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.

‘Roy’: An intriguing journey that leads nowhere

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Film: “Roy”; Cast: Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez; Written and Directed by Vikramjit Singh; Rating: *** (3 stars)

Somewhere long before the debutant director Vikramjit Singh’s tormented characters find their nemesis, the beauteous Jacqueline Fernandez playing an avant-garde filmmaker tells Arjun Rampal(playing a hatted, smoke-shrouded bratty masala filmmaker) that when a story doesn’t seem to be getting anywhere, it’s better to end it then and there.

Prasar Bharati cannot be wished away: Rathore

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Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Friday said the government sought to induct new members in the Prasar Bharati board while the public broadcaster could not be wished away in view of its role as a job creator in rural areas.

“Prasar Bharati is a cooperation funded by the government till 2019. They are free to access us if they need guidance from us. But apart from that they are an independent organisation. And they act like one,” Rathore told the media here.

Rajasthan swine flu toll touches 135

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The swine flu toll in Rajasthan this year climbed to 135 with five more people deaths due to the disease reported Friday, officials said.

“Maximum deaths have occurred from Jaipur, Jodhpur, Barmer and Nagaur,” said a medical and health department official.

He said that total positive cases found across the state from Jan 1 this year touched 1,700, with the maximum positive cases have come from Jaipur. Till Thursday night, it had recorded 435 positive cases.

Telangana, Andhra Police clash over sharing of river water

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The row between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh over sharing of Krishna river water took a serious turn Friday with police of the two Telugu states clashing at Nagarjuna Sagar dam.

Tension prevailed at the dam in Nalgonda district of Telangana as policemen of the two states exchanged blows after a heated argument between officials of the irrigation departments of both the sides.

Intervention by senior officials saved the situation from going out of hands.

Efficient data analytical tools set to empower governments

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Governments will soon be able to utilise the predictive capabilities of data analytical tools to eliminate traffic jams, ensure public safety or prevent outbreak of diseases, said Bernard S. Meyerson, vice president of innovation at IBM USA, on the second day of the annual Government Summit in Dubai Tuesday.

Addressing a session titled “Meet Mr. Watson: How Artificial Intelligence Can Improve Government Services”, Meyerson said technology was driving a huge surge in data which could no longer by handled by human beings.

AAP won as it offered what people want: Pai

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The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) landslide win in the Delhi assembly election was an outcome of its offer to the people who want their basic needs met and corruption eliminated, Manipal Global Education chairman T.V. Mohandas Pai said Tuesday.

“AAP offered people what they wanted, their basic needs and elimination of corruption. Disenchantment of the poor and lower middle class with the quality of life in Delhi, lack of basic needs and insecurity, corruption and oppression by officials led to its landslide victory,” Pai told IANS here.

‘AAP government has tough tasks ahead’

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Fulfilling its poll promises might be an uphill task for the new AAP government following the party’s sweeping victory in the Delhi assembly polls Tuesday.

It would be interesting to see how the party would bring the key legislation like Jan Lokpal and Swaraj. The previous 49-day Aam Aadmi Party government had resigned over the failure to introduce the anti-graft Jan Lokpal bill. The party has won 67 of the 70 seats in the Delhi assembly.

“Lokpal and Swaraj (self-rule) are as important as electricity and water,” a senior AAP leader told IANS.

Union cabinet meets after BJP’s debacle in Delhi polls

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The union cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Tuesday, hours after the BJP’s defeat in the Delhi assembly polls.

The meeting was attended by senior ministers including Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj and the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders are learnt to have discussed the Delhi poll outcome.

European Commission pessimistic about deal with Greece

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The European Commission (EC) has little hope that an agreement can be reached in the coming days to allow Greece to break the debt deadlock three weeks before the existing bailout funds come to an end, EC spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said Tuesday.

“We have low expectations that any final agreements will be reached tomorrow (at the extraordinary meeting of the Euro group) or at the European Council,” said the spokeswoman.

Nepal forms transitional justice mechanisms

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The Nepal government has finally formed two much-awaited transitional justice mechanisms to look after the war-time human rights cases and provide justice to the victims, a Nepalese minister told Xinhua news agency in Kathmandu Tuesday.

A meeting of the council of ministers of the Nepal government formed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Commission of Enquiry on Enforced Disappearance (CEED) Tuesday, Minister for Law and Justice Narahari Acharya said.

US, India on same page on nuclear deal: Official

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The US and India are on the same page on the “breakthrough understanding” on the India-US nuclear deal, but the US companies would still have to make their own judgments, according to a senior US official.

Describing the resolution of the liability issue as a key element of President Barack Obama’s “very successful visit to India”, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters Monday that Washington has encouraged India to make more information available on the understandings.

Trinidad cricket board gets $250,000 from government

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The Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) received $250,000 from its government as well as accolades for its management of the sport in the twin island republic.

Newly appointed Sports Minister Brent Sancho praised TTCB, saying the body has “exemplified good governance” and is being rewarded, reports CMC.

“We had a long discussion and it is the first time Mr. Bassarath has left the ministry smiling. We have had a lot of acrimony in the past but I said to him we cannot right the wrongs of the past but we will work in partnership moving forward,” Sancho said.

Kejriwal proved stronger than Bedi: Dhir

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Former Delhi assembly speaker M.S. Dhir, who defected from the AAP to the BJP just before the elections and lost to his former party Tuesday, credited Arvind Kejriwal for the AAP sweep.

“Arvind Kejriwal was a stronger face than (BJP’s) Kiran Bedi for the post of chief minister,” Dhir told IANS after losing to Aam Aadmi Party’s Pravin Kumar by 20,450 votes in Jangpura.

“Winning and losing are the two faces of the same coin. I think it’s an anti-BJP wave that led us down,” he said.

Telangana CM hails AAP’s victory

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Hailing AAP’s landslide victory in Delhi, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao Tuesday said the results showed that people expect a corruption-free and transparent governance everywhere.

The chief minister said the verdict was a proof that people were thinking differently from conventional politics.

The president of he Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) said the people of Delhi took a right decision by giving a huge mandate to the Aam Aadmi Party.

KCR, as the chief minister is known, sent a letter to AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, congratulating him on the massive victory.

Chandigarh to ban sale of loose cigarettes

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The Chandigarh administration will soon ban the sale of loose cigarettes and other tobacco products in the union territory, an official spokesman said here Tuesday.

“Sale of loose cigarettes and loose tobacco products is going to be prohibited in Chandigarh soon. This was discussed and decided at a meeting of Chandigarh Tobacco Control Cell,” the spokesman said.

The administration decided to ensure effective enforcement and sensitization of people regarding smoking.

Nadda reviews swine flu situation in Gujarat

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Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda Tuesday reviewed the swine flu situation in Gujarat, one of states worst affected by the disease.

Gujarat has recorded 831 cases of swine flu and 88 people have succumbed to the disease.

Nadda held a high-level meeting with state Health Minister Nitinbhai Patel and senior officers of the state government in Gandhinagar and reviewed the work being carried out for creating awareness regarding the preventive measures against H1N1 or swine flu, an official release said here.

Sisi, Putin agree to build n-power plant in Egypt

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Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his visiting Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed Tuesday to build a nuclear power station in Dabaa city in Egypt’s coastal Matrouh province.

“I attended with President Putin the ceremony of signing a memorandum of understanding to establish a nuclear power station in Dabaa,” Xinhua news agency quoted Sisi as saying in a joint press conference with Putin following their talks at a presidential palace in Cairo.

Fighting rages in northeastern Myanmar

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Fighting continued in Myanmar’s Kokang region Tuesday with the government forces combing the areas where troops of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) were retreating, media reported.

Clashes took place four times between the two sides during the day, Xinhua news agency reported citing state radio and TV.

According to Myanmar media , the government forces launched airstrikes on the Kokang ethnic army in some areas of Kokang region in the country’s northeastern Shan state Tuesday following the outbreak of fighting between the two sides in Laukkai Monday.

Congress comes second in four Delhi constituencies

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Four Congress candidates came second in the Delhi assembly polls with one of them losing the election by a small margin of votes.

Hasan Ahmed, who contested the poll from Mustafabad, lost the seat to Jagdish Pradhan of the BJP by 6,031 votes.

Devender Yadav, who contested from Badli, lost the seat to AAP’s Ajesh Yadav by 35,376 votes.

Similarly, Congress’ Rajkumar Chauhan and Shoaib Iqbal lost the poll to AAP’s candidates coming second.

IANS)

Two home guards killed, seven injured in Assam blast

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Two home guards were killed and seven others injured Tuesday when a bomb went off accidentally at an Assam Police firing range in Golaghat district, an official said.

The incident took place at the Kalyani firing range in Deopahar near Numaligarh, a police spokesman said.

“The home guards personnel were undergoing training at the firing range. However, some of the trainees spotted a grenade-like object there and it exploded when they were examining it,” he said.

Two were killed on the spot, while the injured were taken to a hospital.

US woman held hostage by IS confirmed dead

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The US has confirmed the death of aid worker Kayla Mueller, who was held hostage by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group after being captured in Syria, media reported Tuesday.

Her family said they were “heartbroken” to learn the news, CNN reported.

President Barack Obama offered his condolences to the young woman’s family and vowed to “bring to justice the terrorists who are responsible”. Mueller “represents what is best about America”, he said.

China executes child killer

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A man who killed three children in a primary school knife attack in China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region three years ago was executed Tuesday.

Wu Yechang was found guilty of the triple murder and sentenced to death by the Guigang Intermediate People’s Court in January 2014, Xinhua news agency reported.

The sentence was approved by the autonomous region’s high court and the Supreme People’s Court.

Thirteen other children were injured in Wu’s attack.

(IANS)

AAP win shattered myth of Modi’s invincibility: Yogendra Yadav

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AAP ideologue Yogendra Yadav said the party’s landslide win has shattered the “myth of invincibility” around Prime Minister Narendra Modi and opened up “political possibilities”.

Speaking to NDTV news channel after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won 67 of the 70 seats, Yadav said Modi had turned the Delhi assembly election into a “referendum (on his government) and said the whole world is watching”.

“He launched a personal attack on Arvind Kejriwal and now he cannot simply walk away and say it is a minor election,” he said.

IPL media rights given to Novi Digital Entertainment

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Tuesday awarded certain media rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to Novi Digital Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. for a period of three years.

Novi Digital Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Star India Pvt. Ltd., got the rights for a cumulative fee of Rs.302.2 crores for 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Nine killed as rockets hit eastern Ukraine town

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At least nine people were killed and 25 wounded in a rocket attack on Ukraine’s military headquarters in the residential area of a government-controlled eastern town Tuesday, authorities said.

Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and nine wounded during the attack in Kramatorsk, Xinhua news agency reported citing Yury Biryukov, an aide to President Petro Poroshenko.

Meanwhile, the press service of the Donetsk regional administration said the rocket strikes left at least seven civilians dead and 16 injured.