Press Trust of India

Bihar’s ruling JD-U and Lalu Prasad’s RJD would contest from four assembly seats each, while the Congress would contest from two in by-elections to 10 assembly constituencies in the state, party leaders announced Sunday.

A day after the alliance of the Janata Dal-United, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress was finalised, JD-U state president Vashisht Narain Singh told media persons here Sunday that the sharing of seats among the three parties has been decided.

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly Sunday began a new innings as a cricket administrator — with his unanimous election to the joint secretary’s post at the Cricket Association of Bengal’s 83rd annual general meeting here.

Ganguly’s advent in a new avatar was welcomed by cricket administrators and the playing fraternity.

Islamic Boko Haram militants have abducted the wife of Cameroon’s Vice Prime Minister Amadou Ali in an attack Sunday, an official said.

The Islamic group attacked the vice prime minister’s home and kidnapped his wife in the northern town of Kolofata, lying along the Nigerian border, Xinhua reported citing Issa Tchiroma Bakary, Cameroon’s minister of information, as saying.

The attack claimed the lives of 10 people, military sources said.

In another incident, Seini Boukar, a religious leader locally known as ‘Lamido’, was kidnapped by the militants, the minister said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Sunday averted a diplomatic disaster by meeting leaders of the ruling CPN-UML just before returning to India after a three-day visit which she said was “productive” and “successful”.

The hour-long meeting between Sushma Swaraj and the CPN-UML party took place at Hyatt Regency Kathmandu where eight party leaders led by Deputy Prime Minister Bam Dev Gautam were present.

People’s Daily, China’s iconic newspaper known to the world as the voice of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), is constructing in the heart of Beijing a 32-storey office tower that will have 140,000 square metres of working space with new-media ventures alone occupying seven of its floors. Its concave glass facade sits somewhat oddly in its steel and terra cotta-girded frame that its Chinese architects proudly proclaim will give the traditional touch to a very modern edifice.

Indian shooters continued their medal winning spree in the 2014 Commonwealth Games with Shreyasi Singh and Mohammed Asab winning the double trap silver and the bronze, respectively, in the women’s and men’s competitions at the Barry Buddon Shooting Centre here Sunday.

India’s medal count from shooting now stood at nine — three gold, five silver and a bronze.

Expressing satisfaction over opposing groups calling off their conventions over the issue of Haryana creating a new board for Sikh shrines, the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhism, Sunday directed status quo be maintained in management of gurdwaras in Haryana till the matter gets resolved.

Akal Takht Jathedar (chief) Gurbachan Singh said that the management of Sikh shrines in Haryana should be allowed to continue as at present till the controversy over Haryana’s separate board was resolved.

Rapper Kanye West reportedly wants to turn Kim Kardashian into a “perfect” wife.

West is said to advise his spouse on every aspect of her life, and has even ordered her to stop smiling for photographers when they are out together, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

According to a source, West can be very controlling with everything in his life, that’s his personality. He wants Kim to be perfect.

The source is quoted as saying: “In the old days, you’d always see Kim smiling when she was having her photo taken. But now, more often than not, she’ll be stony-faced.”

Indian shooters continued their fine performance with Shreyasi Singh winning the silver medal, the eighth from the shooting ranges, in the women’s double trap event of the 2014 Commonwealth Games here Sunday.

The Delhi girl shot 92 to the final round to win the silver, the fifth for Indians from the shooting competition at the Barry Buddon Shooting Centre.

The gold went to England’s Charlotte Kerwood with a total of 94 points while her compatriot Rachel Parish got the bronze with 91 points.

Another Indian in fray, Varsha Varman finished fifth with 88 points.

TV personality Kendra Wilkinson is reportedly “done” with her marriage to Hank Baskett.

The 29-year-old was left devastated after Baskett allegedly cheated on her with a transgender model while she was pregnant with their second child and sources say she has no interest in reconciliation, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Indian women paddlers missed out on the 2014 Commonwealth Games team bronze medal match, losing to Australia 1-3 at the Scotstoun Table Tennis Centre here Sunday.

India lost the first singles match but won the second to tie the scores 1-1. The 2010 Games silver medallists, however, went on to lose the next doubles and a singles tie to slump to a 1-3 defeat.

India’s Shamini Kumaresan lost the first singles match to Ziyu Zhang 5-11, 11-2, 6-11, 9-11.

Manika Batra tied the best-of-five rubber 1-1 by beating Jian Fang Lay in the second singles match 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7.

Ukrainian rebels have allowed international police personnel to secure the investigating team working on MH17 crash site in a new agreement finalised with Malaysia, a prime minister’s office statement said Sunday.

Alexander Borodai, leader of the Ukrainian rebels, agreed Sunday to allow a deployment of international police personnel at the crash site, in a new agreement with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Xinhua reported citing the statement.

It was a warm Sunday here in the national capital. The Met office has forecast a cloudy Monday with chances of light rain in some parts of the city.

“The skies will be cloudy. Light rain is expected in some parts of the city,” said an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The maximum temperature Sunday was recorded at 37.4 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season’s average while the minimum temperature settled at 28.1 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season’s average.

Captain Alastair Cook’s unbeaten 48 took England to 78 for one at lunch on the opening day of their third Test against India at the Ageas Bowl here Sunday.

Electing to bat, Cook and opening partner Sam Robson frustrated the Indians with a slow and patient 55-run stand for the first wicket before the latter fell to pacer Mohammed Shami.

At lunch, Cook was partnered by Gary Ballance, who was unbeaten on four.

Mohammed Shami with figures of one for 29 was the sole wicket-taker for India.

The following is the scoreboard at lunch on the first day of the third cricket Test between India at England at The Rose Bowl here Sunday.

England 1st innings:
Alastair Cook batting 48
Sam Robson c Jadeja b Shami 26
Gary Ballance batting 4
Extras 0
Total (for one wicket in 29 overs) 78

Fall of wickets: 1-55 (Robson, 20.5 overs)

Bowling:
Bhuvneshwar Kumar 12-3-25-0
Mohammed Shami 9-1-29-1
Pankaj Singh 6-1-13-0
Rohit Sharma 1-0-7-0
Ravindra Jadeja 1-0-4-0

Toss: England, who chose to bat
Test debuts: Jos Buttler (England), Pankaj Singh (India)

Marvel Studios has announced that part two of its forthcoming film “Guardians of the Galaxy” will be released July 28, 2017.

James Gunn will return to write and direct the sequel, revealed the studio bosses at the Comic-Con presentation Saturday, reports huffingtonpost.com.

Directed by Gunn, “Guardians of the Galaxy” is set for an Aug 1 release. The film features an ensemble cast that includes names like Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, and Benicio del Toro.
(IANS)

Authorities Sunday deployed drone cameras in curfew-bound Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, a day after three people were killed and over a dozen critically injured in communal violence.

Police officials said the situation in Saharanpur city was under control but tense although there had been no major incident of violence since late Saturday night.

A curfew clamped Saturday in six police station areas of Saharanpur remained in force, an official told IANS.

Violent clashes erupted between Sikhs and Muslims on Ambala Road over a land dispute.

In a measure to boost Indian shipping, the government has allowed shipping companies to acquire ships abroad and also flag them in the country of their convenience.

“This will enable Indian companies to have access to cheaper sources of funds abroad to acquire additional tonnage while not having to set up multiple enterprises abroad to acquire and maintain such tonnage,” the Shipping Ministry said in a statement here Sunday.

India-based shipping companies register their ships abroad without actually opening their registered office or a subsidiary company there, the ministry said.

Former Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Sunday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in launching a probe against Kerala chief secretary’s alleged links with builders.

The veteran CPI-M leader and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, in a letter to Modi, said the Central Vigilance Commission should probe the allegations against E.K. Bharath Bhushan.

He alleged that Bhushan has a soft corner for real estate developers in the state.

In the letter, Achuthanandan said the chief secretary appears to have the full support of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

A teenaged girl from West Bengal, who was rescued from traffickers last week, has been kidnapped from a shelter home here, police said Sunday.

The 14-year-old girl from West Bengal’s Malda district was rescued earlier last week from Govind Dass, Ranjid and Mitali, aged between 25 and 30 years. The three were arrested from Vyapar Kendra in Sushant Lok area here Monday.

The trio was sent to jail while the girl was handed over to the warden of a shelter home here.

The girl went missing from Aasha Niwas Nari Niketan shelter home Saturday.

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly Sunday started a new innings as a cricket administrator – with his unanimous election to the joint secretary’s post at the Cricket Association of Bengal’s 83rd annual general meeting here.

The collegium system of appointment of judges has so far worked satisfactorily, and though some discrepancies have come to the fore lately, the alternative may be worse, a former apex court judge said Sunday.

“Therefore, it’s imperative to delve upon all the pros and cons of the old and the new system,” said Justice (retd.) G.S. Singhvi.

A blast occurred in a market in Pakistan’s Balochistan province Sunday killing one person, a media report said.

Many people were wounded in the explosion that ripped through Kandhari Bazar area in provincial capital Quetta in south-western Pakistan, Dawn online reported.

Rescue and emergency teams reached the scene and began shifting the victims to a nearby hospital.

Fear and panic gripped the area after the blast, the report said.

Security personnel cordoned off the area and began a probe into the incident.
(IANS)

Indian shooter Mohammed Asab won the bronze medal in the men’s double trap beating 17-year-old Nathan Xuereb of Malta in the bronze medal match of the 2014 Commonwealth Games at the Barry Buddon Shooting Centre here Sunday.

The 26-year-old Asab shot 26 while Xuereb managed 24. Another Indian in the fray, Ankur Mittal missed out on a medal finishing fifth in the semi-final
(IANS)

Three Palestinians were killed and several others wounded Friday in clashes in the West Bank with Israeli soldiers and settlers, officials and witnesses said.

Tarif Ashour, health ministry spokesman in the West Bank, said a young man was shot dead in firing by an Israeli settler south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Xinhua reported.

Witnesses in the city said that an armed settler opened fire at a Palestinian demonstration that was organised in protest against the ongoing Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.