early 40s was strangled and her body was dumped in the area.
(IANS)

Girl in Delhi thwarts rape bid by three men

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A 19-year-old girl saved herself from being a gang rape victim, fought back three of her neighbours who forcibly took her to a forest here, and escaped, police said Thursday.

The girl was abducted by three men around 8 p.m. Wednesday when she went to fetch water from a tap near her home in south Delhi’s Fatehpur Beri area.

“The girl fought back with the men when they tried to rape her. When she resisted, they badly beat her up. But the girl continued to fight and managed to flee from the spot,” said a police officer.

Cook up quick, fun corn flakes meals

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Are you bored of eating or serving the mundane corn flakes and milk breakfast? Or do your children run away at the sight of corn flakes? It’s time to be innovative!

IANS lists interesting recipes made using Kellog’s Corn Flakes, as suggested by five homemakers from across the country:

1. Wholesome and Energizing Breakfast – (Anna Pinto, Delhi)

* Take one bowl of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes

* Add one cup milk and one tsp honey to it

* Now put in one tsp flax seeds, one tbsp raisins and two almonds (soaked and cut).

BJP, Left slam Mamata government for scrapping online admissions

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Slamming the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government’s decision to drop mandatory online admission to undergraduate courses in state-run colleges in West Bengal, the BJP and the Left Front Wednesday said the move will encourage malpractices and nepotism.

Citing inadequate infrastructure, newly appointed Education Minister Partha Chatterjee May 29 had announced the decision of dropping the online admission system that was made mandatory from 2014-15 through an earlier government notification.

Akhilesh gets feel of power crisis in surprise inspection

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav Wednesday got a first hand taste of the grim power scenario in the state during a surprise inspection at Shravasti on the sprawling state’s border with Nepal.

On an inspection to Bharthapur, the villagers told Akhilesh Yadav that the village got barely one hour of electricity in the whole day. Holding an informal ‘chaupal’ in the village, the 41-year-old chief minster sweated and was fanned by villagers as he listened to their problems.

China facing environmental crisis’

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China’s environment is in a critical condition, especially its water and air quality, a minister revealed Wednesday.

Although China’s environment has improved in general, water quality is “not optimistic” and air quality in cities is “serious”, Xinhua quoted vice minister of environmental protection Li Ganjie as saying at a press conference ahead of World Environment Day, falling Thursday.

‘China’s n-power plants generally safe’

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China’s operating nuclear power units enjoy a relatively good safety record, and the quality of the units under construction has been well controlled, a top nuclear watchdog official of China was quoted as saying Wednesday.

No serious operational incidents have occurred in the 30 years since China launched its first nuclear power plant, Xinhua quoted Li Ganjie, vice minister of environmental protection and head of the National Nuclear Safety Administration, as saying in a press conference.

Modi among three BJP winners with highest vote share

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Only three candidates – all from the BJP – polled a vote share of over 50 percent during the recently concluded Lok Sabha election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his win from Vadodara (Gujarat) polled 73 percent of the total votes, coming second to his BJP colleague Jardosh Darshnaben Vikrambhai in Surat with a 76 percent vote share.

Patil Chandrakant Raghunath of Bharatiya Janata Party from Navsari constituency polled 71 percent of total votes, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch analysis.

Australia warns citizens against Pakistan travel

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Australia Wednesday issued a travel advisory for its citizens against travelling to Pakistan, asking them to reconsider their travel plans in the wake of a volatile security situation across the country.

“We strongly advise you to reconsider your need to travel to Pakistan at this time due to the very high threat of terrorist attack, kidnapping, sectarian violence and the unpredictable security situation,” Dawn quoted the advisory posted on the Australian Embassy’s website as saying.

DU’s BMS admission process to begin June 7

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The admission process for bachelor of honours in management studies (BMS) in Delhi University will begin June 7, a varsity official said Wednesday.

The admission process will be held online June 7-18 by the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS).

The forms will cost Rs.500 for general, other backward classes and children of war widows (CW) candidates while it is Rs.250 for scheduled caste/scheduled tribe and disabled candidates.

SDF condemns Sikkim MLA’s secession threat to governor

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The Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) Wednesday strongly condemned the opposition Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) MLA Ugen Nedup Bhutia’s threat of secession to state Governor Shriniwas Patil.

“The Sikkim Democratic Front forcefully condemns SKM MLA Shri Ugen Nedup Bhutia’s threat to the head of the State of Sikkim – Hon’ble Governor – that ‘Sikkimese people shall immediately withdraw exercising their due political rights without fear or fervour, preferring to revert back to pre-1975 model’,” SDF MP P.D. Rai said in a statement.

Indian expatriate gets 40 lashes in Qatar

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An Indian national in Qatar has been sentenced to 40 lashes and his driving licence ordered to be suspended for two months by a Qatari Criminal Court for consuming liquor and driving under its influence, media reported.

The unnamed Indian was caught by a police patrol while he was parking his vehicle in Shabiyat Khalifa area near Qatar’s capital Doha, Gulf Times reported Tuesday citing local Arabic daily Arrayah.

Police found him to be under the influence of alcohol and also found a half-empty bottle of liquor in the car, the report said.