The Obama administration has displayed “reprehensible animosity” towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, House Speaker John Boehner says.
Netanyahu’s recent election victory dramatically exacerbated a diplomatic crisis with Washington, bringing his thorny relationship with US President Barack Obama into sharp focus.
Authorities on Monday declared flood in the Kashmir Valley, asking people living close to the banks of the Jhelum river to exercise extreme caution and move to safer places.
“Flood level was 22.8 feet (status red) at Sangam (Anantnag), 19 feet (status red) at Ram Munshi Bagh (Srinagar) and 11.55 feet (status green) at Ashim (Bandipora) today (Monday) morning.”
“All officials connected directly and indirectly with flood control operation have been ordered to report for duty and remain available at their places of posting,” a top divisional administration official told IANS here.
Terming spending on education as abysmally low at 3 per cent of GDP, eminent industry leader Deepak Parekh on Sunday called for “aggressive” investments by the government as well as corporates in the sector, saying it is the key to unlock India’s demographic dividend.
The BSE Sensex rose sharply by over 222 points in early trade today on bargain buying in stocks by funds and retail investors amid positive cues from other Asian markets.
The 30-share index, which had gained 1.06 per cent in highly volatile trade on Friday, spurted by 222.34 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 27,680.98, with FMCG, infrastructure, consumer durables, capital goods and banking sector stocks leading the recovery.
Also, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty reclaimed the crucial 8,400-mark by surging 63.65 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 8,405.05.
The top 10 most valued companies saw a combined erosion of over Rs 1 lakh crore to their market capitalisation over the past week, amid a steep fall in the broader market.
The benchmark index, Sensex, slipped below the key 28,000 mark and all the top ten most valued companies witnessed a decline in their market worth.
The biggest loser among the bluechip firms was TCS, whose market capitalisation saw an erosion of Rs 18,304.32 crore, following which its M-cap stood at Rs 4,92,855.13 crore.
French investigators said on Sunday that they have performed DNA tests on the remains of 78 out of the 150 victims of the Germanwings air crash on March 24.
The names of the victims, whose remains were tested, have not yet been released, since for that, it will be necessary to crosscheck the results obtained with the DNA samples provided by the victims’ relatives.
The collection of remains continued with about 50 helicopter flights over the crash site and about 50 people combing the area for body parts, the victims’ possessions and pieces of the plane’s debris.
Senior AAP leader Ashutosh claimed that Yogendra Yadav, who was ousted from the party’s National Executive on Saturday, had asked Arvind Kejriwal for a “graceful exit” from the party after he was allegedly caught tarnishing the party’s image by planting stories in the media.
In an “open letter” to Yadav, Ashutosh, who is AAP’s Delhi unit convener, also said that Kejriwal “forgave” him in an act of magnanimity and no action was initiated.
Britain says it will become the first country to offer all babies a vaccine for potentially fatal meningitis B after it reached a price deal with GlaxoSmithKline PLC.
Government health advisers recommended use of the Bexsero vaccine last year, and the government has spent months negotiating over the cost.
The drug was owned by Novartis, which recently sold most of its vaccines business to GlaxoSmithKline.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said today he was “very proud that we will be the first country in the world to have a nationwide Men B vaccination program.”
A new video released by the Islamic State group shows its fighters cutting off the heads of eight men said to be Shiite Muslims.
The video posted on social media today, said the eight men were beheaded in the central Syrian province of Hama.
The men, wearing orange uniforms with their hands tied behind their backs, were led forward in a field by teenage boys.
They were then handed over to a group of IS fighters with each fighter receiving a knife from one of the boys before beheading the men.
The captain of a passenger jet that investigators believe was deliberately crashed into the French Alps, killing all 150 aboard, shouted at the co-pilot to “open the damn door” as he desperately tried to get back into the locked cockpit, a German newspaper reported today.
Forensic teams meanwhile announced that they had isolated 78 distinct DNA strands from body parts at the mountain crash site with investigators describing the difficulty of the search as “unprecedented” due to the arduous terrain.
The Jammu and Kashmir government today said it would explore all possibilities to harness the 20,000 Mega Watts power potential of the state with the help of private players.
“The Government will explore all possibilities of harnessing 20,000 MW power potential of the state with the help of private players. Special impetus will be given to harness the rich micro hydel potential available for which new survey will be carried out soon,” Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh said.
Robbers today looted jewellery and cash worth Rs 4 lakhs from the residence of an advocate in a posh colony here after tying him and his wife, police said today.
Police said that the incident happened at the Vishwa Lakshmi Nagar colony here this afternoon.
“Four teams have been formed to work out the incident. The robbers, who were three in number not only tied advocate Virendra Chaudhary and his wife Kalpana with rope, but also stuffed their mouth with cloth, city SP Shailesh Pandey said.
Jammu and Kashmir will soon get rid of various obsolete laws and for this a law commission would be established, the state assembly was told today.
“The government is contemplating to establish a Law Commission in the state to identify state laws which are no longer needed or relevant and need to be repealed,” Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Syed Basharat Bukhari said in the legislative assembly.
He said that the commission would also identify such laws that need amendments.
A group of people today put up a blockade on railway tracks to protest against the delay in construction of RUB (railway under bridge) and ROB (railway over bridge) in the Amethi-Pratapgarh section.
The protesters, led by Bharatiya Kisan Union’s Amethi district president Pramod Mishra, put up the blockade near Amethi railway station.
Railway services resumed following intervention of SDM Subhash Prajapati and Circle Officer R K Chaturvedi.
Praising Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal for their success at the India Open Super Series, chief national coach Pullela Gopichand today said it was a ‘dream come true’ before stressing that consistency will be the key for Indian players to bring more laurels in future.
Saina and Srikanth made it a double bonanza for India today as they won the women’s and singles titles beating Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon and Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen respectively in the finals.
“It’s fantastic. Last few days have been great for Indian badminton. I’m extremely happy,” he said.
Former INLD MLA Bharat Singh and two of his personal security officers were today shot at in a suspected case of gang war in south west Delhi’s Najafgarh area this evening.
A senior police officer said all the three injured were rushed to Medanta hospital in Gurgaon and their condition was very critical.
The officer said the other two are Singh’s personal security officers.
The incident took place at Raghunandan Vatika, where they went to attend a private function.
Police stated that the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Singh suffered bullet injures in his head.
Enhancing Coast Guard’s capability in ensuring maritime safety and security, a Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) and two interceptor boats were today commissioned into the CG’s Eastern fleet.
Lieutenant General Ajay Kumar Singh (retd), Lt Governor of Puducherry, commissioned FPV ‘Anagh’ and Interceptor Boats C-430 and C-417 here today in a traditional ceremony with full military honours, a Coast Guard release said.
Miroslav Ondricek, the Czech director of photography who was twice nominated for the Academy Awards, has died. He was 80.
Czech public television announced Ondricek’s death today, citing his son David, also a filmmaker. No cause was given.
Ondricek was behind the camera in some 40 movies but was best known abroad for his cooperation with his friend,director Milos Forman, who settled in the United States after the 1968 Soviet-led invasion crushed the Prague Spring’s liberal reforms in Czechoslovakia.
At least 38 people were killed today in clashes between rebel forces and tribes near a southern oil region, a security official and tribal sources said.
The fighting erupted when tribesmen attacked positions held by Huthi rebels near the oil-rich area of Usaylan in Shabwa province, the sources said.
“The Huthis and their allies (troops loyal to ex-strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh) have lost 30 of their men in fighting that killed eight tribesmen,” the security official said.
Tribal sources confirmed the toll.
Barely a week after putting up a united face, fissures in Punjab Congress today came to the fore as several MLAs considered close to Amarinder Singh were today conspicuous by their absence in a meeting called by Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed in connection with the next month’s Dhuri assembly bypoll.
The meeting was called at the residence of Dhuri’s former MLA Gaganjeet Singh Barnala, whose son Simar Partap Singh Barnala is contesting the Dhuri by-election on Congress symbol.
The cumbersome days of stressful, manual, wired monitoring of the unborn child in pregnant mothers will soon end – thanks to a new system unveiled at a hospital here.
The Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, known as the Sion Hospital, has introduced India’s first Wireless Foetal Monitoring System, a state-of-the-art product invented and developed by the University of Nottingham.
The Monitoring and Care (MONICA) system has been made available through a donation by Steel Chambers Charitable Foundation of India.
YSR Congress today said that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu must take all stakeholders into confidence on the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation project.
“The Chief Minister is more bothered about 22 per cent excess quoted in tenders and not in providing waters to the arid Rayalaseema region. Since the Pattiseema project is in a legal tangle, it cannot be completed in one year. On the other hand, it will strengthen the argument of people who oppose the Polavaram project because the two projects run parallel to each other,” YSR Congress spokesperson K Parthasarathi said.
Controversy erupted today over the final report of a Commission of Inquiry into the 2013 communal riots in Kishtwar because the panel has reportedly indicted State’s former Minister of State Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo after having exonerated him of “any involvement at any level”.
Kitchloo was dropped from Omar Abdullah ministry over the allegations in connection with the riots but was re-inducted after an interim report of the Commission in December 2013 exonerated him.
India Open Super Series champion Kidambi Srikanth today said he doesn’t feel the fear of losing and that mindset has helped him in his blossoming career.
After winning the Swiss Grand Prix Gold earlier this month, Srikanth today clinched his maiden India Open title, edging out world No. 6 Viktor Axelsen 18-21 21-13 21-12 in the final.
Asked if he ever feels fear of losing, Srikanth said: “I don’t actually. I don’t think about winning all the time. I just want to play my best and that is the reason I don’t feel fear.”
The Jammu and Kashmir government today said it was committed to rehabilitate the flood-affected people of the state as it was a top priority issue.
“Relief has been provided to next of kin of the deceased persons and to the owners of damaged structures through State Disaster Response Fund and Chief Minster’s Relief Fund while an amount of Rs 118.90 crore has been paid to 16,199 families whose houses were fully damaged through Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund,” Minister for Relief and Rehabilitation, Syed Basharat Bukhari said.