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.

Oil to remain at $55 in 2015: IEA

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The International Energy Agency (IEA) Tuesday said it predicts the price of Brent oil to remain at an average of $55 a barrel throughout 2015.

The IEA, in a report titled “Medium-Term Oil Market Report”, said Brent would only climb to $60 in 2016, adding that the benchmark is not expected to surge anywhere above $73 before 2020.

The report emphasised that rapid slide in oil prices over the last nine months would not last much longer. However, it added that the rebound would be limited and would not feature prices at the heights of the last three years.

Australia prove invincible again in topsy-turvy tournament

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Australia won their second title on the trot as the World Cup caravan made its maiden trip to the African continent in 2003, but the 44-day tournament saw problems galore from a bloated itinerary drawing flak from all quarters to a dope offence that saw a major star getting banned before the competition was underway.

A pariah of mainstream cricket even 11 years back due to their apartheid policy, South Africa hosted the lion’s share of the games, with Zimbabwe and Kenya also getting to host some matches during the 14-team competition.

Private help essential to meet huge smart city costs: Naidu

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Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu Tuesday sought private sector participation in the government’s smart city project to help in meeting its huge investment requirement.

“Stating that innovative approaches are imperative for building smart cities, M. Venkaiah Naidu urged the corporates and investors to make a success of people-public-private partnership to meet the huge investment requirement,” the urban development ministry said in a statement here.

Bodo militant gunned down in Assam

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Security forces in Assam have shot dead a Bodo militant who was to carry out recruitment drives for his outfit, an official said Tuesday.

Guwahati-based defence spokesperson Lt. Col. Suneet Newton said a huge cache of arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain militant — identified as Urga of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) who underwent training in Myanmar.

He was killed during a joint operation by the army’s Red Horns division and Assam Police in the Prabatjhora reserve forest in Kokrajhar district Monday night.

Youth being radicalised at ‘alarming’ rate: Prince Charles

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Heir to the British throne Prince Charles has said that young people in Britain were being radicalised at an “alarming” rate, for which he partly blamed “crazy” content on the internet, a media report said Sunday.

“The frightening part is that people can be so radicalised either by contact with somebody else or via the internet, and the extraordinary amount of crazy stuff which is on the Internet,” he said, according to The Independent.

Indian man jailed for burning ex-girlfriend’s shoe, bed

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A 26-year-old Indian waiter was sentenced to a one-year jail term in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for setting his ex-girlfriend’s shoe and bed on fire, media reported Sunday.

The accused admitted that he got drunk before he visited his Filipina ex-girlfriend’s residence and set her shoe and bed on fire, after breaking up with her in October, last year, Gulf News reported.

The former girlfriend of the accused youth reportedly worked in the same hotel at Jumeirah Palm in Dubai, as a receptionist.

Minsk summit to discuss Ukraine crisis Feb 11

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A summit meeting to discuss ways of solving the Ukraine crisis will be held in the Belarusian capital of Minsk Wednesday, between the leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine, according to reports Sunday.

The meeting would be attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Xinhua reported, citing German government spokesman Steffen Seibert.

Labour Party becoming ‘too nervous’, says Amartya Sen

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Britain’s Labour Party has become “too nervous” in its approach, Nobel laureate and Harvard University professor Amartya Sen said here Sunday.

“They have to be more radical… now that’s a mistake of theirs,” Sen said at an event at the International Kolkata Book Fair.

Recently, the Labour Party has been losing its hold with private business houses in the country.

Sen, a winner of the Adam Smith Prize in 1954 and who moved to London 17 years later, was participating in an interaction “On Encountering UK”.

‘Separate ministry needed for fisheries, ocean sector’

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Scientists, oceanographers and marine experts Sunday urged the Indian government to form a separate ministry which brings all agencies and institutions working in the field of ocean and fisheries research under one roof for smooth implementation and management of all policies for the two sectors.

Journalist Diptosh Majumdar dead

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Journalist Diptosh Majumdar, who was national affairs editor with newsX news channel, died Sunday following illness, his colleagues said. He was 46

Majumdar, who was born 1958, had worked in senior positions both in the print and electronic media.

He was admitted to Apollo Hospital here with suspected blood cancer.A

His colleagues said that his last rites will take place Monday morning at Lodhi Road crematorium.

Majumdar had also worked as national affairs editor with CNN-IBN news channel. He also worked with The Telegraph and DNA dailies.

He is survived by his wife.

Mogherini calls for revised European security strategy

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European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini Sunday called for revising the European security strategy in response to changing global and regional conditions.

“In a rapidly changing world, we need to have a clear vision of the way ahead. This is why I have launched a process of strategic reflection to guide the EU’s foreign and security policy,” Mogherini said, according to a Xinhua report.

She noted that the existing European security strategy, proposed by her predecessor Javier Solana, and approved in 2003, was outdated.

Kejriwal, colleagues enjoy Akshay Kumar’s ‘Baby’

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A day after exit polls predicted a win for his party, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal Sunday watched Akshay Kumar-starrer “Baby” here.

Party colleagues like Manish Sisodia and Kumar Vishwas also joined with Kejriwal at the Wave Cinemas at Kaushambi in this Uttar Pradesh district adjoining Delhi.

The multiplex is about a kilometer away from Girnar Tower apartments, where Kejriwal lives.

“We all saw ‘Baby’. It was fun,” an AAP functionary told IANS.

Poverty India’s biggest challenge: Modi

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday called for states to forge a model of “cooperative federalism” to resolve differences even as he flagged poverty as India’s biggest challenge.

Chairing the first meeting of the governing council of NITI Aayog, he said India cannot advance without all its states advancing in tandem, according to an official release here.

Modi added that he envisioned different states competing with each other in promoting governance initiatives in a spirit of “cooperative, competitive federalism”.

Smit’s skeet double helps Punjab pip Maharashtra

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Smit Singh bagged a golden double in men’s skeet on the concluding day of shooting competitions in the 35th National Games to help Punjab edge out Maharashtra and finish second in the shooting medals tally at the Kerala Police Academy Range here Sunday. Services finished on top.

Smit won the individual gold with a combined finals score of 28 with the more fancied Mairaj Ahmed Khan of Uttar Pradesh finishing second with an identical combined score, but he lost out on a low score of 13 in the final round. Angad Vir Singh Bajwa of Punjab won the bronze with 27.

Mumbai FC held to goalless draw by Sporting Clube

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Mumbai FC were unlucky to come out with just a solitary I-League point from their first home match against Sporting Clube de Goa at the refurbished Cooperage Football Stadium here Sunday evening.

Mumbai FC enjoyed domination throughout the match but were forced to share honours with the Goan club in a goalless draw.

National Games hockey enters knockout phase

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With the end of the pool phase, qualified men’s and women’s hockey teams were all set Sunday to play the National Games semi-finals Feb 10 at the New Hockey Stadium here.

The day will start with the women’s semi-finals where Haryana will take on Jharkhand and Odisha will play against Punjab. This will be followed by the men’s last four matches wherein Jharkhand will clash against Services while Odisha take on Haryana.

The winning teams will play the finals Feb 11. The teams which miss out on the final berth will battle it out for the the bronze medal playoff the same day.

No proposal to amend civil nuclear liability law: India

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The Indian government Sunday released details of the breakthrough on the civil nuclear agreement arrived at last month during the visit of US President Barack Obama, including that there is no proposal to amend the nuclear liability law and that it is on par with the international norms.

In a detailed “frequently asked questions” on the civil liability law and related issues, the statement by the external affairs ministry also states that operator of the nuclear installation shall be liable for nuclear damage caused by nuclear incident.

AAP is the change that India needs today: Smita Bansal

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Actress Smita Bansal, best known for her role in popular TV show “Balika Vadhu”, says Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) deserves to win Delhi elections 2015 because its leader Arvind Kejriwal has the “courage” to fight against all the social issues in the society.

Talking about the exit polls which after the end of voting Saturday predicted an AAP win, Smita told IANS: “It’s totally people’s verdict. I’m supporting AAP in any case. The result of the Delhi elections is still to come out but the exit polls have shown some good sign for the party, which is nice for its future.”

Cueist Advani remains unbeaten

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National champion Pankaj Advani continued his imperious run as he won all his three matches here Sunday to maintain his unbeaten record after five matches in the selection trials for the Asian Snooker Championship to be held in Malaysia later this year.

Advani marked his consistency with a 4-0 win over arch-rival Kamal Chawla with breaks of 72, 76 and 75 besides overcoming Dharmender Lilly 4-3 and Faisal Khan 4-0.

States need more flexibility to design programmes: Odisha CM

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Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Sunday said the central government must provide greater flexibility to the states for designing and implementing programmes suited to their specific needs.

Participating in the first meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog here, Patnaik expressed concern over arbitrary cuts under existing central schemes that have led to delay in completion of projects and cost-overruns.

Glad to end run drought: Dhawan

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Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan Sunday expressed satisfaction at ending a prolonged run drought with a 71-ball 59 against Australia in India’s 106-run loss in a World cup warm-up match here.

Australia posted a massive 371 runs from 48.2 overs, aided by blistering centuries from opener David Warner (104 off 83 balls) and middle-order batsman Glenn Maxwell (122 from 87 balls).

India never looked like coming anywhere close to chasing the target and ultimately folded for 265 in 45.1 overs.

Pakistan’s Hafeez replaced by Nasir

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The International Cricket Council (ICC) Sunday approved left-handed opening batsman Nasir Jamshed as a replacement for Mohammad Hafeez in Pakistan’s World Cup squad.

“The ICC has confirmed that the Event Technical Committee of the World Cup has approved Nasir Jamshed as a replacement player for Mohammad Hafeez in Pakistan’s squad for the tournament, which starts Feb 14,” said an ICC statement.

All-rounder Hafeez is suffering from a calf injury which he picked up while batting in the second One-Day International (ODI) against New Zealand in Napier Feb 3.

Clashes in Libya’s Benghazi kills over 40

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Fierce clashes between the Libyan security forces and militants in the country’s second largest city of Benghazi killed over 40 people and injured a number of others, sources said Sunday.

The Libyan National Army mounted a huge offensive on the city to wipe out Islamist militants led by the Ansar al-Sharia and its allies, Xinhua reported, citing a military official.

According to the official, the army dubbed the manoeuvre as the “final offensive” in which tanks, warplanes, helicopters and missiles were used to eliminate the militants “once and for all”.

Kejriwal tells volunteers to ‘chill’, relax

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A day after the Delhi assembly polls, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal Sunday told his party volunteers to “relax for two days” till the vote count.

“Volunteers. U did an amazing job. Relax for 2 days. Spend wid(with) ur (your) family. Sleep. Watch movies. Meditate. Chill. God bless u,” Kejriwal said in a tweet.

The party is awaiting the results of the poll coming Tuesday as the exit polls predicted its stunning victory. Delhi saw a turnout of over 67 percent Saturday in voting for its 70-member assembly.

(IANS)

Rohtak rape: Protests erupt after police apathy

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Protests erupted in Haryana’s Rohtak town Sunday after details emerged of the barbaric manner in which a mentally-challenged Nepali woman was raped and murdered and how Haryana Police and the state government failed to show any action being taken.

Protestors Sunday took out a march in Rohtak town, 75 km from Delhi. Reports said the Rohtak-Delhi highway was blocked by protestors in the evening.