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.

Vasanthakumar new chief justice of Kashmir

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Justice Narayanan Nadar Paul Vasanthakumar of the Madras High Court has been appointed the chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, it was announced Thursday.

“President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Justice Narayanan Nadar Paul Vasanthakumar as the chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court,” an official statement said here.

“The appointment is in exercise of powers conferred by section 95 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir and will be effective from the date he assumes charge of his office,” it said.

(IANS)

Indian woman dies in Oman accident

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An Indian woman died and three people were seriously injured when the car they were travelling in hit an electric pole in Oman’s Sur city, a media report said Thursday.

Khadeeja died of burn injuries in the accident near Ras Al Hadd Wednesday. The driver of the car, a woman co-passenger and Khadeeja’s son were battling for life in hospital, Times of Oman reported.

It added that Indian social workers in Sur were coordinating with police to prepare the papers required to send the woman’s body back to India.

(IANS)

17th century cannon found in Hyderabad

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A cannon dating to the 17th century and believed to have been used by the forces of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb during the attack on Golconda Fort here has been recovered here, police said.

The six-feet-long cannon was found by a person during digging work at Nayapul near Musi River in the old city of Hyderabad. Acting on a tip-off, police recovered the antique from Lateef, a contractor, and Thursday handed it over to the department of archaeology and museums of Telangana.

Over 50 countries to participate in BioAsia 2015

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Over 50 countries will participate in BioAsia 2015, the annual international life sciences conference scheduled here Feb 2-4.

Over 100 speakers at 40 sessions will speak during the event whose theme is ‘New era of life sciences – opportunities in transition’.

BioAsia provides an opportunity to explore business partnerships between the industry and academia. It will cover contemporary developments in research and will assist in building technology capabilities for life sciences and medical sciences sector, said a statement by the organisers Thursday.

Pakistan shelling in Jammu district, three civilians injured

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Three people were injured Thursday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Jammu district following heavy shelling by Pakistan Rangers on the international border, police said. The Border Security Force retaliated to the firing.

“Pakistan Rangers used mortars to target civilian habitations in R.S. Pura and Arnia areas of Jammu district Thursday evening. Three people indentified as Bhole Devi, 45, wife of Nand Lal, Darshan Lal, 40, son of Devraj and Vikki, 20, son of Tarseem, all residents of Arnia town, were injured as Pakistan fired shells on the town,” a senior police officer told IANS here.

Seven killed in Mexico gas explosion

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At least seven people, including four children, were killed when a gas explosion ripped through a government hospital here Thursday, a media report said.

More than 50 people were injured, among them 22 children, CNN quoted Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera as saying. Besides, an unknown number of people were trapped inside the building, according to the mayor.

A truck was supplying natural gas to the Cuajimalpa Maternal Hospital on the southwest outskirts of Mexico City when apparently a hose burst and the resulting leak caused an explosion, Mancera said.

Minor raped by step-father in Delhi

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A 10-year-old girl was raped by her step-father at her home here, police said Thursday. The accused has been arrested.

Police said the complaint was lodged at Timarpur police station in north Delhi, after the victim informed her school teacher Thursday morning.

The girl told police that her step father, who is a labourer, raped her in the absence of her mother Wednesday. He also threatened her of dire consequences if she disclosed the incident to anyone, police said.

Telangana to give industrial permission in 15 days

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Any investor coming to Telangana will get permission to start the industry within 15 days and if the government fails to meet this deadline, the permission will be deemed granted, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao announced Thursday.

He said that the new industrial policy, giving right to permission to investors and industrialists, will be launched shortly.

Terming it as the world’s best industrial policy, the chief minister said it would revolutionize industrial system in the country.

Indian jailed in Qatar for killing colleague

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A court in Qatar has given a 10-year jail sentence to an Indian man for killing a colleague, a fellow Indian national, according to a media report.

The Primary Court in Doha Wednesday also ordered the 44-year-old Indian accused to pay a blood money of 200,000 Qatari riyals (around $55,000) to the kith and kin of the 26-year-old victim, Gulf Times reported.

The accused, an air-conditioning mechanic, killed his fellow worker in April last year after an altercation at their company accommodation in Al Wukair area of Doha.

Criminal case filed against Kejriwal for abetting bribery

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A case was filed Thursday in a court here seeking action against AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal for exhorting voters in his election speeches to take bribes if offered by the BJP and Congress but to vote for his party.

The criminal case was filed by Arun Kumar, a practicing lawyer in Tis Hazari court, accusing Kejriwal of deliberately abetting bribery by asking Delhi voters to take bribe from the political parties ahead of the Feb 7 assembly elections.

Soldier arrested in Bihar for molesting minor girl

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A soldier was arrested Thursday in Bihar for molesting a minor girl on a train, police said here.

The girl was travelling to Begusarai district in Bihar from Delhi along with her family when the soldier molested her early Thursday.

“A soldier was arrested after the girl’s family lodged a complaint with Railway Police that she has been molested by him aboard the Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express,” a Government Railway Police (GRP) official said.

A team of GRP arrested the soldier at Patna railway station after a first information report was lodged here, he said.

White House highlights Obama trip with pics and fun video

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The White House posted the highlights of President Barack Obama’s visit to India with several pictures and a light hearted video report anchored by Indian-American Hollywood star Kal Penn.

First Lady Michelle Obama @FLOTUS tweeted followers Thursday to “Check out the photos of the President and First Lady at the Republic Day parade in India at go.wh.gov/ij5fVCa¿

Hamas gives 17,000 Gaza youth paramilitary training

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Around 17,000 youth from Gaza finished a one-week training course in paramilitary activities Thursday, which was organised and supervised by the Islamic Hamas movement’s armed wing.

The youths, aged between 16 and 21 years, were trained on how to get involved in gun battles and how to defend themselves by members of Hamas’s armed wing al-Qassam Brigades, Xinhua news agency reported.

A large graduation ceremony for the young people was held at Gaza’s main sports stadium.

17 killed in Afghanistan suicide bombing

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At least 17 people were killed and 39 injured in a suicide attack at a funeral ceremony in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Laghman Thursday.

“Our latest figures show 17 people were killed and 39 others wounded in Thursday afternoon’s suicide bombing which took place in provincial capital Mehtarlam city, during a funeral ceremony,” Xinhua news agency quoted the provincial government as saying in a statement.

Those killed include 12 civilians, four police officials, including the head of the provincial criminal investigation department (CID) and the bomber, according to the statement.

More Bodo terrorists nabbed in Assam

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Two terrorists and three ground workers of a Bodo militant group, responsible for killing over 75 people in Assam last year, were arrested from the state Thursday.

The terrorists belonging to National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit) were held during operations by the army and police from Chirang and Kokrajhar districts, a statement said.

Arms and ammunition, including one 7.65 mm pistol and two hand grenades, were recovered during the operations.

Airlines bestow discount fair to attract flyers

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A day after budget passenger carrier SpiceJet announced its discount scheme, full service airline Jet Airways launched its special fare offer starting at Rs.4,459.

The airline’s offer is valid for return journey in economy class on flights operated by Jet Airways. The offer is for bookings till March 31, for travel period on or before March 31, 2015.

On Wednesday, cash-strapped budget passenger carrier SpiceJet launched its discount scheme starting at Rs.1,499 for one way advance booking on all direct flights.

Youth Congress, BJYM activists clash in Shimla; 12 injured

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At least 12 activists of both the Youth Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha were injured during a protest here against the central government’s land acquisition ordinance, the police said.

The Youth Congress activists, led by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s son Vikramaditya Singh, held the protest. During the demonstration, the activists smashed the windowpanes of the BJP’s party office, police said.

Vikramaditya Singh is the state Youth Congress president.

Eyewitnesses said more than 100 Youth Congress activists protested outside the BJP office.

Dr Reddy’s profits decline by 7.09 percent

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Pharmaceuticals major Dr. Reddy’s consolidated net profits declined by 7.09 percent due to muted growth in the US, increased in expenses and impairment charges.

Its net profit was Rs.574.53 crore for the quarter ended Dec 31, against Rs.618.42 crore during the same time period last fiscal. Consolidated net sales were up by 8.75 percent at Rs.3,843.10 crore during the quarter compared to Rs.3,533.76 crore in the third quarter of the last fiscal.

The operating margin for the company stood at 18.8 percent with an EBITDA of Rs.1,050 crore.

BJP nervous, scared: AAP

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The BJP’s decision to ask “old and boring” questions to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal till Feb 5 clearly shows that panic has set in the party, an AAP leader said here Thursday.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Yogendra Yadav said he was amazed that the BJP has same “old and boring” set of questions and was “making a mountain out of a mole hill”.

Delhi votes Feb 7 to elect a new 70-member assembly and the results will be out Feb 10.

Snowden files now snare Canadian spy agency

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Canada’s electronic spy agency intercepts and analyses millions of videos and documents downloaded online everyday by people around the world to identify extremists, media reported.

The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) project, named “Levitation”, was carried out in partnership with countries including the US, Britain, New Zealand and Australia, Xinhua news agency reported citing a CBS News report Wednesday. The report is based on a document recently released to CBC News by US whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Congress, BJP spar over change of foreign secretary

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The Congress Thursday questioned the abrupt replacement of foreign secretary Sujatha Singh before the ending of her tenure and demanded that the government explain the reasons for the change — but the ruling BJP retorted it was well within the government’s rights to decide on appointments.

Congress leader Manish Tewari wondered if the decision was a belated result of the stern stand taken by Sujatha Singh on the Devyani Khobragade issue.

‘…Marigold Hotel’ cast surprises Tina Desai with gifts

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Actress Tina Desai, who has a pivotal role in forthcoming Hollywood film “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”, was in for a pleasant surprise when the cast of the movie showered her with gifts.

The actress got the gifts when she went to London for the film’s editing last week.

Tina, who will celebrate her birthday Feb 24, feels that the gesture is special and a perfect pre-birthday celebration.

S. Jaishankar is new foreign secretary

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S. Jaishankar, the Indian envoy to the US, has been appointed the new foreign secretary of India.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, in a decision taken Wednesday, decided to “curtail the tenure” of incumbent Sujatha Singh “with immediate effect”.

The committee, in a note put up on the website of the Department of Personnel and Training, said Jaishankar, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1977 batch, has been appointed the new foreign secretary for a period of two years.

Sujatha Singh had assumed office in August 2013 and was due to retire in August this year.

Congress promises housing for Delhi’s slum dwellers

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The Congress Wednesday said it would provide housing to all slum dwellers here if voted to power, a day after party vice president Rahul Gandhi promised right to shelter to the poor in the national capital.

“If we come to power, we will pass a bill in the assembly which will benefit all the slum dwellers of the capital. This bill will ensure multi-storey flats of 25 to 40 square metre area to every family living in slums,” Congress campaign chief for Delhi Ajay Maken said.

The slums in Delhi with a population of nearly 18 lakh were once a stronghold of the Congress.