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.

Congress suspends Rajasthan lawmaker for criticising Rahul

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The Congress Sunday suspended its Rajasthan legislator Bhanwar Lal Sharma who had criticised Rahul Gandhi and said the party vice president was leading a “team of jokers”, a party leader said.

A defiant Sharma said he stood by his remarks and challenged the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and his mother and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

Pukhraj Parashar, a senior state leader told IANS that Sharma “has been suspended. A notice has been issued and dispatched to him”.

Sharma, talking to IANS, ruled out any apology from his side and instead demanded one.

George Clooney will marry first, says Jolie

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Actress Angelina Jolie says her fiancé and actor Brad Pitt’s newly-engaged close friend and actor George Clooney will walk down the aisle before them.

The “Maleficent” star has been engaged to Pitt for over two years, but believes that the newly-engaged “Gravity” star will marry his fiancee Amal Alamuddin before they themselves tie the knot, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Asked who will marry first, Jolie said: “Probably George.”

RBI policy review Tuesday likely to hold rates

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to keep rates unchanged when it reviews its monetary policy Tuesday, its first exercise after the installation of the new union government.

Known for the primacy he accords to controlling inflation, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan gave an indication Friday when he told reporters in Tokyo that the “government and the central bank have both stressed on the need to bring down inflation while respecting the fact that growth is very weak”.

The RBI is expected to keep its repo rate (at which it lends money to commercial banks) unchanged at 8 percent.

Holmes to play Reynolds’ wife in ‘Woman in Gold’

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Actress Katie Holmes will reportedly play Ryan Reynolds’ onscreen wife in the real-life Jewish refugee drama “Woman in Gold”.

Actress Helen Mirren has already started filming the project, in which she stars as Maria Altmann, who spent four decades battling Austrian officials for the safe return of art stolen from her family by the Nazis during World War II.

Reynolds will portray Altmann’s young lawyer Randy Schoenberg, and now Holmes has been added to the line-up as his wife, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Directed by Simon Curtis, the film went on floors in May.
(IANS)

All eyes on minister Javadekar over Western Ghats report

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People of Kerala are eagerly waiting to see what decision union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar takes on reports prepared by the Madhav Gadgil and K. Kasturirangan panels on how to conserve the Western Ghats.

Javadekar recently announced that a decision would be taken at a meeting in New Delhi June 4.

Kasturirangan was roped in by the environment and forests ministry to head a 10-member High-Level Working Group (HLWG) to advise the central government on the recommendations made by the Gadgil-led experts panel on how to conserve the ecologically fragile Western Ghats.

Court finds evidence of graft against NDMC engineers

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A special court here has found evidence against two New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) engineers and three others for hatching a conspiracy and causing heavy losses to state exchequer during the Commonwealth Games 2010.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special judge in a recent order said that the loss was caused because renovation of the Shivaji Stadium and Talkatora Stadium was granted to an inexperienced company during the Commonwealth Games 2010 (CWG 2010).

This Korean sprinter robot can beat Usain Bolt!

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South Korean scientists have taken inspiration from the prehistoric Velociraptor dinosaur to create one of the world’s simplest and fastest robots – the Raptor.

Raptor is capable of reaching a top speed of 46 km an hour which is faster than sprinter Usain Bolt – the fastest man on earth.

The Raptor robot has two legs and a mechanism that works like a tail to balance it.

Developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Raptor, while running on a treadmill, can outrace six-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt whose maximum speed reached 43.92 km an hour.

Acid attack ‘horrifying’ form of violence, says court

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A court here has sentenced a man to life in prison for throwing acid on his beloved, leading to her death. The court termed acid attack one of the “most horrifying” forms of gender-based violence.

“One of the most horrifying forms of gender-based violence, a growing phenomenon in India, is acid attack. Though acid attack is a crime which can be committed against any man or woman, it has a specific gender dimension in India,” said Additional Sessions Judge Rajesh Kumar Goel.

For one US soldier, five Taliban leaders freed

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A US soldier seized by the Taliban nearly five years ago in Afghanistan has been released after five Taliban leaders held in Guantanamo Bay were let off, US and Taliban officials said.

The Taliban prisoners were released from the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and handed over to Qatar, which mediated the transfer.

Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, 28, was handed over to US forces in good health, BBC quoted American officials as saying. He was the only US soldier held by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Officials said the Taliban handed him over Saturday evening.

Maoist area commander held in Odisha

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Police Sunday arrested a local area commander of the Communist Party of India-Maoist in Odisha’s Koraput district, an official said.

“Mino Hikoka, 28, was apprehended from a forested area during a raid conducted by a joint team of the police and Border Security Force (BSF) personnel,” Superintendent of Police Avinash Kumar told IANS.

Hikoka was wanted for more than 20 heinous crimes, including murders of several innocent tribals in Nayayanpatna area of the district.

He was the area commander of the Srikakulam-Koraput divisional committee of the CPI-Maoist, the police officer said.

Mirza-Black enter French Open quarters

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Leading Indian tennis player Sania Mirza proceeded to the women’s doubles quarterfinals along with Zimbabwean partner Cara Black at the French Open here Sunday.

The fifth seeds took only an hour and 18 minutes to defeat the Serb-Russian pairing of Jelena Jankovic and Alisa Kleybanova 6-3, 6-3 in a Round 3 match on Court No.2.

In the first set, Sania and Cara got one more break of serve to that of Jelena and Alisa which proved crucial to clinch the set in 44 minutes.

Sultry Sunday in Delhi, rain likely Monday

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An overcast morning that saw light drizzle in some parts of the capital gave way to a sunny, sultry Sunday in Delhi. Light rain is expected Monday, the Met office said.

“The sky will remain cloudy tomorrow (Monday) and some parts of the city may get light rain,” said an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The maximum and the minimum temperature are likely to hover around 40 and 26 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Indian man found dead at home in UAE

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An Indian expatriate was found dead in an apparent suicide at his room in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a media report said.

The body of 51-year-old Brinja Sami M.N., with a wire cord around his neck, was found by the police at his accommodation in a labour camp in Sharjah’s Al Sajjah area, The Gulf Today reported Sunday.

Sami was a construction worker in a Sharjah-based company.

Police have transferred the body to the forensic laboratory for investigation.

Police have been questioning several people known to the man.
(IANS)

DU undergraduate admissions open Monday

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Admissions to Delhi University’s four-year undergraduate programme will start Monday, an official said Sunday.

Delhi University, where students come from all over India and even from abroad, has 54,000 seats for the FYUP course.

With students scoring high percentage in CBSE Class 12 examination this year, the university officials are speculating that cut-offs will soar.

“As the number of students getting marks in the plus-90 bracket has increased, so cut-offs are likely to soar,” J.M. Khurrana, DU dean student’s welfare, told IANS Sunday.

Indian expatriate jailed for molesting woman in UAE

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An Indian expatriate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sunday was jailed for three months for molesting a female co-worker in an elevator at their workplace, a media report said.

The Indian man, who worked as a financial analyst and identified only as K.K., 40, was convicted of indecently groping a 27-year-old fellow Indian woman in an office elevator in November last year by the Dubai Court of First Instance, the Gulf News reported Sunday.

K.K. will be deported following his imprisonment.

State Department did it: Bharara on Khobragade case

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Manhattan’s India-born US prosecutor has defended his role in the arrest and prosecution of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, saying it was the State Department that opened the case.

The December arrest and alleged strip search of Khobragade, India’s then deputy consul general in New York on charges of visa fraud and underpaying her housekeeper, caused a major diplomatic row that threatened to derail India-US relations.

Won’t change ‘Dirty Politics’ poster: Bokadia

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The release of the first poster of “Dirty Politics”, showing protagonist Mallika Sherawat wrapped in the tricolour and sitting atop a car with a beacon, has kicked up a row, but director K.C. Bokadia is unperturbed. He says that he will not buckle under pressure and change it.

“Some political party from Rajasthan is planning to file a case against me and I got to know about it yesterday when my lawyer briefed me about it,” Bokadia, knwon for producing hits like “Pyaar Jhukta Nahin” and “Janta Ki Adalat”, told IANS.

Laser to help you say goodbye to dentist’s chair

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Anyone who has had a root canal done knows how painful the procedure can be.

But a dental condition that may require one to undergo root canal may no longer give patients sleepless nights as researchers have found that exposing cells on the inside of a tooth to weak laser light stimulates the growth of dentin – the substance that makes up much of a tooth’s structure.

Low-power light could trigger stem cells inside the body to regenerate tissue, the study said.

Israel calls for boycott of Palestinian unity government

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the international community Sunday not to recognise the Palestinian unity government set to be announced Monday.

“I call on all the responsible entities in the international community not to go ahead and acknowledge a Palestinian government which includes Hamas,” Xinhua quoted Netanyahu as saying in a statement.

“Hamas is a terror organization which calls for the destruction of Israel, and the international community should not embrace it. This will not strengthen peace but rather strengthen terrorism,” Netanyahu added.

Jaitley stresses need to check inflation, revive growth

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In a Facebook post Sunday after his first week in office, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley emphasised the need to contain inflation and speed up economic reforms to boost low-cost manufacturing.

“Reviving the growth momentum, containing inflation and altering the pattern of growth to gainful employment is today an overriding priority,” Jaitley posted.

Audience will soon see me in TV show: Barkha Bisht

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After doing an episode of crime-based TV show “Encounter”, actrss Barkha Bisht says she will soon feature in another show on the small screen.

When asked of any plans to do TV full time, she said: “I would love to come back on TV.”

“My daughter Meera is two-and-half-year old now and she can be taken care of. I won’t disclose it, but the audience will soon see me on a TV show,” Barkha, who is married to actor Indraneil Sengupta, told IANS.

Of course, she would love to work with her husband.

How ‘socialbots’ are infiltrating your Twitter account

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So you all along thought you followed only real people on Twitter? Know now that automated accounts called “bots” can infiltrate the defences of the social networking site and emerge influential too, an experiment showed.

Automated bots not only can evade detection but also gather more than double an average user’s followers and become influential among various social groups.

Women who’ve had mastectomy can wear swimsuit!

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Going on a holiday soon after mastectomy and dreading the thought of wearing a swimsuit? No need to worry as there is the right swimwear for you.

Amoena, a lingerie brand, has more than 35 years of experience in helping women regain their sense of femininity and self-esteem following breast cancer.

The brand’s range is designed to make you look just as gorgeous as you were before surgery, since it has come up with some very clever design features that ensure that one feels comfortable and secure.

Big B swings between ‘Yudh’, ‘KBC’

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Megastar Amitabh Bachchan will return to the host’s chair of “Kaun Banega Crorepati” (KBC) soon. But his small screen journey doesn’t conclude here. He will also be seen in his first fiction TV show – “Yuddh”.

The promo of his fiction show, directed by Anurag Kashyap, is currently being aired on Sony Entertainment Channel. The official launch will happen Sunday.

“The promos or the first look of the new TV serial that I work on shall be revealed tomorrow (Sunday) during the finals of the IPL (Indian Premiere League),” Big B said.