Veteran Bollywood actress and former dancer Zohra Sehgal on Thursday died at a hospital in New Delhi. She was 102.
A recipient of Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan, Sehgal had appeared in some notable films like Him Dil De Chuke Sanam, Cheeni Kum and Veer-Zara.
She had last appeared in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya in 2007. (ANI)
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while presenting his maiden Budget in Lok Sabha, today said that the government is committed to reforms in the food sector.
Restructuring FCI, reducing transportation and distribution losses and efficacy of PDS would be taken up on priority, the Finance Minister added.
The Pakistan Foreign Office on Thursday said that asking United Nations observers to close their office in New Delhi, India, which they had occupied for 40 years, did not mean that it abolishes the UNSC’s mandate on the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India.
Nike Football dominated the digital landscape globally before and during the tournament in Brasil. Now, as attention begins to move to the start of the domestic seasons, Nike Football launches a new digital and mobile application that will feature the best of the world’s leading football brand in one place.
Minister of State for Power Piyush Goyal, applauding the Union Budget 2014-15 said that “This is a transformative budget focusing on policy initiatives and a heavy emphasis has been laid on investment-led growth, which is reminiscent of the Vajpayee-era.
The budget addresses immediate concerns of all sections of society – young, old, poor, women, farmers, SCs/STs, backward sections of the society, middle-class, entrepreneurs etc.”
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley mentioned his top five picks from Budget 2014-15, here on Thursday.
In an exclusive interview to ANI’s Editor (News) Smita Prakash, Jaitley said, “It’s a directional budget, it gives a fillip to infrastructure, it gives a great support to manufacturing, it gives a significant relief to the common tax payer and it re-establishes confidence in the credibility of Indian economy and the Indian taxation system.”
“First year budget will always be directional, so you will expect a little more in that,” he added.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said the government has given an assurance to investors that it does not believe in retrospective taxation, and added that no new fresh liability from a back date will be created.
“No new fresh liability from a back date will be created,” said Jaitley in an exclusive interview with ANI’s Editor (News) Smita Prakash.
He further explained that retrospective taxation has been divided into three categories.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that it is impossible for his country to restore the strained bilateral ties with Israel unless the strikes on Gaza end, a media report said.
Earlier in the day, Erdogan made phone calls to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal as Israeli military continued with its offensive against Gaza targets, Xinua reported.
He told the two that Turkey will stand in unity with the Palestinians against Israeli attacks, media reported.
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The European Commission (EC) has decided to initiate a probe to look into the factual grounds for a potential extension of duties introduced in 2009 on biodiesel imports originating in the US, a source said.
The EC is the executive body of the European Union (EU).
The investigation is initiated at the request of the European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which, representing the major biofuels producing industry in the European Union, has asked for a renewal of the anti-dumping and countervailing duties imposed on US biodiesel in 2009, Xinhua quoted the source close to the matter as saying.
Amid growing calls for a fresh ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, the country’s president told US Vice President Joseph Biden Thursday that both Russia and the separatists were rejecting his efforts in this regard.
During a phone conversation with Biden, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he had suggested a number of venues, including in Ukraine and Russia, for negotiating a ceasefire with the separatists still fighting the government forces despite heavy losses in recent days, Xinhua reported.
All 11 people, including eight kindergarten children, were killed after a minivan fell into a pond Thursday in China’s Hunan province, rescuers said Friday.
The accident occurred Thursday evening in a mountainous village near Changsha, capital of Hunan. The bus was carrying the children home from their kindergarten in the city of Xiangtan, adjacent to Changsha, Xinhua reported.
There were eight children, two teachers and a driver aboard when the accident happened, authorities said.
–IANS
The BJP-led government today allocated Rs 100 crore for modernisation of Madrassas and announced the decision to launch a special programme for the upgrdation of skills of minorities in traditional arts and crafts.
The Budget for 2013-14, presented in Parliament, earmarks Rs 3,734.01 crore for the Ministry of Minority Affairs, 5.75 per cent more than the last financial year.
“An additional amount of Rs 100 crore for modernisation of Madrassas has been provided to the Department of School Education,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his budget speech.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today met BJP President Amit Shah and congratulated him on taking over the new assignment.
Badal talked of ties BJP and SAD shared for many years.
SAD and BJP are in a tie-up in Punjab and are in government in the state for the last few years.
BJP leaders later termed Badal’s visit as a “courtesy call” after Shah took over as the party president yesterday.
–PTI
The US has promised to deal “professionally” with India’s “concerns” over reported snooping of BJP by American spy agency NSA.
“We understand the concerns which has been raised, we will deal with them professionally,” US Deputy Secretary of State William J Burns told reporters after meeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
He was responding to a question over India’s protest over the report, which appeared recently.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Thursday his country is ready for a bilateral ceasefire, Xinhua reported.
Poroshenko said it during a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier talked with Merkel and French President Francois Hollande over phone, calling for resuming a ceasefire regime as soon as possible and the meeting of the three-party Contact Group.
Russia expressed its regret over the enlargement of punitive operations in Ukraine, said Russian foreign ministry’s spokesman Alexander Lukashevich.
Hailing the Union budget, North Delhi Mayor Yogender Chandolia today termed it as “inclusive” and said the decision to allocate Rs 700 crore to overcome problems of power transmission and water distribution system in Delhi will help in making the national capital a world-class city.
The General Budget 2014-15 is an “inclusive budget” with equal focus on all sectors, Chandolia said in a statement issued by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC).
The Obama administration declined Thursday to discuss its possible response to Germany’s expulsion of the representative of US intelligence agencies in Berlin in a growing spy row.
State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki, as she did before, still sounded a note of caution even as Berlin Thursday asked the US intelligence chief at the American embassy to leave following the revelations of two spying cases within days, Xinhua reported.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Thursday urged US Secretary of State John Kerry to work jointly to ensure a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a media report here said.
Abbas and Kerry discussed recent developments in Gaza over phone, where violence between Israel and Palestinian militants has claimed about 80 Palestinians’ lives, Xinhua reported.
The two leaders agreed to keep contacts in order to contain the crisis as soon as possible.
Russia is “extremely concerned” about extremists’ seizure of a chemical weapon depot in Iraq, the foreign ministry said here Thursday.
“This not only hinders the task of meeting the deadlines for destroying chemical weapons in Iraq drawn by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)…
“… but also poses a most serious threat of possible use of the materials by the extremists in Iraq and neighbouring countries like Syria,” Xinhua quoted the ministry’s spokesperson Alexander Lukashevich as saying.
The UN announced Thursday it will adopt an integrated support package to complement Nigeria’s anti-terrorism efforts within its borders.
It said the support was as a result of its belief that it could only take a multidimensional approach to bring lasting solution to the crisis in the terrorism-hit African country, Xinhua reported.
Said Djinnit, special representative for the UN Secretary General in West Africa, announced this here while addressing the opening session of the two-day 45th Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Thursday announced 25 million dollars aid for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, state media reported.
The UAE president was donating the money as urgent humanitarian aid to support the Palestinian people, “who are exposed to the latest brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip”, reported Xinhua citing an official statement.
The population of the European Union (EU) has been estimated to be 507 million on the beginning of this year in January.
Population of the 28-nation European Union(EU) was estimated at 507.4 million Jan 1, 2014, up from 505.7 million a year ago, Xinhua quoted the EU statistical office Eurostat as saying Thursday.
The population increase has been witnessed due to a natural increase of 80,000 and a net migration of 700,000, while the remainder is due to statistical adjustments.