News Digest: India to host Afghan leader, seeks to regain ground lost to China, Pakistan

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Friday, April 24, 2015
		Today's Headlines

		India
		India to host Afghan leader, seeks to regain ground lost to China, Pakistan When Afghan President Ashraf Ghani makes his first official visit to India next week, it will be a chance for New Delhi to regain ground lost to regional rivals Pakistan and China and push interests including trade routes and arms sales. Early birthday party for Dalai Lama with Tutu It was a spring birthday for summer-born Dalai Lama on Thursday and a long-pending celebration too. All thanks to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who is in Dharamshala to pen the Book of Joy in collaboration with the Tibetan spiritual leader. Masarat Alam put under preventive detention again The Jammu & Kashmir government on Thursday ordered separatist Masarat Alam’s preventive detention under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) and shifted him from the Valley to a Jammu jail. More India News»

		Business
		RBI changes priority sector lending norms The Reserve Bank of India has revised the priority sector lending norms which direct banks to lend to certain segments by prescribing targets as a percentage of their total business. 'Third gender' to feature on all bank forms RBI has directed banks to henceforth include ‘third gender’ in all their forms and applications, whether prescribed by the central bank or designed by the banks themselves. The move follows a Supreme Court directive last year. HDFC too offers cheaper loans to women The country’s largest housing finance company has cut lending rates for women borrowers by five basis points to 8.85% from 8.9% earlier. Following the current rate cut the top three home finance providers in the country – State Bank of India and ICICI Bank are providing identical rates. More Business News»

		Environment
		Little data, air index of no use The national air quality index, which ought to function like the US Environment Protection Agency's Air Now system-in which air quality is monitored in all cities and disseminated in real time along with a health advisory, seems to have to failed to meet expectations. 21 rare tortoises seized along Indo-Bangla border Twenty-one rare tortoises were seized by BSF troops while they were being smuggled across the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal, officials said on Thursday. Glaciers in Tibet retreating at alarming rate China's glaciers particularly those in Tibet have retreated by about 7,600sqkm - nearly 18 per cent - in the last 65 years and even the thick ice around the base camp of the Mt Everest has disappeared exposing its rocks structure due to rising pollution level, officials said. More Environment News»

		World
		Obama takes blame for strike that killed hostages President Barack Obama said he took "full responsibility" on Thursday for the accidental killing of an American and Italian hostage during an apparent drone strike on an al-Qaida compound in Pakistan. Rocket from Gaza fired at Israel on its independence day Militants in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket at Israel as it celebrated its independence day on Thursday, the first such attack this year, causing no injuries or damage, Israeli authorities said. Protesters demand answers over Baltimore police death More than 200 protesters marched through downtown Baltimore on Thursday amid simmering anger over the latest death of a black male in the United States at the hands of police. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Movie Review - 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Following S.H.I.E.L.D’s dissolution in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as a preemptive measure to counter a possible alien attack that happened in the past (The Avengers 2012), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) creates a global peace initiative, which is an artificial intelligence Ultron (voiced by James Spader) that goes rogue. Ranveer is all praise for Anushka Sharma Vivek still to decide on newborn daughter's name On Thursday afternoon, Vivek Oberoi’s wife Priyanka was discharged from the Bangalore hospital, where she delivered their second child, a girl. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Hope soars as first malaria vaccine clears final hurdle The world’s first malaria vaccine has passed its final test but the results haven’t been emphatic. Bad diet, not lack of activity, tied to obesity epidemic The cause of obesity is a bad diet rather than a lack of exercise, according to a group of international experts. In an article discussing whether food, sedentary lifestyles or a combination of the two are responsible for the obesity epidemic, doctors said the obesity crisis had almost nothing to do with the amount of exercise we take part in. PIO's brain tumour turns out to be her unborn 'evil twin' Doctors in the US have found an embryonic twin complete with bone, hair and teeth in the brain of a 26-year-old Indian woman undergoing surgery for a suspected tumour. More Science News»

		Sports
		Delhi Daredevils beat Mumbai Indians by 37 runs Imran Tahir and Amit Mishra bowled Delhi Daredevils to a 37-run victory against Mumbai Indians in their IPL match at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Thursday. Big IPL buys Yuvraj and Karthik struggling to get going Two players, who were bought for big money at the Indian Premier League auction are struggling to justify the huge amount spent on them for the eighth edition. Ziva's smile has changed my life, says MS Dhoni Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni said he missed his baby daughter Ziva, who made her dressing room debut, badly on long Australian tour. More Sports News»

		Technology
		Trai receives 1 million emails supporting net neutrality This the biggest-ever response the country has ever seen for such a social campaign. The last day to vote for the campaign is April 24. 8 best cameras of 2015 TIPA awards are only given to products which have been tested and reviewed by the magazines, and are voted on annually by TIPA members. Here are some of this year's winners: Asus to launch ZenFone 2 with Snapdragon chip under Rs 10,000 Though CEO Jerry Shen did not specify the processor Asus is testing, it is likely to be the Snapdragon 410 chip that is used in Moto E (2nd Gen) 4G, Lenovo A6000 and Xiaomi Redmi 2. More Technology News»

		Education
		Presidency University VC gheroed over admission test demand : Unethical demands by the students of Presidency University asking for written admission tests in all departments seems to have triggered from their concern of ineligible students with less than 60% attendance being barred from appearing in the semester examinations. 'Each industry requires different standard of communication skills' There is disconnect between what the industry says is good communication and what an educational institution imparts to its students, said Arunachalam TK of Cambridge English on Thursday. HC stays MBA admissions in private colleges in Maharashtra The Bombay high court in an interim order on Thursday stayed admissions to MBA courses. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		GRP returns Pune man's bag with gold The Government Railway Police (GRP) came to the aid of a Pune-based commuter who had accidentally left behind his bag containing gold ornaments and clothes in a Central Railway local on Wednesday night. Two arrested for raping own sisters A very unusual case has come to fore of the Mumbai police where a two brothers have allegedly raped their own minor sisters continuously for four to five months. Naik clan proves detractors wrong, shows who's boss in Navi Mumbai After humiliating defeat of his son Sanjeev in the Lok Sabha polls, followed by his own defeat in the assembly polls, high profile NCP leader Ganesh Naik’s supporters and detractors assumed that it was the end of political career for him, but the massive success in the crucial elections to the Navi Mumbai municipal corporation has once again established that the Naik family still rules the entire area. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Lawyer says GTB doctor molested her A female lawyer was allegedly molested by a doctor at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in northeast Delhi on Thursday. 3 held for assault after AAP MLA alerts cops Three men were arrested for thrashing an autorickshaw driver after his auto grazed their bike at Rajouri Garden, west Delhi, early on Thursday. An AAP MLA, who witnessed the incident, informed police. The accused were arrested from the spot. Hope for houses in heritage zones For years, 78-year-old S L Mittal has been waiting to add a floor to his one-storey residence in Kotla Mubarakpur. But because Mittal’s property is 92m from the ASI-protected Kale Khan Ka Gumbad, he has been unable to get the nod. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Parents file Lokayukta plaint against PU board A complaint filed with the Lokayukta has forced the PU board to examine integrated coaching centres run by pre-university colleges. Attacked with machete, cop shoots at rowdy A notorious rowdysheeter was shot at by a sub-inspector after he attacked the latter with a lethal weapon. Won't valuate English papers: Kannada-medium teachers Around 186 SSLC examination evaluators refused to check English-medium Social Science answer papers, demanding exemption from the penalty imposed on them for errors in answer sheet valuation. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Naidu slams TRS for surviving on 'borrowed' leaders TDP president and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday took the Telagnana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) by the horns accusing it of “borrowing” leaders from other political parties. K Chandrasekhar Rao smells a rat in change land use pleas Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has serious doubts over genuineness of requests for change of land use, which he reportedly obliged unwittingly. Capital City Management Development Company to steam ahead with 5 SPVs The Capital City Management Development Company (CCMDA) that was cleared by the AP cabinet on Wednesday is to set up a maximum of five special purpose vehicles (SPV) which will take up a specific sector each and act as subsidiary companies of the CCMDA. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Chennaiites rally for Net Neutrality A twitter bird bleeding from its clipped wings, followed by the message “Ctrl + S the internet”, was one of the many innovative banners displayed by young netizens of Chennai who organised a walkathon on Thursday evening at Elliot’s beach to raise awareness on net neutrality. Private schools association strive for change During their silver jubilee and state convention, the association also demanded revision of licence or recognition rules, land allotment for private schools, a proper inspection system sans bribery and corruption. Gang burns cop's bike after two caught for drunk driving In yet another attack by public on police personnel, five men burnt the motorbike of a traffic sub-inspector in the Tollgate area near Thiruvottiyur on Wednesday night after two of them were caught for drunk driving. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Gujarat HC relief to resort near Gir  Gujarat high court on Thursday granted relief to Savaj Resort, a luxury hotel near Gir sanctuary, after the hospitality unit came complaining that the local authorities sealed all its rooms though it has got an NOC to run the hotel. Congress cries foul over BJP's delimitation move The delimitation of wards for the upcoming municipal elections in Ahmedabad will usurp 19 wards from the earlier 64 wards list, while two new wards — Shahibaug and Makhtampura — have been added to the new list. M J Library never audited Bapu's collection It was in June 1935 that the Sheth Maneklal Jethalal (MJ) Library started with the donation of the personal collection of books of Mahatma Gandhi — these were officially 9,650 books. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Free wi-fi facility at Civil Lines Bus Depot soon The Civil Lines Bus Depot of the city would become the first public place to be equipped with wi-fi services. Uttar Pradesh Road Transport Corporation, in collaboration with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has came out with the proposal to equip the depot for better internet connectivity. Traders to marry off daughters of ruined farmers Traders’ community will extend a helping hand to grief-stricken kin of farmers, who allegedly committed suicide after their crop was washed away in rain and hailstorm. V-SAT to rescue of seven police stations Seven police stations based in remote areas of the district are battling a different problem. Owing to lack of intranet connectivity, they are neither able to issue computer generated FIRs nor send details to National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB). This has also hampered maintenance of crime record at national level through Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS). More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		'A singer must never allow success to go to his head' Pranab Patnaik has been on top of the charts for six decades. He has sung with the likes of Hemlata, Bhupinder Singh, Usha Mangeshkar and many others. And today, at 76, the singer is still going strong. Thirumoy Banerjee speaks with the veteran musician in Kolkata Man gets 2 years' rigorous imprisonment for forging marksheet A court here on Wednesday sentenced Manoj Pradhan to two years' rigorous imprisonment (RI) for forging his graduation marksheet and certificates.The court slapped Rs 5,000 fine on him. Check dams to tide over water problem The Kandhamal administration has decided to construct check dams over springs and nullahs near residential schools functioning under the ST and SC welfare department to ensure water supply. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Man stabs wife, daughter, jumps before moving train A man stabbed his wife and five-month-old daughter before committing suicide by jumping before a moving train on Wednesday night. Tigress 'Queen of Pench' delivers 4 cubs With four cubs in its sixth litter, Collarwali – the tigress fondly called by visitors to Pench Tiger Reserve because of her radio collar – has apparently set a record of giving birth to highest number of cubs in wild in Madhya Pradesh. Chouhan lauds mass marriage functions, calls it Mahakumbh Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has described mass marriage functions as Mahakumbh of social equality. He was addressing a mass marriage function at Garhakota in Sagar district on Wednesday. The function was held under guidance of panchayats and rural development minister Gopal Bhargava. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Students learn all about waste managment As part of environment awareness and conservation drive launched by UT department of environment and NGO Yuvsatta on World Earth Day, 50 girls of Carmel Convent School, Sector 9, participated in 'Garbage Run' on Thursday. Short-staffed UT schools to get 123 teachers The UT education department is all set to recruit 123 teachers under the "Chandigarh deputation quota".DPI (schools) Kamlesh Kumar said the department was short of teachers. Rabies death: MC hikes aid for victim's mother to Rs 3 lakh In a first, the MC's finance and contract committee (F&CC) has hiked compensation for the mother of rabies victim Sadia from Rs 1 lakh of Rs 3 lakh. More Chandigarh News»

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