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.

Feared not getting international ton at Eden: Sourav

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Former India captain Sourav Ganguly Wednesday revealed that his biggest fear in his cricketing career was to have not scored an international hundred at his home ground, the historic Eden Gardens.

“My biggest fear was that I thought I would never get a hundred at the Eden. But then it came against Pakistan,” Ganguly said.

The southpaw overcame his worst fear Dec 1, 2007 when he scored 102 in the first innings of the second Test against the arch rivals, that was eventually his last Test match at the ground.

UN deeply concerned over south Lebanon situation

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The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Sigrid Kaag expressed Wednesday deep concern over the serious deterioration of the security situation in South Lebanon following the attack on the Israeli Defence Forces in the area of the Shebaa Farms.

Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia militant party, claimed Wednesday responsibility for an attack that targeted an Israeli army patrol in the occupied Shebaa Farms leading to the death of two Israeli soldiers.

The attack prompted Israel to launch combined aerial and ground strikes at Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.

Syrian peace process to be prolonged: Russian minister

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The peace process in Syria will be protracted and knotty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday at a meeting with participants in the inter-Syrian consultations in Moscow.

“Russia’s efforts to assist the Syrian peace settlement are absolutely transparent,” he said.

“We’re all open to collaboration on the basis of principles of the UN Charter with anyone interested in offering genuine support to the efforts that may bring about the start of peace settlement,” he said.

Rs.30 lakh for family of armyman killed in Kashmir

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav Wednesday announced a financial assistance of Rs.30 lakh for the family of Col. Munindra Nath Rai who was killed in a gun battle with militants in Jammu and Kashmir.

Col. Rai was killed in a gunfight with Hizbul Mujahideen guerrillas in Handoora forest area near Tral town of Pulwama district. He belonged to Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh.

In a condolence message, Yadav paid rich tributes to Col. Rai and said the exemplary courage and supreme sacrifice of the army officer would never be forgotten.

Who will head BHAVINI: Suspense continues

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Suspense continues as to who will be named chairman and managing director (CMD) of India’s fast breeder reactor power company Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd (BHAVINI), officials said Wednesday.

“The suspense still continues as to the person who would be chosen as the CMD of BHAVINI. However the suspense is expected to end in a day or two,” atomic power sector officials told IANS.

The central government in October last year had appointed Rajani Sankaran as the officiating CMD for three months. She succeeded Prabhat Kumar, BHAVINI’s first CMD, and her term comes to an end Jan 31.

Uttar Pradeh governor calls for promotion of talent

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Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik Wednesday said there was no dearth of talent in the country, it just needed to be promoted and perfected in the interest of the nation.

Naik was addressing the 80th convocation of Agra University (now called Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University), during which 495 Ph.D., five D. Lit., and 81 M.Phil. degrees were given away.

Mexican police chief killed in ambush

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A municipal police chief in the Mexican state of Veracruz was killed and four of his officers severely wounded in an ambush, authorities said.

The attack took place early Tuesday on a highway in the southern part of the Gulf coast state.

Armando Sanchez Garibay, the police commander in the town of Lerdo de Tejada, and four of his subordinates were traveling in a patrol vehicle when they were assaulted by gunmen aboard two pick-up trucks.

The attackers hurled grenades and fired bursts from automatic weapons, leaving the police vehicle in flames.

Kiran Bedi has two voter ID cards

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BJP’s chief ministerial candidate in Delhi assembly polls Kiran Bedi has two voter identity cards from separate addresses here, according to the Election Commission records.

A scrutiny of the electoral rolls on the website of Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer showed that Bedi has voter ID cards from two addresses — 2 Kothi, near Talkatora Stadium, Talkatora Lane, and 56, Uday Park.

The Talkatora Lane address bears the voter ID card number SJE0047969, while the Uday Park address bears the card number TZD1656909.

Forced conversion took place in Bengal, claims Trinamool; VHP denies

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West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress Wednesday claimed that over 100 Christians were converted by the VHP in Rampurhat in Birbhum district. The Hindu organisation denied the charge.

State minister and Trinamool legislator Ashish Banerjee claimed that a conversion ceremony was organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad Wednesday in Khurmadanga village in Rampurhat in which over 100 Christians were converted.

Germany supports India’s bid for adaptation over mitigation

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In a significant shift from its previous stand, Germany Wednesday supported India’s bid for achieving an equal balance between mitigation and adaptation to combat climate change.

In view of India’s low per capita carbon emissions, Germany also agreed that expectations from India could not be the same as that from China, the top emitter of greenhouse gases, with respect to rolling back the emission.

“First we were opposed…now we agree with India’s position because different countries have different needs,” German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks told the media here.

Delhi to have special hostels for northeast students

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The central government Wednesday proposed to set up special hostels for students from the northeast region studying in Delhi.

Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister Jitendra Singh ordered a sub-committee be set up consisting of representatives from offices of resident commissioners of various states as well as representatives of the DoNER ministry to identify suitable location and land for construction of such hostels.

The minister was addressing a meeting here of resident commissioners of the northeastern states.

Congress suspends two Chhattisgarh legislators

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The prolonged tussle within the Congress in Chhattisgarh took a fresh turn Wednesday as the party suspended two legislators — known to be die-hard supporters of former chief minister Ajit Jogi — for “anti-party activities”.

Jogi and state Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel are known to be bitter rivals. Both leaders have spoken out against each other in public in recent months.

Kenya lost over 100 rhinos in three years

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Kenya lost over 100 rhinos to poachers in the last three years, raising fears that the country’s total number of 1,000 rhinos could be wiped out, a government official said Wednesday.

Environment Cabinet Secretary Judi Wakhungu said illegal wildlife trade presented a serious threat to the survival and conservation of many endangered species.

Wakhungu said that effective prosecution was hampered by lack of concrete expert evidence that could link a poacher to a confiscated wildlife product.

Dalit IAS officer explores law to preach Christianity

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Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer C. Umashankar is looking at legal options to challenge a government directive forbidding him from preaching Christianity.

“I am looking at legal options. I have to discuss with my lawyers first,” Umashankar told IANS Wednesday.

According to him, the government’s directive suppresses his constitutional right to speech and freedom to practice and preach religion.

Cabinet approves Rs.3,705 crore per MHz reserve price for 3G

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The Cabinet Wednesday approved a reserve price of Rs.3,705 crore per megahertz (MHz) for third generation (3G) spectrum auction due March 4 next, Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

“In 2010 3G auction, the government fixed Rs.700 crore per MHz reserve price and in the auction the then government earned Rs.3,350 crore per MHz, almost 8 times of the reserve price,” he told reporters after a meeting here of the union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Two dead, seven injured in Delhi road accident

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Two people were killed and seven others injured when a speeding car hit a van and it collided with another car on the opposite side of the road early Wednesday, police said.

The accident took place at Nishadraj Marg in north Delhi’s Kotwali area around 1.30 a.m. when the Ford Figo car going towards the Red Fort hit a Maruti van which collided with a Swift Dzire car.

Manoj, 25, and Pradeep, 26, succumbed to their injuries at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, while the other seven injured were recuperating.

Police said four of the seven injured were in critical condition.

Government clears HDFC Bank’s move to raise Rs.10,000 crore

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The government Wednesday approved HDFC Bank’s proposal to raise Rs.10,000 crore from foreign investors.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its approval to the bank’s proposal at its meeting held here.

“The CCEA gave its approval to the proposal of HDFC Bank for issuance of equity shares aggregating to an amount of Rs.10,000 crore to NRIs/FIIs/FPIs (non-resident Indians, foreign institutional investors or foreign portfolio investors),” the CCEA said in a statement.

Brahmos integration with Sukhoi by March

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India will integrate the air version of Brahmos supersonic cruise missile with Sukhoi fighters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) by March, an official said Wednesday.

“Integration of Brahmos with Sukhois of the IAF is on and will be completed by March, as two of them are being integrated at our Nashik complex,” state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s (HAL) outgoing chairman R.K. Tyagi told reporters here.

BrahMos Aerospace, an India-Russia joint venture, developed and test-fired the cruise missile July 8, 2014 from the integrated test range at Chandipur in Balasore district of Odisha.

Japan pins its hopes on Jordan against IS ultimatum

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Japan continued to live through a period of national tension Wednesday as the clock ticked towards the new 24-hour deadline given by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group before carrying out their threat of executing a Japanese reporter if an extremist detained in Jordan was not freed by the ultimatum’s expiry.

Japan put all its hopes on the negotiating ability of Jordan, from whom the IS has sought the release of their Iraqi fighter Sayida al-Rishawi in exchange for the lives of Kenji Goto and Jordanian pilot Muaz Kasasbeh.

Eureka Forbes forays into cookware segment

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Consumer health and hygiene brand Eureka Forbes Wednesday forayed into cookware and introduced a health-friendly product in its range.

“Our decision to foray into a new category was a very conscious one. We are in the clean home business and are present in many kitchens. So, a natural extension for us was food… while choosing healthy foods and recipes is an important part of eating right, cooking them in a healthy manner is equally important,” the company’s CEO of direct sales Marzin Shroff said.

Bengal should pay attention to Sunderbans’ requirements: Expert

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A top environmental expert from the World Bank Wednesday urged West Bengal to ensure that the requirement of the fragile Sunderbans mangrove forests is “adequately reflected” in the needs of the state as a whole and said it should implement the projects on cyclone mitigation and hydrology to create a database.

Tapas Paul, senior environmental specialist for the World Bank in India, said Bengal has been recently included in the subsequent phase of the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project and National Hydrology Project.

Syrian lawmaker defends Hezbollah attack on Israeli convoy

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A Syrian lawmaker Wednesday defended Hezbollah’s targeting of an Israeli military convoy earlier in the day, saying the response was a normal retaliation to the latest Israeli attack that killed six Hezbollah fighters in Syria.

“The response by Hezbollah against the Israeli aggression is normal because it’s the right of Hezbollah to respond against any aggression or escalation from the Israeli side,” Sharif Shehadeh, a prominent legislator, told Xinhua news agency Wednesday.

36 killed in clashes with IS in Iraq

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A total of 36 people were killed in attacks and clashes with the Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq’s eastern province of Diyala Wednesday, security sources said.

Heavy clashes erupted when Iraqi security forces and Shia militias attacked IS militants hiding in Himreen mountainous area in northeast of Baquba, Diyala’s provincial capital, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, leaving at least 20 IS militants dead, provincial police chief Jamil al-Shimary told Xinhua news agency.

Uber rape case: Forensic expert confirms DNA profiles

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A forensic expert Wednesday told a court here that DNA profiles generated from various materials recovered from a taxi have matched with those of the woman who was raped allegedly by the driver of a Uber cab.

Testifying as a prosecution witness in the case, senior scientific officer in the Central Forensic Science Laboratory B.K. Mahapatra told Additional Sessions Judge Kaveri Baweja that DNA profiles matched with either the victim or accused Shiv Kumar Yadav.

Six killed in US drone strike in Pakistan

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At least six people were killed and four others injured Wednesday evening when a US drone launched a strike in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region of North Waziristan, media reported.

The US pilotless plane fired two missiles at a house in the Shawal area of the restive tribal region bordering Afghanistan, Xinhua news agency reported.

The strike destroyed the compound completely and killed six people and left four others injured.