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.

Now Congress’ Rajasthan legislator attacks Rahul

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In another attack on Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi following the party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha election, a party legislator in Rajasthan Saturday called him “MD of Congress circus”.

“Rahul Gandhi is the MD (managing director) of Congress circus and is surrounded by four to five jokers. People like Rahul and Sachin Pilot have come through political legacy. Sycophants around Gandhi are misguiding him,” Bhanwar Lal Sharma told Aaj Tak news channel.

Motorsports: Prasad tops in feature race

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Chennai-based 21-year-old Vishnu Prasad, winner of FMSCI Driver of the Year award last season, underlined his credentials by winning the first race in the FB02 class in the first round of the JK Racing India Series here Saturday.

Starting the race in pole position in the BMW engine-powered single seater, Vishnu dominated the race to win the 15-lap event in 16 minutes, 44.861 seconds, ahead of Akhil Rabindra and Nayan Chatterjee.

Akhil finished 11.846 seconds behind in 16.56.707, while Nayan, making his debut in this class, clocked 16:59.429.

British Indian MP criticises BBC over Modi coverage

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A British Indian MP has strongly criticised the BBC for a programme on India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi that she stated was not objective.

In a letter to BBC Director General Lord Tony Hall dated May 19, Priti Patel, British prime minister David Cameron’s Indian diaspora champion, brought to notice the complaints she received about BBC Newsnight aired May 16, which covered the day the results of India’s general elections were announced.

Sania, Bopanna advance in French Open

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India’s Sania Mirza cruised into third round of women’s doubles while her compatriot Rohan Bopanna moved into the quarters of the mixed doubles with their respective partners at the French Open tennis here Saturday.

Sania, however, bowed out of the mixed doubles with her Romanian partner Horia Tecau in the second round.

Sania and her Zimbabwean partner Cara Black, seeded fifth, won 6-1, 6-2 against Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Alicja Rosolska of Poland.

Kings XI, Knight Riders brace up for high voltage final

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The Indian Premier League final is all set for a cracker of contest Sunday as Kings XI Punjab and title holder Kolkata Knights Riders brace up for a high voltage game at the Chinnaswamy stadium here.

“Both teams will face pressure. We are not going with brand new tactics but just go out and do same things to get our basics right,” Kings XI captain George Bailey told reporters here Saturday at a joint presser with Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir.

Central employees may get performance based incentives

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The central government may implement a performance based incentives scheme for its employees, officials said here Saturday.

According to sources, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) is slated to give a detailed presentation on Performance-Related Incentive Scheme (PRIS) to the prime minister.

The PRIS was recommended by the sixth pay commission and was accepted by the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance government.
(IANS)

Hockey World Cup: India go down 2-3 to Belgium

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India conceded a last minute goal to lose 2-3 to Belgium in their opening match of the FIH Hockey World Cup at the Kyocera Stadium here Saturday.

Trailing 0-1, India went ahead in a space of six minutes through Mandeep Singh (44th) and Akashdeep Singh (50th).

But Belgium made it 2-2 through Simon Gougnard from a penalty corner in the 55th minute and stole the match from India in the 70th minute through a field goal from John Dohmen.

Belgium had opened the scoring in the 34th minute through Florent van Aubel.
(IANS)

IPL spot-fixing: Court orders property attachment process against Dawood

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A court here Saturday directed Delhi Police to initiate proceedings for attachment of properties against underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, his aide Chhota Shakeel and three others, who are absconding, in connection with the IPL spot-fixing case.

Additional Sessions Judge Bharat Parashar passed the order after Delhi Police’s Special Cell informed the court that non-bailable warrants (NBWs) issued against these absconding accused, who were charge-sheeted in the case could not be executed as they no longer reside at their last known addresses in India.

Gurgaon hospital installs tumor navigation technology

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A tumor navigation technology that allows surgeons to get a 3D view of the brain and better control of their surgical procedures was Saturday installed at a multi-specialty hospital here.

The neuro-navigation technology comprises of advanced software modules that enable surgeons to visualise the anatomy of the patient’s brain in 3D to get a comprehensive idea of the location of the tumor and the obstacles that can be encountered during surgery.

Left Front to meet Mamata over post-poll violence

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Concerned over the attacks on its activists, supporters and leaders in West Bengal, the Left Front will meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the issue June 9, a CPI-M leader said Saturday.

“Since the Lok Sabha polls there have been concerted attacks on our leaders, activists and supporters which has resulted in four deaths besides more than 1,000 of our supporters having been injured.

Iraqi forces launch offensive in Anbar province

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Iraqi security forces carried out an offensive Saturday to recapture a town held by gunmen in the volatile western province of Anbar.

An elite Iraqi military unit, backed by a brigade of armoured vehicles, stormed the militant-seized town of Saqlawiyah, some 50 km west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, and clashed fiercely with gunmen believed to be linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), an al-Qaida breakaway group in Iraq, Xinhua quoted a source in the provincial command operations as saying Saturday.

Indo-Canadian gangster jailed for assault

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An Indian-origin gangster was sentenced to four months in jail for assaulting a fellow Indian-origin man three years ago, a media report said.

Manjit Adiwal (Mike), 35, reportedly a high profile gangster in Vancouver city in Canada, along with his associate Preetpal Sangha, 29, punched and threatened Gurpreet Sangha during a dispute at a lumber mill in Canada’s Chilliwack city in May 2011, The Vancouver Sun reported Friday.

Adiwal’s associate Preetpal Sangha was also sentenced to four months in jail after pleading guilty to uttering death threats during the same incident.

IAF chief takes salute at NDA passing out parade

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Indian Air Force chief Arup Raha Saturday reviewed and took the salute at the passing out parade of the National Defence Academy, and complimented the cadets for their “immaculate turnout and excellent drill”.

A total of 360 cadets graduated from the NDA as they passed through the portals of the prestigious Khetarpal parade gound, an official release said here.

Air Chief Marshal Raha, who reviewed the passing out parade of the 126th course, said the quality of the parade “speaks volumes of the fine training that is imparted by the prestigious institute”.

US seeks transformational cooperation with India: Hagel

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US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel Saturday said he is planning to visit India later this year to drive “transformational cooperation” with the country which is playing an “active role” in strengthening security in Asia.

Hagel, referring to India’s growing defence capabilities, said the United States looked forward to working with the new Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Maharashtra legislature’s monsoon session likely to be stormy

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Buoyant after their staggering victory in the recent Lok Sabha elections, Maharashtra’s opposition BJP-Shiv Sena alliance will be all set to corner the ruling Congress-NCP in the monsoon session of the legislature starting here Monday.

The session is also crucial as it will be the final one before the state goes in for assembly elections around October and the ruling Democratic Front combine will present the last budget of its third consecutive term in power since 1999.

Meira Kumar gives marching orders to Lok Sabha TV CEO

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Days before her exit as speaker, Meira Kumar has given the Lok Sabha TV CEO his marching orders with immediate effect without citing any reason.

The official, Rajiv Mishra, told IANS that no reason was given to him for ending his tenure in a sudden manner.

The letter dated May 30, a copy of which is with IANS, said “the speaker has limited the tenure of Shri Rajiv Mishra as Chief Executive of LSTV till May 31, 2014”.

Attempts to contact Meira Kumar did not succeed.

Volcanic ash grounds flights in Australia

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Ash plumes billowing from an Indonesian volcano have cut off all air services to Darwin city in Australia’s Northern Territory and grounded flights to Bali, a popular tourist destination in Indonesia, the media reported Saturday.

The Sangeang Api volcano off the Indonesian island of Sumbawa has been erupting after an initial blast Friday afternoon, Skynews Australia quoted the Bureau of Meteorology’s Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Darwin as saying.

Darwin International Airport was closed to all inbound and outbound flights Saturday, and Bali’s airspace has also been affected.

Jung asks officials to review water, power related issues

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Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung Saturday directed officials to review and assess issues related to water and power supply in Delhi following Friday’s thunderstorm.

At a meeting with officials of the Delhi Jal Board and the power department, and divisional commissioners, Jung asked them to take the necessary steps to alleviate the problems being faced by the public following the storm.

Besides, he asked divisional commissioners to survey and assess the damage and directed them to give ex-gratia/relief to affected families.
(IANS)

Article 370 debate intended to change discourse: Yasin Malik

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JKLF chief Yasin Malik, claiming that the design behind the article 370 debate raked up by a union minister was to change the Kashmir discourse from independence to centre-state relations, Saturday said his party would soon start a “Quit Kashmir” movement.

“There is a design behind the Indian junior minister’s statement that article 370 would be revoked. There is a storm of debate over this in India and also in Kashmir. Everywhere in Kashmir people are discussing the fate of article 370,” said the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman.

Fire at railway guest house in Delhi

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A minor fire broke out in the railway guest house located close to a busy market in the heart of the capital, a fire official said. No casualty was reported.

“Eight fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the fire after it was reported at 6.50 p.m.,” an official of Delhi Fire Service told IANS.

The fire was on the second floor of the building that houses the guest house near Shankar Market in the bustling Connaught Place area.

HRD minister intervenes, DU VC denies suspending officials

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Following HRD Minister Smriti Irani’s intervention, Delhi University Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh Saturday said no suspension order was issued to five officials for leaking documents related to her educational qualifications.

Friday, DU joint dean of students’s welfare and media coordinator Malay Neerav confirmed the report that five non-teaching staff below section officer level of the School of Open Learning (SOL) were suspended for leaking documents pertaining to the minister.

Mother sells newborn in Bengal, child rescued

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Forced by abject poverty, a woman sold her newborn child for Rs.13,000 to a childless couple in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district, an official said Saturday.

The baby born May 25 has been now rescued and is in the care of the district Child Welfare Committee (CWC).

“The mother is a slum dweller and begs for a living. She sold the newborn — her fourth child — for Rs.13,000. After we got to know about it, we traced the baby and he is now under the care of CWC,” an official of the district social welfare department told IANS.

Uphaar fire: Court orders framing of charges in evidence case

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A court here Saturday ordered framing of charges against real estate barons, Ansal brothers Sushil and Gopal, and five others in a case of alleged tampering with evidence in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjay Khanagwal ordered framing of charges against the seven accused under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code including 109 (abetment of offence), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).

The court fixed the case for further hearing on Oct 9.

Sania-Cara in third round of French Open

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India’s Sania Mirza and her Zimbabwean partner Cara Black cruised into the women’s doubles third round of French Open tennis here Saturday.

The fifth-seeded Indo-Zimbabwean pair won 6-1, 6-2 against Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Alicja Rosolska of Poland.

Sania and Cara completely dominated the match and won two break points in the first set. In all they won 57 points while Gabriela and Alicja won 37 points.

Sania and Cara will now face Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic and Russian Alisa Kleybanova, who got a walkover from Sharon Fichman and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
(IANS)