New Delhi, September 05: State Bank of India (SBI) is considering the merger of all five of its remaining associate banks with itself, having amalgamated with two of them in the last two years.
“It (merger of other associate banks) is in my mind, but we have to see,” SBI Chairman O P Bhatt told PTI.
“We have to check out from the government and the banks concerned,” he said.
New Delhi, September 05: Low-cost lavatory technique, developed by an Indian NGO, will be adopted by the US Army to build public toilets in Afghanistan, a senior US military official said.
The US troops will build at least 40 toilet complexes linked with biogas generation plants in Kandahar as a part of the reconstruction process in the country.
Pakistan, September 05: The Centre and Jammu and Kashmir government are working on various options to address the grievances of kashmiris.Chief Minister Omar Abdullah feels that a firm action on issues like amending or phased- withdrawal of AFSPA and resumption of political dialogue is an immediate need.
“Status quo is the only option not available to us,” was the prompt reply of the Chief Minister when asked what measures were being considered to address the issues.
Patna, September 05: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said he had no knowledge about Maoists releasing the three policemen abducted by them during the Lakhisarai encounter on August 29.
“I have no knowledge about the release of the hostages (by the Maoists),” Kumar told reporters here.
His comments came as Maoists today claimed that they have released the hostages.
London, September 05: Mazhar Majeed claims to have almost the entire Pakistan cricket team in his pocket but the one man the alleged match-fixer could never get a hold on is the temperamental Shahid Afridi.
In his numerous conversations with the undercover ‘News of the World’ reporter during a sting operation which has exposed a widespread betting scam, Majeed said he couldn’t get Afridi on board in his shady dealings.
Bangalore, September 05: Voluminous scientific data, including rare images of the moon, from India’s maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 will be made public by the year-end.
“People will have free access to the huge data obtained from our first moon mission on a web portal that will be launched by this year-end,” a senior scientist of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told IANS here.
London, September 05: Pakistan Test batsman Yasir Hameed reportedly told a British tabloid that his teammates have been fixing “almost every match” and that he himself had refused bribes. However, he later denied his statements.
In another sting operation by The News of the World, Hameed said that he had refused bribes worth 150,000 pounds from a corrupt bookmaker to throw matches and lost his own place in the squad that saw his career damaged as a result.
Guatemala September 05: President Alvaro Colom declared a national emergency in Guatemala after weeks of driving rains triggered landslides Saturday that killed ten people on a bus and four inside a home.
“Top priority at present is dealing with this emergency. There are no funds left to deal with earlier disasters like the one caused by (tropical storm) Agatha,” in late May, Colom told reporters after a surveying tour of the country.
Mumbai, September 05: One person has been arrested from Nashik and another detained from Jalgaon in connection with the threat call made at the residence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.
“One Abdul Gani Shah has been arrested from Nashik. According to preliminary inquiry, he made the call to the CM’s residence from outside Dheolali railway station. We have recovered eight SIM cards from him and a diary containing the telephone numbers of several ministers,” ATS chief Rakesh Maria told a news agency.
Kolkata, September 05: With ally Trinamool Congress occupying the major opposition space in Left-ruled West Bengal after its spectacular electoral victories, the Congress is banking on upcoming visits of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to boost the morale of partymen ahead of the Assembly elections.
While AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi will address a rally to launch the membership drive of the Youth Congress here tomorrow, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will be here on September 25 to attend the AICC’s eastern zonal conference.
Mumbai, September 05: Known for doing intense roles, actor Sonu Sood plays a young politician in upcoming film “Dabangg”. But he reveals that he was actually supposed to play the lead role, now being essayed by Salman Khan.
“The film was brought to me before Salman came on board. Initially I was supposed to do Salman’s role of a cop… but when he decided to be a part of the film, I was offered the role of the youth politician that I’m now playing,” Sonu told IANS in an interview.
Colombia, September 05: The Colombian Air Force has killed at least 15 suspected leftist rebels during an Air Force bombing raid near the country’s eastern border, a report says.
Colombia’s Air Force pounded hideouts of the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN), the country’s second-largest rebel group, in eastern Arauca Department, AFP reported on Saturday.
One of the injured rebels is reportedly being treated at a hospital.
The raid came just two days after suspected rebels killed 14 police officers and wounded seven more in the country’s south.
Etawah, September 05: Two police personnel, including a sub-inspector, were suspended for allegedly manhandling a couple during a protest by ad-hoc teachers, officials said here today. SI Ishtiyaq Ahmad amd personnel Shailendra have been placed under suspension for misbehaving with and manhandling a couple during a protest by ”shiksha mitras” yesterday, Senior SP Rakesh Pradhan said.
Hyderabad, September 05: Students protesting the conduct of the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) exam ransacked an exam centre at the Osmania University campus here Sunday, leaving three injured.
Tension prevailed at the B.Ed college as protesters broke the security cordon and barged into the exam centre. Some students writing the test came out with question papers and answer sheets and tore and dumped them on the roads, police said.
Bhubaneswar, September 05: India Sunday successfully test fired supersonic cruise missile BrahMos from a military base in Orissa, an official said.
The missile was tested for the army from the Integrated Test Range of Chandipur in Balasore, some 230 km from Bhubaneswar, director of the test range S.P. Dash told IANS.
“The launch met all mission requirements. It was a 100 percent fantastic launch,” he said.
India and Russia are jointly designing the Bramhos missile, which is capable of carrying conventional warheads upto 200-300 kg and have a range of 290 km.
London, September 05: Pakistan Test opener Yasir Hameed has confirmed that his teammates fixed “almost every game” and claimed that he was dropped from the national team for two years because he did not go along with his corrupt colleagues.
The British tabloid News of the World, which stirred international cricket with revelation of spot-fixing last weekend, today published a conversation between Hameed and its undercover reporter.
It also published several more details of the spot- fixing saga.
New Delhi, September 05: Bollywood actress Konkona Sen Sharma has confirmed that she has tied the knot with her long-time boyfriend Ranvir Shorey at a private ceremony in Mumbai.
“Hey guys. Ranvir and I got married on the 3rd (September). Thanks for all the good wishes! Goodnight,” Konkona, 30, posted on her microblogging page Twitter.
The couple, who got engaged in 2008, reportedly exchanged wedding vows in an intimate ceremony at their Goregoan residence. Only a small number of friends, including Fardeen Khan and Shilpa Shetty, attended.
New York, September 05: Maintaining that the three tainted Pakistani cricketers have not been punished in the spot- fixing scam, the ICC today said that an independent commissioner will be appointed to go into the whole issue and the players will be able to put their views before him.
The International Cricket Council would appoint an independent commissioner to look into the charges and any action would be taken on recommendation of the appointed commissioner, ICC President Sharad Pawar said here.
Los Angeles, September 05: Singer Christina Aguilera, who is married to music producer Jason Bratman for five years, insists their relationship has not changed since they first began dating in 2002.
“Marriage unites you and makes you official but it didn’t change our relationship. All the things like wanting to work hard and play hard, they were always important to us.
“We’ve been married for five years now, and I think the secret is in always keeping it interesting. You have to make time for yourselves,” usmagazine.com quoted her as saying.
Hyderabad, August 05: The Telangana bandh called by students of Osmania University against the conduct of APPSC exams today evoked partial response in the state capital and elsewhere, even as protesters targeted state-owned buses and pelted stones at them.
The day-long bandh, called by Osmania University students and supported by political parties like the Telangana Rashtriya Samithi, began at 9.30 AM.
Hyderabad, September 05: India’s badminton star Saina Nehwal retracted and regretted her stunning remarks that the country was not yet ready to host mega sporting events like the Commonwealth Games.
“Looking at the stadiums and progress I don’t really think we are capable of holding such big tournaments,” said Saina, who is a brand ambassador of the New Delhi Commonwealth Games.
“I have seen many Games like Melbourne Commonwealth Games and Olympics in China. Compared to that, it is not up to the mark. But I am sure (that) before Oct 3, it will be ready and people will like it.”
New Delhi, September 05: Actress Bipasha Basu says she is pleasantly surprised by her beau, actor John Abraham’s unique and bespectacled look in Abbas Tyrewala’s Jhootha Hi Sahi.
“People know him as a stud and in this film, he looks like an adorable simpleton! It’s also so different from the real John who I know. Such is the magic of cinema,” Bipasha posted on her Twitter page.
John plays Siddharth – a messy boy, who is a compulsive liar. He wears spectacles and sports a paunch – quite unlike the handsome and fit John.
New Delhi, September 05: It will be another ‘thrill ride’ for television viewers from tomorrow with the third edition of the adventure reality show ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’ scheduled to air on Colors from tomorrow.
This time round, however, the roles will be reversed with the glamorous Priyanka Chopra taking the place of ‘hunk’ Akshay Kumar as the host of the popular show while the 13 glam girls of the previous seasons will be replaced by 13 handsome dudes from the world of television and films.
Pune, September 05: The United Nations has shown keen interest in the ‘Mahatma Gandhi Dispute Free Village Mission’ (MGDFVM) to bring peace in the world, said Pune District Superintendent of Police Pratap Dighavkar.
Mr Dighavkar, who shared his experiences about his visit to the UN for a paper presentation on the MGDFVM recently, said the UN is of the view that the dreams of great leaders about bringing peace in the world can be fulfilled through this project by making the country dispute free.
Argentina, September 05: Argentina and England qualified for the women’s hockey World Cup semi-finals with a match to spare yesterday ahead of their clash tomorrow to decide the Pool B winners.
Hosts Argentina, who beat China 2-0, have a maximum 12 points with England, 2-1 winners against South Africa, on 10.
South Korea are third with five points after being held 2-2 by bottom team Spain. China and South Africa have three points each.