India is expected to have its own satellite navigation system with the launch of three more satellites before the end of this year, said the Indian space agency’s chief Monday.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K.Radhakrishnan told IANS that Indian communication satellite INSAT-3E has been decommissioned couple of days ago and the users are being migrated to other satellites.
Israeli authorities have issued orders to confiscate around 75 acres of Palestinian-owned land in the West Bank for settlement projects, a Palestinian official said Monday.
“The villagers were told that their lands will be used as a cemetery and a school for two neighbouring Jewish settlements,” said Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official in charge of settlement issues in northern West Bank.
Daghlas said the villagers would turn to an Israeli court to appeal against the orders, Xinhua reported.
Customs officials Monday seized gold worth Rs 1.7 million from a resident of Chennai at the international airport here, a statement said.
The statement issued by the customs department said that the accused had travelled to Goa from Mumbai by an Air India plane and had been handed over the 600 gms of gold by an international passenger at the Mumbai international airport.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev Monday said Russia would launch a new ministry for the newly-absorbed regions of Crimea and Sevastopol.
“I believe it is feasible to form a separate federal body with the executive branch of the government in dealing with the issues of Crimea and Sevastopol,” Medvedev said at a top-level government meeting in the Crimean capital Simferopol.
Medvedev was the first Russian leader to visit Crimea since the Black Sea peninsula became part of Russia March 18.
After the astounding success of the inaugural EurAsia Cup golf, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak Monday announced that the biennial competition will take place here in 2016 and 2018.
With its future secured, European captain Miguel Angel Jiménez, Irish professional Graeme McDowell, Asian captain Thongchai Jaidee and India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar were among the first to offer their endorsements of the new team event between Asia and Europe.
Actress Sonam Kapoor, who had teamed up with Salman Khan in her debut movie “Saawariya”, will work with him once again in Sooraj Barjatya’s next directorial. She praised the superstar as “hot” and said the film will be “double dhamaal”.
Sonam told IANS: “He is hot. It’s double ‘dhamaal’ with Salman since he is in double role. I am super excited to work with him. I am not allowed to talk about it. You will see. He is looking good in the film.”
The film will be directed by Sooraj Barjatya.
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal Monday met Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung, asking him to dissolve the Delhi assembly and hold fresh elections.
“Arvind Kejriwal met Jung and asked him to hold fresh elections since the single largest party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, in the assembly has not shown willingness to form the government,” a party source told IANS.
(IANS)
After the astounding success of the inaugural EurAsia Cup golf, the Malaysian Prime Minister announced that the biennial competition will take place here in 2016 and 2018.
With its future secured, European captain Miguel Angel Jiménez, Thomas Björn, Graeme McDowell, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño, Asian captain Thongchai Jaidee and Gaganjeet Bhullar were among the first to offer their endorsements of the new team event between Asia and Europe, which further strengthens the partnership of the European and Asian Tours.
The US Monday said it had under consideration a Pakistani request for American defence equipment worth some $7 billion that shall be rendered surplus once US troops withdraw from Afghanistan this year-end.
The US had earlier denied as “inaccurate” American media reports and claims by Afghan officials that Washington was planning to hand over surplus armoured vehicles and other military equipment to Pakistan, Xinhua reported.
Japan signed a loan agreement with India Monday to provide 16,279 million yen (around Rs.960 crore) for the development of a water supply project in Agra, officials said.
The assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will be used for improvement of drinking water supply in the city of the Taj Mahal.
The agreement was signed here by Shinya Ejima, chief representative of JICA in India, and Rajesh Khullar, joint secretary in the union finance ministry.
Director Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) is known for making crime-based films, but he has surprised the makers with the sentimental touch he has given to his forthcoming Telugu release “Rowdy”.
“‘Rowdy’ is different. It is something that the audience would not expect in RGV’s films. Though the director has included lots of action and drama in the film, we admired the sentimental scenes between Manchu Mohan Babu and Jayasudha,” read a statement from the production house AV Pictures.
In the absence of any reply from the Congress and the BJP whether they would like to stake claim to form government in Delhi, the AAP Monday urged the Supreme Court to ask the Delhi lt.governor to consider recommending the dissolution of the assembly.
A six-member advisory committee, under the chairmanship of former IAS officer C R Kamalanathan, has been constituted by the Centre to decide on allocation of employees from Andhra Pradesh to newly formed Telangana state.
The panel will delineate objective and transparent criteria for the allocation or distribution of state-level personnel from existing cadres of different services of Andhra Pradesh between the two successor states–Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, a Ministry of Personnel official said.
Director N.S.R. Prasad, who has teamed up with actor Navdeep for upcoming Telugu comedy “Natudu”, says he is grateful to Navdeep for agreeing to work with him despite his recent streak of failures.
Prasad, who has directed two Telugu films “Nireekshana” and “Shatruvu”, hasn’t had a single hit in his career yet.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray made it clear Monday that the NCP cannot join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) now or after the Lok Sabh election.
Thackeray said NCP chief Sharad Pawar likes to keep all his options open “and will change course” once the election results are out, Thackeray told his party journal “Saamana”.
“He seems to be veering towards joining the NDA. But Gopinath Munde, Ramdas Athawale, Raju Shetty, myself and others strongly objected, so his dream was shattered before the election itself,” Thackeray said.
At least four people were killed and four others injured in a coal mine gas explosion in southwest China’s Yunnan province Monday, authorities said.
The explosion occurred at around 10.30 a.m. at a coal mine in Linfeng township of Weixin county, Xinhua reported citing the county’s information office.
An investigation into the cause of the blast is under way.
(IANS)
A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Monday touched a new high of 22,467.21 points for the sixth consecutive day, surpassing its previous record high of 22,363.97 points hit Friday.
Good buying was observed in metal, consumer durables and auto sectors, while selling pressure was seen in the capital goods sector.
The 30-scrip S&P Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 22,423.14 points, closed at 22,386.27 points, up 46.30 points or 0.21 percent from its previous day close at 22,339.97 points.
In a setback to the fledgling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), its Farukhabad candidate against Union minister Salman Khurshid today withdrew from the contest and resigned from the party alleging “corruption” in the outfit.
“I have returned the ticket and left the party as I am not getting any support from the organisation… There is corruption in the internal organisation,” journalist-turned- politician Mukul Tripathi, who was the party’s nominee from Farukhabad in Uttar Pradesh, told PTI.
Oprah Winfrey’s Indian-style tea was reportedly inspired from Parvati Hedge, who served Winfrey her first spiced Indian tea during her visit to India in 2012.
According to the DotWorld blog, Hedge lives in a slum in Southern Mumbai, where she, her husband, and three daughters live in near squalor and has a small electric cooktop, and the barren floor doubles as a living space.
The talk show host was literally sitting at the home of some people who had some really nice tea and they said that was masala chai, so that’s when she became a pursuant of good, strong tea.
Uttar Pradesh Police has issued a specific alert of a possible air-borne attack targeting political rallies being organized ahead of Lok Sabha elections across the state.
According to sources, the alert, which has been sent to all districts of Uttar Pradesh, said that toy planes can be used to attack political leaders during rallies.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi Monday said a mafia was running the state government and looting the mineral wealth of Odisha.
“The state government is run by the mine mafia. Your wealth is being looted and the benefits are not reaching you,” Gandhi said at a rally near Semiliguda in Koraput district.
Striking an emotional chord, the Congress leader said be it his father Rajiv Gandhi or he himself, his family has a special bond with the tribals of the state.
BJP is making a last-ditch effort to stitch an alliance with TDP in Andhra Pradesh, with top party leaders meeting Telugu Desam chief Chandrababu Naidu.
Sources said the meeting would take place in the evening, after which discussion will be held by BJP Parliamentary Board, the top decision-making body of the party.
BJP President Rajnath Singh will be meeting Naidu later today before finalising any alliance.
BJP leader Narendra Modi Monday launched a scathing attack on Congress president Sonia Gandhi, saying her party had failed to check inflation and food prices.
Addressing election rallies in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate also accused the Congress-led UPA government of failing to provide security to people from the northeast in Delhi.
In his first halt at Itanagar, Modi said the Congress was adept in making false promises.
Geologists have found large masses of hot dry rock (HDR), a form of clean energy, in northwest China’s Qinghai Province, authorities said Monday.
The rocks, at least 150 sq km in area, were found 2,230 metres under Qiabuqia township in Gonghe County, in the northern part of the Gonghe basin. It is the first time such a huge amount of HDR has been found in China, Xinhua reported.
HDR is usually buried 3,000 to 10,000 metres under the earth’s surface. It can be used to generate clean electricity through its high temperature.
The Election Commission Monday announced it has decided to test the Voter’s Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) System in the Chennai Central constituency in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
A statement issued by the state’s chief electoral officer said voters will be provided the VVPAT system in all the 1,153 polling stations in the constituency — the only one in the state to have this facility.