News Digest: Siddaramaiah faces first big test as Karnataka CM

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Saturday, April 05, 2014
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Siddaramaiah faces first big test as Karnataka CM Congress views the Lok Sabha elections as a big test for Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s ability to rally party legislators in favour of candidates in key constituencies hovering between victory and defeat. Arrested Indian Mujahideen operatives had IIT dreams before joining terror module It is a tale of two youths who once aspired to crack IIT but ended up being part of a mushrooming terror module of banned outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM). Country in dire need of a job jab About 15 crore youngsters are eligible to vote for the first time in Lok Sabha election this year. More India News»

		Business
		AI dives lowest in latest airfare war The Air India scheme covers 40 sectors on 108 flights with tickets at a flat rate of Rs 1,499, plus applicable taxes. Foreign workers come under EPFO radar In an innocuous internal memo dated April 1, the EPFO has directed its regional offices to coordinate with the Foreigner Regional Registration Offices (FRRO) located in their area and obtain a complete list of all such foreign nationals. Govt rejects demand for PF on perks In a setback to over five crore provident fund subscribers, the labour ministry has turned down a proposal to deduct 12% contribution on the basic salary as well as allowances even as it holds back several notifications. More Business News»

		Environment
		Death, tumors harm efforts to save rare rhinos Efforts to save critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceroses were dealt a double blow this week with the death of one animal in a US zoo and the discovery of reproductive tumors in another. Programme for women to go green in Rajasthan Recognizing the importance of women's participation in governance, a non-governmental organisation has decided to develop a programme to encourage environmental initiatives in rural areas of Rajasthan. Western Ghats manifesto seeks public hearings on Gadgil, Kasturirangan reports to avoid politicization Nadu.The activists of Save Western Ghats will campaign in these. More Environment News»

		World
		Afghanistan goes to polls today As Afghanistan goes to polls on Saturday, the exercise promises to be as much of a game-changer as the Indian elections. US allows Boeing to sell plane parts to Iran The United States has issued a license allowing Boeing to do business with Iran for the first time since the US embargo of 1979, a company spokesman told AFP Friday. Malta gets new female president Malta has sworn in the country's youngest-ever president whose aim is to give a voice to the disadvantaged. More World News»

		Entertainment
		SRK angry with Karan Johar for inviting Salman? It seems Bollywood's best buddies, superstars Shah Rukh Khan and filmmaker Karan Johar have drifted apart. With rumours doing the rounds that SRK is apparently miffed with the filmmaker, there are speculations that the superstar will not be a guest on KJo's 'Koffee With Karan.' OMG: Arjun Kapoor kisses Alia Bhatt in public? Well they might deny their relationship in public, the young lovebirds Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt leave no chance to romance or lock lips with each other. PICS: Things you didn't know about Sunny Leone Sunny Leone grabbed eyeballs with her hot avatar in Bigg Boss and moved to Bollywood to set the screen on fire. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Volcano fears stalk Yellowstone Videos of lines of bison and other animals ‘fleeing’ Yellowstone National Park in US have raised fears that the supervolcano underneath the park is preparing to erupt, but how much truth — if any — is there to this claim? New clock won't lose a second in 300 million years A US government agency has developed a new atomic clock that would neither gain nor lose one second in about 300 million years, making it three times as accurate as its predecessor. This tiny power generator runs on human saliva Scientists have created the world’s first saliva-powered micro-sized microbial fuel cell that can produce minute amounts of energy sufficient to run on-chip applications. More Science News»

		Sports
		India one win away from Grand Slam India rode on Virat Kohli's unbeaten 72 and a fantastic bowling effort from R Ashwin (3-22) to storm into the final of the ICC World T20 with a clinical win. Schumi has 'moments of consciousness' Schumacher has "moments of consciousness and awakening", his spokeswoman said, in a sign of progress months after the legend suffered injuries. Ministry questions BCCI's choice of UAE The Union sports ministry has given its clearance to this year's Indian Premier League but not without questioning the choice of UAE as the venue. More Sports News»

		Technology
		White House condemns Samsung's use of Obama selfie as ad Smiles turned to scowls when Samsung promoted the Obama selfie on Twitter to the company's 5.2 million followers. Is Microsoft Cortana better than Apple Siri? When Microsoft was developing Cortana, the company thought, naturally, about how it could improve on Siri. Sony pips Apple to be No. 2 phone brand in India Sony has overtaken ace rival Apple to emerge the second largest smartphone brand in India in value sales. More Technology News»

		Education
		For a year, no new technical institutes The University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to suspend for a year guidelines issued just a few days ago for approval and regulation of new technical institutes. Lucknow University to begin its admission process in mid-May Lucknow University will begin its admission process for undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD simultaneously in the middle of May. IIM-Shillong's fifth convocation today The institute will also facilitate one of its young achievers, Vineet Jain.Living in Mumbai's Borivali area, Vineet has earned four degrees.He has CS, CA, CFA degrees and is an MBA graduate from IIM Shillong. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Cop says teacher gave him SSC algebra paper A senior school teacher has come under the scanner of the city crime branch, which is probing the SSC algebra paper leak case. Now, you can challenge a candidate's affidavit In a path-breaking initiative, the Election Commission has allowed citizens to challenge the details in the affidavits filed by candidates. TYBCom paper leaks, but no re-test The sixth semester TYBCom Marketing & Human Resources Management paper leaked on Friday about an hour before the exam. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		BJP slams Bukhari, says failed Congress leaders communalizing polls The BJP on Friday asked the Election Commission to take cognizance of Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari's appeal to Muslims to support Congress in the polls and accused Sonia Gandhi and Rahul of "communalising the whole election". Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari backs Congress, says SP, BSP untrustworthy Congress's bid to secure the support of Delhi's Jama Masjid as part of its quest to sew up Muslim support succeeded on Friday with Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari endorsing the party as the community's electoral choice. Hawkers say they deserve a good bargain It took street vendors over a decade to make policy-makers respond to their concerns. Several protests later, they now have a law that ensures them the right to earn a livelihood without fear.  More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Short of funds, Mandali shrinks music fest by 5 days Music buffs are in for a disappointment this summer.Sree Ramaseva Mandali in Chamarajpet is cutting short its famed annual extravaganza by five days this year.Reason: Paucity of funds. Out on bail, he commits a third murder Bangalore: One had allegedly killed his wife and the other, his arch rival.The two men met in Parappana Agrahara central prison in 2012 and had bonded instantly. Take an elderly voter in swanky car for free If you have a senior citizen or a physically-challenged citizen at home wanting to vote, you needn't fret on how to ferry them to the polling booth. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Railway ministry dashes hopes of Telangana, Andhra In the 13th schedule of the Act, it was assured that the Centre will examine the proposal of a new railway zone in residuary Andhra Pradesh and the feasibility of a rail coach factory in Telangana. Man demands more dowry for 'obese' bride A man demanded additional dowry of Rs.5 lakh from the parents of a bride claiming the girl was obese, in an incident that led to protests outside the Machavaram police station. One killed, 30 injured as bus veers off road One person was killed and 30 others were injured when a private bus veered off the road and hit electrical poles on the outskirts of Vijayawada city in the early hours of Friday. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Alcohol dominates bypoll conversation in Alandur At 7am on April 1, Tamil writer S Gnani, AAP’s candidate for Alandur assembly constituency, set out on his campaign.  Three held for attack on Anbumani in Dharmapuri Security has been tightened for PMK leader and Dharmapuri candidate Anbumani Ramadoss after his vehicle was attacked while he was campaigning in the constituency on Thursday. Every corruption charge has a political reason: Kanimozhi An accused in the 2G scam, Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi will be campaigning for DMK candidates for the Lok Sabha elections from April 5. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Tight control on buffalo sale in Modi's Gujarat According to figures with the Animal Husbandry Department, meat production in Gujarat increased from 6,840 tonne per annum to 22,000 tonnes between 1998-99 and 2011-12. Gujarat University okays centralized admission for BCom The Gujarat University (GU) has decided to centralize the admission process for the first year Bachelor of Commerce admissions.The GU held a meeting with the principals before taking a final call. Mishap on NH-8 causes 4km traffic jam Vehicles on National Highway No 8 faced a bumper to bumper jam which stretched over 4 km near Anand on Friday.The jam was created by an accident that took place on the highway. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		New superfast train between Mumbai and Varanasi Railways have decided to run a premier superfast special between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) and Varanasi. HC to hear plea on lower subordinate exam on April 9 The petitioner, Bhasker Singh, has also requested the court to direct the UPPSC to permit him to provisionally appear in the forthcoming examination of lower subordinate, scheduled to be held on April 6. HC dismisses plea against minister, MLA The Allahabad High Court had dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) filed against Prakash Rai alias Lallan Rai, minister of state and also against Samajwadi Party MLA Haji Parvez Ahmed. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Caller tune rings in election message Don't be surprised to hear collector (Kandhamal) N Thirumala Naik appealing to people to cast their votes after dialing number of a district-level officer . Naveen sings tribal tune in Kandhamal  BJD president and chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday claimed Odisha stood first in country on giving rights over forest land to dwellers under Forest Rights Act (FRA). Multi-cornered fight in Bargarh Bargarh Lok Sabha (LS) seat is likely to see a multi-cornered contest.BJD and BJP have fielded new faces while Congress has re-nominated sitting MP Sanjay Bhoi. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Former Chambal dacoit Malkhan campaigning for BJP Everything is fair in the time of elections. Desperate to achieve its much-hyped 'Mission 29' — winning all the LS seats in the state — the BJP has foisted a former dacoit on the campaign trail. Congress' triple tango in Vidisha Politics of the bizarre is being played out in Vidisha parliamentary seat after Congress MLA Jitu Patwari, on Friday also filed his nomination as a party candidate. Thanas turn into vehicle junkyard More than 5,000 rusted and dust-smothered vehicles lying in varying stages of decay have literally turned police stations across the city into junkyards. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Babus croon for voters in Hoshiarpur They are the bureaucrats-turned-singers of the Election Commission in Hoshiarpur district.  Haryana's pagdi girl defies tradition It is rare to find a woman in Haryana putting on a man's pagdi and getting away with it. One of them is the sitting Congress MP from Bhiwani-Mahendergarh Shruti Choudhary.  Haryana's 'Little Cuba' looks for knockout punch This election season, politicians are the favourite punching bag for Haryana's 'Little Cuba' Bhiwani. More Chandigarh News»

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