News Digest: Top LeT commander Abu Qasim gunned down by security forces: Report

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Thursday, October 29, 2015
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Top LeT commander Abu Qasim gunned down by security forces: Report Top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Abu Qasim was reportedly gunned down in Bandipora by security forces in a fierce encounter that lasted most of Wednesday night and early hours of Thursday. Qasim was the mastermind of Udhampur attacks in which eight Army soldiers were killed in June 2013. IIT-B teachers protest HRD 'interference' IIT-Bombay professors and other academicians from within the IIT system are aghast at the level of “interference” in academic and administrative affairs by the Union ministry of human resources and development (MHRD). India's wealth rose 211% in last 15 years India has seen a whopping 211% increase in its wealth over the last 15 years — much higher than the US, UK, Japan, France, Germany or Brazil. Only four other countries — Indonesia, China, Russia and Australia — have done better than India. More India News»

		Business
		Times Group launches India's first realty channel Magicbricks NOW Urban development and housing minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday launched the country's first real estate channel - Magicbricks NOW - and congratulated the Times Group for this initiative. Honda revs up for FCV race with Clarity Honda has traditionally been looked upon as a manufacturer of plain-jane, dependable and efficient cars by ordinary buyers unaware of the company's racing circuits pedigree or prowess in pathbreaking -- often futuristic -- automotive technologies. NTT opens India's largest data centre Action is heating up in India with the world's top names like Oracle, Microsoft and Amazon queuing up to open data centres here. NTT Communications, the world's largest data centre company and a unit of the $112-billion Japanese giant, NTT, also has mega plans in the country. More Business News»

		Environment
		Global temperature to rise by three degree Celsius: Study The researchers have projected that global emissions would peak in 2020 and decline afterwards to 10 per cent below 2010 levels by 2030. Assuming countries would keep on their efforts after 2030, these could limit the long term temperature increase to around three degree Celsius. Come out with roadmap on climate finance: India to rich nations New Delhi has once again asked the rich nations to come out with a clear roadmap having new "predictable" and "additional" resource flow to meet requirements of finance of developing countries for supporting their climate actions. Corals may be more resilient to climate change Certain combinations of coral and algal species are more tolerant to temperature extremes than others, and therefore more likely to survive in the changing conditions predicted for the future, scientists have discovered. More Environment News»

		World
		Iran all set to join Syria talks, diplomatic push gains pace Iran has said that it will take part for the first time in international talks aimed at resolving the brutal war in Syria as a diplomatic push to end the conflict gained momentum. This even as Washington is at loggerheads with Moscow over Syria. Furore in US as black teen arrested for texting A girl who refused to surrender her phone after texting in maths class was flipped backward and tossed across the classroom floor by a sheriff's deputy, prompting a federal civil rights probe. It has led to a massive outcry in the country. Pakistan Supreme Court issues blasphemy warning Pakistan's Supreme Court has called on the state to ensure that hundreds of people facing imprisonment and even execution under controversial blasphemy laws have not been falsely charged, often by enemies wanting to settle personal scores. More World News»

		Entertainment
		'Main Aur Charles' is close to reality Writer-director Prawaal Raman spared no effort to ensure that his upcoming film, Main Aur Charles, inspired by serial killer Charles Sobhraj, gives viewers an authentic feel about the real-life events that transpired in his life. Why Bollywood doesn't need sci-fi films If there is any one genre that has been royally ignored by Bollywood, it has to be science-fiction, or so the pseudo-Hollywood geeks claim. First look: Daisy-KSG in 'Tu isaq mera' First look of Daisy Shah and Karan Singh Grover in the song Tu Isaq Mera from Hate Story 3 releases today. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Nasa astronauts kick off spacewalk for upgrades at ISS Spaceflight veteran Scott Kelly, who is in the midst of a year-long stint at the ISS, began the first spacewalk of his career at 8pm, according to a live broadcast on Nasa television. Dead could be kept alive, interacted in future: UK academic Computers will be advanced enough in around 50 years that they can create "synthetic digital life" based upon people's past movements, preferences and history on social media, Simon McKeown, a reader in Animation and Post Production at Teesside University in Middlesborough, has said. 5 reasons a vegetarian diet is good for you From digestion to heart health More Science News»

		Sports
		Sachin stopped me from retiring in 2007: Sehwag Sehwag finally retired on his 37th birthday on October 20, more than two-and-a-half years after his last appearance for the national cricket team. Miandad asks PCB not to send Pak team for World T20 Javed Miandad has asked the PCB not to send a team in next year's World T20 in India if the BCCI does not agree to proposed bilateral series in December. Thakur, Shukla meet representatives of 6 IPL teams Thakur along with Shukla met the representatives of the six IPL franchises to intimate them about the modalities of Players' Auction for years 2016 and 2017. More Sports News»

		Technology
		Mark Zuckerberg reiterates support for net neutrality, but bats for zero-rating plans At a townhall in Delhi, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the social networking website "absolutely" supports net neutrality, but spoke in favour of zero-rating plans, saying prioritizing these plans is necessary to connect everyone to the internet. India world's second-biggest internet community: Mark Zuckerberg Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has called India second biggest community in the world. Google Nexus 5X review: The prodigal son returns Find out exactly what the device is all about in our Google Nexus 5X review... More Technology News»

		Education
		New panel to review UGC fellowships The Union human resource development ministry has set up a five-member committee to review University Grants Commission (UGC) fellowships. Jaffna University keen on tie-up with Universities in India University of Jaffna is planning to tie-up with varsities in India to strengthen educational and cultural ties between the two countries, vice-chancellor of the University Vasanthi Arasarathnam has said. Police action against students protesting at UGC Delhi Police lathicharged students protesting outside University Grants Commission office on Tuesday evening. Having rejected the HRD ministry's new proposal for the non-NET fellowship, the students had spent Monday night around the metro station at ITO. By the evening, there were 'cultural programmes' and even a play. A little before 6 pm, the police used "mild force" apparently "to get them onto a bus." More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Metro 3 waits for right of way from Seepz to Kanjur The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) will seek right of way to extend the Metro 3 from Andheri-Seepz to the new car shed site in Kanjurmarg. Row over Mumbai ward offices listing hawking zones without notifying scheme The BMC has begun the process of seeking suggestions and objections to the list of hawking zones it has prepared. Ward offices across the city shall display the list. Citizen activists were upset with the BMC move as they said it could not go ahead with the exercise to obtain suggestions and objections at a time when the scheme itself is not notified. Netas' kin corner 50% women's quota in KDMC poll nominations The 50% reservation for women in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) election has resulted in wives and daughters of several male corporators filing their nominations. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		No decision yet on SC's poser to Centre on Uniform Civil Code The law ministry is yet to firm up its stand on the Uniform Civil Code. Any decision is unlikely before the conclusion of campaigning of the final phase of Bihar assembly elections. The government is facing a deadline to respond to a Supreme Court poser on its stand on a common code. Woman arrested in ISBT carrying 123 rare turtles A woman carrying turtles belonging to an endangered species was arrested when she arrived in the capital to sell them off to a contact in east Delhi's Anand Vihar area Needed, air quality curbs on firecrackers Diwali is just over a fortnight away, but the Delhi government hasn't started its anti-crackers drive.With temperatures falling already, we may be heading towards days with severely polluted air More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Aspirants planning to pursue long-distance courses in a fix Supreeth Gowda, an engineer working with an IT company, wants to pursue an MBA from Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) but has to put his plans on hold for now. Why all the garbage piles? Tonnes go uncollected daily, says survey The BBMP claims to have streamlined solid waste management in the city by setting up 170 dry waste collection centres (DWCC), while bulk generators are managing their own garbage. `Despite ban, you can get gutka' Gutka may have been banned in the state but it is still available, thanks to manufacturers packaging the contents in a different fashion. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		No queuing up, key RTA services will go online Regional Transport Authority (RTA) is all set to convert 15 essential services into an online exercise - a move that is expected to minimise the time spent by the consumer in the RTA office, reduce the menace of touts and bring about transparency. Two held for chain snatching bid in Hyderabad In a new twist to an accident case, which turned out to be a snatching bid, the Pahadisharif police have arrested a driver and an office boy, who injured a housewife and her two children, while attempting to steal the gold chain of the woman pillion rider. Women's panel opposes commercial surrogacy The State Commission for Women (SCW) said on Wednesday that it is strongly opposed to commercial surrogacy and wants a new Act that opposes commercialisation of women's womb and regulates activities of the industry. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Lyricist faces legal trouble for comments on judiciary Renowned lyricist R Vairamuthu has found himself in a legal quagmire, as Madras high court issued statutory notice to him for alleged unsavory comments he had made about the judiciary a few weeks ago. Chennai, 8 suburbs get Centre's 'Amrut' for upgrading infra Infrastructure of the core city and eight of its suburban areas will get a boost as the Union government has recently identified them for funding under its Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme, which is a new avatar of the existing JNNURM. Day after murder, airport seeks to sanitise premises A day after a tea vendor was murdered at the parking lot of the city airport, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has requested police to keep unauthorised people away from the airport campus. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Husband pays Rs 10,000 maintenance in coins In a gesture of protest, a man paid his estranged wife Rs 10,000 in coins on Wednesday. Patels to get priority in Cong's civic poll list For the first time, Gujarat Congress has declared its intention to give Patidars and other middle class (general category) communities priority in the upcoming statewide lo cal body elections. These sections are typically a hard-core BJP votebank. Hardik's voice sample taken On Wednesday Hardik Patel was taken to Derectorate of Forensic Science in Gandhinagar for a voice spec trography test. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		Polling booths in dacoit infested belt of Chitrakoot turn into fortress In an attempt to ensure free and fair polling in dacoit infested belt of Manikpur, Markundi and Bahilpurwa circles of Chitrakoot district in the fourth and final phase of panchayat polls for the post of block development committee (BDC) members, the cops on Wednesday claimed to have turned all the 23 hyper sensitive booths into fortress. HC dismisses PIL against Shukla as withdrawn The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) as withdrawn that sought to restrain Rajeev Shukla, a Member of Parliament (MP), from functioning as secretary of Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA). AU researcher working on new age solar cells A young researcher from the Allahabad University’s (AU) department of physics has come up with breakthrough research in new age solar cells that could revolutionize the photovoltaic technology that harnesses solar energy. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Two cops of Odisha's Bheden police station held for murder It was a day of embarrassment for Odisha police as a sub-inspector (SI) and an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of Bheden police station in Bargarh district were on Wednesday arrested on charges of murder. The police have also launched a manhunt for the officer-in-charge (OIC) of Bheden police station Sunil Naik in the murder case. Odisha government waives off water cess on farmers The state government on Wednesday announced to waive off water cess on farmers for the current year. The announcement came the wake of alleged suicide of over 40 farmers during the current kharif season. DNA testing solves 2007 murder mystery DNA test enabled police to solve the mystery surrounding the 2007 murder of Kapil Das of Bargaon in Sambalpur district.Police said Kapil was allegedly murdered by his wife and two sons over a marital tiff in 2007. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		NGT notice to officials over safety of big cats near Bhopal National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notices to chief wildlife warden, secretary forest department and inspector general of police (IG), Bhopal seeking details over steps taken for protection of tigers sighted recently in Kerwa and Kaliasot areas of state capital. Green panel has sought their replies in two days. MP seeks EC permission to announce 33% job reservation for women Bypolls in Ratlam Lok Sabha seat and Dewas assembly constituency are scheduled for November 21 and the government wants to implement the reservation for women before that date. Hence, the state will ask for special permission from the EC. MP government to call special assembly session to pass drought relief funds Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday decided to call a one-day special session of the assembly to discuss drought situation and make provision for adequate funds to deal with the crisis. It was also decided that ministers and MLAs will contribute their one-month salary to the drought relief fund. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		NBA player Satnam Bhamra interacts with LPU students Largest Interactive Youth Basketball Festival of America- ‘NBA Jam’ is being held at Lovely Professional University campus for two days. The event was inaugurated on Wednesday by NBA’s first India-born player Satnam Bhamara and other American players. GoI moves to block Sikhs For Justice website in India Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has put rights group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) on notice as it would be considering requests for blocking group’s website for containing objectionable content. NGOs to light up lives of underprivileged Pix in x-hires-TOC Diwali NGOKamini.Mehta@timesgroup.This Diwali soak in the spirit of social responsibility and help light lives of people. More Chandigarh News»

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