News Digest: Direct purchase of 36 fighters will alter original Rafale deal

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Saturday, April 11, 2015
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Direct purchase of 36 fighters will alter original Rafale deal India will now negotiate direct purchase of 36 Rafale jets from France through a government-to-government deal worth around $4 billion, without any "Make in India" or technology transfer component, to meet IAF's urgent "critical operational necessity" for new fighters. MLA's father booked for assault on dalit After a dalit brick kiln contractor complained to the senior superintendent of police alleging that the father of Sardhana MLA and Muzaffarnagar riot accused Sangeet Som had beaten him up brutally, Sardhana police registered an FIR against Omvir Singh, the legislator’s father, his accountant Dharmpal and four others. Main litigants meet to reach Ayodhya case settlement In a fresh move to reach a negotiated settlement for the vexed Ayodhya issue, main litigants from the Hindu and Muslim sides met at Hanuman Garhi here on Friday to find a solution to the title suit which is pending before the Supreme Court. More India News»

		Business
		RBI seeks Libor-like rate, full rupee convertibility Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan once again broached the issue of capital account convertibility (CAC), stating that it was a goal that the central bank hoped to achieve in a few years. Govt sets global financial hub rolling The Central government has paved the way for financial institutions to set up international operations in Gujarat’s GIFT City by notifying the area as an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) and unveiling the norms for the financial hub. Apple looks at increasing investments in India Apple, the world’s biggest electronics maker, has its eyes set on India. At a time when the company is working up aggressive sales targets for the market and multiplying its distribution network exponentially, the company on Friday came calling at the government’s doors, expressing willingness to up its commitment and investments. More Business News»

		Environment
		Early to fix El Nino's impact on rains: IMD The reappearance of El Nino conditions over the Pacific Ocean is enough cause for concern, but India Meteorological Department (IMD) experts said it was not the only factor that impacts the Indian monsoon. Toxic carbide waste: Centre red-flags UNEP study offer United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) offer for a comprehensive assessment of depth and spread of contaminants in and around Union Carbide factory has been red-flagged by Union government. Ocean acidification blamed for Earth's biggest die-off Ocean acidification was a key driver of the greatest mass extinction on Earth some 250 million years ago, scientists said today. More Environment News»

		World
		Hillary to announce 2016 run for president on Sunday The answer to the ''Run, Hillary, Run'' exhortation from the Clintonistas will be available this weekend. To no one’s great surprise, Hillary Clinton is expected to formally announce that she will run for President in 2016, aiming to return to the White House where she was the First Lady 24 years ago. Saudis say UN could vote soon on Yemen sanctions resolution Saudi Arabia's UN ambassador said Friday a vote on a draft United Nations resolution that would impose new sanctions on leaders of Yemen's Houthi Shia rebels and the country's former president and his son will likely take place early next week. Iran deal requires phased sanctions removal: White House The White House pushed back Friday against declarations from Iran's leaders that any nuclear deal must include an immediate lifting of sanctions, indicating President Barack Obama will walk away from negotiations unless sanctions are removed over time. More World News»

		Entertainment
		BT Exclusive: Randeep Hooda's fighter look Randeep Hooda is no doubt a good- looking man, but he has so far chosen his acting and not his body to be his USP. Sonam to gift first Rheson collection to mom Pic: Priyanka as Ayesha in Dil Dhadakne Do After playing a boxer in Mary Kom and an autistic in Barfi!, fashionista Priyanka Chopra will now be seen in a role much closer to her real self. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Acidic oceans led to Earth's worst mass extinction Ocean acidification triggered Earth’s greatest extinction of all time, wiping out more than 90% of marine species and over two-thirds of land animals some 250 million years ago, a new study has found. Childhood stress triples diabetes risk Experiencing serious life events in childhood such as death or illness in the family, divorce or separation can triple the risk of developing type 1 diabetes, scientists have found. It's official: Shakespeare wrote disputed play 'Double Falsehood' English playwright William Shakespeare has been identified as the true author of a long-contested play published nearly 300 years ago and believed to be an adaptation of the bard’s work, scientists say. More Science News»

		Sports
		IPL 2015: Faulkner leads Rajasthan to victory against Punjab Rajasthan defeated last season's runners-up KXIP by 26 runs in their opening match of the Indian Premier League's eighth edition on Friday. A balanced team gives us license to play more freely: Kohli RCB skipper Virat Kohli sent out a warning to rivals, saying his team is the most balanced side now which will give them the license to play more freely. RR player approached to fix IPL game by Ranji teammate: Report A Rajasthan Royals player was approached with an offer of money for spot-fixing, clearly showing that attempts to fix matches are still prevalent in IPL. More Sports News»

		Technology
		10 useful Android apps not available for iPhone Here are some of the best free options in Google Play Flipkart now paying million-dollar salaries Flipkart is paying million dollar-plus salaries along with stock options to top talent expert it has poached from marquee global firms TechM the big winner in the Satyam saga It was touted as the classic case of a poor groom walking away with a rich distressed bride and a fat dowry, a match that caused considerable heartburn to the bride's side. More Technology News»

		Education
		Taking kids from `Can I?' to `I can' Educationist Kiran Bir Sethi believes there is no one-size-fitsall solution to problems in our education system. She has devised methods to help students develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, which will make them aware of their ability to shape the world. Transparency vanishing from Cept, students say   Cept University’s architecture students released an open letter to the university authorities on Friday expressing concern about ‘decline in transparency’ on the campus. This came a day after B V Doshi and supporters of Bimal Patel addressed journalists on issues concerning the university.  JEE candidates find maths, physics tough Students who took the IIT JEE (main) online examination on Friday had similar reactions to those who had taken the paper-based exam on April 4. While they found the chemistry portion easy, they said that the physics and maths portions were relatively tougher. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Pay no toll at 65 booths, 6 near Mumbai, from June 1 The state government on Friday announced waiver of road toll for cars and state transport buses at 65 plazas, six of them around Mumbai, from the midnight of May 31. BMC will form panel to review museum pact The BMC on Friday initiated steps to have more say in the functioning of the Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Byculla. It passed a resolution to appoint a group leaders’ committee under mayor Snehal Ambekar to frame new guidelines for the museum’s management. Opposition walkout over CM reply on BMC 'corruption' Opposition parties on Friday walked out of the legislative council in protest against allegedly unsatisfactory answers by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on several issues raised about the city, one of which was the alleged misappropriation of funds in the BMC. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Four arrested for extortion bid on bizman A south Delhi businessman’s neighbour, who hatched a conspiracy to extort money from him, has been arrested along with three accomplices. Register at Jamia from Monday The Academic Council of Jamia Millia Islamia in its meeting on Friday approved implementation of the choice-based credit system, to be introduced from the 2015-16 academic session. Students march against stigma on menstruation Even though some Delhi University colleges closed doors to #padsagainstsexism, the campaign which received much opposition in Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University, random commuters joined the march from Vishwavidyalaya Metro station to Kamla Nagar Market via DU North Campus on Friday, making it a success. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Exclusivity doesn't really guarantee safety There are, broadly speaking, four categories of swimming pools in and around Bengaluru. They are: those owned by BBMP but contracted to private parties, the ones owned by various clubs, hotels and resorts, the ones on school and college campuses and the pools inside apartment com plexes and gated communities. BBMP clueless about city's pools and rules Summer's when the swimming pools teem with children and youth. Given the mad rush, everyone with a swimming pool floats training camps and also allows access to the public. Hand stuck in suction duct, boy drowns A routine swim in his Sarjapur Road apartment swimming pool on Thursday turned tragic for 11-year-old Siddharth, who lost his life after a suction duct in the pool sucked his hand preventing him from swimming out. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Qutub Shahi Tombs Complex doubles up as bird sanctuary It is in the thicket that the Indian stone curlew camouflages itself. It moves cautiously before it takes flight. Four cops injured in stone-pelting in Hyderabad Tension prevailed in the Old City on Friday after incidents of stone pelting were reported. GMC to spend Rs.220 crore on water scheme: Commissioner Kanna Babu Reflecting the capital city status, Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) governing council has cleared the annual budget with nearly Rs.200 crore surplus. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		All glitter, little gold? Insist on purity check As people across the country prepare for the annual goldbuying frenzy that Akshaya Tritiya whips up, jewellers and consumer activists in the city advise customers to ensure they only buy jewellery that is hallmarked and sealed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Mystery shrouds death of US teen Mystery shrouds the death of Dalton Ben, a 19-year-old US citizen, on Thursday, as police await the postmortem report. Docs fix haemophilic man's heart Initially for the team of doctors, it seemed like there was no solution. But after a marathon surgery that went on for seven hours, the surgeons managed to fix the heart of Binu Nettikardan, a 38-year-old patient from Kerala, who was admitted at MIOT hospitals with a large swelling of the aorta and a leak of the aortic valve. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Union gropes for reasons in stench of failed strike The debilitating civic strike was finally called off late on Thursday evening. More than 16,000 striking municipal class-3 and class-4 employees will resume duty on Friday. Gujarat ATS nabs Viqaruddin's aide from Lucknow Three days after Viqaruddin and his four accomplices were gunned down in a police encounter in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh while being taken to Hyderabad for court production, Gujarat ATS nabbed his accomplice Hasim Ujma from Lucknow on Thursday. Strike takes toll on VS, LG emergency care Hasmukh Khalasi fainted after his blood pressure shot to 180/250 on Friday. His family ran from pillar to post at LG Hospital but doctors turned a deaf ear to their requests, saying they cannot admit the patient till the nurse strike was on. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Cong, BJP take to road in support of farmers The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party staged separate demonstrations in support of rain and hail-storm hit farmers at Collectorate on Wednesday. Both parties demanded that farmers be compensated for the crop loss. Shankaracharya blasts O'Brian, backs ban on beef Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati of Dwarka Shardapeeth on Wednesday lambasted Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien for describing beef as “poor man’s protein.” Naini Jail inmates 'show' way in organic farming Instead of prevalent chemical fertilizers and pesticides, Naini Central Jail inmates have this year used organic farm techniques to grow vegetables. Owing to high produce, the vegetables are being sent to jails across the state for consumption. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Min, MLA get death threat from 'Maoists' The Vansadhara-Ghumusara-Nagabali division of outlawed CPI (Maoist) has purportedly threatened to kill ST and SC development minister Lal Bihari Himirika and Lanjigarh BJD MLA Balabhadra Majhi for 'helping' companies set up base in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. Volunteers to help regulate traffic Faced with acute staff shortage and increasing road rage, the commissionerate of police have decided to engage private volunteers to regulate traffic in the city.The proposed project is likely to be launched on April 17. Puri admn begins disinfecting pipe water in town The state government has asked Puri district administration to deploy 60 skilled people to ensure disinfection of tubewells and check drinking water distribution network, particularly those passing through drains in the city. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		A Madhya Pradesh village which is 'Jaldi' only in name ‘Jaldi’ in Hindi, which could be loosely translated to quickly as a word, is not a habit with residents of Jaldi Daand, a village in Baihar tehsil of Balaghat district in the state. On the contrary, Jaldi Daand villagers get late in anything they do. Cops in Bhopal gave fake receipts, 'pocketed' crores in 10 yrs A voluntary organization brought to notice of high court loss of crores of rupees to state exchequer on account of illegal recovery of fine by traffic police in Bhopal from vehicle owners by issuing fake challans. Killing of cop by sand mafia: Main accused was holed up in Rajasthan, arrested Four days after a cop was mowed down by the sand mafia in Morena, the main accused was arrested from Rajasthan.Driver of the dumper, Tehsildar Singh, 29, was tracked down by police at his relative's place in Dholpur. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Form scrutiny: Bombay high court rejects 15 petitions The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court (HC) on Friday quashed the petitions of as many as 15 people challenging the civic body’s poll returning officers’ decision to reject their forms on various grounds. The court has placed the next date of hearing on three petitions on April 15. 786 is his lucky charm & passion This departmental store owner has a unique passsion: An obsession for the number '786' that encompasses currency notes, vehicle registration numbers, and mobile numbers. How 'cool dudes' trapped their victims in Chandigarh Threats, abusive language, firearms pointed at hapless school students and lurking outside their homes constituted the modus operandi of the Cool Dude gang to intimidate their victims. More Chandigarh News»

		To manage your newsletter subscription settings, click here	Other Newsletters from TOI : Top Headlines | Tech | Entertainment | Movie Reviews | Life & Style