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.

We need to improve, both attack and defence: Luis Enrique

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Barcelona boss Luis Enrique Monday said his side needs to put up an improved display to remain in contention for the Spanish title.

“There are still things we need to improve, both in attack and defence,” Enrique was quoted as saying by bbc.com.

“That’s the only way that we can challenge for titles, which is our main target for the season.”

The Catalan giants are yet to strike top form even though they have just conceded nine goals in 19 La Liga games.

Pakistan approaches India over closure notice to PIA

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The Pakistan high commission Monday approached the Indian government over closure notices to PIA properties in the Indian capital, officials said.

Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said in Islamabad that Pakistan International Airlines had been directed to initiate litigation over the property row.

India has asked PIA to shut its office in New Delhi, alleging that the property in Connaught Place was bought without the mandatory clearance of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

“We approached the external affairs ministry today,” a Pakistani official told IANS.

States ask centre to bear cost of anti-Maoist operations

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Home Minister Rajnath Singh Monday held a meeting with the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh, during which the states demanded that the central government bear the cost of anti-Maoist operations.

The Central Zonal Council meeting, held in the Uttar Pradesh capital after 20 years, was aimed at seeking solutions to inter-state disputes and to other problems faced by these states.

Blockade in Bangladesh to continue: Khaleda Zia

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Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Khaleda Zia announced Monday that her party will continue the blockade of the country, ending hopes of a quick solution to the two-week crisis in the country that began with her being confined to her office and which has now been lifted.

The BNP chief, who was confined to her Gulshan office for 15 days, called a press conference Monday, a day after police lifted the siege, according to a bdnews24.com report.

Zia called the blockade Jan 5 when police barred her from leaving her office to lead anti-government agitations.

India Gate closed to people ahead of Republic Day

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Entry to World War I monument India Gate was shut for people from Monday in view of heightened security for US President Barack Obama who will be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade Jan 26, police said.

The Central Reserve Police Force has been deployed at various points leading to India Gate, which stands on one end of Rajpath, the main venue for the annual parade.

The roads leading to the British-built India Gate, a symbol of Delhi, have been barricaded.

The Republic Day parade originates from Vijay Chowk, close to Rashtrapati Bhavan, another British-built building.

SC to hear plea for monitoring of Saradha probe

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The Supreme Court said Monday it will hear petitions by the West Bengal government and the Trinamool Congress urging it to monitor the CBI probe into the multi-crore rupee Saradha scam and alleged leakage of information.

A bench of Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said it would hear the matter Thursday as senior counsel Kapil Sibal told it that information from the CBI reached the West Bengal government and the accused much later than other people.

Delhi court convicts PWD engineer for rape

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A court here has convicted a junior engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD) for raping a woman employee by concealing his marital status to obtaining her consent for physical relations.

Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat convicted Akshay Kumar, a Delhi resident, saying that the consent given by the woman was “not voluntary”.

The court said the woman would not have consented to physical relations with the man if he had not concealed his marital status from her.

Yes Bank appoints Muthoot Finance as business correspondent

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Kochi-based Muthoot Finance Ltd (MFL) Monday said it has entered into a NBFC service agreement with India’s fourth largest private bank, Yes Bank, to act as the ban’s business correspondent.

A business correspondent is a representative who offers services to the public on behalf of the bank.

Earlier banks were not allowed to appoint a non-banking financial company (NBFC) to act as their business correspondent; however the RBI through its circular in June last year permitted banks to appoint Non-deposit taking NBFCs as their business correspondents.

Man arrested with endangered geckos in Assam

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A man was Monday arrested from a passenger train at the Guwahati railway station in Assam and 15 gecko lizards were recovered from his possession, officials said.

Sanjay Rai was arrested for trying to smuggle the endangered species, Government Railway Police (GRP) officials said.

He told officials he had caught the geckos from Kumarghat in Tripura and was taking those to Siliguri.

EU to appeal against removing Hamas from terror list

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The European Union (EU) has decided to appeal against a ruling last December that Hamas be removed from the list of terrorist groups, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Monday.

The ruling was clearly based on “procedural grounds” and did not imply any assessment by the court of the merits of designating Hamas as a terrorist organisation, said Mogherini, according to a Xinhua report.

The General Court of the EU Dec 17 annulled measures taken by the EU Council against Hamas, which designated Hamas as a terrorist organisation and froze the group’s funds.

Chechnya rallies against Prophet cartoons

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Over a million people rallied in Grozny, the capital of the Russian republic Chechnya, Monday to protest against the caricature of Prophet Muhammad in the media.

The event, called “Love for the Prophet Muhammad”, was organised on the initiative of Chechen clerics, TASS news agency reported.

A Chechen leader quoted in the media accused European journalists and politicians of insulting the religious feelings of millions in the name of freedom of speech and democracy.

106 FIRs against political parties in Delhi

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A total of 106 FIR have been registered against political parties for violating the model code of conduct in Delhi, an official said. The AAP heads the list.

The maximum of 45 cases are against the Aam Aadmi Party, 21 against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and 25 against the Congress, a statement from the Election Commission said.

Eight cases were slapped against the Bahujan Samaj Party and the rest against other political parties.

Delhi will vote Feb 7 to elect a new assembly. The results will be declared Feb 10.

Kejriwal to file nomination Tuesday

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AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal will file his nomination for the Feb 7 assembly polls from New Delhi constituency Tuesday, the party said here.

The nomination will be preceded by a roadshow to be kick-started by Kejriwal from the Valmiki Mandir in the heart of the capital where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched his Clean India Campaign in Oct 2014.

The roadshow – during which Kejriwal will outline AAP’s vision – will end at Jantar Mantar.

In the 2013 assembly polls, Kejriwal had defeated the then Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit from New Delhi by nearly 26,000 votes.

Myanmar vice president prays at Bodh Gaya

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Myanmar Vice President Sai Mauk Kham Monday visited Bodh Gaya and prayed at the Mahabodhi temple, Buddhism’s holiest shrine, officials said.

Gaya District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar Agrawal said Kham, who is here on a two-day visit, offered prayers and circumambulated the Mahabodhi tree under which Lord Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment.

A police official said Kham also visited the Mahabodhi Society Centre and other Buddhist temples in Bodh Gaya, about 110 km from Patna.

He will spend the night in a hotel in Bodh Gaya and will leave for New Delhi Tuesday afternoon.

Ghaziabad police recover 29 UP children from Mumbai

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The Ghaziabad police have rescued 29 children from Mumbai under ‘Operation Smile’, said officials.

Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Yadav told media that a team of Ghaziabad police recovered 29 children from different places in Mumbai.

All the children have been lodged in a private accommodation in Ghaziabad.

These children were smuggled to Mumbai from different parts of western Uttar Pradesh for begging and other unethical purposes.

Chandrababu Naidu to attend World Economic Forum summit

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is leaving for Davos Tuesday to participate in the annual summit of World Economic Forum (WEF).

Naidu, chosen as a special invitee for the summit by WEF president Klaus Schwab, will be a special guest at WEF event on the “Future of urban development”. He will be attending the session along with ministers of other countries and CEOs, said a statement from his office.

Sunanda Pushkar case: Police question Tharoor

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Delhi Police Monday began questioning Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in the mysterious murder of his wife Sunanda Pushkar in January last year.

Tharoor reached the Vasant Vihar police station in south Delhi Monday evening – a few hours after he was issued a notice.

Police had constituted a special investigative team (SIT) to probe the murder after registering a FIR in the case Jan 1 this year. The FIR was filed based on Pushkar’s third autopsy report by the AIIMS medical board.

20 injured in campus violence in Bengal

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At least 20 people, including two policemen, were injured Monday in two separate clashes between student activists of the RSS, Trinamool Congress and the CPI in West Bengal’s North Dinajpur district, police said.

Police carried out a baton charge to control the situation after activists of the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) and the Communist Party of India-affiliated All India Students Federation (AISF) clashed over students union elections in Raiganj.

EU urges broad alliance against terrorism

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The European Union (EU) has called for a broad counter terrorism alliance that would also include Islamic nations, a media report said Monday.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said ahead of a ministerial summit here that there was need for greater cooperation with the Islamic countries as well as within the EU, BBC reported.

Mogherini said: “The threat is not only the one we faced in Paris, but is also spreading in many other parts of the world, starting from (the) Muslim countries.”

European cues propel Sensex up 140 points

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Rallying on the back of positive European cues, a benchmark index of Indian equities markets closed Monday’s trade with a healthy gain of 140 points or 0.50 percent.

Healthy buying was observed in consumer goods, banking, automobile, capital goods and healthcare sectors, while selling pressure was seen in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and information technology (IT) scrips.

ICICI Bank launches service on Twitter

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India’s largest private sector bank ICICI Bank Monday said it has launched banking service on Twitter which allows customers to transfer money using the social networking site.

The facility, the first of its kind in India, allows customers to check their account balance, view the last three transactions and recharge their prepaid mobile phones using their accounts on the site.

Pahlaj Nihalani appointed new Censor Board chairperson

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Producer Pahlaj Nihalani has been appointed the new chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), the ministry of information and broadcasting announced Monday.

“The Central Government is pleased to appoint Pahlaj Nihalani as Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification in an honorary capacity from Jan 19, 2015 for a period of three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” read a statement.

Nihalani has produced films like “Shola Aur Shabnam” and “Andaz” in the past.

Late goal sends Iran to top of Group C in Asian Cup

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A stoppage-time winner from substitute Reza Ghoochannejhad sent Iran to the top of Group C in the Asian Cup football tournament with an entertaining 1-0 victory over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Monday.

Needing a win to qualify for the quarter-finals as group toppers, Iran were made to wait for the moment they soared above their opponents, with Ghoochannejhad coming off the bench to nod home a close range winner, reports Xinhua.

26 militants nabbed in Assam

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Security forces Monday arrested 26 Bodo and Karbi militants in a major offensive carried out across Assam, officials said.

While 18 of the arrested were from the anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), eight were from the Karbi Peoples’ Liberation Tigers (KPLT), said a statement issued by the army.

The arrested also include NDFB’s IED expert Deven Goyari and others involved in the Dec 23 carnage in three districts that left over 75 people dead and displaced over two lakh.