News Digest: Nainital high court seeks details of Uttarakhand spending on Kedar tragedy relief

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Thursday, June 19, 2014
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Nainital high court seeks details of Uttarakhand spending on Kedar tragedy relief Nainital high court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Uttarakhand government seeking details of the money spent after last year's deluge on rehabilitation and reconstruction of the state. Nainital HC seeks details of U'khand spending on Kedar tragedy relief Nainital high court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Uttarakhand government seeking details of the money spent after last year's deluge on rehabilitation and reconstruction of the state. Former MLA Dhami receives death threat Former Dharchula MLA and Harish Rawat loyalist Harish Dhami received a death threat on his mobile from an anonymous caller over a panchayat poll nomination on Tuesday. More India News»

		Business
		RIL to invest Rs 1.8 lakh crore in 3 yrs RIL currently ranks 135th on the Fortune 500 list of global companies.It expects to break into the top 50 by doubling its profitability and turnover in the next three years, a road map for which was laid two years back. Poor rain unlikely to impact GDP much: Report The production of pulses and oil seeds, the report points out, may be worst affected, leading to rise in prices of these items and to bridge the demand-supply gap, the country will have to depend on imports. Jaitley recuses himself from Vodafone tax case Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said he has recused himself from matters pertaining to the Rs 20,000 crore Vodafone tax dispute as he had advised the telecom giant on various issues before June 2009. More Business News»

		Environment
		Environment ministry to crowd source green ads Seeking to involve the general public in its effort to create awareness over green issues, the environment ministry has decided to 'crowd source' ideas or creative inputs for its 'official' advertisements. Official advertisement of the ministry will now be based on ideas of the common man or experts from outside the government. The ministry had successfully experimented with 'crowd sourcing' while bringing out an advertisement in newspapers across the country on the occasion of the 'World Day to Combat Desertification' on June 17. The experiment was in tune with environment minister Prakash Javadekar's announcement on the 'World Environment Day' on June 5 when he promised to take several measures to end 'officialdom' in his ministry and promote decision-making with public involvement. In line with the promise, the ministry had for the first time sought direct public participation in creating 'official' advertisement for any such event and invited entries ahead of the 'World Day to Combat Desertification'. The ministry selected from the entries and brought this out as advertisements in newspapers on Tuesday. Officials said similar entries in the form of concept along with painting /designs/ captions will be crowd sourced in future for other occasions. "The best entry/entries will be used to develop communication product like advertisement/poster," said an official. The ministry also decided that the winner of the best entry will be invited for the event and his\her contribution will be suitably recognized. The government will, while inviting the entries, come out with all details of the event for which it intends to crowd source the ideas. "The ministry will, however, reserve the right to make changes as deemed fit in the original concept\design for development of the final communication product," said the official. He said the changes would, at the most, be in the form of putting up pictures of Prime Minister and environment minister or any other minister on the final product. New lizard species named after Mumbai scientist A Mumbai scientist has earned a rare distinction of getting a new species of gecko — discovered last year from the Western Ghats in Maharashtra — named after him. India has right to grow, emissions may rise: Govt In what may be a strong signal to rich nations on climate change, India on Tuesday said the developing countries have a "right to grow" and in the process their "net emission (of greenhouse gases) may increase". More Environment News»

		World
		Japan bans child porn possession Japan on Wednesday finally fell into line with other major developed countries and made the possession of child pornography illegal, but the sometimes graphic images of paedophilia in manga comic books remain legal. Benghazi 'ringleader' was planning new attacks: US The suspected ringleader of the deadly 2012 assault on an American compound in Benghazi was planning new attacks on Americans, the United States says, defending the raid that captured the Libyan militant. Kurds committed abuses in Syria: Rights group Kurds in parts of northern Syria have carried out arbitrary arrests and failed to investigate the killings and disappearance of political opponents, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday in a report documenting rights abuses. More World News»

		Entertainment
		My childhood was spent in laps of best actors: SRK As Shah Rukh Khan says, “In theatre, just like in life, there are no retakes.” The fact that in theatre an actor stands bare, performing live in front of an audience, makes it the toughest form of acting as it comes without retakes and almost no frills of enhancing your stardom. Sunil Grover will not be playing Gutthi Sunil Grover aka Gutthi is all set to return to Comedy Nights With Kapil, a show that made him a household name. However, sources have revealed that he will not be playing the character of Gutthi. Sangeeta Bijlani quits comeback movie Onir’s Shab was being touted as Sangeeta Bijlani’s Bollywood comeback after a hiatus of two decades, but the feisty actress has backed out of it. Reason — the one-time screen scorcher is uncomfortable with the kissing, lovemaking and other intimate scenes that are an integral part of the script. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Now, you can send `scented` text messages to your loved ones Harvard engineering professor David Edwards has invented a new device along with his former student, Rachel Field, that can send 'aromas' through mobile messages. NanoDegree: Higher education in 6 months This week, AT&T and Udacity, the online education company in US founded by the Stanford professor and former Google engineering whiz Sebastian Thrun, announced something meant to be very small: the “NanoDegree.” Shrinking houses putting Britons at health risk Britain is in the grip of an invisible housing squeeze with millions of people living in homes that are too small for them, according to new research which reveals that more than half of all dwellings are failing to meet minimum modern standards on size. More Science News»

		Sports
		Croatia knock Cameroon out of WC Striker Mario Mandzukic scored two second-half goals as Croatia knocked 10-man Cameroon out of the World Cup with a 4-0 rout in Manaus on Wednesday. Chile knock out Spain with a 2-0 win Spain made a shock early exit from the World Cup after a 0-2 loss against Chile to become only the fourth defending champions to crash out of the tournament at the first stage. Nadal, Djokovic under Wimbledon cloud Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic head to Wimbledon fearing the title may be beyond them as the grass event shapes up to be the most open in a decade. More Sports News»

		Technology
		YouTube to block artists who don't sign up for paid service YouTube plans to potentially block the content of certain labels from appearing on its free website unless they sign deals to participate in the new paid music service. Here's one reason you should not buy Google Nexus 5 Many Nexus 5 users report poor GPS performance, with the device failing to latch onto satellite signals, acquiring signals after considerable delay or frequently losing GPS connectivity. Google accused of blocking rivals' apps on Play Store Aptoide has urged EU to take action against Google for allegedly blocking rivals in the multi-billion-dollar Android app marketplace. More Technology News»

		Education
		Japan continues to be Asian giant in higher education, China closing in Japan continues it's dominance in Asian higher education by holding the top position yet again in the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2014, released a few hours ago on Thursday. Muslim enrolment goes up in schools: HRD report Muslim enrolment in schools has gone up marginally while there has been a slight decline in case of the SC/ST community. HC asks CBSE to review 6 AIPMT questions within a week The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday asked the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to review six ambiguous questions in the biology section of All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) within a week. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Auto, cab fare hike: Activists to move HC The MMRTA will take a final call on the autorickshaw and taxi fare hikes on Friday afternoon, said officials. Meanwhile, commuter rights activists said they plan to move the Bombay high court against any such hike. Teen killed in Vasai for 'honour', 1 detained One person has been detained in UP for the alleged honour killing of a 15-year-old boy in Vasai. The Valiv police found the decomposed body of the teen, Abhishek Yadav, in the forests at Sashunavghar in Vasai on June 15. Gold worth Rs 3 crore seized at airport Customs officials seized 11.6kg gold worth Rs 2.9 crore in four cases on Wednesday. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		IIT-B tech to get water from sewage in Dwarka Water-deficient Dwarka will get an additional 1.1 million gallons a day by January next year through a technology developed by IIT-Bombay students that will purify sewage to provide potable water. Spot checks of Chandni Chowk work The managing director of Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation and the PWD secretary made presentations about the progress of the work, said officials. Khirki raid controversy: Talk of chargesheet against Bharti The Khirki raid controversy involving Aam Aadmi Party MLA Somnath Bharti raised its head once again on Wednesday amid reports that the police were planning to file a chargesheet against the former law minister. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		School bus crushes 8-year-old outside home A school bus attendant’s alleged negligence claimed the life of a young girl who had seconds earlier alighted from the vehicle. Namita, 8, was crushed under the rear wheel of the Swaraj Mazda, as she bent to pick up her lunch bag which the attendant dropped out of the window. Man falls into lift shaft from 7th floor, dies A 48-year-old construction supervisor died after he accidentally fell into a lift shaft from the seventh floor of an under-construction building on Monday night. From junk pile to arty house Vijay Dutt tripped over some metal pieces lying unused in a garage he visited.He picked them up and made 24 candle stands, which now adorn the walls of his airy living room. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Andhra Pradesh's bid to snap power to Telangana nixed AP decided to reduce the power supply to Telangana as a tit-for-tat measure for the latter denying 10 TMC drinking water to Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam districts from the Nagarjunasagar last week. One more body found in Beas river Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) The body of one more student of V N R Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering was traced in the Beas river on Wednesday, taking the total bodies recovered to nine. Hyderabad HC quashes case against Ratna Prabha Justice Suri Appa Rao in his judgment described the allegations levelled against Ratna Prabha by the CBI as 'baseless' and also recorded a finding that the CBI has not made out any prima facie case against her. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Monday's 'green corridor' feat comes under scrutiny After Monday's dramatic 'green corridor' enabled quick transport of a human heart from the Government General Hospital to save the life of a 21-year-old woman in a corporate hospital, some activists have cried foul that the recipient hospital had invited media attention to gain publicity. Citing economics, hospitals shy away from heart transplant programme The high-octane operation in Chennai that transported a heart in an ambulance through a "green corridor" to save a Mumbai girl's life highlighted the southern Indian city's preparedness and, at the same time, drew attention to the near absence of a heart transplant programme in the financial capital. Ramps on the roads For Chennaiites, a walk along most streets in the city involves skipping over potholes, hopping across rubble and dodging oncoming traffic. Now, they face another problem - ramps extending from properties on to roads. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		City builder buys 48,000 sq yard plot for Rs 368 crore In a development which is set to boost the city’s realty market, a 48,000 square yard plot owned by Ahmedabad Panjrapole Sansthan has been sold by the Charity Commissioner of Ahmedabad for Rs 368 crore. Nanavati panel seeks review of HC order about Sanjiv Bhatt The Nanavati commission probing the 2002 riots has moved the Gujarat high court for a review of the latter's order asking the probe panel to supply all intelligence documents to suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt. In a review petition filed on Wednesday, the commission argued the court could not issue such an order. Woman accuses 2 brothers of rape A 32-year-old married woman has filed a complaint of rape against her two brothers at Khokhra police station. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		CCSU's plan to junk offline forms adds to students' woes Chaudhary Charan Singh University's (CCSU) decision to scrap offline college admission forms has posed problems for several students who are not well versed or have no access to the internet. Did torture by cops kill 32-year-old? A 32-year-old man booked by police on charges of assaulting his wife died while under treatment at a local hospital. He had been reportedly seriously injured while under police custody. Rain brings down temp Rain lashed the city for consecutive fourth day on Tuesday bringing the day temperature below normal. People enjoyed the pleasant weather and went for outing with family and friends. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		No amendment yet to prevent kidney sale The Union government amended the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA)-1994 in September 2011 giving more teeth to state-level authorities regulating transplant, considered crucial to stop organ sale. No goof up in Plus II evaluation: Minister The government is planning to introduce online evaluation of Plus II answer papers from next year, higher education minister Pradeep Panigrahy told the state assembly on Tuesday. More short-term courses at Berhampur University Berhampur University (BU) is planning to introduce more skill development short-term add-on courses in collaboration with the National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD), Hyderabad, this year. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Police declare cash reward on 3 PMT scam accused Gwalior police on Tuesday announced a cash reward on information about three accused in pre-medical admission scam, who are on the run. 'Harassed' men make distress calls to crisis centre Within 48 hours of the launch of One Stop Crisis Centre, government data reveals three in 10 callers seeking 'help' are males. Woman raped, beaten to death by father-in-law A man raped and beat his 24-year-old widowed daughter-in-law to death in front of her two-year-old daughter in Tikamgarh district.Accsued, Jageshwar Lodhi, 45, was arrested and sent to jail on Tuesday. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Database of Punjab students studying abroad to be compiled The Punjab government on Wednesday finalized a plan to compile database of students of Punjab studying abroad on study visa with an aim to ensure their safety and check their exploitation by travel agents. Villagers take pledge against drugs Barnala: Making a new beginning, residents of a small village in Barnala district took a pledge at a gurdwara not to take drugs and start a campaign against drug peddlers. Indefinite protest against spate of abductions Angry over the spate of abductions in the district, several organizations on Wednesday started an indefinite dharna in front of a police station here. More Chandigarh News»

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