The Telangana State Government has accorded permission to various departments to hire services of individuals on contract/outsourcing basis for limited periods to meet the short-term manpower requirements in their establishments.
Operationalisation of a new border defence agreement to deal with recurring troop incursions along the LAC besides improving defence ties, is expected to top the agenda of General Bikram Singh as he starts a rare visit by an Indian Army chief to China from tomorrow.
“Currently India and China maintain exchanges and cooperation at various levels. This is very significant for the two countries,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said here today.
Opposition Congress in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation on Tuesday threatened to launch an agitation if the toll tax hike for commercial vehicles entering Delhi, was not rolled back immediately and a fresh tender not issued within next 15 days.
The hike of 36.4 per cent in the toll tax came into effect from today, and Congress councillor and Leader of the Opposition in the SDMC House Farhad Suri alleged that the new scheme was “causing huge losses” to the three municipal corporations.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley wanted to become a chartered accountant in his younger days, but ended up choosing the legal profession as “CA exam was too difficult to pass”.
Going down the memory lane while addressing a function of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) here, he said: “I started out with a hidden desire of becoming a CA. I strayed into other activities and then preferred Law because at that time also the CA exam was difficult.”
Asserting that rivals will not be able to erase the historic role played by National Conference (NC) in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said his party is the people of the state.
“NC is not the creation of any ‘Agency’ and its dictation, its command and its strength is the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Omar said addressing party workers’ conventions at Neel, Kastigarh, Razgarh and Ukral in Banihal and Ramban Assembly constituencies this evening.
Members of two families in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, who had returned to their homes from Pakistan-administered Kashmir after 27 years Monday, have been taken into custody for questioning, police said.
“Two brothers had crossed over to Pakistan-administered Kashmir from Mendhar sector of the line of control (LoC) in Poonch district along with their families in 1987.
India and Pakistan Tuesday exchanged the list of nationals of each country lodged in others’ jails, in line with the provisions of the their Agreement on Consular Access, an official release said.
The lists were exchanged through diplomatic channels.
The agreement signed on May 21, 2008 provides for lists of nationals of each country lodged in the others’ jails to be exchanged twice each year, on January 1 and July 1, the release added.
–IANS
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Tuesday thanked Saudi Arabia for donating $500 million to support the UN’s humanitarian aid effort in Iraq.
“The secretary-general expresses deep gratitude to Saudi Arabia for their generosity in contributing $500 million to the UN for life-saving humanitarian assistance to people in Iraq,” Xinhua quoted a statement issued by Ban’s spokesperson as saying.
Three Israeli teenagers whose bodies were found Monday were laid to rest at a joint funeral Tuesday in Modiin near Jerusalem.
Thousands of people, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, participated in the funeral in which the caskets were wrapped with Israeli flags, Xinhua reported.
“The whole nation has witnessed your inner strength and that of the rest of your family,” Netanyahu told the bereaved families of Eyal Yifrach, 19, Gil-Ad Sha’ar, 16, and Naftali Frankel, 16, who were kidnapped in the West Bank June 12.
The Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), an Al Qaeda splinter group, Tuesday seized a strategic eastern Syrian town along the Iraqi border following days of intense clashes with rival jihadi group.
The ISIS captured Bukamal town in Syria’s Deir al-Zour province after an “intense” battle with the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, Xinhua reported citing the London-based watchdog Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The ISIS has started advancing towards al-Shahel town, a stronghold of the Nusra Front, in the eastern Syrian countryside of Deir al-Zour, the observatory said.
Two UN agencies Tuesday appealed for 186 million dollars to help over 800,000 refugees in Africa hit by food shortages.
In a joint statement, World Food Programme (WFP) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said refugees hit by the food shortages are struggling to cope, posing a host of additional problems as they resort to what the report calls “negative coping strategies”, Xinhua reported.
The two agencies have been forced to cut food rations for nearly 800,000 refugees in Africa due to funding difficulties, security and logistical problems.
Russian troops started military command and control exercises in Armenia Tuesday, a media report said.
Some 600 Russian servicemen plus 200 units of military equipment are involved in the drills held by troops of Russia’s Southern Military District, Xinhua reported.
During the week-long exercises, the troops are expected to carry out special tactical missions using missiles from tanks, infantry vehicles, armoured personnel carriers, artillery and standard weaponry.
Belgium recorded their fourth consecutive victory to reach the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals after a thrilling 2-1 extra time win over the US at the Arena Fonte Nova here Tuesday.
Kevin De Bruyne scored the crucial opener for Belgium in the 93rd minute after US goalkeeper Tim Howard’s heroics had kept the match goalless in regular time.
Extra time substitute Romelu Lukaku made the difference for Belgium. The Chelsea forward on loan to Everton last season had an instant impact as he assisted for the opener while scored the second in the 105th minute to double his side’s lead.
After Switzerland were eliminated from the 2014 FIFA World Cup by Argentina in the round of 16, coach Ottmar Hitzfeld announced his retirement here Tuesday.
“I’d like to congratulate my players for the way they reacted at the end. Today Switzerland earned the recognition of many people around the world and we can walk away with our heads held high,” said the 65-year-old German in the post match conference, reports Xinhua.
“As for my future, I’m retiring from coaching so I can lead a quieter life.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday the Russia-China friendship is an example of how international relations should look like.
“It is principally important that the Russia-China friendship is not targeting against any other country,” Xinhua quoted Putin telling Russian ambassadors and permanent envoys.
“On the contrary, it has been an example of equal, respectful and fruitful cooperation between the countries in the 21st century,” Putin said, attributing the successful bilateral cooperation to the common approach of Moscow and Beijing toward global and regional issues.
Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) on Tuesday called upon the varsity to expeditiously restructure the courses for students admitted to FYUP last year.
DUTA also thanked teachers, principals and student volunteers for having put in all their efforts to smoothen the start of the admission process.
In view of an interim order passed by the Supreme Court, University Grants Commission (UGC) has kept in abeyance the regulation for affiliation of colleges offering technical education by universities.
At its full commission meeting, UGC decided to keep the UGC (Affiliation of Colleges offering Technical Education by Universities) Regulation, 2014 in abeyance till the final outcome of the decision of the Supreme Court, officials said.
The commission also informed the vice chancellors of various universities last week of its decision.
Two more bodies of students have been recovered three weeks after 25 persons, including 24 students and a co-tour leader of a Hyderabad-based engineering college had drowned in River Beas, taking the total number of bodies fished out so far to 21, a senior police official said on Tuesday.
The bloated body of M Vishnu Vardhan Reddy from Hyderabad was recovered last evening, while the body of another victim, identified as Baswaraj Sandeep was fished out today, Deputy Commissioner (Mandi) Devesh Kumar said.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley wanted to become a chartered accountant in his younger days, but ended up choosing the legal profession as “CA exam was too difficult to pass”.
Going down the memory lane while addressing a function of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) here, he said: “I started out with a hidden desire of becoming a CA. I strayed into other activities and then preferred Law because at that time also the CA exam was difficult.”
The digging of a suspected mass grave site in eastern Sri Lanka where about 100 Muslims allegedly massacred by the LTTE are buried was postponed on Tuesday due to the absence of judicial, medical and forensic officers.
“The digging of the site has been postponed till August 18,” police spokesman Ajith Rohana said.
The suspected mass grave in eastern province’s Kathankudy area is believed to be the site where Muslims allegedly massacred by the the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are buried.
A resident of the area had lodged a complaint about the mass grave site, police said.
The Pune branch of Maharashtra Anti- Terrorism Squad has seized a carbine and three pistols with ammunition from Maharashtra-Karnataka border, and arrested two persons.
Inspector Bhanupratap Barge of ATS said that acting on a tip-off, teams of Pune police laid a trap on Mhaisal-Miraj road two days ago and arrested Sunil Vaman Bhosle (26), resident of Bhimnagar, Bhivargi in Bijapur district of Karnataka, and Shahrukh Mahamud Sande (20), resident of Amnapur in Sangli district of Maharashtra.
The firearms seized were of superior quality, and were worth Rs 4 lakh, Barge said.
Pakistan’s new head coach, Waqar Younis has said he would not commit the same mistakes that he made in his last tenure and exuded confidence of preparing the national team for next year’s World Cup.
Waqar, who officially began his second stint as head coach today, told reporters in Lahore that he had learnt a lot from his first stint.
Pakistani players are unhappy with some of the clauses included in the nearly 200-page new central contract documents sent to them after a long delay by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Well-informed sources close to some of the players told PTI that one of the biggest complaints they had was that the board had stopped the win bonuses given to the team for winning a Test, One-day international or T20 match.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday used derogatory words after being questioned on the party’s chief ministerial candidate for Jharkhand Assembly polls.
“Media forces the mike on our faces asking who the next chief minister would be. Any ch**** can become a CM,” Sinha apparently said.
He further said that it is a sin to talk about development in Jharkhand, and added that one should only do politics in the state.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday described her party Lok Sabha member Tapas Paul’s rape remarks as a “big blunder”, but blamed the media for its failure to highlight the issue which was a month old.
The Trinamool Congress supremo had earlier in the day refused to comment on Paul, saying the party’s national general secretary Mukul Roy had already spoken on the issue.
“That’s a different issue. You ask Mukul Roy. He has already made a statement,” Banerjee told journalists during her visit to Raidighi in South 24 Parganas district.