News Digest: Chopper probe: Centre prods 8 countries for action

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Friday, May 06, 2016
		Today's Headlines

		India
		Chopper probe: Centre prods 8 countries for action Following a request by the CBI, the Centre has written to its missions in eight countries to ensure quick action on letters rogatory issued earlier tregarding the chopper scam. The LRs had been issued to Italy, Tunisia, Mauritius, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, Britain, the UAE and Switzerland. Modi's foreign travel in 2015-16 has cost Air India 117cr Air India spent Rs 117 crore in 2015-2016 on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign travel, a 25% increase from the previous year. Modi visited 22 countries, including Russia, France, Germany, Korea, Mongolia, China, the UAE, Ireland, the UK, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey. Will give Herald witness list after HC order, says Swamy BJP functionary and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy on Thursday told a trial court here that he will submit the “complete list” of witnesses in National Herald case after the Delhi high court passes order on pleas filed by some of the accused. More India News»

		Business
		Govt drops cap gains tax on startup shares held for 2 yrs In a fresh boost to startups, the government on Thursday inserted an amendment to the Finance Bill to provide for capital gains tax exemption if shares of an unlisted company were held for more than two years. Small towns help Speed Post double revenue in 5-yr Growing commerce in small towns is expanding the business of Speed Post - the express mail service from India Post. HDFC Ergo, L&T Gen in merger talks Promoters of L&T General Insurance and HDFC Ergo are in merger talks. L&T General Insurance is the only private company after Reliance General to be wholly owned by Indian shareholders and HDFC Ergo is the third largest private general insurance company. More Business News»

		Environment
		Leaders vow hard work against temperature rise International leaders and local officials on Thursday pledged to work hard to stem the rise of global temperatures by investing in public transportation and electric cars, planting trees and switching to solar energy. Severe drought forces Zimbabwe to sell off wildlife Drought-hit Zimbabwe has invited local farmers and private game rangers to buy wild animals as it destocks national game reserves to save fauna from starvation, the wildlife authority said. Zimbabwe has in recent years resorted to exporting elephants to countries like China in a bid to raise funds. Earth may be home to 1 trillion life forms Altogether, these data represent over 5.6 million species from 35,000 locations from across the world, except Antarctica. The scientists combined microbial, plant and animal community datasets from government, academic and citizen science sources, resulting in the largest compilation of its kind. More Environment News»

		World
		Turkish PM Davutoglu announces decision to resign Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced his resignation on Thursday, paving the way for President Recept Tayyip Erdogan to pursue a tighter grip on power. Davutoglu, who had fallen out with Erdogan, announced he was stepping aside following a meeting with executives of the ruling AKP. Fragile truce takes hold in Syria's battered Aleppo A 48-hour ceasefire took hold on Thursday in Syria's battered second city of Aleppo after government and rebel forces gave in to mounting diplomatic pressure. Relieved residents returned to the streets after two weeks of heavy fighting in the divided metropolis. Kenyan building collapse: Survivor found after 6 days Rescue workers dug out a woman from the rubble of a building in Kenya's capital six days after it collapsed. The woman, who was receiving oxygen and had been connected to an intravenous drip by doctors, had survived in a pocket of broken masonry since the building crumbled on Friday night. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Manoj Kumar: Quality matters, not quantity Manoj Kumar on receiving the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, and how patriotism came naturally to him – be it in films or in real life PIC: Shah Rukh Khan's son flaunting his abs Shah Rukh Khan's son, Aryan Khan often makes it to the headlines for all the right reasons. Although the star kid is yet to make his Bollywood debut, he has garnered a huge fan following on social media and rightly so. 'Every kind of movie is being accepted' ‘Proud’, ‘nervous’, ‘complete’, ‘special’ – at the ceremony on Tuesday, this year’s National Award winners described how this sarkari recognition made them feel More Entertainment News»

		Science
		New insight into bats' flying can lead to better drones Long-eared bats are assisted in flight by their ears and body, say scientists, adding that this knowledge into the bats' flying technique can help develop better drones. ExxonMobil launches venture for low-cost carbon capture New York, May 5, 2016 (AFP) -Oil giant ExxonMobil said Thursday it was starting a new venture that could make carbon-dioxide capture a more economically attractive way to fight global warming. A rare celestial crossing: Mercury will transit Sun on May 9 The transit of Mercury is a phenomenon in which the planet will be seen as a small black dot travelling from one end of the solar disc to the other, according to Sanjib Sen, Director, Positional Astronomy Centre. More Science News»

		Sports
		IPL 2016: Rahane 63* guides Pune to seven-wicket win In-form opener Ajinkya Rahane scored his fifth half-century of the season to help Rising Pune Supergiants beat Delhi Daredevils by seven wickets at Feroz Shah Kotla. It was Pune's third victory in nine matches. Kohli-Tendulkar comparison is unfair, says Yuvraj Yuvraj Singh feels India Test captain Virat Kohli is the best batsman of this generation but deemed it unfair to compare him with Sachin Tendulkar as he feels that it will take a lot more hard work from the Delhi lad to match the maestro's legacy. ISL levies harsh penalties on FC Goa The five-member Indian Super League (ISL) regulatory commission on Thursday fined FC Goa franchise Rs 11 crore and banned the franchise's co-owners Dattaraj Salgaocar and Shrinivas Dempo from participating in any ISL activity. More Sports News»

		Technology
		IRCTC denies website hack; says is verifying data theft claims The hacking speculations started after Maharashtra Cyber Cell was reportedly informed about a CD containing phone numbers, date of birth and other such information of IRCTC users being sold for Rs 15,000 in the market. 19 companies barred from applying for H-1B visas Like past many years, this year too the cap for H-1B work visas was reached within flat five days. How Apple iPhone sales in India defy an old stereotype iPhone sales across the world, including China, have dropped significantly - except in India, where “extremely price conscious” customers are panting for product. More Technology News»

		Education
		ICSE & ISC results at 3pm today The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) will declare the results of the ICSE (Class 10) and ISC (Class 12) exams at 3pm on Friday, two weeks ahead of schedule. Northeast states have dropout level far above national average Nagaland has the highest dropout rate at primary level of 19.4 per cent in the country while most other north eastern states have a dropout rate far above the national average. School principals share IIM learnings The 60 school principals, teacher educators and officials who attended leadership training at Indian Institute of Management (Lucknow) in April 2016, have gained as much from interacting with each other as the programme itself. More Education News»

		Mumbai
		'Peter made to believe Sheena was still alive' Former media honcho Peter Mukerjea’s lawyer Aabad Ponda on Thursday said there were several circumstances to show that his wife Indrani had deceived him into believing that Sheena Bora was alive, after her disappearance on April 24, 2012. Nod for water transport regulator Chief minister Devenera Fadnavis has given an in-principle nod to form a regulator for water transport system across the state. The body, Water Transport Corporation, will play watchdog for ferry services, Ro-Ro service, cargo transport and will also boost tourism. This was decided on Thursday during a meeting of the state’s maritime board. Jiah case: Prosecution seeks charges of rape and murder against Sooraj Pancholi After being accused of abetting the suicide of Jiah Khan since the incident in 2013, the prosecution on Thursday told the special court that charges should be framed against actor Sooraj Pancholi for murder, rape and forcing a woman to have an abortion. Both the police and Central Bureau of India chargesheets in the case had booked Sooraj for abetment of suicide and ruled out murder. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Under Ujjwala, BPL families will get LPG stoves at Rs 990 Ujjwala, the Modi government's flagship scheme for empowering BPL (below poverty line) women by providing clean cooking fuel, has halved the cost of LPG stoves to Rs 990 to ease the burden on poor households. The Rs 8,000 crore scheme was launched by PM Narendra Modi at Ballia in UP on May 1. SC to hear 5-year phaseout proposal on Monday The environment protection authority , the Centre and the Delhi government took a common position and urged the Supreme Court that these vehicles should be allowed to ply in the capital till their permits expire. The SC bench said it would take up the issue for hearing on Monday . HC wants proof of steps taken to curb pollution Recent incidents of fire at landfill sites in Delhi attracted the attention of the Delhi high court on Thursday. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		NGT directive can save 93 city lakes, clear up buffer zones 60x30 barrack, 120 men & 3 Indian-style toilets DC yet to receive ZP chief's report Shivamogga deputy commissioner CVP Ikkeri, who ordered the ZP chief to investigate the allegation of animal sacrifice, said he's yet to receive his report. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		New code to make buildings energy-efficient Starting next month, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) will begin enforcing the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) to ensure efficient use of power. Testing time for Eflu aspirantsHyder Nearly 50 students appearing for the online admission test to the English and Foreign Languages University on Thursday were left in the lurch after they were refused entry into the exam hall in the 30-minute bracket before the test began. Peoples' voice must be heard More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Engineering colleges hire data miners to find prospective students Database providers, who usually sell user details to companies offering home loans and credit cards, have a new set of clients: colleges seeking database of people who have the money and wish to send their children for an engineering degree. Cops mess up crime spot, lose forensic evidence In `The Boscombe Valley Mystery', Sherlock Holmes chides inspector Lestrade for his handling of the crime scene. Train jumps tracks, 6 hurt, Chennai services hit Six passengers were injured when the locomotive and the first two coaches of the Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram Mail derailed near Pattabiram Railway Station, broadsiding a moving suburban train on a parallel track at 8.20pm on Thursday. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		Dams in Gujarat are drying up fast With scarcity prevailing in Kutch, Saurashtra and northern parts in the state, only four out of the 203 dams in Gujarat namely Wanakbori, Fatehgadh, Dholidhaja and Narmada have more than 50% water. ATMs give fair water service At several villages in the state, residents walk into a kiosk, put their card in the machine and collect water, not money. The panchayats of these villages have installed reverse osmosis (RO) systems attached to ATM-like machines, to dispense safe drinking water according to every resident's requirement. AMC finds anganwadis fudging numbers Here is a glimpse, beyond statistics and nutrition intake figures, into the actual operation of some of the 2,046 anganwadis that run in Ahmedabad for children between 0 to 6 years. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		HC asks ASI to report action on squatting The Allahabad high court on Thursday directed the Central government as well as the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to apprise the court of the action taken against illegal constructions and encroachments around monuments in Uttar Pradesh, including the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. Protest intensifies, AUSU leaders on fast unto death Continuing the agitation, demanding offline mode for entrance examination of postgraduate courses at Allahabad University, the office-bearers of AU Student Union went on to fast unto death at the union hall on Thursday. No proof of ragging: MLNMC probe Statements from students of Motilal Nehru Medical College haven't given any evidence of ragging, said the five-member panel probing the alleged ragging of an MBBS student of the college on Thursday. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		CLP resolves to demand President's Rule in Odisha Bhubaneswar, May 5 () Claiming there was a constitutional crisis in Odisha, the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) today resolved to urge Governor S C Jamir to recommend imposition of President's Rule under Article 356 of constitution. Impasse continues in Odisha Assembly over chitfund issue Bhubaneswar, May 5 () Odisha Assembly was paralysed for the sixth consecutive day today amid noisy scenes as the impasse continued over chitfund scam with Congress and BJP demanding Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's resignation and ruling BJD seeking an apology from the Leader of opposition. Naveen asks ministers to review status of implementation of party's poll promises More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Past still haunts family members Residing in a dilapidated two-room brick structure, the family of over 10 members has a history of three suicides in past 30 years. Kidnapped teen freed after 3 days Three days after a Class 7 student was kidnapped by an unidentified youth, police rescued the boy early Thursday morning from a three-storeyed building in Kurawar in Rajgarh district. Kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore from the boy's family through SMSes. MP tribal girl marries disabled sister's hubby Two tribal sisters got married to the same man in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh. One of the girls, Bhabhuti, has a congenital disability and has undeveloped pair of hands. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		Stubble burning deaths: Homicide charge added Malout deputy superintendent of police Manwinderbir Singh said that during investigation, the crime was found to be covered under Section 304 of IPC and it also amounted to atrocities against SCs. HC stays selection process for BBMB chairperson The Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday stayed the selection process initiated by the Central government for appointment of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) chairman. Day after safe return, Sana attends school Having had a harrowing experience with kidnapping of six-year-old Sana Gupta in Patiala on Wednesday, the family appeared relaxed and appreciated efforts of the police in securing release of the child. More Chandigarh News»

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