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.

Ritu Khaitan gets bail in chopper deal case

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A court here Friday granted bail to businessman Gautam Khaitan’s wife Ritu Khaitan, accused in a money-laundering case related to the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge V.K. Gupta granted bail to Ritu Khaitan on a personal bond of Rs.5 lakh and a surety of the like amount.

The Khaitan couple were chargesheeted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) with Chandigarh-based firm Aeromatrix and two Italian nationals — Gerosa Carlo Valentino Ferdinand and Haschke Guido Ralph in November last year.

Thirteen injured in clashes ahead of Delhi polls

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At least 13 supporters of various political parties were injured in three separate incidents of clashes in the past 24 hours, police said Friday.

In the first incident, three Aam Admi Party (AAP) workers were injured after being allegedly attacked by workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in west Delhi’s Uttam Nagar late Thursday night.

“One of the alleged attackers has been arrested and a case registered,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Pushpendra Kumar told IANS.

Sonata net up 65 percent in Q3

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IT consulting and software services provider Sonata Software Friday reported Rs.36 crore consolidated net profit for third quarter of fiscal 2014-15, registering 65 percent year-on-year (YoY) and 15 percent sequential growth.

Consolidated revenue for the quarter under review grew 21 percent YoY and 15 percent sequentially to Rs.470 crore, including Rs.314 crore from products and services in the domestic market and Rs.156 crore from exports.

Match-fixers like paedophiles: ICC’s Ronnie Flanagan

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ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit chairman Ronnie Flanagan Friday compared match fixers to paedophiles or those sexually attracted to children) in their attempts to lure players.

Flangan told media persons here that measures have been put into place to enlighten teams against such practises and also reassured the people that the World Cup will be corruption free.

Modi has hoodwinked the nation: Mulayam

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Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused him of “lying to the nation” and “befooling the people”.

On his maiden visit to his parliamentary constituency of Azamgarh, Yadav while addressing a rally of party supporters, locals and party workers said that none of the promises made by Modi have been fulfilled.

“Have people got jobs, have prices come down, has poverty been reduced, have international relations improved,” he asked the cheering crowd which answered in the negative.

11 die in Brazil shootout

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At least 11 people died Friday and three others were wounded in a shootout between police and suspected criminals in a neighbourhood of Salvador, capital of the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, authorities said.

The clash broke out before dawn Friday in the Salvador neighbourhood of Cabula during an operation of the Rondesp special police patrol

None of the dead belonged to security forces, a military police spokesman in Bahia told Spanish news agency Efe.

Saradha scam: Bengal minister seeks bail, Trinamool MP summoned by ED

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West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra, who is behind bars since December for his alleged complicity in the Saradha scam, Friday approached a court seeking bail.

The bail petition has been filed before the court of Alipore district and sessions judge which Wednesday granted bail to Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Srinjoy Bose.

Bose, who has announced resigning both as a parliamentarian and Trinamool member, was granted bail after spending 75 days since his arrest in November 2014.

Four arrested in Malaysia for Indian’s abduction

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Police in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur arrested four men Friday in connection with the kidnapping last month of an Indian national.

The accused, aged between 23 and 25 years, were arrested from different locations in Malaysia, the country’s official Bernama news agency reported.

According to Kuala Lumpur CID chief Zainuddin Ahmad, initial investigation revealed that one of the suspects, who worked as a driver, was the mastermind in the crime.

“They kidnapped the victim for ransom from his employer,” Ahmad said in a statement.

Invisible planes next on DRDO’s radar, thanks to Sage Bharadwaj?

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India’s premier defence research organisation DRDO is open to co-developing a technology promoted by an Indian scientist who claims he can make planes invisible using pre-Mahabharata sage Bharadwaj’s formulae, a senior agency official said here Friday.

Speaking to IANS on the sidelines of the Bharatiya Vigyan Sammelan here, Satish Kumar, chief controller in-charge of research and development (technology management) at the Defence Research of Development Organisation (DRDO), said the agency was open to any technology which helps save time and cost.

No rats or bats on New Year’s menu: Chinese government

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With just a few days to go before the Chinese New Year, which people celebrate with an abundance of food and merrymaking, China’s government has launched a campaign to prevent virus infections caused by eating “strange food” such as rats, snakes and bats.

Authorities in charge of food safety urged citizens Friday not to consume “wild animals”, and above all, not to “go over the top”, as it is common for people in certain parts of the country to come up with astonishing dishes, using animals not commonly found on the dinner table.

Modi government will make India truly green country: Goyal

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The Narendra Modi government is committed to making India “a truly green country” while balancing its growth imperative and environment safety, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said Thursday.

In view of the prime minister’s emphasis on scaling up the use of alternate renewable sources, “India is balancing its development imperative with concern for environment,” Goyal said at the 15th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit here.

He said all organs of the government, including the bureaucracy and the ministries, were working as a “team” to make India a global hub for green energy.

Rope used to hang Saddam may be auctioned

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The rope used to hang former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein may be put on auction, with bids starting at $7 million, media reported Friday.

According to a report in The Independent, the rope was in the possession of a former Iraqi minister who was tortured thrice by the Saddam regime and it was coveted by two Kuwaiti businessmen, a wealthy Israeli family, a bank and an Iranian religious organisation.

AAP rejects Bukhari’s ‘unsolicited’ support

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On the eve of Delhi assembly polls, Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari Friday appealed to Muslims to vote for the AAP. The AAP, however, rejected his “unsolicited” support and questioned its timing.

The BJP accused the Aam Aadmi Party of polarising Delhi on communal lines and questioned whether the party knew beforehand that Bukhari would issue such an appeal.

Delhi goes to the polls Saturday to elect a 70-member assembly. The votes will be counted Feb 10.

Eurogroup to discuss Greece’s situation next week

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Finance ministers of the eurozone member states will hold a meeting next Wednesday in Brussels to discuss the situation of Greece, European Union (EU) sources said Friday.

The meeting will take place Feb 11 and will be the first to be attended by Greece’s newly-appointed Finance Minister, Yannis Varoufakis, who has already met with some of his counterparts on a European tour.

The Brussels meeting will be held just one day before EU heads of states and governments convene an informal summit, which will be the first time for Alexis Tsipras to join them as prime minister of Greece.

Yemen’s Shia group announces formation of presidential council

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The Shia Houthi group announced Friday the formation of a presidential council to take over power from the presidency, a move that further deepens the chaos after Yemen’s president and premier resigned last month.

In a “constitutional declaration” aired by the state television controlled by the Houthi group, the group said a national presidential council comprising five members will be formed to replace the presidency to run the country in the next transition period, Xinhua news agency reported.

Sunanda Pushkar’s son questioned in murder case

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Sunanda Pushkar’s son Shiv Menon was Thursday questioned in connection with her murder, police said.

Menon, who reached the Vasant Vihar office of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) at 1.15 p.m., was questioned for around eight hours till 9.30 p.m.

Earlier, Menon, Pushkar’s son from an earlier marriage, met SIT members, who asked him to join the probe.

Sources said he was questioned on many topics related to his mother’s relations with her husband, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

India among most at risk of climate change: Global Commission

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India is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change and global action is needed to address that challenge, according to the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate.

Future growth in both Indian cities as well as in the agricultural sector is at risk from climate change, said Felipe Calderon, former Mexican president and currently Chair of the Global Commission at the 8th India Climate Policy and Business Conclave here, industry chamber FICCI said in a statement Thursday.

24 victims of Taiwan plane crash identified

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Twenty-four of the 31 people killed in Wednesday’s TransAsia Airways plane crash in Taiwan have so far been identified, officials said Thursday.

Flight GE235, en route to Kinmen from Taipei with 53 passengers on board, crashed in the Keelung river Wednesday after its wing clipped a taxi on an elevated freeway 10 minutes after takeoff, Xinhua reported.

According to official reports, 31 people have been confirmed killed, 15 injured and 12 others missing.

Pope urges bishops to ensure children’s safety

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Pope Francis has urged Catholic bishops to ensure the safety of children in parishes, which should be “safe and secure homes” for families, and reminded them that “there is absolutely no place in the ministry for those who abuse minors”.

The Pope’s request was part of a letter released Thursday by the Holy See, but which had been sent Monday to the chairmen of episcopal conferences and other senior Church officials.

India affirms commitment to rights of girl child

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Vowing to create a “world fit for children”, India has reaffirmed its focus on the development of the girl child, ensuring her education and fighting to end discrimination.

Ambassador Bhagwant Singh Bishnoi told the Executive Board of Unicef Tuesday: “The recently launched ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ or save the girl child, educate the girl child programme in India, is a significant step for ensuring protection of girls, increasing their participation in secondary education and their overall development.”

Delhi ‘fully prepared’ for Feb 7 polls

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With Delhi getting ready to elect its new representatives from all 70 assembly constituencies Feb 7, the entire polling machinery was “fully prepared” to ensure a smooth election, a top election official said Thursday.

Addressing a press conference here, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Chandra Kumar Bhushan said the national capital was fully ready to go to polls.

“We are ready. Entire polling staff, security staff, observers and others are fully prepared for the election,” he said.

BJP, Congress neck and neck in Rajasthan panchayat polls

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The BJP and the Congress were neck and neck in the panchayat elections in Rajasthan, the results of which were declared Thursday.

Elections were held for 33 zila parishads (with a total of 1,014 seats) and 6,236 panchayat samiti seats in three phases. All results are expected by Friday morning.

“The BJP won 7 and was leading in 6, while the Congress won 6 and was leading in 4 of the 23 zila parishads where either results were declared or counting was in progress till 9 p.m.,” a state election commission official told IANS.

Mumbai-Pune Expressway to be expanded

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India’s busiest road, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway will be expanded by adding a lane on each side, developing new tunnels and bridges designed to cut travel time between the two cities by around 30-45 minutes, it was announced Thursday.

PWD Minister Eknath Shinde took a team of media persons on a tour of the expressway and gave details on the proposed Rs.7,000 crore expansion projects.