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.

Four arrested in Belgium anti-terror raids

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Four people were arrested following a total of 22 police raids in Belgium Friday as part of ongoing investigations into terrorist activity in the country.

The police action was directed against a gang that was recruiting people to fight Islamic militants in Syria, Xinhua news agency reported citing Belgian newspaper Le Soir.

The raids took place at several locations across Belgium.

There were 22 raids in all. Half of them took place in the city of Maaseik in north-eastern Belgium, in the Limburg Province, close to the border with the Netherlands.

Sushma Swaraj to embark on China visit Saturday

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External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will Saturday embark on a three-day visit to China, where she will attend a Russia-India-China meeting, an official statement said Friday.

During the visit, India and China would discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of their concern.

Sushma Swaraj is visiting China on the invitation of her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

She will be accompanied by Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar and other senior ministry officials. This will be Jaishankar’s first foreign trip after he assumed charge as the foreign secretary Thursday.

Two children killed in clashes in Egypt’s Sinai

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Two children were killed in clashes between the Egyptian army and Islamist militants in northern Sinai peninsula Friday, security sources told Xinhua news agency.

According to the sources, a five-year-old child was hit by a mortar shell and an eight-month-old baby was killed by bullets during the exchange of fire in two villages in northern Sinai. The violence also injured some people.

The two children died just one day after deadly attacks targeting security forces in Sinai claimed at least 26 lives.

Newborn in China dies after being dragged for metres

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A newborn baby in China died after being dragged for nearly a dozen metres by its attached umbilical cord while the mother was being pushed in a wheelchair by a nurse, the hospital confirmed Friday.

The baby girl was born in the hallway of the hospital Jan 2 while the mother, surnamed Shang, was being moved to receive a caesarean at the doctor’s insistence, hospital managers with the Women and Children Medical Care Centre of Luoyang city in central China’s Henan province, told Xinhua news agency.

Rohit Shetty mum on new film, to reveal cast in February

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Bollywood’s blockbuster director Rohit Shetty prefers to keep silent on rumours that he has managed a casting coup of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in his new film. He says he will reveal the details only next month.

“At this time, I guess everyone else apart from me is busy casting for my film and they are telling their own versions. I am just waiting for now and enjoying the process,” Rohit said here when IANS asked the “Chennai Express” director to comment on the rumours.

By now, he’s used to the “process”.

Socialism, secularism hold country together: Punjab CM

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Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Friday said that the twin principles of socialism and secularism formed the underlying spirit of the Indian Constitution and any deviation from these two basic tenets would be against the interest of the country.

“India being a land of diversities is endowed with people hailing from various religions, castes, creeds and linguistic backgrounds. Our forefathers had laid special thrust on the concepts of socialism and secularism in our Constitution,” Badal said, talking to reporters after an event in Kapurthala district, around 160 km from here.

Robert Mugabe elected African Union chair

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Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been elected the new chairperson of the African Union (AU).

Mugabe took the rotating chairmanship of the pan-African bloc Friday at the opening of the 24th AU summit at the AU Headquarters in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, Xinhua news agency reported.

Mugabe took over from Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who was elected AU chairman at the 22nd AU summit in January 2014.

US committed to seeing through nuclear deal: Envoy

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The US is committed to seeing through the civil nuclear deal with India, US ambassador Richard Verma said here Friday.

“…We are committed to seeing this (Indo-US nuclear deal) through, so 300 million people, who do not have electricity, can actually get a shot at it,” Verma told Karan Thapar in an interview on Headlines Today channel.

Verma, who is an American of Indian-origin, said the US will work with India on the idea of creating an insurance pool.

For Valentine’s Day, love skin, hair first

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With just two weeks to go, start indulging in proper skin and hair care to look your best on Valentine’s Day Feb 14.

Mohan Thomas, cosmetic surgeon and managing director of Cosmetic Surgery Institute, shares skin care tips that you should start following to look radiant on Valentine’s Day:

The brunt of the activity is taken up by your feet when you work, so make sure your skin care includes pampering of feet too.

Morocco’s human rights achievements lauded

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Morocco has a roadmap to promote human rights and an ambition that would enable it to hold a leading position regionally in North Africa and the Arab world as well as internationally, according to Stavros Lambrinidis, EU special representative for human rights.

“The huge human rights ambition set by Morocco will enable it to hold a leading position regionally and internationally,” MAP news agency quoted Lambrinidis as saying at a meeting with Inter-Ministerial Delegate for Human Rights, Mahjoub El Hiba, Thursday.

Natarajan’s comments ‘inspired’: Congress

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The Congress Friday dismissed former environment minister Jayanthi Nataranjan’s comments as “opportunistic and pageant”, adding the allegations of interference by party vice president Rahul Gandhi seemed “inspired” from the BJP.

“This is unfortunate that a person who spent four terms in parliament and held key positions in the party made allegations that are opportunistic and pageant in nature,” party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters Friday.

Sonam Kapoor never wanted to use father’s name for career

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It’s always thought that Bollywood’s star children have it easy, but actress Sonam Kapoor says that at the very beginning of her film career, she had decided not to make the most of her father Anil Kapoor’s popularity.

“When I joined the film industry, I became very defensive because people were so mean. They were like, ‘She is Anil’s daughter and she will get things very easily’. So I said, ‘I am never going to use my dad for anything’,” Sonam, who forayed into acting with “Saawariya”, said.

From there on, Sonam says “I did everything on my own”.

Dhoni blames batsmen for loss to England

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Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni blamed the batsmen for Friday’s loss against England in the virtual semi-final of the tri-series here.

England booked a berth in the final of the One-Day International (ODI) series against Australia, courtesy a three-wicket win over India at the WACA.

“When we started batting, I thought we did decent with the new ball and a bit more runs initially would have helped. Good bowling and poor selection of shots led to the low score and 40-50 more runs would have helped,” Dhoni said.

Pakistan Shia mosque blast kills 33

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At least 33 people have been killed in a powerful bomb blast at a Shia mosque in southern Pakistan, officials say.

Some 33 people were killed and many injured in the blast, Dawn reported citing the district health officer of Shikarpur, Munir Jokhio.

Police said at least 55 people were wounded in the attack after Friday prayers in the Shikarpur district of Sindh province.

The toll is expected to rise as many of the wounded are in a critical condition.

Local media reports suggest that the blast could have been a suicide attack, but police are investigating.

Australia pacer Johnson to play tri-series final

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Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson is set to return to One-Day International (ODI) cricket after a break of over a month and will play in the tri-series final here Sunday.

Johnson said the break was a much needed one, specially after the “tough” tour in the United Arab Emirates against Pakistan.

ODI tri-series Scoreboard: India vs England

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Scoreboard of an ODI tri-series match between India and England at the WACA here Friday:

India:
Ajinkya Rahane c Buttler b Finn 73
Shikhar Dhawan c Buttler b Woakes 38
Virat Kohli c Root b Ali 8
Suresh Raina c Woakes b Ali 1
Ambati Rayudu c Buttler b Broad 12
Mahendra Singh Dhoni lbw b Anderson 17
Stuart Binny c Bell b Finn 7
Ravidra Jadeja c Finn b Broad 5
Axar Patel c Bell b Finn 1
Mohit Sharma not out 7
Mohammed Shami c Buttler b Woakes 25
Extras (lb 2, w 4) 6
Total (all out in 48.1 overs) 200

England beat India by 3 wickets

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England booked a berth in the final of the ODI tri-series against Australia, courtesy a three-wicket win over India at the WACA here Friday.

India, put in to bat, were bowled out for 200 in 48.1 overs.

England were reduced to 66 for five but a 125-run partnership for the sixth wicket between James Taylor (82) and Jos Buttler (67) helped them score 201 for seven in 46.5 overs.

(IANS)

Modi, memories and Mumbai at India Art Fair

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Amid the maze of galleries representing modern and contemporary works, and art connoisseurs thronging the spacious venue of India Art Fair, a few artworks stand out for their theme, quirkiness and vision.

The exhibition is being held at NSIC Exhibition Grounds, Okhla, here.

Mumbai-based artist Viveek Sharma has paid an ode to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a painting titled “Sons of Same Soil”. The artist has placed the image of Modi, Mahatama Gandhi and the people of India in such a way that it looks like the Indian flag.

Van Ass, Thornton to coach Indian hockey teams

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Former Dutch national coach Paul van Ass and Anthony Thornton of New Zealand were Friday named the new coaches of the Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams, respectively.

The names were finalised at a special selection committee meeting headed by secretary sports Ajit Sharan, Hockey India (HI) president Narinder Batra, high performance director Roelant Oltmans, Olympian Harbinder Singh among other Sports Authority of India (SAI) officials.

Let truth be revealed: Mukul Roy after CBI grilling

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Trinamool Congress general secretary Mukul Roy, who was grilled for around four and a half hours Friday by the CBI in connection with the Saradha ponzi scam, said he wanted the truth to come out and the investigation to move in the right direction.

“Let the truth be revealed. Let the investigation move in the right direction,” Roy told media persons after coming out of the Central Bureau of Investigation office in the afternoon.

The former railway minister promised to come to the agency’s office and talk to the investigators if they call him for the sake of the probe.

Texas executes prisoner with alleged intellectual disability

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The US state of Texas executed convicted killer Robert Ladd who was jailed for the murder of a woman in 1996 after the Supreme Court rejected the defence’s last minute argument of intellectual disability.

Ladd, a 57-year-old African-American, was declared dead Thursday after receiving a lethal injection at Huntsville prison, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Witnesses to the execution were two people who Ladd had exchanged correspondence with during his imprisonment.

Sensex closes 499 points down; bank stocks plummet

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A benchmark index of Indian equities markets closed Friday’s trade down 499 points or 1.68 percent, as banking, automobile and consumer durables stocks declined.

The markets plunged after scaling a new high of 29,844.16 points in the morning trade session. It surpassed the previous high of 29,786.32 points touched Jan 28.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 29,801.60 points, was trading at 29,182.95 points, down 498.82 points or 1.68 percent from the previous day’s close at 29,681.77 points.

20 killed in Shia mosque blast in Pakistan

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At least 20 people were reportedly killed and 55 injured in an explosion inside a central imambargah — mosque affiliated with Shia Muslims — in Pakistan’s Sindh province Friday.

Over 55 people were injured in the blast that was heard several kilometres away. Children are also reportedly among the dead and injured, The News International reported citing Shaukat Memon, medical superintendent of Civil Hospital in Shikarpur.

The imambargah is located in Lakhi Dar area of Shikarpur district and the explosion occurred just after Friday prayers.

Delhi elections : Modi was wearing Rs 10-lakh suit, Rahul Gandhi says

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hit out at PM Narendra Modi saying that he has ‘fooled’ the nation on the issue of black money stashed in foreign accounts.

Speaking at a rally in Dehli’s Seelampur, Rahul said that the PM misused public money to get himself Rs 10 lakh suit during US President Barack Obama’s India visit. The PM’s suit had stripes that spelled out his name all over it.

BJP says no manifesto for Delhi polls, to pose 5 questions daily for Kejriwal

Three minors injured in Odisha firing

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Tension is prevailing at a steel plant in Odisha after private security guards fired at three minors Thursday, prompting authorities to launch a probe into the incident.

Soon after the firing took place in Bhusan steel plant in Dhenkanal district, villagers locked the main gate of the plant and demanded action against the culprits and compensation. However, normalcy returned after intervention of police.

Two injured boys were admitted to a private hospital while one was shifted to a government hospital at Angul, said police.