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.

Ajay Maken to contest Delhi polls

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Congress leader and former union minister Ajay Maken will contest the Delhi assembly polls. His name figured in the second list of 25 candidates released by the party Wednesday.

Maken has been fielded from the Sadar Bazar assembly constituency.

The two-time parliamentarian from New Delhi lost to Bharatiya Janata Party’s Meenakshi Lekhi in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Former Lok Sabha member Mahabal Mishra has been fielded from Dwarka assembly constituency. Mishra was a parliamentarian from West Delhi.

So far, the Congress has named 49 candidates for the Feb 7 Delhi polls.

20,000 more can see Republic Day parade this year

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The Republic Day parade this year will see an additional gathering of 20,000 people on Rajpath here, a police official said Wednesday.

“The extended sitting arrangements were done in the anticipation of more people coming to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi alongwith US President Barack Obama,” a senior police official told IANS.

Arrangements are being made at the Rajpath-Rafi Marg crossing and Rajpath-Man Singh Road.

Delhi HC issues notice on ACs in two district courts

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The Delhi High Court Wednesday issued notice to two district court judges over a plea seeking directions for installing air conditioners in the two court complexes.

A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw sought a response from the district judges of the Tis Hazari and Patiala House courts on the plea and fixed the matter for Feb 25.

1984 riots: Order reserved on accused’s plea

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A court here Wednesday reserved its order on a plea of three accused in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, seeking transfer of the case to another court on the ground of jurisdiction.

District Judge Talwant Singh fixed Jan 31 for delivering order on the plea of Brahmanand Gupta, Peeriya and Ved Prakash, seeking transfer of the case from Karkardooma district court in east Delhi to Rohini district court in west Delhi.

Goa to host India Beach Fashion Week 2015

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Goa is all set to witness the first edition of Gionee Smartphones India Beach Fashion Week (IBFW) 2015, a three-day event dedicated to resort, swim, beach and cruise clothing along with a day dedicated to destination bridal wear. It will begin Feb 5.

Anderson glad with people writing off England’s WC chances

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England pace spearhead Jimmy Anderson believes that labeling his team as underdogs could in fact work in their favour in the upcoming World Cup, which gets underway from February 14 in Australia and New Zealand. England are believed to have no chance of winning the pinnacle tournament on account of incurring series defeat against Sri Lanka and subsequently omitting skipper Alastair Cook from the 15-man squad for the World Cup.

Woman golfer Amandeep consolidates lead on day two

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Rookie Amandeep Drall Wednesday scored one-over 73 to consolidate her lead on the second day of the second leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour at the Kalhaar Blues & Greens here.

The Chandigarh golfer, who is playing in only her second tournament as a professional, finished the penultimate round with a total of 144. She is three shots clear of first leg winner Vani Kapoor and Noida’s Vaishavi Sinha, who finished joint second.

Court allows Bangladesh cricketer Rubel to play in World Cup

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A Dhaka court Wednesday allowed cricketer Rubel Hossain to travel abroad to play in the forthcoming World Cup.

The order in this regard was issued in a case filed against Rubel under the Women’s Oppression Act by actress Naznin Akter Happy, reports bdnews24.com.

The court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Rashed Talukder in its order also exempted Rubel from physical appearance during the hearings of the case.

This was in response to appeals filed by Rubel’s lawyers.

The court order makes it possible for Rubel to play in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, starting Feb 14.

PCB boss believes too late for Ajmal to make comeback into Pak’s WC squad

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As suspended Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal is preparing to clear an official reassessment on his bowling action, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) boss Shaharyar Khan believes that it is now too late for the ‘doosra king’ to be included in the 15-man squad for the World Cup. Addressing reporters at the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore, Shaharyar said that it was too late then for Ajmal to be drafted into the World Cup team, the Express Tribune reported.

India-Pak WC clash set to become most watched cricket match in history

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The upcoming India versus Pakistan clash at the 2015 World Cup will eclipse all the previous records and will be the most watched match in cricket history, said a World Cup official. The subcontinent clash will surpass the 988 million who have watched the two nations in their 2011 semifinal clash. A World Cup official said that it would be unlike any cricket match ever seen in Australia, the Dawn reported. Defending champions India will open their World Cup campaign against arch-rival Pakistan in a highly-charged game on February 15. (ANI)

Infosys sets up $250-mn fund for start-ups

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Software major Infosys Wednesday announced a $250-million (Rs.1,550-crore) ‘Innovate in India’ fund to financially support start-ups.

Infosys chief executive Vishal Sikka, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, said the fund would invest in promising Indian firms.

“As start-ups represent vision, hope and the entrepreneurial spirit of India, we will invest in great start-ups to amplify their engineering and operations and help in taking their innovations to market at scale,” Sikka said.

Another Delhi church vandalized (Lead)

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Another Delhi church vandalized (Lead)
(18:34)
New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS) A church here was vandalized before dawn Wednesday, the fourth such incident in the capital in seven weeks, police said.

The incident, which took place around 4.20 a.m., was captured by a CCTV camera installed inside the premises of Our Lady Of Graces Church at Vikaspuri in west Delhi.

“The CCTV footage shows that two people came on a scooter. One entered the church’s premises and smashed a glass window. He also threw the statue of Mother Mary on the floor,” Father Balraj of the church told IANS.

Kolkata power utility to enter real estate business

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The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) is embarking upon property development and also evaluating its existing set of investments on land, the company’s chairman Sanjiv Goenka said.

CESC is part of the Kolkata-based conglomerate R.P.-Sanjiv Goenka Group.

“We have assets which are not revenue generating and want to convert them into revenue generating ones,” Goenka said on the sidelines of the announcement of commissioning group’s Haldia power plant.

According to Goenka, the group has properties spread across India that it is not utilising for revenue generation purposes.

Chandy to inaugurate two-day Kerala diaspora meet

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Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will inaugurate the two-day Global Non-Resident Keralites (NRK) meet in Kochi Friday, said a state minister.

State Minister for the Diaspora K.C. Joseph told reporters here Wednesday that the meet is being organised by the Department of Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs (NORKA) and its field agency Norka-Roots.

Kerala students develop 200-km-a-litre vehicle

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Three sixth semester mechanical engineering students here have designed and developed a prototype vehicle which runs more than 200 kilometres per litre of petrol.

“It is a wonderful innovation and needs to be promoted considering the energy crisis and rising oil prices”, said B. Anil, the Principal of Government Engineering College, Barton Hill, Thiruvananthapuram, to reporters, Wednesday.

Incidentally, this prototype will be shipped tomorrow for the International Fuel Efficiency Contest, “Shell Eco Marathon”, to be held at Philippines Feb 26 to March 1.

Sensex down 80 points, metal stocks plunge

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A day after crashing 160 points, the barometer index of the Indian equities markets closed around 80 points or 0.29 percent down in Wednesday’s trade session.

Investor sentiments were marred by global cues such as falling crude oil prices, outcome of European Central Bank (ECB) meet over stimulus, US FED rate decision and likely Greece exit from the eurozone.

Italian president quits before end of tenure

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Italian President Giorgio Napolitano resigned Wednesday after almost nine years in office, before completion of his second tenure.

His secretary general took the letter of resignation signed by the 89-year-old president to the heads of the two chambers of parliament and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi for a formal view, Xinhua reported.

Napolitano, who will serve as a senator for life after his resignation, made it clear several times that he would not complete his second seven-year term, explaining that he could not ignore the signs of fatigue at his age.

Walsh departure won’t impact hockey team: Selector Harbinder

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Indian hockey selector Harbinder Singh Wednesday said the departure of Terry Walsh as India’s chief coach will not have any impact on the team’s fortunes.

Walsh demanded an improved contract after masterminding India’s 2014 Asian Games gold at Incheon.

Walsh wanted a contract that would provide him better functional autonomy in the team’s decision-making, most notably in selection of the players.

But he and the Hockey India (HI) failed to reach an agreement and Walshi resigned in October last year.

Singapore navy locates fuselage of crashed AirAsia jet

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A Singapore navy ship has located the fuselage of AirAsia flight QZ8501 that crashed into the Java Sea two weeks ago with 162 people aboard, Singapore’s defence chief said Wednesday.

Chief of Navy RADM Lai Chung Han said one of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)’s ships, the MV Swift Rescue, has located the fuselage of the AirAsia plane in the Java Sea, Xinhua reported.

Images taken by the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) show part of the wing and words on the fuselage, he said.

Delhi’s date with crime fiction

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From violence against women in crime novels to decoding the world of prolific Pakistani crime writer Ibn-e-Safi, the inaugural edition of Crime Writers Festival here will touch upon an array of issues shaping contemporary crime writing in India.

Promoted by Siyahi, a literature promotion group, the two-day festival beginning this Saturday will be held at the India Habitat Centre.

The event will bring crime and thriller writers from across the world to discuss the art of crime writing to see how it influences society.

CESC’s Haldia power plant commissioned

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The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) Wednesday said it has commissioned its 600 MW power plant in Haldia. Valued at Rs.4,500 crores, it is the largest single investment in the state in recent times.

CESC is part of the Kolkata-based R.P.-Sanjiv Goenka group

“Unit one of the power plant in Haldia (of East Midnapore district) is finally operational and the second unit will be ready to generate power within a few weeks… This is the largest private investment in the state recently,” the company’s chairman Sanjiv Goenka said here.

One militant killed in Kashmir, gunfight ends

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One militant was killed Wednesday in a gunbattle between the security forces and separatist guerrillas in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district, ending the gunfight, police said.

A gunfight started Wednesday between the security forces and holed up guerrillas in Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

“On specific information about the presence of militants in Sofi Hamam locality of Sopore town, security forces today (Wednesday) morning surrounded a house,” a senior police officer told IANS here.

Bhakti Sharma sets world record in Antarctic Ocean

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Open water swimming champion Bhakti Sharma of India set a world record by swimming 1.4 miles in 52 minutes in one degree temperature in the Antarctic Ocean.

Bhakti Tuesday became the first Indian woman to achieve this feat, beating the record of British open water swimming champion Lewis Pugh and American swimmer Lynne Cox, according to information received here.

She is the youngest and the first Asian girl to have achieved this success and has now conquered all the five oceans of the world.

Hindustan Zinc sponsored Bhakti in her quest.

Defoe set for Sunderland move

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England forward Jermain Defoe has agreed for a move to Premier League side Sunderland.

The move will see him quitting Major League Soccer (MLS) side Toronto FC and join Gus Poyet’s side, according to dailymail.co.uk.

Sunderland sit just one point and two places above the relegation zone after managing only 18 league goals so far this season, but Defoe is expected to sign and boost the forward line for the Premier League strugglers.

After leaving English football last summer, he has scored 11 goals in 16 encounters during his debut campaign for the Toronto club.