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.

Five Bodo militants nabbed in Assam

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A joint team of Assam Police and the army Sunday arrested five Bodo militants from a forest area in Kokrajhar district, officials said.

The cadres of the anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) were nabbed from the Ripu reserved forest, according to a statement issued by Guwahati-based defence spokesperson Lt. Col. Suneet Newton.

The arrested cadres include Daneshwar Basumatary alias B. Dapung alias Ustad, a senior leader of the outfit, the statement added.

Timeline: Indo-US civil nuclear agreement

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Following is the chronology of events in the

India-US civil nuclear agreement since it was conceived by then Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh and then US president George W Bush in July 2005.

July 18, 2005: Bush and Singh first announce their intention to enter into a civil nuclear agreement in Washington.

March 1, 2006: Bush visits India for the first time.

March 3, 2006: Bush and Singh issue a joint statement on their growing
strategic partnership, emphasising their agreement on civil nuclear
cooperation.

Barack and I: Modi stresses personal chemistry

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Talking glowingly about his “good friendship” with US President Barack Obama and how it had brought the people of India and US closer, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed him by his first name “Barack” more than once while Obama, in response, was less informal and addressed him as “Modi” or “prime minister”.

“Barack and I have forged a friendship. There is openness when we talk on the phone and we also crack jokes,” Modi said.

“This chemistry has brought Barack closer to me but also brought the people of India and America closer” he added.

Sanjaya Baru not an expert on father: Manmohan’s daughter

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Clarifying that her book on her father and former prime minister Manmohan Singh was not a response to the memoir penned by his media advisor Sanjaya Baru, author Daman Singh Saturday said she doesn’t consider Baru as an expert on Manmohan Singh and it “wasn’t worth” her while to read his book.

“The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh” was a 2014 memoir by Indian policy analyst Sanjaya Baru, who was Manmohan Singh’s media advisor from May 2004 till August 2008.

AirAsia flight QZ8501: Bid to raise fuselage begins

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Salvage teams have begun an operation to raise the fuselage of AirAsia flight QZ8501, which crashed into the Java Sea last month killing all 162 on board.

However, the initial attempt was unsuccessful as ropes around the fuselage snapped, BBC reported.

Four more bodies have been recovered, bringing the total to 69, with more thought to be inside.

Indonesian officials believe the Airbus A320-200 may have climbed too fast to try to avoid a storm and stalled.

The jet was flying from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore.

ITF juniors: Karman Kaur Thandi lifts women’s singles under 18 trophy

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Top seed India’s Karman Kaur Thandi Saturday lifted the Women’s Singles Under 18 trophy at the ITF juniors here edging past Thailand’s Y. Jittakoat 6-4, 7-5.

Thandi, from 1-3 down in the first set, grabbed it by a close 6-4. She went down again in the second set, as the score board displayed 5-2 in favour of Jittakoat.

From there, the 16-year-old Thandi made a stunning comeback as she won five consecutive games to win the championship in one hour 50 minutes.

Hero I-League: Pune strike thrice to down BFC

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Pune FC handed a 3-1 thrashing to defending champions Bengaluru FC to pick their first set of full points in the Hero I-League match here Saturday.

Ashley Westwood’s Blues had no answer to the Lizards who scored through Darko Nikac (9th), Luciano Sarbosa (25th) and Thongkhosiem Haokip (82nd) while new recruit Eugeneson Lyngdoh (89th) pulled one back for the hosts.

Pune appeared the better organised team both in the front and at the back in contrast to BFC who appeared out of sorts, much like they did against Dempo in their opening game last week when they drew goalless.

Mobile app for Kolkata Book Fair visitors

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Visitors to the 39th International Kolkata Book Fair, that begins Jan 28, now have assistance at their finger tips, courtesy a mobile app providing all the relevant details about the fest.

The Android app has been developed by private power utility company CESC.

“The app can be accessed from a mobile phone or a tablet and will offer the route maps from one point of the fair to the desired book stall. One can also locate utility areas like the food court, restrooms, administrative buildings etc. using the app,” Abhijit Ghosh of the CESC told media persons Saturday.

National Snooker: Pankaj Advani, Amee Kamani clinch titles

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Ace cueist and 12-time world champion Pankaj Advani Saturday once again clinched the 26th national title of his glittering career when he went past promising cueist Varun Madan 6-3 to win the National Snooker Championship here at the Bengal Rowing Club.

Indore’s Amee Kamani on the other hand won her maiden title when she defeated experienced Vidya Pillai in the Ladies Snooker finals.

This was the fourth time in his career that Advani has won both the Billiards and Snooker National Titles.

Left parties protest Modi’s invitation to Obama

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Accusing the Narendra Modi government of compromising India’s sovereignty by inviting Barack Obama for the Republic Day function, several Left parties Saturday staged a rally here opposing the US president’s visit.

The rally was attended by Left Front chairperson and Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo member Biman Basu, Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal assembly Surjya Kanta Mishra and CPI state secretary Manju Kumar Majumdar.

Egypt orders retrial of 152 Muslim Brotherhood members

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An Egyptian court Saturday ordered a retrial of 152 Muslim Brotherhood defendants charged with violence following the ouster of Mohamed Morsi as president in 2013, according to the state-run MENA.

The 152 accused were sentenced last March in a mass trial of 545 defendants, in which 37 of the defendants were sentenced to death and 115 others sentenced to life in prison.

Two women held in Delhi with fake currency notes

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Two women were arrested here for smuggling fake Indian currency notes (FICN) from Bangkok, police said Saturday.

Rekha, 40, and Sheetal Singh, 36, were held from New Delhi Railway Station Thursday on a tip-off as soon as they got down from a train.

“The two women were arrested with FICN worth (having a face value of) Rs.11 lakh. Concealed in the boxes of cosmetic products, the women were smuggling the fake notes to Delhi from Bangkok,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav said.

‘Chal Guru Ho Ja Shuru’ made tax-free in Uttarakhand

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Actor Hemant Pandey-starrer “Chal Guru Ho Ja Shuru” was Saturday exempted from tax by the Uttarakhand government, ahead of its release next week.

Chief Minister Harish Rawat gave written permission to make the film tax-free, after watching a private screening Saturday.

Produced under the banner of Himalayan Dreams and directed by Manoj Sharma, the film is a comical satire on fraud holy men.

Hemant Pandey of TV serial “Office Office” fame plays the central role in the movie to be released Jan 30 across the country.

Pune FC beat Bengaluru 3-1, Dempo held in I-League

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Pune FC overpowered Bengaluru FC 3-1 in a round two match of the I-League football tournament played at the Kanteerva stadium here Saturday.

Darko Nikac, Luciano Sobrosa and Thongkhosiem Haokip were on the scoresheet for the visitors before Eugeneson Lyngdoh pulled one back for the home side.

Nine minutes into the game, it was Pune FC who took the lead as Montenegrin striker Darko Nikac slotted the ball past rival goalkeeper Lalthuammawia Ralte with a brilliant effort.

Ukraine insurgents attack port city

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An insurgent leader in Ukraine announced Saturday the launch of an offensive on the government-controlled southeastern port city of Mariupol.

“We have started an offensive on Mariupol, and in a few days we will close the Debaltseve circle and avenge those killed in Donetsk and Horlivka,” insurgent leader Alexander Zakharchenko was quoted as saying, by the Interfax news agency, which Xinhua cited in a report.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defence Minister, Stepan Poltorak, said that the country’s military was boosting troop presence near Mariupol.

Vivek Oberoi visits Anantapur, pays tributes to Ravi

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Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi Saturday visited Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district and paid homage to former minister Paritala Ravi, whose character he played in Ram Gopal Varma’s “Rakta Charitra” in 2010.

Vivek visited Paritala Ghat and offered floral tributes to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader, who was gunned down by his rivals in Anantapur in 2005.

He met Ravi’s wife and Andhra Pradesh Civil Supplies Minister Paritala Sunita and her son Paritala Sriram.

Another gas pipeline blown up in Pakistan

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Miscreants blew up a gas pipeline in Pakistan’s Balochistan province Saturday, a day after two gas pipelines were destroyed in the same province.

Police sources told Dawn that militants HAD planted explosive material close to the 18-inch gas pipeline in Dera Allah Yar city, in Balochistan’s Jaffarabad district.

The pipeline has been serving as an alternate gas supply line for Quetta and other areas in northern and central Balochistan.

Fire fighters and gas company staff were called in to fix the damage to the pipeline.

Police have initiated a probe into the incident.

Japanese hostage executed by IS, PM says ‘unforgivable act’

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A video released by the Islamic State (IS) militant group Saturday claimed one of the two Japanese hostages held by it was beheaded, according to media reports. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned the possible execution, and called it “an unforgivable act of violence”.

The government said it was verifying the video, which claimed that Japanese hostage Haruna Yukawa was executed by the IS, according to a BBC report.

Ramdev, Ravi Shankar say no to Padma award

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Yoga guru Ramdev and spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Saturday declined to accept Padma awards, saying the honour could be given to someone else.

Ramdev declined the Padma Vibhushan – India’s second highest civilian award – saying that while he was grateful for being chosen for the honour it should be given to someone else and not a “sanyasi”.

In a letter to union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, he said he was grateful that the central government thought of his name, which he got to know from media reports, but the honour could be given to some other great person.

BJP minister questions Sena’s participation in government

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Exposing the uneasy relationship between the two ruling partners in Maharashtra, a senior BJP minister Friday virtually raised questions on ally Shiv Sena’s participation in the state government.

“If the Shiv Sena’s intention in joining the alliance was merely to provide stability to the government, they could have done it from outside… What was the need for it to join the government?” Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse said.

SBI takes loan of euros 100 mn to support SMEs

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India’s largest bank, the State Bank of India (SBI) Friday said it has signed a loan agreement of 100 million euros with European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union’s non-profit long-term lending institution.

“The loan will be utilised to support the development of private sector, in particular, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), social and economic infrastructure as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation in India,” SBI said in a statement.

32 killed in airstrikes in Syria

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At least 32 people were killed Friday by multiple air raids against a rebel-held area in the Syrian capital of Damascus, according to UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The government warplanes carried out airstrikes against rebel positions in the town of Hammoreya in the eastern Damascus, killing at least 32 people, among them six children, Xinhua reported citing the Observatory.

The watchdog group, which relies on a network of activists on ground for information, said the toll was likely to rise due to the large number of critically wounded people.

MERS claims two lives in Saudi Arabia

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The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has claimed two more lives, bringing the toll in the country to 363 since the virus was detected in 2012, the Saudi Arabia health ministry announced.

The deceased were a 67-year-old in Taif of Mecca province and a 76-year-old in Riyadh. Three other Saudi men were infected with the disease, all from Riyadh, the Arab News reported Thursday.

The ministry has recorded 839 cases since September 2012, with 471 people having recovered completely.

CBI registers fresh case in coal scam

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The CBI Friday registered a fresh case in its ongoing probe in the alleged coal allocation scam against Hindalco and conducted searches at four places in Mumbai and Odisha.

The agency registered the case against Indal, now Hindalco Industries, under sections of cheating, criminal conspiracy and Prevention of Corruption Act in its probe related to the allocation of Talabira I coal block to Hindalco in 1994.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) teams also conducted searches at the office premises of the company at four places, one in Mumbai and three in Odisha, a CBI official said.

Lord Ram subject of Amish Tripathi’s next book

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After writing extensively on Lord Shiva, bestselling author Amish Tripathi Friday revealed his next series of books will be on Lord Ram.

The banker-turned-author made this announcement at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival and said he was “curious to know how the entire battle between Ram and Ravana unfolds”.

“It was at a literature festival when a reader asked me why we use the word ‘Lord’ for Ram, and this was the question that got me thinking and led to this series,” he said.

“I agree how he treated Sita was unfair, but that was just one aspect of his personality,” he added.