News Digest: Cheraman Juma Masjid: A 1,000-year-old lamp burns in this mosque

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Sunday, May 31, 2015
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Cheraman Juma Masjid: A 1,000-year-old lamp burns in this mosque Inside the Cheraman Juma Masjid, the first mosque in India and probably one of the oldest shrines in the world, burns an oil lamp which is believed to be more than a 1,000 years old. 20% fall in engineering applicants in Tamil Nadu Engineering education in the state is going through a churn, and here is the evidence: There is a 20% drop in the number of applicants for the single window counseling — from 1.75 lakh last year to 1.4 lakh this time. Labourers, homeless hit hardest by heatwave Extreme heat, heavy rain and cold waves are frequent affairs in India yet governments are rarely prepared to provide cover. More India News»

		Business
		India will overtake China soon: Arun Jaitley "China recorded 9% growth for 33 years while the Indian growth story has just started," Jaitley told newsmen in Bhopal. CBDT goes slow in pursuing fresh tax dispute cases Tax disputes are one of the most taxing issues before courts today. India-Sweden pact on MSMEs approved by Cabinet The government on Saturday approved signing of an agreement between India and Sweden to promote cooperation in the ​micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector. More Business News»

		Environment
		Global climate set for change over decades: Study The global climate is on the verge of broad-scale change that could last for a number of decades, shows a study by British scientists. Mass deaths of saiga antelopes stir conservation fears The sudden deaths of tens of thousands of endangered antelopes in ex-Soviet Kazakhstan over the past two weeks have left scientists scrambling for answers and conservationists worried about the animal's future. New pollution alert closes California beaches Workers scrambled to clean oil pollution along a series of California beaches near Los Angeles on Thursday, barely a week after a huge oil spill further up the coast. More Environment News»

		World
		Island row: China and Japan may sign pact to end crisis China and Japan may sign an agreement to diffuse maritime crisis between the two nations. Obama fan who made Hope poster is now disillusioned The young artist who designed the iconic Obama ''Hope'' poster that launched millions of dreams now has the audacity to say he is disillusioned with the President even though there is small uptick in his approval ratings. IS blows up empty prison complex in Syria's Palmyra Islamic State blew up a major prison complex in the central Syrian city of Palmyra on Saturday, according to a group monitoring the war, destroying an important symbol of government control in the jihadist-held city. More World News»

		Entertainment
		The most expensive divorces in celeb-dom Hollywood actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have confirmed that they will end their 10-year marriage with a $150 million (over '956 crore) divorce. And while that is a heavy price to pay for love lost, it isn’t the most expensive deal to be inked in the world of celebrity divorces. Bollywood's highest earning celebs Here's a look at some of B-town's highest earning celebrities. Celina finds Sunny Leone to be threatening Sunny Leone and husband, Daniel Weber had rented out Celina Jaitley's penthouse apartment on a lease of two years, when they first shifted base to India for Sunny's Bollywood career. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Soon, prosthetic hands with a sense of touch Researchers are exploring new approaches to design prosthetic hands capable of providing "sensory feedback". Birds, not just mammals, copy yawns: Study Contagious yawning occurs not only in some mammals but also between members of a bird species, a new study has found. Indian Medical Association to lead pan-India drive on vitamin D deficiency The widespread deficiency of vitamin D has prompted the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to start a two-year pan-India awareness campaign, which will conclude in December 2016. More Science News»

		Sports
		Sepp Blatter comes out fighting despite scandal and divisions Sepp Blatter began his fifth term at Fifa implying that the US timed the announcement of a major corruption probe to try to scupper his re-election bid. French Open: Nadal crushes Kuznetsov to reach last 16 Rafael Nadal's attempt to win the French Open for a 10th time picked up pace with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 third round demolition of Andrey Kuznetsov on Saturday. Alastair Cook breaks Gooch's England Test runs record Alastair Cook became England's highest-ever Test run-scorer when he broke the record of Graham Gooch during the second Test against New Zealand. More Sports News»

		Technology
		5 reasons why selfie is becoming a menace Over the last few years clicking selfies has become a rage. What Google just announced is a bombshell What Google just announced at its I/O developer conference is a bombshell for the future of the company. Snapdeal COO, Flipkart CEO in war of words The rivalry between India's top online marketplaces Flipkart and Snapdeal spilled over to social media when the normally reticent Sachin Bansal took a stab at Snapdeal co-founder Rohit Bansal for reportedly suggesting that India does not have enough software engineering talent of the type it needs. More Technology News»

		Education
		Smriti Irani denies any 'saffronisation' of education Participating in a talkathon on Saturday, Irani said she is a "straight-talker" and wanted to change the system which was being used by some as a source of making "profit" and "personal politics". Saving grace: 18 grace marks saved 1 lakh Gujarat HSC students On Saturday, a record low of 54.98% students passed the HSC (general) stream exams held by Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board. This is the lowest pass percentage since 1991. Top scorers opt out of Bengal Swadha Bhartilania a student from Loreto House has scored 97.6% in ISC. She could have opted for any good college in Kolkata to study her under graduation. Yet, she wants to leave the city to study outside Bengal. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Maharashtra FDA issues notices to e-cigarettes sellers The state Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued notices to 23 importers and sellers of e-cigarettes in Mumbai for violation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Community acts to make Muslims more employable If the brazen discrimination against management graduate Zeeshan Khan during a job hunt outraged the country, it has also made the community do some soul-searching. Many say that denouncing brazen injustices isn’t enough; remedial measures too are needed. Father of 'suicide' victim shows cops girl was killed Five days after they wrote off a 20-year-old woman’s death as suicide, the Charkop police on Saturday arrested her acquaintance, Kanhaiya Singh, and charged him with murder. The deceased, Simi Mistri, was a BPO employee. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Court cancels bailable warrant against assembly speaker A court on Saturday cancelled the bailable warrant issued against Delhi assembly speaker Ram Niwas Goel after he appeared before it in connection with an alleged rioting case lodged against him and others in 2008. 40-year-old killed in gang war, one arrested In a gang war between two groups, a 40-year-old man was shot dead in southwest Delhi’s Khera Dabar village on Friday night. Police have caught one of the assailants and are looking for two others. Man strangles wife, moves into lover's home A man strangled his wife and fled with his two children to live with another woman with whom he had secretly got married and had also had a five-month-old baby. Police have nabbed him from the woman’s house before they could leave Delhi. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Experts tame jumbos with whistles There were no weapons involved. No chains or ropes were attached either. All it took was a whistle for Gail Laule to make a captive elephant dance to her tunes. Cerebral palsy no deterrent for topper His fingers stiffen and hands shake when he writes for long; walking is a struggle for him. Life has never been normal for Praveen TS, who has cerebral palsy. However, nothing has deterred his spirit. He has bagged the first rank in MS communication. Revenue certificates go virtual, more to follow In a world going increasingly paperless, the department of public instruction appears to have finally arrived. It has become the first department to accept Certificate Numbers, instead of physical certificates. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		4 kg gold hidden in plane toilets seized A ‘mysterious’ air passenger from Muscat made a vain bid to smuggle in four kilograms of gold biscuits by hiding them in toilets of an Air India flight that landed at the Rajiv Gandhi International (RGI) Airport in the wee hours of Saturday. 20 multi-level flyovers to ease traffic in Hyderabad The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) will soon commence work on construction of 20 multi-level flyovers and development of junctions to ease traffic congestion in the city. Protests over lake pillaging The pillaging of Shahtam Talab along the fortified walls of Golconda continues with locals and activists on Saturday alleging that the Hyderabad Golf Association (HGA) has now constructed structures along a lesser accessible part of the lake. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Metro work resumes after Afcons steps in Metro rail authorities have asked Afcons Infrastructure, which is building tunnels under Poonamallee High Road, to take over the incomplete work on the tunnels under Anna Salai after Mosmetrostroy JV abandoned it recently. Govt staff in Coimbatore, Erode to get higher pay Census 2011 data on population has landed a bonanza for central government employees in Erode and Coimbatore districts. A Gandhian who takes on everybody, for a cause In a span of 12 years, he has filed 120 RTI applications, 60 representations and 14 PILs. The figures might not be extraordinary, but the results R Kannan Govindarajulu has achieved are. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Ganga Ram Aloria named Gujarat chief secretary Ganga Ram Aloria, a 1981 batch IAS officer, was appointed Gujarat chief secretary on Saturday. He is the state’s 27th chief secretary and will retire on July 31, 2016. Naroda Gam massacre witness untraceable, police escort tells control room When news of a witness going missing reached city police control room on Saturday afternoon, city crime branch and Karanj police went into a tizzy. The reason was apparent – the missing person is a witness in Naroda Gaam massacre case of 2002 riots. The safest Hindu abode in Ahmedabad lies in Muslim ghetto In a city known for well-marked ghettos that have only expanded with every Hindu-Muslim riot, harmony resides in Zalak Apartments. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Video-conferencing to link jails, courts All jails in the state would soon be connected to courts of respective districts with video-conferencing facility. Kadhi patta checks diabetes, say AU scientists A team of scientists from department or chemistry, Allahabad University, have proved that the leaves of murraya koenigii, commonly known as curry leaves or 'kadi patta' or ‘meethi neem’ is beneficial to control diabetes. Now, MDM even in summer vacation The Mid Day Meal Authority has decided to distribute meals to all children of drought-affected districts through madrassas and schools in which they are enrolled. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Blackout in Bhubaneshwar after wire snaps near Gangua bridge Residents had a harrowing time on Friday afternoon as power went off in several areas of the city after an overhead high-tension wire snapped. Transport tax on cars likely to go up Luxury car owners are likely to cough up more tax as the transport department has proposed to have different slabs for vehicles based on their cost.At present, all types of private cars pay 5% one-time tax on the cost. EOW arrests chit fund company director for embezzling Rs 50 crore Ponzi scams continue to surface in Odisha with the Economic Offence Wing of the Crime Branch on Friday arresting Subhransu Singh, director of Shreebhumi Multistate Cooperative Society, from Puri on charges of duping investors of more than Rs 50 crore. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Jaitley inaugurates country's first currency paper unit India will no longer require to import its currency paper from Australia and Japan. On Saturday, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the country’s first new pulp line unit for production of bank note paper at Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh. India's priority is to replace China in growth story: Jaitley Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said it is “not right” to say that Indian economy has outplayed China even though Central Statistics Office (CSO) numbers showed 7.5% GDP growth for the January-March 2015 quarter. Not a single penalty against any PIO in 10 years State Information Commission of Madhya Pradesh has not penalized a single officer of general administration department (GAD), a key state department for dissemination of information, in a decade of its existence. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Student's hoax call about bomb in school creates panic in Kurukshetra A hoax call about a bomb in a Kurukshetra school had the police and school authorities in a tizzy on Saturday morning.As the news spread, there was panic in the town as well. Tanwar starts his 'yatra' as Hooda camp prepares its march from Kandela Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress party will kick off his 'Jan Jagran Yatra' from Kandela village in Jind on Sunday to highlight the failures of the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government in the state. Court restrains Himachal Road Transport Corporation from charging low fare The Himachal Pradesh high court has restrained the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) from charging fare lower than rates fixed by the state government. More Chandigarh News»

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